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Walk: Ephesians 5:1-20 · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  I've titled tonight's message, Walk, and it'll be very obvious why I've titled it that once we start reading the passage. Ephesians chapter 5, we've obviously passed into the second half of Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus. Chapters 1 through 3 were primarily focused on doctrine, what we called the position of the believer in heaven while on earth. So although our bodies are here, we are positionally there, we are...
• 0:25
  saved. And so we occupy space in heaven. There is space reserved for us there. Chapters four through six focus on practice, what we called the life of the believer on earth in light of heaven. And so how do we live here based on the knowledge of the fact that we know that we're going there? We know that that's our home. We know that our citizenship is there. We know that there is nothing for us here, but what should we do while we're here? Does that mean that we just become
• 0:56
  Recluse, wither away, sit there and pine away because we don't get to go to heaven for 30, 40, 50 more years. Do we have something to do here? The first three chapters describe the Christian's calling.
• 1:08
  The second three describe what it means to walk according to that calling. Now Paul introduced in chapter 4 and verse 1 a phrase that becomes common in his writing. It's repeated in almost all of his 13 letters, which becomes a theme for the remainder of this letter. If you look at Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 1, he says, I therefore a prisoner for the Lord urge you, and here is the phrase, to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
• 1:36
  That word for walk in verse 1, and what we're going to look at in three different points tonight in chapter 5, is used seven times in the six chapters of Ephesians, and it refers to a person's entire manner of life.
• 1:53
  Everything about you, what you do for a living, the way that you work, the way that you eat, the way that you are married, the way that you parent, everything about you, the way that you speak, the way that you think, the way that you dress, that is your walk. And when he says to walk in a manner worthy, he simply means appropriately. Last week I said balanced. To walk in a manner worthy of Christ means that we would walk in a way that is expected of us.
• 2:22
  that nobody should ever raise their eyebrows after spending time with us, surprised to find out that we claim the name of Christ. Which, if I'm honest, I have to confess, has happened many times to me. People find out I'm the pastor of a church and they'll say something like, really? That's not a compliment.
• 2:45
  Right? Something I did was not expected. And maybe that was a false expectation, but nevertheless, it's got to be within the confines, the friendly confines of this book. Our pattern of behavior is constrained by God's Word. And we have for the last several weeks been asking the question, what is appropriate Christian behavior so far? Just in chapter 4, humility, gentleness, patience.
• 3:16
  Love and unity. Walking according to our gifts and in confidence of our spiritual gifting. Walking in service and encouragement and knowledge. Being mature. Last week we talked about walking in sound doctrine. We should be a people who actually know what we're talking about. In authenticity. No longer, chapter 4 says, walking according to the old pattern of life, but walking as the new man. I love how Brian began his testimony. That's it.
• 3:47
  Let me tell you about the man I used to be. And let me tell you about the man that I am now. That old man has died. And Christ, as Carrie said, has given us a new heart. A heart of flesh rather than a heart of stone. Today we're going to talk about heroes. And who we pattern our lives after. When I was a kid, there was a certain brand of underwear for kids that was popular. They were called underoos. Everybody remember underoos, right?
• 4:22
  And, man, I don't know why any parent thought that these were appropriate because every kid, once they got their pack of underoos, wanted to wear them outside, right? Like, what's the point of being a superhero if I've got to put clothes over it? You know, like, no way, Mom, I'm going in the front yard, you know. These are meant to be seen.
• 4:40
  You know, but these little boys would run around. They got their little Superman underoos on or Batman underoos. And you wear your little underwear and it becomes a little cape. You know, you see these little boys charging around. I don't even know if they make them anymore, to be honest with you. My guess is that company finally got sued enough times that they said no more. But it's funny how we want to pattern our lives after people who don't even exist, who are not walking in the realm of reality, right?
• 5:10
  It's funny that the heroes that we will choose. And I've got a little nephew named Keegan who turned 11 last week. And Keegan loves the Avengers. He loves them.
• 5:24
  I've told some of you before, some of the young adults have used this story before, but I love it. Keegan loves watching the Avengers. He doesn't even get to watch the Avengers. He only gets to watch the parts that are appropriate for an 11-year-old, and then Dad skips like 30 minutes, and now you can watch this little blip, and then he skips some more, and now with this little blip. And so he knows who the Avengers are, and Hulk, and...
