Clean Transcript

Walking With The Lord - Part 3

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• It's day two. Ephesians chapter 4—and that is between the Apocrypha and the New Testament—Ephesians chapter 4. We certainly are not going to be able to read everything today that I want to, but Ephesians 4. And I want us to read the first seven verses. We're certainly not going to be able to cover them all, but we'll get started. Ephesians 4, this will be the third in the series on walking with the Lord. Ephesians 4, verse 1: "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, even as you are 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."

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• "But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of Christ." We began this series on walking with the Lord, and I pointed out how that Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and a host of others walked with the Lord as well. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 11, verses 5 and 6, "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death, and was not found because God had translated him. For before his translation, he had this testimony that he pleased God." And then verse 6: "But without faith it is impossible to please him. For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Enoch was not only a godly man that walked with the Lord, he was also a family man, as I pointed out. He had wife, children, he had all kinds of responsibilities just like we do, yet he walked with the Lord. But moreover, I want you to understand that Enoch was also a prophet.

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• If you would turn in your Bibles to the book of Jude—hold Ephesians 4, but look in the book of Jude, right before the book of Revelation—and I want you to look at verses 14 and 15. And the Bible tells you something about Enoch's preaching. Jude, verse 14—of course there's only one chapter in Jude—Jude verse 14: "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." So, Enoch was not only a family man and had responsibilities, Enoch also lived in a very wicked time, just exactly the way we do as well. And yet he walked with God, the Bible tells us.

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• You remember in the first message I pointed out the very general implications of the word "walking." I said, number one, first of all, the word implies communion and fellowship. Number two, it implies purpose. Number three, it implies progress.

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• Fourthly, it implies agreement, and fifthly, it implies resolution. So if we're walking with the Lord, then we're to be fellowshipping with Him and communing with Him, and purposefully seeking His will in our life, making progress in our lives, and bringing our lives in conformity to His Word. We're agreeing with Him in whatever He says, and acknowledging that He deserves all honor, praise, and glory. And then we're also seeking to resolve any conflicts in our lives in accordance to His Word and His will.

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• So in the second message I pointed out, still in relationship to Enoch, the very basic principle that if we're going to please God, we must walk by faith. I pointed out again in Hebrews 11, verse 6, the Bible says, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him. For he that cometh to God must first believe that He is, and He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." So, I pointed out that walking by faith, walking pleasing to the Lord, first of all, has reference to the person of God, secondly, to the promises of God, and thirdly, to the providence of God. So, it means that we walk then before Him, as unto Him, and as we walk before Him and as unto Him, we end up walking with Him. One author stated this, listen carefully. He said, "What does it mean to walk with God? It means several things. First, it means that the prevailing power of enmity in a person's heart has been taken away by the Spirit of God." That is, we're no longer enemies, we're no longer fighting against God.

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• Doesn't mean that we're perfect, but we're not shaking our fist in His face. Secondly, it means that the person has actually been reconciled to God the Father. So we're not enemies again.

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• Thirdly, that the person has an abiding communion and fellowship with God, that which Scripture describes as the Holy Ghost dwelling in us. And finally, walking with God implies our progress in divine life.

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• Now, here's another interesting thing that an author has pointed out. He asked, "What does it mean to walk with God?" Listen carefully. This is an excellent summary of my first message and my second message too. He said it like this: "To walk with God is to live ever as in His presence. To realize His presence, to abide continually under His eye, to recognize our Father as close by our side is the secret of much peace. We must ever regard Him, not as if He were far away in some inaccessible abode, but nearer to us than our dearest friend."

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• "In our chamber, by the wayside, at our work, in our recreation, while mingling with others, or all alone, we must see one whom the world sees not, and hear one whom the world hears not." Then another author went on to say this. He was suggesting some very practical steps for learning to walk with the Lord and to live a holy, godly life. And he says this: "If you really want to walk with the Lord, number one, say nothing that you would not like for God to hear. Do nothing that you would not like for God to see. Write nothing that you would not like for God to read. Go no place where you would not like God to find you. Read no book of which you would not like God to say, 'Show me what you're reading.'" And then he says, "Never spend your time in such a way that makes God ask, 'What are you doing?'" I laugh when I get to that last one because I remember talking to our kids when I'd see them doing something wrong or strange.

