All Things Are Possible

Dr. Bernie Miller: Your heart makes a terrible GPS. It reroutes you to comfort, to revenge, to hate, pride, and fear. God doesn't give you any of those things. God doesn't just want to correct your choices. He wants to direct your path.

Guest (Male): New Covenant Fellowship Church. In-person worship Sunday mornings at 10:30, 1326 North Moore Road in Chattanooga. New Covenant Fellowship Church, a place for every race.

Guest (Female): Oh, when I'm afraid, I put my trust in you. From where my strength comes from. When I am weak, I'm strong in you. You've bottled every tear that I've cried, and you saved my life. For when I was sinking deep in sin, you were my only friend because you died for everything I could not do for God. So love the world that he gave his only son.

It was more than I could give. More than I could give. He cleansed my every fault. He washed away the sin within my heart. It was more than I could give. More than I ever thought about. It was more than I ever dreamed that he died for me. And he died for all of you. It was more than I could give. More than I could give.

Dr. Bernie Miller: I'd rather be under God's mighty hand and wrong than to not be under his hand and right because if I'm under his hand, wrong or right, I know that I'm protected by the power of God. New Covenant Fellowship Church, in-person worship Sunday mornings at 10:30, 1326 North Moore Road in Chattanooga. New Covenant Fellowship Church, a place for every race.

Now, from New Covenant Fellowship Church, all things are possible. At New Covenant, we show and grow people in Christ and glorify God. It's what we believe. To say it another way, if you're looking to worship in a place without having to worry about what to wear or a plate being passed for money, come to New Covenant. Every Sunday morning at 10:30, you'll enjoy great music and solid teaching from the Bible. You'll find us on North Moore Road in Chattanooga with directions right to our door at NCF.church. New Covenant Fellowship Church, we are a place for every race. And here's Pastor Bernie Miller.

Great to see our guests and our friends and just a blessing to be with you all today and share what God has placed on my heart. I hope that there's something in it that he can show you and maybe some things that you can correct, as I have had to. He loves to correct the one who gives the word first because if he doesn't correct me, then I can't really have much of a message for you. I pray that as he has corrected me in some ways, he'll do the same thing in your life. Amen.

This husband walked into the kitchen wearing a camouflage outfit. He had on some weird clothing. He had on a fishing shirt, cowboy boots, and a necktie. His wife asked him, "Why are you wearing that?" He said, "I'm trying to dress for success." To which she said, "Success at what?" He answered, "Well, I haven't figured that out yet."

Some believers are just like him. They do the same thing spiritually. They wear a cross necklace, they have it over the dashboard in the car, they even have a Bible up there and everything. They know the praise songs and they sing the praise songs and they clap on the praise songs, and that's great.

But then when they leave church on Sunday and they happen to get into traffic and somebody turns in front of them to go right because they didn't realize that they needed to go right until it was the last minute and they decided to go right and they went right in front of you and you had to slam on your brakes and you just came out of church and stuff came out of your mouth that wasn't a praise song.

Then when they get to where they're going to eat, I know this doesn't happen in any of you, but it is with me. When I'm standing in the line and the line's already long and I'm hungry and my wife's hungry and everybody's hungry, then there is somebody all the way up in the front who has a bunch of cousins to come in. "Hey, come on!" About 10 of them.

And I'm thinking they're going to eat up all the food. But they can't eat up all the food because it's a buffet. They never run out of food at the buffet. Have you ever seen anybody run out of food at the buffet? I haven't. I see them changing pots to put some new ones in there, but I don't see them running out of food.

And then the other thing is we refuse to forgive other people that have hurt us 30 years ago. When are you going to give it up? God says you want me to forgive you, but you won't forgive? Ephesians chapters one through three is about doctrine. Tells you this is all the stuff that God has done for you.

And then he says, in light of all that, this is your duty in chapter four. It puts a compassionate hand on the shoulder of every believer. God is not here to poke you and tell you, "Look at you, you're doing this." No, he has a compassionate hand on your shoulders urging you to pray because he's always listening.

Forgive because Jesus forgave you and to work as if someone else needs your kindness Monday through Sunday. Some of you all give it up maybe on a Sunday, but Monday, I don't know if I have enough to last until Monday. I got enough for Sunday. It takes our talk, our tempers, and our toil and places them under the light of God's love.

