Walking in the Spirit

Well, brethren, what is the most difficult, horrendous physical trial of which you can possibly think? Just think about the worst possible physical trial. Now, you may be able to think of some pretty horrendous physical trials. Blindness, suffering with cancer, Alzheimer's disease, debilitating back problems, accompanied with excruciating pain, or possibly even being covered with poison ivy from head to toe for a week or two. I know I was miserable when that happened to me as a teenager. Probably one of the most miserable weeks of my life. What is the most difficult physical trial that you can think of?

Now, personally, I can't think of a worse physical trial than that of being a quadriplegic. Think about that for a moment. The etymology of this word quadriplegic is quadriplegia. It's from the new Latin. It means one affected with paralysis of both arms, both arms, and also both legs. Now, when you think of Superman, who do you think of? Now, I'm confident that many of us, at least us old-timers, think of Christopher Reeves. He played Superman in the movies.

He was the quintessential Superman, a good-looking, a rugged, a real hunk of a man, you might say. And Superman is a symbol of strength and power. But what happened to Christopher Reeves? Do you remember that he had an accident? He fell off a horse. He injured his spinal cord, and in an instant he became a quadriplegic. He lived for about 10 years in a wheelchair or flat on his back in bed, unable to move either his legs or his arms, unable to walk. Now let's switch gears for a moment and ask this question.

What is the most difficult, the most life-threatening spiritual trial of which you can possibly think? Perhaps you may think of losing your job because of your faithfulness in observing the Sabbath. Some people have lost their jobs, and it's been quite a trial for them. Or maybe you would think of ISIS threatening to cut your head off, unless you would deny your faith.

Those are both some very severe spiritual trials having to do with your faith. But I submit to you that the most difficult and the most life-threatening spiritual trial that one could experience is that of becoming a spiritual quadriplegic. Now you may have never even thought of that term before. What's a spiritual quadriplegic? Well, we'll talk more about that as we continue through the sermon. Now, not long ago we all observed God's spring Holy Days.

We observed the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. And from the Sabbath, during the Days of Unleavened Bread, we're told to count 50 days. We count 50 days to God's next annual Holy Day, the Feast of Pentecost or the Day of Pentecost or First Fruits. Pentecost is also called the Feast of Weeks. Why is that? Well, we know it's because we count 7 weeks or 49 days from the Sabbath during the Days of Unleavened Bread, and we count 7 weekly Sabbaths, 49 days.

And then the very next day, the 50th day, is the Day of Pentecost. Counting from this Sabbath today, we now have 4 more weekly Sabbaths between now and Pentecost. So we have 4 times 7 equals 28 days plus one more day, 29 days until the Day of Pentecost. So we have less than a month. So why am I talking about this? Well, brethren, we all know that God's Word encourages us to walk in the Spirit. If one learns to truly walk in the Spirit, he will never become a spiritual quadriplegic.

If one learns to truly walk in the Spirit, he will never become a spiritual quadriplegic. Brethren, it is vitally important that we all learn to walk in the Spirit so that we will not become spiritual quadriplegics. So what does it mean to walk in the Spirit? Well, we're going to spend the rest of the sermon talking about what it means to walk in the Spirit. And at the same time, we'll be discussing what a spiritual quadriplegic is. Let's go to Galatians 5. Galatians 5. There are some of you, no doubt, when you think of Galatians 5, you think of the fruits of the Spirit.

And of course, we will be talking about the fruits of the Spirit here momentarily. But let's go to verse 9, first of all. Galatians 5. Verse 9. Remember, a little leaven leavens the whole lump. That's what it says in Galatians 5. Verse 9. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. A little sin spreads, and it affects everyone around it.

Now, let's start reading again in verse 13. For you, brethren, have been called to liberty. Those of us who have been called out of this world and have had our minds open to God's truth, we have been called to liberty.

The truth shall make us free. Only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh. And many people, frankly, have done that. And some have gone so far as to say the law has been done away. Because of that. But through love, serve one another. And then notice verse 14. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Notice verse 15. But if you bite and devour one another, beware, lest you be consumed by one another.

The Bible talks a lot about how we treat each other, what God expects of us as His church and as His people. Let's continue reading in verse 16. I say then, Paul says, I say, Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary to one another. They're opposites. They're contrary to each other. They war against each other. So that you do not do the things that you wish.

