1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:05,880 Father in heaven, as we come to this point in the service where 2 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:11,320 the Word of God is read and preached, we thank you for your 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:16,600 servant, Doctor David Gibson. We thank you for the life that 4 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:22,520 he has in you, the way he abides, way he seeks to 5 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:26,120 practice, the very things that you've led him to teach us this 6 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:29,640 day. We pray for his church in 7 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:33,000 Aberdeen. We pray that you would continue 8 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,400 to bless our dear brothers and sisters there. 9 00:00:37,480 --> 00:00:42,800 We ask that you would cause your Holy Spirit to wake us, to give 10 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:48,240 us new eyes and new ears, hearts that might not be warm but very 11 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:52,720 cold, or minds that might be just dull and bored. 12 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:58,400 We pray that you would ignite and 'cause this sweet gospel, 13 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:04,000 the promises of who we are, the privilege of living out who we 14 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,480 are, would become the greatest joy of our life. 15 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:12,400 Only you can do this, and we pray you would. 16 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:19,720 In your holy name, Jesus, Amen. We're so grateful today in the 17 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:23,000 middle of winter grace to have Sandra with us and to have 18 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:27,040 Doctor David Gibson with us. I want to remind you that 19 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:30,040 tonight we will gather for another service at six. 20 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:33,440 You can keep your bulletin or leave it here and come back. 21 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:37,480 It'll be a wonderful night of fellowship together again and 22 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:41,000 worship and then the the preaching of the Word and then 23 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:43,280 fellowship that follows. We want to encourage you to come 24 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:48,080 again at 6:00 tonight. David is a friend of many in our 25 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:52,080 church, acquainted really to the ministry and life and friendship 26 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:55,560 with Sinclair Ferguson. He is the pastor of Trinity 27 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:59,240 Church in Aberdeen, where Sinclair Ferguson is a member. 28 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:04,080 He's Sinclair's pastor. David has been given many gifts. 29 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:07,760 You'll soon see the way in which God has equipped him to preach 30 00:02:08,039 --> 00:02:11,800 the conviction, the genuine love that he brings, not just for the 31 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:15,480 Word, but for you, for the people of God. 32 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:19,320 He has been fed well from the Lord and it was going to feed 33 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:21,520 you very well this morning with truth. 34 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:25,200 Some that might be new and some that are old but need to be 35 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:28,720 renewed in your heart. Anytime we have a guest preacher 36 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,400 calm, I always want you to be praying for their family. 37 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,040 He's married to Angela. They have four children, so I'd 38 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:38,240 encourage you to continue to lift them up as he continues to 39 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,360 be away for a bit. We're so thankful that he is 40 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:43,080 here and the word that he's about to bring. 41 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:45,840 Let's give a warm welcome to Doctor David Gibson. 42 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:50,600 That's smart. Thank you, Thank you. 43 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:57,880 I want to invite you to stand with me for the reading of God's 44 00:02:57,880 --> 00:02:59,960 Word. We're going to read from 45 00:02:59,960 --> 00:03:02,600 Ephesians chapter 4 for our scripture reading. 46 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:05,080 You'll find it printed in the bulletin, or if you have a 47 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:07,600 Bible, you might like to read it there. 48 00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:13,640 Let's follow along together as we hear God Himself speak. 49 00:03:13,640 --> 00:03:18,640 The reading is Ephesians chapter 4, verses 25 through 32. 50 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:23,800 Therefore put away having put away falsehood. 51 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:28,480 Let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we 52 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:33,320 are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin. 53 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:38,080 Do not let the sun go down on your anger and gave no 54 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:42,440 opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, 55 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:46,360 but rather let him labour doing honest work with his own hands, 56 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:49,760 so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 57 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:54,880 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as 58 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:59,040 is good for building up as fits the occasion, that it may give 59 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:04,640 grace to those who hear, and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of 60 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:07,280 God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 61 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:12,400 Let all bitterness and wrath, and anger and clamour and 62 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:16,000 slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 63 00:04:16,959 --> 00:04:22,200 Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, 64 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:27,840 as God in Christ forgave you. This is the word of the Lord. 65 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:31,760 Thanks be to God, please be seated. 