He That Sayeth Must Walk It

[00:00:00] This audio sermon is provided by AnabaptistSermons.com and may be freely copied and distributed. You may not sell or edit this sermon. Our prayer is that you would be blessed by this ministry. Good morning. It's good to be here. I have been blessed already. Please don't make fun of my graph paper. That's all I could find. in the midst of moving. [00:00:38] Thanks for your prayers. I still agree with what Enos had to say this morning. that, you know, I think, too, that the prayer warriors of this church have it the hardest. Anabaptist. I don't even know how to start. It's been a while since I preached. And so maybe you can continue to pray for me. [00:01:34] But my prayer this morning is that God will be glorified exactly what Enos was saying. God would be glorified today, not because of what I have to say. Maybe because of what I have to say, not that I'm the one saying it. Oh my word. This poor little worm to preach God's word. [00:02:14] I also feel like this morning I was sitting there listening to Enos and thinking maybe I could have had devotions and he could have preached. I feel like what God wants to say this morning. It's really easy for me to listen to the devil and for him to say that you have nothing to say. So it's really hard for me to stand up here. [00:02:51] and share God's word, but it's also joy. I think we'll start by turning to Psalm 62. Maybe a short message this morning, but that's fine. [00:03:32] I'm not sure why I am to start with these few psalms. I'm going to read a little bit in 63, but we'll start here. Psalm 62 Truly my soul silently waits for God. From Him comes my salvation. He is my rock. Sorry, He only is my rock and my salvation. [00:04:07] He is my defense. I shall not be greatly moved. When I think of waiting on God, sometimes I get impatient and I am pretty loud about it. Here it says to wait silently. And where does your salvation come from? Where does mine come from? Too often I put my salvation in the good that I do, or the way that I look, or the things that I say, the testimonies that I give, and the songs that I have. [00:04:51] What is your salvation in? What saves you? What saves me? My salvation comes from God. He only is my rock. When I read that, I had to think of Matthew chapter 7. I think I should have looked it up. We can only build on the rock if we what? [00:05:27] The wise men and the foolish men. Only if we do what he says. He said, I said these things. If you do them, you're like none to the builder who builds on a rock. So, these things that God has put in His Word, are we doing them? Are we obeying them like we talked about in Sunday school? Here's my defense, I shall not be greatly moved. [00:05:58] On down to verse 5. of my soul, wait silently for God alone. Verse 8, trust in Him at all times, you people. Pour out your heart before Him. When I think of trust, if you guys can picture yourself, I'd love to have you all stand up and close your eyes and put your feet together. So if you can imagine that, I won't have you all do that. It may take some time. But imagine yourself standing with your eyes closed and your feet together and I tell you, okay, now I'm going to lead you up this ladder. It's an eight foot ladder. I tell you it's an eight foot ladder. I'm going to lead you up this eight foot ladder and we're going to be walking up. [00:06:45] Top of the ladder is going to be a two-by-four wall. Of course, it's eight foot high. And if you know, for those of you who don't know, two-by-four is three and a half inches. Up at the top of that ladder is a two-by-four wall. And I tell you, now look, you keep your eyes closed. Maybe you're blindfolded, I don't know. Maybe, yeah, you're blindfolded, Brendan. Can't see anything. You can't even choose to open your eyes. And I say, now look, you're safe. No problem. Just trust me. You're alright. [00:07:19] I got a hold of your hand. So there we go, up this ladder. And you can feel this two by four wall with your feet. You know, got a hold of your hand. And then we walk out there about four feet and you're just scared. Sam, I know you'd be scared. Eight foot. And then at the end is this block that you're standing on that's six inches square. [00:07:53] You know, not what your feet would, but your feet hang over on all sides. I say, look, don't worry. There's nothing to be afraid of. I'm right here beside you. I got to hold your hand. Don't be scared. You can't see a thing, shall we? And then I let go of your hand. You know, I don't know about y'all, but I'd be, you know, scared spitless. That don't even make sense, scared spitless. And, but I say, just trust me, you are totally safe. [00:08:30] Now, are you going to believe me or not? No, you're not going to believe me, are you? And so then I take the