Clothe Yourself in a Way That Goes with the New You

Well, good morning, everyone.

Excellent.

Well, if you have a Bible, would you turn to Ephesians chapter 4?

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

If you don't have a Bible, there's Bibles scattered in the pews around us.

It's imperative if we're going to hear God's voice this morning that we have His words

open in front of us.

So why don't you turn to Ephesians chapter 4?

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

And let's pause just before we begin and let's pray together.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for our time together this morning.

And we thank you now for your words.

And we come to it expectantly that we would hear from you.

And we would echo the words that we've sung just a few minutes ago that our hearts would

be changed and renewed.

And we pray this in Jesus' name and for His glory.

Amen.

Amen.

So here is Thomas McIntyre.

In 2013, he was named Slimming World's Man of the Year.

He went from, get your head around this one, okay?

He went from 31 stone to 13 stone.

And it gets better than that.

He went from an extra, extra, extra, extra, extra, extra, extra, extra.

That's eight large to a medium.

It's pretty impressive stuff, isn't it?

But picture this.

After the service this morning, you decide to go for a stroll around the meadows just outside.

And in the distance in your vision, you see Thomas.

There he is.

And you think, this is the guy who's the Slimming World Man of the Year 2013.

I need to meet this guy.

But as Thomas gets closer to you, actually something strikes you as being a bit odd about him.

Because he's wearing the same clothes that he used to wear.

So he's wearing a ridiculously baggy shirt.

He's wearing trousers that he's got the belt right to the end.

And he's tucking it in.

He's holding them up with his hands.

What would you say to Thomas?

Would you say, Thomas, great to see you.

Well done on that award.

You're looking great.

No, of course you wouldn't say that.

You would say, Tommy boy, you look ridiculous.

You are not that person anymore.

Why are you dressing like the old you?

Dress and clothe yourself in a way that goes with the new you.

And you see, that is the Apostle Paul's big point this morning.

Clothe yourselves in a way that goes with the new you.

First three chapters of this letter, Paul's been unpacking these glorious truths about what God has done for us in the gospel.

And now he turns to say that this is what your worshipful response to what God has done should be.

And our verses this morning, they're a passionate plea from Paul for these Christians in Ephesus to understand, to grasp, to get their heads around the reality of what God has done for them in the gospel.

And to see how that compels them to live such a different life, a completely different life of radical righteousness to the glory of God and to the praise of his grace.

Clothe yourself in a way that goes with the new you.

And if you've got a Bible there in front of you, you'll see that this passage, it splits up nicely into two.

And we're just going to look at it in two sections this morning, really simply.

The new you and the new lifestyle.

The new life, the new lifestyle.

So let's read together verses 17 to 24, the first section there.

This is the new life.

Paul writes this.

So I tell you this and insist on it in the Lord.

That you must no longer live as the Gentiles.

You can read that as people who don't follow Jesus.

Live as the Gentiles do in the futility of their thinking.

They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of their ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity.

And they are full of greed.

And we'll pause there for just a second.

Because you see, before Paul goes on to talk about the new life, he wants these Ephesians to see the old life.

And this is the condition and the reality of what is going on in the lives of the people who are round about them who don't follow Jesus.

Now look at the words that Paul uses there in that section.

And I think he's put it together deliberately in a fashion to convey a downward movement.

Look with me.

It begins with hardness, doesn't it?

Hard hearts.

Then it moves to darkness.

Then it moves to darkness.

And then it moves to recklessness.

Now isn't that a most chilling description of what a life is that doesn't know God?

Of a people who are just going with the default inclination of their sinful hearts and wanting nothing to do with the God who created them and choosing to go away from him.

It speaks of a people lost.

And it speaks of a people heading away from God.

Now the famous author C.S. Lewis, amongst his other works, he wrote a book called Surprised by Joy.

Maybe you've read it.

Can I thoroughly recommend it to you?

It's basically his autobiography.

And in it, he tells the story of when he first traveled to Oxford to go to university.

And he got off the train in Oxford and he started walking.

And as he walks along, he writes this.

He notices that the buildings are getting smaller.

He notices that the parks are getting less pretty.