• 5:41
  Thor and Iron Man and whatever, and so one day we were over at their house eating dinner, and Keegan is running around, and he's got this little tiny toy hammer, little plastic thing, and he's running around, and he's hitting it on things, and he's making this, you know, big explosion sounds, you know, boom, you know, and this was years ago, boom, you know, he's maybe five or six years old, boom, you know, and I'd go through, and he's obviously being Thor, right, the god of lightning or whatever with the hammer and whatever, but every time he'd run through, I'd say, oh, look, everybody, it's the Hulk.
• 6:10
  He said, I'm not the Hulk, Uncle Danny, I'm Thor. Oh, okay. Run around and then come back through. Oh, look, everybody, it's Spider-Man. And he'd get all perturbed. I'm not Spider-Man, I'm Thor. All right. And I'm just messing with him, messing with him. Just poking him, poking him, poking him. You know, finally he stops and he gets all mad at me. Uncle Danny, I'm Thor. And I said, why Thor? Of all of the heroes, right? Why Thor? And he said, his use of tools, of course. Okay.
• 6:39
  Okay, in his mind, it's like a blend. I'm the god of lightning and handy manny, right? Like, why can't I be both? And so then a few minutes later, I see Chase. And Chase was just a little dude, little tiny dude, you know, still in his underoos at the time. And Chase is running through. He's like three or four. And he's running through and hitting stuff, you know, pretending like he's hitting stuff with a hammer. You know, boom, boom. And I said, oh, Chase, are you Thor? And he said, no, I'm Keegan.
• 7:11
  It is funny, the people we pattern our lives after, the heroes that we choose. If you look at verse 1, there's a word that I want to point out, and it's really the word that kind of carries us through our text tonight. It's the word imitators. Therefore, it says, be imitators, but it tells us who to pattern our lives after. Do you see this? You want to choose a hero? You want to look like somebody? You want to dress like somebody and live like somebody? Man, we've got somebody way better than Thor.
• 7:39
  Right? This says, become imitators of God, of God as beloved children. Now that word for imitators is the Greek word mimitas, where we get the word mimic. It means to copy, trace, follow, literally to walk in the same footsteps, exactly like the original, to copy them. In this text, the call will go out to establish our hero standard high.
• 8:10
  That we should be choosy about who we would pretend to be. The Apostle Paul calls us in our text to mimic none other than God himself. And tonight's message answers the question, if God walked the earth, you say, well, wait a minute. He did, right? If God walked the earth, how would he walk? How would he walk? What we're going to have tonight is a description, not just of the Christian life, but we actually have a description of Jesus Christ. You want to know how Jesus Christ walked?
• 8:40
  You want to know his manner of life? Do you want to know what appropriate, exalting, expected Christian behavior is? Here it is. Pattern your life after God. We as his children, beloved children and followers, are to be imitators of God by walking in the same way in which he walked. And so I've got three points tonight. Three points. We'll go through them quickly. To walk in love, to walk in light, and to walk in learning. And so let's go through them tonight, starting in verse 2, going to verse 6.
• 9:10
  We're going to look at walking in love. Notice verse 2 and walk in love. Walk in love. And you may be thinking, well, of course we are called to walk in love. Of course we are called to love each other. This is not exactly the most profound teaching I've ever heard in the church. Perhaps the most difficult thing the Lord would ask us to do is to walk in love. Why this one?
• 9:42
  Of all the things he could have said, he could have said walk in humility. He could have said walk in gentility. He could have said walk in patience for bearing with one another. He certainly says that in other places. Why? If he's going to boil down the Christian life to one statement, does he say walk in love? And I believe there's a possibility that it's because it's the hardest one to do. It's the one that we most often forget. John chapter 13, Jesus himself said, they will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. If you love one another.
• 10:10
  Listen, I don't know if Carrie's testimony would have been different. I think it would have been if she had come here and experienced a bunch of jerks. My guess is she wouldn't be sitting here with us tonight. Right? She might have powered through for that six months in support of her husband.
