Identity 5 - I Can Be

Thank you. We are continuing a series here at Cross Connection in the book of Ephesians called "Identity." We're considering who we were before Christ, who we are in Christ, and where we will be—our destiny with Christ. Now, we're talking about how we can be what God has called us to be right now to fulfill the purpose that God has given to us.

So, open with us to Ephesians chapters 4 and 5 and follow along.

It was the hit blockbuster movie of the Christmas season in 1991, in which the late comedian Robin Williams played Peter Banning, a corporate lawyer who was completely absorbed with his job and, as a result, had forgotten his true identity. You see, Peter Banning's true identity was Peter Pan. In the movie, he finds himself going back to Neverland to rescue his two children, Maggie and Jack, who have been kidnapped by his nemesis, Captain Hook.

You guys remember the movie "Hook." In the first meeting of Peter Banning and Captain Hook, after Pan has grown up, it takes place on the deck of the Jolly Roger. His two kids are lifted high above the deck, and Hook says to him, "I'll make you a deal, Mr. Chairman of the Board. You just fly up there and touch the outstretched fingers of your frightened children, and I'll let them go."

Banning looks at him with this incredulous expression and says, "I can't fly," because he has forgotten his true identity. He doesn't realize that he once could fly. So, he is in that place of not only being unable to fly, but he also whispers in the ear of Dustin Hoffman, who plays Captain Hook perfectly in that movie.

He did not fly, but he said, "I'm afraid of heights." Just a few days later in the movie, Banning realizes his true identity. Now, Peter Pan flies high, no longer afraid of heights and no longer fearful of flying. He does what he thought was utterly impossible.

In our last study together in Ephesians, we considered what I referred to as the ethical responsibility of the Christian. This series is called Identity. We discussed what we should do for those who have found themselves in Christ. They realize their true identity and understand their "I am" that they are in Christ. When they come to grasp that true identity, they realize who they were before: that they were dead in trespasses and sins. Previously, they lived in open opposition and disobedience to God; they were enemies of God, and as a result, they were under His wrath.

That's who they were, but now they are in Christ. Because they are in Christ, they have not only a new identity but also a new destiny. They realize that their new destiny is to be with God in eternity, that they have an inheritance that is incorruptible and fades not away. So, in Christ, we who were dead in trespasses and sins shall be with the Lord for eternity. As a result of being in that position, being in Christ, we have a new responsibility.

In our study last time in Ephesians chapter four, we considered what we should be. In chapter 4, verse 17, it says that we should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles, no longer walk as the rest of the world, the way that we used to walk. How did we walk? We used to walk in the futility of our minds. We walked in vanity because our understanding was darkened. We were separated from God by ignorance and blindness, and we were fully engaged in lewd and unclean behavior—things that were in open opposition to God.

He says we should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles. In chapter 4, verse 1, he states that we should walk worthy of the calling wherewith we have been called. He describes the walk that we should be walking in now, a walk that is characterized by humility, meekness or gentleness, and patience.

Forgiveness is about forgiving others as we ourselves have been forgiven by God. This is the ethical responsibility of the Christian, the person whose identity is in Christ. They should walk in humility, gentleness, meekness, and forgiveness. They should no longer walk as they once did before. If you are a Christian by grace through faith, then your life should be different.

Point number one on your sermon guide, if you have it there in your bulletin, is that if your identity is in Christ, then your way of life should be different. It's pretty simple. If your identity is in Christ, then your way of life should be different. He or she that is in Christ ought to be Christ-like in their conduct. The way that we live should be seen by people who don't know the Lord. They should be able to identify and recognize that this person is different because of the way that they respond to others, the way that they talk, and the way that they live their lives. It should be very evident that we are different. We should no longer be as we once were.

The identity that we are to have in Christ is very specific and practical. Paul, in chapter four and going into chapter five, gets into some of the specific practicalities of what it looks like to be a person characterized by the likeness of Christ in their life.

