Missions Paul

In the put-off and put-on section of this letter, the Apostle is contrasting a number of values. Instead of stealing you must work. Put off stealing and put on working.

Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work … Ephesians 4:28

The word he uses is Kopiato. It means to work hard, to feel tired by working hard.

Paul says get like that. Get work-tired.

It doesn’t matter what the work is whether you are retired and you are tending your plants or you have just started in a new job as an apprentice and you have your whole work life ahead of you. Get tired from your work.

Get up early. Whether that is to pray or to work. I first began getting up early in my first church. It was a farming community and the families in the church were all awake before the sun rose for work duties. As their Pastor I felt obliged to get up when they got up. They taught me well!

There is a lot of talk about the need to rest. But you can only rest after you have worked. Otherwise it isn’t rest. Some people have rested for so long even to move is tiring and then some people cannot move because they are suffering and would love to trade places with those who cut corners, finish early, do as least as possible.

Have you ever heard someone say to you, “I’m so tired” in a negative way like there has been some scandalous persecution broken out on their lives? All along you are thinking ‘But you haven’t done anything?!”

Work/life balance is so important, but the first word is crucial because otherwise there wouldn’t be a need for balance.

We were created to work, to pour our whole energy and passion into whatever our hand finds to do.

I have the privilege of being on a board of people who pre-select candidates for ministry. I love it. I love looking through their profiles/CV’s and spending time with them in the 24 hours that we are with them. I am not as interested in whether or not they are gifted or how attractive their personality is. These are good things to look for. So is character. I get all that. But I want to know if they get work-tired. If they’ve been down the pit for 12 hours a day I know that when they get to 66 years of age they will be prepared to run a youth club in their church simply because there is a need to do so (as one of my loved Pastors does).

I wonder what would have happened if Adam replied to God’s request for him to work the garden, “Sorry God it’s not my gifting.”

Work-shy people have hid behind gifting for too long and nothing gets done.

I remember when we used to do many maintenance days at the Church and I would invite all the church members to come and work. Those who had already done 40 hours hard work that week would be the first to respond. One member said because their gifting was intercession they would stay at home and pray for us who worked! You can imagine perhaps my response!

At the moment my son is having his garden landscaped. It is easy to see through the daily pictures of the garden that the hired gardener has been working. It is easy to tell if every service provider you can think of is working hard. What’s the service like? I can tell if a Pastor is working hard by visiting their church. The Apostle will go on to talk about the fruit of our labours and why we should work-tired. The fruit is really important. There will be no impact, no fruit and no results without being work-tired.

So as you go to work today whatever it is and wherever it is you are going to get tired from doing it and that is good. You are an image of God. This is true discipleship. Let the work of God work through you today.

It seems such a childish behaviour or it seems like this is too foundational, too obvious for the Apostle to mention. Irrelevant because it has nothing to do with us.

But he brings his list, a total of 50 commands in the context of putting off the old nature and putting on. But this is not just a list to remember rather Paul is teaching a new way of life. So for example as we have already seen Paul says, “Regarding anger, don’t let it lead to sin, don’t stay angry and don’t give the devil an opportunity to exploit that anger.” The Apostle does the same with stealing: “don’t do it but rather work so that you can give.” Let’s look at this over the next couple of days …

“Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer” Ephesians 4:28

• Some people seem to steal for fun

I remember a family friend, an ‘uncle’ who wasn’t an uncle. His name was Jock. A lovely man he was. There are 3 things I remember as a child. He was really happy, he loved smoking pipes and I loved the smell of them, he seemed to have hundreds of pipes hanging on the walls of his home and a third memory came about after he died. In his wardrobes and drawers of his home were unopened goods from every shop you could think of. Also price tickets of goods stuck on the wardrobe doors. These unopened products clearly he didn’t need or want, he just did it for fun.

Some people view stealing as a game against the establishment. If they can dodge the tax, borrow something without returning it, get something on false pretences then they have got their trophy. They have beaten the odds and won the game.

• Some people seem to steal out of desperation.

The word in this verse is Klepteto where we get the word Kleptomaniac from. I don’t think my ‘uncle’ had this problem because most kleptomaniacs are depressed, struggling from the burden of this mental health condition. He was far too happy.

