You know this world is full of preachers, but just a few were chosen. Stay tuned for Treasured Heritage, a preaching program spotlighting those servants who have gone on to glory. Isaiah 5417 says, this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. And now, Treasured Heritage. I'd like you to take the Word of God, please, and turn with me to the book of Ephesians, if you have your Bible open there. Ephesians chapter 4, and we'll begin in just a moment. Verse 25, in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 25. The other day I was in a doctor's office getting an exam, just an exam. Of course, they told me I was in the greatest shape of anybody my age that they'd ever seen in the whole wide world. But I did have a throat exam, no joke. I had a throat exam and the doctor says, your vocal cords are like a young fella, 30 years old. Now that's, my wife was there, she heard the doctor say that. We did have one of the most hilarious things happen that I've ever had happen in my life. And you mind if I tell it? Doesn't make a lot of difference whether I tell it or not now, does it? But anyway, my mother-in-law decided she wanted to go to the same doctor. Why, I do not know, but she wanted to be examined. You know, I can't do anything without, you understand how it goes, but anyway. It's an ear, nose, and throat fella, and I've been having a little difficulty. They said there's nothing really wrong, but she wanted to go also. So Evelyn made an appointment for both of us. to go see the same doctor on the same day at the same time. And she agreed that she, you may not think this is funny, but I'm already thinking about what happened and it's just, it's crazy. But anyway, so she agreed to go into the room with her mother to try to tell the doctor there was nearly nothing wrong with her, so whatever. But they called me first. And so I went in. She goes into the office appointment with me, into the room with me. And lo and behold, the doctor walks right by the door. Evelyn's in there with me and walks right by the door, heads down the room. I said to Evelyn, you better check to see if your mother's still in the waiting room. They may have called her back and said, oh no, she's not coming till after you're coming. And I said, well, they don't always do that that way, honey, They've got lots of rooms and they may have her stuck in a room somewhere by herself and she may need you. So sure enough, they'd called her from the waiting area into a room and she was in a room maybe two doors down from me. So when the doctor walked by, I said, just check, just check, check on your mother. So she walked out of the room where I was waiting for the doctor and the doctor was going down to the room where her mother was. And I had an appointment to get out of there quickly and so Evelyn knew So she went down, followed the doctor down into the room, walked in the room of the doctor and said, if you don't mind, would you see my husband before you see her? The doctor didn't know that was her mother. And he said, do you have gall? Let me tell you. He says, this is the first time in my medical practice anyone's done this type of thing. And she explained to him that that woman was her mother and she had us both and I needed to leave so I could get back to work. But anyway, I thought it was really funny. I really did. And then when he got in the office, he thought it was really funny when he gave it to examine me. Dirty rascal, he said, I'm gonna look at your vocal cords. And he got a little pipe, like a smoking pipe. And I don't know what that is. And so it went in and then lo and behold, he pulls out this thing. It's got a little rope on the end of it. That long, but anyway. And he said, now just sit still, this won't hurt. And he started putting that light in there and way down in there. Way, way, way. He said, everything looks good to me. Pulled it back out. And of course she was watching the whole thing. That was the hardest part, right honey? But I thought that was funny. I really did. That she was telling the doctor, get out of her room and come back and see my husband. Now that's a loyal wife, isn't it? Even follows you around the doctor's office and tells the doctor what order to find appointments with. But anyway, I had to fill out a form to check, check, check, check, check, check. And I'm thinking to myself, I'm thinking to myself, the only thing I want you to look at is my vocal cords to make sure they're okay. And they were, he said, great shape. Why all this other stuff? Check, check, check, check, check, check. So I did all the check, check, check, checks down the line and was found to be in good shape. Now I'm gonna preach a sermon and I'm gonna ask you to go down the line. Check, check, check, check, check, check. And when we get through, I'm gonna ask you what kind of shape you're in. Not physically, but spiritually. So you have to get a pen out and get ready to fill out the form because we got the form here for us and you're gonna be checking, checking, checking, checking, checking, several things on the list. So you'll have to come clean. You really have to come clean. I trust with the Lord and tell the truth about this. Are you ready? Good. Ephesians chapter four. Let's begin with verse 25. Wherefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor working with his hands the thing which is good