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 Well it's good to be back with you this morning. It's always an honour to come and to preach

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! God's word to you here at Ealing IPC. We're going to be looking at Ephesians chapter 4 verses

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! So please have that open before you in your Bibles. Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 17 to

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 25. As we come to God's word let us pray. Lord God you are the maker of heaven and earth and our help

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 is in you. So please now by your Holy Spirit would you come and would you teach us to speak the truth

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 for the sake and for the glory of your Son Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

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 I want to start this morning by telling you something that I know about you. Yes that's

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 right you. I'm not talking about the person beside you or in front of you or behind you.

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 I'm talking about you. I know something about you. And now I'm going to announce it to everyone.

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 you talk. You talk. You talk a lot. From the moment you rise in the morning saying it's not the time that I

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 have to get up to the moment you go to bed saying good night I love you to your loved ones. You talk

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 all day long. You talk talk talk talk talk talk. On average you speak about 25,000 words a day.

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 Yes. The quiet ones among you. Yes. The quiet ones among you. It's a bit less. The talkative

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 ones among you. It's a bit more. But we all talk. There is something else I know about you.

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 And I'm also going to announce it to everyone. And this time it's more personal. When you talk

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 you reveal your heart. When you talk you reveal your heart. Every time you speak. Every time you open

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 your mouth. It is a revelation. A revelation of your heart. As Jesus said out of the overflow

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 of the heart. The mouth speaks. Now this connection between heart and mouth. Self and speech. Character

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 and communication. It might be obvious to us as Christians. But it's not so obvious to our

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 secular society. Let me give you an illustration. Do you remember about two or three years ago

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 there were two cases of racism in the English Premier League. Luis Suarez who we've all just

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 seen fight a player in the World Cup. Luis Suarez was accused of making racist comments against

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 Patrice Evra. Black player for Manchester United. And John Terry was accused of making racist

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 comments against Anton Ferdinand at Queen's Park Rangers. And I watched all the commentary about

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 these two incidents. And they were both found guilty these men. And I heard it from the media.

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 I heard it from football pundits. I heard it from managers. I heard it from black footballers

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 who thought they were both guilty. And this was the comment that was made. These men made racist

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 racist comments. But they made racist comments. But they are not racist. What they said was just in the spur of the

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 moment, in the heat of the moment. It doesn't mean that they were racist. And the Bible comes along and says

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 out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. Do you see how the world thinks about the connection

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 between heart and mouth, self and speech, character and communication? There is no connection.

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 It's like Ryan Babel, the professional footballer who said on his Twitter account, I may not always say the

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 right thing, but my heart is always in the right place. Do you see the disconnect? And the Bible comes along

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 and says there is a connection between your heart and your mouth, between who you are and what you say.

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 If these men made racist comments in a football game, then they are racist.

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 Their words were not an aberration, a mistake. Their words were a revelation. A revelation of their hearts

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 at that very moment. As Paul Tripp says, situations and people do not make us say what we say.

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 They are the occasions for our hearts to reveal themselves.

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 Now boys and girls, you can relate to this. You know when you've said something nasty to your

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 brother or sister and your parent, your mum or your dad tells you to go and apologise.

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 And you say, look, I'm sorry, Thomas, for saying that I hated you, but I didn't mean it.

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 Well, you did mean it. And that's why you said it. Do you see how direct the Bible is about the

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 connection between heart and mouth? And that connection is in the passage that Paul read to us.

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 There is a connection between heart and speech. And that's why words matter, because word matters

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 our heart matters. When you speak, you reveal your heart. I wish I had time to explain why that is,

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 but it's very simple. It's because we are made in the image of God. And when God speaks,

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 he reveals his heart. And because we are made in his image, when we speak, we reveal our hearts.

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 And this connection between heart and mouth is fundamental. It undergirds Paul's argument here

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 in Ephesians chapter 4. Miss it, miss the connection, and you miss the force of his argument.

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 Well, Paul makes two very simple points in this part of Ephesians chapter 4. And the two points

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 are connected like the heart and the mouth are connected. Number one, don't walk like who you

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 once were. Walk like who you now are. Don't walk like who you once were. Walk like who you now are.

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 Chapter 4, verses 17 to 24. I'm sure you've heard the phrase, walk the talk, which basically means

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 practice what you practice what you preach. Well, this idea of walking in a certain manner was a common

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 way of speaking in the first century. A person's life was referred to as their walk. And what Paul means

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 here is you must no longer walk, you must no longer live, verse 17, as the Gentiles do. And then in verse 17,

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 the second part to verse 19, he unpacks who we once were, how we once walked, before addressing who we now

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 are. In verses 20 to 24. So in verses 17 to 19, he explains who we once were. Now this I say and

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 testify in the Lord that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the futility of their minds.

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 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that

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 is in them due to the hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to

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 sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

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 Now when we read that, who do you think of in our modern society?

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 Do you think it's a portion of our society gets on like this? Or is this Paul's description of our

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 general society? Well, it is the latter. This is not referring to the people who stand on your street

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 corner, drink beer on a Friday night, cause a bit of ruckus, the police pick them up, put them in the

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 cell for the night. This is the Oxbridge graduates that it's describing. It's the people in the city

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 of London doing their business. Now if that is shocking to you, it was just as shocking to Paul's

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 original hearers. He was writing to a group of Gentiles who have been converted to Christ out of

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 Gentile paganism, the non-Jewish, non-Christian way of life. Now when we hear Gentile or pagan,

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 we mustn't think first century barbarians, you know, savages of the first century. No,

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 pagans and Gentiles came from a sophisticated culture. They were well-mannered, they had a

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 culture, they were sophisticated in their way of life. Paganism in the ancient world was the pursuit

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 of the development of the mind. And now look at what Paul says, they are darkened in their

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 understanding. It was about the development of their mind, their body, their emotions, their

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 character, their speech. It was the modern day equivalent of the self-improvement movement.

