Title: Restoration, fullness, sharing, / Ephesians 4:21-32
content , fullness, sharing,
Ephesians 4:21-32, Isaiah 40:28-31
To summarize today's long text, it is to put off the old things, put on the new ones, and build a beautiful relationship with the saints. To summarize these words in short words, they are restoration, fullness, and sharing. These three words contain the basic principles of the life of faith. This is the grace we should receive by coming to church, the reason we should come to church, and what we should do in the church. Restoration, fullness, sharing, please remember these words.
1. Getting rid of the old things -- recovery
Put off your old self, which is corrupt according to the lusts of temptation, (22)
This speaks of the grace of restoration. The heart and spirit that God has given is pure and pure. But Sanora becomes dirty and dark. You become a soul full of lusts of temptation. It's going to be long in today's text. We need to be restored from our spirits and lives defiled with lies, wrath, theft, unclean speech, grieving the Holy Spirit, bitterness, wrath, clamoring, slander, malice, and these things.
The first grace that our members should receive when they come to church, and what to expect, it is the grace of restoration. Putting off the old self means to restore God's original life.
To purify the soul is to receive the grace of restoration. What do we expect when we come to church? You must come with faith and will to purify my soul. The right attitude of a saint is to lay down my soul, stained with sin, in front of the cross, and humbly ask the Lord for forgiveness by kneeling down in the world. Kneeling in front of the cross is the most beautiful figure of a saint. Sometimes, because of coming to church and devoting themselves to each other, doing the work that has been entrusted to them, they basically forget the faith they ought to have in the sight of God. In any case, please do not lose this kind of faith and heart.
Emptying your heart, this is also the grace of restoration. As we live in the world, our hearts may be filled with complex thoughts, greed, lies, hatred, distrust, and bluff. What do we do when we come to church? Putting those things down under the cross. It is to empty your mind. To return with humility, to the soul of a child. That is to empty the mind. We live in a harsh world. Letting go of a heart full of greed is to restore the original pure and beautiful heart that God has given us.
Healing wounds is also the grace of recovery. Our souls and hearts are full of wounds when we live in a tough world, struggling for survival. This broken heart needs to be removed quickly. If you are caught in the wounds of your heart and dragged around, you will destroy not only your mind but your body, and you will also destroy others as well as yourself. That is why we must surrender our aching heart before our Lord as it is and receive healing. must be restored.
"Lord, my heart is hurt like this. It's hard. It hurts. It's painful. It's hard. Please have pity on me. I lay down my soul stained with my wounds under the cross. Please heal me with your grace." When you surrender your heart, it heals you and binds you up.
That is the grace of restoration. This is the grace we should receive when we come to church. If you come to this important place, and just sit there carelessly at this important time and take the old things back, why are you here? Please worship with sincerity. Please pray in the center. Please give me the praises of the soul. That is to receive the grace of restoration.
The grace of God, that is the grace we must receive in our faith life, and the grace we must receive from the church.
2. Putting on new things -- fullness
In the second passage, the Apostle Paul said, 'But be renewed in spirit, and put on the new man, which after God was created in righteousness and holiness of truth' (4:23-24). If you have put off the old, you are not naked, but you should put on new clothes. New clothes are the renewing of the heart. It is a message to fill the clean soul with the word and power of God, which has been cast off of old and dirty things. It is said to be full.
Among the words of Jesus, there is a story of seven demons. An unclean spirit had gone out of a person and could not find a place to stay. When he came back, the house was clean and empty. So when I brought in seven demons worse than me, the situation was worse than before. If we just take off the old things and do not fill them with the Word, it will be like that.
In front of the old Jerusalem temple, there were huge pillars that were 8 meters tall on both sides. The right pillar is Jachin, which means 'He builds'. The pillar on the left is Boaz, which means 'he has power'. Why did God have such a pillar to be erected in front of the temple? He said that everyone who enters the temple should receive the same grace. Anyone who enters this temple will receive the grace that God has established. It means that whoever enters this temple by faith will receive new power from God.
did you not know or did you not hear
Eternal God, Yahweh, who created the ends of the earth
He is not weary, he is not weary, his understanding knows no bounds.
He gives strength to the weary and strength to the weak.
Even a boy is weary and weary, and even a young man stumbles and falls.
But those who wait in the Lord will find new strength.
Like an eagle soaring on its wings,
I will run and I will not get weary, I will walk and not get weary. Isaiah 40:28-31
In the midst of the world, to reestablish the faith that was weakened by the winds of the world, to fill the heart with the Word of God, and to refresh the soul by the power of the Holy Spirit, that is, putting on the new man. 'But be renewed in your hearts and put on the new man, which after God was created in righteousness and holiness of truth.' Renewing your heart through the Word of God and the grace of the Holy Spirit to become a new person--that is fullness.
What we must continue to do in our faith life is to put on a new person. What we have to pray and hope for when we come to church is to be filled with the Holy Spirit and put on a new person.
3. Sharing grace -- sharing
Think back to when the Lord first established the church.
All the believers are together and all things are in common.
He also sold his property and possessions, and distributed it according to the needs of each one.
Every day, we strive to gather together in the temple with one heart.
Breaking bread at home, eating with joy and sincerity of heart
He praised God and was praised by all the people.
The Lord adds day by day those who are being saved. Acts 2:44-47
Why did the Lord make efforts to gather together? Why did you make them gather together to worship? Because faith grows through friendship. Because fellowship of love and sharing of grace are the nutrients of faith. Faith grows as we share. Love grows when you share it. Hope grows when we share it. Pain diminishes when shared. Sharing sadness makes it smaller. Pain also diminishes when shared. When God created humans, He made them live together. Therefore, sharing is what we should do when we come to church.
When we come to church, we need to open our hearts to each other and work hard for fellowship. Faith that we share with each other is true faith, and it is the image of abundant faith. A solitary faith without fellowship is not a healthy faith. Therefore, I hope that you will become rich and abundant believers through a life of faith to share and serve.
What do we expect from church today? What do you want to do? Are you enjoying the grace of being restored by throwing away the old things? Are you reaching the fullness by putting on the new man? Is your fellowship with the saints increasing? It's not whoever does it, it's how I do it. That is the life of faith. That is a healthy church life.
Please remember these three words: , fullness, and sharing. This is the pronoun of right faith, gracious faith, and healthy faith. The saints who have had such a good week will be able to spend the week energetically and joyfully even in the world. I pray in the name of the Lord that today will be a beautiful and gracious Sunday.
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