WEBVTT 00:00:02.999 --> 00:00:04.960 With these sound effects, I think we need to 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:08.800 sing a verse of How Great Thou Art. The Rolling 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:15.099 Thunder. Tonight our evening service at 6 o 'clock 00:00:15.099 --> 00:00:18.620 will involve a dedication of children. That's 00:00:18.620 --> 00:00:20.679 always a very special time. You say, well, what 00:00:20.679 --> 00:00:23.140 about the electrical situation? Well, even if 00:00:23.140 --> 00:00:25.019 the power doesn't come back on and we only have 00:00:25.019 --> 00:00:26.739 the power that we have now, we'll still have 00:00:26.739 --> 00:00:28.620 an evening service, so I hope you'll plan to 00:00:28.620 --> 00:00:31.839 be back. And tonight the message will continue 00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:36.399 the series on the end of the age, and tonight 00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:39.780 we'll be talking about Satan's masterpiece, the 00:00:39.780 --> 00:00:46.759 Antichrist. Let's open our Bibles this morning 00:00:46.759 --> 00:00:55.939 to Ephesians chapter 5, verses 1 and 2. You don't 00:00:55.939 --> 00:00:59.539 really want to leave early anyway, do you? The 00:00:59.539 --> 00:01:06.379 rain out there that we can hear so well. Therefore 00:01:06.379 --> 00:01:10.700 be imitators of God as beloved children and walk 00:01:10.700 --> 00:01:15.659 in love just as Christ also loved you and gave 00:01:15.659 --> 00:01:20.140 himself up for us an offering and a sacrifice 00:01:20.140 --> 00:01:25.340 to God as a fragrant aroma. There are some things 00:01:25.340 --> 00:01:29.150 in life that are both fun and frightening. I 00:01:29.150 --> 00:01:30.870 don't know if you've been to Valley Fair and 00:01:30.870 --> 00:01:33.269 have tried that Viking ship out there, but that's 00:01:33.269 --> 00:01:36.189 an example of something that is both fun and 00:01:36.189 --> 00:01:37.730 frightening. Do you know what I'm talking about? 00:01:38.390 --> 00:01:40.530 They have a ride out there that looks like a 00:01:40.530 --> 00:01:43.250 Viking ship, and it looks like it might be a 00:01:43.250 --> 00:01:46.810 pleasant ride. It begins to rock this way. There 00:01:46.810 --> 00:01:49.069 must be a hundred people sitting on this boat, 00:01:49.150 --> 00:01:52.230 and it rocks more and more and more until finally 00:01:52.230 --> 00:01:57.150 it does a complete loop like this. It is a ride 00:01:57.150 --> 00:02:00.450 that is fun, but at the same time, frankly, it's 00:02:00.450 --> 00:02:02.909 a little bit scary. And some of you are shaking 00:02:02.909 --> 00:02:05.790 your head. You know what I'm talking about. I 00:02:05.790 --> 00:02:08.150 think that there are other examples of that, 00:02:08.189 --> 00:02:10.189 though. Getting married is an example. We've 00:02:10.189 --> 00:02:12.349 had two weddings here in the last couple of days. 00:02:13.270 --> 00:02:16.409 And that's always a fun time. But it's a little 00:02:16.409 --> 00:02:19.530 frightening, too. I can remember when I got married 00:02:19.530 --> 00:02:22.169 that I was really looking forward to it, but 00:02:22.169 --> 00:02:24.650 I was a little scared. There were a lot of new 00:02:24.650 --> 00:02:28.330 experiences for me, and I wasn't sure that I 00:02:28.330 --> 00:02:31.710 was at that point ready to get tied down. And 00:02:31.710 --> 00:02:33.610 when I say at that point, I mean a half an hour 00:02:33.610 --> 00:02:38.710 before the ceremony. I've been single for 25 00:02:38.710 --> 00:02:41.830 years, and suddenly I realized my independence 00:02:41.830 --> 00:02:44.930 was going. I didn't realize it then as much as 00:02:44.930 --> 00:02:50.069 I do now. But it's been a lot more fun than it 00:02:50.069 --> 00:02:53.659 has been frightening, I'll say that. Having a 00:02:53.659 --> 00:02:56.719 child is the same thing. We've had lots of babies 00:02:56.719 --> 00:02:58.680 born in the last few months. I notice there's 00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:01.520 no rose on the organ today. Some of you aren't 00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:05.759 trying hard enough. So we've got to keep this 00:03:05.759 --> 00:03:10.099 going every week, every week. Having a baby is 00:03:10.099 --> 00:03:15.099 fun. To see that little one there in the arms 00:03:15.099 --> 00:03:18.419 of a mother and to sense the joy and happiness 00:03:18.419 --> 00:03:20.960 of mom and dad. But it's a little frightening, 00:03:21.060 --> 00:03:23.060 too, to think that that little rascal is going 00:03:23.060 --> 00:03:26.120 to grow up to be just like his parents. That's 00:03:26.120 --> 00:03:29.800 scary. Well, the Bible talks something about 00:03:29.800 --> 00:03:31.740 that, you know, because the Bible says that we 00:03:31.740 --> 00:03:34.580 are God's children. And here we are commanded 00:03:34.580 --> 00:03:38.620 to be imitators of God, our Heavenly Father. 