I want to read first from Ephesians
2. Ephesians 2, verse 1 through
4. Before the Lord was pleased to
reveal Christ to us, in us, we lived and walked as all sons
of Adam live and walk. This is the story. in Ephesians
2.1, you hath be quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins,
wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this
world, according to the prince of the power of the air, Satan,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,
among whom also we all had our behavior. in times past, in the
lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of this flesh and
of the mind. And we were by nature children
of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sin, quickened us together with Christ. Now turn to my text
in Ephesians 4, verse 17. And now that we've been translated
from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God's dear
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul says in verse 17 of chapter 4,
this I say therefore and testify in the Lord, I solemnly testify
in the name of the Lord, that you no longer walk, that you
henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of
your mind, that you no longer walk like you did walk and walk
like they do walk. And then he gives us in verse
18, 19 and 20, 18 and 19, the reasons why we walk
that way and the reasons why they still do. And here's why. It says in verse 17, the last
line, you henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the
vanity of their mind. Now that's reason number one
why we walk that way and why they still do, the vanity of
our minds. Turn to Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8 verse 5. You see, the vanity of the mind,
that's what plagues the sons of Adam. It says in Romans 8,
5, For they that are after the flesh, they do mind the things
of the flesh. That's where their mind dwells.
That's where their thoughts dwell. That's where their hearts dwell,
the things of the flesh. The vanity of the mind is vain
philosophy. The vanity of the mind is thoughts
of self. foolish thoughts of self and
foolish thoughts of God. The vanity of the natural mind
is the pursuit of worldly riches, honors, and acclaim. And the vanity of the mind is
summed up in these words, a continual effort to find peace and happiness
in things that perish. It's not that. That's the vanity
of the mind. That's the way they walk and
that's the way we walk. The vanity of the mind. That's
the continual effort to find peace and happiness in things
that perish. You'll never find it. Here's
the second reason why we walk that way and why they still do.
Verse 18, having the understanding darkened. Now the people of the
world are wise enough in certain areas. They're wise enough in
material and physical and scientific things. They can do unusual and
great things. They're wise enough in those
areas. But in the matters pertaining
to God and matters pertaining to spiritual life, matters pertaining
to eternal truth, They're without God, without Christ, and without
hope in this world. Their minds are darkened. Their
understanding is darkened. The difference in us now is the
Son of God has come and given us an understanding that we may
know the true God, the things of God. It says, talking about
the natural man, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2, I have not
seen An ear hath not heard, neither hath it entered the heart of
man the things God has prepared for them that love him. But God
has revealed them unto us. The only difference is, but God.
But God hath revealed them unto us. You who were dead in trespasses
and sin, walked according to the course of this world, but
God. But God. All right, here's the
third reason. Number one, it's the vanity of
the mind. Number two, it's the understanding
is darker. Now here's the third reason why
we walk that way and why they still do. They're alienated from
the life of God through the ignorance that's in them because of the
blindness of their hearts. They're alienated from the life
of God. Well now, that's true because
of what Adam did. That's true, number one. It says,
by one man, sin entered this world and death by sin. And your
sins have separated you from your God. That's right, because
Adam sinned and we are estranged from God. We are banished from
God. We're cut off. Indeed, cut off. Your sins have separated you
from God. But these people described here
choose to remain there. You see, as he says there, alienated
from God, the life of God, spiritual life, through the ignorance that's
in them, because of the blindness of their hearts. Our Lord was
in the world, but the world knew Him not. He came to His own,
His own received Him not, because of the blindness of their hearts.
But they want it that way. It's not only a banishment from
God, it's a self-banishment. They could read the Scriptures,
They could seek the Lord, but they won't. They could inquire. Here's a place sitting here on
the busiest street in this town where the truth is preached.
And half of eastern Kentucky drives by here at least once
a week. But nobody ever says, I wonder what's preached there.