• 10:29
  Because her husband wanted to go and she loves him and she wants him to succeed. Maybe she powers through. But I'm telling you, there is something about the love of the church that is special. It is unique. It cannot be found anywhere else. You can't find it anywhere else. Clubs and sports and athletics and all of these other things that people try to fill their lives with and find their little funny communities in. They just don't cut it. They're just not as good. They're a cheap imitation. It's just a walk in love. Genuine love.
• 11:01
  toward each other. A man that I loved, I loved, passed away a couple of years ago. His name was Paul McClure. Paul McClure, one of the things that I loved the most about him is if you heard his testimony and if you hung around him at all, then you heard his testimony. He had five, six stories.
• 11:16
  All right. And he told the same stories every time. Did I ever tell you about driving through hell's half acre? You did tell me. Did I ever tell you about getting pulled by the semi? Yes, sir. But I want to hear it again. You know, and that's it. You had these five, six stories that were just bigger than life stories. What I loved, though, about his testimony is that he talks about when he was a younger man, he was angry.
• 11:36
  He was angry. He said he grew up a fighter. He said he grew up swinging at anybody who would, I mean, anybody who would cross him. He was not the largest guy. In fact, he was one of the smallest guys typically, but just was never afraid of a fight, would never back down. Typically took the worst of it in some of those fights, he said, but just angry, angry, angry, angry until he came to know the Lord. And if you met him when I met him.
• 12:06
  And that was right about his 80th birthday. You would have never guessed that that man was this angry fighting man as a young man. You'd never guess that. He was loving. He was genuine. He embraced people. He loved men. And we came. We were scared. We didn't know anybody. We didn't have any friends. Paul McClure is one of the men who came to me, put his arms around me, and he said, I'll be your friend. I'll be your friend. I'll love you. I don't even know you. Wait, your first name is John?
• 12:35
  That was a real conversation once. You don't even tell people your name? Yeah. All right, I'll love you. You know, love should dominate the Christian landscape. It should dominate the Christian landscape. I know that we talk about it and we sing about it and we read books about it. I preach about it all the time. We pay lip service to it, saying we love our church. We love our family. We love our pastor. How genuine is the love we feel toward the body?
• 13:05
  And has it become such a daily part of our lives that we could accurately say that we walk in it? Walk in love. Notice he continues, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. As Christ loved us. And notice that there was a pattern that we were to follow. So if you say, well, I don't know how that looks and I don't know how to do it. You say, well, how did Christ do it? And it says, as Christ loved us and gave himself.
• 13:31
  And what becomes clear as you study the life of Christ is that the genuine love, this kind of genuine love involves sacrifice. Now, next week, Tom is going to be teaching for us, and I can't wait for it, talking about husbands and wives, right? And he's going to talk about husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church. We're going to talk about sacrificial love. But if you want to know, if you want to test the genuine love of one person toward another person, it always involves sacrifice.
• 13:59
  Are they willing to lay themselves down for the sake of another? And this says in verse 2 that Christ gave himself up for us. In other words, don't tell me you love me. Show me you love me. Actions really do speak louder than words when it comes to love. Now, if you guys are married, that doesn't mean, you know, you can just say, well, Pastor Danny said I don't have to say it. I just have to do it. Okay.
• 14:30
  Do it by saying it. I mean, saying it every now and again is nice. Okay? It's nice. But there's something about our actions that should follow. We should be willing to lay ourselves down. This says give ourselves up. Give ourselves up. And I think making a reference there to the cross. Being willing to be hung for us. To walk in love means to give ourselves to others. Not to serve ourselves by others. Notice it continues in verse 3.
• 15:02
  Verse 2 says, he gave himself for us a fragrant offering, a sacrifice to God. Verses 3 and 4 say, but sexual immorality at all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness, no foolish talk, no crude joking which are out of place. But instead, let there be thanksgiving. And we are, according to the text, to be aware of an impure perversion.
• 15:32
  In pure perversion, the apostle gives two examples of how we may abuse one another, even within the church. And the context here is the church, right? These things, I guess we wouldn't expect pagans to act any different, but among God's people, God's chosen people, certainly sexual immorality and our speech are important. I think by immorality,
• 16:00
  The author is referring not only to adultery, but any kind of intercourse outside of marriage. Anything that was not designed by God and bringing glory to God. Anything else, he says, is a perversion, shouldn't even be hinted at by covetousness. He means a jealous desire to satisfy one's own sexual appetite in an inappropriate manner. One of the Ten Commandments, don't be jealous of your neighbor's wife. Covetousness.
