The Walk

Let's start this sermon. The title is The Walk. The Walk. There's a proverb that says, you never truly know someone else until you walk a mile in their chute. Everybody heard that before? Billy Connolly put it another way. He said, before you can judge a man, walk a mile in his chute. After that, it won't matter because you're a mile away and you have his chute. So have you walked in someone's chute before? And can you empathize because of that walk? I know parents, those that find out what it's really like when they have children, have walked in those shoes of a parent and go, hmm, now I know why my parents did what they did.

And you begin to not only empathize but in some cases sympathize, as I've had to with my mother because of trying to raise me. Yes, like corn, raise me, not rear me. So perhaps you have thought about or been able to walk in somebody's shoes or thought you could when you had a serious medical condition. Perhaps you even heard the word, the C word, cancer, as it is out there. Even hearing the word terminal makes you appreciate someone who has gone through, right, Diane? And makes you realize that wasn't a tough road. It was a tough road. It was an easy road.

Kind of like not only physically but mentally, emotionally. I just ratchet as people here have had to deal with some of that. And we can begin to understand when you've walked in those shoes. I had a friend of mine many, many years ago who had to make a speech. And so he wanted to really do something different. He wanted to understand what it was like and to empathize with other people. So he took an entire day and he borrowed a wheelchair.

He was in his 20s at the time. He borrowed a wheelchair and he took it by his bed in the morning, one morning, and he got out of bed and crawled into the wheelchair to which he stayed all day. Well, to find out what it's like to be in a wheelchair. Because you really don't understand.

I know I've been on crutches a few times. You're so glad to get rid of those crutches, right? The soreness under here, the, you know, you're finally shed one and you're getting just one of them and then you're just so glad to get rid of that one that you really can't understand what it's like to have issues. But my friend, he found out the first thing was that he got up in the morning, got in the wheelchair, and found out that his door to the bathroom wasn't big enough to get because it wasn't handicap accessible. Jeff Newell knows what that means and why you have to have that. So he had to, to keep the thing going in his mind, had to slither out of that chair and work his way over to go to the bathroom and then slide back over and get back in the chair, went to fix breakfast, found that was a hard thing to do.

And then he had a friend come over and pick him up and he went to the airport just to see what it was like. And he spent about three hours at the airport, planned only an hour and a half. But he found out what he planned took a lot longer because he was in a wheelchair.

So when he gave his speech, you could really feel the emotion and never truly understanding or being able to have empathy towards someone who was in that chair. Every day, there's a funeral somewhere going on. Every day, a family goes through funeral services. They go through burying somebody. And every day we get up and if it's not us, we don't feel it. But when we're involved in it, we do feel that pain, even if we do not know the people very well.

Because we have all in this room and anyone over the internet, almost everyone has lost someone very close to them. And they know what it's like that night when you try to go to sleep, unless you're so worn out and tired that you just collapse. Because death takes a toll on everyone involved. Can we understand those people and walk in their shoes? I'm amazed sometimes because in different states that I've been in, Tennessee was one that if there's a funeral, I don't care who it is, people pull off the road.

They park on the side of the road to show what? Respect. It's not always that way. It's not that way in Miami. Shock, shock. It's not that way in other cities, other states. When we buried her father last year, the funeral in this mall that everybody pulled off.

And it is a matter of respect, and part of that respect comes from, we're all going to end up there. We're all going to eventually have to deal with the same situation. So I today want to play you a song. The song is called The Walk. It was written by Mark Miller, lead singer of the country band Sawyer Brown.

Has everybody heard of Sawyer Brown? Most people have. Mark Miller wrote this song, and it was different for him. It was the first Sawyer Brown song that really came out that wasn't peppy, you might say, because that's how Sawyer Brown built their base off of peppy songs. This is not one. It's a very, it's a song of reflection. And I happened to do some work for Mark back in Tennessee, and I asked him about it because this was my favorite song that Sawyer Brown did. And he said, I didn't ever plan to record it.