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• That would be the first thing that came out of my mouth: "What are you doing?" So don't ever do anything that would make God ask, "What are you doing?" Really, as simple as these things are, it would help us to live consciously as in the presence of God as well. So the question that I have to ask is this: How do we begin to walk with the Lord, and how do we maintain and continue a walk with the Lord? And the truth of the matter is this: there is far more to life for the child of God than just living and dying. Have you ever stopped to think that the great and wondrous activity of the first Adam was to walk with God? That's interesting. However, the truth of the matter is the first Adam failed, and we sin in him. And yet Jesus Christ, the second Adam, in John 10, verse 10, said, "I am come that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly." Now, I don't know if you've ever

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• considered this or not, but in 1 Corinthians 15 the Bible says very clearly that Adam was our first head, federal head and representative. And now we have a second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our federal head and representative. What we had in Adam, the first Adam, we lost. You have to remember that Adam was created with original righteousness, holiness, and knowledge. But yet he was placed on a mutable footing. He could fall, and he did fall. He could sin, and he did sin. And so God then sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the second Adam.

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• And in Psalm 69, he said it like this: "Then I restored that which I took not away." So everything that we lost in the first Adam, we got back in the second Adam, plus more. Besides, in the second Adam, we're now placed on an immutable footing, one that absolutely cannot change.

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• Now, let me just quote two passages, and I want you to listen. Remember, the first Adam was created with original righteousness, holiness, and knowledge. When you get to Ephesians 4, which we'll look at later in the study, but in Ephesians 4, verses 23 and 24, the Bible says, "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." So there's two of the things that Adam lost that we already have back. And when you read Colossians 3, verse 10, the Bible says, "And having put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." So right now we've gotten back all three things that we lost in Adam. Besides, we've gotten more, not counting the fact that we're now on an immutable footing. It will not change because Christ is God. Now the Apostle Paul teaches us how to begin and how to maintain a walk with God. When we're talking about walking with God, we're talking about walking pleasing unto Him. And remember, the Bible says in Hebrews 11, verse 5, before God took Enoch,

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• he had this testimony that he pleased God. Now if you would turn in your Bibles, hold Ephesians 4, but look in Colossians 1, verse 10. I quoted this verse last week. We're going to look at it just a little more this week. Colossians 1, verse 10: "That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." So in this particular passage, walking worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing means that we're fruitful in every good work, that which God describes as a good work. Besides, we're increasing in the knowledge of God continually.

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• Now let me just emphasize one thing before I really get started today, and that's this: If we are genuinely Christian, we will have a new walk. I will say this a little differently. If we are Christians, we must have a new walk. It's absolutely needed, absolutely necessary. Things will change when God saves you. Years ago, I had a pastor friend who had a brother that he was very concerned about, and the brother was lost. The pastor had witnessed to him innumerable times, but the Lord had never saved him, and he really expressed no interest in being saved. And I went to that one country church and I preached a meeting, and God was very gracious and God saved that brother that week. And I mean, I think it was a real, genuine salvation. And so after the service, everybody was kind of excited, and we all went out to a little restaurant and were going to have some coffee and pie or something like that. And we were sitting there talking, and all of a sudden the pastor's brother, who just gotten converted,

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• started laughing. I know no one had said anything that was funny, but his brother was a big hunter, especially a big bird hunter. And he started laughing, so I looked at him. I said, "What's so funny?" Well, he said, "I just sat here thinking, I might have to retrain my bird dogs. They won't understand a word I'm saying to them." That's true. Because he had to start a new walk, that is for sure. The Bible says in Romans 6, verse 4, listen carefully: "Therefore being buried with him by baptism into death, like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so

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• or equally as we should walk in newness of life." So just as the glory of God raised up Jesus Christ from the dead, gave Him new life as such, even so, likewise, we are to walk in newness of life. So if we're going to walk in newness of life, we have to know how to walk. Well, if you look in Ephesians 4, verse 1—still hold Colossians 1—look at Ephesians 4, verse 1. The Apostle Paul says, "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called." If we're going to walk worthy, the very first thing that we have to observe is this: we must walk worthy of our calling. That's what he said: "walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called." Now, the Apostle Paul in verse 1 was a prisoner at the time that he wrote the book of Ephesians.