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:44.199 And we imitate God by walking in love. God is 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:47.740 love, the Bible says. Now, he's much more than 00:03:47.740 --> 00:03:52.610 that. God is also holy. God is faithful. God 00:03:52.610 --> 00:03:56.150 is omniscient, all -powerful. He is eternal. 00:03:56.349 --> 00:04:00.150 He is unchangeable. Indeed, our minds cannot 00:04:00.150 --> 00:04:04.449 conceive of all that God is. But this one attribute, 00:04:04.870 --> 00:04:09.789 love, so well expresses God's attitude and actions 00:04:09.789 --> 00:04:13.990 toward us, his children, that he says to us, 00:04:14.069 --> 00:04:19.310 you walk, and as you walk or live, imitate or 00:04:19.310 --> 00:04:24.470 mimic my love. You and I cannot create a universe. 00:04:25.709 --> 00:04:31.069 We can't make it thunder. We can't devise a method 00:04:31.069 --> 00:04:36.389 of salvation for ourselves or anyone else. We 00:04:36.389 --> 00:04:39.430 cannot bring into existence a new heaven and 00:04:39.430 --> 00:04:42.949 new earth. We cannot raise the dead. In all those 00:04:42.949 --> 00:04:47.180 ways, we cannot possibly imitate God. You and 00:04:47.180 --> 00:04:54.199 I can humbly and in a finite way mimic or copy 00:04:54.199 --> 00:04:58.160 God's love. If we couldn't, he wouldn't tell 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:02.399 us to do it. He says, be imitators of God and 00:05:02.399 --> 00:05:06.759 walk in love. There are three truths in our text 00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:10.720 today which will help us understand why God tells 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:14.120 us to imitate him. The first one is very simply 00:05:14.120 --> 00:05:19.800 this. We are his children. There are other terms 00:05:19.800 --> 00:05:22.459 that are used to express the relationship that 00:05:22.459 --> 00:05:25.680 we have to God. Here in Ephesians, for example, 00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:29.339 we are called a holy temple. We are called fellow 00:05:29.339 --> 00:05:33.660 citizens, fellow heirs, fellow partakers. We 00:05:33.660 --> 00:05:37.120 are named as saints. We are called the church. 00:05:38.579 --> 00:05:41.779 A number of times we are said to be members of 00:05:41.779 --> 00:05:45.699 his body. But perhaps the most precious of all 00:05:45.699 --> 00:05:50.000 the terms that describe our relationship to God 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:54.060 are the familial ones, that is, those that deal 00:05:54.060 --> 00:05:57.800 with family relationships. Back in chapter 1 00:05:57.800 --> 00:06:00.980 and verse 2, we see grace to you and peace from 00:06:00.980 --> 00:06:05.279 God our Father. And so God is called our Father. 00:06:05.420 --> 00:06:07.720 What a blessed term that is. And God has given 00:06:07.720 --> 00:06:10.779 us His Spirit, whereby we are able to call Him 00:06:10.779 --> 00:06:16.079 Abba. intimately we may speak to him as dad, 00:06:16.339 --> 00:06:21.819 as daddy. Abba is an Aramaic term used of small 00:06:21.819 --> 00:06:25.019 children in addressing their fathers. It's a 00:06:25.019 --> 00:06:27.759 precious term, and the Spirit of God gives us 00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:33.019 that liberty to call God our Abba. In verse 5 00:06:33.019 --> 00:06:35.240 of this same chapter, it says he predestined 00:06:35.240 --> 00:06:39.000 us to adoption as sons, another family term. 00:06:39.779 --> 00:06:43.600 In chapter 3 and verse 14, The apostle says, 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:46.360 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:50.699 from whom every family, or the whole family, 00:06:50.899 --> 00:06:54.220 in heaven and on earth derives its name. And 00:06:54.220 --> 00:06:56.879 so here we see that we are called God's family. 00:06:57.180 --> 00:07:00.019 Some of us are in heaven, some on earth yet, 00:07:00.199 --> 00:07:03.959 but we are together God's family. Now in chapter 00:07:03.959 --> 00:07:07.120 5 and verse 1, we are named as his children. 