Christian Conduct (Dad's Conduct)

Welcome to this week's message from the Church at Chelsea Westover.

Our core values are vibrant worship, intimate fellowship, fulfilling service, and clear biblical truth.

We pray that this message changes your life.

Let's tune in to today's message and see what God has in store for you.

Colossians chapter 3.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

Title of the Message Today.

The title of the message today.

Christian conduct, Christian character.

And boy, how true and how important and how needful that is today.

Can I get an amen?

We don't even know what character is anymore.

We don't know what it means when somebody, when I grew up, I grew up under the tutelage of my dad and my but mainly my granddad.

And he used to teach me, he'd say, son, he called me Danny Boy.

He said, Danny Boy, your word is your bond.

Your word is your bond.

We didn't, we didn't, back then they didn't have to do all these contracts and worry about everybody suing-soe everybody and cheating everybody.

Back then, your word was your bond.

You know why?

Your word was who you were.

It was your character.

It meant something to you.

Living right, being a good neighbor, loving people, loving God and loving people meant something.

It meant something.

You know what it meant?

It was real.

And boy, have we come a long ways in America from those powerful character traits.

And basically, Paul is telling the church at Colossae, don't forget where you came from.

Don't forget where you came from.

And then he goes on, and we saw that in doctrine in chapters 1 and 2.

He talked about the doctrine, who we were in Christ, how we've been buried with Christ, how we've been raised to walk a new life in Christ.

And that we are to be, hey, we are to live out practically what we are in Christ positionally.

We're to live it out.

And then he gets to chapters 3 and 4, the last two chapters, and then he tells us practically how to live that out.

In other words, he just doesn't leave us doctorally speaking.

Now he gives us the practical application of how to live out this Christianity practically that we have positionally.

Powerful.

And that's where we're going to start.

And it deals with chapter 3.

He deals with powerful truths here.

And he starts out and he says, If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God.

He says, You have been, now that you've been saved, you have been spiritually resurrected.

And not only have you been placed in Christ, for remember when we talked about the baptism, therefore we're buried with him by baptism of death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life, Romans 6, 4.

We've been placed in him positionally, been raised to walk in new life.

Now that you're in Christ and He's in you, now it's time for you to have a holy ambition, a holy purpose.

And notice what he says that is to seek those things which are above.

Where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God the Father, where he sits at the right hand of God the Father, waiting to be what?

Our intercessor, our intermediate.

He's at the right hand, interceding for us daily.

Powerful, powerful truth.

So then he says, set your affection on things above and not on things of this earth.

We have to have a spiritual mindset, and that's what we're talking to be talking about above, and not things on this earth.

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then ye shall also appear with him.

Now, let's stop there and we'll continue.

That's the first thing I want us to look at this morning.

You know, when you and I came into this world, I've got to set this precedent because it's so empowered.

When you and I came into this world, we were born into a sinful, fleshly nature, born into a sinful uh world, definitely, but we were born with a sinful fleshly nature.

In other words, we were formed in sin.

I want you to see this.

Uh in fact, Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1 through 3.

Ephesians 2:1–3

I want you to turn there and read with me if you have your Bibles, or it'll be up on the screen.

But remember, uh David said, Behold, I was formed in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Psalms 51, verse 5.

Psalms 51:5

And then remember what Paul said, wherefore as by one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men.

In other words, because Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, hey, we are what?

We are part of his lineage.

When you and I are born physically, we're born with that sin nature.

We're born with that sin nature.

And Ephesians 3 tells us about what that sin nature is part of.

I mean, Ephesians 2, verses 1 through 3, look at what it says.

Ephesians 2:1–3

And you hath he quickened.

That means he's made alive.

You've been buried with him, Christ in you, you in him, who were dead in trespasses and sin.

In other words, you were born in sin.

You were dead.

Dead to what?

Not dead physically, but dead to the things of God, dead to spiritual things, dead for the hunger of God.

You were filled with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of the light.

In other words, look what he says.

Where in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.

He's talking about Satan.

He's talking about Satan's princehood.

He's talking about Satan's work.

And then, boy, notice what he says.

You were, before you got saved, a child of the devil.

I knew I wouldn't get many amens on that.

We don't want to hear that.

Hello! If you're lost, you're a child of the devil.

Hello.

Come on.

I'm gonna read it again.

Some of you looking at me like you don't believe that.

Look at what it says.

Hey, wherein time pass, yeah.

How many of us lived it?

We know that was true before we got saved.

Okay, now you're talking.

Now we're getting a little, hey, what's called transparency here.

Okay, uh, there's no cameras on you, it's only cameras on me.

And somebody told me if I wear black like I do, I look like a puppet up here with this black stage with my head going like this.

So I'm sorry, I forgot about that.

But anyway, notice what he said.

Where in time past, you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince and the power of air, that's Satan, the spirit, and now work in the what?

The what?

Children of disobedience.

Now, look at verse 3.

Among whom also we all had our conversation.

That doesn't mean talk, that means behavior.

The Greek word there means our behavior.

In times past, in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature, uh-oh.

The children of what?

Wrath, even as others.

