Ephesians Week 9

Welcome to the North Iron Church Podcast.

Our mission is to take the gospel from the Upper Peninsula to the ends of the earth.

We pray this message will inspire and encourage you in your faith journey.

Enjoy our Ephesians series where we break down Paul's letter to Ephesus.

Good morning, my family.

Glad that everyone is here with us this morning.

Would you just encourage and welcome everyone that's watching us online, all of our campuses across the UP, Wisconsin, United States.

We're glad that you're with us.

We're in the middle of a series called Ephesians in the book of Ephesians.

You're gonna find that in the latter part of the New Testament.

We're walking through each chapter, talking about a very important, can I say, survival manual or missions manual for believers that are following Jesus.

Paul writes this to the Ephesus Church, a new church that is really kind of birthed out of hostility, if you will, and the redemption of Jesus has turned the city upside down.

There's a lot of conflict, a lot of resistance, a lot of, can I say, spiritual warfare that's going on.

And Paul is kind of opening up this book, these letters that he's writing to the church and saying, hey, this is the battle that is in front of us.

And so we're gonna talk about that today, the battle that very likely most of us understand that we find in chapter six, but honestly, it's throughout the book of Ephesus, and so we're gonna kind of hone in on that this morning.

If you need a Bible, raise your hand.

We have a physical Bible for you, a great version.

Again, you're gonna find uh Ephesians if you're new to God's word.

We're gonna be in Ephesians chapter five this morning.

You're gonna find that in the latter part uh amongst uh the books of the New Testament, after Acts, Romans, and uh, Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians.

So you'll be able to find it there, uh, chapter five in just a moment.

Let me start this way, and I have a purpose to starting this way, so kind of just hold with me.

It's really kind of a sad story.

I don't like to start with sad stories, but I'm gonna start with a sad story.

So uh in 1944, there was a big move for us to get into the theater of World War II.

And we did that by 5,000 ships showing up at the beaches of Normandy.

Uh I believe 175,000 Americans June 6th were going to leave their uh their naval ships and rush the beaches of Normandy against and oppose the the uh the Nazi advance in in France.

We knew automatically that we were going to lose a lot of people.

What's interesting was most of the people that survived that day talk about the anticipation of waiting in their naval ship or on their uh cruiser going up towards the beaches.

They would play these messages to the people, to the soldiers there, trying to kind of hype them up with some understanding of the things that were about to take place to kind of prepare them.

It was 6:30 or 620 in the morning.

Things like they would say this over the inner calm.

Fight to get your troops ashore, fight to save your ships, fight to save yourself.

There was multiple, multiple ones that they would speak over the loudspeaker inside the naval ships, like this is it, put it on, get on the beach, move forward.

And at 6:25, there was a rally call, everyone to the boats.

And then, very importantly, as most soldiers that survived that day remembered, they began to speak scripture uh over over the loudspeakers.

And in 15 minutes, everyone, 12,000 soldiers died on the beaches of Normandy.

12,000.

To the point where there were men crawling over bodies of men who had been shot in front of them.

Can you imagine?

Very sobering, sobering um image, very grateful for for those men.

My point is none of the men that stormed that beach thought they were going on vacation.

That's kind of a foolish idea, isn't it?

All of them understood.

They weren't tricked into what was going on, they were prepared, they knew that people were going to die.

There was a chance that they would not make it beyond that beach that day.

No one entered that that conflict or left those boats thinking, I'm going to the beaches of Normandy to to lay out on a beach towel.

No one showed up with a beach blanket and floaties that day.

Now, I say all of that because no one thought they were going on a vacation, that this was going to be hard.

And this is what this is what Paul is emphasizing in Ephesians, all of Ephesians, quite honestly, where he kind of pulls back the curtain of understanding if you're going to be a follower of Jesus, you need to understand that that life is going to be difficult.

That that, and I guess there's a lot of times where I believe that that people are introduced to Jesus, it's life-changing, but in some sense they think life is going to be easier and it's not.