blindfold off and there you are, you're on the second story and it's three quarter inch plywood, you know, four thousand square foot of plywood and you're on this two by four, two by four laying on the floor. So the truth was that you were safe, right Mervyn? You were safe. You weren't going to hurt yourself. So, the thing is, if you trust in Him. [00:09:02] So, when times are rough, when you don't feel like God is beside you, do you always feel like God is beside you? Do you always feel like He is faithful to you? Do you always feel like He has never let you down? Do you always feel like you're getting wisdom from Him? Do you always feel like when you're reading God's Word, you understand, Oh, hallelujah! You always feel good. And so that's when we wait on the Lord for strength. [00:09:39] Wait on the Lord for understanding. And He says, trust me. And we say, no way. This is not safe. I can't do that. So are we trusting in the Lord when temptations come? No way, I don't have enough strength for this to go get through this temptation. So just give in. No, he says, trust in me. [00:10:10] Here's strength for you for this one time. And then the next time, where'd that strength go? He says, trust me. It's safe. Just do what I tell you. Trust in Him at all times, you people. And He says, pour out your heart before Him. To me that's... [00:10:54] You just let it all out. You give everything to Him. You give up everything. It could even mean cry out to Him, tell Him all your troubles. Or do you just keep it all inside and try and figure it out yourself? It could mean, Lord, here I am. Use me. Give me strength. I want to be obedient. [00:11:29] Okay, then chapter 63, 1 through 8. Oh God, you are my God. Early will I seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. One time we were in Jamaica and me and the boys we went to, we took our machetes and we were going to whack down a bunch of weeds and stuff for this new ground and we were out there for two hours with no water and it was hot and we were sweating and we were in the, we had chiggers all over us and it was just, and I knew I was thirsty. [00:12:12] Have you ever been in a time when you didn't have a water jug and you're working and you are thirsty? And I'm screaming today, are there times in your life spiritually that you know you're thirsty? Maybe you don't even realize you're thirsty. I mean, for one of my boys to say, when we were whacking weeds with machetes, sweating, he said, I didn't even know I was thirsty. We were working two hours. Do you know if you're thirsty? Do you realize it? [00:12:47] Here the psalmist is saying, my soul thirsts for you. Do you thirst for the Lord? Do you thirst for more? Verse 2, so I have looked for you in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory because your loving kindness is better than life. Because your loving kindness is better than life. My lips shall praise you. Thus I will bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with morrow and fatness. And my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips. [00:13:30] For some reason, our souls are not satisfied with the Lord. So where do we go when our souls aren't satisfied with the Lord? Because we don't trust Him. Because we say, oh, it's too rough. The Lord can't do what He has promised to do. So what do we do? We go out into the world and try and find satisfaction. You know, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If I'm thirsty, I'm going to go to the pig pen. I did, though. Why would I go to the pig pen to get a drink of water when I'm thirsty? [00:14:11] Instead of to the living water. When I'm hungry, I go to, I don't know, the pig pen. Or maybe I would go to a piece of candy for nutrition that never lasts. We were grouting. No, we were laying tile on Tuesday. I was getting weak, shaky. I was hungry. So I went into Jim's little stash of root beer candy and I need a root beer candy. He said, oh, you're getting weak, shaky. [00:14:44] I think he said, I forget what he said. I said, yeah. Got a piece of candy. Ooh, it tastes good. It didn't last very long. So where do we go when we're hungry and thirsty? When I remembered you on my bed, verse 6, I meditate on you in the night watches, because you have been my help. Therefore, in the shadow of your wings, I will rejoice. My soul follows close behind you. [00:15:17] Your right hand upholds me. Is my soul following close behind? Where am I so far behind that I can hardly glimpse Him? Or do I stay right up to Him? Walking in Jamaica up to the Blue Mountains and it was dark early in the morning. I don't even know why we started out at 4 o'clock or 3 o'clock or 2.30. I don't remember. So it's dark. [00:15:47] And if you don't follow right close behind, you get scary. Can't see anything. Is my soul following close