00:07:07.620 --> 00:07:12.060 And again later in the chapter, in verse 8, He 00:07:12.060 --> 00:07:16.899 says that we are children of light. It seems 00:07:16.899 --> 00:07:19.720 to me that these kinds of terms, these intimate 00:07:19.720 --> 00:07:22.160 terms, are the most precious ones that describe 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:27.079 our relationship to God. The term children here 00:07:27.079 --> 00:07:30.259 is tekna. In the Greek language, that doesn't 00:07:30.259 --> 00:07:32.560 mean a whole lot except that it points to this. 00:07:32.740 --> 00:07:36.680 It refers to those who are the born ones of God. 00:07:37.800 --> 00:07:40.740 It is a word that emphasizes the relationship 00:07:40.740 --> 00:07:43.980 of the child to his parents, that the child is 00:07:43.980 --> 00:07:48.899 born of his parents. And it is a God who has 00:07:48.899 --> 00:07:53.579 caused us to be born again. Peter tells us that 00:07:53.579 --> 00:07:59.560 we have had a seed planted in us. That seed is 00:07:59.560 --> 00:08:03.470 the living and abiding word of God. And he tells 00:08:03.470 --> 00:08:06.389 us that the Spirit of God caused that seed to 00:08:06.389 --> 00:08:09.750 germinate and to bring forth life within us so 00:08:09.750 --> 00:08:14.629 that we have been born again. And children naturally 00:08:14.629 --> 00:08:17.930 want to be like their parents. And I believe 00:08:17.930 --> 00:08:22.170 that children of God long to be like God morally. 00:08:22.850 --> 00:08:25.529 Not that we get there completely in this world 00:08:25.529 --> 00:08:28.350 for sure, but that is the longing, that is the 00:08:28.350 --> 00:08:32.490 bent of our hearts toward holiness. John says 00:08:32.490 --> 00:08:36.049 to us, no one who is born of God practices sin. 00:08:37.129 --> 00:08:39.690 Does that mean that a Christian cannot sin? No. 00:08:40.669 --> 00:08:43.090 Thus he would not say to us earlier in the same 00:08:43.090 --> 00:08:48.129 book, if we confess our sins. But what it's saying 00:08:48.129 --> 00:08:51.669 is the one who is born of God cannot go on practicing 00:08:51.669 --> 00:08:56.830 sin as a habit of life. Because, it says, His, 00:08:56.830 --> 00:09:01.549 God's seed abides in him, and he cannot habitually 00:09:01.549 --> 00:09:05.169 as a practice of life sin because he is born 00:09:05.169 --> 00:09:09.610 of God. That seed within us is the divine nature. 00:09:10.809 --> 00:09:14.970 And so God has put within us his nature. And 00:09:14.970 --> 00:09:17.730 coupled with that natural tendency, we have the 00:09:17.730 --> 00:09:21.909 command here to imitate and to mimic our Father. 00:09:22.830 --> 00:09:25.090 So why is it that we should do that? Because 00:09:25.090 --> 00:09:27.909 we are his children. He is our father. It's natural 00:09:27.909 --> 00:09:32.429 that we should. There's a second reason. We are 00:09:32.429 --> 00:09:37.570 his children who are loved. It calls us in verse 00:09:37.570 --> 00:09:41.570 1, beloved children. That term beloved means 00:09:41.570 --> 00:09:47.590 that we are greatly loved. None of us can fully 00:09:47.590 --> 00:09:53.230 appreciate how much our father loves us. Oh, 00:09:53.230 --> 00:09:56.409 that we could more. If we could really grasp 00:09:56.409 --> 00:10:00.970 the love that our Heavenly Father wishes to pour 00:10:00.970 --> 00:10:07.809 into our lives. We are the object of God's abiding 00:10:07.809 --> 00:10:10.289 affection and His eternal kindness, as we have 00:10:10.289 --> 00:10:14.429 seen earlier in this book. God's love toward 00:10:14.429 --> 00:10:19.250 us has a specific historical manifestation. And 00:10:19.250 --> 00:10:21.470 as a result of that love, what did Christ do? 00:10:21.610 --> 00:10:25.509 Well, it says he gave himself up, an offering, 00:10:25.710 --> 00:10:31.710 a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. Notice 00:10:31.710 --> 00:10:36.409 the action. Christ gave himself up. Literally, 00:10:36.450 --> 00:10:40.610 it means he delivered himself over. Please keep 00:10:40.610 --> 00:10:43.870 in mind that our Savior was not coerced to the 00:10:43.870 --> 00:10:49.740 cross. He was not tricked. He was not victimized 00:10:49.740 --> 00:10:54.620 by God or by man. He was not involved in something 00:10:54.620 --> 00:10:57.220 that he lost control of and he ended up accidentally 00:10:57.220 --> 00:11:01.580 getting crucified. All of those have been postulated 00:11:01.580 --> 00:11:05.320 by unbelievers. Rather, the Word of God affirms 00:11:05.320 --> 00:11:09.399 over and over again that Jesus gave himself up 00:11:09.399 --> 00:11:15.370 for us. It was a voluntary act of his will. It 00:11:15.370 --> 00:11:20.769 was his choice to go to the cross. It was a surrender 00:11:20.769 --> 00:11:26.070 of himself to the will of God in perfect obedience. 00:11:26.830 --> 00:11:30.970 He himself said in John chapter 10, No one takes 00:11:30.970 --> 00:11:36.990 my life from me. I lay it down of myself. He 00:11:36.990 --> 00:11:39.629 further said, I have the authority to lay it 00:11:39.629 --> 00:11:42.889 down and I have the authority to take it up again. 