And Paul is very, very clear, and I want to be very clear, it's not easy to be a follower of Jesus.

There is a great cost.

Let me say it up front, it's worth it, but there is a great cost of following Jesus because the world is against you.

The world is against you.

Even Jesus, when he was here, he said it in Matthew chapter 7.

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

He kind of gives you a word picture.

Jesus does.

He says, enter by the narrow gate.

If you're gonna be a follower of me, you have to enter the narrow gate, for the gate is wide.

The opposite of what I'm offering is what the world's offering, and that gate is wide.

That road is wide, but but my path is narrow, and the gate that is wide, it is easy, and it leads to destruction.

And those who enter it are many.

For the gate is narrow, and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

What?

Just a few of Jesus.

It's that difficult that only a few make it?

And I want to I want to warn some of you, and I want to comfort some of you this morning.

Some of you need to be shaken a little bit.

Because we we come into the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, it's an incredible experience.

We all want redemption, we all want to be forgiven of this weight of sin that I carry by my own disobedience.

But eventually, no matter how good the fellowship is, no matter how interesting and good looking the pastor is, or the how how awesome the music is.

I thought there you must all agree with me.

I thought there would be laughter with that.

Listen, everyone, everyone gets to the cross.

Can I say it that way?

Where you have to decide, as Jesus says, pick up your cross and follow me.

Such an offensive statement back then, definitely today, even though we we'd run, as I say last week, it doesn't mean you run to Walmart and buy a little silver cross, and if you wear that cross, or you got that bumper sticker or you have that t-shirt, that you're a follower of Jesus.

It's not what Jesus is saying.

He's saying that being a follower of Jesus takes sacrifice, and when people get to that point where they realize if I'm gonna be a true follower of Jesus, that I'm gonna have to live a life of sacrifice and a life of purpose and a life of being on mission.

It changes everything, it turns my life upside down, and sometimes that's just too hard.

And I have those conversations with people, sad conversations.

They may have even been baptized, but eventually they they get to the cross and they'll say things to me, though they know they've arrived or not, they'll say things to me like, Well, Pastor Mark, I just can't do what you're asking me to do.

It's too hard.

Well, first of all, I'm not asking you, I'm just reporting to you what Jesus says, what his word says.

It's up to you.

When you stand before Jesus and give an account for this life that you live here, I will be nowhere around.

You can blame me all you want, but listen, you're gonna stand before Jesus and give an account for this life that you live, and and you need to understand that.

And some people, honestly, they just don't want it.

Pastor Mark, it's too hard.

You mean this is not about me?

This life, no, I want it to be about me, and and and people walk away from Jesus all the time.

Some people come and talk to me about it, and I almost plead with them, but some people just kind of fall away, and they'll say things, well, Pastor Mark is too mean, and you know, the coffee wasn't that great, and he's kind of ugly, I'm out.

But really, what they're saying is I just can't live as it is dictated in God's word that I should live.

And the Holy Spirit comes and he'll wrestle with you and take and give, and he wants to transform your life.

We talk about it.

This is what the gospel is.

Your culture is not the right culture.

And some of you are wrestling with that idea, and you need to understand that there's this resounding theme within Ephesians, but particularly the first part of Ephesians 5, that the the world is a dark place.

There is opposition to you, there's going to be a struggle.

The world is a grave, the age is evil.

All of these word pictures are coming to us to give us an idea that the Christian life is a difficult, difficult thing.

Ephesians chapter 5 says this that in the midst of a dark world, I want you to walk as children of light and to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

Those three things.

Listen, I want you you live in this dark world, but the action is I want you to walk in the light.

That's talking about the culture of God, that's talking about the kingdom culture.

The kingdom of God moves forward in your life, in your spirit, in your heart, physically, mentally, spiritually, spiritually, physically, in all of these different ways.

And listen, if you just drift, or you skate, or you're not focused, there's a chance you'll lose it all.

