Bible Time // Ephesians 5:1-21

I know a lot of passages have some really cool fluffy theological spiritual themes in them and we love those passages but this passage today is really practical really like this is how you walk this life out and I think we need to be just as interested in the practical as we are in the theological so join me let's take a look at what it says everybody welcome to Bible time thanks for joining me today glad that you're back with me yesterday was a fun one just a time of MOR just really you reading listening to the Holy Spirit thanks for the messages that I've received so far I always love hearing from you guys genuinely I really mean that I love hearing from people what God is doing in your life genuinely I mean that what you know hearing what God is doing in your your heart in your life and especially through his word through the to love Bible time and so thanks for sharing with me if you're new to this video somebody may be invited you or you stumbled across it just want you to know the primary purpose for this is to spend time reading the Bible every day to get God's Word in us and to spend some time listening to his spirit that's kind of what prayer is is just talking with God and listening to God and and so the power and all of this is through God's Word and God's presence and I'm just kind of along as a facilitator for that journey and so I'll share my thoughts along the way but that's just kind of extra the main purposes of this is to get all of us reading the Bible every day and with the end goal in the hope and the prayer that we would grow in our affection for Jesus and our obedience to him so we're picking up here on Ephesians chapter 5 yeah see the subtitle here walk in love just want to point out that what's taking place so far and you should really go back and read it or join me on the videos for the full context but it's a lot about what God has already done the relationship restored relationship that he's already offered us and so this section is a lot about what well how should we respond to that relationship what does it look like to to live out this life in light of a right and restore relationship with the God of the universe and so I think chapter 5 is gonna be like a lot of really practical things which some people really like because it's like finally some practical steps things that I could do and to be honest with you just for you to consider sometimes we don't a lot of us or some of us don't really like the practical stuff because we kind of like the idea of our faith being more sort of mystical or out-there theoretical because when there's practical things that means we actually have to change something or do something and so I don't know where you are I've probably been in both camps at times but good theology good good and right belief cannot just stay in the place of the mystical or the spiritual it always has to translate into something practical like how do we live this thing out so I know that's a long introduction but I had to preface this chapter so let's just jump right in and let's see what God's Word says so he says this to the church and Ephesus 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 sacrificed to God I love this the imitators of God try and be like him imitate him do what he does when you see what he sees when you hear what he hears respond the way that God would you our beloved children that's the important thing to remember that our response our imitation of him comes from a place of identity it's not a place of legalism or religion or or earning a you know doing good things to earn a place with him we've talked about this a lot and always have to remember this because we're children because we're in God's family that we can respond to what he's done and and walk it out which is exactly the term here walk in love but this word specifically walk we're gonna talk about that at the end of the book that there's if you were to boil Ephesians down in the three were to be sit walk stand I talked about watchman Nee we'll talk about that in a couple episodes but this whole middle section is all about walking in the way of Christ walking in the love of Jesus and walking in the ways of God and so is he you know he's saying just as Christ loved us he loved us and he gave himself for us and then this is kind of like a wink at the Old Testament offerings and sacrifices specifically incense would be they would keep incense lit in the in the tabernacle they would have offerings to God and sacrifices to God in the tabernacle or in the temple the house of God this is the place that the praise would go up that even physical incense and smoke would go up and that the whole point of all those things was to give God the honor and the sacrifice and the praise that he's worthy of and so even here at the beginning of this chapter he's he's just emphasizing and the readers would have would have known some of these concepts that that that for us now to honor God and to to sort of present to him the same thing that would have formerly been presented to him in the context of the the tabernacle and the church setting now that offering in that worship and that Worth and that honor is offered to God through the way that we live our life and so we need to take that to heart and that's a challenge for me to remember that how I walk is a reflection of how I worship and then it gets really practical sexual immorality and impurity or coveting it covetousness must not even be named among you and this is proper among the Saints let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking which are out of place but instead let there be Thanksgiving again I know some people don't like the lists especially when it's negative things but you know for me like when I'm reading this and again this is the whole point of these videos is like as if I'm just doing my daily devotional which I am how am I reading this what am I thinking you know so you might read differently you might mark up your word differently but this is what I would do here I want I want to I want to recognize these negative things call them out understand what they are what they mean because because my relationship with him urges me to want to avoid the things that he doesn't want for me and so I want to see what those are I want to want to have those in my mind I want to stay away from those things so I see her sexual immorality impurity covetousness filthiness foolish talk crude joking so here we see six things that like are just practical like hey stay away from these things they're not they're not honoring to the Lord and they're not good for you and so sexual immorality impurity covetousness filthiness foolish talk and crude joking okay and then he turns to like the positives but instead let there be Thanksgiving for you maybe sure and then this is it looks like he's going to describe it for