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Ephesians 5:1-21 Ways to Show Our New Thinking

Dan Sullivan · July 24, 2018 ·

Sermon on Ephesians 5:1-21 from Westminster Church in Evansville, Indiana. Here are the notes I used.

https://biblescribbler.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ephesians-5_1-21-2.mp3

Ephesians 5:1–21

[1] Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. [2] And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

This is a response to the last verse of chapter 4: Ephesians 4:32

[32] Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (ESV)

Again, just like last week, this stuff isn’t a law, but a response to what God has already done. This list is here because we do better when we have a guide instead of just trying to figure stuff out.

It’s like bending your elbows when you give someone CPR. You might know you are supposed to give chest compressions, but in the training they tell you not to bend your elbows. You need that weight and those shoulder/back muscles to do it because your little arms will wear out too fast. I don’t want you to figure that out for yourself!  That’s why this stuff is in here. We can gain wisdom from it and grow in the Lord from these insights. This is our head-start on living a life that is pleasing to God.

[3] But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. [4] Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

Again, this isn’t a law saying that we should talk about it. We should be so blameless in this that nobody can talk about us doing it! We all have to be examples of this because we are all affecting the world’s perception of Christ.

  • Filthiness – ranges according to the culture, and we need to be sensitive to that.
  • Crude jokes
  • Covetousness – “greedy desire to have more”
  • Impurity – Out of control living, reckless, amoral, wasteful

Amish people have a reputation in the world.

Galatians 6:7–8

[7] Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. [8] For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (ESV)

Then back to Ephesians

[5] For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. [6] Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Note the difference here between people that own this sin as a lifestyle and people that stumble into sin and fall.

[7] Therefore do not become partners with them; [8] for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light [9] (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), [10] and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

We have to be completely deliberate with these things. Holiness will not be executed on accident or by passively doing whatever.

“No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness — they have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means — the only complete realist. – CS Lewis

Ephesians 5:11-14

[11] Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. [12] For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. [13] But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, [14] for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper,

and arise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”

Darkness is not exposed by our elaborate and excellent definition of darkness. Darkness is exposed by light!

[15] Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, [16] making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

[17] Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

[18] And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, [19] addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, [20] giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, [21] submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. (ESV)

 

podcast, Sermons church, discipleship, Ephesians, freedom, grace, holiness, Jesus, works

God is Able to Carry You Sermon – 2 Thessalonians

Dan Sullivan · January 14, 2016 ·

http://biblescribbler.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2Thes-2-sermon-on-end-of-the-world-2.mp3

Download: 2 Thes 3 God is able to carry you until the end 2015-07-12

I don’t have any notes that I can find on this. That just means I saved the somewhere crazy, not that I spoke with no notes!

Here is the gist of this sermon on 2 Thessalonians 3:

  • God will sustain you through the end
  • Guy burned at the stake that raised his hands up (maybe Thomas Hawkes http://www.the-highway.com/Hawkes.html)
  • God will uphold you and sustain you through every awful thing
  • God’s goal isn’t to get the work done, but to work in us. He’s already prepared the work for us to do. I could do it Himself, but He wants to work in you as you do it.

Bible Study, podcast, Sermons 2 Thessalonians, Ephesians, martyrs, works

King David on letting God be God

Dan Sullivan · September 26, 2015 ·

2 Samuel 15:24-26

And Abiathar came up, and behold, Zadok came also with all the Levites, bearing the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God until the people had all passed out of the city. 25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place. 26 But if he says, ‘I have no pleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him.”

I love it how David totally surrenders to God and allows God to be God in this conflict. He doesn’t take a side, assume anything, and say something like “God wants me to blah blah blah”

He says “This may be how God changes the kingdom, so I’ll submit to him.”

The fact is, we DON’T know what God’s will is most of the time, but we are making decisions based on what we feel urged to do. There is nothing wrong with that at all. I think sometimes we justify ourselves by claiming God’s will, but the truth is that we are guessing and trusting the Lord. I think we bring a lot more glory to God by letting Him have His will and we admit that we are trying to follow it.