I believe I'll go find out. I'm not happy where I am. I have
no peace where I am. I have no joy. I have no knowledge
of God. I believe I'll inquire. This one man back years ago,
a dear friend of mine, he was in an Armenian denomination,
and he realized that he wasn't hearing anything. And he'd take
his children every Sunday, and he'd go to different churches,
different churches. What was he hunting? Truth. He
was hunting truth. And he kept going to different
churches. In fact, some of his children said, Dad, where are
we going this Sunday to church? Gerald, Daddy, I'm talking. Where
are we going this Sunday? He knew there was something there
he didn't have and hadn't heard. Isn't there something? Well,
by the providence of God, I was a pastor with poverty, and I
went out one morning to WPCR. I was on the radio out there
every morning at 8.15, 8.30. And I went out there one morning
and the announcer was sitting there at the John Sparkman. This was 1951 or 1952. He was sitting there at the console
where he was carrying on his program. And I said, John, you
look awful. He said, I've been here all night.
I said, what are you doing here all night? This is a daylight
to dark station. Only came on there at daylight
and went off at dark. He said, well, I just came in
here to see how far we could reach at night. And he said,
my sister is listening to me. Last night in California. He
said, this station I found out at night is a clear channel station
that reaches all over this country. He said, would you like a program?
Yes, sir. Sign me up right now. 5.30 in
the morning. I'll preach on this station 30
minutes at 5.30 every morning. I'll bring you a tape. I'm not
coming out here, but I'll bring you a tape." He said, it's against
the law. I said, well, I don't care if
somebody hears the gospel. As long as you can preach, you
can carry on the station, I'll preach on it. I got mail, I offered
a Bible for the person like me furthest east and furthest west.
I said, I'll send you a nice Bible, a fine Bible, not cheap
Bible. You'll get a good one. You write
to me. I got a stack of mail that week. I sent a Bible to
Bermuda and a Bible to Bakersfield, California. That's the furthest
west, furthest east. That's the program your daddy
heard. He is up every morning, 5.30, go to work. He didn't hear
my program at 8.30. But God in His providence let
him hear that 5.30 program. And he heard it one morning.
I said, that's the gospel. That's what I've been looking
for. He came over, I followed him back to this church. I heard
the gospel. Now, this is what I'm saying.
This banishment from God is self-banishment. That right one of you were with
him when he came. It's self-banishment. They don't
want to know God. If they find out who God is,
they'll find out who they are. And they'll have to change. Right
or damn. If they find out who God is,
they'll find out who they are, and they'll have to change. Change
their mode of worship. Change their ideas of life eternal.
Change their ideas of how men are saved. Change their ideas
about who Jesus Christ is. It'll wipe out their whole religious
background. That's just so. So, this is the
problem. This is the reason we walk that
way. All of you came out of the same traditional religion. Just
about every... This preacher did. Didn't know
God, didn't know the gospel, didn't know the truth. Walked
in the vanity of our minds. Walked with an understanding
darkened and were alienated from the life of God and didn't even
know it and didn't care. That's it. That's right. Through the ignorance that's
in them because of the blindness of their hearts. And then look
at verse 19. And they finally come to this
place where their past feelings This is where the USA is today,
and we're fixing to read a description of our country, religiously and
always. Who being past feeling, have
given themselves over to three things, lasciviousness, sensuality. On the television, in the movies,
in the papers, in the magazines, and everything that your children
and I are exposed to every day. Sensuality. If it feels good,
do it. If it tastes good, eat it. If
you like it, go where you want to. That's the American way.
