Abide - Ephesians 5
Welcome, welcome everyone, to Abide. David Crowder writes, in one of his songs, “Come and Listen”:
“Come and listen. Come to the waters edge all you, who know and fear the Lord? Come and listen. Come to the waters edge all you. Who are thirsty? Come. Let me tell you what he has done for me. Let me tell you. What he has done for me. He has done for you. He has done for us.
Today is a new day and a new opportunity to come and to listen to God's word, to what the Spirit has to say. To listen to my friend Sam Middleton, who is playing with me today, thank you to Sam. Thank you to Geoff and to Mackenzie, who put this all together. We are all coming together with you to listen. And to hear once again what he has done for us.
And so, begin to get settled in your seat, on the bus, in the car, on the couch, on the floor. Figuratively, close that door so that we can partake in this prayer practice in secret. That our Saviour is here with us, whether we're walking, whether we're sitting, whether we're alone or in a crowded space. Become aware of God's presence with you now.
And let's just become aware of our bodies and taking some nice deep breaths in and out. So let's inhale, possibly through the nose. And exhale out. And inhale. And exhale. And last one, inhale. And exhale.
We, as Christ believers, are in a season of Lent, the 40 days of moving toward the cross and we're getting close to the halfway point, and I'm reminded what the original word “lent” the English word “lent”. It's a short form of the English word “lenten”, which means spring season. And we might think of Lent as a fasting or just a harder time. A time of sorrows, a time of looking at shortcomings. And this is true. But I'm wondering in that practice, that we can also see that spring is coming, that in our abstaining from things, or focusing on Christ's sacrifice for us, that in turn, new things are able to grow. New things in us are able to blossom.
And that is my hope for this prayer time as we bring our attention to Jesus and what he might want to communicate to us today.
Our gratitude practice today will be a simple one. As simple as just looking back at the last 24 hours and begin to notice the things in your day. Notice the places of fear or frustration. Fatigue. Irritability. Maybe notice the spaces of peace or joy or being surprised by a loved one. Take this time with Jesus to just look over the fullness of your day, the last day, in gratitude for how he has sustained you, has loved you, and met you right where you are at. And I'll give you a minute to do this.
You know as much as we want to come and listen to Jesus speak to us, Jesus wants to listen to us speak to him. He comes with open ears, wanting to hear us speak about our day. All the parts of the day. So just remember as you long to listen, he longs to listen to you and hear your thoughts of gratitude, your thoughts of wonder, mystery. So it's a mutual listening time for us.
And in these moments with Jesus and with one another, we get another chance to open this letter, the letter of Ephesians and we’re in Ephesians 5. And like I said last time, we are getting into the practicality of what it will look like to manifest God's love in our lives and in our communities. And so you'll be listening for this. I'm going to read verses 1 to 21. And so, let's just take a gentle inhale and exhale to prepare our hearts and our bodies and our being to hear this word afresh.
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.
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. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—for it is the light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
“Wake up, oh sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
This is God's word for us today and let's just be still in his presence.
Allow me to read you verses 1 and 2 once again: “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as God [Jesus] loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Or hear the words from The Message translation: “Watch what God does and then do it, like children who learn proper behaviour from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us, but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.”
So here we are just in these first two verses, and I'm already struck by the power of listening to what God has done for us. And so I'm wondering if we can mingle with these words in our own personal lives and reflect on how God's love has been extravagantly expressed to you as of late. And these can be big vibrations, loud and clear. Or they can be small vibrations, that are like a gentle song of a bird or a wind chime. And so allow the Spirit to guide you as you think upon God's extravagant love.
It says here God [Jesus] gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Today I have this fragrant candle that my mom recently gave me, and as I light this candle in the morning for prayer, in the afternoon for prayer, it just fills the whole space, this fragrance. And God's love is as fragrant, it fills the whole space. And as we receive this kind of love, as we inhale this fragrant love, it's meant to call us. It's meant for us to feel supported and seen and known. And so Jesus, we just thank you, that you don't cautiously love, but you love extravagantly.
And from this love we read the next two verses which say: “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.”