• 16:27
  By impurity, he means any dirty thing that would promote those things listed above. So when he says sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness must not even be named. We should walk in such purity that God would be pleased. But notice he continues with our speech. And you guys, I don't know what it is. I don't know. There is a movement in Christian churches today, especially among the younger generations. I'm going to say...
• 16:57
  My generation maybe, but especially in the ones to come. The 30-year-olds, especially in the 20-year-olds, where there's just this idea that swearing's okay. I say whatever I want. That's how the world talks after all and whatever. And it creeps in. And I'm telling you, you cannot read this text and say, yeah, I can talk how I want. I can use whatever words. I can be vulgar. I can be crude. I can swear. I don't get it. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk.
• 17:24
  nor crude joking. Any of that, he says. Ephesians chapter 4, verse 29. Let there be no corrupting talk, corrosive, cancerous talk. Something that would cause somebody else to stumble or sin. He says, which are out of place in verse 4, but instead let there be thanksgiving. You want to know what should fill our mouths? You don't want to know what should come out? It's thanksgiving. Now guys, don't think that I'm condemning anybody here. That's not my intention.
• 17:52
  I did. I grew up in the church. I grew up with Christian parents. You know my mom. None of you have ever met my dad. He passed away 11 years ago of prostate cancer, coming up on 12 years. But man, just a godly man. They taught me that from the time that I was this little, you know, I grew up in the church nursery and, you know, through all of that, going to VBS and the whole thing and camps and summer camps and everything else. But I'm telling you, there is not a single filthy word, not one that I haven't used.
• 18:19
  Not one. So I'm not standing here in judgment saying, you know, look at my pattern, look at my speech, look at, you know, Tom Miller just laughed. I didn't use him around you, did I? Yeah. Tom's like, yeah, I remember a time. I've known Danny since he was young. I'm just telling you, I'm not saying that in judgment. I'm just saying, by the grace of God, let that go. That's part of the old man. If you're still hanging on to that, that's part of the old man. Right? It has no business.
• 18:52
  In the life of the believer. Beware of this impure perversion. Sexually and in speech. Notice he continues in verse 5. Because why? Because there will be a punishment. Look at verse 5. For you may be sure of this. That everyone who is sexually immoral or impure. Or who is covetousness. Covetous that is an idolater. Has no inheritance in the kingdom of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words.
• 19:14
  Because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. You want to know why sinners will get punished? It's because of this stuff. Impurity, perversion. He says that's why the wrath of God is being poured out. And why would we, who have been saved from God's wrath in Romans chapter 5, saved from the wrath of God, why would we continue to participate in the things which are bringing the wrath of God? These are scary verses. You know, it's true.
• 19:46
  That the immoral, that the impure, have no inheritance in the kingdom. Praise God that's not where it ends. But by the grace of God, right? We were washed. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 9. And if there was ever a more twisted and perverse church than the one at Corinth, I've not heard of it. I mean, they were doing some bizarre stuff. Next level stuff. Stuff you don't normally hear about. Stuff that, I mean, you read through the book of 1 Corinthians, you're like, man, that was a messed up...
• 20:22
  place i think it's funny sometimes when i hear people say we need to get back to the first century church i'm like man you ever read first corinthians let's not do that you know i don't know what you mean by that if you mean houses and whatever okay right but i mean not all of it was good they were condemned again and again and again first corinthians chapter six and verse nine and i love this passage if you feel
• 20:47
  guilt for the things that you participated in, in the flower of your life, in the spring of your life as a young man or woman that are now still struggling with this guilt and shame. Let me encourage you to memorize this one. First Corinthians chapter six, verse nine. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Say, well, Danny, how is that comforting at all? That's exactly what I'm struggling with. The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Raise your hand if you've been unrighteous.
• 21:16
  That's us, you guys. None of us. None of us will inherit the kingdom of God. Do not be deceived. Neither sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor the drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Period. There is a period there. Then the next phrase says, and such were some of you, but you were washed. All were some of us. I mean, such were some of us.
