September 3, 2023
“How Can We Please Our God?”
Ephesians 5:1-2, 8-10,17-18
Reverend Yongchoel Woo
In a sermon a few weeks ago, I mentioned that I have started running. I’ve been running ever since, and I’m making some progress. Now I can slowly run about five miles without any problems. As I run along the roads in my subdivision two or three times a week, (slide 1) I can’t help but notice various smells. At some houses, I can smell the fresh scent of newly-mown grass.Some houses have special parties with family or friends, so the smell of grilled meat spreads out. And I very often smell the fragrant scent of the detergent that comes out from their dryers. Occasionally, when passing by a certain place, I smell the distinct aroma of weed (marijuana)that I guess some neighbors use for recreation. Because it is not good for me to inhale the smell of detergent and weed, I tried to hold my breath and pass by those places as fast as I can. The smells that come out of the houses are an indication of what people are doing and what is happening inside their homes.
By way of analogy, as we live our Christian lives, acting out our faith in God, (slide 2) what smells are we spreading to those around us? And if God were to smell us, what would He say to us?
Our sense of smell plays an important role in our lives. When we meet, talk to, or hug peoplewho give off a pleasing aroma, we feel good being with them. Good smells surely are helpful in order to have good conversation and relationships with others. On the contrary, when we encounter people from whom we notice a bad odor or smell, we are likely to feel uncomfortable having a conversation with them and try to avoid them.
Spiritually speaking, as Christians, we are supposed to spread out a specific pleasing fragrancethrough our thoughts, behavior, and way of Christian life, though in reality we have our own smells, that may be less than pleasant. Just as the physical smell is so crucial to our human relationship with others, (slide 3) so our spiritual scents are very important in our relationship with God and those around us. If our life radiates a good smell, it will please our God and those around us.
Today, we want to think about the good spiritual smells we can spread as Christians.
For several weeks we have shared the scriptures from the book of Ephesians. Until last week, (slide 4) we came to know that Paul, when the Ephesian Christians were struggling with their relational problems, strove to make them know that they all became new creatures in Christ, who were supposed to grow and mature in their faith and build up the church, the body of Christ.
Through today’s scripture, Paul continues to instruct them with three important ways they shouldbe living their lives that will please God.
First, Paul says that Christians should be imitators of God. (slide 5), v.1, “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children”) He clarifies that just as the Lord sacrificed himself to pay for the sins of His children, and in doing so, offered God a fragrant offering and sacrifice, Christians, as His children, should show their love to others to reveal His compelling love to others. (Slide 6) Paul encourages the Ephesian Christians to offer their fragrant offering to God by showing their forgiving and embracing love to one another.
If we look at some scriptures in the Old Testament, we can see that when Israel fled from Egyptand wandered in the wilderness, they offered many kinds of sacrifices to God in the tabernacle. Among them, there was a burnt offering, which they believed would please God with a pleasantaroma (slide 7, Genesis 8:21. Exodus 29:18, 25, 41. Leviticus 1:9, 13, 17) Paul uses that analogy to tell the Ephesian Christians that they should offer their fragrant offering to God by living outtheir lives of love, regardless of the relational problems between the Jewish and Gentile Christians.
For us, there can also be some relational issues with those around us. It is hard to restore broken relationships with family members, friends, and neighbors. We may want to leave the problemsunresolved because we know how difficult it is to reconcile with someone. We may be hesitant to initiate reconciliation as we wait for others to do that first. And if it does not work well, we may give up on doing anything to heal our broken relationships. (slide 8) Nevertheless, we are calledto live a life of love, and in doing so, offer our fragrant offerings to God. Each of us can offer a pleasing aroma to God by acting out our unconditional, self-sacrificing love.
Second, Paul encourages the Ephesian Christians to live their life as His children of light. (slide 9, v. 8, “now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light and find out what pleases the Lord”) Whether they were Jews, who were previously given the Law but failed to keep it, or Gentiles, who never knew the Law and sinned against God by worshipping pagan gods, as Christians they came to know they were saved from the darkness of their sins and death and could now live a new life in Christ. Instead, they should be able to witness Him by reflecting the light they had received from Jesus.