If you would, open your Bibles to the book of Ephesians, near the end of your Bibles. If you're new to the Bible, it's right after the books of First and Second Corinthians in the New Testament, followed by Galatians, and then this small six-chapter book called Ephesians.

Ephesians chapter 4, would you stand with me please? We are going to begin reading at verse 17. In Ephesians 4, verses 17 through the end of chapter 4 and a few verses in chapter 5, Paul gets very specific about the practicalities of what it looks like to be a person whose life is characterized by the likeness of Christ.

Ephesians chapter 4, verse 17, Paul writes this: "This I say therefore and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of..."

Their mind, having their understanding darkened, is alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to the blindness of their heart. Who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness to work all uncleanness with greediness.

But you have not so learned Christ. If indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus, that you put off concerning your former conduct the old man, which grows corrupt

Father, we have a heavy passage of Scripture before us. Lord, the practicalities and specifics of what it looks like to be a person walking in Christ-like conduct with Christ-like character are crystal clear. They couldn't be any more practical. I pray, God, that you would help us to apply these things in our lives. Help us to walk in a way that honors and glorifies you. We ask that by your Spirit and by the work of your Word, you would transform us today and make us more like you.

If there are any here today who have not yet put their faith in you, Lord, I pray that by your Spirit you would draw them into a place where they confess their sin to you and receive your gracious gift. We pray that we would be a people set apart, but not in a way that is prideful or arrogant, or that keeps us away from people who need you. Instead, Lord, may we be set apart in a way that honors and glorifies you with these bodies you have created. May they be instruments of worship. So transform us, we pray, for we ask it in Jesus' name. And all God's people said, Amen.

You can be seated. I don't think you could get any clearer and more practical than what Paul does here in this passage. He says this is what Christians should be; this is what they should look like in their conduct. When he says that we are holy and blameless, this is what holy and blameless looks like.

A lot of times, when people talk about being holy, they think about very religious, ritualistic holiness. They go to church, they pray, and they perform some form of ritual to try and make themselves holy. But what Paul talks about here is very practical, street-level Christianity. He says if you're a Christian, if your identity is found in Christ, in verse 25 of chapter 4, he says, "Stop lying and speak the truth." It doesn't get any clearer than that. If you're a Christian, don't tell lies; tell the truth.

He goes on in verse 26, saying if you're a Christian, be angry but don't sin. God recognizes that one of the emotional responses within us is anger. You can't stop us from responding this way when we see terrible, wicked things.

See unjust things happen, and we are going to be angry. However, he says to be angry but don't sin. A lot of people think that Christians are never supposed to be angry. No, be angry, but don't sin. Well, how do I do that? Be angry for the right reasons and respond in the right way. That's what it means to be angry and not sin.

He adds to it by saying don't let anger linger. That's a problem that we all have, isn't it? He says, "Don't let the sun go down on your wrath." If you're mad, don't let it stay there. Don't let it build up and well up inside of you, dwelling upon it in the wrong way. So, be angry but don't sin.

He goes on in verse 28, which may be one of my favorite verses. In chapter four, he very clearly states, "Stop stealing. Get a job and give." That's what he says. If you're a thief, don't steal anymore. Get a job and then give to people who have need. If that's your problem, stop it.

In verses 29 and 30, he continues by saying don't use foul language. Instead, speak gracious words that lift people up. It's pretty simple. If you've got a problem with a foul mouth, stop it. Don't do that anymore. You're a Christian; don't let corrupt language proceed out of your mouth.

Why? He gives us a reason. He says if you do, and you're a Christian today, then you let corrupt language proceed out of your mouth, and it's grieving to God. How is corrupt language grieving to God? One of the ways is this: Jesus says that it's out of the heart that proceed those evil sorts of things. If you have corrupt language coming out of your mouth, then it originated in your heart.

