WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:22.260 Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:00:22.780 --> 00:00:25.880 This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons. 00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:30.420 We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear 00:00:30.420 --> 00:00:31.260 the latest message. 00:00:31.680 --> 00:00:32.460 Thanks for listening. 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:51.080 So we'll start reading here just a moment in verse 25, and what we're looking at in these 00:00:51.080 --> 00:00:56.020 verses of Paul as we've talked about family reunion, as we've looked at unity of the body 00:00:56.020 --> 00:00:56.620 of Christ. 00:00:56.960 --> 00:01:02.780 This is going to kind of be the last words from a godly parent, if we can look at it this 00:01:02.780 --> 00:01:06.040 way, from a godly parent to his godly children. 00:01:06.760 --> 00:01:13.620 And so Paul planted the church at Ephesus, and so you see this loving care from this spiritual 00:01:13.620 --> 00:01:17.260 father to his children as he's been building all of these. 00:01:17.340 --> 00:01:22.040 And then as we looked at last week, now that you are in Christ, Paul's going to give us 00:01:22.040 --> 00:01:25.900 a powerful word at the very beginning of verse 25, therefore. 00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:27.920 So let's kind of pause there for just a second. 00:01:28.300 --> 00:01:33.560 Because this is who you are in Christ, because this is what Christ has saved you for, therefore 00:01:33.560 --> 00:01:35.140 let these be some of these markings. 00:01:35.380 --> 00:01:41.400 What we had seen last week was that we were to walk in the newness of life with who we are 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:42.300 in Christ. 00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:43.340 This is to be. 00:01:43.440 --> 00:01:44.800 And so Paul gives us some markers. 00:01:44.920 --> 00:01:45.960 Now, I want to say this. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:48.800 We're going to look at five things that we're to avoid. 00:01:48.900 --> 00:01:52.460 We're going to look at some negatives and then turn them to a positive of what we should 00:01:52.460 --> 00:01:53.200 see in our life. 00:01:53.240 --> 00:01:58.360 And this is by no means an all-encompassing list that we check these boxes we've done. 00:01:58.640 --> 00:01:59.680 We move on from that. 00:02:00.060 --> 00:02:03.540 But my hope for us this morning is it's an evaluation. 00:02:04.080 --> 00:02:09.580 It's us asking the Holy Spirit to open up and to reveal who we are, to kind of see where 00:02:09.580 --> 00:02:13.480 these things align in our life and to see where we're moving forward. 00:02:14.020 --> 00:02:19.320 And so as Paul's wrapping up this letter, as he's moving to the end of his argument, these 00:02:19.320 --> 00:02:22.020 are what we're going to see of these markings that are there. 00:02:22.460 --> 00:02:25.360 And so let's restart in verse 25 of chapter 4 of Ephesians. 00:02:26.040 --> 00:02:32.940 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor. 00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:35.840 For we are members of one another. 00:02:36.840 --> 00:02:38.820 Be angry and do not sin. 00:02:39.540 --> 00:02:44.460 Do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil. 00:02:45.240 --> 00:02:51.360 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own 00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:55.840 hands so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 00:02:56.540 --> 00:03:03.860 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as it is good for building up as 00:03:03.860 --> 00:03:08.540 fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 00:03:09.280 --> 00:03:14.200 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 00:03:14.940 --> 00:03:22.220 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with 00:03:22.220 --> 00:03:22.760 malice. 00:03:23.480 --> 00:03:32.320 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. 00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:34.800 So like I said, we're going to look at five behaviors. 00:03:35.040 --> 00:03:37.040 We're going to list the negatives. 00:03:37.300 --> 00:03:39.300 And then at the end of this, we're going to see what the positives. 00:03:39.460 --> 00:03:42.560 So this is what we're not to be, what we're not to do. 00:03:42.720 --> 00:03:44.840 And instead, this is who we are to be. 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:46.500 This is what we are to do. 00:03:46.820 --> 00:03:49.580 And so the first one that Paul gives us is lying. 00:03:50.300 --> 00:03:50.720 Lying. 00:03:51.900 --> 00:03:59.140 Ephesians 4.25, therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth 00:03:59.140 --> 00:04:03.720 with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 00:04:03.860 --> 00:04:05.600 So let's take a moment, right? 00:04:05.720 --> 00:04:07.780 And let's define lying for a second. 00:04:08.180 --> 00:04:09.940 Like, well, I know what lying is. 00:04:10.060 --> 00:04:11.340 Well, I know what lying is too. 00:04:11.580 --> 00:04:18.820 But sometimes it's a good reminder for me in my life to make sure that my standard is God's 00:04:18.820 --> 00:04:19.080 standard. 00:04:19.700 --> 00:04:25.940 That my standard is what I need to remove and what I need to put in place is God's standard 00:04:25.940 --> 00:04:26.580 for my life. 00:04:26.680 --> 00:04:30.340 Because I'm going to be honest with you, and if you're like me, and you probably are, like 00:04:30.340 --> 00:04:35.140 what I like to do sinfully in my life is remove God's standard and insert mine. 00:04:35.240 --> 00:04:36.760 Because I can crush my standard. 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:38.680 I can crush it. 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:41.300 But I'm not God. 00:04:42.500 --> 00:04:44.120 And I'm not the standard he is. 00:04:45.080 --> 00:04:47.200 And so let's take a minute and just define this. 00:04:47.320 --> 00:04:54.340 And so to lie is to give a statement or to give an intent of purpose that is given with 00:04:54.340 --> 00:04:59.620 fact, and this is important, with intent to sinfully deceive. 00:05:00.580 --> 00:05:02.920 Elevating yourself over others. 