SERMON: WALKING WITH JESUS IN LIGHT

 I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Ephesians 5:7-14

 

Ephesians 5:7 Therefore do not be partners with them.

 

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said:

 

“Wake up, sleeper,

    rise from the dead,

    and Christ will shine on you.”

 

            -- has there ever been a time in your life when you were in total darkness? -- a darkness so complete that there was not even the slightest glimmer of light?

            -- I have -- one time in my life -- and although I was really young, I remember it to this day

            -- when I was about 5 years old, our family took a trip to West Virginia -- on the way, we stopped off in Tennessee at a place called the Lost Sea -- it is the world's largest underground lake, found deep inside of a mountain as part of an extensive cave system called Craig Caverns

            -- we followed a lighted path down into the bottom of the cave, where the lake was located -- the guide put us in glass-bottom boats, and we spent about 30 minutes riding on the water and looking at the pale white fish that would come up to the boat -- he told us how all the fish were blind because there was no need for sight in the depths of the lake

            -- eventually, we reached the other side of the lake and we all got out of the boat and began to follow the guided trail back to the opening of the cavern

            -- as we were walking along, the guide began to tell us about all the people who had used the cave in the past -- from Native Americans to Confederate soldiers during the Civil War -- he said that every one of them had one thing in common -- they all needed light

            -- about that time, the guide stopped and asked everyone to stand completely still and he had parents grab the hands of their kids -- he then turned off a light switch that was on the wall of the cave -- and we were immediately plunged into total and complete darkness

            -- you've heard the phrase, "It was so dark I couldn't see my hand in front of my face" -- this was literally that dark -- it was a pervasive dark -- almost tangible -- almost a physical presence --void of any hint of a glimmer of light at all

            -- you know, it is almost impossible in our day and age to be in total darkness -- we have so many artificial lights that even if there is not a light near you, you can always see a glow on the horizon from a city or a town or even the interstate -- that’s one reason why we can’t see the stars like we used to -- the sky is just too light and the stars are just not as visible as they used to be

            -- so, it’s a rare thing indeed to be in total and complete darkness -- to this day, I can still remember how I felt when the guide turned the lights off in that cave -- the moment that light switch went off, I found myself in a darkness so thick and so complete and so stifling and I was immediately gripped with fear and panic -- the darkness made me afraid because it just wasn’t natural -- it’s not what we were created for

 

            -- that’s the very point the Apostle Paul is trying to make to the Christians in Ephesus here in these verses -- he’s been explaining to them what it means to live in the Kingdom of God -- how we are to walk in unity with God and each other -- how we are to walk in holiness -- how we are to walk in love -- and, here, he explains how we are to walk in light because we are not created for darkness, but to live our lives in the light of Jesus

            -- so, let’s look at this passage together now and see how we are to do this

II.  Who We Are (Ephesians 5:7-8a)

 

-- verse 7-8a

 

Ephesians 5:7 Therefore do not be partners with them.  8a For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.

 

-- last week, in verses 3-6 of this chapter, we looked at Paul’s counsel to live lives of love and to avoid ungodly behaviors -- things like immorality, impurity, and greed -- obscenity, foolish talk, and coarse joking -- and here in verse 7, Paul goes one step further and warns us to not be partners with those who live such ungodly lives

-- let me explain what Paul means when he says to not be partners with such people -- what he means is that we are not to be intimately involved with them -- we’re not to be yoked with them in such a way that we’re following their lead and their direction

-- there’s an old adage that says that you are the sum of your five closest friends -- in other words, you become like who you spend time with -- you start to look like those you are intimately involved with -- so, that’s why Paul warns us here to not be partners with people like this because doing so will inevitably lead to us living like they do

 

-- now, don’t misunderstand this warning from Paul -- he’s not telling us that we are not to have non-believers as friends -- that we are not to associate with unbelievers at all -- that’s not what he’s saying -- Paul understood that we have to live in this world -- that we are constantly going to associate with unbelievers in our lives -- but he’s reminding us here that even though we live in this world, we are not of this world any longer -- therefore, we shouldn’t be living and acting like the world

-- so, we can be friends with non-believers, but we should not be partners with them -- we should not be so closely tied to them that we begin to live and to act like them -- you can be friends with someone and not live like they do

-- how else are you going to share the good news of Christ with someone if you don’t know them or if you aren’t around them at work or at school or in life? -- when people see how you live your life differently than them, they will come to see the truth of Christ in you

-- I’ve got a Christian friend who used to work at the University of Georgia -- and, because it’s a government institution, he had to be careful about sharing his faith -- so, at lunch, he and a few other Christians would gather together in a small conference room for a Bible study -- they didn’t advertise it -- they’d just go in there, close the door, and study God’s word over lunch -- one day, he said, they were sitting there eating lunch and sharing the word when someone knocked on the door -- they opened it, and a coworker is standing there -- he said, “I don’t know what’s going on in here, but there’s something different about all of you, and I want that in my life, too” -- what a perfect example of how we are to influence those around us simply by living our lives in obedience to God

-- that’s what Jesus did -- He spent time with sinners, but He didn’t become like them -- instead, He drew them to Himself by how He lived and how He spoke and the relationship He had with the Father -- and this is what caused them to respond to Him and change their lives

-- so, Paul’s not saying we can’t be friends with unbelievers -- we just can’t be partners with them or be in close relationships with them

 

-- in actuality, Paul was more concerned about Christians who lived in disobedience -- who continued to live in darkness and sin after coming to Christ -- than he was about Christians associating with nonbelievers

-- hold your place right here and turn with me to 1 Corinthians 5:9-11 or listen as I read those verses

 

1 Corinthians 5:9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister[a] but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.

