Use Thankfulness to Replace Sinfulness

Take your Bibles if you would please and turn to the book of Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 5 is where we're at. I'm so glad to see you guys here today and hope you come back. This is heading into the new year and I have remained faithful just to go through Ephesians. And I'm so grateful for our eldership who preached on Christmas and prepared our hearts for Christmas when I was away in Thailand. This is the last Sunday that the information from Thailand will be set up in the worship center and we'll take that down. So if you have any questions or any updates, please come and talk to me or any of our eldership there. A lot of meaningful stuff going on around the world due to the faithfulness of the saints here at Beulah Baptist Church. And so I thank you for your faithful attendance and giving and evangelism and discipleship and Bible study and worship and fellowship with one another. It's just amazing what God does through the faithfulness of His saints.

Today I want to preach to you a message entitled "Use Thankfulness to Replace Sinfulness." Use thankfulness as a means to replace your sinfulness. And so think about where you falter, when you falter, when you fall into sin. Replace that moment with thankfulness. You'll see that in the text today. But before I read the entire text, I want you to notice this main idea that I want you to see. Turn to chapter 5, verse 4, and notice the last phrase. Chapter 5 and verse 4 — then we'll back up and read a little bit farther. But chapter 5 and verse 4 says, "And there must be no filthiness, nor silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks." There are only two different lists of three which contain sins in the text. Instead of doing these six categories of sins, you are to replace them with thankfulness — "but rather be thankful." And so develop thankfulness in your hearts and minds.

And you'll see that again reiterated if you would look down to verse 20. "Always giving thanks for all things in the name of the Lord Jesus to God, even the Father." And so this is a high view of God's sovereignty in your life, in that you will always be giving thanks and praise your way out of temptation. Replace those moments of sin with praising God.

And so back to verse 1 and chapter 5 if you would. Let's read together in this passage and see exactly what's going on. So in context, being imitators of God is the main idea, and how you express that and live it out is as you walk in love. And you'll see a few more ideas on how to walk, or how to live. And so in Ephesians chapter 5, verse 1, it says, "Therefore be imitators of God." And I've said to you before that this is the only place that you see this in God's holy Word. But the principle of imitating God is all throughout the Bible. And so specifically here, be imitators of God. And you know that's true because 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 16 says, "To be holy, for I am holy." And so we're to imitate God in His holiness. "Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma." Good Old Testament language there.

And verse 3, "But" — strong conjunction here, moving from that to this — "but immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you." Okay? It shouldn't even be part of what people think of when they think of you. It should not be observed by anyone in any way, shape, or form. These should not be named among you. You should not be anywhere close to these things. And verse 4, "And there must be no filthiness and silly talk or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty that no immoral or impure person or covetous man who is an idolater has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them."

Let's pray together. Father, thank You for today's text. I pray, Lord, that as we exegete it, it rightfully pierces our hearts and souls where we need to conform into Your image in a better way. I pray that You would bless us in this way. In Jesus' name, amen.

Today I pray that this message would set someone free from the bondage of sin. I'm astounded at the results of pornography. I'm saddened by how many men in the church, so statistics say, are given to it. And perhaps today's message will help you in that way to be set free from that and to use thankfulness to replace your sinfulness. And so aim at that. Replace your sin with gratefulness and thankfulness.

And you should be encouraged by knowing that sin is never satisfying. In your life, it's never going to satisfy you. It's not going to give you what you're looking for, whether you're male or female, by the way. Sin is never satisfying and it is never satisfied. It's never satisfied with ruining your life. Sin will destroy your life. It will empty your heart and mind. It will make you void of any desire for God in your relationships. It will ruin you, and it's never satisfied nor is it satisfying. And so fight sin from the start and it won't get lodged in your heart. If you wage war against sin from the starting point, it will not get lodged in your heart. Whether it's covetousness, whether it's greed, whether it's adultery, whether it's pornography — whatever the sin may be — you put all of your energy into waging war against sin at the conception, at the starting point, when it's small, and you'll win that war before it takes root in the heart.

If you want three steps to success against sin, write this down. Repent, resist, and run. Three R's that are alliterated and all scriptural. Repent, resist, and run from your sin. Repent — 1 John 1, "If you confess your sin, He's faithful and just to forgive you of your sin and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness." If you repent right away, be quick to repent. I mean like a basketball hitting the pavement — you bounce away from your sin and repent. As soon as that lustful look, you look away. As soon as the covetous thought goes through your mind, you turn away. You bounce away from that quickly and repent of that.

Two things happen in 1 John 1. First of all, the penalty of your sin will be exonerated because Christ paid it all on the cross. He'll forgive you. But secondly, according to 1 John 1 — which is so sweet of Him to do this because He does not have to do this for you and me — He will cleanse you of your guilt and your shame. And you can live shame-free. And you can live truly in the joy of Christ. And so confess your sins as you do them and don't let them bottle up in your life. "Fess them as you does them, don't bunch them." Right? Alright, that's what's been said by some grandmother a long time ago. "Fess them as you does them, don't bunch them." That's perfect grammar. Confess your sins as you do them and do not let them bottle up in your heart.