In other words, what happens as we continue in this course, not being a Christian, we not only are children of the devil, but we come under the judgment of the wrath of God.

Hello! Man, that's eye opening.

Amen.

So you got to get this foundation because it you I'm when you walk out of here, you're gonna understand why you do some of the things you wish you didn't do.

And you're gonna walk out of here saying, Now I understand why I have such a battle.

Amen.

And Paul knew that.

That's what I love about Paul and his writing.

So, and by the way, in James chapter 1, verse 14, he says this every man is tempted when he, hey, is drawn away by his own lust.

James 1:14

Hello.

No excuse.

Don't tell me the devil made you do it.

No, he tempted you, you did it.

Amen.

I did it.

I did it.

He tempted me, I did it.

I gave in.

Okay?

That's it.

So, we're not, hey, the Lord can't make you sin.

He's sinless and he doesn't make, and James 1 says, and he doesn't tempt men to sin.

Satan's the tempter.

He's the one.

So, with that said, when you and I, and I love this, when you and I got saved, remember when you got saved?

Woo! Man, it was joyful.

Man, you felt clean.

You felt washed.

Colossians 1.18, I've been washed in the blood of the Lamb.

Oh, I you there's news, there's an excitement.

You've realized what forgiveness really means.

The past is behind you now.

You've been forgiven of all that ungodliness.

You've been, hey, hey, you've been filled with the Spirit of God to walk a new life, a life like Christ.

Therefore, if any man be in Christ Jesus, he's a new creation.

All things have passed away.

Behold, all things become new.

And man, you get so excited.

But then about two hours later, maybe a day, maybe a week if you're lucky.

I mean, if you stay in the book, and most of us do when you get saved like that, you just stay in it.

But isn't it amazing?

You all of a sudden how those old desires come back, start coming back.

Hello.

That lust of the flesh, that lust of the eyes, that, and you're sitting there, what in the what's going on?

I just got saved.

Maybe I didn't really get saved.

Maybe it didn't take.

Maybe this, maybe that.

And then what do you do?

You come back down to the, oh, save me again, save me again.

Or you come back, Lord, maybe I didn't get saved.

I shouldn't be thinking this way.

I shouldn't be acting this way.

My attitude stinks.

Lord, Lord, I'm supposed to have a new attitude.

Lord, it didn't take.

And then you go through the sinner's prayer again.

And what you don't understand is you got saved.

The Holy Spirit came in.

You've got that old nature, and that old nature you said has been put to death.

Yes, it has.

Figuratively speaking, in God's mind, it is dead.

But actively, it's not dead yet.

Not totally.

It's called the flesh.

We're still here.

And until we go to be with him, it will not, then it'll be totally eradicated.

But till then, we're in a battle.

Hello, we're in a battle.

Now let me show you this.

Galatians 5.17.

Uh-oh.

Hey, now it's somatics, but a lot of people say, well, the old nature's dead.

And there's some great theologians that believe that it is dead, totally.

I can live with that, but here's what they say, and it remember somatics.

That's what it is.

But guess what?

But the flesh's not dead.

And the flesh is just like the sin nature.

Same characteristics.

So whether you want to call it the flesh or the nature, okay?

The flesh lusts against the spirit.

Uh-oh, did you see that?

It lusts against the spirit.

It's a war.

It's a tug of war.

The lust of the flesh is tugging you to go live, hey, hey, under the disobedience of Satan and live for him and live for, well, actually live for his world.

The things of the world.

All right then.

And the spirit against the flesh.

And the spirit said, no, no, you're saved.

You can't do that.

You don't need to do that.

No, no.

And boy, when you do it, you feel terrible.

Let me tell you when you know you're saved.

When you can go out there and live like the devil and not, hey, and feel so down and so dirty and so guilty, then you know the Holy Spirit's there.

If you can go out there and say, Well, that didn't bother me.

Well, I got news for you.

All you said was a prayer.

You didn't get saved.

No change.

No change, no guilt.

Change, guilt.

Why?

Here's why.

The spirits warned against the flesh, and these are, what does it say?

Contrary.

Contrary the one to the other.

What does that mean?

One wants you to go this way, the other wants you to go this way.

One wants you to go the wrong way, one wants you to go the right way.

So where are you?

You're in the middle.

What do I do?

What do I do?

It's where you are.

You ever been there?

Now, for you that didn't raise your hand, I'm going to stop right here because there's, he says, put off line, so I better start there.

Amen?

Okay, that's better.

Now let's try that again.

Have we all been there?

Every hand better go up.

That's better.

So that ye cannot do the things that you would, and then you wonder why you give in.

Look at verse 23 in Romans 7, what Paul said.

But I see another law in my members.

Now, what is he talking about?

After he's been saved, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity, the law of sin, which is in my members.

It's still there, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life.

And it's Satan is trying to fill your mind with that lust because he knows what he fills the mind with is which direction you're gonna go.

Woo! I will're not here.

That's a good place to say, that's good, preacher.

Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

So, how many of you say we're in a battle?

We're in a struggle.

Well, look at what Paul said in Ephesians 6.12.

Let me tell you what you're battling.

You're not battling, hey, your neighbor.

