Imitate God With Thanksgiving

Please stand for the reading of God's word. Today's Old Testament reading is Exodus 20 verse 17. You shall not cover your neighbor's house. You shall not cover covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant.

Or his ox or his donkey or anything. That is your neighbors.

New Testament readings and Colossians 2 6 through 10. Therefore as you received Christ Jesus as Lord so walk in him rooted and build up in him and established in the faith Just as you were taught abounding in thanksgiving.

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition According to the element spirits of the world and not according to Christ For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.

And you have been filled in him who is the head of all rule and authority. May be seated.

Congregational Singing and Thanksgiving

That's a fun hymn, isn't it? Maybe one day. I'll learn how to sing it. It sounds great around me though, and I appreciate that. I don't know what part I'm supposed to be on but Thank you for your singing.

Congregational singing is wonderful. It is good. There's many churches that sing with a band so loud you can't hear yourself and to hear the congregation singing. It is truly marvelous and good. So I thank you for your singing.

I thank you for blessing my heart. I'd ask you to turn to Ephesians chapter 5, please. Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians chapter 5. We'll read the first four verses. 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.

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness Must not even be named among you as is proper among Saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking which are out of place. But instead let there be thanksgiving Thanksgiving let us pray Oh God in heaven.

I pray that you would help us with this word today Lord. Help me as a speaker to say of something of value. Help it to be of truth and let it be enlivened by the spirit of grace that you've given to your church and I pray God that you would help the listeners as well here in a way that is despite the distractions that are always around that they would grab hold of the truth that's proclaimed in and Receive it in grace and and help it Lord to change them.

If for those who have never been changed or have been saved let them come to repentance and salvation in Christ. And for those who are believers may it sanctify them further so that together we would again Continue to grow in this land of the imperatives you so graciously have given to us Lord.

This world is filled with brokenness and sorrow and sadness all around. But what a light we have that we can look at Jesus look to him each day of our lives and find hope find peace find life. Find truth.

So let us do so here now and may it enliven us. To worship you so that we don't waste our lives that we have but rather we would spend it glorifying our gracious Wonderful God that you are in Jesus name.

Amen. I Think he's revealing to to us in our society today. I think he's revealing to us just how important fathers in the home. Fathers being in the home how important that is. I think he's he's he's showing us in our society.

Just how important that we would have fathers in the home and we would have fathers who love their children in the home as well. I think it well, it's a it's a it's a very interesting thing. And art we we really only see this in our society today because of how bad the family has fallen.

To where if you look at the the prisoners in the prisons if you look at the the drug addict. Homeless people on the streets if you if you talk to each one of them. You would see a growing trend among them certainly not all of them.

But a growing trend that there was no father in the home or if they did have a father in the home. They were not beloved by that father in the home. It is it's a serious problem in our society and we see the workings of it everywhere.

We wonder why our children are so messed up. We wonder why our children grow up to be in prisons or to be on the streets. We we wonder why there's something so seriously wrong in our society today that other societies didn't quite look like that.

And there's a commonality that we see that there is fatherless homes in abundance Throughout the land and there are homes that if they do have fathers. They are not loving their children as they ought and so I think god is revealing something very important about fathers in our home.

While at the same time we see the attack of satan. Uh saying that we don't need fathers in the home or fathers are useless or what have you. I think uh, this is something that is very A serious thing that god is revealing something about the the importance of a loving father in the home and Here as we're looking at the land of the imperatives that we have before us.

We want to enjoy the land of the imperatives just like children. We want them to grow up and enjoy the creation around them. We we want them to enjoy life. We don't want them to be addicted to drugs get into crime and get into prison and there's their life, right?

We want them to enjoy the the creation around them and christ has brought us his church his people who believe upon him. To the land of the imperatives for us to enjoy his commands and his life that he's offered to us.

And just like the importance of the father is in the home. It's important for us to understand that we have a father who loves us in our home so we can enjoy this land of the imperatives. Without this loving father that we have there is no hope for us in the land of the imperatives without us.

Understanding the love that we have from the father, uh in this land of the imperatives. We will never truly enjoy this land that we have before us. And so I want to look at this this text that we're looking at today.