00:11:43.789 --> 00:11:48.169 And he did three days later. So our Savior went 00:11:48.169 --> 00:11:52.309 to the cross of his own volition as an act of 00:11:52.309 --> 00:11:57.210 love for us. And it says that that act had a 00:11:57.210 --> 00:12:02.870 meaning. It was an offering, a sacrifice. This 00:12:02.870 --> 00:12:07.309 word offering refers to the Old Testament grain 00:12:07.309 --> 00:12:12.580 or meal offerings. These foreshadowed the person 00:12:12.580 --> 00:12:17.460 and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will 00:12:17.460 --> 00:12:19.320 take the time this morning to go back to the 00:12:19.320 --> 00:12:21.500 book of Leviticus in the Old Testament and look 00:12:21.500 --> 00:12:24.460 at the second chapter, because there we see something 00:12:24.460 --> 00:12:29.759 about this kind of an offering. It's the third 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:32.779 book of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:39.210 and the second chapter. These are words written 00:12:39.210 --> 00:12:41.429 to Israel of old, of course, regarding their 00:12:41.429 --> 00:12:46.210 offerings. It says, Now when anyone presents 00:12:46.210 --> 00:12:48.590 a grain offering as an offering to the Lord, 00:12:48.769 --> 00:12:54.909 his offering shall be of fine flour. That is, 00:12:54.909 --> 00:13:00.250 it is flour that has been milled. It is flour 00:13:00.250 --> 00:13:04.289 which pictures the perfect righteousness of the 00:13:04.289 --> 00:13:08.629 Lord Jesus Christ. the perfect balance that was 00:13:08.629 --> 00:13:11.929 in him, the evenness of character. That's the 00:13:11.929 --> 00:13:15.190 significance of the fine flour. And he shall 00:13:15.190 --> 00:13:19.049 pour oil on it, oil being a symbol frequently 00:13:19.049 --> 00:13:23.090 throughout the Bible of the Holy Spirit, and 00:13:23.090 --> 00:13:27.690 put frankincense on it. Frankincense was a part 00:13:27.690 --> 00:13:31.029 of worship. And so what is said here as this 00:13:31.029 --> 00:13:33.309 offering is being offered up, it was to be flour 00:13:33.309 --> 00:13:36.350 upon which oil was put and mixed with frankincense, 00:13:36.350 --> 00:13:41.230 a picture of Christ, who in perfect balance of 00:13:41.230 --> 00:13:45.409 character, who in righteousness offered up himself 00:13:45.409 --> 00:13:49.750 through the eternal spirit, it says, unto God, 00:13:49.750 --> 00:13:54.149 an act of worship. It goes on to say, he shall 00:13:54.149 --> 00:13:56.330 then bring it to Aaron's sons, the priests, and 00:13:56.330 --> 00:13:59.509 shall take from it. his handful of its fine flour 00:13:59.509 --> 00:14:02.370 and of its oil with all of its frankincense. 00:14:02.850 --> 00:14:06.269 And the priest shall offer it up in smoke as 00:14:06.269 --> 00:14:09.830 its memorial portion on the altar, an offering 00:14:09.830 --> 00:14:14.250 by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. This 00:14:14.250 --> 00:14:16.429 was done for the glory of God as they offered 00:14:16.429 --> 00:14:19.049 this up. And it says the remainder of the grain 00:14:19.049 --> 00:14:23.679 offering belongs to Aaron and his sons. In other 00:14:23.679 --> 00:14:25.980 words, only a portion of this particular kind 00:14:25.980 --> 00:14:28.879 of an offering was offered on the altar. That 00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:31.620 was done for the glory of God. The rest of it 00:14:31.620 --> 00:14:33.899 was for the good of man. And do we not see in 00:14:33.899 --> 00:14:37.519 that action another symbol, a type of what the 00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:40.779 Lord Jesus did in his offering of himself? As 00:14:40.779 --> 00:14:42.820 he offered himself, it was both for the glory 00:14:42.820 --> 00:14:46.700 of God and the good of man, to provide for the 00:14:46.700 --> 00:14:50.740 needs of man. Skip on down to verse 11. No grain 00:14:50.740 --> 00:14:53.139 offering which you bring to the Lord shall be 00:14:53.139 --> 00:14:57.320 made with leaven. For you shall not offer up 00:14:57.320 --> 00:15:01.820 in smoke any leaven or any honey as an offering 00:15:01.820 --> 00:15:05.320 by fire to the Lord. Say, what's wrong with these? 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:09.740 Well, both of them ferment. They are corruptible. 