66 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:37,400 Friends, this morning I want to dive right in to our passage. 67 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:40,120 I want to invite you to keep either the either the bulletin 68 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:43,360 or your own version of the Scriptures open in front of you. 69 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:46,280 Ephesians chapter 4. While you find that, let me 70 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:51,080 simply say a very big thank you on behalf myself personally 71 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:54,280 obviously, of course, but also Trinity Church in Aberdeen. 72 00:04:54,840 --> 00:04:58,400 We really feel the bonds of connection and fellowship, a 73 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:01,680 very precious topic to be speaking about when the lived 74 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:04,760 reality of it is so real here with you. 75 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:09,040 I first came to Dallas nearly four years ago and I the only 76 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:10,800 way I can describe this is my fifth trip. 77 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:13,720 And the only way I can describe it ever since is being in the 78 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:18,520 presence of friends where very quickly you simply realize, oh, 79 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:22,560 you too love the Lord. And because you love him and I 80 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:25,120 love Him, we are together. We are one in Him. 81 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:29,320 That very real bond of connection is very precious to 82 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:30,800 me. So thank you very much indeed 83 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:33,000 for having me. Like I said, we're going to dive 84 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,120 right into this chapter 4, verse 25. 85 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:39,880 I want you to notice right at the very start that this verse 86 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:43,000 is stapled to the last verse before it. 87 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:48,080 The staple is that word. Therefore it connects what we're 88 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:50,480 about to look at together with what some of us looked at 89 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:52,960 yesterday morning. If you weren't there, here is 90 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:54,680 the summary of yesterday morning. 91 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:59,520 It's Ephesians chapter 4, verses 17 to 24. 92 00:05:59,840 --> 00:06:05,600 God has sent into our world one true and proper man. 93 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:11,200 He sent his Son, the last Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ. 94 00:06:12,280 --> 00:06:15,600 Jesus is the exact likeness of God. 95 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:20,160 Jesus is the image of God. You, you, you, you look at Jesus 96 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:24,920 and you see who God is. Friends, there is no one more 97 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:30,080 beautiful in all the world than the Lord Jesus Christ, true man 98 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:33,480 and true God. One of the things I'm going to 99 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:36,720 do straight after this service, or as soon as I get a moment, is 100 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:40,720 to find Sandra Mccracken's song Christ is the Life of the World. 101 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,560 Sometimes all I need is just one sentence that just cracks 102 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:47,480 everything open for me. I don't know if you heard her 103 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:51,480 sing it. That in that in that song Christ 104 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:57,240 was sent forth in beauty, sent forth in beauty, reconciling all 105 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:02,000 things, radiant in holiness. Such a stunningly beautiful 106 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:04,760 description. The Lord Jesus Christ in his 107 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:09,240 ministry friends, was a walking, talking, living, breathing 108 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:15,760 Garden of Eden. He is so beautiful and God has 109 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:20,280 given him to you. If you are a Christian, you are 110 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:23,200 bind to him. We sang it in that that lovely 111 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:26,840 hymn as well. My life is wholly bind to his, 112 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:29,320 that he is everything to us, isn't he? 113 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:32,640 This morning you are married to him. 114 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:35,760 Join to him, friends, in your baptism. 115 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:37,800 Paul says in Galatians chapter 3. 