 

-- believers should not be living in the darkness, and Paul is saying we should not associate with those who continue to do so after knowing the truth

-- that’s why Paul emphasizes the change that should have occurred in our lives when we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior -- here in Ephesians 5:8, Paul says, “you once were darkness” -- the implication here is that you aren’t darkness any longer -- that’s who you were -- that’s how you used to live -- but you shouldn’t be living like that any longer

-- when the light of Christ came into our lives and brought us out of the world and into the Kingdom of God, our very lives and nature were transformed -- in 2 Corinthians 5, we read that we are new creations in Him -- therefore, Paul says, we are no longer to live in darkness as we once did -- but to live as light in Christ

-- his message here is a call of discipleship to the believers in Ephesus -- he’s reminding them of how they are to live now that they are Christians -- he’s reminding them to stop walking in darkness -- that’s who you used to be, he says, but it’s not who you are now -- instead walk in the light with Christ

 

III.  How We Are Supposed to Live

            -- look back at the second part of verse 8b-9

 

8b Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)

 

            -- do not be partners with the darkness -- do not walk in sin and darkness any longer -- instead, live as children of light

            -- notice this doesn’t say to live as children in the light -- it says to live as children of light -- there’s an important distinction there -- it’s like the time my boss said that he learned there’s a major difference between a boy being in the band and a boy being in a band when his daughter was in high school -- in the same way, there’s a difference between being children in the light and being a child of light

once again, Paul is pointing out the transformation that should have occurred in the lives of believers -- when we become believers, we are united with Christ -- we have become one with Him -- our very nature and character and being have changed and our lives should be reflecting the very light of Christ -- we are His light-bearers -- as Jesus said, we are the light of this world -- and we should be living as children of light

 

-- to be a child of light means we bear His light in this world -- we carry His light in our very nature and character and being -- and this light produces tangible fruit that can be seen by all those around us

-- Paul says the fruit of the light consists of goodness, righteousness, and truth

-- goodness refers to how we act -- to be good is to be like God -- as Jesus said, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone” -- as children of light, God’s goodness -- His high moral character and holiness -- should be flowing through us and into this dark world -- as children of light, we should be known by the good we do

-- to be righteous is to be in a right relationship with God and others --  as one commentary put it, “the righteousness of God is all that God is -- all that He commands -- all that He demands -- all that He approves -- and all that He provides -- the fruit of light is a life that is righteous, rightly related to God and rightly interacting with men.”¹

-- truth is the absolute standard by which everything else is measured -- Jesus is the truth -- He is God’s word made manifest -- and in Him we know the standard by which we should live -- by looking at Him, we know whether something or someone is true and right or if it is not -- to walk in truth is to walk in obedience to Christ and to share the truth in love -- to walk in truth is to align your life to the word of God and live lives of personal integrity

 

            -- verse 10-14

 

10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said:

 

“Wake up, sleeper,

    rise from the dead,

    and Christ will shine on you.”

 

            -- how do we live as children of light? -- what does that look like on a practical basis?

-- first, we must find out what pleases the Lord -- in other words, Paul is telling us that we have to learn what it means to walk as children of light -- it’s an on-going process -- it’s something that we do from the moment we become a Christian until God takes us home

-- a few years ago, bracelets with the acronym WWJD started showing up everywhere in Christian communities -- WWJD -- What Would Jesus Do? -- that’s a great starting point in trying to discern what pleases the Lord

-- as we are faced with decisions in our lives -- as we seek to walk as children of light -- we can begin by asking ourselves, what would Jesus do in this situation? -- how would Jesus act? -- what would Jesus say?

-- we find our answers by studying His life in the gospels -- by studying God’s word in its entirety -- through prayer and interaction with the Holy Spirit -- and through His church -- as God’s people speak the word of God into our lives

-- as children of light we should be continually asking ourselves, “will this please the Lord?”

 

-- the second way we live as children of light is by avoiding the darkness -- as Paul puts it here, “have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness” -- but live in such a way that the darkness is exposed

-- this gets back to Paul’s original point in this passage -- we are to avoid sinful thinking and sinful living -- we are to stop living as darkness and in the darkness -- we do this by surrendering our all to the Spirit of God, who will produce within us the fruit of the Spirit, including the fruits of goodness, righteousness, and truth

-- the Bible tells us that if we resist the devil, he will flee -- and that when we are tempted, God will show us a way out of that temptation so that we can endure -- we are told to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ -- meaning that we examine all our thoughts and desires in the light of Christ and turn away from those that do not align with His word

 

            -- and, finally, Paul says we are to expose everything in our lives to the light of Christ, so that we will be able to walk in the light

            -- what Paul is counseling us to do here is to examine our lives to make sure we do not have darkness lurking in our hearts -- Psalm 139:23-24 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart -- test me and know my anxious thoughts -- see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” -- that is the exact same thing that Paul is telling us to do when he says to expose everything to the light

            -- this is an examination of conscience -- an examination of who we are and how we living -- how close to the standard of God’s word are we living? -- are we the same people at home or work or school as we are in church?