With that in our mind because that's where paul draws us as he says in verse 1 of ephesians 5 Be imitators therefore of god and notice as beloved children as a father who loves you and Be imitators of god.

And and that be imitators of god is a very general imperative that he has laid out. That has all the specifics of the imperatives we've been going through in chapter 4. Now he generally says it and be imitators of god.

In other words the specifics of be unified with the church body. Walk as the new man help others walk as the new man all these imperatives. We've been getting in chapter 4 Collects and comes together in chapter 5 be imitators of god imitate god.

Now that is a scary Sentence or it should be to you who are awakened to the law of god to imitate god. Or even even even you know, if you look at it, it's like god is the great I am. He's the awesome one the one who's outside of creation the one who created ex nihilo of his words, right?

The one who created out of nothing and he maintains everything and i'm supposed to imitate that. Well, no, you're not supposed to imitate that part. But what paul has in mind is he's he's going to the the very Makeup of who you are as a human.

Okay. God made you in the image of himself. He made you with the emphasis the purpose that you would image him well in creation. That's the essence of your existence. Oh Christian or oh. Whether you're a christian or not.

That's why he made you so you can image him. And and so here paul is grabbing hold of this general doctrine of who you are as a person. And he says image god or imitate god. And that is scary. If you're awakened to the law of god because as you're considering your life right now, just do it real quick for me.

Just think about your week right now. You can think of all the different ways that I failed to do the very nature of what of my existence to image him. How many different ways have you failed to image god this week?

And as you consider that the list starts to pile up and if it doesn't you're not understanding god's law good enough. And it starts to get a very burdensome sentence right here image god. How can I do that?

That's the same issue. We've been having with the land of the imperatives. It's a scary land. How can I do these things? I can't do these things but notice how there's like a little hidden indicative there.

We were just in the land of the indicatives. They're everywhere, right? God has done this for you that for you this for you that for you. He's doing all these things for us predestined right called before time again beloved in christ before time again.

And then in the land the imperatives the indicatives they don't they aren't as prevalent. So when we see an indicative in the land of the imperative, it's meant to give us like a footing. It's meant to ground us to help us to remember what he's already told us in the first two chapters of this book.

And so did you notice the indicative here in the land of the imperatives? That is do this as beloved children Of the father notice. He doesn't say imitate god so you can become beloved by god, right or be Beloved or be loved by god by doing this, right?

No, this is indicative. You are already beloved by god therefore imitate him and and so we had this this little hidden gem of a of a nugget of an indicative right here in the imperatives that you need to grab hold of.

In order to make meaning of the imitate god imitate god because you are already beloved by god. You are already loved by god you that that word beloved is like you're special God has it looks at you as a special Child of his so therefore you're able to imitate him.

The question then we need to ask ourselves here Is how is it that having a father who loves us in our home so to speak? How is it that that empowers us to imitate him you get where i'm getting at here?

Are those just words right? Well, i'm a i'm loved by god. Therefore. I can imitate him. That's all it is. That's just a bumper sticker. That's not going to really get you too far through temptations and everything.

And so the paul is writing in mind of a context here. You are a beloved child of god. So therefore you can imitate him. The question is how am I beloved by god? What does that look like because as we see that we'll see and that's the power to imitate him right there.

And so how are you beloved or in other words, how does god express his love to you? We'll look at the context of this verse. In fact, look at chapter 4 verse 32. He says Forgiving one another as god in christ forgave you so god.

You're a beloved child of god. He loves you. How does he express that? He is forgiving you right and then look at the verse after Verse 1 of chapter 5 and verse 2 of chapter 5 of ephesians and walk in love as christ loved us and did what to express that love.

Gave himself up for us a fragrant offering and sacrifice to god. So you are through your faith in jesus. You are beloved by god. And he's expressed that love by forgiving you. And by dying on the cross for you and it's with that Expression of love that you are able then to imitate him or enjoy the imperative land.

There is a serious problem with humanity. And there's a serious problem with humanity that causes humanity not to be able to fulfill This mandate to imitate him to image him and that problem is is that god is angry with the wicked every day.

I know it's not popular to say anymore. But it is a truth that god is angry with the wicked with the sinner. Every day there's never a moment where god is not angry with wickedness. And so there is no possibility that we could ever expect to imitate god when he is angry with us.

