Ephesians 5:1-2
“Our Very Best”
“We look like God the most when we give to him our very best.”
February 4, 2007
Sunday Morning Sermon
Introduction:
Video – “Wholehearted” – Clip from facing the giants – 5minute clip.
Discussion: (Start with Title and Text)
Someone once described a football game as twenty-two men on the field badly in need of rest being watched by seventy-two thousand people in the stands badly in need of exercise.
What I want to do this morning is encourage you to be more like God than you have ever been before in your life. I think we often see being like God as impossible, so we just give up. It doesn’t make us bad people – we just want reachable goals, reachable objectives and if we can’t do something – honestly, why try? Being like God is reachable, it is possible, not because you are so good but because He is so good.
Listen, Being like God is not about our own righteousness, our own goodness, our own wisdom. If we desire to be like God, we have to take “The Me” out of it, and be dependent on His strength, his mercy, his guidance, and his wisdom. It is then and only then that we are able to offer to God our very best – and it’s at that point that we look most like him. It is also at that point that we are able to bring those around us, with us, as we grow in who Christ wants us to be. As we give him our delight – and that’s a growing process the Bible says that he will put in us, a desire that is completely His – He gives us our passion, He gives us our life’s work, our meaningful purpose. (Advance)
Psalm 37:4 (NIV) Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Turn with me if you have your Bible (Advance) Ephesians 5:1-2 (read)
If you and I would bring ourselves to desire to give God our very best we will do two things --
(Advance)
I. Imitate God (1)
How do we – how could we possibly imitate the God of the universe? Surely Paul means something else – surely He’s not serious – this idea that we could be even close to our heavenly father – is a little overwhelming – if you think about it.
a. We are called to be different
i. In the world not of it
ii. Narrow Gates
iii. Narrow Roads
iv. Lamps on a stand
v. Salty tasting salt
I think sometimes we look at what God desires in our life and go – ok, I gotta get rid of this and I have to get rid of that, and remove myself from this relationship – and Last night I did things I shouldn’t have done, I’m feeling guilty, better ask for forgiveness in front of church Sunday morning.
Everything becomes so calculated, so anticipated, so… void of true life that is in Christ Jesus. Here’s the truth – there probably are things that you will have to deal with– that’s just being honest. I love you, so I can be honest. If you really want to give God your very best --
b. Trust God
No, seriously trust that God can and will do what he says in his word. Give your cares to him, Ask him for wisdom, Ask him for forgiveness, Ask him for healing. Some of you are walking around this morning with this huge burden on your shoulders, You’ve read this verse a million times (so one more time won’t hurt, maybe something will click and you will actually do it) (Advance) 1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. – you have worries and doubts and fears, but instead of dealing with those things and giving them to someone who cares for you, you put this load right on your back. God promises that he will not mock you, he won’t laugh at you, he won’t gossip about you, he won’t dismiss your feelings, he won’t tell you stories of when he was younger and went through the same thing, without offering real advice – HE CARES FOR YOU! You can’t give God your best, if you don’t remove and give to him, what he asks for. Ask him to come into your life completely – so completely that there isn’t room for the other junk.
c. This Calling to be different
i. Takes on a new purpose
God does eye surgery on you – he allows you to see people for what they can be, and not what they are. He allows you to approach people, not as the self-righteous church attender, but as a friend, neighbor, and servant. Here’s what happened for me – I became so aware of my sin, I don’t think I’m better than you. I became so aware of my short-comings; I don’t see myself as holier than you. Instead, I see all of us – at whatever level you are in your Christian walk on this same journey – sinners in need of a savior. Church, we have a blessed Savior who loves sinners.
That lesson was not one that came easy for me – it didn’t come instantly, it was over the process of about a year –God made me aware of something – Let me share it with you.
d. We are children – (Advance – Pic of Hailey)
i. “Dearly loved children”
I am, you are, and those who claim to be Christian – we are dearly loved by our heavenly father. I had a good dad growing up so when someone says “Heavenly Father” – I completely understand. Men, if you are a dad, make it your purpose in life that when little Junior is at Church camp, or at a youth rally somewhere and they are being led to Christ – “Heavenly Father” is not a stumbling block because of your bad example. You aren’t perfect – I’m not either, but God have mercy on me, if someone is explaining God’s love for Hailey in terms of a heavenly father and Hailey rejects or even thinks about rejecting the message because of my actions.
I had the pleasure of leading a young girl to Christ one time – her earthly father wasn’t a blessing to her at all. Maybe you can relate.
e. Your heavenly Father
i. Is looking out for you
ii. Offering protection
But he has something your earthly father wouldn’t possibly understand – Complete and perfect knowledge of your heart and mind. I think our heavenly father rejoices when we have victories – I think he moves toward us when we ask questions and seek him, I think he sees something in us greater than what we could possibly see.
f. You are valuable to our heavenly father
He took the time to choose you before the creation of the world – not only did he choose you but he gives you the purpose of being holy and blameless in his sight. The Bible says that he formed you in your mother’s womb – he was actively putting you together.