That's it. Sensuality. Uncleanness. Homosexuality. That's uncleanness
in the Bible. Shameful behavior. Shameful behavior. Yet, you don't dare condemn it
or you're a bigot. You're something else. They call
you all kinds of names. It's wrong. It's sinful. It's
evil. It's contrary to God in every
imaginable way. Marriage is just out the door
now. Marriage, family, mother, dad,
children, America, sensuality, uncleanness, and what's the third
one? Greed. in all areas of our life because
people are greedy for the dollar. The love of money is the root
of all evil. I didn't say money is the root
of all evil. A man can be prosperous in the
Lord, prosperous in material things, and one of the most generous
persons on earth. That's right. And he can use
what God has given him to bless others and help others and preach
the gospel You just be such a wonderful person, but it's greed. It's
the love of money that's the root of all evil. And that characterizes
our day. That's why they walk like they
walk. But, I put that little word in
the Bible, but, it said back then in Ephesians 2, dead in
sin, but God. who is rich in mercy for his
great love, wherewith he loved us. Back there in chapter 2,
verse 13, But now, he talked about in verse 12, us Gentiles
were without Christ, no hope without God. But now, in Christ,
you who were at one time far off were made nigh by the blood
of Christ. And now, he said, hear these folks walking in the
vanity of their minds, with darkened understanding, alienated from
God, past feelings, giving themselves over to sensuality, uncleanness,
greediness. But you, you, God's made a difference. And I'll tell you, I know who
made the difference. He did. He made the difference. You have
not so learned Christ. Our Lord said, take my yoke upon
you and learn of me. And in John 6, turn over to John
6, and this is what has happened to us, right here in John chapter
6. This is what the Lord has done for us in three words. In
John chapter 6, verse 44, our Lord, those Pharisees said
in verse 42, John 6, 42, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph,
whose mother and father we know? How is it then that he says,
I came down from heaven? Well, they didn't know, but we
know. They couldn't tell, but I can tell them he came down
from heaven. And Jesus therefore answered
and said to them, murmur not among yourselves, no man can,
has the ability, no man, or desire, or will to come to me, believe
on me, except the Father which hath sent me drawing The Father
draw him, and I'll raise him up at the last day. It's written
in the prophets, they shall be taught of God. That's the first
word, taught. We've been taught of God. The
Holy Spirit teaches us the things of Christ. He'll teach you the
things of Christ. We've been taught of God. We've
got a pastor in it. We've got teachers. I have the
second word. Every man therefore that hath
heard, he's given us ears to hear. The hearing ears of the
Lord. The seeing eyes of the Lord.
He made them both, it says. We've heard. And what's the third
word? And we've learned. We've learned
of the Father. And that's why we came to Christ.
We've been taught of the Spirit. We've heard the Word, the Gospel
of our salvation. And we've learned. And that's
what he says here in my text. You have not so learned Christ. Not to walk that way. That's
not what we've learned. We've learned something entirely
different. And I'm going to show you the things we've learned
in the next few verses. Alright. We've been taught, we've
heard, and we've learned. Verse 21. Now watch this, how Paul says
this. You've heard Him. You've been
taught by Him the truth. as the truth is in Jesus Christ. Well, I've never heard his voice. I'm always a little uneasy when
somebody tells me the Lord said something to them, you know.
A little uneasy. But it says here, brethren, you've
heard him and been taught by him. I'll tell you what he's
saying then. We've heard him preached with the outward ear. But that's not what Paul is saying.
Paul said, you've heard Him. Well, how have I heard Him? I've
heard Him who speaks from heaven, I've heard Him internally. I've heard Him internally so
as to know Him, so as to understand His gospel,
how He can be just and justify. Yes, sir, I understand that.
So as to believe Him, I do believe. And our faith groweth. I do believe. I believed. I am believing. I
do believe. You do too. And I love him. Having not seen, I love him. And I feel the power of his gospel
so strongly that I relish a blessed hope in him. So I've heard him
inwardly. That's right. I've heard Him
inwardly. And I've been taught by Him inwardly. I've been taught
by His Spirit. I've been taught by His ministers.
I've been taught by the old writers that I read every week. I've
been taught by these men. But what they're doing is teaching
me Christ. We learned our lesson. We learned
our lesson. And that's what He's saying here.
You have heard Him. inwardly. You have been taught
by Him because the truth is in Christ Jesus." Now that's the
title of this message, Ronnie. The truth is in Christ Jesus. The truth is in Christ Jesus.
I want to work on that a little bit. The truth is in Jesus. The truth is in Jesus. What is
he saying? He's saying this, that grace
and truth came by Jesus Christ. The law was given through Moses,
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. And what he's saying
is this. Now listen, number one, Christ
is the truth of God. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth. When we know Christ,
we know God, because Christ is the truth of God. He said, no
man has seen God. God dwells in a light to which
no man can approach. No man has seen God at any time.
The Son hath revealed Him. So if you want to know God, you've
got to learn Christ. You want to know who God is and
God's attributes, God's character, you listen to Christ, you look
at Christ, you observe Christ. He's the truth of God. Only truth of God. The truth is in Christ. The truth
about God is in Christ. The truth of God is in Christ.
Now look, secondly, the truth of the creation is in Christ.