And the reason that is, is because the world's against you, and that happens.

And so Paul says to the Ephesians church, listen, wake up, old sleeper.

Wake up.

Wake up and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.

Is there any professional nappers here?

I am a professional.

I come from a long line of professional.

Look at you, you northerners.

None of you want to raise your hand.

Nope, I'm out cutting wood 24 hours a day.

Whatever.

I am a professional napper.

I come from a long line of professional nappers.

Now I got it down.

Do you know that there's kind of like this science?

I don't know if it's true or not, but I'm gonna act like it's true, that if I nap over a half an hour, like I'm done.

Like if you ever get into that deep, deep nap that's like an hour or two hours, and you wake up and you don't even know what your name is, and then you don't function for the rest of the day.

Like it's, but if I nap like 20 minutes over half an hour and I get up or I slam coffee right before I take a little snooze, then I get up and I feel completely energized.

My grandfather, who was a farmer, loved Jesus.

He was the best napper I've ever come in contact with.

He would go to church on Sunday morning in a hot three-piece wool suit.

And when he would come home, my grandmother would have a meal, family around the table kind of thing, and then he would get up after dessert and coffee, and he would go to his lazy boy in a three-piece suit, and he would lay in that lazy boy, and he would take something called the Pentecostal Evangel, which was a church magazine we used to hang out, uh hand out here at church, and he would open it up, he wouldn't even read it.

He would just put that on his face, and he would he would sleep, and like it was magic, he would just arise from the dead at 5:30, gather all of us and say, Let's get to church, and we'd go to church.

Some even take off the suit.

Sometimes you just kind of fall into, and this is what Paul is saying like the distractions of the world, the course of the world will put you to sleep.

We'll talk about that in a minute.

Like there's a lot of mundane things in this world, or even important things you think they're important, but important things that you know fill your life from difficult things to things of pleasure and comfort.

Man, your life, no one here is wondering what they're gonna do every morning when they get up.

Our lives are full, full, full, full, full.

That's how we are as human.

And so Paul says, you need to wake up from this slumber and understand that your life is short and that you're at absolutely war.

Because if you're not focused on war, you need to understand that you'll begin to drift.

You'll fall asleep.

And he says, Listen, I want you to I want you to wake a sleeper, and I want you to look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise, but wise.

So understand who you are and your mortality.

I don't want you to be foolish, so therefore don't be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is, making the best use of time because the days are evil.

And that the temple and the rhythm of this world is constantly anti-God in your life.

The world has its own culture and it's anti-God, and so it'll push up against the things that God's trying to do in your life.

That spiritual growth here in this world is difficult.

And so you need to understand that the Christian life is a a struggle.

Again, the course of the world in Ephesians 6, that course is constantly drifting you to a place where you will be far from God.

You have to be focused.

Focused.

One of the things that I've started doing, I like to read, but sometimes I don't have enough time.

And so I've I've started listening to audio tapes.

You guys, you guys do that too?

They're not audio tapes.

I don't know why I said that.

I'm still 1985.

They're not tapes.

I don't have a box full of tapes anywhere.

I threw all those away a long time ago.

I'm talking about like the podcast idea.

Now they're on digitalized.

That's what I'm trying to say.

I'm not that old.

But when I when I I have all intentions to learn something from these people that write these books, but when I listen, if I'm not concentrating, if I'm not focusing, I just start to daydream, I start to to to, I don't know if that's true for you guys, but it's very difficult.

I have to, I'm I'm on a book right now, I probably lift listen to chapter one like 15 times.

I'm never gonna hit the end.

Because for whatever reason I get distracted, I see a squirrel, I see one of you guys, it's over.

I try to listen, but you it's this concentration and focus thing that I'm constantly struggling with.

This is what this is what Paul is saying.

That you're at war.

And if you if you don't understand that, that the world is against you.

Remember Ephesians chapter 2, there is a spirit of this world.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

Who is that?

That's Satan.