 

            -- One afternoon, the members of a health club assembled for a meeting on nutrition and exercise -- the dietitian leading the discussion asked each member in turn to describe his or her daily routine -- the first participant admitted to a number of excesses, including overeating -- Others joined in agreement, and said they did the same

-- But one seriously overweight member reported, “I eat healthfully and moderately, I drink moderately and I exercise frequently.”

-- “I see,” said the dietitian. “Are you sure you have nothing else to tell us?”

-- “Well, yes,” said the man. “I also lie extensively.”²

 

-- the first step in getting healthy is learning to tell the truth -- to see if you have any offensive way within you -- to ask God to cleanse you of your unrighteousness and disobedience so that you might walk in the light of Christ in all facets of your life

 

-- most commentators agree that the end of verse 14 is an excerpt from an early hymn -- when Paul writes here to “Wake up, O sleeper, and rise from the dead,” this is a call for believers to wake up from their backsliding and the hypocrisy of their lives -- to admit their sins and their failures -- the darkness in their lives -- and to let the light of Christ shine on them so that they can live as children of light

 

-- these three steps -- finding out what pleases the Lord -- avoiding the darkness -- and exposing our life to the light of Christ -- helps us to become who we are in Christ -- they help us to become children of light who live as the light of the world and as the light-bearers of the King

 

IV.  Closing

-- In his documentary titled, “Light On Earth,” David Attenborough tells of an unbelievable experience of the S.S. Lima. On January 25, 1995, as this British Merchant vessel sailed the waters of the northwestern Indian Ocean, the seas beneath them began to glow.

-- On a clear moonless night, while 150 miles east of the Somalian coast, a whitish glow was observed on the horizon. And after about fifteen minutes of traveling, the ship was completely surrounded by a sea of milky white color with a fairly uniform luminescence. It appeared as though the ship was sailing over a field of snow or gliding over the clouds.

-- While stories of glowing seas have been a part of maritime folklore since the 1700’s, they have never been scientifically confirmed. But a group of scientists had an ingenious idea.

-- Using a Defense Meteorological Satellite, Dr. Stephen Haddock and his team discovered a large luminescent area roughly the size of Connecticut -- about 110 miles long -- in the exact area where the S.S. Lima had reported the glowing seas in 1995 -- marine biologists discovered that the glowing sea was caused by massive swarms of bioluminescent bacteria feeding on large populations of algae

            -- Imagine that for a moment -- Bacteria are microscopic -- they cannot be seen by the naked eye -- but when they congregate together, the light they give off transforms the very sea and can be seen by satellites 600 miles above the earth ³

            -- if mere microscopic bacteria can do this, imagine what the church of Christ could do if we all began living as children of light -- imagine the brightness of the light that would shine from us -- and imagine how this light could transform the world and dispel the darkness in all its forms

 

            -- if you’ve been involved with church for any length of time, you probably remember the children’s song, “This Little Light of Mine” -- This little light of mine -- I’m gonna let it shine -- this little light of mine -- I’m gonna let it shine -- let it shine -- let it shine -- let it shine

            -- that is our call this morning -- that is the sum total message that Paul was giving us in this passage -- to leave the darkness behind -- to live as children of light -- and to let our light shine before God and men so that this whole world would come to know Jesus as we know Him

            -- so, leave here today with your light held high and let it shine -- let it shine -- let it shine

            -- let us pray

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 Precept Austin

2 Rich Cathers

3 David Attenborough, “Light On Earth” CuriosityStream.com (5-9-16)

SERMON: WALKING WITH JESUS IN LOVE

 I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Ephesians 5:1-6

 

Ephesians 5:1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

 

3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.

 

            -- when I started working at Moody Air Force Base, one of the first people I met was the computer guy -- he was an older gentleman -- worked there for decades -- his office was in a little trailer behind our building -- and when I first had computer issues, I was told to go find him -- no one would take me over there, and after I finally made my way over and met him, I learned why

            -- this guy was not friendly -- he didn’t like to be bothered, especially by those people who needed his help -- he was gruff -- didn’t speak kindly -- and didn’t hesitate to use foul language -- his whole demeanor was “leave me alone -- I don’t like you -- and I don’t want to be around you” -- and so people avoided him as much as they could

            -- as time went by, I got to know him a little better -- we’d nod if we passed each other in the hall -- and I had occasion to speak with him on other issues from time-to-time -- one day, he stopped by my office and said, “I hear you’re going on the Walk to Emmaus -- that’s good -- I went on the Walk and it changed my life and it made me more active in my church -- I’m a leader there now” -- and then he went on

            -- my jaw hit the floor -- I couldn’t believe what I just heard -- this grumpy old man who everyone avoided because of his behavior and his language just told me he was a Christian -- and not just a Christian -- but someone who had been on a special Christian retreat designed for leaders in the church to help grow their faith and their walk with Jesus

            -- never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined this guy was a Christian -- my best guess was that he was undercover -- maybe a secret agent for the Lord -- but that really affected me -- it caused me to consider who I was in Christ and how others saw me

            -- you’ve heard the old cliche, “If they were arresting people for being Christians, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” -- well, there’s some truth in that old saying -- learning that my coworker was a Christian caused me to think about how I was living -- could others tell I was a Christian based on how I talked and how I acted and how I related to them in the office? -- or was I another secret agent for the Lord? -- proclaiming to be a Christian while living a life in public that did not reflect Christian values, attitudes, or behaviors?