You're not battling your preacher, you're not battling your church member, hey, you're not battling your boss, you're not even battling your wife, guys.

It's Father's Day.

And wives, you're not battling your husband.

Here's what we're fighting against.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood.

So next time somebody blesses you out, just look them in the face and say, that's not you.

That'll stop them in their tracks, I guarantee you.

They'll bless you.

So I'm not listening to you.

That's not you.

And they're going to say, uh.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against, by the way, that means organized, hey, hey, organized, Satan's group coming against you.

Organized power.

Against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world.

What?

Against spiritual wickedness in high places.

In other words, he's coming right where you are.

He doesn't care that you're saved.

That doesn't bother him.

Oh, it bothers him.

It bothers him a lot because you're not going to hell.

But so now he's going to, he can't take you to hell, so he's going to do the next best thing.

He's going to destroy your testimony.

You say, why is he going to do that?

Because then you're not effective in reaching other people for Christ.

Hello?

Hello.

And see, when people say, when you tell people you're saved and you're still living like the devil, you know what that does to them?

That turns them, they don't want to hear anything about Christianity or Christ.

Because they say, oh, that's just a bunch of hypocrites.

Well, guess what?

That is what we are.

But once we get saved, we got the power not to be a hypocrite.

Hello! So, with that being the groundwork, we all agree that there's a struggle, there's a war going on.

To do right and to do wrong.

And that's why those feelings come back.

So I want to leave with us this morning three things.

Number one, in this struggle, Paul is writing about here, and this is what he's writing about in these verses.

He gives us some ammunition to fight this battle.

He lays out some principles that, if followed, we will, hey, will help us live the right kind of life before God and the world.

Here's what he said.

Now, Paul is telling us how to do it.

Gain victory over the old man.

Here's what he says.

Remember, the old man's still there.

That old flesh is still there.

Number one, the change of the new life.

The change of the new life.

And we just read those.

Risen with Christ.

Well, what that means is risen.

Say this word with me.

Say it with me.

Risen with Christ.

Say it with me.

Risen with Christ.

Let me just tell you what that means.

That means you and I have the power to raise above Satan's garbage and Satan's sin and Satan's domain.

Remember, powerful, we've got a greater power than Satan.

Can I get an amen?

Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world.

1 John 4, 4.

Sin does nothing but lower.

Remember Genesis chapter 3?

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

What'd he do?

Hey, hey, it cost them the garden.

It lowered, sin lowered Adam.

Hey, Adam and Eve's relationship with God.

Hey, sin lowers, Christ exalts.

There's a big difference.

Satan and sin take you lower, your character's lower, your morals are lower, your life's lower standards.

You live at a lower plane.

Whereas with Christ, He, hey, whoo, here it is.

Whoa, Psalm 42.

Hey, he snatches us out of that mud, out of that glove and that stuff of sin.

And he places our feet on a rock and puts a new song in our hearts.

And we sing it so many can see it and experience what God has done.

Sin lures, Christ exalts every time, takes you to a newer level.

And it always, the fall of man was not, hey, it didn't, he didn't say in Genesis 3, the rise of man, but the fall of man.

So, with that said, look at three things under the change of this new life.

Number one, we have new heavenly desires and affections.

That which the mind is set on, or that which we side with.

I like that word.

I was reading and studying what it means to set your affections on God and all this reading that I was studying.

And what I came out of all the principles I was reading was when we set our minds on something, what does that mean?

It is what we side with.

In other words, this is what we decide we're gonna do.

Hello?

What you decide to do here, you will do in actions.

So the battle's right here.

It starts right here.

Right here.

So setting your mind on things of God means I side with God.

I side with the things of God, I side with his direction, I side with his word, I do what he tells me and not what Satan tells me.

And not what the world tells me.

And then here's what he says.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10 31, whether you eat or drink, whatsoever you do, here it is, you do what?

All to the glory of God.

Amen.

Read that with me, church.

Read.

Whether therefore you eat.

That's it.

That's it.

We have a new, hey, thinking process.

Our ambition and our our attitudes are to side with God and not the world.

Notice the second thing.

We have a new heavenly deliverance.

Look at verse 3 again.

For you're dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Mm-mm.

Boy, that's good.

When we came to Jesus for salvation, we died.

More than that, when he died on the cross, we died in him.

Look at Romans 6, 6.

Powerful verse.

Look at what he says.

Knowing this, knowing that's that Greek word there means you can be absolutely sure.

That our old man is what?

With him.

Read the next part.

That the body.

Oh, read that again.

That henceforth, read it again.

Read that part.

One more time.

That henceforth we what?

Wow.

Wow.

Look at verse 7.

For he that is dead.

Read it, church.

Read it out loud.

For he.

One more time.

For he that is dead.

So that tells me that just why I don't like that verse.

That just wiped every excuse.

I have from sin, hey, for me to sin.

I don't sin, Sister Flethy had made me do it.

I don't sin, it's Susan's fault.

Hello?

Hello?

I mean, what's the other conclusion?

It's me.

Ain't me.

But it is me, isn't it?

I got it, sister.

Amen.

You're right.

But that's it.

