Change is Necessary.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] This week in Ephesians chapter 4, we’re going to jump right off of last week, [0:04] and we’re going to talk about the topic of change is necessary. If it’s one thing that I know a lot [0:09] of people don’t really enjoy, even if you’re the type of person that thinks you’re some kind of free [0:14] spirit, change is not something that most people like. We get kind of in our routine, in our way [0:22] of life, and anytime somebody wants to throw a wrench in those plans and the way that we’re going [0:27] in our mundane way of living, sometimes it’s like, whoa, I don’t know about this. This is going to

[0:32] cause me to go off the tracks. We kind of treat our lives like we’re a train, and if we derail, [0:38] just chaos will ensue. But the gospel is this force that comes into our lives and necessitates [0:45] change. It absolutely requires it. And what we talked about last week is we came off of this [0:52] overhead view of the gospel that the first three chapters of Ephesians had given us, and we came to [0:57] the ground level of how God is going to take this eternal work in history that He’s been doing [1:03] and actually put it into play in our lives and use us to build His vision that is the

[1:10] Church of Jesus Christ. And it begins with this idea and this concept of discipleship, [1:16] that God has gifted the church with leaders and with people with certain gifts in order to, [1:23] as Ephesians 4-12 puts it, to equip the saints for the work of ministry. [1:28] And so the question then is, who are these saints? Well, it’s us. We are the saints. You [1:35] must take on the identity as a saint of God through the finished work of Jesus Christ. [1:41] So you are the ones necessarily, if you proclaim to be a follower of Jesus,

[1:46] who needs to be equipped for the work of ministry in your life. And then at the end of the section [1:52] we took a look at last week, we saw that this takes place through growing in our knowledge of [1:59] God, through growing in our understanding of what Jesus has done in the gospel, [2:03] and through our relationship and our understanding of who we are in light of who God is and what He [2:08] has done. And this is something that must be taught, because our perspective is the first [2:13] thing that needs to change. And our potential for growth is not based on us, but rather based on

[2:20] Jesus Christ. And so this week, Paul comes off of that, and he gives us a bold declaration [2:29] as to what the implications for the gospel are in change. And the fact that if you do not change [2:40] from before you knew Christ to after you knew Christ, then the implications as to the effect [2:46] Jesus on your life are not good. Basically, his premise is that you cannot come into contact and [2:54] come into a relationship with Jesus Christ and it not alter your life. You can’t do it. And here’s [3:00] what he says. Join me in Ephesians chapter four, verse 17. Paul writes, Now this I say and testify

[3:08] in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the futility of their minds. [3:17] They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the [3:22] ignorance that is in them due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given [3:28] themselves up to sensuality, greed, and to practice every kind of impurity. Now Paul starts this section [3:37] with some really hard words, and what he’s doing is he is contrasting what we talked about and [3:43] spoke of last week to the life of someone outside of relationship with God, someone that has not

[3:50] experienced redemption, someone who has not been reconciled with the Father through trusting in [3:55] the work of Jesus. And he refers to them as Gentiles, but he starts by saying, Now this I [4:02] testify in the Lord. So what he’s doing is he’s coming at you with bold confidence. [4:09] And the work that he talked about last week where Jesus descended onto the earth, [4:13] died on the cross, rose again, ascended in victorious, triumphal procession, that 2nd [4:20] Corinthians says that he’s leading us in throughout our lives as we are his witnesses to this world.