00:05:03.620 --> 00:05:09.020 And so Paul says that within the congregation, within the body, there's no place in this. 00:05:09.260 --> 00:05:11.080 There's no place in that this is who we are. 00:05:11.080 --> 00:05:19.340 And there may be no greater display of the power of the effect of your testimony in a lost 00:05:19.340 --> 00:05:24.120 world where God sends you, where you live, where you work, and where you play, than the 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:27.540 words that we choose to come out of our mouths and the intent in which they hold. 00:05:28.860 --> 00:05:29.900 What are you known for? 00:05:31.340 --> 00:05:32.740 Are you known to be a liar? 00:05:33.620 --> 00:05:35.520 Are you known to be a manipulator? 00:05:36.080 --> 00:05:42.380 Are you known to be one who bends the truth for your own selfish gain? 00:05:43.580 --> 00:05:49.240 And what we see is that this can alienate us from the will of God for our life. 00:05:49.500 --> 00:05:53.940 And here's what you and I have to understand when it comes to truth in line. 00:05:54.940 --> 00:05:57.940 Always, always, always God is a God of what? 00:05:58.580 --> 00:05:59.680 God is a God of truth. 00:06:00.600 --> 00:06:01.900 And always what? 00:06:03.220 --> 00:06:06.120 Satan aligns himself with lies. 00:06:06.760 --> 00:06:09.140 So when we embrace lies, what are we embracing? 00:06:09.400 --> 00:06:11.580 When we embrace lies, what are we portraying? 00:06:11.740 --> 00:06:13.480 What are we displaying to the world? 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:16.300 We're aligning ourselves with Satan. 00:06:16.300 --> 00:06:19.160 That what marks him is now what marks us. 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:23.120 But Paul's just told us, therefore, because of who we are in who? 00:06:23.280 --> 00:06:23.860 In him. 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:27.580 A reflection of his character. 00:06:28.140 --> 00:06:32.140 A reflection of who he is to put these things away. 00:06:33.540 --> 00:06:35.560 I want you to go all the way back to the garden, right? 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:39.260 Go all the way back to where sin entered the world. 00:06:39.560 --> 00:06:41.040 What did God do with Adam and Eve? 00:06:41.160 --> 00:06:42.100 He gave them truth. 00:06:42.440 --> 00:06:46.820 God says to them, don't eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge. 00:06:47.480 --> 00:06:50.060 And it wasn't just like what we do sometimes, right? 00:06:50.120 --> 00:06:52.100 As parents, we're like, don't do that. 00:06:52.600 --> 00:06:53.000 Why? 00:06:53.200 --> 00:06:54.300 Because I said so. 00:06:54.520 --> 00:06:55.680 God says, don't do that. 00:06:55.720 --> 00:06:56.840 And let me give you the reason. 00:06:56.840 --> 00:07:00.740 If you do that, you will surely die. 00:07:01.800 --> 00:07:02.980 And then Satan steps in. 00:07:04.200 --> 00:07:08.400 And then Satan, the one who looks to bend and to manipulate. 00:07:09.280 --> 00:07:14.780 Satan, the father and the orchestrator of lies, comes in and says, did he really mean that? 00:07:15.840 --> 00:07:17.140 Did he really mean that? 00:07:17.860 --> 00:07:18.700 You won't die. 00:07:20.520 --> 00:07:23.720 And then in taking the partial truth and bending it to fit the narrative, right? 00:07:24.340 --> 00:07:25.280 Satan goes, no, no, no. 00:07:25.320 --> 00:07:29.060 What will happen is your eyes will be opened. 00:07:29.960 --> 00:07:30.980 Your eyes will be opened. 00:07:31.780 --> 00:07:32.560 And here's the thing. 00:07:33.340 --> 00:07:35.340 In the lie, he was right. 00:07:36.120 --> 00:07:40.040 And in the partial truth of what he gave, he sought to deceive. 00:07:40.660 --> 00:07:45.640 Adam and Eve, their eyes were opened and sin and death entered into the world. 00:07:46.580 --> 00:07:48.300 And this is what we see from the very beginning. 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:52.800 Satan, the father of lies and God is truth. 00:07:52.880 --> 00:07:58.380 And so Paul comes and says, therefore, having put away falsehood, this is not who you are anymore. 00:07:58.600 --> 00:08:00.020 This is not what you are about. 00:08:00.020 --> 00:08:06.500 Let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, what we stand on, what we resonate with. 00:08:06.740 --> 00:08:13.980 We talked about this several weeks ago, that when it comes to the truth that you and I can cling to, it's not based through our opinions. 00:08:14.300 --> 00:08:16.360 It's not based through our perspectives. 00:08:16.660 --> 00:08:18.520 It's not based through our narrative. 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:24.180 But it's based through the perspective and the narrative of God, of who he is and in his righteousness. 00:08:24.580 --> 00:08:27.100 So what I have, I've got a bunch of opinions, right? 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:29.200 I've got a bunch of them. 00:08:30.820 --> 00:08:31.920 But this is truth. 00:08:33.080 --> 00:08:34.020 And who he is. 00:08:34.780 --> 00:08:37.340 And who he's called us to be. 00:08:38.520 --> 00:08:42.620 And so he tells us, here's what we do amongst each other. 00:08:42.900 --> 00:08:45.000 Here's what we do out with our neighbors. 00:08:45.340 --> 00:08:48.500 Here's what we do within the body and outside of the body. 00:08:48.800 --> 00:08:48.920 Right? 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:49.840 We had looked at it earlier. 00:08:50.140 --> 00:08:52.320 We speak truth and love. 00:08:53.080 --> 00:08:54.040 Speak truth and love. 00:08:54.740 --> 00:09:00.460 As I was going through this week, I thought a lot about what does that look like in my life? 00:09:00.920 --> 00:09:03.080 How can I take this and apply? 00:09:03.320 --> 00:09:05.260 What does it mean to be a person of truth? 00:09:05.260 --> 00:09:09.060 What does it mean that what I'm going to speak comes from who I am? 00:09:09.680 --> 00:09:12.820 And I came with these reminders of what God's given me. 00:09:13.040 --> 00:09:15.060 These reminders that have helped me this week. 00:09:15.160 --> 00:09:17.700 That number one, that what I seek is not to be right. 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:19.880 But what I seek is truth. 00:09:20.680 --> 00:09:21.920 That what I seek is truth. 00:09:22.700 --> 00:09:25.960 That that's the hope that I have of every moment of every day. 00:09:26.100 --> 00:09:27.420 To seek the truth of God. 00:09:27.640 --> 00:09:28.640 And then this is going to be key. 00:09:29.040 --> 00:09:30.360 When I find truth. 00:09:30.640 --> 00:09:31.940 When I see truth. 