For hey, we don't, hey, listen.

Even though the the flesh is still alive, we've crucified it, and we have the power not to sin.

We have the power to be pulled in the right direction instead of Satan pulling us in the wrong direction.

We really do.

We really do.

There's a heavenly deliverance here.

Hey, hey, look at again.

It has only been, remember, it's only been reckoned dead in the mind of God.

Hey, we're dead.

The nature's dead.

The flesh is dead.

But one day it's going to be dead.

I want you to see this.

1 Corinthians 15, 51.

Woo-hoo! When I study, hey, we got this.

Let me tell you one of the reasons you ought to be excited about going to heaven.

You won't have to fight this battle anymore.

It's over.

To telestophage, it is finished.

It's over.

Look at what it said.

This is the resurrection chapter in 1 Corinthians 15.

Behold, I show you a new mystery.

We should not all sleep, but we should all be changed.

Amen.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.

Hey, then he says, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible.

That's the only time it'll pay to be dead.

You'll go first.

Shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Now watch this.

Verse 53, for this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

So when this corruptible shall be put on in corruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Oh, death, where's our sting?

Oh, grave, where's their victory?

It's over.

No more warring, no more fighting the devil.

It is finished.

But now listen, that's not gonna happen until the rapture.

Yeah.

So if anybody tells you, once you get saved, you don't fight this battle anymore, that's a lie.

And there's some denominations that say that, you know, you can do this and do that, and if you get this and get that, you're you're totally sanctified.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Sanctification.

Now, you're totally justified.

Okay, that happens instantaneously.

But sanctification is a daily process.

Did your little child grow up automatically?

Some of them still grow.

Guess what?

We're still growing.

Amen.

Every once in a while.

I'm not gonna say that.

You know what I almost did one time?

I almost had a big passy made.

I mean a big one.

They didn't get it.

You know what?

A big passy.

You know what kids love passage?

Why do you put passage in kids' mouth?

Shut them up.

It's amazing.

Amazing.

It's amazing what you use, then you have to fight to get rid of.

Okay?

But I these big passes I often thought, and when I start acting like a kid, just take the passion and put it in my mouth.

You say you wouldn't do that.

Well, we should, because that's the way we act.

Hello! Oh my! All together, oh me.

Amen.

My only problem why I didn't do it, Darren, I'm afraid Susan will be saying, here, here, here.

A new heavenly deliverance.

And then thirdly, it's a new heavenly destiny.

Look at verse 4.

When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

Folks, we're going to glory.

Can I get an amen?

We're going to glory.

The battle's over.

We win.

We're up there for an eternity.

Wow, that's exciting.

We win.

That's glorification.

What I just taught you was the three major theological terms of salvation: justification, sanctification, now glorification.

The end product is we're glorified with him forever.

Right now, hey, we're in Jesus.

Ephesians 2.6 says he hath raised us up together, made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Hey, hey, we're in him now.

He's in us.

We're in him.

That's exciting, folks.

And 1 John 3.1 says, Oh, behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God.

Therefore, hey, the world knoweth us not because it knew him not.

But then look at verse 2.

But, hey, beloved, now we're the sons of God, it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him.

Is that not good?

And then look at Romans 8 30.

Moreover, when he did predestine, whom he did, rewind.

Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called.

Woo! And whom he called, them he also justified.

And whom he justified, them he also glorified.

There it is.

It's guaranteed, folks.

Justification.

Sanctify.

Hey, the one thing I know is guaranteed.

Once you get saved, you're justified.

One thing I know when you die, you're going to be glorified.

Now, the middle sanctification, that's up to us.

And you know why the Satan fights so much against us?

Because it's the sanctification part he tries to destroy.

Why?

Because the more we become like Christ, the more powerful we are for Christ, the more we exalt Christ, and the more we exalt Christ, the more people get saved.

Amen.

That's a whole New Testament in about a minute.

Amen.

That's it.

That's it.

That's what the whole New Testament is about.

Justification, sacrification, glorification.

That's it.

And Paul covers it right here in the book of Colossians.

Brings us to a second challenge.

The challenges of the new life.

Look at verse 5.

Oh boy, I like this word.

Harry, did you tell me you worked at a funeral home one time?

Somebody told me.

Who worked at a funeral?

No, Mark told me.

Yeah, it was our mayor.

You know what mortify means.

It's a mortician term.

It really is, kinda.

It means, let me see, make sure I get this right, or the mayor say, no, that's not right.

All right, here's what mortify.

It means to be put to death.

It means to destroy.

Hey, it means to destroy the strength to make dead, to slay, to deprive of power.

Wow.

Wow.

To deprive of power.

Now you say, and that's let me give you three things under the challenge of the new life.

One is the challenge to be negative.

There's a negative part in this slaying.

Sounds negative, yeah.

But often a negative response to something is the only valid one.

Let me give you an example.

My wife on Thanksgiving had an appendix citis.

That was a negative.

And the only way to correct that negative was to take her to the hospital and let her take her appendix out before it ruptured.

Here's another negative.

If you got a garden, there's weed in your garden, what do you have to do with the weeds?

Or you're not gonna have a garden long.