116 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:41,880 In your baptism, you are so close to him that you put him 117 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:44,200 on. It's literally what the text 118 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:46,480 says. The water poured down on your 119 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:50,600 body or you were submerged in the water and you were dressed 120 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:54,680 in Christ. You are wearing him. 121 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:57,560 This morning you are wearing him. 122 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:01,840 And in Ephesians chapter 4, what we're looking at this weekend, 123 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:05,440 the apostle Paul shows us there are only ever two people to 124 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:09,720 wear. Verse 22, chapter 4, there is 125 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:14,960 yourself to wear your old self, which belongs to your former 126 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:18,040 manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires. 127 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:22,720 You were Adam's family likeness. So it's what you say in the 128 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:26,560 maternity ward as a pastor when you visit the beaming couple and 129 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:29,600 the little babies there. And I say to them, ah, another 130 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:34,480 Adam. I don't don't worry, but it's 131 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:39,080 what I think another Adam brought into this world. 132 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:47,360 Will this child grow up to only ever wear Adam verse 24 you can 133 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:52,880 put on the Lord Jesus Christ and that new identity comes from 134 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:56,520 being united to Jesus. It it now leads to a whole new 135 00:08:56,520 --> 00:08:59,520 way of life. That's why we have our text this 136 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:04,800 morning, put away things. Verse 25, put away falsehood. 137 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:09,960 Verse 31, verse 32, put away malice. 138 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:14,880 Get rid of those things. Everything that is not like the 139 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:20,400 Lord Jesus, get rid of it. Everything that is like him, put 140 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:24,480 it on. So friends, this morning, from 141 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:29,080 the theological heights of our union with Christ, right down 142 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:32,920 into the practical nitty gritty, the details of life, here is the 143 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:38,400 sermon in a nutshell. Be who you are, friends. 144 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:41,760 Be who you are. Dress according to who you are. 145 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:47,440 If you have put on Jesus, wear what Jesus wears. 146 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:51,920 When I was growing up, we had the WWJD bracelets. 147 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:56,560 What would Jesus do? Ephesians 4 is WWJW. 148 00:09:56,560 --> 00:10:01,840 What would Jesus wear? And so here this morning, 149 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:06,120 friends, is what not to wear. See that negative language, 150 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:11,840 verse 25, verse 31, put it away. It's what you do in late spring, 151 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:13,280 isn't it? With the winter wardrobe, the 152 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:16,880 heavy coats you've been wearing, Spring comes and you put them 153 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:20,080 away. They go there. 154 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:22,840 There is a sense in which Paul is saying in this passage that 155 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:26,520 Jesus does for us what we do when people visit us in our home 156 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:28,960 in Aberdeen in the depths of winter, They come through the 157 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:31,560 door wearing their big heavy coat and we say to them, here, 158 00:10:31,680 --> 00:10:35,800 let let me take that for you. You, you don't make it to the 159 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:37,360 living room still wearing your coat. 160 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:40,240 If you're coming in here, it's, it's warm, you don't need that. 161 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:47,680 Let me take it for you. Here I am, Lord Jesus, wearing 162 00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:55,200 just me, my rules. I've got my own truth, my 163 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:59,040 beliefs. Here I am, Lord Jesus, wearing 164 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:03,400 my pride, my sin, my selfishness. 165 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:10,360 And then you are baptized and you're washed and you're now 166 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:14,120 wearing Christ, and you come through the doors of this place 167 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:17,520 and it's as if the Lord Jesus is there saying, here, let me take 168 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:21,800 these things from you now you don't need them anymore. 169 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:24,920 I hope this will be really practical for you. 170 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:29,720 I'm going to give us five things not to wear, and in their place, 171 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:34,720 5 things to wear instead, because here's the reality of 172 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:37,640 fellowship. Friends, what What you wear 173 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:41,840 affects me and what I wear effects you. 174 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:45,360 If you don't believe me, just ask your kids. 175 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:48,400 Dads, try and walk down the street with your teenage 176 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:50,960 daughters and see if what you're wearing does not affect them. 177 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:55,320 They, they don't want to be seen in public with you, do they? 178 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:58,880 I, I need some distance dad, between my coolness and your 179 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:01,840 dadness. It needs to be over there, 180 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:07,120 separate from me. We are not together, friends. 