Walking

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Walking

10.22.06
various texts

In her biography of Marie Antoinette, Carolly Erickson tells about the queen’s attempts to disguise herself and attend parties, dances, and balls incognito, but her walk always gave her away.

It was said that she could never successfully disguise her identity, for no matter how she dressed, she still walked like an Empress.

The question I want us to consider today is:

When people observe our walking through life, will they recognize us as a child of the King?

So, let’s take a few moments and consider…

“Principles of Walking in Christ”

Alexander the Great, one of the greatest military generals who ever lived, conquered almost the entire known world with his vast army. One night during a campaign, he couldn’t sleep and left his tent to walk around the campgrounds.

As he was walking he came across a soldier asleep on guard duty - serious offense. The penalty for falling asleep on guard duty was, in some cases, instant death; the commanding officer sometimes poured kerosene on the sleeping soldier and lit it.
The soldier began to wake up as Alexander the Great approached him. Recognizing who was standing in front of him, the young man fear for his life.
“Do you know what the penalty is for falling asleep on guard duty?” Alexander the Great asked the soldier.
“Yes, sir,” the soldier responded in a quivering voice.
“Soldier, what’s your name?” demanded the general.
“Alexander, sir.”
Alexander the Great repeated the question: “What is your name?”
“My name is Alexander, sir” the soldier repeated.
A third time and more loudly Alexander the Great asked, “What is your name?”
A third time the soldier meekly said, “My name is Alexander, sir.”
Alexander the Great then looked the young soldier straight in the eye. “Soldier,” he said with intensity, “either change your name or change your conduct.”

Folks, none of us is perfect; we’re going to blow it at various times as we walk through the challenges of life:

Saying things we wish we could take back;
Doing things that even now as we think of them cause us to cringe in embarrassment and shame;
Even thinking things that bring a shiver to our spines as we wonder, “Why would I ever even think something like that?”

Ephesians 4:13 NLT

[As we continually submit to Jesus and His Church, the Body of Christ, we will] come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.

But until we reach the full stature of Christ, in the mean time, which more than likely means a lifetime, there will be times when we fall short.
HOWEVER, if we’re on the journey of becoming like Jesus, His traits will increasingly become part and parcel of who we are.

As those around us are watching our lives as we encounter people and situations, they will recognize in increasingly more times than not the character traits of Jesus Himself.

If people can’t see Jesus, there’s something wrong with our walk and we need to be asking ourselves:

“Why didn’t I look like Jesus in that situation?”

We who carry the name of Christ and call ourselves Christians must live up to the name!

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Principle #1 ~ Walk Appropriately

From his prison cell Paul wrote these words of challenge to the Christians in Ephesus:

Ephesians 4:1 ESV

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called….

The phrase "walk in a manner worthy" has the idea of living a life in such a way that it measures up to something.

Think about a set of scales. If I have ten pounds on one side of the scale, I need ten pounds on the other side so it will balance. If I put 9.5 on the other side, it would be out of balance. If I put 11.5, it would be out of balance.

The word "worthy" there in Ephesians 4:1 takes us even a step further.

The word for "worthy" refers to the intrinsic value of something.
There is a difference in the intrinsic worth of something and an appraisal of what that intrinsic value is.

What is your appraised value of your salvation?

The value of your salvation is going to determine how you live.

You see, if it has not affected your walk, your lifestyle, if it has not affected the way you talk to people and about people, if it has not affected the way you treat others, then you’ve got a low appraisal value of something that is intrinsically worth far more than you’ve realized.

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Principle #2 ~ Walk Devotedly

Ephesians 5:1-2 NLT

Follow God's example in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, because that sacrifice was like sweet perfume to him.

There was a young man who was determined to win the affection of a lady who refused to even talk to him.

He decided that the way to her heart was through the mail, so he began writing her love letters. He wrote a love letter every day to this lady. Six, seven times a week she got a love letter from him.
When she didn’t respond, he increased his output to three notes every twenty-four hours. In all, he wrote her more than seven hundred letters.
And, in the end, she wound up marrying the postman.

Just like that man, as children of God who value our salvation, we must be devoted to pursue love as we walk through life.

Paul tells us to live a life filled with love for others, and I want us to focus on the fact that Christ’s love was demonstrated in His devotedness to the call of God on His life.

Philippians 2:5-8 NLT

Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. 7 He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. 8 And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross.

Our walk will be determined by what we’re devoted to.

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Principle #3 ~ Walk Visibly

Ephesians 5:8 NLT

For though your hearts were once full of darkness, now you are full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it!

Matthew 5:14-16 NLT

You are the light of the world--like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. 15 Don't hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

There’s a story from the life of Francis of Assisi:

“Brother,” Francis said one day to one of the young monks at the [monastery], “let us go down to the town and preach!”
The young monk, delighted at being singled out to be the companion of Francis, eagerly obeyed. They passed through the [major] streets; turned down many of the by-ways and alleys; made their way out to some of the suburbs; and at length returned, by an [indirect] route, to the monastery gate.
As they approached it, the younger man reminded Francis of his original intention: “You have forgotten, Father, that we went down to the town to preach!”
To which Francis replied:
“My son, we have preached. We were preaching while we were walking. We have been seen by many; our behavior has been closely watched; it was thus that we preached our morning sermon. It is of no use, my son, to walk anywhere to preach unless we preach everywhere we walk.”

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Principle #4 ~ Walk Attentively

Ephesians 5:15-16 ESV

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Every day of our lives we’re going to face opportunities that will either make us stronger in our faith, or cause us to stumble; the choice is always up to us.

1 Peter 5:8 MSG

Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping.

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As we walk along the journey of life on this earth during this lifetime, we need to ask God to help us be alert to what’s going on around us; to help us be aware.

Why? Because as we walk we’re going to be crossing paths with people who:

are lost and in need of the Light of Jesus;
are struggling and need encouragement;
are on the same journey with Jesus as we are, and who need us to cheer them on in their walk.

Our walk is crucial to every person we come in contact with in life.

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Let us walk:

Appropriately ~ given the value of our salvation;
Devotedly ~ for Kingdom of God purposes;
Visibly ~ realizing we all have others watching our lives; and
Attentively ~ knowing there’s a real enemy who’d like nothing more than to knock us down and out.

(adapted from SC)