 So beginning at verse one, reading to verse four, Colossians chapter three, Paul writes, if then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth, for you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. So allow me to give you an introduction to move into our study. We need to remember that the church has been given the commission of reaching the world with a message that God calls the gospel. And what is interesting is that in order to reach the world, we must first actually leave it, if you will, to be effective. We need to reject living according to the standards of the culture. So that means we must maintain the right perspective on this world. The Bible teaches us that we live in the world, but we are not to be of the world. In other words, we're not to be molded into the value system that makes up this world. When you read your Bibles, the word world is used in a variety of contests. It could speak of the inhabited earth, but very often it is speaking of a belief system that is hostile to God. It is a death system that is energized satanically. It's a system that fights on the side of God's enemies. And God, in His word, is not neutral about that. In the book of James in chapter 4 verse 4, the writer said, you adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. So we live in this world system, but the world system should not be living in us. It should not be our primary influence. We're aware of its allure, but we're not to be ensnared by it. In Romans 12, 1 and 2, Paul said it like this. He said, and so dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind He will accept. When you think of what He has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is. You see, if this world system is our primary influence, we become divided in our affection. So we need to make sure that our focus is on the Lord, and our focus remains on His kingdom. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2, 11 and 12, Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. Having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evil doers, they may by your good works, which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. So to be effective believers, we choose whom we'll serve and we pursue Him every day, and the result will be growth and our love for the Lord, and it develops what is called a good testimony. John said in 1 John 2.15, don't love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Now there are those who have said, well, that guy, he's a Christian, but he's so heavenly minded, he's of no earthly good. Well, the opposite is really truth most of the time. He's so earthly minded, he's no heavenly good. There are people whose mind is always on the earth and not on things above, and Paul is writing concerning that right now. You see, until we see that we're in the world, but not of it, we will remain ineffective in reaching it. When walking worthy of the gospel is important, this world will begin to lose its grip on us. And that includes the pleasures that it offers, not only the pleasures, but also the fears. You see, believe it or not, one of the traps the enemy uses to lure us is actually fear. This is one of the traps that stirs up Americans who are constantly saying, we just want those good old days. Well, when you look at the human history, there's never been such a time as really the good old days. There's always been sin and a need for Christ, always been. But sometimes you can fantasize and imagine and think, well, it was better then. In some ways, perhaps it was. But when you begin to get caught up in ensnared by nostalgia and sentiment, you're going to stop being effective in the world that you're placing right now. And the enemy uses that. He gets the church all upset and tries to get us to get caught up with a message that won't transform hearts. And so we need to be aware of these things. You see, Paul has been teaching us certain things in the first two chapters. We need to understand that we're just passing through this world. And because we're just passing through, we should seek different things for satisfaction. So Paul has been saying that in the first two chapters, he's been teaching them who they are in Jesus Christ. But now he's going to teach them how to live a practical Christian life motivated by being with Jesus Christ. And that's what he says in verse one, when he says, if then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Paul is saying, if you were raised with Christ, in other words, he's reminding them of their identification with Jesus. And this harkens back to their baptism. We looked at that last time we're together, that they are in Christ. And raised with Christ speaks of having a shared life with Jesus. So though we have newness of life, it's possible for the old ways to fight for preeminence. And that's something that we as believers need to be aware of. So he says, if you're raised with Christ, seek him and those things that characterize heaven. Now, when we get to verses 12 through 14, next time we're together, Paul will give examples of the things that we're to seek after. But we need to remember that our salvation is what produces a life evidenced by love and faith, a love and faith for God and others. It's something that you pursue. It's not something that is automatically produced. In Philippians two verse 12, Paul said it like this. He said, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. He said, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. So as a way of life, we're to be seeking those things which are above where Christ is seeking these things. That should be the driving purpose of our life. It's like what Paul said in Philippians three, 13 and 14. He said, brother, and I don't count myself to have apprehended. But one thing I do for getting those things which are behind reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I