There's a spirit that is against you, he doesn't want anything good for you.

Now, sometimes the spirit doesn't have to work so hard in our lives because we mess up our own lives in disobedience, but you just need to understand that there's this constant spiritual warfare of you not doing well.

That is the objective of Satan in your business, in your marriage, in your family, in your outlook in life, your viewpoint of what God is doing in you.

The spirit of the world is at work in our flesh.

It's at in the lust of the eyes, the pride of life.

And we gravitate towards that.

We naturally drift towards that because ultimately we're carrying around the object of disobedience in our lives, which is our heart.

Because sometimes things people think there's like two paths, and and and again, this is not contrary to what Jesus is saying.

I believe there are two paths, but you need to understand just because you're on the narrow path doesn't mean that you can take it easy.

Well, if I just if I just go this way, that God wants me to do, and and I, you know, I this is this will be easier because this is God's way and I won't have to keep focused.

That's not true.

Like I even thought that, you know, if listen, I if I'm a pastor or you start working in the church, or for goodness sakes, I was a missionary.

I mean, missionaries don't sin.

Well, what you don't understand is you carry the heart of deception wherever you go, it's always there, ready to pull the trigger.

In the Christian life, it's dangerous.

Theologians for years have said it this way: you're either destroying sin or sin is destroying you.

There's no neutral ground, there's no middle ground, there's no purgatory in a way, and in between, you are destroying sin or sin is destroying you.

So we mentioned how we fight, and you need to understand you're either on the shield wall or you are in the tent taking a nap.

Those are your two positions as a follower of Jesus.

And he says, Listen, I want you to look carefully at how you walk.

I want you to try to discern what the will of God is in your life, and I want you to focus, I want you to strive to understand these things, to have discernment and how the Lord would have you walk along with him.

Well, Pastor Mark, isn't it real clear in God's word?

Isn't it real clear understanding of exactly absolutely, there are absolutes.

But I'm I'm here to tell you there are times where the Holy Spirit will come to you on this path with Jesus, and you'll say, Mark, I want this out of your life.

And you would say, Well, that's just a good thing.

Why that I'm not sinning.

But again, the Holy Spirit is smarter than you, and so He He wants certain things for you.

And that's when the Holy Spirit comes in and that discernment takes place.

Is this what the Holy Spirit, Lord?

Are you placing this on my heart?

Is there something you want me to give up?

Is there some new direction you want me to go?

This is what Paul is saying in Matthew chapter 13.

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

The gospel is presented this way that that that as a farmer, Jesus is telling the story of a farmer that is that is throwing the gospel out like seed.

And some of that seed, listen, falls on on good ground and takes good root, and uh spiritual fruit comes up, but the the sun comes in and and burns it up, and that person kind of disappears, or or it's it's thrown on on amongst the weeds and and and and the temptations and And and the tyranny of the world comes up, and mundane things choke out that that person, and that person falls away from the Lord.

I like how it's said this way, and I say it in a different way, but I'll start here.

The only seeds that survive are those that are driven deep.

Drive the gospel deep until you learn to see all of your life.

Every portion of your life is a gospel decision.

You've heard me say it.

Your success, your failures, your joy, your pains, your hope, your fears, all of it through the gospel.

You'll hear me say it, every decision is a gospel decision in your life.

You being here this morning is a gospel decision.

You crossing the aisleway and shaking someone's hand and introducing yourself to a new person here at church is a gospel decision.

This week that a majority or of you are going to be a part of branches groups and our children's ministries throughout all of our campus, up Antonogden and Lance, and God's doing powerful things.

Those are gospel decisions.

Pastor Mark, it feels like it's just work.

Noah, it moves the kingdom of God forward.

There's a benefit to having the gospel permeate your life to the point that your foundation is sure and solid, and the gospel is driven deep into your life.

So your natural outlook is gospel lenses.

Everything in your life is a gospel decision towards the gospel or away from the gospel.

Again, there is no in-between.

