Wonderful. Well, good morning, everyone. It's lovely to have you with us today. Thank you so much for joining in.
Thank you, Archie, for leading us this far and Danny for reading that passage in Ephesians 5 for us.
Let me encourage you to grab a Bible or get it on a screen on your phone or something like that and come with me to God's Word.
And thank you so much, Archie, for praying for us as well as we come to this text this morning.
So Ephesians chapter 5. And as we dive in today, let me tell you about a guy I once heard about during my time at university.
And it was common knowledge, apparently, that the girls in his class had a nickname for him.
OK, ready for this? They had a nickname for him. They called him the Untouchable, which probably when you say like that sounds a bit harsh.
But stick with me. Here's why they called him the Untouchable.
So where they were kind of joking around in class, as they were mucking around down the pub,
when they were out and about doing their usual thing in the clubs in town,
when they were interested in scoring with the boys,
oh, this guy was there. This guy was a laugh. This guy was their friend.
And though they would have loved for him to have joined in,
it became so crystal clear because this guy was a follower of Jesus.
That he just wasn't up for playing ball.
Right? So they called him the Untouchable.
Question for you. Why would somebody choose to live differently?
Why would somebody choose not to get involved?
Who would choose to be the kind of person that I always call in my mind,
I call a walking question mark?
Right? You ever met somebody like that where you kind of watch them in action and you try and figure out what makes them tick
and you conclude to yourself, I just can't figure them out?
Walking question mark.
Yeah, thing is, Ephesus,
this letter written to the Ephesian Christians,
Ephesus, I'm sure, is full
of walking question marks.
Come with me, picture this scene.
Right? Imagine Chris the Christian.
Right? You got him in your head?
Chris the Christian.
Right? One morning,
there's a knock at his door.
And it's his friends.
Chris, mate, how you doing?
How you doing?
Listen, we're off into town.
Just taking a wee stroll.
You coming?
You know, plan is,
we'll take a stroll.
We'll see some friends.
We'll take a trip to the temple of Artemis.
We'll wander about,
maybe make some money,
maybe even pick up a girl at the temple
and we'll get up to some mischief.
I mean, come on, bro.
You love this stuff.
Grab your coat.
I'm all waiting.
Make a day of it.
And Chris replies,
Guys,
no thanks.
That just
isn't really me anymore.
And his mates
look at each other bemused.
Right?
What's getting him?
What's happening to crazy Chris?
Remember this guy that used to live for this stuff?
What's happened?
Question,
what explains
21st century uni guy
and
1st century Chris?
Right?
What explains it?
Well, here's what I love.
Question mark.
Ephesians chapter 5
gives us
an exclamation mark.
Right?
Here's why I love this passage.
This passage explains
why you would choose to do that.
Okay?
Ephesians 5 explains it.
Come with me to verse chapter 1.
Here is the central idea
of this passage.
Paul
says to these believers,
he says,
be imitators of God.
Right?
Friends,
get that in your
lungs.
Right?
Be imitators
of God.
And here's,
I think,
the logic
of what he's trying to get them to see
at verse 1.
Okay,
you ever notice that
you kind of pick up things
from your parents?
You ever notice that in your life?
Right?
I remember the first time
somebody said to me,
they said,
see when you get excited,
have you ever noticed,
have you ever stopped to think
about why
you rub your hands together?
Right?
What's that all about?
Do you know what?
Never occurred to me before.
But do you know what?
The next time I went home,
watching the football one night,
I hear a rub of the hands
coming from the other sofa.
Right?
Hear the hand rub.
It's my dad.
And I go,
oh,
that's where I get
the hand rub thing from.
You know,
those kind of things
that we pick up
from our parents.
So when Paul says here
at verse 1,
he says,
imitate God.
Do you see what he's saying?
He's saying,
as God's children,
right?
Be like your heavenly father.
Pick up his character traits.
Be like him.
And so it follows,
if you jump on the train of thought,
we'll go to where it's going.
Where's the train going?
That if your father is holy,
that if your father is light,
if your father is so far above
the things of this earth,
and if your father is the very essence of love,
well,
like father,
like son.
Okay?
Mimic your heavenly father.
Reflect your heavenly father.
You want to know what that looks like?
Have a look at the son.
Have a look at the Christ who came and showed us perfectly the father.
Right?
It means when we're looking at Jesus in action in the gospels,
we are gazing deep into the very heart of God.
There's no inconsistency between the two.
Jesus Christ who gave himself up for us.
Do you see the language there?
Fragrant offering.
The sacrifice.
It's Leviticus language.
Christ,
the perfect offering for our sin.
Pleasing in God's sight.
What does that mean?
It means that we are right with our God.
We are known by our creator.
His spirit dwells within us.
It means that we are his new people of light.
We are his children of light.
And so Paul says,
imitate your heavenly father.