And so when we see that there is forgiveness found in christ, and that's how we're beloved by god. That is something we hold on to because the forgiveness of god reveals that he's no longer angry with you.

If he has forgiven you and so that opens the door of imitation imitating the one that used to be angry with us. But it is no longer. And how he has forgiven is not just a randomness. But he's done it in his son who died on the cross for your sins.

Look at verse 2 again christ loved us and gave himself up for us a fragrant offering and sacrifice to god. Remember what Pastor tim went through in hebrews 10 in which The writer of the hebrews is contrasting the sacrifices of the old testament with the sacrifice of our lord.

And the greaterness of our lord. And he says in chapter 10 in verse 5. He says consequently in hebrews when christ came into the world Christ said sack or he said sacrifice and offerings you have not desired.

But a body you have prepared for me and burnt offerings and sin offerings. You have not taken you have taken no pleasure. Then I said behold i've come to do your will oh god as is written of me in the scroll of the book.

And so the son of god enters into creation and is given a body so that he could then give it up as a sacrifice to god. And that sacrifice he gave to god is a fragrant offering. You know what that is? It's a plea.

It's a well. It's a good smelling aroma to our god. Now I want you to contrast that with the fact that he's angry with the wicked every day. Now contrast the this is pleasing to me with the fact that he hates sin and he's angry with sinners every day.

But then all of a sudden a sacrifice comes up to his nostrils in which he is pleased with it. And that sacrifice is the sacrifice of jesus christ that he gave with his body. And which with that sacrifice him smelling that he is pleased with the one that the sacrifice covers.

Now, why is that important. Because this is why forgiveness is possible. And this is why we can when before we were angry or god is angry with us now. He is smelling something pleasing when he considers us.

It's the same language that you see in genesis with noah. You remember noah gave a sacrifice. And in genesis, it says that I will not blot out humanity. I will not curse this world like i've done before even though they're wicked as he smelled the pleasing aroma.

And so the fact is is that they're still wicked they still deserve it. But because of this pleasing aroma i'm not going to and this is looking forward to the future in which god would smell the pleasing aroma Of jesus's sacrifice and say I am no longer angry with this people and so the ability to imitate god in the land of the Imperatives comes forth from the fact that he has loved you and that love is expressed in the forgiveness through jesus christ our lord.

There is no imitation. There is no ability without this great work that jesus christ has done for you. This indicative that christ has done for you. So when you're looking at the imitation of god be imitators of god.

You need to think consider the fact that that is only possible because you're beloved by god. Because of what christ has done and forgiven you of your sins. Now at this juncture, let's let's let's let's hold a moment because what can we do at this point right here?

Well, if i'm forgiven already, why do I need to imitate god? I can just keep on not imitating god and he'll just keep on forgiving me, right? That's in our minds, right? In fact romans 6 Paul anticipates that argument.

He says why not continue to sin so grace may abound all the more right? Because there is something that happens when god forgives you of your sins. There is something that happens to you. Sinner when god is no longer angry with you and you become his beloved there is an atmosphere Shift that happens when no longer.

Is satan your father? The one who was in the home the one who hated you the one who brought you on to death the one who wanted your worst. When all of a sudden a new father is in the home that loves you.

You're beloved by him and he's forgiving you there is an atmosphere shift. Now when satan is in the home the atmosphere is one now look at verse three i'm not there yet, but just look at it. And he's going to talk about like not imitating god.

He says this is the way you don't imitate god sexual immorality and all impurity can't have it. But look at what he says with he says covetousness. Kind of interesting isn't it that covetousness would be involved with sexual impurity?

But what he's getting at there is that there's this, you know when satan is our father and he's in charge of the home. There's an atmosphere of coveting. I want more. I want more sin. It's not enough.

I want more. I want more. I want more, but when christ Enables us to be beloved by the father. There's an atmosphere shift look at verse four when he says let there be no filthiness. No foolish talk nor crude joking which are out of place, but instead let there be what?

Thanksgiving now, why am I highlighting that it's because when god the father is our father and we are beloved by him. Through the sacrifice of jesus christ. There's an atmosphere shift in the home where it is filled no longer with coveting after I want more and more and more.

