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May 24, 2021 8:00 am
Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ.
Child abuse is high among us, as it is them Jesus, don't lie because you say part of his body, not part of the church.
He says don't live ident is in the futility of their mind they are being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in because of the hardness of the heart joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana Pastor Bill Gebhardt now is once again he shows us how God's word meets our work after the national election. Half of America's thing that really angry why I didn't get what I want it. You see that's organic or that's the kind of anger when life is disappointing me to be mad at somebody that's fine if you're in the flesh, but if your child of God should be at all. You see, you can see this with organic and in my flesh you know my enemy is my enemy, but in Christ you know my enemy is the object of my love and prayer is a Jesus of love your enemies. She's a different thing. We have a different responsibility. We are to be Philadelphia Christians. That's what he says we should be within ago Sony says four of these qualities are yours and are increasing, you render yourself neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. What he saying here is, if you're not a Philadelphian Christian. You know what you are to God, useless. It can usually your filled with anger and rage.
He said for who he who lacks these qualities is blind or shortsighted.
It's kinda convicting because we always want to justify our anger is blind or your shortsighted which shortsighted me.
You don't see from the right perspective, see how my supposed to see life from God's perspective that shortsighted. I don't really do. I see it from my perspective that's what I wanted to go missing from my perspective, he said, you have forgotten his purification from his former sins understand he saved you and your new creature in Christ you forgot this, then he goes on its is, therefore, brethren, all the more. Be diligent, make certain of his calling, and choosing of you for as long as you practice these things you'll never stumble is I want to warn you about that. In other words, your life should be evidence of your conversion and if your life shows no evidence of your conversion to someone have a right to doubt your conversion yes because there's no life been so many of inference in my life.
I hear this over and over Christians. Well, I had an ongoing and I spin up the heat here I know is with the Lord because he told me once when he was eight years old he went to a camp in April. You receive Jesus now since then, he's a very crude terrible man he never talks about Jesus. He wants nothing to do with Jesus he's never mentioned him. I tried to talk to him before he died about the Lord. He wanted nothing to do with it but I know when he was eight, he made the decision. I'm not saying he didn't, but you have a right to be skeptical yes because the spirit if he did, the spirit of God and well sent and he is rendered the spirit of God totally impotent in this life.
He said no, that's not the way it should be for us now when you look at a parallel passage addresses the angry sure even more. Ephesians 4 verse 17 Ephesians 4 verse 17. This time is not Peter but it's Paul think about this applying to you and me. He says so this I say and affirm, together with the Lord that you walk a metaphor for live that you live no longer as the Gentiles also live in the futility of their mind.
I want to tell you right now you can't live like unbelievers.
You should not do that. But if you really listen to someone like George Barna who's a Christian poster over the last 1520 years.
Barnett has said over and over again the way Christians live is virtually identical to the way non-Christians live in our culture, our divorce rate is as high as their divorce rate. Child abuse is high among us, as it is them Jesus don't do that. Posted you're supposed to live differently. Why, because you are different. That's what he saying your part of his body. Now you're part of the church.
He says don't live ident is in the futility of their mind they are being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them because of the hardness of the heart. They reject Jesus. They reject the gospel. They reject it, I don't do. They even now in our culture reject all truth.
I don't believe anything's true so I reject that.
He said that's the darkness in your mind that you're acting just like them. If you live this way, he said, and they haven't become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with greediness, he said, but you did not learn Christ this way. I think all of us would agree on one thing, don't you think that the culture is darker than it was 30 years ago. 20 years ago. Skin dark every day and the funniest part about it is you know what it does to Christians makes him angry. I'm so angry that unbelievers are living that way. How do you expect an unbeliever to live is what your expectation for someone it doesn't even know Christ.
I just think the shipment differently given the gospel and pray for them is that you only chance they have. And so he says that and then he goes one and he says if indeed you have heard him and have been taught by him just as the truth is in Jesus that in reference to your former manner of life you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with lust in their seats and that you he said being renewed in the spirit of your mind.
You put on the new self in the likeness of God. He said has been created in righteousness and holiness and truth is the point when you became a Christian, God said your new creature in Christ.
That won't make you look like one. You are one won't make you look like one. What I have to lay aside the old man. I have to lay aside what I was, so that I can now live in the capacity of what I need to be witching this morning is a Philadelphian Christian. That's what he saying watches. He goes on now and described. He said let me give you specifics.
Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each other. He said he each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.
Stop line new creature in Christ up. This is harder than you think. I'd read an article in the New York Times and the whole idea of the article was the pervasiveness of lying in America. He said if Americans stop line. The whole culture will fall apart. There would come in with completely. It would rest on flying. It's interesting in it and he said everybody lies.
Politicians like not a shocker.
