THE GOOD LIFE Flip the Switch June 30-July 1, 2018 **** Ephesians 5:1-14 I ve lived in Pittsburgh for nearly 9 years, and I love our city! I love the history, the sports, and especially the people. Pittsburgh has many nicknames...steel City.City of Bridges.City of Champions. In 2017, Pittsburgh received another title: 3rd best city to live in out of the 62 largest U.S. cities. The same article ranked Pittsburgh 13th in quality of life, 10th in economy, and 4th in education. The other top five cities: Virginia Beach, Seattle, San Diego, and Colorado Springs. Some might say that you can have the good life if you live in the right place. If you re a parent, I m confident you want the good life for your kids, and that s why you may choose to live in a community with a safe neighborhood and schools. If you re a first-time home-buyer or renter, you may want to live in a place that you can afford and is close to work. Some people say that the good life starts with where you live. Today, we are going to look at Ephesians 5:1-14, and I believe we are going to see that the good life is more than just which community you live in, what school you go to, or what job you have. The book of Ephesians was written in the first-century by a man named Paul, and he wrote this letter to followers of Jesus living in the city of Ephesus. If Rome had a list of the best cities, Ephesus would have made the top five. In many ways, Ephesus was similar to Pittsburgh. Let s imagine that we are taking a tour together of first-century Ephesus. The first thing we learn on our tour is that Ephesus is a major banking hub (much like BNY Mellon and PNC Bank here in Pittsburgh). Continuing on our tour, we discover Ephesus is home to one the leading medical schools in the Roman Empire (similar to modern day UPMC). Further on, we find a large theater in Ephesus with seating for over 24,000 attendees. (PPG Paints arena holds about 20,000). Down the street from the theater, we discover this massive building (PIC): the Temple of Artemis, the most famous pagan god in Ephesus. Today, this temple is listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. By the world s standards, life in Ephesus was the good life! Great culture, excellent food, growing economy, and top-tier education. But, spiritually, the people were far from God. On the outside, it looked like the good life, but spiritually, they were living in darkness. For example, the Ephesians worshipped false gods. Many craftsmen in the city made a living by manufacturing little statues of the goddess Artemis (PIC). The people of Ephesus were also very superstitious. 1
Just last week I was visiting another city, and someone on the street handed me a flyer for fortune telling. They told me they would read my palms and predict my future. Ephesus was filled with sorcerers and magicians in spiritual darkness. When Paul arrived in Ephesus, he discipled the first followers of Jesus in the city, and many years after his first visit, Paul wrote the letter we are reading today. In chapter five, he describes the good life for followers of Jesus... Ephesians 5:1-7 Follow God s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 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 person 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. Therefore do not be partners with them. The first thing we learn from this passage is the Good Life is a life that imitates God. The world tells us we can get the good life through material possessions, social status, and money, but without a personal relationship with God we will always be searching satisfaction in the wrong places. The very first verse says, Follow God s example. The Good Life starts with knowing God. When I was in middle school, I had a friend named Will who was a year or two older than me. I thought Will was the coolest guy, and I wanted to be like him. I begged my mom to buy me the same type of shoes that Will had. I even combed my hair the same way he did. Next, I started imitating the words he used like dude and gnarly (don t judge me...it was middle school). And the last thing I needed to be cool like Will was a minidisc player. After CD players (and before mp3 players and ipods) there was the minidisc player (PIC). And Will had one of these. Now, can you imagine how cool I looked with this clipped to my belt?! God is not concerned with our hair style or clothing brands or how cool we look. God is focused on our hearts. The good life starts by imitating God s example. God is not focused on how much money you earn or what street you live on or what type of car you drive, He is focused on shaping your personal character. Today, you may not really believe in God or follow Jesus. I want you to know that God loves you for who you are, and you can have a personal relationship with God. Notice Ephesians 5:1-2 Follow God s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 2
