Somebody Loves You
Walking In The Newness Of Life Pt.1
The levers think differently than the unsaid. We shouldn't be thinking the way we used to think. Christ has given me a new mind to think. And the only way that my mind can change is by the washing of the water of the word, by studying the word of God. The more I study, the more I read, the more I listen to God and music and worship, whatever I mean, the more I'm going to become like Him. (upbeat music) ♪ I am falling ♪ ♪ I am falling ♪ ♪ I am falling ♪ ♪ Now ♪ ♪ I am falling ♪ ♪ Now ♪ ♪ I am falling ♪ ♪ I am falling ♪ - Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio, the Bible Teaching Ministry of Role Race in Diamond Bar, California. Thanks for being with us today, as well kicks off this new year with a series focused on fully living for God. Making and then quickly breaking resolutions is par for the course for many of us, but we'll see that if we wanna be true disciples of Christ, we must be fully committed all of the time. Stay with us for a challenge to avoid spiritual apathy and establish habits that will draw us closer to God as we honor Him in the year ahead. Join us, if you will, in Ephesians chapter four, beginning in verse 17. Here's role race. Our topic this evening or our theme is walking in newness of life. Now, what is interesting about Paul the Apostle is that this evening we want to study the passage, where not Paul the Apostle begins to teach what we should be doing for Christ now that we know what he has done for us. Remember I told you at the beginning, when we started the book of Ephesians that the book of Ephesians only has six chapters, but in the first three chapters, Paul the Apostle begins to tell you how rich you are in Jesus Christ, where most pastor teachers or evangelists usually will begin by teaching you what you need to be doing for Christ instead of learning what Christ has done for you, which is the most important thing. And once you know your wealth, and once you know your position in Christ, then this is not what you are supposed to be doing. This is not your part, my part as believers. And that's important. So in the first three chapters, he tells you what you are in Christ, and the last three chapters, he's going to tell you, now that you know who you are, this is what you should be like now, you see? Now it's doing. This is your life now, what you're supposed to be like in Christ. The Bible was not just written to be observed or studied by the believer, but the Bible was written that it should be obeyed by us. It's not just a book to be read, but a book to be obeyed. And so Paul the Apostle not only steps up by faith, but because he is the writer, and of course the Holy Spirit is the inspirator. He's actually the one that inspires and illuminates the scriptures. He not begins to share with us what we are now to be like as believers in Jesus Christ. And the reason is because the world is looking at us. They want to see if you're still doing the same things or if there's really been a change in your life supernaturally by the Holy Spirit. That's important. And then this is why also Paul the Apostle here in the book of Ephesians chapter 4, verse 17, he starts with the word therefore and wherefore. And that is they repeat it so often in the second half of the book of Ephesians because he's actually the word therefore, wherefore it takes you back to what we already studied, to what already he has said, what already we've learned, what's already in memory in our minds. Verse 17, he says this. He says, "So I tell you this, "and insist on it in the Lord "that you must no longer live as Gentiles do "in the futility of their thinking. "They are darkened and they're understanding "and separated from the life of God "because of the ignorance that is 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 "with a continual loss for more." Verse 20, "You however did not come "to know Christ that way. "Surely you heard of him and were taught in him "in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus." Verse 22, "You were taught with regard "to your former way of life to put off the old self, "which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires." Verse 23, "And to be made new in the attitude "of your new minds and to put on the new self created "to be like God in true righteousness and true holiness. "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood "and speak truthfully to his neighbor. "For we are all members of one body." Verse 28, "In your anger do not sin, "do not let the sun go down while you are still angry." Verse 27, "And do not give the devil a foothold." Verse 28, "He who has been stealing "must steal no longer, but must work "doing something useful with his own hands, "that he may have something to share with those in need." Beautiful words. And then in the New King James, it's a little bit different in New King James. Verse 17 through 19, he says this, "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, "that you should no longer walk "as the rest of the Gentiles walk. "In the futility of their mind, "having their understanding darken, "being alienated from the life of God "because of the ignorance that is in them, "because of the