There's a negative.

There's almost a positive and negative to everything we do.

There's a positive to our life if we live right.

There's a negative in our life if we live wrongly.

Amen?

So a battery has a what?

A positive and a negative.

And without either, guess what?

You don't run.

That car doesn't crank.

I know.

Okay?

So there's got to be a negative in order for the positive to what?

To work.

So in our life, the negative is we got to do some slaying.

We got to do some mortifying.

And notice what he says.

This is so, so good.

He says, God is saying that a part of ourselves needs to be put to death and that we have been elected, guess what?

To do the killing.

The Holy Spirit working through us does the killing.

The Holy Spirit does the killing, but we have to yield and be obedient to the Holy Spirit.

Can I get an amen?

So when he tells you not to do something, you're not supposed to do it.

You got it?

Is that hard?

That's about third, fourth grade level, right?

Mama says don't do it.

Don't do it.

Dad says, don't do it.

Don't do it.

When my papa said you better hush in church, you better hush.

Or you going to the woodshed?

Have you ever had a woodshed revival?

Papa did all the preaching, I did all the shouting.

Yeah, that's a one-way revival, baby, but it worked.

We must do some slaying of sin in our lives.

Listen to what Romans 13, 14 said.

I think I've got it up there, yeah.

But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, here it is, and make what?

Not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof.

There's that mortification.

And look at Galatians 5.24.

And they that are Christ, watch, have what?

Crucified the flesh.

Crucified the flesh with the affections.

There's that mind and the lust.

See how it gets right back to that mind?

We've got to get those thoughts out.

We've got to crucify the bad thoughts to the cross and allow the good thoughts to reside.

Amen?

Is that not good?

It's what we have to do.

Now, look at the second thing.

Not only a challenge to be negative, look at the challenge to our nature.

Oh, yeah.

Look at here.

Paul names the activities that need to be put to death.

You know, it's one thing, you hear a lot of preachers talk about sin.

That's what they say.

You're not to sin.

But how many of you hear them name the sin?

Huh?

You know why?

People don't want to hear what their sin is.

Paul gets right to the nitty-gritty.

And he names the sin.

He names it.

Naming sin, people don't like it, but it's necessary.

Paul groups our sins into two categories.

Watch this.

I told you, I'm going to help you before we leave.

This has been good.

Dads, we're going to be able to walk out of here today and live a godly life.

Then it's going to be a battle.

Not going to be easy.

We're going to have to crucify the flesh every day.

But here's how we do it.

First of all, look what you crucify.

Number one, the sensual sins.

Oh, yeah.

Verse 5.

These are the appealing to the senses, the lust of the flesh, the sight, the senses, the tasting, the seeing, the feeling, the senses.

You know?

These sins are the pleasurable sins.

For example, look at what he says in verse 5.

Fornication.

Pornia.

That's where we get pornography from.

That's where it comes from.

Fornication.

Sexual impurity of any kind.

Then notice what he says.

Uncleanness.

Now that's a life of impurity.

Now watch.

Fueled by proper motives.

Thinking.

In fact, let me tell you what this is.

I'm going to say it again because you wouldn't see it, but this is where it is.

When people talk about these homosexuality and things in the Bible, that's not there, or it's not.

Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Here's what he's talking about.

Uncleanness, a life of impurity fueled by improper, abominational thoughts toward God, basically.

For example, homosexuality.

Another word that is used here is sex with children, pedophilia, bestiality, all kind of just warped, ungodly thinking that goes against everything God created for the purpose.

Sex is good if it's done in the hey eyes of God and done according to God's way.

Can I get an amen?

But anything outside of that is an abomination unto God, and you will pay dearly.

And we are paying dearly right now in America because of a sexual revolution that's been going on for a long time.

But we just we have such cravings for sexual activities that's so far out of God's design and order, ladies and gentlemen.

That's why Rome failed.

Hello.

We better be careful.

We're close.

That's why Sodom and Gomorrah failed.

We better be careful.

So here we see.

And then look at the next word inordinate, inordinate affection.

That's depraved passions, what I just talked about.

A mind that dwells on sins and ways to just create unbelievable, unthinkable, unnatural ways of gratification for the flesh.

Attitudes of evil, uncontrolled passions.

I call it dirty-mindedness.

And that's what the next word means evil concupiscence.

It means dirty mindedness, a lust for the sinful, the mental aspect.

And then E, or the other word, I did them on me.

The covetousness, the sin of always wanting more.

Always want more.

Listen to Hebrews 13, 6, what it said about that adultery.

Hebrews 13, 6 talks about adultery.

He says, so that we may boldly say, hey, the Lord is my helper.

I will not fear what men shall do unto me.

And then look at what he says in Romans 12 9, let love be without dissimilation.

Abhor that which is evil and cleave to that which is good.

What he's saying is we may boldly say, not to allow this covetousness and all this lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes to take over our thinking.

Hey, because when it takes over our thinking, and that's all we think about.

That's all, and by the way, have you ever watched TV?

That's exactly what he gives us.

They want us to have, hey, hey, power, money, things, uh, sexual temptation everywhere.

