Walking Worthy of the Calling

So, what is the longest walk you've ever been on? Uninterrupted. Longest walk you've ever been on on there. Now, Mr. Pate and I, we've been on some three-day hikes. When my dad took short cuts, it took turned into four-day hikes. But we went duck hunting together, walk all day, we jumped feeasants all days there.

that that doesn't compare anything with what Guinness Book of World Records says is the longest walk in human history. 19,000 19 miles, 2,426 days, 6 years, and nine months, averaging eight miles a day from Argentina. Argentina, that's in South America for those of you in the new new public school system. And the very tip all the way to Prudo Bay, Prudo Bay, Alaska, 19,000 and 19 miles.

Greg, I call him George because that's his real name, but George McKon is from England. And he had a goal. He had a goal to complete step by step uninterrupted. But do you know that that's not the longest journey uninterrupted journey in the in the world right now? It's actually a young man in 1998 by the name of Carl Bushby, a paratrooper from England who dipped his foot in the southern coast of Chile and said, "I will walk around the globe.

" 1998. And currently, right now, he is still walking. Very similar to our journey, very similar to our spiritual journey. He has not completed it. You will see up there on the screen, Carl is left out of Chile and he has moved to an area north of uh Chile into the northern part and he has been crossing deserts and mountains.

He has been going without water thinking that he could do it on his own. Now, those of you that don't have to wear two pairs of glasses when your eyes get tired, Mr. Pate was telling me, you know, as you find them, he said, "Oh, that's just old age." I bear to disagree, but I will put him here. But George uh But Carl Carl, he um he has the longest current walk right now.

He's completed 34,755 miles. As of today, he is currently in Budapest, Hungary on the west side. And his goal is very similar to our goal to reach his destination. In the book published in 2007 entitled The Great Steps by Carl Bushby, he interested he introduced some interesting analogies that are very similar to our analogy in our journey to the kingdom.

In 1998, the former paratrooper set out to walk around the world. He gave himself two rules. Two rules. One, he would never ever use transportation to move his position forward. No cars, no planes, no boats, and no trains. The second was that he would not go home until he walked into Hull H England. He would not go home.

27 years later to this day he is currently held and steadfast to that rule. But you know what's amazing? George McKean journey is remarkable. Carl Bushby's is absolutely unbelievable. But it doesn't even compare to the individuals in this room that have walked a journey for decades. Two, three, four, five, six, seven decades, and maybe even eight.

You've held fast to the truth. You answered God's calling. You were baptized. You received the Holy Spirit with the laying on of hands. Step by step, Sabbath by Sabbath, trial by trial, you never gave in. You walked worthy of your calling. That quiet, steady, lifelong obedience is the greatest journey in life.

Not crossing continents, not walking step after step thinking you can do it on your own power, but believing in the holy and believing in Christ, the kingdom of God, and the truth that has been given to you. The title to my message today is the Goliath Expedition, Walking Worthy. Today, it's my purpose to examine parallels between the Goliath expedition and our journey in walking worthy to the calling we have been given.

If you'll turn with me first to Ephesians for me in Ephesians where Paul explains in chapters 1 through3 what God has done in calling us to reveal his purpose to us. And then in chapters 4-6, Paul explains how we walk in our daily life because of that calling. I'd like to begin in Ephesians 4 and verse one. Ephesians 4 and verse one.

I therefore, prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of your calling, which or with which you were called. You know, it's interesting in this room. All of us have different experiences in our calling. For me, I have a calling like Timothy. I was born into the church. I don't know any different. Brought back to memories for me is in the blessing of little children.

I asked my dad when I was blessed. He said in 1957 in Big Sandy, Texas. And I thought, "Wow, that's a long time ago." And there I never had I never as I watched my dad I never saw or I never felt what I saw him do. Giving up everything he had. Losing his job because of the Sabbath, selling things so we could go to the Feast of Tabernacles.

I never felt that. But in Mr. Sexton's uh had an excellent article in the J July 17th 2018 United News article. Whose calling was better? Mr. Sexon gave three types of callings. The first was a calling of Saul, a dramatic calling, a miraculous calling. Christ. They're there. He's blinded. Paul is blinded.

