It has been almost 50 years since
God revealed his son in me and saved me by his grace. Every day for 50 years, almost. It has been my unceasing prayer
and heart's desire to God that he would give me grace to live
for him. I want to live for God, don't
you? To live for him. Take my life
and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee. I am more convinced
tonight than I have ever been that Christianity, true Christianity,
faith in Christ, true saving faith in Christ is nothing less
than the utter consecration of myself to God my Savior. The deliberate devotion of my
life to the will and honor and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I'm convinced of that. Whether
it shuts Mark Daniel out or shuts me out, I'm convinced that's
what Christianity is. That's what faith in Christ is.
That's what it is. Our Lord tells us seven times
in the gospel narratives that that's what it is. Just listen.
Our Savior said, he that findeth his life shall lose it. And he
that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. He said, whosoever
will save his life shall lose it. And whosoever will lose his
life for my sake shall find it. What is faith? It is giving up
your life. It is losing your life to the
Son of God. Again, our Lord Jesus said, whosoever
will save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose
his life for my sake in the gospels, the same shall save it. For what
should it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and
lose his own soul? Then he said again in Luke's
gospel, whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but whosoever
will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. Now,
if you will, turn to Luke chapter 14 and read this one. Luke chapter
14, verse 25. Great multitudes came to the
Savior, and he turned to them, and this is what he said. He
didn't say, will you decide to believe in Jesus? He didn't say,
would you give your heart to Jesus? He didn't say, will you
make a decision for Jesus? He didn't say, repeat after me
and say this prayer. This is what he said, verse 26.
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and
wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own
life also, he will be a saved Christian, but he'll just get
to heaven by the skin of his teeth. That's not what it says. He cannot
be my disciple. He cannot be my disciple. And whosoever does not bear his
cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of
you intending to build a tower sitteth not down first and counteth
the cost? whether he have sufficient to
finish it. Lest happily after he hath laid the foundation and
is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock
it, saying this man began to build but was not able to finish.
Of what king going to make a war against another king sitteth
not down first and consulteth whether he be able with 10,000
to meet him that cometh against him with 20,000. Or else, while
the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage
and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be
of you, that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my
disciple. Faith in Christ, trust in Christ,
is more than believing the historic facts of his death, burial, and
resurrection. It is something more than believing
the right doctrine. Faith in Christ is trusting your
life to Jesus Christ the Lord, trusting him for everything. In Luke 17, our Lord said, whosoever
shall seek to save his life shall lose it, and whosoever shall
lose his life shall preserve it. And then in John 12, he that
loveth his life shall lose it. And he that hateth his life in
this world shall keep it unto life eternal. Live for God. That's God's message to me this
hour. And that is my message to you,
I pray, God's message to you this hour. Live for God. live for God. Our text will be
Ephesians chapter 5, verses 1 through 33. We'll look at these 33 verses
under five distinct heads. In verses 1 and 2, if we would
live for God, we must live as God's dear children in this world.
In verses 3 through 13, if we would live for God, we must do
so denying ungodliness. In verse 14, if we would live
for God, we require a constant awakening by our God. In verses 15 through 21, if we
would live for God, we must understand what the will of God is. And
then in verses 22 through 33, if we would live for God, We
must live as people married to Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Here's the first thing. We're inspired to live for God
by the fact that we are God's own dear children. Every loving
son of a loving father, when he's a small boy, desires to
be just like his daddy. until he gets big enough to see
his daddy's faults or to see that he can maybe do something
a little different from his dad that would be more profitable
while he's a small boy. Every loving son of a loving
father desires to be just like his father. That man he admires
above all others. That one who loves him above
all others. Every little girl, every little
girl, The daughter of a loving mother who loves her mother,
desires to be like her mother, that one who loves her more than
anybody else, that one she admires above anybody else, that's just
a natural relationship between a child and his parents. Loving them and being loved by
them, the child desires to be like mama or daddy. That's just
natural. That's just natural. I'm often
asked by young couples, particularly before they have children or
as they're about to begin a family, or if they've just been converted
and have small children, Mother Dawn, what advice do you have?
