Chapter three, Colossians, and chapter number three tonight, we will continue and resume in this study of finding correction from Colossians. Correction from Colossians. Now while you're turning to chapter number three, let me once again remind you where we are, remind you what we're dealing with, remind you why this is such an important Study and piece of scriptural material tonight You remember that we looked at the fact that the Laodicean church was that lukewarm church, that lacking church, that church that was locked up and locked Jesus out of it. And when we think of Laodicea, we always think of Revelation chapter number three. But you realize, those of you that have been here for this study, the word Laodicea is only mentioned two times in the book of Revelation, but it's mentioned five times in the book of Colossians. Matter of fact, in chapter 4, Paul said the things that he had written in these four chapters of Colossians, that he wanted them to read this letter to the church at Laodicea. They were only 10 miles apart, the church at Laodicea. The church at Colossae, they were only 10 miles apart, and so this letter was not just written for the Colossians, it was also written for the learning and the spiritual well-being of the church at Laodicea. This letter was written around A.D. 60. And what John writes about that church at Laodicea in Revelation, how they've gotten back-slid, apostate, and cold on God, was written 30 years after this. And so the premise of our entire study about getting correction from Colossians is this. How do we as Bible Missionary Baptist Church not wind up like the last days Laodicean lukewarm church? And I believe those answers are found in the book of Colossians. If we will receive the instruction that Paul was giving in the book of Colossians to those Laodicean believers, we can keep ourselves from becoming like that church. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be a part I don't want a pastor. I don't want to be a member nor associated with a lukewarm, Laodicean church that kicks Jesus out and has more use for the things of the world than the things of God. I want to be a part of a local Bible-believing church that keeps Jesus at the epicenter of all that they do, lifts the scriptures up, and brags on Jesus with everything that they've got tonight. And so tonight, I want us to continue on our study on correction from Colossians. Correction from Colossians. Now, we've examined in chapter 1, we received correction to continue. Paul said in chapter 1 that he wanted them to continue in some things. Continue walking and working and living for the Lord in chapter 1. In chapter 2, we receive correction not to compromise. Correction not to compromise what was given to us. But in chapter number 3, tonight we'll be dealing with this thought, correction to change. Correction to change. You say, Preacher, I didn't think we were supposed to change. Well, I want you to notice there's some things that Paul wants us to change and we should continually be changing in our life as the children of God. Look with me, Colossians chapter 3, and let's start in verse 9. Number eight, Colossians three, verse number eight. Now please keep your Bible open tonight. We're gonna preach through the whole chapter, so I want you to keep your Bibles open. Colossians chapter three, verse eight. Paul said, but now ye also, watch these two words, put off, put off, put off. All these, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth, lie not one to another, seeing that ye have, here's these two words again, put off the old man with his deeds. Now watch it shift, watch the change, look at verse 10, and have, now we're not putting something off, we're putting something off so that we now can put on the new man. which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him, where there's neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision or uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond or free, but Christ is all and in all. Here it is again, verse 12. Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels and mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing one another and forgiving one another, If any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye, verse 14. And above all these things, here he says it again, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful. Do you notice how five times in this text Paul talks about either putting something off or putting something on. It almost carries the implication of changing clothes, changing your garments. Paul says there are certain things Practically, spiritually, in your daily walk that you should be taking off, getting rid of it. Put them old things in the closet of the past and let God shut the door on them and don't ever pull that back out of the closet again. and put it back on. As a saved person you should put off these things and then three times he says put on these things. As a child of God there's some things you ought to be putting off and then as a child of God there is a new wardrobe provided for every child of God Now, there is a new closet that God has opened up and we are to take these spiritual things that God has given us now as the people of God and adorn ourself with them, put them on. So Paul is saying here there are some things if we are to not wind up like that Laodicean church who he writes this book to, we're to not wind up like them, then there's some things we need to change. As a child of God, listen to what I'm going to tell you tonight. As a child of God, you should constantly be changing in your Christian life. You say, well hang on preacher, I thought we were supposed to stand fast and stand firm. Yeah, there's a lot of things you ought not to change. The scriptures don't change. Our stand on our worship and on our walk with God, it shouldn't change. But I'll tell you what should change. You and I should constantly be getting closer to the Lord. You and I should constantly be growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Brother, listen to what I'm telling you. If you've been saved for five or 10 years, you should have done a lot of changing in that five or 10 years. If you ain't done no changing since you got saved, then brother, I'd check if I was even saved or not. Because when Jesus moves in, there are changes that happen as a result of conversion tonight. And here Paul is talking about changes in the Christian life, putting off some things so that we might put on some things. I believe what got Laodicea in trouble, the church we're trying not to wind up like that Paul writes this epistle to, not just the Colossian church, he also writes that Laodicean