Follow The Steps Of Our Savior Jesus Christ Series

Follow the Steps of Our Savior Jesus Christ

Ephesians 5:1-14

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Series: The Book of Ephesians

(Prepared May 22, 2024)

BACKGROUND:

*We are studying the Apostle Paul's letter to the Church in Ephesus. J. Vernon McGee gave this background: "Around the year 60 A.D. four men left Rome bound for the province of Asia. Each man carried a Holy Spirit inspired letter written by the Apostle Paul. The Roman authorities never realized the significance of these letters from one of their little known prisoners. But if the empire had any idea of the power in those Heaven sent words, those four men would have been arrested and the documents seized.

*When the men said goodbye to the Apostle Paul, each was given a letter to carry to his particular church. These four letters are forever part of God's Word. And they are designated the 'Prison Epistles of Paul,' since he wrote them while he was a prisoner in Rome. Paul was there waiting for a hearing before Caesar Nero who was then the emperor of the Empire. As a Roman citizen, Paul had appealed his case to the emperor, and he was waiting to be heard." (1)

*Author John Phillips added that "Ephesus was a large and important city in Paul’s day, with a population of around 350,000 people. It was on the western coast of modern day Turkey, midway between two continents. There east met west. Crowds of government officials, Roman soldiers, and Jewish businessmen rubbed shoulders with Eastern pilgrims flocking into Ephesus to worship at the pagan temple of Diana. That temple was famous as one of the wonders of the ancient world, but it was also a shrine to a false goddess who was "worshiped" through sinful sexual ways.

*Ephesus had been Paul’s headquarters during his third missionary journey. He stayed in the city for nearly three years and established a large, influential church. His fellow workers, and the new Christians fanned out from Ephesus to the surrounding territory. There they planted new churches in city after city." Later, the church in Ephesus was blessed to be led by the Apostle John. (2)

*With this background in mind, let's begin today by reading Ephesians 5:1-14. And as we read, please think about following the footsteps of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

MESSAGE:

*Here are some good spiritual questions to ask from time to time:

-Which spiritual direction am I heading these days?

-How is my Christian walk going?

-Am I stuck in a rut?

-Have I made any progress lately?

-Am I getting closer to God or pulling farther away?

*Guy McGraw saw a description of how we might walk if we walked the way some people drive: "Some of us would suddenly race one another down the sidewalk. If someone stepped out in front of us, we might start walking two inches behind them. We’d make faces or yell at people who didn't walk the way we wanted them to. We might even talk to the red light as we waited for it to change." (3)

*Christian: How has your spiritual walk been going? We are supposed to be headed in a different direction from unbelievers. God wants us to have a different walk, because we are a different people. We are part of the Family of God, and we can follow the footsteps of our Savior.

1. TODAY'S SCRIPTURE HELPS US SEE HOW, AND FIRST WE MUST MIMIC OUR MASTER.

*We see this truth in vs. 1 where Paul tells us to "be followers of God as dear children." That word "follower" means to be an imitator of Christ. The original word is where we get our word "mimic," so we are to do the things we see Jesus do. When we look at the life of Jesus Christ, there is no doubt that we’ve got somebody worth following. Jesus is somebody worth imitating, so "be followers of God" vs. 1 tells us.

*I mentioned Richard Wurmbrand last time, and he certainly followed God. Richard served the Lord during the dark days of Communist oppression in Romania. He was put into prison by the Communists simply because he was a follower of Christ. He was released from his first imprisonment in 1956, after eight and a half years.

*Although he was warned not to preach, Richard resumed work in the underground church. He was arrested again in 1959 and sentenced to 25 years. During this imprisonment, he was beaten, tortured, and Richard never fully recovered from that torture.

*At some point in prison, Wurmbrand shared a cell with a young Communist. At first, that young atheist wanted nothing to do with Christianity. But food rations were very low in the prison, and Richard began to share his bread with that young man. One day Richard was telling his cellmate about a Christian man who was like Jesus. Then the young man turned to Richard and said, "If Jesus is like you, -- I would like to know Him." (4)