Walking As A Family!

Here we are last week tied as the 'family dance champions' at Downtown Disney!!

So, here was my first choice as the video lead in to this week's message.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxuMKb5CKI0

and here is the more safe choice that I went with...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14CKzskjn4s

I did a lot of walking with my children this past week.  One ride was a giant walk through a 6 storey tree house inspired by the Swiss family Robinson.  The story is the envy of anyone who has ever wanted to get away from it all except of course for the father in front of me making a business call on his blackberry all the while holding my family up.  Jordan looks at me and says Dad, that is pretty pathetic that they can’t even go for one day without it...

Well, we also learned a lot about ‘fast track’ and dancing as a family together too!  I’m sorry we don’t have any video evidence of my bad dancing, but at least we got the cheers!

     

Today we will be looking at ‘walking as a family’ in our home but I also want us to see the transferable principles to life in our church and workplace as well.  I want us to look at this passage as helping us to look at the exercise of a muscle.  If you exercise a certain muscle, it will grow strong and we see a person growing from childhood to adolescence to adulthood will strengthen one of two muscles.  One muscle is the neck and it can be strengthened in the way that it grows so stiff that it becomes harder and harder to bend, it can become more independent, isolated and self reliant.  The other muscle is the one that enables us to bend our knees so that we learn to become more dependent, more humble and learn always to thank God in every circumstance.

Again, as Mike centered out men last week in their role as husbands, we once again see that men are centered out again in their role as fathers this week.

Read Ephesians 6:1-9

 The first commandment with a promise – ‘a long life full of blessing’.  One that is full of joy, full of delight, full with meaning and a life worth emulating.  A long life isn’t necessarily a long life physically as much as it is spiritually, emotionally and one that leaves a legacy.

Before we move on, let me state the obvious: Some families are hurtful. Some parents are cruel, absent, hardhearted. But if it’s true that you were given an unhealthy environment to grow up in, God will replace your parents. He will give you what you did not have. He will become the parent that you need.

The word obey means to ‘stand under,’ to fall under, to submit to authority

Discipline comes from being a disciple;  both words come from the Latin word for pupil. 

Children become disciples of parents who enjoy and back up one another; whose mutual respect and encouragement for work well done makes children draw a positive picture of themselves. But the approach has to be genuine and there has to be a commitment to follow through!

We are going to unpack the two most key elements in a parent/mentor relationships and that is nurture and discipline and then finish with our focus on God the Father.

Parenting is the highest form of discipleship.

What is the goal:  Proverbs  22:6

To see our children mature into fully devoted followers of Jesus

Parenting is not easy, but it is very much a blessing.   If it were too easy, I don't think it would be such a blessing and if you have more than 1 child you are not the norm for those who are born in this country.

The context of our passage is that we have been brought together in unity as God's new creation to fill purposes and that should transforms us and our relationships right down to our most immediate ones too!

We looked at what it means to walk and be filled with the Spirit as well as mutual submission.

Notice that  the teaching here once again is directed more specifically at fathers because we need to be the pace setters in our home.  The fact is that nurturing come more readily to mothers and it is more of a challenge for us as men.  Our goal parents is to be ‘faith trainers’!

                              

In the book ‘Faith Training,’ by  Joe White states that ‘anyone can do this if they have a willing heart, a relentless spirit, and the desire to see your children run the race for God.  ANYONE CAN DO IT, the single father, single mother, the poverty stricken couple in the slums, the CEO, anyone can get the job done."

Let’s first look at

Raising our children with NURTURE

The statement we want to focus on is ‘bring them up’

The word in the greek is  extrepho which means to ‘Rear, bring up, nourish, cherish, feed

It is the same word also used in 5:29 concerning wives

Now let’s contrast that with provoke

                     

          One translation reads this way.  'And parents, never drive your children to resentment'

                                             

Does this mean that I can never become angry with my children? No, but what it does mean is understanding their ‘breaking point’

                    

 Fathers, do not exasperate or aggravate your children that they will lose heart or ‘quit trying’ as the NLT shares in a parallel passage in Colossians 3:21

How do we cause a child to lose heart? 