But there is a lot of desperation in our world. Some steal because they have to eat or their children need to eat. I’ve been in some of the poorest nations of the world where this is so. It is indeed desperate. But the problem is all over the world.

A few days ago in The Independent newspaper an article revealed a desperate but beautiful story.

“Three New York City Police Department officers have been praised after they paid for a woman’s groceries when she was caught attempting to steal the goods.

The moment at a Manhattan Whole Foods was captured by a fellow shopper, who snapped a photo and posted it on Twitter.

The image shows the woman burying her head in her hands, while the three officers stand around her at the cash register, paying for the food.

“I know that the police make split second decisions each day, so for the police to pay for the woman’s food without hesitation was powerful,” Paul Bozymowski, the individual who took the photo, told The Independent. “It was incredibly moving to see such a genuinely kind moment.”

The officers have since been identified as lieutenant Louis Sojo, and officers Esnaidy Cuevas and Michael Rivera, who said during a press conference that officers all around the city act in this way frequently – but that these actions are rarely seen.

During that press conference on Friday they said they were heading into the store to when they were told by security guards that the woman was stealing food.

“I asked her, ‘What’s going on?’ She told me she was hungry,” Mr Sojo said. “So, I looked in her bag. I decided – we decided – to say ‘We’ll pay for her food’.”

He added that they were not expecting the reaction they received.

“You know, I’ve been doing this for 22 years. This is not the first time I’ve paid for food. This is not the first time they’ve paid for someone’s food,” Mr Sojo said. “We don’t go out and do it all the time, but, you know, when you look at someone’s face and you notice that they need you, and they’re actually hungry. It’s pretty difficult as a human being to walk away from something like that. We weren’t raised like that. So, it’s the right thing to do.”

“When I posted the photo, I certainly didn’t think it would get this amount of attention. I’m happy it is,” he said. “If the story can inspire others to be generous and kind, then that’s good for all of us.”

• Some people seem to steal because they have a heart issue.

Jesus said stealing comes out of the heart (Matthew 15:19).

In Judges 18 (in those days when Israel did not have a king) the Danites enter into the home of a young Levite. The tribe have low morals and yet decide they want to worship. But in order to worship they enter Micah’s house and steal his gods. It is like deciding that you really want to worship God with a musical instrument so you steal someone’s guitar to do it. You may have the right motive and attitude but go and do the most stupid of things and then feel justified.

A motive is not always more important than the action. A theft doesn’t seem wrong when it is done for the right reasons. It is a heart issue.

Sometimes possession seems more important than working for it or to have a clear conscience. We can justify almost anything.

But stealing stops you from the joy of working and giving of which the Apostle will explain.

“ … and do not give the devil a foothold.” Ephesians 4: 27

Can you imagine a newspaper article or a news bulletin about your own church which looks like the one below?

This was released just 2 days ago on the BBC website:

“Five people have been killed after attackers stormed a South African church, reportedly amid an argument over its leadership. South African police said they had rescued men, women and children from a “hostage situation” on the outskirts of Johannesburg on Saturday morning. They have also arrested at least 40 people, and seized dozens of weapons. The church’s leadership has reportedly been the subject of infighting since its former leader died in 2016. Police had previously been called to the church following a shoot-out between members in 2018.”

Now if that was not shocking enough, here comes the name of the church! The International Pentecostal Holiness Church. Hmm!

 Do you think that possibly the devil may have got a foothold in that church?!

A foothold is an opportunity for the devil (whose name means dia = accuse and ballo = throw) to throw false accusations and no better place for him to do this than in the opportunity of anger. Here it is fertile ground for the devil to get a foothold to begin his work of division and devastation. Anger that leads to sin opens the door for the devil to exploit and make things so much worse. It gives the devil the legal right to be there.

While visiting in Haiti, Dale A. Hayes heard a Haitian minister illustrate to his congregation the need for total commitment to Christ.

The minister told of a man who wanted to sell his house for $2,000. Another man badly wanted the house but couldn’t afford the full price.

After much haggling, the owner agreed to sell the house for half the asking price with just one stipulation: he would retain ownership of one small nail protruding from just over the door.

After several years, the original owner wanted the house back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell. So, the first owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog, and hung it from the single nail he still owned.

Soon the house became uninhabitable, and the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail.