pressed toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. I haven't gotten hold of it yet, but I'm moving the direction. I am going to receive. I'm going to have that. And so what are we to do? Well, he says to us, if you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. So notice he says Christ is sitting at the right hand. Jesus is at the father's right hand. He's the one who blesses those who seek him. When he uses the term the right hand, the right hand is a picture of honor. It's authority. It's power. That's where Christ is. In Hebrews one three, it says, when he purged our sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. And so we're to be pursuing the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you're pursuing him, verse two, we're to set our mind on things above and not on things on earth. If we're to keep seeking things above, we need to set our affections on things above. These things are clouded out of sight when we put our eyes on that, which is temporary. Jewish legalism, Greek philosophy and mysticism was teaching them to focus their attention on things on earth and the law would keep their eyes on earthly things. They need to keep their eyes on Jesus. Our thoughts are to be occupied about heaven, which is our ultimate destination. It's to be centered on Jesus and our desire to be with him. And if we seek and set our minds on things above, we will resist the world's enticements. The things of earth with all its concerns will not rule our thoughts and our feelings. These things will be overcome because we have a greater love in our lives. And that love is Jesus Christ. He says in verse three, you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Your life is hidden with Christ in God. Your spiritual life is safely secure in Jesus Christ. Your spiritual life is treasured in him. In John 10, 28 and 29, Jesus said, I give eternal life to them. They will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. Your spiritual life is secure in Christ, but unbelievers cannot grasp this kind of life because that kind of life is a mystery. It's hidden from them. It's like what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2 14, the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God, their foolishness to him. Neither can he know them for they're spiritually discerned. An unregenerate man looks at your belief system as moronic, imbecilic, makes no sense. Why? Because these are things that the Spirit reveals to us. And the natural man, the unborn, unreborn person, the guy who's not saved, the woman who's not saved, they can't grasp it. They don't have an idea. So in one hand he's saying my life is hid with Christ in God. It is safely secure in him. On the other hand, in the way that it's hidden, some don't see it. It's a mystery to them. They can't grasp that kind of life. And then he goes on to say this, when Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. I'm going to talk about that for a moment. Christ who is our life. It's not what he gives us. It is who he is. Christianity is not simply a system of philosophy, of ethics, moral codes, rules and regulations. So we have all of that, of course. Christianity, though, is not simply something in terms of obtaining knowledge or being initiated into some secret society of some sort. Christianity is a relationship. It's a knowledge of God. It's a love for God first and foremost. It is something that matters. And Christ is our life. It's not simply that we go to church and it's not simply that we identify ourselves as Christians. It is deeper than that. It's speaking of fellowship. It's speaking of life that we have in Christ. Christ who is our life. And he blesses us. Thank the Lord. Praise God that he does. I thank God for his blessings. I'm grateful for them, humbled by them. But it isn't the blessings that I'm seeking. It's fellowship. It's relationship with God. You know, and I think that some of us have missed the point of that. Some of us are constantly wondering what our Christian life is all about, because it seems like we go through so many difficult things, so many storms, so many heartaches, so many problems, and it distracts us. It takes us away. Our eyes are not on him. He isn't our life so much as we start looking at him as the one who's supposed to be blessing our life. And why are these things happening? How come I don't sense a closeness to you anymore? And perhaps it's because I've been too busy looking at the troubles and problems that I have, and I've forgotten who's in control of those things. I go through storms. There's no doubt about that. But I don't worship the storm. I worship the God of the storm. The God who is with me in the storm. And that's what we need to understand. And a lot of Christians don't understand that. I'm telling you, it's true. There's a point when you're first saved that you're just amazed at all the good things he does in your life, the blessings that begin to pour out, at least that happened in my case. But it's not the blessings that matter in the end. It's the fellowship. It's the relationship. It's the satisfaction of being with him, of being able to share your heart with him, speak to him, to know he listens, to take your burdens and cast him at his feet and to know that he cares. And yes, we go through hard times. Yes, we go through storms. And yes, we have difficulty. But all of those things should serve to draw me closer to him and not to draw me away from him. And when you have a relationship with the Lord, there's a fellowship with God. This is eternal life that they may know they're the only true God. And Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent, is what Jesus said to us. And that's what it is. You see, like Paul said in Philippians 1-21, to live is Christ and to die is gain. And so God wants us to see him as our life. So you get married and you're a man. You