SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). Walk in Love (vs 1-2):
• we are Gods children (vs 1)
• we are dearly loved (vs 1)
• we are indebted (vs 2)
(2). Walk As Children of Light (vs 3-14)
• we are saints (vs 3-4)
• we are kings (vs 5-6)
• we are light (vv. 7-14)
(3). Walk in Wisdom (vs 15-21):
• we need to be focused (vs 15)
• we need to be willing (vs 16a)
• we need to be aware (vs 16b)
• we need to be sensible (vs 17a)
• we need to be filled (vs 18)
SERMON BODY:
Ill;
• I'm going to give you a quick quiz.
• Don't worry, it's easy! I'll give you a word and you give me the opposite…
• The opposite of Fast is... Slow.
• The opposite of Long is... Short.
• The opposite of Cold is... Hot.
• The opposite of Young is... Old.
• The opposite of Soft is... Hard.
• The opposite of Sour is... Sweet.
• The opposite of High is... Low.
• The opposite of Rich is... Poor.
• The opposite of Love is... Hate?
• The opposite of Light is... Darkness?
• The opposite of Wisdom is... Foolishness?
• TRANSITION: Who would want to walk in hate, darkness and foolishness;
• When we can walk in love, light and wisdom!
• And those three words give us an outline for this chapter.
(1). Walk in Love (vs 1-2)
1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ill:
• Ronni Ancona, Jon Culshaw and Debra Stephenson, Rory Bremner,
• Alastair McGowan, Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon,
• And for any old timers Janet Brown and Mike Yarwood!
• Are all famous British impersonators.
• And as you look and listen to them;
• You actually see or hear the famous person they are imitating.
• TRANSITION:
• Now the word imitator or mimic:
• Is the word that the apostle Paul uses in verse 1;
• “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children”
• It is literally the word ‘Mimic,’
• And a mimic impersonates, copies, is a replica of someone else.
• Now verse 1 explains who we are to mimic;
• Every Christian should be trying to imitate God:
• That is the theme of this chapter.
Note:
• The apostle Paul gives to us motivation to mimic God.
• He gives us a number of reasons why we ought to walk in love.
(a). We Are Gods Children (vs 1).
“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children”
Ill:
• When the new parents went with their baby to get him examined by the doctor;
• The doctor told them, "You have a cute baby."
• The father replied, "I bet you say that to all new parents."
• The doctor responded “No, just to those whose babies really are good-looking."
• The father then asked: "So what do you say to the others?"
• The doctor said, "He looks just like you."
• TRANSITION: We are to look,
• Just like God!
• Now in one-sense that is impossible,
• Because we cannot be perfect, or all-powerful or all-knowing etc.
• And yet we can mimic God;
• Because we can all be loving, we can all be truthful, we can all be kind etc.
When the apostle Paul encouraged his readers to “walk in love,”
• He was not asking them to do something that was foreign to the Christian;
• The Bible teaches that at conversion every Christian.
• No exceptions, every Christian received a new nature,
• And that nature has to express itself (out work itself) in love.
Ill:
• I guess at some time or other you have all had that annoying experience;
• When someone with a drink bumps into you,
• All of a sudden you have tea or coffee or coke all over your shirt or trousers!
• So often we are like that spilt drink.
• In life sometimes we have our bumps and bruises,
• Because we run into 'unexpected irritations and knocks'
• (or we may feel it more accurate to say that they run into us) and when they do;
• Like that cup - whatever has filled us and is inside of us comes out.
• TRANSITION: How we react to life's various trials and difficulties;
• Really give us and other people an up close, personal and accurate demonstration,
• Of what our character is truly.
• When bumped do we spill love or hatred?
• Do we spill kindness or anger?
• Do we spill joy or misery?
• Do we spill healing or hurtful words?
We are invited to mimic God.
• In one sense that is impossible:
• We cannot be perfect, we cannot be all-powerful, we cannot be all-knowing.
• But there are charecteristics of God that we can mimic:
• We can be kind, we can be patient, we can be loving etc.
(b). We Are Dearly Loved (vs 1).
