Those large ships out in the
Gulf of Mexico come up to come into the port of Houston. A pilot
has to come on board and guide those ships through the channel
to the port to the dock that they want to go to. And it is
certainly true. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
pilot as we go through this world. And he guides us and leads us
day by day. so thankful for His presence
and for His promise that He will never leave us nor ever forsake
us. Now, if you will, let's turn
again to Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4 and reading
verses 14, 15, and 16. That we henceforth be no more
children tossed to and fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine
by the slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in
wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in love
may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ,
from whence the whole body fitly joined together and compacted
by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working
in the measure of every part, making increase of the body unto
the edifying of itself in love. I want to begin tonight reminding
all of us once again that this letter that we're looking at
was written by the Apostle Paul to a local church. That believers
in the church at Ephesus received this letter from him and no doubt
they gathered together like we are gathered here this evening
and someone read the letter to the congregation. But the important
point I want to make is we should all consider this letter as written
individually to us as believers in Christ. Now I have four truths
for us to see from these three verses. We want to see a warning,
an exhortation, a desired result, and the recognition. First, there
is a warning. There is a warning. And I say
this warning in the words in verse 14 at the very end, they
lie in wait to deceive. A warning. As God's children,
we must be aware that as long as we remain in this world, there
will always be those who lie in wait to deceive us. As children of God, we do not
live in a world free of evil. We do not live in a world free
of evil, free of evil practices, and free of evil deceivers. We do not live in a world free
of Satan, for the scriptures tell us that he goeth about as
a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. In the book of
Job, he is brought before us as one who is going about, and
evidently that's one thing about Satan we may be assured of. He's always busy. He's always
going about. And we have this warning, I believe,
that we may see in these words of the Apostle Paul, that there
are people who lie in wait to deceive. I want you to look with
me in 2 Corinthians Chapter 11, just a moment. 2 Corinthians
Chapter 11. And verse 13. 2 Corinthians Chapter
11 and verse 13. For such are false apostles,
deceitful workers. What does our text tell us? That
there are those who lie in wait to deceive. Paul says that there
are false apostles, deceitful workers. Notice this, transforming
themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel, for
Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing
if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness,
whose end shall be according to their works. Satan transforms
himself into an angel of light, and he has his ministers, his
emissaries, all under his control, and there are men who lie in
wait to deceive. These words have always startled
me just to know that there are people in this world. Yes, there
are evil people, my friends. There are evil people in this
world whose object every day when they awake is to deceive
and to destroy and to do damage to God's people. I want you to
turn all the way back to the book of Proverbs just a moment. Proverbs chapter 4. You know, so much of this book of
Proverbs is written in a form of a father giving, teaching,
or teaching, rather, his son. And we know that Solomon wrote
most of these proverbs. And I cannot help but wonder,
as I was reading this passage this morning, the first few chapters
here, if Solomon had a good father, David, and David knew the Lord
and David loved the Lord, David was a man after God's own heart.
And no doubt David, taught his son Solomon the best he could. And we know what happened to
Solomon, how that he went astray from the things of God. And I
cannot help but wonder if when he was writing these proverbs,
if he didn't regret that he had not listened to his father when
his father taught him the law of God. and his duty to seek
the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom. But notice
what he writes here in chapter 4 and verse 14. Enter not into the gate of the
wicked. Now he's teaching his son, and
no doubt he's teaching from experience. He's teaching from experience.
He knows what happens What happened to him, maybe? What takes place? There are wicked people in this
world. Enter not into the path of the
wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Just stay away from
them. Don't get close to them. Don't
go in the way. You know, some believers, sad
to say, want to live as close to the world as they possibly
can. when we should want to live as
far from the world and the influence of this wicked world as possible. Believers sometimes say, well,
can I do this and still be a Christian? That's an awful question. That's
an awful question for any child of God ever asked. No. Should you want to do this if
you are a child of God? Enter not into the path of the
wicked and go not into the way of evil men. Avoid it. Pass not by. Don't even drive
down the street in front of it. Don't pass by it. The temptation
is there. The snare is there. Always the
attraction to the flesh. Remember, as a child of God,
we still have a fallen nature. We have a new nature. We've read
about that in 1 John. His seed remaineth in us that
cannot sin. But there's that old nature,
isn't there? That old man. That's what Solomon
is warning. Avoid it. Pass not by it. Turn
from it and pass away. Now notice this. Can you believe
this? That there are men and women
in this world, and this is what he's saying, For they sleep not. They can't even go to sleep at
night unless they have done mischief. They feel like they've wasted
their day. They have a hard time going to
sleep at night if they haven't influenced someone in an evil
way. That's their objective. Why? Because they're evil. They have
done mischief. And notice, and their sleep is
taken away unless they cause some to fall. That's their desire. That's their goal. And if they
are not able one day to cause someone to fall, then they can't
even rest at night. They lie awake at night. That's
what we read in Genesis chapter six about man. Fallen man, lying
awake at night, just imagining evil, how to commit evil, inventing
evil. God hath made man upright, Solomon
said in Ecclesiastes, but he has sought out many inventions. So back to our text tonight.