He cares about our work, he cares about the words we speak, he cares about our email responses to people that have criticized us. Why? Because our responses can be scaffolding that helps someone stand on or shrapnel that can tear someone apart.

I had to learn. You all know I don't like heights. Every now and then, the fear would come over me. Many of you know the story. I used to work out there at Hamilton Place and my wife and I were out there the other day getting something to eat and then I showed her one of those posts that I had to put grout under.

But then the guy, my superintendent, says, "I want you to build a scaffolding to go up to the building." I'm saying, "What?" He says, "Yeah, now let me show you how you do it." And so he showed me and he says, "Now I want you to build it all the way up to the top of the building because they need to get up there to do some stuff."

And I'm thinking, "Why can't they build it?" He said, "You are the laborer. You need to put this together." And man, I tell you, I started putting it up and every time you put one on top of the other, you got to climb up and get higher and higher. And I'm getting higher and higher and I'm looking down and I'm thinking, "I don't like this picture."

And I got all the way up to the top of the roof. And he said, "Now come on down. I got something else for you to do." I'm thinking, "Come down?" I said, "Man, I barely got up here." And he said, "The same way you got up is the same way you come down." I said, "Oh, you don't understand. I'm looking down. The other time I was looking up and I didn't have any problem looking up. I got problem looking back down."

He said, "Oh, you'll be okay." As you can tell, I made it down. I'm okay. But our responses can become an altar where truth is told tenderly, an altar where forgiveness flows freely, an altar where our work becomes a well that waters someone who's weary.

That's the picture that Paul's painting vividly in Ephesians chapters four and five. But we're just dealing with the latter part of chapter four today because we finished the half of that last week. He's speaking truth to one another. He says, "Speak truth to one another" and also set a sunset on your anger. In other words, don't let the sun go down on your anger.

Build our words, don't break with our words. He said your words ought to build; they ought not break and wound people. If we've put on the new self, then our wardrobe should match what we walk in and how we act.

A Christlike lifestyle is not just about what we believe; it's also about how we behave. Being Christlike is not about looking holy on Sunday. Maybe you sing a song and you walked in and you had a different walk when you walked in. I don't know how that looks. But it's about living holy not only on Monday, but then on Tuesday, and then on Wednesday. Oh wait, and then Thursday, and then Friday, and then Saturday, and now you're ready for Sunday all over again.

Have you ever noticed when people dress up for special occasions, they walk differently? Don't you all? Yeah, yeah. I can tell when you all got something new on because you all walk differently. Last week you all came in with jeans, which is fine. Then you come in with something new and you walk in with a different attitude.

So when we're saved and clothed in Christ, that means we ought to also walk with a different attitude. We ought to walk differently because our spiritual clothing is different. Those clothed in Christ wear several things: they wear humility, they wear gentleness, they wear patience, forgiveness, and love. Those are the garments that we're clothed in.

A Christlike lifestyle is revealed in our daily conduct is what Paul is talking about. And he tells us the kind of conduct that we should be known for and we should practice. And he's saying practice honest conversations. Let me explain that little part to you.

I did this a lot when I was a kid, teenager. Probably some of you all maybe did too. My mom did not want me to go to someone's house and so I decided, "Okay, I'm not going to go to someone's house." But my other friend said that that friend was coming to his house.

And so I knew I could see that friend at my other friend's house, so I went to his house. Now she didn't want me to go to the other house because she didn't want me messing around with that foolishness with the other person. But I knew the other person was going to be at my other friend's house, so I went over to his house.

She said, "Did you go over to his house?" I said, "No, I didn't go over to his house." Now I told the truth, but I lied too. That's a half-truth. A half-truth is not going to get you across the river. You either tell the whole truth because a half is not going to make it. You go and try to pay half the bill. Your rent's due. "Well, here, let me give you half of it." No, I want all of it because this is the third month that you've told me that.

God is saying tell the whole truth, be honest. Now when I got married, I thought I had to tell my wife everything about everything that I did and she said, "Oh, stop it! Honey, I don't want to know about all that stuff." She said that was under the blood and let it stay there. She said, "I don't want to know about any of that past stuff." She said, "We're starting from scratch, you and me, and we're building our own history. Now if you got some of that stuff you need to get rid of, you need to get rid of it in your mind and in your heart, your attitude or whatever."

But she said, "No, I don't want to know about all that. I want to know you now that Christ has you." And so I thank God for that because not many people would say, "Tell me more, I want to know. What about so and so? Did you know so and so? Yeah, did you ever go out with them?"

