Sermon Tone Analysis

Joke - If you have ever been to a Saints game, you know there are some bad seats in the Dome.

One time a man who had terrible seats… seats that felt like you would fall out of.

He was at a game with his binoculars and spotted a seat on the 50 yard line in the Lodge level.

He checked it all through the fist half.

Finally, when it was empty at the start of the second half, He made his way to the seat.

He asked a man sitting in the seat next to the one he had his eye on, Is this seat taken?

The man replied that the seat had been his wife’s seat but she had recently passed away.

The other man said, “I’m so sorry for your loss… may I ask why you did not give the seat to a family member or friend?”

The man replied, “They are ALL at the funeral.

Some people are just too dedicated to football… some of you who dats might come close, but I don’t think any of you are that bad.

What’s Life about for the average American?

To a lot of people, it’s about making money and sports, having a good time, etc.

To others, it’s about heading to the lake or beach to get away… to go fishing, skiing, snow skiing, whatever....

Growing up, my dad rented a lot from a really nice man in Lake Weiss where we placed a small 1 BR trailer and built a huge porch onto it.

We would go to the lake a lot to fish or water ski.

We would go after work or after church or all day on Saturdays… it was great fun.

It was defiantly the good life.

To many people, the good life is about a good job, making good money, having a nice house, boat, and plenty of time to enjoy all of the above.

You know… a husband or a wife.... 2.6 kids, a dog, a house with white picket fence and the works.

A lot of things though draw us away from the Lord and distract us from obeying the Bible.

Cousin - doesn’t believe in tithing.

she believes that you can tithe in any way you want, but the Bible says the tithes is the first 10th of what we earn.

It’s especially easy to be drawn away if we don’t read the Bible regularly.

That’s why it’s important for all of us to study the Bible.

Don’t let Sunday or Wednesday, or even Connect Group be the only time or times you study the Bible.

I know you are all busy, we all are.

but we have to take the time to be in the Word.

We should look at the Bible as our Manuel for living.

ie: Car guide, user guides...

In the Bible God gives us instructions so we can be successful in life.

Today, we are looking at Eph 4:17-32.

Follow along as I read.

Listen, is anyone in the room not affected by this portion fo scripture.

It hits all of us I’m sure.

We are going to look at 3 areas and 3 ways to overcome our past from these verses.

The First way to over come our past is

1.

PUT AWAY OUR FORMER LIFE

Let me ask you.

What was Your life Like BEFORE you met Jesus?

Some of you remember at least parts of it and some parts that you are not proud of.

Some of you have memories you hope no one will ever find out about from before you came to know Jesus as Savior.

What did you use that you no longer do?

What did you do that you no longer do?

What did you say that you no longer say?

Others of you came to faith in Jesus at a young age.

You may not remember ever not being a Christian.

That’s a blessing if that’s you.

Others may be plagued with the troubles of drinking too much; doing drugs; driving drunk; carousing; shoplifting; ignoring God; fighting; arguing; being a bully; abusing other people; dishonoring your parents or others in authority; and run ins with the legal system.

Did I miss anyone?

It’s Our Deceitful Desires that Lead Us to Trouble

It’s our lust and deception that leads us into trouble… Think about it.

Is there any part of your old life you are hanging onto?

Are you still doing some things that you wish you could stop? to get free from?

You know deep down they are strongholds or even addictions, but you just seem to not be able to break free from them.

They are like a Ball and Chain.

Maybe there is something you did in the past that you are tempted with today?

Paul Said to “put off your old self.”

To put away our past… Sounds great but HOW do we do that?

Only Through Jesus Can We Break Free of the Chains

Only through a relationship with Jesus Christ can we become overcomers… only through His power can we get over our past sins.

Only through Jesus can we break those chains.

Breaking Chains = Not Doing that Thing

Breaking Chains = Forgiving Yourself

Those things are in the past.

Jesus forgave you of them… it’s time to move on and no longer allow them to hold you back.

We are are born with a sinful nature, but we must allow the Holy Spirit to help us put to death those misdeeds.

How does the Holy Spirit help us overcome sin past or present?

We first ask God to forgive us, then we immerse ourselves in His Word and praye and attempt to follow Him every moment of the day.

To be immersed means to totally cover ourselves or to be ALL IN.

Baptism - When we are baptized, we immerse ourselves in water.

We go all the way under the water with nothing sticking out of the water.

Just like baptism, we must we must go all the way under and immerse ourselves in the WOG and Prayer.

The Second Way to overcome out past is

2. Put on Christ

We are to put on Christ and that’s done by being ALL IN… by completely immersing ourselves in Jesus, allowing Him to rake control of our lives.

When we do that, He will change us.

Ask Jesus to cleanse you from all of your sin and do your best to put on the nature and character of Jesus Christ.

Here are a couple of ways to put on the New Self… the nature and character of Jesus.

Two Ways to Put on the New Self

Imitate Other Christians

Imitate other people who are effectively serving the Lord.

Paul says to follow his example.

We need to imitate Paul as he follows the example of the Lord.

We need to see what he is doing and what he doesn’t do.

Many people lead godly lives that we can imitate as we follow how they follow Christ.

Often seeing someone else following the Lord inspires us to do the same.

Find someone like that and follow them as they follow Jesus.

The second way to out on the new self is...

Imitate Jesus

The second way to put on the nature and character of Jesus is to imitate Jesus himself.

You might want to make a list or underline in your bible as you read it so that whenever you see Jesus acting in a certain way you will remember to try to act the same way.

Jesus often went away to pray… and most of the time it was in the morning.

The more we keep our eyes on Jesus as we read the Bible, the more we will become like him.

Then we will be able to put on the New Self.

Maybe you are here today and you feel ordinary and untrained in the scriptures and the things of God.

You may not understand many things in the Bible…

Be Encouraged!

There is Hope!

Spend time in the Word and prayer and you will begin to understand the things of God.

It’s important to start now and Grow