The Haitian minister’s conclusion: “If we leave the devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotting garbage on it, making it unfit for Christ’s habitation.”

Just one nail, is it there? Get it out. Don’t leave any room for any foothold.

Recently our vacuum cleaner broke down. We had it for 10 years. However only perhaps 10 years ago we would have gone to that shabby back street shop, just off the high street, where there would be one man in a shop jammed full of anything and everything needed for a repair and within a few days the cleaner would be brand new again.

Not today.

In fact we now have TV programmes focused on the ability to repair things.

So we got rid of the vacuum cleaner and bought a new one. Which seems to be what people do with their friendships now. They don’t repair they just get rid and get a new one. Jesus taught us to go get things resolved quickly. Paul says it this way:

Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, Ephesians 4:26

The Apostle has already said in your anger do not sin. Now he says on the day of anger let it also be a day of reconciliation, stop a process that is already in process.

Wherever we turn we find anger. You will see it today wherever you are in the world.

Bear with me as I tell a joke! I was undecided about it but felt it right in a devotion about anger!

A young girl who was writing a paper for school came to her father and asked: “Dad, what is the difference between anger and exasperation?”

The father replied, “It is mostly a matter of degree. Let me show you what I mean.”

With that the father went to the telephone and dialled a number at random. To the man who answered the phone, he said, “Hello, is Melvin there?”

The man answered, “There is no one living here named Melvin. Why don’t you learn to look up numbers before you dial them?”

“See,” said the father to his daughter. “That man was not a bit happy with our call. He was probably very busy with something and we annoyed him. Now watch….”

The father dialled the number again. “Hello, is Melvin there?” asked the father.

“Now look here came the heated reply. “You just called this number and I told you that there is no Melvin here! You’ve got a lot of nerve calling again.” The receiver slammed down hard.

The father turned to his daughter and said, “You see, that was anger. Now, I’ll show you what exasperation means.”

He dialled the same number and when a violent voice roared “Hello?!” in answer, the father calmly said, “Hello, this is Melvin. Have there been any calls for me?”

Back to it: the truth is you may have been hurt and it doesn’t matter the size of that hurt it can become a stumbling block to your life. It is like having stone in your shoe it can seriously damage the way you do life.

Here are some thoughts:

• The longer you stay in anger the longer time has to ruin that relationship beyond repair.
• The longer you stay in anger you say to God I don’t trust you to get the justice I deserve (so we hold out for another day after a restless night’s sleep) compared perhaps to the culprit who may not even know you are angry with them who simply trusts God who looks after the whole universe as well as their life whilst they get a restful night’s sleep.
• The longer you stay in anger the longer you look less like God who poured out his righteous anger onto Himself on the cross.
• The longer you stay in anger the less happy you are.
• The longer you stay in anger your life remains paused for longer and the less effective and productive you become for God.

We will become angry and maybe some will be angry today. But we must do all we can to keep it in the day. Life is too short to be ruined by anger.

“Anybody can become angry—that is easy; 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—that is not easy.” Aristotle

Ephesians 4: 26 ““In your anger do not sin”

Our society has become more and more easily offended. Are you on a low heat ready to boil up if the unexpected suddenly happens? It’s a popular position to be in.

Or maybe you’re angry right now.

Are you angry? Remember this …

“Moses take the staff, speak to the rock and water will come out for the people.” That was the instruction but Moses was thoroughly tired of the people of God. He had justification to be angry. If only the Apostle could have told Moses beforehand that when angry make sure you do not sin.

Moses took the staff and gathered the people at the rock. He looked at the people and something happened … anger came to the surface and he said “must we do this?” Of course the answer was “Yes because God told you to do this!” But Moses turned his attention from God and focused on the people. In anger he raised his arm and struck the rock twice.

 This outburst of anger, of playing God, ended his destiny.

 Anger will keep you locked up until justice is done.

 Anger can lay undetected for a long period of time.

 Anger nullifies your position of being right.

 Are you angry?