Bible Study david, discipleship, faith, God's Will, OT, Samuel, works

Galatians 3 and 4 in Fifteen minutes

Dan Sullivan · January 13, 2015 ·

I was able to preach this past weekend at a UCC church. I talked about the freedom of the Gospel, which is also free!

http://biblescribbler.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/01-stmatthewsGalatians2.mp3

Bible Study, podcast, Sermons Galatians, grace, Jesus, judgment, mercy, sin, works

Saul the Sorcerer

Dan Sullivan · August 25, 2014 ·

1 Samuel 15:18-21

18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’
19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”
20 And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

Saul has a horrible case of “Hear-what-I-want-itis” when he talks to Samuel here.

What Samuel Says What Saul Says
Kill everything We killed only the diseased and worthless
Leave nothing alive We brought the best animals back alive
God doesn't need your sacrifices Won't God love these sacrifices?

And of course God doesn’t like it at all when people do their own thing and say that is what “God” wanted them to do.

22 And Samuel said,
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has also rejected you from being king.”

Do you see what he said there? Rebellion, in this case religiousness is like being a witch or a sorcerer. How is that? Well, the main problem with sorcery is that the wizard is putting himself in a position to control supernatural powers. When a person does a religious act to force God’s hand, that’s just like trying to be a wizard.

Saul is trying to make God like him, or to earn something from God. What God wants is to be who He is, ruler of the galaxy. He doesn’t need the religious activities nor is He swayed by them.

v. 24-25
Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.”

Oh man! Do you see what he did there?! I’m sorry for being overly religious, now forgive me so I can keep being religious! Look at how pious I am as I seek forgiveness for my piety!

This whole idea of doing what we want to do and saying that it’s what God wants us to do is really striking to me. I wonder if we have become so trained to do our own thing, to follow our own will, that we don’t even know what it feels like to be led by God. I’ve experienced several things this summer where somebody was making a horrible decision, but they said that God was leading them to make it.

I think I would have believed it if they hadn’t hidden those decisions behind so much piety!

May we be thankful for the works that Jesus’ death freed us from, and may we take hold of the simple, submissive life He has given us! No magicians here, just servants!

Bible Study 1 Samuel, magic, obedience, religion, Saul, works

Sermon for Newlife Church of the Nazarene in Princeton, Indiana

Dan Sullivan · December 3, 2013 ·

(These are my notes for a sermon I was able to preach in October, 2013, at New Life Church of the Nazarene in Princeton, Indiana)

Inaugurations

Scripture

Matthew 16:24

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
16:25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
16:26 For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?
16:27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.

Luke 9:23

Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.
9:24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

Galatians 2

2:16 yet we know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
2:17 But if while seeking to be justified in Christ we ourselves have also been found to be sinners, is Christ then one who encourages sin? Absolutely not!
2:18 But if I build up again those things I once destroyed, I demonstrate that I am one who breaks God’s law.
2:19 For through the law I died to the law so that I may live to God.
2:20 I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
2:21 I do not set aside God’s grace, because if righteousness could come through the law, then Christ died for nothing!

Isaiah 1 – God Hates Religion!

1:9 If the Lord who commands armies27 had not left us a few survivors,
we would have quickly become like Sodom,
we would have become like Gomorrah.
1:10 Listen to the Lord’s word,
you leaders of Sodom!
Pay attention to our God’s rebuke,
people of Gomorrah!
1:11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?”
says the Lord.
“I am stuffed with32 burnt sacrifices
of rams and the fat from steers.
The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats
I do not want.
1:12 When you enter my presence,
do you actually think I want this –
animals trampling on my courtyards?
1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless offerings;
I consider your incense detestable!
You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,
but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations!
1:14 I hate your new moon festivals and assemblies;
they are a burden
that I am tired of carrying.
1:15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I look the other way;
when you offer your many prayers,
I do not listen,
because your hands are covered with blood.
1:16 Wash! Cleanse yourselves!
Remove your sinful deeds
from my sight.
Stop sinning!
1:17 Learn to do what is right!
Promote justice!
Give the oppressed reason to celebrate!
Take up the cause of the orphan!
Defend the rights of the widow!