            -- that’s exactly what the Apostle Paul is addressing in this passage from Ephesians 5 -- so, let’s look back at this passage together now and answer those questions about ourselves as we look at Paul’s call to walk with Jesus in love

 

II.  Scripture Lesson (Ephesians 5:1-6)

 

            -- look back with me at verse 1-2

 

Ephesians 5:1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

 

-- a couple of weeks ago, Great Britain celebrated Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee -- she has reigned for 70 years now -- and despite the public failings and foibles of her children and grandchildren, her reign has always been characterized by grace and class -- she has diligently given her life to serve her people well, and as a result she is deeply loved and highly revered -- there has never been a whisper or a hint of impropriety with Queen Elizabeth -- she has been an example for all the people of Great Britain for over 70 years

-- So, you can understand what it means to the people of Great Britain when they see the British flag flying over Buckingham Palace -- when the flag is flying, it means the Queen is in residence -- she is there with her people in the heart of her Kingdom -- that flag is a visible and public reminder that Queen Elizabeth is there

-- As Christians, we should be cognizant of the fact that our King is always present with us -- Jesus told us that He would never leave us or forsake us -- that He would always be with us and in us, no matter where we go -- our King is always home

-- but do others know? -- we don’t have a flag that we fly above our heads to let the world know that Jesus is within us -- but they should know He is in residence within us because of how we live -- if He is truly within us, that should show on the outside -- we should not be secret agent Christians, living undercover lives -- but bold witnesses of His presence and His grace as we imitate Him in our attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors¹

-- as Phillip Yancey wrote, “For the watching world, we ourselves serve proof that God is alive. We form the visible shape of what he is like.”

 

-- that is why Paul commands us here to be imitators of God -- as His dearly loved children, we are called to imitate Jesus in our daily lives -- to become like Him -- inside and out -- reflecting His Kingdom values in who we are and what we do

-- what does it mean to imitate God? -- it means to be like Jesus -- and to explain that better for us, Paul tells us that we imitate God by living a life of love

-- the word that Paul uses for love here in the Greek is the word agape -- just as a reminder, while we only have one word for love in our English language, the Greeks had multiple words to describe the different types of love that we experience in our lives

-- for instance, they would use the word eros to describe romantic love -- passionate love -- the love between a husband and a wife

-- they would use philia to describe brotherly love -- the love you have for your friends -- for those people around you who are more than acquaintances but not blood relation

-- they would use storge to describe familial love -- family love -- the love for your parents and your children and your siblings

-- but the highest form of love was agape love -- this is the love of God -- sacrificial, unconditional love -- the love that has no bounds -- the love that surpasses all understanding

-- to imitate God, Paul says, you must live a life of agape -- you must live a life where your love reaches out and touches everyone -- spouses, family, friends, enemies, the entire world -- with the love of God -- love, not in name, but in action and in attitude and in behaviors -- the love that God poured out on us when He sent Jesus to die for our sins and when He forgave us for all that we had done -- this is the love you are to live out -- this is what it means to imitate God

 

-- now, I know what some of you might be thinking -- sure, it’s one thing to tell us to imitate God -- to tell us to live a life of agape love -- but it’s another thing to do it -- we’re not Jesus -- we can’t live like Him -- we’re not God

-- no, you’re not -- but remember that you have God in residence within you -- if you have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are filled with His very presence -- the Holy Spirit is inside you -- empowering you and making you capable of doing what you could not do in your flesh

-- remember that Jesus told us that we would do greater things than Him -- and Paul isn’t just giving religious platitudes when he commands us here to be imitators of God and to live a life of love -- he’s not telling us to do something that we are incapable of doing

-- a lot of people forget that when Jesus came to earth, He emptied Himself of His divine attributes -- as we learn in Philippians 2:5-8, Jesus made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness and being found in appearance as a man -- He became one of us -- fully man -- fully human -- and what He did on earth was done through the power of the Holy Spirit

-- we can do the same -- yes, we have a sin nature that Jesus did not have -- we have a lifetime of sinful habits and behaviors and thoughts that lead us astray that Jesus did not have -- but we have the very presence of the living God within us who gives us the power to imitate Jesus in who we are and what we do -- to be holy as He was holy -- and to live lives of agape love

-- if this was not possible, God would not have commanded it of us -- so, yes, we can do this, but only because we have God Himself within us making us capable of living in such a way

 

-- so, immediately after telling us what we are to do -- how we are to imitate God and live lives of love -- Paul paints for us a picture of the opposite -- he shows us how we used to be before Jesus came into our lives -- and how the world still lives today

 

-- look at verse 3-6

 

3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.