And resist — James 4:7 says to resist the devil and he will flee from you. And then run. Don't stay in harm's way. Who puts their nose at the tip of a barrel of a gun and stays there? When you recognize that sin is aimed at you, then run. Repent, resist, and run. 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 22 says to flee from your youthful lusts. It doesn't say stick around and see if you can overcome it. It doesn't say stick around and be stronger than it. It says to flee.

And so there are certain things that we are commanded to hate and to cling to. Romans 12:9 says that "love must be without hypocrisy, to hate what is evil and cling to what is good." And so if you're to cling to what is good — God is good. If you're to cling to God, cling to righteousness and run to Him. Don't stick around in the areas of evil. So instead of participating in sin, we should give thanks instead of giving into temptation. Give thanks instead of giving into temptation.

Now if you want to reduce these three R's — repent, resist, and run — into a silver bullet, if you want an easy, immediate, and extremely effective solution to your sin, it's right here in the title of this message. Give thanks instead of giving into temptation. So at the very moment, just start thanking and praising God. Start singing a hymn. Start quoting Scripture. Start praising God. Start being grateful for what you do have. Start praising God for the great things in your life. Combat your sinful nature with praising God. Give thanks instead of giving into sin. That's the silver bullet. At the moment of temptation, just start praising the Lord. Let that be your knee-jerk response whenever you're faced with maybe using some "wordy-jurds," some bad language. Let that be your first response. Instead of saying unwholesome, unhealthy words, "I'm going to praise God. I'm going to give thanks." Many of us struggle in traffic with being nice to those who cannot hear us, and you think you get away with it. But that's not true. Instead, let's just start thanking the Lord that we even have a vehicle, and we have families, and we have what we have. Praise God. That's your silver bullet for an immediate and effective solution to your sin here in the text.

Now, for these forbidding vices that are mentioned in the text — all of these lists of sins — this passage equips us to be able to walk in love. And it educates us as to what the opposite of walking in love is. This passage makes it very clear as to what walking in love is because it lists all of these sins. The main idea is being an imitator of God and the first expression is walking in love. In verse 2 we're going to see what this looks like by looking at what the opposite of it is.

And remember that an imitator is one who mimics what they see. And so it's very important for us as parents, it's very important for us as grandparents, to be mimickable — to be ones who are on display daily as dynamic disciples in Christ so that our little ones can learn. Now, little ones, listen to me. I've got a lot of children here today. Every single one of you has other children around you who know less about God than you do. And so you too should be one who is walking worthy, or walking in a godly way, so that others can mimic your Christlikeness. This is really important because you've got friends in the neighborhood, you've got friends at school, you've got friends around you, you've got perhaps siblings that are younger than you are. Let them mimic your Christlike character.

So be an imitator of God — verse 1 — as a commandment for you. And then it says, "Beloved." This is to be loved by God. God is saying, "You are My beloved. I love you. I have loved you. I have saved you." These are solutions for saints. This is for the church. This is for you who are beloved. You've been loved by God. Agapeo. You are true children, and children — being used in both the natural and the figurative sense in this passage — helps us to understand that you are a true, genuine believer. You are a child of God. In fact, you have been born again. You are a child. You've been born into the family of God.

In the figurative sense, Ephesians really utilizes this idea of being children of God in a lot of different ways. Listen to this as I've combed through the entire book and extracted the idea of being a child of God as one who is a child of light, a child of God, a child of obedience, a child of promise, a child of the devil — which I pray you are not; I pray you are saved — or a child of wrath. In Ephesians 2:3, it talks about how there are, in fact, children of wrath. And so I pray that you have repented of your sin and placed your faith and trust in the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross and been saved, gloriously saved, and born again, and now you are in the family of God, which means you are a child of God. You're no longer a child of the devil.

Now this idea of walking — as we're warming up and getting close to these lists of sins — this idea of walking in the text is to live. This Hebraism, to walk, is how you conduct your life. More so, it's how you regulate your life: how you have barriers on the right and barriers on the left, how you walk the narrow walk, how you conduct your life — Ephesians 2:2–3 — how you live and produce good works — Ephesians 2:10 — how you live in a worthy way — Ephesians 4:1 — how you are thinking — Ephesians 4:17 — how you are sacrificially living — Ephesians 5:1 — how you are enlightening others — Ephesians 5:8 — and how you are making careful choices — Ephesians 5:15. That's how you walk. That's your life. That's what God knows about how you decide to live. It's the choices that you make that produce the result of how people perceive your walk, how you live, who you are. And people remember that at your grave, by the way — who you are.

