Its About Time To Be Followers Of God Series

Pastor Allan Kircher

12 May 2013

Ephesians 5:1-2

Be followers of god

As we look into the 5th chap/great book/Ephesians we are immediately confronted by a passage that demands we do the impossible.

• We are called to be like God.

• Called to love like He loves.

• Called to have passion like He has.

• It sounds like an impossible task!

How can we, sinful, human, frail, failing people ever be like Him or love like Him?

• Spend our time 1st two verses today.

• Drawing my title from verse 1

• The NIV “imitators” of God” KJV “followers of God.”

• I like the KJV, “followers”

• When we follow……we will imitate!

• Let’s look at the challenges presented to us.

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I. V. 1 THERE IS A PERSON TO IMITATE

Word “therefore” again calls attention backward chap 4….

• Reminded/saints of God have been saved/grace of God.

• Because their saved/they are to be different in….

• Way they walk/way they talk/way they think.

• They are to be different in every area of life.

v. 22…”old man” former way of life is gone. “put off”

v. 24…put on the “new man” created to be like God.

And 1 John 2:6, “whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”

God has challenged us to bring:

• Tongues, anger,work ethic,bitterness and revenge seeking.

• Bring it under control of God

• Challenging us/be forgiving, kind/compassion toward one another

Eph. 5:1 poses the greatest challenge of all. Let’s examine this challenge.

A. There Is A Command - “Be followers of God.”

The word “followers” means to “mimic” to be an “imitator.”

• Command here/people of God to imitate God.

• We are to learn all we can about God

• We are to mimic His characteristics.

• I look at this command, and I see real problems.

• We can never imitate God in all ways.

We can never truly imitate God in His essential essence.

• God is perfect; we are flawed.

• God is omnipotent; we are weak.

• God is omniscient; we are fools.

• God is omnipresent; we are

• God is wholly good; we are wholly evil.

• God is Spirit; we are flesh.

• God is eternal; we are temporal.

• God is heavenly; we are earthly.

• God is infinitely holy; we are completely wicked.

We are to learn all we can about the Lord from His Word

• Then put into practice everything we know about Him.

• To do the things we see Him doing

• Avoid the things He avoids

• We are to be like God in every respect.

In essence, God is here commanding us to do something that is impossible within ourselves.

• If it is left up to ourselves? Never could we be imitators

• God imparts His nature to reveal itself

• It is up to us to enable that nature

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B. There Is A Condition

We are told to imitate God, but we/told/do so as “dear children.”

Natural for children to imitate their parents.

• Children often have their parent’s nature, their behavior, and their actions.

• You can be around a child and you can see their parents in the way they walk

• The way they talk, and in the things they do.

That is true in our earthly families; it is even truer in our heavenly families.

• Like beloved children God calls us to be

• We are to be learning, observing, and growing,

• Brought near to our Heavenly Father so

• So near that we become more like Him.

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When the Lord saved us, He did so with a purpose!

• God’s purpose in redemption is to make us more like Him.

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” Rom. 8:29.

• To be conformed/image/Christ is to become holy like God is holy.

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” Matt. 5:48.

• That is God’s plan for each one of His redeemed children.

“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy” 1 Pet. 1:14–16.

• The choice is yours!

“Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brothers were righteous. 1 John 3:12.

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• We are unable to imitate God through our own power.

• While we can’t be holy on our own

• as redeemed children of God

We have been empowered to live like/act like/talk like our Heavenly Father.