But rather it is a settled conviction. I am thankful. When you are thankful, you're not grabbing for more. Are you i'm satisfied? I'm very thankful. I don't need more. I don't. I don't need to go outside the bounds of what god has for me.

I'm satisfied with what I have and so here what happens is when we become a beloved by god. And forgiven by sins there is an attitude shift of gratefulness of thankfulness for this forgiveness. There is a grateful i'm grateful for this forgiveness.

I am thankful for this forgiveness so that when we then look at what I am to do with my life. We in gratitude and thanksgiving say I am going to imitate god with my life. I'm so thankful I want to imitate him now and when we fail to do it.

We then say oh lord forgive me for this we look to the cross. We see forgiveness and we are so full of thanksgiving that we say and I just want to then obey you now. With what I have so there's just like this cycle movement for the believer in christ.

That no longer when when satan no longer is your father and the father is your father through the forgiveness of christ. It gives you your heart of thanksgiving that he would forgive a wretch like you.

And then so it makes you want to obey him with gratitude. Which then fuels imitation of what of god himself? This is what happens when we have a father who loves us in the home. Who takes care of us who applies the work of jesus to us?

He gives us that heart of gratitude for the cross. And this gives us the fuel for imitation. And this is what what's going on in chapter 5 verse 1 therefore be imitators of god. As beloved children, how am I beloved child?

Well, I have forgiveness by the cross of jesus christ and now I have this thankfulness because of it because of it which fuels imitation. If you are not imitating god. This is a major conclusion at this point if you are not imitating god.

It is because you lack a thankful heart ultimately for the cross. You need a beeline to the cross. If you are living in sin, it's so easy for us to look at the different instances. I just need to stop it and just focus on each one but ultimately you need to go to the source and say I am not being thankful for the Fundamental thing that makes me beloved before god that is the sacrifice of the lord.

And so it's always a look to christ when you are failing to imitate god. Look to what he's done for you in jesus. And may your heart be so full of gratitude that you don't have time to do those things of sin.

I'm too in love with christ to do those things. That's always the answer. There's always a reply. This is what paul's getting at here be imitators as god as beloved children. And that is how has he loved us because he has forgiven us through jesus.

That is the oomph of your ability to imitate god. But it's not just the oomph that he's talking about here. But he's he's actually saying and this is the way you do imitate god. How do we imitate god?

Well, not only is jesus forgiveness and his cross the oomph to your ability to forgive god. But it is also the example he's giving you to imitate it acts as both things. Does that make sense? I hope I said that slow enough.

Not only is it the power but it's also the example. And so we can then look back at these things and say, okay, how do I imitate god? What am I to do with thanksgiving to my heart for what he's done for me?

Well, look at the example look at the example christ has provided for us again. Look at chapter 4 verse 32. Be kind to one another tender-hearted forgiving one another as god in christ forgave you you want to be kind tender-heartedness.

This shows itself in your ability or desire to forgive one another. If you have no forgiveness within your heart for someone you're not being kind. You're not being tended tender-hearted and you're not imitating god.

And so one of the examples That we have that christ has done to enable us to imitate him in the first place. And provide the example in the second is we are to forgive one another we are to forgive one another.

This is the imitation we are to do all right, let's look at. Um, I know there's probably when it comes to this topic. There's probably a parable that's on your mind. With this let's look at matthew when it comes to this importance of following the example of imitating god with how we forgive.

Um look at matthew chapter 18 verse 21. Again, this is the example of those who have been forgiven. We have the power to forgive and that's the example set for us. And look at verse 21 then peter came up to jesus and said lord.

How often will my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times that's ridiculous. Peter's saying there's no way seven times. Come on. And then jesus says to him I do not say to you seven times he's like, oh, of course, you know maybe once twice.

I say 77 times and that's just you know um. Like a like a I can't think of the word endless number, right? You keep on forgiving. And he says in verse 23 to give a parable to drive that point that you keep on forgiving.

He says therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. And when he began to settle one was brought to him who owed him 10 000 talents. Which is a debt that there's no way he could ever pay back never.

