A community of God reflectors

Intro

Main point: Imitate God

1. Embracing our identity 4:32-5:2

2. Rejecting idolatry 5:3-6

3. Learn to discern rightly 5:7-10

4. So that Christ Shines brightly 5:11-14

1. Embracing our identity

We have been learning that all of Ephesians is teach us about who we are in God. Our identity.

Here in the later half of Eph we we are being told how we live this out.

Yet Paul reframes form merely going in a long list of do’s and don’ts.

I think this is something that many in the world today miss about christity. Many nominal christians miss.

DO this do that. YEt if you think about it is this not what our culture teaches?

Go to CHat GPT (AI) and type in any top 100 song and I bet you will see in someway the summary will be to live a good live is to look on the inside and find your true identity and then live it out.

The world says embrace who you think you based on your feeling and you will find true happiness!

Whole moral codes are created based on the idvial feelings and the the person is told to follow those rules to be happy.

The world is missing the mark here. It is true that we need to live in light of our identity. But where we get this identity matters!

The western world says to look on the inside to find it.

But if you just take one trip down a normal human emotional paths in their heart we will see that there is way to many twsit and turns to be reliable.

We need to have something outside of us to show us what our identity.

(when you are climbing up a tree do you grab a branch or your arm to steady yourself?) God is telling us to look outside our selfs to know who we are.

The christian way of life is not “now be kind to others because you are a kind good person.”

No, who is the center of the identity? The sinful person.

Look what Paul shows us in 4:32.

Why should be kind? Because God has forgiven us. Oh just stop and ponder on this.

He does not say be kind so you are forgiven. You are already fogiven. Redeemed. Bought, loved, procued thought of, and treasured.

God is not abusive parent saying to use this how you earn my love. NO in CHrist God displayed to us his tenderhearted, his forgivenss his kindness.

It is in light of that new identity we have from God we now can imitated him. look down in verse 1 of chapter 5.

As beloved. That is who we are! One of the nonnegotiable duties that every christian has every single day is this. To believe with more and more that God desperately loves and and wants us. If we missed this about God we will not understand God.

We miss this we will see him as either a distant God, or mean task master. And in turn we will become more distant, more unforgiving.

That is why paul goes on and on about what Christ has done for us! 1:3.

When we embrace this new identity more and more then we can follow the second half of verse 1.

Do you see what Paul is doing here? He is telling the church how to walk/live by showing us how we are loved.

You want to know what it means to love? The beatles said all we need is loved. Every pop song say life is about love. Yet only in Christ can the reality of what true love be totally know and seen. verse 1

(walk through verse 1) Love at its core is sacrifies and giving of oneself for the better of others. The world teaches love at the core is about personal fulfillment. Yet that kind of love will leave you hollow and empty inside. and it is only by the forgiving blood bought scarifie of Jesus that we can have true love and then exs that love to to others. (CONSIDER Deeper)

Our identity cannot be in ourselves or in the affirmation of others. You must have it in the loving arms of God so that we can then in turn shine God’s love into others life.

Listen loving like Jesus loved us is not always sunshine and rainbows. Love is often long suffering with little visible fruit. Beloved, God is peased that when you in love bear the offnives of others contionue to be kind and nice to them. Not out of spit or some backhanded kind I am better than you so I get on your level. OUt as desire for the others persons good and all of this can happen because Christ did this for us.

But if Christ so loved us to make us new why is it so hard to be christlike for us.

2. Reject idols

If we are going to be a community that reflects God we must imitate him by embracing our new identity that he has given us. But not only embracing the new but actively rejecting the hold.

Example of people learning new finalcel habits. The hold gets in the way of the new.

3-4 read. The Ephesians church where in a city that was super charged with sexual immorality. The temptation was everywhere. Paul is warning them that all kinds of sexual immoral practices or any other unholy thing, such as greed cannot have any place in their community.

It’s not all the actions but the words that Paul points out. (I may not do such bed thing but do you joke about it.)

One of the things that are students keep identifying has something we have fight against in ourselves is the tensed to use sarcasm in an hurtful ungodly way. WHy are the kids of this church identify how they use their words as a source of the problem. Because our words and thoughts come from our heart.

If our heart is in the wrong place we are in the wrong place. Because all sin at the end of the day is a misplacement of worship.

I want to do what I want to do thus I should be able to do what I want to do with my body to whomever I want is placing that persons desires as the center of the univiers. AKA That person has made themselves God and the meeting of theri desires the highest acted of worship.

All sin is like this. Greed, unrightoues anger, gossip at the core has a desire to elevate self above God and all others. At the core of this is are pervading malignant unthankfulness. I want I want I want. I take I take I take.

verse 4. Thankfulness is accepting what God has given us and being grateful for it and realizing he is good to us. Let’s get real for like two seconds here church. How many times have we grumbled and complained in our heart just this week about what God has given us? Church it cannot be this way. read 4.

When unthankfulness crop up in our lives we tend to go to idols to fulfill our desires. Look down in verse 5.

Ever sin at its center is idolatry, we are making ourselves our our wants little gods. and its not like they make our live better.

4  The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. Ps 16:4.

Sin and the idols we serve in it kill us. When we give into all kinds of impurity how much harder is our life. Do you know someone who or are someone who has held our to bitterness for years? How’s that working for ya?

Idols demand our life. That is why Paul lovingly gives the church this warning. 5-6 Beloved we must reject our idols. They are the things that make enjoying God from the heart and loving others for God’s glory so impossible.

Please please don’t miss this warning. (Life action plug)

OUr call to imitate God has us embracing our new idienty, rejecting our old idols which should then cause us to take series discerning our lives so that we can do what is pleasing to God.

3. Learning to discern.

We need wisdom to be able to know what is wrong and what is right. Often in our lives now where everything is hurried wisdom is replaced by short seemingly deep one liners. America is to fast pace and their our to many distraction we just don’t feel like we have a lot of time to think deeply. This can be miss leading.

For example you might have heard of the piece of wisdom that goes something like, “Just let go and let God.”

What is this trying to say maybe say like give God control of your life. And that all well and good. But what this could be missing is that the scripture repeatedly tells us again and again that trusting in God and becoming more and more like Christ requires our active participation. read 7-9

We are trying to strike a balance here. The text is not saying its all on us! Like we better try really really hard to not fail. No what does the text say to embrace as we actively reject idols and try to discern what pleases the Lord? Our identity. Oh is this not beautiful. God did not say walk to the light but he said walk because I have put you in the light already!

Our active striving to serve God is totally covered by grace and love. Look down read with me and hear, “Walk as children of light” That means as we test things in our own heart and try as a community out off idols and embrace serving God we do it all with a growing amazement that God has already made us his children. Now we get to walk in it.