church. I believe what got Laodicea in trouble is this, they stopped changing. They got to a place where they just said, well, they got to this, they got to this, you know, 2021 mentality among Christians where they got like this. Well, this is just me. Well, this is just who I am. Well, change who you are. If who you are does not line up with the scripture, then change. Let the Holy Ghost change you from glory to glory. Stop being who you are. Start being who God expects you to be. This idea, well, I'm just me. Well, I'm just who I am. Well, that's not Bible. You're not supposed to be who you want to be. You're supposed to be now created after the image of him that saved you and called you. Put off them old things and put on the new things tonight. We ought to change. Paul gives us this idea in Philippians chapter 3. Hold your place in Colossians 2. Go back just one book, just a few chapters to Philippians 3 and watch what Paul says. Watch what Paul says in Philippians 3 about how he was even constantly changing this great Christian. He's laid in his ministry in Philippians. He's no newbie to the Christian life in Philippians. He's lived for God for a while in Philippians. And watch what he said in verse number 13 of Philippians 3. Philippians 3, 13. He said, brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do. For getting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore as many as be perfect be thus minded. And if in anything you be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Back up to verse 12. I missed verse 12. Look at what Paul said in verse 12. He said, not as though I had already attained. Either we're already perfect, but I follow after if that I may apprehend that which also I'm apprehended of Christ Jesus You see what Paul is saying Paul is saying I've not arrived yet. I made it to heaven yet I am constantly daily pressing I am constantly daily Reaching forth trying to change trying to be more like Christ trying to learn more about him I am daily trying to get rid of some things so that I can put all some things. And so Paul tells us in the text back to Colossians 3 to put off some things and put on some things. So when I look at this chapter, when I look at chapter 3, I find that if we're to receive correction from Colossians that we are to receive correction to change. There's all kinds of things in chapter 3 of Colossians that Paul wants us to change. If we are to make sure we don't wind up like the church at Laodicea, what are we supposed to receive to change? Let me show you three things and some things under these points that I believe we should change. Can I say number one, and firstly, at the beginning of chapter three of Colossians, number one, we are to change our affections. We are to change our affections. Right off the top, if we want to stay away from illiteracy in church, we've got to change our affections. You say affections, well that's things we love, things we crave, things we desire, things we want. And look at chapter 3 verse 1. Watch chapter 3 and verse 1. Watch what the Bible says. If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Watch it, verse 2. Set your affection. Changing our affections. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Paul pointedly says in chapter three that we are dead. Our affection should be not down here, but what we love and what drives us to live should be set over there. Now listen to what I'm telling you. It is easy to get to a place in your Christian life where your affections get set down here. It's easy to get to a place to where your affection becomes all about what you wear and what you drive and what you live in and who your friend is. and who you're going out with, and who you're hanging with, and what your sports team's doing, and what your bank account looks like, and we live in this world, and because we live in this world, so much of this world becomes all we go after, and all we shoot for in life, but you mark this down, if you want to stay with me in a lay to sin church, then we have got to shift our affections from here, to yonder and what God likes is what we need to start liking and what God's interested in is what we got to start getting interested in and not the other way around. We're living in a church world today that we want God to get interested in what we're interested in. It don't work like that. God wants us to conform what we affectionately desire into what he affectionately desires tonight. I mean, Paul said, you're to set your affection, firmly entrench your affection on things above. Set your love over yonder, what you desire over there. You say, preacher, how can I get my affection over there? Well, I'll tell you there's a reason why some of my affection is over there, and I'll tell you how to get your affection over there. You get your affection over there when your possessions are over there. You get your affection over there when your possessions are over there. You remember what Jesus said over in Matthew chapter number six? Jesus said in Matthew chapter number six, he said, he said, lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. And this is what Jesus said, Matthew 6, 21. Don't miss what Jesus said. He said, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Your heart that's your affection where what your treasure? That's what you put a high priority on where your treasure is the thing you value highly That's where your heart is. That's I wonder where your treasure is What is it that you value highly if you're living not for this world, but living for that world? Oh Your affection begins to shift from here to over there because you are laying treasures up in that world. Hey, you know what Cody Zorn's retirement program is? My retirement program is that world. I am steadily working right now for my retirement program over yonder. Trust me, trust me, the ministry ain't about a big retirement program down here. I'm looking for my retirement program over yonder this evening. And trust me, honey, the benefits of my retirement program, they are out of this world, hallelujah. I need y'all over here, set your affection on things over there and not things over here. If you live your entire life chasing dollar bills with dead presidents heads on them, if you spend your entire life trying to get more toys than your neighbor, if you spend your entire life making about how much money you make and what kind of vehicle you can drive and the status symbol you've arrived to, then, brother, your affection's gonna land in a place where everything burns up, because it's all going up in smoke. But, brother, if you'll keep your eyes on this, I know we got to live. I know you got to provide