that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed into the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. If you're in the habit of marking things in your Bible, I want you to notice this expression, please. Verse 27, neither give place to the devil. Now I want you to think with me about this, and I'm gonna give you the checklist right from the Bible. No place for the devil. No place for the devil. You might invite many people into your life and your home, but I don't think you have any intention of inviting the devil to be your guest. Because he comes to destroy, to wreck and ruin, to tear apart, to deceive. We don't need to give any place to the devil, no place. We're gonna go down this list in a moment, but before we do, I wanna give you just a little background, if you'll take your Bible and turn with me, please, to the Gospel according to Matthew. And I want you to see how Satan works because he does not always launch an attack right at the point you might think he'd be attacking. When the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross to bleed and die for our sins, Satan didn't follow him there first and just say, we're going to keep him from the cross. He started way before that. But here, while our Lord was with his disciples, in Matthew chapter 16, if you have your Bible open there, we begin with verse 21, Matthew chapter 16, verse 21. From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples that he must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised again the third day. Now, these are things Christ is revealing. Verse 22 of Matthew 16. Then Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, be it far from thee, Lord, this shall not be unto thee. But he turned and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan. Thou art an offense unto me, for thou savest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Jesus rebuked Peter because Peter at that moment was giving the devil a place in his life, speaking things that were not the things of God, the things of the natural mind, the things of men. Look with me again, would you please? In the gospel according to Luke, if you have your Bible open to Luke chapter 22, the Lord is going to the cross to bleed and die for our sins. And the Bible tells us of this episode in Luke chapter 22 and verse 31, and the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. but I prayed for thee that thy faith fell not. But when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. Satan was coming after him. Now I want to point out here that Satan couldn't get Peter's soul. He can't get your soul if you've been saved. Do you understand that? Satan cannot get your soul if you've been born again. But he still comes after you. to find some place in your life where he can wreck what God intends to do. Look with me again, please, in the gospel according to John in the eighth chapter. Our Lord is rebuking a certain crowd, and in John chapter eight and verse 44, as he gives this rebuke, he reveals to us some very important lessons for us to learn about the devil. He says to this crowd, ye are of your father, the devil. Verse 44 of John 8. And the lust of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speak the lie, he speaketh of his own for he is a liar and the father of it. Think of that. The natural desire of the human heart is to do the lust of the devil. The devil is a liar and the father of a lie. There's no truth in him. No truth. He's very adept at using part of a truth mixed with a lie, which is a whole lie. But these are his devices. On our way back to Ephesians chapter four, I want you to stop with me at second Corinthians, would you please? In 2 Corinthians 2, our Lord is dealing with the context of forgiveness. Paul is writing about forgiveness. And in 2 Corinthians 2, in verse 11, the Bible says, lest Satan should get an advantage of us. Now, how does the devil get an advantage of us? For we are not ignorant of his devices. I want you to know, you say, I'm a Christian. Yes, that's wonderful. I mean, it's more than wonderful. But Satan wants a place in your life. He wants to travel with you. He wants to convince you of things. He wants to everything imaginable to give you to live a life that's much less than what God intends for you to live and for me to live. And Paul is writing here to Christians in Ephesians chapter four, if you'll return there. As a matter of fact, in verse 24, he says, that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. And I hope you put on the new man. Hope you've asked God to forgive your sin, and by faith you've trusted the Lord Jesus as your savior. But I want you to know, if you're a new man, if you've really been born again, and if I've really been born again, we're still not finished with the devil. They can't drag us off to hell. But he seeks to find a place in our lives. And I want us to go through the checklist here. And let's be honest with God and honest with ourselves about whether or not we've given the devil a place. Because if he gets a foothold, guess what? He's coming after more and more and more until he can wreck and ruin not because he hates you, but because he hates your Savior. And he wants to bring reproach to the name of Jesus and to the church that he loved and gave himself for. So may God help us not to be ignorant of the devil's devices. Let's go down the list. The first thing we