The reason the whole world is having such a problem over evolution
or creation is because they haven't met Christ. By Him all things
were made that are made. You can't understand the creation
if you don't understand who the Creator is. He is the truth. You arrive at the truth in Christ,
and that's where you stay to learn anything you want to know
about the creation. Study Genesis 1, 2, 3. God made
each thing, each day, and each animal after its time. The life
is in the seed. Everything produces after its
time because the life is in the seed, in the seed of the corn
and the seed of the animals and the seed of men. God, Christ! Christ is the truth of the Old
Testament. People today, for all practical
purposes, have two Bibles. They have what's called the Old
Bible and the New Bible. But it's one Bible, two Testaments. The revelation of the Old Testament.
A preacher or anybody else You can't even have a glimmer of
an understanding of the Old Testament until you meet Christ. The Old
Testament is the New Testament concealed. The New Testament
is the Old Testament revealed. The Old Testament says someone
is coming. The New Testament says, hell yes. And if you want
to know all about Abel's offering, you've got to see Christ. If
you want to know about Noah's ark, you've got to say Christ.
If you want to know about the brazen serpent lifted up, or
the tabernacle, or the mercy seat, or the ark, or the priesthood,
Christ is the fulfillment. A person will remain totally
in the dark about the Old Testament. It will be a closed book until
he meets Christ, the truth of God, the truth of creation, the
truth of the Old Testament, its promises, It's pictures, it's
types, it's patterns of Christ. He said to those Pharisees, you
search the Scriptures because in them you think you have life.
In their washings and baptisms and Sabbath days and holy days
and blood sacrifice, you think you have life. But the Old Testament
testifies of me. And you won't come to me that
you might have life. You've got to come to Christ.
Or you just stay dumb. Now that's just all there is
to it. About God, you don't, a person doesn't even know God.
That's what Christ said to that Samaritan woman. She said, we,
our fathers worshiped in this mountain. He said, you don't
know what you worship. You don't know what you worship.
And that's this world. They worship, they pray, they
join hands around a circle and pray and all this stuff, you
know. But they ain't in the dark. Don't know Christ. You've got a one-string fiddle,
but it's the true string, and it's playing the true note, and
it's the true gospel. And I'll tell you this, Christ
is the answer to every question that pertains to God, salvation,
life. I want you to turn to 1 Kings
8. This is Solomon, the wisest man. human being that walked on this
earth. And he asked a question, and
I'll ask you where the answer is found. In 1 Kings 8, verse
26, he says, And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray
thee, be verified, be confirmed, which thou spakest unto thy servant
David, my father, But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Will
God dwell on the earth? Will God come down here to the
earth? That's Solomon asking that question. Will God come
to earth? Will He? He says, Why, behold, the heaven
of heavens can't contain Him. How much less this house I builded!
How much less that womb of Mary! How much less that temple where
He came in with the whip! What's the answer? in Christ. That question cannot be answered
anywhere but in Christ. Yes, he'll come to the earth
because he did. Here's a question. Job asked this question. How
can man be just with God? He asked it three times. How
can he be clean as the born of a woman? You got the answer?
Well, join the church. I'm afraid that won't do it.
Well, get baptized. How many times? Do good work. One answer. I set him forth as a propitiation
to declare my righteousness, God said, that I might be just
and justify sinners. There's the answer. Christ Jesus.
I set him forth to be the answer. How man can be just with God. Here's a question. If a man dies,
shall he live again? Answer it. Tell you where the
answer is? Christ Jesus. Because I live,
you live. If Christ's not risen, then the
dead rise not. Here's a pretty good question.
Answer it without Christ. What must I do to be saved? Boy, that's a doozer, isn't it?
