Walk Worthy…in Christ

Well, I don't even feel I need to come up after that. Very good. Natasha, very good. Very inspirational. And listening to the words, I feel we can feel God's music really all around us, right? This week has been a marvelous week as we've gone through this area that's so rich in history. I think we've all, I hope, have felt the presence of God as it would have been back in those days. Yesterday, I think as we walked through Ephesus, it was just really resounding to me as we walked down those roads to think of the people who walked there before us the very same roads. Paul, Apollos, Timothy, Silas. And I hope we all, you know, take that feeling with us and remember what we have, what we've experienced here. The words of the Bible always have tremendous meaning to us, but there's things that we get to experience in life that even deepen that experience. And I think this trip has done that. So it's been very beneficial. I want to thank Mr. McNeilian, Levent, for all the work they put into organizing everything. It's been very good. We're looking forward to Miletus, which is another part of the story with Paul, and even with the elders in Ephesus who gathered there as he made his last, as he had his last meeting with them. So, you know, as contemplating the book of Ephesians and just the city of Ephesus, it does have a tremendous meaning in the Bible. It has many when you read the book of Ephesians, and it was written to everyone, right? It was addressed to the Ephesians, but it really is a message for all the churches and all people of all time. It, in contrast to Paul's letter from Ephesus to Corinth, that there's no correction in the book of Ephesians, or the letter to the Ephesians. But it's a very complete book, in fact, in the way that it gives pretty much the plan of God, what we need to remember as we go through life. And then in the last half of the book he tells us how to live that life that we've been called to. So, as we look at the book of Ephesians, it's, you know, Ephesus has the unique, the unique, I guess, characteristic that Paul wrote a letter to the Ephesians. At least that's what it's called in our Bibles today. But also Christ wrote that letter to Ephesus. And so we have two messages to Ephesus that apply to all of us. Mr. Eddington already read Revelation 2, verse 5. I'm not going to repeat that, but you will remember it. He says, Remember from where you have fallen. And he talks about the first love that they have lost. Remember from where you have fallen. And repent, as Mr. Eddington so aptly described to us today, what that repentance is, repent and do the first works, otherwise I will come and remove your lampstand.

So I want you to remember, you know, as we leave here in a few days, to remember what we've learned here and keep that feeling among us. But in the book of Ephesians, we remember some things as well. And there's another word I often say, you know, that during the Days of Unleavened Bread, remember is one of those words that define the Days of Unleavened Bread.

We have to remember where we were, remember where we've come from, remember what God has done for us. And when we remember that, it helps wash away all the things that people might have done to us and other hurts we've had along the way. Remember what God has done and follow Him. And repent. You know, we all fall along the way, as the Ephesus Church had done, but always turn back to God.

You know, as we toured Ephesus, I appreciated Mr. McNeely's drawing to our attention the spiritual significance of the walk that we were going to do. Remember that from yesterday? Talking about the walk, and it was a beautiful walk, especially as you came up at that hill and you looked down at the library that was there and that walk, and knowing the people that would have walked that walk, you know, before us. That spiritual walk. And when you look at the book of Ephesians, that word walk is prominent in it.

So I want to start today. You know, Mr. McNeely started us on a walk, and in a way I want to finish the walk of Ephesians here today because Paul uses that term exactly as he said, so significantly in his instructions to us. In Ephesians 4, after the first three chapters of really an introduction and a remembering who we are, a reminder of what we're doing, Paul comes to a conclusion whenever you see, therefore, you know that everything that's gone before that he is building to this point.

In Ephesians 4, verse 1, he says, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. Walk worthy. Now, that's a tall order, isn't it, to walk worthy. And so, you know, we would all say we're not worthy of even the calling that God has given us, right?

None of us were special. Now we're God's special people, but only because He called us, only because we responded to the call, only because we repented and we're baptized. But to walk worthy is something that we would do. What does it mean to walk worthy? Well, Paul shows us what it means to walk worthy, but before I get into that, I just want to talk a little bit about the word walk, because there is something nice about the word walk, isn't it?