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• His imprisonment might have been that which many would have supposed him to have been despised. And yet his imprisonment is here a pendant for a confirmation of his authority. It was that seal of approval with which he had been honored. Whatever belongs to Jesus Christ, listen carefully, whatever belongs to Jesus Christ, though it is despised in the eyes of men, should be viewed as an honor and with the highest regard for the people of God.

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• The Apostle's prison cell was more glorious than the most beautiful, palatial estate of any king or emperor. Now I want you to note what Paul does. He says, "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called." So Paul is confined to his prison cell and he's beseeching us to walk worthy, and to the Ephesians to which he was writing. So here's what he's saying in essence: You have your liberty. You may walk. I'm deprived of my liberty. I cannot walk. All I can do is sit in this cell. So, his argument is this: if anyone could demonstrate obedience more fully, it's you who have your liberty. The only thing that I can do is sit in this prison cell in bondage, and therefore the only thing I can do is exhort you to obedience. Now, Paul demonstrated his obedience by patient suffering. And so he's beseeching the Ephesians to demonstrate their obedience by practical, everyday application of the Word of God to their lives.

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• Now, I want you to look in Colossians 1, verse 10 again. Because walking worthily means that we walk pleasing to the Lord. He said in verse 10, "that you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing." That's the same thing when the apostle says, "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy." However, in verse 10 of chapter 1 of Colossians again, walking worthy and pleasing means being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. That is true. So what I want us to do very quickly is first compare some of the words in Colossians 1, verse 10 and some of the words in Ephesians 4, verse 1. First of all, the word "worthy," because in each of these passages we are told that we are to walk worthy. The Greek word is the word axios in Colossians 1, verse 10. It is also the same Greek word in Ephesians 4, verse 1. And when He tells us to walk worthy, here is what He is telling us: that we are to walk after a godly sort.

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• That we are to walk in a suitable manner, in a worthy manner. That is, we are to walk as new men, evidencing and manifesting the grace of God in our lives. So the word "worthy" in Ephesians 4, verse 1 and Colossians 1, verse 10, it is exactly the same word. Secondly, we're told in Colossians 1, verse 10 that we are to walk worthy. We're also told in Ephesians 4, verse 1 that we're to walk worthy. The word "walk" in the Greek is the word peripateo, and it literally means to walk around or to walk about. But it means more than walking around and walking about. What it means is to regulate one's life, to conduct one's life, to make use of all your opportunities and to progress. So actually when he's talking about walking, he's talking about living your life. You live your life in a worthy or in a suitable manner. Third, the Bible tells us in Colossians 1, verse 10, the word "pleasing" here—we're to walk worthy as unto all pleasing.

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• And the word "pleasing" means not only to please, but it means to have a desire to please. So I could ask you like this: Is everything you do, think, or say pleasing unto the Lord? And the answer is no. But that does not preclude a desire to please Him. I have a desire to please Him, but I'm still a sinner and I fail miserably many times. But that does not mean I do not have a desire to please Him. Only Jesus Christ could say in John chapter 8, "For I do always those things that please Him." So He tells us that we're to walk worthy, and as we walk worthy, then we're walking therefore in a pleasing manner. Now, I want you to look in verse 1 of Ephesians 4. He says, "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called." Now what is the vocation? When you and I hear the word "vocation," we think of a job. We think of what we do for a living.

