NTRO.- ILL.- You know it is time to resume running or walking when...
- You try to do a few pushups and discover that certain body parts refuse to leave the floor.
- You get winded just saying the words "10 kilometer run".
- You come to the conclusion that, if God really wanted you to touch your toes each morning, He would have put them somewhere around your knees.
- You analyze your body honestly and decide what you should develop first is your sense of humor.
- You step on a talking scale and it says, "Come back when you are alone".
How’s your walk? Pretty crippled? Smooth? Fast? Slow? Obviously, there is more than one kind of walk. We can physically walk and that’s good. They say that walking is one of the best exercises there is for your heart and lungs. Walking is healthy. Spiritual walking is also very healthy for a person. Spiritual walking is the best yet!
Do you remember the man who walked with God?
Genesis 5:21-24 “When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.”
I’ve always envied Enoch, not because God took him so that he wouldn’t experience death, but because of his close walk with God. CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT WALK? Can you imagine the communion, the fellowship, the talks he had with God? No, it’s difficult because none of us have experienced anything like what he had. Or so it seems.
ILL.- In a sermon on “Enoch walked with God,” Dr. G. Campbell Morgan gave the following illustration: A little child gave a most exquisite explanation of walking with God. She went home from Sunday School, and the mother said, “Tell me what you learned at Sunday school.”
And she said: “Don’t you know, Mother, one day they went for an extra long walk, and they walked on and on, until God said to Enoch, ‘You are a long way from home; you had better just come in and stay.’ And he went.”
What a great walk with God Enoch had! Would we all had such.
Deut. 10:12-13 “And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?”
Walk in His all ways. Yep, this is what we need to do. We need to put our heart and soul into this walk.
PROP.- John’s message is clear about the life we should live.
1- We must walk in obedience
2- We must walk in love
3- We must walk in truth
I. WE MUST WALK IN OBEDIENCE
II John 4It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands.
Some of your children are walking in the truth.
The truth is not every person who claims Christ as their savior walks in the truth or in obedience. Many people believe the truth, but they don’t obey the truth of God’s Word. Some will obey but not all.
6And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. Obedience to His commands. What a tall order!
ILL.- Do you like buffets like Ryan’s buffet? Most people do. But do you eat everything on the the bar? I doubt it. I am sure you are somewhat selective as I am. For example, I think salad is ok but I often bypass it for the real stuff, like meat and potatoes! I AM SELECTIVE AND YOU ARE TOO.
What we do at the buffet we also do with God’s buffet of commands. His commands are many but we often pick and choose what we want to do instead of trying to do everything God has commanded.
ILL.- For example, here is a command that we are not very good to obey: James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
I don’t know any orphans off hand, but I do know some widows that could use our visits and calls. But I don’t think we’re very good to obey this command.
I’ve heard people say things like, “Well, I don’t like hospitals and nursing homes. The smell makes me sick.” Or something similar.
Well, how do you think it makes those who live there feel? I used to go see our Miss Billie when she was eating lunch. Do you know what kind of lunch she got? She had no teeth so all of her food was pureed. I couldn’t stand to look at it and smell it, but she had to eat it.
We need to remember our widows in their affliction and loneliness. And here’s another command that we prefer to overlook and not do.
James 1:26 “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.”
We don’t like to keep a tight rein on our tongues. We often just say whatever comes out, without thinking and whether it might offend someone or not.
ILL.- I read that New Year’s eve comedian, Kathy Griffin, did a “no-no.” Well, actually she said a “no-no.” Here’s the news item. Comic Kathy Griffin rang in 2010 by dropping the F-bomb live on TV during CNN’s New Year’s Eve broadcast with anchor Anderson Cooper Thursday.
What F-bomb? You know. The “F” word. I didn’t watch it or hear it but I believe it about Kathy Griffin. She’s got a real problem with her mouth. She thinks she’s being cute when she says stupid words, nasty words and derogatory words.
I guess in some ways she can’t help herself, because as far as I know, she doesn’t know Christ as Savior. When a person isn’t a Christian you can’t expect them to behave well.
BUT WE SHOULD! If we claim Christ as our Savior then we all need to heed the command and keep a tight rein on our mouths! We need to be more careful in what we say and how we speak!
Should we go on? Should I select some more commands that perhaps we’re not too good about obeying?
None of us claim perfection. Far from it, in fact, but we all should work at obeying the Lord the best we can. It’s not easy but when we come across scriptures that are definite commands we should work at them and ask for the Lord’s grace to obey Him. We must make a conscience effort to walk in obedience to the Lord.