 The Academy Award-winning movie Forrest Gump has been viewed by millions. There is a line worth noting. The scene has one of the central characters, Jenny, returning to her old home after her father has died. The old farm house is dilapidated and abandoned. As she reflects on the sexual abuse that she endured as a child, she is overcome by rage and begins throwing rocks at the house. The photography is powerful as it shows her rapidly reaching for rocks and then violently throwing them at the house. Jenny finally falls to the ground in exhaustion and the scene closes with Forrest Gump sympathizing, “Sometimes there just aren’t enough rocks.” Many of us struggle with anger. It can stem from a variety of reasons, and some anger seems very justifiable. Yet, unresolved anger leaves us reaching and crying out for more rocks. The rage is never satisfied, and contentment is never found. Through the power of Christ we can find the strength to speak into the solution and not strike the problem. Moses struck the rock as if he was striking the people.

 How you get your results is very important. Did you do it God’s way or your own way?

 Some leaders bully their congregations and berate them from the pulpit for all kinds of reasons. Little do they know that their people may arrive in the promises of God but they themselves may not.

 How is always more important.

 Are you angry? Let it go today.

 It’s not worth it.

It’s far better to not be angry because sin and stupid decisions are not far behind.

 A man was dying in the desert. As he stumbled over a sand dune he was greeted by a man selling ties. The dehydrated man begged for water, but the salesman said he only had ties. In frustration and anger the weakened man continued on his journey for survival. In an hour he reached an isolated restaurant in the middle of the desert. Was it a mirage? As he drew closer, he saw it was real. He was ecstatic. With renewed energy he ran for the door. He was stopped at the entrance by a security guard who denied him entry. The guard said, “I’m sorry, sir, but you need to wear a tie to eat here.”

Be careful: what you may be angry at today could make perfect sense tomorrow.

.The tradition of swearing the above oath when you take to the witness stand probably goes way back to Roman times and was very common by the 13^th century in our English courts of law. People who didn’t tell the truth were not penalised for perjury until the 16^th century. Prior to that the thought of God’s vengeance coming upon those who perjured themselves was enough to stop the liars.

The Apostle says we must put on truth-saying.

“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body.” Ephesians 4:25

Over the last decade with the rise of the internet there was the opportunity for accurate, incorruptible journalism. At a click of a button we could fact-check the facts! This was a new era of honesty. It hasn’t turned out like that has it?

We have new words like ‘fake news’ emerging because world leaders tweet about it all the time.

Recently a UK TV station, Channel 4, brought out statistics that show only 4% of the UK population can spot fake news as fake! Are we so gullible?!

Let us be people of the truth. Truth takes longer than fake but that is the journey we need to be on.

We need to be honest to God because He is Truth; honest to ourselves because living a lie is means you never have the freedom to be who you are and as Paul says honest to one another

If you are afraid to speak the truth then you don’t deserve to be in the position to speak it.

Bono, U2, in 2017 reflecting on the impact the Psalms has had on him over the years and why he believes Christian musicians should be more honest said this, ““I want to hear a song about the breakdown in your marriage, I want to hear songs of justice, I want to hear rage at injustice and I want to hear a song so good that it makes people want to do something about the subject … (the Christian artists who are afraid to sing the honesty of the Psalms) are not giving expression to what’s really going on in their lives because they feel it will give the wrong impression of them.”

People’s perception of us has overpowered our willingness to speak the truth because of the establishment of pride at the centre of our lives.

You may lose friends. You may be dismissed. But the only way to be free is to speak the truth. That is in regards to God, to yourself of course but also to as Paul has already told us to do it in love, to speak the truth to a friend.

Do you have a friend who will be truthful to you?

You wouldn’t dream of leaving your home without first washing, would you? You would never go to a friend’s house stinking to high heaven because you couldn’t be bothered to have a wash that day, would you?

The problem is people who don’t wash get used to their own smell. Their stinky, pongy, stainy smell becomes to them naturelle. Everyone needs someone who will say ‘My friend, I love you so much I need to tell you, you stink.’

People have friends who speak the truth behind their backs but thank God if you find a friend who will speak the truth to your face.

Your best friend is a friend who will wound you to keep you.

Proverbs 27:6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted

When my children were small I hurt their feelings, I made them cry, I didn’t break them but I wounded them so that today they are in a position to become all that they can become.

In what appears to be the first category of 50 commandments which I would label simply ‘Truth’ the Apostle calls for us to put off falsehood.

This is not a list that Paul has made from what he necessarily sees in the Ephesian believers but what he sees in the old man. He is saying as we put off the old man and put on the new man make sure firstly you put off falsehood. Take it off, don’t live like that. This is not who you are.