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• We could say Ron's vocation is a farmer. Pat's vocation is a military man. That's what we normally talk about. But that is not what the word means in this particular instance. When the Bible tells us that we're to walk worthy of our vocation, the Greek word is klesis, which is translated as "calling" ten times in our Bible. Literally, he says we're to walk worthy of the calling wherewith you are called. Now, when you look at "you are called," that is the verb form kaleo, which means "I call." So literally what he's saying is this: "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the calling wherewith you were called." So now you have to determine what your calling really is. So let's hold Ephesians 4 and let's go in our Bibles, first of all, to Romans chapter 11. I want you to see this passage first. Romans 11, and look if you would please at verse 29. Here's a very important passage that should set the stage for everything that we're going to say just momentarily. So Romans 11, verse 29, watch carefully. The Bible

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• says, "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance." The gifts and the calling of God are without repentance. It's important for you to understand this statement. God does not call us by accident. God does not make mistakes. God does not call us in error. God does not call us ineffectually. God does not call us and change His mind. God doesn't say, "Oops, I didn't mean to save you." No, God's gifts and God's callings are without repentance. So once God gives you His gift, and once He calls you, He does not change His mind.

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• This is why I'm saying we are placed on an immutable footing in Jesus Christ. So the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance. Now we have to understand what the calling is. So if you look in your Bibles, Romans 1, verses 6 and 7. Romans 1, verses 6 and 7. Notice Paul is writing to these Roman Christians and he says this: "Among whom also you are the called of Jesus Christ." Verse 7: "To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

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• Now the interesting thing is this: one of the names for a Christian or Christians in the Bible is simply "the called ones." That's what he says in verse 6: "among whom you are the called" or "the called ones of Jesus Christ." And then in verse 7 he says, "to all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints." A saint is not someone that is dead. A saint is a living, breathing individual. A saint is someone who's been saved by grace. You don't become a saint when you die. If you're not a saint while you're alive, you never will be a saint when you're dead. That's for sure. So when you look at Romans 1, verses 6 and 7, obviously the calling here refers to salvation. Look in 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 1, and let's begin reading there with verse 23. Just showing you how this word is translated and how it's used. Because he's beseeching us that we walk worthy of the vocation, of the calling wherewith we are called. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 23: "But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness." Here it is: "But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ

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• the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." Here it is: "For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty, and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence." So notice again verse 23: to the unsaved, Christ is a stumbling block and foolishness. Verse 24: "but unto them which are called"—calling

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• refers to salvation. Look in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1, and let's begin reading there with verse 15. Ephesians 1, verse 15. Watch carefully: "Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto all saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him." Watch: "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power." Hmm. Turn right over to Ephesians 4, verse 4. Look at this passage. I'm just showing you how it's translated. "There is one body and one Spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling." Now turn right over to the book of Philippians,

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• chapter 3. Philippians 3, verses 13 and 14. Philippians 3, verse 13: "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Notice the high calling of God. Turn right over to 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, a few pages over, and look at verses 11 and 12. 2 Thessalonians 1, verse 11: "Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." Turn right over to 2 Timothy chapter 1, and notice if you would in this passage Paul is still in prison, or in prison again. Seems like he was thrown there a number of times. But notice 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 8. He tells Timothy, "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of

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• our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our own works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." Note: He has saved us and called us—one and the same. He has saved us and called us. Now just a couple more. I want you to look in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 3, a few pages over, and verses 1 and 2. Hebrews 3, verses 1 and 2: "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house." Note: "consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession." But he says, "we are holy brethren and we're partakers of the heavenly calling." Now, one last passage in this area. I want you to look in 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 10.

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• 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 10. Look what he tells you. You're going to think that this is impossible, but it's not. 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 10: "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you shall never fall." Now, how do you make your calling and your election sure? You say, "Well, I can understand making my calling sure, but how can I make my election sure? I can't climb into heaven and look in the Lamb's Book of Life." No, but if you can make sure that you are savingly called unto Jesus Christ, you may be assured of your election, because only the elect are savingly called to Jesus Christ. So, you make your election sure by making your calling sure. Okay?

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• Now, I hope you've put two and three together. Every one of these passages, actually, calling refers to our salvation. So if you kind of combined all of these passages, you would understand that our calling is a heavenly calling, it is a holy calling, it is a high calling, it is an effectual calling, it is an individual calling, it is a saintly calling, it is a practical calling.

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• And I don't know if you caught this as I read through the Scripture, but God is the author—God the Father, He is the author. The call is always through the person and work of Jesus Christ. And of course, it comes to us in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit as well. So when He calls us to walk worthy of our calling, He is saying walk worthy of our salvation. Walk worthy of our sainthood. Walk worthy of the newness of life that we have in Jesus Christ.