[4:26] What he’s saying is, is that in light of that, I am able to boldly say to you through the authority [4:33] of Jesus, but in his very life, that none of what I’m about to say is possible if it weren’t for the [4:40] fact that I have entered into the life of God through Jesus. And then he writes, You must no [4:49] longer walk as the Gentiles do. Okay. Who’s he talking about here? Okay. What is the difference [4:59] if you kind of look at the Old Testament, the beginning of the New Testament, what is the [5:03] difference between the Gentiles and the other people group, which were the Jews? So basically

[5:09] you had Jews and then you had everybody else who were the Gentiles. It is very easy for us to read [5:14] passages like this and get this vision that Paul is talking about the seediest parts of society, [5:21] that these are the people that are clearly the villain in every movie. They wear all black. They [5:26] have jet black hair. They don’t brush their teeth. It’s like dirty and it’s just there. These are [5:32] just filthy, disgusting people. And I don’t look like that. I mean, after all, Paul uses some pretty, [5:37] he says, greed, sensuality, every type of impurity is as clearly a villainous type of person that

[5:45] they don’t look anything like me. They don’t live anything like me. You couldn’t be more wrong.

[5:55] Everyone at one point was a Gentile. If you are a follower of Jesus, there was a time [6:04] when you did not trust Jesus. There was a time when you did not know him. And Paul is saying, [6:13] you at one time were ignorant. So Paul is talking to those who have experienced reconciliation with [6:21] the father, who have experienced redemption. And he’s looking point blank into your life and saying, [6:26] you should not live like a person who doesn’t know him. His basic idea is, [6:33] is that it begins with your mind. Notice that he says that they are darkened in their understanding

[6:39] that they don’t have the life of God because of ignorance and hardness of heart. [6:44] That this all starts in the mind. Everything that you do, everything that you are is going to begin [6:51] with the way that you think about God, with the way that you think about yourself and with the [6:56] way that you think about others. And what he’s saying here is basically don’t think like someone [7:01] who isn’t accepted, loved, and redeemed by God because that is not your identity any longer.

[7:15] Point number one this morning, probably should have given it five minutes ago. [7:20] Trusting Jesus changes my understanding of life.

[7:25] Trusting Jesus changes my understanding of life. Paul begins in these first few verses by showing [7:31] us what life is like outside of Jesus. And he uses three examples as to what life outside of [7:41] Jesus looks like. And we, I think, I know me, there’s been a time when I looked at these and [7:46] I’m like, well, I’m not guilty of any of these. But what Paul is doing is he’s using very broad [7:52] examples here to describe us. All right. Notice in verse 19 when he says that they have given, [8:01] excuse me, they have become callous. That’s what happens when you’re outside of God. You are callous

[8:06] to the work of God, the things of God. And he says, and have given themselves up to sensuality [8:12] and greedy to practice every kind of impurity. So what does that mean? Okay, so this is someone [8:20] that’s a thief. This is someone that is clearly not me because I don’t have a lot of money. This [8:25] is someone that is so promiscuous sexually. It’s disgusting. This is someone that goes and does [8:32] things that I would consider impure. But that’s not what he’s saying. He is indicting every one [8:39] of us here. Because basically what he’s saying is, is that when you base your life on anything

[8:48] outside of who Jesus is, what he has done, and what he wants you to do with his gospel, [8:54] you are going to fall into one of these categories because that’s all you have left. [9:01] He calls it futile. But these things are what many of us, especially in this culture, [9:07] base our lives upon. He’s taking you to a foundational level because we have specific [9:14] sins that we like to point out where greed, sex, and immorality are concerned. But I don’t think [9:21] that’s what Paul is talking about here. I think Paul is talking about the foundation of what they

[9:26] are. So if you are the type of person that is building your life and your hope and all of your [9:34] dreams on a career to have security, to have tons of leisure, well Paul is talking about the [9:44] fact that you are basing your life on a foundation of greed. It’s greed because that is not what God [9:50] created you to do. Or if you’re a person that is obsessed with your looks, you’re obsessed with [9:58] vanity, or you’re a person that really believes that your life is going to be made better if you [10:05] have more sexual partners, that your life is going to be so much better if you could just have more

[10:12] people that lust over you or if you have more people that you could lust over. That’s sensuality. [10:20] And then to end it, he says, and every act of impurity. In other words, everything else.