00:09:31.940 --> 00:09:33.360 When I read truth. 00:09:33.500 --> 00:09:35.120 Then I need to surrender to truth. 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:37.200 You know, sometimes that's what we don't want to do. 00:09:37.740 --> 00:09:39.280 Well, I know what I need to do. 00:09:39.340 --> 00:09:40.560 But I want to do what I want to do. 00:09:40.580 --> 00:09:40.760 Right? 00:09:41.400 --> 00:09:43.100 I know what is right. 00:09:43.220 --> 00:09:44.360 I know what is true. 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:46.240 But oftentimes I want to pursue other things. 00:09:47.160 --> 00:09:48.680 And so not only do I need to seek the truth. 00:09:48.860 --> 00:09:50.660 But I need to surrender to the truth. 00:09:51.100 --> 00:09:52.240 And then it doesn't end there. 00:09:52.340 --> 00:09:54.300 As we speak truth and love. 00:09:54.400 --> 00:09:56.080 We proclaim the truth. 00:09:56.660 --> 00:09:57.800 We proclaim the truth. 00:09:57.800 --> 00:10:02.120 You and I are called to be the messengers of God. 00:10:02.880 --> 00:10:04.200 And that the truth is proclaimed. 00:10:04.900 --> 00:10:08.460 The second one that we see in this narrative is Paul deals with anger. 00:10:09.660 --> 00:10:09.960 Anger. 00:10:10.060 --> 00:10:11.400 Chapter, verse 26. 00:10:12.580 --> 00:10:15.080 Be angry and do not sin. 00:10:15.920 --> 00:10:21.600 Do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil. 00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:24.500 Now, here's what I think is really interesting. 00:10:24.640 --> 00:10:24.740 Right? 00:10:24.780 --> 00:10:26.480 Let's look at these first six words. 00:10:26.540 --> 00:10:26.700 Right? 00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:28.360 Be angry. 00:10:29.820 --> 00:10:30.900 And do not sin. 00:10:31.700 --> 00:10:31.840 Right? 00:10:32.100 --> 00:10:34.040 Well, if we're trying to eliminate anger. 00:10:34.200 --> 00:10:35.600 But right here it says be angry. 00:10:35.680 --> 00:10:37.560 So let's talk about this for a minute. 00:10:38.320 --> 00:10:41.780 There is cause in our world for being angry. 00:10:42.380 --> 00:10:45.000 And there is angry that is righteous. 00:10:45.940 --> 00:10:50.940 God exhibits and God is oftentimes what is called holy anger. 00:10:51.340 --> 00:10:55.580 In the Old Testament you'll oftentimes see the phrase and the anger of the Lord. 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:56.720 Did God sin? 00:10:56.940 --> 00:10:58.420 No, God did not sin. 00:10:58.940 --> 00:11:04.440 God in his anger continued to be righteous, holy, perfect because it's who he is. 00:11:04.580 --> 00:11:21.000 When we see in the New Testament in Jesus, Matthew chapter 21, when Jesus cleanses, when Jesus clears the temple, where that is coming from within him is a sense of righteous anger, holy anger because the sin of what's offended to God. 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:24.740 And that's what is motivating him in his actions. 00:11:25.060 --> 00:11:32.360 But you and I have to understand the difference between righteous anger and sinful anger. 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:37.940 To say that you and I should never be angry about anything is not biblical. 00:11:38.940 --> 00:11:48.280 There are things in this world, things that we experience, things that we walk through, where our right response before the Lord is anger. 00:11:48.280 --> 00:11:51.820 But what we do with that matters greatly. 00:11:52.660 --> 00:11:59.320 What that does in our hearts matters dearly of what it means to be angry. 00:12:01.200 --> 00:12:06.580 I read this this week and I wanted to share this with you and it rings true so much in my life. 00:12:07.660 --> 00:12:09.220 Anyone can become angry. 00:12:10.500 --> 00:12:22.180 But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way is not easy. 00:12:22.940 --> 00:12:41.480 So what does this look like biblically? 00:12:41.480 --> 00:12:43.520 What does this look like for your life and mine? 00:12:43.780 --> 00:12:48.020 What does this look like when anger begins to well up inside of us? 00:12:48.380 --> 00:12:51.480 What do we do in that with righteous anger? 00:12:52.060 --> 00:12:57.660 And Psalm 97 10 tells us that we love the Lord and we hate evil. 00:12:58.740 --> 00:13:01.960 We love the Lord and we hate evil. 00:13:02.040 --> 00:13:03.620 So here's the question I want to ask you. 00:13:05.020 --> 00:13:13.860 When we become angry, when I become angry, when you become angry, what becomes our target? 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:16.980 Where do we put our crosshairs? 00:13:18.100 --> 00:13:20.880 What are we aiming at in that moment? 00:13:21.500 --> 00:13:23.060 The Bible's clear. 00:13:23.880 --> 00:13:24.740 What do we hate? 00:13:25.740 --> 00:13:26.820 We hate evil. 00:13:28.360 --> 00:13:33.920 And so what we see in our life is therefore evil and sin is the target. 00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:39.500 What was the biggest criticism of Jesus amongst the Pharisees? 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:40.740 What was it? 00:13:41.560 --> 00:13:42.220 He ate. 00:13:42.900 --> 00:13:43.700 He hung out. 00:13:44.180 --> 00:13:46.140 He fellowshiped with sinners. 00:13:47.980 --> 00:13:49.120 He knew what they did. 00:13:51.280 --> 00:13:52.580 He knew what they caused. 00:13:54.060 --> 00:13:56.560 He knew what their tomorrow was going to be like. 00:13:57.400 --> 00:13:59.940 He knew of the deceit that filled them. 00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:01.880 But what did he do? 00:14:02.680 --> 00:14:03.480 He loved them. 00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:04.940 And he loved them. 00:14:05.240 --> 00:14:06.200 And he loved them. 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:07.860 And I love this. 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:15.560 Because what Jesus does, what the Bible says to us, is love people and hate sin. 00:14:16.580 --> 00:14:17.120 And hate sin. 00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:18.380 Jesus in his own words. 00:14:19.260 --> 00:14:20.220 And I want to be honest with you. 00:14:20.260 --> 00:14:27.880 I think right now in a world that more so than any other world or time that I've ever known 00:14:27.880 --> 00:14:30.280 is a pick-a-side culture. 00:14:31.720 --> 00:14:33.940 And this side is right and this side is wrong. 00:14:33.940 --> 00:14:35.660 Whatever side you find yourself on. 00:14:35.660 --> 00:14:43.660 And Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. 