00:15:11.139 --> 00:15:13.720 And there was to be nothing corruptible in this 00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:17.000 offering, the meal offering. which again points 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:19.600 to the Lord Jesus Christ in whom there was nothing 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:24.279 corruptible inherently. There was no sin found 00:15:24.279 --> 00:15:29.279 in him. He offered himself to God and became 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:35.419 sin on the cross for us as he bore our sins on 00:15:35.419 --> 00:15:39.559 the tree. So that's all that Paul has in mind 00:15:39.559 --> 00:15:42.220 as he says. It may not be all that he has in 00:15:42.220 --> 00:15:43.580 mind, but at least that's part of what he has 00:15:43.580 --> 00:15:46.179 in mind. when he writes, Christ delivered himself 00:15:46.179 --> 00:15:50.879 up for us as an offering. But he also uses the 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:55.600 word as a sacrifice unto the Lord. Back up a 00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:58.639 page, if you have a Bible like mine, to Leviticus 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:04.080 chapter 1. And here we see the orders regarding 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:06.539 what is called the burnt offering. This was another 00:16:06.539 --> 00:16:08.659 kind of offering that was offered up in ancient 00:16:08.659 --> 00:16:15.309 Israel. Verse 2, Speak to the sons of Israel 00:16:15.309 --> 00:16:17.970 and say to them, When any man of you brings an 00:16:17.970 --> 00:16:20.009 offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering 00:16:20.009 --> 00:16:23.970 of animals from the herd or the flock. If his 00:16:23.970 --> 00:16:25.850 offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he 00:16:25.850 --> 00:16:29.809 shall offer it male without defect. He shall 00:16:29.809 --> 00:16:31.870 offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, 00:16:31.990 --> 00:16:35.710 that he may be accepted before the Lord. He shall 00:16:35.710 --> 00:16:37.889 lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering. 00:16:38.049 --> 00:16:40.929 Now you say, why was that done? The offerer put 00:16:40.929 --> 00:16:44.370 his hand upon the heads of the offering to identify 00:16:44.370 --> 00:16:47.490 with it. For you see, this offering was to be 00:16:47.490 --> 00:16:52.129 for his sin. There had to be a transposition 00:16:52.129 --> 00:16:55.889 of the sins of that man to the offering. And 00:16:55.889 --> 00:16:58.409 so that was symbolized by the putting of his 00:16:58.409 --> 00:17:01.870 hands upon the head of the bullock or the sheep. 00:17:03.690 --> 00:17:06.329 And it says, It goes on to say that it may be 00:17:06.329 --> 00:17:09.690 accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf. 00:17:10.849 --> 00:17:13.529 And he shall slay the young bull before the Lord, 00:17:13.569 --> 00:17:15.730 and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall offer up 00:17:15.730 --> 00:17:18.589 the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the 00:17:18.589 --> 00:17:21.250 altar that is at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 00:17:22.329 --> 00:17:26.029 Skip on down to verse 9. Its entrails, however, 00:17:26.069 --> 00:17:28.569 and its legs he shall wash with water, and the 00:17:28.569 --> 00:17:32.289 priests shall offer up in smoke all of it on 00:17:32.289 --> 00:17:35.500 the altar. for a burnt offering, an offering 00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:41.819 by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. Now 00:17:41.819 --> 00:17:44.319 the word sacrifice there in Ephesians chapter 00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:49.519 5 embraces the bloody sacrifices of the Old Testament, 00:17:49.559 --> 00:17:53.279 not the meal or cereal offerings as in chapter 00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:56.680 2 in Leviticus, but rather those other offerings, 00:17:56.799 --> 00:18:00.259 most of which were the bloody offerings, the 00:18:00.259 --> 00:18:02.900 animals slain in a particular way, the blood 00:18:03.349 --> 00:18:07.009 shed for the sins of the offerer. And in the 00:18:07.009 --> 00:18:09.349 case of this particular kind of offering, the 00:18:09.349 --> 00:18:13.529 burnt offering, that whole animal was to be placed 00:18:13.529 --> 00:18:18.410 upon the altar and burned and consumed on behalf 00:18:18.410 --> 00:18:23.230 of the one who was offering it. So you see how 00:18:23.230 --> 00:18:25.730 beautifully that pictures our Savior's work as 00:18:25.730 --> 00:18:29.450 well. For he offered up himself, his blood was 00:18:29.450 --> 00:18:32.980 shed on our behalf at the cross. And he was consumed. 