Secondly, you need to be intentional with your time.

These commands you're gonna find.

You're gonna find about six of these.

You have to be intentional with your time.

There's a very famous book, and I've probably used this illustration before, where it's it's called the Seven Uh Healthy Habits.

Oh, I just lost the name.

Anyway, it doesn't matter.

You're not gonna read it anyway.

But I I I brought up here a canister.

I don't know if you remember this, and it's really called the Big Rock, uh, the Big Rock uh illustration, where you only have so much time in your life to do the things that God wants you to do and to be focused on those things.

You gotta put the big rocks in the canister in your life first.

Then you can add everything else that seemingly is not important.

But a lot of times people put the small things in their lives or they're consumed with the ordinary, or as as uh Charles Hubble says, the the tyranny of the urgent.

Oh, this thing is pressing.

Oh, this thing is happening.

Oh, I have to get this down, and that consumes your life.

If you want spiritual growth, then you're gonna have to have boundaries and you're gonna have priorities.

Listen, I'm just like you.

I don't get up every day and say, I just can't wait to read God's word.

I can't wait to just spend time with the Lord.

But if you have priorities and you have focus and discernment, and direction is the most important aspect of your life.

Direction, not intention, determines destination, everyone.

Should write that down.

Direction.

I'm going this way.

I have these parameters, I have these boundaries, I have these set priorities.

When I when Jen and I were missionaries in Russia, Russia was an incredible ride of adrenaline all the time, all the time.

It was a wild, wild, wild place.

And you could get consumed, your all of your time could be consumed with just survival.

If you just wanted one purpose in life, it would be survival.

I think survival is important, but you need to understand that that every day all these mundane and horrific things could happen to you that could get you off course.

And as a missionary, I'm there to spread the gospel and develop leadership and plant churches, and and you could easily miss all of that just by wanting to survive the situation there.

We had always had this kind of term that we use amongst our missionary team.

We would just say, we just we just roll with it.

Satan's gonna come after us, I just roll with it.

And what I mean was I just shake it off and I keep on going forward.

I don't let it get to my emotions.

I just roll with it and keep focused and keep have some tenacity in my life and accomplish what God has called me to accomplish.

Sometimes those things wouldn't really even affect my life, but they would affect people around me.

There was a very specific time, this has happened many, many times in different situations, but I was I was scheduled to speak at a Russian camp uh way up in the Northwoods, and so it took me a little bit of time to get out to this camp where the Russians were.

I knew I had this much time, and I I had to speak that evening to hundreds and hundreds of people, and so I was very determined to get there to preach the gospel.

That's why I was there, and so I I was on my way with someone, another missionary, and so I picked him up from his apartment.

We were still in St.

Petersburg, and he said, Um, Mark, I I need to run to the the pharmacy and I need to get this kind of drug.

He was a little bit older than me.

He was actually in his 60s.

That's the age I am right now.

But anyway, um he ran across the street and he went into the pharmacy and he came out and I'm like, Joe, man, you gotta get moving.

Um, because I only have so much time.

I gotta I gotta show up and preach.

And was he coming back across the street?

He was running across the street, and bam, a bus hit him.

And I'm like, he just like disappeared.

He's like gone.

I was watching him, boom, gone.

And uh, so I looked down the street, and there he is, laying down on the road.

So I get out of my car and I run over.

Joe Joe, are you are you okay?

And he he kind of sat up.

He's like, Man, I don't know, he was kind of bleeding from his head, and he was holding, I think he broke his elbow.

And uh I said, Joe, man, I'm sorry, but I gotta leave you.

I gotta go to this camp.

He says, Okay.

And so I made a phone call.

I said, Joe just got hit by a bus.

Someone come find him.

I gotta get to the camp.

Just roll with it, baby.

I know, you guys know I'm crazy anyway.

They're like, I'm never riding with Mark anywhere.

That's true.

You should not.

You might get to heaven, though.

He didn't leave, he was still a missionary.

