Following God

What are you struggling with? Do think that most of your struggles may be connected to your commitment to following God?

Many of us are struggling to follow God, because we are still drawn to worldly behavior or what we call our old ways. We only want to follow when it is convenient and comfortable for us.

Christians should imitate God by no longer living according to their past and not be persuaded to follow falsehoods in their present.

Paul is writing to believers in the church at Ephesus. He wants to display the scope of God’s eternal plan for all humanity. This church consisted of converted Jews and Gentiles. As he pens chapter 4:17 He serves them with a warning. You must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the futility of their minds. A gentile is a person from an ethnic group or nation not allied with and trusting in the God of Israel (and later in Jesus as the Messiah) usually used collectively. They often are stuck in the futility, uselessness as a consequence of being purposeless or incapable of producing results.

I want to give you two steps to helping you follow God.

Jews will have a tendency to pick up the behavior of Gentiles and Gentiles have a tendency to revert back to their old behavior.

Those born in the church have a tendency to pick up worldly behavior and some worldly folk who have been saved have a tendency to revert back to their old behavior.

The only remedy is to find someone new to follow. A better example.

I want to give you two steps to helping you follow God.

Learn To Be A Great Imitator God

What is an imitator? Any person attempting to be like another person. A person who copies the words or behavior of another.

To imitate God is to

(ESV) You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

(ESV) You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Being complete, without blemish or defect.

(ESV) Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

(ESV) Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Showing compassion.

(ESV) Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

(ESV) Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Soft and mild(and pleasant); not harsh or stem or severe.

Tenderhearted compassionate with a good heart.

Forgiving graciously, to forgive someone on account of the goodwill one has toward a person.

Because Christ forgave you.

I know someone who show us how to imitate God well. He helped those in need. He forgave those who sinned. He prayed for and healed those who were sick. He walked on water. He calmed vicious storms. And because HE remembered who He was God showed Him favor. Early Sunday morning favor. Resurrection favor. Ascension into heaven favor.

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We have to learn to be great imitators of God and this might help.

Remember Who You Are In God

Picture yourself as the child and God is your father.

(ESV)

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

(ESV)

If God is your Father, then you need to know that your are loved.

Beloved means you are dearly loved and cherished; sometimes preferred above all others and treated with partiality.

This suggest my brothers and sisters that when we are God’s beloved children, He prefers us over others. He treats us with partiality.

What does that look like?

When you have what you know someone else deserved, but God gave it to you anyway.

When you give it the best that you have and others seemed to be ahead of you, but God gives you the victory anyway.

I know someone who show us how to imitate God well. He helped those in need. He forgave those who sinned. He prayed for and healed those who were sick. He walked on water. He calmed vicious storms. And because HE remembered who He was God showed Him favor. Early Sunday morning favor. Resurrection favor. Ascension into heaven favor.

If you follow these two step and follow God you will be able to stop lying to one another and speak the truth.

If you follow these two step and follow God you will be able to stop lying to one another and speak the truth.

You learn how to be angry without sinning.

You will learn not to let issues linger overnight and no let the devil get the best of you.

You will learn how to no longer be a theif, but get a job and position yourself to help others.

You will learn to stop letting corrupting talk come out of your mouth, but only speak that which is good for building as fitting to the situation that it may give grace to those who hear.

You will learn to not grieve the Holy Spirit.

It will help you to walk in love.

It Will help you give up sexual immorality

It will help to stop greedy

It will help to walk as children of light.

(ESV)

36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

(ESV)

32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

(ESV)

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.