Listen to me – you give God your very best – imitate who he is – and how much he has loved you. This is the second thing --
(Advance)
II. Live a life of Love (2)
If there was ever a great distance to cross – God made the effort to cross it when he gave me life in Jesus Christ. I will never, ever, be able to comprehend his massive amount of love for me and his desire to see the relationship restored. I didn’t always understand that though – This living a life of love is the result of:
a. Knowing our status –
i. Being real with our sin – not covering it up
ii. Being true with the forgiveness we haven’t offered to those around us.
iii. Asking for forgiveness, when we don’t measure up
iv. Dealing with ourselves – before we work on those around us
Jesus doesn’t put a very good light on those who try to fix the splinter while stumbling over logs. Working on ourselves is a life long learning process of growth.
If we can imitate God because of our position as Children – we can live a life of love through something else
b. The example we have been given in Christ (Advance)
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Jesus – the perfect man – took our sin – giving himself as an offering or sacrifice for our sin. But he did this not after we cleaned ourselves up, not at church on Sunday morning, not after we shined up and polished our smile.
If you hear nothing else – hear this – He died for you – took the punishment of the cross for you – while you were still a sinner – while you were ugly, separated from God, while you even embraced your sin over embracing his plan for your life.
c. That’s deep love!
God offered his very best through his son Jesus Christ – His great love demanded action.
He crossed the great divide that separates all of us from him – all we have to do is:
d. Accept his gift
i. Through confessing his name
ii. Through Baptism
iii. Through living a life consistent with the decision to accept Jesus as Lord.
Giving God your best, means that you accept his sacrifice for your sins, and teach and lead others to do the same.
Conclusion:
Opportunities to give God your best will present themselves all the time. Maybe at the break room – through your patience or your speech. Maybe it will present itself with a co-worker, and you must give extra attention. You do whatever it takes to give God your very best. His love, his sacrifice demands it.
I’m only 32 years old – but I’ve lived a very full life – I’ve had experiences that a normal 32 year old man, shouldn’t experience. The Summer before my Senior year of High School my step mom came to me and asked me for a favor. Her son, my step-brother, was sick with cancer and HIV/AIDS – He lived a lifestyle that was very different from what I knew in Western Oklahoma. Many at that time would suggest that his sickness was punishment by God for his lifestyle. She asked me to go to Mandeville, Louisiana and take care of him. I knew God’s will for my life was ministry – I was all set for Bible College, I was on track to preach the gospel with power, and put people in their place according to the will of God…of course. I went down there honestly expecting to show him God’s will, and making him see his sin, confess and accept Jesus as Lord. I knew God was on my side, and not his. I knew it was going to be clear, clean and quick. I wasn’t offering to God my best.
To make a long story short I returned to Oklahoma – My step brother had poorer health than when I went down there, and to my fault he was further away from accepting Jesus as Lord. When we cease the opportunity to give God our very best – I know heaven is affected.
He was flown back to Oklahoma City, basically to spend the rest of his life in a hospital where because of his condition, and partly because of his attitude those responsible for his care and health, didn’t care. There was a light of hope. A Christian doctor worked with and shared with my step-brother the good news of Jesus Christ. He spent hours of his personal time caring for my step brother, when no one else would. My step-brother, accepted Jesus Christ as Lord right before he died. He knew it meant a repentance of his lifestyle, it was so clear to him, because the message of Christ was clear.
The doctor offered God his very best – the result was salvation. The result was a renewed relationship with Jesus, for a man who was lonely, and an outcast.
He knew the divide that God crossed to reach him was huge – After I heard of his conversion I knew my own separation with God was just as huge. Not because we were guilty of the same sin, but because we were simply guilty of sin period.
Someone said that in order for something to become clean, something else has to get dirty. We have to look at our lives and see how dirty we really are, how far away from God’s will we really are, how much we need hope in our lives. Let’s clean our lives – Jesus already became dirty – we just simply need to accept his gift of salvation.
Close with a word of prayer
Our invitation this morning – is about giving God your very best – holding nothing back. Maybe you have been holding back – maybe because of time or energy, or just simple effort – you are not giving God your very best – it’s time to change that right now. Maybe you’ve already accepted Jesus and burdens were placed on you – things you didn’t even ask for and overtime it became easier to give God something else. I want us as a church when we are together and as the body of Christ when we are not to be known, by those outside looking in, as a people who give God their very best. If you have never accepted Jesus as Lord we invite you to do so – we are going to stand and sing….