Be holy as he is holy.
Right?
Imitate him in the marketplace.
Imitate him as you spend time with your mates.
Imitate him as you play your sport.
Imitate him as you do business.
Imitate him.
Do you see,
Paul is no advocate of come out and hide.
This is staying and shine.
Staying and shine.
Christ,
and I take it that's what's going on in verse 14,
as Christ shines on us.
Staying and shine.
I mean,
how good was that moon last night?
Do you see it?
People texting me,
look at the moon,
look at the moon.
It never happens.
But how good was that moon last night?
Really simple question.
Do you know why the moon is bright?
Right?
Kind of primary school question,
really,
but go with me.
Do you know why the moon is bright?
Because the sun shines in it.
Okay?
And I like to play this game
in the darkness,
right?
There it is.
I like to play this game.
There is the moon going,
wow.
Right?
Hey,
hey,
don't look at me.
Don't look at me.
I'm just rock dust and craters.
Don't look at me.
Look at the sun.
Look at the one who is shining on me.
Look how great he is.
He's lit me up.
How great is the sun?
I'm already reflecting about three to 12% of his light.
I Googled it,
right?
How great is the sun?
Paul says,
shine for Christ.
Imitate him as Christ shines on you,
right?
Be walking question marks in your city of Ephesus.
And what's that going to look like?
Well,
let's move,
if you like,
from the general principle to the specific application.
Because Paul puts his finger on one area in particular,
where to imitate God will mean,
boy,
these Ephesians are going to stand out like a sore thumb.
Right?
And it's this whole area of how they conduct themselves sexually.
Okay?
Ephesus,
this is a highly sexualized culture.
Right?
What was that?
What's that song from the 90s that Salt-N-Pepa sang?
Right?
Let's talk about sex.
It was one of the anthems of the 90s,
right?
Lyrics.
Now we talk about sex on the radio and video shows.
Many will know that anything goes.
Right?
They loved that song in Ephesus in the first century.
Loved it.
Right?
Virgin women at the temple helping you worship.
They're offering you a sacred sexual encounter.
A culture where you're encouraged to kind of just let your desires go.
And the more you do that,
the more that you're living.
And these Christians are caught up right in the middle of that.
Okay?
In a previous life,
they saw no issue with this.
They said,
what's the problem?
Bring it on.
But do you see how Paul writes at verse 8?
He says,
you were once darkness.
Right?
That was you.
You were there.
No spiritual lights on in your life.
This used to be you.
But now,
verse 8,
you are light in the Lord.
God has switched the spiritual lights on in your life.
And Christ has shined.
He's shining on you.
So to be an imitator of God in Ephesus,
to be a walking question mark,
what is that going to mean?
Specifically in this highly sexualized culture,
I just want us to see two things.
Okay?
Firstly,
it's going to mean them saying no to the darkness.
No to the darkness.
Right?
In terms of their walk and in terms of their talk.
So see verse 3,
the things that he specifically mentions.
Right?
When it comes to their walk.
And I assume that these things are all connected.
Back to our central theme.
Sexual immorality,
impurity,
covetousness.
And then when it comes to their talk,
do you see verse 4?
No filthiness,
no foolish talk,
no crude joking.
And I take it that these are telltale signs
that the people who are living in these things
have refused God's reign,
are living in darkness,
and are deserving of God's wrath.
Paul said they've got no place
amongst God's holy people.
And so do you see how radically different
these Christians will be
simply by using the word no.
not because they've moved out of Ephesus,
but because God's spirit has moved into them.
They're going to be walking question marks
in their city.
And so the question becomes,
what will it mean to be a walking question mark
in our city
in terms of our walk and our talk?
And really,
it's not going to look any different,
is it?
I mean,
to believe in the goodness
of God's design for sex,
that this is a good gift from Him,
that He's designed to be enjoyed
in the context of a marriage
between one man and one woman.
And I take it that that term,
sexual immorality,
in the Greek there,
it's almost a catch-all term
for everything that goes on
outside of that framework,
God's good design.
And for us to not just simply
reluctantly go with that design,
but love that design and affirm it.
Flowing from a heart that says,
do you know what,
I'm going to love the people of my city.
I'm going to love my neighbor
who thinks differently to that.
Pursuing them in the same way
that Christ pursues people in the Gospels
and telling them about Jesus.
And all the while,
I'm going to abide by God's blueprint for sex.
No matter how difficult it is,
no matter what it costs me,
because I know the God whose word this is,
I know who He is,
I know that He is my good Father,
and I love Him,
and I trust Him with my life.
How different are you going to look
if you believe that
and live that out?
Which, to be clear, we do.
Walking question marks in our city.
Let me just ask you as we think about this.
Friends, when was the last time
you said no to something
because you wanted to imitate
your Heavenly Father?
Right?