If you're a Christian, First Corinthians chapter 3 and First Corinthians chapter 6 tell us that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God dwells in you, and your corruptness is crowding Him out. If your foul language is coming out because that's in your heart, it upsets Him; it grieves Him. So, he says to stop using corrupt language any longer.

He gets even more practical in verses 31 and 32 of this passage in Ephesians chapter 4. He says if you're a Christian, then get rid of bitterness. Put away bitterness, wrath, anger, and clamor. Clamor is arguing with one another. Put those things away; that's not supposed to be a part of your life. Get rid of evil speaking, which is linked to corrupt language, and get rid of malice. If you're a Christian, there should be no malice in your heart.

You may wonder, "What's malice?" We don't really use that word very much anymore. Malice is having ill will or the intention to harm others.

Intent towards someone wishing them harm is something none of us have ever done, right? I wish that person would... fill in the blank, whatever it may be. Someone cuts you off on the freeway, and you wish them harm. Have you ever had that happen on the 15 going to work in the morning? Be honest; we all have.

If there's malice, he says to get rid of that and replace it with three things he gives us in verse 32: kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. As Christ has forgiven you, in the same way, you are to forgive other people. You are to pardon them when they do something that offends you.

He goes on in chapter 5, verses 3 through 4, to say that the Christian who is identified in Christ should not be involved in six things: fornication, which is sexual immorality of any kind; uncleanness; covetousness; filthiness; foolish talking; and coarse jesting.

Point number two on your outline is that we are called to a practical holiness. We are called to a practical holiness, not just a religious ritual. Christians are called to a practical holiness, not just a religious ritual.

Now, I recognize we live in a culture and attend a church that sometimes prides itself on being non-traditional. Maybe you came out of a more traditional and liturgical aspect of Christianity. The Christian tent is really big, and there are a lot of different bodies within it. We are all one body in Christ, but there are all kinds of different personalities within this.

Some are more ritualistic and liturgical, and some of you came out of that background where there were sacraments, a lot of standing up, kneeling down, and genuflecting. We are on the non-traditional side of the tent. I like to say we are traditionally non-traditional because we still have traditions. We still do certain things kind of ritualistically, and we put a lot of weight on them, thinking we have to do it this way.

However, that's not what makes us holy. Those rituals may not be a bad thing. Partaking of communion, being baptized, and praying at certain times before meals are good things. They are not necessarily a bad thing; however, that...

Christianity is not just about beliefs; it is a practical way of living. God has called us to a practical holiness. The Bible constantly commends practical holiness because it teaches that obedience is better than sacrifice.

In the Old Testament, in the book of First Samuel, chapter 15, there is a discourse between the first king of the nation of Israel, a man named Saul, and the prophet of the nation at that time, Samuel. In this discussion, Samuel says in First Samuel 15:22, "Has the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams."

There is something about our nature that really likes religious ritual. We often find comfort in sacrificing things, performing physical acts of penance, and praying prayers to atone for our wrongs. These actions provide us with something tangible to hold on to, allowing us to say, "See, I did this, and because I gave this or did this, that makes me right; that makes me better." While these actions may be good, we are told that God delights more in our obedience. He delights more in us walking out our faith.

King Solomon, the third king of Israel, wrote the Book of Proverbs. He was a very wise man, and he states in Proverbs 21:3, "To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice." He calls us to do justice and righteousness.

Micah, one of the prophets to the nation of Israel, says in Micah 6:8, "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what the Lord requires of you but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." This is what God is looking for from our lives: that we do justly and walk out righteousness.

In the New Testament, the Apostle Peter writes in First Peter 1:15-16, "But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy."

In all of your conduct, not just your conduct on Sunday morning from the hours of 8:30 till 10 o'clock, be holy in all of your conduct. Verse 16 says, "Because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.'" God is holy, and He calls us to holiness.