And I tell them I don't qualify to give parental advice. I only
had one child and he was a girl. So I don't pretend to qualify.
But the best counsel I can give you is somehow, somehow, if you
can instill within those children a desire to please and honor
you, you've got the biggest part of the battle. If somehow you
can instill within those children a desire to please and honor
you, you whom they love, and you who are the object of their
love, if you can instill them to please you and honor you,
you've got the biggest part of the battle lit. Well, Paul is
here calling on us by divine inspiration to live for God. And he does so inspiring our
hearts with this fact. You and I who believe God are
God's own dear children. What an amazing statement. We are God's own dear children. Look at verse one. Be ye therefore
followers of God. as dear children, and walk in
love as Christ also hath loved us and given himself for us,
an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling Savior. My brother, my sister, let us
imitate God our Savior in all things, forgiving one another,
anything and everything, even as God, for Christ's sake, forgives
us. Forbearing every fault, every
weakness, every infirmity, every failure, every offense, forbearing
all in our brethren, just as God is patient, long-suffering,
and forbearing with us for Christ's sake. Because Christ loved us,
loved us distinctly, loved us unlovable as we are, and gave
himself a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor." As the
incense comes up from the altar, ceremonially picturing this sweet-smelling
savor, God smells the sacrifice of his son, the sweet aroma of
his obedience unto death, and God is well pleased with the
aroma. So we are accepted of God in
him, that sweet smelling savor that makes us accepted with God
in all that we are and do. So let us, for Christ's sake,
receive, embrace, and accept one another. Walking in love
one toward another for Christ's sake. Loving one another for
Christ's sake. That's what it is to live for
God. What motive could induce such
behavior? What can inspire such love? God
has made us his own dear children. Behold what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed on us. that we should be called the
sons of God. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God. God called us his sons in eternal
election before the world began. He joined us to Himself and joined
Himself to us in Christ as our Father and we His dear children
from eternity. He sent His Son in the fullness
of time to redeem us from the curse of the law that we, by
the merit of Christ's blood, might receive the adoption of
sons by His grace. And in the appointed time of
love, sent his spirit and called us by his grace, causing us to
lift our hearts to heaven through faith in Jesus Christ and confidently
call God our father. Oh, now, now, imitate him, imitate
him. Walk in love one for another,
imitating him. Second, if we would live for
God in this world, we are told by God the Holy Ghost that we
must do so, denying ungodliness and worldly lust. Living soberly,
righteously, and godly in this present world. Now, he doesn't
leave us to guess what that means. We don't have to make out a list
of rules and decide what that means. He tells us exactly what
it is to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present evil
world in verses 3 through 13. Look at verse 3. But fornication,
that's the word from which we get our word pornography, every
kind of sensual deviant behavior. Fornication and all uncleanness. Everything that's unclean everything
connected with this horrible deviant thing of fornication
illicit sexual behavior and covetousness Let it not be once named among
you Because that's just what Saints ought to do as become
a Saints as Lindsay Campbell Holy Lindsay St. Lindsay. You got that? You got that? Now, don't let
fornication and uncleanness and covetousness be named among you. You're one of God's saints. God's
made you holy. He's given you righteousness
before his law, that's your righteousness by the obedience of Christ. And
he's made you holy, putting Christ in you, making you partakers
of the divine nature. Neither filthiness, filthiness,
nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient. but
rather giving a thanks. Oh God, my Father, teach me to
live in this world in a constant state of thanksgiving. Brother
Lindsey read the 136th Psalm to us back in the office. And
before he read, he made this statement. I can't be sure I'm
saying exactly what he said, but it's pretty close. have so
much for which to give thanks. Which one doesn't? Who sitting
here has, listen to me now, any reason at all to grumble about
anything? Who here? You who are God's saints, the
most painful and Realities of your life in this world right
now have come upon you because God's mercy endures forever. Be you thankful, be you thankful. It's very difficult to be rebellious
and thankful at the same time. giving thanks to God always for
all things. For this is the will of God in
Christ Jesus concerning you. Well, that means it's the will
of God for us to be thankful. Yes, it does. And it means that
whatever it is, Bill Riley, that is right now yours, whatever
it is, that's reason to be thankful. This is God's will for you. This
is God's will for you. Children of God, now learn this.