[10:27] He’s not leaving anything off base here. Anything that you build your life on outside of God [10:37] is impure. It’s unrighteous. It’s unholy. And God has not designed his followers in light [10:50] of what he has done throughout eternity where the cross of Jesus Christ is concerned, [10:55] and redemption and reconciling us to the Father. He has not designed our lives to be built on those [11:03] things. And here’s what he’s saying here, is that culture in this world is going to tell you [11:10] that without certain things, certain wants, certain desires, certain fulfillments, certain successes,

[11:18] without those things, you’re hopeless. Once heard a pastor talk about the gods of this culture, [11:26] and he said, if you want to know what the gods of this culture are, go look at magazine covers. [11:31] Because each magazine cover has a picture of heaven for someone.

[11:35] Whether it be the picture of someone fit, whether it be the picture of a home or garden, [11:42] whether it be a picture of a 70-inch plasma or I think it’s LED now television screen, [11:48] whatever it is, if we could just have that, oh, how good would my life be?

[12:01] If I look at a picture from the cover of Muscle and Fitness magazine and I [12:05] see Phil Heath this year’s Mr. Olympia, oh, if I could just have that. [12:12] All my problems would go away. Look at a picture of car and driver, guys. Oh, [12:21] if I could just trade in the GMC for the Maserati, wow, I would be happy.

[12:30] See, at the end of the day, no matter what excuses we use when we base our lives on that type of [12:37] understanding of what joy, what hope are built upon, what we have is greed, sensuality, and all [12:46] types of impurity. Paul is saying, when you think like that, you are thinking like someone outside [12:55] of the life of God. So what Paul is saying is, I’m testifying in the Lord that you are in the life [13:04] of God if you’ve trusted in Jesus and those hopes, those things, they are counterfeit gods. [13:12] They are false. They’re lies. That culture, evil, wickedness, the flesh that is inside of us and

[13:19] Satan himself will use to convince us away from the life that God has designed us to live. [13:28] And we should not think like that. We should think like one who has the life of God. And if [13:36] you have the life of God, you have everything. You have all that you’ll ever need. And the worst [13:43] that could possibly happen in this life is that you go on to spend an eternity with him in the [13:47] next one. Let’s keep reading. Let’s keep moving. Verse 20, Paul gives this resounding blunt face-first [13:59] kind of accusation to them. He says, but that is not the way that you learned Christ, assuming

[14:06] that you’ve heard about him. I love the way Paul says these things because it’s like it reeks of [14:12] sarcasm. I’m assuming you’ve heard about this guy, Jesus. That’s not the way you learned him.

[14:20] He says, and we’re taught in him as the truth is in Jesus.

[14:28] See, you’re not like that. That’s not what I taught you about Jesus. That is not the way God has [14:34] revealed himself to us. God has revealed himself to us that he’s a loving father, that in spite of [14:39] sin, loved us anyway, gave his son up for us so that we could have hope and life in God that does [14:46] not begin when we die, but begins the moment that we’re reconciled with the father to live a life [14:52] with real hope, to live a life with real understanding and to know what truth actually looks like.

[15:01] And his premise here is something that we’re going to have to dig deep to really find. [15:06] And his premise is that, point number two, real change causes me to live differently. [15:13] Real change causes me to live differently. And the fact that he ends that verse with the fact that [15:21] as the truth is in Jesus. See, that is what gives the reliability of such harsh statements that I [15:32] need change. Not that I can change, but that I need change. That’s why Jesus could be as bold [15:39] as he was in Luke 16 13, when he talks about what dictates the decisions in our lives. And he says,

[15:46] no servant can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will [15:51] be devoted to the one and despise the other. And he says, you cannot serve God and money. [15:59] It’s interesting that as our cultures are so drastically different,

[16:06] the issue of idolatry is still the same.

[16:11] The biggest God that we have in our generation is really money.