If you've been a Christian for any length of time, then you probably know these verses and a whole bunch of others just like them. You likely even have an inner desire as a Christian to do these things. There’s a compulsion within you that came when you put your faith in Christ; you had a new desire, and that desire was to be holy. That desire was to obey.

However, if you've tried to be practically holy, then you know it's about as easy as Peter Banning flying up and touching the outstretched fingers of his frightened children. When God says, "Be holy, for I am holy," you might stand there on the deck of the Jolly Roger sheepishly saying, "I can't fly. I can't do that."

You probably know from your own experience that although you should be these things, you recognize that in many ways you're not. You find yourself mirroring the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 7, verse 19, where he says, "For the good that I want to do, I don't do, and the bad things I don't want to do, that's what I practice." Many people find themselves in that place: the good that I want to do, I don't do, and the bad things that I don't want to do, that's exactly what I find myself doing.

I know my identity; I am in Christ. I know that I was dead in trespasses and sins, that I was under His wrath as a child of disobedience. I know that I will be with Him in the future; my destiny is set there with Him in eternity. But right now, my purpose—my "should be"—I kind of struggle with that. I have a hard time working those things out. I know that I'm supposed to; I know that I should be. But how to do that, I don't know.

I'm here to tell you this morning that your "should be" is actually a "can be." Your "should be" is actually a "can be." I can be what God has called me to be in walking these things out.

Now, of course, the immediate question is: how? How can I do that? I suggest that the answer to that question is found here in this book.

Ephesians is found in other places in the New Testament throughout the scriptures, but we see some answers to this question here in the book of Ephesians. One of them is found in a verse we've hit on every single week: Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8, 9, and 10.

"For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

From this verse and others that we'll see today, this point becomes clear: Point number three on your outline is that His grace enables my obedience. We constantly need to come back to this reality that His grace enables my obedience.

I think that one of the responses to that point that I've heard from people in varying ways over the years, when I share that truth that His grace enables us to obey Him, is, "So wait, are you saying that I don't have to do anything and that God is going to do everything?" To that question, I say no and yes.

Now, that may seem kind of like Christian schizophrenia, but there's truth to it. How does that work? To answer that, I want you to turn to the Gospel of Luke, and we're going to look at two stories from Jesus's life. The Gospel of Luke is the third book of the New Testament, right after Matthew and Mark and just before the Book of John.

Let's look at Luke chapter 5, beginning at verse 17. Luke records the life of Jesus and talks about some significant events from His life and ministry during His three years ministering here on Earth. We read about this in Luke chapter 5, verse 17.

Now it happened on a certain day, as Jesus was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by. Quick little sideline: Pharisees were hyper-religious people. Think of the most religious person you can imagine; that's the Pharisees. So there were Pharisees and teachers...

Of the law of Moses, the law of God, they were sitting by as He was teaching. They had come out of every town in Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Jesus. When they could not find how they might bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on top of the house and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst of the people before Jesus. This is awesome! Jesus is in a room, and it's so crowded that you can't even get in. All these people are listening to what Jesus has to say, and present in the crowd are the most religious people of the day. They are not there because they are genuinely interested in Jesus and following Him; they are there because they are trying to trick Him and trip Him up. They are looking for anything they can do to remove Him because He is like a vacuum, pulling the people towards Him and away from them.

The power is shifting in the nation, and the religious part of the nation in that day does not like it. They are all crowded in, and here come these guys with a genuine problem. You have all these people trying to trip Jesus up, but here is a man who has a real issue: he is paralyzed and cannot move. He is in such a dire situation that he has four friends carrying him on a stretcher to Jesus. They look around and realize they cannot get in; they cannot bring the truly needy to Jesus because the religious are crowding around Him. Sound familiar?

So, they go up on the rooftop. These guys are ingenious! They carry this man onto the roof and find a way to break into it. They are determined to get him to Jesus, apparently believing that Jesus can do something about this situation. They lower him down to Jesus.

