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Hello, welcome again to the Takeaway. I'm your host, pastor Harry Behrens. In today's episode, we're going to be discussing Ephesians, chapter 5, verses 1 to 6, and the theme is imitating God. Now, before we dive in, I want to invite you to share any questions or feedback you may have by using the text us link in the episode description, as your input is invaluable in shaping future episodes. Here at the Takeaway, we are committed to creating content that supports your spiritual growth, and we can only do that with your feedback, so please let us know your thoughts, as we would love to hear from you. Now, as we begin, we see that Paul has been gradually leading us on a journey following the divine plan that God has set out for us, and he has now reached the point of urging us to imitate God. As we reflect on the previous chapters, we can see that this serves as a roadmap to the Christian life, starting from the state of spiritual deadness due to sin, being chosen by God, being placed in his family and being equipped to understand how we are to model ourselves after Christ. Let me give you a brief overview of each chapter to illustrate how this is laid out. The roadmap, or the theme by chapter goes like this Chapter 1, god planned from the beginning to create a people for his glory and pleasure. Chapter 2, we were dead in our sin, but God made us alive in Christ Jesus. Chapter 3, god revealed his plan through the apostles and prophets. Chapter four he equips us, through church leaders, to learn how to live. Chapter five a life that imitates Christ. And, as we'll see later, chapter six we are to be strengthened by his armor to stand against the devil. So this overview provides a simplified summary of the topics addressed in the preceding chapters and the ones to come.

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But it's important to observe this letter from a broader perspective, to appreciate the abundance of valuable tips and insights in the roadmap Paul has given us. These will not only guide us on how to lead a life that glorifies God, but will also provide an understanding of why we do so and how it's achievable, especially when we acknowledge that we don't have the capability on our own. His letter primarily presents a series of interconnected ideas that gradually build upon one another. The progression is subtle and the ideas seamlessly blend together. However, upon closer examination, it becomes evident how each thought leads to the next, as Paul uses the word therefore 11 times in this letter to signify that the upcoming idea is a continuation of the preceding one. It is truly remarkable in that it invites us to reflect on our spiritual growth. It provides a means for us to assess our current spiritual state and gain insight into the direction in which we are heading. Much like a roadmap, it establishes a starting point from which we can gauge our progress. In essence, this letter is an invaluable resource for walking with Jesus.

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Now, at the end of chapter 4, paul left us with the thought that we are no longer to live in the futility of our minds. We are to put on the new man, live in unity with one another and, above all else, love. 1 Corinthians 13, verse 13. So now, faith, hope and love abide these three, but the greatest of these is love. The question chapter 4 leaves us with is how? How do we do that? Chapter 5 continues the thought with the answer Ephesians, chapter 5, verse 1.

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Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Our lives are designed to reproduce godliness as modeled by Jesus. Nothing glorifies God more than when we imitate him. The benefit for us in it is that we have the fullness of his joy, and this is a win-win for all of us. All of this is made possible because we have been recreated in his image through our new birth.

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Romans, chapter 8, verse 29 to 30,. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and those whom 2 Corinthians 3, verse 18. Are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 1 Peter, 1, verses 14-16. To imitate Christ also means we will suffer as he did, not as a form of punishment, but to show the world we are his and that we will never deny him, just as he said he would never forsake us or deny us. Hebrews 13.5.

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Suffering is how our faith is refined, that we know our faith is genuine and not just something that is superficial. Just as he gave himself up as a holy sacrifice, we're to offer ourselves as one also. Look at this. Romans, chapter 12, verses 1 to 2. I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing, you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Now, it's only possible to live this way by the Spirit of God. If you are not a new man in Christ, living in the power of Christ, through the Spirit of Christ, you have no hope of offering yourself up as a sacrifice to God, as it is only the blood of Jesus that appeases the wrath of God.

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Romans 8, verses 1-11. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the Spirit of life has set you free, in Christ Jesus, from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do, by sending his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. He condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, set their minds on the things of the Spirit, for to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit. If, in fact, the Spirit of God dwells in you, anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness, if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you.

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Moving on to Ephesians 5, verse 3. Impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among the saints. These sins are an absolute contrast to God's love and holiness and have no place in a believer's life. If we are indeed filled with his spirit. The spirit empowers us to overcome this nature that dwells in our flesh, so that it is not produced. Instead, the spirit will produce the characteristics of Christ, and when you fight against him, he will bring you to a place of conviction and eventually, repentance. John, chapter 16, verses 8 and 9. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you, but if I go I will send him to you and when he comes he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.

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Ephesians 5, verse 4. Let there be no filthiness, nor foolish talk, nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. The believer's life replaces these foolish things with a life of thanksgiving. This is something we can all use more of. When we place thanksgiving at the forefront of our thoughts and speech, we will find it difficult to complain.

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My fellowship makes it a point to open each service with thanksgiving and praise towards God. In prayer, we go around the room and everyone takes part in praising the Father for who he is, what he has done and what he will do. It sets our minds in the correct posture to hear and receive the Word. So many Christians have been trained or default to petitioning to God as their first thought in prayer. That is a very immature posture and not one that we should be practicing. We should always open up with prayers of thanksgiving and praise, which leads to a joyful heart. We also give thanks for what God will do, because we study his word and it tells us what he has, is and will do in this world. We could be sure of these things and give thanks for them. That will oftentimes take care of the petitions you have, as God has given us many of the answers we are seeking already. If only we would be a people grounded in the word of truth, we would absolutely know what to be thankful for, and the complaining and foolish talk would stop altogether.