get married. You've got that honeymoon love. You know, every time you look at her, you're busy, busy enjoying the wife of your youth. And a lot of it is physical, as many of you know. And maybe it continues on for many years. There's nothing wrong with that. But at a certain point, when your relationship is matured and there are other aspects that have actually grown to be important, other things, the conversations, the quiet times, the enjoyment of just sitting quietly in a room with one another, those things begin to really shape the relationship. Some of you who've been married for a while know what I'm saying. When you're young, you've got that honeymoon love. But after a while, that simply becomes part of what your relationship is. It includes those things and it's good and pure in the Lord. It's a great thing. But that isn't the whole relationship. You get, you have a few kids, you both begin to gain a little weight. You begin to find that you like a lot of things too, like eating and getting coffee and eating. And so what happens is that became part of it. Have you discovered some of you who've been married for a while or veterans of that kind of war who've been married for a while? Have you discovered that there are times when it's just a joy just to sit there quietly with that person you love so much and just enjoy them? Just to enjoy them? I do. I mean, I'm not going to bore you with stories but I'll tell you this. You know, even just yesterday, you know, my girl Marie, she laughs over and she just giggles. She's a giggler and she was in my, she's in the house and I look at her and she said something to me and all of a sudden she's kind of giggling and she walks away and I'm looking at this woman and I'm thinking, God, I love this girl. I do. I love her. And it wasn't when I'm watching her walk, not that I don't, but it wasn't. I was just thinking how much I love this girl. You know what I mean? You know what I mean? Do you have that too? Where it's, it's, it's not just this. It's everything. It's her. It's just a pleasure you have with that person and you can be anywhere, anywhere and you're at home. You can be anywhere and as long as you're together, it's all that matters. That's all that matters. Whether it's on a vacation or whether it's just sitting in, in your house or whether it's sitting outside, whatever. It's just, and that's what Christ is my life. It's, he's not what, he just gives me things and I'm all, you know, here I am again, Lord, you know, I need to, no, it's that I just enjoy you. You are my life. My grandson, I think I shared this recently, but I have a grandson. I have two. My Josiah, who's the oldest and my youngest grandson is David, little David, we call him baby David and my baby David, you know, he comes into where I am. I'm sitting there on the couch and he comes into the room and as I'm seated there and he walks in and he sits next to me and he puts his shoulder on my shoulder and just kind of leans or he'll just slide on his back and put his feet on me and just has his feet on me and I'm, I'm just sitting there with this kid's smelly little feet on me and I don't move and my son walks in the room and he says, dad, do you want me to have a move? I said, are you kidding me? I'm enjoying myself and he's enjoying himself and we're not talking. We're not talking. He's just got his feet on me and I'm holding my nose and it's just a good time. It isn't because papa can give him things, which I can. It's that I am his papa. I am that man he loves. I, I am that. Yes, I'm a source of blessing. Yes, I'm a source of protection. I'm all of those things, but it's not just those things. It's who I am and that's how it is with the Lord. Yes, he's my protector. Yes, he supplies for me, but it's just who he is. He's my Lord and that's Christ, my life and we have to be aware of that because a lot of Christians have not learned that yet and so Paul is saying, listen, you were baptized, which signifies your death burial and resurrection and it is Christ who is your life. You are alive in him. Therefore, because you are alive in him, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, then you make sure you pursue to be with him so that you'll be with him. Make that your life for you died. Your life is hidden with Christ in God and when Christ who is our life appears, you will also appear with him in glory. Our life in Christ is not at the moment visibly seen, if you will, but when he returns, we will be with him and it will be very visible that he and I have relationship. In his return is one of the oldest prophecies you find in the Bible. Jesus said in John 14 verse 3, he said, I go and prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am there, you may be all. So that's a promise Christ gave to us and not only that, but in the book of Acts in chapter 1 verses 9 through 11, Jesus had spoken to his disciples and all and it says when he had spoken these things while they watched, he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight and while they looked steadfastly toward heaven, as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel who also said, men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? The same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven. He's coming back. In Jude 14, Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men, behold, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones. Revelation 1.7, behold, he is coming with the clouds. Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be, amen, he is coming and that's what he's saying. So Christ is our life and he's going to appear and he said you also will appear with him in glory. Our life is hidden in Christ but then it shall be made manifest and we will be glorified. In 1 John 3, 2 and 3, beloved, now we are children of God and what we will be has not yet been made known but we know that when he appears we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. If you believe the Lord is returning you're purifying yourself. You're doing what Paul is saying here, you're getting rid of those things and we'll look at that in some detail in just a moment because Jesus is coming for a bride and the bride is preparing herself to meet her groom. In Philippians 321, Jesus will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself and if this is true is Christ going to appear? Will we be with him in glory? If this is true, verse 5, therefore put to death your members which are on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire and covetousness which is idolatry because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, he says put to death your members because we are dead in Christ and returning with him, living in sin is unthinkable. Put to death anything that motivates us to use our bodies for sin. Listen, a person controlled by the Holy Spirit lives a holy, not an unholy life and when you're living a spirit filled life you will not habitually excuse or practice sin. The Spirit leads you to live a life that glorifies God in holiness. We are to put to death the things that we've been devoted to our entire lives and that's a conscious choice on our parts because we decide what we will do. In Romans 6.13 Paul said it like this, do not offer the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life. Offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. So you don't yield yourself over to sin, you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you put it to death. Paul goes on to name some of the sins we once practiced. Since we are dead in Christ these old habits and instincts are broken in him and he names them to command the Colossians to regard them, recognize them as dead. Now look at as we look at this, notice how he begins with sexual sin. A very common sin, a major commercial industry today. Casual sex is constantly portrayed as harmless, entertaining and healthy. Think about it for just a moment, how many shows, how many movies, how many songs that Americans memorize. I think a lot of Americans have memorized more current music than they have Scripture. They're able to sing a lot of the songs and a lot of the songs that are out today, not all but a lot of them, they're really not, they're not intended to glorify God but they certainly, they certainly don't and we know the songs better than we know the scriptures and actually people get upset when you tell people, be careful about what you're listening to because they think, oh you're dominating your Lordy and I'm free in grace. But the bottom line is, is your life is being warped at the same time because you're not fleeing these things, because you're not mortifying the deeds of the flesh, because you're entertaining these things and they are affecting you. You see when God's spirit is leading you He leads you to have a life that glorifies God in holiness and Paul begins to speak about this and they'll say things to you, they'll say, well you know, there's nothing wrong with having a relationship with a woman or a guy and all of that, there's nothing wrong with that. So casual sex is portrayed as harmless, it's portrayed as being entertaining, it's what you see in a lot of the movies today, just casual sex and many are even arguing that it's healthy but it's not. You still have the unplanned pregnancies, you still have the venereal diseases and HIV AIDS, you still have the broken homes, broken lives and abortions still result from these casual sexual relationships with people. So Paul begins to give a list of various sins for believers to reject even if the culture permits them. He speaks of fornication, notice that with me, fornication. The word fornication is the Greek word porneia, the word porneia in the original, it speaks not only of sex with a person you are not married to but it speaks also of adultery, it refers to homosexuality, it's been used to refer to lesbianism, it is even a word that could be used to describe bestiality. You see it like I was mentioning a little earlier before I began to teach there are those who think that premarital sex or living together is okay especially if you're in love or getting married but God calls that fornication and he says that we're to put away that we're not to be participated in that but Paul continues and he speaks of other things, he speaks of uncleanness, the word uncleanness speaks of perversion, it speaks of impurity, it speaks of a lust filled mind that's uncleanness, he speaks of passion, it's a dishonorable passion, a depraved passion, it's the physical side of lust, he speaks of evil desire, evil desire speaks of a wicked mental longing for that which is forbidden, it speaks of incest and child sex, speaks of porn, you know that there's a movement right now for pedophiles to be recognized as a protected class, did you know that? That's been going on for a long time, there used to be something called NAMBLA, North American Man-Boy Love Association where they were arguing in favor of males having sex with little boys, they said it's natural and good and that the child screams are only pleasure and it's not pain, that's been going on for a long time and now you have people trying to drum up support for them as protected class, Paul speaks of that as being evil desire, it's to be forbidden, he speaks of covetousness, the word covetousness is a greedy desire to have that which belongs to somebody else and so he begins to speak of this and he says that's idolatry in verse six there are repercussions because of these things the wrath of God is coming notice upon the sons of disobedience so contrary to the apologists of his day as well as those of our own God hates these sins why because they destroy people's lives and they result in judgment and his wrath is reserved he says for those who live