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• We've been called to obedience. We've been called to glorify our Heavenly Father. God has singled us out. He called us. What did our Lord say in John chapter 10? "My sheep hear my voice." He calls us by name. We hear His voice and we follow Him. So we're called unto obedience.

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• Now, in order to walk worthy of our calling, we must first recognize what our calling is, which I just shared with you. But second, how we are to walk worthy of that calling. So I want you to go back to Ephesians chapter 4. We're going to look at verse 2, and we're only going to get one part of verse 2. Look at verse 1: "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation or the calling wherewith you are called." How do you do that? How do you walk worthy unto the Lord?

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• Well, here's how: "with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Now, actually, verses 4, 5, and 6 further explain verses 1, 2, and 3. But let's go back, if you would please, to verse 2. He said, if we're going to walk worthy, we must walk with all lowliness. What is lowliness? Obviously, the word "lowliness" has nothing to do with poor posture or low self-respect or esteem. That's nothing to do with that. The word "lowliness" means humility. It means having a humble opinion of oneself. Here's another word that we could use: modesty. It means having a deep sense of one's own smallness. It means having lowliness of mind. I want you to understand that pride is a root sin. There are only three or four root sins in the Bible. You know what a root sin is? A root sin is something that sprouts and rises up and produces powerful offspring, and each of the offspring happens to be extremely deadly. Pride is one of those root sins.

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• It is that which produces a host of other sins as well. Unhappily, man by nature is not lowly as our Lord. You remember the Bible says in Matthew 11, verse 29, our Lord says, "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest unto your souls." I want you to hold Ephesians 4, turn right over to the book of Philippians—not Colossians, but Philippians. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. Look if you would in the book of Philippians chapter 2. You know this passage, but I just want to show you the lowliness of our Lord, His modesty. Watch this. Philippians 2, verse 5.

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• "Let this mind be in you." Let us learn to think like Christ. "Let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God"—that is, He was God—"thought it not robbery to be equal with God"—in other words, not something to be seized at—"but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." So the God of glory became a man. The God of glory not only became a man, He became a servant. So we have the King of kings, who created the world and everything that was therein, born in a stable. He left heaven in order that He might come and suffer and bleed and die and save His people. He left all of this and took upon Himself the form of a man and became a servant and humbled Himself even unto death.

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• So, let me put it to you like this. When Paul says that we're to walk worthy, he begins to explain that by saying that we should walk in all lowliness.

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• Now, lowliness is the opposite of pride, arrogance, haughtiness, high-mindedness. Listen carefully: it is the opposite of a spirit of control and manipulation. Now I will tell you something, and I will show it to you from Scripture. One of the greatest sins of preachers is the sin of pride. Because too many seek to control and manipulate and do so in a haughty, arrogant spirit. Like, "You must do what I tell you because I am a preacher." Well, let me show you.

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• Look in your Bibles to 1 Peter, 1 Peter chapter 5. And let's begin reading there with verse 1. Peter, of course, is an elder, is a pastor. You have three words in the Bible. Each relates to the preacher. He's sometimes called an elder, sometimes called a shepherd, sometimes called a bishop. They're one and the same. One describes the man, one describes his work, the other describes his office. But watch. Notice if you would 1 Peter 5, verse 1: "The elders which are among you I exhort"—so he's talking to preachers—"who am also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed." So what does Peter tell the preachers? Watch verse

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• 2: "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof." And that is yes, you see over them. "Not by constraint"—no one has to force you—"but willingly, not for filthy lucre"—not just for money's sake—"but of a ready mind." Now watch: "Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." So it is easy for me to say, "Steve, do this." It's a little more difficult for me to be an example and say, "Brother, you just need to follow me as I live for the Lord." You see the difference? And notice if you would, he says, "Feed the flock of God." They're God's flock. Watch verse 3: "Neither as being lords over God's heritage."

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• No, I'm not the master. I might be a shepherd, but I'm an under-shepherd. I'm under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, just like you're under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, he tells us there again we have to have a lowly attitude. We can't take a lordly attitude, a high, haughty, arrogant, proud attitude. Now pastors may be shepherds, but they're under-shepherds, and they're under the authority and dominion of Jesus Christ.