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Colossians, chapter 3, verses 1 to 17. If, then, you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things on the earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you. Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these, the wrath of God is coming In these. You too once walked when you were living in them, but now you must put them all away. Anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, scythian, slave free, but Christ is all and in all. Put on, then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other. As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And, above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony, and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, in which, indeed, you were called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God, and whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord, jesus Christ, giving thanks to God, the Father. Through him, no longer are we to be foolish in our speech and action. We are to be mature and imitate Jesus as he imitated the Father. That is the way to glorify your Father in heaven. When we are foolish in our ways, it's often because we try to appease people and earn their favor. That is what the world does, but we are to set an example for this world so that they might act like us. Have you ever been around unbelievers who know you are a Christian and when they curse they apologize for it? Why do you think that is? It's because you have given them an example of a better way to live and in some way they respect that, even though they don't ask for it. Matthew 10, verses 40-42. Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him. Who sent me? The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward. And the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. Person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward. I can't stress this enough how much your life impacts people around you. Every action you make, every word you speak has life in it, and it should be life that people are drawn to. John 13, verse 35. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. Ephesians 5, verse 5. Chapter 5, verse 5. 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. The person who continually and purposely lives this way is not a saved individual, regardless of what they say. A spiritually regenerated life will desire to please God and fight his old nature. A spiritually regenerated life will desire to please God and fight his old nature. That doesn't mean believers won't sin, but they will be repentant and apologetic. They will walk in the light and bring their sin into it. 1 John 1, verses 5-7. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from all sin. Now, if we walk in the light, we have assurance of our fellowship with him. That will produce a desire within you that wants to please him and not yourself. Your primary thoughts will be towards God, and so they should be, as he is the one from which our joy comes. 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, verses 9 to 10. So, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Ephesians 5, verse 6,. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. That verse says we should give no assurance of salvation to anyone who lives in their sins without repentance. That would be deception, and God's wrath is for those people. The question is do we sugarcoat the gospel? Do we know people that do? It happens all the time when we hear someone say you just need to be a good person, or Jesus loves everyone, and so on and so on. These are deceptive in that they offer no assurance of salvation. The real gospel will present sin as the issue and call people to turn from their sin and towards Jesus, but even this has the potential to be watered down if you don't explain that the Christian life is one that not only turns from sin but also abandons everything for Jesus. Now, what I mean by this is that when we accept Jesus as Lord, we accept that no one or nothing compares to him. We will live for him first and submit to his word in all areas of our life. That doesn't mean we are perfect, but it does mean we pursue the life he has for us. We are not to sit around and do nothing at all. The assurance of our salvation comes from putting our faith into action. John, chapter 8, verse 31 to 35. Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. They answered him. We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say you will become free? Jesus answered them Truly, truly. I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever. The son remains forever. So if the son sets you free, you will be free. Indeed, james, chapter 1, verses 22 to 25. But the doers of the word, be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror, for he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres being no hearer who forgets, but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing so. Do you abide in his word? Do you seek it out with hunger for truth, or is it just something you enjoy hearing but don't really want to abide in? Ezekiel, chapter 33, verses 30 to 33. Listen to this. As for you, son of man, your people who talk about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, come and hear the word that comes from the Lord, and they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say, but they will not do it, for with lustful talk in their mouths they act. Their heart is set on their gain. And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument. For they hear what you say, but they will not do it. Those are powerful words, and I would even go as far as to say this fits the American church today, as most are nothing more but concerts with laser lights and smoke machines. They have teachers that tickle their ears, an environment that appeases their senses. The people come from far off to visit, not because they speak truth, but because they are entertained. At least with Ezekiel, he was speaking the truth and they were entertained by it. But in our culture they are setting out to entertain and draw these people in. That is what you call a church that has their heart set on gain and is most likely dead. Revelation 3, verse 1. And to the angel of the church of Sardis write the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your works, you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Just because we have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior does not mean we are out of danger. You might be saved, but you are in the middle of a raging war and the enemy is out to get you with everything he has. He wants to ruin you and make sure that you never come to realize the power that you have in Christ. The power he wants to keep you from is a power that can easily take him down If you would just learn how to walk the way Paul stresses and urges for us in this letter. It's your responsibility to enact the faith that God has given you through the power he has given you, by the spirit he has given you. When you don't live by the spirit, you in turn you grieve him. Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 30,. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let's pray, father, thank you. Thank you that you have covered us in the blood of Jesus and given us his spirit so that we live a life pleasing to you. Father, I ask that you would help us to submit to your spirit so he can guide us and help us live a life imitating you so you may be glorified in us. You're an amazing God and we thank you for giving us everything we need to live in this world and conquer the enemy. Father, we love you and we thank you In Jesus' name, amen. Now I want to thank you for joining us today, and I hope this message helped you take a step closer in your relationship with Jesus and that you have a better understanding of just how much God loves you and wants you to know him. In our upcoming episode, we will be further discussing the concept of imitating Christ by shining a light on wrongdoing. Just as Jesus brought truth to the forefront, we are called to do the same. Instead of turning a blind eye or staying silent, we are challenged to expose dishonesty and immorality. This may lead to backlash and conflict, as those who are confronted may react offensively. However, it is our responsibility to reveal and confront the darkness and wickedness in the world, despite the resistance it may bring. Now, before we go, I want to encourage you to send us a text message from the link provided in the description of this episode. We would love to hear your feedback and questions you may have from today's show, as it helps us produce future episodes that are beneficial to you. In addition, please feel free to use this podcast as a resource to help others and shine a light into the darkness. God bless, and we'll see you next time on the Takeaway.