181 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:12,760 Your gospel wardrobe is my business and my gospel wardrobe 182 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:14,760 is your business. You see the language all the way 183 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:18,120 through the text. Verse 25, We are members one of 184 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:21,320 another. Verse 28 The idea is that you 185 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:24,200 have something to share with anyone in need. 186 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:29,960 Verse 29 Building up for the good of another. 187 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:36,640 Verse 32 Be kind to one another, one another, you, me together. 188 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:42,280 We can embarrass one another because because of what we wear. 189 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:48,440 We can shame one another because of what we wear, or we can bless 190 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:51,040 one another because of what we wear. 191 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:55,000 Ephesians, chapters one to three. 192 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:57,600 God has brought us together in Christ. 193 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:00,120 That's the message of chapters one to three. 194 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:03,080 We are together in Christ due Gentile. 195 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:05,920 We're one now. Chapters 4 to 6. 196 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:12,160 So let's stick together. If God has done the hard bit and 197 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:15,520 joined me to you, here's what we need to do to have fellowship 198 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:18,520 with each other. Point number one, friends, truth 199 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:23,080 must replace falsehood. That's the first thing to wear 200 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:26,880 in this fellowship. Truth put away falsehood. 201 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:30,560 Brothers and sisters in Park City's church family, the Bible 202 00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:34,960 tells you and me today to stop being untruthful with each 203 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:38,200 other. That to never be dressed in 204 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:43,800 falsehood, but instead to be dressed from top to toe, from 205 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:46,640 winter hat to ski boot down below. 206 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:50,320 To be dressed in truth, not falsehood. 207 00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:54,440 So clear, isn't it? Verse 25? 208 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:58,640 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you 209 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:00,440 speak the truth with his neighbor. 210 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:04,360 Look at the reason for we are members one of another. 211 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:09,320 So here in Dallas, in the depths of ice and snow and winter, you 212 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:12,880 step outside one morning and there is ice and snow 213 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:15,160 everywhere. And you, you look at your hand 214 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:18,640 and you say to your hand, hey, good news, hand, it's 90° out 215 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:22,000 today. Would you do that? 216 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:26,560 Or you come to Scotland and visit the most beautiful lands 217 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:28,680 on earth, after Texas, of course. 218 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:33,600 And you, you climb one of our Monroes, 3000 feet high in the 219 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:35,920 height of summer. There is not a cloud in the sky. 220 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:39,000 The sun is beating down. And you say to your bald head, 221 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:41,800 good news, you do not need sunscreen today. 222 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:48,960 We, we wouldn't do it, would we? No, because your own body is 223 00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:53,560 precious to you. You tell your own members the 224 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:56,240 truth. Handed is cold, you need a glove 225 00:14:56,520 --> 00:15:00,440 today. Bald head, you need a hat today. 226 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:05,720 See Paul's point in verse 25. If we wouldn't lie to our own 227 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:09,240 member, members of our own body, why would I lie to you? 228 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:13,840 For you belong to Christ, and I belong to Christ. 229 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:17,360 Friends, your body needs the truth. 230 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:22,560 This body needs the truth always. 231 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,800 An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips. 232 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:35,000 Proverbs 24 There is only one person in the world I kiss on 233 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:38,960 the lips. It's intimate, isn't it? 234 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:44,400 An honest answer is like a kiss. Not not a Peck on the cheek, a 235 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:46,000 kiss on the lips. Friends you. 236 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,600 You speaking honestly with me, and me speaking honestly with 237 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:51,120 you. It is the very essence of 238 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:54,400 fellowship. We have intimacy together. 239 00:15:56,600 --> 00:16:01,600 Proverbs 25 Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting 240 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:05,280 them with an axe, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them 241 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:09,120 with a sharp arrow. Amazing, isn't it? 242 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:14,680 Truth is a kiss. Falsehood is a wound. 243 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:18,400 Truth brings you near into my embrace. 