There's a warning here. There are men and women in this
world who lie in wait to deceive. Now, let's read the verse again,
chapter four, verse 14 of Ephesians. That we henceforth be no more
children tossed to and fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine
by the slight of man and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in
wait to deceive. There are traits which children
have that are good, and commendable. The Lord Jesus told his 12 disciples
at one point that they must be converted and become as children
if they were to enter into the kingdom of God. Now, at that
point, at that place when the Lord told his disciples, except
you be converted and become as little children, what were they
doing? They were seeking preeminence. One wanted to be the chief man
in the kingdom, sat at the Lord's right hand. They were seeking
preeminence. They were desiring to be the
greatest. And that is something which children
usually are not guilty of. That's something that doesn't
enter into their mind to seek preeminence, pride. I also think of the fact that
they're usually, what I'm saying is there's some traits in children
which are commendable, and we need to have these traits in
our lives as believers. They don't seek preeminence.
And another trait that they have is they usually are very forgiving. I mean, brother and sister may
get in a squabble and someone takes someone's toy and it causes
chaos for a little while, but soon it's over and they're playing
together again. Where some adults, they will
hold a grudge for years and years and years. What a shame for any
believer to be accused of that, any child of God to be accused
of that. Heard someone say one time, well,
I'm not going to forgive. Someone did something wrong to
me, and I'm just never going to forgive that. Well, you better
never need forgiveness. That's all I have to say. But
I think most of us need forgiveness. And the fact that we need forgiveness,
we need to forgive. But there's one trait especially
about a child that I wanted to mention. Children believe their
fathers. They do. When their father tells
or mother tells them something, I'm talking about small children,
they believe them. And rightly so. They believe
them. That's one trait we should all
have, right? When our Heavenly Father tells
us something, We should believe it. We should not be guilty of
doubting and questioning and wondering, is he really going
to do what he said he would do? Yes, he is. Yes, he is. But there's some things about
children which are not commendable, and that's what Paul is speaking
of here. There's an area in which we are
not to be like children. Everything that glitters is not
gold. children may be deceived easily. Look in Paul's prayer over in
the next letter in Philippians chapter one for these believers
at Philippi. Philippians chapter one and verse nine and 10. And this I pray, Philippians
1 and verse 9, this I pray, that your love may abound yet more
and more in knowledge and in all judgment. Now notice this,
that you may approve things that are excellent. In other words,
that you may discern things that are different, that you may approve
things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without
offense to the day of Christ. Not everything that glitters
is gold. And so as children, we must recognize
that we live in a world where there are evil men, practices,
deceivers who lie in wait to deceive. I want you to look at
that word, the slight of man. That we henceforth be no more
children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind
of doctrine by the slight of man. This word slight of man
is used by the Jews to signify men who play at a game of dice. You maybe have done that, you've
seen others do that, how that they roll the dice and throw
them out there. Easy, easy for people to be deceived. And the Jews use this word here
to signify men who play at a game of dice, and they interpret it
as a man who steals souls, a man who steals souls, who deceives
and corrupts them. So there's a warning. All right,
second, there's an exhortation. Verse 15, just the first part,
but speaking the truth in love to the ministers, to speak the
truth in love. A literal translation of that
is truthing in love. That word is not actually a word,
I don't believe, but that's the way it should be translated literally. Truthing in love. Two things I point out to us
from that statement. Number one, the truth is to be
spoken. The truth is to be spoken. This
is a way to protect from error. This is a way to protect from
deceivers, and that is to speak the truth. Now, I'm sure you've
heard this, that at least years ago, I don't know if it's still
true or not, but when men and women go to work at a bank and
want to become bank tellers, the way they train them, they
don't bring in counterfeit money and look at this and study this
and look at this counterfeit bill. No, what they do is they
train them by showing them the real, the real money. And I'm
sure they count it, they go to practice counting it. And they
do that so that when some counterfeit bill comes through, they just
automatically recognize, there's just something different about