for your family. I get that. I got a family, too. I ain't nothing wrong with that. That's the Bible to do so. And if you don't take care of your household, you're worse than infidel. But, brother, in the midst of all that, don't let it get your heart. In the midst of all that, Don't let it get all of your attention and all of your affection. Make sure at the end of the day your affection is not here, it's younger. That is the problem with the Laodicean church. This is what, listen, I'm talking about differences of how we not lined up like Laodicea, correction from Colossians. Do you remember what the Laodicean church said? They said this, Jesus said, thou sayest, because I am rich, increased with goods, and have need of nothing. You know what they did? They set their affection down here. We done brought the kingdom in. We are living in the kingdom age. No, no, no. What they didn't realize, Jesus said, is they was naked and poor and miserable and blind. He said, you don't even realize you've missed the point. You've missed where your affection is to be set at. And God help us at Bible Missionary Baptist Church never get our affection set on how much money we got in the bank about how much stuff we got around here. Can I say this? Everything we do at Bible Missionary Baptist Church should be with this sole goal, so that we can see more sinners saved, and more lives changed, and more missionaries sent on to a flowery field with a Bible. and a gospel track in their hand, and more children brought in to give them the gospel, and more hurting people get help from the things of God. God help us that everything we do, that the motivational factor behind it is not so we can be looked at like we've arrived, and we got more stuff than somebody else, but so that we can make sure that we are giving God all the glory, and that all our affection is about Him. Our affections, changing our affections. Your affections will change if you've got more possessions over there. Can I just throw this in too before I say something else? Not only possessions over there, I'll tell you how your affections change when you get more people over there. when you get more people over there. You want to know something? I didn't used to understand this, Brother Eddie, but the longer that I'm living, you know what's starting to slowly happen to me? Last, week before last, week before last, I had two pastors that I know personally and that I preached for. Both of them left this world to go to heaven. I used to hear, Brother John, I used to hear all them old preachers talk about them pastors they used to preach for and now they're dead and in heaven. I didn't have none of them stories. All the preachers I preached for were still alive. But now I've been in the ministry for nearly 20 years now and been preaching for these men now. And you know what I'm starting to see? A lot of them men that I love, and a lot of them men that helped me along the way and invested in me and gave me a place to preach, they're leaving this world and going to their war. Some of my family that I love and care about, they're checking out of here and they're checking in over there. You know what that's starting to do to me, Brother Randy? That's starting to detach me from this world. It's starting to pull me away from this world and starting to put my affection more over there because I got more over there than I got over here. I will be no stranger when I walk into that world. I know people over there. I will not be a stranger when I walk in there. I know folk over there. I'm friends with people over there. I got loved ones over there. When your affection starts changing, when you get possessions over there, when you get people over there. I'll tell you how you can keep your affections over there. Your affection gets over there when your passion is over there. Your passion. Man, look at what the Bible said. I love verse 4. Watch chapter 3 verse 4. This is awesome. Watch chapter 3 verse 4. It said, when Christ What's between the commas? I love these next four words. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Paul said, Jesus Christ is my life. You know why some Christians, their affection ain't over there? Because Jesus ain't your life. Your life, your life does not revolve around Jesus. You are expecting Jesus to revolve around your life. Oh, no wonder you have no affection for things above and all your affections on things on the earth because Jesus Christ is nothing but an addendum on to your life. He's just an add-on. He's nothing more than a trinket that you added on to your life. No. God forbid no. Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. I feel like preaching right here. Jesus Christ is not just an add-on to my life. Jesus Christ is not just an extra on to my already pretty good life. No. He is my life. Without Him, what is life about? You take Jesus out of my life and I ain't got no life. I've built my life around Jesus. I've built my family around Jesus. And you take Jesus away from Cody's horn and you might as well just kill me. He is my life. I'll tell you how to get your affection over there when He becomes your life. When you think about him during the day, when you read his word and you fellowship with him and you talk to him, that's how to keep your affection over there. When this is Jesus and this is your life. Not when this is your life and this is Jesus. No, no, no. When this becomes Jesus and your life revolves around him, and everything you do in your life, it centers around Jesus Christ. Always said when Christ who is our life. Is Jesus your life? See, when Jesus is your life, then like the friends you have, Jesus is their life. See, when Jesus is your life, then the music that you listen to in your car, revolves around him. I'll get ahead of myself. We'll bump that here in just a little bit because it's in the text. See, when Jesus is your life, your life revolves around Jesus. I like that. That's how to keep your affections right. The problem with Laodicea is they let their affections get off course. So how do we keep our affections right? Well, you get possessions over there. You get people over there and you know that your passion is over there. Your life revolves around Him. I love the line of that old song, the very first line of that song, I owe it all to you Lord, it says this, you've been my life for so long, you were right. and I was wrong, I can't convey all the love you've given me. You were my friend and no one cared. I was alone, but you were there. Lord, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Yeah, he's the best thing that's ever happened to any of us. I mean, brother, I love my wife. I love my children. There's great things that happened in my life. They're gifts from God. But they ain't the best thing that ever happened to me. The best thing that ever happened to me is Jesus. Yes, yes, yes. Correction here. We're getting changed in our affections. Change our affections. But that's not the only thing we should change. Not just change our affections. Can we move on here? Secondly, we should change our actions. Not only should our affections change, but our actions should change. Watch chapter three, look at verse five. Look at verse five, he continues on now. He says, mortify, that means to kill. Make it dead. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, inordinate, the things that are out of the ordinary affections, evil concupiscence, that's evil lusts, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Boy, we're living bad. If America could have been summed up, it's summed up right there, man. was verse six, for which thing's sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience. In the which ye also walked some time when ye lived in them. See, he said this is what you used to do. You used to live in fornication. You used to live in covetousness. You used to live in uncleanness. You used to live in idolatry. But that's what you used to do when you lived in them. But now, verse eight, ye also put off. All these, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filth, communication out of your mouth, lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds. Paul shows us that there is a definite action change in the Christian's life. There should definitely be some things that change about the life of a child of God. He said, you used to walk in these. You do not walk in these anymore. Here he denotes how the actions should change. There should be a change in action in how we talk. Did you notice the put off? The two times he says put off, it's all associated with your lips. Look at verse 8 and 9. I'm not just talking to you. I'm giving you Bible here. Verse 8 and 9. But now you also put off all these. Watch it's all associated with what comes out of your mouth. Anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Verse 9. Lie not one to another. with your mouth, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds, there should be a change in action for how we talk. One of the first ways that people should see a change in your life is they should hear something different about your conversation. I've met people before in different areas and arenas and avenues of life, and when I walked up to them and started talking to them, they, Brother Matthew, they'd be just, I mean, cussing up Blue Street. I mean, you know, using the Lord's name in vain, and I mean, just filthy talk, man. You know, make a sailor blush. And this used to happen a lot when I was in the secular world on the job. in the car industry and such as that or doing work for somebody, we had gospel tracts in our pocket and I'd pull one out and I'd hand one to somebody and immediately that individual who had just been using the Lord's name in vain and talking all that filthy talk and everything, as soon as I'd hand them that gospel tract, they'd stop me and say, oh yeah, I'm a Christian too. Yeah, I'm a, that's right man, I love the Lord too. Well you could have fooled me by the way you was talking. Cause you just let out that string of full letter words and you stuck my Savior's name right in the middle of it, man. I mean, it just, you know, people get real religious then. But even they understood. You know what would happen when you do that? They'd change their tolerance. See, some people say, well, they just can't help it. No, people can help it. And we find out one of the first things that Paul said that we ought to put off when we start trying to walk with the Lord is we change the way we talk. We change that wrath and malice and anger and blasphemy and filthy communication and lying one to another. We're now to tell the truth. We're not to be liars. We're to be children of the day. You know what, there's a piece of scripture that I absolutely love. I think it's in Matthew 27. It's when Peter denies the Lord. And when Peter denies the Lord, this is what your Bible said. Your King James Bible said that when Peter was standing there by the enemy's fire and he was denying the Lord, this is what that woman that caught him said. This is what she said. She said, thou art also one of his disciples. And it said, for thy speech, And it's an old English word, I like this word. Thy speech bereath thee. No words, he was saying the way you talk don't sound like you're one of us, it sounds like you're somebody else. We know that you're one of his disciples because your speech, it's betraying you, it's giving you away. It doesn't lead us to believe that you're one of us, but you're one of... And you know why Peter cussed? You know why Peter cussed? He was trying to remove all that, he was trying to fit in. So when they said, your speech betrays you, he said, oh, it's my speech that's giving me away? Well, let me remove all doubt that I'm one of y'all. Blankety, blank, blank, I don't know that blankety, blank man. And when the cock crew immediately, and so. You want to talk about one of the most heartbreaking passages in all the Bible? You put Luke together with Matthew, and the Bible said right after Peter just got all that dirty talk out of his mouth, and I can guarantee you this, I believe it had been about three years since Peter had had any of that dirty talk in his mouth. See, he'd been walking with Jesus for about three and a half years. It'd been about three and a half years since it was just him and his buddies on the boat, and he was letting all them dirty sailor words go. Now that he's been walking with Jesus, he ain't said nothing like that. It'd been a while since he had that dirty taste of them dirty words come out of his mouth. And brother, when he let that string come out of his mouth, that cock crow, this is what Luke said, Luke said, and the Lord turned and looked upon Peter. And you can count this, you mark this down, Peter looked at him too. And when Peter's eyes locked eyes with a broken hearted Savior that Peter had just let down, the Bible said Peter ran out and he wept bitterly. Peter even, he couldn't fake it. You say, how was his speech betraying him? I think his speech was betraying him something like this. He'd be standing there and they'd say something, he'd say, amen. Amen. We don't talk like that around here. They'd be talking, he'd sit there warming fire. He said, man, thank God for this fire. I'm cold, thank God. We don't thank God for stuff around here. Praise the Lord. You ever notice if you