 

-- in these verses, Paul contrasts the way of the world with the way Christ calls us to live and to love

-- our world today is hypersexualized -- we see it in our movies and our TV shows -- we see it on the internet and in social media -- we see it in advertising and in the lives of those around us -- as far as the world is concerned, almost anything goes when it comes to sexual relations -- they have redefined normal sexuality to mean whatever they want it to be and whatever feels good for them

-- God calls their definition of normal sexuality immoral -- and Paul tells us and the Ephesian Christians that there must not even be a hint of sexual immorality in our lives because this will compromise our walk with Christ

-- the Greek word Paul uses here for sexual immorality is very expansive -- it refers to any form of sexual activity outside of marriage -- whether that is pornography, premarital or extramarital sex, or same sex relationships -- for the last month, you might have heard the catch phrase, “love is love,” being bantered about -- but Paul is saying that the love the world defines as the new normal is contrary to the nature and character of God 

 

-- he goes on to talk about avoiding impurity and greed -- with these three -- sexual immorality, impurity, and greed -- Paul is addressing what drives our actions and behaviors -- he’s calling out our internal beliefs and attitudes and the thoughts that drive what we do and who we become

-- he is referring to our immoral thoughts, passions, fantasies, and ideas that are coming from the old man -- our flesh -- which we talked about last week

-- as you remember, Paul said in Ephesians 4 that these need to be put behind us and that we need to put on our new selves in Christ -- putting aside sexual immorality and greed and impurity and putting on the things of Christ -- His holiness and righteousness -- imitating God and living lives of agape love

-- there’s an old praise song we sometimes sing that says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus -- look full in His wonderful face -- and the things of earth will grow strangely dim -- in the light of His mercy and grace” -- that’s the message Paul is giving us -- stop dwelling on the things of earth and instead turn your eyes and your thoughts towards Jesus -- imitate Him in your minds and in your thoughts and in your attitudes -- and you will find that the things of the world like sexual immorality and impurity and greed no longer drive you and define who you are and what you do

 

-- he goes on to say that we should be mindful of that which comes from our mouths -- and, I would add, that comes through our fingers to our screens as we communicate on the internet and social media -- avoid obscenity, foolish talk, and coarse joking -- instead speak words of praise and thanksgiving and love from a grateful heart

-- I had a pastor one time who always taught that what is in your heart comes out of your mouth -- that the words you used were an indicator of where you were in your relationship with God -- she always said, “do you want to know what is in your heart? -- hit your hand with a hammer and see what comes out -- then you’ll know”

-- now I’m not advocating anyone to go out and hit their hand with a hammer -- but I am recommending that you spend some time paying attention to what you say and how you say it -- because that is what the Bible is telling us to do here

 

-- the point Paul is making here goes back to the two paths we talked about last week -- the path of the world and the path of Christ -- if we are walking with Christ -- if we are imitating Him and trying to become like Him, then our lives should start looking like Him -- we should start reflecting Christ’s character and nature more and more

-- we should be putting behind us sexual immorality and impurity and greed -- we should be speaking words of grace and not words of death or cursing -- we should reflect who Christ is in our thoughts and attitudes and behaviors as the Holy Spirit works within us to sanctify us and make us holy as God is holy -- to make us more and more like Jesus daily

-- Paul is counseling the Ephesians here to look at their lives -- to see how they are living -- are they living in truth and faith -- do their actions and behaviors reflect a life being changed by God? -- or do their actions and behaviors demonstrate that their faith is more lip service than transformational? -- are they true Christians living lives of love or are they secret agents who are imitating the world more than Jesus?

-- be imitators of God, Paul says, and live a life of love -- so that you may become more like Jesus and less like the world

 

-- let’s bring this to a close -- Paul gives us several examples here of what not to do as we seek to imitate God and live like Jesus, but what does living a life of love look like in practice? -- what does living like Jesus look like on a daily basis?

-- Thomas Aquinus wrote that “Love is willing the good of the other” -- and Skye Jethani points out that “the true disciple of Jesus Christ isn’t recognized by spectacular acts of power, but by an inexplicable love that puts others ahead of themselves”

-- true agape love is loving others unselfishly and unconditionally with the love of God that is in you

-- the clearest picture of what living a life of love looks like can be found in 1 Corinthians 13 -- turn over there with me now -- 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a -- [read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a]

 

-- this is what love looks like -- this is what agape love looks like when it is lived out in the life of a believer

-- it is patient -- it is kind -- it does not envy -- it does not boast -- it is not proud -- it is not self-seeking -- it is not easily angered -- it keeps no record of wrongs

-- it always protects -- it always trusts -- it always hopes -- it always perseveres -- love never fails

 

-- that is why the Bible tells us in 1 John 4:8 that God is love -- it’s because the agape love that we are called to walk in is divine -- it is an expression of who God is -- it is the sum of God’s character and nature and being

           

-- God’s love is eternal - Man’s love is emotional

-- God’s love is selfless - Man’s love is selfish

-- God’s love gives sacrificially - Man’s love takes greedily

-- God’s love gives life - Man’s love condemns us

-- God’s love is pure - Man’s love is perverted

-- God’s love understands - Man’s love demands

-- God’s love is personal - Man’s love is objective

-- God’s love is unconditional - Man’s love is conditional²

 

            -- to live a life of love is to walk the path of God in your daily lives -- to love, not just with words, but in deeds and actions -- to love unconditionally -- sacrificially -- selflessly -- to love like Jesus

 

III.  Closing

            -- let me close by leaving you with this thought -- a few years ago, I had the opportunity to go to the top of Pikes Peaks in Colorado -- I don't know whether any of you have had the chance to do that, but if you are ever out that way, I would encourage you to do so

            -- Pikes Peak is over 14,000 feet high and overlooks Colorado Springs -- from the top of Pikes Peak you can see all of the front range of Colorado, including the Continental Divide -- it was the view from the top of Pikes Peak that inspired Katherine Lee Bates to write her patriotic song, "America the Beautiful"

