SPEAKER_00: Good morning.
SPEAKER_00: I was letting the iPad stay on the charge as long as it could.
SPEAKER_00: I think we're at 20%.
SPEAKER_00: So if we get a short sermon this morning, uh that's what we'll blame it on, uh at least.
SPEAKER_00: We're so glad you chose to be here with us to worship the Lord together, uh, gathered here in his name to study from his word.
SPEAKER_00: And we pray this morning is an encouragement to you.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, for those of you that are visiting, we're so glad that you're here with us.
SPEAKER_00: You're our honored guest.
SPEAKER_00: And uh if there's anything we can do for you, please let us know.
SPEAKER_00: We are also celebrating this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I told Miranda and Katie and Catherine I was gonna call them out this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Uh so I'd if you don't mind just raising your hand for us, or uh, you can stand up if you want to, but uh no, you can raise your hand so we know who you are.
SPEAKER_00: If you haven't got a chance to congratulate them on giving their lives to Christ this past week, or welcome to the Chisholm Hills family, make sure you uh the Christian family as well, make sure you say hello to them and uh give them a hug.
SPEAKER_00: Uh what a special day that was that we could all uh to as they enter into this new life, uh as they put their old selves behind, and uh as they got to do that together, uh what a blessing uh that is for sure.
SPEAKER_00: Um this morning, as you can see, we're talking about walking with God.
SPEAKER_00: And one of the things I learned this week, or it's actually one thing I've known for a while, is that God has a first name.
SPEAKER_00: Does anybody know God's first name?
SPEAKER_00: Anyone?
SPEAKER_00: His name is his first name, believe it or not, is Andy.
SPEAKER_00: If you didn't know that, uh it actually comes from songs, right?
SPEAKER_00: Andy walks with me, Andy talks with me.
SPEAKER_00: That's God, because Andy walks.
SPEAKER_00: No, that's that's a joke, obviously, and apparently not a good one.
SPEAKER_00: But uh Andy walks with me, Andy talks with me.
SPEAKER_00: So we know God's first name.
SPEAKER_00: But we sing that song about walking with God, so I thought that might be a decent way for us to start this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Um, the Bible repeatedly describes our relationship with God as walking with him.
SPEAKER_00: And I think when you start to look for that phrase, you realize it's everywhere in the scripture.
SPEAKER_00: Enoch walked with God, Noah walked with God, Abraham was told to walk before God.
SPEAKER_00: We see Moses, he told Israel to walk in God's ways.
SPEAKER_00: Even David wrote, even though I walked through the valley of the shadow of death, we see Jesus who walked in perfect fellowship with his father.
SPEAKER_00: And then Paul tells Christians to walk by faith.
SPEAKER_00: He says to walk in love, to walk by the Spirit, to walk in wisdom.
SPEAKER_00: Then John tells us to walk in the light.
SPEAKER_00: And so as I see this phrase repeated over and over and over and over again in scripture, the natural conclusion is apparently God really likes walking.
SPEAKER_00: It's really important in what we do.
SPEAKER_00: And I don't think that's just poetic language.
SPEAKER_00: I think there's more to it than that.
SPEAKER_00: There's a good reason that God paints that picture in his word of this idea of walking with him.
SPEAKER_00: Because walking is something almost every single one of us does every day.
SPEAKER_00: And we, on a consistent basis, we walk.
SPEAKER_00: There's a lady named Lou, I'm I'm gonna butcher this name, so uh uh um uh forgive me beforehand.
SPEAKER_00: Ludmila Oleanovska.
SPEAKER_00: Ludmila Oleonovska is what we're gonna go with.
SPEAKER_00: Um, anybody heard of her before?
SPEAKER_00: Anyone?
SPEAKER_00: Well, she set two world records this year, believe it or not.
SPEAKER_00: Two world records, but let me tell you what the world records were.
SPEAKER_00: The first one was an indoor 5,000 meter race walk.
SPEAKER_00: She set a record for it, and then in February, um, she set another one for a one-mile race walk record of uh six minutes, I think.
SPEAKER_00: Walked a mile in six minutes.
SPEAKER_00: Moving for a walk, I guess.
SPEAKER_00: But I say that to say she set these two amazing records, but nobody heard about it.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Well, she was walking at that, right?
SPEAKER_00: It's still an impressive accomplishment, but if you keep up with the walking world, you might know that.
SPEAKER_00: But the truth is none of us keep up with the walking world.
SPEAKER_00: Because walking is pretty ordinary when it comes down to it.
SPEAKER_00: Most of us walk today, even walked into this auditorium.
SPEAKER_00: You walked out of your house, you walked to your car in order to get here.
SPEAKER_00: Walking is this ordinary thing we all participate in.