It's different than run. We do run with endurance, the race that's asked before us, but there is a walk that we do. And to be able to walk and stroll along is a very pleasant experience. You don't need to turn there, but Amos 3 verse 3 asks the question, can two walk together unless they be agreed? And that is a question, isn't it? Can two walk together unless they be agreed? Because when you're walking with someone, it indicates that you're in complete agreement with them. And I remember, you know, where we used to live in Florida, there was this long walk, and my wife would, and I would take these walks along the intra-coastal down there, and every once in a while you would see a couple walking together, and then one of them would just speed off in another direction.

And I thought, they're not in agreement anymore, whatever, whatever was going on, they're not walking together anymore. And probably my wife and I had a few of those occasions as well, so people thought, oops, something he said just didn't say it well. But anyway, you walk together when you're agreed, right? When you're in agreement, and it's a peaceful, it's a peaceful, energizing thing that you do when you walk, and you have that relationship with the person that you're walking with.

When you look at the word walk in Strong's, right? In Strong's Greek, it's number 4043. It gives the definition of walk, but it also has as 1a there that you're progressing.

Because we can go out for a walk, and I could walk the circle around the hotel, and not really progressing, I'm just exercising at that point, right? But when we're walking with someone, if we're going somewhere, it's the attitude of you're progressing, you're going someplace, you're walking. Mr. McNeely talked about the two that were on the road to Emmaus. They were walking there, and Christ was with them. It's a matter of progressing. You've got something going. You're not in a rush. You're with someone else. The other meaning it says there, it's that you're making use of the opportunities along the way. You know, as we think about our walk with Christ, and we walk the walk that God has called us to, there are plenty of opportunities along the way. We all know that we're walking toward something, right? We're walking toward the kingdom. That's what God is. He's right there beside us. That's where He is leading us. We learn along the way. The Bible tells us, and I don't have to repeat a whole lot of this, but the trials, the tests that we go through, they're all designed to get us ready so that we can progress with Him to that kingdom of God. And so we walk worthy. We walk worthy of what God wants us to and on this path that we are on. I want to just take a minute here and go back to the book of Genesis, because there's verses in the Bible that just, you know, that you just enjoy going back to because you learn about God. And we're all here learning about God as we learn about ourselves and as we let Him teach us and direct us. But back in Genesis 3 and verse 8, it talks about God walking in the garden. I'll just read it here. It says, They, they being Adam and Eve, they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. That's a beautiful picture when you look at it, right? Here's the cool of the day God's walking in the garden. He's done this with them before. They were walking in agreement. And so they would when God would walk through the garden, Adam and Eve would be there. But not this day. So the beginning of the verse shows a beautiful picture because God walks with us. But that day Adam and Eve didn't show up for the walk. Adam and Eve hid themselves from God.

Sin had entered the picture. They were no longer in agreement. They no longer wanted to walk with God. And that says something. That says something. When we walk worthy of God, we must be in agreement with Him. We can't walk worthy with God if we're at odds, if we're doing things that He does not indicate or teach us to do. Walking worthy, part of that is being with Him. Adam and Eve didn't. They're a bad example of walking worthy. They didn't walk worthy. They departed. They sinned.

Now if we go over to Genesis 5, and we read about a man named Enoch in verse 22 of Genesis 5.

It says, after he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years.

And had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were 365 years. And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. Now Enoch walked with God to the end of his life. When God determined that would be, and you can read in Hebrews 11.5, he is named among the faithful there. He walked with God in agreement all of his life. He walked with God. God walked with Him. They were in complete agreement, and He completed His life. He walked until the end. He completed the road that God had Him on. This is the example of who we want to be. Continue to walk with God through however long God allows us to live, or until Jesus Christ returns, enduring to the end Jesus Christ would call it. But walking with God the entire way. We go back to Ephesians 4. Just going to read a few more verses, because when we come to something, and Paul says something, and other men who have written that God have inspired, it explains to us part of the worthiness of the calling, or how God wants us to work with Him. And of course, in chapter 4, verse 1 there, it says, Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. How does that walk go? Verse 2, With all lowliness and gentleness. Humility, right? Without humility, not walking with God, humility means yielding to Him, following His will, even when it may not be what we want to do, but we yield ourselves to Him and choose what He wants to do with all lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love, understanding that we make mistakes. It doesn't mean we just cross each other off and say, I'm never going to walk with you again.