This wonderful area of love contextually refers to the broader range of giving preferential interest to others' desires, and so you have a warm regard for the interest of others. You would rather sacrificially live in a way that puts others first. That's a humble Christian, and that here is explained in the text through this agape word of love, and it produces more than this.

Read with me starting from the top and let's get an idea as to how it's leading. Verse 1, Ephesians 5:1, "Be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love." You know God is love? And so walking in God — walk in Christ, so walk in love — "just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering, a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma." This is superbly interesting how Paul now intertwines this Old Testament language of offering, sacrifice, fragrant, and aroma.

By interpretation of this offering, you're going to see it's Christ's sacrifice. In Isaiah chapter 53, verse 10, it says, "But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief." So on the cross, Christ was crushed. The wrath of God upon Himself is the payment of sin, if you receive that by faith. Now, this is equated as an offering. Isaiah 53:10, "But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief, if He would render Himself as a guilt offering." And so now, this is Christ on display as an offering. This is a sacrificial offering, a voluntary offering that is a sacrifice. And a sacrifice is just simply an act of giving.

And so, by interpretation, Christ's act of voluntarily giving of Himself as a substitutionary payment and an atonement for sin, for those who repent and believe, is on display. This is how we also then sacrificially live. If you are like Christ, if you are aiming to be in the likeness of Christ, if you are to imitate God, then you too would take up your cross and follow Christ. This is what it means to be a Christian. "I die daily," Paul said. This is such an anti-cultural lifestyle that most everything you hear on the television, most everything you see, most everything that you see by way of advertisements works against this idea — this paradoxical idea of dying to live. This is important for us to understand as we are becoming more and more like Christ. The product is something that is pleasing unto God, and the description of that which is pleasing unto God when Christ was sacrificed and when you live sacrificially is an aroma.

How you live produces an aroma. How you live produces what people perceive, and that perception is wonderful. That perception is delightful. When you are in somebody's presence and you are filled with the Spirit and you depart, people think of you in a way that is like a sweet-smelling aroma. Now they might not use Old Testament language like this, but this is the result of what you have done inside of their heart and mind because of the way you walk, because of the way you live. This word "aroma," smell, is metaphorically used as the sacrificial actions of the saints. The sacrificial actions of the saints is now the aroma that produces the results that please God.

Just as one way of applying this idea from the text — the Bible talks about how our actions, our sacrificial living, is a sweet-smelling aroma to God. Turn with me. I want you to see it for yourself in Philippians chapter 4. Philippians chapter 4 — Paul uses this language again as to how we live out our sacrificial giving unto the Lord and it is pleasing to the Lord. It is actually giving. Not just giving of yourself as in service in the church, not just giving of yourself and helping your neighbors, not sacrificially giving of yourself to love your spouse, not giving of yourself just to be a good parent or a good neighbor. In Philippians chapter 4, verse 15, read with me in following and you'll see that the word "gift" or "giving" is mentioned a few times.

Philippians 4:15, "You yourselves know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, but you alone." What a compliment. "For even in Thessalonica" — which is a great church, the church in Thessalonica — "for even in Thessalonica, you sent a gift more than once for my needs." Wow. "Not that I seek a gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases on your account." Paul wants you — Paul is warning the Philippians to continue to give to the needs of the saints so that it profits them on their account. He wants them to lay up treasure in heaven.

And in verse 18, "But I have received everything in full and have abundance. I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent." Now, what was sent? A gift, right? Some type of way to provide for the needs of the saints — so much so that Paul is able to forward that gift to others and be a blessing to others. By the way, we have saints in this dear congregation who want to give above and beyond what our church is supporting to the family that is in Thailand so that they can forward gifts to others in need, which is the written Word. Several of you have come and said, "Those in Thailand can't afford a Bible. The average income is $9 a day and a Bible costs $22 over there. How can we help?" We can forward our gifts unto them and they can purchase more and give more. So you see that we are participating in like fashion.

But the reason why I bring this up is so that you can see the tail end of verse 18 in this Old Testament language. This is a gift that is well pleasing to the Lord and it's compared to an aroma and a sacrifice. So let's read verse 18 again. "But I have received everything in full and have an abundance. And I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent," and then he refers to this gift as "a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to the Lord."

And so you'll see in your bulletin this week that this passage — as you do your prayerful end-of-the-year giving — that it is pleasing unto the Lord to offer a sacrificial gift unto Him and it is compared to this Old Testament language which is used in Leviticus and in Exodus all over the place as this sacrifice. So cool. So that is one New Testament application of these ideas.

Now for the vices and the sins. We go back now to Ephesians if you would. In verse 3 of chapter 5, these two lists start. "But immorality and impurity or greed must not even be named among you as proper among the saints." And so this word "immorality" is where today's word pornography comes from. So these vices are listed in two sets of three, and these vices violate your walk with the Lord, your walking in love.