So as we have taken in the fragrant love of God in verses 1 and 2, we then move into our daily behaviours and our actions. And how we use our bodies is very important to God. How we use our mouths is important to God. And so I'm just going to give you a moment to just think about how you use your physical body in a day. How you use your words in the midst of your friendship groups, workplaces. If Jesus is in company with you throughout the day, are you pleasing Jesus with your body, with your words? What would he say? How would he respond?
This relationship that we have with Jesus, he will always be our teacher, and we will always be his student, which means he is meant to correct, to guide, to encourage, to help. And our job is to be humble, to learn, to grow, to be able to have a teachable spirit and be corrected. And so these are very humbling areas for correction, for humanity. And so, Jesus, we dedicate our physical bodies and how we use them. And we dedicate our words and our tongue to you. Lead us.
Verses 8 to 14: “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. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—for it is the light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
“Wake up, oh sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
Paul is encouraging us to remember that we are people of light. The former life and the former way of darkness is no longer how we operate any more. And Paul is encouraging us to bring our whole selves into the light. And sometimes that means sharing with someone else, having that accountability to talk through spaces that we are hiding in darkness and to slowly bring it forward into the light. And as it says here in verse 14, “And Christ will shine on you.” And so let's just take a moment to bring whatever might be hiding in the dark of our lives and our souls. And let's just gently, carefully, bring it closer to Jesus for his care, for his love to shine upon it. And if any friends or mentors or guides come to your mind in this time, as helpers in this, bring them into the equation as well. It can be scary and embarrassing to bring forward these things, but it's so needed in the Christian life, as we are students, and he is our teacher. He's a good teacher. A kind one. And so, bring those things forward now.
And now verses 15 to 21: “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
Paul gives us these words: “Be careful how you live.” What would it mean to be careful how you live through your day? I know for me it would mean slowing down a little bit. It would mean proofreading a text before I send it or writing an e-mail and sitting on it and is that what needs to be said or maybe chop the vegetables a little slower so you don't hurt yourself. But, to pause or before you enter a room, maybe be filled with prayer of “Lord where would you have me sit? Where would you have me be?” Being more careful of how you carry yourself through a day and enter in and out of conversations and situations.
We want to be filled with the Spirit more. And so that might mean pausing and saying “Fill me with your spirit,” for that is what satisfies, that is what guides and brings light.
And finally, Paul ends this section with “Sing and make music in your heart. Speak to one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, always giving thanks.” You know, worship is almost like a, it's a hinge. It holds us together to connect us to God and to community. It does something to us. The music, listening with our ears, the rhythms, the people, the one voice. It's a reflection of all of us surrendering and submitting to one another.
And so let's just take this time to think about our daily habits, or our weekly habits of being a part of worship and prayer and singing and giving thanks in community. Where is that in your life? Cause it's important, and if it feels like it's lacking, maybe this is a good opportunity to say “Jesus, I need spaces to worship and sing, to hear the word and to be united with you and your people.” And if this is something that you participate in regularly, may you be refreshed in this reality. May it be like a new, amazing, awesome thing again and not feel like one verse, same as the first. But, wow.
Recently, when I've been worshipping at Tyndale Chapel on Tuesdays, and if I'm feeling tired or not in the mood for a song or for whatever it may be, something in me says, “Lizzie, what if this is your last time to worship God? How do you want to do it?” And then I'm like, OK, I'm in this. And then it's always so good for me to remember how precious it is to worship God and to open yourself and put forth the effort to connect.
And so, friends, thank you for this time where we've been able to set aside our lives, to make space, invite Jesus to come and sit with us and allow the Spirit to guide and correct and encourage us with this letter from Paul. And for this we're thankful.
And we pray that this time that we've spent together with you, Lord, would be like a fragrance that we would take with us through the rest of the day into our communities, into our classrooms, into our workplaces, and that people would be refreshed, they would be encouraged and inspired to know you. And so we close this time with saying, “Glory be to the Father. Glory be to the Spirit. And glory be to the Son. As it was in the beginning, as it is now today, and ever shall be. World without end, amen.” Go in peace, my friends.