II. WE MUST WALK IN LOVE
6And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
We must walk in love. What a big command! We must love others! We must love one another!
ILL.- I heard preacher Wayne Smith say in a sermon one time, “Lord, I know it’s wrong to hate anybody but if it ever becomes right I’ve got the guy picked out!”
How about you? I bet if you have the guy picked out then there is problem with someone out there you don’t like. There will always be some people that we don’t like. But we’re not commanded to like people, we’re commanded to love people.
And obviously, it’s hard to love someone that you don’t like. It’s much easier to demonstrate love to someone who is nice, lovable, kind, considerate, etc.
But the commands stands true: We must walk in love toward others. We must demonstrate love as best we can toward all people.
ILL.- When the Moravian missionaries went to Greenland, they were unable during the first year to make any impression whatsoever. Then came an awful epidemic of smallpox in which multitudes were prostrated, and the missionaries went about among them ministering to their bodies and souls in the Master’s name.
After that the way was clear. The people said, “You have nursed us in our sickness. You have cared for us in distress. You have buried our dead. Now tell us of your religion.”
When you minister to people in their need you are loving them. Of course, there are all kinds of ways of expressing love to other or demonstrating love: by speaking kindly, commending good, doing a favor, having a listening ear, sharing in a person’s need, etc.
What do you do to love others? What can you do? What will do you do?
Matthew 22:36-40 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " ’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
This scripture is clear. If we walk with the Lord then we must love others.
III. WE MUST WALK IN TRUTH
7Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. 11Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.
The idea is walking in the truth of Christ. Many people do not continue in the faith of Christ or the teaching of Christ. There are many false teachers in our world who don’t believe in the Christ of the Bible. They may believe in some kind of Christ, but not Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.
The truth of Christ is the truth of God! Jesus is the still the way, the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father except through Him! We must believe it and preach it!
ILL.- I’m sure you heard about Fox news analyst becoming something of an evangelist. His name is Brit Hume. Here’s the story that took place back around the first of the new year.
Brit Hume turned evangelist on Fox New Sunday (January 2nd), in a segment with panelists predicting the future for Tiger Woods after Woods’ notable "transgressions.”
Hume forecasted that Woods would recover as a golfer but...He, said, “Whether he can recover as a person depends on his faith. He’s said to be a Buddhist. I don’t think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, ‘Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.’”
When I heard Brit Hume say those words, I thought “woohoo!” Or more like “Hooray!” In fact, Elaine and I watched Bill O’Reilly the next night and he interviewed Brit Hume in regard to what he said and he said even more.
The Factor invited Hume to elaborate on his remarks: "Tiger Woods is someone I’ve always rooted for," Hume said, "as a golfer and as a man. He is paying a frightful price and my sense is that he has basically lost his family. He needs something that Christianity provides, which is redemption and forgiveness. Jesus Christ offers Tiger Woods something that he badly needs, and if he were to make a true conversion he would feel the extraordinary blessing. It would be a magnificent thing to witness."
Hume added that reaction to his suggestion has run the gamut. "I got emails from people who are believers like me and said, great, way to go. “I’ve also heard a lot of unfavorable comments from people who say I’m a pompous jerk who had no business mouthing off on the subject."
Hume went on to say that any time a person mentioned the name of Jesus Christ that “All hell breaks loose!" WHY IS THIS? Because the world is in the power of the evil one and is opposed to Jesus Christ!
I appreciate Brit Hume’s stand for Christ even though many people don’t like him and some may even hate him for his stand.
This fits with the interview he had with The Hollywood Reporter when Hume retired from Fox News in 2008. Asked what he’d like to do in his free time, Hume said enjoying his family came first but then, he said: “I certainly want to pursue my faith more ardently than I have done. I’m not claiming it’s impossible to do when you work in this business. I was kind of a nominal Christian for the longest time. When my son died (by suicide in 1998), I came to Christ in a way that was very meaningful to me. If a person is a Christian and tries to face up to the implications of what you say you believe, it’s a pretty big thing. If you do it part time, you’re not really living it.” Amen. Praise the Lord!
We believe, like Brit Hume, better than many. We believe the truth of Christ and must continue to walk in this truth and spread this truth.
CONCLUSION--------------------
ILL.- I’m a bass fisherman. Someone says, “Oh, really? Let me see your fish!” You’ve heard it said: We must walk the talk. It’s the idea that we must live the faith that we claim to believe. Even though our walk or life isn’t always perfect, WE MUST LIVE WHAT WE BELIEVE THE BEST WE CAN.
Our walk in Christ includes: obedience, demonstrating love, and spreading the truth of the gospel!