He notices that the roads are getting narrower.

He notices that the streetlights are getting fewer.

And he notices that it's getting darker.

And he thinks to himself, is this the world famous Oxford I've heard so much about?

Is this the world famous Oxford that I've worked so hard to get to?

And then he stops.

And he turns around.

And in the distance, he sees the city skylight.

The spires.

The beautiful buildings.

The city lights.

That's Oxford.

And it suddenly dawns on him that from the minute that he left the train station,

he's been walking in the completely wrong direction.

And it's really interesting what he writes next.

He writes this.

I did not see it at the time, but this whole episode was an allegory of my life.

He was walking further and further away from the truth.

Now, if that's you this morning,

then see the reality of your spiritual condition as outlined in these verses in Ephesians.

You need to do what Lewis did.

You need to turn around.

The Bible would use the word repent.

You need to say sorry.

You need to turn around.

And you need to start walking towards the truth.

Now, what is the truth?

Well, Paul tells us, isn't he, in verse 20.

The truth that is in Jesus.

You need to put your faith in Jesus.

Now, faith, I think, is one of those words, isn't it?

I wonder if you'll agree with me that a culture is kind of hijacked.

People come up to me all the time and say,

Graham, I wish you had your faith.

And I say, well, it's simple to have my faith.

You just put your faith in Jesus.

Oh, no, I don't know if I want to have your faith.

Isn't that true?

The culture has hijacked that word,

that it's a kind of cross your fingers

and hope for the best expectation

that things are going to work out okay.

The thing about faith is,

it isn't how strong your faith is.

It's where your faith is.

Who is your faith in?

Now, a really simple definition of faith,

if you want it this morning,

this is something you may have heard from Sunday school,

I don't know, but I only heard it last week,

so I'm going with it.

Faith is forsaking all I trust him.

Okay, put your palm in front of you there,

let's do it together, okay?

Forsaking all I trust him.

Will you put your trust in what Jesus has done for you on the cross?

That God loves you outrageously,

but the thing is,

you are at odds with him because of your sin.

Jesus took the punishment.

God sent his one and only son

to take the punishment that you and I deserved,

because we are rebels walking in a manner

like the first three verses outlined there.

And if you haven't heard this before,

Jesus took your punishment.

He died your death.

And you go free.

The great substitution.

You need to put your faith and your trust in Jesus.

Forsaking all I trust him.

But Paul writes these verses

to help these Ephesian Christians see

that this is what they used to be like.

This is the old you.

This is the former way of your life.

And the thing to see, says Paul,

is that this is not who you are anymore.

Let's finish that little section,

verses 20 to 24.

Come with me.

Let's read it together.

Paul writes this.

That, however,

is not the way of life you learned

when you heard about Christ

and were taught in him

in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.

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,

to be made new

in the attitude of your minds

and to put on the new self,

created to be like God

in true righteousness and holiness.

Do you see what he's saying?

He's saying to these Christians

that God has done a total transformation job

on their lives.

That they were running away from him.

Your hearts wanted nothing to do with him.

Your minds knew nothing of him.

But God.

Do you remember we saw that in chapter 2

a few weeks ago?

It was maybe a few months ago.

I can't remember.

But God.

But God.

But God, in his grace,

he opened your eyes

to the truth of his son

and he put his spirit in you

and restored you to a relationship with him

like it was always meant to be

and he gave you new life.

And God united you to Jesus

and your life is hidden in him

and what's his is yours.

Paul's point is that they need to understand

and they need to embrace

the reality of what God has done for them in Christ.

Now Sinclair Ferguson,

a well-known Bible teacher,

good Scott as well,

he says this.

He says that the gospel

is a message of cosmic proportions.

The gospel is a message of cosmic proportions.

It's no small thing to be a Christian.

It's a big deal.

It's a big deal.

Now do you know what saddens me?

That sometimes, don't we,

we speak of our conversion?

That we speak of how Jesus opened our eyes?

It's no big deal.

Don't we?

We know how it goes

when you're telling your testimony,

when sometimes you're hearing someone's testimony,

it goes something like this, doesn't it?

That I was brought up in a Christian family.