- when we don’t step in and allow sibling rivalry to take its own course.  This  doesn’t mean that we try to avoid anything that upsets them, but that they learn and have a heart to persevere.  We crush their spirits when we:

                                             

-Set expectations too high. They need to be high, but be attainable

                                                                                            

-We drain them with excessive negative reinforcement because it has the exact opposite effect of what we hope to accomplish

                                                - 

-Compare them with someone else in the family or another child for that matter

                                                          

 -Do not respect their feelings

                                                           

 We nurture them when we:

 -give them responsibility and a role to play

                                                          

- they know it is ok to fail when.  A ‘fail safe environment’.  They may not do it as good as you or exactly the way that you want it done, but they must have the opportunity to explore

 - we are  generous with praise and encouragement

                                                            

 - we love unconditionally...

I think back to my own Dad and the things that he taught me. He used to always turn the TV off after the second period and tell me to do my homework because the Leafs are going to lose anyways....I can give my boys the same advice today.

I remember my Dad always faithfully waking up each morning, making lunches for us, praying by his bedside at night. I remember him always taking me to my hockey games and rewarding me regardless of how many points I got.  He always would take time off in the summer for family camping trips

                                             

          

Raising our children with DISCIPLINE

                         

The greek word here is paideia - Upbringing, training, instruction, discipline.  Disciple is a related word here and the idea being communicated speaks of training and instruction.

                                            

It is the same word in Titus 3:10 which speaks to rejecting a factious man after a

first and second "warning".  We need to teach our children to discern what is false from what is true.  It involves instruction as we see in 2 Timothy 3:16 and it is profitable for them.

Faith is both caught and taught.  We need to lead by example but we also need to look for those teachable moments as well and speak into their lives.

Discipline involves pain as well as it is important that they learn from it as well.  Proverbs states that when it is done well it will save their soul.  We also need to teach the importance of respect and honor as well.  The realization is that in order to train, it will  take time and we need to learn not to short circuit the process when we have to discipline.  We need to allow time for grieving and for feeling the weight of the offence.  It will enable them to recognize what true repentance and that brokenness is so important in their faith development.

              

Learn From God as Your Heavenly Father

God has to be the foundation of this whole endeavor

We see how he refers to Israel as his bride, how Jesus referred to the church as His bride as well.  We see in Scripture how God also refers to Israel as his son.  In Hebrews 12 we get a picture of how God deals with us as his children and his approach to nurture and discipline as well.

                          

We can learn so much from Jesus interaction with His disciples in giving them roles and responsibilities.  We see how he used time together over meals to bring instruction and teaching.

We see how God allowed His children to learn from their mistakes when He set blessings and curses before them.  He showed them how unfaithfulness would lead them into exile and eventually would lead those who were refined by it into a deeper walk with Him.

                                            

                                      

The Takeaway

Being a godly parent involves nurture and discipline which are both consistent with the character of God.

He is the ultimate parent, He knows our disposition, He knows when we need a rod and when we need a staff. Remember the story of the prodigal son in how God deals with us, but also don't forget the lessons that needed to be learned for the older son. 

I realize that we are all at different stages concerning parenting but wherever we are, there are lessons to be learned...Some of you have raised your children and you are a wonderful resource.  You need to be ready and willing to share your insight.  Also remember there is always opportunity to mentor spiritual children and there are those longing to have that godly example.  Be willing and ready to nurture and discipline in the likeness of God as our Heavenly Father

                              

1.    Takeaways for parents:

2.      Learn to listen well

3.      Don’t be overprotective

4.      Take time to pray and read the Scriptures meaningfully with them.  Teach them to spend time listening to God as well.

5.      Spend more time than money on them

·     It is simply not enough simply to just be with your kids; we need to be intentional about the time that we do have together.  It needs to be meaningful and interactive and that is one reason to not make watching TV or going to a movie the be all and end all activity.  The best thing we can do is shared experiences whether that is a family game.  I’m always hounded at our house because I want us all to go on a hike.  We need to prepare meals together, do dishes together, volunteer together. 

·         Take your children out on dates and honour them!

·         Lead by example and be consistent

You must be a united front as parents.  If they detect any chink in the armour they will attack it.

Questions For Small Groups and Discussion

1.   What type of TV family are you able to identify most with??  Leave It To Beaver, Married With Children, The Cosby Family, Life With Derek??