Now, imagine all these people listening to Jesus teach. If this is ever a distraction—think about it! You think a cell phone ringing in a service is a distraction? This is a distraction! A guy comes lowered down from the ceiling with a problem right there before Jesus. When He saw their faith, He said to the man, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."

Wait a minute! He can't walk; that's not exactly the issue, is it? Apparently, Jesus thinks it is. The scribes and the Pharisees, the hyper-religious, begin to reason among themselves, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Their theology is right, but the application of their theology is flawed.

Relates to Jesus is wrong; who can forgive sins but God alone? When Jesus perceived their thoughts, it tells us a little something about Him. We're going to be talking about Jesus this week on Tuesday night. Come on out for Men's Ministry and Women's Ministry.

When Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered their thoughts and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or 'Rise, take up your bed and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on Earth to forgive sins," He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." Immediately, he rose before them all, took up the bed he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. All those who were there were amazed; they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen some strange things today."

Turn the page to Luke chapter 6, verse 6. Now it happened on another Sabbath, a Saturday, when they would gather together for worship. It happened on another Sabbath that He entered into a synagogue, a church basically, and He taught. There was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees, the doctors of the law and the hyper-religious, were there. They watched Jesus closely to see whether He would heal this man on the Sabbath because, in their book, you can't do that. You can't do any work on the Sabbath day, and that apparently would be work for Jesus, which really it's not.

But there was this man with a withered hand, and the religious were keeping the truly needy from getting to Jesus. Sound familiar? The scribes and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely, wanting to see if He would heal on the Sabbath so that they might find an accusation against Him. But He knew their thoughts. He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Arise, stand." He arose and stood. Jesus then asked them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?"

When He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. But they were all filled with rage and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Why do I highlight these two stories from Jesus's life in the Gospel of Luke? In answering the question, "Are you saying that I don't have to do anything and God does everything?" Yes and no.

Notice here is a man who has no ability by himself to get up, take up his bed, and walk. He is paralyzed; he is inoperable. He can't do anything. There is another man whose hand is withered; he can't move it. It's not like the other hand; it's all crippled. Jesus gives both of these men commands. He commands the man who is paralyzed, "Get up, take up your bed, and walk." He commands him to do something that he has no power to do, and yet the man does it. He commands the man with the withered hand to stretch forth his hand. No doubt, many times in his life, he had probably tried to stretch forth his hand with no ability to do so. Now, Jesus commands him, "Stretch forth your hand," and in that moment, he stretches it forth.

What’s happening here? I would suggest to you that with Jesus's command came the enabling power to fulfill it. Jesus is working, but these men need to obey the command. They need to take the initiative and begin to sit up. They need to take the initiative beyond all the other things that are telling them it's impossible. They need to take the initiative of faith and stretch forth their hand and rise up and walk. With the command of Jesus comes the enabling power to fulfill the command. He, by His grace, has saved us apart from our works, but He has saved us unto good works, and we should walk in those things.

He has commanded us to put away lying and stealing, to put away corrupt communication, bitterness, wrath, anger, and clamor. He has commanded us to not be sexually immoral. He has commanded us to be clean, tenderhearted, gentle, meek, humble, and forgiving. None of these things can we accomplish in and of ourselves. We've all tried to do those things unsuccessfully time and time again, but He still commands us to do them.

So, you may ask, how on earth can we walk in these things? If you notice, when we were reading some verses earlier in Ephesians chapter 5, I skipped some verses on purpose. So, go back to Ephesians chapter 5. Look at verses one and two first. Paul the Apostle, after he has told the church at Ephesus...

In Ephesians chapter 4, verse 1, we are instructed to walk worthy of the calling with which we have been called. In Ephesians 5:1, it says, "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children and walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma."

Now, skip down to verse 8. Ephesians 5:8 states, "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light." The fruit of the Spirit, the evidence of God's Spirit in us, is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth, finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. I don't really like that translation because the words "finding out" should rather be "proving what is acceptable to the Lord." The fruit of the Spirit in our lives produces goodness, righteousness, and truth, and proves what is acceptable to the Lord.