• 21:50
  All of us. I mean, look at that list. Swindlers and revilers and greedy. Like, well, I've never been drunk past your day. You ever been greedy? You ever wanted something that wasn't gifted to you by God? Stolen? Adulterers? I've never committed adultery. You ever thought about it? Come on. He says, such were some of you. I would say, beware those people claiming Christ who make light of their sin.
• 22:20
  I think they may be trying to deceive you with empty words, claiming because of their initial contact with Christ, their participation in sin is not a big deal. That is not what this text says. It says it shouldn't even be named among us. That's first. Walk in love. Now he continues in verses 7 to 14. Walk in light. Walk in light. He says, therefore, in verse 7, do not become partners with them. Do not become partners with them.
• 22:49
  Let us not take our eyes off of the prize. Let us not take our eyes off of the finish line. The whole purpose in us, it doesn't say have nothing to do with them. Of course we're supposed to be in the world. Of course we are. Who are we going to share the gospel with? Right? Praise God that whoever shared the gospel with us was in us. Right? We needed it. And so of course we're going to be in the world, but there's a difference between being in the world and becoming partners.
• 23:18
  with them. Now you guys may recall two Sundays ago, man, we heard a fantastic sermon from Alex Kirk, right? And it was on this word koinonia and it's often translated fellowship that he says, let me give you a new understanding of that word. It's not just coffee and chat time. He says that's important, but that's not fellowship. Non-believers do that.
• 23:46
  Coffee and chat time. Right? That's why there's a Starbucks on every corner. That's not fellowship. He redefined fellowship for us. What word did he use? I haven't heard it. Oh, I heard it somewhere over here. Partner. A partner. Fellowship. True, genuine Christian fellowship is partnering together in the gospel. It's a partnership. So when verse 7 says, do not become partners with them. Do you see what he's saying?
• 24:16
  Don't link your arms together with people who are spiritual boat anchors, who are going to drag you to the bottom of the ocean. Don't partner together. That's not who you lock arms with. If you're going to have fellowship, if you're going to have true, genuine koinonia, he says, have koinonia with those who are going to pull you toward Christ and not away. He says, do not become partners with them. Verse 8, for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light and Lord, and so walk as children of light.
• 24:47
  For the fruit of life is found in all that is good and right and true. Now notice, verse 8 says, it words it a little bit differently, I think, than you'd expect. Let me read it again. For at one time it says, you were darkness. Now here's what's different about that. I think it's missing a little tiny word in there. Right? Preposition? In. You would expect it to say, for at one time,
• 25:17
  You were in darkness. Right? But it doesn't. It leaves that out. This actually says that we were not victims of the darkness. We were not exposed to the darkness. Instead, what this says in verse 8 is that we were the darkness. That's how bad sin corrupted humanity. We're not the victims of sin. We are the...
• 25:48
  The culprits, the perpetrators, we're the source. We're the source of sin. We are the darkness. But now, what does it say? You are light. You are light in the Lord. So when we go into what is now the darkness, we've been removed from that. We've been called out of the darkness and into God's glorious or marvelous light. When we go back into the darkness, we are now, should we shine like stars in the universe?
• 26:19
  Philippians 2 verse 14 says. We really do. We shine. Why? Because that light just emanates. It's meant to emanate out from us. And verse 9 even describes this as fruit. The fruit of life is found in all that is good and right and true. So when we act in a manner worthy of our calling, which is what Ephesians chapter 4 verse 1 says, when we act in an appropriate way, in an expected way, in a balanced way, this says we actually shine.
• 26:49
  like lights in the darkness. That's pretty cool. Walk in light. Verse 10, he continues. Try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness. Again, he's calling us out of that. But instead, expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible. For if anything that becomes visible is light, therefore it says, Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead. And Christ...
• 27:21
  will shine on you. And so there is this invitation again for those who are in the darkness to come out of the darkness. Awake, and Christ will shine upon you. Second, walk in light. I would love that verses 11 to 13 teach that light exposes unfruitful works. I want to live my life as though I have nothing to hide. Live such a life that I really can't just be, you know what, take your best shot.
• 27:55
  Walk in the light, nothing to hide. Notice the last. So walk in love, walk in light. Now last, walk in learning. Verses 15 to 20. Verse 15 says, look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise. Making the best use of the time because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Notice he says, be wise, understand. The remainder of this passage contrasts.