00:18:33.779 --> 00:18:37.920 His human nature was consumed by God's wrath 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:42.140 in the sense that he endured sufferings of hell 00:18:42.140 --> 00:18:45.880 in his body and soul as he experienced the cross 00:18:45.880 --> 00:18:51.400 on our behalf. And so we see the love of God 00:18:51.400 --> 00:18:56.319 in Christ giving himself up as an offering and 00:18:56.319 --> 00:18:59.660 as a sacrifice. And as he did that, it says in 00:18:59.660 --> 00:19:04.380 Ephesians, it was a fragrant aroma. That means 00:19:04.380 --> 00:19:07.400 that this sacrifice was well -pleasing to God. 00:19:08.039 --> 00:19:11.019 God was satisfied with this. It was as though 00:19:11.019 --> 00:19:14.460 what was being done came into the presence of 00:19:14.460 --> 00:19:19.160 God and it all was sweet to him. When it talked 00:19:19.160 --> 00:19:22.180 there about the sweet savor of the offering or 00:19:22.180 --> 00:19:25.559 here as it speaks about the fragrant aroma of 00:19:25.559 --> 00:19:28.359 it. What it's referring to is the fact that what 00:19:28.359 --> 00:19:33.099 was done was pleasing to God. Now frankly, that 00:19:33.099 --> 00:19:36.259 kind of a sacrifice is repugnant to the natural 00:19:36.259 --> 00:19:40.759 man. Indeed, the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus 00:19:40.759 --> 00:19:44.099 Christ, the shedding of His blood, is repugnant 00:19:44.099 --> 00:19:48.559 to the natural man. That is why there are denominations 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:51.420 today revising their hymnals to take out any 00:19:51.420 --> 00:19:54.519 reference to such things as the blood of Christ. 00:19:55.559 --> 00:19:59.859 Because to them that is unseemly, to them it 00:19:59.859 --> 00:20:03.519 is uncivilized. But I want to tell you that without 00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:05.519 the shedding of blood, there is no remission 00:20:05.519 --> 00:20:10.039 of sins. And praise God, he provided in his Son 00:20:10.039 --> 00:20:14.519 the sacrifice, the only acceptable sacrifice 00:20:14.519 --> 00:20:18.880 for our sins. And I like those two words here 00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:22.180 in Ephesians chapter 5. The purpose of it all 00:20:22.180 --> 00:20:27.440 was for us. That is, it was on our behalf that 00:20:27.440 --> 00:20:33.480 God so demonstrated His love in His Son. So why 00:20:33.480 --> 00:20:36.700 is it that we should imitate God and walk in 00:20:36.700 --> 00:20:39.720 love? Because we are His children who are loved. 00:20:41.220 --> 00:20:44.380 And that brings us to the third reason. We are 00:20:44.380 --> 00:20:49.319 His children who are loved that we might also 00:20:49.319 --> 00:20:55.460 love. Christian love is greatly misunderstood. 00:20:57.420 --> 00:21:00.460 There are those who have an idea of this love 00:21:00.460 --> 00:21:05.660 as being sentiment, hugging everybody or kissing 00:21:05.660 --> 00:21:08.759 everybody on the cheek in the church service 00:21:08.759 --> 00:21:12.039 or in greeting them. Is that what Christian love 00:21:12.039 --> 00:21:16.680 is? Christian love, my friend, is not sentiment. 00:21:17.380 --> 00:21:21.079 It is not mere emotion. It is not a passing feeling. 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:27.859 that we may have for someone else. But this kind 00:21:27.859 --> 00:21:34.460 of love is action on behalf of another. It is 00:21:34.460 --> 00:21:39.619 movement. It's not a feeling. It may include 00:21:39.619 --> 00:21:42.680 a feeling, but don't limit it to that. It can't 00:21:42.680 --> 00:21:46.880 stop there, or it's not agape love. It is love 00:21:46.880 --> 00:21:50.940 that moves and motivates a person to take action 00:21:50.940 --> 00:21:57.309 on behalf. of another person. I was touched by 00:21:57.309 --> 00:22:00.509 the actions of that teenager in Texas a couple 00:22:00.509 --> 00:22:05.490 of weeks ago. That young man who for half an 00:22:05.490 --> 00:22:09.190 hour lifted his friend who was in a cast in the 00:22:09.190 --> 00:22:12.410 midst of those flooding waters around Guadalupe, 00:22:12.630 --> 00:22:17.710 Texas. He lifted that friend of his as long as 00:22:17.710 --> 00:22:20.589 he had strength to do and finally he collapsed. 00:22:21.359 --> 00:22:24.000 And they both went downstream. The friend was 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:27.500 able to grasp a tree. As far as I know, the young 00:22:27.500 --> 00:22:30.599 man who tried to save his friend in that flood 00:22:30.599 --> 00:22:36.059 has never been found. He sacrificed his own strength, 00:22:36.259 --> 00:22:39.059 which he could have used to save himself for 00:22:39.059 --> 00:22:42.119 his friend. The young man was a Christian young 00:22:42.119 --> 00:22:44.119 man. They were all a part of a Christian campus, 00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:48.440 if you will recall. Jesus said, greater love 00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:52.549 has no man than this. That he lay down his life 00:22:52.549 --> 00:22:58.990 for his friend. If you and I are going to imitate 00:22:58.990 --> 00:23:01.430 God and walk in love, it means laying down something. 00:23:03.869 --> 00:23:09.289 Maybe even our lives. You see, this kind of love 00:23:09.289 --> 00:23:12.809 involves self -sacrifice. For we are to love 00:23:12.809 --> 00:23:17.130 just like Christ loved us, who sacrificed himself 00:23:17.130 --> 00:23:23.890 for us. Let's not be tempted to divert our attention 00:23:23.890 --> 00:23:26.369 to a shallow kind of love and call it Christian. 