Now, skip down to verse 14, Ephesians 5:14. "Therefore He says, 'Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.'" See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be unwise but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not be drunk with wine, which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.

Immediately following those verses in Ephesians chapter 5, Paul directs his attention to specific groups of people. He speaks to husbands and wives, masters and slaves, or employers and employees in our modern day. He also speaks to children, telling all these different classifications of people how they are to live. Interestingly, embedded in the text about husbands and wives, he says this in Ephesians 5:25: "Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her, the church, with the washing of water by the word."

This brings us to point number four on your outline.

Practical holiness is a balance of His work and ours. A question arises: how much of a balance is it? Is it like 40 percent His work and 60 percent ours, or is it 25 percent ours and 75 percent His? Is it 50-50? I don't know, but I do know that the Scriptures reveal that walking out this walk in Christ is a balance of His work and ours.

Probably the best verse that illustrates this—though not the only verse—is found in the book of Philippians. It's one book to the right of Ephesians. Let's look at Philippians chapter 2 for just a moment. We will examine two verses: verses 12 and 13. The same author who wrote the book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul, writes this in Philippians 2:12.

"Therefore, my beloved," he says, speaking to the church that existed in the city of Philippi, "as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence." You obeyed when I was there, and you're still obeying even though I'm not watching over your shoulder to ensure your obedience. I mean, it would be helpful to have an apostle watching you all the time, making sure you obey, but he's not there any longer.

Since you obeyed when I was there and since you've continued to obey in my absence, he says this: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Work it out; walk out your Christian life with fear and trembling, with actual energy engaged in this.

Then look at verse 13. Remember, the verse changes were not there originally; this was just a continuation. It's the same sentence: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure." Another English translation says, "It is God who works in you to desire and to do what is good, what is pleasing to Him."

So, who is working? Is it God or is it you? Yes! Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for God is working in you to give you the desire to do it and the ability to do it—those things that make.

Him happy brings him pleasure. He is working, and we are working. So what's the balance here? Well, I don't know, but we do know that He is keeping up His end of the bargain. How do we know that? Well, Scripture tells us. For one, Philippians chapter 1, verse 6, Paul says, "Being confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it."

So what's the takeaway? He's keeping up His end of the bargain. The question is, are we working out our salvation with fear and trembling, or are we just sitting back and saying, "If He wants me to change, He's going to have to come in here and change it. If He wants this to go away in my life, then He's going to have to come and take it away." Sadly, a lot of Christians live like that. They live a defeated life for 20, 30, or even 40 years. Their entire lives, they live as infants in Christ. They never grow to maturity in Christ because they are just saying, "Well, if He wants to fix me, I'm here in church."

And so, He is working. I would suggest He is saying, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." You might respond, "I can't do that." But He is saying, "No, I commanded you, and with the command I give you, the enabling power to do it is present." I am certain that He is keeping up His end of the deal; He is not failing.

I would suggest that the verses we read here in Ephesians chapter 5 give us some important clues as to how these things come to be in our lives. I would sum it up this way: Point number five—how does this become a reality in my life and in yours? Point number five is to be saturated by the Spirit and be sanctified by the Scriptures, and you will soar.

Be saturated by the Spirit and sanctified by the Scriptures, and you will soar. There’s some nice alliteration there to help you remember it: be saturated by the Spirit and sanctified by the Scriptures, and you will soar like Peter Pan, who did the impossible. Why? How? Because there is this great passage in Luke chapter 1 where Jesus is interacting with some people who have lacking faith. They are asking, "Can God really do these things that you're talking about?" The angel responds in Luke 1:37, "For with God, nothing will be impossible."

Then, to kind of drive it home, we think, "Well, God is limited by the same limitations that I'm limited by." Later on...