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 You know, you go to Amazon.com, you stick the word self in, and you see all these books about

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 self-improvement. This is just Gentile paganism refashioned in a new way. There is nothing new

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 under the sun, as Solomon said. Now look with me again at how Paul describes this modern pursuit

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 of self-development. It is futile, it is darkened in its understanding, it is alienated from God,

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 it is willful ignorance of God, it arises out of the hardness of heart, it has lost all moral

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 sensitivity, it is sensuous, it is impure, it is greedy. What a damning indictment of our secular

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 humanistic culture with all its apparent wisdom. And this is why when Paul comes to address how we are

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 to walk, how we are to live in this world, he doesn't turn to the principles and beliefs and

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 convictions of a sophisticated Gentile culture that says, we have done PhDs in how to speak.

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 We should, Paul doesn't say we should go and learn from these people and imbibe some of their

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 philosophy and some of their insights. No, rather, he turns to who we have become in Christ. Verses 20

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 to 24. He's explained who we once were, now he explains who we now are. Verses 20 to 24. But that is not

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 the way you learned Christ. Assuming you have heard about him and were taught in him as the truth is in

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 Jesus. To put off your old self which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through

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 deceitful desires and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds and to put on the new self created

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 after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Now this metaphor of putting off and

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 putting on, it's like taking off a jacket and putting on a jacket. That's the sort of picture

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 that Paul has here. At our conversion, he says, we were taught to take off our old self like an old

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 jacket. To take it off and throw it away and then to go and get a new jacket, the new self, and to put

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 it on. It was a decisive act. It's just another way of speaking about biblical repentance. You know,

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 the Bible speaks about repentance and it speaks about it as an about turn. You're going in one

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 direction, so you turn and go in the other direction. Well, this is just another picture

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 of repentance. Taking off an old jacket, putting on a new jacket. And Paul is saying we should

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 live out the implications of our repentance. Now the way he describes it could suggest that

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 we were the ones who converted ourselves. Do you see that? We were taught, verse 22, to put off the old

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 self. We were taught, verse 24, to put on the new self. Well, that sounds a bit like we were the ones

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 who changed ourselves, converted ourselves, doesn't it? Well, there are a few things in these verses that

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 show us that we were not the main agents in our change, in our conversion. Yes, we had a responsibility

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 to repent, to put off and to put on. But look at verse 22. The reason the human self cannot change or

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 improve itself is because it is being corrupted through deceitful desires. The human self does not have the

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 ability in itself to change itself. Why? Because it's deceiving itself. Verse 23. Did you notice the past tense?

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 We were not the ones who made ourselves new. God made ourselves new. To be renewed. We could not do that

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 ourselves. In verse 24, he uses the word create. A word that is used only of God in the Bible. We can't create

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 anything in ourselves. Only God can create something new. C.S. Lewis captures this point wonderfully in the

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 Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Some of the young boys and girls, I hope you read the Narnia series.

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 Let me remind you what happened, or happened at this point in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

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 Eustace is this annoying little brat of a cousin to the kids. And Eustace has come to an island,

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 and he's gone exploring, and he comes into a cave with all of this treasure in the cave. And he finds

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 a gold bracelet, and he puts it on his arm, and he turns into a dragon. And then one evening,

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 he is met by a lion who leads him up a mountain and into a garden. And Eustace recalls to Edmund

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 what happened. In the garden there was a well. I knew it was a well, because you could see the

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 water bubbling up from the bottom of it. The water was as clear as anything, and I thought,

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 if I could get in there and bathe, I would ease the pain in my leg from the bracelet.

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 But the lion told me, I must undress first. Mind you, I don't know if he said any words out loud

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 or not. I was just going to say that I couldn't undress because I hadn't any clothes on, when

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 I suddenly realized that because I was now a dragon, dragons are sort of sneaky sort of

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 things. And snakes can cast their skins. Oh, of course I thought, that's what the lion means.

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 So I started scratching myself, and my scales began coming off all over the place. And

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 then I scratched a little deeper, and instead of just scales coming off here and there, my

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 whole skin started to peel off beautifully, like it does after an illness, or as if I was

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 a banana. In a minute or two, I just stepped out of my skin. I could see it lying there beside

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 me, looking rather nasty. It was a moment, sorry, it was a most lovely feeling. So I started

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 to go down into the well for my bath. But just as I was going to put my feet into the water,

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 I looked down and saw that they were all hard and rough and wrinkled and scaly, just as they

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 had been before. Oh, that's all right, said I, it only means I had another smaller suit

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 on underneath the first one, and I'll have to get out of it too. So I scratched and tore

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 again, and this underskin peeled off beautifully, and out I stepped and left it lying beside the

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 other one, and went down to the well for my bath. Well, exactly the same thing happened

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 again. And I thought to myself, oh dear, however many skins have I got to take off?

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 For I was longing to bathe my leg. So I scratched away for the third time, and took off a third

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 skin just like the two others, and stepped out of it. But as soon as I looked at myself

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 in the water, I knew it had been no good. Then the lion said, but I don't know if it spoke,

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 you will have to let me undress you. I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was pretty

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 nearly desperate now, so I just lay flat down on my back to let him do it. The very first tear

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 he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling

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 the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear

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 it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off. You know, as if you've ever picked the scab off

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 a sore place. It hurts like billy-o, but it is so fun to see it coming away. I know exactly what you

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 mean, said Edmund. Well, he peeled the beastly stuff right off, just as I thought I'd done it myself the

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 other three times, only they hadn't hurt. And there it was, lying on the grass, ever so much thicker and

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 darker and more knobbly looking than all the others had been. And there was I, as smooth and soft as a

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 peeled switch, and smaller than I had been. Then he caught hold of me. I didn't like that very much,

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 for I was very tender underneath now, that I had no skin on. And he threw me into the water.

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 It smarted like anything, but only for a moment. After a bit, the lion took me out and dressed me.

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 Edmund said, dressed you? With his paws? Well, I don't exactly remember that bit, but he did somehow

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 in new clothes. The same I've got on now, as a matter of fact. And then suddenly I was back here,

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 which makes me think that it must have been a dream.

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 No, it wasn't a dream, said Edmund. Why not? Well, said Edmund, there are the clothes,

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 for one thing, and you have been, well, undragoned, for another.

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 Well, what do you think it was then, asked Eustace? I think you've seen Aslan, said Edmund.