And since he could not repay his master ordered him to be sold with his wife and children and all that he had and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees imploring him have patience with me and i'll pay you everything.

No, he wouldn't. But nevertheless, he's desperate. And out of pity for him the master of the servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when the same servant went out and found the one of his fellow servants who owed him 100 denarii.

Which is a good amount but not nearly what he owed he seized him and began to choke him saying pay what you owe. So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him Oh have patience with me and i'll repay you.

But he refused and he sent him in prison. And how that story ends is the master comes back to him and says you wicked servant I forgave you that huge debt. You can't forgive this guy a little bit of a debt.

And then he grabs him he throws them in into prison. Now. What's the servant's problem here? Well, his problem certainly is he's not forgiven. Even though the example to forgive was just right there before him, but his problem ultimately is the fact that he lacked a thankful heart right his his heart of.

His heart should be so full of thankfulness in that moment that he's like, of course i'll forgive you. But the fact is he lacks a thankfulness despite the fact he was forgiven so much. And he fails to forgive the servant a little a little issue.

And so it's the same thing with us right again if we are people who have been forgiven by christ for our infinite debt against him. And this is a certain, uh energy or vibe within the home now of thankfulness for what he's done.

When someone then sins against us, which is this minor debt. We should be so filled with thankfulness that we've been forgiven to such a massive debt that we say wow I get to display in little part the forgiveness of god in this moment I I get to display what god has done for me and just a minor part in this moment praise me to god that I Had this opportunity.

But how often because we lack the thankfulness of the cross of christ we get vindictive we get angry. We lack kindness tenderness and we don't even consider the forgiveness we have in christ. What's going on?

We do not have a thankful heart for what christ has done for us. But we can imitate christ in this way when we are so overwhelmed by the gospel so overwhelmed by the debt. Free freed no longer put upon us.

We're so thankful that instead of saying how can I ever forget this person? We say wow, I get to glorify god by forgiving or having a heart of forgiveness to this person. See how that switches everything.

And so when you're struggling with forgiving someone you don't sit there say well you should have seen what he did. Right, how easy is that we all been there haven't we no no one has ever had it like me.

All right, certainly you haven't god. The point is we need to reset our mind to look again to the cross that that empowers us for imitation. That gives us a delight a thankfulness that oh and I get to reveal that here praise me to god.

I shall do that imitation. So we see in verse 32 one area of imitation. Not only is it the power but it's also this is how we imitate. That is forgiving one another but what's the other way that jesus has showed us how to Imitate god and that is again a sacrificial love a sacrificial love.

Look again at verse two and walk in love, right? That's the imitation walk in love and what's the example we have before us as christ loved us. And gave himself up for us a fragrant offering and sacrifice to god.

So jesus has a sacrificial love that he's given to us. Which empowers us to then imitate him to have a sacrificial love for other people. But again, remember how the home of satan works remember how the the father the old father how he works.

What does he say you need to covet after your the desires of your heart with everything within you your fleshly desires. You need to go after that and that is the opposite of sacrificial love to others.

I will love someone as long as it gets me something, right? That's the way satan operates. I'll show love to that person as long as it gives me shows I get something for it but the example christ has given to us is a sacrificial love is i'm willing to Sacrifice the desires that I have in order to show betterment or goodness to my neighbor.

And that's exactly what jesus has done for us in the gospel. Has it not? You remember the um the temptation of christ. Or the satan coming and tempting christ. You remember the the pinnacle of that temptation remember what it is.

I'll give you this kingdom. He shows him all the kingdom of the world, right? He says i'll let you have this i'll let you have this if only you bow down to me. And what we got to understand is satan is is offering him a counterfeit kingdom.

Certainly some sort of authority, but it wasn't. Through christ exhibiting sacrificial love and the betterment of the people. You get what i'm saying? If he would have if christ he never would have so please this is almost blasphemous to even say this.

But if he would have taken satan up on that offer Jesus wouldn't have had to have sacrificial love. He wouldn't have had sacrificed his own desires. Remember what he said in the garden. Not my will but yours be done.

He wouldn't have had to gone through that. And he would have gotten some kind of kingdom in which what he would have reigned over was a condemnation and a guilt and a shame upon the subjects but instead christ sacrifices with a sacrificial love.