Don't ask dumb questions. You really don't want to know the answer to it. Ephesians chapter 4:25. It says, "Therefore" and you know what therefore is there for. It's there for so that you can look back to what he's talking about before he came to the therefore. And so he's saying therefore since what I've told you in chapters one through three is true, that's the doctrine, now I want you to do this: this is your duty because of the doctrine.

Lay aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. In other words, we're like muscles and ligaments in the body of Christ. When one hurts, we all hurt. I see that beautifully in our family here. I mean, even if it's a guest that they know of that visited us and is no longer with us, but they just pour out love on them and they give, they go to the funeral if whatever, they just love one another.

If you're a believer, even though you're not a member of this church, you're a member of the body of Christ. And so we are all part of the body of Christ. And when one hurts, we all hurt. At least that's what the Bible says; it ought you ought to be affected in some kind of way.

Verse 26 says, "Let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification," that means building up, "according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear."

Now let me break down a couple things for you. You know about that therefore. Paul was talking to the believers and he's telling them about putting off the old man and be renewed in the spirit of your minds and then put on the new man. And now he's saying Christianity isn't just subtractions; it's replacements.

Don't just stop lying; start telling the truth. Don't just stop stealing; start serving. Don't just stop speaking evil; start encouraging people. "Lay aside" means taking off dirty clothes. There are eight times this word, this phrase "laying aside" or "putting aside" is used. Peter used it in 1 Peter chapter 2:1 and Paul uses it in the epistles here.

And the time that it's used in a negative way, there's one time that it's used in a negative way. And it's when all of those men, religious leaders, they took off their garments and picked up stones and stoned Stephen to death. So what Paul is saying in this particular scripture, he's saying lay aside dirty stuff, lay aside dirty attitudes, lay aside anything that would cause you to cause harm to anybody else, like they did Stephen.

Because you're so religious, you got to tell everybody what they need to do. That's God's business. And I got saved and I thought I could tell everybody, "Yeah, I got saved and here's how you need to live." And the guy was saying, "Wait a minute now. You ain't been saved but two months. How you going to tell somebody how to live?"

The Greek word means a deliberate removal of something. Truth isn't just factual accuracy; it's sincerity, it's integrity, it's transparency. Verse 29 says, "Let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth, but such a word that would give grace to those who hear."

And that "unwholesome word" means it's a picture of rotten fruit or decaying fish. Now my wife had some fruit that and it was really a vegetable that she had and she got it from the store and she thought it was one way because of the way it looked on the outside. She thought it was okay. She carved into it and found out that it wasn't okay. It was rotten.

And decaying fish—now you know how it smells. Now you know how it is when we speak unwholesome words. People spiritually are going the same way, saying the same thing you just said because they smell it. It's stinky. And they don't want to smell that kind of conversation personally. They said, "Oh, no, no, no."

So the Greek word means deliberate removal. Truth isn't just factual accuracy; it's sincerity. And unwholesome—if there's anything unwholesome in your life, it's going to rot at some point. Paul says don't let your words smell spiritually rotten, in other words. Instead, they should build up. They ought to fit the occasion. They ought to give grace to those who are hearing.

Jesus' lifestyle was filled with truth and grace. Have you ever heard someone say, "Well, you know, I'm just brutally honest"? What they're really meaning is "I am more brutal than I am honest." One lady said, "I just tell it like it is." Her friend said, "Maybe tell it after you've prayed about it first." Not everything, not every thought deserves a microphone. God gave us teeth and lips, in other words, two gates to keep our tongue from escaping.

A Christlike person speaks truth instead of deception, encouragement instead of criticism, grace instead of gossip. That's not who we are as believers. How do we practice holy control? Ephesians 4:26: "Be angry and yet do not sin. Do not let the sun set on your anger and do not give the devil an opportunity."

Man, I read this and studied this passage of scripture, and let me just tell you what it all means and when you get it, hopefully you'll understand it better. The next verse: "He who steals, he must steal no longer, but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good so that he will have something to share with one who has need."

Let me go to first for the word anger. Well, the word anger here isn't automatically sinful because Jesus displayed righteous indignation and righteous anger. The command literally means be angry if necessary, but refuse to let it become sin. That's what it really means.