I mean, you can't get a TV commercial without some kind of sexual implication.

God help us.

I don't need a woman naked to teach me how to brush my teeth.

Hello.

Amen.

Or eat a Burger King.

Hello.

What in the world does that have to do with that burger?

Give me a break.

That's why I like Chick-fil-A commercial.

Just put the cow up there, bless God.

Amen, Chick-fil-A.

Amen.

That's right.

That's right.

So, man, that's that's it.

All right.

Now look at verses eight through nine.

Now we have the social sins.

We have the sensual sins.

Now we have the social sins.

Oh, yeah.

Related to our dealing with others.

We often try to rationalize and justify ourselves in these sins, but they're still wicked and divine.

Here we go.

Anger.

Look at it.

Anger, sudden outburst, needs to be given to God.

Bad tempers lead to bad testimonies.

Hello.

I hey, I had a bad temper growing up.

God's had to work on me for a long time to keep my temper suppressed.

Amen?

Am I the only one?

Okay, thank you.

I got four.

The rest of you lying again, but that's okay.

Y'all gonna have to repent for lying when the invitation is given.

The Bible says the angered man does not produce the righteous life that God desires.

That's exactly right.

Where is it?

You know where it is?

I don't know where that one is.

Anger, but it's in there.

It's in there exactly.

Anger, sudden outburst, needs to be given to Jesus.

Bad tempers.

Look at the next thing.

Wrath.

Wrath refers to God's judgment on sin.

Oh yeah.

But it also, now you ready?

This is the sin of us too playing God and us judging others.

Uh-oh.

Hello, you didn't see that one coming.

I didn't either.

That was a curveball, wasn't it?

Yeah.

When you start judging others, you're putting yourself in the place of God.

Hello.

So you quit judging me and I'll quit judging you.

Okay, is that a deal?

That's not our place.

Hey, we're not judges.

Amen.

We're to bear fruit, not inspect it.

Hello.

Amen.

Hey, come on, that's good, preacher.

I'm gonna say that again.

We're to bear the fruit, yeah, we're to bear the fruit, not inspect it.

Amen.

Thank you.

That's good.

That's good.

That's what we're to do.

And then look at malice, ill will toward another includes a desire to injury and get revenge.

Look at what Romans 12, 9 says.

Avenge not yourselves, for it is written, saith the Lord, Vengeance is mine, I will repay.

Hey, let me tell you, God will take care of your enemies.

Took me a while to learn that, but I can honestly tell you I've learned that, and I'm still learning it.

That's why I don't really get upset like I did in my early ministry about people being upset and coming after me.

And then when you work with Dr.

Jerry Fall, well, people came after us every day.

So I got used to it.

But really, God's gonna take care of us.

God's gonna take care of us, I promise you.

So that again, within itself, is the malice, is the ill will toward other people.

In other words, put off our anger and our madness and our wrath.

Then look at blasphemy speech.

Which slanders and hey, slanders God and man.

You know what the most form of this is?

Gossip.

Hello.

We're all guilty.

Let me ask something.

I'm gonna tell you what my grandmother taught me and my granddaddy taught me.

And I never heard him say an evil thing.

Never about anybody.

Never.

Never.

I was trying to recant again.

Never.

And you know what, Papa, you say?

It's not my place.

It's God's place.

It's not my place.

It's God's place.

And then he'd quote it to me.

I think I've got it up there.

Ephesians 4.

Do I have Ephesians 4 up there?

Ephesians 4 29 through 31.

If not, I'll quote it.

It says, Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto its hearers.

That we may minister grace unto its hears.

If it's not good, hey, it's not building up.

Hey, if it's not necessary, and if it's not spoken graciously, don't say it.

Wow.

And then verse 31 says, use of edifying that it may minister grace to us.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice.

There it is.

Put it away.

Put it away.

Don't think that way.

Yeah, but you know, there are no bunts, there's no conjunctions there.

But no, no, it doesn't matter what they do or what they say about you.

What matters what you do and say about them.

That's it.

You can't control what they do or what they say, but you can control what you do and say.

Amen.

And bless God, I've just determined I'm going to take the high road.

I'm going to take the high road.

Because I think there's a verse.

Every idle word, men's going to give an account in the day of judgment.

Matthew 12.

Every idle word.

We're going to give an account.

So and then again, filthy communication, foul speech, coarse humor, obscene gestures.

Oh, we're terrible at that.

These little jokes.

I always have to be careful when they say, preacher, now I know you're a preacher, but let me tell you this little joke.

Mmm, mmm, mmm.

I don't know about this little joke.

You know?

Hey, again, run it through Ephesians 4.29.

Good, edifying, necessary, building up, spoken graciously.

If it's not, don't say it.

You said, but that cuts out 95% of my conversation.

Hello.

Come on, dads.

Hello.

Let me tell you something.

Children don't do as you say, they do as you do.

Trust me.

There was words we said that we didn't think were cuss words, but were cuss words from my grandparents.

You didn't use the word backside.

That's what I used.

I didn't use the other word.

That was a cuss word.

That's a cuss word.

I mean.

And and I I finally asked her, I said, what do you say?

You know what my grandma said?