Explore:  Eph 6:1-4; Col 3:21

2.  What is the significance of the words nurture and discipline?  How do they contrast to provoke, or exasperate? 

3.  God addresses fathers specifically and does not address mothers.  What does this say to you?

4.    How does Hebrews 12:4-11 provide insight on the nature of discipline and parenting?

5.  Identify some resources to help you as a parent.  How can you yourself be a resource to other parents?  If you are not yet a parent, how can this lesson help you?

6.  What is your default as it relates to the story of the prodigal son...who do you more easily identify with....the older son who feels like he is always slaving for God or the younger one who is easily inticed and led astray?

Walk In Renewal

Why is it so hard for people later in life to put their trust in the Lord? It is true that the older we get, the more sceptical we become of change. The attitude that typifies this mindset is, “If it hasn’t worked for me up until this point then why try now?”

In Ephesians Paul is speaking to people who have yet to really understand what the filling of the Spirit could mean to them and the profound difference that it could make in them. The notion that I won’t change is based so much on self produced effort. This is a book about transformation...NOW, in this life. A dominating verb is the last three chapters is to WALK! It is missed in the NIV, but it is there. Start walking! Today, this week, in this moment. It was always meant to be done in the Spirit.

The heart of this passage is this calling to lay aside what used to be and that leads us to putting on what we have always been called to wear as we talked about last week. Don’t even think about going to the laundry hamper to wear those clothes full of stench! We are not stuck being who we once were. It about new conviction, new hope, new courage and now we have the Spirit of God!

This is an intensively convicting because it is challenging us to live on such a high level and with greater and greater consistency. Our posture to receive from the Spirit of God is incredibly important if we are to hear with clarity from the Lord.

WALK IN HIS LOVE as you
Guard your heart with the purity that springs from your identity v1-7

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
3But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous ( that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7Therefore do not become partners with them;

Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

Your heart needs to be a fresh water flowing stream. You need to take inventory!
What is your appetite? Take a look at what you are stocking up on in your fridge and your pantry.
What causes our heart to be stagnant? Allowing ourselves to be captivated by impurity, racing thoughts, fantasy life – our thoughts will burst into actions.

Psalm 15 Lord who may dwell in your sanctuary

1 Corinthians 6:19,20 you are bought with a price..every other sin is outside your body, it touches the very core of our being.

Matthew 15:17-20

The fact is that if your life is characterized by these kind of sins, if this is your lifestyle, then it is becoming more and more clear that the work of redemption has not taken place.

We are called to really be wise, be so discerning in our entertainment choices.

Not even ‘a hint’ of sexual immorality – Often sexual love is sought out as a `counterfeit god` as Tim Keller writes in his most recent book. In the search for love, one looks for the deep kind of affirmation and acceptance that only God can provide.

He goes on to write how we know a good thing has become a counterfeit god when its demands on you exceed proper boundaries. Making an idol out of work may mean you work until it ruin your health and marriage, or you break the laws in order to get ahead.

Making an idol out of love may mean allowing the lover to exploit and abuse you.

Paul is not condemning sexual love...the stress is on going outside the boundaries of what God has desired for the most complete and satisfying expression within a committed marriage. However even in marriage, we must not load all of the deepest needs in our heart of hearts for significance and transcendence into romance and love. God longs for us to discover the love that makes us complete in Him.

He speaks to repenting about coarse (sexual) joking and he can`t stress how much this kind of lifestyle has nothing to do with those who are the people of God!

Foolish talk is a combination of two words in the Greek being ‘moron’ and ‘talk’
Can you think of TV shows that would fit that description?
Can you understand that when people hear you talk like that, how quickly you are dismissed, written off a child of God by non-Christians?

We have to say no in order to say yes...

We can’t add a Christian virtue without taking other things away
So Paul tells us to do the opposite. Start with looking for ways to share your thankfulness.
The pure in heart will see God – Matthew 5:8

WALK IN CHRIST’s LIGHT as you
Discover His Pleasure v8-14

8for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

"Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."

Wake up sleeper, arise from the dead is taken from Isaiah 60:1,2 where the prophet is overwhelmed with the awesome glory of the Lord. Let’s go there to get a fresh vision of the Lord!

When we walk in the flesh we will know by what our life is manifesting. For example to cope when things aren’t going the way that you planned how do you react?