“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood …” Ephesians 4:25

1. The temptation to be less than who you are.

Towards the end of his letter he will write of the principalities and powers that wage war against our lives. Their task is to do the direct opposite of Paul’s commands. The accuser of your life wants you to put on your old man and put off your new man. His accusations will wear you down until you truly believe you are who he says you are.

Are you not fed up listening to what the accuser tells you who you are?

How did sin originate?

It was because Adam didn’t know who he was and he tried to become someone he was never meant to be.

The Accuser came to him and said, “If you do this you’ll be like God.”

Adam should have said, “You stupid snake, I’m already like God. Why try and become what I already am?”

But he didn’t, he became what God hadn’t intended.

The new man is crushed and goes to prayer and instead of adoration and worship it is, “Oh God, I’m in a valley of the shadow of death, I’m dirty, I don’t feel like I’m a Christian anymore, I’m useless, I’m a sinner, you’re angry with me, I’m not going to heaven. Amen.”

We become what we are not simply because we have not put off falsehood.

When Jesus was being led through the streets of Jerusalem he was carrying a board around his neck which was written in Latin for the Romans to understand, Aramaic for the Jews to understand and Greek which was the universal language of the Mediterranean world. “Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews” was a sarcastic endorsement by the Romans of Jesus’ kingship. This is a defeated king.

But Jesus’ accusers wanted it say ‘He claimed to be …”

Your accuser is continually demanding you carry a sign that declares you to be false:

“He saved others but he can’t save himself. You can help others but not yourself.”

“He trusts in God let God rescue him.”

If it’s not to remind you of your limitations the accusation will come as God is limited in working in your life.

“Let him come down from the cross and we will believe in him.”

Your purpose is wrong. The path you are on is not right, change it and we will give to you. That is the accusation and the temptation.

• The temptation to be more than who you are.

Many are on a mission today. A mission of wanting to become someone, trying to make a name for themselves.

Ever heard something like this being announced? “The greatest, the most amazing, the most influential, decisive, the best anointed, the fabulous, the charismatic, life-changing servant of God is in the house today!”

Joseph Smith boasted that he did more than Jesus to keep a church together.
“God is in the still small voice. In all these affidavits, indictments, it is all of the devil–all corruption. Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on the top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet . . . ” (History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 408-409).

“Boasting is the outward form of the inner condition of pride.” John Piper

Social media has many statuses of ‘humble boasting’. See how many you can spot today!

The desire to get attention for how small we are proves we are in fact not small enough.

When you become small, you choose to become hidden, you decide to promote others and you take your name off things so that it looks like you were not there.

Influence is small for it to be influence. The influencer is not seen, only the one that has been influenced. If God exalts you to a higher platform then the battle is how to become small when more people can see you. It is easier to become small when you haven’t ever done anything. Trying to become small after achievement is another thing. The task is to become small with a big God in your life who does big things through small seeds of faith.

So put off falsehood, either to be less or more than who God says you are.

This coming weekend more church buildings will open up, others will open in the next few weeks and some much later. Most Church leaders are wondering how many will return. I am wondering when they do return what kind of church will they be. Will the year of a scattered church produce the fruit that is so needed? Will there emerge a holiness of God in our hearts and minds as well as behaviour? Will Christians stop church-hopping based not on a ‘leading of the Lord’ but simply because their humanity has been challenged in a variety of ways?

The Apostle in prison writes a long list of commands. From 4:25 to the submission passage in 5:22f there are 50 commandments which can be put into 12 categories. We will get to each and every one of them.

But before we do that it is imperative to approach the list with the background of what Paul has already written and most importantly this:

“And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Ephesians 2:22

4 v25 Therefore each of you must… and the list begins.

But that is for tomorrow.

For today I want us to look at a verse that will come up in the middle of all the do’s and don’ts of our behaviour:

 “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (5:14)

The inspiration for the formation of Christ in our lives is in this one sentence.

Where is the quote from?

Many attribute it to Isaiah. Paul has been used to referring back to that prophet already and will do so again. In 2:17 he quotes the prophet in that God will heal the racial divide of His people; in 4:30 when not grieving the Spirit of God and later the imagery of the soldier in 6:14-17 he takes from the prophet.