it. They just recognize it. And that's what I think of here
when the apostle says that we are to speak the truth. The truth
is to be spoken. The truth spoken, now think about
this, speak the truth. Who is the truth? Who is the
truth? The Lord Jesus Christ said, I
am the way, the truth, and the life. Speak the truth. That is, preach Christ and Him
crucified. Preach the truth. He said, you
shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. As we hear the truth, as we hear
the truth preached that Christ presented to us, His person,
who He is, His offices, His work, His people, as we hear these
these truths to us, then when someone comes along who is set
on deceiving us, we recognize automatically that, that doesn't
sound right. That just doesn't sound right
to me, what he's saying or what she's saying. And sure enough,
we find out it's not right. So we're trained by hearing,
speak the truth. But notice that's not all. Speak
the truth and love. That's the second thing. Now
this is just the opposite. This is just the opposite of
those who lie in wait to deceive. They speak to ensnare people. They speak to trap people. No. As ministers, and Paul has
mentioned those offices that we've looked at up above this,
apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, speak the
truth in love. Those who lie in wait to deceive,
they don't speak out of love, they speak out of greed or evil. But the truth should be spoken
in love, that is, in love to the souls of men. If you love your children, and
I know you do, you discipline your children. Now, people many
times think it's just the opposite. Well, I had a neighbor one time
told me that. He said, I love my children too
much to discipline, well he didn't use the word discipline, but
to punish them. Well, that's not out of love. I told him, I said, well, that's
exactly opposite to what the scripture says. If you love your
children, speak the truth in love. If you love the souls of
men, then you will tell them the truth. Speak the truth. Turn with me to 2 Timothy, just
a moment. 2 Timothy chapter two. Verse 24, speak the truth in love, and
the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto
all men, apt to teach, pastor, teacher, apt to teach, patient,
patient. You know, when you When you plant
a seed in the ground, you learn to be patient, don't you? You
plant it one day, if you're like me, you go out the next day and
see if it's come up. Hasn't come up yet. The farmer
waits with patience for the crop. And the pastor, the teacher,
he must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach patience
in meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves." Man,
lost man, he opposes himself. The very thing that would help
him, he thinks is the worst thing in the world. The very thing
that would Bring him salvation he runs from. As one said one
time, men run to hell like they were running to heaven. And run
away from heaven, or run to hell, rather, like they were running
to heaven. And that's just the way it is with a lost man or
a lost woman, boy or girl. In meekness, instructing those
that oppose themselves if If God, peradventure, will give
them repentance, you're never going to talk a person into repentance. If you can convince someone against
their will, someone else will come along and convince them
opposite, the opposite way. Salvation, the work of salvation
is God's work. I hear an advertisement on the
radio on Saturday. I've heard it several times on
this family radio station, but this man's advertising his program
and he's talking about, and he says something like this. He
said, you know why so many young people are talked out of their
faith? Because they've never been talked into it. And I think
to myself, that's the problem. They've been talked into their
faith by men. When God works a work of grace
in the heart of one of his children, it's a done deal, right? I mean,
when God grants repentance, God teaches a man that he's a sinner
and grants unto him repentance, it's a done work and no one's
gonna talk him or her out of it. to the acknowledging of the truth,
and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil,
who are taken captive by him at his will." You know, most
people don't recognize the devil works in all the children of
disobedience. People think that, well, We read
about these demoniacs and these people who were possessed by
devils and demons in the New Testament. The Lord exercised
those demons and people get the idea that most people are exempt. Look with me in Ephesians 2,
verse 1, at what the apostle says. In Ephesians 2 and verse 1, he
said, And you hath he 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,
that spirit. Now notice that now. that now
worketh in the children of disobedience. That prince of the power of the
air, Satan, he's now always working in the children of disobedience. Well, I've got to hurry up. Let's
go back to our text. There's a warning. There's an
exhortation. Now here's the desired result. and the last part of verse 15,
that, but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him
in all things, which is the head, even Christ. Those to whom the