00:14:44.660 --> 00:15:01.740 And then in that, watch the righteous anger that you have of sin be dealt with in the sovereignty and the power of God. 00:15:02.380 --> 00:15:05.180 The third thing that he mentions Paul does here is stealing. 00:15:05.180 --> 00:15:06.260 The third thing that he mentions Paul does here is stealing. 00:15:06.260 --> 00:15:07.040 Verse 28. 00:15:08.160 --> 00:15:18.500 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 00:15:18.600 --> 00:15:21.220 So stealing is taking of what is not yours. 00:15:21.940 --> 00:15:30.880 Not only physical, but when we think of credit, when we think of glory, when we think of the story, when we think of all of this. 00:15:30.880 --> 00:15:42.160 And what we find within here is that when we steal, what we're missing from is what is void of our life is the generosity of the character and the nature of God. 00:15:42.440 --> 00:15:45.920 I want you to look back all the way back to, let's jump back to Genesis again. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:46.700 What does God do? 00:15:47.240 --> 00:15:49.960 God creates and then God gives. 00:15:50.300 --> 00:15:55.420 And what is beautiful about the Lord is that when God gives, God gives generously. 00:15:56.380 --> 00:15:56.820 Generously. 00:15:57.420 --> 00:16:02.260 Everything in this world, you know this and I know this, who does it belong to? 00:16:02.700 --> 00:16:03.640 It belongs to the Lord. 00:16:04.220 --> 00:16:06.020 Everything that is yours is his. 00:16:06.340 --> 00:16:08.340 Everything that is mine is his. 00:16:08.340 --> 00:16:14.140 And so God gives to you, God gives to me, and then he calls us to be stewards of that. 00:16:14.540 --> 00:16:18.760 To use what he has given us for his name and for his glory. 00:16:19.040 --> 00:16:21.260 This is the very nature of God. 00:16:21.640 --> 00:16:30.360 God is overly generous to you and to me with everything of who he is and what he gives and what he blesses with. 00:16:30.580 --> 00:16:34.020 God is generous and he is generous and he is generous. 00:16:34.020 --> 00:16:41.600 Like even in his very nature, God doesn't say, well, I'm going to give you what you can have and I'm going to keep for me what is mine. 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:44.020 God says, no, no, no, that's not in my generosity. 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:45.520 That's not in who I am. 00:16:45.720 --> 00:16:56.760 So in generosity, I'm going to overflow onto you and then I'm going to call you for your good and for your benefit and for my glory to be a steward of that, to use it all for my name and for my glory. 00:16:56.760 --> 00:17:01.760 And that's why God doesn't come into your paycheck and say, before you get it, this is mine, right? 00:17:01.880 --> 00:17:03.160 The government does that. 00:17:03.400 --> 00:17:04.580 God doesn't do that, right? 00:17:06.560 --> 00:17:07.660 God doesn't do that. 00:17:08.660 --> 00:17:09.580 What does God do? 00:17:10.660 --> 00:17:11.520 I'm going to give it. 00:17:12.440 --> 00:17:13.920 I'm going to give it and then you give back. 00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:15.660 And then you give back. 00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:18.660 And that's that way with everything in your life. 00:17:19.940 --> 00:17:22.780 Your home is the mark of the generosity of God. 00:17:22.780 --> 00:17:26.920 The gifts and the talents that you have is the mark of the generosity of God. 00:17:27.120 --> 00:17:31.120 That everything that you have been blessed with is the mark of the generosity of God. 00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:36.280 And then God says, and then with all of it, be a steward and return to me. 00:17:37.320 --> 00:17:40.720 So God gives and God gives generously. 00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:43.160 But what does Satan do? 00:17:44.280 --> 00:17:44.920 He takes. 00:17:46.020 --> 00:17:46.680 He takes. 00:17:47.660 --> 00:17:48.480 John 10, 10. 00:17:49.160 --> 00:17:55.140 Jesus says, the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, right? 00:17:55.200 --> 00:17:55.940 What does it begin with? 00:17:55.940 --> 00:17:59.940 He seeks to take what is not his. 00:18:00.620 --> 00:18:04.100 To take what has not been given to him. 00:18:04.600 --> 00:18:08.320 To take what he has not been given credit for. 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:10.060 And that's what marks him. 00:18:11.180 --> 00:18:18.340 And so Paul says that we're to walk in a manner worthy of the calling that we have received, 00:18:18.380 --> 00:18:22.000 reflective of the one who has saved us. 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:24.240 And so we're to be like him. 00:18:25.160 --> 00:18:31.820 So the opposite of stealing, that what we're driving to is not simply not taking something. 00:18:32.820 --> 00:18:32.900 Right? 00:18:33.600 --> 00:18:41.160 Like, every Sunday, I come in here, usually before you get here for our family time together, 00:18:41.160 --> 00:18:43.500 and I set my iPad over here. 00:18:43.500 --> 00:18:43.960 Right? 00:18:45.080 --> 00:18:50.140 Now, just walking by and not taking that doesn't mean we're good. 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:51.480 Right? 00:18:52.020 --> 00:18:53.480 Oh man, I crushed that one today. 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:55.340 I left Bo's iPad again. 00:18:55.440 --> 00:18:55.620 Right? 00:18:55.800 --> 00:18:56.660 That's not it. 00:18:58.080 --> 00:18:58.760 That's not it. 00:18:58.800 --> 00:19:01.060 That's not the character and the nature of this. 00:19:01.300 --> 00:19:03.460 Because Paul continues to go on. 00:19:03.660 --> 00:19:05.500 He doesn't say, hey, don't steal. 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:06.360 Leave that alone. 00:19:06.440 --> 00:19:06.980 What does he do? 00:19:07.160 --> 00:19:09.640 He says, but rather let him labor. 00:19:10.600 --> 00:19:13.340 So the opposite of stealing is working. 00:19:14.660 --> 00:19:15.540 Go work. 00:19:16.600 --> 00:19:17.580 Go get out. 00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:18.240 Go. 00:19:18.440 --> 00:19:19.440 God works. 00:19:19.700 --> 00:19:19.880 Right? 00:19:20.340 --> 00:19:25.980 At the very beginning of what we see in Genesis, God is a working God, creating and cultivating. 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:30.280 And so God gets out and works, and then he plants Adam and Eve in the garden. 