            -- there's really only two ways to get to the top -- you can drive up a two-lane, partially paved roadway with hairpin turns and 1,000-foot drop offs -- or you can take a cogwheel train -- I didn't want to chance driving up that road in a rental car, so I took the train

            -- the trip up in the train was fascinating -- we started in the bottom of the valley at about 7,000 feet in a town called Manitou Springs -- it was heavily forested with ponderosa and logdepole pine -- but as we headed up the mountain, the vegetation changed -- the pines gave way to hemlocks and firs as we climbed in elevation -- and it became easier to see great distances from the train

            -- finally, as we neared the top, the trees almost completely thinned out and you could feel the wind blowing up the mountain, rocking the train car that I sat in -- the wind was blowing about 35 miles per hour and I asked the engineer about it -- he said that it always blew like that on top of the mountain

            -- he pointed out the snow drifts that the wind had piled up right next to the tracks -- he said that they have to go up there daily with a specialized train to cut a path through the wind-blown snow -- you could see how the wind really shaped the environment near the top of the mountain

            -- right before we left the tree line, I noticed how all of the trees had this unique shape -- in ecology, we learned this is called a "krummholz" -- it is a German term for crooked, bent, and twisted wood -- and that was the perfect term to describe the trees up there at the edge of the treeline

            -- the wind that was constantly blowing against these trees affected their growth pattern -- rather than standing up straight with a full canopy on each side like all the other trees in the forest, these trees looked abnormal -- their trunks were bent and their canopy was shifted towards the downwind side -- they didn't look like the other hemlocks that I had seen lower down -- these hemlocks were permanently affected by the blowing of the wind -- the wind shaped them -- the wind formed them -- the wind gave them life on top of that mountain

            -- that is how it is to be for us as Christians -- we are to be shaped and formed by the Holy Spirit blowing in our lives -- filling us and empowering us with His presence -- our growth is to be affected and we are to resemble Christ and not the world -- we are to look like Him and not those around us -- we are to imitate Him and to walk with Him in love so that others might see Him in us and come to know Him as we know Him -- that is the message of this passage for us today

            -- so, go forth and be imitators of God -- walk with Jesus in love today and tomorrow and forever -- and let the Holy Spirit shape you and mold you and make you into who you are called to be

            -- let us pray

----------------------------------------------------

1 Modified from an Our Daily Bread devotional by Joe Stowell

2 From Dr. Bradford Reaves, The Distinction of God’s Love in Jesus, Sermon Central

 

SERMON: WALKING WITH JESUS IN HOLINESS

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Ephesians 4 -- this morning, we are going to be continuing in our sermon series, “Walking with Jesus,” and will be looking at a passage from Ephesians 4:17-32

            -- while you are finding your place, I want to share with you a story I heard one time about a lady who called her husband who was on his way to work -- when she answered the phone, she told him, “Be extra careful driving today -- the radio said that there’s an idiot on the highway driving in the wrong lane” -- he replied, “I know -- but it’s not just one -- it’s hundreds of them and they’re all coming my way”

 

            -- while I love the irony in this little joke, in all honesty, this should be a description of us -- we should be going through life in such a way it looks like we are driving in the wrong lane

            -- you see, the majority of those around us are all going the same way -- they are all going in the same direction -- they are following the broad path that Jesus talks about -- the way of destruction -- the way of the world

            -- but as Christians, we are called to go the opposite direction -- to not follow the crowd in the direction the world is going, but to go the other way -- the way of Christ -- the way of the Kingdom

            -- and when you begin walking with Jesus in this way, the world will think you’re off-course -- they will think you are going the wrong way, when in reality, you’re the one who is going in the right direction, and they are not

            -- as Christians, we are called to be counter-cultural -- to go against the flow -- to not walk in the same direction as those around us, but to walk with Christ in holiness

            -- that is what we’re going to talk about this morning, as we look at this passage taken from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Church in Ephesus

 

II.  Our Former Life (Ephesians 4:17-21)

            -- look with me now in Ephesians 4:17-21

 

17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

 

20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.

 

            -- as Paul opens this section of his letter, he makes a demand of the Christians in Ephesus -- contrary to his message in Ephesians 4:1, where he “urged” the Ephesians to live a life worthy of the calling they had received -- here Paul “insists” that they must no longer live as the Gentiles do -- and there’s a reason he does that

-- last week, the passage we looked at dealt with the incorporation of the believer into the church -- Paul was concerned with new believers becoming part of the body of Christ and becoming united with each other -- this is something they need, so he urges them to join with other Christians who can help them in their walk with Jesus

-- in this passage, Paul is trying to get the Ephesian Christians to grow in Christ -- to become mature in their Christian lives by walking in holiness with Christ -- to put it in biblical terms, Paul is insisting that they seek to become sanctified in their daily lives -- that they seek to become more like Jesus every day and live like He did in complete obedience to the Father

-- by insisting on this, Paul makes it clear that this is something that is expected -- this is something that is required if we are to follow the way of Christ -- we cannot move forward in our Christian life until we make a change in who we are and how we live and this begins with our internal thoughts and beliefs