truth is spoken in love, that we may grow up into him in all
things, which is the head, Christ. Now, growing up into him is a
gradual thing. It's a gradual thing, as it is
in other things that grow. The scripture says, the path
of the just is as the shining light, which shineth more and
more unto the perfect day. We do not actually see a child
grow. I visited in some homes, and
they have a a board on the wall and their grandchildren come
and they mark, you know, their height. And you can see on the
wall, they're growing. But you don't actually see them
grow. You don't see them grow in stature,
but they're growing. And I always think about that
tree in my front yard. When I planted that over 30 years
ago now, it was probably in diameter about an inch and about five
feet tall. And now it's over 30 feet tall. I have never once in my life
seen that tree grow. But it's been growing all the
time. And I know this, as it has grown up, it has also grown
down. That's just the way it is. And
that's so important. When we grow up into Christ,
we also grow down in ourselves, don't we? We grow down. When I think about growth, I
read John Gill's comments on this verse. He said, growth in
this text is a growth in all things. In all grace, as faith,
hope, love, spiritual knowledge, as well as humility, patience,
self-denial, resignation to the will of God, and especially the
knowledge of Christ. Grow up into Him in all things. Now here's the last, the fourth
thing. There's a recognition in verse 16 And what is the recognition that
we see in this verse? Well, I would answer, let me
read the verse. From whom the whole body fitly
joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies
according to the effectual working in the measure of every part
maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. What is it that we recognize
from this verse? I answer in David's words in
Psalm 139 and verse 14 about the body. I am fearfully and
wonderfully made. Now this is speaking about the
church body, the mystical body and the local church here. the
church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And yes, every local church is
fearfully and wonderfully made. Fearfully and wonderfully made. When we think of the human body,
with all of its many parts, they're all joined together and have
one head. All its nerves, those tiny blood
vessels, the muscles, the bones, the feet, the eyes, and et cetera. All these members in one body,
it's compacted, as Paul tells us here. It's compacted, it's
joined together, and that which every member supplies. Every member of our body, our
physical bodies, has a work to do and does that work. And so in every local church,
every member, every member, compacted together. Every member has his
or her work to do. And the work which we are to
do is for the good of the body, the good of the whole. The foot
walks for the good of not just the foot, but the whole body.
The eyes see not just for the eyes, but for the whole body.
And we're all members of his body. baptized into his body
by his spirit when we come to Christ. And every member, every
member has a work, has a function, and we should all strive to be
faithful in whatever it is, wherever God has placed us in this body
to be faithful, to be faithful to attend. I'm thankful for those
of you who are so faithful. Thank God for you who are so
faithful in your attendance, faithful to pray. Those who pray
every day for this congregation, pray for me as your pastor, and
those who give, and those who invite others to come and hear
the gospel, share the word, maybe a message you've heard that was
a blessing to you, and you tell someone else that you work with,
or a neighbor, or a friend, here's a message that helped me. You
can listen to it on Sermon Audio Org. however they might be able
to listen. Every member has a work, has
a place, and we should all find that place and be faithful. And
the Lord's body here, we are told, the church, it grows in
two ways. And it does so in both of these
two ways by speaking the truth in love. How does the church
grow? Well, the body increases in numbers. when men and women are called
and saved through the preaching of the gospel. God uses the truth,
preaching the truth in love. God doesn't save his people by
them hearing falsehoods, by them hearing lies and believing lies. He saves his people with the
truth. And his body increases, that
is, not only in numbers, but in growth spiritual growth, the
exercise of grace, and both of these increases, both in number
and in grace, are both accomplished in the same way, by speaking
the truth in love. I pray that the Lord would bless
these words and these thoughts to all of us here this evening. Thank the Lord for a local church. And I've met people at Bible
conferences over the years, and they live in isolated places,
some of them. And they tell me, oh, I just
wish I had a church that I could be a part of. And I'm thankful
that we have one here. God's raised up one here. And
it should behoove each and every one of us who are members of
this church to do everything possible to make this church
strive and grow, be a real witness in this world. Let's sing a hymn
before we're dismissed.