00:19:30.320 --> 00:19:31.540 And what does he do with them? 00:19:31.780 --> 00:19:33.540 This isn't a vacation for them. 00:19:33.780 --> 00:19:34.980 God says, go and work. 00:19:36.340 --> 00:19:37.720 And so right here, Paul says, no, no. 00:19:37.720 --> 00:19:43.680 When we look at the opposite, to walk in a manner worthy of God's calling, it is working. 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:51.680 And so to be the opposite of this begins with you and I cultivating for a reason and for a purpose. 00:19:52.520 --> 00:20:00.820 So that from our working, from our cultivating, from our creating, and we can define that a million different ways, all right? 00:20:01.840 --> 00:20:11.560 What comes from that, what comes from the honest work of our hands, is so that we may have something to share with those who are in need. 00:20:12.040 --> 00:20:12.100 Right? 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:16.020 So you may say you're not stealing, but let me ask you this question. 00:20:16.120 --> 00:20:22.080 To walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, the way that Paul defines this, the way that God sets in his scripture, is to be generous. 00:20:23.280 --> 00:20:24.120 To be generous. 00:20:24.760 --> 00:20:27.800 To live a life that is marked by this. 00:20:27.840 --> 00:20:28.840 Now, why is this so important? 00:20:29.720 --> 00:20:30.420 Why is this so important? 00:20:30.540 --> 00:20:31.100 Let me ask you. 00:20:31.160 --> 00:20:32.120 We've talked about this. 00:20:33.360 --> 00:20:35.040 How do you want God to treat you? 00:20:36.620 --> 00:20:39.940 Open-handed or closed-fisted? 00:20:41.460 --> 00:20:43.000 I know for me what I want. 00:20:43.960 --> 00:20:45.360 I want open-handed God. 00:20:46.700 --> 00:20:48.300 I want the blessings of the Lord. 00:20:49.380 --> 00:20:50.460 They are good. 00:20:51.460 --> 00:20:52.460 They are new. 00:20:52.840 --> 00:20:53.740 They are fresh. 00:20:53.740 --> 00:20:57.120 And I want God to overflow that on me. 00:20:57.280 --> 00:20:59.560 I don't want God to give me what I deserve. 00:21:01.300 --> 00:21:03.180 I want God to be generous with me. 00:21:05.160 --> 00:21:06.900 So then how do we live with others? 00:21:08.180 --> 00:21:10.880 Do we live closed-fisted? 00:21:12.220 --> 00:21:13.000 Probably so. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:14.760 Probably so. 00:21:15.580 --> 00:21:18.820 And the generosity of the Lord lacks. 00:21:19.940 --> 00:21:21.540 So are you leaving the iPad alone? 00:21:22.260 --> 00:21:23.800 Am I leaving the iPad alone? 00:21:24.800 --> 00:21:25.240 Probably. 00:21:26.460 --> 00:21:29.320 But are we living lives of generosity? 00:21:29.460 --> 00:21:30.680 I've shared this story before. 00:21:30.800 --> 00:21:33.220 I'm going to share it again and then we'll move on. 00:21:34.280 --> 00:21:38.700 As daughters can do, one time, Emma hurt my feelings deeply. 00:21:39.020 --> 00:21:39.220 All right? 00:21:39.720 --> 00:21:41.980 If you've got a daughter, you may know what I mean by that. 00:21:42.200 --> 00:21:43.760 But she hurt my feelings deeply. 00:21:43.980 --> 00:21:46.840 And we were sitting, I was taking her to dance one day. 00:21:46.940 --> 00:21:49.900 And we were at an intersection coming off the interstate. 00:21:50.540 --> 00:21:54.440 And there was a person who was standing there with their sign. 00:21:54.540 --> 00:21:56.100 And they were holding their sign. 00:21:56.540 --> 00:22:00.340 And it said a lot of things of kind of where they had gotten to in life 00:22:00.340 --> 00:22:02.020 and why they were standing there and different things. 00:22:02.120 --> 00:22:04.280 But the point was that they needed some money. 00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:07.600 And Emma's sitting there beside me. 00:22:08.620 --> 00:22:14.960 And she noticed what I did, which I thought was being pretty shrewd, pretty wise. 00:22:15.620 --> 00:22:17.360 And you've probably done this before, right? 00:22:17.520 --> 00:22:20.420 If I don't look at them, they won't see me, right? 00:22:21.080 --> 00:22:24.580 So I became the most busy man at that intersection, right? 00:22:24.700 --> 00:22:26.100 Like, it's time to pray. 00:22:26.260 --> 00:22:27.000 It's time to do something. 00:22:27.080 --> 00:22:28.880 Because if I make eye contact, right? 00:22:28.980 --> 00:22:31.820 Because I can feel them staring at me. 00:22:31.900 --> 00:22:33.840 Now, in my truck, like many of you, right? 00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:36.740 I got a big thing of change right in the middle. 00:22:36.800 --> 00:22:37.340 Maybe you don't do that. 00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:38.080 Maybe that's just me. 00:22:38.140 --> 00:22:39.380 But I got a big thing of change. 00:22:39.460 --> 00:22:41.300 Remember, downtown, I got quarters, all right? 00:22:41.380 --> 00:22:42.940 So I got that sitting right there. 00:22:43.320 --> 00:22:44.940 And we pull off. 00:22:46.140 --> 00:22:49.180 And Emma said, Daddy, why didn't you help that man? 00:22:51.520 --> 00:22:56.080 And I gave a very earthly, wise answer. 00:22:57.200 --> 00:23:01.400 Well, sweetie, you don't know what he was going to do with that money. 00:23:02.360 --> 00:23:03.920 And she said, I know, and you don't either. 00:23:07.860 --> 00:23:08.920 She wins, right? 00:23:11.380 --> 00:23:17.920 I stole because I wasn't generous. 00:23:20.520 --> 00:23:23.800 Can we trust that God's going to take care of what God's going to take care of? 00:23:23.820 --> 00:23:25.360 And he didn't make us God to take care of that. 00:23:26.660 --> 00:23:29.820 And instead, can we be generous? 00:23:31.180 --> 00:23:32.040 Can we be generous? 00:23:32.980 --> 00:23:36.780 I heard a pastor say one time, let God sort out all the crooks 00:23:36.780 --> 00:23:40.300 and let my pockets be empty due to the generosity, right? 00:23:41.100 --> 00:23:42.300 Let God take care of it. 00:23:43.100 --> 00:23:44.420 Next is corrupt speech. 00:23:45.600 --> 00:23:46.820 Paul writes in verse 29, 00:23:46.820 --> 00:23:50.720 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, 00:23:51.480 --> 00:23:55.680 but only such as is good for building up as fits the occasion, 00:23:56.380 --> 00:23:59.700 that it may give grace to those who hear. 00:24:00.460 --> 00:24:02.460 If you've read through the Bible, right, 00:24:02.580 --> 00:24:07.580 there's a great connection between the mouth and the heart. 