you may be sure of this that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure or who is covetous that is an idolatry Wow so giving definition to the term covetousness or a covetous specifically according to him excuse me means that that you are making an idol out of whatever it is that you covet that's whether it's something that a friend has or amount of money that they have or a car or house or a thing that if you're if you're covetous in your heart means you're you're falling to the sin of idolatry and anyone that practices these things has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God it's heavy let no one deceive you with empty words for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience we need to get back to that you gotta get back to this term right here that is a term that my guess is most of you don't like necessarily love but it is an important biblical theme one that's maybe tough to discuss but important to discuss important to understand so but let's see if the maybe there's more in this section that and then we'll loop back around therefore do not become partners with them for a one time you were darkness but now you are light in the Lord walk as children of the light for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness but instead expose them for it is a for it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret but when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible for anything that becomes visible is light therefore it says awake Oh sleeper and arise from the dead and Christ will shine on you look carefully then how you walk continues to be you know interested in this analogy of walking and what that looks like not just with your feet you know but like how you live this life be careful look carefully after it this is a this is a term of what's the what's the word like self-responsibility right like this is on us it's really really important to remember that in the in in the faith there are things that only God can do and there are things that well God could do anything but there are things that he expects us to do you know sometimes for I'll give an example as a pastor sometimes I I see people come up to me and and they say you know what pastor you pray for me I'm struggling with sexual room it's sexual immorality something that's discussed in this passage you know I'm I'm struggling with pornography and they confessed to me this struggle which is a good thing and I will always pray for that one hundred percent like we should and what's taking place really if that if that person's coming in in real faith and real repentance what's what that prayer is is a request that God would do what only God can do like only God can heal the heart and heal the mind of those images only God can he can heal and deliver from that addiction only God can do those things are deep on the inside and some when we pray together we're asking God would you do what only you can do and then most of the time what I say to that person after the prayer is now what we did is we just ask God to do and we're gonna believe that he did what only he can do in his supernatural power but now I want you to ask yourself if the Holy Spirit is asking you or telling you anything that he wants you to do because while we serve a God who can do anything nothing is outside of his possibility but I believe wholeheartedly that while God could do anything there are many things that he chooses and he will he will not do for example I say to them you know what would stop you from taking your computer or your smartphone and throwing it against the wall and shattering it like that's actually physically possible you could do that or you could give it away selling or whatever like but we live in this this sort of paradigm that says well no I need my smartphone now I have to have my computer my internet of course I can't like I just need God to heal me but I just wonder if sometimes he's like I I do want to do the miracle on the inside but I want you to take an action on the outside like put yourself in a position where you can succeed get rid of your smartphone get a flip phone like seriously you can live with a flip phone you can live without a computer or and this is just one example like it's not about that specific example although if you're struggling with that sexual immorality ask yourself that why haven't I taken the steps that I have the power to take don't just blame God for everything like expect him to do everything we pray and we ask him to do it only he can do but what is he asking you to do what's within your power and your ability not out of legalism not ever earning it but what can you do that's a reasonable response to what he's doing and so what this is saying here is take careful watch over yourself take responsibility how you walk walk not as unwise but as wise making the best use of your time because the days are evil therefore do not be foolish these are all terms that like are implying that there's something within your power my power don't be foolish watch how you walk but understand the will of the Lord that is seek it out seek wisdom pray study ask mentors like try and understand the will of God here's one do not get into Runk on wine for this is debauchery that's a big word but instead be filled with the spirit addressing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart these are all actions that we can take give thanks giving thanks always and for for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ here you go submitting to one another out of reverence for God there's so many things in here that are like actions that we can choose to walk in or not walk in let's just take this one for example do not get drunk on wine you know yeah there it is there's the biblical biblical commandment for us not to be you know habitually given to drunkenness but there's always a reason for his Commandments why because that is debauchery that word means the the tendency to turn away from its it's when you lose the capacity to take self responsibility for your actions it's when you lose the capacity to to give yourself to the work of God through the Holy Spirit and you you fade off into or you you consciously turn towards the lusts of the flesh that's what debauchery is and and what he understands here is that when you're drunk or high for that matter in my opinion you're giving yourself to a position where you're you know the outcome is going to be one of turning from the Holy Spirit this is why oftentimes people do stupid things when they're drunk you know things that they would never do because they they lose the capacity for self responsibility and walking in the wisdom and the way of the Holy Spirit and really the crux of this commandment is not even about the drunkenness it's it's really more about the following sentence which is more important the point is to be filled