244 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:22,120 Falsehood begins to separate US one from the other. 245 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:25,440 It begins to pick apart what God has joined together. 246 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:29,240 Maybe you know this morning, verse 25 is for you. 247 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:30,320 You. You've done that. 248 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:35,920 White lies, little lies that become big lies, dishonesty. 249 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:44,200 Maybe you've had it done to you in a Church of all places. 250 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:50,520 Reputations ruined, character tainted by falsehood. 251 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:56,240 Our friends, let let it not be so not not here, not in this 252 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:59,800 place. It never never pull apart. 253 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:03,400 Ephesians chapters one to three never pull apart what God has 254 00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:06,160 been doing in the world, but bringing us together. 255 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:11,960 You know the older commentators on on verse 25 very beautifully. 256 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:15,520 They point out that Paul Paul must be beginning with this item 257 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:19,359 of closing clothing first because there is nothing so 258 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:24,119 essentially true and part of who God is other than truth. 259 00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:28,720 He is a God of truth. He he cannot lie. 260 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:33,320 That's what's why Mark said to us, the Lord Jesus is the way, 261 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:37,200 the truth and the life, and I belong to you, the truth, and 262 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:43,080 I'm going to speak falsehood. No #1 truth must replace 263 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:47,880 falsehood #2 righteous anger must replace selfish anger. 264 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:53,320 Ever, ever come to church and be and been told be angry. 265 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:59,240 It's not what you expect, is it? It's what verse 26 says, Be 266 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:03,680 angry. Be angry, friends, that the 267 00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:09,760 Bible is not against anger, that those words in verse 26 Be angry 268 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:13,480 and do not sin are a direct quotation from Psalm 4. 269 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:18,520 John Stott says this There is such a thing as Christian anger, 270 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:21,680 and too few Christians either feel it or express it. 271 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:26,680 When we fail to do so, we deny God, we damage ourselves, and we 272 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:32,320 encourage the spread of evil. If nothing makes you angry, you 273 00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:37,840 have not suffered and you're living in isolation. 274 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:53,800 Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Rape, abuse, trauma, injustice, anger 275 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:56,720 is a right reaction to all that is wrong. 276 00:18:56,720 --> 00:18:59,760 And yet Paul says, oh, he knows us so well. 277 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:04,520 Be angry and do not sin. See, I think the rest of that 278 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:08,000 phrase in verse 26, be angry and do not sin. 279 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:10,560 Do not, do not let the sun go down on your anger. 280 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:14,120 I think I think that verse assumes that most of what makes 281 00:19:14,120 --> 00:19:17,400 us angry in fact, is not the big great social evils that we 282 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:20,360 should be angry about. No, most of what makes us angry 283 00:19:20,360 --> 00:19:23,480 is the stuff that makes us curl up in bed in a huff with the 284 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:28,240 world and makes me go to sleep with my back to my spouse 285 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:33,640 licking my wounds. For I have been so wronged and 286 00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:38,360 therefore I am now so angry. We slide, don't we, from right 287 00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:44,080 anger to selfish self pity, Paul says. 288 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:47,040 If you don't deal with that, by the time a new day begins, here 289 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:51,520 you are starting a new day just that little bit further apart 290 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:53,640 from each other, no longer in fellowship. 291 00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:56,400 Friends, what does what does the devil want to do? 292 00:19:56,400 --> 00:19:59,560 He wants to pull apart what God has joined. 293 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:03,560 It's why you have the famous spiritual warfare language at 294 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:06,960 the end of Chapter 6. The greatest need in the world 295 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:11,360 is for churches to be full of people who are together, for 296 00:20:11,360 --> 00:20:15,040 families to be full of husbands, wives, children who are 297 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:18,560 together. I want to say to you men, 298 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:24,120 husbands, head, heads of homes, the moments of great spiritual 299 00:20:24,120 --> 00:20:26,560 warfare in your home. Do you know where they happen? 300 00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:27,960 I can tell you where they happen in our home. 301 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:31,720 They're either over the breakfast table at 8:30 in the 302 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:33,920 morning when we've only seen each other for 10 minutes and 303 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:38,000 we're no longer friends, or between 6:00 and 8:00 in the 304 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:43,000 evening. Husbands, heads of homes, those 305 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:46,200 are your moments. To wage war on the enemy. 