When you are under a great amount of pressure and stress, what is your panic button?
If we are walking in the darkness we will do one or a combination of the following:
• We become self absorbed, feel sorry for myself, play the role of the victim
• We will withdraw and isolate ourselves by running from others, escaping, go into a shell
• We become obsessed with accomplishments, recognition, the past, hold on to some form of structure
• We will escape by business, locked into computer games or social websites, even church activities, sleep, active fantasy
• We may choose to become self reliant, perfectionism,
• We may choose self indulgence by impulsive purchasing
• Anxious, dominant, controlling ... it is all there
Keep asking the hard questions, let God expose you to the ugliness you need to see in yourself. Get a peer mentor, allow others to see the real you. We can so easily deceive ourselves into thinking we are doing just fine and that is when we need the honest wounds of a real friend to bring the challenge, the rebuke, the encouragement to keep in the light.

WALK IN THE FULNESS OF THE SPIRIT v15-21
Discover the wisdom and discernment He gives!

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

• Make the most of every opportunity – Here the NIV really captures where the emphasis needs to be. It is recognizing that very fact that we need to seize the day or buy up the opportunities that surround you. The days are getting more evil. It is about godly influence, make your mark. Don’t waste time on things that won’t last and remember that relationships do. We need to be more bold in our faith

• Recognize the will of the Lord – we could do a whole message on this one, but in brief...when so many people equate this with whether to move, take a job and certainly those things are important, but the Bible when speaking of the will of the Lord, it is to be saved, Spirit-filled, sanctified, submissive and be ready to suffer.

• Be filled with the Spirit – this is an active and ongoing process for the believer. We are commanded to keep being filled with the Spirit.

We are baptized in to the body of Christ when we come to know Jesus as our Saviour. However; there is often a very distinct point where we are initially filled with the Spirit for the first time. The reality is that is comes in a place of surrender.


You are filled with the Holy Spirit when you are tuned to and releasing the flow of the indwelling Holy Spirit Who is saturating and invigorating your heart and is anointing your mind, will, emotions and speech and hands as you yield them to the flow of the river of God within.
Mark Virkler

The contrast here is given to being drunk with wine where there is no control, no ability to influence and leads us further into the kind of sins we first looked at in this passage.

What does the fullness of the Holy Spirit do in us?

He gives us words of wisdom and knowledge
He gives us incredible faith to believe whether it is for salvation, healing and prayers to that end
He can do the miraculous through us
We already seen through the gifts of the Spirit, He imparts the gift of the prophetic, verses and words that He only can give, bringing people to our heart to pray for.
He gives us an inner witness to distinguish between His Spirit and false demonic spirits. If you feel godly guilt that calls you to repentance, that is the Spirit. If you feel shame, after confession of sin, the matter keeps being brought up, that is from the enemy of our souls.
He gives us the ability to pray with power and even without words that can we can comprehend.


• The posture of praise music – Every new movement of the Spirit of God has brought a fresh outburst of song. Let me illustrate, “The question goes something like this... really struggle with this whole HS thing, I’m always depressed . I ask them what are you listening to...the answer, comes back, `death metal’. You may want to look at your diet when it comes to the music and songs that fill and occupy your mind and heart. Now I used this illustration as an oversimplification, but seriously, take stock of the music that fills your ipod, mp3, you name it. We absolutely need a strong diet of music that we can soak in God’s presence. The power of great contemplative and celebratory music cannot be denied in our lives in giving way to the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Even if you can’t sing, you must learn the posture of soaking.

• He finishes with a call for us to mutual submission – The pride of position, an overbearing or authoritarian spirit are destructive for fellowship and friendship. We were always called to lay down the titles and serve one another in the strength of our calling.

The Takeaway

Walk in the LOVE that God has for you, walk in the LIGHT of Jesus and let Him expose the heart of the matter and finally walk in the fullness of the SPIRIT as you make music in your soul and you will soar to heights you never imagined!

Questions For Discussion

1. Why are sexual immorality and greed listed together?
2. Think about your reputation. In what ways do you protect it?
3. Take an inventory of your music collection. How much time do you spend listening to praise and worship music?
4. How can you posture yourself to receive more from the Spirit of God

The Refining Fire of God

Compose

Ephesians 4:17 – 5:2

What is it about fires that we are drawn to them? From the fire of God by night that reflected the presence of the Lord in the OT, Elijah's sacrifice to the refining fire of the Judgment seat of Christ in the NT...We have heard on TV ‘fire is your life’… we have seen the ’the Olympic flame' and then there is my son Jordan who from his earliest age could not be kept away from the campfire!