It was just something that I wrote about my grandfather. He said, my father died when I was very, very young. Didn't even remember. And so my grandfather raised me, and he said it wasn't until I got older that I realized, as he said, the hell I put him through, being just a kid, not realizing just all the advice and information and knowledge he tried to pass on to me.

I was sometimes too young to grasp it or to understand it. And I think we do that, too, don't we? Sometimes. And so I won't play this song because it means something to me, especially talking to, and that's what I, Mary and I, used to go down occasionally and listen to music and hear songwriters night and see where these songs came from. So Mark explaining this to me, and he said, no, I never planned on recording it. I was just going to keep it to myself and gave it to my grandfather.

Thankfully, he said, my grandfather lived long enough to see the success of the band and so forth like that. Because it's a song that helps us all reflect that the road we're going down and even the road to the kingdom of God, it's a different kind of road. And it's a road that other people went before us. And they walked that path. They walked this road. They walked this walk because we have a whole book of stories about those who came before us. So I like to play that, and then I'll be back up with the rest of the sermon. So... Jesus Christ walked the walk that we are walking now. Think about that.

Jesus Christ walked the walk. And I don't seem to be picking up. Am I okay? Good. Like you turn to Hebrews 2, if you will. Hebrews 2 verse 17. I read this from the New Living Translation, which is up here. So if you don't have, if you have a new King James, you're looking at it. Hebrews 2 and verse 17 says, therefore, it was necessary for him to be made, in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful high priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people, since he himself has gone through suffering and testing. He is able to help us when we are being tested. And I think that's something that's very empowering to all of us. It should be that when we pray that the powers that be understand. And we have an advocate that walked this walk. We're walking now, telling the Father it's not that easy.

I know in Hebrews 4 and verse 15 it says, we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with us, which is great. So I guess I had to have an SPS. It is this. Jesus Christ walked in our shoes. Can we walk in His? Jesus Christ walked in our shoes. Can we walk in His?

There are different walks that people have. You can see it in many ways. You have lifers. They act a certain way. People work for the government all their life. They act a different way. You have people in prisons, have been institutionalized. They walk a different way because of the way that they lived and how they lived. You might notice the military. Many of you, some of you have served in the military, I know.

Most soldiers, most military people, walk a different way. They're taught at a very early age in their thing to head up, shoulders back. You can recognize a man or a woman who's been in the military for any amount of time. They are trained to have a certain walk.

They're not the only ones. Even street walkers, hookers, have a certain walk. Why? Because it's how they live. It's what they do. They do it to a track. They have a uniform, just like the military. They have a different kind of walk in this life.

It's amazing sometimes I look at the clothes that even are for sale today for young ladies and it's similar to what ladies of the evening used to wear 20, 30, 40 years ago. Well, I grew up now it's kind of accepted, but it's a different world now, but it also requires a different kind of walk for most of us. I think in Psalm 119, 105 says, your word is a lamp to my path, or to my feet, and a light to my what? Path. It's a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. That's why we go down a different road. If we believe what this says, hopefully we do.

Our calling, our walk is unique. Ephesians 5 and verse 8. Ephesians 5 and verse 8. It talks about us being once of darkness, but then it says to us in the New King James Version, walk as children of light. Do we? I've given a message or two here about light, how important that is, because we are a light should be to other people. If we're going to live a life that represents God. Jesus Christ came. He said He was the light of the world. We're not the light of the world like He was, but we should reflect the light of the world in us so that people will see. As Christians, we are to be Christ-like people, not always easy thing to do. It reminds me of secret service agents. Anybody here ever known any secret service agents? Okay, there's a couple. They're a very small group of people. I studied them. Matter of fact, right over here today, I called my sister whose husband's sister is married to a retired secret service for 28 years because I watched some videos and I was always interested in it, read a little bit about the secret service because of their different walk of life. Because, as I say, it is a calling like ours is a calling, not just a job. Do we look at it like that because they're willing to give their life for what they believe and us?