Then Paul says, "Do not let the sun go down on your anger." He's emphasizing a sense of urgency when he says this. He's saying deal with it quickly. If not, we'll give the devil an opportunity. The word opportunity means a foothold or base of operation. So unresolved anger becomes Satan's guest room in your life.

The verse in 28 says move from stealing to working. Paul says if a man won't work, neither shall he eat. Some folks just want, "Give me, give me, give me." The thief becomes a giver. Grace changes hands that once took into hands that serve.

Someone once said, "Well, you know, I don't have a temper; I have a gift." And it keeps giving to everybody around me. Another guy said, "I lost my temper." His wife said, "Honey, no you didn't. You found it about three times before breakfast. You didn't lose it."

The problem isn't getting hot; it's staying hot so long that people around you get burned by your words, by your attitude, and by your actions. So Christlike living means controlling my emotions, settling conflicts, working honestly and serving generously. That's what Christlike living means.

The next thing is, well, how do you practice this heavenly compassion? Verse 30: "Don't grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as," this is your example, "God in Christ also has forgiven you."

Now grieve not the Holy Spirit. Why? Because he's sealed you. He's the third person in the Trinity, but he's known as the sensitive person because when you speak of grieving the Holy Spirit, it doesn't say "don't grieve God," "don't grieve Jesus." It says "don't grieve the Holy Spirit" because you've been sealed by the same Spirit.

And it causes deep sorrow and pain when we grieve the Holy Spirit. That's how he feels when we grieve him, when we don't do what God is asking us to do. The Holy Spirit is grieved. Forgive as you've been forgiven and give so that needs are met is what Paul is saying.

How many relationships would still be together if they'd kicked the devil out of the guest room in the house? In their relationship or in their church? Because you know the devil, once he gets in, he sets up shop and he starts getting some people to follow after him because they were dumb enough to let me in. I'm going to hang in here for a little while.

So the devil, he comes into your guest room and he makes it his own. Some of you all need to kick the devil out. The Bible says resist him and he will flee. And you all didn't resist him long enough for him to flee because he saw that you weren't really serious about him leaving. You wanted him to stay a little while longer.

And so he's still setting up shop in your house. The Holy Spirit isn't merely a force; he's the third person in the Trinity and he experiences relational grief when we walk contrary to God's will. Verse 31 lists attitudes to remove: bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, and malice. These are internal weeds that have grown and produced external poison.

Verse 32 replaces them: be kind to one another, be forgiving, tenderhearted, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Tenderhearted means compassion from the inner organ in your body, our deepest emotions, in other words. Our forgiveness is patterned after God's forgiveness. We forgive because we have been forgiven.

God has forgiven you and you are to be forgiving. Holding a grudge is like renting someone space in your head and heart while you're paying the utilities and the rent. It's like drinking poison and hoping the other person gets sick when you're the one that's sick all along. And you wonder, "Why am I going through all of this?" And God is saying it's because you haven't done what I told you to do.

You let the devil in and now all these things are controlling you and now you're getting sick because you know I've been you're guilty and you won't come boldly to the throne of grace so I can forgive you. So I have no other way to get to you except this way.

A preacher joked some people have memories like elephants. You know what? He's true. Elephants have long-term memories. Their brains feature an enlarged temporal lobe and a cerebral cortex enabling them to retain complex information for decades to ensure that their herd is safe.

But Christlike people release bitterness, extend mercy, show compassion, and we do it and we forgive freely so that the body of believers around us can survive. We're protecting the body of Christ, we're protecting our relationship with God, kind of like the elephants who are remembering, "Wait a minute, I got to protect the herd."

And you have to protect the body of Christ. We're all members of the same body. We may not be at the same church, but we're in the same family. A Christlike lifestyle is not just about what we believe; it's about how we behave. So to forgive means to freely give. Mercy means the compassionate removal of misery. Grace means, and that's what God has given us, it means favor. You give favor to other people because you've been given favor.

So a Christlike lifestyle is not just about what we believe; it's about how we behave. So the question is: do you practice honest conversations? If Jesus controls our heart, he'll also control our mouth because the Bible says out of the heart the mouth speaks. When somebody says something crazy out of their mouth, they say, "Oops! Oops! I didn't mean it." Yes you did.

You thought you were out with your 9th Street brothers back in the day, but you're with some Christians. And you got your addresses mixed up. This is not 9th Street like it was. They changed the name down there. And you have a new name: you are now a Christian, you're a believer in Christ Jesus.