[16:17] And just because of time, I only want to use that one example [16:21] that when we continue to build our lives in the hopes of this culture, [16:27] what Paul is ultimately saying here and what Jesus was saying there [16:31] is that you are going to be brought if you try to follow Jesus, if you try to know him, [16:35] if you try to grow in him and follow him as your God, but devote all of your time, talent, [16:44] and treasure to the pursuit of material gain in this life. And this is just the issue of greed.

[16:51] And what he’s saying is, is you have two competing masters.

[16:57] They are diametrically opposed to one another. They are in competition with each other. [17:06] And Paul says, eventually, and what Jesus is really saying, eventually you will come to a [17:12] place in your life where you’re going to be faced with a decision that you can either be all in [17:21] on following God in the gospel or you can be all in on building up your kingdom, your way, [17:31] through your means. And Paul says, Jesus, Jesus, it happens sometimes, Jesus says that at some point

[17:41] when you do make that decision, you will inevitably hate one of those gods.

[17:51] Because you’re going to have to make a decision. Who has your hope? Who has your trust? Who has [17:58] your heart? There’s an interesting story in the book of 2 Timothy. And it’s interesting because [18:10] it’s not talked about very much. It’s kind of passed over because it’s just one verse. But I [18:16] think the implications of what Paul talks about, of a man named Demas, are so in touch with where [18:23] we are as a culture and as a church. Paul was a missionary and he was traveling the world, [18:31] and he had people that would come with him. Paul didn’t go on his missionary journeys alone.

[18:35] And he comes to a place where he’s writing in 2 Timothy, and he’s writing to [18:39] Timothy, who’s a pastor of a church that Paul planted, and he’s asking Timothy to come [18:43] and bring him help. And he writes about this man named Demas. Now, there’s a couple of Demases [18:49] in the New Testament. We don’t know specifically who this is because, you know, it’s kind of like [18:54] this culture where people can have the same name. But this is all we know about this guy. [18:58] Here’s what Paul says about him. Here’s the legacy he leaves. For Demas, in love with this present

[19:04] world has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. How would you like that to be your legacy? [19:13] For the church to read forever about you.

[19:19] Demas deserted me. Why? Why? Because he was in love with this present world.

[19:32] Now, I don’t know what ended up happening in this guy’s life. I can’t speak to that, [19:40] but I can speak biblically to what I think Paul is implying about Demas at that moment. [19:50] Because I think he’s making a very bold statement about what Demas loved and who Demas was really [19:57] trusting in, and it wasn’t Jesus. Because he says Demas was in love with this present world. [20:03] If I get 1 John chapter 2 up there, verse 15, here’s what John says. He says, [20:09] Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, notice this,

[20:18] the love of the Father is not in him. The love of the Father is not in him.

[20:27] What Paul is saying about this man Demas is that for a time it appeared that he was all in on the [20:32] gospel. For a time it appeared that he trusted in Christ because he was living the mission of [20:39] Jesus. And then he said, there came a point in our journey when that was tested.

[20:47] There came a point where Demas realized, I can either follow Jesus with everything that I have,

[20:55] or I can keep following the same path I used to follow.

[21:00] And for Demas, he loved the world too much.

[21:06] He couldn’t give those things up. He couldn’t give that leisure up. He couldn’t give that maybe [21:11] career up. Because that demanded his time. It demanded his talent. It demanded everything he [21:18] had. Because after all, if I don’t have that, then what is my identity? Who am I outside of that?

[21:28] And I think Paul is making a declaration about this man’s soul. [21:33] See, and the key issue today is that I think if we were really honest with ourselves, [21:40] for many of us, the story of Demas is a lot like ours, but what we think is going to save us [21:46] from the spirit is our anonymity. See, because Paul knew who Demas was.

[21:55] And so Demas’s dirty laundry were aired to the entire world in the New Testament.

[22:00] But see, people don’t know me. Paul didn’t know me.