And at the top of the list is immorality. There's no faster way to quench the joy of the Lord in your life than to participate in any thoughts or actions that are of fornication or immorality. Now this simply means unfaithfulness to God. If you're unfaithful to the Lord in this way, then you are guilty of fornication and immorality. The Old Testament term of immorality is "hor" and it's in Genesis chapter 34. That's the same stem, that's the same root, that's the same idea of the original language here of immorality. And so Proverbs warns against this over and over and over.

The facts are: pagan God-haters will have the wrath of God abiding upon them for eternity as a judgment for their unbelief and immoral fornications. Revelation chapter 14, verses 7 and 8 state that this is something that they will regret for eternity and even be punished for. So any relations outside of marriage is immoral sin. Relations with a prostitute is immoral sin — 1 Corinthians 6. Relations with an adulterous one is sin — Matthew chapter 5, verse 32. And it's all gross immorality and it's against God primarily.

Turn to Matthew chapter 5 and verse 29 and we'll start in verse 27. Matthew 5:27. I want you to see the scary thing about immorality. The scary thing about immorality is that even the saints who walk close with a holy God can be tempted and give in to the darkest immoralities. They can do this mentally and emotionally. So in Matthew chapter 5, verse 27, the Bible says, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'" Okay, there's the law handed to you. "But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." What a high standard.

In verse 29, "If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out." You see how serious this is, right? "And throw it from you. For it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." Boy, what a serious statement. Did Jesus go too far in saying this? Well, by way of interpretation it is just simply this: do whatever it takes not to sin. That's what this verse is communicating. Do whatever it takes. Not literally pluck your eye out, but literally do whatever it takes — going to those type of extremes to keep you from violating your holy, sacred marriage, from offending a holy God. Do whatever it takes to keep your mind right. Do whatever it takes to keep your heart motives pure. Do whatever it takes.

And this passage gives you that silver bullet, that solution to your sin. Replace the moment of this sin with thanking God. Start thanking God and combat sinfulness with thankfulness. It's so important. So those of us who are going to heaven should do whatever it takes not to act like those who are going to hell.

In Jude chapter 1, verse 7, hell is punishment forever, and ever, and ever. This is something that we don't want to get anywhere close to. In fact, we want to warn people of it. And this is not new news. In Exodus chapter 20, verses 4 to 6, it talks about how this is idolatry. And so if you commit adultery, then you are also committing idolatry at the same time. You say, "Wow, that's an Old Testament truth. Is that a leap that's gone too far?" Absolutely not. It's actually in the text here in Ephesians chapter 5. I'll read it to you. "Let no one deceive you with empty words." Verse 6, "Because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Do not be partakers with them." It's in verse 5. Verse 5 says, "For this reason, know with certainty that no immoral, impure person, a covetous man who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God."

And so this idea of immorality at the forefront of these two sets of three, these two lists of sins, is the first one. It's the most important one. If you get this right, then it seems the rest will do okay in your life. And so guard your life. Holiness is a precious, precious thing. God is holy. Isaiah chapter 6, verse 3 says, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is full of His glory." And so you who are children of God must make sure that you are pursuing holiness. "Be holy, for I am holy." 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 16.

It's very scary to think that saints can act like sinners in this most depraved way. But we really got to guard our hearts above all else. Proverbs 4:23, "Guard your heart, for out of it are the wellsprings of life." The wellspring of your life, your walk, your life can be tainted, can be depressed, can be altered, can be reduced by sin, especially immorality. Above all else, Solomon said in Proverbs 4:23 — above all else, above all else, above all else — guard your heart, especially from immorality.

And the second of this list is greed. And so this is what Scripture says on the next item on this list: "But immorality or any impurity or greed." And so we've tackled things in regards to immorality. Now greed — this is just simply a covetous practice, another violation of a commandment. The 10th commandment in Exodus chapter 20, verse 17 says, "You shall not covet." So covetousness is greediness. It is in fact an indictment against the Lord to say you have not given me enough, that I feel like I deserve, and so I'm going to lust and covet somebody else's stuff. And so your heart desires that which God has not given you, and you are in fact, by your desires, by your unrestricted desires, saying, "God, You are not God enough." You see how bad that is? And so we should combat this with thankfulness. Thank God for what you do have.

I'll give you one word that helps with greediness: perspective. All you need to do is watch videos from around the world and third world countries and how they live, and you'd be like, "Whoa." Thank You, Lord, for hot water. Thank You, Lord, for a roof over my head. Thank You, Lord, for provisions. Thank You, Lord, for my family. Thank You for my clothes. Thank You for the abundance that we live in. You could thank God all day every day for just the physical things, not to mention the invisible, invaluable things such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control.

Thank You, Lord. Thank You, dear Jesus, for the love in my family. Without the love that we have, symbolically, with one another — where would I be? I'd just be distraught every single day. Who of you have had a child go astray and lived without that peace and love and joy? It's the worst days of your life. Thank God for what you have. Don't be greedy and lustful and covetous for what you don't have. Thank God for the valuable, the invaluable things. Don't you have parents that help provide for you, children? Oh, thank the Lord, because if you start going on mission trips around the world — which you can go on a mission trip across the street here in Central Florida and see the exact opposite of what you have in your home — desperate kids.