Turns around his life and he moves from being a a prose persecutor to an apostle. An amazing transformation. Mr. Sexon goes on to say the second calling is like those that most of us have had and that is like the Ethiopian in Acts 8 where we were called by somebody we knew or by the literature or by the telecast or internet but a lot of us was by people that we knew that were in the church who explained and understood and helped us and we answered that calling and moved forward. forward.

Then the calling of Timothy was like ours. And I so enjoyed at the at camp to be able to explain that calling because I experienced that same calling where I lived a form and then I was able to apply substance. In that calling, Timothy was taught by his mother and his grandmother. Some of us in this very room are third and fourth generation and possibly fifth.

Amazing how the truth has been passed on on that calling. But I'd like to read the last sentence from Mr. Sexton's article. Which calling is better? And he talked about the calling of those that have lived in the church. He says, "Whatever matter or whatever calling we received, those of you that have grown up in the church, what matters most is that you respond, repent, are baptized, and stir up the spirit of God, and remain faithful to the end." the answer to that calling.

It is amazing to me that when you look at Carl uh Bushb, his goal was to forge a continuous unbroken path from the southernmost tip of South America all the way to his home in Hull, England. What is amazing about that is that he first said every journey must have a route, a clear route.

Every journey must have a clear route. When he left the southern tip of Chile, he walked all the way up across desert mountain ranges there till he came to his first obstacle. His first obstacle he thought he could do on his own this whole entire trip. But he realized that that route on paper did not tell him about the difficulties that he would face.

Between Colombia and Panama is called the Darion Gap. 100 kilometers of the most dense forest. No roads. It's basically owned by gangs and ba by by basically drug uh people and it is heavily heavily jungled swamps poisonous snakes and when he reached it he realized I need help. He had used his entire savings to get from the tip of Chile to the Derion Gap.

And he said, "What will I do now?" He went to the local area and he found a trustworthy person. And that trustworthy person didn't he said, "I don't have any money. I'm out of food. I'm there. I've tried to do this on my own." And there he said, "I'll take you." This individual took him across through the back paths, cutting its way all the way through the Darien Gap.

When he got to the other side of the Darien Gap, the individual that helped him said, "Be strong. Put one front in front of the other and don't be afraid to ask for help." How many of us think we can do it on our own? We think that we've got the strength, we've got the energy, we have the knowledge, we have all of that, but yet we don't ask for help.

I can speak from experience thinking I had a medical knowledge of where I was going and what I was doing. I thought I understood totally what pain was, what back pain was. And for those in this room there, you understand the different kinds of pain levels. But what is interesting is I thought I could do it on my own.

I thought I had the answers. And what happened is I waited too long. The nerves of my legs died and there. So the alternative was to fuse the back because I was not willing to ask for help nor listen to my wife which I will. But it is amazing that when when Carl reached across as soon as he crossed across the Panama Canal into into Panama he was detained for 18 days.

He thought, "Oh no, what there?" He didn't realize that it was a rest. He was in prison. He got food. He got healthy. He got his energy back and he moved forward. It is interesting that we too have a route and God has created that route from the very beginning. That route has been clear from day one. When we answered that calling, when we answered it, he laid out a perfect route to a promise that cannot be broken, eternal life.

It is amazing to me that God cannot lie. Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18, Numbers 23:19. God cannot lie. He promised. And what does he promise? Eternal life. part of the God family. He has a plan in place. So when I was asked by my grandson here just recently, "What's your route?" I'd like to read to you what I told him my route was.

Of course, a buck walked in at that time and I had to uh postpone it, but it was a good shot. It was a good shot. But I told him, I said, "My path is the same as the path of my father, my brothers, my brothers and sisters in Christ, and we follow the path that we've been given and route that we've been given.

God the Father calls. We answer with repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and the gospel of the kingdom. We are baptized. We receive the Holy Spirit upon laying on of hands. Believe and obey. That is the Sabbath, the holy days, the commandments, extending love to one another and resurrection into the God family upon Christ's return.