start living for God long enough, that stuff just becomes part of your speech. You get where you can't hide it. It comes out and you talk, you can't hide it. You have to really defile your conscience to betray what you are. Here he says, we'll change actions in how we talk. Not only should we change actions in how we talk, we change actions in how we treat each other. Talking about for the church, we change actions in how we treat each other. Look at it, verse number 10. Verse 10, and have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. Skip to verse 12. Verse 12, we're changing the way we treat each other. Verse 12, put on therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved. This is what we're supposed to put on, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye, and above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. Do you see what he's saying? He is saying, as children of God, we should treat each other different than the world treats their people. How does the world treat their people? It was just found in verse eight and nine. They treat them with anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication, and they lie one to another. Do you know what it's like out there? It's dog eat dog. Out there in the world, do you know what it is? It is the proverbial chicken that gets wounded in the chicken coop. Y'all know what happens to a chicken that gets a little wound in the chicken coop? All the other chickens start running up to it and pecking on it until they kill that chicken. A little old bitty spot will get pecked on to death until that chicken dies. Paul says, as the people of God in the church, that is not the way we act one toward another. As Bible Missionary Baptist Church, our job is to have kindness, compassion. When repentance is given, forgiveness should be given back. The Laodicean Church missed all of this. They sidetracked all of this this evening. Y'all, you say this, no, preacher, that's the, you know, praise God. Everybody in the church wears a halo and got a heart and a crown already, amen. Man, man, nothing like that goes on in Baptist churches. You ain't been to enough Baptist business meetings. Well, I've been to some Baptist business meetings, yeah, where they were standing up and one standing on this side, another standing on that side, and they hollering back and forth at each other, brother, and they had to just about keep each other separated. I know about Baptist business meetings at Bible-believing Baptist churches where they had to call the law before they got there because they knew there was gonna be a fight amongst the church members. Let me say this, that's a dirty rotten shame. When you got to call the law to help settle stuff down in the church house, that is a black eye and a blight on the people of God. We ain't callin' the law to handle stuff down here, we handle stuff in house. And brother, if we can't handle things as brothers in Christ and deal with it biblically, then there is something wrong with our congregation. I want to say something not to the shame, but I want to say something to the credit of this local assembly. Can I say something to the credit and the acknowledgement and the congratulations of this local assembly? Here just a few weeks ago when we voted to finish the kitchen out, And to spend that money to do it, it was one of the most joyful, seamless things that I've ever seen in a Baptist business meeting as far as buying something for the church. Can I say, God bless you. That's the way things ought to be done at the house of God. It ought not to get to where God's people become misers and penny pinchers and ticked off at each other and fussing and fighting and squabbling over stuff. Brethren, our banner ought to be that we're unified together and going forward for the faith of the gospel. That's to the credit that there are spirit-filled people in the pews of the church. Man, these things ought not so to be when you hear about churches constantly fussing and fighting and flipping out on each other and blowing up. That's wrong, man. That's wrong. You say, what is that? That is people that have not had changes in actions. I'm telling you, you listen to what I'm going to tell you. There are people in leadership positions at a lot of these little old independent Baptists and Southern Baptist churches, in little old country churches out in here, there and yonder, and they don't give a flip about the Bible. They couldn't care less about living for God. All they want is power, and they'll keep it regardless of what they got to do. That's wicked as hell. Amen. We have one standard for truth around here. Our head is Jesus Christ. We follow what the Bible says in its pattern. Brother, look here, I'm not a ruler. I'm not a boss. I'm the servant of this church. I'm the under shepherd of this church. I'm not here to boss or rule anybody around. I'm here to make sure nobody else bosses or rules us around. I'm here to be a helper of your joy and a helper of your faith and make sure we continue forward in unity for the glory of God. Thank God. I'm telling you, brother, it's changes in actions if we're not to wind up like them. Thank God. He said, we changed the way we talk. We changed the way we treat each other. We love each other. Love each other. Don't come to church hating each other. Come to church and cross arm and look at so and so. Come to church and look at so and so. Paul said this in Philippians, I believe, and he said, but if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you be not consumed one of another. So don't be biting on each other and devouring each other. Praise each other. Love each other. If there's sin, deal with it, yes. But do it in a way where you love people. Amen, changing in our actions, changing in our affections. Can I give you one more and we're gonna go? Lastly, we find that Paul says we also, if we're to continue changing, we need to be changing in our attitudes. Changing in our attitudes. Look at that, from verse number 16 all the way down, well, from verse 15 all the way through verse 25 to the end of the chapter, Paul just basically deals with attitudes. He just deals with your attitude. My attitude, your attitude. He just deals with how to keep our attitudes right. The first thing he deals with is how to keep the attitude in our heart right. He deals with individuals first. Just your own heart. How do we keep our heart right? The attitude of our heart. Well, it's in verse 15, 16. Look at verse 15. He said this in verse 15. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts. To the which also you're called in one body and be you thankful. That's a great thing. Let the peace of God rule in our hearts. That's wonderful. It sounds great. But how do we accomplish this? Bro. Marty, how are we to accomplish letting God's peace rule as a king in our heart? It's found in verse 16. You want the peace of God to rule in your heart? Surely everybody in here would want God's peace to have precedent, rule, be the king in your heart, right? Well, it's found in verse 16. This is how you do it. Here it is. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. teaching and admonishing one another in songs and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. You say, preacher, I want peace in my heart. How do I keep the attitude of my heart right where my heart doesn't get cold, where my heart doesn't get lukewarm, where my heart doesn't get nasty and dirty and bitter and filthy? How do I keep God's peace ruling in my heart? Keep that right there dwelling in you richly. That's what he said. He said, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. I'll tell you how to keep peace in your heart. How to keep your heart's attitude correct. Here's how to keep your heart's attitude constantly correct. Get in the book, and then get around the teaching and preaching of the book. It's in there, look at verse 16. Not only let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, but then he says, teaching and admonishing one another. You know what I'm doing tonight? I'm trying to impart some peace into your life. I'm preaching and teaching. I'm teaching and admonishing you with the scripture. You know what I'm trying to do? Trying to give you some peace. You say, Preacher, you up there ranting and raving and hollering. Don't sound like that's going to get... No, if you'll put into practice what I'm giving you, it'll give you peace in your life. He said, let the word of Christ run you richly, teaching and admonishing one another. And then here also, watch, here's also how to get it. In psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, sing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Get around the book, get around teaching and preaching of the book, and get around the singing of godly music. I've told you this before, I will tell you again. But when Saul had an evil spirit from the Lord that was upon him, the way he got it run off was not listening to the music of the world. He called in David, who was spirit-filled, spirit-led, and he began to sing them psalms and worship God, and the evil spirit left and gave him peace. You are never gonna get peace like you need in your life if you are constantly pumping in the music of this world into your ears. Don't tell me you can you cannot you are not you are listen to me You are not gonna keep your mind on where it needs to be and out of the gutter when your music is constantly talking about fornication constantly talking about premarital sex constantly talking about drinking and one night stands and partying and living life you will not do it and You say, how do I keep my heart having some peace? Get in that book, get around the teaching and preaching of that book, and then put the right kind of music in your heart. I advise people all the time to keep the right kind of music playing in their home. Brother, I'll be honest with you. Here's something that'll help you. I believe it'll help you. I'm talking about keeping your attitude. Attitudes. Brother, I'm telling you, if we ever live in a day where people's attitude needs to be right, all this stuff about, well, I wake up with a bad attitude, then you got a bad heart. Yeah. I don't know why I need to talk to me for. You need to get your heart right. That ain't right. That ain't right. Subdue that. That's just flesh. Subdue that. Don't get up and be kicked off as soon as you get up. I can't help it. You can help it. Get up and put a smile on and say, God been good to me. I'm going to live for Jesus today. You know how to help you do that? Here's how to help you do that. When my feet hit the... My wife's sitting over there. She can barely witness in the Holy Ghost that I lie not. Every day of my life, barring none, no matter where I'm at, on the road, at the house, on vacation, barring none, every day of my life. When my feet hit the floor, the first place I go is to the bathroom, because I want to brush my teeth. I can't stand walking around with a dirty mouth. That's just me. Some of y'all can get up and walk to the breakfast table and eat without brushing your teeth. I think you ain't even right with God. You need to get right with God. Brush your dirty teeth, you stinky breast individual. I can't stand that, I can't stand it. It's nasty. Anybody with me on that one? I'll just be honest with you, that was preference preaching right there, had nothing to do with the Bible. But it's a blessedly good preference, amen. Brush your teeth and then use mouthwash, that helps too. That's right, if you ain't brushed your teeth and used mouthwash, don't walk up to me and say, hey! Sweet Jesus. It's like that preacher said one time, he said, I was in a meeting, somebody walked up to me and got up in my face and said, it smelled like they had been eating out of a trash can for three days and ate rotten onions. And they said, hey, do you remember me? And that preacher said, no, I don't. But I remember that breath. I'll never forget that. I know you from somewhere. Praise God. Anyhow, anyhow, back to why I say it. I lie not, I'm telling you the truth. Every day my feet hit the floor. When I walk into the bathroom, I turn my phone on, hook it up to my Bluetooth speaker, and something spiritual has started immediately. I'm either listening to preaching or singing, but something that points me out of this world to that world has started within five minutes of my feet hitting the floor. You say, why? It helps my attitude. It's hard for me to walk out and be ugly to my wife and kids after me and the Holy Ghost done been having a meeting in the bathroom while I'm brushing my teeth. Yeah, keeping your attitudes right in your heart, your personal heart. But then move on, move on. Look here, I'm fixing to be done. Attitudes don't only right in your hearts, but then watch what he said. Also, we ought to keep our attitudes right in our homes. keeping the attitude right in the home. Come down to verse 18, verse 18. Wives, now don't get locked up on me here now. Verse 19 says husbands, we get into them too. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as it is fit in the Lord. In other words, it's fit in the Lord to submit yourself to your husband. It's in Genesis chapter 3. Genesis chapter 3 plainly says that part of the curse was this. Her desire would be towards him and he would rule over her. That's part of the curse. Sorry, he messed it up for all of you. But just like you got to work in the sweat of your brow, that's part of it. And here one thing that Paul says, if we're gonna keep our attitudes right, we gotta keep our attitude right in the home. You wanna know why sometimes I believe this with all my heart? I believe with all my heart one reason why sometimes we walk in here and it's so free and it's so light and God moves is because your attitude with one another, husbands and wives, was right before you got here. Can I say conversely, I believe sometimes the reason why it's locked down and why sometimes it feels like it's just a little bit off is I have no idea what some of y'all brought in here for you, got here. I'm telling you, it's hard for the Holy Ghost to do something when y'all all kicked off at each other. Hey man, when you done walked in, y'all done been fussin' and fightin' and you squealed out the driveway and she didn't even get her foot half in good and scraped the heel off her shoe and she walked in half walkin' sideways cause her heel scraped off her shoe. Y'all all tipped over. It hurts to see God move in a place like that. Mike D'Artex, Mike D'Artex said, wives, here's how to have the right attitude in the home. Wives, your job is to submit yourself unto your husband. Now I know what I just said is absolutely, positively politically incorrect. Ask me if I care. I'm not trying to be politically correct. I'm trying to be biblically correct. I don't care what women's lips say. I don't care what AOC says, and Nancy Pelosi says, and all the rest of the wacko feminazis. I don't care. That Bible says, sister, your job is to submit yourself unto your husband as it is fit in the Lord. Listen to me, your job is to follow him as he's following Christ. I just talked to our men in class the other night, just talked to our men about the mystery of the church and the bride of Christ. And Ephesians chapter five lays out the fact, Brother Cliff, in Ephesians five, that that husband and wife relationship is a picture of Christ and the church. Do you know what our job as the church is? You know what our job as the church is? It is to submit to Jesus Christ. He is the head. We're to submit to Him that in all things He might have the preeminence. We're to make Him look good. We're to speak well of Him. We're to follow Him. We're to honor Him. We're to serve Him. That's our job as the church. News of the day, sister. That's your job as a wife. I mean, I'm just spitting Bible here to you. And then it moves on from that. It ain't just the wives. The onus ain't just on the ladies. God help you men if you think it's all about your wife. God help you if you're just sitting back there saying, you never, I bless God, submit, submit, submit. Yeah, but our job is doubly important because we're supposed to be like Christ. We're supposed to give them something worth following. Stop expecting your wife to submit. You are sorry excuse for a husband. Stop expecting your wife to submit to you and you ain't never in your Bible, you ain't never praying, you ain't never trying to live for God, and you expect her to submit to you, but you want her to be the spiritual leader? You crazy, Jack! Yes, sir. That's good stuff. Verse 19, talking about getting her out. Boy, this is a handful of attitudes right here. Look at husbands, verse 19, husbands love your wives. He says over in Ephesians, husbands love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. If they're the picture of the church and we're the picture of Christ, you know our job is to love them sacrificially. It's to love them even when they may be unlovable. Doesn't Jesus love you when you ain't lovable? Doesn't Jesus care for you even though sometimes you don't deserve it? Yeah, okay, there you go, friend. That's a big onus on the husband. You're the representation of Jesus. And it says this, husband, love your wives and be not bitter against them. You say, what's that about? Surely everybody in here in this building ain't so stupid that you would make statements like this, that there's no difference between men and women. There ain't nobody that dumb in this building, are there? Okay, good, all right. Make sure there's nobody so stupid that they would say, men and women are the same, there's no difference in men and women. Either you blind, dumb, or both. And how many of y'all know that not only are men and women different, but they don't think alike? A man's center of rule is his head. A woman's center of rule is her heart. The Bible says that the man was not deceived in the transgression, talking about in Genesis. The woman was deceived. You realize when Adam sinned, Adam didn't get deceived? Adam knew what he was getting into. Eve got tricked. Eve listened to some sweet talk and she got her heart wrapped up in it and she got tricked. She was deceived. Adam didn't get tricked. You know what Adam did? Adam loved her so much he said, I ain't gonna live without her, I just die. Give it to me, Eve, I ain't living without you, I'd die. The difference of a man and a woman is this right here, when your little boy plays football, and he gets knocked down flat of his back on the field, you know what mama's first reaction is? Oh, help him, oh my baby, oh my baby! That's heart. You know what daddy's first response is? Get up, boy! Get up! It's the difference in heart and head. But God put them like that because they complete each other. All head and no heart or all heart and no head don't work. God gave heart and head in one relationship to complete each other. And he said this, husbands love them and don't be bitter against them. He said, what do you mean bitter against them? Don't get bitter at them because they think more with their heart than their head. Your job is to dwell with them according to knowledge. You know that they're emotional and they're going to look at things like that. Don't get ticked off and get upset and get mad at them. Live with them according to the way God made them, love them, and dwell with them according to knowledge. Don't get mad about it. Isn't it something? Isn't it something? Listen to what I'm fixing to tell you. Listen to what I'm fixing to tell you. We want, don't miss this, we want our women, we want our wives to act like women physically, but we want them to act like men mentally. You don't wanna be married to a woman, you wanna be married to the figure of a woman in the mind of a man. And then you get ticked off when they don't act like a man, when they think they're women, they don't think like you. There ain't nothing wrong with that. Keep your attitude right towards her. Keep your attitude right towards him. He ain't gonna think like