Now, this is the same Paul, of course, who wrote chapter 7 of the book of Romans and talked about the things that we don't want to do, or the things we sometimes find ourselves doing. And the things that we know we should do, we have a difficult time doing. That's what he's talking about here. So that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now, Mr. Ledbetter talked about what it means to not be under the law. It's talking primarily about not being under the penalty of the law, because Christ has died for us.

He's paid the penalty. He's been sacrificed for us. And he's been resurrected. He lives at the right hand of God. He makes intercession for us. And by him, by his sacrifice, our sins are forgiven. And we are granted repentance. Repentance is a gift that God grants to us, because God looks on our heart. He knows your heart. He sees your heart. He knows everything about you.

You can't hide anything from God.

So if you are led by the Spirit, then you're not under the law. You're not under the penalty of the law. If you are striving to walk in the Spirit, and you have God's Spirit dwelling in you. God's Spirit is motivating you and guiding you. And as long as you are following the lead of the Holy Spirit, then you're not under the law, because you are of a repentant heart and mind. So even when you stumble and fall, you get back up, and you are truly sorry with a godly sorrow for what you've done. And God forgives you. And it's a beautiful thing. And the relationship that we can have with God is so precious when we understand who we are, what we've done, and what God and Christ are doing for us. So it draws us ever closer to God and to Christ when we come under the blood of Christ, when we see how deeply we need His sacrifice, and how deeply we need to learn to walk in the Spirit. Because it also means that with Christ living in us, we can be overcomers. We can put sin out of our lives. We can stop sinning to a large degree.

So it's not just that our sins are covered, but it's also that we're not sinning nearly so much, because Christ is living in us. And He's motivating us and guiding us and showing us the way. And we are yielding to Him, and we are surrendering to Him and to the Father, and we are drawing ever closer to them. So let's continue to read here. Now, the works of the flesh are evident. So again, we're talking about the Spirit of the law or the Spirit of God or walking in the Spirit, walking in God's law, because sin is the transgression of the law. The works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery or sexual immorality. It's fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, all of these things, because we are fleshly human beings. We are sexual beings, you might say. You know, we're male and female. We're different sexes. We're created this way. And along with that, sometimes comes issues. Always there are issues because of this, and we have to be very careful that we make good decisions, that we make godly decisions, and that we are not getting involved in the works of the flesh, of adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness. And then he talks about idolatry and sorcery and hatred. Now, this is really a wonderful set of scriptures here, because it shows very clearly it's not just what some might put at the top of the list, but it's any type of sin. It's hatred. It's contentions. It's jealousies. It's outbursts of wrath. Are any of us guilty of any of those things? Sure, we all are. We're all guilty. Selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy. Have you ever envied anyone before? Or have you ever coveted anything? Sure, we're all guilty of these things. And he says, and the like, or also he says murders and drunkenness, revelries, and the like. In other words, anything that's close to these things, whatever it is, it's sin. It's sin. And just as I also told you in time past that those who practice such things, and that's an important word, the word practice, it isn't just a really a very rare thing that someone might stumble and fall and repent quickly of their sin and then go on for a long time, perhaps, without sinning. This is a practicing, someone who practices such things, who is steeped in these things and is not getting a grip on them.

That's not to say that you can't struggle with certain things for years, because people do. And I've struggled with things for years. My wife isn't yet perfect. She's close, but she's not quite there. So she struggled with things for years. We all have. Even Mr. Wright. All of us have struggled with things, and some things are closer to us than other things, and they're more difficult for us. And so we continue to struggle in these things.

But if we practice such things, we will not inherit the Kingdom of God. It's that serious. So we cannot afford, we cannot allow ourselves to go on just practicing these things without coming out of them, without making some progress, without overcoming, without doing better, without growing spiritually. God wants us to grow spiritually. So these are the works of the flesh. So what we're talking about here is walking in the flesh. When we are doing these things, when we're full of idolatry and sorcery and hatred and contentions and jealousy, and on it goes, we are walking in the flesh. But just the opposite is true. When we stop those things, and we stop doing those types of things, and we start to produce the fruits of God's Holy Spirit. And let's read in verse 22. So now we're contrasting the fruit of the Spirit. But the fruit of the Spirit is love. Love is a very good thing. God is love. It's joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is no law. Yeah, there's no law against those things, because those things are right and good. There is a law against all those other things, the works of the flesh, that we read earlier. God says, don't do them. There are commandments against those types of things. And the letter and the Spirit of God's law covers the works of the flesh. And we're supposed to come out of these works of the flesh. We're supposed to stop walking in the flesh.