00:24:08.900 --> 00:24:12.880 Matthew 12, 34 says that from the mouth, the heart speaks. 00:24:13.720 --> 00:24:18.780 Paul, in Romans, connects the mouth to salvation. 00:24:19.720 --> 00:24:20.320 This is key. 00:24:20.380 --> 00:24:21.000 This is important. 00:24:21.360 --> 00:24:22.900 I read this this week. 00:24:22.980 --> 00:24:26.440 It was mind-blowing of the connection of what Paul does. 00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:28.620 In Romans 3, Paul says sinners, 00:24:29.520 --> 00:24:32.580 so defining them by their sin, not defined by Christ, 00:24:32.800 --> 00:24:35.340 that they are lost in who they are. 00:24:35.340 --> 00:24:37.940 They are separated and removed from God. 00:24:38.120 --> 00:24:41.680 He says the mouth is full of cursing and bitterness 00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:45.800 and that their mouths are stopped before the throne of God, 00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:49.320 that God will not listen to them because of who they are. 00:24:50.100 --> 00:24:51.140 Because of who they are. 00:24:51.900 --> 00:24:55.280 So what comes, what is in them comes from them, 00:24:55.500 --> 00:24:58.120 and God says, nope, it is stopped before the throne of God. 00:24:58.300 --> 00:25:00.460 But then as Paul continues on in Romans, 00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:02.840 there's a change that happens. 00:25:03.120 --> 00:25:05.520 There's a change that takes place in the person, 00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:08.380 and they are no longer the sinner, but they're the saint. 00:25:09.320 --> 00:25:13.260 And in Romans 10, where we begin to see this change with the mouth, 00:25:13.500 --> 00:25:18.160 Paul says this in Romans 10, that the saved person is no longer cursing and bitterness, 00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:21.480 but that the saved person confesses that Jesus is Lord. 00:25:22.620 --> 00:25:29.140 And then in Romans 15, the saved person's mouth is open to praise God. 00:25:30.340 --> 00:25:31.340 And it's what he hears. 00:25:32.240 --> 00:25:37.460 So theologically speaking, there is the connection in who you are to what you say, 00:25:38.020 --> 00:25:41.820 to what we've embodied, to every part of who we are. 00:25:41.820 --> 00:25:45.600 What comes out of your mouth and what comes out of mine 00:25:45.600 --> 00:25:49.340 is the direct connection with who we are in Christ. 00:25:50.540 --> 00:25:55.600 And that biblically, when the heart is changed through the power of the resurrection, 00:25:56.280 --> 00:25:59.760 when the heart is changed through the saving work of Christ, 00:25:59.900 --> 00:26:02.340 then our speech is changed as well. 00:26:03.560 --> 00:26:08.860 And so Paul says, let there be no corrupting talk come from your mouth. 00:26:08.900 --> 00:26:10.360 I thought this was pretty neat. 00:26:10.360 --> 00:26:12.560 That word corrupt here, all right? 00:26:12.920 --> 00:26:16.600 When we hear the word corrupt, and we think of politicians, right? 00:26:16.620 --> 00:26:18.460 We think of corruption that's taken place. 00:26:18.520 --> 00:26:20.120 We think of shady business deals. 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:22.520 But that's not at all what Paul was communicating here. 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:28.660 The word corrupt that Paul uses is the word that would be used to describe rotten fruit. 00:26:29.800 --> 00:26:34.700 So he says, let no rotten fruit talk come from your mouth. 00:26:35.620 --> 00:26:37.560 So I want you to think about this, right? 00:26:38.280 --> 00:26:42.300 Have you ever gone to the store and like bought some fruit, 00:26:42.540 --> 00:26:44.980 and then you go home and you put it away, 00:26:45.320 --> 00:26:48.860 and then the next day you think, you're like, man, I really would like a peach. 00:26:48.940 --> 00:26:50.240 Let's say you bought some peaches, right? 00:26:50.640 --> 00:26:52.400 You're like, man, I really would love to get a peach. 00:26:52.460 --> 00:26:55.200 And so you go over to that fruit that you just bought the day before, 00:26:55.360 --> 00:26:57.840 and you grab that piece that's sitting on the top, 00:26:57.880 --> 00:26:59.160 and it looks good and ripe and ready, 00:26:59.300 --> 00:27:01.600 and then you turn it over, and it's just mush, 00:27:01.700 --> 00:27:02.840 and like the flies come off of it. 00:27:02.920 --> 00:27:05.240 You know, anybody ever had that happen, or just me, right? 00:27:05.500 --> 00:27:06.720 Like, we've had that happen. 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:08.480 What do you do with that piece of fruit? 00:27:09.620 --> 00:27:10.080 Throw it away. 00:27:11.140 --> 00:27:11.500 Throw it away. 00:27:11.540 --> 00:27:11.680 Why? 00:27:12.980 --> 00:27:13.780 Because it's worthless. 00:27:15.020 --> 00:27:18.740 It's worthless and decaying and filled with death. 00:27:19.560 --> 00:27:23.320 We're not going to consume that, so we discard it. 00:27:24.300 --> 00:27:31.440 And Paul says, that's the kind of speech that does not need to come from our mouths. 00:27:32.280 --> 00:27:35.880 So instead, he says, take out that of corruption. 00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:37.880 Take that of worthlessness. 00:27:38.360 --> 00:27:39.720 Take that of decaying. 00:27:39.980 --> 00:27:41.180 Take that of death. 00:27:41.180 --> 00:27:45.220 And instead, replace it with words of life. 00:27:46.260 --> 00:27:47.080 With words of hope. 00:27:47.880 --> 00:27:48.760 With words of meaning. 00:27:49.480 --> 00:27:50.420 With words of truth. 00:27:51.500 --> 00:27:55.560 The simple words that we're to see of how we're to interact with one another 00:27:55.560 --> 00:27:59.600 is to simply be an encourager, right? 00:28:00.560 --> 00:28:04.720 How many of you, you know of someone who every time you see them, 00:28:04.960 --> 00:28:07.140 you just enjoy being around them, right? 00:28:07.360 --> 00:28:09.560 Because of the love that they show you 00:28:09.560 --> 00:28:11.740 and the encouragement that they give you, right? 00:28:12.440 --> 00:28:15.540 Is that what people feel when you walk into a room about you? 00:28:16.640 --> 00:28:17.080 Right? 00:28:17.140 --> 00:28:19.840 Is that the positioning of who we are? 00:28:20.380 --> 00:28:24.400 Is that the words that are expected to fill up and to glorify? 00:28:25.100 --> 00:28:25.780 Is that what's there? 00:28:25.820 --> 00:28:29.380 And then lastly, bitterness, bitterness. 