SPEAKER_00: It's not flashy.
SPEAKER_00: Walking isn't dramatic.
SPEAKER_00: Um, walking also doesn't happen all at once.
SPEAKER_00: Think about it.
SPEAKER_00: It's one step at a time.
SPEAKER_00: Walking is made up of ordinary, consistent steps.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna break it down for you.
SPEAKER_00: There's one step, right?
SPEAKER_00: And then another, and then another.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's what walking is: one step after the next, one step and another.
SPEAKER_00: Those steps eventually take you somewhere, but it doesn't happen all at once.
SPEAKER_00: And I think there's a reason that we see that parallel in God's word of what our faith is supposed to look like.
SPEAKER_00: I think that's how God grows us one step at a time.
SPEAKER_00: This whole year we've been talking about growth, and then specifically in this quarter, we've been talking about growing in favor with God.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe you've been wondering what exactly does that look like in my life?
SPEAKER_00: And we talked about the heart, the heart that God is seeking, the heart that we have, how we identify that, how we move towards that.
SPEAKER_00: And now, once we see that our heart is set on him, this morning we're gonna take the next look and see, well, what do we need to do on a regular basis?
SPEAKER_00: What does our spiritual life look like as we walk with God, as we grow in favor with him?
SPEAKER_00: Does growing closer to God happen because of one powerful worship service?
SPEAKER_00: Does it happen because of one emotional prayer or one life-changing decision?
SPEAKER_00: Well, I think those moments do matter in our lives, but they usually are not where our spiritual maturity is built.
SPEAKER_00: It's not one moment and all of a sudden we've completely changed, but it's something that happens step by step, one foot in front of another, one change, one new sought purpose, one habit forming within our lives.
SPEAKER_00: Most of the time, God shapes us through ordinary faithfulness that happens every day.
SPEAKER_00: Through choosing him today, through choosing him the next day and the next, and then choosing him again the next day.
SPEAKER_00: It's one decision, it's one act of obedience.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's one conversation at a time, but ultimately it comes down to one step at a time.
SPEAKER_00: And that's why this morning I want us to look at two men who received one of the greatest compliments anyone else could ever receive.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says of both Enoch and of Noah, they walked with God.
SPEAKER_00: So naturally, our question is how do they earn that designation?
SPEAKER_00: What did they do?
SPEAKER_00: How did they walk with God?
SPEAKER_00: What does that mean?
SPEAKER_00: And what would it look like if someone could say the same thing about each and every one of us?
SPEAKER_00: Because here's the truth that I hope you'll remember.
SPEAKER_00: You don't grow close to God in a moment.
SPEAKER_00: You grow close to God one step at a time.
SPEAKER_00: We have three quick points this morning.
SPEAKER_00: The first one is this walking with God, if you're using your outlines, walking with God means following his direction.
SPEAKER_00: We're truly seeking him, we're going his way, we're seeking his direction in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: And we go to Genesis 5 and verse 24.
SPEAKER_00: Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him.
SPEAKER_00: One of the things I love about the Bible is how simple it is, but so profound at the same time.
SPEAKER_00: But yet it's not hard for us to wrap our minds around this thought.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we expect these great heroes of faith to receive these long, glowing biographies about all the wonderful things they did.
SPEAKER_00: You'd expect scripture to tell us how many sermons Enoch preached.
SPEAKER_00: We look and say, well, how many miracles did he perform or how many battles did he win?
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's how wealthy or how influential he became in his life.
SPEAKER_00: But when God summarizes Enoch's life, he uses four words.
SPEAKER_00: Enoch walked with God.
SPEAKER_00: What an amazing summary that is.
SPEAKER_00: Think about how much depth there is in those words.
SPEAKER_00: If you only had four words to describe your relationship with God, wouldn't you want those to be the words?
SPEAKER_00: Think about it.
SPEAKER_00: He walked with God.
SPEAKER_00: She walked with God.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know about you, but when I get to the end of my life, there are probably a lot of things that people could say about me.
SPEAKER_00: Here are a few.
SPEAKER_00: They may say, well, he was a preacher.
SPEAKER_00: They may say, well, he was a real estate agent.
SPEAKER_00: He sold some houses along the way.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe he was on television.
SPEAKER_00: They may look at me and say, hey, that guy loved Auburn.
SPEAKER_00: And most of those are good things.
SPEAKER_00: I think most everybody in the audience would agree with that.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you would say, all those are good things.
SPEAKER_00: But that's not what I want to be remembered by.
SPEAKER_00: Those aren't the things that I want to look back on my life and say, hey, he was a great real estate agent.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I don't really care about that today.
SPEAKER_00: What matters more than anything else if heaven could look down at my life and simply say, He walked with God?