Direction, not intention, determines destination.

And you got such an important calling, the greatest message in the world, nothing should stop you.

You've experienced it.

Now you turn around and you give it to everyone.

And Satan's against you, so he's gonna try to distract you, fill your life with foolish things.

This is why Paul says, Listen, you need to pray always, like be in this constant form of prayer in your life so you don't fall into the temptation or the course of this world.

Number three, listen, this is important for you northerners.

Choose the spirit instead of spirits to deal with the tyranny of this world.

Some of you are wishing you didn't have that breakfast beer this morning.

Choose the spirit, not spirit, to deal with life.

This is what Paul's going into here in just a moment.

He's gonna talk about the similarities, in a way, hold with me.

The similarities of being drunk with wine to maybe the contrast of being full of the Holy Spirit.

Two ways people deal with life.

So let's look at the scripture.

He says, I don't want you to be drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, it's a sin, but be filled with the spirit of God.

Because ultimately, honestly, this is how people deal with the pressure of life.

They they either go to alcohol or they medicate themselves in some way, or they go to the spirit of God.

Now, let me show you something, and this is why Paul is bringing this up.

There is there's kind of a semi similarity here, a connection.

Maybe that's a better word than similarity.

And I want to just walk you just a few ways that the Spirit of God is better for you than you medicating yourself.

May it be marijuana, may it be whatever is mastering you, may it be a box of Oreoles, you're still medicating yourself.

I'm preaching the bean, at you.

Because people they they worry.

We have anxiety.

There's a lot of pressure in this world, there's a lot of things coming at you.

And a lot of people want to be released from that that worry or that anxiety, and so they they they go for a cheap, drunken state to take that anxiety or that worry.

I hear this all the time with marijuana.

Pastor Mark, I get the jitters if you know if I'm I'm not smoking, or it calms my anxiety.

Listen, the Spirit of God be filled with the Spirit of God, it gives you peace above all understanding, it gives you peace.

You're just turning to the cheap alternative.

You're not you're not going to the real thing.

Or listen, people want courage, and so they're scared of life in a way, so they they just they want to get that courage by by drinking, and yet when you're full of the Spirit of God, it says that He creates courage and boldness.

We find that in the disciples that are standing before men, preaching the word of God.

Pastor Mark, I just want to forget my problems.

I feel insecure.

Yet we know that the Spirit of God brings this incredible confidence and assurance in our lives.

Pastor Mark, I'm depressed.

So I'm just gonna drink.

I'm gonna take some medication.

You know, be full of the Holy Spirit, and Ezekiel, it says it brings life to you.

So alcohol, and I'll use that as an example, is a depressant that dulls you.

What that looks like.

What is being filled with the the Holy Spirit in your life?

And he really uses two scriptures to lay that out.

I think it's important.

They're very, very closely related, except for a couple phrases at the beginning.

So we're gonna find one in Ephesians and then we're gonna find the other one in Colossians, but they're they're both written by Paul, and they almost sound identical except for the first two portions.

He says, Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melodies to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything that God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now look at this scripture in Colossians, almost exactly the same.

This is important.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in wisdom, singing psalms and hymns, spiritual songs with thanksgiving in your hearts to God, and whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

There's really two differences between these verses, and it's the first phrase of starts each verse, and they're these be filled with the Spirit, and let the word of Christ dwell richly in you.

So, what does that mean?

And what Paul is saying is there's there's a link to these.

Being filled with the Spirit of God is being deeply, richly deep in God's word.

So it just flows out of you.

And let me show you in Ephesians where where what that looks like for you to be full, the fullness of God, that's what you want in your life.

Lord, I want everything you have for me.

I want all of your spiritual giftings, I want all your redemption, I want all of your mercy, I want your knowledge, and I want your discernment, I want your leadership.

We can go on and on.

That is the fullness of God.

How does that how do you partake of that?

How do you open yourself up to that?

How do you receive the understanding of that?