blindness of their heart, "who be in past feelings have given themselves "over to luness and to work all on cleanness with greediness." So the first thing we have is the admonition verses 17 through 19. The first thing we come to is verse 17, which is a testimony. The testimony that we not only should possess, but the testimony that the non-believer has in the world, that's the testimony that you and I had before we came to Christ. We were perverted, we were in darkness, we were lost without hope, without God in this world. And this is why Paul wants us to understand that we used to be like that, but now we have been changed because of Jesus Christ. You notice that word in your New King James, in verse 17, the word to walk there? In the Greek language is a very interesting word. It's the word to conduct oneself, the way you behave, the way you act in the presence of people. That's what the word means here. It is actually speaking of your behavior as a person. And so when Paul is writing here, he's talking of the behavior of those that do not know Christ, which at one time you and I were non-believers. But now, our walk is in the light. Our walk is in Jesus Christ. Where, before, these people were walking what? We used to be what? Walking, first of all, in darkness. John 8, 3, 8, 12 says this. And then Jesus spoke to them again, and said, "I am the light of the world. "He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, "but you have the light of life." Secondly, we used to walk not only in darkness, but we walked in the flesh or after the flesh. We used to pursue every fleshly desire before we came to Christ. Every Friday night, every Saturday night, and even Sundays. And then Mondays pay the consequences for going after and pursue after the flesh. Some people pursue to gratify their flesh every night. They're dissatisfied. They cannot sleep. They can do nothing unless they do something evil to satisfy their lives. But we used to be the same way in darkness and also in the flesh. Romans 8, 1 says, therefore. He says, "There is therefore now no condemnation "to those who are in Christ Jesus." Here it is, who are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. You see, we used to be walking according to the flesh, but now we are walking according to the Spirit. Dominated, being ruled by the Spirit as I submit my life to Jesus Christ. That's the only way that I can walk in the Spirit. I have the will and I have a choice to make. I can go this way and do what everybody else is doing, or I can go this way and be obedient and do what God wants me to do and be blessed by the Lord is God uses my life. You have the choice to make, and that's what Paul is saying. Thirdly, we walked as the Gentiles. The word Gentiles, the heathens. That is those that do not know Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 4, 17, he describes us so beautiful. He says, "Look, I testify in the Lord "that you should no longer walk as the rest of the heathens "walk in the futility of their minds." We used to walk in craftiness. Craftiness, second Corinthians 4, 2 says, but he says, "But we have renounced the heathens things "of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling "the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation "of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience "in the side of God." Look what Paul says. He says that at one time, we used to be crafty, but now we have renounced those things that are hidden in our shame, and yet there seems to be people that are constantly boasting about their past. Paul says, "We should be ashamed of what we used to do. "Nothing to be happy about, nothing to be proud about. "We should be ashamed the way we used to walk "and the things we used to do." And then he also declares here walking in craftiness by not abusing or using the word of God in a very deceitful way, you see? Saying something that you are, but you're not, you see? Be careful how we use the word of God. - This is Somebody Loves You Radio with Roland Rees. Visit SomebodyLovesYou.com to explore our full range of resources designed to ground you in God's word and guide you in His will. You can also join Rolf for a straight talk on his YouTube channel every Tuesday at 10 a.m. West Coast time. Let's continue now with the conclusion of our study, walking in the newness of life. - Let me go back to verse 17, give you a couple of other words that are very important here, in verse 17. The other word I want you to look at is the word futility. That word here, literally in the Greek means, that which is in vain or aimless, we used to have an aimless life. No purpose in life, no purpose. Everything that the world does, real literally, if it's not for God, it's without purpose. No matter how much money they may have, no matter what they do, it's without purpose, why? Because when they die, the only thing they will count is what you did for Jesus Christ's period. That's it, nothing else. Without purpose, without aim. And then the third word is the word mind, and it's very important here. It's not just in the thinking basis here. Literally, it is speaking of the faculty for recognizing moral good and spiritual truth, according to the word