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 Brothers and sisters in Christ, if you have put your faith in Jesus Christ, then you have seen Christ.

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 And in seeing him, he undressed you, and redressed you with a new you.

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 At the very heart of the Christian life, and this is why I took time to read that story,

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 at the very heart of the Christian life is a conversion, is a change, is a regeneration,

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 is an undressing and a redressing, that only God can bring about.

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 This is not how our secular culture thinks. You won't find this in the University of London's

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 class on the philosophy of the human person. You need to go to God if you want to change

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 your behaviour. I wish I had time to unpack this, but at the risk of oversimplification,

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 there are two general approaches in our secular culture to changing the self. The first approach

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 is this. You don't need to undress and redress yourself. You just need to address yourself.

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 You don't need to undress or redress yourself. You just need to address yourself. All you need

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 is a better understanding of yourself, of your family, of your environment, of your experiences,

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 and having understood yourself better. You need to resolve to take more responsibility,

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 to exert your mind, to control your tongue, your emotions, your body. And if you do that,

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 then you can improve yourself. You can change yourself. You see this in some of the more

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 research-based psychologies and sociologies. For example, Sam Harris. Have you heard of him?

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 He's the new sort of Christopher Hitchens, the new atheist guy. He wrote a little essay called

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 Lying. It was a fascinating essay. I read it a few years ago, and he said the only thing he could

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 say. He disagrees with lying. He thinks it's wrong. And he says, you need to outgrow your lying.

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 You need to, quote, resolve within yourself to stop lying. Do you see what this approach does?

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 It says you are the solution to the way you speak. There is no mention of regeneration. There is no

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 mention of conversion. The resources to change yourself lie within yourself. That's the one

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 approach. The other approach comes from the more superficial self-help psychologies and therapies.

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 You know, the sort of pop psychology you see in Oprah or Dr. Phil or Ellen DeGeneres on TV.

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 You know, 10 easy steps to make a brand new person. These are the sort of quick fix techniques where

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 you're locked in here of people creating themselves anew, having a makeover, facially, financially,

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 personally. I saw one book on Amazon.com said, breaking the habit of being yourself, how to lose your mind and

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 create a new one. You see similar things in the celebrity magazines. You know, when you go to the

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 dentist and you pick up a hello magazine or an okay magazine, and what is it? So and so has

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 recreated themselves. So and so has branded themselves anew. On the 1st of January, I got an email from

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 iTunes entitled, New Year, New You. If the problem with the first approach is that it lacks a doctrine of

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 regeneration. It's just secular moralism. Do, do, do, do, do, do, do in order to change. If that's the problem with the

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 first approach, the problem with the second approach is that it wants regeneration. Have you noticed? They always talk about

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 recreating yourself and having a makeover. It is the language of regeneration. It is the language of recreation. But it looks for it

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 in all the wrong places. Both approaches are like Eustace trying to undragon himself by himself. And in stark contrast

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 to both is the wonderful, liberating good news of Jesus Christ. In the gospel, God doesn't come to you with good advice.

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 He comes to you with good news. In the gospel, God doesn't come to you with a quick fix makeover. He comes and offers you a heart

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 transplant. The life that we should have lived, we haven't, but Christ did. And the death that we should have died, we couldn't,

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 but Christ did. And what Christ has done for us, we could not do ourselves. And when we accept that, through faith in

00:25:20.059 --> 00:25:30.259
 Jesus Christ, God remakes us anew. Not just forensically on the outside justifying us, but he makes us anew

00:25:30.259 --> 00:25:38.119
 a part of the way. And we believe in our very essence. And we believe in our very essence and being. What as Christians

00:25:38.119 --> 00:25:53.839
 we call regeneration. In the words of Jesus, you need to be born again. And Paul's point is this.

00:25:53.839 --> 00:26:00.259
 I'm taking a long time to get to the point about speaking the truth. Paul's point is this. You can't

00:26:00.259 --> 00:26:09.799
 change the way you talk until you change the way you walk. And you can't change the way you walk until

00:26:09.799 --> 00:26:18.419
 God undresses you and redresses you with a new you. You can't change the way you talk, 25,000 words a day.

00:26:18.420 --> 00:26:24.320
 You can't change that until you change the way you walk. And you can't change the way you walk

00:26:24.320 --> 00:26:31.340
 until God undresses you and redresses you with a new you. And when God has done that, Paul says,

00:26:31.740 --> 00:26:44.240
 talk like it. Talk like it. Has God converted you? Talk like it. That's the second point that Paul

00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:51.359
 comes to. Don't talk like who you once were. Talk like who you now are. Don't talk like who you

00:26:51.359 --> 00:27:00.819
 once were. Talk like who you now are. Verse 25. Therefore, therefore, having been undressed and

00:27:00.819 --> 00:27:10.099
 redressed, having been renewed in your inner person, therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of

00:27:10.099 --> 00:27:15.139
 you speak the truth. And you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.

00:27:16.439 --> 00:27:24.639
 It is the therefore that connects the heart to the mouth, the self to the speech, the character to the

00:27:24.639 --> 00:27:32.959
 communication. I mentioned earlier the little phrase, walk the talk. Well, Paul turns that idiom

00:27:32.960 --> 00:27:40.880
 around in a surprising way. He says, don't just walk the talk. He says, talk the walk. This is who you now are.

00:27:40.980 --> 00:27:51.200
 This is how you now walk. Now talk like it. Talk the walk. And the first application Paul gives us of how we

00:27:51.200 --> 00:27:58.960
 are to talk is in relation to speaking the truth. You see it there in verse 25. Having put away falsehood, let each one of you

00:27:58.960 --> 00:28:05.259
 speak the truth with his neighbor. Now this word falsehood is the word from which we get the word pseudo,

00:28:06.200 --> 00:28:15.019
 false, something that's fake, a lie. Paul says, precisely because that was part of your former way

00:28:15.019 --> 00:28:21.980
 of life. See verse 22. Deceitful desires. Deceit was part of your former way of life. It was like that old

00:28:21.980 --> 00:28:27.519
 jacket. You took it off. You put on a new jacket. So talk like you're wearing the new jacket.