We make mistakes, but we learn, we repent, we grow, we get back on the path, and sometimes it takes someone else to correct us in those areas so that we get back on the path so we can work with one another, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring. That means working hard, working hard to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bottom of the peace, working hard to keep the unity. Not just giving up because something doesn't go the way we want, working hard.

Later on in the book of Ephesians it talks about marriage, and God compares marriage to the relationship between Jesus Christ and the Church. And you have all these examples and all this instruction in the book of Ephesians on literally everything. In Ephesians 6, He even teaches us how to combat the wiles of the devil with the weapons of our warfare that He talks about there. It's all there, but walking worthy is you don't give up. You don't give up because of something you keep going, and you strive to get back in agreement, back in agreement with God, back in agreement with each other. Work hard to do it. Worthy of the calling you've been giving, and not just throwing it away. Verse 4, there's one body, there's one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who was above all and through all and in you all. If we keep that in mind, that's part of walking worthy with God. Walking worthy with God. It's not that we're perfect. It's not that we never make mistakes. It means that as those opportunities come along the way, we endeavor to keep the unity of the faith, to keep walking with God, to get ourselves back in sync and in step with God.

And not expecting that He is going to get Himself in sync with us. I'm just going to look at a few verses here as well. And another one of Paul's books, we visited Colossae earlier in the week in Colossians 1. Colossians 1 and verse 10. He talks about praying, praying for the people there of Colossae. And verse 10 says, that you may walk worthy, that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power for all patience and long suffering with joy.

Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints and the light, He's delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son, delivers from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love in whom we have redemption. Walking worthy. Walking worthy of what God wants us to do. Walking in that manner that He would be pleased with, recognizing we're not perfect yet, but He will lead us to that path of perfection that He has us all on as when the kingdom comes and we are part of that first resurrection. Let me turn back to Revelation just for a moment here too. In Revelation 3, you know we visited Sardis earlier in the week 2, and you remember the message of Sardis? They were a church that did have a lot of problems. They were a church that sometimes we call the dead church, but it wasn't completely dead. Notice what it says in Revelation 3 in verse 3. He talks to this church. He says, I know that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. He says in verse 3, remember, here's a key word, remember who you are, remember what you've been called to, remember therefore how you have received and heard, hold fast and repent.

There's that word again. In verse 4, He says, you have a few names even in Sardis who haven't defiled their garments, even in a church that was not known for its spiritual strength, even there there were a few who haven't defiled their garments and they shall walk with me in white for they are worthy. Just because everyone around them was doing something, they just didn't follow the crowd, they followed God. They held to what He called them to and just didn't do everything else someone said because and thinking that that was right, God is the one who determines right and wrong. God is the one who shows us the way. God is the one who leads us on the path. And so even in Sardis, there were some who continued their walk with God. How many of them fell out of sync with God?

Because everyone else around them, even in the church, was doing something different.

It's not man's opinion. It's not man who dictates the walk, it's God. And all of us, no matter what situation we're in, when people were around, choose what God says first. Be the one who stands for God. We go back to Ephesians because, you know, in the book of Ephesians, the word that word walk is used seven times. It's used more in the book of Ephesians than any other book of the New Testament. And every single time it's used, it's indicating and talking about a spiritual walk. Mr. McNeely showed us the first one the other day. I've shown you one, but let's go on to verse 17 of Ephesians 4. We'll see the second and third time that the word walk is in the book of Ephesians. And verse 17 says, this I say, I mean Ephesians 4, this I say therefore, in testifying to the Lord that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk.