And what let's look at Ephesians chapter 3, and we've looked at this verse already, but it's a powerful verse.

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

Be able to comprehend or understand what is the breadth, length, height, and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

So let's look at that.

What is the fullness of God?

Understanding the the length, the height, the breadth, and the depth of what Jesus is in your life.

That's important.

From all eternity to all eternity, it says that He knew you and loved you before the foundations of the world.

That should give you this incredible understanding of the length of God, what what he knew you before the foundations of the world and had a plan for you.

And he's going to make it happen in your life.

The height, uh, Psalms 103 talks about how high the heavens are, how high spaces or the universe is, shows you how much God loves you, even though you may not feel it.

He loves you.

The breath, the the all-encompassing aspect of this universe.

He controls every molecule to bring about what is good, his plan, his redemption in your life.

No matter if it seems like things are not going so well, he uses that to further who you are and to change who you are.

Every situation is ordered by God.

Scripture says that our footstreps are ordered by God, including getting hit by a bus.

And the depth is how far Jesus reaches down and pulls me out of my pit, pays with his life.

Paul says, You should remember all of this, you should dwell on this.

You should sing this to yourself.

That's what he starts to talk about.

And it's interesting that he he expresses it this way.

Listen, church, I want you in addressing one another in psalms and hymns, spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.

What Paul is saying, I want you to sing these ideas to yourself.

Your life is a a song.

Can I say it that way?

It's what scripture says.

And let me show you what that, but let me give you a little bit of theology of of worship or music.

And here it is.

That when when when when creation starts, we find that in the first part.

If you guys could go to that slide for me, when creation starts in the first part of Genesis chapter 1, when Moses writes the creation story, he writes it in a form of a poem.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

It's not a lab report.

He writes it as a poem.

Ultimately, creation is a song.

So God sings this song and he creates the world.

And yet in Genesis chapter 2, that song goes bad because of the rebellion of Adam and Eve.

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

And in Romans chapter, uh Romans chapter 8, it says, Since that time, since Genesis chapter 2, the world has been groaning in anticipation of Jesus returning and writing the world back to its original state.

Romans 8 · chapter mention Genesis 2 · chapter mention

And yet Jesus shows up, and salvation is this new song being sung, a resurrection song, a restoration song over your life.

I love, you probably, if you've been here for any amount of time, you know I love C.S.

Lewis.

I think he's a brilliant writer, Christian writer.

He writes a series of books that is called The Chronicles of Narnia, and I'm sure most of you are aware.

There's no better book, by the way, to read to your children at a very young age.

Or at any age, you should read it if you've never read it.

It's a beautiful story, an allegory of God and his work here on earth.

It all happens in a world called Narnia.

And C.S.

Lewis writes in uh Magician's Nephew, which is the prequel to The Lord of the Rings, but it's number, not did I say Lord of the Rings?

The Lion Witch in a Wardrobe.

Sorry.

But it's book number six, but it talks about the creation of Narnia, and there's a couple characters.

The main characters are Diggory and Pauli, and they begin to see the creation that Aslan, who is Jesus, create and how he creates the world.

It says, In a dark and empty world, Diggory and Polly heard a voice beginning to sing.

No world words, hardly even a tune, yet the most beautiful noise they they've ever heard, and stars began to appear, enjoy the song.

We find this in Job 38.

And the sun rises as the voice begins to swell, and then the lion, this is Aslon, Jesus, the lion is seen, mouth open, seen, and then Aslon walks and sings and changes the song.

Grass spreads and trees grow and animals burst from the ground.

Polly realizes the things she sees are coming out of the lion's head.

And when you listen to the song, you hear what he is making.

And when you look around, you see what he's creating.

I love that.

In Hebrews chapter 2, verse 12, Jesus says that he creates a salvation song that he sings amongst his brothers.

Hebrews 2:12

In Zechariah, it says in 317, it says that the Lord sings over you.

Creating a redemption song, a restoration song.

To be saved means to get swept up.