“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children”
• Are you aware that God actually speaks of us (you and me)
• In the same way He spoke of his son Jesus Christ?
• i.e. God said of Jesus the Son (Matthew chapter 3 verse 17):
• “This is My beloved Son”, “My son who I dearly love!”
• In verse 1 we read that we too are: “dearly loved children”
• And because God has both expressed and demonstrated his love for us;
• The apostle now turns that statement arounds and says;
• Is it too much to ask us, to “walk in love” to please Him?
Ill:
• Today in the UK we are celebrating Father’s day.
• Any of you father’s being taken out for dinner?
• (Ok, I will see you in McDonalds later on!)
• Father’s day is supposed to be a day when dad is spoiled,
• The children do things to please their father.
• That might be demonstrated in the form of a gift or being taken out for a meal etc.
• TRANSITION: For the Christian everyday should be our heavenly Father’s day,
• When we live to please him,
• And our prayer should be that God will look upon us and say:
• (as he did with Jesus):
• “This is my dearly loved child in whom I am pleased!”
(c). We Are Indebted (vs 2).
“and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
• The apostle Paul compares the sacrifice of Christ on the cross:
• To the Old Testament “fragrant offerings”,
• That were presented at the altar of the temple (Leviticus 1:9, 13, 17; 2:9).
Ill:
• A sacrifice always involved a cost.
• The person had to purchase an animal with hard earned money.
• So there was a material cost.
• An innocent animal gave up its life on behalf of the person.
• So there was a physical cost involved.
In verse 2 we are reminded of the great cost Jesus Christ paid for us:
Ill:
• Jesus himself said in John chapter 15 verse 13:
• “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”
• But we know that Jesus Christ went even beyond that;
• “He laid down His life for His enemies”
• (Romans chapter 5 verse 10).
Ill:
• I finalised our summer holiday plans this week,
• And as looked at travel insurance, one section jumped out at me.
• I discovered that none of the policies that I could afford covered hijacking;
• You can get travel insurance for everything else but not for hijacking!
• Now having planted the seed of hijacking in your mind;
• Let me use that idea for a more serious illustration.
• Think of the human race aboard a hijacked jet-liner flying through time.
• God himself directed its take-off from the divine control-tower.
• The initiator of all evil, whom we call the Devil, Managed to get a boarding pass.
• When the plane reached its cruising altitude,
• The Devil produced his weapons, threatened the pilot,
• And took control of the aircraft and all its passengers.
• Thus the plane hopped on fearfully through history;
• From airport to airport.
• Until it was caught on the tarmac at Jerusalem,
• An outpost of the Roman empire, in the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
• Where the Son of God offered himself as sole hostage;
• In exchange for the passengers and crew.
Quote: 1 John chapter 4 verse 10:
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
• TRANSITION: Now having reminded us of Christ’s love for us.
• He goes on to say, what is our response to his love for us?
• Remember love is an action:
• When we love someone it must go beyond emotions and feelings;
• When should behave lovingly towards that person.
• In order for love to be real love, it has to be expressed as an action.
• If you love your beloved, then you must show it.
• And if we love God,
• Then let us show it by the way we obey him in our living!
(2). Walk As Children of Light (vs 3-14)
Ill:
• If you have ever lifted up a rock or large stone in your garden,
• Chances are that all sorts of tiny creatures suddenly run everywhere,
• They had lived quite comfortably in the darkness,
• But when they experienced the sunlight,
• They became fearful and began to run in all directions.
• TRANSITION: Because “God is light”:
• As his children we are to be like him, imitating him,
• That means we should walk in the light;
• We are called to have nothing to do with the darkness of sin.
Now the apostle Paul gives three descriptions of believers that prove his point.
(a). We Are Saints (vs 3-4).
“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 God’s holy people. 4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving”
• We might not have been canonized by Rome,
• And we might not refer to each other as Saint ? or Saint ? or Saint ?!
• But according to the Bible, every Christian is a saint,
• That word means “set-apart ones”
• We are all called to be “holy”, “set apart” for God’s glory.
The apostle Paul’s teaching here is very simple:
• If you are a saint, then live like one.
• You should be different from the society in which you live!