SPEAKER_00: Wouldn't that be a beautiful description of how you chose to live each and every day, one step at a time?
SPEAKER_00: I consider that a life well lived.
SPEAKER_00: And I think that raises the question: what does it actually mean to walk with God?
SPEAKER_00: And Magnolia, believe it or not, has been helping me understand that for the last several months.
SPEAKER_00: You may remember we adopted Magnolia from the shelter here in Lauderdale County just a few months ago.
SPEAKER_00: And pretty much every day since, Mag and I have been walking out of the house and we walk over to Diebert Park and we make our way through the park and we walk back to the house.
SPEAKER_00: And she's starting to figure it out.
SPEAKER_00: She's getting better.
SPEAKER_00: I remember that first time, and it wasn't so good.
SPEAKER_00: We had to work our way through.
SPEAKER_00: She was still figuring out that leash, but she's mostly got it figured out now.
SPEAKER_00: So we'll go on the walk and she knows where we're headed.
SPEAKER_00: She knows what turns are coming up.
SPEAKER_00: Um, and she's got it figured out for the most part until there's a bird flying across the room.
SPEAKER_00: Until there's a squirrel running up the tree next to us.
SPEAKER_00: And what do you think she does when she sees that squirrel?
SPEAKER_00: She takes off after that tree and she yanks the leash, and I'm all of a sudden having to pull her back in.
SPEAKER_00: I'm trying to set the course correct again because she's going the right way.
SPEAKER_00: She's following my direction, she's walking beside me until something else catches her attention.
SPEAKER_00: She's going where I want her to go, until that bird, until another dog, until somebody else.
SPEAKER_00: She loves, she loves attention, so somebody else walks by.
SPEAKER_00: She's doing her best to get over there and get some petting, to get someone to pay attention to her.
SPEAKER_00: And when I think about that, it sounds a lot like my walk with God, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_00: We're seeking him, we're following him, until all of a sudden something else catches our attention.
SPEAKER_00: We're doing the things that he's called us to do until a better job comes up, until a relationship comes up that pulls us away from him, until more money.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's recognition or control, maybe it's comfort in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's that moment where someone hurts us and all of a sudden all we can think about is revenge.
SPEAKER_00: And in those moments, as we're following him, the bird flies by, the squirrel runs up the tree, and now all of a sudden we're veering off course.
SPEAKER_00: We're no longer walking with God.
SPEAKER_00: We've set our eyes on something temporary.
SPEAKER_00: We've set our eyes on something that's not gonna bring fulfillment to us.
SPEAKER_00: And we're pulling the leash.
SPEAKER_00: And instead of following his direction, we're choosing our own course.
SPEAKER_00: Someone disagrees with us, and we've got to win.
SPEAKER_00: Whatever new shiny thing that crosses our path, suddenly we are the ones pulling on the leash.
SPEAKER_00: And instead of following him, instead of seeking him, instead of walking with him, we're saying, God, come my way, follow me this way.
SPEAKER_00: And here's what's interesting I think in those moments, we're not necessarily saying, I no longer believe in God.
SPEAKER_00: We're not necessarily saying, I've stopped praying.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we just change the purpose of our prayers.
SPEAKER_00: Instead of saying, God, where are you leading me?
SPEAKER_00: We began saying, Lord, would you bless the direction that I've already chosen?
SPEAKER_00: What I want you to see is that's a dangerous place to be.
SPEAKER_00: Instead of seeking his will or choosing our own and saying, God, come down and bless this path that I've chosen, instead of submitting ourselves to his will and following what he has set out for our ways.
SPEAKER_00: Walking with God was never meant to be making our own path.
SPEAKER_00: Walking in with God means asking to follow Him, not asking Him to follow us.
SPEAKER_00: It has always meant following Him.
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's why Amos says, Amos 3.3, it says, and two walk together unless they are agreed.
SPEAKER_00: What's the answer to that?
SPEAKER_00: It's obvious.
SPEAKER_00: No! You're walking with somebody, you gotta choose where you're going.
SPEAKER_00: Somebody says, I want to walk to Huntsville, and the other one says I wanted to walk to Tupelo, you can't walk the same direction very far.
SPEAKER_00: Because they're opposite directions.
SPEAKER_00: Same goes through.
SPEAKER_00: Same is true in our spiritual lives.
SPEAKER_00: We can say, I want to follow God all day long.
SPEAKER_00: We can say I trust him, I believe in him, but what is your walk revealing about your life today?
SPEAKER_00: Are you in step with him?
SPEAKER_00: Are you choosing your own way, going the opposite direction?
SPEAKER_00: Two walk together unless they are agreed.