306 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:51,120 To say to your children I'm sorry that my anger was wrong. 307 00:20:51,120 --> 00:20:54,840 To say to your spouse my anger was wrong, would you forgive me? 308 00:20:56,320 --> 00:20:59,160 Brothers and sisters, do you know what verse 26 is saying? 309 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:02,480 It's saying learn to nip anger in the bud. 310 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:07,560 You know how to do that? Or are you growing a garden of 311 00:21:07,560 --> 00:21:11,200 anger? I have met many Christians who 312 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:13,520 have whole greenhouses of the stuff. 313 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:17,720 Come and look at it. Pastor, let me show you, this 314 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:19,640 person wronged me. That person wronged me and I've 315 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:24,280 been growing it and keeping it. Do not try and take their anger 316 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:27,240 off them. Risk of your own life. 317 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:33,040 No, they wear it with pride. Robert Burns, the Scottish poet, 318 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:36,080 has a wonderful poem called Tam O Shanter. 319 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:40,800 Tam is a man, a person, and in the poem it describes how while 320 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:47,880 Tam is at the pub drunk, his wife Kate is at home gathering 321 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:53,120 her brows like gathering storm, nursing her wrath to keep it 322 00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:55,880 warm. You ever done that? 323 00:21:56,800 --> 00:22:02,600 Just another log on the fire. Frederick Buchner says of the 324 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:05,840 seven deadly sins, anger is possibly the most fun. 325 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:11,800 To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long 326 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:15,880 past, to roll over your tongue, the prospect of bitter 327 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:20,000 confrontation still to come, to savour, to the last toothsome 328 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:23,400 morsel both the pain you have been giving and the pain you 329 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:28,200 intend to lavish back. In many ways, it is a feast fit 330 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:32,040 for a king. The chief drawback is that what 331 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:34,960 you are wolfing down is yourself. 332 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:38,920 The skeleton at the feast is you. 333 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:45,200 And friends, this morning the Lord Jesus says to us, can I 334 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:50,240 take that from you? Won't you let me take that here? 335 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:51,600 Put it in my hand. You don't. 336 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:58,200 You don't need that here. We don't wear that here #3 337 00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:04,760 Generosity must replace theft, truth must replace falsehood, 338 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:09,000 Righteous anger must replace selfish anger, Generosity must 339 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:11,320 replace theft. Verse 28. 340 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:15,000 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labour doing 341 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,480 honest work with his own hands so that he may have something to 342 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:20,600 share with anyone in need. What? 343 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:22,880 What do you think of when you hear the word thief? 344 00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:27,400 Now I I think immediately of the images in my children's 345 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:30,320 storybooks. Black mask on black and white 346 00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:34,840 striped sweater tiptoeing along the wall at night, over the wall 347 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:39,840 into the house. But thieves don't wear uniforms, 348 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:43,720 do they? But people steal all the time. 349 00:23:45,120 --> 00:23:48,240 Thieves wear padded expense forms that they submit at the 350 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:52,480 end of each month. Thieves wear inadequate 351 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:58,440 reporting on their IRS form. Thieves do things for themselves 352 00:23:58,440 --> 00:23:59,800 on their employers. Time. 353 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:03,160 Did you see the principal and the verse friends? 354 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:07,200 Thieves take that. That's the contrast here, isn't 355 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:09,840 it? Thieves take, but instead rather 356 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:14,520 let him work doing honest labour, and not just because 357 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:16,040 honest labour is better than stealing. 358 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:19,080 Do you see the reason? So that he may have something to 359 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:26,040 share with anyone in need. Now, are you a taker or a giver? 360 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:30,120 Now, do you suck the well dry or do you spread a table? 