Christian Conduct: Walking Worthy, Attitudes
Walking Worthy • Sermon • Submitted
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Statement regarding the continued problem with racism and injustice:
Statement regarding the continued problem with racism and injustice:
Recent events in our nation have again highlighted the brokenness of our society and systems that disproportionately affect people of color. I, along with the elders of our church, want to acknowledge, the pain, grief, and anxiety being felt within our communities.
Harvest Bible Chapel has as its aim, to be a people that proclaim the Word of God without apology. We also desire to be a people that live the Word of God without apology. God's Word is clear, His people are to stand with those who face oppression and injustice. We must lean into the Holy Courage demonstrated by Jesus Christ and embrace the task given to the church. In the words of Zechariah 7:9-10 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.
We will stand with the families that have been affected by racism, police brutality, and have endured "unearned suffering." We pray that change and reformation would come quickly so that justice prevails in our nation.
Attitudes of walking worthy.
Attitudes of walking worthy.
‘Ephesians ~ how the church works. Paul’s ecclesiology
In the Uniform Code of Military Justice there is an article which addressed the offense known as “conduct unbecoming.”
Unbecoming is not a word that we regularly use today, but it is regarding behavior:“Not fitting or appropriate; unseemly.”
Most offenses that fall into this category would not be a standard civilians would be held too. Resulting in legal consequences
“Instances of violation of this article include:
knowingly making a false official statement
dishonorable failure to pay a debt
cheating on an exam
opening and reading a letter of another without authority
using insulting or defamatory language to another officer in that officer’s presence or about that officer to other military persons
being drunk and disorderly in a public place
public association with known prostitutes
committing or attempting to commit a crime involving moral turpitude
and failing without good cause to support the officer’s family.
The military has standards of morality and consequences for violation of this standard.
“Any commissioned officer, cadet, or midshipman who is convicted of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”
Understanding the connection:
I think everyone in some way can connect with the idea that identifying with something that is larger than a yourself, brings with it certain expectations.
Whether it is the military, law enforcement, your employee handbook, or the girl scouts… The concept of expected behaviors is not foreign to us.
In fact, even if we are not members of one of these organizations, the standards of behavior are public and expected by everyone.
Identifying with the standards:
In his book, “The Road Back To You, An Enneagram Journey to Self Discovery” the author, Ian Morgan Cron, writes:
At times you may feel that we are focusing far too much on the negative rather than the positive qualities of each number (or personality type). We are, but only to help you more easily discover your type. In our experience, people identify more readily with what’s not working in their personalities than what is. “We don’t know ourselves by what we get right; we know ourselves by what we get wrong.”
The Bible has list of “negative” behaviors that we should avoid or not be associated with. But in our text today, Paul has decided to focus in on defining a worthy walk with positive identifying traits.
Last week we looked at some specific actions of the “worthy” walk by referencing in Scripture where this specific term “worthy” is used in the New Testament. We found that there were several actions or behaviors associated with worthy walk.
Just to give a quick summary:
Worth Walks include
Hospitality that is worthy of the Lord
Bear Fruit in “every good work”
Increasing in the knowledge of God
having integrity
other Christians
have sameness in purpose following Christ
discipling relationships
includes Sending
connected to your calling
While we practiced using cross references last week, this week were going to plant ourselves in the text and see what Paul had in mind when we asked the Ephesians to walk in a manner worthy.
List of Worthy Attitudes:
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Notice the picture Paul paints of walking in a manner worthy.
Humility
Gentleness
Patience
Long suffering rooted in Love
Eager to maintain Unity
Of the Spirit
in the bond of Peace.
Let’s break this down: focus on humility
I’m the guy that likes to push the gas gauge down to E and then some… I know it make my wife nervous, we’ve been married so long I can feel it. Jen and I hadn’t been married very long, our two oldest boys were still very little. We were driving and the gas gauge in this car had a little orange light that would come on. I can’t remember now why we were out, but I know Jen was a little nervous about me testing the limits of our car on an empty tank. I knew we would be fine and in my pride I didn’t want to admit Jenn was actually justified in her worry. I was convinced that we were going to be fine.... until that car decided to do a little jerk and dance… NO GAS! This was before cell phones were a regular thing… It was a hot summer day too and my pride had consequences.