• 28:25
  Two lives lived either according to the principles of the spirit or according to the principles of the world. And each point gives a negative command followed by a positive exhortation. It's foolish footsteps versus careful conduct. He introduces the section by encouraging the believers to be careful. Look carefully. And I'm wondering how careful we are with our own souls.
• 28:57
  Do we treat our souls carefully? Do we treat them as if they've been stamped with a fragile stamp? Because of the nature of my job, I've traveled to many places in the world, right? And many pastors, if you're in the church for a long time, end up having to, getting to. I mean, it's a privilege to do that. Mission trips and visitations and some other things. And honestly, some of the places and the countries I've been are a tad unsavory.
• 29:31
  One of my favorite places in the world to go is the Philippines. I love it. I love the Filipino culture. I love the people. Honestly, just as a whole, a more joyful people I don't think exists in the world. The food is good. They all speak English. And the dollar goes a long way. I mean, it's just a great, honestly, it's one of my favorite countries in the world. I've been five times.
• 29:56
  And each time for different reasons, but always centering around the preaching of the gospel. And so pastor's conferences and now the camping ministry with the Olartes and I'm privileged to get to do that. People ask me, though, why I would take my sons to places like that that they consider to be unsafe. And I hear this phrase, right? Why would you take your sons to a place that is unsafe? And it's funny to me because I one time took my sons to Coors Field.
• 30:27
  for an evening game. And by the time we left, the sun had long gone down. And somebody had told me, it was actually Pastor Nathan years ago, before he was on staff, he said, Danny, there's a place that you can park for free, free parking at Coors Field. I said, oh man, that sounds pretty good. And so he told me the cross streets, it's like Blake and 36th or something like that. You know, you just get onto Blake and just keep on walking. So Blake and 20th is the field and you walk another mile and a half, two miles north.
• 30:55
  I think, on Blake. And you just keep going and going and going. And what he did not tell you, it is free, but there's a reason. It doesn't cost money, but it does cost.
• 31:04
  And so the further we got away from the field, I got my little boys with me, Chase up on my shoulders, and it's just getting darker and darker and darker. Pretty soon there's no more streetlights. And, I mean, we're getting miles away from the stadium, and it is getting worse and worse and worse and worse and worse. The area of town that we were in, man, it was rough. And we're walking by all of these alleys. I ended up with my sons. I'm holding both of my older boys' hands, and Chase has got his hands around my head like this, and he's just holding on. And rather than walking on the sidewalk, because we're passing so many dark areas,
• 31:34
  dark alleys. Anybody could have jumped out. I ended up moving out into the middle of the street. I was literally in the middle of the street and I'm walking with my boys because I thought at least I'll get a 30 foot head start. Right. At least I'll see him coming. And I'm telling you guys, I have never experienced anything in the Philippines like that. Blake and 36 at 10 p.m. I'm telling you, it's you be careful. You're careful.
• 32:03
  You don't expose yourself. You don't expose your people. You don't expose your kids to things that would harm them, right? You're careful. You think things through. Why don't we do that spiritually? Why don't we do that with our souls? This says, look carefully how you walk. Be careful. Don't step on landmines. Not as unwise, but as wise. Verse 18, he continues. He says, don't get drunk with wine. That's debauchery. But be filled with the Spirit. Instead of being influenced by alcohol, he says, be influenced.
• 32:33
  by the Holy Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, Bible study is always broken down into three major steps, observation, interpretation, and application. And if the third step, application, could be boiled down to its simplest point, its lowest common denominator, I think it could be summed up simply with one word, walk.
• 33:08
  We're not expected to run. There's no sprinting necessary. But neither are we expected to stand still. And if you're just standing still spiritually, can I just light a fire under you with Ephesians chapter 5? Walk. Take a step. That idea of the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step is true. I think God's expectation on us is simply that we put one foot in front of the other in love, in light, and in learning.
• 33:39
  We pray. God, thank You for this text tonight. And Lord, we look forward to hearing husbands and wives next week. We pray a blessing over Tom as he prepares. God, thank You for this encouragement to walk. And I pray that we would walk in a manner worthy of our calling. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.