disobedient lives in Romans two verse five Paul said in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you're treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God you see in a society without boundaries and without shame you will always have those who excuse sin it's been said that the American culture has forgotten how to blush and there's truth to that sometimes people will even say that God accepts this as right and it's normal these people sometimes attend church and sometimes they even lead one in Ephesians five verse six Paul said it like this let no one deceive you with empty words for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient don't be deceived don't let somebody argue into accepting that in fact these sins are to be treated like weeds or vermin which spreads and infects everything and he says they're to be put to death these are not pets they're rabid animals and if you don't kill them they will kill you that's the truth yes overwhelming applause but it's true there was a lady who went into her backyard and she found a a raccoon and it was a pup it was small and they're cute and so she took it in the house and she nursed it to health she gave it a baby bottle and it began to drink from her like a child she began to treat it like a pet and so it began to grow but she let it stay in the house with her it was her house pet she let it sleep on her bed she would cuddle it at night like some people like their dog or their cat or whatever she would do that with the raccoon but one day the raccoon reached a certain point of maturity and she put her face next to it like she always had to kind of nuzzle and this time the raccoon with its claws ripped her face because instinctively it's a wild animal and it may be cute and all of that when it's small but the instinct in it is going to mature and rise to the top eventually which happened to her you cannot make sins into pets they will rise up against you they will end up harming you and paul is saying as cute as that thing is put it to death why because if you don't it will destroy you what pet sin do you have oh you know pastor come on now you're busy in my business but everybody has a besetting sin something they have to deal with what is it in your life that god is saying put it to death it's going to destroy you put it um i go to work and she's cute she's nice and we're working together come on we're friends you know i'm 15 years older than she is she knows i'm an older man yeah and is that why you comb your hair special just before you go in is that why you you you button up your jacket so she doesn't see your panza is that why your gut is that why kind of hold that stomach in when you walk in is that right really you know it and i know it you know it and i know it you're flirting and you're moving towards the danger watch out it's got to be stopped you'll destroy your marriage you'll destroy your family you'll destroy your children you'll destroy your home you'll destroy your reputation you'll lose it all just because you have to be young when you're no longer young you'll destroy it oh you hate that gray you wash it away because you want to look so good but you're still old you get the tummy tuck and you get the face lift but your body is still old your heart is still at age you may look like you're 50 but you know you're 127 that's your body come on wake up wake up i had a dream many years ago it's so real i still remember it in my dream i had committed adultery in my dream i say dream in my dream i had i say that because someone's right oh no results committed in my dream i committed adultery in my dream i had to tell my wife and i actually you know how real dreams can be i saw her face i saw the brokenness in that woman the tears that erupted in her eyes when i said baby i've been unfaithful then i had to go to my kids in my dream and i said then they were small i said daddy has been unfaithful to mama and i watched my boys i'll never forget it i watched my boys little shoulders and the girls i saw it then i had to tell my church it was one of those things i know was of the spirit i know god allowed me to have i know it be on a shadow of a doubt because i came out to my church and i said i have been unfaithful to marie i'm stepping down from my ministry and the way the people in my church at that time acted i woke up and i still remember saying oh god thank you for a dream what a warning and i told marie about the dream i've told my children about the dream because i believe that the lord said if you do not remain faithful this is your future this is what'll happen to you you will lose the love and respect and adoration of a family in a church because you couldn't be faithful to me don't tell me that sin doesn't destroy it destroys and that's why pa was saying kill it before it kills you kill it before it destroys you that's what he's saying that's what he's saying put these things to death they're like weeds they're like rats it spreads it infects if you don't kill them they will destroy so what he says in verse seven he says in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in notice the word once once walked you don't any longer that was your lifestyle but this is not your lifestyle now in 1 Corinthians 6 9 through 11 do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of god do not be deceived neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor homosexuals nor sodomites nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of god and such were some of you but you were washed you were sanctified you were justified in the name of the lord jesus and by the spirit of our god that's what you were but that is not what you are i was but i am no longer in christ jesus i am a new creation and so are you if you're born again it's what you were that's your testimony that's where you came from but that's not where you are now the apostle