All of us know the route. All of us know the importance of holding fast to the route. If you'll turn with me over to Acts, let's take a look real quickly at the beginning in 31 AD, the day of Pentecost. Acts 2 and verse 28. This is at the end of Peter's sermon. on there it says, "Then Peter said to them, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For the promise is to you and to your children and to all who are a far off, as many as the Lord our God will call. You know, our route was marked clearly, and we're told that to run a race over in Hebrews. Hebrews 2 tells us quite clearly that there is a race to be run. And there God has the mark and he's marked out our path.

and we run with endurance. In Hebrews 12, Hebrews 12 1 and2 very familiar scripture we've heard many times recently on there it says therefore we also since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses all right there in the faith chapter in chapter 11 all the those faithful let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ins snares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, that course, that route is set before us, looking unto Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the

joy that was set before us, him endured the cross, despising the shame, and had sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. As we pressed forward to the kingdom, we were given two great rules. Carl had two rules. He would never add to his route through motorized vehicles, trains, cars, planes, etc. And that he wouldn't go home until he had reached on foot whole England.

We have two great commandments that God has given us. to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. Two very simple rules, easy to easy to say, hard to administer, but the first rule is to love God above all with your whole life. Our calling starts and stays with the absolute wholehearted love and loyalty to God.

Every choice on our journey into his kingdom must flow from putting God first. His kingdom, his righteousness, his truth, and his will. The second rule, love others as yourself, walking as Christ walked. As a future children of God's family, we must learn how to love each other. The way that God loves, the way we serve, the way we take care of one another, encourage one another, are there constantly for one another.

No, not waiting for pain or hurt, but to recognize that we need help. Sharing our amazing gift that this congregation has, not only of giving, of supporting and encouraging, but being willing to be there for individuals in times of need. Jesus comforted his disciples especially on that night when Thomas didn't know the route.

He said, "Christ, what what how can we know the way?" We all know the very familiar scripture over in John 14:6. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. You see, Christ is not just on the route. He is the route and the way. Our walking worthy and of our calling must be a Christc centered walk every day, step by step.

One of the joys I had at camp was when I was asked a question about this. When a camper would ask me, "What is it like to walk in Christ steps?" We'd go down to the beach. I'd have the counselor step off and stride into the clear white sand. And then I would have each of the students or the campers walk in their step.

What was interesting was that when we were done, we all lined up along the 20 steps that we had placed there and we could see people's feet were outside of where the counselor had stepped. Interesting discussion and the discussion led to I I was I was off balance. I was there I I was concentrating so hard with my head down.

I went too far over. I pushed off too much. I didn't have enough on the heel strike. I didn't know there my balance. But what was interesting is when we put them all inside, standing inside with each of them in the 20 because of the 10 individuals I had, each had their feet in the step.

I simply had them do one thing. took their hand, put it on the shoulder of the person in front of them, and all of a sudden, just one hand, not two. The balance was there. When we reach out and we touch someone else, we don't just touch the heart. We touch the very fiber of their soul. We touch the marrow of their bone. You know what? Everybody wants to be accepted.

Everybody wants to be encouraged, but everybody wants to be loved and supported. It's a great opportunity for us to share and to help and to encourage. And we do that through the amazing examples that we have here for those of you that have held fa fast to the faith over in first Peter uh 2 and verse 21.

1 Peter 2 and verse 21. We walk in Christ's steps and he's given them there for us to follow. Let's read in 1 Peter 2 and verse 21. For to this you were called. Remember our calling. We've answered because Christ also suffered for us. Recognizing that he has died for us. He has sacrificed his life for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps.