You used to walk with them. You used to be in agreement with them. But don't do that anymore. Don't walk the way they did in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darken, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance in them, because of the blindness of their heart. Let's go back to verse 21 or verse 20. You, that you and me, you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him as the truth is in Jesus.

You have the truth. That's what we're walking in now. Not like the Gentiles. Not like we used to walk now. Walk in truth. There's a dividing line. When God calls us, no matter how good we thought that we were before God called us, we were walking in our own ways and however we determined to do apart from God. But when we responded to that call, when God opened our minds, when we repented, when we were baptized, there's the dividing line. We said, no longer. The old me, gone. Dead and buried. I don't want to be me anymore. I don't want to think like I used to think anymore. I don't want to react like I used to react. I want to do things the way Jesus Christ did. And with God's Holy Spirit, when we're baptized, we have hands laid on us. That happens. There's a dividing line. Now let's go back to Exodus 14. We're still here, even though the days of unleavened bread ended a few days ago, we're still here on a trip that began during those times. We can still learn a few lessons for it. Over in Exodus 14, verse 29, we find Israel. We all know the story of Israel. They live there in Egypt, God, only God who brought them out, not by their strength, not by their might, just like not by our strength, not by our might. God led them out. And they wandered in the desert for a few days. And then on that tradition says, the seventh day of unleavened bread, they came to the Red Sea and their backs were against the wall. They walked with God and they found themselves in a tremendous trial at that point. And in verse 29, you know the story, God part of the Red Sea. And in verse 29, it says, the children of Israel, what the children of Israel had walked on dry land, there's the word walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on the right hand and on their left. God saved Israel, the waters covered the Egyptians, there was the dividing line. Now they were free. Now they were to be walking with God in His way. He would teach them. He would give them His laws. They would walk with Him for 40 years in the desert as He would try to put in their hearts, remember they didn't have the Holy Spirit, they wanted to teach them His way. He wanted them to be about model nation.

He wanted them to be His own special people. And He took everything of the world around that they knew from around them and said, my way, and showed them every possible thing He could do.

How could they not trust in Him? He gave them manna for 40 years. He gave them water from rocks. He gave them literally everything. Their clothes didn't wear out. Their shoes didn't wear out.

And yet Israel couldn't do it. If I go back, we go to chapter 16.

16, as God brings them across the Red Sea, He begins to teach them in His ways.

Chapter 16 talks about manna. Later on it talks about the Sabbath and how God instructed them in keeping the Sabbath. Even before Sinai, and He gave them the Ten Commandments, chapter 16, verse 4, it says, The Lord said to Moses, Behold, I'll reign bread from heaven for you, and the people will go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them.

You remember the test? Six days go out and gather it. The seventh day is not going to be there. And even though God showed them everything, some just didn't obey the detail. They thought, well, it's the Sabbath. How difficult is that? I'll go out and get my bread, and it wasn't there. That I may test them. Here's walk, that definition that talks about opportunities to learn God, right? Opportunities along the way, an opportunity to progress. Remembering walk is a spiritual walk that we're doing. God will progress us. He'll move us down the line, but that's spiritual opportunities that we have to grow. I'll give them a quota every day that I may test them. Whether they will walk in my law or not. So God does the same thing with us. There may be tests. Will they walk in my way, or will they just kind of do things their own way and think, you know, as you heard in the first sermon, just kind of do it the way I want. It's not that bad. God's pretty detailed. He's pretty detailed in what He wants us to do and how He expects us to walk with Him.

If we're walking worthy, one more verse over in chapter 18 and verse 20. God says, teach them. Teach the people your way, His way. You shall teach them the statutes and the laws. Teach them the way of God. Jesus Christ said, I'm the way, I'm the truth, I'm the life. The Old Testament, the books of the Old Testament here tell us what God's will is. It tells us how to live. Verse 20, you shall teach them the statutes of the law and show them the way in which they must walk. In the way they must walk and the work they must do. So as God works with us, He will teach us. He'll teach us His ways. It's important for us to show God through the choices we make in our lives and the way we walk with Him because we know that there's a time coming when we will be teaching others. Right? We turn to Isaiah 30. The verse I'm sure we all know.