00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:36.339
 Right? Put away the falsehood. But the question is, what is falsehood? What is a lie? If you, for example, ask me the

00:28:36.339 --> 00:28:45.920
 time after church, and I said, oh, it's three o'clock, and I sort of get it wrong. Have I lied to you? Well, no. I made a

00:28:45.920 --> 00:28:54.960
 mistake. You ask me the time. I looked at my watch. I misread it, and I made a mistake. That's not a lie. A lie is a word or act

00:28:54.960 --> 00:29:05.340
 that intentionally deceives a neighbor in order to hurt or gain some advantage over them. A lie is an act or word that

00:29:05.340 --> 00:29:13.160
 intentionally deceives a neighbor in order to hurt them or gain some advantage over them. I think there is some wisdom

00:29:13.160 --> 00:29:22.080
 needed here as we look at this. Remember a couple of years ago, there was a rugby game. I think it was

00:29:22.080 --> 00:29:31.400
 Leicester were playing another team in England in the Heineken Cup. It was the semi-finals, and then the clock

00:29:31.400 --> 00:29:37.759
 had run down. It was the 80th minute, and the Irish team, Munster it was, the Irish team had the ball.

00:29:37.759 --> 00:29:43.140
 And you know in rugby, the ball's got to be kicked out for the end of the game. And these phases of play

00:29:43.140 --> 00:29:51.299
 were being played. One minute, two minutes, three minutes. And on RTE radio, this commentator was

00:29:51.299 --> 00:29:59.879
 getting more and more exaggerated. Oh, and it's the 33rd phase. It's the 34th phase. And it was going on and

00:29:59.880 --> 00:30:09.400
 in the end, the ball comes to Ronan O'Gara in the 38th phase. And he drop hits it between the posts,

00:30:09.740 --> 00:30:15.380
 and they win. There was one point in it, and Munster had to score to win the game. And the commentator

00:30:15.380 --> 00:30:24.260
 went absolutely crazy. And he says, after a hundred thousand phases, Ronan O'Gara has just kicked the goal

00:30:24.259 --> 00:30:31.700
 one with you. Now, I don't think anyone in Ireland listening to that went, he's just lying.

00:30:33.299 --> 00:30:41.740
 There was only 38 phases. What's he talking about? Hyperbole. There is a place for it. And I'm not

00:30:41.740 --> 00:30:47.599
 just saying that because I'm Irish, and we use it all the time. Didn't God say to Abraham,

00:30:47.599 --> 00:30:55.039
 I will make your seed like the stars of heaven and the sand on the seashore.

00:30:59.039 --> 00:31:06.779
 There is a place for hyperbole. There is a place for jokes. What do you do with a joke? Is a joke a lie?

00:31:08.579 --> 00:31:14.279
 If I was to tell a joke, Patty and Seamus sitting together on a Friday afternoon, and Patty says to Seamus,

00:31:14.279 --> 00:31:18.980
 you're looking a bit down. What's wrong with you? And Seamus says, well, I'm trying to sell my car.

00:31:19.700 --> 00:31:24.500
 And he says, well, why can't you sell it? He says, well, I've washed it, I've waxed it, I've got it all cleaned up,

00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:29.019
 no one's interested. And he says, well, how many miles are on it? He says, 230,000 miles.

00:31:29.440 --> 00:31:34.359
 He says, well, no wonder no one wants to buy it. All you need to do is turn the clock back on it,

00:31:34.420 --> 00:31:38.920
 the 10,000 miles on the mileage, and then you'll sell it. The next week they're together.

00:31:38.920 --> 00:31:45.259
 Seamus is looking all happy, and Patty says, so you're looking really happy, you must have sold the car then.

00:31:45.519 --> 00:31:49.000
 And he says, no, why would I do that? It's only got 10,000 miles on it.

00:31:54.539 --> 00:31:58.039
 Now, Paul Levy tells jokes just for the sake of them in a sermon.

00:31:59.440 --> 00:32:00.720
 Why would you laugh?

00:32:00.720 --> 00:32:04.579
 There's deceit in that.

00:32:06.380 --> 00:32:09.660
 Patty has told Seamus to deceive a potential buyer.

00:32:10.460 --> 00:32:15.019
 And the joke is that Seamus has been deceived by his own deceit.

00:32:15.400 --> 00:32:18.180
 That's the joke. And it's Irish, so it's okay to laugh.

00:32:20.100 --> 00:32:23.140
 But why is it okay to laugh at that? Because we know it's a joke.

00:32:23.500 --> 00:32:28.000
 That's the context. No one's trying to hurt or get one over on their neighbor.

00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:30.000
 We understand it's a joke.

00:32:30.500 --> 00:32:33.980
 What about board games? Are we allowed as Christians to play board games

00:32:33.980 --> 00:32:37.819
 where you have to actually try and deceive the person or withhold information?

00:32:38.319 --> 00:32:40.240
 Well, of course that's okay. It's a board game.

00:32:40.859 --> 00:32:45.460
 World War II, we used Morse code to deceive the enemy.

00:32:46.220 --> 00:32:48.900
 Well, of course, in order to save lives.

00:32:50.279 --> 00:32:52.279
 Now, all those things are exceptions.

00:32:53.059 --> 00:32:54.019
 They're all exceptions.

00:32:54.019 --> 00:32:56.839
 What Paul is saying to us here is

00:32:56.839 --> 00:33:00.220
 in our everyday speech with each other,

00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:02.799
 in our normal communication at church,

00:33:02.980 --> 00:33:05.259
 home groups, deacon meetings, elders meetings,

00:33:05.920 --> 00:33:08.039
 whatever the connection is in church,

00:33:08.099 --> 00:33:09.779
 in our normal communication,

00:33:09.920 --> 00:33:11.779
 outside the context of a bit of banter,

00:33:12.920 --> 00:33:13.619
 Paul says

00:33:13.619 --> 00:33:15.500
 that your yes

00:33:15.500 --> 00:33:16.900
 be a yes

00:33:16.900 --> 00:33:18.460
 and your no

00:33:18.460 --> 00:33:19.460
 be a no.