Refining expresses the melting, testing and purifying of metals such as gold and silver. God is our Master-refiner and through His servant Paul teaches us the imperative process that we must continually expose ourselves to. It is only as we have a ‘cut throat’ mentality to our former life that we have any chance in becoming everything that He has created us to be! The mindset and the heartbeat is ruthless, resolute and righteous. “The dove will not settle on corrupted flesh” is a statement that I have not forgotten about the Holy Spirit. There is a purity that we must discover and many people ‘burn too much smoke’ in this process than the ‘incense’ we have been called to burn! Strike the match and turn up the heat, it is going to get warm at Southside!

Increase the heat of heightened sensitivity v17-19

We have the power of reason, the power of judgment and the power of imagination. We have power to invent, plan, execute, build, destroy, dominate and to serve. We need to realize that our mind is a target for the enemy.

The thinking of our world apart from the insight of God is:

Futile

Darkened

Ignorant

Indulgent

2 Corinthians 4:4 The God of this age has blinded their minds.

It is this callousness that has overtaken us.

Satan seeks to destroy our minds through mass media. It is easier to let others to do our thinking for us and we delegate this work to mass media. If you want to know how we should think or feel about what is happening take a poll. Have you ever sat down to watch television and soberly thought about how much of the programming is designed to change the way you think and live?

The writers for TV shows and screenwriters for movies seek to make us laugh at things that are morally unacceptable to God. Humour is an excellent way of initially tearing down barriers to things that we reject. It is another subtle way that the enemy uses to just wear us down and desensitize us to what is pure, holy and acceptable to God.

You can’t help but read v19 and know that Paul is speaking to allowing impure images be projected and burned on the inner screen of our lives.

Pornography is another way that Satan seeks to corrupt our minds and bankrupt our heart. Vulgar, obscene images will destroy the mind. It was Lenin who said, "Destroy the morals of the youth of one generation and the next generation can be conquered without lifting a weapon."

Pornography like the abuse of alcohol, food, a fantasy life, affairs are all drugs of choice and ways of escape that the enemy presents as a short cut, a way to indulge, to numb the pain and ease the pressure in one’s life.

At the very root of the self destructive sin is the lie that I don’t believe I can trust God to love me completely with His unfailing love or the lie that He will not meet all my needs for encouragement, strength and support.

When we do this we tell God He can’t meet our needs and our selfish desires and drives become our idol because it controls us.

In the Freedom Session that we have been attending with the Gravels as part of a pilot project for the last eight weeks, we are learning how to control the mind and bring light to understanding especially in this whole area.

This course seeks to identify the root issue, the triggering event that often can happen well in advance, as much as 24 hrs, the automatic response, the payoff consideration.

We are learning the truth about halts

Hungry – eating healthy, the problem isn’t eating, it is what we eat, dealing with emotional cravings...

Angry- identifying and facing the issue underneath it all

Lonely-the importance of close friends

Tired- the need for exercise

Stressed-

Satan will seek to destroy the stewardship of your mind is with laziness and idleness especially as it pertains to the thoughts that we allow ourselves to entertain.

Let ungodliness just burn up in flames and feel the heat as it purifies you  v20-29

One of Sharon’s favourite shows when we had TLC was ‘What Not To Wear’.   The funny thing is that today of all days she sends me back upstairs three times to change what I was wearing...God has a sense of humour when He wants me to get the point across

Anyways,  on this show Clinton and Stacey take a woman whose clothes do nothing for it and basically then have to convince her after her friends send in the unflattering tapes of her wardrobe.They get her to radically reevaluate her wardrobe and basically in order to go on a shopping spree in NYC, she has to give them full access to her current clothes and just about everything gets trashed. They desperately try to hold on to a few pieces, but just about all of it has to go.

So after a painful shopping spree at first, they are finally hear things like, “Oh, that’s really you! That new outfit looks so nice on you! It brings out your inner beauty.” That A frame skirt completely suits you and so on. And they’re right. The transformation often is very impressive.

Paul speaks in the same way regarding the way that we carry ourselves as believers. He’s saying, you know what, there is a more suitable look for you. These words ‘put off’ and ‘put on’ are the same words that referring to taking off and putting on clothing in the Greek.