The inspiration and the empowerment to be able to achieve the 50 commandments are found in Isaiah 26:19 and 60:1.

Both passages speak about why the people of God went into exile and how they will return. The prophet gives lists of the sins of people which would exile them but then reveals how God will come into the battle for His people, they would be purified, the idols defeated, the Redeemer will come to Zion and establish a new covenant and will dwell with the people. The Light of His presence will emanate from His people as their lives are transformed.

Paul knew that and so did the hymn writer who wrote: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” For that is where the quote originates based on Isaiah. Was it Paul who wrote that hymn? Maybe. But he certainly knew it and so did the people who read his letter.

What were the other lyrics? Certainly we can understand what this lyric was meaning. It is a beautiful sentence. Set in the heart of 50 commandments the majority of which relate to our behaviour with one another.

Here is another hymn, the majority will know this:

Oh! to be like Thee, oh! to be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

Can you imagine Christians experiencing this? Can you imagine a different Church post-lockdown?

Can you imagine a Church that does not grieve the Holy Spirit (4:30) set in the context of how we treat one another?

Can you imagine a Church that copies God and loves like He loved us at the cross (5:1-2)?

Can you imagine a Church which pleases the Lord (5:10)?

Can you imagine a Church that knows the will of the Lord (5:17)?

Can you imagine a Church filled with the Spirit (5:18)?

Can you imagine this for you?

A few days ago I hosted a meeting of leaders where my leader, Chris Cartwright, the General Superintendent of the Elim Pentecostal Church was speaking. Whilst he was coming to a close I wrote a prayer based on what he had spoken. I then closed the meeting with the prayer. It is this:

Hear our prayer:

We want to move not drift.

We want to step into purpose not be stuck in the default.

Renew us for radical mission.

Reform us to unlock the possibility.

We commit to the pathway of the gospel.

We commit to carry the death and resurrection of Jesus.

We come down from the victorious mountain to the valley of compassion.

And as we do we ask for the renewal of the 5-fold ministries so that the lives of men and women, young and old, are equipped and the body of Christ is built.

We are in times of:-

Clarity so open our eyes

Urgency so open our doors

Flexibility so open our stubborn hearts

Opportunity so open our understanding

This is YOUR time

This is HARVEST time

This is the SPIRIT time

This is OUR time.

We are ready to change

We are ready for a new Kingdom positioning

We are ready for the advance

You call our name and we say YES to your call.

Amen.

My desire is for that prayer to be answered; for the formation of Christ to be seen and known in our lives and for the Churches to emerge transformed from this lockdown season.

It was a rainy Saturday morning of my 2^nd year in College and it was yet another football match against a local team. I was surprised I was in the team. I always thought I was making up the numbers. Others were far better. I’d run around a lot. If the ball came to me I would immediately pass it on with the attitude of ‘let me get rid of this thing’. Half-time came and as we walked off the pitch the captain of our team came alongside me and said he was going to make some changes and substitute one of the players. Immediately I offered to be substituted. It was the obvious thing to do. His response shocked me, “No. You’re one of our best players.”

In the second half I went on to that pitch a different man. I got that ball. I called for it. I ran with the ball. I tackled for the ball. I played a different game. Was the difference in my performance? Maybe, but it was definitely in my mind. All because my captain said you are more than what you think you are.

Many people are going through life not understanding who they are in Christ.

The Apostle has just insisted that God’s people should not live like those outside of Christ. He continues ….

“But you have not so learned Christ,if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness..” Ephesians 4: 20-24

Paul says you have learned something different when you came into the truth of Jesus: you found out what Jesus thinks of you is different to what you thought of you.

This new man is caring, loving, anointed and I need to learn to put him on. I am created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

The old man is contrary to what God wants to do. The conflict comes because our minds are set on the old man.

We need to put off and put on.

That old man will destroy you and shame you. It is out to get you. It is not your friend. Your new man needs to get it before it gets you. It needs to put it off daily. The old man is ready to strike, whether at the time of hurt and brokenness or at the time of great blessing. It tricks us into thinking it is there to help us. But it is waiting, an opportunist, then it will rise in all its strength. I have seen wonderful people, passionate believers do things they thought they would never do. Their old man got them.