00:33:19.460 --> 00:33:22.000
 We are to communicate with each other

00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:22.799
 without spin,

00:33:23.340 --> 00:33:24.140
 without evasion,

00:33:24.579 --> 00:33:25.360
 without denials,

00:33:25.740 --> 00:33:26.559
 without deceit.

00:33:27.200 --> 00:33:27.720
 Simple,

00:33:28.039 --> 00:33:28.440
 clear,

00:33:28.759 --> 00:33:29.120
 honest,

00:33:29.460 --> 00:33:29.840
 truthful

00:33:29.840 --> 00:33:31.319
 communication.

00:33:32.980 --> 00:33:34.799
 Now, as I've had to reflect on this

00:33:34.799 --> 00:33:35.980
 in my own life,

00:33:36.620 --> 00:33:37.700
 and have you ever thought about this?

00:33:37.779 --> 00:33:39.620
 Why is Paul telling Christians

00:33:39.620 --> 00:33:41.160
 to stop lying?

00:33:42.140 --> 00:33:43.980
 Because we're all prone to it.

00:33:43.980 --> 00:33:47.480
 We are all prone to it.

00:33:49.759 --> 00:33:51.500
 And as I've had to reflect on this

00:33:51.500 --> 00:33:52.299
 in my own life,

00:33:52.400 --> 00:33:53.500
 here are some of the questions

00:33:53.500 --> 00:33:54.819
 I've had to ask myself.

00:33:57.460 --> 00:33:58.920
 Do I spin

00:33:58.920 --> 00:34:01.599
 and tell white lies

00:34:01.599 --> 00:34:04.240
 to get out of a tricky situation?

00:34:06.440 --> 00:34:07.920
 Do I exaggerate

00:34:07.920 --> 00:34:09.820
 in order to be seen to be someone

00:34:09.820 --> 00:34:11.099
 I'm not in public

00:34:11.099 --> 00:34:12.019
 or on Facebook

00:34:12.019 --> 00:34:13.000
 or on Twitter?

00:34:13.980 --> 00:34:15.199
 Do I lie

00:34:15.199 --> 00:34:16.840
 to avoid embarrassment

00:34:16.840 --> 00:34:18.059
 of being found out?

00:34:18.860 --> 00:34:19.860
 Do I lie

00:34:19.860 --> 00:34:21.440
 to disguise wrongdoing?

00:34:22.599 --> 00:34:23.599
 Do I lie

00:34:23.599 --> 00:34:24.340
 to avoid

00:34:24.340 --> 00:34:25.420
 hurting the feelings

00:34:25.420 --> 00:34:26.199
 of that person

00:34:26.199 --> 00:34:27.159
 if I was to actually

00:34:27.159 --> 00:34:28.039
 be honest with them?

00:34:29.340 --> 00:34:30.780
 Do I compliment

00:34:30.780 --> 00:34:31.940
 and flatter people

00:34:31.940 --> 00:34:33.800
 when I don't actually mean it?

00:34:35.559 --> 00:34:36.539
 Do I lie

00:34:36.539 --> 00:34:37.340
 because I'm scared

00:34:37.340 --> 00:34:38.840
 of the emotional cut off

00:34:38.840 --> 00:34:39.800
 if I was honest

00:34:39.800 --> 00:34:40.500
 with that person?

00:34:41.440 --> 00:34:42.719
 Do I falsely

00:34:42.719 --> 00:34:43.800
 encourage something

00:34:43.800 --> 00:34:44.400
 when I know

00:34:44.400 --> 00:34:45.460
 it would be unhelpful

00:34:45.460 --> 00:34:46.680
 and I'm just saying it

00:34:46.680 --> 00:34:47.120
 to the person

00:34:47.120 --> 00:34:48.340
 because I'm people pleasing?

00:34:49.620 --> 00:34:50.300
 Do I

00:34:50.300 --> 00:34:51.840
 shade the truth

00:34:51.840 --> 00:34:54.160
 for my own advantage?

00:34:55.840 --> 00:34:56.980
 God says to us

00:34:56.980 --> 00:34:57.480
 this morning

00:34:57.480 --> 00:34:58.420
 brothers and sisters

00:34:58.420 --> 00:34:59.660
 don't speak lies

00:34:59.660 --> 00:35:01.200
 speak the truth.

00:35:01.199 --> 00:35:05.179
 why?

