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00:01 Imitation really is built into human nature. 00:05 It’s one of our most used 00:07 and powerful learning tools. 00:09 I mean, think of all the things 00:11 that you’ve learned by imitation. 00:12 Even just think 00:13 of the current work assignments you have 00:15 or your job. 00:16 How much of it did you learn by just watching someone else do that work? 00:21 Children imitate their parents when they learn how to speak, 00:25 think, eat, and even walk just like them. 00:28 Children even learn to imitate the very subtle accents of their parents, 00:32 and those accents get passed on from one generation to the next. 00:36 I’ve had people say to me, “John, you walk just like your father.” 00:40 I have no idea how that happened. 00:44 Sometimes we imitate others, and we don’t even know that we’re doing it. 00:49 Have you ever been listening to the radio, 00:51 and a few hours later you’re humming or singing a song, 00:54 and you realize that that was the very song 00:57 that was on the radio several hours ago? 01:01 Imitation is such a part 01:04 of the human learning experience that we’re doing it all the time. 01:07 We can’t turn it off. 01:10 Imitation is also used by animals 01:13 to learn their skills by watching their parents. 01:16 I saw the cutest example of this 01:18 when we were watching a herd of elephants in Zambia. 01:21 The mother elephant and the baby elephant were walking by, 01:24 and the baby elephant was trying to grab some grass 01:28 and tear it off and put it in his mouth like his mother was; 01:32 but every time he did it, he ended up with nothing. 01:35 But he was sure watching his mom —how she was doing it— 01:39 and seeing how he could imitate and get some of that for himself. 01:44 Well, since imitation is such a powerful learning tool 01:49 and has such an effect on the person we are 01:51 and the person that we are to become, 01:54 we need to be very careful about who we choose to imitate. 01:58 Who do you choose to imitate? 02:01 Well, see, who we choose to imitate determines who we want to become. 02:06 That’s why there’s so much caution in the Scriptures about our association, 02:10 because who we choose to imitate rubs off on us, so to speak, 02:15 in subtle ways that we might not even notice right away. 02:18 Notice the counsel given to the Israelites 02:21 about not imitating the nations around them. 02:24 If you look at Exodus 23:24, 02:28 notice the counsel that Jehovah gave to the Israelites. 02:33 He said: “You must not bow down to their gods 02:36 “or be persuaded to serve them, 02:38 and you must not imitate their practices.” 02:42 And he continues this thought at Deuteronomy 18:9. 02:53 Deuteronomy 18:9, it says: 02:55 “When you have entered into the land that Jehovah your God is giving you, 02:59 “you must not learn to imitate 03:02 the detestable practices of those nations.” 03:07 Well, what happened when the Israelites chose to imitate the nations around them, 03:11 to ignore the advice Jehovah had given them? 03:14 Well, let’s look at 2 Kings 17:15. 03:20 Second Kings 17:15: 03:28 “They continued rejecting his regulations and his covenant 03:31 “that he had made with their forefathers 03:33 “and his reminders that he had given to warn them, 03:36 “and they kept following worthless idols 03:38 “[And notice what happened to them when they did that.] 03:41 “and became worthless themselves, 03:43 “imitating the nations all around them 03:46 that Jehovah had commanded them not to imitate.” 03:50 So if we imitate worthless things, what’s going to happen to us? 03:54 We’re going to be worthless. 03:56 If we fast-forward to Christian times, 03:58 we can see that the same advice was given to us. 04:02 If we look at 3 John 11, 04:10 it’s very straightforward advice: 04:12 “Beloved one, do not imitate what is bad, 04:16 “but imitate what is good. 04:19 “The one who does good originates with God. 04:21 The one who does bad has not seen God.” 04:25 Well, the message is clear. 