You know why you don't say that?

I said, no, why?

She says, because I know what you're thinking.

And that ain't what you're thinking when you say shoot.

And I thought to myself, how'd you know that?

Godly thinking.

Amen.

Amen.

Y'all know it.

Y'all sitting down like, yeah.

Where's Granny?

Am I right, Granny?

I guarantee it.

I guarantee it.

And then lying.

Lying lips are abomination unto God.

They will not go unpunished.

Look at this.

Satan, John 8.44, is a liar, the father of lies.

And then verse 6 says, These very things that cause the hey, the lost to be under God's wrath.

All these.

All these things.

All of it.

And then the last thing a challenge to be new.

Ooh, I love this.

9 through 11.

The Christian is called to put off, literally, cast away from oneself the characters of oneself, but we're to be, hey, to put on the new.

Oh.

We are to literally, I like what he says, verses 9 through 11.

Look at what he says here.

He says, lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds, and put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.

Where there is neither Jew, nor Greek, nor, hey, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian.

Hey, in other words, everybody.

Everybody's one.

It doesn't matter who we are.

We're not judging one another.

We're all one in Christ.

So verse 12, put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercy.

Now notice what he says, and this brings me to the last point, the characteristics of the new life.

You know them.

I don't, I wanted to deal more on the sins that you don't hear about than the ones you hear.

These preachers preach.

They like this section.

They just skip the other.

But they'll jump to this one.

And we call it characterized by new deeds.

Look at what it says.

Put off once for all, put on once from all.

It's the air's tense, completed action.

Verse 12, the fruit of the Spirit, the new life, energized and led by God, will always manifest its, hey, hey, it's proof in our relationship with each other.

If you are a truly spirit-filled Christian, it'll be evident in the way you treat each other.

Amen?

Amen.

That's it.

Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance, all those.

Galatians 5, 22 through 25.

Yeah, the fruit of the Spirit.

They'll be there.

They will be there.

And then verse 13, the forgiveness of the saints.

Oh, look at verse 13.

Forbearing and forgiving.

You know what forbearing means?

It means overlooking faults.

Hello.

I didn't say overlooking sins.

Did you hear what I said?

Did you catch that?

But overlooking faults.

We all have our faults and our habits.

Amen?

I'm telling you, Susan and I've been married, I don't know, 30 plus years.

It's wonderful.

But we are so different that we've learned to forbear one another.

Okay?

And somebody said, well, that means put up with.

No, that's not what it means.

It means patience.

Oh Lord, do we need patience with each other?

Amen.

Come on, help me here.

Isn't it amazing how quick we are to think people ought to do it like we do it?

And why do we do that?

Because we think we know best.

Well, I do.

That's pride.

Amen.

Amen.

And usually my wife does.

She I I lose every time on that.

But that's okay.

I'm trying to learn to forbear.

And listen.

And say yes.

It does.

Every time.

Now watch.

Just move on.

What's this?

Forgiveness and forbearance.

Patience and forgiveness.

You want I told a young couple this just recently.

I said, the greatest thing I can teach you is I've just been studying this.

It's two words, forbearance and forgiveness.

If you can be patient with each other and forgive each other, you'll make it.

Now that's the prerequisite with the Lord being there.

And by the way, if the Lord's there, you ought to be patient and forbearing because that's what he was with us.

Can I get an amen?

And remember, he's in us, and if he's in us, we can be forgiving, and we can be forbearing.

Amen?

Say that's good, preacher.

Okay.

Now, and then verse 14.

And above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of what?

Completeness.

You want to be complete, you got to love like Christ.

Amen?

Love like Christ.

And then verse 15.

Hey, and let the peace of God rule your heart so that which also you're called in one body, be ye thankful.

Now, all that said, and I close with this.

How do we do that?

One verse, look at it.

One verse.

How do we do that?

How do we do how do we put off the old man and all those sins that we looked at and put on the new man, the fruit of the Spirit?

One verse.

Look at verse 16.

Let the word of God dwell in you richly.

You see that?

Richly.

Richly.

Now look, look real quick.

You can't miss this.

In other words, there's a uh the characterized by a new direction.

That's the that's in your notes.

The characteristic by a new direction.

Verse 16.

Here it is.

Here it is.

Watch, watch.

A new dependence upon the word.

Richly means that I totally depend on the word.

Man, that's good.

That's good.

Paul, that's what you want to teach in Bible study right there.

That's a one-verse teaching for one lesson right there.

Your total dependence is on the word of God, richly.

And notice the second thing.

Oh, it's awesome.

There's a new declaration.

Admonish to instruct and to warn and to teach.

In other words, not only is it our total dependence, we are charged to totally admonish to tell everybody we see the word of God.

When you're talking, we ought to be sharing the word of God with everybody.

I can't help it.

I quote it all the time.

That's why when I'm talking to people, I if you say something, I'll say something, you hear me quote.

I'm not trying to impress you.

It's just there.

That's what comes out.

And then there's a new demonstration.

Whew! A heart of praise.

Look at what he says.

Amen.

Hey, richly in wisdom, teaching and demonic.

It's our total dependence.

