[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Jamie Vaughan]...the way life used to be, before they accepted rights.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then he goes on to tell them that there is a better way, and this morning, that's what we want to look at today,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the message would be entitled, a better way to the Bible,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and here in Ephesians, Chapter 4, we're going to read the beginning of verse 17,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we're just going to unpack this for you this morning, and hopefully you'll be able to take something with you.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Bible says in number 17: "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But ye have not so learned Christ;"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Father, again, we thank you for the day, we thank you for the blessings you've given us,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we thank you for what our hearts have felt already, we thank you for the choir and those that have sung,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and those that have just served in this service.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,God, we thank you for each visitor that's here this morning.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,God, we just pray that you would give us something that we can take into this world today.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We pray that you will give us something that we can hold on to, a promise that we can grasp on to
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and be able to combat Satan throughout the world, with what you give us.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Again, we thank you and we praise you for all that you do and we pray that you bless the reading of your word.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,An this, in Jesus' name, we do pray, amen.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This morning, we can live life in default. "What does that mean, preacher?"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, if you've got a computer - most of you have got computers
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you know that the default settings are the original settings - correct? - back to the way that they work.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, the default life of humanity is what we are talking about in verses 17 to 20.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I remember, as a young man, I was in the 8th grade and the - let me get this right -
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Desert Shield - anybody remembers Desert Shield?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Desert Shield was just finishing up and we were going into Desert Storm.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in the 8th grade, my history teacher thought it would be a good idea to get these trading cards
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- they were Desert Shield and Desert Storm trading cards, just like baseball cards or anything else -
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, that's what got me into baseball cards, I tell a lot of people
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I would have not any money as a teenager if I wouldn't have sold baseball cards,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I got into these Desert Shield cards, and I remember going home one day,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I was counting them, and I was trying to put them in order, so I could make a complete set.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's what I wanted: I wanted a complete set of these Desert Shield cards.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wanted a set for Desert Shield and a set for Desert Storm.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they had all kinds off things, I mean, you know, the ......... copy (3:18)
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you had doubles of him, you were somebody. I mean you could sell them pretty easy,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the Colin Powell. I remember that stuff like if it was yesterday.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I was trying to count them and put them in order, and I had them all over the kitchen table.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And my grandfather was real big on - you know, he was, even to the day he died,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he was real big into Fox News and knew everything that was going on, and he said:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Look, you've got them all over the table. Let me show you a better way -
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,let me show you a better way to organize your cards.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now it's going to take some time, but once you get them organized, you're going to know exactly what you've got."
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I believe that Christian life is just about like that. It is going to take time. Our life with Christ is going to take time.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But once we get it right, we can walk with him, and it's going to be the best thing possible.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we look here and we see that there is a better way, that the default life of humanity, the Bible says, is close-minded.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We can look in society today and see there's close-mindedness. There's close-mindedness all over.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why? Because we look out for numer one and our idea, our thought are the best thoughts.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we go around close-minded. You know, I'm sure that as I'm speaking this morning, you can think of at least one person,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,maybe five, that live a life that is close-minded. We don't - there's no room for air.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now in the Christian life, I believe that we don't need to live
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- any other doctrine or any other religion or any othe kind of cult coming to our mind -
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I do believe this: I do believe we need to love, and I do believe that we need to show compassion, however not letting it change us.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But they were close-minded here in the Church of Ephesus: before knowing Christ, they were close-minded.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Before we knew Christ, I'm sure that you can testify as I can that we were clo... - I was close-minded. (5:33)
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then it goes on: "through the ignorance" - the Bible says in verse 18 -
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"through the ignorance", we were close-minded, we were alienating ourselves from God.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then it goes on to talk about our heart. Our heart was hardened before we knew Christ.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our heart was of stone. The Bible talks about the heart being wicked.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Who could know it? WHo could know our motives? Our hearts were hard.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We know people, in our society, that have hard hearts, but we also know that Christ can break through.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We also know that Christ has a way of penetrating the heart. Again, those things -
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,those that have accepted Christ can testify to it, because we know how our heart was before we accepted Christ.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, there are some of us in here that got saved and accepted Christ as our savior when they were young.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And for us they were young - you know, I was saved at the age of 8, so it was not real-
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't remember my heart just being hard, but I remember, when I was 5 and 6 years old,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my grandfather that wouldn't darken the doorstep of a church, and I remember how hard that his heart was.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I remember how we shared with him for years and years and years,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it wasn't until he was 50 years old that he accepted Christ.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I remember that, but I remember the day that God penetrated his heart.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I remember the day that God softened his heart. But up until that time, his heart was hardened.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just like the Prodigal Son, when he left the Father, and he took his inheritance and he went to spend it, he went to live a life of pleasure.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We always hear the saying that life - that grass is greener on the other side, untill we get over there, and then it's crab (?) grass.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You've heard that? That's right. It looks so much better on the other side, and that's precisexactlyely what the Prodigal Son was talking about:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"O, it's going to be great over there, I've got the money, I've got everything that I need,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it does not matter where I'm going. I'm going to go". And that green grass turned into a pigsty.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sp, living for pleasure is what we did. That's who we were. Why? Because we were ignorant.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Bible says: "We've given in" in verse 19, before we accepted Christ, everything was whatever we wanted:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. All of those things.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's the false humanity. That's who we are. That's just our flesh, because sin entered into the world,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and death by sin: so death has passed upon our men.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, with that being said God created, and he created perfection, but because of the Fall of Man,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because o the eating o the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, look what we have: we have sinful nature.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And because of that sinful nature, our humanity, our default humanity, is sinful.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not uncommon to have a hard heart. It's not uncommon to have a closed mind. It's not uncommon to live for pleasure.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But look at verse 21: "If so be that ye have heard him," - Paul's talking about Jesus here - "and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that ye put off concerning the former conversation of the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Look: we have been, we had been living a default life; maybe this morning, you're still in that stage.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe you are still living in that default stage: there is not anything wrong with that. (10:02)
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,However, God has given us an extraodinary life.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Paul talks in 2 Corinthians Chapter 5: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's what he's saying again here in Ephesians 4. He's also talking about a renewed mind and a renewed heart, he's talking about that in Romans Chapter 4 as well.