But politicians lie lawyers lie doctors lie nurses like everybody lies. We all lie because he said were driven by pragmatism. Will these words pragmatically help my cause I really never seen a little kid a journeyman. Did you do that no see why I meet because of self-preservation. The idea we all lie and he said yeah you gotta stop that you have to speak truth to one another.
If you speak truth all the time and in this article, the said if Americans spoke the truth all the time. The culture would collapse. No one will believe it's true. But if you didn't speak the truth when you get out of it.
Trust. Trust that a married couple speaks the truth each other. They got a lot of trust you see they have a lot of trust. That's a very important part of this.
One of the reasons I'm a Christian and love the Lord is he doesn't lie she have never caught him in a lie ever.
He tells the truth.
I may not like what he saw me, but he tells the truth and so he said no you want to build trust in your relationship, speak the truth. Then he goes on and says this he said be angry and you do not sin and do not with a single guiding your anger. Christians mistakenly love that verse because I heard him tell me, but God told me to be angry. There okay yes, but notice what he said even if you are righteously angry.
Don't be that way long dome of the some good unmarried couples love this. That's what my wife and I do. We never go to bed angry, you may not. But if you started a fight and at 10 o'clock percent were not going to bed angry when you get up at eight. You're not a bigot right up where you were before.
You see, you don't want to keep anger long.
That's true, but what he's talking about is what should you and I be angry about you and I should only be angry about what Jesus would be angry about now read the Bible and what does Jesus get angry about. We only know two things we find in Scripture.
Was he angry when he turned his the temple of God and the robbers then yes, he was angry, overturned the tables through the moneychangers and he also got angry with the Pharisees because he said you are vipers. You stole the kingdom of God you pretended you were God's.
And you stole the kingdom and you of the blind leaders of the blind.
He was angry.
How many times that Jesus get angry when someone personally attacked.
He did. How many times the Jesus say you know how terrible those Romans are to have any idea. You know how immoral these pagans are. Do you realize how they live.
I am angry at you never heard Jesus say that when the woman was caught in adultery. He was angry at her right now. See when the woman at the wellhead. All those husbands and living with a man was angry. No, you never seem angry like see if you say I do I justify my anger.
You better be angry, yet only what God is angry at Nelly you're angry at not because you can get your priorities met. That's what Jesus did what he said even if you have righteous anger. Don't let the sun go down on why you can handle anger. You and I are fallen beings we can handle anger what happens to us if we don't handle anger correctly. We become either vengeful or bitter. Most of us become bitter and some of us become vengeful member in Romans, Paul wrote, God said, vengeance is mine, I will repay one's got say that I can handle vengeance. You can't you see you can handle it in bitterness all my it's it's a seven especially to see a Christian is 80 years old and their bitter it is better you would like to demean what he did to me know what she did to me.
I'm just bitter. He said only what that's cancer for your soul. He said don't do that, he said, and do not give the devil an opportunity. So who was happy from a spiritual point of view. When you are angry devil and get you so sidetracked, you can become consumed about the object you're angry about aesthetic consumed by the Lord and Savior is the don't give Satan an opportunity. Then he goes on and says he was still's must still no longer seems obvious that but not to Ephesians, Ephesians, or Gentiles in the city of Ephesus. Many of the Gentiles in Ephesus made a living stealing.
It was part of the culture. You see, the idea of having much for most people. Was it didn't exist.
So the Gentiles turned it into an art form of stealing.
You could just steal things if you still want. Good luck.
You can support yourself with it.
He says no, you've got to stop stealing. He said rather you must labor you got have a job that sounds logical right to our culture don't still have a job but this is where it gets un-American. He said you must labor performing with your own hands, what is good and then what's the American dream say why are you well-educated, why do you succeed.
Why do you work so hard why you're so diligent of getting ahead one word more got more, that's America. More that is America, not Jesus. Just America. Chris what he said after he says this. I love this.
He said he must labor performing with his own hands, what is good so that he will have something to share with the one always need it. There's always 100 people have needed you and I could be blessed by God through honest labor and success to help those people, how you doing it. You see it's almost anti-American.
This is very hard public to Timothy and said go tell those people that are rich in this world and I love this. First, enjoy your wealth. It's a blessing, but you better be ready to share it at this point. You see, enjoy it, share it, so that's what were supposed to be. If your typical American like me. I had to learn this lesson through my wife, not me.
When my wife would see somebody who was really sort of destitute out all kinds of different ways looking pretty bad. She would say we need to give them something to help me. I did what many of you do.
I've come up with. You can't trust any of these people. This guy might live along the lakefront.
For all I know he's this panhandling that I looked terrible.
That's as part of the deal.
You see that the media not really needy and her answer was always that's between him and God giving insurance between me and God. God reads my motive that is a boy I I eventually conceded because she was right.