361 00:24:30,120 --> 00:24:34,720 That that's the message. I knew of a church that had 362 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:36,800 somebody in it who struggled to work. 363 00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:39,880 And this person didn't struggle to work because there were no 364 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:41,720 jobs out there. He struggled to work because he 365 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:44,240 couldn't get up before midday age day. 366 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:49,080 His life was chaotic, his personal care was disintegrating 367 00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:52,440 and he find a loving church family who cared for him, paid 368 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:55,360 his bills, fed him, paid for things for him to go to until 369 00:24:55,360 --> 00:24:58,920 eventually one day the pastor said we love you and because we 370 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:04,080 love you there is no more money for you have not yet given to 371 00:25:04,120 --> 00:25:07,520 us. You have nothing to share with 372 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:10,160 us. Paul is saying, you know what 373 00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:12,800 keeps the church together? You know what makes fellowship 374 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:17,480 sweet together when people work hard so that they can spread a 375 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:19,560 feast for others. Have you, have you done that, 376 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:23,720 friends? You know the old saying, 90% of 377 00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:26,720 the work is done by 10% of the people. 378 00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:28,920 And Paul says not in here it's not. 379 00:25:30,360 --> 00:25:39,240 We find ourselves in the 90% #4 building up must replace 380 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:42,440 breaking down. I'm going to do this one very 381 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,040 briefly. Let no corrupting talk come out 382 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:49,080 of your mouth, but only such as is good for building up as fits 383 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:51,920 the occasion that that word for corrupting talk. 384 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:56,600 It's the it's the word word that's used of rotten trees and 385 00:25:56,600 --> 00:26:00,160 rotting fruit. We, we have back in the UK, in 386 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:04,960 our kitchens, a green bin and when you cut fruit and apple 387 00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:07,800 cores, tea bags, everything, it all goes in the green bin and it 388 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:11,120 goes out to the compost heap and it begins to disintegrate. 389 00:26:11,120 --> 00:26:14,440 And three weeks later you do not want to open the lid of the 390 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:18,960 green bin. It is putrid and rotting. 391 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,760 Some churches can smell like the inside of those bins, can't 392 00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:27,520 they? It's all because of the the 393 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:32,160 words that we speak, small cliques and whispering corners 394 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:36,520 in hushed corridors, and the speech inside them takes people 395 00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:40,360 from here and it leaves them down here, cuts their their feet 396 00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:44,200 out from beneath them. The the way to think about this 397 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:48,640 is how many how many letters of complaint have I ever written 398 00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:50,680 compared to letters of encouragement? 399 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:54,960 Why am I so in intentional about knowing what someone failed me 400 00:26:54,960 --> 00:27:00,280 in rather than saying to someone here is how you've been Christ 401 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:02,440 to me and all your kindness to me. 402 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:06,760 Building up must replace tearing down. 403 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:12,360 I want to finish with #5 kindness must replace hostility. 404 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:18,040 Kindness must replace hostility LED all bitterness and wrath and 405 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:22,360 anger and clamour and slander. Friends, hang them on the 406 00:27:22,360 --> 00:27:27,000 wardrobe and lock the door and put them away along with all 407 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:32,560 malice. Instead, be kind to one another, 408 00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:37,360 tender hearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave 409 00:27:37,360 --> 00:27:43,200 you. How has God treated me One word 410 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:48,360 kindly. He's treated me kindly. 411 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:52,920 Can I say to this morning, friends, kindness is not 412 00:27:53,120 --> 00:27:58,920 niceness. Anybody can be nice, but this is 413 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:02,800 Christian kindness. Of all the fruit of the Spirit, 414 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:05,160 isn't it true? We think kindness is the most 415 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:08,040 bland. Do you have Magnolia paint here? 416 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:11,600 Just no blank faces. So you don't. 417 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:13,880 It's exactly that. No one's heard of it. 418 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:17,240 It's it's it's nothing. It's like vanilla ice cream. 419 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:21,440 No flavour, no, no punch. We think kindness is just like 420 00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:22,920 that. No, it's not. 421 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:25,880 In the Bible, Kindness all through the Old Testament. 