These are tough times that we're living in.
I think this is even more relevant.
Right?
When was the last time you said no
to looking at that website?
Right?
You said no to watching that Netflix drama
that everyone's watching,
that box set that everyone's binging on
because it's got images
that just aren't helpful for me.
It's got scenes that just aren't great
for me to be watching.
When was the last time you said no
to staying over at someone's house?
You know what?
Because it might be a bit more convenient,
but it's just not a wise thing to do.
When was the last time you said no
to joining in the bad banter
in the changing room?
You know, I think so often
our problem in this area
is not that people think we're strange.
Our problem is that people
don't think we're strange enough.
Okay, verse 7.
I take it this is caught up
in this language here.
Paul was saying,
do not be partners with them.
See that God has called you
to something so much more glorious
and say no because you want to imitate
your glorious heavenly Father.
And I had the words of that old hymn
by William Cowper in my head this week.
To see the law by Christ fulfilled
to hear his pardoning voice
changes a slave into a child
and changes duty into choice.
Perhaps you're watching this
and you've got the words
of another song in your head, right?
A song about Coldplay, Chris Martin.
Nobody said it was easy,
but no one ever said
it would be this hard.
And friends, I take it.
I know that this is not easy.
We have all made mistakes.
We all have regrets.
We all are broken.
I know I certainly am
in one way or another
when we come to think about
this whole area of sex.
And I take it that we as a church,
we long to be
the kind of church family
that is listening,
that is supporting,
that is loving,
that is honest
and that genuinely wants
the best for one another,
that's willing to go
the extra mile to help.
And the kind of community
one that is just speaking
the truth of the gospel
into one another's lives
like we thought about
a couple of weeks ago,
just helping one another,
speaking the truth of love
into one another's lives,
reminding ourselves,
each other about our Father
who is all compassion
and who specializes
in creating trophies
of his redeeming grace.
It's reminding one another
about Jesus,
who he is,
as we see him in the gospels.
I love that he's never
running away from people
who have got sexual
question marks above them.
He's never standing over them,
condemning them.
He is moving alongside them
in grace and love
and reminding ourselves
of the holy calling
this God has made
on our lives
and walking with one another
lovingly to the foot
of the cross
as the place
where we will find
forgiveness and life.
Friends,
to be a walking question mark
in this whole area
is going to mean us saying
no to things.
And flip that around
if you like,
that's the defense.
If you flip that around
in the offense here,
to be a walking question mark
is going to mean them saying
yes to the light.
Right?
No to the darkness.
Yes to the light.
Again,
in terms of their walk
and in terms of their talk.
Verse 10,
see what he says.
He says,
find out what pleases the Lord.
Right?
Love that.
Find out.
Get involved.
Use your initiative.
Engage your brain
and get in the word.
Find out.
Find out what pleases
your heavenly Father.
Invite others into your life
who are going to be able
to help you
and lovingly come alongside you.
It's kind of what happens
when you fall in love,
isn't it?
You just find out
what makes the other person happy.
I want to know
what makes them happy.
Right?
What chocolates do they like?
What music are they into?
What hobbies do they have?
What food do they love?
Where do they love to go?
Paul says,
find out what pleases
your heavenly Father.
Find out what pleases
the Lord.
And I do it.
Right?
Verse 4,
come with me.
No obscene talk,
not foolishness,
not crude jokes,
but thanksgiving
should be coming
out of your mouths.
I mean,
how distinctly different,
friends,
if we are a community
that is known
for talk
that is thankful.
Right?
I was reminded this week
of the words
of the late Billy Graham
who said,
a spirit of thankfulness
is one of the most
distinctive marks
of a Christian
whose heart
is attuned
to the Lord.
I heard a cracking story
this week
from a friend Andy
who was telling me
about an older lady
in his congregation
over in Glasgow
and she was telling him
how she was just
really getting quite down
with everything
that was going on
just now
and just finding herself
slipping into
an attitude
of just moaning
about things.
So she decided
to put a stop to it
and try and cultivate
this attitude
of thanksgiving.
So what she made herself
do every day
is to go into her kitchen
and grab her tomato timer.
Right?
Remember those things,
those tomato timers
if you don't remember
what it is
or you're of a younger
generation,
get on Google,
write a tomato timer.
She used to take it
and wind it up
to two minutes
and then sit it down
on the kitchen table
and listen to it
tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.
And what she used to do
was take those two minutes
and deliberately list
everything in her life
that she was thankful
to God for
until the tomato timer
ran out.
Love that.
Thanksgiving.
Are we a thankful
people, friends?
Is this what pours forth
from our mouths
thanksgiving
to who our God is?
And then maybe
think about one way
that that might work out
in this whole area
of sexual relationships.
Let me just pitch you
something here.
And there was a comedy film
that came out
a number of years ago,
I think,
starring Steve Carell.