We're supposed to be able to do that, too.

I found that my study of the secret service is they're not like most people. They look, they think, they dress differently, they act differently. They have a different mindset, as we do.

They have thousands apply for the secret service every year.

Only one out of a hundred ever passes the tests that they give. For one, they do a background check, which knocks out a tremendous amount of people. They not only check your criminal record, which if you have one, that ruins you right there, but they also go and interview people in your hometown. They interview people who you once worked for, and their job, those that are checking this out, is to find dirt on you. Find out anything they can about a lack of character in you.

There are roughly 7,000 secret service employees now working under the Department of Homeland Security. The secret service was originally started on April 14, 1865. The paperwork was signed by Abraham Lincoln. It was also the day he was assassinated. He was on his desk and went back, but had nothing to do with protecting presidents. That didn't happen until after McKinley was killed. Their job was looking for counterfeiters. Working for the Treasury Department. But as it became necessary for them to guard the president, former presidents, the president's family, heads of state, they had to give a rigorous training to all the applicants. They had to weed them out because it's not for everyone. As a matter of fact, the job isn't for very many people.

There are very few who can follow through. You see the correlation between their calling, per se, and ours as first fruits. Not a lot in this world because a lot of people don't want to do it. It's a little difficult. In their training for the Secret Service, if you can get past the vetting process, which hardly anybody does, then you are put into a class. And for 12 weeks, they put you through rigorous physical and mental testing to see if you have what it takes. After 12 weeks, then if you make it through and finish in the top of your class, they send you to an 18-week intense training.

And after that time, you are then specially trained in different areas, so you don't really hit the ground running until almost after a year of intense training. And they check your mental evaluation. And those who protect the President and heads of state and former President and Vice President, there are only about 250 of those agents. The rest of them investigate. The one guy advising this said they have to investigate every attempt or threat on the President's life. And they said there is at least one every day. So they have to go and physically can't just check it out. They have to go in person. So you can imagine how many are scattered out, these agents trying to find out what happened, why it happened, who it was, and so forth like that. So I found it very intriguing that the ones to guard the President and so forth are only 250. They are the highest paid of all the employees. Right, their salary is around $157,000 a year.

My sister told me that her brother-in-law, he retired and draws $8,000 a month retirement. It's a pretty nice retirement in my little realm of things, but he was 28 years. And he was a special agent. With special agents are only those who do protect the President, the Vice President, the families, and so forth like that. And they are an elite group of men, and there are women. 25% of Secret Service are women now. But the ones protecting the President by the President, they live with no overtime pay. On call, basically 24 hours a day, they should have an eight-hour shift, but it turns to a 12-hour shift, and they do not have a choice in what day of the week they work. Doesn't, wouldn't help somebody keeping the Sabbath with it, because you're at their beck and call. You're to go and do whatever they tell you to do, when they tell you to do it. Sounds like the military, doesn't it, guys? Government issue. But they never say they are willing to give up, take a bullet for the President. They never say that. He said, we never say that. It's just when they go through training, it's just what you do. There's things we do following God that nobody really tells us, but we just do it, don't we? Okay. I bring them up because it's a very unappreciated job.

Most people don't even realize unless they look and see the sunglasses. And most people, they ask one of them, most ask questions about the sunglasses. Do they keep the sunglasses on so they can see you but you really can't see their eyes looking at them? They say absolutely not.

They said they do it to protect their eyes. Big shock. Because they said that their eyes are one of the most important things they have, as much as their side arm. Their eyes, and they train their eyes to be sharp, looking at everything without turning your head very much, keeping a watch on everything. So their eyes are very important to them. That's why they protect it. Didn't know, but the secret service, those next to the president, those that stay with him most of the time, actually inside their jackets, which you will see most wear jackets, and also in the car is a vial of the president's blood. And they are all trained to be able to, within 10 minutes, be giving him, if he's hurt, shot, to give him his own blood. So they are very trained. You just don't recognize it. And yet many people do not recognize who the true followers of God is. We don't make a big thing. We don't stand on the street corner and go, I'm a first fruit! And you're not. It's not what we do.