00:28:29.860 --> 00:28:31.680 Ephesians 4, 30 through 32. 00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:35.120 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God 00:28:35.120 --> 00:28:37.900 by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:45.360 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander 00:28:45.360 --> 00:28:48.280 be put away from you, along with malice. 00:28:49.340 --> 00:28:50.400 Be kind to one another. 00:28:51.580 --> 00:28:52.020 Tenderhearted. 00:28:52.760 --> 00:28:53.780 Forgiving one another. 00:28:54.220 --> 00:28:57.240 As God in Christ forgave you. 00:28:58.300 --> 00:29:01.880 I want to be careful the statement that I'm about to make 00:29:01.880 --> 00:29:06.260 that you let me kind of walk this out a little bit, okay? 00:29:06.340 --> 00:29:07.060 With you this morning. 00:29:11.060 --> 00:29:17.240 Bitterness begins in being victimized. 00:29:21.980 --> 00:29:25.560 And I want to pause for a moment on that 00:29:25.560 --> 00:29:29.620 because no one wakes up in the morning 00:29:29.620 --> 00:29:33.440 and says, I want to be victimized today. 00:29:34.980 --> 00:29:38.300 I want to open myself up and allow myself to be hurt 00:29:38.300 --> 00:29:40.380 and mistreated and abused by others. 00:29:41.540 --> 00:29:44.740 No one decides and chooses this for themselves. 00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:47.920 I've got a son and a daughter and a wife 00:29:47.920 --> 00:29:49.260 who I love dearly. 00:29:49.860 --> 00:29:53.420 And I will do all that I can to prevent them 00:29:53.420 --> 00:29:54.480 from being a victim. 00:29:55.340 --> 00:29:58.220 But the truth is, everyone in this room 00:29:58.220 --> 00:30:00.140 at some point in time, 00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:02.280 or even currently right now, 00:30:02.280 --> 00:30:03.120 is a victim. 00:30:04.020 --> 00:30:07.560 And what you're doing spiritually within that, 00:30:08.100 --> 00:30:10.040 what you're doing in that moment 00:30:10.040 --> 00:30:12.320 of that hurt that's been done to you, 00:30:12.560 --> 00:30:14.580 that what's been said about you, 00:30:14.700 --> 00:30:16.240 is going to root and base 00:30:16.240 --> 00:30:19.000 of what's going to come from this in your life. 00:30:20.020 --> 00:30:21.740 And if we're not careful, 00:30:21.960 --> 00:30:23.760 what happens in these moments, 00:30:23.920 --> 00:30:26.200 what comes from this is bitterness. 00:30:27.500 --> 00:30:29.720 What's going to come from this moment 00:30:29.720 --> 00:30:31.320 is hurt and pain 00:30:31.320 --> 00:30:34.760 that's going to continue and hold on in your life. 00:30:35.400 --> 00:30:36.900 And that's what bitterness is. 00:30:38.480 --> 00:30:40.880 Something has been done to me. 00:30:42.160 --> 00:30:43.400 And we've been there. 00:30:43.500 --> 00:30:44.580 We've seen this. 00:30:45.520 --> 00:30:46.840 I've sat in my office 00:30:46.840 --> 00:30:49.080 and listened to men, women, and children 00:30:49.080 --> 00:30:49.940 cry and say, 00:30:50.040 --> 00:30:51.560 I didn't choose this. 00:30:51.560 --> 00:30:53.060 And this is what has happened. 00:30:53.380 --> 00:30:54.880 And God hears your heart 00:30:54.880 --> 00:30:56.560 and overflows his compassion 00:30:57.260 --> 00:30:58.540 and his love on you. 00:30:58.680 --> 00:31:00.520 And we as the body of Christ, 00:31:00.840 --> 00:31:02.460 our response to you in that 00:31:02.460 --> 00:31:03.760 needs to be love 00:31:03.760 --> 00:31:04.560 and acceptance 00:31:05.120 --> 00:31:06.400 and encouragement 00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:08.460 and walking alongside you 00:31:08.460 --> 00:31:10.320 so you do not have to carry that 00:31:10.320 --> 00:31:11.200 on your own 00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:13.900 so that we can work through healing together. 00:31:14.900 --> 00:31:16.380 But we're moved 00:31:16.380 --> 00:31:18.120 from the calling 00:31:18.120 --> 00:31:20.000 and the character 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:22.180 and the nature of Christ. 00:31:22.940 --> 00:31:24.420 When you and I 00:31:24.420 --> 00:31:25.960 are victimized, 00:31:26.700 --> 00:31:28.400 when not dealt with the way 00:31:28.400 --> 00:31:30.260 that God calls us to, 00:31:31.120 --> 00:31:33.020 bitterness begins to take root 00:31:33.020 --> 00:31:34.700 in our lives 00:31:34.700 --> 00:31:36.420 and begins to build 00:31:36.420 --> 00:31:37.640 and build 00:31:37.640 --> 00:31:38.700 and build. 00:31:39.220 --> 00:31:40.640 And Paul gives us the formula. 00:31:41.980 --> 00:31:42.160 Right? 00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:42.860 He says bitterness. 00:31:43.040 --> 00:31:44.360 Here's what happens. 00:31:44.900 --> 00:31:46.280 Billionness is going to lead 00:31:46.280 --> 00:31:47.220 to wrath. 00:31:48.340 --> 00:31:48.480 Right? 00:31:48.860 --> 00:31:49.340 Wrath. 00:31:49.960 --> 00:31:51.100 That feeling 00:31:51.100 --> 00:31:52.560 when you're sitting there 00:31:52.560 --> 00:31:53.320 by yourself 00:31:53.320 --> 00:31:54.460 and what's been done 00:31:54.460 --> 00:31:55.840 becomes to come over 00:31:55.840 --> 00:31:57.280 and prayer doesn't invade 00:31:57.280 --> 00:31:58.480 those spaces. 00:31:58.680 --> 00:31:59.380 Not the Lord, 00:31:59.620 --> 00:32:01.040 but when you begin to feel 00:32:01.040 --> 00:32:01.940 within yourself 00:32:01.940 --> 00:32:03.540 is a boiling of hatred 00:32:03.540 --> 00:32:04.140 within you. 00:32:05.060 --> 00:32:05.160 Right? 00:32:06.200 --> 00:32:07.040 And then he says 00:32:07.040 --> 00:32:08.400 what happens to wrath 00:32:08.400 --> 00:32:10.160 is wrath leads to anger. 00:32:11.120 --> 00:32:11.340 You're like, 00:32:11.380 --> 00:32:12.240 well, what's the difference? 00:32:12.920 --> 00:32:14.400 Well, if you can think about 00:32:14.400 --> 00:32:15.320 like boiling water 00:32:15.320 --> 00:32:16.120 on your stove, 00:32:16.200 --> 00:32:16.420 all right? 00:32:16.640 --> 00:32:18.220 The wrath that is there 00:32:18.220 --> 00:32:19.720 are those couple little bubbles 00:32:19.720 --> 00:32:20.760 that are going on, 00:32:20.840 --> 00:32:22.260 but when anger begins 00:32:22.260 --> 00:32:22.880 to build 00:32:22.880 --> 00:32:24.320 is when the pot 00:32:24.320 --> 00:32:25.080 begins to almost 00:32:25.080 --> 00:32:26.160 boil over 00:32:26.160 --> 00:32:27.160 and overflow 00:32:27.160 --> 00:32:28.500 and like you and I 00:32:28.500 --> 00:32:29.460 are walking around 00:32:29.460 --> 00:32:30.840 and waiting for the moment 00:32:30.840 --> 00:32:31.440 for somebody 00:32:31.440 --> 00:32:32.300 to take the needle 00:32:32.300 --> 00:32:33.360 and hit the balloon 00:32:33.360 --> 00:32:34.600 and watch it explode. 