It's so sad and yet we would arrogantly greed and want more. You know there are prosperity false preachers out there that tie into this greed in humanity. They stir up this idea of greed and say that you deserve more. They in fact would misuse the holy name of God and say that God exists to bless you, and that's simply a perversion of Old Testament truth. You see, in the Old Testament a lot of truths are described, not prescribed. And so the God of the Old Testament blessed Israel in regards to land and physical blessings and healing — that is not promised for the New Testament believer of spiritual blessings. The physical blessings in the Old Testament have more or less their counterpart in spiritual blessings in the New Testament. Spiritual blessings like I just mentioned: love and joy, the fruits of the Holy Spirit, the blessings of God upon your life spiritually. And so what you have does not determine how much God has blessed you. That's a complete indictment upon those who are sacrificially living as missionaries and giving away all that they possibly have because they know that this world will soon pass and only what's done for Christ will last.

Your possessions do not determine how much God has blessed you. But the Benny Hinns of this world, the Joyce Meyers, the Kenneth Copelands, the Creflo Dollars, the Jesse Duplantises, the Rod Parsleys, and the Paula Whites — they're everywhere. And they abuse the poor for their own personal gain. So this prosperity theology is perhaps overflowing financially with a multitude of jets and houses — big deal — because they're theologically empty and scripturally manipulating. And they're condemned eternally for this.

Have you not a heart to reach people who are trapped in this false theology, to expose these false prophets? Matthew chapter 24 talks about there'll be many false prophets. They're everywhere. And so Kenneth Copeland actually said that God is the biggest failure in the Bible because He has lost more than anybody else — as if He has lost the entire earth to Satan, as He has lost so many of His children and His offspring. It's such a sad, actual indictment upon Kenneth Copeland. When in fact Psalm 24:1 says, "The earth is the Lord's and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it." God has not lost anything.

You want a knockout punch for the prosperity preachers? It's Luke 12:15. Here it is. "Watch out and be on guard against every form of greed, because one's life does not consist of the abundance of his possessions." One verse knocks out all of their false prosperity theology and sends them straight to judgment. God, I pray that they repent before they die.

Thank the Lord for men like Kosti Hinn. Thank the Lord for men like Justin Peters who have given their lives to being transparent and bold. They've suffered greatly for exposing the truth, but many — I'm told many — have come to faith in Christ out from underneath the false theology and come into true faith in Christ. And they've been set free. 1 Timothy 6:6 says, "But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment." Be content with what you have and be godly, and now you're talking about great gain. Now you're talking about prosperity. The right kind of prosperity. The ability to do what Philippians 4:4 says — "To rejoice in the Lord, and again I say rejoice."

But this also talks about impurity in the text. Ephesians chapter 5, "But immorality or any impurity." So we covered greed out of order there, but it doesn't matter. Impurity means uncleanness. And if we have any ones in here that are 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 — once you listen closely to this. This is something that one of these days will in one way, shape, or form tempt you through friendships. This impurity is actually referring to an inner uncleanness and is directly tied to unclean spirits.

Now if you haven't already been exposed to the evilness of Ouija boards — let me tell you that taps into evil spirits. This is an innocent-seeming game that is a lie from the evil one. Do not play Ouija games. That is so impure and taps into evil spirits. Nor should you be watching paranormal TV shows that stir up this idea inside of your mind. You should be thinking about the things of God. Nor should you be talking to the dead. This is condemned in the Bible. You have an innocent-seeming subject as a game that would introduce you to evil ideas. And so do not be fooled. Be wise and discerning and do not fall into this trap, dwelling and thinking and tapping into these impurities. Don't dabble in darkness. I guarantee a regret.

Now there are three more vices listed here, starting in verse 4. "And there must be no filthiness, silly talk, or coarse jesting." Now if you get the first one right — with immorality to its fullest extent — you should not be given to this. But this now is drilling down a little bit deeper. And you may say to yourself, "I'm not watching filthiness online. I'm not watching immorality." But are you given to filthiness? Do you allow filthiness in your life — that is, to be engaged in shameful and dishonorable conversation and behavior? You could say, "Okay, it's not porn but it's soft porn." Do you have things that are flirtatious with immorality in these areas? It's sin.

And if you think that sin is satisfied with you just looking and dabbling with the soft stuff, in fact it will take you to the deepest, darkest areas that you've ever been in — it will destroy your life. And so now with the Bible drilling down a little bit more specific in how to be holy, it says don't be anywhere around filthiness. 2 Corinthians 7:1 says, "Let us cleanse ourselves from filthiness." Anything filthy needs to be pushed away from you. Cleanse yourself from it. If you're at work and the conversation among the guys or the girls turns filthy, call it out and stop it. Above all else, do what? Guard your heart. You don't have to listen to that garbage. Garbage in, garbage out. You don't have to be around that. Call it out. Be a man of God. Be a woman of God and say, "This is filthiness. This is sinfulness. I'd prefer us to move along to the next conversation. How about let's talk about balloons flying up in the air or something other than this." Anything.