04:26 If we want to ‘see God,’ or have a good relationship with Jehovah, 04:31 then we need to imitate what is good. 04:33 And our text for today at Ephesians 5:1 04:37 really says it about as simply and clearly as we can: 04:41 “Become imitators of God.” 04:44 So Jehovah is telling us in our text for today: ‘Imitate me.’ 04:48 So if someone asks us, “Who do you choose to imitate?” 04:51 we follow the advice of Ephesians 5:1; 04:54 we want to imitate Jehovah. 04:56 Well, how can we imitate Jehovah? 04:59 Well, first, one way is by reading the Bible. 05:02 We have learned love, hope, faith, loyalty, 05:06 and so many other fine qualities 05:09 by reading about how Jehovah wants us to conduct ourselves. 05:13 I mean, look at the Law that Jehovah gave to the nation of Israel. 05:17 We can learn so much about how Jehovah 05:20 feels about being honest, clean, fair, just. 05:25 Or in different Bible examples, we see Jehovah’s patience 05:29 in dealing with Jonah and His mercy in dealing with the Ninevites. 05:35 Reading the Bible gives us a very clear picture 05:38 of our perfect God, Jehovah, who we worship. 05:40 And he gives us the perfect role model to imitate. 05:44 When we read the Bible and continually ask ourselves, 05:47 ‘What do I learn about Jehovah, and how can I learn to imitate him?’ 05:51 that really is like us keeping our eye on Jehovah, with our mind’s eye, 05:55 and watching what he’s doing, and we’re imitating him. 06:00 Another way that we can imitate Jehovah 06:02 is by imitating others who are imitating him. 06:05 Jehovah has used the pages of the Bible 06:08 to give us real-life stories of people who we can imitate. 06:11 I mean, we’ve never met Abraham and Sarah, 06:14 but don’t you feel like you know them? 06:16 I’m sure there’s much more that we can learn 06:19 about these beautiful, spiritual people in the new world, 06:22 but what is laid out in the Scriptures is enough 06:25 for us to imitate the beautiful examples they set for us. 06:29 Or what about Jesus? 06:30 We’ve never met Jesus, 06:32 but by reading the Bible accounts, 06:34 don’t you feel like you know him 06:36 and you know how he would react and think about certain situations? 06:41 The apostle Paul simply explained this 06:45 at 1 Corinthians 11:1. 06:47 He said: “Become imitators of me, . . . as I am of Christ.” 06:51 So we have Jesus Christ as an example of imitating his Father. 06:55 The apostle Paul was imitating Christ. 06:58 Now, the apostle Paul, of course, wasn’t saying, 07:01 “Imitate the way I give my talks; imitate the way I move; 07:03 imitate the way I walk or say things.” 07:06 But at Hebrews 13:7, 07:10 he stressed what it was that we were to imitate about others, 07:15 Hebrews 13:7: 07:17 “Remember those who are taking the lead among you, 07:20 “who have spoken the word of God to you, 07:22 “and as you contemplate how their conduct turns out, 07:26 imitate their faith.” 07:29 So we are to imitate the faith 07:33 and example that others set in imitating Jesus and imitating Jehovah. 07:39 Now, to illustrate the choice that we have of who we’re going to imitate, 07:44 I’d like you to imagine in your mind 07:46 two big, huge machines with lots of parts. 07:50 Now, one machine is run by Jehovah and Jesus Christ, 07:54 and the other machine is run by Satan and the world. 07:58 And I want you to imagine that you’re a part on the mechanics bench. 08:02 When Jehovah goes to pick you up and look at you and see, 08:06 Do you fit as a part in his organization? 08:11 well, we can if we imitate him 08:14 and other spiritual people who are useful to Jehovah. 08:17 We can become a useful part of his beautiful organization. 08:23 If we imitate Jehovah, then if Satan goes over to that bench 08:28 and picks us up and tries to put us into his machine, 08:31 we’re not going to fit anywhere. 08:33 We are no part of his world or organization. 08:38 I mean, how sad it would be 08:40 if we shaped and imitated ourselves after the world 08:44 and when Satan picked us up we fit right in 08:46 with his machine and organization! 08:50 So who do you choose to imitate? 08:53 We choose to imitate Jehovah. 08:55 We want to be just like him when we grow up. 09:00 How can we imitate Jehovah? 09:03 By getting to know him personally through reading the Bible 09:07 and imitating others who are imitating him.