[22:06] So nobody can write in the New Testament that I loved the world more than I loved Jesus. [22:13] And I tell you, you do not want to live the same legacy that Demas did because at the end of the [22:17] day, it didn’t matter what Paul thought of Demas. What mattered is what God thought of Demas. [22:22] And if I believe that the New Testament’s inspired to the Holy Spirit, then this is what God thought [22:27] about Demas. So my question is, is with your life,

[22:37] are you finding your identity in this world and the hopes that are built in this world, [22:41] or are you finding your identity in the mission of Jesus and the person of Jesus Christ?

[22:52] Because there’s a lot of focus put on the work of Jesus and what he did on the cross. But I think [22:57] when Paul brings us to this level, what he’s telling us is, well, what about the person of Jesus? [23:04] What about the example that he left us? What about the life that he lived where he fully devoted [23:09] himself to seeking the saving that which was lost? Where he fully devoted himself to the redemption [23:14] that’s found in Jesus Christ? Where at the moment where he is faced with taking the sin of the world [23:19] to himself and facing the pain in it, he says, Father, if there’s any other way, may this cup

[23:25] pass for me. But then he follows it with, but not my will, yours. And so when Paul writes to us and [23:34] he says, but that is not the way that you learned Christ, assuming that you’ve heard about him.

[23:42] What he’s doing is he’s making a very good rhetorical remark to us. And he’s saying is, [23:48] if someone were to look into your life, would it be clear that this is a person that has trusted [23:55] in Jesus Christ? Would it be clear that this is a person who understands life differently than those [24:03] outside of Jesus Christ? Not simply on an intellectual level of belief, but on a lifestyle, [24:13] on a life where you live the potential of Jesus authority.

[24:20] Because we will be faced with decisions in this life. And one direction will further the gospel [24:30] and one direction will further me. I believe we’re faced with those decisions every single day.

[24:39] And what Paul is confronting us with

[24:44] is number one, what decision will you make? But number two, what does that decision reveal [24:51] about your heart? What does it reveal about who your God is?

[25:02] If we keep reading, I’ll finish out this section.

[25:10] He says, assuming that you’ve heard about him and were taught him in him, excuse me, [25:14] as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life. [25:23] You see the assumption Paul is making here, the former manner of life.

[25:34] And is corrupt through deceitful desires and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds and to put [25:41] on the new self created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

[25:50] So Paul finishes out this section with a bold declaration. And what that declaration is, [25:57] is this concept that I wanted to get to of change. It’s change. Because the fact of the matter is, [26:05] and this is the final point this morning, is that who I am becoming

[26:12] must be rooted in who Jesus is. Who I am becoming must be rooted in who Jesus is. [26:21] Paul’s premise here is a continuation of the entire book of Ephesians. If Jesus is the source [26:27] of truth, because remember, as truth is in him, put off the old self. It’s the foundation of [26:35] the old self, that gentile self, that person that had futility in his mind.

[26:44] The implication is that I’m going to get rid of that guy because truth is in Jesus and I’m [26:47] going to put on the life of Jesus Christ. In other words, all other things are sourced [26:54] in the death of sin that Jesus has taken for us in order that he might redeem us. [27:01] See, this idea of being a gentile, of being on the outside of the life of God, [27:05] he starts it in chapter two, when he says, for by grace you’ve been saved through faith, [27:11] not of works, so that no one can boast, but you’ve been remade in him, you’ve been created in

[27:18] Christ Jesus as the workmanship of God for good works. And then he depicts what life outside of [27:24] God is with life inside of God, that every barrier has been taken away. You are now free [27:30] to live and worship and be in God. And then he comes back in chapter four and it’s basically [27:37] saying, hey, remember those barriers that God took down so you could have his life? And you’re like, [27:41] oh man, no sin can separate me from him. I’ve been forgiven of my sins. I’m a new person. Paul is [27:48] saying, if you really believe that, guess what? You will live like it.