Verse 24, And those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions. Remember, we come under the watery grave, and we're crucified with Christ when we come to the point of baptism and we repent of our sins. Then we come onto that watery grave, and our sins are forgiven. They're washed away in Christ's blood, in His sacrifice. We kept the Passover, which pictures that. It's a beautiful, meaningful ceremony. It's so precious to all of us.

And then right on the heels of the Passover, the Days of Unleavened Bread, clearly showing that God does want us to come out of sin. He does want us to put sin out completely. Yes, we're baptized. Now we're to walk in the Spirit, not walk in the flesh, no longer sinning as we once did, but now walking in newness of life. So we have crucified the flesh with its passions and its desires. Now that doesn't mean that we won't still have some passions and desires, but we bury them. Remember, we bring every thought into captivity, unto the obedience of Christ. And if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Let us walk in the Spirit. Let us not be spiritual quadriplegics who cannot walk.

They can't walk. But, brethren, we can walk. We can walk in the Spirit. And let us not, verse 25, if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. If God's Spirit dwells in us, or if we're on our way to baptism, and we're yielding to the Spirit of God, and God's Spirit is guiding us toward baptism, then let us live in the Spirit, and let us walk in the Spirit, and let us not become conceited. Let's not become vain or provoking one another. Let's not become self-righteous. Once God calls us and shows us the right way to live, there's a danger of becoming self-righteous. Because if we stop sinning like we once were sinning, then we begin to think, oh, I've really got a handle on this. I'm a righteous man.

Then we can become conceited, and we can provoke one another, we can envy one another, we can look at someone else, and maybe they got promoted above us, and hey, I'm more righteous than they are. Can't anyone see that? Can't you see it?

That's human nature. So, brethren, the fruits of the Spirit are very unselfish. When you look at back at the fruits of God's Spirit, they're very unselfish. Love is outgoing concern for others. Joy is something that is automatically shared with others. A joyful, thankful person is contagious. They're a blessing to be around, and we like to be around people like that that are joyful and thankful. Making peace is also a very unselfish act, usually.

Being a peacemaker and bringing peace to a situation through humility, instead of stirring up strife and turmoil through vanity and pride, that is something to also share with others. We should all be peacemakers.

And peace between brethren is a beautiful thing to behold, a beautiful thing to experience.

How good and how pleasant for brethren to dwell in unity. And patience is obviously an unselfish trait, or long suffering. Being able to suffer long without complaining, without griping, and still having faith and trusting in God and believing in Him.

Long suffering or patience is an unselfish trait and characteristic. Kindness is outgoing toward others. Being kind toward others. Being good. Keeping God's commandments and doing those things are right and good in His sight. Faithfulness is a wonderful trait to be a faithful, loyal friend. To know that people count on you and you will never let them down. You'll always be loyal and faithful. You'll be a good, faithful friend always. And gentleness or meekness. Humility. Humility. These are all wonderful traits, so very unselfish.

And being self-controlled is the opposite of being selfish.

Selfishly, we just want to let it go, don't we? We want to do whatever comes to mind. But when we are self-controlled, then we're not being selfish. We're self-controlled.

Selfishness is when the self is out of control and it is seeking its own fulfillment.

Bringing oneself under control is practicing unselfishness. It's not giving in to the self and its passions and its desires.

We all need to ask ourselves, am I selfish?

Am I a selfish person? Am I acting selfishly in this case? So consider all of your relationships, including your church relationships. Think of any conflicts that you may presently be in.

And ask yourself, what role am I playing in continuing this difficult, bad relationship? What am I doing that's making it worse? What could I do to make it better? This week in my prayers, I recall asking God to help me walk more fully in the Spirit, because that's really what I want to learn to do, to walk in the Spirit and to always be walking in the Spirit. I also have talked to God about my desire to walk in the Spirit by producing the fruit of His Spirit. And it's often what I pray about. I think about the fruits of God's Spirit when I'm praying and I ask Him, God help me to be this way. Because really, that's what walking in the Spirit is all about. God wants us not just to do loving things, but He wants us to be loving. He wants to see that character. He wants us to be loving people. He doesn't want us to be joyful from time to time. He wants us to always be joyful. Now, that doesn't mean that God wants us to be joyful. Now, that doesn't mean we can't be depressed and still be joyful. There are times when times get hard and difficult, but underlying there has to be this joyfulness that we have been called of God and that even though times are tough right now, we have faith in God that He will see us through and that we will be in His Kingdom. So we need to become joyful. And it doesn't mean we're there yet. None of us are always joyful.