That I prayed a prayer with a friend at camp

when I was seven.

And I've been living my life for Jesus,

following him ever since.

And we frame it, don't we,

as if it's not a big deal.

That it was almost a formality.

That it was almost inevitable.

And we put it together like we're embarrassed.

Don't we?

Now listen, little Chloe,

I hope she grows up to have

the most boring testimony in the world.

Isn't that true?

And then we hear the story of someone

who has a dramatic testimony

and we somehow think that's a bigger deal

than what's happened to us.

Now I wonder if you're here this morning

and maybe you need to grasp afresh again

what a joy it is to be a Christian.

The miracle of what God has done in your life.

It's a big deal and it's a costly deal

because it cost God his one and only son

to make it possible.

And notice as well that from these verses

that this is something these Ephesians

clearly already knew.

Verse 20 and 21.

They knew this stuff.

They'd heard it before.

They'd been taught it.

They learned it.

But they needed reminded of it.

We need to understand the reality

of what God has done in our lives.

If you're a Christian here this morning,

you're not the old self.

You're not the old self.

You're the new self.

Isn't that amazing?

And Paul says two things in response to that.

Firstly, like we sang in the song earlier,

he says,

be transformed by the renewing of your minds.

So what does he want them to do?

He wants them to think differently.

He wants them to orientate their whole lives

towards God.

Now how do we renew our minds?

That's a good question, isn't it?

How do we do that?

Well, we read God's word.

We hear God's voice.

We bask ourselves in the Bible.

We saturate ourselves in Scripture.

We invest ourselves wholly in this book

because as we read it,

we hear God's voice.

Friends, are we devoting ourselves to God's word?

Every day, daily, are we doing this?

Are we letting God's word speak into our lives?

Because we know it's true, don't we?

That either culture outside is going to be telling us

how to interpret the world,

how to understand ourselves.

It's either going to be culture that's telling us that

or it's going to be God's words.

God is telling us that.

And we need to read our Bibles expectantly

every time we come to them

and pray that God would transform our minds

by his spirit.

You know, it was St. Patrick,

patron saint of Ireland,

who famously prayed these words,

Christ beside me,

Christ before me,

Christ behind me,

Christ within me,

Christ beneath me,

Christ above me.

And then he goes on to write,

Christ on my right,

Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down,

Christ when I sit down.

Do you see what he's praying?

He's praying that,

God, would you dominate my life?

Would you saturate my life?

Would I just be overcome

by an amazing sense of who you are?

So there we are.

Firstly, Paul,

be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Secondly,

well, this is where Paul turns into

a fashion consultant.

If you're a certain generation,

I don't know who that is,

Ralph Lauren?

Or if you're this generation,

is it Gokwan?

I'm not sure.

But he turns into a fashion advisor.

And he effectively goes into the wardrobes

of these Ephesian Christians

and he sits there and he goes,

well, that's got to go.

And that's got to go.

And that is definitely got to go.

You know,

I bought a mustard top.

You may have seen it a few weeks ago.

Alex hates it.

That's got to go.

But this is what he's saying.

He's saying that you need a new wardrobe

that goes with the new you.

And he starts using dressing language.

He starts using clothing language.

Now, of course,

he's not talking about physical clothes.

He's talking about how these Christians

are to behave.

This is how a follower of the Lord Jesus

is to clothe himself.

Clothe yourself in a way

that goes with the new you.

Put off the old self.

Put on the new self.

Now, what is that going to look like?

Well, do you notice how he doesn't leave them

to kind of speculate

or to try and figure it out for themselves?

He tells them exactly

what it's going to look like in their life.

So let's turn to the second part this morning,

the new lifestyle.

Verses 25 to 32.

Come with me.

Let's read it together.

Paul writes this.

Therefore,

each of you

must put off

falsehood

and speak truthfully

to your neighbor

for we are all members

of one body.

In your anger,

do not sin.

Do not let the sun go down

while you are still angry

and do not give the devil a foothold.

Anyone who has been stealing

must no longer steal

but must work

doing something useful

with their own hands

that they may have something

to share

with those in need.

Do not let

any unwholesome talk

come out of your mouths

but only

what is helpful

for building others up

according to their needs

that it may benefit

those who listen.

