Shine in the Darkness
Chris Bowditch
Ephesians: Raised with Christ • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 24:06
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Inspirational Jesus people
Inspirational Jesus people
Have you ever met someone who you found really inspiring in the Christian faith? What was it about them that drew you to them?
I remember my first principal when I was at college was one of those people who I found incredibly inspiring to be around.
And what was it?
He was one of those people whom Jesus just seemed to flow out of. A lifetime of learning the scriptures had really transformed him.
Or I remember another, an elderly lady at my church growing up who when I started running the youth group called me up and asked for all the names of the children so she could pray for them and then when I visited her a few years ago in her nursing home spoke to me about the ways she was seeking to be generous and to encourage her fellow residents with the gospel.
Another lifetime of being a disciple of Jesus that you could so clearly see the evidence of.
I’m sure we can all think of one or two or perhaps many more people like this.
Don’t you wish you were like that? I sure do.
Well people like that are putting into practice the things we’re learning about as we work our way through Ephesians.
Paul has encouraged the church through Chap 4 and now into Chap 5 to be unified under Jesus and to live holy or pure lives. The kind of lives that reflect Jesus’ love and light.
And as we pick up todays reading lets first remind ourselves how Chapter 4 ends:
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Walk in the way of self sacrificial love (5:1-2)
Walk in the way of self sacrificial love (5:1-2)
Well Ch 5 picks up Paul’s train of thought, instead of being people of hate, anger, bitterness and brawling we’re called as Christians to walk in the way of self sacrificial love.
Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children
and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Someone said to me this week, “oh you know the thing with Harry is he’s not one to let things go and he will keep on fighting”.
How does that description of Harry sound when you read Ephesians 4:31-5:2?
Harry’s way of living is incongruous (not in harmony) with the gospel. And that tells you something doesn’t it. It reveals the shocking truth that Harry mustn’t know the gospel. The story of God’s self giving love. He can’t have met Jesus. Otherwise he’d be known not as an unforgiving brawler but as a compassionate, self sacrificing lover.
And so if you know someone like Harry, you need to model God’s love to them, and continue pray they’d realise how much God loves them.
Flee immorality and idolatry (5:3-7)
Flee immorality and idolatry (5:3-7)
But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for the Lord’s people.
Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
Paul says that, sexual immorality, impurity, greed (v3), obscenity, foolish talk, coarse joking (v4) are replaced with thanksgiving.
Don’t be involved in sexually immoral behaviour, don’t talk about sexually immoral behaviour. Don’t join in on the banter in the lunch room.
Instead give thanks. Why give thanks instead? Because instead of seeing something and having greedy thoughts, how much better to give thanks to God for it, or give thanks that the other person has it and is enjoying it. Instead of making dirty jokes about sex, rather rejoice and give thanks for God’s good gift of sex to be enjoyed between a man and women in the covenant of marriage.
Thanksgiving, you see, helps us to put God’s gifts in their right place. Greed, lust, these things occur when we fail to remember that God is a gracious God who gives us things to enjoy and that we get the most from His gifts when we use them as he intended. Immorality arises when we ignore the giver and focus solely on the gifts. In fact check out what Paul says next:
For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
When we are immoral, impure and greedy we are idolaters and therefore have no place in God’s kingdom.
What is an idolater? Someone who worships something/someone else instead of God.
It’s a funny idea for us in the 21st century because there isn’t a lot of outright idolatry on show. Perhaps we get close to it in Hobart once a year when Dark Mofo have their annual burning of the OGOH-OGOH where we write our fears or sins on it and then process it down the street and burn it.
The Ephesians remember lived under the shadow of one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. The temple to Artemis. The goddess of fertility. There was sexual immorality and idolatry explicitly and constantly before them.
But for us, idolatry is a little more subtle. It’s the placing of anything in the place of God: ourselves, our family, our work, our worship styles, our money, what people think of us. When these things are the most important reality in our lives they are our idols. And when we revolve our lives around them and live for them we’ve become idolaters.
So do you have an idol? Something that you’ve put in the place of God?
A good diagnostic question someone taught me was to think about what you fear the most in life.
Do you fear most not having enough money? (money idol)
Do you fear most not being liked by your friends? (reputation idol)
Do you fear most having a family member disown you? (family idol)
All of those things are unpleasant should they happen, but when we’re worshipping God, they take their rightful place as secondary issues that we know God can get us through. Our biggest fear should be that we walk away from a relationship with God!