But it is a fruit of God's Spirit.

We are to become peaceful. We are to be peaceful. We are to be patient. It's long suffering. We're to be kind. We're to be good. We are to be faithful. And we are to be self-control. These are all characters. We're characteristics. God wants us to become like Him, and that's the way He is. In Matthew 5, 48, it says, basically, let us become perfect even as our Father in Heaven is perfect. This is our goal as Christians to become perfect. But none of us are perfect yet, are we? None of us are holy and perfectly righteous. Thankfully, God looks at us and He deems us righteous people, men and women. He counts us worthy, even though we're unworthy, because we are repentant.

And we get back up, and we continue to fight the good fight. And we are fighters, and we are not quitters. And we do not give up, and we constantly fight and struggle and strive to become more like God. So, sometimes, I'm sure you find yourself being unloving. Sometimes you find yourself being miserable, being cantankerous, difficult, unkind, nasty, mean-spirited, harsh, doubtful and fearful, undisciplined, lacking self-control.

If so, you are certainly walking in the flesh. That's what you're doing. When you're like that, admit it. You're walking in the flesh.

And you have to stop. And you have to start walking in the Spirit again. In 2 Corinthians 10, let's go there for a moment. 2 Corinthians 10, the Apostle Paul talks about walking in the flesh here. 2 Corinthians 10, verse 1. I think I read this during the days of 11 bread, on the first day of 11 bread. But let's read it again in this context. Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and the gentleness of Christ, who in presence am lowly among you but being absent and bold toward you. But I beg you that when I am present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. Now Paul's talking about his responsibilities as a minister. We who are ministers, yes, we have a greater obligation, a greater responsibility, to walk in the Spirit. That's what we're supposed to be doing. Now none of us are perfect at that. Paul wasn't perfect at it. David wasn't perfect. I'm not perfect. None of us were perfect. But nevertheless, we are to set an example, and we have to be careful. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.

Yes, we're all fleshly human beings, but we have to learn to walk in the Spirit, and we have to war in the Spirit. We have to use spiritual weapons.

For the weapons of our warfare, they're not carnal or fleshly, but they're mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. Remember we talked about that on the first day of 11 bread, and how there are certain addictions that people have. These are strongholds that we've allowed Satan to set up in our lives, or we've set them up ourselves without even any help from Satan, perhaps. But these things need to be pulled down, and only through the fruits of God's Holy Spirit can we do that. So this is spiritual warfare that we're waging. Verse 5, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. So that is so important that we learn to control our thoughts. And on the first day of 11 bread, we went to the book of James, and we talked about how that deadly, sinful ripple effect, remember that? There's a ripple effect that goes on. And when we don't bring a thought into captivity, then that thought will lead to a sin. An evil desire, a thought, acted upon becomes sin. And ultimately, unless we repent, we will be cast in the lake of fire. Every sin must be repented of. We must have a repentant heart and mind, and the Spirit of God must remain in us throughout our lives. You know, once we've been given the Spirit of God, we have to stir it up. We have to learn to walk in the Spirit. Now, God says in Revelation 3, verse 21, that to He who overcomes will I grant to sit with Me on My throne. Now, think about that for a moment.

That would be quite an honor, wouldn't it? To sit on God's throne, to share power with God Himself, with Jesus Christ, to be a King and a Priest during the Millennium, when God's Kingdom is established at Christ's return. What an honor! You know, in this life, if a President came to us and said, listen, Bobby, or whoever your name is, I've been watching you. I've noticed your walk in life. I've noticed the way you are, and I want you to be a part of my team. I need you to help lead this country. I have faith in you. I have confidence in you. Together, we can make a difference.

Well, that would be a bit of a heady thing, wouldn't it? To have someone come to you and say, I'd like you to be the Secretary of State.

I have that much confidence in your abilities and your character and your integrity. Now, that's exactly what Christ is saying to us when He grants us to sit with Him on His throne.

What an honor! What a blessing! I'm thrilled. I've been thrilled for 40 years thinking about that.

That's exciting to me. That's what I want. That's why I'm here. That's why I continue doing what I'm doing. Because I believe it. I have faith in it. I believe God's Word. I believe what God's Word says is true. And we can count on it. And we can stake our lives on it.

