THE CHRISTIAN WALK – Pt 2

Philippians 1 :21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

I started my walk with the Lord in 1948 as a 8 year old lad. God had been using many people in my life to bring me to the place where I knew I was lost and without hope of spending eternity with Christ. The Holy Spirit worked in my life and after a Wednesday evening prayer service I placed my faith in the work of Christ on Calvary and was gloriously saved. The Christian walk has taken many turns in my life, but it has been an exciting journey. God has led me in some ways that I would never have gone by my own wisdom, but I have found that His way is always the best. In his book entitled Be Strong Dr. Warren Wiersbe wrote “God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him. When we run ahead of the Lord, we usually rob ourselves and hurt others.”

As I have been re-reading the book of Joshua, I again was reminded that Achan was an example of that thought. If he had obeyed God, he would have saved his life, the lives of his family, and would have been able to enjoy what he thought he had to have at that moment. Achan could have enjoyed the spoils of Ai with the rest of the nation of Israel.

We need to learn to walk in step with the Lord. Last week we noticed that the walk of the believer is PERSONAL. In this weeks “Challenging Concepts” we notice another thought about the walk of the believer:

THE WALK OF THE BELIEVER IS PRACTICAL – Notice the phrase “For me to live.”

There is no doubt that the Apostle Paul lived for the Lord. That was his purpose and goal in life. All he did revolved around living and preaching the gospel. He even moved from place to place looking for new places to spread the “good news” to all he could. But, not everyone is called to “preach,” even though we all are called to “proclaim” the same “good news”, Paul preached. So, how does “For me to live” apply to everyone?

1. There must be DEPENDENCE on Christ – Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

When does this dependence starts? It starts with ACCEPTANCE. You must accept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour – John 3:36 “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Salvation is not the end, it’s the beginning. This is where a person’s walk as a believer starts. Are you sure you have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ?

The next thing that happens is ALTERATION – II Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away behold all things are become new.” When a person is born again there is a change in a person’s life. If there was ever anyone whose life was changed it was Saul of Tarsus, who became the Apostle Paul. He went from a PERSECUTOR of the gospel to a PREACHER of the gospel.

That same change should have been made in our lives. I’m not always what I should be, but I’m not what I was before I was saved. There has been a definite change in my life. What about you? The change is not of our doings but is by the grace of God. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” Thank God for His grace that changes our lives.

2. There must be DEMONSTRATION of Christ-likeness - Philippians 4:12-13 “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Paul knew that the walk of the believer was not always a “bed of roses.” He had made his choice and whatever God had for him was fine and dandy. He was open to anything God wanted for his life. I like what Dr. Warren Wiersbe wrote in his book Be Strong “The will of God comes from the heart of God (Psa 33:11), and He delights to make it known to His children when He knows they are humble and willing to obey.”

The question comes now, “Are we willing to demonstrate that we are a believer and we are walking the walk and not just talking the talk.

How does a person walk the walk? Is it possible? Do we have to be really disciplined in order to do so? Those are good questions, but again it’s not because a person is disciplined and yes it is possible.

Paul wrote in Philippians 2:13 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

The word “both” means that God is working in the life of the believer to do two things. First, the two words “to will” means that God gives the individual the desire or will to do what He wants, and in this case it’s to walk the walk of the believer.

Secondly, the two words “to do” means that God gives the individual the power or ability to walk the walk of the believer.

When you put both these thoughts together you realize that the walk of the believer is possible because Christ is the One who lives through us as we yield our lives to Him. What a comfort it is to know that the walk of the believer does not depend upon us. It depends on Christ as we allow Him to control our life.

The practicality of the believer’s walk does not stop with dependence and demonstration. There is one last thought I would like to make:

3. There must be DECLARATION of Christ – I Peter 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”

No one ever got saved by watching a believer’s walk. There comes a time when you have to share the gospel with them. Your walk demonstrates there is something different about your life, but you must explain what made and continues to make a difference in you.

If we follow the life of the Apostle Paul in the Word of God you see that he was ready to witness at the “drop of the hat.” He told what happened to him on the road to Damascus time and time again.

Paul declared the gospel in I Corinthians 15:3-4 “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

What kind of witness are we? What do we really declare. John White said: “A good witness isn't like a salesman, emphasis is on a person rather than a product. A good witness is like a signpost. It doesn't matter whether it is old, young, pretty, ugly; it has to point the right direction and be able to be understood. We are witnesses to Christ, we point to him.”

Are we ready to give an answer to the hope within us? Are we taking advantage of the opportunities we have to witness for the Lord? This is all part of the practicality of the believer’s walk.

The walk of the believer is a very practical issue. I trust we are growing in our walk as a believer.

I will give more thoughts of the believer's walk in the "Challenging Concepts" next week.

That’s my view; how about you:)