You can be spiritually adopted as God s child through faith in Jesus. In this verse, Jesus is called Christ. Christ means Savior. Jesus gave himself up to save us. His death paid the price for our sin so that we can have a personal relationship with God. A personal relationship with God is like turning on the lights in a dark room. Before following Jesus, I was living in spiritual darkness. Avoiding God and living by my own set of rules. But it was not the good life. It was lonely and spiritually dark. But, out of his love, God spiritually turned on the lights. Let s continue reading verse 8. Ephesians 5:8-10 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. When your faith is in Jesus Christ, God turns on the lights for the good life. Living in the light means that we follow God s example and do what pleases him. We can see how to obey him in goodness, righteousness, and truth. But, there is a warning in this passage in verse 11. Ephesians 5:11-14, Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said: Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Even though Jesus saved us from the penalty of sin and death, the power of sin will tempt us with the deeds of darkness. Sin threatens to cast shadows of darkness on our lives. Do you know what grows in darkness? Mold. Mold grows in dark places. If you are a homeowner, you know that mold can ruin your house. If we let mold grow untreated, it can turn into rot and threaten our health. Recently, I put some dirty dishes in the dishwasher before I left town, but I forgot to start the dishwasher! When I came home a week later, I found one dish had gotten moldy and stinky in the dark dishwasher. Sin is like mold in the shadows of our hearts. But verse 3 tells us that God wants us to grow in holiness. Ephesians 5:3 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. Impurity is anything that does not follow the example of God. That includes secrets or hidden activities we don t want anyone to find out about. Greed is more than wanting money, it is also vanity and the desire for power or applause from others. When we discover these heart shadows, we must flip the switch. 3
If impurity, immorality, and greed stay in the heart shadows, we will not grow more like Jesus. We will become distant from God and focused on the things of this world. We must flip the switch on these heart shadows in order to bring more of God s light into those dark places. 4
A couple of months ago, I came home after work, and I flipped on the light switch, but the lights didn t come on. I walked into the living room and flipped another switch - no lights. I also noticed the microwave clock was off, and I also noticed the house was colder than usual. What do you think happened? My power was off! I called the power company. And they politely told me that I did not pay the electric bill! But, I was able to pay the bill over the phone. Next, I said to the operator, I m so glad I found this before my wife comes home tonight. What time do you think the power will be back on? The operate laugh out loud, and said, Son, the power won t be turned on until tomorrow. Good luck with your wife! Next, I called Lauren, and I said, Hey babe, I was thinking, tonight we could go out to a nice dinner, we could spend the night at a hotel and have a nice romantic night...because our power got shut off. Anyways, what do you say?! My wife is the most graceful person. Of course, she was annoyed, and she now makes sure I m on top of the bills, but she was not angry. The next day, I came back home, and flipped the switch and all the lights came back on. I promise, I will always pay my bills on time! In 2011, The Steelers were playing the San Francisco 49ers in California at the 49ers stadium (Candlestick Park) on Monday night. Monday night football is one of the primetime nights for the NFL. Stadiums pack out, people tune in on Television, and the teams are pumped up with excitement. Just before kickoff, the entire stadium went dark. The power went out! Somewhere nearby, a transformer went out and left the park in the dark delaying the game by 30 minutes. Eventually, the lights came back on and the game started. Until the second quarter. Another power outage killed the lights for 16 minutes in the middle of the game. The only lights in the stadium were cellphones and emergency lights. The NFL even started making arrangements to cancel the game and reschedule it the next day in Oakland, California! Finally, the lights came back on, but the confusion and delays cost the Steelers momentum and they lost the game. Each of us has areas in our lives that need more of God s light. God doesn t want spiritual darkness to cast shadows in your heart. Is there a heart shadow or hidden secret in your life? Ephesians 5:13, But everything exposed by the light becomes visible. When you flip the switch, you are exposing those heart shadows to the light of God. One of those hidden shadows is sexual immorality. Ephesians was written in First-Century Greek, and the word used in verse 3 for sexual immorality is a greek word porneia. Porneia means sexual immorality. Porneia includes every type of sexual sin and behavior outside of marriage. It includes the entertainment we 5
choose to watch or read. Some may call it romance or fantasy. Some may say flirtatious conversations at work are harmless. But is there a hint of sexual sin in those interactions? We can see this is the root word for pornography. You may have heard me share about a time I was struggled with pornography. It was a dark, secret that I hid in the shadows of my life. And it made me feel like a prisoner. But God s power helped me flip the switch and bring that secret into the light. If you struggle with sexual sin or temptation, do not feel ashamed, judged or condemned. I want to tell you that God loves you and he wants to help you live a holy life. In order to flip the switch, we must grow in love. Love for God and love for other people is the light switch. Ephesians 5:2, and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. I remember when Lauren and I were dating several years ago, and a high school student asked me Why are you not sleeping with your girlfriend? That s a legitimate question, because