SPEAKER_00: Imagine trying to walk with someone while each of you insists on going the different direction.
SPEAKER_00: Pretty soon you're not walking together anymore.
SPEAKER_00: And somebody has to yield.
SPEAKER_00: If you're gonna continue to walk together, somebody has to yield.
SPEAKER_00: So here's the question: who should it be?
SPEAKER_00: Well, the good news, and I think sometimes the uncomfortable news for us as Christians is that God is not changing his direction.
SPEAKER_00: And I want you to hear this this morning.
SPEAKER_00: God is not changing his direction.
SPEAKER_00: God does not adjust his path to fit my preferences.
SPEAKER_00: God does not rewrite the truth just because our culture changes.
SPEAKER_00: God does not come down and alter his will just because it's inconvenient for me.
SPEAKER_00: No, his path is set, and the challenge for us is to follow him.
SPEAKER_00: The challenge for us to be in step with the direction that he is going.
SPEAKER_00: God knows where his where he is going.
SPEAKER_00: And my job is not to convince him to follow me, my job is to trust him long enough to follow him.
SPEAKER_00: When Mag pulls on that leash, I don't get on all fours and go chase that squirrel with her.
SPEAKER_00: I don't try to jump up in the air and try to catch that bird before it gets away.
SPEAKER_00: No, I simply pull the leash back and say, Mag, that's not where we're going.
SPEAKER_00: Mag, we're going this way.
SPEAKER_00: Let's continue down the path that we've set out.
SPEAKER_00: And in those moments, sometimes it takes a little bit of pulling.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it takes a moment for her to get the course set right.
SPEAKER_00: But the whole point is for her to follow me.
SPEAKER_00: And I think the same is true for us.
SPEAKER_00: Proverbs says, trust in the Lord with all your heart.
SPEAKER_00: And do not lean on your own understanding.
SPEAKER_00: And all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path.
SPEAKER_00: Notice the promise there?
SPEAKER_00: God doesn't promise to bless every path that I choose.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, he promises to guide the person who trusts in him.
SPEAKER_00: So every morning, before my feet ever hit the floor, I have a choice to make.
SPEAKER_00: Who's leading the walk?
SPEAKER_00: Who is guiding the decisions I'm going to make today?
SPEAKER_00: Or am I going to spend my day trying to convince God to bless my plans?
SPEAKER_00: Or am I going to surrender my plan and ask him to shape them for me?
SPEAKER_00: And I think those are two very different prayers.
SPEAKER_00: One says, God, here's where I'm going.
SPEAKER_00: Please come with me.
SPEAKER_00: The other says, Lord, where are you leading me today?
SPEAKER_00: I want to follow you.
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's what it means to walk with God.
SPEAKER_00: Walking with God isn't asking him to bless my direction.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, it's trusting his direction for my life.
SPEAKER_00: I hope you can see the difference.
SPEAKER_00: I hope you can look back on your life and see those moments where you have tried to go your own way that departs from his will.
SPEAKER_00: And notice what comes the pain, the suffering, the hurt that comes our way when we choose our own, even when we know who should be sitting on that throne.
SPEAKER_00: Walking with God isn't asking him to bless my direction.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, it's trusting his direction.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what I've discovered.
SPEAKER_00: Following God, following his direction usually isn't decided in one dramatic moment.
SPEAKER_00: It's decided on thousands of ordinary steps along the way.
SPEAKER_00: And that's exactly what we see when we turn from Enoch and over to Noah.
SPEAKER_00: Genesis 6 9.
SPEAKER_00: There are generations of Noah.
SPEAKER_00: Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation, but there at the end, Noah walked with God.
SPEAKER_00: I think when people hear the name Noah, that's not the first thing that comes up.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, I'll I'll ask you, what's the first thing you think of when you think of Noah?
SPEAKER_00: You can say it?
SPEAKER_00: Anybody?
SPEAKER_00: I heard a few things.
SPEAKER_00: The Ark, the flood.
SPEAKER_00: Anybody else?
SPEAKER_00: Two by two, animals.
SPEAKER_00: We think of the Bible stories.
SPEAKER_00: We think of the rain coming down, him slaving over that ark, building it up.
SPEAKER_00: Um, it's a funny story a few years ago when I was anchoring the news.
SPEAKER_00: Um we were at the end of our broadcast, and typically we pull up the seven-day forecast one more time.
SPEAKER_00: Before we go, here's another look at the seven-day forecast.
SPEAKER_00: And there was tons of rain in the forecast.
SPEAKER_00: So I was kind of making a joke with my uh meteorologist at the time, and I said, Yeah, Ari, looks like we're all gonna have to get out there and uh collect a bunch of gopher wood because this is a busy week.