00:01 Imitation really is built into human nature. 00:05 It’s one of our most used 00:07 and powerful learning tools. 00:09 I mean, think of all the things 00:11 that you’ve learned by imitation. 00:12 Even just think 00:13 of the current work assignments you have 00:15 or your job. 00:16 How much of it did you learn by just watching someone else do that work? 00:21 Children imitate their parents when they learn how to speak, 00:25 think, eat, and even walk just like them. 00:28 Children even learn to imitate the very subtle accents of their parents, 00:32 and those accents get passed on from one generation to the next. 00:36 I’ve had people say to me, “John, you walk just like your father.” 00:40 I have no idea how that happened. 00:44 Sometimes we imitate others, and we don’t even know that we’re doing it. 00:49 Have you ever been listening to the radio, 00:51 and a few hours later you’re humming or singing a song, 00:54 and you realize that that was the very song 00:57 that was on the radio several hours ago? 01:01 Imitation is such a part 01:04 of the human learning experience that we’re doing it all the time. 01:07 We can’t turn it off. 01:10 Imitation is also used by animals 01:13 to learn their skills by watching their parents. 01:16 I saw the cutest example of this 01:18 when we were watching a herd of elephants in Zambia. 01:21 The mother elephant and the baby elephant were walking by, 01:24 and the baby elephant was trying to grab some grass 01:28 and tear it off and put it in his mouth like his mother was; 01:32 but every time he did it, he ended up with nothing. 01:35 But he was sure watching his mom —how she was doing it— 01:39 and seeing how he could imitate and get some of that for himself. 01:44 Well, since imitation is such a powerful learning tool 01:49 and has such an effect on the person we are 01:51 and the person that we are to become, 01:54 we need to be very careful about who we choose to imitate. 01:58 Who do you choose to imitate? 02:01 Well, see, who we choose to imitate determines who we want to become. 02:06 That’s why there’s so much caution in the Scriptures about our association, 02:10 because who we choose to imitate rubs off on us, so to speak, 02:15 in subtle ways that we might not even notice right away. 02:18 Notice the counsel given to the Israelites 02:21 about not imitating the nations around them. 02:24 If you look at Exodus 23:24, 02:28 notice the counsel that Jehovah gave to the Israelites. 02:33 He said: “You must not bow down to their gods 02:36 “or be persuaded to serve them, 02:38 and you must not imitate their practices.” 02:42 And he continues this thought at Deuteronomy 18:9. 02:53 Deuteronomy 18:9, it says: 02:55 “When you have entered into the land that Jehovah your God is giving you, 02:59 “you must not learn to imitate 03:02 the detestable practices of those nations.” 03:07 Well, what happened when the Israelites chose to imitate the nations around them, 03:11 to ignore the advice Jehovah had given them? 03:14 Well, let’s look at 2 Kings 17:15. 03:20 Second Kings 17:15: 03:28 “They continued rejecting his regulations and his covenant 03:31 “that he had made with their forefathers 03:33 “and his reminders that he had given to warn them, 03:36 “and they kept following worthless idols 03:38 “[And notice what happened to them when they did that.] 03:41 “and became worthless themselves, 03:43 “imitating the nations all around them 03:46 that Jehovah had commanded them not to imitate.” 03:50 So if we imitate worthless things, what’s going to happen to us? 03:54 We’re going to be worthless. 03:56 If we fast-forward to Christian times, 03:58 we can see that the same advice was given to us. 04:02 If we look at 3 John 11, 04:10 it’s very straightforward advice: 04:12 “Beloved one, do not imitate what is bad, 04:16 “but imitate what is good. 04:19 “The one who does good originates with God. 04:21 The one who does bad has not seen God.” 04:25 Well, the message is clear. 