Christian Living

Walk in the Way

by Thomas Kirkpatrick
07/28/21
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“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)

For the Israelite people in the wilderness to walk in the ways of the Lord God Almighty meat that they would have to have faith and trust and obedience in His Word. Such as Caleb, who went to scout out the promised land of Canaan. Caleb did not look at the difficulties of conquering the land but kept his heart on God’s promise this land was theirs. Ten of the other spies showed their lack of faith in the promises of God and reported that the land could not be taken. For their lack of faith, a whole generation of Israelite people could not receive the Promised Land. Caleb was rewarded by God for his faith and obedience to the promises of God and received his portion of the inheritance. “But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it.” (Numbers 14:24)

When we commit our way to walk in the way of the Lord, then we must be obedient to His Word and go where He leads us. The follower of God has accepted His way as very good, and they have not forsaken their way to walk with the Lord. “Indeed, He loves the people; All Your holy ones are in Your hand, And they followed in Your steps; Everyone receives of Your words. “Moses charged us with a law, A possession for the assembly of Jacob.” (Deuteronomy 33:3-4) The Lord is a God of love and compassion, and He desires to forgive those who have disobeyed Him and restore them to their place with Him. Yet so many of us, either purposefully or in our ignorance of His truth, fall away in disobedience. We disobey His law, which shows us how to live a righteous life and forsake His teachings that give us the wisdom to employ His Word for His glory. “To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him; nor have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets.” (Daniel 9:9-10)

In the New Testament times, Jesus came into the world to teach humanity how they should live. A lawyer of His day asked Jesus what one must do to receive eternal life. Jesus answered by summing up the law of Moses in one sentence. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27) We are to love God with our full measure, and we are to love our neighbor with the same love that God shows towards us. We prove our love for God and to our neighbor by following the ways of our God, being faithful and true to His Word in obedience. “And this is love that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning that you should walk in it.” (2 John 1:6)

The sound teachings of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6-8) to the sacrifices He made to free us from the bondage of sin are the commandments and doctrine of servanthood in the Christian life. “In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.” (1 Timothy 4:6)

When Jesus called His disciples, He commanded them to follow Him. They were obedient to that call and forsook everything to follow Jesus to the cross. “When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.” (Luke 5:11) It’s the same command that we receive today to forsake the world’s ways and follow Him to the gates of eternal glory. “And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19) It’s not a tag-a-long position but one of submission to His absolute authority in His lordship over our lives.

Sadly I am often surprised in my conversations with people I do not know; when the subject of Christianity comes to the front, they tell me they are Christians. I have this thought that someone who is a citizen of the Kingdom of God should not be the same as a citizen of the world. I wonder how someone can live in the presence of Jesus and be no different than the people who do not know Jesus as their personal Savior. I wonder if they know the way to the home they profess to believe in. Some of the answers I receive are sadly amazing. When I was overseas, the people around me quickly observed that my speech was different and acted oddly. They knew that I was not a citizen of their land. Most realized that I am from the United States. How can one live worldly and be from the Kingdom of Heaven? I suspect that the most who profess to be Christian lack an eternal realization of where they are from.

Being a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ is to have a complete identification with the life of Jesus. He is the role model of what we were created to be. His ways are the ways that we should live. If gaining entry into the Kingdom of God is the greatest endeavor of our life here if doing the good work we were created to do (Ephesians 2:10), then how will we know how to act morally and ethically when we arrive on the golden streets of God’s Kingdom?

Growing into the image of Jesus our Savior is not a part-time effort. It is a complete commitment to allowing Him to live through us, and it is walking in His way and forsaking everything else but Him. There is no reward here on earth that will profit you in the world to come. The only thing that will profit you in the next world is your relationship with Jesus. “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26)

By living with Jesus as His disciple, we learn the expertise of shepherding others into a relationship with the King of kings. For He is the only Good Shepherd. (John 10:1-18) Jesus is not only the Master, but He is also the servant of His own. It was Jesus who washed the feet of His disciples. (John 13:1-17) and He washed away their sin by His atoning blood. He taught them the value of friendship. (John 15:13-15) What greater friend can a man have than Jesus, the Son of God and Savior of the world? Jesus gives people purpose and meaning for their life. There is a plan for each of us, and Jesus provides us with the commission to achieve that purpose. (John 20:21-23)

When Jesus ascended to Heaven, it could have been a loss of intimacy in the relationship between Him and His disciples. Jesus comforted His disciples and told them that He would not leave them as orphans. He sent the Holy Spirit to maintain the intimacy that He has with His followers. In the power of His Spirit, we can do all things. (Philippians 4:13) The Holy Spirit is our counselor, our helper, and reminds us of all things that Jesus has spoken to us. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” (John 14:26)

The Christian who walks by the Spirit takes on the attributes that God has, that Jesus has, that the Holy Spirit has. They are so different from that of the world that none cannot see that the follower of Jesus is different. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23) The work of the Spirit and sanctification of the saint all will view their character of the Master. “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32)

Jesus’ example has given to us that we should suffer the wrongs committed by the world and not be the one who inflicts wrongs upon others. The old adage is correct that two wrongs do not make a right. If we are not willing to set the proper example, then the society we live in will never change for the better. “For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.” (1 Peter 2:20-21)

Better than 70% of Americans profess to be Christians, but only 15% of them attend church regularly. They are missing out on the blessing of Christian brotherhood. The Church is not just in the business of saving souls. It is in the business of equipping its members to go out and plant the seeds of the gospel truth into every heart that will receive it. It is in the Church that mature disciples teach the immature disciples to walk in the way. “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.” (Philippians 3:17) It is where the Pastor, the Elders, and the teachers provide the example for the body of the Church to grow spiritually. “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.” (Hebrews 13:17) It is where the role models of the Church can share their experiences and wisdom of their journey with Jesus. “You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.” (1 Thessalonians 1:6-7)

Following Jesus by imitating Him, and submitting to His authority as Lord of your life, is to walk in the way of the cross. It gives meaning and purpose to our lives that have eternal value and an inheritance in the Kingdom of God. “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life.” (Luke 18:29-30)

Thomas N Kirkpatrick

First Baptist Church of Durant, March 8, 2018