Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: Eph. 4: 17-30 Feb. 18, 2024

Message: “The Changed Life!” by Pastor George Gnade

Intro.: 1. In Eph. chapters 1 -3, Paul stressed all that Christ has done for us. Then in Eph. chapters 4-6 , he shifts the emphasis to how God expects us to live for Him.

2. In Eph. 4:1, he encouraged us “to live worthy of our calling.” Do you remember when God spoke to your heart and you felt led to ask Jesus into your heart? The Bible calls that “our calling.” The rest of this chapter plus much of chapter 5 explains how to live worthy of our calling.

3. In Eph. 4: 4 -16, we are encouraged to learn about our faith so that we might grow up to maturity. That is why Christians are encouraged to go to church and Bible Study groups so we can learn the basics of our faith.  Having daily devotions is also helpful.

4. Learning about Christ is very important because our culture and what the Bible teaches often do not agree. So after we repent of our sins and ask Jesus to come into our hearts, we need to learn how God wants us to live instead. 

a. In Eph. 4:17, Paul writes: “Therefore, I testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their minds.” 

b. And in vs. 18 -20, Paul adds: “Their understanding has been darkened” and “alienated from the life” God desires. Often their minds are hardened, past feeling, given over to “licentiousness, to work all of kinds of uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard… and been taught… as the truth is in Jesus.”

c. Therefore, all of us must make sure we do not harden our own hearts and stop listening

A. Knowing how important this is, the next thing Paul does is differentiate between our former way of life and what should be our new way of life. Paul calls the one “our old man” and the other “our new man.”

1. In Eph. 4:22 -23, we are commanded to “put off your former conduct, the old man…, and be renewed in your mind by the Holy Spirit,” and instead, “to put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and holiness.”

2. The “new man” we are to learn to put on is Jesus Himself. In Rom. 13: 14, Paul writes: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.”

3. It is like taking off dirty clothes and putting on clean clothes, except it is talking about our behavior. Once we ask Jesus to come into us, God now wants us to learn to live like Jesus, so they will “see” Jesus in us by the way we live.

B. Consider some of the examples Paul gives to us.

1. In Eph. 4: 25, it says: “Therefore, put away lying, and speak the truth …with one another.” Our world lies to get what it wants. In Eph. 6: 14, we are told to put on truth as if it was a belt, as part of the armor of God. Once we learn to speak the truth in love, it will amaze us the difference that will make in our lives.

2. In vs. 26, it says: “Be angry, but do not sin!” “Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath.” It is not wrong to experience anger. It is a natural response to things that go wrong or are wrong. But let go of it as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will open the door for the devil. 

a. Satan loves to use anger to get us to get even. He uses it to create a root of bitterness that settles in the heart. It poisons us and keeps us from living a life of forgiveness and love.  

b. In the love chapter, in I Cor. 13: 5, it tells us that love “is not easily angered and keeps no record of wrongs.”

Instead, in Eph. 4:32, it says: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ has forgiven you.”

3. In Eph. 4: 28, it says: “Let him who stole steal no longer. Instead let him work with his hands, doing something useful, that he will be able to share with those in need.”

a. In our country, many are taught to steal and even destroy property. Rioting is very common.

b. But a Christian must not do any of that. Instead, Jesus wants us to work, pay our bills and help others.

4. Even the way we talk should change. In Eph. 4:39, it says: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

5. In Eph. 5: 3-4, God’s counsel through Paul continues:

“There must not be even a hint of sexual immorality among you, or any kind of impurity, or greed because these are improper for God’s holy people.”

a. How totally different all of this is from the world around us.

b. Obviously, we can only learn to change our behavior through the help of Christ who lives in us.

6. When a person first comes to Christ, it often feels almost impossible to live the way Jesus wants us to live. But with Jesus help, over a period of time, we can do better and better.

C. Let me close by bringing to your attention two important commands that summarize what we should and should not do.

1. The best way to describe what we should not do is found in Eph. 4: 30. Paul writes: “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

a. The gift of the Holy Spirit is God’s proof that He loves you. Although no one can see this seal, God obviously sees and knows those who have His Holy Spirit.

b. We should never grieve someone we love. We should never do things that would make that person feel uncomfortable.  That is especially true of the Holy Spirit of Jesus who lives inside us who believe in Him.

c. Our sins grieve Him. Our hearts know when we are grieving Him. For Jesus’ sake, who died to save and forgive us, God asks us to not grieve Him.

2. The best way to describe what we ought to do is found in Eph. 5:1-2. It says: “Be imitators of God, as (His) dearly beloved children, and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us…”

a. We learn to imitate God by imitating the Lord Jesus Christ. As we read the gospels and pay attention to how Jesus taught and helped people, God wants us to learn from Him.

b. We could summarize this by following the advice Paul gives us in Eph. 5: 15. He writes: “Be very careful, therefore, how you live- not as unwise but as wise, make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” 

In Conclusion: 1.  Every day we may be challenged to make the right choices.  Everyday God will give us opportunities to do the right thing for Him. 

2. When we fail, I try to remind myself that a child falls many times as he learns to walk. God knows we are like little children, and God knows we make mistakes even after we are saved. But if we keep praying and persisting, it is amazing what God can and will do in and through us.