I don't know what a doozer is, but that's a doozer. What must
I do to be saved? How can I satisfy God's perfect
law? There's a law to be satisfied,
I can't do it. Justice to be satisfied, I can't
do it. But I'll tell you the answer is in Christ. And that's
what Paul is saying here. You have heard Him, you have
been taught by Him, verse 21, Ephesians 4, as the truth is
in Jesus Christ. That's where the truth is. Now he tells us, then put off,
verse 22, concerning the old man, put off concerning the old
man, this former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt
according to the deceitful lust. Let me tell you something. There
is no way in this world that you or I shall ever be free in
this life from that old man. No way in this world. No way
he's going to be forever put off by something we do. The old
nature. But what Paul is saying here,
put off the old man, he's saying here, deny, deny that old man,
deny that old nature the right to rule over you. And you'll
have to deny him every day. Deny him, just deny him. Deny
him the right to rule over you. The old nature, has its lust
and desires and covetousness, but it's all deceitful. It's
all deceitful. That's what he calls it, deceitful
lust. They don't produce what they
promise. So denying, denying, mortifying, suppressing. Now how? I'm going to write the
next verse. Be renewed in the spirit of your
mind. Be renewed in the spirit of your
mind. That's where the work's done, in the mind. Now listen
to me carefully. What he's saying here, be renewed
in the spirit of your mind, be renewed daily, inwardly, in the
spirit of your mind. The problems most of us believers
have is not with deeds, but with thoughts. Is that not true? Most of the problems, that we
have is because of our thoughts. So what we're going to have to
do is what Paul is saying here, work on this old man through
the thought process. Be renewed daily, inwardly, in
your mind. That music that appears to your
old man, don't listen to it. Those books you read that appeal
to that old nature, don't read them. Those movies you go to
that stir up that old nature, don't go to them. The conversations you carry on
with the people you hang around with are damaging to you and
your spiritual relationship with God, so don't hang out with them.
That's a way to suppress the old man. It's in the mind. Look at Philippians chapter 4.
Feed on profitable things. Read profitable things and hear
above all things. Think positive spiritual thoughts. Listen to Philippians 4, verse
8. Finally, brethren, we're on verse
7. The peace of God that passes
understanding will keep your hearts and your minds through
Christ Jesus. And finally, brethren, what sort
of things are true? What sort of things are honest?
What sort of things are just? What sort of things are pure?
What sort of things are lovely? What sort of things have good
report? If there'd be any virtue, if there'd be any praise, think
on these things. Now that's true. I know it and
you know it. That's where the work needs to
be done. Our thoughts constitute the majority
of our problems, even our conflict with people. We build up these
things in our thoughts. Somebody says something and we
take it wrongly, we build up our thoughts. This is where it
goes on. Well, that's where you start.
That's where you suppress the old man, the old nature. That's
where you change your thinking. Think positively. Think godly. Quote the Scripture. Sing a hymn.
Pray to God. Change your thoughts. Change
your thought pattern. You change a lot of things that
go on in there that you're unhappy with, and I'm unhappy with, in
my own things, my thoughts. Now that's a good point, and
that's where the work meets. That's what he says here. Put
off this old man and be renewed in the Spirit, not of your flesh,
of your butt, of your mind. It's taken out my thinking. Then
it won't dwell in that area. All right, put on the new man.
Put on the new man. Well, God does that. God creates
the new man. We don't create the new man.
But to put on the new man is to think and speak and walk agreeably
to the new nature. Put on the new man. Think and
speak and walk agreeably to spiritual things. Alright, verse 25. Put
away lying. speak every man truth of his
neighbor, for he remembers one of another." You know, I believe
he's talking about witnessing the truth. Believers don't lie. Liars will have their part in
the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, the Scripture
says. We're not liars. We tell the truth. Here he is
talking about telling the truth about God and about His Word.
Now see if I can make good on that. Look at verse 15. Back
at verse 15. In verse 14, you know this morning
I talked about the preachers and the elders and the teachers
and the witnesses and how God gives them, that we may grow.
And verse 14, listen to this, that we be henceforth no more
children, Tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind
of doctrine by the slight of men, the cunning craftiness whereby
they lie in wait to deceive. But speak in the truth, in love. We may grow up into him in all
things, even which is the head, even Christ. Speak the truth
in love. Truth of the gospel. The truth
of the word of God. That's what he's talking about.
And that's what he says over here. or if we're putting away lying,
speak every man the truth, the truth of Christ, the truth of
the gospel. That's what he's talking about
there. Because a person, what is lying? Well, this is the definition
of lying. Lying is to speak that which
is false knowingly, knowingly and willingly with the design
to deceive. Let that be done with that. That's what he's talking about.
Speak the truth. Lying is to speak that which
is false knowingly. Somebody said one time, a person
may tell that which is not true and not be a liar because he
doesn't know it's not true. There was a time I preached back
down in the 40's. I preached things that weren't
so, but I didn't know they weren't so. Paul said that. He said,
I persecuted the church through ignorance. I was a blasphemer
and a persecutor, but I did it ignorantly, not knowingly and
not deliberately. When Paul was brought to Christ,
he said, I kept back nothing profitable to you. I haven't
shunned or declared the whole counsel of God. So a man can
preach falsehood and not be a liar if he doesn't know it's false.