with the spirit and so for that matter we could take the verse to say do not be given over to anything if it's leading you towards turning from the spirit because the goal is to be filled with the spirit and by the way this is just a side note and for fun but this term right here be filled is a present progressive in the Greek and actually the way that it should be read is be being filled it's it's so cool to me because it's an ongoing thing instead of like I was filled with the spirit back 20 years ago or you know whenever like it happened at that moment in time which it did like yeah there's a mark and there's a time you know there's a day that you were saved there's a day that you're filled with the Holy Spirit day you're baptized all those things there's there was a day that I got married but just because I had a wedding day on May 24th 2009 doesn't mean that I shouldn't daily be filled with relationship with my wife and grow in that and pursue her and communicate with her and all those things it's just like that with the Holy Spirit I love it because it doesn't point to just one day in one moment it points to the daily pursuit of him to be being filled with the spirit and so I just want to encourage all of us these are very practical things that we need to say no to and we need to say yes to we need to walk away from and we need to walk in and so to just like love all the the fluffy theology of the Bible but not grasp on to the practical we're doing ourselves a disservice and we're dishonouring God and so I I just feel like I really want to encourage us to kind of think through this passage and the things that it's saying that we would walk in those and I want to finish with this because it's a it's a theme that's a tough one oops but the wrath of God and I know we're almost out of time here but how much time we have hang with me just a couple more minutes because this is really really important the wrath of God oftentimes in the Old Testament and it's you know showed up in in ways that oftentimes people look at and they're like man is the good you know they were God of the Old Testament is a god of destruction and death and all of those things and and the truth is that God is holy and because God is both holy and loving fully loving and fully just there has to be justice to this world and he's given us free will and so as humanity has turned from him God has to extend his justice and that comes in the form of of Wrath which is not just some like flippant anger or moody like we get into and sometimes people look at God that way especially God in the Old Testament thing he's just so angry and mad no no God's love actually requires that he has a measured and reasonable response in his justice to sin and so his wrath is poured out in that way and and oftentimes that that means the destruction of sinful behavior sinful people in the New Testament God has chosen this is really important to get god has chosen to no longer pour out his wrath by way of physical destruction because he poured out his wrath ultimately on the death of Jesus Christ the cup that Jesus was saying if there's any way that this cup could pass be for me it's like cup of the wrath of God when Jesus died on the cross the wrath of God was fulfilled but there's still a measure of the wrath of God that takes place in the New Testament with but what's really important to understand is that the way that the wrath of God is is poured out as it were or or distributed in the New Testament we'd find this in Romans chapter 1 is not death and destruction sickness and playing and all those things it's the and and and you know honestly if we had more time I would put polar scripture out when we look at it but Romans chapter 1 go check my work I mean you know you have a Bible there please go check my work study it up the the New Testament describes for us that the wrath of God is God handing people over or allowing them to walk in their sin it's actually a very scary place to be because he says okay you you want you want to live that way you want to turn from me you want to be filled with something else instead of filled with my spirit my wrath upon you is not that I'm gonna take your life or destroy you it's that I'm gonna give you over to that sin and I'm gonna allow the natural results of that sin and that that action that behavior in that thinking I'm gonna allow that to fully consume you and take and take you on down whatever path it's gonna take you down and so we we need because of this we need to look carefully at how we walk right we need to look after our hearts that we are staying soft to the Holy Spirit that we are staying pure before him that where we're staying confessed and we're staying repentant or staying in relationship because we want to stay in tune with him we don't want to you know turn in callousness away from him and be given over to our sin and you know this is this is not what happens to the believer that's in faith pursuing him this is what he's he's given over to the central world world to he's saying it's really honestly if that sounds negative to you it's not it's so relational he's saying I want you I want to walk in relationship with you so much but if you're if you're telling me you don't want me then okay I will let you walk in a way in a manner that I'm not I'm not leading you I'm not protecting you I'm not guiding you because that if that's what you want I'll give you over to it I'll let you go and so I know that that was kind of a lot there I hope that uh that you got something out of that and just want to encourage you to spend some time in prayer thinking through these things some of this is kind of heavy content I get that but this is the Word of God it's just as important as the fluffy stuff is that God loves you passages as the you know cool theological thought this is practical this is where the rubber meets the road like are you walking in sexual immorality is your mouth filled with with crude language is your is your mind and your heart you know are you lustful or covetous or you are you comparative or you given over to drunkenness or things that are getting you know you're turning away from God or are you be being being filled with the Holy Spirit and walking it out because that's what God wants for all of us it's for his glory and it's for our good and that's my prayer for every one of you that you would find the fullness of life in walking with his presence and so I know we went long today thanks for joining me thanks for being with me I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow god bless

Channel: Craig Brown

Views: 249

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Jesus, God, Bible, Scripture, Gospel, Biblestudy, Bibletime, Preaching, Church, Christian, howtoreadthebible

Id: LZXipqY3IPw

Length: 24min 44sec (1484 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 05 2020