00:32:36.600 --> 00:32:37.520 and when bitterness 00:32:37.520 --> 00:32:38.740 isn't dealt with 00:32:38.740 --> 00:32:39.560 it becomes wrath 00:32:39.560 --> 00:32:40.420 which leads to anger 00:32:40.420 --> 00:32:41.140 which is here 00:32:41.140 --> 00:32:42.360 where we find ourselves 00:32:42.360 --> 00:32:43.640 which leads to clamor 00:32:43.640 --> 00:32:44.560 which is the outburst. 00:32:45.600 --> 00:32:46.480 It's the action 00:32:46.480 --> 00:32:47.500 of all that's been done. 00:32:48.080 --> 00:32:48.800 It's the action 00:32:48.800 --> 00:32:49.760 of all that's been there 00:32:49.760 --> 00:32:51.040 and now hurt 00:32:51.040 --> 00:32:51.840 has been given 00:32:51.840 --> 00:32:52.860 and now hurt 00:32:52.860 --> 00:32:54.580 is going to take place 00:32:54.580 --> 00:32:57.100 which leads 00:32:57.100 --> 00:32:57.820 from clamor 00:32:57.820 --> 00:32:59.280 to malice. 00:33:00.080 --> 00:33:00.960 the intent 00:33:00.960 --> 00:33:02.480 to do evil 00:33:02.480 --> 00:33:03.420 and so here's 00:33:03.420 --> 00:33:04.300 the vicious cycle 00:33:04.300 --> 00:33:05.140 that is found 00:33:05.140 --> 00:33:05.920 in this world 00:33:05.920 --> 00:33:06.960 that the one 00:33:06.960 --> 00:33:08.500 who was victimized 00:33:08.500 --> 00:33:09.760 becomes the one 00:33:09.760 --> 00:33:11.360 who victimizes others 00:33:11.360 --> 00:33:13.500 when bitterness 00:33:13.500 --> 00:33:15.140 isn't dealt with, 00:33:15.920 --> 00:33:16.840 when bitterness 00:33:16.840 --> 00:33:18.280 isn't worked toward 00:33:18.280 --> 00:33:19.560 and so Paul 00:33:19.560 --> 00:33:20.660 gives a very clear 00:33:20.660 --> 00:33:22.580 but difficult answer. 00:33:23.380 --> 00:33:24.000 What are we to do 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:24.320 with it? 00:33:25.700 --> 00:33:26.380 What are we to do? 00:33:27.520 --> 00:33:28.240 This could probably 00:33:28.240 --> 00:33:29.320 be a sermon series 00:33:29.320 --> 00:33:31.060 but Paul gives us 00:33:31.060 --> 00:33:31.740 one sentence. 00:33:33.020 --> 00:33:33.960 Be kind to one another. 00:33:35.300 --> 00:33:35.900 Be kind. 00:33:37.600 --> 00:33:38.580 Understand that 00:33:38.580 --> 00:33:39.460 we're the body 00:33:39.460 --> 00:33:40.120 of Christ. 00:33:41.700 --> 00:33:42.460 The hand doesn't 00:33:42.460 --> 00:33:43.420 get mad at the hand 00:33:43.420 --> 00:33:44.040 and take it out 00:33:44.040 --> 00:33:44.920 on the hand 00:33:44.920 --> 00:33:46.340 because it understands 00:33:46.340 --> 00:33:47.460 that we're together. 00:33:48.680 --> 00:33:50.100 To be tender hearted 00:33:50.100 --> 00:33:51.600 means to be gentle 00:33:51.600 --> 00:33:52.440 and to be filled 00:33:52.440 --> 00:33:53.100 with compassion. 00:33:54.080 --> 00:33:54.860 To understand 00:33:54.860 --> 00:33:56.680 that as I acknowledge 00:33:56.680 --> 00:33:57.700 that I'm not God 00:33:57.700 --> 00:33:58.360 that I understand 00:33:58.360 --> 00:33:59.200 that you're not God 00:33:59.200 --> 00:34:00.580 either which means 00:34:00.580 --> 00:34:01.560 that you aren't 00:34:01.560 --> 00:34:02.140 all knowing 00:34:02.140 --> 00:34:02.940 that you aren't 00:34:02.940 --> 00:34:04.000 all powerful 00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:04.520 right? 00:34:04.680 --> 00:34:06.040 That we understand 00:34:06.040 --> 00:34:07.180 that so I'm tender 00:34:07.180 --> 00:34:08.180 hearted to those 00:34:08.180 --> 00:34:09.340 who may not know 00:34:09.340 --> 00:34:10.300 and who may not 00:34:10.300 --> 00:34:10.900 understand. 00:34:12.500 --> 00:34:13.240 And then the last 00:34:13.240 --> 00:34:14.300 and probably the hardest 00:34:14.300 --> 00:34:16.600 forgiving one another. 00:34:17.740 --> 00:34:18.540 Now forgiving 00:34:18.540 --> 00:34:21.000 is really hard. 00:34:21.720 --> 00:34:22.320 Really hard. 00:34:22.940 --> 00:34:24.160 If holding a grudge 00:34:24.160 --> 00:34:25.360 were an Olympic sport 00:34:25.360 --> 00:34:26.540 I would probably 00:34:26.540 --> 00:34:26.560 I would probably 00:34:26.560 --> 00:34:27.560 be Michael Phelps 00:34:27.560 --> 00:34:27.920 all right? 00:34:29.560 --> 00:34:30.560 I get it. 00:34:31.740 --> 00:34:32.860 I get it. 00:34:33.860 --> 00:34:34.840 But God says 00:34:34.840 --> 00:34:35.880 forgive one another. 00:34:37.160 --> 00:34:38.140 And then he set 00:34:38.140 --> 00:34:38.780 the standard. 00:34:40.380 --> 00:34:41.480 As God 00:34:41.480 --> 00:34:42.920 in Christ 00:34:42.920 --> 00:34:44.360 forgave 00:34:44.360 --> 00:34:45.240 you 00:34:45.240 --> 00:34:46.880 and you 00:34:46.880 --> 00:34:48.340 and you 00:34:48.340 --> 00:34:49.860 and me. 00:34:51.220 --> 00:34:52.020 and how 00:34:52.020 --> 00:34:52.380 does God 00:34:52.380 --> 00:34:52.940 forgive us? 00:34:54.160 --> 00:34:54.800 Over 00:34:54.800 --> 00:34:56.540 and over 00:34:56.540 --> 00:34:58.000 and over 00:34:58.000 --> 00:34:58.380 again. 00:35:01.600 --> 00:35:02.300 Walk 00:35:02.300 --> 00:35:04.320 in a manner 00:35:04.320 --> 00:35:06.080 worthy 00:35:06.080 --> 00:35:08.120 of the calling 00:35:08.120 --> 00:35:09.560 with which 00:35:09.560 --> 00:35:10.180 you've received. 00:35:11.340 --> 00:35:12.400 To walk 00:35:12.400 --> 00:35:14.060 in a manner 00:35:14.060 --> 00:35:15.780 that glorifies 00:35:15.780 --> 00:35:16.140 God. 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:28.760 Thanks again 00:35:28.760 --> 00:35:29.280 for listening 00:35:29.280 --> 00:35:29.640 to the 00:35:29.640 --> 00:35:30.400 Willow Ridge Church 00:35:30.400 --> 00:35:31.200 weekly podcast. 00:35:31.720 --> 00:35:32.140 We hope 00:35:32.140 --> 00:35:32.720 that you enjoyed 00:35:32.720 --> 00:35:33.400 listening to this 00:35:33.400 --> 00:35:34.020 week's message. 00:35:34.520 --> 00:35:35.040 If you'd like 00:35:35.040 --> 00:35:35.580 to learn more 00:35:35.580 --> 00:35:36.420 about who we are 00:35:36.420 --> 00:35:37.080 or explore 00:35:37.080 --> 00:35:38.020 additional resources 00:35:38.020 --> 00:35:39.040 visit us 00:35:39.040 --> 00:35:39.820 online at 00:35:39.820 --> 00:35:43.080 www.willowridgechurch.com 00:35:43.080 --> 00:35:44.280 or by searching 00:35:44.280 --> 00:35:45.300 for Willow Ridge Church 00:35:45.300 --> 00:35:45.940 on Facebook 00:35:45.940 --> 00:35:46.640 and Instagram.