00:35:05.179 --> 00:35:06.579
 because you've been

00:35:06.579 --> 00:35:07.079
 changed

00:35:07.079 --> 00:35:08.199
 because you've been

00:35:08.199 --> 00:35:08.659
 changed

00:35:08.659 --> 00:35:10.000
 from the inside out

00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:11.000
 you've put off

00:35:11.000 --> 00:35:11.779
 that old self

00:35:11.779 --> 00:35:13.599
 with its deceitful desires

00:35:13.599 --> 00:35:14.579
 you've put on

00:35:14.579 --> 00:35:15.379
 the new self

00:35:15.379 --> 00:35:16.559
 therefore

00:35:16.559 --> 00:35:18.199
 talk like it

00:35:18.199 --> 00:35:19.659
 talk like

00:35:19.659 --> 00:35:20.539
 who you are

00:35:20.539 --> 00:35:21.739
 not

00:35:21.739 --> 00:35:22.599
 who you once

00:35:22.599 --> 00:35:23.059
 were

00:35:23.059 --> 00:35:25.179
 Paul gives us

00:35:25.179 --> 00:35:26.000
 another reason

00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:26.899
 why we are

00:35:26.899 --> 00:35:27.719
 to speak the truth

00:35:27.719 --> 00:35:28.500
 did you see it there

00:35:28.500 --> 00:35:29.299
 at the very end

00:35:29.299 --> 00:35:30.099
 of verse 25

00:35:30.099 --> 00:35:31.579
 for

00:35:31.579 --> 00:35:32.579
 because

00:35:32.579 --> 00:35:33.980
 we are

00:35:33.980 --> 00:35:34.539
 members

00:35:34.539 --> 00:35:35.420
 of one another

00:35:35.420 --> 00:35:37.400
 what he's referring

00:35:37.400 --> 00:35:38.179
 to there is

00:35:38.179 --> 00:35:39.239
 we are members

00:35:39.239 --> 00:35:39.920
 of the church

00:35:39.920 --> 00:35:40.920
 of Jesus Christ

00:35:40.920 --> 00:35:42.339
 in the book

00:35:42.339 --> 00:35:43.219
 of Ephesians

00:35:43.219 --> 00:35:44.219
 the church is referred

00:35:44.219 --> 00:35:44.639
 to

00:35:44.639 --> 00:35:45.920
 eight times

00:35:45.920 --> 00:35:47.099
 as the body

00:35:47.099 --> 00:35:48.480
 of Christ

00:35:48.480 --> 00:35:49.779
 and here

00:35:49.779 --> 00:35:50.719
 in verse 25

00:35:50.719 --> 00:35:52.099
 Paul does it again

00:35:52.099 --> 00:35:54.239
 and what he's saying

00:35:54.239 --> 00:35:54.519
 is

00:35:54.519 --> 00:35:55.339
 to lie

00:35:55.340 --> 00:35:57.000
 is to seriously

00:35:57.000 --> 00:35:57.780
 injure

00:35:57.780 --> 00:35:58.860
 Christ's

00:35:58.860 --> 00:35:59.480
 body

00:35:59.480 --> 00:36:01.260
 injuring

00:36:01.260 --> 00:36:01.820
 or sorry

00:36:01.820 --> 00:36:02.740
 lying and truth

00:36:02.740 --> 00:36:03.140
 speaking

00:36:03.140 --> 00:36:04.860
 is of church

00:36:04.860 --> 00:36:06.000
 significance

00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:09.019
 imagine this afternoon

00:36:09.019 --> 00:36:10.059
 you go for a walk

00:36:10.059 --> 00:36:11.720
 out in a park

00:36:11.720 --> 00:36:12.120
 somewhere

00:36:12.120 --> 00:36:12.720
 and there's a

00:36:12.720 --> 00:36:13.360
 there's a rough

00:36:13.360 --> 00:36:14.160
 bit of ground

00:36:14.160 --> 00:36:15.019
 along the path

00:36:15.019 --> 00:36:15.860
 and as you're walking

00:36:15.860 --> 00:36:18.019
 your eye sees a ditch

00:36:18.019 --> 00:36:18.880
 in the grass

00:36:18.880 --> 00:36:20.920
 but it doesn't

00:36:20.920 --> 00:36:22.200
 communicate to your foot

00:36:22.200 --> 00:36:23.100
 that it needs to make

00:36:23.100 --> 00:36:23.620
 an adjustment

00:36:23.620 --> 00:36:24.460
 and so you just

00:36:24.460 --> 00:36:25.480
 keep walking normally

00:36:25.480 --> 00:36:26.460
 and next thing

00:36:26.460 --> 00:36:27.440
 you put your foot

00:36:27.440 --> 00:36:27.940
 in a ditch

00:36:27.940 --> 00:36:28.679
 you've strained

00:36:28.679 --> 00:36:29.119
 your ankle

00:36:29.119 --> 00:36:31.400
 what has happened

00:36:31.400 --> 00:36:34.099
 injury has come

00:36:34.099 --> 00:36:34.880
 to a member

00:36:34.880 --> 00:36:35.679
 of your body

00:36:35.679 --> 00:36:37.320
 because your eye

00:36:37.320 --> 00:36:38.320
 lied

00:36:38.320 --> 00:36:39.280
 to your foot

00:36:39.280 --> 00:36:40.860
 it said

00:36:40.860 --> 00:36:41.720
 there's no ditch

00:36:41.720 --> 00:36:42.300
 there just keep

00:36:42.300 --> 00:36:43.039
 walking normally

00:36:43.039 --> 00:36:46.260
 but it's not just

00:36:46.260 --> 00:36:46.900
 the foot

00:36:46.900 --> 00:36:47.860
 that gets injured

00:36:47.860 --> 00:36:49.220
 you've strained

00:36:49.220 --> 00:36:49.679
 your ankle

00:36:49.679 --> 00:36:50.280
 so bad

00:36:50.280 --> 00:36:51.000
 you now have to

00:36:51.000 --> 00:36:51.740
 go to accident

00:36:51.740 --> 00:36:52.500
 and emergency

00:36:52.500 --> 00:36:54.360
 and so

00:36:54.360 --> 00:36:56.300
 your pants

00:36:56.300 --> 00:36:58.120
 that wanted to go

00:36:58.120 --> 00:36:58.760
 for a walk

00:36:58.760 --> 00:36:59.360
 in the park

00:36:59.360 --> 00:37:01.180
 and enjoy the fresh air

00:37:01.180 --> 00:37:02.019
 they're now sitting

00:37:02.019 --> 00:37:03.260
 twiddling their thumbs

00:37:03.260 --> 00:37:04.840
 in A&E

00:37:04.840 --> 00:37:06.320
 and your eyes

00:37:06.320 --> 00:37:07.120
 that wanted to

00:37:07.120 --> 00:37:08.260
 look at this

00:37:08.260 --> 00:37:09.140
 beautiful park

00:37:09.140 --> 00:37:09.599
 and trees

00:37:09.599 --> 00:37:10.740
 is now staring

00:37:10.740 --> 00:37:12.260
 at heart disease

00:37:12.260 --> 00:37:12.820
 posters

00:37:12.820 --> 00:37:14.300
 in A&E

00:37:14.300 --> 00:37:16.980
 the whole body

00:37:16.980 --> 00:37:18.140
 has been affected

00:37:18.140 --> 00:37:18.539
 why?