In the Gospel of Luke, which is also recorded in Matthew and Mark, we find in Luke chapter 18, verse 27, that the things which are impossible with man are possible with God. He is able to enable you and me to do the things that He has called us to do. If you're falling and not flying, then I would suggest that maybe it's time for you to say, "God, would You fill me, refill me, enable me, and help me to recognize Your enabling power by Your Spirit in my life?"

In Ephesians chapter 5, we see that the evidence of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, consists of all those things that are acceptable to God. In Galatians chapter 5, we read that the evidence of the Spirit of God in our lives is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, and kindness—all of those good things. So, God, would You help me to recognize Your power by Your Spirit in my life?

The next thing I would suggest, if you're falling and not flying, is that you need to actually test whether or not the Scriptures are true when they say that He sanctifies us by the washing of the water by His word. When Jesus prays in John 17:17, "Father, sanctify them by Your truth; Your word is truth," you need to test and see whether or not God's word has the ability that the Bible says it does to transform you by the renewing of your mind.

I would suggest that you spend more time studying the word of God, reading the word of God, meditating upon the word of God, memorizing the word of God, and doing the word of God. I have found that just about every time I sit down with a believer who says they are living a defeated life, they may not say it that way, but that's what they're expressing. They cannot conquer some sin that has conquered them—some sin that so easily ensnares them, whether it be anger, drunkenness, immorality, or pornography.

As I talk with them and they share that they are believers who have put their faith in Christ, I ask a really simple question: "How often do you read the Bible?" Coming to church is akin to saying, "God, I'm here; You better just fix me." He is listening and saying, "I've given you My word, which is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. By it, I cleanse you." Yet, it sits there, and you never apply it in any way.

It does not work by osmosis. Leaving the Bible on the nightstand next to your bed is not sufficient. This is not the Matrix; they are not going to plug something into your head and, boom, it's uploaded in five seconds and you know Kung Fu. It doesn't work that way. It's time to say, "He has commanded me to stretch forth my hand," and say, "Okay, I by faith am going to begin to apply Your word."

David the King, in Psalm 119, says, "Your word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You. Your word is a light unto my path and a lamp unto my feet." It is that which guides and directs the life of the Christian. If you are living a life that is not soaring but is actually falling, constantly being easily ensnared by sin, I would say that it has a lot to do with the fact that you are not taking hold of the word of God and allowing it to take hold of you.

There is a balance between His work and yours. I am here to tell you that the "should be's" of the Bible can become "can be's" for the Christian because He has enabled you to do it by His power. He has given us His Spirit and the Scriptures, and by them, we are transformed.

On the 21st of March, we are going to have a "How to Read the Bible with Purpose" class. It is one day, three hours on a Saturday morning. I sent out an email a couple of days ago with a link to sign up for it. If you want to be a part, it is free. I challenge you, if you are being tripped up by sin and you are not seeing victory in your life as a Christian, He is faithful to complete the work He started. However, He has called us to do some things, and the "should be's" of the Bible can become the "can be's."

Next week, in Ephesians chapter 6, we are going to get into the task of the Christian, which is to fight to be. I am in Christ; I was dead in trespasses and sins. I am going to be with Him in eternity in heaven. I should be holy and blameless and walk worthy of the calling with which I can be. Therefore, I fight to be that.

Ephesians chapter 6. Hope to see you next week. Let's stand and pray. God, thank You for Your word. It is living and powerful; it is sharper than any two-edged sword.

Lord, I pray that Your servant is warned through it. You transform us, cleanse us, and make us new. God, I pray that our lives would so illustrate Your grace and Your goodness that it would be evident we are walking in a way that is pleasing to You.

Not that we would be glorified, not that we would be arrogant and puffed up, because that would be sin, but that You would be glorified. People would see that they have a good God who is real.

God, I pray that Your reality, who You are, would be seen in our lives today and this week. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.