of God, knowing what is right and what is wrong. These people do not know what's right, they don't know what's wrong, why? Because they do not know the word of God. The word of God is what gives us instruction. Then look at verse 18. Now in verse 18, we have the mind thinking. That's the next point, thinking. And this is what he says. He says, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts, interesting. That word darkness there, or darken in the Greek language, it means to darken or to blind the mind. And the reason is because they're not tuning their ears and their minds to the word of God. That's the only thing that can cleanse you and take that callousness and that blindness and that heart, heart away from you. This is what Paul is sharing here. Their understanding is dark and their mind has been blinded. And look what he says also. And being alienated here, the word to be alienated here means to be this, to be estranged from God, to be a stranger from God. You're not the friend of God like Abraham, that is talking to those that are non-believers. And then the other word that he uses here, he says because of the ignorance, the word ignorance here, he denotes the ignorance of divine things, a want of knowledge that is inexcusable and it involves moral blindness. Interesting, moral blindness. They're ignorant because they do not know God and they don't know the word of God. They may know a lot about the world, but that means nothing to God. We need to know him and the power of his resurrection. And then one more interesting word, the word blindness, interesting. This is what it means. It means literally hardness. It means this. It means literally the covering with a callous. You know how when you cut your finger and then as your finger begins to heal, the cut actually becomes a little bit hard, callous. He says, that's what's happened to their hearts. It's become like a callous. They have no sensitivity. They can't feel anymore. And that can happen to any one of us by the things that go into our minds. That's what he's talking about the world here. That's why the world is so polluted today. We're talking to some people today and we've been getting a lot of counseling because of the internet. But they've gotten into the pornography of the internet and it's become a real problem to them and their families. And let me give you just a little bit of warning. If you're thinking of going into the internet and going in and plugging in, every time you open that program and you go into these areas of pornography, guess what happens? Once you plug in, your name is there forever. You can't ever stretch your name out of there. If somebody wanted to get you, they can go back there, they can trace how many times you plugged into the internet, how many times you've been in pornography and they can tell you exactly the time and when you did it. Pretty interesting. So I share that with you just to be careful. All these things are destroying our lives. All these things are destroying our country. Hey, computers are great, I have one. I'm in the internet too. But I'm careful what I look at and what I read because I know my weaknesses. So Paul is warning us here tonight concerning our thinking, the way we should think, the things that we should do. Because the mind is very strong. You see, very strong. The levers think differently than the unsaid. We shouldn't be thinking the way we used to think. Christ has given me a new mind to think. And the only way that my mind can change is by the washing of the water of the word, by studying the word of God. The more I study, the more I read, the more I listen to God and music and worship, whatever me, the more I'm going to become like him. You see? And it's interesting because when you look at the mind of the non-believer, his mind is totally separated from God. He's not even in the same channel, totally different. Secondly, the mind of the non-believer is totally despiseful. Dispiseful. Ezekiel 36.5 says this. Therefore, does say the Lord God. Surely, in the fire of my jealousy, I have spoken against the residue of the heathen, against all enduma which have appointed my land into a possession with a joy of all their heart, with a despifle mind to cast out for a prey. And then thirdly, a reprobate mind. A reprobate mind. Rome is 129. Being filled with all unrighteousness, and fornication, and wickedness, and covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, and whispers of my reprobate mind completely. That is a mind that is totally given to the world. Totally the trash. And then fourthly, a mind that is blinded. We're at second Corinthians 3.14 says, "But their minds were blinded. "For until this day remained the same, "vail on taken away, in the reading of the Old Testament, "which veil was done away was Christ." Speaking of the Jew, how the Jew cannot understand the New Testament, and we're not accepted, is that a veil was over his face, until that veil was taken away. And that's the way these people are. There's a veil they can't understand the things of God. They're blinded by their sin. And then verse 19, the time factor here. He says, "Who be in past feelings, "have been given themselves over to lunace, "to work