1. How many times have you driven NORTH or SOUTH on I-25 and found some interesting driving habits?
a. Cell phone in one hand, coffee in the other… steering?
b. One gal was reading the Denver Post, completely open.
c. Honking caught my attention as one man who was shaving was honking at a gal who was putting on her eyeliner.
2. All of these drivers have one thing in common:
a. THEY ARE NOT BEING CAREFUL.
b. OK, this isn’t just a THEY thing is it?? It’s a WE thing too.
c. YES… I’m guilty. I have been known to talk on a cell phone and drink coffee at the same time I’m driving a stick shift!
3. But friends… being CARELESS can be no laughing matter.
a. Just ask Dawn Richardson from Arlington Virginia.
b. In February of 2002, she had just broken up with her boyfriend and was hurt and upset that he left her.
c. She was driving her Ford Explorer at about 70MPH down the highway yelling on her cell phone at this creep.
d. After a few close calls, she finally lost control of her vehicle and caused a serious fatal collision ending her own life.
NOTE: You would think after close call after close call, we would get the picture, and understand the situation!
· But that’s the danger in carelessness, we don’t pay attention until something terrible happens and we’re forced to!
· Usually it takes a serious incident, a horrible mistake, or an incredible tragedy to open our eyes and grab our full attention!
4. So many have been lost through SPIRITUAL CARELESSNESS.
a. It breaks my heart to think of JUST the people I know.
b. A careless mouth… careless thought-life…
c. Carelessness toward the Word, Prayer, Fellowship leads to
d. Broken homes, weak churches, & spiritual destruction!
SO this morning, the Holy Spirit has a Word for you/us… a warning, an encouragement… He wants us to BE SPIRITUALLY CAREFUL!
· Be careful “who you IMITATE”, Be careful with whom you ASSOCIATE, and be careful what you INTAKE.
I. (5.1-6) WHO YOU IMITATE – Walk in Love
1. (1-2) Be imitators of God – Walk in Love
a. The word imitate, literally means to mimic or copy.
b. If you’re going to imitate anybody, mimic & copy Jesus!
NOW: This is a natural thing. It’s not like being a parrot and trying simply to copy superficially what God does…
· NO, as His daughter & His Son… His character flows thru you.
· It’s amazing to me how much your kids are like you… & not me.
YET at the same time our imitation is birthed out of a decision.
· A conscious decision to follow the example of Jesus Christ.
c. That word walk again… Let your whole life be one of love…
d. It first starts with LOVE toward God…
e. Then it follows with LOVE toward our fellow man.
APP: Jesus provides us with the demonstration of that love…
· He gave Himself for us. He sacrificed on our behalf.
· Let’s turn to Hebrews 12:1-3
· The Joy of seeing you and me saved… of seeing our changed lives share His great love… Oh, He willingly sacrificed!
· Now turn to 1 Corinthians 13:4 – Here it is worked out…
2. (3-6) Avoid sin.
a. BUT… fornication, all uncleanness or covetousness.
b. They don’t belong in the Christian’s life or in His church.
c. None of these are in dispute really… BUT
d. (4) He goes on to mention foolish talking & course jesting.
· Foolish Talking… It isn’t edifying… idle words, dirty jokes.
· Coarse Jesting… They aren’t to even be joked about.
· No fornicator (pornographer), no unclean person…
· No covetous man, no idolater will inherit God’s kingdom.
· Paul says these are not ‘FITTING’ for saints, very UNLOVELY.
· They just don’t fit, they’re out of place in the church.
· They are not actions of love or sacrifice.
NOTE: A person practicing these things knows that they are not living for the Kingdom of God. These aren’t heavenly qualities.
· So if we’re delighted in sexual sin, enjoying the dirty jokes, caught up in coveting our neighbor’s wife/husband…
· Then there is no heavenly inheritance, no spiritual expectation.
· I KNOW These are POWERFUL WORDS that relate directly to salvation. I choose to let them speak for themselves.
e. (6) He ends this section with a warning to not be deceived.