I find that our life, this walk, is something a lot of people may start, just like those that enter the training camp in Georgia, Maryland. A lot of them want that and think, this is really going to be neat. But when the pressure comes, when that walk becomes a different walk of life they hadn't counted on what happens. They leave. They quit. They bail out. God has called people hoping that they will not bail out.

You know, you see the movies. I remember the instructor, Master Sergeant here, on one of his videos I watched, he told the guys that come in to train, the guys and the girls sitting there, anything you've seen on movies and TV about secret service, forget all that. This is nothing like that. And he said, we've only lost one president by secret service, and we've only lost in the history one secret service agent. You know how benign that is? You know how just, I never knew that. The way you see it on TV, you see, you know, all these movies and there's always a secret service agent willing to die and do this. Only one in the entire time. Anybody know what president was? That they died? No. President Kennedy was the only president they said they lost.

McKinley was the last one that got shot. That's when they started guarding after that. So they only lost one president. The couple's been shot, like Reagan. But no, it was actually Harry Truman. Harry Truman moved out. They had to make some repairs in the White House, and you moved to the Blair House. And two assassins from Puerto Rico came up and they were then attempted to kill President Truman. And this agent stepped in front of Truman and shot and killed one of them, injured the other one, and died. In the line of fire, he gave his life. There's a big tombstone by the Blair House now. The only one in the history.

Do we mind being in the line of fire? Because Bill's talking about Satan today.

We're in the line of fire. Do we have all the protective gear that we need? Do we have the training we need? You know what's interesting? Those on the detail, special agents, they are required to come in every nine weeks to get more to keep up their training. Every nine weeks, can you imagine that? Going through, making sure that they can fire their weapon, maybe making sure they're on top of everything. They're testing. Every nine weeks, it doesn't last very long because they have to go back out and be on the President's detail. They have to be whatever. Tested all the time. It's part of their walk. It's part of what they do. Brethren, we need to be prepared to be tested. Because if we're trying to walk this walk at Christ's walk, we're going to be tested. We're going to be tested sometimes weekly and sometimes multiple times in a day. And we should be prepared. We should be trained. That is why we're here. That's why we read the Bible. That's why we have a relationship with God because we need His protection. It's better than any bulletproof vest you could have. So let's go on. About this walk, King Solomon elaborates on this walk in Proverbs 2. Proverbs 2. Pull it up in the New King James version. Proverbs 2 in verse 10. Said, When wisdom enters your heart and knowledge is pleasant in your soul, discretion will preserve you. Understanding will keep you to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things, from those who leave the paths of righteousness to walk in the ways of darkness. That's a different walk. It's a walk. We are of light, but there's a walk of darkness. We have to be sure. How many of us would go into a city and walk down a street with no lights, even Collins Avenue if there were no down in Miami? Not many would want to walk that walk with no lights and in a hostile neighborhood. God is trying to tell us the same. We need to walk in light. Walk in the light. Be a light. Verse 14, to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perversity of the wicked, whose ways are crooked and who are devious in their paths or their roads that they're in. Verse 20, saying, doing that part, so that you may walk in the way of goodness and keep to the paths of righteousness. That's our walk. We've been told to do that. That's why he says in Proverbs 3 not to lean on our own understanding. We should be leaning on our own understanding. Go over another chapter, or two chapters, in verse 4. Proverbs 4, probably 4 and verse 25. Let your eyes look straight ahead.

Unlike the Secret Service eyes that have to look left, right, left, right, they even try to help the peripheral vision by training their eyes so that they can see wider. They can see over here. And God says, you don't need to look left. You don't need to look right, because your path is straight. So let your eyes look straight ahead and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet. Boy, how much simpler my life would have been at times if I'd have just pondered that path I was going on. But I thought I needed to do it my way instead of God's way. Ponder the path of your feet and let your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or to the left. Remove your foot from evil. That's all we have to do.