He offers a kingdom of forgiveness and love and betterment for others. Uh, you know, I I honestly think satan usually he gives half-truths like in the garden. He gave half-truths to adam and eve. He didn't give full lies to where none of that came about.

I think personally I could be wrong, you know, like, you know, maybe in eternity i'll find out I was wrong about this. But I think satan would could have given him some kind of kingdom that satan has here on earth.

But it wouldn't have been for the good of anyone else. And it wouldn't have been through his sacrificial love christ and it would have been for our good. But jesus sets himself as an example. He withholds he he didn't want to suffer the wrath of god.

He didn't want to suffer that death, but he gives up himself Sacrificially for our good so that we could have the power and ability to imitate god. This is the example he's offered to us. We are to then in keeping with that example have a sacrificial love for one another to be willing to say I desire this.

But I desire to love and and have a betterment for my neighbor instead. I'm willing to love even whenever it is. It might hurt my original desires that I have within me. This is a sacrificial love. It's it's it's kind of uh, interesting to see this played out in scripture um, like for instance, you remember when the the um, the apostles came back to jesus after Ministering throughout the land and they're all excited.

They're saying man. You should see what's going on with uh with demons are subjected to our names and they're able to preach and everything. And remember what jesus says he says let's retire up to the mountain.

And let's get some rest because they didn't even have time to eat. And then what happens they get to the mountain but not very long before the people find them come and what does jesus say? Would you just leave me alone?

He said he he sees they're like shepherdless. They don't have shepherds and so he ministers them. He gives to them you can imagine his original reason for being up the mountain was to get rest. And some privacy with his disciples, but of course they find him and yet he continues to give.

But I think what's important here before we move off of this point of sacrificial love is that it's always pleasing to god. So whenever we're considering I need to have sacrificial love to one another.

It always needs to be in the realm of what pleases god. Because there are times where people ask too much from you, right? Or I think one example of a pastor who has his ministry in the home with his family.

And the the church perhaps is asking too much to where he's neglecting that ministry. But he thinks I gotta sacrificially love. Well, it's not pleasing to god to abandon your family to do that, right?

So there's points and times in our lives where it's like well I need to be pleasing to god in the way I'm sacrificially loving this person and you need to have the discernment to know when that is and when that isn't.

But nevertheless, we have an example from christ, right? He sacrificially loved us. And so therefore it enables us to imitate him and sacrificially loving others. Now I want to spend a moment. Looking at verse three I'm not going to spend nearly as much time and four.

Because what paul has done here is he says imitate god because your beloved children, right? And the way he's showed his love to you is the power behind your invitation and the example of your invitation.

But then he goes into the direct opposites of what it means not to imitate god. Because if we are to have a sacrificial love for others. A pretty good opposite of that is sexual immorality. Of verse three, right but sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness shouldn't be named among you.

You see we are to have a sacrificial love that we to give up our desires to love one another. Sexual immorality is the very opposite of that. I want my sexual gratification now. I don't care who I hurt to get it.

I don't care who I hurt whether the prostitute or whatever woman i'm having Illicit sex with. I don't care who I hurt. I just had these desires in my flesh that I want to gratify now. And so you see how that's the very opposite of sacrificial love, isn't it?

I'm, not willing to sacrifice anything. In fact, i'm willing to exploit others in order to get that desire I have in my in my heart. And so here paul is is given like a counterweight, right? We need to by example imitate God's and sacrificial love and then he says but sexual immorality which is gratifying the flesh to the nth degree.

The opposite of imitating God and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you as is proper among saints. He's saying it shouldn't even be. It shouldn't be it's such a wicked thing. It shouldn't even be you shouldn't even hear the talks of it happening in the community of the saints um sexual immorality there.

That word is pornea sexual immorality is pornea and it's it started off as a as a word that just denotes any kind of uh, it's like fornication any kind of sex outside of marriage or Cheating on a wife or a husband.

Um, but really the sexual immorality it's a very general word of just any kind of sexual activity outside of the ordain. Uh sexual activity of God that is a marriage that is a husband and wife. That is the the way that uh, we are to love one another in that kind of ways between a husband and a wife.