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• Let me show you something. Look in your Bible, Acts chapter 20. Acts chapter 20, and let's begin reading with verse 17, because Paul sends for the pastors of Ephesus to meet him at Miletus. Now we should look what he says, and then I want to ask you a question. Look at Acts chapter 20, verse 17: "And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church. And when they were come to him, he said unto them, 'You know from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I've been with you at all seasons.'" Wait a minute. "After what manner"? What's that mean?

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• That means he was an example, right? He says, "You know my example. You know my life. After what manner I've been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind and with many tears and temptations which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews. And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house." Now, if you'll go back to verse 19, he says this: "serving the Lord with all humility" or "lowliness of mind."

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• It's the same Greek word. "Serving the Lord with all lowliness of mind." So here's my question. Paul is serving the Lord with all lowliness of mind. Do you think that Paul was going around with an attitude that, "I'm special because God knocked me down on the road to Damascus and struck me with blindness and then sent a man to heal me, and then He called me into the ministry, and moreover, God is using me to write the largest portion of the New Testament"? That wasn't his attitude. He said, "I was serving the Lord with all humility" or "lowliness of mind." So here's my question. Now I want you to think about this. What was the humbling and crushing factor in Paul's spiritual life? I won't answer out loud, but think about this. What was the humbling and crushing factor in Paul's spiritual life? Here's the answer.

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• It was his constant memory of sin, and of one sin in particular that haunted him throughout his entire life. It was the sin of persecuting the Church of God. Now let me ask you a question—and I'm going to show you this from the Scripture. Did God forgive the Apostle Paul for all of that? Did He? Yes. Did God's forgiveness erase the scars and the memories? No. Has God forgiven you of your sins? Yes. But that does not mean that the scars and the memories are gone.

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• Now, it is true that we commit so many sins that we've probably forgotten a lot of them. But there are some sins that we do not and we cannot forget. Because they've scarred our souls so deeply. Saul of Tarsus, who became the Apostle Paul, had that deep scar. Let me show you. I want you to look in your Bibles, if you would, to Acts 22. Notice verse 4. Acts 22, verse 4.

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• He's giving a testimony. And he's saying to these people who tried to kill him, by the way, he says in verse 4, "And I persecuted this way"—that is, Christianity—"I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women." Now we know that he was consenting to the death of Stephen. I don't know how many more, but he said, "I persecuted this way unto death," which could be more than one. Look in Acts 26, verse 11. Acts 26, verse 11. Again, he's giving a testimony and he says this to King Agrippa. He says, "And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme. And being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities." Wow. Punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme. How would you forget something like that? Look in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 9. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 9. I will show you Paul's estimation of himself. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 9: "For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet"—or suitable—"to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God." Paul was a mighty apostle, one of the greatest, and yet he said, "I'm

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• the least. And I'm not even suitable to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God." I want you to look in Galatians chapter 1, verse 13. Galatians chapter 1, verse 13. Look what he says. Galatians 1, verse 13: "For you have heard of my conversation"—or my conduct—"in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God and wasted it." Four times Paul lists the fact that he persecuted the church of God.

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• He never got over that. Now let me tell you something. If you wish to walk worthy, and if you wish to live a lowly life—not a low life now, but a lowly life—if you wish to live a lowly life, one without so much pride and arrogance and haughtiness, then what you need to do is remember your depravity, your rebellion, your sins, wickedness, your sinful disposition of mind. You have to remember what you were and who you were before Christ saved you. Let me show you.

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• Turn right over to Ephesians chapter 2. And please remember he's writing this to believers. He's writing this to Christians. Look in Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1 through 3: "And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins." You may have been dead, but you were quite alive. Why? "Wherein in times past you walked according to the course of this world." You did everything that the worldlings do. Moreover, you walked according to the prince of the power of the air,

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• the enemy, the adversary, "the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." Watch verse 3: "Among whom also we all had our conversation"—our conduct, our walk—"in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." You know what Paul is doing? He's telling us what we were in and of ourselves without Jesus Christ. We were children of disobedience. We were children of the devil. We lusted. We coveted. We desired.