Learn this. I don't mean in any way to be
insensitive or to appear insensitive with regard to folks going through
sorrow and difficulty. I weep with you when you weep.
I really do. I really do. I have friends right
now who've bereaved carry heavy sorrow. I know what that is. I know what
that is. I know the painfulness of it.
But that's no reason to act like heathen. That's no reason to
act like God doesn't exist. That's no reason quit living
for God, worshiping God and serving God. That's no reason. But pastor,
you don't understand. Oh yes, I do understand. I do
understand. God has done this. God's done
this for his glory. God's done this for me. God's
done this for you. Let us then walk with God, imitate
him, and as we live in this world, give thanks to him. Look at verse five. For this
you know. This you know. You know it. This doesn't need any preaching.
No whoremonger, no unclean person, no covetous man, who is an idolater,
hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no
man deceive you with vain words. You can pretend all you want
to, it just ain't so. For because of these things cometh
the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore
partakers with them. Brother Don, how you gonna avoid
this stuff? Just stay as far away from it
as you can. Just leave it alone. Don't get involved with it. Don't
do anything to invite it into your mind and life. For you were
sometimes darkness. Not just in darkness, you were
darkness. All these things what you were by nature and are by
nature. But now are you light in the
Lord. Walk as children of the light.
We know what we are by nature. And we know that this is where
we were and what we were when God saved us by his grace. But
blessed be his name, we are now washed and we're sanctified and
we're justified by the spirit of our God in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ, by the precious blood of Christ. The Lord God
has washed away our sin. The Lord God by the blood of
his own dear son has made us just before him. And the Lord
God by the gift of his spirit has given us a new nature with
the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost
by the word of God he sent to us. Let us then ever live with
this awareness. You're not your own. you don't belong to yourself.
God bought you, lock, stock and barrel with the precious blood
of His Son. Live like it. Live like it. Read on, verse 9, For the fruit
of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.
Isn't that wonderful? The fruit of the Spirit, all
of those things spoken of in Galatians 5 as the fruit of the
Spirit, it's in goodness. Goodness, that is dealing with
folks in a good way. with kindness, with gentleness,
with forbearance, with love, meekness, knowing that you are
made out of the same stuff, cut from the same bolt of cloth,
come from the same pit. The fruit of the Spirit is in
all goodness and righteousness. Righteousness, the fruit of the
Spirit given to God's people in the new birth is that which
God gives us as a matter of righteousness in his grace because we've been
redeemed by the precious blood of Christ and truth, truth. It is a matter of uprightness,
sincerity, truth. The Lord God makes His people
true people, makes His children true children of whom He says
they shall not lie. They acknowledge themselves what
they are and they rejoice and give thanks to God for what He's
done for us in Christ Jesus. Read on. Verse 10, proven. That is proving in your day-by-day
behavior what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove
them. For it is a shame even to speak
of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things
that are reproved are made manifest by the light. whatsoever doth
make manifest his light. Now, Paul is not telling us,
the Spirit of God is not telling us to go around and catch folks
and reprove them because they did this, they did that, they
did that, they're supposed to reprove one another. No. He's
telling us to profess the gospel of God's free grace and to live
for the glory of God. and thereby to reprove the darkness
and the works of darkness. You don't have to say anything.