NOTE: The real deception here is that we think we will honor and glorify Jesus Christ without being loving and helpful to others.
· The church of Jesus Christ, Calvary Chapel Aurora, is called to love people, to walk in his love, in His example!
John 15.12-13 "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
NOTE: With all the different upbringings, personalities, faults & failures among the world & us… there are challenges to love.
· Of course we’ll disagree, and see things differently with others.
· But we can disagree and still love…
1 Thessalonians 3.12-14 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, 13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.
Paul’s prayer was that God would cause every heart of every Christian in that city to overflow and abound in love.
· Do I really abound in love toward people?
· If I’m selfish and self-centered then I don’t. If I’m caught up in sin and depravity… then I don’t.
· If I’m in the flesh all the time… NOPE
· BUT in communion with sweet Jesus… I love like He does.
Be Careful to Walk in Love…
II. (5.7-14) WITH WHAT YOU ASSOCIATE - Walk in the Light.
1. (7-10) You’re not darkness anymore.
a. (7) Do not be ‘partakers’, lit. a ‘participant’ with them.
b. (8) You used to live in darkness… but not anymore!
c. You’re not on their team but now are in the Light of life.
d. Walk as children of the Light.
1 John 2.6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
APP: This is why it is so important to guard our hearts and minds in the types of entertainment we spend our money on…
· Movies that depict fornication, adultery, murders…
· Music that encourages teenage sex and rebellion and anger…
· Books that depict all sorts of evil and sin…
· As we invest there, we support those things with God’s money…
Paul says… You’re not in darkness anymore but are children of light.
You’re not under the bondage of fears or failures, condemnations or hopelessness… You’re saved and set free in Jesus Christ!
e. (9-10) Fruit of the Spirit is goodness, righteousness & truth.
f. These are acceptable, fully agreeing to our Heavenly Father.
Friends, Brothers-Sisters in Jesus here’s the danger:
· By filling our minds with Junk, we destroy ourselves spiritually.
· Paul the Apostle says not to partake in the things of darkness.
1 Peter 1.13-15 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
There are so many deceptions & lies in this world of ours.
· The lies of free sex and immorality, the lie that God is dead, the Lie that we don’t need to teach our kids prayer in school.
· The lies of Madison Avenue, the lies of the Silver Screen…
· They bombard us daily, stealing away our precious relationship
· SO WHERE DO WE TURN, WHAT DO WE DO?
Psalm 119.105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
Psalm 119.130 The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.
So it’s to His Word that we cling… His Word sheds light and truth on every area of life…
· You might be thinking… “BUT LIFE IS HARD… difficult to avoid.
There’s a saying: “Yard by Yard, life is hard. Inch by inch, Life’s a cinch.”
APP: Sometimes we take these BIG steps and fall flat on our faces.
· But if we come to life with little steps, little moves… Progress
2. (11-14) Have no fellowship with darkness.
a. Rather than ‘share in common’ with them… EXPOSE THEM.
b. (12) It’s shameful what is done in darkness, in secret…
c. (13) All things that are exposed are made manifest.
d. (14) Ends with the call to holiness… wake up you who sleep.
Let’s turn to 1 John 1:5ff
· Are you feeling like your life is darkness this morning?
· Do you feel like the storm clouds of trials, tribulations, sin, guilt, past failures, present pains have overtaken you?
· This passage is very encouraging for you…
· In Him, in Jesus, there is no darkness AT ALL.
· Rest in Jesus this morning, be consumed with His love…
· Walk in Love… Walk in His Light… FINALLY.
III. (5.15-21) WHAT YOU INTAKE
Walk in Wisdom
1. (15-16) Walk Uprightly Redeeming the Time.
a. These words of Paul ring so true in these last days!
b. Circumspectly literally means, “exactly, uprightly”
c. It means that we take inventory of our lives…
d. Keep our eyes wide open, looking around, and discerning the times.
e. As we walk in His wisdom, I won’t be a fool or be fooled
APP: Take a hard look at your life this morning… be truthful…
· Deal with the things that are not right with God.