find on this list as we're traveling through this fourth chapter, 25, wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Here's the first check. If we do not speak the truth, we give the devil a place in our lives. If we do not speak the truth, we give the devil a place in our lives. Again, the verse says, we're for putting away lying. Lying. You see, I don't just outright lie. I may use a little gowl from time to time. I may stretch the truth. I may not tell it exactly the way it is. I want you to know, when you and I do anything messing with what is exact, what is true, we're giving the devil a place to come in and do his dirty work. You say, it may be the most innocent thing in the world. I'm just trying to protect someone. When we give the devil a place, he's going to do much more harm than you and I can ever imagine. We must speak the truth or give the devil a place in our lives. Notice the second thing. Can you check off that you Speak the truth. It's not honesty is the best policy. It is honesty is the only policy for the child of God. Remember, he says we are members of one another. How you live your life affects me. How I live my life affects you. This body of believers. May God help us. Notice another thing. We come to verse 26. Be angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. And here's an area where God really deals with my heart. If we have uncontrolled anger, we give the devil a place in our lives. Now the Bible says be angry and sin not. I have thought many times about this very thing because there are people wiser than I am and I think wiser than any of us men who have lived and given their lives to God and had long, wonderful, influential ministries, who have made statements like this, more damage has been done in God's work because of uncontrolled anger than anything else they could imagine. Now, there should be things that stir our hearts. What we have had happen in Connecticut recently, ought to make us angry, outraged. There'll be something inside of us that responds with anger at evil. But we don't want to become what we hate and what we despise. God gives us an opportunity. I've said to you many times, anger can be compared to a current in a stream Without a little bit of a current, it doesn't keep moving. But if the current is too swift, too fast, too powerful, it becomes so dangerous you can't get near it. And there are people who have anger out of control. They're threatening by the way they live. They're harmful to themselves and to others. And when anger is not controlled, When we sit on things and stay mad about things, God goes on to say in this very verse, look at it please. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. That means at the end of the day, a count should be settled. We should not nurture these mad feelings. We should not nurture this anger. We shouldn't let it boil and kindle and flame and become greater and greater in us because it's gonna get out of hand. And when we allow that to happen, we give the devil a place to come in into our lives. Of course, he reminds us right in the middle of this near to give place to the devil. But look please in verse 28, the third thing, let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor working with his hands the thing which is good that he may have to give to him that needeth. I think it's interesting that he puts stealing in the context of work. Do you know there are many ways to steal? You could steal the affection of someone else's wife or husband. And many people do that. They think it's fair game. I'll be happy to do it. They're attracted to me. I'm attracted to them. You're stealing. And when you're doing that, that doesn't belong to you. That affects you, that person in that kind of romantic way does not belong to you. And you're making room for the devil. You're giving the devil a place to do his dirty work. There are many ways that people steal. But here God evidently is putting this in the context of labor because as a Christian, as you work as a Christian, you should do an honest day's work for an honest day's pay. I respect people who will not cut the corners and cheat their boss to help a customer because they're doing the thing that's right, honoring God and honoring their boss. There are some people who have authority in a business and they say, well, you know, I could do this because I do have some authority. I really don't have the authority to do that, to go that far with it, but who will ever know? That's stealing. That's stealing. And not only is it stealing, it's giving the devil a place. Let me read the verse again. Let him that stole steal no more. He's writing these Ephesian Christians. They've become Christians now. The old man, the old man is not to control them. The new man, Jesus Christ, is to control them. And they said, the way we're to live now is in a way that honors God. Steal no more. But rather let him labor, let him work, let him labor, working. with his hands the thing which is good and the reason God gives so that he may have to give him that needeth. That's the honorableness of work. Steal no more. If you and I are cutting corners, if you and I are doing things we know that are not fulfilling the responsibilities we've agreed to, God calls that stealing. and we're giving place to the devil. I don't wanna be ridiculous about this, but I used to work in a feed and seed store where people would say, well, it's nearly time to leave and the boss didn't hear, let's go. That's stealing. That's stealing. But worse than the stealing, it's giving place to the devil. You let him in, there's no telling what he will do. You may steal time, you may steal time from your boss for a while, and then finally steal product from your boss. Because the devil will not stop. We can't give place to the devil. If we don't stop stealing, we've given place to the devil. Look at verse 29. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearer. If we do not stop corrupt communication, we give place to the devil. And by the way, there are many people in this audience guilty of corrupt communication. And you're giving place to the devil. There are times I'm guilty of corrupt communication. We're not talking about using foul language here. The word corrupt is rotten. It produces nothing good. Communication. Sometimes people want to just talk. They want to talk about people or talk about things they have no business talking about. They want to hear things just out of curiosity. Not because it's helping someone. They want more information to use as ammunition on someone. And if you get in the habit of listening and speaking with corrupt communication and listening to corrupt communication, you're gonna give place to the devil in your life. Look at the safeguards God gives to our conversation. Look at the safeguards. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth. You say, well, it may be true, but it's corrupt. Of course you shouldn't be listening to dirty stories and dirty jokes. Of course you shouldn't be listening to rumors, things that are not substantiated, these things that are not truthful, but yet could ruin someone's reputation. No corrupt communication proceeding out of your mouth, but that which is good, to the use of edifying. This that I speak, this that you speak, builds people up. Do you know the greatest things, hear this please, the greatest things you should say about someone should be said out of their presence? I mean by that, if you have something wonderful to say about someone, say it, say it out of their presence. Don't use the shadows and the dim lit parts of life to run people down and say things you shouldn't say. Do you know someday God is gonna call everything into the light and nothing will be hidden? Every thought we've ever had, every word we've ever spoken is gonna be shouted from the housetops. And God says if you use corrupt communication, If it's communication, it doesn't build people up. You're giving place to the devil. All he wants is a place to come in. Another safeguard for that communication, look, it may minister grace unto the hearer. Is the way we're talking ministering grace to the hearer? Is the person who leaves after listening to us, does the person who leaves after listening to me? And I need God to help me. Do you need God to help you? Before I can check off on this, I must repent of my sin and ask God to forgive me and cleanse me. Because when people listen to us, they should leave better than they were when they came. If not, we're giving a place to the devil. Look at the next thing. We're going down the list. Verse 30, and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Grieve not. If we grieve the Holy Spirit, we're giving place to the devil. Many times in a church service, the Holy Spirit is grieved. Many times. You know, you can't grieve someone who doesn't love you. The word grief has to do with something that is painful and brings sorrow. Since I came to know Christ as my Savior, the Holy Spirit is my constant companion. He is my constant companion. I never have a thought that he does not know. I never make a move that he's not aware of. He's my constant companion. He loves me with an everlasting love. And I have the power to grieve him. I have the power to grieve God. That's some power, isn't it? And as God directs my life and gives me divine impulses about what I should do and direction about life, what I should say. I was dealing recently with someone who should have apologized for hurtful words. And this particular person would not apologize for hurtful words. It created an even greater problem because of the refusal to apologize. But let me tell you what it did. It grieved the Holy Spirit. And because it grieved the Holy Spirit, it gave place to the devil. You and I aren't in this alone. Satan is constantly looking for a crack in the door, constantly looking for a place to enter in, constantly looking for just one toe hole, that's all. And if we grieve the Holy Spirit, We make a place for the devil. Notice, please, the sixth thing on our list. Verse 31. And let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. Unless all bitterness is put away, we grieve the Holy Spirit. Now, it should never have gotten this far. And we make a place for the devil. It should have never gotten this far. If there's bitterness in our hearts, notice please, if there's wrath, if there's anger, if there's clamor, if there's evil speaking, if there's malice, we make a place for the devil. You say, well, you know, I just love being angry at somebody because they did me wrong or someone I know wrong, or they did something to one of my children. Do you know someone did something to one of my grandchildren one day? I'm being perfectly frank with you. And I've had a hard