She she's right and the funniest part is and is just the way this thing works. He goes on, and he says in her that we have. We are able to share it. When handed a finding was you just cannot give God the more you give the morning Jesus and remember Jesus said if you really get into those in need. I'll give you back to see more pressed on and shake and you'll get more and that's been the experience of my life all along. That's exactly what he ended up saying is true. David Jeremiah said, the Bible says that he will has pity on the poor lends to the Lord and he will pay him back for what he is given the can't out give God. God wants to use you and I is conduit receipt and not only does that, but that such the grounds for relationship and eventually for the gospel which is the hope of man. You see, the whole idea is that so we should be. And if you're a Philadelphia Christian at you. You are that's what he goes on to say no.
Then he gets to this part. He said let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth so how many and by the way towards not unwholesome. It's the word rotten and Greek. Don't let one rotten word come from your mouth anybody ever do any that may help you is what rotten words are name-calling, sarcasm, ridicule, mockery, gossip, slander, blaming destructive criticism angry words or threat of revenge, griping, complaining, lying, profanity, filthy talking dirty jokes and is probably a lot more any other civic money mouth.
He said no, there's none of those might in fact he goes on says that no unwholesome word proceed few months but only such a word, it is good for edification. According to the need of the moment so that it will give grace to those who hear everything I say to someone to notify them or encourage them when you think that is that's exactly what you and I everyone else in this world needs. We all need. We all need to be encouraged. We all need to be edified and illustrated this way. I find this this week. Abraham Lincoln wore a Brooks Brothers overcoat when he and his wife Mary attended a performance of the Ford theater April 14, 1865, shortly after 10.
John Wilkes Booth crept in behind him fired the fatal shot in his head after he was shot. Lincoln was carried across the street to a boardinghouse where he died in the personal belongings in his pocket were collected and given to his son Robert Todd Lincoln, who then put them in a box. They were later passed on to Robert's daughter Mary and she donated them to the Library of Congress in 1937 the box and never been open until 1976 so what was in the box when Lincoln carried with him that fatal night. It is Brooks Brothers code.
He had a couple pairs of eyeglasses a pocketknife, a white handkerchief, a cufflink, a Confederate five dollar bill and a leather wallet and one more thing I newspaper clipping this newspaper click clipping read Abraham Lincoln is one of the greatest statesmen of our times, and though he was one of the greatest statement all time Lincoln bore unceasing criticism.
He needed encouragement and affirmation as most of us do, and what he found was an article that said something good about him. He folded up he put in his pocket and he carried with him every day was life until he was shot. That's a blank. We all need those words somebody said he's a great statesman somebody keep that do not many people wrote about terribly was a horrible human being and all that we need those kind of words. Our speech is a very important part of our service. He goes on, he says do not grieve the Holy Spirit. He said of God who sued you for the day of redemption. The spirit of God is not a force. He's a person that's why can be grieved, he's indwelling us as children of God and when we don't have as Philadelphia Christians and we live like we always lived. We grieve the Spirit of God. He said then let all bitterness, notice all bitterness, wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you and all mouse those are all synonyms of anger you need. Put it all away. Whatever makes you angry. Put it away see you are not of the culture, the child of God, he said, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ is also forgiven you who is kind and forgiving and loving Philadelphia Christian. That's what it means to be a Philadelphia Christian is my question for you this morning is how you describe yourself, Philadelphia Christian. If you have anger issues.
I pray the spirit of God, or convict you and stop it. It'll consume you and this is hard because we live in a culture of anger and it's a culture of anger this not just out there, but it's a culture of anger that is in here as well, but if you lay it all aside, I promise you it will be for your good and for God's glory for spring father, I think the problem with this whole subject matter is the way we talk to ourselves and our mind.
We always justify our anger that justification makes us more likely to keep doing it throughout her life, but your word makes it abundantly clear we need to lay this aside, we need to deal with it in the best way that we can through your word and through your spirit for your strength.
You've given us the resources, the power of the promises. Everything we need but we need to apply diligence to look at our lives the way it is and say I want to be first themselves for our good and for your glory in Christ and pastor broke your heart on the radio ministry of fellowship, nor if you ever miss one of our broadcasting or maybe you just like this in the method one more time. Remember that you can do a great website called in one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen the fellowship and the word online event website you will find on with today's broadcast but also many of our previous audio programs as well have Fellowship in the Word. We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible. We ask all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help his radio ministry continuous broadcast on this radio station by supporting a monthly fourth is the one time gift support for ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word.
4600 Clearview Pkwy., Metairie, LA 7006 if you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format that is of the sermon, the pastor will deliver during a Sunday morning service at Fellowship Bible church visit our website FVC Nola.org that FVC and oh LA.O RG at our website you will find hundreds pastor Bill sermon you can browse through our sermon archives defined sermon series are looking for, or you can search by title. Once you find the method you're looking for an online work you prefer, you can download the sermon and listen at your engineering and remember you can do all this absolutely free of charge. Once again our website is FVC Nola.org for pastor Bill Gebhardt, unseasoned and heart. Thank you for listening to fellowship in order