Now, what do we have to overcome? We have to be overcomers, right? You may have heard people say, well, we have to overcome sin.

We also have to overcome the self. And we have to overcome Satan. And I would agree with all of that. Yes, we have to overcome those things. We have to continually fight the good fight and fight the battle against sin, against self, and against Satan.

That's another way of saying you must overcome the temptation to walk in the flesh.

When we walk in the flesh, we are spiritual quadriplegics. We're not going anywhere spiritually.

We're going away from God's kingdom when we're walking in the flesh.

So we have to learn to walk in the spirit. And that's what this overcoming is all about. Satan is the great tempter, and he appeals to the self. He appeals to ourselves. He is our selfish nature. We all have weaknesses. And believe me, Satan knows your weaknesses. He knows my weaknesses. I'm sure of that.

He knows when and in what way we are vulnerable to his temptations. And he will try to take advantage of our weaknesses.

And that's why it's so important to stay close to God and have his strength. So that we can battle.

Brethren, can you think of an integral part of the sample prayer that Christ gives in Matthew 6 that relates directly to what we're talking about right now?

What does the sample prayer say about temptation?

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. That's supposed to be a part of our daily prayers.

Deliver us, Father. Give us strength.

Help us stay close to you so that we will not be influenced by Satan the devil. He is a roaring lion. He is seeking whom he may devour. But thankfully, God is on our side, and God is far more powerful.

Satan is just a pawn in God's hands. He has a purpose.

We are being tested. We are being tried. God is testing you. He's allowing Satan to tempt you. What you do is important. How you respond is very important. Will you walk in the flesh and follow Satan? Or will you walk in the spirit?

When a person goes about his daily life, is he not continually walking? Now, I would say most of you walked here today. Not the whole way. But you walked from your car into this building. Now, some people are confined to wheelchairs, I realize that. But the vast majority of us, we do a lot of walking.

We get tired of sitting, don't we? I get tired of sitting at my desk in my office. And after a few hours of sitting at the computer, I will typically get up and take a walk.

I'll walk in the backyard, I'll walk out by the pond, I'll watch those crazy ducks. Six ducks out on the pond, always fighting, always peeking at each other. It's really quite an education. Someday I'll have to speak more about those ducks.

But I like to get up and get a break. Get away from sitting, but get out and walk and go do something active.

Now, we will be either walking in the Spirit, or we'll be walking in the flesh. You're going to be doing one or the other at all times.

So think about that.

You came here today because your spiritual life is important to you. You came here today because you want to become more spiritually minded. You want to please God, and you want to fellowship with God's people. That's a wonderful thing.

So you'll either be walking in the Spirit, or walking in the flesh. We won't just be spiritually sitting as we go through life. Walking is a very active thing to do. God says we are to be doers of His law, not just hearers only.

Again, I think one of the most difficult trials would be to be a quadriplegic, to be just seated all the time or laying on your back, not being able to move.

How close to becoming a spiritual quadriplegic are you? Ask yourself that for a moment. How close are you to becoming a spiritual quadriplegic? Well, probably not very close, because you're here today. And that's a great thing, and I commend all of you. I'm certainly more concerned about those who don't take it seriously, and who do not keep God's laws, and who shun God in many ways.

They are much closer to becoming spiritual quadriplegics. You've walked here, and you are walking in the Spirit.

But again, when we are steeped in sin, we are certainly walking in the flesh. We're not walking in the Spirit. And in that sense, a person like that is confined to a spiritual wheelchair.

They're greatly hindered, aren't they? We need to get up off the wheelchairs, brethren. We need to get out of the wheelchair. We need to become doers of God's law. Not just hearers only. It's not enough to just sit there and come in here. That's not enough. If that's all you're doing, then you're an unprofitable servant.

What do you do the rest of the time? All week long? Do you think of ways to serve, to help others? Sure you do. I'm sure you do. I'm confident that you're praying, that you're reading your Bible, you're wanting to draw closer to God, and that you're doing some things. You're sending cars to people, you're calling people up, you're visiting people, you're taking care of children, you're loving each other. I mean, there's lots that we do throughout the week that's spiritually oriented. So keep that up, but stay focused. Because Satan wants to destroy you. He really does. He's not your friend. He's your adversary. He's your enemy.

And we have to fight back.

Now, how can you really walk in the Spirit if you are, say, a spiritual paraplegic? Maybe not a quadriplegic. A paraplegic can, basically, from the waist up, I believe, move their arms around. You know, they're not so confined as a quadriplegic. Maybe some of us are just spiritual paraplegics.