At camp, I'm often often asked, "What is the greatest gift I can give the campers coming from a counselor?" The greatest gift we can give at camp, as I shared with them, was their example. And one of the great joys for me at camp is when I was sitting there and I would say whose example has touched you most and they're able to point to an individual who had cleaned the bathroom and he walked in and they were cleaning the bathroom the staff member in there and when he came out he said I can't believe that staff I thought that was

part of the responsibility of Mcgru recruiter camp said, "No, we do that." Oh, really? Yes. Then later in church, I saw the young man after church go in, wipe down the counters, put the paper away on there. Power of example. Michael will never know the example he was, but that young man did. We all have a powerful effect because our actions speak louder than our words in 1 Thessalonians 2 and verse 12 and I'm just going to quote it to you here is very important statement that Paul makes that you walk worthy of God

who called you into his kingdom and glory. Walking worthy absolutely critical on our journey. Point number two, begin with the end in mind. Carl Bushby made it his goal to every morning when he got up, the first thing he did was stand up, take a deep breath, and for five minutes he visualized walking into his home in Hall, England.

For five minutes he concentrated. He painted the pictures so clearly that he said he could actually feel the emotions well up within him. Quoting from Steven Cvy's book seven habits of highly effective teens and habit two says begin with the end in mind. He defines beginning with the end in mind as seeing your purpose and desired outcome before you start.

How many of us wake up every morning and visualize the amazing gift that we've been given an opportunity to be a part of the God family to understand that the kingdom of God is our choice and that the choices we make that day are based upon the parameters and the goals and the boundaries that we put ourselves upon that day.

Carl Bushby woke up every morning for 27 years doing the same thing, thinking about his home. We wake up every morning thinking about the kingdom of God. Matthew 6:33, which we all know well, is we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Beginning every day with the end in mind is just not about the kingdom, but it's understanding God's glory and doing his will.

Our destiny is to is to enter the kingdom of God as glorified spirit beings and to live, rule, and reign with Christ on earth as members of the God family. In Colossians 3, Paul tells us how we can move forward. He had gives an excellent example in Colossians 3 starting in verse one in Colossians 3 starting in verse one talking about setting your mind on things above.

So when we wake up in the morning, the first thing we do is we set our minds on things above. We visualize that amazing gift that we've been given. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things of the earth.

Remember what it tells us over in John 2 verse 16 that all the world has to do is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Can we just eliminate those from our daily daily work, from our daily thoughts and actions on there? Even though Carl began every day with the end in mind, he couldn't go home alone.

He couldn't do it on his own. Point number three is to recognize you can't do it alone. As you look up on the map, you'll see the Darian Gap. The Darian Gap was there between Colombia and Panama. And there absolutely treacherous. 100 kilometers of the most dense jungle, poisonous stake, and every vile person you can imagine inside of it.

Then he walked through the most unfriendly country in America. Yeah, he said America. The most friendly country in it was a total surprise to me. It was Turkey. The country of Turkey did not let him even sleep one night alone in a tent. He did not miss a single meal in Turkey. And you know what's amazing about that? He had come all the way around and he was there and he had just swam the Caspian Sea because Russia wouldn't let him go around to the north and Iran wouldn't let him go to the south.

And he got to the other side. He was totally exhausted. Totally. And those people took care of him. And he said, "If any country I will live in, I will live in Turkey because it is the most friendliest of my entire journey." How did America rate so low? Not one person in the first two states offered to help. Not once.

People stopped. They waved. They offered him money. They did different things. but he didn't sleep in anybody's home. How many of us drive by somebody that's in the church knowing they need help? I can tell you what it's like to not have any food in the house and to walk out the front door and see a grocery sack on it.

I can tell you what that feels like. And I will tell you this, it changed our family's perspective. Yes, my dad was in the bakery. Yes, he could bring home food, but he didn't. He said, "God will provide." And he did. Those of you in this room can give experiences after experiences of how God blesses us when we turn around and bless others.

the term what goes around comes around and that is so true but we can't do it on our own. He got to the Bearing Sea 14 miles. 14 miles. He called up a friend. His friend is a Frenchman, an ultramarathoner, outstanding athlete, Dimmitri Keefe. He said, "Ditri, I need you. Dimmitri got on a plane, flew all the way across, met him and uh uh basically the northern tip on a float plane and they prepared their 14- mile to cross the bearing straits.

