Imitating God: The Power of Love and Gratitude

Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us in offering and the sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. Good Old Testament language there. And verse 3, but, strong conjunction here, moving from that to this, but immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, okay? It shouldn't even be part of what people think of when they think of you. It should not be observed by anyone in any way, shape, or form. These should not be named among you. You should not be anywhere close to these things. [00:03:14] (46 seconds)


And verse 4, and therefore must be no filthiness and silly talk or coarseness. You're suggesting which are not fitting, but rather giving a thanks. For this you know with certainty that no immoral or impure person or covetous man who is an idolaterer has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not be partakers with them. Let's pray. Father, thank you for today's text. I pray, Lord, that as we exegete it, I pray that it rightfully pierces our hearts and souls where we need to conform into your image in a better way. I pray that you would bless us in this way. In Jesus' name, amen. [00:04:58] (55 seconds)


Sin is never satisfying and it is never satisfied. It's never satisfied with ruining your life. Sin will destroy your life. It'll empty your heart and mind. It'll make you void of any desire of God in your relationships. It will ruin you. And it's never satisfied, nor is it satisfying. And so fight sin from the start and it won't get lodged in your heart. If you wage war against sin from the starting point, it will not get lodged in your heart. Whether it's covetousness, whether it's greed, whether it's adultery, whether it's pornography, whatever the sin may be, you put all of your energy... [00:05:45] (42 seconds)


into waging war against sin at the conception, at the starting point, when it's small, and you'll win that war before it takes root in the heart. If you want three steps to success against sin, write this down. Repent, resist, and run. Three R's that are alliterated, and these are all scriptural. Repent, resist, and run from your sin. Repent, 1 John 1, 9, if you confess your sin, He's faithful and just to forgive you of your sin and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. If you repent right away, be quick to repent. I mean, like a basketball hitting the pavement. You bounce away from your sin and repent. [00:06:44] (43 seconds)


So, instead of participating in sin, we should give thanks instead of giving into temptation. Give thanks instead of giving into temptation. Now, if you want to reduce these three R's, repent, resist, and run, into a silver bullet, if you want an easy, immediate, and extremely effective solution to your sin, It's right here in the title of this message. Give thanks instead of giving into temptation. So at the very moment, just start thanking and praising God. Start singing a hymn. Start quoting scripture. Start praising God. Start being grateful for what you do have. Start praising God for the great things in your life. Combat your sinful nature with praising God. [00:09:14] (53 seconds)


This passage makes it very clear as to what walking in love is because it lists all of these sins. The main idea being an imitator of God, and the first expression is walking in love. In verse 2, now we're going to see what this looks like by looking at what the opposite of it is. And remember that an imitator is, one, who mimics what they see. And so it's very important for us as parents, it's very important for us as grandparents to be able to be mimicable, to be ones who are on display daily as a dynamic disciple in Christ so that our little ones can learn. Now, little ones, listen to me. I've got a lot of children here today. Every single one of you has other children around you who know less about God than you do. [00:11:20] (50 seconds)


And so you have a warm regard. You have a warm regard for the interest of others. You would rather sacrificially live in a way that puts others first. That's a humble Christian. And that here is explained in the text through this agape word of love. And it produces more than this. Read with me, starting from the top, and let's get an idea as to how it's leading. Verse 1, Ephesians 5, 1. Be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love. You know God is love? And so walk in God. Walk in Christ. So walk in love just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us in offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. This is superbly interesting how Paul now intertwines this Old Testament language of offering, sacrifice, fragrant, and aroma. [00:15:18] (62 seconds)


This is important for us to understand as we are becoming more and more like Christ. The product is something that is pleasing unto God and the description of that which is pleasing unto God when Christ was sacrificed and when you live sacrificial is an aroma. How you live produces an aroma. How you live produces... what people perceive and that perception is wonderful. That perception is delightful. When you are in somebody's presence and you are filled with the Spirit and you depart, people think of you in a way that is like a sweet -smelling aroma. Now they might not use Old Testament language like this, but this is the result of what you have done inside of their heart and mind because of the way you walk. Because of the way you live. [00:18:33] (55 seconds)


And so your heart desires that which God has not given you. And you are, in fact, by your desires, by your unrestricted desires, saying, God, you are not God enough. You see how bad that is? And so we should combat this with thankfulness. Thank God for what you do have. I'll give you one word that helps with greediness. Greediness. Perspective. All you need to do is watch videos from around the world and third world countries and how they live and travel and you'll be like, whoa. Thank you, Lord, for hot water. Thank you, Lord, for a roof over my head. Thank you, Lord, for provisions. Thank you, Lord, for my family. Thank you for my clothes. Thank you for the abundance. I mean, you could thank God all day, every day for just the physical things, not to mention the invisible, invaluable things such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness. Goodness, gentleness, and self -control. Thank you, Lord. [00:30:34] (55 seconds)