Even Proverbs 10 says, he who walks with integrity walks securely. Do we, brethren, walk with purpose? This walk we're walking now? Mark Miller said, because it is a walk we are walking now. Do we walk securely? Because we know. God's got our back.

We know that he supports us. He's there to encourage us, empower us, even when we stumble and fall, even when we go too far off the path. We get way out of the camera's angle here, right? Because I don't believe I'm the only one in here that has done that, or that we'll continue to do that at times. The only thing that helps keep us straight is the owner's manual that God decided to give us, the owner's manual, so we could kind of see which way we needed to go and to do. Brethren, I'd like you to ruminate on this. I grew up in the country, grew up in Tennessee. When I did, we had this little thing called Cub Scouts. Anybody remember Cub Scouts? Were you ever a Cub Scout? You were! Were you guys? Phil, were you? Well, I'll be. I thought I was the only one here. There. And I loved the, you were a den mother. Well, so was my mother. Well, what was interesting is that one of the first things they taught us besides the motto, do you remember that? You had to learn the Cub Scout motto before you got something I put on my shirt. I don't remember what it was. My mother still had, you a badge? Okay, well, I never got that far. It was just, you know, sorry, I didn't walk the walk as good as you guys did. But I remember what intrigued me most was that we were all given a compass. All given this little cheap compass. Probably didn't cost two dollars back then. I didn't know if you guys got it or whatever. But I carried that with me for a long time because they did take you out, me and we were in the country, took us out in the country. And they said, we want you to find your way back using this compass. Well, it was a little more advanced. We all acted like we used the compass to get home, but we would look up and climb up in a tree to find a way. But it was, it was challenging to us. But you know what? That compass, I never forgot the lessons. Moss growing on the north side of trees. Some of these things that you learn from the Cub Scouts. But the thing, the amazing thing about the compass is it always, when you started, pointed north. Right? What do you do today? I'd like you to ruminate on this. When the word of God is your compass, you will walk a different path. You will have a different walk. The words out of your mouth will be enlightening words. When God's word is your compass, it will point you to the north. It will point you up. The answers are up there. They're not down here on this earth. Everybody looks for the answers to life, the meaning of life all around. Money can get it. Cars can get it. Women can get it. A bigger house can get it. No. The answers are north. Our answers are up there, not down here. I would like to wrap today's message up with four sections of Scripture in the New Testament that talk about a walk. Our walk. Our walk. I don't know about anybody else's walk. It's not my job to know that, well, somebody keeps a different day than we do. That's not the walk. That's not my job. That's not our job. Our job is to know our job. Our walk. And know what we need to do. How we need to fulfill our job, just like the dedication that has to be from the Secret Service.

Never forget the part of the video. The guy says, well, even when you're off as a Secret Service agent and you've gone home and you go out and have too much to drink and you come back the next day hungover, if we do not see the same in your eyes, in your reaction, in everything, you'll be fired. Because we have zero tolerance because people's lives, countries, can be invaded because we didn't do our job. Because you decided you wanted to do your own thing. We own you, so if you don't want, it's time for you to walk out the door. God is basically telling us the same thing. I can forgive you, but if you're just going to stray off the path, are you really mine? And am I really yours?

Let's go and expound the walk. I'll be reading from the New King James Version. Like you go to 1 Thessalonians 2. 1 Thessalonians 2. Verse 9. Verse 9. It says, as Paul is trying to talk to that, one of his favorite churches, Thessalonica was one of his favorites along the Philippians. I mean, he loved them all, but this one gave him less problems and they were zealous and he was really enthusiastic. He said, for you, for remember, brethren, our labor and toil, for labor and night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preach to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses in God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we be, have ourselves among you who believe, had a certain conduct. As you know, how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you as a father does his own children, that you may have what? A walk worthy. A walk worthy of God. Now, the Secret Service, they have a walk and it's a worthy walk, but it's not of God. God just doesn't write us a check for $157,000 a year, because to him that's piddly. He's got a universe to share.