Nor are you to be given to foolish talk. Silly talk is foolish talk. Talking about the points of fools. Don't be given to foolish talk. Don't be a foolish, conversating person. To talk about the points of fools — it means to love that, it means to be in love with that, it means to talk about that, to have your affections upon the foolish things that the wisest man in the Bible speaks proverbially about over and over and over and over again. "The fool has said in his heart there is no God." All of these foolish expressions — you have lazy fools in the Bible, you have atheistic fools in the Bible, you have malicious fools, you have worldly fools, blind fools, prideful fools, and people who call people fools — Matthew 5:22. Don't be given to this foolish talk. We should, in fact — Ephesians 4:15 says to speak the truth in love. And so we don't celebrate the foolish talking points of those who are depraved. We in fact replace that with truth in love. Ephesians 4:15. Three hundred and sixty times the Bible speaks against foolishness and folly. 360 times. You cannot as a Christian participate in the foolishness of this world and think that it will not sinfully affect you.

And so do not participate in this. Ephesians chapter 5, verse 11 says, "Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them." Expose them. Bring light to them. Bring truth to the conversation in love. Be objectively Christian, not submitting yourself to the conversation of the world. It will affect your prayer life. 1 Peter 3:12 says, "For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears attend to their prayers." If you give in to the foolishness of this world, you can expect it will affect your prayer life. Why does it feel like my prayers are not being heard or answered? That may be because of some unconfessed sins in your life. Just because you didn't know that they were sin doesn't mean that it's not sin.

What about coarse jesting? I was around one who was given to immoral humor, who called himself a Christian, and the inner parts of my heart literally ached. As I thought, "This is a genuine Christian," but he made a reference to a dirty joke. He didn't even tell the whole joke — he just referenced it — and it made my heart just ache. And so now think of this passage in its progression as going from hard pornography to soft pornography, and now to just referencing. You can't even reference immorality. You don't have anything to do with it, especially referencing it as in a coarse gesture.

Have you ever been around someone who turned your words around and made it seem as if you had said something perverted? Oh, I hate that. When someone does that, they are coarse jesting. They are perverting, twisting your words and making out as if you intended to say something immoral or sinful. Ephesians 4:29 says, "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth." Let no unwholesome, unhealthy word proceed from your mouth.

Those of you who participate in street evangelism and preaching and whatnot — all of you should evangelize — you will get a taste of this regularly because the world is just given to this kind of stuff. But I encourage you to be as righteous as a lion. The Bible says that the righteous are as bold as a lion. If you step up in conversation and speak up and tell the truth in love, then you will in fact be able to steer that conversation in an upward, righteous direction and not allow sin to dominate. And if you can't do it, move on. If you're not bold enough to step up in the conversation, then don't sit there and be slaughtered by such immoralities. Your conscience will bother you and that is an indication that you're in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Now the Bible says in James chapter 3, verse 8 that no one can tame the tongue. This is not an excuse to let immoralities flow out of your mouth. It doesn't mean that we don't discipline our tongue. The Bible says to not let any unwholesome word proceed from your mouth. It means it's hard to tame it. It's hard to restrict it. And so put a lot of effort into taming your tongue. Put a lot of effort. And the way you do that is you get to the heart of the matter and you saturate your heart and your mind with Scripture so that that is coming out of the inside of who you are. "From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks," Jesus said in Matthew 12:34. From the abundance of your heart — if you are constantly washing your heart with the Word of God and placing and memorizing Scripture inside of your heart — which, by the way, we're going to this year take a verse or two a month and repetitiously go over Scripture together. We're going to read it out loud together before the preaching of the Word of God and we're going to get God's Word lodged deeply in our heart. We're going to memorize Scripture together as a church family and progress in our sanctification together. This is going to help us.

And so replace your sin with singing and giving thanks — giving gratitude, an active form of worship. In the passage it says, "But rather than all of these things give thanks." In verse 4, "And there must be no filthiness or silly talk or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather" — I love that the conjunction, the shift here, the solution, the silver bullet — "but rather give thanks. Be one who is always giving thanks for all things." Ephesians 5:20. Always give thanks for all things. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, "In everything give thanks, for this is God's will."

Don't get caught up in trying to think that God's will is a destination. So many college students think, "What's God's will for my life?" and graduate their degree and get to that one occupation or that one house or that one state or that one place. God's will is not a point. God's will is a process of sanctification in your life. God's will is you continuing in Christ. That's God's will for your life and He will guide you. He will guide your steps. God's will for your life is to in everything give thanks. God's will for your life is to be sanctified. God's will for you is to be saved. God's will for you is to resist and reject and run from sin. God's will for you is to continue in the Word of God. That's God's will for your life. Don't think that you've missed God's will — stay on track with God and His will for your life.