Brethren, I pray that none of us are either spiritual quadriplegics or spiritual paraplegics. I pray that we are very actively walking in the Spirit. I know in the past we were all spiritual quadriplegics or paraplegics. We were not walking in the Spirit. We didn't have God's Spirit dwelling in us.

And we were doing many things very wrong. We were sinning against God left and right. I remember as a young man, 18 years old, I had to come to realize that I'd been breaking all of the commandments. All of them. I had to come to realize that I'd been breaking all of the commandments. All of them. Every one. All 10.

Not in the letter, but in the Spirit. I'd been breaking all of them. I had to repent of breaking every one of God's commandments in the Spirit when I was 18 years old. We all need to analyze, how do you live your life?

What is important to you?

What choices and decisions do you make throughout the course of a week?

Are you on target? Are you really walking in the Spirit? Is God's Spirit abundant in you? Are you producing the fruit of God's Spirit? Is it emanating from you? Is God's Spirit emanating? Are you loving and joyful and kind and patient?

Are you humble and faithful? Is that the way you are? Don't we all have a ways to go? I think nod your heads.

Yeah, we all do. This is not meant to discourage anyone. I hope you realize that. I know I run the risk. Whenever I talk about these things, I run the risk of depressing people and discouraging people.

This is not meant to discourage at all.

Yes, it is a stir to action. It is take a good look at yourself, be honest with yourself, but look, I have to do the same thing with me. And I'm a hunk of junk.

But God is greater than any of us.

And I know God forgives me.

And I know as weak and as puny as I am, He forgives me.

And that's the relationship that we have.

He knows who I am, and I'm trying to know Him better.

But I do have faith. I do know that He's there for me. And I know that when I slip up, I just have to get up.

I just have to get up and go on. And don't wallow in self-pity, but get up, do better. You know, to me, that's not discouraging. I like a challenge, I guess. This is a very challenging life.

And hopefully we all like a challenge, because you are called to a challenge. This is a challenge. We have to challenge ourselves each and every day of our lives to be true Christians, to become like Christ, to become like the Father.

So in the past, we knew a lot about walking in the flesh. You know, I knew a lot about walking in the flesh. I was breaking every one of the commandments.

The spirit of the law, I was breaking every one. I was trampling all over the Sabbath day. I was doing my own thing. I didn't really know much better until God convicted me about the Sabbath. But I was trampling all over the Sabbath. I was speaking my own words, doing my own thing. It's still not real easy to keep the Sabbath perfectly, is it? Do any of you have a battle with that? I mean, I do. I have to watch myself. Why am I talking about that? Now, get your mind off of it. This is a continual struggle. It's a battle, and we have to engage. And we have to realize that we're in a battle. And we have to rise to the challenge.

This is an exciting life. It is a life worth living. I hope you have a magnificent obsession.

And I hope it's God's way of life. I hope you are obsessed with striving to become like God.

I hope you are obsessed with wanting to be in His kingdom, wanting to rule and reign with Him, not because of some vanity trip, but because Christ needs people beside Him.

He needs people like Him. You can be, I can be one of the first fruits. But not if we take our calling lightly.

We must never take this calling of ours lightly.

If God saw fit to bring you out of a condition, of being a spiritual quadriplegic, I guess that's what I was back in those days. I wasn't pleasing God. I was doing my own thing. I was breaking all of His commandments. If God saw fit to bring you out of that condition, then He's got something big in store for you.

You are one of the first fruits.

There is great reward in the first fruit. Remaining faithful to your calling, because only those who remain to the end will be saved. Only those who die in the faith or who are living in the faith will be saved.

God saw fit to call you and heal you of being a spiritual quadriplegic.

Or maybe a spiritual paraplegic. I guess first we're a quadriplegic, then we become a paraplegic, and then we learn to walk in the Spirit.

I know that there have been people who have strayed from their calling. I know in Oklahoma we had someone that after 30 years he came back.

He had been baptized 30 years ago.

And he went back into the world and he was running in the flesh. He wasn't just walking. He was running in the flesh. Several addictions.

All kinds of sins. He would admit it. He admitted it to me.

He called me one time before Passover, just a few days before Passover, crying and pleading with me to allow him to come to Passover.

He had repented. And he continues—this was seven or eight years ago—he continues to this day to be faithful. So whatever problem people have, even if they've become quadriplegics, God isn't done with them. God isn't giving up on anyone.

