A Kingdom Congregant
August 26, 2007
Text - Ephesians 4:29-32
The church - vital! My experience - if you are a follower of Jesus Christ you are a member of the church - “A Kingdom Congregant.” Your experience? “A Kingdom Congregant lives to gladden God.” Why - V30 - Key - HOW?
1) Mind your mouth!
V29 - Your talk should build and benefit others!
A) “Unwholesome” - rotten - road kill talk - leaves a bloody mess and stinks!
Vulgarity, obscenity, profanity, gossip, complaining, opinionated pontification
Jaws - stop tearing down start building up!
Your mouth can cause grief or glory!
B) “But” - learn to hold your tongue until you figure out how to build and benefit
Remember this truth - “he said she said” - words are powerful
- Build - observe their need - help another grow in Christ! Mentor!
- Benefit - minister grace - listened to? Invest in the listener! Pass along grace!
Encourage - pass along your experiences with God! Mike Good again-Encourager!
Mouth of the south, foot in mouth, or mouth that ministers? Live to gladden God!
What saddens your heart? Relevance? Pastor’s heart? God’s heart? Disobedience - me and mom - Live to gladden not grieve God! Mind your mouth
2) Watch your walk
V31-32 - Congregants are responsible for taking out the trash, and being the example of God’s love!
- “Get rid” - these are relational issues! We take out bitterness - deep roots of resentment
Rage - wrath - meanness - taking out your anger on anyone - anger - intense emotional state induced by displeasure! Brawling - clamor. Slander - evil speaking - cutting someone’s throat with words - fueled by evil with evil intent! Malice - wickedness - evil
No loop holes that enable us to live trashed and trashing! - V32 - “Be” - exist this way! Kind - Jesus and adulteress - calling Matthew -Luke 6:35 - Compassionate - realizing the struggles and having hope! Matthew 9:36 - Forgiving - It is done!
How did God forgive? Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - God made a way! You make the way.
Conclusion
One thing that always scared me - one thing that ought to cause us concern - saddening God - Is He grieved or gladdened about you today? He wants OHC to be the real thing! A Kingdom Congregation with Kingdom congregants! Be one!