So don’t be an idolater. Because Paul says, you’ll miss out on your inheritance in the Kingdom of God. That is you’ll miss out on joining with all other Christians from every age in perfection praising Jesus forever and ever.
Don’t be an idolater. But also v5-6, be a partner with them either:
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.
Therefore do not be partners with them.
That is not don’t hang out with them . We must because we must tell them about the love of God. Rather it is Paul telling us not to participate in their immorality and idolatry with them.
Perhaps as you read this you think how does this fit with what Paul has said earlier about God giving us a gracious gift. It sounds a little bit like we do have to do something to be alright with God. Well Paul is not contradicting himself. God has raised us with Christ and given us an inheritance that can never spoil perish or fade. Here he warns us though not to presume on the grace, rely on it absolutely for it is only by grace we are saved, but presume on it no. Paul is warning us not to take God for granted, but rather to rely on him and to continue to strive for holiness for if we give in to a life of greed, bitterness and lying then this is clear evidence that we are not worshippers of God at all.
So Paul concludes our reading today by encouraging us to live the way God has made us:
Live in the light - Be wise! (5:8-20)
Live in the light - Be wise! (5:8-20)
Paul encourages the Christian to strive to live out their new life as children of light in Jesus Christ. And to let the light of Christ shine brightly and expose the darkness of the sin and idolatry of the world around us:
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said:
“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
Have you ever had that experience where someone found out you were a Christian and started apologising for their behaviour?
This happens to me in the Army a lot. Army people have a way of speaking that involves some might say a fair share of obscenity and coarse joking. And what happens when I’m around is people start apologising to me. Blah blah swear word, oh sorry padre. blah blah blah swear word, oh sorry padre.
I think this sort of thing happens to us as Christians because our very presence in the lives of our friends who live in darkness shine light and exposes them as Paul says here.
What else should we do as we seek to live in the light? Paul tells us in the final verses of our reading... We need to be wise.
Be wise and make the most of everything (v15-16)
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
Wise people make the most of their time.
How are you making the most of your time? Too much time on Netflix?
Be wise and understand God’s will (v17)
Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
How could I possibly know what God’s will is for me.
1. God’s general will is found in the scriptures - holiness of living, making disciples, importance of Christian fellowship etc.
2. Particular will - who should I marry? Where should I go to church?
comes around finding general principles in scripture, and undergoing careful thought prayer and seeking advice from mature and experienced Christians.
We need to be constantly seeking God’s will for us.
Wise people are full of the spirit and worship God (v18-20)
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If we want to be people who live in the light and be wise. If we want to be people who flee immorality and idolatry. If we want to be people who are -self-sacrificial and loving instead of self indulgent and bitter. We need God’s help.
We need to be filled with the Spirit. Because if God is filling us we will naturally live holy lives.
And as we are filled with the spirit we will sing to each other and to God. That is in contrast the kind of speaking that happens in v4, the Christian who is filled with the spirit will want to encourage his fellow believer and to praise God.
I think it is not so much the musically aspect here that Paul is focussing on but the corresponding feeling that comes with singing. Joy.
I think that’s why Paul says ‘make music from your heart’. That is Paul’s not so interested in us singing well, or making really good music (though that may help), rather he wants us to have that inner joy that often comes when we sing or hear wonderful music.
Wise people are joy filled people who constant give thanks to God and encourage one another with all that God has done for us.
How should we live in response to all Paul has said here?
We should be spirit filled, love soaked, joyful shiners of Jesus light in our world. We need to reject and rebuke our brothers and sisters who are are neither joyful, nor full of love and we need to encourage one another to continue to flee idolatry and seek God’s spirit to work deeper in our hearts.
I pray that we will be a community known for its love and joy as we allow God’s spirit to fill us and we overflow with thanksgiving for what he’s done for us in Jesus Christ.
PRAYERS
P172
Glorious Father, God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Give to us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,
so that we may know you better.
Enlighten the eyes of our hearts,
that we may know the hope to which you have called us,
the riches of Christ’s glorious inheritance in your holy people,
and your incomparably great power for us who believe.
Please make us to be a church for Lindisfarne
to be known in our community for our love,
that Christ may be known and glorified through us.
Please help us to make disciples of Jesus in all that we do
through making us a loving, welcoming, community
with ministry to all ages and strategic gospel partnerships.
Father, You are able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine,
So we commit ourselves and our our church to you
for the Glory of the Lord Jesus Christ,
in whose name we pray.
AMEN