time dealing with that. There was no justification for it at all. As a matter of fact, I think they did it just because the name of that grandchild was Sexton. And I'm sorry to have to say that, but that's my opinion. Now, I either trust God to deal with that person, or I let it wreck my life and make a place for the devil. Which would you choose? Get even? Be unforgiving? Stay mad? or let God take care of that and give no place for the devil. We all deal with this, don't we? We all deal with it. When things happen to us, they can either destroy us, listen carefully, or God could turn them around, these things are bad things, and use them to make us more like Jesus. But if they destroy us, listen, if they destroy us, the destruction comes in small doses. It comes in small measures to finally it takes over. How does that happen? How does it happen? You won't forgive a wife or a husband or you get mad at an employer or an employee. or you have something disruptive in your family and it's something you don't like about someone, you never thought it could happen to you. But now you don't speak to one another. And when you do speak, there's nothing good to say. You know why? Because back there somewhere, you made a place or I made a place for the devil. And he didn't just start something. He did everything He could do, and continues to do everything He can do, to destroy. Notice the seventh thing. The Bible says, "...and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." We either are kind, or we make a place for the devil. They say, pastor, it says here we ought to be forgiving, tenderhearted. Look, if you can't start with kindness, how in the world we hope to be forgiving and tenderhearted? Sure, we ought to be forgiving and tenderhearted. But the law of kindness should be in our tongues. You say, well, that's just the way I am. Well, wait a minute, hold it. I've used that excuse. And I made a place for the devil too. Those hard words. You see, it's a soft answer that turneth away wrath. How many times have we made bad matters worse because we were not kind, we were not tenderhearted. By the way, we were not forgiving. But do you know what happened? We made a place for the devil. And the devil did his work. He looks for tools He looks for implements to use in his dastardly work. And God goes right down the list with us here. And he gives us these seven things saying to us, either care for this or make a place for the devil. Care for this or you make a place for the devil. Care for this or make a place for the devil. He says, neither give place to the devil. May God in heaven help us to be honest on the checklist, to come clean with God, and not give the devil any place in our lives. Would you pray with me, please? Our Father, we thank Thee for Thy clear word. Help us, Jesus. May we be truthful. Help us. While our heads are bowed and eyes are closed, let's go down the line. If you didn't check what you know you should have checked, would you be kind enough to raise your hand and say, I need help there. I need help there. Put away all lying, speak the truth. Bible says speak the truth in love. You say, I need God to help me. Would you lift your hand? I need God to help me. Yes. Be angry and sin not. You said, I've let it take control of me and I haven't controlled it. There's been times I've been carried away by emotion and I'm ashamed and I see I made place for the devil. Would you pray for me? And my hand is raised too. Would you raise your hand? Amen. What about steal no more? You say, I wouldn't go take somebody's money, but you'd take their time. You wouldn't do some of the things expected of you. There are many ways to steal. And you say, God, help me not to be a thief. You say, pray for me. I've said to many a man who was flirting with somebody else's wife, you're a thief. I've said to women who are flirting with somebody else's husband, you're a thief. Early on, you're making a place for the devil. It's gonna be worse than you ever imagined. You're a thief. Oh, may God help us. The Lord goes on. You say, no corrupt communication. Let's check it out. Are the things we're saying, are they building people up? Is it edifying? Is it ministering grace? You say, pastor, pray for me. I need to be more careful and prayerful about what I say and how I say it. Entering into conversation and listening to things that I listen to. Pray for me. Would you lift your hand? Hold it high. God help us. What about the matter of grieving the Holy Spirit? Constantly saying yes to Him, never rejecting Him, refusing Him. He loves us so. And we spurn His love. What about all bitterness and wrath and all those kinds of things? You say, there are people I've been mad at for years. You can't do that without giving place to the devil. And what about kindness? We make a habit of just ordering people around without kindness, without tenderness, without forgiveness. And we're to do what we do for Christ's sake. Even as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven us, say, pray for me. I'm gonna ask you, if God's dealing with your heart, just as you are, without one plea, come to the Lord and say, Lord, help me. Who's gonna preach the Bible and never compromise at all? Who's gonna give their heart and soul to spread the gospel? We appreciate you listening to Treasured Heritage. Tune in at the same time every weekday to hear God's Word.