But we are not just an old man for if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come. The key to deal with the old is to deal with the new.

I choose to believe what God says about me not what people or the circumstance of my life says about me. God says I’m a new man.

Your situation may leave you disappointed but you are appointed by Christ. You may feel rejected by the one you love but you are accepted by the love of Christ. You may feel alone but the presence of Christ is all over you.

There is a place where we put off and put on. The place is the cross of Christ. We need to go there often, daily even. It is there we deal with the destruction of the old man. We put to death the anger, the jealousy, the hurt. This old man cannot handle criticism, always reacts negatively, intending to make situations worse, there is no good in it at all. We deal with it. We put him off and crucify it and we put on the new man.

Put him on.

This new man is fashioned after the Lord Jesus Christ.

It has a new mind. This new man loves people, goes the extra mile, is patient, doesn’t fear and is gentle, wise, that’s you and me, made like Jesus! How? Those wonderful words help us: “you have learned Christ.” Not about Christ but Christ.

You may be in a prison but you dwell in Christ and He in you. Christ in you, the first, foremost and the last. He must be who you wake to in the morning and who you think of when falling to sleep. During the day your thoughts are being trained to think of Christ. You learn Christ. This is a true disciple. This is the new man. The old has gone the new has come.

The apostle has spent time writing about the nature of the church, the movement of the growing body of Christ and now is turning to its behaviour. He is basically going to help us be a Christian in a non-Christian world. Don’t be confused into thinking this is about advocating not to be a Gentile but a Jew. The use of the world Gentile is definitely referring to anyone outside of Christ.

“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.” Ephesians 4:17-19

In the many stages of our lives and the situations we find ourselves in we are always there. I.

Our greatest battle in our lives has been with ourselves.

Some people don’t have a problem with what I am thinking about right now. They are mouthy, loud, rude and offensive and are totally blinkered to the feelings of others. I need to say that because it is the caveat to what I am writing.

I.

The church needs people who have battled and are continually overcoming who they are in order to be who God has created them to be. To be able to stand and preach, teach, share in a conversation, respond and react to situations with a confident I.

We need pulpits of confidence.

I watched an online service last Sunday of a Pastor who has grown so much in confidence. The difference is tangible. I wrote to encourage them. It doesn’t matter whether you are preaching behind a pulpit or trying to encourage some fellow believers. Whatever setting the Lord has placed you in, even in a prison writing to the Church, do so with confidence.

So I tell you this …

This apostle, who knows Christ, who has been commissioned by Christ, speaks/writes with authority.

Authority in the wrong mouth is offensive because it is arrogant, brutal and abusive. But in the mouth of the chosen it is captivating.

There are many examples of this throughout Church history. George Whitfield (1714-1770) is one of those. When London’s churches were closed to him, Whitefield took as his congregation the miners of Bristol. Soon he was preaching outdoors to twenty thousand people, who stood with “tears cutting white furrows through the coal dust on their faces.”

Frequently his sermons extended to four and even six hours, his audience at times standing in the rain to hear his message.

But Whitfield lived with Christ. “I began to read the Holy Scriptures upon my knees, laying aside all other books, and praying over, if possible, every line and word. . . . Oh, what sweet communion had I daily . . . with God in prayer. . . . How assuredly have 1 felt that Christ dwelt in me, and I in Him! and how did I daily walk in the comforts of the Holy Ghost, and was edified and refreshed in the multitude of peace! Not that I was always upon the mount; sometimes a cloud would overshadow me; but the Sun of righteousness quickly arose and dispelled it, and I knew it was Jesus Christ that revealed Himself to my soul. I always observed, as my inward strength increased, so my outward sphere of action increased proportionately. . . . For many months have I been almost always upon my knees, to study and pray. . . . “¹

And insist on it in the Lord

I’m not backing down from what I am saying. I mean it. I’m walking with Christ. I speak in, with and for Christ on this matter. I will not negotiate or compromise on this.

You must no longer …

In you work, leisure, neighbourhood, where you go, whatever you do, you must stop doing this and start doing that. I want to see a change.

Until I is refashioned in Christ then our Churches and communities will be weak.

We must all find our authority in Christ. Especially the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers who equip the people of God so that the Church moves. But every member needs to know their authority in Christ. They need confidence as a Christian. They need to know their I.