The most treacherous thing he said he's ever seen. They had to wait till it was frozen over when it was frozen over there. There. What happened in the first day? The first day they are going through unaware that the ice underneath was shifting to where they were going to walk not 14 miles 50 miles out of their way because it was moving so fast. They had no idea.

Every day waking up taking out looking to see how come we have to correct. We have to keep correcting. No different than we do every morning we wake up. We recorrect our course. We put God at the front and we trust him that he will take us there. When he finished going across the Bearing Sea, which was 50 miles of ice drift, they got to the shore of Russia.

And on the shore of Russia, they entered a piece of property that was not the official entry point. So they were detained. That was in March the 31st, 2006. It takes Carl 11 years to get across Russia. 11 years. Some of us in this room know what it's like to suffer for 11 years or more. health ailments, difficulties and there I was moved in the book and I'll read it to you later about his attitude towards that.

What is our attitude when things don't go the way we hoped or answered? In 2013 in protest, he walked across the United States. He walked across the United States from San Diego all the way to Washington DC and to the um basically he wanted to talk to any Russian official he could talk to that would give him a visa.

And this is every day writing, talking, figuring it out. never gave up. Then a Russian billionaire who was a governor, Majic, he allowed him to go through but only in 90 days at a time. 90 days was he given to walk as far as he could. Then he had to leave the country and then reapply. This the interesting part was that the ground was so soft and there they couldn't go but just a mile a day unless they went in the winter.

So the only time that they could go was during the when it was frozen through the whole part of the northern tip of Russia. once he got across Russia which was right there somewhere around 2000 um around let's see I guess it was took 11 years so on there he gets to Mongolia he crosses across Mongolia and he goes down and he comes to the Caspian Sea and at the Caspian Sea he's applying for visa Russia says no more you've used up all your time Iraq no you're not there we're not letting any American into this country on there. He's there as he calls

it his Red Sea. It would not part. So he decided to do what no other human being had done to swim it. To swim it. He needed a boat. He needed support staff. And he hates swimming with a passion. Matter of fact, when he swam there, you'll see he's on his back. He's on his back. 32 days of swimming, 132 hours of actual swimming.

They swam three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon and rested on the boat. And every time to make sure that the wind did not push them forward or anything, they went back one kilometer to make sure that their route was within the rules that they had set. Do we have that character? Once he got across the Caspian Sea, he hit deserts.

and from deserts it was misery. But he in Turkey it was like this peace and rest and rejuvenation that gave him new hope. The ability to know that he wasn't doing it alone. Spiritually the same is for us. We can't walk worthy of our calling on our own strength. Because the mind is carnal, it is not subject to God.

As we're told in Romans 8 and verse 7, because the carnal mind is enemy against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. We've been given an incredible comforter, the gift of the Holy Spirit. Do we stir it up every day? Do we ask for help every day? Do we ask for help for those that are our friends, our enemies, our companions? It is the Holy Spirit, not human power, that enables us to obey God from the heart, overcoming sin, producing the fruits of godly character, and walking worthy of our calling we have received.

In Galatians 2 and verse 20, Paul talks here in Galatians 2 and verse 20. We'll read here. Paul writes to the Galatians. It says, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

With the Holy Spirit, we're able to live as children of God, being prepared for his kingdom and his family. During the Passover season, I'm always moved by reading through John and how Christ said that I will not leave you as orphans. He will not leave us or forsake us. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.

And in Philippians 4:13, he says, "In Christ is our strength. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us." I'd like to turn over to John for uh 14:16-18. John 14 verses 16- 18. We've been given the most incredible gift, a comforter. That comforter that knows our every needs. The comforter that is there to guide us and help us.

who sometimes it feels like a weight on our shoulders so that our conscience changes and makes good decisions because every decision we make has a reward or a penalty. In verse 16 of John 14 and I will pray to the father, this is Christ speaking. And I will pray to the father and he will give you another helper and he may or it may abide with you forever.

forever. A promise. You stir it up, you use it, it provides you comfort and strength. And in quoting Romans 8 and verse 14, when we ask, "What does the Holy Spirit do?" For as many as are led by the spirit of God, these are the sons of God, you and me. We pass that information on to our children, our grandchildren, and our great-grandchildren.