422 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:29,480 It is God's hesed love. His, his covenant love. 423 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:31,920 It's the word for steadfast love. 424 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:34,560 Do you know what steadfast love is? 425 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:38,160 It is loyal love. Do you know what the best 426 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:41,440 definition of loyal love is? It is love that sticks with the 427 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:44,920 stuck. That's what kindness is. 428 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:48,760 Love that sticks with the stuck. How has God treated me? 429 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:56,240 He stuck with me when I was stuck, when I entered His world 430 00:28:56,240 --> 00:29:00,040 and continued to trash it the way that everybody else had done 431 00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:03,480 before me, when I took what is good and true and beautiful in 432 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:06,640 the moment I touched it, I tainted it and spoiled it and 433 00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:10,480 trampled all over it in Christ. He forgave me. 434 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:18,040 Is that what the verse says? He treated me kindly, brothers 435 00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:22,040 and sisters this morning. How can I ever not forgive you? 436 00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:25,920 You know, you know to believe this first. 437 00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:27,840 You know what it means. We say to each other, there is 438 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:33,840 nothing you can do to me that I will not forgive you for that 439 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:38,080 that that right view of myself that God has done this for me. 440 00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:41,800 If I stand on that mountain top, I can see everything clearly. 441 00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:46,960 The the God who had every right to be angry at my sin. 442 00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:51,560 The God whose world I've played a major part in trashing. 443 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:56,880 Forgive me. Instead of all these things in 444 00:29:56,880 --> 00:30:01,680 verse 31, instead of all of them, be kind to one another, 445 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:04,520 tenderhearted. Can I speak to you, man? 446 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:09,400 Again, Mankindness is a Christian virtue, not a feminine 447 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:14,600 virtue. It is a Christian trait that the 448 00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:19,600 Lord Jesus was kind. He's been kind to me. 449 00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:25,000 You know the famous story of Augustine, one of the greatest 450 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:28,800 theologians in church history. We we owe a tremendous amount to 451 00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:32,360 his intellect, to his love for Christ, his teaching. 452 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:35,680 He came to faith in Christ in the city of Milan. 453 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:40,360 He had lived for self through his life, dabbled in false 454 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:42,760 cults. He pursued satisfaction of all 455 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:45,720 his desires. He had thrown himself in wanton, 456 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:47,880 abandoned into everything he possibly could. 457 00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:51,600 And he came to Christ in Milan, where Bishop Ambrose was 458 00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:55,520 preaching. Bishop Ambrose was the great 459 00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:58,240 preacher of the day, known for his eloquence, known for his 460 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:01,080 great wisdom. People flocked to listen to him. 461 00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:04,480 Do you know what Agustin said about how he came to faith 462 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:08,680 listening to Ambrose? He said to him one day, it was 463 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:15,280 not your great teaching, but that you were kind to me, but 464 00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:18,920 that you were kind to me, Friends. 465 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:23,200 He saw in one man. He saw the life of the Lord 466 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:26,000 Jesus Christ lived out in all its beauty. 467 00:31:27,200 --> 00:31:28,680 Oh, we've sung about it together. 468 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:31,160 We've treasured it all the way through our worship together. 469 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:36,120 If you have Christ, you have all you need for all of life. 470 00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:41,400 If you have put him on, can I say to you, friends, this 471 00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:45,160 morning, if you have put him on, then put him on. 472 00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:52,040 Where his love, where his truth, where his gentleness, where his 473 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:56,640 pure and perfect speech, where his generosity, where his 474 00:31:56,640 --> 00:32:00,520 kindness? So May God help us and keep us 475 00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:07,280 all our days. Let's pray together, gracious 476 00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:10,160 God, in these moments, how precious they are. 477 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:14,680 In these moments, we simply say back to you that you have done 478 00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:19,360 to us what we did not deserve. You have lavished on us what we 479 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:24,920 could not earn. Instead of giving to us the 480 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:28,800 permanent exile from your perfect world, You have called 481 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:34,120 us in, dressed us in the robes, perfect robes of righteousness, 482 00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:38,320 seated us at your table. You have fed us and washed us, 483 00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:44,600 called us your own children, made us brothers with Christ our 484 00:32:44,600 --> 00:32:47,280 head. Oh, how we love you. 485 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:51,480 We simply return to you all the affection and praise and 486 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:54,680 adoration and love of our hearts, and ask you to keep us 487 00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:59,400 growing in you all our days. For we ask it together in 488 00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:02,280 Christ's precious name, Amen.