(slide 10) Paul continues to tell them that they could please the Lord by bearing the fruit of goodness, righteousness, and truth as they pursued their lives as children of light.(v.8)
In our lives, there are times when we seek to please someone by using our time, money, wisdom, or many resources to plan a birthday party, a special dinner or night out, or a wonderful trip for them. The reasons why we try to please others may vary. It could be from our gratitude, love, respect, or recognition of them.
It should also be true for us as we seek to please God. We can’t please Him enough for what He has done for us. He has created, redeemed, sustained, protected, and blessed us so that we can live our life as His children. We should be willing and able to please Him as much as we can.
However, let’s look at what is going on with us in our minds and hearts. (slide 11) We may find we are more concerned with being pleased by God rather than we are about how we can please Him. We want Him to please us and bless us by pouring out His love on us, answering our prayers, and protecting us from life’s difficulties. Though it will take time for us to make a difference in pleasing Him, that is the way we should go. In order for us to focus our lives on pleasing Him, let’s think more about how we can make that happen by relating it to the spiritual fruit of goodness, righteousness, and truth. In what ways can we bear those fruit in our lives?Paul was convinced that if we choose to live our lives pleasing God, the Holy Spirit will accompany us and guide us.
Third, Paul shows the Ephesian Christians that they should live their lives filled with the Holy Spirit. (slide 12, v.15, 18, “Be very careful, then, how you live…..Instead, be filled with the Spirit” ) It is because Paul thought the time they were living was evil that they could easily waste their time by pursuing the achievement of their physical lust, debauchery, and worldly concerns. Paul was now encouraging them to live a new life filled with the Holy Spirit and to pursue the knowledge of the Lord’s will for them (v.17)
Paul’s encouragement for the Ephesian Christians, is also true for us.(slide 13) We must be careful how we live our lives. (v15) We should remember that our lives are loaned to us by God.We should know that His will for us is to bear the fruit of goodness, righteousness, and truth. To fully understand this, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to come upon us, dwell in us, intervene inour lives, and guide us with His wisdom.
How eager are we to invite the Holy Spirit to accompany us in our faith journey? Let’s check out this first, and then figure out how we can move forward.
This morning, (slide 14) we shared three aspects of our Christian lives that will please God. We should live a life of love, which is a pleasing aroma to Him. We should live a life of light, bearing the fruit of goodness, righteousness, and truth. We should live a life accompanied by the Holy Spirit, in order to know what His will is for our lives.
(slide 15) We can please our God by striving to love one another with a willingness to unconditionally sacrifice ourselves, which will make all of the difference in rebuilding our damaged relationships. If we are reluctant to love others because our hearts have been broken, or if we think that too much time has passed since we have given up on loving others, this is the time to come to our Lord. Before Him, lay down all our burdens and pain regarding our struggles with sharing our love. He will answer our prayers.
(slide 16) Although we are called to live as children of light, there may be times when we find ourselves in darkness. We need to discover what things are in our thoughts, hearts, and lives that hinder us from living as children of light. Let’s pray and seek the wisdom and help of the Holy Spirit so we can escape the darkness and bear the fruit of His goodness, righteousness, and truth.
(slide 17) With each passing day, we are reminded that there is less time remaining for us here on earth. Now is the best time for us to look back on how we have been living our lives. Many of us will sadly discover that we have spent much of our time achieving our personal will, goals, andsatisfaction. Do we think it will please God if we continue to live that way? We know that thebest way to please Him is to live our lives in accordance with His will. The best way to do that is to accompany the Holy Spirit in our faith journey, asking Him to dwell in our hearts and minds and walk with us in our daily lives. To meet Him personally, let’s spend time reading the Bible, praying, and meditating. The Holy Spirit will guide us to know and live His will and purpose according to His will and purpose and not by our personal wills, desires, and satisfactions.
As we live another week, (slide 18) let’s try to focus on how we can please our God. I pray all of us will experience the amazing power of love and offer our pleasing aroma to our Lord. I pray that we will strive to bear the fruit of light, that is, His goodness, righteousness, and truth as wewalk with the Holy Spirit. In doing so, we can better know what His will is for us and what our lives should be like.
EPHESIANS 5: 1-2,8-10,17-18
1Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and 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.
8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10and find out what pleases the Lord
17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,