john had to deal with error that was being introduced through a greek philosophers called nostics the nostic philosophers taught that spirit was good and material substance was evil they taught that matter that flesh could not affect the spirit therefore someone can engage in whatever fleshly act they desire without any ill effects upon their real self which was their spirit and that's why they were hedonists that's why they would do whatever they wanted because they said well physically i'm doing this but spiritually i'm remaining strong and that's why he wrote first john because he was combating teaching that was producing unholiness just read the first chapter in verse six of chapter one if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness we lie and do not practice the truth in verse eight of chapter one if we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves the truth is not in us in verse 10 if we say that we have not sinned we make him a liar his word is not in us because these people were infiltrating saying you can do whatever you want with your body and it doesn't affect your spirit paul says that's not true john said that's not true and that's why he's teaching them he said you once walked in a sinful lifestyle but no more he goes on and he says in verse eight but now you yourselves are to put off all these anger wrath malice blasphemy filthy language out of your mouth do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with his deeds and i put on a new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him where there is neither greek nor jew circumcised nor uncircumcised barbarian sythian slave nor free but christ is all and in all so he said you once walked like this but no more now notice how he says this i want you to see this in verse eight he says you yourselves are to put off when he says you're to put off that means to lay aside take it off lay it aside i was in the philippines i was in manila years ago now and i was walking on a bridge and i was walking across the bridge looking across it and as i looked across i saw a man and the man was in a sewage pipe a drain pipe and the pipe was about six feet or seven feet or so from the bottom to the top it was good-sized pipe and i could see that there was rainwater and the residue and various things that were pouring out of that pipe into a small river that was headed towards a bay there and it was filthy it was polluted and he was there at the edge of the of the pipe and he had a shovel and he was pushing all this sewage out he was pushing the the trash and everything and i saw how filthy he was and i began to think of what that means put off a friend of mine who was in the philippines also not at that time but he was there and he was taking a picture and as he's taken a picture that's when we didn't use our phones that we had something called cameras and he was holding a picture to take a camera take a picture and he said just a minute i have to step back and he took a step back and then another step and there was a community sewage pond and he fell right in it he left he kept the camera up but the rest of him was in human waste now do you think he kept that on do you think he left that cloth on those clothes no what did he do he be lined to a shower he removed all that the way that guy who was getting off of work would have taken off his dirty clothes he got rid of them washed up put on some clean clothes that's what paul's saying put these off you have been walking in the world and you are filthy with the grime of the world take it off get rid of it take it away don't use it anymore put these things away from yourself what kinds of things well he says anger and wrath malice blasphemy filthy language out of your mouth put these off anger and wrath anger is that deep smoldering kind of bitterness that you can have that leads to wrath which is an outburst malice well malice has been defined as wicked spitefulness it's rooted in bitterness it's a person who's always remembering slights and injuries and meditating on those things and getting mad and wanting to get revenge he says blasphemy the word blasphemy speaks of the lord naturally but it also can speak of of slandering other people that you might ruin their reputation and filthy language that speaks of lewd and obscene speech that pours out of a filthy heart so you're angry you have an outburst of anger then you begin to slander people and then you use bad language all of this is going on he's saying get rid of all of that he says in verse nine don't lie to one another since you've put off the old man with his teeth stop lying he's saying tell the truth you must now be known as people of your word truth tellers of the highest quality many years ago over 30 years ago now my father told me that he wanted to build in front of his house a block wall it was going to be a combination of block and uh wrought iron and i knew somebody in the church and i told my dad dad there's a brother in the church who does that you might want to speak to him which my dad did and so a while later my dad calls and says son can you come to the house and i said of course so i went to my dad's house and he says i want to show you something so we walked across the street from his house and he said i want you to see the work that was done and as i'm looking at the fence that this brother had built you could see that it was it wasn't even it was on an angle and you could see the two wrought iron gates that had been hanged there in the center to walk in and out of you could see that they were crooked my dad was a perfectionist my dad noticed things like that i'm the same way i will notice things like that and those are the only things i'll see so i'm looking at it and he goes you know son now this is years ago you have to keep this in context he says you know son i called him and i told him can't you find a way to correct