SPEAKER_01: And he kind of looked at me, what are you talking about?
SPEAKER_00: We gotta collect that gopher wood because we gotta be faithful to God.
SPEAKER_00: We gotta build that ark.
SPEAKER_00: And I was I was making a joke, and it's funny how sometimes even the old stories have lost their power in today's world.
SPEAKER_00: We have to walk with God just as Noah did.
SPEAKER_00: We think of the ark and the animals, the flood and the rainbow, and I think that's understandable.
SPEAKER_00: It's one of the most famous stories in all of scriptures, but before there ever was an ark, before there ever was a flood, before Noah ever picked up a hammer, the Bible tells us something much more important.
SPEAKER_00: It tells us that Noah walked with God.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, that's the first thing God tells us about him.
SPEAKER_00: His walk came before his work.
SPEAKER_00: Notice his relationship with God came before he received this assignment.
SPEAKER_00: And I think sometimes we get those backwards.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we're seeking what we need to go be doing instead of working on our relationship with him.
SPEAKER_00: We become so focused on what we're doing for God that we neglect simply being present with him and spending time in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: Think about Noah's life.
SPEAKER_00: Noah didn't hear from God to say, build an ark this weekend.
SPEAKER_00: Those weren't the plans.
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't a Saturday noon, Saturday afternoon project.
SPEAKER_00: But instead, it was decades, it was years.
SPEAKER_00: Imagine the routine.
SPEAKER_00: Wake up, spend a little time with God, then you get out there and swing the hammer, you cut cut another board, drive another peg, and then you go to bed.
SPEAKER_00: Wake up the next morning, spend some time with God, drive another nail, get another board, go to bed next day.
SPEAKER_00: Same thing over and over again.
SPEAKER_00: You do it again and again and again for years.
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine the questions?
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible even alludes to it.
SPEAKER_00: Noah, what are you doing?
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm building an ark.
SPEAKER_00: What's an ark?
SPEAKER_00: What's a big boat?
SPEAKER_00: Why do you need a big boat?
SPEAKER_00: Well, because it's gonna rain.
SPEAKER_00: What's rain?
SPEAKER_00: What a what a crazy conversation that must have seemed to everyone else.
SPEAKER_00: Here's the thing today in our culture, people say the same thing about us what's the point?
SPEAKER_00: Why are you doing all this?
SPEAKER_00: Why is this important?
SPEAKER_00: And we try to explain, and people sometimes don't get it because they don't know who God is.
SPEAKER_00: And as we seek Him, it's one faithful step at a time.
SPEAKER_00: It's another swing of the hammer, it's another laying of a board, another driving of a peg.
SPEAKER_00: God says it's gonna rain, that means it's gonna rain and we need to prepare for it.
SPEAKER_00: Noah kept walking.
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's what faithfulness looks like.
SPEAKER_00: Here's the thing faithfulness isn't always exciting.
SPEAKER_00: Most of the time, faithfulness feels ordinary.
SPEAKER_00: And if you're looking for exciting moments, I think sometimes our walk with God is built on those ordinary things.
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't usually make headlines, it's not often gonna go viral, but it's choosing to obey God today, even if nobody else notices.
SPEAKER_00: One of the greatest lies that I think Satan tells us is if your life isn't spectacular, then it isn't significant.
SPEAKER_00: But God tells us the exact opposite.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible delights.
SPEAKER_00: God delights in faithful people.
SPEAKER_00: Think about how much of your life is ordinary.
SPEAKER_00: Most of your time is not spent on mountaintops.
SPEAKER_00: Most of our time is spent on a Monday.
SPEAKER_00: It's those moments when you're changing diapers or going to work.
SPEAKER_00: It's when you're preparing meals or paying bills.
SPEAKER_00: It's when you're taking your kids to school.
SPEAKER_00: Those ordinary moments every day.
SPEAKER_00: Are you faithful to him in all of those things?
SPEAKER_00: It's about keeping your promises.
SPEAKER_00: It's about remaining in God's word even when you don't feel like it.
SPEAKER_00: It's about praying to him, trusting him, even when your prayers seem to become routine.
SPEAKER_00: It's about coming to worship even when you're tired and don't feel like it.
SPEAKER_00: It's about choosing kindness when someone is being difficult.
SPEAKER_00: It's forgiving one more time.
SPEAKER_00: It's being honest when nobody would ever know that you told a little white lie.
SPEAKER_00: I think sometimes those moments seem small, but that's where spiritual maturity is built.
SPEAKER_00: Those quiet moments of faith.
SPEAKER_00: Heard a saying before: champions don't become champions on game day.
SPEAKER_00: They reveal what they've become practice.
SPEAKER_00: I think that's true spiritually.