Part of what we're practicing now is we walk with God in the way He wants us to walk.

Isaiah 30 and verse 21. Speaking of the time ahead of us, when Christ has returned, His Kingdom has been established on earth, and we will be teaching others. The time for our training and preparation is now so that when Christ returns and humanity lives over into the time of His reign, we can teach others. Verse 21. Your ears, He's talking to the people that are there now. Well, last line of verse 20. Your eyes shall see your teachers. Your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, this is the way. Walk in it. Wherever you turn to the right or whenever you turn to the left, you stay on the straight path. You keep walking with God. God gives us His Holy Spirit.

It will, our consciences will, oh, there's something, this isn't the way.

Don't sear the conscience. Do it God's way. Stay on that walk and do things the way God said.

In the Millennium, it'll be you and me telling someone, no, no, that's not the way. It may seem right. It may sound like a good idea. It may sound like I wouldn't be too upset about that, but no, no, this is the way. Walk in it. You know, walk in truth. Let me turn to one more verse here in 2 John 1. As we talk about walking in truth and not the way that we used to walk, 2 John 1 verse 4.

Notice what John, I mean John was the longest living of the apostles.

I mean, Patmos is not too far from here. He was imprisoned there for a while, and there's where he wrote the book of Revelation. In verse 4, you know, in these epistles of John, same John who wrote the Gospel and who walked with Christ three and a half years, and of course the rest of his life, walking with him spiritually as you and I do. In verse 4, he writes to the elect lady, elect lady, that's someone who is walking with God, I rejoice greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth as we receive commandment from the Father. And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have heard, which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. This is love, that we walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. There is truth. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He says in Micah, I am the Lord your God, I change not. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. The law that we read back in Deuteronomy, this very same law that Jesus Christ, the same way that Jesus Christ lived, is the way that God expects his people to live. It's exactly the same way the people in the Millennium will be taught, that he is looking for us to be able to teach others those ways. So it's important that we walk worthy of the calling, that we walk as Christ walked, and do the things that he says. Now if we go back to Ephesians again, I have the next place in chapter 5 that Paul talks about this walk that we're in.

In verse 1 of chapter 5, he says, therefore be imitators of God as dear children. What is he saying? Walk like Christ walked. Do the things that God said. If Jesus Christ did it, do it. Now of course we have the Old Testament versus the New Testament. But the very same law applies. The Ten Commandments are the way of life. Jesus Christ said, I am the way, the truth, the life. The Bible makes clear the things that we should do today. Verse 2, walk in love. Walk in love. So you have truth. Walking in truth, not the way we used to walk. Ephesians 4, 15 talks about speaking the truth in love. We know that speaking isn't the way that was originally done. That truth was a verb. We could say walking in truth with love, living the truth in love, doing the truth in love.

God inspired here the same thing. Walk in love. So as we walk worthy, we walk in truth, no longer doing the things that we do as God reveals to us and as we do things His way, but walking as Christ walked and walking in love. We know what love is. We could give sermons on agape. We don't have the time to do all that, but you know what agape is. Jesus Christ showed the epitome of agape to be willing to lay down His life for us. That we could have the opportunity of eternal life. That we could share in that time to come when He will return and set up His kingdom.

We would even have positions that He's preparing us for to serve in that way. That's what He has us doing. That's remembering the calling that we have. That's being reminded of the things that God has called us to. That's doing the thing, staying on the walk, endeavoring to keep the unity with God, endeavoring to keep the unity with each other, bearing with one another, forgiving, walking in truth, walking in love, just as it says here. Let's just look at a couple verses here, and as you, well probably most of you are on your iPads, as you push your button to get to 1 John again. 1 John 4. I remind you that, you know, Jesus Christ, that last night that He was on earth, before He was arrested, after He had completed the Passover with His disciples, He said twice in John 14. It's recorded in John 14, if you love Me, if you love Me what? Keep My commandments.