God isn't that way.

God never quits on us. Now, a human being has a remarkable capacity to hide from God. I've noticed that over the years I've been in the church and in the ministry, I've been rather amazed at one's capacity to hide from God. This guy did it for 30 years. He tried. I mean, God knew exactly where he was all the time.

And he brought him back, eventually. But it was a rough and a rocky road, and the man suffered a great deal.

Really. I mean, I could tell you a lot about this man's life—what he did to himself, what he did to others.

He hurt a lot of people. He hurt himself.

But thankfully, God wasn't done with him. And he repented of those things and came back. So, a human being does have a remarkable capacity to hide from God. I've seen that even in myself. If I want to do something I shouldn't, I can be pretty good about hiding from God, pushing him away, and not allowing him to impact what I want to do.

I'm sure you're probably good at that as well. Now, have any of you ever had an opportunity to intimately know a quadriplegic? You know, I may have asked you that before. I don't remember if I—I may have talked about—some of you know a few of you know some quadriplegics. Well, I had the opportunity—my wife and I—to meet a man in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. He lived out in the country about an hour from the time he was born. He lived out in the country about an hour from Pittsburgh. And he was a remarkable man. He dove into a pool—swimming pool—when he was 16 years old. And he wasn't being careful. He was being neglectful. And he told us that. And he ran in—he hit someone. I guess he hit them in the back. I don't think they were badly injured. But he damaged his spinal cord so badly that he became a quadriplegic at age 16.

I can't think of anything much worse than that.

A quadriplegic at age 16.

He was neglectful. And just a split second of being neglectful cost him the rest of his life.

Now, thankfully, that doesn't normally happen to people. Usually, we get away with a lot.

We're neglectful. I'm neglectful. I've been very neglectful. I'm sure in many, many ways. And so have you. We all have.

But Bob Neff—that was his name. He never got away with this. He was a quadriplegic the rest of his life. But the amazing thing about Bob Neff is that while he was a quadriplegic, God called him.

And God opened up his mind to his truth. And God restored him.

Talk about being depressed. Talk about having issues. It was God's truth that saved Bob Neff.

And, you know, he lived for right around—I think it was 40 years, which is unheard of. For a quadriplegic to live 40 years, that's not normal. You know, typically, they die long before that.

But he lived for 40 years. He was in his 50s when he died, and I was actually at his funeral service.

And I got to visit him a number of times, and he was really a remarkable person. From a physical standpoint, he had become a TV repairman.

And people would bring their TVs to him, and he would tell him how to fix them. Because he'd watch things on—he'd watch videos on how to fix TVs. He'd take in classes. He'd use a computer with his mouth. He couldn't move, but they could prop him up in front of a computer and a keyboard, and he could take that little stick that was in his mouth, and he could use it to punch the keys, and he would sit for hours every day at his computer. Guy was really quite remarkable. So he had them actually fix them, but he told them what to do, and how to fix these things. And this was several years ago. I don't know what he would do with these digital TVs we have now, but he was able to help out in that regard. He also started a pool hall. He had a pool hall, and it wasn't a bad pool hall. It was a good pool hall where townspeople would come and fellowship, and I don't think they drank a whole lot. I don't know if they drank at all. I don't know if he had a liquor license. I don't know all the details. That was—he had stopped doing that by the time I met him, but he was very well known. In fact, the place was completely packed and overflow. People were out in the outside trying to hear the funeral service. He was very popular. People knew him in the area. He was quite a remarkable person. But more importantly than anything else, it was God's truth that kept him sane.

It was God's truth. That was the most important thing, and this was in 94 and 95 when I visited him. And if you all remember back in 1994 and 1995—remember what was going on in the church at the time?

You know, the doctrines were being dismantled one by one, so to speak. Bob Neff was not a happy camper. At that time, he was very disturbed by what was going on. He was well aware of what was happening. In fact, before he died, he became a member of the United Church of God.

So I learned a lot from Bob Neff. I was always inspired by the visits, even though he wasn't going anywhere. We didn't get to take a walk whenever I went to visit him, but I would visit him for hours. He was very inspiring to me.

He was a physical quadriplegic, but he was certainly no spiritual one.

He was really a wonderful example of someone who made lemon out of lemonade. Lemonade out of lemons. You know how it goes.

He made something good out of something very bad.

And he did a very good job of it.