Even in affliction, we remain steadfast in these areas because Psalm 119:71 says, "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes." Psalm 119:71 is one that I believe every believer needs to have highlighted in their Bible, because the first thing that comes to your mind is "Have I missed God's will for my life?" when you're in affliction, when you're in suffering, when you're going into a surgery — a surgery went right, a surgery went wrong — you know, you've got sickness, you've got cancer, you've got any type of suffering, something going wrong, you lost your job. All these types of things. God superintends these things. God helps you through the trials. God wants you to be able to be thankful in every circumstance.

I was able to be around another pastor when he came back from filing his taxes. And he got back and I said, "Hey, how was it?" He goes, "Oh, it was painful." He had to pay in like $2,400. He said it was like a kick to his guts. And then he replied, "It's good for me. I needed it." I didn't understand his follow-up statement. "It's good for me. I needed it." It's good that he was kicked in the guts. It was good. His high theological perspective of God's sovereignty at that moment — I have only understood it as the years have gone by. And maybe it's good for you to have it socked to you financially so that your hope would not be in money. Maybe it's good for you too, perhaps, to have been reduced in a way so that you would look up. If God reduces you in a downward way and then lifts you up in that way, praise God. God is a God who is God. What is it to be God except to be in control, to be sovereign? And so give thanks. No matter what, give thanks. In all situations, give thanks. Whether the things in your life are going up and you're healthy or things are going down and you're unhealthy, give thanks.

I just visited the sister of our missionary David Beals, missionary to the Jews here in Central Florida — we support him as a missionary. His wife's sister was in the hospital. Her leg was amputated. Got a call: "Brother, can you go and visit? Make a hospital visit." I saw the results. I'm like, "You're kidding me." I thought to myself, "Boy, this is going to be a tough one to be encouraging on this hospital visit. She has just had her leg amputated. Lives alone." But I'm happy to report that this was one of those visits where I left with a bigger blessing because of her confidence in Christ.

All of the nurses and doctors on that entire floor knew who she was because she just simply would not stop thanking God. Her confidence in the Lord was staggering. It should be normative, but it was staggering. It encouraged my heart to see how much she believed in a good God. She didn't have all the answers on how she would be able to get by. She didn't have all the answers. But she didn't need that because she had God.

So even in affliction, Psalm 119:71 — a high perspective of God's sovereignty — "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes." Only in having this theological understanding can you give thanks and replace it in the area of your sinfulness. In fact, when you are pursuing sin, you are needing some type of joy or gratitude or comfort that the Holy Spirit of God is designed to give to you — such that alcohol is what some people seek instead of the Holy Spirit. But Ephesians chapter 5, verse 18 says, "Don't be drunk with wine. Be filled with the Holy Spirit." God can do these things for you. You don't need the things of the world.

The Bible says, "Do not be partakers with them." In verse 7, 1 Corinthians 5:11 says, "I am writing to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is a sexually immoral person, or greedy, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler — not even to eat with such a one." Now this is not to be confused with when Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners, because they owned the fact that they were tax collectors and sinners. But if you have a Christian hypocrite, we cannot be in association with one who is given to these depraved sins because they are living a life of hypocrisy and your presence makes it seem to others that it's okay. You can't do that. That's how important it is that there is a prohibition against hanging out with hypocrites who call themselves Christians.

Now if you want to take note of three take-home points, I'd like to summarize today's message. Number one, practice singing rather than sinning. Take-home truth number one: practice singing rather than sinning.

We see in the Bible here how this is going to get even more specific as the days unfold in the book of Ephesians chapter 5. It says so in verse 17, "So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is, and do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms, in hymns, in spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks for all things." So if you want to practice singing rather than sinning, Ephesians chapter 5, verse 19 is your verse. "Speaking to one another in psalms" — so say what the Scriptures say to each other — and hymns and spiritual songs. Replace that sinfulness in your life with a spiritual song. Just have it ready to start singing. Put it in your pocket, whatever the case may be, and intentionally replace sin with singing.

So think to yourself, "Where and when do I fail?" Right now think to yourself, "Where and when do I fail? When do I doubt God? When do I abandon my faith, my Christianity? When do I act like a heathen?" Now, intentionally replace that time. The next time that time comes around, "I'm going to sing instead of sin." That's the point of today's message. Practice this.

Number two, as a practical point: flee from immorality. Flee from it. God hates it; you should too. Flee from it. We have what's called a VidAngel on our television, and you can eliminate profanity, immorality, all that kind of stuff. I mean, I love it. It just takes it out and you don't even see it. I wish I could do that with everyday life — don't even hear it. 2 Timothy 2:22 says to flee from your youthful lusts. Romans 12:9 says to hate what is evil, cling to what is good.