You don't have to correctify. You don't have to go, you shouldn't
be committing fornication. You shouldn't be committing homosexuality. You shouldn't be doing, I'm not
saying don't do it. I'm not suggesting that at all. If there's any way
to stop it, stop it, if you can do so. But I am saying, that's
not what he calls us to do. Our business is to honor God. And if you live for God's honor,
profess the faith of the gospel of Christ, that reproves the
darkness. Look at verse 14. Here's the
third thing. If we would live for God, we
have learned by long experience that awakening, constant awakening
is required. Now read verse 14, Wherefore he saith, Awake thou
that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light. We are alive, yes, but he calls
for us here to arise from the dead. Bless God, we've been made
alive in Christ. Christ is our life and we live
in him. We've been raised from the dead
by God the Holy Ghost in that which is described in this book
as the first resurrection. If you trust Christ, that's true
of you. If I trust Christ, that's true of me. But oh my soul, what
deadness there is in me. In Romans four, we read about
the deadness of Sarah's womb. So there is in us a deadness
felt. We feel ourselves as good as
dead, impotent, a lifelessness, a lifelessness. I don't know
other words to describe it, do you? Just deadness. And that puts us in constant
need of awakening, reviving, refreshing, enlivening, quickening. Here we are called upon to awaken
ourselves. It's our responsibility. Awake,
arise in the dead, and Christ will give you life. But every
heaven-born soul knows that we can no more awaken ourselves
now than we could when we were utterly dead in trespasses and
in sins. How often have you tried? How
often do you try? Utterly incapable of quickening
ourselves. We must be awakened that we may
awake. We must be raised that we may
rise from the dead. David put it this way many times
in the Psalms, quicken thou me according to thy word. Quicken
us and we will call upon thy name. In the Psalm of Solomon,
you're familiar with the passage in the end of chapter four, chapter
5, the Lord Jesus calls the wind to blow upon his garden and send
reviving, and he does, and he comes to his garden, gathers
his fruit from his garden, and oh, what feasting, and then he
comes to his bride. He comes to you, to me, and knocks,
and she's open to me, and you say, don't bother me now. I'm asleep. I'll have time for you later.
But blessed be his name, he will not take no for an answer. He
puts his hand in by the hold of the door and moves our hearts
to seek after him. Now we awake and arise from the
dead. but he withdraws himself and
graciously, sweetly forces us to seek him and seeking we find
him. Oh, blessed, blessed morning
is that morning that arises from a felt deadness in our hearts,
causing us to seek after our Redeemer for he has promised
Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. It's distressing, terribly distressing
to know what poor, sinful creatures we are. But nothing short of
this, this painful, humbling knowledge of ourselves, so that
we know we must be constantly lifted by Him and carried by
Him and enlivened by Him, else we would have no life. Those things, by God's sweet,
wise arrangement, endear the Redeemer all the more to us,
until at last we say, tell me you, if you find my beloved,
tell him I'm sick of love. Tell him my heart faints for
him, and we will bring him into the banqueting house again, and
he will bring us into his banqueting house, and spread over us his
banner of love again. Oh, who shall deliver me from
the body of this death? Thanks be unto God. Christ Jesus
the Lord shall do so, and he shall do so again, and he shall
do so again. Fourth, if we would live for
God, we must know God's will. So in verses 15 through 21, We're
given instruction about our God and His will by God, the Holy
Spirit, so that we may understand what the will of the Lord is. I wonder what God's will is for
my life. Well, if you listen for just a minute, you won't
have to wonder anymore. I'll tell you exactly what it is. See then
that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, only a fool, waste
time and waste opportunity, but as wise, redeeming the time,
that is buying up the opportunity. Buy up the opportunity God's
given you. Buy up the opportunity God's
given you. I realize that the words are
commonly misunderstood and taken the wrong way. May have been
intended the wrong way when they were written, but this is a good
statement. Only one life to assume be passed. And only what's done for Christ
will last. Nothing else matters. Nothing
else matters. Nothing, nothing. Buy up the
opportunity. because the days are evil, verse
17. Wherefore, be not unwise, but
understanding what the will of the Lord is. What is it, pastor? Walk circumspectly. Live right. Do the right thing. Just do the
right thing. Every day, every day, throughout
the day, you make choices all the time. Choices that are right
or wrong. Do the right thing. And be not drunk with wine, verse
18. Don't be intoxicated with wine
or anything else for that matter, except Christ. Be not drunk with
wine wherein is excess. He's not saying don't have a
glass of wine or a beer or anything else. He's saying don't be intoxicated
with those things. But be filled with the Spirit. Intoxicated with the Spirit of
God. What's that talking about? Utterly
controlled by the will and influence, direction and power of God the
Holy Spirit through His Word. Speaking to yourselves in Psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs. Singing a melody in your heart
to the Lord. Now that's not talking about