· If we can’t be honest with ourselves then there’s darkness & deceit. Let’s walk uprightly with Jesus.
I heard about a man who came to a pastor and offered him a million dollars for his building project.
The man said, “Pastor, here’s a million dollar check for your building fund. The only condition is that you say my brother was a saint at his funeral.”
The pastor said, “But your brother was a terrible man, a mean husband, and a horrible father.” But it was a million dollars so the pastor took the check and agreed.
At the funeral a few days later, the pastor got up to the front and said, “Here lies, Joe Smith. He was a rotten man. An evil gangster, a thief, a crook, and an all around bad guy… but compared to his brother, he was a SAINT!”
NOTICE: Paul says in v16, redeeming the time, buying it back, purchasing, wisely investing with the time that we have.
· Time passes us by so quickly. It’s here today & gone tomorrow.
A few years ago a psychologist did a study and asked 3000 people this question: What do you have to live for?
· 94% of those people said they were simply enduring the present while they were waiting for the future. AMAZING!
· So we’re waiting for that BIG SOMETHING to happen…
· For the kids to grow up and move out, for the big promotion, for the Publisher’s Clearing House Van to park in front of our house… only to find out it’s for our neighbor!
· All the while we’re letting today slip right out of our hands!
· All anyone has is TODAY.
· Yesterday is gone and tomorrow never comes…
AND so in these last days, Jesus has raised up a bride, a light to the world… and that’s us… The CHURCH.
John 12.34-36 The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ’The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?" 35 Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.
NOW: AN interesting thing happens to the Christian: The more time we hang out with Jesus Christ, the more and more we will become like Him.
2 Cor. 3.18 "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
AND, the more we become like Jesus, the more we act like Him.
· We’re able to handle everyday pressures, love as Jesus loved
· We’re able to Glorify Him in all things and enjoy His comfort.
· We’re able to make wise decisions walking in love, light and avoiding the sins and darkness of the world in which we live.
2. (17-18) Be wise and understand God’s will for you.
a. Don’t be drunk with wine.
b. Well, we have pretty much covered the many liberties that Christians use in life… music, movies, TV.
c. Now we come to drinking, to drunkenness, to alcohol.
d. Paul says being drunk leads to dissipation, or losing your senses, or being out of control.
INSTEAD he says, if you want to be overcome by something, if you want to lose your natural senses, if you want to relax and wind down… Here’s the way to do it. Here’s what you really need…
· Be filled by the Holy Spirit… be controlled by God’s Spirit!
Proverbs 20.1 Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
See… Proverbs 29:3ff too…
3. (19-21) Encouraging and uplifting one another.
a. What a beautiful picture of the church…
b. No backbiting, no bickering, no gossiping, no brawling…
c. Just a bunch of sinners saved by grace speaking to one another the Words of God…
d. Singing with one another, making melody in our hearts.
e. Giving thanks always for all things…
f. Submitting to one another in the fear of God.
NOTE: The idea of submission is an important one as we head toward God’s Will for the family…
· This woird comes to us from 2 Greek words… under / in order
· It literally means: To submit is to arrange under or to obey.
· The military would use this word to refer to the arranging and ordering of troops…
· It was also used to describe the voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, and assuming responsibility.
· Here we are… cheerfully submitted to Jesus Christ.
So as this week comes upon you, day by day… Ask yourself…
#1 – Am I walking in LOVE? #2 – Am I walking in LIGHT?
#3 – Am I walking in WISDOM?
A little boy was sitting at church one day and looked up and saw these beautiful stained glass windows. He asked his daddy, “What are all those colored windows up there? Who are all those people?” His dad said, “Son, that’s St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. John, and over there is St. Peter.” Oh…
About 3 weeks later he was in a Sunday school class and the teacher said, “Can anyone in class tell me what a saint is?”
And he raised his hand and said, “It’s somebody that light shines through.”
And that’s who you are this week in Aurora. You’re either a pane or somebody that lights shines through!