And do not grieve

the Holy Spirit of God

with whom you were sealed

for the day of redemption.

Get rid

of all bitterness,

rage,

and anger,

brawling and slander

along with every form

of malice.

Be kind

and compassionate

to one another

forgiving each other

just as Christ

God

forgave

you.

So this is the truth

that what God

has done

in them

should have

such a profound

effect on the way

that they live

their lives

and I think

in particular

in this section

how they behave

with one another

within this Christian

community.

So this is effectively

how they operate

as a church.

And I think

the easiest way

to understand this

is that he talks

about three body parts.

He talks about

their mouths.

He talks about

their hands.

And he talks

about their hearts.

So let's just

walk through

those three things.

Okay?

Firstly,

their mouths.

In light of the new

new,

put off falsehoods.

Put off lying,

slander,

gossiping,

vile language,

rumor spreading,

exaggeration,

unwholesome talk.

Now the word

unwholesome there,

it quite literally

means rottenness.

Do you see what

he's saying?

Get rid of

rotten talk.

Talk that has

as its aim

to tear someone

down.

Talk that has

as its aim

to delight

in the misfortune

of others.

It's just a

complete lack

of integrity

by the way

in which you

use your mouths.

Now do you know

who it's been

a bad week for?

FIFA.

Isn't it?

Bad week for FIFA.

Chris Bryant,

the Shadow Culture

Media and Sports

Secretary.

That's a great title,

isn't it?

Shadow Culture

Media and Sports

Secretary.

He said this.

He said,

Yesterday,

the whole world

saw that beneath

the mask,

the beautiful game

has a very ugly face.

Can anyone be

in doubt at all

that FIFA is

rotten to the core

and needs swift

and wholesome reform?

Question mark.

Isn't it?

There's an organization

this week that's been

accused of many things,

but essentially

what it boils down to,

dishonesty,

lying,

isn't it?

Falsehood.

FIFA have been

accused of.

But the trap

that we mustn't

fall into

as we read about

that kind of stuff

in the news

is to think that

falsehood is out

there somewhere.

We know it.

Don't we have to be

a lot closer to home?

I mean,

just think about

the places

that you work.

I walked in an office

environment for four years.

You know what it's like?

Think about the offices

where you work.

Think about the

sports teams

or the clubs

that you're a member of.

And dare I say it,

think about your

wider family.

Do we not know

it to be true

that our culture

and our own lives

at times,

are they not rife

with falsehoods?

And what Paul

is saying to these

Christians

is that the church,

the community

of grace,

the family of God

that you have been

grafted into,

there's to be

none of that.

You are to be

so radically different

by the way

that you use your mouth

in the world

that you live in.

Now it's said

of St. Augustine,

he's one of the

fathers of early

Christianity

in the West,

it's said of him

that he had a sign

above his dinner table

and it said,

a man who speaks

evil of an absent

man or woman

is not welcome

at this table.

Put off falsehoods.

In light of the new you,

put on truth

and grace.

speak truthfully

to one another.

Speak lovingly

to one another.

Speak gracious words.

Speak patient words.

Speak kind words.

Speak beneficial words.

Words that are going

to build somebody up,

not tear them down.

And you see,

I think the big idea

that we need to understand

from what he's saying

here to these Christians

is that their conversation

is to be a demonstration

of and a vehicle

for the grace of God.

Grace has to pour

off their lips.

You know,

I think if you think

back over your week,

what have your words

been like?

What have our words

been like?

We know it to be true,

don't we,

the destructive impact

that our words

can have.

Now we need to watch

in here,

we need to watch

how we're speaking

to one another.

We need to start thinking

about how we're speaking

of one another.

And we need to act

in accordance

with what Paul

is telling these

Ephesian Christians here.

That is how the mouth

of the new you speaks.

Second body parts,

the hands.

In light of the new you,

put off stealing.

Now I'd imagine

as Paul wrote this,

he's presumably

addressing people

that he's heard about

who are being lazy,

who aren't working,

and who are making

a living dishonestly.

And what he's saying

is that kind of lifestyle

has got no place

in the kingdom of God.