So you ought to practice honest conversations. If Jesus controls your heart, he'll control your mouth. So do you practice holy control? Don't let today's anger become tomorrow's stronghold. Do you practice heavenly compassion? A person who has received grace and mercy willingly gives grace and mercy—unearned favor, compassionate removal of misery.

So how are we behaving individually? What sin do we need to have God remove? Does God need to renew your spirit? Ask him to do it. In what area of your life do you need God to help you resist the devil? Do you need God's help to forgive anyone? My last sticky note is this: a forgiven person becomes a forgiving person.

If you're walking around with unforgiveness, it's like a weed inside your soul. It's like poison that you're drinking every day that you breathe. You're breathing in poison and you're drinking it. And God is saying forgiven people become forgiving people.

So God is saying who is it that you have allowed to have a guest room in your spirit? Kick them out! This is God's house! Satan, resist him and he will flee! The Bible is true about that, but you all don't resist him enough. If you resist the temptation, because God didn't give it to you, that temptation—no, no, no. It was what you knew was wrong that you did and you got caught up in it and you couldn't let go of it and then you went overboard.

God is able to do exceeding and abundantly beyond all that we could ask or think. And all you need to do is ask him, "God, will you help me with this area of my life?" So what area of your life do you need God to come in and cleanse you? You need to be honest with him and he'll do it.

Guest (Male): When my hands were empty, you saw the crack in me. You found me in the rubble and called me family. I was hiding my pieces, you did not turn away. You came close, you came near. To every bruise, to every tear, you spoke life over lost. You know the wound you bore the cost.

Jesus came to heal broken hearts. Jesus came to heal broken hearts. By the shattered, whole the scarred. Jesus came to heal broken hearts.

You sit with the grieving, you stay when the night runs long. You gather these shamed ones and sing over every wrong. There is mercy in your doorway, there is rest inside your name. You came close, you came near. To every bruise, to every tear, you spoke life over lost. You know the wound you bore the cost.

Jesus came to heal broken hearts. Jesus came to heal broken hearts. Jesus came to heal broken hearts. By the shattered, whole the scarred. Jesus came to heal broken hearts.

So I lay down my breaking at the feet of the king. I bring you my fragments and watch new hope begin where there was only ashes. You make a garden grow. You are healing the wounded and I am made whole.

Jesus came to heal broken hearts. Jesus came to heal broken hearts. Jesus came to heal broken hearts. By the shattered, whole the scarred. Jesus came to heal broken hearts. Jesus came to heal broken hearts.

Dr. Bernie Miller: There is no way anything or anyone can separate you from the love of God. There's nothing that you can do to separate yourself from the love of God. It is a done deal; it's sealed by the Holy Spirit of God and we are sealed until the day of redemption. New Covenant Fellowship Church, in-person worship Sunday mornings at 10:30, 1326 North Moore Road in Chattanooga. New Covenant Fellowship Church, a place for every race.

If you believe God will never put more on you than you can bear, pretty soon you're going to be like a cell phone at 1%. Some of our lives are at 1% spiritually and emotionally. If you don't know Jesus, you cannot be charged.

Guest (Male): All things are possible from New Covenant Fellowship Church. Connect with us anytime at ncf.church/connect or on social media at NCF Chattanooga. Worship with us every Sunday morning at 10:30, in person at 1326 North Moore Road in Chattanooga or online at ncf.church/messages. New Covenant Fellowship Church, a place for every race.

Children, you're the salt to the earth. Don't lose your flavor. We need you to lead the world. We know you're able. Grow up big and strong and hold on cause you're just a heartbeat from your soul's desire. Don't give up, don't give up, don't give up, children. You're just a heartbeat from your soul's desire. Don't give up, don't give up, there's help from heaven.

Take joy in being young, don't forget your maker. He's your helper when the evil comes. Don't let nothing break you. You can make it if you just believe. Don't be deceived. Keep on sowing seeds. You'll never know which one will grow.

You're just a heartbeat from your soul's desire. Don't give up, don't give up, don't give up, children. You're just a heartbeat from your soul's desire. Don't give up, don't give up, there's help from heaven. You're just a heartbeat from your soul's desire. Don't give up, don't give up, don't give up, children. You're just a heartbeat from your soul's desire. Don't give up, don't give up, there's help from heaven.