04:26 If we want to ‘see God,’ or have a good relationship with Jehovah, 04:31 then we need to imitate what is good. 04:33 And our text for today at Ephesians 5:1 04:37 really says it about as simply and clearly as we can: 04:41 “Become imitators of God.” 04:44 So Jehovah is telling us in our text for today: ‘Imitate me.’ 04:48 So if someone asks us, “Who do you choose to imitate?” 04:51 we follow the advice of Ephesians 5:1; 04:54 we want to imitate Jehovah. 04:56 Well, how can we imitate Jehovah? 04:59 Well, first, one way is by reading the Bible. 05:02 We have learned love, hope, faith, loyalty, 05:06 and so many other fine qualities 05:09 by reading about how Jehovah wants us to conduct ourselves. 05:13 I mean, look at the Law that Jehovah gave to the nation of Israel. 05:17 We can learn so much about how Jehovah 05:20 feels about being honest, clean, fair, just. 05:25 Or in different Bible examples, we see Jehovah’s patience 05:29 in dealing with Jonah and His mercy in dealing with the Ninevites. 05:35 Reading the Bible gives us a very clear picture 05:38 of our perfect God, Jehovah, who we worship. 05:40 And he gives us the perfect role model to imitate. 05:44 When we read the Bible and continually ask ourselves, 05:47 ‘What do I learn about Jehovah, and how can I learn to imitate him?’ 05:51 that really is like us keeping our eye on Jehovah, with our mind’s eye, 05:55 and watching what he’s doing, and we’re imitating him. 06:00 Another way that we can imitate Jehovah 06:02 is by imitating others who are imitating him. 06:05 Jehovah has used the pages of the Bible 06:08 to give us real-life stories of people who we can imitate. 06:11 I mean, we’ve never met Abraham and Sarah, 06:14 but don’t you feel like you know them? 06:16 I’m sure there’s much more that we can learn 06:19 about these beautiful, spiritual people in the new world, 06:22 but what is laid out in the Scriptures is enough 06:25 for us to imitate the beautiful examples they set for us. 06:29 Or what about Jesus? 06:30 We’ve never met Jesus, 06:32 but by reading the Bible accounts, 06:34 don’t you feel like you know him 06:36 and you know how he would react and think about certain situations? 06:41 The apostle Paul simply explained this 06:45 at 1 Corinthians 11:1. 06:47 He said: “Become imitators of me, . . . as I am of Christ.” 06:51 So we have Jesus Christ as an example of imitating his Father. 06:55 The apostle Paul was imitating Christ. 06:58 Now, the apostle Paul, of course, wasn’t saying, 07:01 “Imitate the way I give my talks; imitate the way I move; 07:03 imitate the way I walk or say things.” 07:06 But at Hebrews 13:7, 07:10 he stressed what it was that we were to imitate about others, 07:15 Hebrews 13:7: 07:17 “Remember those who are taking the lead among you, 07:20 “who have spoken the word of God to you, 07:22 “and as you contemplate how their conduct turns out, 07:26 imitate their faith.” 07:29 So we are to imitate the faith 07:33 and example that others set in imitating Jesus and imitating Jehovah. 07:39 Now, to illustrate the choice that we have of who we’re going to imitate, 07:44 I’d like you to imagine in your mind 07:46 two big, huge machines with lots of parts. 07:50 Now, one machine is run by Jehovah and Jesus Christ, 07:54 and the other machine is run by Satan and the world. 07:58 And I want you to imagine that you’re a part on the mechanics bench. 08:02 When Jehovah goes to pick you up and look at you and see, 08:06 Do you fit as a part in his organization? 08:11 well, we can if we imitate him 08:14 and other spiritual people who are useful to Jehovah. 08:17 We can become a useful part of his beautiful organization. 08:23 If we imitate Jehovah, then if Satan goes over to that bench 08:28 and picks us up and tries to put us into his machine, 08:31 we’re not going to fit anywhere. 08:33 We are no part of his world or organization. 08:38 I mean, how sad it would be 08:40 if we shaped and imitated ourselves after the world 08:44 and when Satan picked us up we fit right in 08:46 with his machine and organization! 08:50 So who do you choose to imitate? 08:53 We choose to imitate Jehovah. 08:55 We want to be just like him when we grow up. 09:00 How can we imitate Jehovah? 09:03 By getting to know him personally through reading the Bible 09:07 and imitating others who are imitating him.