Walk in the way that I taught you to walk. Walk in the way that I walk. Do things my way. Not the way someone else said, but do it God's way. It's there in the Bible. 1 John 4. 1 John 4 and verse 16.

That's not right. Let me see. Oh yeah, 1 John 4 16. We have known and believed the love that God has for us. We have known. We have experienced it. We believe it. We believe the God, the love that God has for us. God is love, and He who abides in love abides in God and God in Him.

He who knows or abides in love, God walks with Him. We walk with Him. He abides in us.

We abide in Him. What is love? A whole bunch of things. Christ said, if you love Me, keep My commandments. Do it My way. Do it the way that I said to do it.

And of course, it has a physical aspect as well. In verse John 3, one chapter back, verse John 3 and verse 14.

John, again, apostle who lived the longest. We know that we have passed from death to life.

Why? Because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.

Pretty straightforward, right? Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, because he, that's Christ, laid down his life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for our brethren. Big, big calling, big, big aspirations. It takes us a while to get there. We would all say we would.

There will be a time when we would do, if we continue in our walk with God, really be willing to do that if and when the time comes. Verse 17, he says, but you got, you got along the walk, you got this opportunity to develop the love with brethren. Whoever has this world's goods and see his brother in need and shuffs up this heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

So if we see a need like that good Samaritan along the way, the Levite passed right by him, the priest walked right by him, saw something that's needed, but it was the good Samaritan said, oh, he needs something. I need to help him. What do we do? Would we stop along the way?

Do we, when we see a brother in need, stop and do what is needed from him? God says, if we walk on by and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

Building the bonds, walking with each other, realizing we're walking with each other on the same path, on the way toward the kingdom, working with each other, striving with each other, loving one another to help us stay on that path and not let this or that or whatever comes our way take us off that walk. Stay on the walk. Stay focused. Remember what God has called us to.

Ephesians 5 You know, as you go, we talked about walking and walking in love. And then as you go down from verse two, you see putting away all these things of the former way of life until we come down to verse eight, where we see walk again. Paul reminding us, you were once darkness, but now you are the light. Now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.

Walk as children of light. What did Jesus Christ say about himself and the I Am statements that he made? He said, I am the way, the truth, the life, yes. But he also said, I am the light. I am the light. Now let's turn back there. I think this is in John 8, John 8, 12.

Remind us of these stories and what Jesus did as he was walking in his physical life, walking toward the kingdom of what God had prepared for him, that he could be ready to assume that throne, that he would qualify to, he would give his life, that he would be resurrected, and he, as he does now, sits at the right hand of God. John 8, verse 12.

As the woman caught in adultery and one by one they left her, Christ said, I didn't come to continue. I don't condemn you in verse 11. Go and sin no more. Make this a turning point in your life. Go and sin no more. Repent, as we heard. Repent, Corinthian style, the way we heard. Verse 12, Jesus spoke to them again, saying, I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness. Shall not. That's a command. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. Have the light of life.

Looking back, looking back at the Matthew 5, again, the Sermon on the Mount, what did Jesus Christ say?