00:23:28.369 --> 00:23:31.430 Let's not accept that as Christian agape. It 00:23:31.430 --> 00:23:35.650 is not. Let's understand that if we are going 00:23:35.650 --> 00:23:40.309 to imitate God and walk in love as his people, 00:23:40.470 --> 00:23:43.630 you and I are going to have to lay down a price 00:23:43.630 --> 00:23:47.349 for other people, people who may not deserve 00:23:47.349 --> 00:23:51.740 it. People who are even unlovely and undeserving 00:23:51.740 --> 00:23:56.119 and who cannot repay us. But if we're going to 00:23:56.119 --> 00:23:58.619 imitate God, beloved, that's what we must do 00:23:58.619 --> 00:24:03.200 because that is God's love. And we cannot make 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:06.700 a farce of God's love by just helping those who 00:24:06.700 --> 00:24:09.200 are our friends or those who can pay us back 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:12.299 and saying that we now have practiced God's love. 00:24:12.359 --> 00:24:16.619 We have not. We have not practiced God's love 00:24:16.619 --> 00:24:19.000 if we simply talk about it or sing about it. 00:24:19.480 --> 00:24:22.980 But we have practiced God's love and we have 00:24:22.980 --> 00:24:26.380 imitated God himself when we are willing to lay 00:24:26.380 --> 00:24:32.720 down a price that costs us dearly for the sake 00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:36.660 of others. When I think of those people who have 00:24:36.660 --> 00:24:40.440 sacrificed their careers and lives to go to the 00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:46.740 mission field, And have spent decades there with 00:24:46.740 --> 00:24:52.319 no earthly reward. And why? So they could labor 00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:56.480 hard and pour out themselves, adjust to a new 00:24:56.480 --> 00:25:00.000 culture that sometimes is very difficult, learn 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:03.680 to eat new food that is not very tasty at first. 00:25:04.700 --> 00:25:09.420 In some cases, in order to bury children there 00:25:09.420 --> 00:25:13.660 or bury sweethearts there, that's why they've 00:25:13.660 --> 00:25:16.009 done it. in order that they might pour out a 00:25:16.009 --> 00:25:20.250 sacrifice for the glory of God and for the good 00:25:20.250 --> 00:25:23.609 of those dear people who need to be won to Jesus 00:25:23.609 --> 00:25:31.049 Christ. We who live in this country can follow 00:25:31.049 --> 00:25:34.430 their example. We don't have to go to another 00:25:34.430 --> 00:25:36.930 culture to pour out ourselves as a sacrifice. 00:25:39.210 --> 00:25:41.829 We can take some of our precious time, and time 00:25:41.829 --> 00:25:45.759 is precious. and pour that out as a sacrifice 00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:51.059 on some person who needs it. We can take our 00:25:51.059 --> 00:25:54.779 words of encouragement to someone who's hurting, 00:25:54.980 --> 00:25:59.480 who's been bent low by life's problems, and we 00:25:59.480 --> 00:26:04.000 can pour out those words upon them as an act 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:10.380 of love and sacrifice. We can forgive that person. 00:26:12.079 --> 00:26:17.960 against whom we've had a grudge. We can share 00:26:17.960 --> 00:26:21.880 financially with those who have needs. We can 00:26:21.880 --> 00:26:26.440 open up our pocketbooks, our wallets, and give 00:26:26.440 --> 00:26:28.799 generously of that which we have been holding 00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:35.200 back and saving for ourselves. I believe with 00:26:35.200 --> 00:26:39.740 such actions, God is well pleased. And just as 00:26:39.740 --> 00:26:43.420 the sacrifice of our Savior was well -pleasing, 00:26:43.420 --> 00:26:46.940 a sweet aroma to God, so every time you and I 00:26:46.940 --> 00:26:50.940 act in love toward another person, that is a 00:26:50.940 --> 00:26:55.279 scent that comes before God, an aroma of worship 00:26:55.279 --> 00:27:00.859 that is well -pleasing to Him. I tell you, these 00:27:00.859 --> 00:27:04.619 are amazing words that God says to us, imitate 00:27:04.619 --> 00:27:09.480 me. Children enjoy playing. the game follow the 00:27:09.480 --> 00:27:12.960 leader. How do you do that? You have to watch 00:27:12.960 --> 00:27:16.339 the leader. You watch the leader and you do what 00:27:16.339 --> 00:27:21.519 he does. How do we imitate God? We watch God 00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:31.339 and we do what God does. No, we cannot create 00:27:31.339 --> 00:27:37.230 worlds and call them into existence. but we can 00:27:37.230 --> 00:27:43.349 use our tongues to bless and edify others. We 00:27:43.349 --> 00:27:47.549 may not be able to raise the dead, but we can 00:27:47.549 --> 00:27:51.970 go to someone who is as good as dead and share 00:27:51.970 --> 00:27:54.309 with them the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ 00:27:54.309 --> 00:27:59.990 and pray that that person would respond in faith 00:27:59.990 --> 00:28:04.049 and be saved. And in a sense, when we do that, 00:28:04.430 --> 00:28:06.670 We plant that seed, and then the Spirit of God 00:28:06.670 --> 00:28:08.849 brings forth life, and they believe in Christ. 