John 6:28

So then they said to him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds God requires?”
6:29 Jesus replied, “This is the deed God requires – to believe in the one whom He sent.”

Perseverance

  • James 1
  • 2 Peter 1:6
  • Romans 5:3
  • 2 Thessalonians 3:13
  • Hebrews 10:36
  • Revelation 3:11

Outline

Introduce Yourself

  • Married w/ 5 kids
  • Lived around the world
  • Live in urban Evansville
  • Spiritual Life & Program Director at the Evansville Rescue Mission

Talk about inaugural events

  • Birth
  • Graduation
  • Marriage
  • Salvation
  • Baptism
  • Ordination
  • Landing a great job

All of these are one time events that open up a new door to do something.

They are a significant event in and of themselves, but all of them require continuous action

Matthew 16 and Luke 9 – Denying Myself is a daily activity

Activity without the inaugural event is death – Isaiah and Hebrews 11

Inaugural event opens the door to a life correctly ordered and possible

Galatians 2:20

Understand the role, work, and purpose of the work God requires, and go do it.

optional

john 15:1

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.
10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

Bible Study, Featured, Sermons discipleship, Isaiah, Jesus, Matthew, sermons, works

If, Then Conditional Confusion and Legalism

Dan Sullivan · August 29, 2013 ·

If you love me, you’ll obey my commands. – John 14:15

I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this from the non-legalistic point of view.

Forever people have read this – I have read this – like "If you love me, then you will do what I say so go figure out what I said so that you can do it and that will show that you love me."

I’ve messed up the cause and effect here.

If you love me => then you’ll do what I say.

The other unspoken message here is the guilt that comes daily when we fail to obey Jesus. "You must not love me, because you didn’t obey my commands." Which is of course a lie from Hell. You don’t have to go far in scripture to find folks that loved Jesus a lot, failed to follow His directions, and didn’t get the lightning bolt treatment.

But from some of the other stuff Jesus says, and because He doesn’t elaborate here or in any other place around this statement of what His rules and laws are, I think we have it backwards.

What if we looked at it like this:

"Love me, which is my command."

That might be a better way of expressing what I’m thinking. "The work of God is this, to believe in the One He sent." and to obey Christ’s commands is to love Him.

Bible Study grace, Jesus, John, Law, legalism, works

sermon notes from One Life West, 8-11-2013

Dan Sullivan · August 11, 2013 ·

Bible Study, Handwritten Blog, Sermons action, Matthew, onelife, works

Work It

Dan Sullivan · April 5, 2013 ·

Ephesians 2 gives a great balance to some order that a lot of people have screwed up.

Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Let’s take it bit by bit.

Ephesians 2:8-9 NET

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast.

There was a time when people asked Jesus, “What is the work that God requires?” and Jesus’ answer was almost too simple: “Believe in the One that He sent.” Faith is the closest we come to salvation by works. Faith that God did what He said He did is all that is required of us to be saved. In Romans 10:9, Paul says “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” So there is no work on our part to get ourselves saved.

Ephesians 2:10 NET

For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.

If I make something beautiful–if I brew up for you the best cup of coffee you’ve ever tasted, who gets the credit? Does the coffee get the credit for tasting good? NO‽ I get the credit because A.) I made great coffee and B.) I gave you some.

It is the same way with Christians and God. He saved us by grace SO THAT we could work for Him and bring Him honor, glory, attention, fame, etc. Our works are a result of our salvation, not the road to salvation.

BUT our salvation isn’t just a happy face and a get out of Hell free card. Our salvation is a commissioning. Our salvation is an inauguration.

We are saved in order to do the works that God wants to do! Not that He needs us, but that He wants to share in the action with us.

That is the double extra grace of it all. Not only do we get be with God, but we join Him in His glorious work!

Bible Study, Featured discipleship, Ephesians, grace, Paul, work, works

Condiments and Fruit Salad

Dan Sullivan · March 5, 2013 ·

Jesus is primary

Bible Study, Featured, Handwritten Blog deeds, discipleship, fruit, gifts, Jesus, works

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