Now if you want to

contextualize that

into our speak,

he's effectively saying

don't be a people

who diddle your tax returns.

Don't be a people

who steal off

his stationery.

Don't be a people

that when your employer

is employing you

to do a job,

that you go and do

something else.

Do you see what he's saying?

He's saying put off

stealing,

put off dishonest living.

And in light of the new you,

put on generosity.

So what he's saying

is use your hands

in a way that glorifies God

and benefits others.

Use your hands

to contribute

to the work of the church.

Use your hands

to build others up.

Use your hands

to bless

your brothers

and sisters in Christ

whose hands

may well be failing.

And it leads us to ask,

doesn't it,

how are we using

our hands here this morning?

Are we using them generously?

Are we using our abilities

that God has given us

to bless our brothers

and sisters

to serve this church family?

And are we using

our possessions?

Are we using our money?

Are we using that kind of stuff

to build up the church?

That's how the hands

of the new you work.

Your mouths,

your hands,

thirdly,

let's look at the heart.

Paul writes this,

in light of the new you,

put off anger.

Now I think

in this passage,

isn't it,

we can read it

as almost as talking

about righteous anger.

Now there are things

as Christians

that we need to be angry about.

We need to be angry

about social injustice

in our community

and in the world.

We need to be angry

about our own sin

and how it offends God.

But I'm not convinced

that's what Paul's

big idea is here.

What he's saying is

that when we find

ourselves angry,

we need to be very,

very,

very,

very careful.

And we need to be

very,

very,

very careful

because your anger

is not to get

the better of you.

Don't let it master you.

That's his big point.

Now how do I know

if anger has mastered me?

Well I was thinking

about it this week.

The irony is,

by the way,

when you're studying anger

you realize how angry you are.

When something annoys you,

does it dominate your mind?

Can you not shrug it off?

Do you go to bed at night

thinking about it

and wake up in the morning

and think about it?

Does it cause you

to get bitter

and angry

against another person

when you replay it

over and over

and over again

in your mind?

Are you the one

that's always right?

That's how we know

it's mastered us.

What does he say?

He says,

put off anger.

Put off anger

and in the light

of the new you,

the new self,

put on forgiveness

and put on self-control.

And I think the big idea

here for us to understand

is that the day

of your anger

is to be the day

that you deal with it.

Don't allow

unsettled matters

to fester

because when they fester

they spread

and before you know it

you're not dealing

with a little scratch

in your arm,

you're dealing

with a gangrene,

you're dealing

with a limb

that needs to be cut off.

It spreads

and it festers

and we must commit

ourselves as a community

to not allow the devil

to have any opportunity

to put a bridge

separation

between us.

If you're not right

with somebody

in this room

then the uncomfortable

truth here

is that you need

to go and deal with it.

You need to go

and deal with it.

Don't hope

that you're going

to bump into the person

over there

in the coffee queue

and if it doesn't happen

you think

I'll just do it

next week.

Okay?

You've got to go

and do it.

You've got to get right

with one another

because remember

this isn't just

a moralism exercise

this is us representing

the holiness of God

this different community

that lives for Jesus

and how are people

going to recognize it

if they look in

and we're bickering

with one another?

Put off anger

put on forgiveness

and self-control.

That's how the heart

of the new you beats.

Put off the old self

put on the new self

be a holy community

be a community

that lives

and breathes

and beats

for Jesus Christ

in this world

of darkness.

Clothe yourselves

in a way

that goes

with the new you.

So let me ask you

this morning

how are you doing

with some of these things?

And let me make

two comments

just as we close.

Firstly

this is a battle

and because it's a battle

it's hard

but it's a battle

that you and I

we need to commit

ourselves to fighting.

We need to be

killing sin.

We need to be

spotting it in our lives

and putting it to death

because the truth is

if we're not putting

it to death

it will be putting us

to death.

If we're not killing it

it will be killing us.

Now do you remember

when I think

it was swine flu

I think

was doing the rounds

a few years ago?

Do you remember that?

Got one nod.

We'll go with it.

One nod.

And the government

didn't they?

They produced this

little slogan

to try and help us

as the public

to deal with it.