Carl B uh Bushby had help, but it didn't remove the hard days, the major challenges, the obstacles, the injuries, the financial setbacks, the political roadblocks. What's interesting and in his book it said what kept him going was the decision to keep putting one foot in front of the other every day. Our calling is the same.

With Christ's help and the Holy Spirit, we stay the course to put one foot in front of the other while remaining on the path to the kingdom. And as you remember in Mr. L's sermon, Big Al's Backyard Ultra, complete one more lap, one more step. It's this ability to not let our minds shut our bodies down, but to take control.

As you look up to the map up there, point number four is we finish. To finish, we must stay the course no matter what the obstacles or challenges. As you look up there on that map on there, let me grab another one for you right here. This is where he's at as of this week. He's just west of Budapest, Hungary.

He is 1,225 miles from home. Hull, as you can see up there in the upper corner, you'll see is on the northern coast of England. He will have made it home. He will have made it home. Carl Bushby has stayed the course of the Goliath expedition and then currently is just west of Budapest. Having completed 34,745 miles approximately crossing 25 countries, four continents and his goal is interesting.

September 2026. 28 years he had walked. Not near as long as some of you in this congregation have walked on your journey. Set a light, been an example, encouraged, taught, shared, and motivated others to hold fast to the faith. But there's one challenge left ahead of him. the canal tunnel. The English Channel is a 25 mile swim.

He was hoping to use the ch the tunnel, but the law just told him here just recently that that would not happen. So, he found that there is a service tunnel that goes next to it. Currently right now he's petitioned to use the service ch uh tunnel of which right now he's gotten two nos but there his goal he said if I cannot walk in the tunnel then I'll do what I hate to do.

I will swim the English Channel. Simply saying I will do whatever it takes to get home. Are we willing to do that? Do whatever it takes to get to the kingdom. It's painful. It's hard. And it's difficult. I'd like to read a quote from Carl's 10th anniversary Goliath Exped expedition letter dated November 1st, 2008. This is 10 years after he had gone.

He's actually in uh Mexico at this time trying to get into Russia on there. Quote, and I want you to understand here. I want you to understand the commitment to finish and how it demonstrates the attitude. Listen to the words he uses. So, I'd like to think of these delays as nothing more than just delays. The expedition is poised like a coiled spring right now.

As soon as the solution to the challenges are found, we stride forward to our home. In the worst case scenario, meaning we are unable to secure residency, that is to be able to get into Russia, simply means that we are forced to demonstrate patience, persistence, and fortitude. In the meantime, we will turn problems into solutions and adapt our adapt to our situations.

And this is what he said. We are going home people. Don't doubt it. Don't question it. And don't lose faith. We spiritually hold on to that crown that we have been given. Salvation is a process beginning with conversion and ending with the resurrection. As glorious spirit beings in the God family, we must endure and hold fast to the very end.

Revelations 3 and verse 11 states what I just said. Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold fast to what you have that no one may take your crown. Our journey requires a clear route, a daily focus with the end in mind, a consistent reliance on the help from Christ and the Holy Spirit, and a steadfast commitment to stay the course to the very end.

So yes, the Goliath expedition illustrates a physical walk, but our walk is far greater. Our journey is God initiated, not self-chosen. Our route is revealed in God's word, not a mark on a on a global map. Our strength comes from God the Father through the Holy Spirit, not mere human endurance. Our destiny is the kingdom of God and eternal life, not just a point or a destination on a map.

Our companions are the people of God walking together as the body of Christ finishing the race together. God has called us to this great journey the greatest of any human could be given. As we leave today, let us commit ourselves to follow the clear route of God's word to begin each day with the kingdom firmly in mind and to rely on Christ and the Holy Spirit and to give support to each other and to stay the course whatever comes until the last step we Take and the last horn sounds.

Quoting 1 Thessalonians 2:12 again. May we truly walk worthy of God who calls us into his kingdom and glory. We walk worthy of our calling when our daily conduct matches that holy invitation. Let us close the gap between what we know and what we do and walk worthy of our calling.