But now when he finds out what's true, Ah, come on now. When a preacher finds out what's
true, and a teacher, and an elder, he better tell the truth. You see what I'm saying? And
that's what he's talking about here, because I don't think Paul
has to warn the church not to lie. But, all right, listen to the
next line now. For we are members one of another.
A man wouldn't lie to himself, would he? This is a body. This is the body
of Christ. So we speak the gospel, the truth. There's one great yearning in
my heart. I want to tell the truth about
God. Don't you? Don't you? Don't you? Desperately. I wouldn't dare deceive anybody
because you're me. This is a family. This is one.
They don't dare do anything but tell the truth. And then he said,
verse 26, I want to show you this because I think this helps
all of us. Now listen to it, verse 26, be
ye angry and say not. And I'm an Irishman, so I know
something about anger. You know, be ye angry. Being angry is not sinful. There
is anger with God. Let me show you Psalm 7, verse
11. Psalm 7, verse 11. Scripture
says in Psalm 7, verse 11, God judgeth the righteous, and
God is angry. God is angry with the wicked
every day. Every day. When our Lord Jesus Christ came
in that temple, and He saw all those money changers and fellows
selling, misusing people and selling animals to be sacrificed,
they were charging too much money. People came to those feasts from
other countries, and they couldn't bring lambs with them, so they
bought the lamb there. And these fellows had set up
booths in the temple to sell these animals. And Christ got
a whip, and He wasn't smiling either. And he got that whip
and cleaned that temple out, overturned the tables, spilled
their money out, drove the animals out. He drove the whole lot out
of there, angry. He said, my house can be called
a house of prayer. You made it a den of thieves.
And I tell you, righteous anger arises over a lot of things. A true zeal for God will make
you angry with a false preacher. When you hear men on television
that are false, you get angry. For the gospel truth, angry because
of our nation compromising the principles and values of home
and family and justice. I'm angry. I'm angry with abortionists. I'm angry with the gay movement.
I'm angry with these, aren't you? I'm angry. I get angry. I get
angry when people do wrong to other people, to abuse children.
I'm angry. Don't you get angry with that?
There's something wrong if you don't. That's not sinful. But righteous anger is not against... Now listen, listen to me. Righteous
anger is not totally against persons. It's against principles. It's against deeds and actions.
It's against trends because we know that they're doing what
comes naturally. And if it weren't for God's grace,
we'd be doing the same thing. Isn't that true? If it weren't
for God's grace. Here's a man that mistreats his
family and leaves his children. If it weren't for God's grace,
I would too. But I get angry with him. What's
he saying here? Be angry. Be ye angry. Have righteous
indignation. Have some feelings about these
things. But don't sin, and let not the
sun go down on your ass. Don't hold that anger. Don't continue in that anger.
Do not let that anger overwhelm you and overcome you. Don't let
that anger abide. When the day is over, let the
anger be over. That's what he's saying, Bob.
Don't let the sun go down on your wrath. You're going to see
things and hear things and encounter things all day long. It will
just cause your righteous soul to be vexed. Vexed. But let her go. That's what he's
talking about. Don't hold grudges. Don't pout. Don't make people suffer. Don't
hold your anger over a period of days and make people uncomfortable
because you don't have your way. Let her go. If it wasn't for
the grace of God, I'd be doing the same thing. That's what he's
saying. Be angry, but don't sin. And here's what we do, verse
27. If you pout, and if you hold the anger, if you hold a grudge,
and if you continue this thing, after the nightfall, and then
the next day, you give Satan room to operate in you and through
you. The anger, don't sin, don't let
the sun go down on your ass, don't give place to the devil,
because he's a roaring lion seeking whom he may desire and deceive. And if you do this, if you do
this, hold that grudge and hold that anger and hold that You
give Satan a foothold to use you for his evil purpose in the
assembly, in the church, in your home, among your friends. You're an instrument of Satan.
That's right. But I've been done wrong a hundred
times, haven't you? And let me tell you, it ain't
over. But when the day's over, let her go. Because it wasn't
for God's grace, We'd be doing the wrong. You remember that
song, Doing What Comes Naturally? That's what people do. They don't
have the grace of God. Well, I'm taking too long on
this.