• Paul names certain sins that are common in our society,
• But should be uncommon in the Church.
• i.e. Sins of Lust (vs 3).
• i.e. Sexual sins: immorality & impurity are mentioned.
• i.e. Also wrong desires such as “Greed” or “Covetousness”,
• i.e. Sins of the tongue (vs 4).
• Sins of the tongue , are really sins of the heart.
• The tongue merely express the condition of the heart.
Ill:
• Like a bucket that draws water from a well,
• So the tongue draws out what is in our hearts.
• Notice the apostle Paul mentions three areas in which we can misuse our tongues:
• “Obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking,”
• The Christian’s use of language should be marked with;
• Decency, respect and should be wholesome.
(b). We Are Kings (vs 5-6).
For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater -has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.
• When we trusted Christ for salvation,
• We entered into the kingdom of Christ and of God,
• Our heavenly father is the King of Kings,
• We are going to share in his inheritance,
• We are part of a royal family!
• In these verses the apostle Paul is saying:
• The outward evidence that someone has that inward hope,
• Is to look at their lives.
Ill:
• We do not expect to see Prince Charles selling copies of The Big Issue magazine.
• We do not expect Prince William selling dodgy goods at a car boot sale.
• We do not expect Duchess of Sussex (Meghan Markle);
• To be promoting ‘questionable’ products in TV adverts,.
• That is not the behaviour of a royal person.
• We expect their behaviour to reflect their position.
So the apostle Paul makes it clear that people who claim to be Christians:
• Should not deliberately and persistently and wantonly living sinful lives,
• That kind of attitude and lifestyle actually shows that they are not saved,
• They are not part of the kingdom!
• Because they will not let Christ the King reign in their hearts!
Ill:
• A party of school children were being showed around a hospital;
• And the nurse who was giving them a tour round asked if anyone had any questions;
• One child asked,
• "How come the people who work here are always washing their hands ?"
• The nurse gave the answer;
• "They are 'always washing their hands' for two reasons.
• First they love health; and second, they hate germs".
• TRANSITION: Every Christian should love spiritual health and hate spiritual germs,
• The should love the light and hate the darkness.
(c). We Are Light (vv. 7-14).
7Therefore do not be partners with them.
8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10and find out what pleases the Lord. 11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
“Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
NOTICE: WE ARE LIGHT (VS 8):
• Paul did not say in verse 8 that we were “in the darkness,”
• But that we “were darkness.”
• That was our condition before we were converted,
• We only had a sinful nature, one that was corrupt.
• But when we became Christians:
• God gave to us a new nature, one that is like him (light).
• Every Christian is a spiritual schizophrenic:
• They have two natures, two personalities that want to control them.
• And we choose who has the reins and is the most dominant!
Ill:
• One evening, an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
• He said,
• "My son, the battle is between two 'wolves' inside us all.
• One is Evil - It is anger, envy, jealousy, greed, and arrogance.
• The other is Good - It is peace, love, hope, humility, compassion, and faith."
• The grandson thought about this for a while and then asked his grandfather,
• "Which wolf wins?"
• To which the old Cherokee simply replied,
• "The one you feed."
• TRANSITION: To walk in the light is to feed our bodies, minds and spirit;
• On things that are good and wholesome and right,
• That way we become strong and can live in victory.
NOTICE: WE ARE TO PRODUCE THE FRUIT OF LIGHT (VS 9):
“for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth”
• So, if we are walking in the light then we will be producing fruit.
• Three fruits are mentioned; ‘goodness’ and ‘righteousness’ and ‘truth’.
Ill:
• Every time I go on a journey by plane,
• I must surrender myself and my luggage to a special inspection,
• Because this inspection helps to detect bombs and dangerous weapons.
• I am happy to do so,
• I have never been afraid to walk through the “detection tunnel”
• Or have my luggage pass through the X-ray equipment,
• Because I have nothing to hide.
• TRANSITION: The apostle Paul teaches us here:
• That we should try to live so that when God and other people look into our lives,
• There is nothing there that we need to be ashamed of.
(3). Walk in Wisdom (vs 15-21):
Humorous Quotes:
• Here are some words of wisdom:
• Anybody who sleeps like a baby doesn’t have one.