So I was very, very inspired by Bob. I want to remember his example, his situation, his zeal. I want to remember his enthusiasm, his remarkable accomplishments every day for the rest of my life.

I really wish I could remember him every single day. I've thought about this before, and it seems like you get busy, and you don't remember some of the things that you really need to remember. There was some time ago I realized I was not benefiting enough from my association with Bob.

So I'm trying to make those memories of Bob as a springboard, as an inspiration to me, to walk in the spirit. Because here was a man who was a physical quadriplegic, but he was certainly no spiritual one. He got up and he walked in the spirit. Bob amazed the doctors more than anyone I had ever known.

In fact, he may have outlived some of the doctors that told him he would die young.

He didn't die young. He was in his 50s. I mean, that's still young. But for a quadriplegic to go 40 years, again, quite remarkable. They thought he would die many, many years before that. I had asked myself, was I taking my health for granted? Did I need to do more to stay healthy?

There were lots of questions. I think it really did help me in those ways. I've always exercised. I've always tried to take pretty good care of myself.

But just one little slip-up can make a huge difference in someone's life. So we have to be diligent people, vigilant. Not paranoid people.

That's not what life's all about. Just do the best you can. Just give it your best shot.

So Bob died in the faith in the spring of 1995, just shortly before Barbara and I moved to Oklahoma.

Bob had positively affected so many people in that small community that they came out and drove to see him, but most of them didn't realize or appreciate the true source of Bob's greatness.

It was the fact that he was a member of God's Church, and that God had opened his mind, and that God was working in him through the power of his Spirit. Now, I'm not saying that Bob was perfect by any means. In fact, a few Church members helped take care of Bob. And there were times they told me when they wanted to strangle him, because he could be difficult.

That's a difficult thing to lay there. I mean, I would be very difficult, too, I would imagine, at times. He was strong-minded. He wanted to be able to do things, and he wanted people to help him do things. So he was demanding. He also had a big picture of Farrah Fawcett, in a swimsuit edition. So he was still a man, even though he was confined to, you know, he was confined and couldn't get up and see women or anything like that. He wasn't married. Never did marry. He wasn't a perfect person. He had to struggle with his thoughts. We all, we all must fight the good fight. Let's go to Ephesians chapter 4, and we'll wrap this up here momentarily. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 1. Paul says, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. God wants us to walk worthy. That's what the Bible says so many times. With all lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love, and endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, there is one body and 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 is above all and through all and in you all. And to each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Christ lives in us and gives us various gifts. He wants us to utilize those gifts to His glory as we serve one another.

Paul beseeches us to walk worthy of our calling. Notice again the word, walk.

He wants you to walk in the Spirit, and He wants you to walk worthy. 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 12, says that you should walk worthy of God, that you should walk worthy of God, who has called you unto His kingdom and glory.

God has called you unto His kingdom, and you are to become glorified. You are to become as Christ is to have a spiritual body, to become Spirit, to be born into the family of God, and to live forever with God. And so, along with that, now you are called to walk worthy. And judgment has begun at the house of God. So, brethren, thankfully we're all in this together, and we are created for good works, and we are to walk in those things. That's Ephesians 2, verse 10. We are created for good works, and we are to walk in them. Now, much more could be said about this subject, and there are so many verses and scriptures in the Bible that talk about walking in the day, so that we will not stumble. About walking in the light, about abiding in Christ, and walking as He walked. There are scriptures about walking after His commandments, about walking in the truth, about walking honestly, about walking in newness of life. We could go to all these scriptures. We could talk about walking by faith and not by sight. It's all in the Bible. You might want to do a study about walking. How are you to walk? How are you to walk each and every day of your life?

And in Revelation 21, verse 24, it talks about the New Jerusalem, how there will be no night there, and how nations shall walk in its light, in the light of the New Jerusalem. And only those who are written in the book of life will be there.

Only those who learn to walk worthy now will have their names written in the book of life.

So, brethren, in the time that we have leading up to the next annual Holy Day, just now 29 days away, the day of Pentecost, remember what is Pentecost all about? It's the giving of the Holy Spirit. God's Church began on that day. It's very likely that the commandments were given on the day of Pentecost.

So, as we draw closer to the day of Pentecost, let us remember to yield to the Spirit of God that lives in us. And let us continue to learn what it means to walk in the Spirit. And, brethren, let us no longer be spiritual paraplegics or spiritual quadriplegics, but let us truly walk in the Spirit.