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• We did everything that was wicked and ungodly and wrong. Now let me tell you something. When you think about this, and you think about your sins, you have to remember something else. Neither you nor anyone else deserve to be saved. Who didn't? I love verse 4. After Paul tells us how wicked we were in verses 1 through 3, then he says, "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us." "But God." I have a preacher friend who for years preached a message, and the title of it was "But God." "But God"—and how God sovereignly intervenes.

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• Now, I want you to look at another passage. I want you to go to Isaiah 51. Isaiah 51, and look if you would please at verse 1. Isaiah 51, verse 1. I want you to look at this because he's talking to believers. Isaiah 51, verse 1. Look what God says: "Hearken to me, you that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord." Isaiah 51, verse 1. Now "hearken to me," that is, listen to me. "You that follow after righteousness, you that seek the Lord." So he's talking to believers.

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• What does he command us to do? "Look unto the rock whence you are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence you are digged." In other words, you remember where you came from and you remember what you were. The interesting thing is when you read Ezekiel chapter 16, that's what God told Israel. He told them exactly what they were when He found them. Wow. Now, let me make some applications, try to tie it together. The first one is this: We're admonished in the Bible not to think more highly of ourselves and our gifts than we ought. Here's what we have to remember: We have to remember what we were outside of Jesus Christ, and we have to remember what we are inside of Jesus Christ.

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• Let me put it to you very bluntly. Everything we have and everything we are is only because of Jesus Christ. We don't deserve any of it. He gave it to us.

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• Now He tells us that we're not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. In Romans 12, verse 3, let me just quote it. Paul wrote, "For I say, through the grace of God that is given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." So whatever gifts I have, God gave me. Whatever grace I have, God gave me. Whatever gifts and grace you have, God gave you. So we were nothing when Christ found us. Without Him, we're still nothing. Okay? So if we think soberly, we're going to say, "Everything I am, everything I have, it's because of Him."

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• You stop and think how many times you could have thoroughly, royally, genuinely messed up your life. And God preserved you. God protected you. Here's the second application. Each time we remember our sins—and they flood my mind like they flood your minds at times, especially if you pray—the reminder of those sins will come back. Certain things will bring things back to your mind. And you should take that opportunity to say, "Yes, Lord, those were wicked sins.

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• They were transgressions of Your law. They were dishonoring to You. They were wicked. They were wrong. They deserve the death penalty. I don't deserve a thing, but I'm thankful for Your divine forgiveness. I'm thankful for the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all sin." And in doing that, it humbles us. And it forces us, in one sense of the word, not only to confess our sins, but to acknowledge there's no reason and no room for pride or arrogance, because without Him we'd still be nothing. One other passage.

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• I want you to look in Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1. You see, the truth is, we've been called. That's what this message was about. We've been called out of this world. We are in the world, but we're not of the world. Okay? So what should you do when you remember your sins, and then you remember your deliverance from your sins, and you're thankful for the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, here's what you do. Colossians 1, verse 12: "Giving thanks unto the Father, who

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• hath made us meet"—or suitable—"to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light." God's made us suitable. How did He do that? "Who has delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins." So we thank God for His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank God for delivering us from the power of darkness and for translating us into the kingdom of His dear Son. We look at where we came from and what we were, and we look at what we are now and what we have in Jesus Christ, and we recognize everything is of Him, by grace through faith. Nothing of us.

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• So therefore we can walk worthily with a lowly mind, not in pride, not in arrogance, not in haughtiness, but with thanksgiving unto Him for what He's done for us. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask for Your grace and Your mercy to us. We do pray, Lord, that You would indeed teach us to walk worthy. Teach us to walk, Lord, in lowliness, recognizing what we were, what we are.

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• What we were were wicked and ungodly and reprobate sinners. What we are now, we're forgiven and cleansed and washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, and seated with Him in the Holy of Holies. We give Thee praise for this. Help us, Lord, to love Thee and to live for Thee, and to walk worthily. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

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• so so

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T18:42:05Z