the World tells us that s normal for a couple who wants the good life. I replied, My love for Lauren and my love for God guides me. We love each other so much that we want to have the best relationship we can by following God s example. Do you need to flip the switch on a heart shadow? Flip the switch means turning off unhealthy or immoral entertainment, confessing secret sin to another follower. Parents, flipping the switch means opening the Bible with your children and teaching them to follow God s example. Husbands and wives can flip the switch by saying I m sorry and praying together to grow your marriage. We can flip the switch with our money by giving generously. At work, we can flip the switch when we celebrate the success of others instead of treating them with jealousy and envy. When we choose the way of love, we turn off lust, and greed and immorality. In addition to growing in love, another step we can take to flip the switch is to think before you speak. As I was preparing this message, I sensed God challenging me to flip the switch with the words I use. I was reminded of some things I said privately that did not build up other people. I want my words to be encouraging and helpful and not hurtful. Ephesians 5:4, Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. This verse challenges me to think before I speak. Last month, I was out of town and asked a local person from the area to recommend some lunch spots. Somewhere in the conversation, social media came up, and the other person said, I got kicked off of Facebook. I asked, like kicked out of a chat group or a private group? He said, No. Facebook, the company banned me for 72 hours because of my posts. 6
I ve never met someone who was banned individually banned by Facebook! So of course, I asked, Well, what did you say? Let s just say that I cannot ever repeat anything that he told me. Let s just say his comments are the perfect example of obscenity, foolish talk, and coarse joking. Recently, our culture has seen many celebrities and public figures lose credibility and suffer severe consequences for things they ve said or posted online. Once it s out there, they can t take it back. Social media can be very tempting to say something without thinking through. Last month, Papua New Guinea made headlines because the government is considering banning access to Facebook throughout the entire country for one month. Government officials are concerned with the widespread fake accounts, false news and advertisements and inappropriate content being posted. The plan is ban Facebook for a month in order to clean up the mess. But won t those same users return after the clean up? Abraham Lincoln had a habit he called never signed, never sent letters. When he was upset or angry with someone, he wrote down all his anger and upset emotions. Then, he put the letter away, and later burned it. It was his way to Think Before You Speak. Our words (whether spoken or in a text or a post) will influence and affect others. Crude language and hurtful words come from sinful heart shadows. Recently, I read an article titled Think before you speak, and it gave five questions we should ask ourselves before we speak, offer an opinion, or post something on social media. T Is it TRUE? H Is it HELPFUL? I Is it INSPIRING? N Is it NECESSARY? K Is it KIND? 1 We can flip the switch on our words when we pause think before we speak. I encourage you to use these questions before you post or comment. Filter your thoughts through these questions before you offer an opinion or share a juicy story about a coworker or family member. This also includes how we treat people who don t follow Jesus. Verses 6 and 7 say, God s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them. It does not say, judge them, criticize them, belittle them, or reject them. It simply warns us not to join in, and the rest of the passage tells us to expose our own heart shadows. We hurt the mission of the gospel if we judge people who don t follow Jesus and berate them. Rather, we should practice love, forgiveness, and THINK before we speak. 7
I encourage you to flip the switch on the heart shadows. Do not let secret sin remain hidden! God loves you for who you are, and he doesn t want any heart shadows to keep you from growing to become like him. Today, do not feel hopeless! You are not alone. You are not trapped in darkness. God is for you! He is with you. By his power, his grace, he will help you flip the switch. This is an old picture of Pittsburgh. See all the smog and soot and smoke? It looks dirty and nasty and unhealthy. This picture was taken during the daylight, but it s covered in a shadow of darkness. But, back in the 80 s, the city of Pittsburgh decided to tear down these factories and plants and renovate. Now, this same vista looks like this today. It s beautiful! New buildings, a clear view, and it s all on the same ground in the same location as the old picture, but now it has been made new. God does the same thing to your life. He drives out the darkness, the secrets, and the shadows of sin. He restores our lives and gives a new purpose. Imitating God s example doesn t happen overnight. One day at a time, one step at a time, God is making you into a person of light. A person who is like Jesus. Ephesians 4:14 says, Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. We need the light of Jesus Christ to transform our lives. When he died, he defeated the penalty of death and darkness. And when he rose from the dead, he guaranteed that we have a hope and a new beginning. 8