behind God? And then a little testimony from Psalm 66. I've been praying for a while, well ever since camp out that I could find my Bible. I asked some of you if anybody found my Bible. [00:16:22] And I thought I'm going to have to bring this silly laptop up here. Sorry Jim. I didn't know if I was going to be able to do that or not. But last night I went up to the boys' room. They were all moved out and had my little table set up there and laptop up there. Jamie was up there. I had no idea what he was doing. He said, oh, I'm looking for something. I forget what it was. I walked in there and here is my Bible laying open. [00:16:54] He said, Hallelujah. I didn't say it to him. So he was looking in the camper person. Oh, sheets, yeah. And he found them, found the Bible in there. And I, we at Verbena had both looked over and over and over and over and over through everything. Couldn't find it where there it was. Well, he had it laying open for some reason. I don't think. I don't think he meant to. [00:17:36] But this Psalm 66, he is remembering what God has done for him. What God has done for the Israelites. Come and see the works of God, verse 5 And then verse 16 Come and hear all you who fear the Lord And I will declare what He has done for my soul Hallelujah [00:18:16] I cried to Him with my mouth And he was extolled with my tongue If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear But certainly God has heard me He has attended to the voice of my prayer Blessed be God who has not turned away my prayer [00:18:47] Nor his mercy from me Do you feel like sometimes God turns away your prayer? Sometimes. I don't know what reason that is. And for many, many years, I couldn't figure it out. Until I realized one day that it was because I was regarding iniquity in my heart. What does it mean to regard iniquity? You look at it. You choose it. [00:19:18] You uphold it. So my prayer this morning is Psalm 67 verse 1 and 2. God be merciful to us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon us that your way may be known on the earth. Your salvation among our children, Your salvation among each one here, Your salvation among the nations. [00:19:55] Be merciful to us and bless us. Shine Your face on us. Wow, that went a little longer than what I thought. I know that that was kind of an introduction, I guess, but I kind of wanted to, had a lot to, I could probably go on for a while about a little testimony of mine, but I think we'll move to 1 John chapter 2. [00:20:30] I was trying not to go there, because we've just been through there in Sunday school, but couldn't help it. So just a little bit from John chapter 2, 1 John chapter 2. I really wanted to read the whole chapter, but I don't think we will. [00:21:07] Maybe just a few verses. Verse 1, My little children, these things I write to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. Now by this we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. [00:21:42] By the way, I put a little title at the top of this piece of paper that says, He that saith must walk it. So if you say it, you must walk it. You talk it, you must walk it. Verse 6, He who says he abides in him ought also himself to walk just as he walked. [00:22:18] There's a lot of people that says that they're a Christian. Yes, I'm a Christian. And there's probably every one of those Christians would say, if I were to ask you, are you abiding in Christ? Everybody raise their hand. Yeah. I'm abiding in Christ. Well, probably because we all know that if we don't abide in Christ, we can't be a Christian. Duh. [00:22:49] You can't fully enjoy your religion unless you are fully in Christ. Can you boldly say, I'm abiding in Christ? Yes, I am abiding in Christ. No doubt in my mind. We must be in Christ. We must be abiding in Christ or else we're not saved. You know, our minds right away goes to John 15. [00:23:25] At least mine did. It is that union with Christ that makes us Christians. It's not that we just say that we're a Christian. It's that union with Christ. And it's because of that union with Christ that then we can truly live. Can anybody testify to that? You really live then. That's really living. You know, we thought living out in the world, that was living. I don't know about y'all. That's really living. Are we truly living in Christ? Are we alive in Christ? Are we in favor with God? I hope that we can say that We abide in him as our refuge, our sanctuary and shelter. [00:24:21] We read that, I think of David when he was in the, I think Samuel, he was in the strongholds of, I forget what it is, it's a weird word. Are we hiding ourselves in Christ? What does that mean? What does the song mean? Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee. [00:24:52] Do I trust in him? I had to ask myself a couple of questions. When things go wrong, what's the first thing that I do? Is Christ everything to me? [00:25:31] When I'm hungry, you know, I first look for something. When I'm thirsty, you know, I go to the fridge or get a drink or whatever. But when things go wrong, when the cow gets out, first thing I did, I tried to go get it back in. You know, didn't even pray. Not one time until I was so sick and tired of chasing after that cow, I said, Okay, Lord, I can't do it. You do it. Why didn't I save myself a whole lot of trouble and ask the Lord to put the cow back in? The cow walked right up to the gate. He did. Well, it took the Lord even five minutes, ten minutes to get him in. [00:26:15] But, what's the first thing that I do? Do I run to Christ, first thing? Do I eat, sleep, breathe, drink Christ? Is He everything to me? Is He everything to you? The first thing you want to do is read God's Word in the morning. Last while it's been so busy, first thing I think of when I wake up, this, that, this, that, this, that. And who has control over that? Who has control over how busy I am? [00:26:46] My wife? Brad? He's going to be here at 6.30. I've got to get there. No! The only person in control over that is me. I don't have to be busy, except LeVon. He has to be busy. He has cows. I don't think so, but you know what I'm saying. So shame on me. Right now everybody's into ripsticks, right boys? [00:27:19] You're into ripsticking, aren't you? Farrington? Cleaning them wheels all the time. Are you into baseball? Are you into Polly Pockets? Yeah. What are you into? What are you into? Your work? Are you into your family? What are you into? Are you into Christ? Can't get enough of Him. Can't get enough of that book. [00:27:51] I can't hardly get enough of ice cream. Can't get enough of boating, money, movies, your job, auctions. I used to love auctions. I don't have time anymore. Your family, baseball, cars, pampered chef, auto and RV. When we were looking for a camper, every week I got an auto and RV. Now I'm not saying that this stuff is wrong. Please don't get me wrong. This stuff isn't wrong. Just use it for an illustration. I remember this auto and RV. I would make sure I got that thing. [00:28:23] When we were into Little League, we were there on time. We practiced. Sometimes the boys, any little spare time they get, they got this book in front of their face. They're into the book. Dad, I'm into the book. I just finished this chapter. I'm into this book. Am I into Christ? Are you into Christ? We must be into Christ. If you are saved, if you are a Christian, we must be into Christ. [00:28:54] Joined to Him. Just like a wave is joined to the sea. Davis, I bet you can't take a wave out of the sea and put it on dry ground and it's still a wave. Do you think you can? Of course not. It's not a wave anymore. Be joined to Christ just like a wave Just like the branches in the vine Receiving our strength, our sap, our nourishment from Christ [00:29:28] And if we are separated, we separate the wave from the sea, what does it do? It dies We separate a branch from a tree, from a vine, it dies Same way with us. It withers and it dies. Do you notice? Do I notice when I'm starting to wither? Do you notice that? Do you notice when you're thirsty? I'm starting to wither. What's wrong? That's when we need to be radical. Get back to the root. I'm getting shaky. I need some sugar. No, we need real meat. [00:30:18] So, yes, maybe we're sitting here this morning saying, I am in Christ. We are in Christ. Maybe there are some of us saying, I want to with all of my heart, I want to. But I'm not. Maybe there are some of us saying, no, I'm not. I'm not even close to being in Christ. But for those of us who say we abide in Christ, we have an obligation in verse 6. [00:30:55] The last part of verse 6 is our obligation. We are obligated to walk just as He walked. Not just talk. That don't mean nothing. Maybe it does a little bit. I kind of get ahead of myself. I don't know how to get back. [00:31:40] In verse 6, the word ought. Whenever there's a word ought in the Bible, So I think that it has some great weight to the person that is seeking God. [00:32:18] You know, it's saying that you ought to, so you need to do it. So the conscientious man is going to say, so be it, let's do it. So if we say that we should do it, then let's do it. If we talk, we must walk. Or it is mere talk. You know how those people are, you know. Yeah, I'm going to come, whatever, I'll be there Tuesday. [00:32:50] There's always those people who really, really convicts me to think of these things. But I told Nate and Carol, I don't even know their last name, Yoder, that I would do their tile eons ago. Yeah, well, a couple more weeks, another week, just a bunch of talk. If Justin would walk in here and he'd have on shoulder pads