• At my age, I’ve seen it all, heard it all, and done it all,
• But now, I just can’t seem to remember it all.
• He who laughs last ... thinks the slowest.
• The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
• There are 3 kinds of people: those who can count and those who can’t.
• Some minds are like concrete, thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.
• People are more strongly opposed to fur than to leather,
• Because it’s safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs.
• TRANSITION: From worldly wisdom to godly wisdom,
• Notice what the apostle Paul says concerning real wisdom.
(a). We Need to be Focussed (vs 15).
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,
Ill:
• Only a foolish sailor drifts on the open sea;
• Guided only by the wind and tide:
• A wise sailor marks out their course,
• Sets their sail, and guides the rudder until they reaches their destination.
• TRANSITION:
• As Christians we ought to be wise;
• Wisdom comes from God and wise is the person who starts their day with God.
• One reason a quiet time each day is important;
• Is that we are bringing God into the day at the very start.
Quote: That contains a lot of truth.
“The day that starts with prayer often ends in praise,
The day that starts without prayer often ends in confession”
• Be wise!
• Start the day with God.
(b). We Need to be Willing (vs 16a).
• “Making the most of every opportunity”.
• “Buying up the opportunity—taking advantage of it.”
Quote: Erma Bombeck.
“Seize the moment.
Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.”
• Sometimes in life, especially in evangelism;
• We meet people who cross our paths just the once,
• Or there are opportunities that come our way,
• Take them and make the most of them!
(C). We Need to be Aware (vs 16b).
“because the days are evil.”
• In Paul’s time,
• This expression meant that Roman persecution was on the way
• (i.e. 1 Peter chapter 4 verses 12-19).
• We too live in evil times, every week laws are passed that run contrary to God’s word.
• While we pray for revival, it may well be persecution that is around the corner.
• So here’s the challenge…
• …if we knew our Church would be closed down in 6 months or 6 weeks’ time,
• What a difference that would make to what happened in this place,
• During those next 6 months or 6 weeks.
• Yet, we are never promised 6 months or 6weeks, or even tomorrow,
• We are only promised today,
• So let’s make a difference!
(d). We Need to be Sensible (vs 17a).
“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is”.
“Understanding” suggests using our minds to discover and do the will of God.
• Too many Christians have the wrong idea;
• That discovering God’s will is a mystical experience that rules out clear thinking.
• We discover the will of God:
• As we use our resources;
• i.e. the Word of God, prayer, meditation, service and worship.
God gave you a mind, then he expects you to use it:
• This means that learning his will involves gathering facts, examining them,
• Weighing them, and praying for His wisdom.
There are at least three ways God reveals that plan:
• He reveals His plan through His Word (Colossians chapter 1 verses 9-10),
• His Spirit in our hearts (Colossians chapter 3 verse 15),
• And the working of circumstances (Romans chapter 8 verse 28).
• And through the advice of Church leaders,
• And through the advice of one or two trusted prayer partners/friends.
(e). We Need to be Filled (vs 18).
“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit”
• “Be filled with the Spirit” is a command from God:
• Notice a few things about it:
(a).
• The command is plural,
• So it applies to all Christians and not just to a select few.
(b).
• The verb is in the present tense—“keep on being filled”
• So it is an experience we should enjoy constantly and not just on special occasions.
(c).
• The verb is passive.
• We do not fill ourselves but permit the Spirit to fill us.
Note:
• The verb “fill” has nothing to do with contents or quantity,
• We are not empty vessels that need a required amount of spiritual fuel to keep going.
• In the Bible, filled means “controlled by.”
• ill: Luke chapter 4 verse 28, Acts chapter 13 verse 45,
• To be “filled with the Spirit”
• Means to be constantly controlled by the Spirit in our mind, emotions, and will.
Question: But how can a person tell whether or not he is filled with the Spirit?
Answer: There are three evidences of the fullness of the Spirit:
• The Christian is joyful (verse 19),
• The Christian is thankful (verse 20),
• The Christian is submissive (verses 21-33).
SERMON AUDIBLE:
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