you. We don't think alike. But we gotta keep, you say what? If we're gonna have the right kind of church, we gotta keep our attitudes right toward each other before we ever even get here. Y'all, you realize the church is made up of people. Men and women. That's what the church is made up of. Brother, if we're gonna keep the thing running right, we gotta keep our attitudes right. I'm running the clothes and it only says wives, husbands, hey youngins, it don't leave y'all out neither. Yeah, that's right, all you Zoran youngins, look right up in here. I'm gonna skin y'all for a minute. Where's Charity? She asleep, wake her honey up. She needs to hear this, praise God. Throw some water on that youngin. She needs to hear this. Get a copy of this CD, let her hear it later on. Verse 20, verse 20, children, Obey your parents in some things. Obey your parents in the things that you think they're right about and not the things that you think they're wrong about. Has anybody still got their Bible open? Because if you've still got your Bible open, you don't know what that said. Yeah, that's some other version that we ain't got tonight. Children, obey your parents in all things. Why? This is well-pleasing unto the Lord. Hey, all you young people in here looking at me right now that's still living at home, you want to please the Lord? This is yes, this is no. Do y'all wanna please the Lord? Okay, hold on a second. You wanna please the Lord? Here's how you do it, mind your mom and dad. I'm just telling you what the Bible said, did I not just tell you what the Bible says? Children, obey your parents and all things. This is well pleasing unto the Lord. You wanna displease the Lord? You wanna take the Lord off and make him mad and bring the curse of God on your life? Disregard everything mom and daddy says. I'm talking about there's people in this room tonight, they're adults, and some of the hard knocks they went through, you know how they went through them? They wouldn't listen to their mom and dad. You want to bring the curse of God on your life? Then when your mom and daddy tells you something, just... Yeah, go ahead. You bring the curse of God down on you. You want the blessing of God to be on you and God to be pleased with you? Mind what they say. That's what verse 20 said. Matter of fact, the Bible said this is the first commandment of promise. You have a long length of days if you obey your mom and dad. I could say so much more there, but I ain't got time and I'm done. We're gonna close right here. We not only see keeping our attitudes, changing our attitudes in our heart, changing our attitudes in our home. In the last four or five verses, he says we're to keep our attitudes right or changing our attitudes when it comes to our hard work. Look at verse 22. Well, we could hit verse 21 about this thing about children. He said, fathers. Now he talks to us men again. He leaves the women out of this one. He says, fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. Hey, do you realize there's an appropriate way, daddy, to administer correction, reproof, and rebuke, and there's a wrong way to do it? Now, look, this ain't saying don't spank them, don't administer reproof. No, that ain't what I'm saying. But I've watched some parents, the way that they constantly dealt with their children, there was never any positive affirmation of any sort. It was always, you want to raise a rebel? Hey daddy, you wanna raise a rebel that hates you and hates God? Constantly beat them up and never tell them they've done anything that's worth having or worth doing. I'll raise a rebel real fast. Never put your arm around them saying, son, I love you. Man, I'm proud of you. You done that right or done this right. Here, let me give you some help on how to fix that. That's how you raise a Rebel. Never do stuff like that. Just always, just constantly, you ain't worth nothing and you... That's the way to raise a Rebel right there. But then he talks about our hard work. Look at the last four verses here and we're done. Verse 22. Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye services, men pleasures, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. And whatsoever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men. Knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for you serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done, and there is no respect of persons. You say, what's the last thing here about attitude? Keeping your attitude right when you're working. He's talking about people that work for somebody else. Everybody works for somebody. And he says here, if you're going to work in your job, don't do what you're doing just as a men pleaser, but do what you do as to the Lord, verse 23. When you're on your job, sister, when you're on your job, brother, work it like you're working for Jesus. And the Bible said if you'll do it like that, the Lord will give you a reward for doing it. What about that? That's not like a pretty good deal to me. The Lord will watch you, and if you got a boss that's a lost man, who constantly trying to make life hard for you on the job, and putting you down, and messing you up, this and that, and constantly trying to do that just because you're a Christian, or because they're just hard to get along with, you keep on being a Christian, and serve them as unto the Lord, and you watch God will bless you for it. I've seen that happen. God will give you a reward for doing what's right. Don't like keeping our attitudes right. I'm telling you, Esther help me over here. I'm telling you, if the church at Laodicea had received this correction on continually changing, Continually changing their affection to get it more up yonder and less down here. Continually changing their actions to get acting less like themselves and more like Jesus. Continually changing their attitudes to have their attitude right in their heart and in their homes and on their job. I'm telling you, Laodicea would have never wound up like they wound up. Now tonight you've got a choice. You can say, I like my affections where they are. I like my actions where they are. I like my attitude where it is. I ain't looking to change. Well, I can't make it. God could, but he won't. That's your business. And I'm talking about how to have the right kind of church and the right kind of Christian life is to constantly stay changing. Constantly keep updating your Christian life. When's the last time you had a little bit of an update, a little bit of change in your Christian life to walk on a little different plane than you presently walk on? Correction to change. Let's all stand and I, hand you come to the altar. You go ahead and make a move.