and a helmet and some shoes with these big old round cleats, [00:33:25] what would you call them, Davis? If Brad would walk in here with his helmet on and this big old thick fireproof jacket and what else do you have? An axe? I don't know what to carry around. What would you call him, Brady? What if somebody would walk in here, I don't even know how to describe, somebody with, boy, I don't know, somebody that looks like the world and he says, I'm a Christian. [00:34:02] Would you say, oh, wow, that person is a Christian. No, you'd say, no way, you're worldly. But if a fireman walked in here dressed like a fireman, he says, I'm a football player. No way, you're a fireman. You know, a fireman is a fireman. The same way that a Christian is a Christian. A worldly person is not a Christian, is he? No. So if we say, are we what we say we are? [00:34:36] And if we say we're a Christian, are you walking it? Am I walking it? Am I really a Christian? Or do I just say that I'm a Christian? Do I look like a Christian? We all look like Christians this morning. Leon looks like a Christian. We all look like Christians. Dressed nice, wearing nice clothes. But are you walking it? We can sit here and look like a Christian, but when it comes right down to it, are you for real a Christian? [00:35:10] Are you walking as He walked? Are we being obedient in most of the things? Are we being obedient in all of the things? Even the smallest thing? When somebody cuts us off on the road, You, Bloomin', we had a sermon, I think Jim talked about that a while back, for real, think about it, the littlest, littlest things that we can just shove, push off, it's okay if I do that little something, no, are we living the sermon on the mount, are we walking as Christ, you look at how Christ walked, look at what he did, look at who he forgave, [00:35:54] Look at how he responded to people. It's just not a king that says, alright, Levon, you go out and do this, and you go do that, and you serve these people. No, here's Christ who comes down and walks before us. All we've got to do is follow Him. If I'd sit in the living room and tell my boys, you go out and build that house and mow the yard, and I'm just sitting in there. No, I've got to get out there and they're going to follow me. Your children will follow you. You have an attitude? [00:36:27] To anybody in the church? Your child will have an attitude without you even teaching them. They're going to follow you. Am I following Christ and His attitude? Am I walking in His footsteps so close behind that I know exactly where they are? My foot goes into His and then the next one. We must take care that our life and our character is conformed to Christ. [00:37:03] Otherwise, if we say it, we don't do it. If we're not conformed to Him, then it's just a big empty boast, a big empty lie. And it doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter if you're old, or young, rich, poor, if you're smart, or dumb, ugly, beautiful, if you're a pastor, or you're a child, or youth, or member here at church, or if you're a non-member, or if you're a visitor, or if you're an elder, [00:37:38] Remember, you must live like Christ if you say that you live in Christ. You must live like Christ if you say you live in Christ. So, as we go this next week, let's remember that in Psalms 119, He has promised to shed light on our path. [00:38:21] Let's remember that God says that He gives His people strength and power. Do you believe that? I believe that. Let us also pray that God would search us, that God would know our hearts, He would try us and see if there is any wicked way in us, and then He would lead us. [00:38:53] And as He tries as hard as to lead us, that we would follow Him. I want to follow Him. I want my wife to follow Him. I want all of my children to follow Him. Not all of them except two. All of them except one. All of them except half of one. I want all of them to follow Christ. I want each one of you, each one of your children, but you parents, your children won't follow Christ if you don't follow Christ. [00:39:32] You want them to follow Christ? You lead them. Dads, lead your children. And let's walk as he walked. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your word, your precious word, your words of encouragement, your words of correction, the light that you shine on our path. [00:40:03] Lord, we thank you and we pray that you will help us to trust in you even though sometimes the path looks a little dark, a little scary, a little unsure, a little shaky. But Lord, you continue to say, look, just trust in me and Lord, I pray that you would help us. Give us the strength that you have promised. Shed the light on our path the way that you have promised. and we will give you all of the honor and all of the glory in Jesus name Amen