SPEAKER_00: Noah didn't suddenly become a man of faith when the rain started falling.
SPEAKER_00: Noah became a man of faith each and every day he was out there with the hammer.
SPEAKER_00: Each and every day when he was swinging that hammer, going to work for God even when it didn't make sense.
SPEAKER_00: His public faith was built on private faithfulness.
SPEAKER_00: And I think we often want God to do something big and extraordinary in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: But before God entrusts us with extraordinary moments, he usually teaches us faithfulness in the ordinary ones.
SPEAKER_00: We must seek him.
SPEAKER_00: We must walk with him.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said it this way in Luke 16, 10.
SPEAKER_00: One who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much.
SPEAKER_00: God is watching what we do in the little things because little things become big things over time.
SPEAKER_00: One prayer, one chapter of Scripture, maybe it's one encouraging word, or one act of generosity, one temptation that we've resisted in this moment.
SPEAKER_00: One decision to forgive, one worship service, one step, remember, and then another, and then another, and then another.
SPEAKER_00: That's how walking works.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe that's why walking is such a beautiful picture.
SPEAKER_00: You don't get healthier because you took one walk.
SPEAKER_00: You get healthier because you kept on walking.
SPEAKER_00: You don't finish a marathon because of one great stride.
SPEAKER_00: That'd be nice, wouldn't it?
SPEAKER_00: Just boom, marathon.
SPEAKER_00: But it doesn't work that way.
SPEAKER_00: There are thousands of other steps, tens of thousands of other steps, in order for you to get there.
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's how God grows us.
SPEAKER_00: It's not usually one emotional moment, but through thousands of faithful ones.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you may feel discouraged this morning.
SPEAKER_00: You may think, well, my faith isn't very impressive.
SPEAKER_00: And I encourage you, just keep on walking.
SPEAKER_00: Keep on trusting in God.
SPEAKER_00: Keep on putting one step in front of the other.
SPEAKER_00: What does that look like?
SPEAKER_00: It means keep praying, keep serving.
SPEAKER_00: Just keep on forgiving and trusting and worshiping Him.
SPEAKER_00: Don't underestimate what God is doing through ordinary faithfulness.
SPEAKER_00: That's how we all grow.
SPEAKER_00: Each and every one of us.
SPEAKER_00: You may not see much change today.
SPEAKER_00: You may not see much change this week.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, it may be years down the road, and you're like, I don't seem to be grown too much, but one day you're gonna look back and say, you know, I've seen a change in my life.
SPEAKER_00: It didn't happen overnight.
SPEAKER_00: It happened one faithful step at a time.
SPEAKER_00: Because you don't grow close to God in a moment, grow close to Him one step at a time.
SPEAKER_00: Now, of course, if you walked very far, you know something else about walking.
SPEAKER_00: Not every path is smooth, not every path is easy.
SPEAKER_00: Some are steep, some are lonely, some take you through valleys you never wanted to enter.
SPEAKER_00: So, what do you do in those moments when following God leads us down a difficult road?
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's where the New Testament helps answer that question about walking with God.
SPEAKER_00: It says walking, or our next point this morning, if you're using your outlines, our walking with God means trusting Him even when the road is hard.
SPEAKER_00: Putting our faith in Him even when it seems like a challenge.
SPEAKER_00: You ever taken one of those long walks?
SPEAKER_01: You just keep on walking.
SPEAKER_00: And isn't that true, spiritually?
SPEAKER_00: One of the greatest misconceptions about the Christian life is that if you're walking with God, the road should get easier.
SPEAKER_00: I don't find that in Scripture.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know about you.
SPEAKER_00: If you find that verse, let me know.
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean life is gonna be easy.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, some of the people who walked closest with God, we see in God's word, they faced the toughest times.
SPEAKER_00: Enoch lived in an increasingly wicked world.
SPEAKER_00: Even Noah spent decades preaching to people who refused to listen to him.
SPEAKER_00: Abraham, he left everything that was familiar just to walk with God.
SPEAKER_00: David fled for his life.
SPEAKER_00: The apostles suffered horrendous persecution.
SPEAKER_00: Think about it.
SPEAKER_00: When we set our path on him, it doesn't mean the road is going to be easy.
SPEAKER_00: Because even though the road is hard, we know the one that's walking with us.
SPEAKER_00: That's why we learn that lesson at a young age.
SPEAKER_00: Because even though the road, the steps are hard, God is going to walk with us along the way.
SPEAKER_00: Walking with God doesn't exempt us from difficult roads.
SPEAKER_00: I think sometimes it leads us to Him, to those roads.
SPEAKER_00: No one demonstrates this more than Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus never took a step outside of his father's will.