It's what we share with our lost friends and our friends that have gone wayward with one another.

And then notice in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and grace in your hearts to the Lord, there'll be an outward praise.

You get in this book, it'll charge you up, it'll fill you up, it'll stand you up, and you will speak up, and it'll be nothing but a praise and a joy.

Why?

Because it's radically changed your life.

Wait, wait, now let's get back and I'm through.

Why?

Why will there be such, and then by the way, the last one, verse 17, we talked about that last week.

Thankfulness, thanksgiving.

You can't be thankful.

Hey, if the word of God's in you like that, you can't help but be thankful.

You can't help but be thankful because of all he's doing in you right then.

I thank you, Lord.

And you know, God's been teaching me that.

Thank you, Lord.

I'm just saying thank you about everything now.

Thank you, Lord.

Thank you, Lord.

Because I'm gonna be honest with you, I wasn't too thankful.

I took him for granted.

Thank you, Lord.

Thank you, Lord.

Let it dwell in you richly.

Have you crucified him?

Can I tell you something you say?

I wish that was a once and for all.

It's not.

It's a struggle, a battle every day.

But how do we win the battle?

We let the word of God dwell in us richly.

Amen.

It's when I'm not in the book, I have my problems more.

I didn't, I still have problems when I'm in the book, but I know how to handle them.

Can I get an Amen?

But when I'm not in the book, I don't know how to handle them.

Big difference.

Big difference.

And when I don't know how to handle them, I'm defeated.

I go down.

I go down.

Every head bowed, every eye closed.

You hear this morning, you say, Pastor Danny.

Dads, let me ask you.

When all said and done, I was thinking about this this morning.

One day, if God tarries, we'll all stand over a grave.

I've stood over my dad's grave, my grand, all my relatives' graves.

I've had the privilege of doing their funeral.

One day they'll stand over mine.

I was thinking about that when Stephanie wrote me this morning.

And all I could think about was that song Susan sang when it's all said and done.

What are they gonna say about you?

What are they gonna say about you, Dad?

What are they gonna say about you?

What are they gonna say he was a faithful dad?

He loved me.

He loved my family.

He loved his family, he loved God.

Dad, I'm gonna challenge us this morning.

I'm gonna ask us all to just.

Dad, I want to challenge us this morning.

Can I challenge you to come to this altar with me?

And say, God, I want to be that dad.

That when it's all said and done, they know that I love my God and I love my family and I love my community.

I cared.

I cared, I cared, I cared, and I lived it.

Would I just come on, dads?

I know I didn't ask the moms to do it, but I I'm a dad.

I want you to let's let's take this challenge.

Amen.

Come on.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Come on up here.

Come on up here, dad.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

I'm gonna lead us in a prayer in a minute.

Just come on.

Come on.

Amen.

Amen.

And I'm already here.

I've been the on my, I'm telling you, God's been working on me all morning.

I'm in my fourth quarter of ministry.

And I want to finish well.

I want to finish well.

I want to finish well.

I'm gonna ask David if he would delete us in this prayer for us to dance.

Amen.

Let's just what God's laid you asked.

What God's laid on your heart.

I'm gonna get down here and kneel.

I was thinking about this week.

There's of course every man in here that's a father knows how important that is.

And I was thinking about Benji.

This is his first year as a father.

You may be here first time, and you've had your first child.

And I was thinking about Pastor Danny, he's charged us, constantly challenging us to get into God's word.

And I was thinking about this prayer that has so helped me, continues to help me.

And I'm confident God's leading my heart, it'll help all of us, man.

It's a tough prayer.

But I want to state it, and then I want us to bow our heads, man, and I'm gonna state it again and ask, just in your heart, join me in this prayer.

It's called the leader's prayer.

God's called us to be leaders and lovers of our homes.

And it goes like this.

God help me when I'm wrong to be willing to change.

Yes.

Help me when I'm right to be easy to live with.

And strengthen me so that the power of my example far exceeds the authority of my position.

Guys, dads, we have an awesome responsibility.

Pastor Danny and I were raised, he taught us this years ago.

Proverbs 22, verse 6, train up a child in the way she'll go, in the way he should go.

Proverbs 22:6

When he's old, he won't depart from it.

And we're on the other side of this with our children and seeing what God's doing in their lives.

Many of you are right in the middle of it.

Some of you got yet to experience that.

And I can tell you, he can tell you, that building a home is tougher, more challenging than a business or a church or anything else you'll ever do.

It's the toughest thing you'll ever do.

And hopefully with what God, what God's laid on Pastor Danny's heart today and continues to every week.

And this prayer.

So just bow with me if you will.

Ladies, you can pray this as well.

This is for the men today.

We're not giving men any flowers.

Real men don't need flowers.

We gave women flowers.

We need something to help us, don't we, guys?

And I'm confident this will help us.

Let's bow our heads.

God, would you help us when we're wrong to be willing to change?

And when we're right to be easy to live with.

And strengthen us, Lord, to the point that the power of our example far exceeds the authority of our position.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thanks again for tuning into this week's message.

We pray that your life has been changed.

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We hope you have a wonderful day, and again, God bless you.