OPEN: Lily Tomlin is a famous woman comedian. Once she said,
"I always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific."
APPLY: A lot of people would like to be somebody.
The past couple of nights, little children went "Trick Or Treating" dressed up to be “somebody”. Some of those kids dressed up in funny costumes, and others put on scary outfits. But a lot of kids dressed like somebody they admire or a character they’d like to be like. There were a lot of Spidermen, Ninja Warriors, Transformers, princesses and queens. And they often choose those costumes because they’d like to be like that hero/heroine.
Now, when I was a kid, my hero was Zorro.
I’d put on a black cape, pretend I was riding a black horse and I’d swing around a fake sword. Even after I’d entered my teens, I still had that admiration for that fictitious hero . When I was in High School I discovered that a local college was offering courses in fencing (it hurts when you get whacked with those things), and after I got out of High School, I hired on at a local horse barn to lead trails so I could ride a noble steed. Granted my noble steed’s name was “Peanuts” – but he was my noble steed.
I wanted to be somebody… I wanted to imitate my hero.
I realize how silly that sounds, but to some degree many people have had heroes that they tried to imitate as a child and that hero may even have influenced how they look at life today.
Now Paul tells us that one of the greatest heroes we can have is God.
“Be imitators of God” he says.
I recently read about a child who told his mother he wanted to dress up like God for Halloween.
“Like God?” She said “how would you dress to look like Him?”
“Oh” he said “I’d put on a white robe, a wig and long beard… and I’d wear flip flops.”
ILLUS: In fact, back in 2000 I read of a man who did just that. His name was Carl J. Joseph, and the Washington Post explained that Mr. Joseph had spent 9 yrs wandering through 13 countries and 47 states. He usually walked bare footed dressed in a long robe, and his resemblance to Jesus was so striking that people often flooded into churches just to see him. (Hanna Rosin of The Washington Post 2/13/00)
So… is that what Paul meant when he said we should imitate God?
Should we all start going barefoot and wearing robes?
(pause) I don’t think so.
Imitating God has less to do with our wardrobe than with our hearts.
Besides, we already bear a resemblance to God. Back in Genesis 1:26 “God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…’" We bear a strong resemblance to our Father… but sin has marred that image, so we need to relearn what once was natural for Adam and Eve.
Imitating God goes deeper than wearing a wig, beard and flip flops.
The Greek Word here in Ephesians for “imitate” is “mimetes” and it comes from the Greek family of words from which we get our English “mime” and “mimic”.
So Paul is telling us to mimic God - to imitate how God behaves, not how He dresses.
How can we imitate God?
Well, first Paul tells us we need to imitate God’s love.
Look again at Ephesians 5:1-2 “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and LIVE A LIFE OF LOVE, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
God has set us an example of how to love. In I John 4:10 John tells us “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
In the next verse of that chapter, John says “ since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” I John 4:11
In fact, 1 John 4:8 declares “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
That’s what we ought to do as Christians! We ought to love one another. But, oddly enough, we can have a hard time loving others. In fact, it’s such a difficult issue for us mortals that the Bible spends a great deal of time telling us to do it.
One poem described the problem this way:
“To dwell above with saints we love,
That would be grace and glory.
But to live below with saints we know;
Well, that’s quite a different story!”
Now, why do we have such a hard time loving others?
Because sin has deformed our souls to the point where we tend to think of ourselves as gods.
Think about it. Why do we get mad at others?
Because they’ve offended who...? US!
We’ve become god. The person who offended us either hurt us, or hurt someone we love, or transgressed some moral principle we think is critical.
ILLUS: On the eve of her wedding, a bride’s mother gave her some advice regarding husbands. "Always stick up for him," she said. "Don’t discuss important matters before dinner, and lastly, never tell me about your arguments."
"Why shouldn’t I tell you about our arguments?" the daughter asked.
"Because you may forgive him," she said solemnly, "but I never will." (Reader’s Digest 11/94 p. 143)
What that mother realized was that she could easily stand in judgment of her son-in-law.
She could become god in her desire NOT to forgive him.
It’s a weakness in our soul that our sinfulness can deceive us into believing we can stand in the place of God. James 4:11-12 warns us:
“…Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you— who are you to judge your neighbor?”
Who are you?
Well, you’re a god. Or at least, that’s what you and I turn into when we verbally attack others either to their face or behind their back.
Look with me at Ephesians 4:29-32
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
In the very next verse Paul writes “Be imitators of God…and live a life of love”
Imitating God means that we get rid of bitterness and anger and slander and malice.
Imitating God means we become kind and compassionate to one other, forgiving each other just as in Christ, God forgave you and I.
Now, loving others doesn’t mean we don’t confront brothers and sisters who live lives of sin. In fact Ephesians 5:11-13 tells us we need to expose evil. But when we do that we must not do it because we think we have the right to stand in judgment. Rather we should do it because we love those who have sinned and we don’t want them to face judgment.
Why would they face judgment?
Because they failed to imitate God’s holiness.
In Leviticus 11:44 God declares "Be holy, because I am holy."
And Ephesians 5 tells us to imitate God’s holiness
Look Again At Ephesians 5:3-6
“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person— such a man is an idolater— has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for BECAUSE OF SUCH THINGS God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.”
God calls for His people to live holy lives.
But back in 2006, Barna Researchers found that only 1 in 4 believers thought they were holy. (http://www.barna.org, The Concept of Holiness Baffles most Americans, 2/20/2006)
But no matter what they believe – if they are truly Christians - they ARE holy. The Bible tells us that once we were baptized into Christ, the Holy Spirit came to live inside us. That made us holy.