this he says he has not shown up yet he hasn't repaired his work he said david he goes i get better guarantees from sears than i do from believers think about that for a minute because sears was good to their word my dad bought a lot of stuff from sears he did he said i have my guarantees i have my maintenance agreements if i need something done they come and do it but these believers they're not good to the word and my heart was broken for my father of course my dad but also for the body of christ that doesn't seem not all and i'm not condemning anybody in here or maybe i am i don't know i'm not not intentionally my sister and i are talking recently last week she lives in new mexico my mom lived in new mexico for the last 12 years of her life i have family in new mexico and my mom when she moved moved to new mexico said to me son one of the things i'm having a tough time with over here she said is people will say they're gonna come and see you or be at your house at a certain time they never show up they just don't come so maybe you may be aware of this maybe you have relatives in new mexico that's true and so they just don't come they'll say yeah i'll be their body at three now my mom's a sick woman it takes a whole lot for her to get up and make the coffee and get the treats ready for the fellowship that she's longing for because she was a sick woman they wouldn't show up she said i'm so tired of this she says i'll invite somebody to come and then they don't even apologize they don't even say oh i'm sorry i got hung up or something they just don't even think of it she said this is the hardest thing for me to get used to here in new mexico now we're talking 17 years ago so i'm talking to my sister becky and her church is planning on going with us to israel and so i'm talking to her and i said you know i've contacted your pastor and he doesn't seem to return emails is he slow to do that and she says dave you need to understand this is the land this is her term she said this is the land of manana i said oh really and i'm remembering my mom what my mom had she said yeah she said they don't respond she says that you got to get used to that i said no i don't no i don't i said let me tell you something sister because she's planning on going to israel with the church with us i said if they don't show up i'm leaving them and i'll be leaving you too so you need to let them know that you don't play that because we have places to go that we're on a timetable for and if we don't get on that bus and get out to get to this other place that you paid for you will not see that site so i said you let him know i said i'll do it myself i'll be seeing him i said i'll do it myself i will let him know you need to be i say kindly by the way but i will say you need or i'll kill you you need you need you need to be on time you can't play that manana with us you have to be on time now why am i telling you that i'm just bugged i guess i just get getting it off my chest no it's because your word matters my word matters your word matters there was a time when you didn't sign contracts some of us don't remember that there was a time when your word was your bond and if you said you would do it you were held to it because our whole society expected you to keep your word that's the way it used to be it's not that way anymore but that's the way it should be at least in the body of christ and that's why he says do not lie to one another i'm not lying pastor i'm just saying i'll be there and not showing up oh that's not a lie okay in Psalm 51 verse 6 six not sex six already dealt with that a few verses back Psalm 51 verse 6 behold you desire truth in the inward part be a person of your word if it's yes let it be yes if it's no let it be no but don't say yes when you really mean no it's not that hard it's really not that hard just be honest i can't do it i'm sorry i'd like to but i can't and that's what he's saying be men or women of honesty and then finally he says and have put on the new man who's renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him whether it's neither Greek nor jew circumcised nor uncircumcised barbarian sithian slave nor free but christ is all and in all how is it possible to put to death these behaviors well we need to understand we are dead to sin but alive in christ paul says we have we have put on the new man who's renewed in knowledge that's another way of describing we've been regenerated we've been born again we have a new nature and this new nature produces a new life one that's no longer enslaved to to national and social cultural and sexual barriers this means that we exercise faith in christ work for us and we're free in him is like what he said paul said in roman 611 reckon uh also yourselves to be dead indeed into sin but alive unto god through jesus christ our lord so in jesus we have the necessary spiritual power to live victoriously we exercise godly discipline and faith we put off we discard the old way of life and we walk in newness of life again verse seven notice we once walked in sinful lives but no more but no more we are now born again our lives are changed we're living testimony for the grace of god he has kept his word he will teach us to keep ours and our lives will be a testimony of the grace of god who saves sinners we have taken that old man and we recognize him to be dead in christ we put on the new man and we will not walk in this wickedness any longer we will have pure lives that give glory to god and that's called christianity that's what it means to be born again and that's what we will live like why because we want to do what god teaches us to do i love him so do you i want to be with him not just for the things he's done doing for me and sense of blessing but because of who he is i like being with him and that's how it works and that's what we need to concentrate on today spend time with jesus