It was a comedy
and it was called
The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
Right?
And it was about
this middle-aged man
who had never had sex
and the whole premise
of the film
was that here is a man
who hasn't lived.
Have pity for him.
He hasn't lived.
It's how the world thinks,
isn't it?
What the world promotes.
Friends,
you see how the Christian
can look at something
like that
and declare
not true.
Not true.
You know,
in the words of
Jackie Hill Perry
who's written so wonderfully
about her journey
as a disciple of Jesus
and discovering
the God of the Bible
in her book
that's called
Gay Girl,
Good God,
she writes,
our sexuality
is not our soul,
marriage is not heaven
and singleness
is not hell.
Right?
The Christian can look
at something like that
and declare
that there is
a better story
that defines my life.
Right?
I'm not defined
by my relationship
status on Facebook
or how I look
or what I've done
in the past
and who I've done it with
or my so-called
future prospects.
I'm not defined
by any of those things.
I am defined
by Jesus Christ
and what God my Father
says is true about me.
And what has God said
is true about us?
Well, I think
this is where we need
to get back to chapter one.
The more I've been
preaching this through,
everything's connected
to the identity
that Paul is out
of the Christian
in chapter one.
Who are you, Christian?
You are one
who has been loved
by God the Father.
You are one
who has been adopted
into his family.
You are one
who has been redeemed
by God the Son
who gave himself
for you.
You are one
who has been sealed
by God the Spirit
with a glorious,
untouchable,
heavenly inheritance
ahead of you.
That is what defines you.
It has to do
with these other things.
That is what defines you.
And because of that,
whatever comes our way
in life,
we can say
that I am thankful.
I am thankful to God.
You know,
whoever you are here
watching this today,
maybe you've got huge questions
about this stuff,
but let me just tell you,
friends,
there is only one person,
only one person
who can give us life.
And life to the full
is what he promises.
And his name
is Jesus.
You see,
the Christian
is one
who can say,
whatever my lot,
my heart can say,
it is well
with my soul.
My heart can say,
whatever is going on
in my life,
that Jesus Christ
is enough.
And that's where
we want to be,
isn't it?
That's where we want to be.
That is where life
is to be found,
that Jesus Christ
is enough for me.
Friends,
I take it that
if we try and live this way,
if we are dangerously
different for Christ,
then naturally
the light that shines
from us
is going to expose
the darkness.
I think that's what
Paul's on about
there at verse 13.
It's kind of what happens
if you change a light bulb,
isn't it?
Or stand next to a light bulb.
Oh,
just exposes you,
doesn't it?
I had that experience
the other night,
just changing a light bulb
outside or flashlight.
Vroomf.
That's what happens,
isn't it,
when you're exposed
by the light.
Friends,
that's what we're doing
when we're saying
no to the world's way,
no to the darkness,
and yes to God's way,
yes to the light.
And I think that should
encourage us
in our witness
because when that happens,
even the smallest step
of obedience
to your heavenly Father,
that is the light
invading the darkness
as the world looks in
and says,
I cannot figure that out.
Why would somebody
choose to live that way?
The light is invading
the darkness.
Friends,
so as we close,
let's come back to
our two guys at the top.
What explains
21st century uni guy?
What explains
the untouchable?
And what explains
first century Chris
living his life
as a disciple
of Jesus in Ephesus?
What explains that?
Why would somebody
choose to live
differently?
Why would somebody
not want to get involved?
Why would somebody
choose
to be a walking
question mark?
What's that all about?
Answer,
because they love
Jesus.
They love
their heavenly Father
and their heart's desire
is that they want
to imitate
him.
A song that we
sometimes sing here
and I'm reminded
of this this week
and let's make this
our prayer
as we head into
this week coming.
Refiner's fire.
My heart's one desire
is to be holy.
Set apart for you,
Lord.
I choose to be
holy.
Set apart for you,
my master.
ready to do
your will.
Let's pray together.
Heavenly Father,
I'm so conscious,
Lord,
of the many
questions that will
come out of this
passage today,
of the many
different experiences
that we'll have,
of the many
different current
places that we'll
find ourselves in,
and the many
different situations
that we're each
trying to work out.
And I pray,
Father,
that you would
help us each
today by your
Spirit who lives
in us.
Help us
remember the
gospel.
Help us remember
Jesus Christ
and him
crucified.
And a gospel
that is the power
of God unto
salvation.
And it's the power
for us to
change.
So,
Father,
help us today.
Thank you that you
are the God of all
comfort.
And I pray,
Father,
that as your
word goes forth
today,
that your Spirit
would both
challenge us
who need to be
challenged,
and would comfort
us who need to
be comforted.
Oh,
our Father,
we want all the
glory to be to
you this week
in our lives.
Help us to
imitate you.
In Jesus' name
we pray.
Amen.