all on cleanness with greediness." Notice what he says. He's saying that the unsaved man's thinking is futile, empty, because it is darkened. He thinks he is enlightened because he rejects the Bible, and he believes the latest philosophies when in reality, he is in dark living a life of sin. That's the whole key. Living a life of sin, totally separated from God. And who is the source of sin? Satan, John 844. You are of your Father the devil. In the lust of your Father you will do, he was a murder from the beginning, and a boat not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. And when he speaks, he's a liar. He speaks of his own, for he is a liar, and the Father of all lies. Secondly, the source of sin is man's heart. Matthew 15, 1920, Jesus said, "For out of the heart precedes evil thoughts, "murder's, adultries for nications, "theves, full witnesses, blasphemies." These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands, it defiles not a man. And thirdly, the source of sin is lust, James 1-5. If any of you like wisdom, let him ask of God that gives to all men liberally, and have braided not, and shall be given to you. And then he talks about how this lust consumes you, and overtakes you as a believer, if you're not careful, to bring in submission your desires to the Lord. Fourthly, the source of sin was soo, Adam's transgression in the garden, Romans 5, 12, 16. Wherefore, as by one man's sin enter the world by death, sin. And so death passed upon all men, for that all have sin, and not as it was by one, that sin so is the gift, for the judgment by one to condemnation, but the free gift of many offenses unto justification. Who's that? Jesus Christ. And what's the source of sin? Natural birth, we're all born in sin. Psalm 51, five, David said, behold, I was shaping in iniquity, and in sin that my mother conceived me. My mother conceived me in sin. And so you see Jeremiah 79 says, the heart is deceitful, desperate, wicked, who could know it? I, the Lord, know your hearts. What he uses there in verse 19, let me give you what it means there. Be in past feeling, literally in the Greek. To cease, to feel pain or grief, or to become callous, or insensitive to pain, or to become apathetic. Be in past feelings, that's what he means. These people have become apathetic, they've become insensitive to pain, they don't feel it anymore. They've become callous to their lifestyles and to their sin. And then the word lunis here, it literally means wanton, or lawless, or actually in slave to that sin. And then the word uncleaness means every kind of uncleaness, moral uncleaness, in the widest sense you can talk about. From anything you do, you go for it. And then finally, greediness, which means what? To be covetous. When you want something else, somebody else has, and you covet after that, even like back in the Old Testament, when Cain rose up and killed his brother, because he became covetous in what he gave to God, and what he could not give to God, why? Because his brother Abel gave it in faith. While Cain could not give it in faith, he killed his brother because he was covetous. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - We hope today's message has been an inspiration for you to keep your eyes fixed on Christ all year long, seeking his wisdom and obeying his will. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Roll Race. Today's lesson, "Walking in the Nunice of Life" is available to you when it's unedited form for a donation of $5 or more. To get your copy, simply call us at 800-634-916. To further equip you with guidance for godliness, we'd like to tell you about Roll's entire 16-part series titled, "How to Walk with God." Available on either CD or flash drive, this study will challenge you to avoid apathy in your spiritual life. You'll see that a true commitment to the Lord is a daily one enriched by personal time in the Word and in prayer. To purchase Roll's 16 lesson series titled, "How to Walk with God," visit SomebodyLovesYou.com or call 800-634-9165. We'll send you the CD collection for a donation of $30 or the flash drive for $20. The number once again is 800-634-9165. Now, you can also write to us at Somebody Loves You Radio, P.O. Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California 91765. Check out iTunes and Spotify for podcasts of all of these programs. You'll also want to download our app for convenient access to digital Bible studies and easy guide for reading God's Word and much more. If you'd like Roll to personally respond to your Bible questions or prayer needs, he's happy to hear from you. You can email him at pastorroll@somebodylovesyou.com. Don't forget your partnership is a great blessing to this ministry. Every tax deductible gift makes it possible for us to continue spreading the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, it is a privilege to study the Word of God with you, and we invite you to join us again next time for more insight into God's sovereign desires and perfect plans for His people. ♪ I am falling in love with you ♪ This program is sponsored by Somebody Loves You Radio in Diamond Bar, California. [MUSIC PLAYING] [BLANK_AUDIO]
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