Discover Your Power

Superhero Discovery

Every superhero has an origin story of how they got their powers. Spiderman has been one of my favorites for a long time. I grew up watching the animated cartoon series, and when the first movie came out in theaters with Toby McGuire (OG), I was there.

I love watching the discovery phase of superheroes, when they first realize that they have powers and abilities. At first they’re confused, but then they want to test their abilities and see just how much that can do now.

This doesn’t seem to transfer over to the church as much as it should. We won’t discover our new abilities as a child of God on accident. It’s why Paul spends so much time telling the Ephesians to be the new creation that God has made them to be.

But why does Paul seem to spend so much time focussing on the changed life and urging them to live it out. While we are all called to live out the salvation that God has given us. Ephesus has something a little bit more at work here.

Ephesus was Paul’s hub of outreach to the other churches in Asia Minor. This church would actually live on as a hub for the disciple, John.

Ephesus was known not only for wicked idolatry, but it was a hub of culture with a port, a theater, and a library. The townspeople would’ve been constantly swept up in what was going on and Paul wanted them to stay focussed on who God is and who He wanted them to be.

This morning we’re going to look at our reason we serve God with our abilities, what happens when we don’t use our abilities, what are the supernatural abilities of a Child of God.

Ephesians 5:1–2 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children (Not slaves, or fearful servants, but children loved by their Father). And walk in love (this isn’t just a state of being, its a way of life), as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Love is the reason we serve God with our abilities.

First, God’s love for us made the way for us to receive these abilities. He chose to give us these abilities not because we deserve it, but because He loves us.

Second of all, God’s love for us on the cross is what compels us to love Him in return. Seeing the price that God paid for us even though we never asked for it, we could never do anything to pay Him back for it…That depth of love should always blow us away.

Finally, God’s love is how we serve others. Christ gave Himself up for us as an offering to God. In the same way, we walk, or live every day, in a posture that is constantly looking for ways to show the love of God to others.

Why are you serving God? Many people serve God because they feel like they have to or something bad will happen to them. Some serve God because they thing something good will happen if they do. Some people serve God to get be seen and get praise for what they do.

But Paul is clear, love for God and love for others should always be the underlying reason for why we serve God.

Ephesians 5:3–6 “But sexual immorality (Anything outside of one man and woman in a commitment of marriage) and all impurity (obscenity)or covetousness (greed) must not even be named among you (should not come up in the same sentence as your name), as is proper among saints (Holy ones). Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking (These are not categories, just Paul covering whatever word you would use for your language that doesn’t honor God.), which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving (Be looking for a way to point to God with your speech and you will never find yourself saying things that are inappropriate.). For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words (Lighten up), for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”

The Cost of Wasting Our Abilities

I think we see two applications here, one for the Child of God, and one for the unbeliever.

For the child of God, the cost of wasting our abilities is someone else’s soul.

These things should not even be named among you, why? Because the world will see. One of the greatest hinderances of the Gospel is hypocrisy in God’s Church.

For the unbeliever, the cost of wasting our abilities is your own soul.

If you are living in these things, sexual immorality, impurity, greed, then you will not be saved. Paul is not advocating for works-based righteousness. He’s saying that it is impossible to claim you are a Child of God and for you to also live in these things.

What’s interesting is that churches will often pick and choose which of these they really want to hammer down on.

Liberal churches downplay sexual sin, and double-down on greed.

Conservative churches downplay greed, and double-down on sexual sin.

The reason we waste our abilities at all is because we are downplaying sin.

Paul is clear that God’s wrath is coming on those who live in these sins.

Some say God’s wrath isn’t fair:

Imagine a mother raising her son to be a good boy. These are things that we should do, and these are things that we should not do. Be kind, considerate, humble, and generous.

He grows up and she works two jobs to put him through college.

After college he graduates and begins his life. He gets a good job begins to build a family. He is kind, considerate, humble, and generous. He’s trustworthy and hardworking. From the outside looking in we would say that he is a good man.

The problem is that he never speaks to his mother. He never visits his mom. He has absolutely nothing to do with her. Knowing this, is he still considered a good man?

He shouldn’t be. He’s thrown off his mom after all that she has done for him. The same is true of everyone who does not follow Christ. Your live, your breath, and everything good that you have in this world is a gift from God. You owe your life to Him. And to reject the God who loved you, created you, and redeemed you, is worthy of the wrath of God.

Ephesians 5:7–14 “Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light (Not in, of, or have light or darkness. You are…) in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.””

A disciple has the ability to be holy.

Again, we are not of light, in light, have light, but we are light. Just as Jesus is light, in Him we are light as well. We are now able to live a holy life.

We downplay this so much. We tell ourselves we’re nothing but a sinner. We accept our failures as par for the course.

It sounds holy and humble, but it’s an insult to the work of the Holy Spirit. God lives in all those who have placed their faith in Jesus. So if God lives in us, we should live like God. In Paul’s words, we should be imitators of God.

Accepting a sinful life as a disciples is not humility its laziness or defeatism.

You are not defeated. You have victory in Jesus.

If you’re struggling with sin, part of the problem is you have not exposed it to the light. You need to take it to the Lord and you need to take it to a friend.

Sin cannot survive when it is brought into the light.

Watch out for Christian Kryptonite.

Ephesians 5:15–17 “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

Autopilot

Walking around in autopilot. It’s passive empathy. Staying so busy with what the world and everyone else says that we have to do, that we neglect what a disciple needs to do. We’re supposed to be spending time with the Lord in His Word and in prayer. We’re supposed to be spending time with other Christians. We’re supposed to be looking for ways to be sharing the Gospel.

What do we spend our time doing? Doing the bare minimum at our job so we can go home and watch our favorite tv show or sports team.

Autopilot will kill our holiness because the default things of this world draw us away from God and living holy, not closer to Him and holiness.

Escapism

Ephesians 5:18–21 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Wine, alcohol, drugs, sex, any other substance used to escape reality is used to mask pain or keep us from feeling and being aware of what is going on.

The Holy Spirit does the opposite. Instead of making us less aware of the problems around us, He makes us more aware of His ability to handle those problems.

And when we move away from all the worldly pursuits of joy, and we move closer to the Holy Spirit, we develop a melody in our heart.

I’m not saying we’re all singing or anything, but there is an undercurrent that is supporting us and carrying us along. It gives us a lasting joy and it makes us thankful instead of resentful, regretful, and defeated.

Are you aware of your ability to be holy?

Are you using that ability? Do you have any kryptonite that you need to get rid of?

Maybe you need to be changed today.