You are the light of the world. We have light in Him. Not by our goodness, not by our character, not by our intelligence, not by our personality. It's what God does in us. You are the light of the world. Don't hide your light under a basket. Let it shine. Stand up and walk in the way of God. Let them see what God's way is and the effects it's had in your life. Do it His way. Let your light shine. Not trying to look like the world, but looking the way God said He wants His people to look. Looking the way Jesus Christ looked because He was not of the world. He, despite all the people that were against Him, He did it. He did it God's way. Okay, I'm going to go back to Ephesians 2 and pick up another walk. Ephesians 2 and verse 10. Paul says, we are His workmanship. Now he says this, remember, before chapter 4. And we'll come back to the first three chapters just very briefly here to conclude this in a few minutes. But in chapter in verse 10, he says, we, again, that's you and me. The Ephesians, if there was a letter that went to all the churches at that time, it certainly was meant for all churches and all God's people because it is a pretty complete book about what we do and how we do it. And in verse 10, for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. That we should walk in them. So as we read in 1 John 3, we do need to be we do need to be walking, doing those works along the way. We don't just say we love God, we show we love Him. We don't just say we love our brethren. We show that we love it. They're our works. God created us for good works. Not that those works, of course, as we know, they're not the things that save us. They are a product of God's spirit and God's love in us as He works with us. And as He urges us to do the things that God would have us do. We grow in those areas. Not perfect at day one after baptism. Not perfect year five, year ten, year twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty. Becoming, or never perfect in this physical life. But as God sees that we're walking worthy with Him by what we do, what we believe, how what we stand for, what we do along the way as well as a product of His spirit in us. Because it does produce fruit. There is love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, kindness, mercy, self-control, a very large one, self-control. All those things along the way that do produce works, that people can see the light that we have. Why are you doing that? Why aren't you all worried about this like so many of the other people are? Why? Why does that not bother you? Like it does the rest of the people. It's because God's Spirit in us. We know the walk He's in. We know where He's taking us. We know that the end is not in this world. This world must pass away so that the time of peace and refreshing and everything comes when Jesus Christ returns. Okay, Ephesians 5.

Seventh time.

Seventh time that walk shows up in here.

I'm going to read a few verses from 8 as we walk as children of light.

I'm going to begin in verse 10. In verse 8 it says, walk as children of life. In 10 it says, finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. You know, that's discerning. What is it that God wants?

You know, if we search the Scriptures, we can find out what God wants. It's not hidden. He wants us to know His Holy Spirit will illuminate in our minds the things that we see what He wants. Finding out. That takes seeking, right? Seeking the truth. God said, seek and you will find. Knock and it will be answered. We're asking you will receive. Seek the truth, right? Finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. Verse 13, all things are exposed. All things that are exposed are made manifest by the light for whatever makes manifest is light showing and revealing the dark things of earth. As God reveals the dark things in us that have yet to be expelled. Therefore, He says, there's that word therefore again, awake. Awake you who asleep. We visited Laodicea. Wake up. Look around. See what's happening. Get out of the life of ease where we think everything is okay. Awake you who sleep. Arise from the dead and Christ will give you light when we seek it. When we get up, when we wake up, when we see what's really going on, He will give you light. See then, verse 15, that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil.

Mr. McNeely recounted so many of those evils. You've heard them recently. All the evils in this world, so much more in the last two and three years, and even in the last year, that we could have even imagined two or three years ago that would be in our world today that you and I face, that we listen to on TV, that we watch the world going in a direction that is completely different than anything we grew up with. And so totally different than the Bible that it's mind-boggling. It is the days. These are the days of evil, and it will only become more and more pronounced. Wake up! If you think it's going back to the way it was before, it is not. The time is of Jesus Christ's return draws nearer and nearer and nearer. Redeeming the time because the days are evil, therefore don't be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Get to know His will. Do what He wants, and not what all those around you want, unless they are leading you in the same path that the Bible would have you be. See then that you walk circumspectly. Now, circumspectly is not a word that I use in my everyday language. Probably you don't either, right? I mean, it's not like you went around saying, did you do this circumspectly? What does circumspectly mean?

If you look it up, what it means is exactly, exactly, and accurately. So see then that you walk exactly and accurately. Not as fools, but as wise. Where does wisdom come from?

Wisdom comes from the fear of the Lord. Wisdom comes from knowing the Bible, looking in the Bible. God says in James, if we ask for wisdom, He'll give it. If we don't ask for it, He won't.

Right? Asking you will receive. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.

Redeeming the time, wake up. Are you doing things circumspectly? Are you walking in the exact and accurate way that God instructed us to walk?

We turn back to Deuteronomy. Moses said similar words. Didn't use the word circumspectly, but he certainly used the meaning when he was instructing Israel and instructing all of God's people down through the ages in Deuteronomy 28.