[27:55] The gospel is the greatest thing in history because it’s God. What Paul is saying is that [28:04] there are implications to your life. The gospel is not something that you just believe. The gospel [28:11] is not a prayer that you pray so that you can just have this fake relationship with God, [28:18] where you have hope for the next life. You’re going to avoid hell and you’re going to go to [28:23] heaven. What Paul is saying is the gospel has drastic implications for this world.

[28:30] If you read the entire New Testament from in Luke nine, where Jesus says, [28:37] if you follow me, you deny yourself and you’ll take up your cross and you will actually walk [28:43] behind me into the life that I have designed for you in my gospel. All the way to the book [28:48] of Revelation chapter three, where it says there’s a church in Laodicea and they’re neither hot nor [28:54] cold where God is concerned. They’re just in this lukewarm stagnant state where they say they [28:59] believe, but they do nothing. And John writes there that God is going to spew them out of his mouth.

[29:09] If you take the entire New Testament

[29:14] and you lay it out and you read it, Jesus’ call to commitment is clear, Francis Chan says. [29:21] He wants all or he wants nothing. The thought of a person calling himself a Christian [29:28] without being a devoted follower of Christ is absurd.

[29:33] If you take what the New Testament says and you lay it on the table and you take it literally [29:37] and you say, okay, is my life measuring up to this? If your answer is no, [29:42] Paul’s point is, well, who do you think you are? Jesus doesn’t want to kind of be your God. He [29:47] wants to fully be your God. Follow him. And here as he finishes this statement, what he’s really [29:55] talking about is this idea of commitment. I was on a baseball team when I was in high school. [30:06] Wasn’t that good? I was just on the team. And

[30:11] when we came to that first day of practice, I remember like it was yesterday. [30:14] Coach Burkett looks at us and he says, guys, understand that your decision to be on this [30:20] team is your decision against other things. And he called us to commitment to the team. [30:27] It’s a good thing to do. I mean, we needed to be committed if we were going to be on the team.

[30:34] And then when I got married to something that’s trend that followed me, the pastor that did our [30:37] premarital counseling, his name was Dwayne Carson. He pulled off his wedding band and he said, guys, [30:42] when you put this wedding band on, understand that you are making a decision for something [30:48] and a decision against anything else. He says, this limits you.

[30:55] He says you’re making a decision for your wife and you’re making a decision against all others [30:59] for the rest of your life. Our commitments in this life limit us. Our decisions in this life [31:10] limit us. When we decide for one thing, we necessarily are deciding against other things.

[31:21] And the way that we want Jesus to be satisfied with us is that we want to add him [31:28] onto the list of everything else that we’ve already got going on in our lives and say, Jesus, [31:35] you get the leftovers.

[31:40] Because I can’t give up any of this stuff. I can’t say no to everything I’ve already got going on.

[31:51] So at the end of the day, we are left with a great number of decisions where we have competing [31:58] allegiances.

[32:04] My question is, is who wins out when we are faced with those decisions?

[32:16] Last week, we talked about this great vision that God has for his church.

[32:22] It’s awesome privilege that we have in Ephesians 4.12. [32:27] As the God of the universe would like us to take his equipment and live his mission. Think about that.

[32:39] If you’re like me, and I hope you are, you’re like, yes, I want to be discipled. I want to grow in him.

[32:49] This week, what we’re faced with are the implications of that. Yes,

[32:57] because I don’t want to lie to you.

[33:02] I want to be as honest as I possibly can. I want to be transparent. It’s hard.

[33:08] Following Jesus will require you to sacrifice other things in your life.

[33:18] If you trust him. If you trust him. I don’t know what those things are for you. I know what they [33:25] are for me. I have to sit down with you one on one. And if you’d like me to, I will. [33:31] We can look at your life. And when you’re like me, you’re like, 24 hours isn’t enough.