The way you are dressing yourself as a follower of Jesus is unflattering and is working against you in your desire to follow Christ. Go out and get a new wardrobe!

We wake up in the morning and we get to choose what we are going to wear in the spiritual realm as well. It is a decision that we make daily to die to selfishness and all of its ugliness and clothe oneself in the new attitude of our mind, created in true righteousness and holiness. Do you accept it and believe it?

For us today, the idea of living like this after we have created new in righteousness would be like taking a shower and then going to the hamper, grabbing your dirty clothes that have been rotting in B.O. and all that ‘skankiness’ and putting them on…You just don’t do that!

Burn incense instead of smoke! V30- 5:2

First – there is passive anger. passive anger is just that, it is quiet, subtle, subdued and it goes underground and usually eats away at us on the inside. We don’t let anyone know how angry we really are– sometimes in ways that are hurtful and at times that have nothing to do with the situation that originally made us angry.

The second type is aggressive anger — the one we are probably most familiar with. It is an explosive anger that is seen in outbursts and usually follows a time when we have been facing the heat whether that is at work, at home and it spills out and taints us and everywhere in the room that we spread our venom. It can be physical– and makes others fearful as well.

The third type is passive – aggressive anger –It is when we are angry and everyone else has to figure out why and draw it out of us. It is manipulative and controls the feelings and thoughts of others. 

The final type of anger is indirect anger, which occurs when express anger at someone – but it is really someone else who has made us angry. The person we are expressing anger towards becomes the scapegoat. Often it is hurting the one that we love the most because they are in the closest range to us.

NO matter how we express anger... passively, aggressively, passive aggressively, or indirectly — anger touches all of our lives 

The Holy Spirit is certainly grieved even more when we make a mockery of His love by living outside the context of His revealed will. Hebrews 6:4 and 10:29 deal with the reality of the pain that God feels when we dismiss the love He desires to give us. The love that He gives is so great that He chose to give His Son as the means by which He could forgive us and reconcile Himself to us.

Here's how to build instead of destroying with your words --from Rick Warren

1. Stop excusing. Stop saying, "I didn't really mean to say that." Realize that what you say impacts everyone around you.

2. Talk less. If it's a power tool, you don't have to use it as much. One of the reasons we get in trouble is we just talk too much sometimes. We need to talk less and then ...

3. Listen more. If I listen more, I can understand people's needs.

4. Start building. Think first of all, "What do they need?" How can I use a word of encouragement to build them up? How can I use a word of challenge to make a difference in someone's life? How can I use my words to build up the people I love the most

The Takeaway

Do The Great Exchange – exchanged life!

It is a complete reorientation…all these changes that are to take place happen from the inside out. We are clothed with an inside out righteousness. Not pretending; not hypocritical; no fake, Sunday only face. And certainly not because by acting a certain way we think we will get on God’s good side.  The fact is that we are all on God’s good side thanks to Jesus.

 These new attitudes, emotions and practices become our default; our new set of clothes. What you see on Sunday is who I am on Monday

“London businessman Lindsay Clegg told the story of a warehouse property he was selling.

The building had been empty for months and needed repairs. Vandals had damaged the

doors, smashed the windows, and strewn trash around the interior.

As he showed a prospective buyer the property, Clegg took pains to say that he would replace the broken windows, bring in a crew to correct any structural damage, and clean outthe garbage. “Forget about the repairs,” the buyer said. “When I buy this place, I’m goingto build something completely different. I don’t want the building; I want the site.

Compared with the renovation God has in mind, our efforts to improve our own lives are

as trivial as sweeping a warehouse slated for the wrecking ball. When we become God’s, theold life is over. He makes all things new. All he wants is the site and the permission to build.”

Ian L. Wilson, Source unknown

For Discussion and Small Groups

Read Ephesians 4:25-5:1 and Colossians 3:8-9.What do these old clothes that we have been wearing look like?

What do the new clothes look like? (Eph 4:25-5:1and Col 3:12)

What is the real problem in my life, my “self” or my bad habits? (Col 3:8-9)

Why doesn’t the apostle Paul just come out and challenge us to get rid of our bad habits in this passage?

Why are we so quick to change our habits (the exterior) over our self (the interior) when it comes to our  spiritual walk with Jesus?

Read Romans 6:6. What do we learn about our old way of life now that we are followers of Jesus?