-- so, Paul tells the Ephesians they can no longer live as they used to when they were Gentile pagans -- trapped by the futility of their thinking -- living life based on incorrect beliefs as to what is right and what is wrong -- doing whatever they wanted and following all their desires, regardless of whether they were good for them or not

-- the world, he says, lives that way because they are separated from the life of God -- which leads to dark thoughts and hard hearts and a continual turning away from holiness in behavior and attitude

-- that way of life desensitizes us and causes us to give in to every desire we have -- to continually lust after more and more and to live lives wrapped up in sin and sensuality

-- that’s how you used to live, Paul says, but that is not who you are now -- because you heard and responded to the call of Christ, you have come to know Him in a different way -- you were taught to follow a different path -- to go in a different direction -- based on the truth that is in Jesus

-- you can no longer live as the Gentiles do, Paul writes -- I insist on this, because you can’t walk with the world and walk with Christ -- you must separate yourself from your past and from the way of the world so that you can walk with Jesus in holiness

 

III.  Called to Righteous Living (Ephesians 4:22-24)

            -- verse 22-24

 

22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

 

            -- Paul tells us here that we were taught a better way -- we were taught a better walk -- a new direction of life with Christ

 

            -- first, we were taught to put off the old self

            -- by the old self, Paul is referring to our flesh -- our sinful human nature which all of us have and which will still be in us until we are finally carried home to be with Christ in eternity forever -- this old self -- our flesh -- wars with our spirit and continually tries to make us give into temptation and ungodly desires

-- Paul tells us here that we have to “put off” this old self -- through the power of the Spirit within us, we have to choose to not give in to our flesh but instead choose to follow the path of Christ

-- this is a conscious decision we have to make -- this is an action on our part -- we have to choose to let the old go and not give into the old self any longer

-- that’s the first step

 

-- the next step is to renew our minds in Christ -- to change our minds -- to change our attitudes and our beliefs and our thoughts

-- where the Gentiles lived in the futility of their thinking because they could not comprehend or understand the way of God, we are called to renew our minds through the Spirit so that we can know and live the life God has called us to live

-- our behaviors follow our minds -- so, when our minds change -- when we choose to renew our minds and change our attitudes and beliefs about life and how we do life -- then our behaviors will follow and we will begin to be able to put off the old self and put the flesh behind us

-- finally, Paul tells us that we to put on our new self -- the self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness

-- it’s not enough to put off the old -- we have to put on the new -- it’s not enough to empty your mind of your old habits and thoughts and beliefs -- you have to create new habits and thoughts and beliefs through the renewing of your mind

-- it is a three-step process by which we put the past behind us and walk forward with Christ in a new direction -- the path of holiness and righteousness

            -- and, keep in mind, this is a process -- this isn’t a once and done type of thing -- you don’t come to church or a spiritual retreat -- make a decision to live a holy life -- get the t-shirt or the little Jesus fish for your vehicle -- and call it done

            -- no, this is something you have to do daily -- this is a process -- it is a new system -- a new way of life -- and it takes time to learn to do this and to begin to mature and grow in grace to the point where you are truly walking with Jesus in holiness

            -- don’t get frustrated if you occasionally fall -- if you occasionally give in to temptation and sin now and again -- the answer isn’t to quit or to think you’ve failed and can’t go on -- the answer is to trust Christ and get up and move forward again

            -- the Christian life is one where you take two steps forward and one step back -- but you keep going on and on -- growing more and more like Jesus -- until you finally become who you are called to be

 

            -- tomorrow is Juneteenth -- the federal holiday that recognizes the day when the slaves were finally made aware of the Emancipation Proclamation -- if you’re not familiar with the story of this new national holiday, when Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, they were officially free from their many years of servitude -- they were no longer slaves -- they were free men and women

            -- but the news didn’t make it to all of them at the same time -- for almost two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, men and women continued to live as slaves in Texas until General Gordon Granger brought them the news that they were officially free

            -- even then, it was hard for the former slaves to accept -- out of habit and out of their ingrained way of thinking, many of these poor people still lived like slaves and still served their former masters even though the reality was they were not slaves -- they were free

-- so, they needed to learn to live in accordance with the new facts -- when they were tempted to think like a slave or act like a slave, they had to learn to say, “No, that is not who I am -- the truth is I am now a free person” -- and then they had to live in that new truth

            -- the same is true for us -- we need to remember that we have been freed through the death and resurrection of Christ and we are no longer bound by sin and death -- when our old self, with its old habits and old way of thinking tries to assert itself, we need to learn to say, “No, that is not who I am -- the truth is that I am now free in Christ” -- that’s why we need to put off our old self -- renew our minds through the Spirit -- and put on our new self -- it’s because we have been freed and created to be like God in righteousness and holiness -- we must learn to walk in the freedom we have in Christ -- in His kingdom and not following the ways of the world any longer

 

IV.  Putting Off the Old (Ephesians 4:25-32)

            -- verse 25-32

 

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

 

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

 

 

            -- if you’re like me, when you hear Paul’s call to put off the old self, to renew our minds, and to put on the new self, you’re probably thinking, “Yes, but how? -- I’ve tried it before, and it didn’t work”

            -- when I get up on Monday morning, what do I do to follow what God is telling me to do in this passage? -- what does that look like? -- how do I do that in practice?