SPEAKER_00: And he could honestly say, I always do the things, I don't have that one, I always do the things that are pleasing to him in Roman, and excuse me, in John 8, 29.
SPEAKER_00: Every step he took was a step of obedience.
SPEAKER_00: Those steps led him through villages and cities, to fishermen and tax collectors, to the sick and broken, ultimately to Jerusalem and then Gethsemane to the cross.
SPEAKER_00: Think about that.
SPEAKER_00: The path of perfect obedience that Jesus took, where did it lead?
SPEAKER_01: Suffering.
SPEAKER_01: To death.
SPEAKER_01: The path of perfect obedience still led to suffering.
SPEAKER_00: And that tells me something important.
SPEAKER_00: Difficulty is not always a sign that you're walking in the wrong direction.
SPEAKER_00: I think sometimes it's evidence that you're walking the same road that Jesus walked.
SPEAKER_00: Galatians 5.16, this is where it is.
SPEAKER_00: Walk by the Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: You will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
SPEAKER_00: Notice what it doesn't say.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't say run or sprint.
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't say leap.
SPEAKER_00: It simply says walk.
SPEAKER_00: Because walking is steady.
SPEAKER_00: Walking is intentional.
SPEAKER_00: Walking means we keep on moving forward.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe not as fast as yesterday.
SPEAKER_00: Anybody there?
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's with a limp every once in a while.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe we're carrying a burden, but you're still moving towards God.
SPEAKER_00: And then Jesus gives us another beautiful picture.
SPEAKER_00: If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.
SPEAKER_00: The blood of Jesus' Son cleanses us from all sins.
SPEAKER_00: Man, I love that verse.
SPEAKER_00: Notice John doesn't say if we never stumble, he doesn't say if we never fail.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't say if we never need grace.
SPEAKER_00: And that's good news because I've needed all of those things.
SPEAKER_00: He says, if we walk, walking assumes movement.
SPEAKER_00: Walking assumes progress.
SPEAKER_00: Walking assumes you're facing in the right direction.
SPEAKER_00: What I want you to see, the Christian life is not about failing, it's about never quitting.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you stumbled along the way, so have I.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you wandered off the path here and there.
SPEAKER_00: Guess what?
SPEAKER_00: I have too.
SPEAKER_00: And I guarantee you, every single person in this room could say amen to that.
SPEAKER_00: Have you ever stumbled?
SPEAKER_00: We all have.
SPEAKER_00: We've all fallen short.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible tells us we've all fallen short of the glory of God.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe there are days when you feel like you've taken two steps back instead of taking one step forward.
SPEAKER_00: The invitation isn't come and pretend that never happened.
SPEAKER_00: The invitation is get up and keep walking.
SPEAKER_00: Keep seeking.
SPEAKER_00: Keep putting Jesus as the number one priority.
SPEAKER_00: Walk in the light as he is in the light.
SPEAKER_00: Continue to seek him.
SPEAKER_00: I think about Peter.
SPEAKER_00: He literally walked on water for just a few moments.
SPEAKER_00: There he was, doing what no one else had ever done except for Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Walking on the water.
SPEAKER_00: Then he looked at the wind, and what happened?
SPEAKER_00: He became afraid.
SPEAKER_00: He began to sink.
SPEAKER_00: What did Jesus say?
SPEAKER_00: Well, Peter, you failed.
SPEAKER_00: We're done.
SPEAKER_00: Go back home.
SPEAKER_00: No.
SPEAKER_00: In that moment, what did Jesus do?
SPEAKER_00: He reached out for him.
SPEAKER_00: He reached down and took him by the hand and lifted him up.
SPEAKER_00: And then they walked back to the boat together.
SPEAKER_00: Man, what a beautiful picture that is.
SPEAKER_00: Ever been there?
SPEAKER_00: Walking, trusting him, and then you find yourself getting distracted by the wind, by the storm that's coming your way.
SPEAKER_00: You begin to seek who is there to rescue you.
SPEAKER_00: Let me pull you back into the boat.
SPEAKER_00: God doesn't abandon his children every time they stumble.
SPEAKER_00: What an amazing blessing that is.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you walked into this room carrying something heavy this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's grief or disappointment.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it is an unanswered prayer.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's a frightening diagnosis or a struggle that nobody else knows about.
SPEAKER_00: You don't have to know every twist in the path.
SPEAKER_00: Just got to keep walking.
SPEAKER_00: You don't have to see the end of the journey.
SPEAKER_00: You just have to trust the one who's leading you.
SPEAKER_00: Go back to Proverbs, trust in the Lord with all your heart.
SPEAKER_00: Do not lean on your own understanding.
SPEAKER_00: Notice what God asked for: complete trust.