00:37:18.800 --> 00:37:19.880
 because one member

00:37:19.880 --> 00:37:21.700
 lied to another member

00:37:21.699 --> 00:37:23.819
 but do you see

00:37:23.819 --> 00:37:24.419
 how it was

00:37:24.419 --> 00:37:25.119
 of church

00:37:25.119 --> 00:37:25.839
 body

00:37:25.839 --> 00:37:26.739
 significance

00:37:26.739 --> 00:37:29.460
 and it's not

00:37:29.460 --> 00:37:30.219
 just the short

00:37:30.219 --> 00:37:30.859
 term injury

00:37:30.859 --> 00:37:31.259
 that comes

00:37:31.259 --> 00:37:31.859
 it's the long

00:37:31.859 --> 00:37:32.419
 term injury

00:37:32.419 --> 00:37:33.039
 you get your

00:37:33.039 --> 00:37:33.899
 bandage on

00:37:33.899 --> 00:37:34.379
 you get your

00:37:34.379 --> 00:37:34.799
 crutches

00:37:34.799 --> 00:37:35.679
 and you go home

00:37:35.679 --> 00:37:36.699
 and three weeks

00:37:36.699 --> 00:37:37.239
 later you get

00:37:37.239 --> 00:37:38.099
 the bandage off

00:37:38.099 --> 00:37:38.559
 and you throw

00:37:38.559 --> 00:37:39.219
 away the crutches

00:37:39.219 --> 00:37:40.719
 but how do you

00:37:40.719 --> 00:37:41.539
 walk at home?

00:37:42.179 --> 00:37:43.000
 well you walk

00:37:43.000 --> 00:37:43.399
 a bit

00:37:43.399 --> 00:37:44.079
 and we live

00:37:44.079 --> 00:37:44.799
 gingerly

00:37:44.800 --> 00:37:46.519
 the injury

00:37:46.519 --> 00:37:47.039
 is over

00:37:47.039 --> 00:37:47.519
 there's no

00:37:47.519 --> 00:37:47.940
 pain

00:37:47.940 --> 00:37:48.840
 there's no

00:37:48.840 --> 00:37:49.600
 ditch on your

00:37:49.600 --> 00:37:50.360
 floorboards

00:37:50.360 --> 00:37:50.820
 at home

00:37:50.820 --> 00:37:52.560
 but why are you

00:37:52.560 --> 00:37:53.539
 walking gingerly?