Who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. Amazing. Let's go to 1 Thessalonians 4. 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 1 said, Finally, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more just as you receive from us how you ought to. What? Walk. Walk. It's so important to Paul. He realized this is a walk that not many people can walk, and not many people at this time for first-roots get the chance to walk the walk. Brethren, you're walking now.

From us how you ought to walk and to please God, for we know what commandments we gave you through. This is the will of God. And then he tells you how. And he'll tell you, okay, you need to walk. This is what he says. For this is the will of God. Your sanctification that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel. And sanctification and honor. Holding yourself like the military code of justice, military code of ethics. There are things that they hold everybody to. God says the same thing. Except we're even considered way higher up. Not in passion of lust like the Gentiles, who do not know God, that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter. Because the Lord is the avenger of all such as we also forewarned you and testified, for God did not call us to unclean us but in what holiness. Therefore, he who rejects this does not reject man but God, who also has given us his holy spirit. It's an incredible walk that I hope we all realize. It's an inspiring walk. It's a challenging walk. There's good days and there's bad days and then there's terrible days. But we get up each morning and just like whether you go and you work outside or you're hot and sweaty and you can smell yourself before you can go in the house. But the beautiful thing is you go in and take a shower and you're all cleansed again. And that's us with God. Every day we can be cleansed. We just go to him. Purge us of this sin. Purge us of these thoughts. Cleanse us now. And he does it. And we get to start the day all over again. Start the day perfect. Knowing we're not going to end it perfect except when we ask forgiveness again. I'd like you to turn to Colossians. I'd like you to turn to Colossians. Colossians 1.

Verse 9. For this reason, we also sense the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that you may have a walk worthy. I don't know how many times he says this through the A walk worthy. I think he wants us to understand our walk. If Paul was here, I think these are letters. Can you imagine his sermons? How many times he mentions it to you? Paul walked thousands of miles besides taking boats. He had to walk. I think he knew something about how important walking was and that we need to walk this path.

That you may have a walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. That's empowering. That's strengthening to me. I just need to be. I need to have more knowledge of God.

I don't have enough. I don't know about you. I want more. Let's go to our last scripture. Last scripture. Ephesians. Another one of those churches that Paul spent three years here in Ephesians, in Ephesus. I'm teaching the Ephesians. Ephesians 4, verse 1. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to have a Colossians, Selah Nica, where else he is saying, wow, this is what we need to do, have a walk worthy of your calling with which you were called. He's telling us that it's one of the reasons we're called is we can have that walk. God knew who he was going to call. He didn't just spin the big wheel and go, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, we're going to go, I'm going to give her a shot. No. He didn't do that. It isn't a lottery. Saying, let's see you, oh, Carolyn, uh, we're going to give you a shot. That's not how he does it. He says he foreknew us. I mean he, he, before we were born, he told I'm calling that one. I'm calling that one. Someday we may be able to sit even at the wedding supper and ask him, why'd you pick this one? He might laugh and go, I needed a joke. I needed a laugh to see if you could do it. I don't know. I don't have to know. I just have to know that's my calling. It's our job. It's your calling to do that. Let's finish this up. You have a walk worthy to your calling, which you were called with all lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Are you a peacemaker? You're supposed to be. It's one of the reasons. Unity, peace, the reason he can call you in the body of Christ so that more people can see that unity, see that example, see your calling. Mark Miller wrote the song about life's walk of 70, 80, 90 years. We've explored God's Word today and found this walk we're walking now.

It's not just for 70, 80, 90 years. It's a character that will carry on for eternity. It's the retirement pay.

It's what we do because God is for us, and not just for us now, but for eternity. So let us continue to walk. The walk we're walking now. Christ walked in our shoes, brethren. Can we walk in His, as Mark Miller sings to us?