Do you remember

that slogan?

Catch it

bin it

kill it.

Did anybody do it?

I think I did it twice.

I actually went through it

and did it.

Catch it

bin it

kill it.

Same applies to our sin.

Got to be fighting it.

Every time

you see

the old self

making a fleeting appearance

and it happens so often

if you stop and think

about how often it happens

it happens all the time

when you see

the old self

making an appearance

catch it

bin it

kill it.

Maybe there's some

conversations

that you need to have

right after the service

to make that a reality.

Let's be making

every effort

to put off

the old self

and to put on

the new self.

Second comment

maybe all this talk

maybe actually

it just makes you

feel despondent

because you sit here

and you're listening to me

and you say

Graham I'm trying

really hard

I'm trying really hard

but see that old guy

see that old self

I just can't

control him.

He keeps making

an appearance

I keep struggling

in my Christian life

I've tried so hard

but it just seems futile.

Well can I just

encourage you

just as we close

can you see the

massive encouragement

that's in these verses

verse 30

God has given us

his Holy Spirit

the third person

of the Godhead

that God has placed

in our hearts

is a seal

that we are his

and the spirit's role

in our life

is to point us

to Christ

is to exalt

the work

of Christ

in our lives

to cause our eyes

and our minds

and our hearts

to focus

on him

to illuminate

his finished work

on the cross

because you see

this isn't about

us being perfect

you do not need

to feel weighed down

by the guilt

that you

are not so often

the new self

because Jesus

paid for your sin

on the cross

and the spirit

will illuminate that

and he'll draw you to it

Scottish pastor

from the past

Robert Murray McShane

he said

for every one look

at my sin

I take ten looks

at the cross

and the spirit

by God's grace

his agenda for us

is not to leave us

as we are

it's to make us

more like Jesus

now think about it

this way

if the old self

is over here

and the new self

is over here

if the world

is over here

if Jesus is over here

the spirit in us

is helping us

to go that way

isn't that an amazing

truth that God

hasn't left us

on our own

to figure this one out

that God hasn't

left us

just to rally on

without any help

he's chosen

to give us

his holy spirit

and I think

just really simply

from these verses

when we choose

to go with the old self

instead of the new self

we grieve the spirit

that's what he's talking about

and so the question

for us as we close

is are we walking

in step with the spirit

what an amazing

promise from God

now just as we close

something really practical

to help us this week

Friday I came to 4 o'clock

and I had no energy left

so I thought I would

do something useful

these little stickers

on it it just says

the new self

and an idea for you

this week

there's a ton of them

in that corner there

you can draw your own

you can do what you want

but let's this week

why don't we put this

above our wardrobes

yeah

and every time

you get changed

every time you put

on something

let's remind ourselves

to put on the new self

now poor Alex

Chloe's thrown up

all over at the minute

she's getting changed

a lot

but every time

you do it

go to the wardrobe

put it above your wardrobe

let's strive

to put on

put off the old self

and put on

the new self

just remember Tommy

walking around the meadows

your clothes

look ridiculous on you

let's put off

the old self

let's put on

the new self

let's clothe ourselves

in a way

that goes with the new you

let's pray

Father God

we thank you so much

this morning

for your precious words

Father thank you

that you haven't

left us to our own devices

to figure you out

but you've revealed

yourself to us

and thank you

that your word

is like a mirror

that as we look

into it

like we have this morning

our hearts are exposed

and we see the changes

that we need to make

and I pray for all of us

now as we think

through what we've read

that we would do

what we need to do

in response to that

in the silence now

would you be speaking

to us

and I pray for this church

Lord

that you would help us

to be a community

of radical righteousness

help us by your

precious Holy Spirit

to live in the light

of our new identity

in Christ

and this is our prayer

through his worthy

and precious name

Amen

God bless you

and out

will you

give us an app

and give us a

Понim бы

God bless you

turn to others

and we'll be

just

of course

for our

future

and this is our prayer

challenge

and we'll find out

in this opportunity

of the paradise

that we've got

there

of Jesus

and we'll emperor

know

and we'll see

that

and we'll see

in this容易

so

Rachel

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