Into a new song.

This is what Paul is saying.

That you would remind yourself by singing these songs.

Number four, sing that new song constantly in your heart.

Tim Keller, who's used to be a pastor in New York, said he says it this way.

We are changed more by our songs than our sermons.

The gospel is driven deeper into our hearts by our songs than by our sermons.

It's through our songs that have the word of Christ dwelling in you richly.

This is how you are filled with the Spirit.

And number five, you should sing those songs to people around you.

You mean like a musical, Pastor Mark?

No, that's weird.

So you say theater kid, sit down.

You've been waiting for me to say that.

What?

No, it's it's the song of the gospel.

There's nothing more beautiful than seeing the song of the gospel sung in your life.

How you speak, how you treat people, how you love people.

That's the song of the gospel.

And ultimately, you need to understand that people see that before they even see Jesus.

How the song of the gospel sings in your life.

How it changes your life, how you're becoming a new creation.

How he begins to redeem and brings restoration and healing in your life.

And you're to be around people.

Be around people, everyone.

Sing the gospel to each other.

And what I mean by that is be in church.

There's something about us coming together.

It'll change your life.

Pastor Mark, I want to do it without the church.

You can't.

I've said this a couple weeks ago.

If you want access to the power of God, you have to be a part of what God is doing, and He's working in His people.

He's working in His church.

The way that you access this song of reconciliation and forgiveness and salvation in your life is by understanding that Jesus sings the song of abandonment on the cross.

He sings out praise out to the Lord, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

He was forsaken because he took on my sin.

He was forsaken because he took on my disobedience, and so God the Father turned his face away from his son and punished Jesus instead of punishing me.

And so I can sing the song of reconciliation with God.

That's what he wants to sing over you.

Some of you hear you need a new song.

Some of you hear you need a new life.

Some of you need to be healed.

I just have to ask the questions do you want to be healed?

Or do you just want to drift?

Maybe I can just sleep my way right through this life.

You can.

But he has a far greater plan in your life.

And you need to make a decision.

There's two ways to go, of course.

There's no middle ground, everyone.

There's no religious ground here.

Either you're an ultimate follower of Jesus where you've surrendered every aspect of your life, or you've fallen asleep.

You've sat down and you've become stagnant.

He doesn't want that for you.

I don't want you to leave the same way that you came in here.

Listen, if you if Jesus heals you, it changes everything.

The greatest healing you'll ever receive is the healing of redemption in your life.

He's the one that orchestrates that.

When that happens in your life, it's not a get out of jail free card.

It's I'm going to the cross card.

He gave his life for me, I'm giving it my life for him.

And that comes with a destination, a direction, a focus.

As Satan rails against you.

Lord, I'm going to follow you no matter what the cost is.

Why don't you stand with me?

I want to give you an opportunity just to quietly with the Lord.

We're going to have people down front to pray with you.

I would encourage you to come down front, but don't walk away from the Lord.

I want you just to spend a few moments.

Would you just bow your heads with me?

Don't get too rattled.

Father, there's things in our lives that are distracting us.

Lord, there are people in our lives that are distracting us.

There's positions in our lives that will distract us.

And Lord, what are you asking for me?

Maybe at first, Father, you're just interested in my my heart.

Surrender.

Lord, I give you a.

But Lord, I need healing.

I need restoration.

I want to be healed, Father.

I know that's gonna require something different of me.

And so Lord, I surrender them all to you this morning.

Ross and Martha, we're never running.

Jesus, you can move in a powerful way.

You're not a subject of time in our space.

Your resurrection power moves, Father, we're gonna open spirits and open hearts, Lord.

We pour out of our lives to you, Father.

And that's that your will, Father, would come into our lives, that we would be able to discern that, that we would walk carefully, Father, as we follow you and our children of the light.

So, Lord, we commit ourselves to that this morning.

We ask it all as we move forward across our campuses to worship and receive prayer from you, Father.

We ask this in your name, amen.