See, not only did my pride result in a long walk of shame to a gas station.. where I had to buy a container, fill it with gas and walk back to my family. It also caused my family to suffer in the Texas heat until I could return. I’m still a little bit of a rebel on when I need to get gas, but now when I’m down to 1/4 of a tank I know it’s time to fill up.
Humility: having a humble opinion.
Humility is such an important place to start when defining the worthy walk, because humility isn’t individualistic… humility has to be lived in a community.
Maybe it would help to define the word Humility by what it is not:
Humility is not:
being motivated by selfish ambition - or vanity
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Puffed up with pride and having a fleshly mind
Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,
Having an appearance of wisdom and humility that is rooted in religious achievement not rooted in truth.
These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
C.S Lewis said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking about your self less.”
The problem is this: we take our focus off of God and instead become horizontal in our thinking.
Comparing ourselves to on another instead of facing ourselves in light of God’s holiness. I think of Job.
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me.
In other words, I’m going to ask you some questions Job, and you give me the answers.
“Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain? Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct? Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind? Who is wise enough to count all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven when the parched ground is dry and the soil has hardened into clods?
God proceeded to ask job somewhere in the neighborhood 70 plus rhetorical questions. I’m not sure the maddest momma in the world could come up with 70 consecutive questions on the spot.
Then the Lord said to Job, “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”
Job was a man who had suffered great loss and pain and most of us in his situation would begin to question God. Job felt his righteous life did not warrant such suffering. Yet, when God questioned Job, not one of his questions dealt with suffering.
We have to put our status, ego, problems, suffering… you name it, up against the backdrop of the person of God. When we come face to face with the reality of the majesty of God we are like Isaiah standing in the throne room of Heaven:
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
There is a sense of surrender in humility.. Trusting that God is in control… even in the face of difficult times.
Ultimately: a lack of humility or an overestimation of ones self is a problem with pride or hubris.
Pride - It is the “quality of having an excessively high opinion of one’ self or one’s importance.
We used to say in high school, “You think you’re all that and a bag a chips.”
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Literally, the term oppose has within it the idea of a military conflict.
That God is at war against those who are proud.
This is a war we can’t win…
In my devotional reading I’ve gone through the book of 1 Samuel a couple of times. Something struck me this last time through. Eli was the priest who blessed Hannah the mom of the prophet and last Judge of Israel, Samuel. Eli wasn’t a great man, he allowed his sons to mistreat God’s people and abuse their power for personal pleasure and gain.
When Samuel first hears the call of the Lord, it is Eli who helps him recognize that God was reaching out. The message that Samuel has to deliver from the Lord is one of judgement against Eli. It wasn’t just some slap on the wrist for Eli. Listen to the consequences of his behavior that enabled the suffering and sinful treatment of others.
Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
How about that as a message to deliver to the lead pastor?
What caught me this time is Eli’s submission to the judgement of God.
So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”
Resting in God’s prescription for the situation.
Don’t we see this modeled in the life of Jesus?
His entire life was poured out for others
He submitted to the Father’s will, “Not my will, but yours.”
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
There’s a sense of:
Surrender in Humility
Resting in God’s provision
Taking up God’s mission
A synonym of humility is meekness:
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
I think we often mistake meek for weak.
There are a couple of sides to meekness to consider.
1st - reliance upon God and acceptance of God’s will which we just discussed.
But meekness is also, “strength under control for the benefit of others.”
Consider the life of Christ and how he demonstrated meekness for us.
So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
Conclusion:
Jesus could have called down 10,000 angles to avenge himself. Jesus could have exercised his power, but instead, for the benefit of humanity, it was his strength under control that lead to his crucifixion. Can you imagine the courage and bravery to face down torture and certain death while being innocent for the benefit of others?
How do we live this out in the context of our church?
Have a proper assessment of yourself God’s program.
We aren’t here to demand our way, to coerce God into our plan, “This ain’t your party”
If we are truly walking worthy, it will begin in humility there is going to be a willingness to listen, serve, and find joy resting in the provision of God.
Prayer:
For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Nathan the prophet came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there. Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you. Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness. Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you. You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit— with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.