            -- well, Paul tells us how by giving us several examples that are just as relevant to our modern lives as they were to the Ephesian Christians -- just keep in mind that this is all dependent on your relying on the Holy Spirit within you -- you cannot do this on your own -- you must have God’s help -- you must depend on God to make this happen

 

            -- Paul says we begin to walk with Jesus in holiness by changing our behaviors and our thoughts -- by changing how we act and think -- he tells us to put off falsehood and speak truthfully to our neighbors -- in other words, don’t lie, even if you say you’re lying to spare the other person’s feelings

            -- people lie to me every single day -- most of y’all did it this morning -- I asked, “How you’re doing?” -- and you all said, “We’re doing good.  How about you?” -- but are you really doing good? -- is everything okay in your life? -- are there things going on in your life that you could use a prayer for? -- pain in your body -- sickness -- financial problems -- worries -- anxieties -- family issues -- we all have things going on in our lives that we need help with, but we don’t want to share them -- and so we don’t tell the truth

            -- Paul says, “tell the truth -- share the truth of your situation with others so that they can pray for you and help you -- tell the truth, because we are called to live in and speak the truth to each other in love”

 

            -- watch your anger -- if you get angry, don’t sin -- don’t give the devil a foothold in your life

            -- don’t steal -- don’t take what is not yours -- and give what you promised to give -- small steps of dishonesty can lead to a slippery slope of deceit and sin in your life

            -- share with those in need -- give of yourself and your resources to help those around you who need it

            -- don’t let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only speak what is helpful for building others up -- would your social media accounts look different if you did this? -- would your conversations with others look different if you did this?

            -- in verse 31, Paul expands on his examples and says to get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, and every form of malice -- the list just goes on and one

            -- but keep in mind, this is not an all-inclusive list -- these are just examples of things that are the habits and attitudes of our old self -- all of us have our pet sins and our pet habits that are not good -- that we struggle with on a daily basis -- maybe your struggle is with lust or greed or impure thoughts or gossip -- just insert your particular sin or habit in this list from Paul

-- his point here is that things like this are remnants of who we used to be -- and that’s not who we are now -- and when we live like that -- when Christians who are redeemed by the body and blood of Jesus live like the world and live in their old sins and habits, it breaks the heart of God

-- Paul says in verse 30 that we should not grieve the Holy Spirit of God -- when we live like the world -- when we deny Christ and go back to our old ways -- it hurts Him and grieves Him -- just as a parent grieves when a child goes the wrong way -- He knows it’s wrong for us -- and He knows how it hurts us -- and He doesn’t want to see it happen -- so, He grieves when we sin

-- that’s why Paul says we need to put those old habits and sins behind us -- we need to think before we act -- we need to pause before we speak -- we need to put off the old and choose the better way -- leaving the past behind and taking up the better things as we put on our new self in Christ

            -- choose to do as Paul says in verse 32 -- be kind and compassionate to one another -- do unto others as you would have them do unto you -- forgive them, as Christ forgave us -- love them and live with them in love -- as it says in Micah 6:8, God’s call for us is to “act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

            -- this is what it means to put on the new self -- this is the “how” of this passage

            -- we choose to put off the old self and renew our minds through the Holy Spirit so that we can choose to love others and love God with our whole hearts and our whole selves

 

V.  Closing

            -- in his book, “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years,” Donald Miller tells the story about the daughter of a friend of his -- she was in a bad relationship -- the boy she was with was emotionally abusive -- she lived into the description by which he painted her, which caused her to have a poor self-image and led her into actions and behaviors that were just not good -- her life was in a negative spiral and her future looked uncertain -- as her father said, “She was living a terrible story”

            -- but then something happened -- she went on a mission trip to Mexico and found purpose and meaning through ministering to the children there -- she began to see herself in a different light -- she began to see herself through the eyes of Jesus and not her abusive boyfriend -- and she began to change -- she began living a better story -- the story of who she was in Christ -- the story where she was the hero and not the victim -- the story where she was living in freedom and not slavery

-- and when she got home, the first thing she did was dump her abusive boyfriend -- because, as her father put it, no girl who plays the role of a hero dates a guy who uses her -- when Donald Miller asked his friend how his daughter was after that point, he said, “She’s in a better place -- she knows who she is -- she just forgot for a little while”

 

            -- that’s the whole theme of this passage -- remember who you are in Christ and live in that image -- you are the sons and daughters of the living God -- you are the sons and daughters of the King -- and you need to live like that

-- Jesus didn't die on the cross so that we might just keep on living like we used to before we came to know Him -- He didn’t die on the cross so that we would continue to walk in sin -- He died so that we would have life -- abundant life -- with Him and so that we would be filled with His Spirit and walk in the light of His love as new creations in Him -- created for true righteousness and holiness

            -- when we fail to live up to this standard -- when we continue to live our old story and grieve the Spirit by living in sin and disobedience as we once did, we are once again putting ourselves in bondage to sin and death just like the freed slaves in Texas -- we are not living our true lives -- we are not living our true story

            -- we have to choose to live better stories -- we have to choose to put off our old selves -- to renew our minds -- and to put on our new selves so that we can be who Christ called us to be

            -- so, as we close in prayer this morning, I want to encourage you to join with me in asking for God’s grace and strength to do just that -- to choose to daily pick up our cross -- to lay aside the old and to take up the new -- so that we might become mature and complete in Him -- growing in grace and walking in holiness with Jesus daily

            -- let us pray