Walk The Walk

Walk The Walk; Ephesians 4:1

Reporters and city officials gathered at a Chicago railroad station one afternoon in 1953. The person they were meeting was the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize winner. A few minutes after the train came to a stop, a giant of a man - six feet four inches with bushy hair and a large mustache stepped from the train. Cameras flashed. City officials approached him with hands outstretched. Various people began telling him how honored they were to meet him.

The man politely thanked them and then, looking over their heads, asked if he could be excused for a moment. He quickly walked through the crowd until he reached the side of an elderly black woman who was struggling with two large suitcases. He picked up the bags and with a smile, escorted the woman to a bus. After helping her aboard, he wished her a safe journey. As he returned to the greeting party he apologized, "Sorry to have kept you waiting."

The man was Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the famous missionary doctor who had spent his life helping the poor in Africa. In response to Schweitzer’s action, one member of the reception committee said with great admiration to the reporter standing next to him, “That’s the first time I ever saw a sermon walking.”

Today I want to speak to you about walking the walk rather than just talking the talk.

Ephesians 4:1, “I… beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.” I really believe that there are a lot of people who claim to have a relationship with Christ, but don’t. They talk the talk, but they don’t walk the walk. And is talk is cheap, it doesn’t mean near as much to people what you say as it does what you do. You see our actions speak louder than our words.

Charles Spurgeon, “A man’s life is always more forcible than his speech. When men take stock of him they reckon his deeds as dollars and his words as pennies. If his life and doctrine disagree the mass of onlookers accept his practice and reject his preaching.”

Will Rogers, “Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.” We need to be careful that our words and our actions are consistent with one another. We need to learn to talk as Christ called us to talk and walk as Christ called us to walk. And to do that sometimes we have to get back to the basics of life.

(Drill Sergeant McGruder – For the next three months I am going to be your mother, father, brother, sister, grandma, & grandpa. You may think like civilians now, but by the time you leave here you are going to eat, sleep, shoot, shine, run and walk like American soldiers).

He was right, by the time we left basic training we were walking like American soldiers. We still had a lot to learn but without a doubt our appearance, our walk, and our outlook on life had changed. We were no longer civilians we were soldiers.

The same is true for believers in Jesus Christ, you see 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Once we have come to Christ our appearance ought to change, our walk ought to change, our outlook on life ought to change. But it won’t change overnight; it is a process that takes place every single day of our lives.

And sometimes it’s a struggle; Paul said we are in warfare.

In Galatians 5:17, “The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict.”

There is no doubt that there is a battle going on within each and every one of us. But there is also no doubt that once we come to Christ and accept Him as our savior there should be some definite changes that must take place in our lives. Not only in our way of thinking, but in our actions as well, there ought to be some definite changes in our daily walk.

So the question is how is it that a Christian should walk? Ephesians 5:1-15

1. Walk In Love

A. We are to learn to walk out of love, respect, and genuine concern for others. We are not to walk according to our selfish or sinful desires any longer. In fact our desires ought to change, but again it doesn’t take place overnight, it is a process that takes place every single day of our lives.