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| Not This Kind Of Change |
Then we look at ourselves. (Pause) Do we change as fast as we’d like inside? I don’t. Isn’t it funny how things are changing so fast outside but we look inside ourselves and we’re not changing as fast as we’d like as believers. We’d all like to spiritually grow a little bit faster, wouldn’t we?
If you think you’re the only one that’s struggling with the same sin year after year, you’re not alone. We all struggle with this. We don’t change as fast as we’d like to. If you think you’re the only one struggling with the same issue and you just can’t seem to get over it, you’re not. We all struggle with the same issues, sometimes for a lifetime. You may feel like, “I’m hoping for the millionth time for growth and change in the same areas of my life.”
This week I’m going to be sharing about how that change can begin to happen and how you can begin to cooperate with God in a way that dramatically morphs the level of change in your life. It’s not going to bring immediate perfection, but you will be pleased to see that God is changing you. Your habits, the way you think and your lifestyles are changing. There’s some principles you need to get a hold of, to deploy change in your life and yet sometimes we don’t talk about them enough.
Come Sunday and hear the rest of this challenge!
Read: Ephesians 4:17-32
Recite: “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles (non-christians) do ...” (Eph. 17:1)
Research:
(v. 17) Living “in the futility of their thinking” refers to the natural tendency of human beings to think their way away from God. Intellectual pride, rationalizations, and excuses all keep people from God. Don’t be surprised if people can’t grasp the gospel. The gospel will seem foolish to those who forsake faith and rely on their own understanding.
(v. 17-24) People should be able to see a difference between Christians and non-Christians because of the way Christians live. We are to live as children of light (5:8). Paul told the Ephesians to leave behind the old life of sin, since they were followers of Christ. Living the Christian life is a process. Although we have a new nature, we don’t automatically think all good thoughts and express all the right attitudes when we become new people in Christ. But if we keep listening to God, we will be changing all the time. As you look back over last year, do you see a process of change for the better in your thoughts, attitudes, and actions? Although change may be slow, it comes as you trust God to change you. For further study read: Rom. 6:8; 8:9; Gal. 5:16-26; Col. 3:3-8.
(v. 25) Lying to each other disrupts unity by creating conflicts and destroying trust. It tears down relationships and leads to open warfare in a church.
(v. 26-27) The Bible doesn’t tell us that we shouldn’t feel angry, but it points out that it is important to handle our anger properly. If vented thoughtlessly, anger can hurt others and destroy relationships. If bottled up inside it can cause us to become bitter and destroy us from within. Paul tells us to deal with our anger immediately in a way that builds relationships rather than destroys them. If we nurse our anger, we will give Satan an opportunity to divide us.
(v. 28-31) We can grieve the Holy Spirit by the way we live. Paul warns against unwholesome language, bitterness, improper use of anger, brawling, slander and bad attitudes toward others. Instead of acting that way, we should be forgiving, just as God has forgiven us.
(v. 32) This is Christ’s law of forgiveness as taught in the Gospels. We also see it in the Lord’s prayer (Luke 11:4). God does not forgive us because we forgive others, but solely because of his great mercy. As we come to understand His mercy, however, we will want to be like Him. Having received forgiveness, we will pass it on to others.
Reflect:
- What is the best piece of clothing you’ve ever had?
Respond:
- What does it mean to “put off your old self” and to “put on the new self”?
- How do you usually deal with anger? What do you learn about anger in vv. 26-27?
- What grade would you give yourself in putting v. 29 into practice?
- What positive attitudes should we cultivate found in v.v. 31-32? How have your attitudes, actions and thoughts changed since giving your life to Christ?
Request:
- Of all the commands here, which seems to be a major command God is challenging you with in your life? Talk to God about it.
Some excerpts from : “Life Application Bible”, NIV, Zondervan
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