To be holy simply means to be ‘set apart’ (saint, and sanctified come from the same root word).
ILLUS: For example, the person back in the sound booth is holy. He is “set apart from the rest of us”. Our special speaker today was “holy” – he was up here “separate from” the rest of us. When we were saved, we made holy.
What Ephesians 5 is telling us is this: Once God has made us holy (set apart) now you and I need to reflect that “set apartness” in how we live. We need to live differently.
We may have sinned in the past, but we accept that it was a bad idea. We make no excuses… we ask forgiveness and move on because we’ve determined that we won’t live in sin any longer.
ILLUS: Back in 1980 New York City Mayor Ed Koch appeared on a local news program in the middle of the city’s financial crisis. Koch had spent over a quarter of a million dollars to put up bike lanes in Manhattan, and they turned out to be a disaster. Cars were driving in the bike lanes, pedestrians were walking in the them, and bikers were getting crowded out. It was a mess and many people in New York were irate about it.
Koch was coming up for re-election, so a handful of journalists cornered him on this show, planning to tear him to pieces for spending money foolishly when the city was nearly broke. One reporter said, "Mayor, in light of the financial difficulties New York City is facing, how could you possibly justify wasting $300,000 on bike lanes?"
The stage was set for a half-hour confrontation. Instead, Koch said, "It was a terrible idea. I thought it would work, but it didn’t. It was one of the worst mistakes I ever made." Then he stopped. None of the other journalists knew what to say or do. They were expecting him to squirm and make excuses, but he didn’t even try.
The next journalist stammered and said, "But Mayor Koch, how could you do this?"
Koch said, "I already told you. It was a stupid idea. It didn’t work." Then he stopped.
There was still 26 minutes left to go on the news show, and the reporters had to find something else to talk about.
Because he was willing to accept that it was wrong… he won both Democratic AND Republican support.
When we acknowledge that certain things are wrong in our lives, and we determine not to live like that anymore then we get something far more important than the support of Democrats or Republicans. We get God’s support. And we get that support because we’ve determined to live HOLY lives. Lives that have been “set apart” with no excuses.
It is written: "Be holy, because (God is) holy." 1 Peter 1:16
So, we’re called to imitate God in His Love and His Holiness but there is one more thing we need to imitate, or we’re fall into a trap.
We need to imitate God’s thinking.
Ephesians 5:17 says “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
We need to understand what God thinks
Because if we don’t understand how God thinks - and begin thinking that way, we’ll start faking our faith. When Christians “fake their faith” the world has a name for us. What do they call us?
Hypocrites.
WHY?
The word “hypocrisy” comes from the idea of putting on a mask. A false face.
ILLUS: It’s like the child with a Halloween mask. I’ve read that they’ve got masks for Sarah Palin, Bill Clinton, Obama, Darth Vader. And when a little child comes knocking at your door asking for candy you know that they’re actually NOT Sarah Palin. They’re actually not Obama. They might manage to “sound” like the person on their mask but the mask is a fake.
That’s what makes Christians “hypocrites”.
They may sound like a child of God… but everybody knows they’re wearing a mask.
Why does this happen?
It happens because Christians can wear the faith as a badge. It’s on the outside, but it never really reaches their hearts. They don’t think like God thinks, and so the only think left is for them to think like think like they did before they became Christians.
So how can I think like God thinks?
Ephesians 5:18 lets us in on the secret:
“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”
How do I know if someone is drunk? (act/ speak/ walk)
So how will I know if I’m filled with the Spirit? (act/ speak/ talk)
My life becomes that way when I “learn what God’s will is” by thinking like God thinks.
And I can train my mind to think like God does by DOING three things:
1. “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:19
I surround myself with Christian music. I read the Psalms. I sing the old hymns. And I sing the new songs. The more I immerse myself in songs that glorify God and His love and mercy, the more I begin to think as God does.
2. I “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20
We should make it a habit to spend at least part of each day counting my blessings. We need to refuse to dwell on our problems. We need focus on what we have rather than what I don’t.
3. “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Eph 5:21
I find ways to serve people around me.
I find ways to honor my parents/ love my wife/ respect my husband/ serve my boss-employee.
CLOSE: You and I have been saved so that we might imitate what God is really like to those around us. We do it by how we love, how we live, and how we think. Our lives should be so dedicated to this imitation of Christ that people should be able to READ God’s beauty in our lives and be.
ILLUS: Back in the 1500s, people didn’t have a Bible they could read. The Catholic Church controlled the translating of Scripture and only offered it in Latin. But when Martin Luther rebelled against the abuses of the Church of his day he worked hard to make a translation available in German (the language of his people).
The daughter of the printer Luther used was cleaning in her dad’s shop and she picked up a piece of paper off the floor. It read, “For God so loved that He gave...” and that was all. The rest of the verse was not printed yet, but what she saw excited her. The thought that God would give her anything moved her.
Her mother noticed a change in her and asked her why she seemed so happy. The girl pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket and showed it to her mother. The mother read it and asked, "What did He give?"
The girl said, “I don’t know but if God loved us enough to give us anything we should not be afraid of Him.”
What she read on that scrap of paper changed how she looked at God.
And what people read in our lives can change how others look at our God as well.
One man has wisely said: “We may be the only Bible anyone ever reads.”
But that will be true ONLY if we learn to imitate the God we say we love.