Deuteronomy 28 and verse 1.

You know, as you get into the last chapters of Deuteronomy, you see that they are prophetic there for a time yet ahead of us. They're not just about the walk in the wilderness for 40 years. In Deuteronomy 28 verse 1, he says, We've heard the word diligently or diligence already today.

We're going to read it again.

The Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will endure to you. But later on in the chapter, if you don't, if you depart from the way, if you get off the walk, if you start thinking you know better, your idea is just as good as God's, that little compromise is no big issue to God. If we start thinking that way and allowing ourselves to drift further and further away from the walk, problems occur. Blessings get taken away.

The curses of God. So you will often hear me say, and people in Orlando who are here have heard me say, people in Cincinnati will get used to me saying, diligently, carefully, and earnestly, right? That's how we obey God. Diligently, carefully, and earnestly. That's what we do. We know what the wall of God is. We examine what we do. We do it God's way. Even when, even when we don't want to do it, of course, but even when it doesn't seem like it's such a big deal to us, we do it God's way. Walk circumspectly. Walk the walk exactly as God asked us to walk.

Let me go back to 1 John again. 1 John 2.

1 John 2.

And verse, oh yeah, yeah, verse John 2.6. Get the right chapter here. 1 John 2.6. 2 John 2.6. How did Christ walk? There was never a compromise. He was perfect in everything he did. He didn't let people who upset him throw him off the walk. He didn't lose his anger. Even when they were falsely accusing him when he was brought before Pilate, it says he didn't revile them.

They were walking on a different walk. They weren't on the same walk as him.

But they kept doing things. He kept doing it God's way. It was God's will. And it tells us in Hebrews, he was made perfect. He was already perfect, but he was made perfect through the suffering that he endured. God will make us perfect through the suffering that we endure so that we can continue on that walk with him for eternity. And 1 Peter 2.21 says Christ set the example.

Christ set the example. And we have the example of the people in the New Testament, the Pauls, the Apollos, the James, the Johns, the Jude's, the Peters of the New Testament who walked as Christ walked. As we read in the New Testament, they continue to do exactly what Christ led them to do.

Can we be any different? No, we cannot. We need to continue the walk, and we need to stay in the walk, but we can't do it on our own. Go back to Ephesians. I mentioned that the first half of Ephesians reminds us of something we must always keep in mind. And then the last chapters of Ephesians tell us how to, right? How to be in these relationships, what we need to do, how we war against the wiles of the devil. I read Ephesians 2.10. I'm going to read it again, because there's that walk in there. But there is a key phrase in verse 10 that you find more often in Ephesians than any other book of the Bible. And that's what the first three chapters are about, as God reveals His plan, reveals His calling to us, reveals the mysteries of the church, what He's doing through the church, and the body He places us in, because there is one body that He prepares us through. Ephesians 2, verse 10, we are His workmanship. He is working with us. He will complete Jesus Christ the Author and finisher of our salvation, right? It's Him.

We just have to yield and let Him. Let Him do what He has called us to do. Yielding to Him, of course, putting and endeavoring all along the way, we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works. That Word in Christ Jesus. It's only through Jesus Christ that we have the opportunity that we have. Everything, as we talked about at Passover, as we've talked about during the days of the bread that we should always keep in mind, it's in Jesus. In the first, if you read Ephesians 1, 3 to 13, 10 times in that introductory few verses there, it says, in Jesus, or in Him, or in Christ, over and over and over in those first three verses, or first three chapters, in Christ, in Jesus, do things His way. Remember it's Him. Never think you're going to do it on your own. It is in Him. And then He goes into chapter 4. And when you remember, it's in Him, by His power, by His might. Our yielding, our making choices along the way to stay on the walk with Him and to know the walk and discern the walk and make sure we are staying on it.

That God will lead us to where He wants us to go. I hope that we never forget the lessons we've learned here, or what the importance of Ephesus is, this book, and of course all the books of the Bible, that we all continue on the walk of God till the time we come to His kingdom.