00:37:54.080 --> 00:37:54.920
 because your

00:37:54.920 --> 00:37:56.060
 foot no longer

00:37:56.060 --> 00:37:57.380
 trusts your eye

00:37:57.380 --> 00:37:59.960
 you think

00:37:59.960 --> 00:38:01.280
 I will double

00:38:01.280 --> 00:38:02.240
 check everything

00:38:02.240 --> 00:38:02.940
 next time

00:38:02.940 --> 00:38:05.160
 and that's what

00:38:05.160 --> 00:38:06.019
 lies do

00:38:06.019 --> 00:38:07.960
 lies destroy

00:38:07.960 --> 00:38:09.160
 trust

00:38:09.160 --> 00:38:11.060
 and therefore

00:38:11.060 --> 00:38:12.519
 lies destroy

00:38:12.519 --> 00:38:13.420
 relationships

00:38:13.420 --> 00:38:18.519
 I have two

00:38:18.519 --> 00:38:18.860
 brothers

00:38:18.860 --> 00:38:19.440
 older brother

00:38:19.440 --> 00:38:20.039
 younger brother

00:38:20.039 --> 00:38:20.940
 and we all

00:38:20.940 --> 00:38:21.559
 lived at home

00:38:21.559 --> 00:38:22.360
 until we were

00:38:22.360 --> 00:38:23.180
 in our 20s

00:38:23.180 --> 00:38:23.619
 or went off

00:38:23.619 --> 00:38:24.200
 to university

00:38:24.200 --> 00:38:26.019
 and each of

00:38:26.019 --> 00:38:26.780
 us for as long

00:38:26.780 --> 00:38:27.360
 as we were at

00:38:27.360 --> 00:38:28.579
 home can always

00:38:28.579 --> 00:38:29.300
 remember our

00:38:29.300 --> 00:38:29.980
 mother coming

00:38:29.980 --> 00:38:30.500
 to us

00:38:30.500 --> 00:38:31.720
 finding us

00:38:31.720 --> 00:38:32.240
 wherever we

00:38:32.240 --> 00:38:32.680
 were in the

00:38:32.680 --> 00:38:33.280
 house every

00:38:33.280 --> 00:38:33.659
 night

00:38:33.659 --> 00:38:35.079
 and before she

00:38:35.079 --> 00:38:35.519
 would go to

00:38:35.519 --> 00:38:36.059
 bed she would

00:38:36.059 --> 00:38:36.539
 come and she

00:38:36.539 --> 00:38:37.079
 would say to

00:38:37.079 --> 00:38:38.579
 us I love

00:38:38.579 --> 00:38:38.900
 you

00:38:38.900 --> 00:38:42.460
 you know what

00:38:42.460 --> 00:38:43.200
 mattered most

00:38:43.199 --> 00:38:43.739
 for each of

00:38:43.739 --> 00:38:44.119
 us three

00:38:44.119 --> 00:38:44.519
 boys

00:38:44.519 --> 00:38:47.379
 not necessarily

00:38:47.379 --> 00:38:48.299
 those words

00:38:48.299 --> 00:38:51.000
 but that she

00:38:51.000 --> 00:38:52.359
 is telling us

00:38:52.359 --> 00:38:53.519
 the truth

00:38:53.519 --> 00:38:57.259
 it's built

00:38:57.259 --> 00:38:58.239
 trust

00:38:58.239 --> 00:38:59.899
 it's built

00:38:59.899 --> 00:39:00.639
 a deep

00:39:00.639 --> 00:39:01.419
 bond

00:39:01.419 --> 00:39:02.859
 anyone can

00:39:02.859 --> 00:39:03.439
 tell anyone

00:39:03.439 --> 00:39:03.899
 they love

00:39:03.899 --> 00:39:04.159
 them

00:39:04.159 --> 00:39:05.359
 but some

00:39:05.359 --> 00:39:05.879
 people could

00:39:05.879 --> 00:39:06.399
 be lying

00:39:06.400 --> 00:39:08.880
 it is truth

00:39:08.880 --> 00:39:10.119
 that builds

00:39:10.119 --> 00:39:10.840
 relationships

00:39:10.840 --> 00:39:12.420
 that creates

00:39:12.420 --> 00:39:13.519
 that strong

00:39:13.519 --> 00:39:14.380
 bond

00:39:14.380 --> 00:39:15.800
 so brothers

00:39:15.800 --> 00:39:16.420
 and sisters

00:39:16.420 --> 00:39:18.360
 in this church

00:39:18.360 --> 00:39:20.139
 in your home

00:39:20.139 --> 00:39:20.500
 groups

00:39:20.500 --> 00:39:22.099
 in your families

00:39:22.099 --> 00:39:23.460
 in your youth

00:39:23.460 --> 00:39:23.940
 groups

00:39:23.940 --> 00:39:25.720
 in your deacons

00:39:25.720 --> 00:39:26.380
 elders

00:39:26.380 --> 00:39:26.900
 meetings

00:39:26.900 --> 00:39:27.980
 whatever the

00:39:27.980 --> 00:39:28.940
 connection is

00:39:28.940 --> 00:39:30.500
 let us

00:39:30.500 --> 00:39:31.800
 having put

00:39:31.800 --> 00:39:32.320
 away

00:39:32.320 --> 00:39:33.200
 falsehood

00:39:33.200 --> 00:39:34.420
 let us

00:39:34.420 --> 00:39:34.900
 speak the

00:39:34.900 --> 00:39:35.280
 truth

00:39:35.280 --> 00:39:36.200
 to one

00:39:36.200 --> 00:39:36.519
 another

00:39:36.519 --> 00:39:38.519
 for we

00:39:38.519 --> 00:39:38.880
 are the

00:39:38.880 --> 00:39:39.400
 body of

00:39:39.400 --> 00:39:39.860
 Christ

00:39:39.860 --> 00:39:43.580
 in

00:39:43.580 --> 00:39:44.180
 Cambridge

00:39:44.180 --> 00:39:45.240
 Jackie and I

00:39:45.240 --> 00:39:45.980
 often go out

00:39:45.980 --> 00:39:46.780
 for a meal

00:39:46.780 --> 00:39:47.400
 now and again

00:39:47.400 --> 00:39:48.019
 on a special

00:39:48.019 --> 00:39:48.480
 occasion

00:39:48.480 --> 00:39:49.180
 and in nearly

00:39:49.180 --> 00:39:49.880
 every case

00:39:49.880 --> 00:39:50.420
 the reader

00:39:50.420 --> 00:39:51.220
 or the waitress

00:39:51.220 --> 00:39:51.960
 has had a

00:39:51.960 --> 00:39:52.660
 foreign accent

00:39:52.660 --> 00:39:54.620
 and so we

00:39:54.620 --> 00:39:55.460
 often start

00:39:55.460 --> 00:39:56.260
 off a conversation

00:39:56.260 --> 00:39:57.000
 where's your

00:39:57.000 --> 00:39:57.660
 accent from

00:39:57.660 --> 00:39:58.760
 they tell us

00:39:58.760 --> 00:39:59.100
 where they're

00:39:59.100 --> 00:39:59.420
 from

00:39:59.420 --> 00:40:00.539
 different parts

00:40:00.539 --> 00:40:00.980
 of Europe

00:40:00.980 --> 00:40:01.519
 or South

00:40:01.519 --> 00:40:01.980
 America

00:40:01.980 --> 00:40:03.220
 and so they

00:40:03.220 --> 00:40:03.840
 say and where's

00:40:03.840 --> 00:40:04.220
 your accent

00:40:04.220 --> 00:40:04.559
 from

00:40:04.559 --> 00:40:04.940
 it's not

00:40:04.940 --> 00:40:05.320
 English

00:40:05.320 --> 00:40:06.180
 and there

00:40:06.180 --> 00:40:08.260
 we enter a

00:40:08.260 --> 00:40:08.840
 conversation

00:40:08.840 --> 00:40:09.480
 of where we're

00:40:09.480 --> 00:40:09.920
 from

00:40:09.920 --> 00:40:11.780
 wouldn't it be

00:40:11.780 --> 00:40:12.280
 wonderful

00:40:12.280 --> 00:40:13.639
 that as a

00:40:13.639 --> 00:40:14.119
 church

00:40:14.119 --> 00:40:15.260
 as we speak

00:40:15.260 --> 00:40:15.960
 to one another

00:40:15.960 --> 00:40:16.900
 with grace

00:40:16.900 --> 00:40:17.700
 humility

00:40:17.700 --> 00:40:19.440
 and truthfulness

00:40:19.440 --> 00:40:21.039
 wouldn't it be

00:40:21.039 --> 00:40:21.539
 wonderful

00:40:21.539 --> 00:40:22.700
 if the world

00:40:22.700 --> 00:40:23.860
 listened in

00:40:23.860 --> 00:40:24.740
 on our

00:40:24.740 --> 00:40:25.519
 conversation

00:40:25.519 --> 00:40:26.340
 and said

00:40:26.340 --> 00:40:28.780
 you folk

00:40:28.780 --> 00:40:29.860
 speak with

00:40:29.860 --> 00:40:30.600
 a different

00:40:30.600 --> 00:40:31.560
 accent

00:40:31.560 --> 00:40:34.080
 an accent

00:40:34.080 --> 00:40:36.120
 of truthfulness

00:40:36.120 --> 00:40:39.500
 where are you

00:40:39.500 --> 00:40:39.980
 from

00:40:39.980 --> 00:40:44.820
 let's pray

00:40:44.820 --> 00:40:46.320
 thanks

00:40:46.320 --> 00:40:46.320


00:40:46.320 --> 00:40:46.940
 thanks

00:40:46.940 --> 00:40:46.940


00:40:46.940 --> 00:40:46.940


00:40:46.940 --> 00:40:46.940


00:40:46.940 --> 00:40:46.940


00:40:46.940 --> 00:40:46.940


00:40:46.940 --> 00:40:46.940


00:40:46.940 --> 00:40:47.340
 thanks

00:40:47.340 --> 00:40:47.340


00:40:47.340 --> 00:40:47.340


00:40:47.340 --> 00:40:48.059
 thanks

00:40:48.059 --> 00:40:48.059


00:40:48.059 --> 00:40:48.059


00:40:48.059 --> 00:40:49.740
 thanks

00:40:49.740 --> 00:40:49.740


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00:40:49.740 --> 00:40:49.740