the Hymns that our writer, Newton wrote, or Watts wrote, or Cowper
wrote, that's talking about the Psalms, hymns, and spiritual
songs found in this book. Like the Psalms of David. Like
the song of Moses and of the Lamb. Like the song of Deborah. Like the song of the redeemed
in the book of Revelation. These songs, like Hannah's song
in 1 Samuel 2. These songs, these songs by which
we speak to ourselves, God's own praise, encouraging us to
walk in this world for God's glory. Again, verse 20, giving
thanks, giving thanks. Kindly harden not to you when
you're singing and making melody. That beats the daylights out
of grumbling and griping, doesn't it? That beats the daylights
out of murmuring and complaining. Giving thanks always, for all
things unto God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Lift your heart to God, give thanks. Now look at verse 21. Submit it yourselves one to another
in the fear of God. No part of the instruction thus
far is more difficult than that. submitting one to another. But
I'm going to tell you something. We will not greatly err in any
relationship if we willingly bow to the other. That's all it takes. That's all
it takes. Get along all right with you
if you always get your way. Isn't that true? Isn't that true? Well, I can't do that. You can
if you want to get along. If you'd rather fight, you can
do that. If you'd rather fuss, you can do that. If you want
to insist on having your way, you can do that. Or you can honor
God and submit. I ain't giving up my rights to
anybody. If Christ ever conquers you, you will. You'll constantly
struggle with it, but you give up submitting yourselves one
to another fear of God, because you believe God. Now, let's look
at verses 22-33 very briefly. Lord willing, I'll come back
to this another time and pick up more in the passage. But for now, if we would live
for God, let us live in the constant awareness of this blessed fact,
we are married to Christ. Christ is married to us. And we are married to him by
God's gift of grace. Wives, submit yourselves unto
your own husbands, as unto the Lord. Submit one to another in
the fear of God, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the
head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church. And
he is the savior of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject
unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even
as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that
he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water
by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church,
not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. but that it should
be holy and without blemish, so ought men to love their wives
as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth
himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth
and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church. For we are members
of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this call shall
a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his
wife, and they too shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery,
but I speak concerning Christ in the church. Nevertheless,
let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself,
and the wife see that she reverence her husband. This blessed, blessed union of
Christ and his church was beautifully portrayed in the garden before
the fall when God created Eve out of Adam. And then he awoke
Adam from the sleep he had induced and brought Eve to Adam and presented
Eve to Adam and married them. They married them. And Adam said,
for this call shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall
be joined to his wife, and they too shall be one flesh. Why did he say that? Because
he was a prophet. He was a prophet. He didn't have
any idea what a father and mother was, except as he was a prophet. God brought Eve to him and married
them. and gave us a picture of the
blessed union of Christ and his church. We are married to Christ,
and Christ married to us. And this is what that means.
Our Lord Jesus, from everlasting has been, is
now and shall forever be Utterly, utterly, utterly devoted to us. Devoted to us. Consecrated to
us. He lives for us. Did you get that? He lives for
us. He died for us. He died for us. And he lives for us. That's what
love is. That's what love is. It is giving
up yourself to another. Devoting yourself to another. Enduring anything for your object
of love. That's what love is. The Lord
Jesus so loved us that he laid down his life for us because
before the world began, he purposed to make us a glorious church,
not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. To make us perfectly
glorious, with no spot of sin, no wrinkle of infirmity, or anything
like it, but that it should be holy and without blemish. Now you and I are members of
His body, who is the Savior of the body. By the wondrous mystery
of God's grace, We are one with Him who loved us and gave Himself
for us. What does it mean to live for
God? It means to consecrate yourself
in the totality of your life to God in Christ Jesus the Lord. It means to utterly devote your
life to Him. Husbands, wives, sons, daughters,
time, money, property, abilities, talents, whatever is involved
in my life, God graciously forced me to devote it to my Redeemer. The fact is, nothing else makes
any sense. I beseech you, therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, because that's the most
reasonable thing in the world. That's the most reasonable thing
in the world. That's the most reasonable thing
in the world. Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. That's what it is to live for
God. Amen.