SPEAKER_00: I think that's the difference.
SPEAKER_00: There have been moments in my own life where I didn't understand everything that God was doing.
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure you've had those moments too.
SPEAKER_00: But you look back and say, man, God was really doing something.
SPEAKER_00: You look back and say, look how I've grown.
SPEAKER_00: Look how I've learned to trust him more.
SPEAKER_00: Look how my life has matured because of what God has done.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes he changes our circumstances, sometimes he changes us.
SPEAKER_00: And often changing us is the one day our walk of faith will become sight.
SPEAKER_00: The road will end, the journey will be complete.
SPEAKER_00: And I can't help but wonder if when that day comes, the greatest thing that could ever be said about each and every one of us is he, she walked with God.
SPEAKER_00: It means trusting him even when the road is difficult.
SPEAKER_00: And I think Mag has one more lesson to teach us this morning.
SPEAKER_00: You know, every day when we head out for that walk, I'm reminded of something.
SPEAKER_00: She doesn't know where we're going.
SPEAKER_00: She doesn't know exactly how long we're gonna be gone.
SPEAKER_00: She doesn't necessarily know why I decided to turn left one day, and then the next day we turn right on that course.
SPEAKER_00: She doesn't have the map.
SPEAKER_00: She doesn't know the destination.
SPEAKER_00: But guess what?
SPEAKER_00: Every time we go to that front door, she is jumping up and down, ready to get that leash on, head out the door.
SPEAKER_00: She's excited to go on that walk, even when she doesn't know exactly where we're going.
SPEAKER_00: I think that has to be true for each and every one of us today.
SPEAKER_00: She knows and decided one thing.
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to trust the one that's holding the leash.
SPEAKER_00: She says, I'm going to trust that you're going to lead me in the right direction.
SPEAKER_00: She doesn't always get it right.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes she sees a squirrel, pulls on that leash.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's a bird or another dog.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes she catches a scent that I didn't even know was there.
SPEAKER_00: And then she starts pulling with everything she got because she wants to go her way.
SPEAKER_00: But after a little while, she settles down.
SPEAKER_00: She comes back beside me, and we keep on walking together.
SPEAKER_00: I think the older I get, the more I realize I'm a lot like Mag.
SPEAKER_00: In my life, there have been seasons when I thought I knew better than God.
SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't have said it that way, but you could see it as evidence in the plan that I chose.
SPEAKER_00: I had my plans, my deadlines.
SPEAKER_00: I had my dreams that I was seeking.
SPEAKER_00: I knew exactly how I thought my life was supposed to unfold.
SPEAKER_00: And then life happened.
SPEAKER_00: There were roads I never expected to walk.
SPEAKER_00: There were valleys I never would have chosen for myself.
SPEAKER_00: There were storms I would have gladly avoided.
SPEAKER_00: You know what?
SPEAKER_00: Looking back now, I'm thankful that God didn't follow me on my way.
SPEAKER_00: I'm thankful that He's the one that kept leading me because His path was better than mine.
SPEAKER_00: Anybody say amen to that?
SPEAKER_00: His path is always better.
SPEAKER_00: It might not be easier, but it's better.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe that's exactly where some of you are this morning.
SPEAKER_00: You're carrying a burden, you're wondering why God led you down this road.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you don't have all the answers.
SPEAKER_00: Let me encourage you this morning.
SPEAKER_00: You don't need to know, you don't have to know everything about tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00: You just need to take the next step today.
SPEAKER_00: That's how walking works.
SPEAKER_00: Just take another step.
SPEAKER_00: That's what faith is.
SPEAKER_00: Not seeing the entire journey, but trusting the one who's leading you.
SPEAKER_00: The text says, Enoch walked with God.
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine a greater compliment?
SPEAKER_00: He walked with God.
SPEAKER_00: So where are you walking this morning?
SPEAKER_00: I got a little bit more.
SPEAKER_00: Where are you walking this morning?
SPEAKER_00: Are you in step with him?
SPEAKER_00: Are you taking that next faithful step?
SPEAKER_00: Well, it begins by setting on the right course.
SPEAKER_00: It begins by trusting Jesus Christ to give you a 180 in your life.
SPEAKER_00: Leave that old self behind and choose his way instead.
SPEAKER_00: Be buried in that watery grave.
SPEAKER_00: The old self passes away and we rise to walk in newness of life.
SPEAKER_00: If you've never made that choice, come walk with God this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Because his way is always better.
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps you have made that walk with the squirrels and birds.
SPEAKER_00: It's time to come back to him.
SPEAKER_00: If there's anything we can do to encourage you, to help you this morning, I invite you to come.
SPEAKER_00: If you need to be baptized, please come as together we stand.