[33:38] Any more? Can we just have 30? The fact of the matter is, no, we can’t. [33:44] Just not the way God designed the universe. We all get the same amount of time. All of us get 24 hours. [33:50] So the same 24 hours I’ve got is the same 24 hours you’ve got. We just use it differently.

[33:58] And what we’re being faced with right now is the question of how will we use the time that God has [34:06] given us and what does it say about us? Because some of it must be sacrificed.

[34:23] If you look at your life and you just say, I want to grow in the Lord. I want to read my Bible. [34:29] I want to be involved in the church. I want to be in a relationship where I can be discipled. [34:33] But there’s just not enough time. I want to get on practical level with you. [34:41] You need to sit down and figure out what needs to go.

[34:47] You need to sit down and look at your schedule and say, [34:50] I’ve got to say no to something so that I can say yes to Jesus.

[34:59] Maybe Thursday afternoon, P-Nuckle just has to go.

[35:05] And you laugh, but nine times out of 10 when you sit down with someone, [35:09] it’s like the bowling league. I can’t give it up. Well, eternity bowling.

[35:29] I just think when we look at this, Paul’s so crystal clear. [35:34] So crystal clear. I just want to read the end. I just want to read the end. Look at what he says.

[35:39] Look at this. And to put on the new self, the new self, the new you, [35:49] the identity that you have in Jesus is better than the identity that you have in you. [35:57] Because I know Steve, I know me, and I know that what Jesus has got is way better than anything [36:02] I’ve got. To put on that new self who’s grounded in finding his identity in Jesus. Look at this, [36:10] created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

[36:18] And what I have to do in my life and what is a reflection of my trust that Jesus has redeemed [36:23] me completely is this reality that I look at what I’m doing and the choices that I’m making, [36:28] the people that I’m surrounding myself with in light of the book of Proverbs, the wisdom that [36:33] I get from what I’m feeding myself intellectually. I have to look at it and say, is that aiding God [36:42] creating me in the likeness of himself in true righteousness and holiness?

[36:50] Is it? If not, I’m sorry. My hope’s in God. And I have to put it out.

[37:02] You have to ask yourself that question. Paul in Philippians chapter three verses eight and nine, [37:08] he looks at his life outside of God, those things that could sway him. And he says, [37:13] I count everything as lost because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, [37:18] my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish. [37:23] The literal word there is dung. Maybe you knew that. In order that I may gang Christ and be [37:29] found in him. This is one of those coffee cup verses that we love to read. And it’s like my life

[37:33] verse. But what Paul is literally saying is that everything that is not aiding my growth in Jesus [37:39] Christ has to go. And then if I skip down to verse 13 of Philippians chapter three, he writes [37:49] this. Brothers, I do not consider that I’ve made it my own, but one thing I do. This is what Paul [37:54] says to you in your life right now. Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what [37:59] lies ahead. I press on toward what? The goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. [38:09] That is the path that God has for you. It’s a path to his calling. It’s a path to walking worthy

[38:16] of that calling. It’s a path to real transformation where real change is possible, but real change is [38:23] necessary. God wants you to live differently than those who don’t know him. Because if you don’t, [38:33] then how will your neighbors know what redemption looks like? If they’re not seeing it worked out [38:41] in your life. That my friends is the mission of Jesus. As the band comes up right now, I want to [38:53] reflect on that upward call. I want to reflect on the mission of Jesus. I want to reflect on the [39:01] life that he has for us in communion. His broken body has shed blood. May we not lose sight of why

[39:11] his body was broken. On why his blood was shed. On what it looks like. Because we’re talking here [39:18] about the new life that he has for us. And what communion represents is an analogy of the life [39:24] of Jesus entering into my life and taking over as I walk in his mission. If you’re a follower of Jesus, [39:35] his table is open for you. If you’re not, I simply ask. You come and talk to me. Go to the back. Talk [39:43] to somebody back there. Because today is the day of salvation for you. Trust Jesus.