Now, if anybody here, male or female, is addicted to pornography, just look up Pastor Jay Dennis. He led a movement out of Lakeland to see that one million men would be porn-free. And he's got Scripture, he's got methods, he's got everything that you need to be set free. Pastor Jay Dennis. That's all you need to look up and he'll lead you step by step by step through the process of being set free in this area. If you know somebody, forward this information to them. Sin is like a bear trap — those springs that catch on to you are stronger than you can pull off. You need help, oftentimes. Sin is terribly, terribly destructive.

Number three: evangelize without being socialized. Don't be conformed to the world. Don't take on their vocabulary. We as parents always say to our children, "Don't talk like that just because you hear it, you see it." Participating and mixing and socializing will lead to behaving. So don't do it. When you go to evangelize, you be a light and do not let them dim your light. Oftentimes you've got to think like this when you're going out to evangelize in the darkest of areas — you have to get in and get out. Be prayed up, be ready, having reviewed the Scriptures, and you go in fortified. Be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Think of your heart as like a fortress. Think of your mind as one like Ezekiel who has been strengthened as unto having a flint-like forehead. You have to be purposed in what you're doing, not casually walking in. Otherwise you're going to be subject to the Psalm 1:1–3 scenario of being gradually reduced into hanging out with sinners and acting like them. So evangelize without being socialized. Romans 12:2, "Do not be conformed to this world."

Now in verse 11, there is an added emphasis here in chapter 5. And I want you to see this because may you be one who can run from sin's way and get out of sin's way. May you be one who is able to just bounce around and go along your merry, holy way. But that's not all of our Christian duty. In Ephesians chapter 5, verse 11 it says, "Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness." Okay, we've got that down. We have figured that out in today's text. But now it's asking you to do a little bit more than just avoid ungodliness. What is it asking you to do? "Instead, even expose them."

In fact, this is a qualification to be an elder in a local church. To be a pastor, you have to be able to theologically and most certainly practically expose evil and keep the flock pure. You have to do church discipline, which is loving them into a right relationship with God. You have to be able to say why that is wrong. You have to be able to be ones who shine a light. The very essence of being a Christian is to be a light. You have to be able to enlighten the situation. You have to be able to say why that is wrong. Be ready with an answer for everyone who asks you. And even for those who don't ask you, expose those things. And so there's no such thing as a Christian chameleon.

If someone is living a chameleon-like lifestyle who can change their color or change their flag or change their vocabulary or change their celebrations or their joking to fit the situation, that's a chameleon. Just metaphorically speaking, there's no such thing as Christian chameleons who can blend in with the world and act like them and celebrate them. There's no such thing as changing who you are and blending in with the circumstances.

And so by you walking in these truths, this wonderful truth in 3 John chapter 1, verse 4 means that you will be bringing immense joy to the Lord. And it will be pleasing unto Him. I conclude with this verse and then I'll pray with you. 3 John chapter 1, verse 4 says, "I have no greater joy than to see that my children are walking..." Hear that? Walking, living, conducting their life, regulating their life, and "walking in the truth." No greater joy would the Apostle John have than seeing the church filled with Christians walking in the truth. And by way of interpretation, Scripture is breathed out by God. And so God is saying, "I have no greater joy than to see that My children are walking in the truth, because My Son Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life." No one comes to the Father except by Him.

Pray with me if you would. Lord, thank You for this passage. And I pray that it's been of encouragement. I pray, Lord, as well it's been edifying. And I pray, dear Jesus, that perhaps it has been a means to set someone free from the evils of immorality. I pray, Father, that they would view You as One who is willing to forgive their sin and cleanse them of their sin. I pray, Father, that they would view You as a good, good Father who is willing to accept their confession. I pray as well, dear Jesus, that those who are here who perhaps have not been saved yet by Your grace, that they too would repent of their sin. They have seen in today's text that they are not innocent. In fact, they're guilty of one of these things, whether in thought or in deed. And the penalty for that is separation from You in hell forever. But the gift of God is eternal life.

Father, I pray Romans chapter 5, verses 8 to 10 for them. It says, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."

Jesus, You came to seek and to save that which is lost. If anyone is here and lost, I pray that they would feel the sorrowfulness of their sin, because it was their sin that caused You to have to pay for their sin's consequences on the cross by taking on the wrath of God the Father. Thank You for doing that, God. Thank You for making salvation available to those who would repent and believe. And so for anyone here who has not yet been saved by Your grace, I pray that they would bow their hearts in posture toward You and say, "I'm sorry. Forgive me. I repent. And I believe. I confess You as Lord and Savior."

God, I pray that You'd save souls here at Beulah Baptist Church. I pray, God, that You continue to see souls grow in their faith and to be sanctified, that they would be members of this dear church, that they would learn how to rightly divide and study Your Word, and then therefore go forth and teach others how to do so in like fashion. Father, I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.