00:28:08.890 --> 00:28:13.009 That is raising the dead spiritually. It's an 00:28:13.009 --> 00:28:15.069 act of love to share the gospel with somebody, 00:28:15.269 --> 00:28:18.009 an act of eternal love, because that's the one 00:28:18.009 --> 00:28:23.349 message which, if they believe, will give them 00:28:23.349 --> 00:28:27.269 eternal life. And if they die without it, they 00:28:27.269 --> 00:28:31.420 go to a Christless hell for eternity. What a 00:28:31.420 --> 00:28:33.900 great act of love it is to share your faith with 00:28:33.900 --> 00:28:38.039 another person. God says, you watch me and do 00:28:38.039 --> 00:28:45.299 what I do. Mimic me. What that means is walking 00:28:45.299 --> 00:28:49.279 in love. There are some things in life that are 00:28:49.279 --> 00:28:54.940 both fun and frightening. Walking in love is 00:28:54.940 --> 00:28:59.940 one of them. It's frightening to walk in love. 00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:03.420 And I'll tell you why. Because you can't walk 00:29:03.420 --> 00:29:07.599 in love without paying a price. And up front, 00:29:07.619 --> 00:29:09.519 you don't always know what that price is going 00:29:09.519 --> 00:29:16.980 to be. It may be more than you think. God doesn't 00:29:16.980 --> 00:29:20.240 always tell us what the cost will be, but he 00:29:20.240 --> 00:29:22.799 tells us to walk in love and sacrifice for others. 00:29:25.819 --> 00:29:28.099 It's frightening because there are unknown risks 00:29:28.099 --> 00:29:32.769 when we walk in love. We have to take a step 00:29:32.769 --> 00:29:36.430 of faith to walk in love, to treat other people 00:29:36.430 --> 00:29:40.589 this way. I'm talking about your family situation. 00:29:41.650 --> 00:29:46.670 I'm talking about your roommate, about those 00:29:46.670 --> 00:29:50.390 people at work. It doesn't say here just to love 00:29:50.390 --> 00:29:53.849 other Christians, but it says we're to walk in 00:29:53.849 --> 00:30:00.529 love, and that embraces the world too. There 00:30:00.529 --> 00:30:05.869 are risks doing that. You may get hurt. In sacrificing 00:30:05.869 --> 00:30:08.690 yourself for someone else, you may get taken 00:30:08.690 --> 00:30:12.269 advantage of. But count it for the glory of God. 00:30:14.769 --> 00:30:16.930 There are some things in life that are both frightening 00:30:16.930 --> 00:30:18.569 and fun. And I'll tell you, it's fun to walk 00:30:18.569 --> 00:30:22.130 this way too. There is no greater joy than to 00:30:22.130 --> 00:30:25.130 walk with this kind of an attitude. Because it's 00:30:25.130 --> 00:30:29.119 an attitude that's died to self. It's an attitude 00:30:29.119 --> 00:30:32.359 that no longer owns and grasps and holds tight, 00:30:32.500 --> 00:30:36.480 but it's an attitude that gives and is not afraid 00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:39.380 of losing for what is taken has already been 00:30:39.380 --> 00:30:43.839 given to God. There is no greater joy than to 00:30:43.839 --> 00:30:47.380 follow the example of God and to walk in love. 00:30:48.019 --> 00:30:52.039 Nor may we do that this week. Can you isolate 00:30:52.039 --> 00:30:54.039 someone in your mind right now? Think of that 00:30:54.039 --> 00:30:57.299 face, that name. that person who needs the touch 00:30:57.299 --> 00:31:03.740 of God's love through you? Who is it? Will you 00:31:03.740 --> 00:31:06.640 determine by God's help to walk in love toward 00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:09.339 that individual today, tomorrow, when you see 00:31:09.339 --> 00:31:15.859 them? Imitate God that way. There was a television 00:31:15.859 --> 00:31:17.900 show for a while, one of the Christian shows, 00:31:18.039 --> 00:31:22.579 that had a theme song that went like this, and 00:31:22.579 --> 00:31:27.369 I'm not going to sing it. So relax. But the words 00:31:27.369 --> 00:31:32.569 are, I am loved, I am loved. I can risk loving 00:31:32.569 --> 00:31:38.089 you, for the one who knows me best loves me most. 00:31:39.410 --> 00:31:44.069 I am loved, you are loved. Won't you please take 00:31:44.069 --> 00:31:47.990 my hand? For we are free to love each other. 00:31:48.470 --> 00:31:52.049 We are loved. Let's pray together.