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WALK: The Slow, Steady Life of a Disciple · Clay to Crown

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Welcome back, friends, to this episode of the Clay to
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Crown podcast. If you listened last time, you know that
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: I started a little series based on a sermon that
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  Speaker 1: I gave at my local church this past January. You
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  Speaker 1: can find that on my ministry page online, Amanda Hughes Ministries.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: It's called The True Christian Experience. And these podcast episodes
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  Speaker 1: are a little bit of an expansion of that full sermon.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: That sermon was about, I don't know, about 48 minutes
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: long or so. So these are a little bit expanded
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: versions of that, but you can, you can listen to
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  Speaker 1: the whole thing there. Last week, We talked about sitting
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: and how we are seated in heavenly places and what
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: that means, what that means for our identity, what that
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  Speaker 1: means for, uh, our victory. Um, and how we, if
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  Speaker 1: we are seated with him in heavenly places, then the
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  Speaker 1: striving that we are trying to earn that position is
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  Speaker 1: not necessary because that position has already been attained through Christ. Um,
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  Speaker 1: so this week though, we're gonna, we're gonna talk about
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  Speaker 1: walking and, and our Christian walk is the slow, steady
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  Speaker 1: life of a follower of Christ, of a disciple. So
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  Speaker 1: if sitting is about identity, walking is about expression. It's
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  Speaker 1: about living out what Christ has already, uh, formed in you.
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  Speaker 2: It's biblical.
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  Speaker 3: It's biblical.
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  Speaker 2: You know, our biblical call to walk. Walking is about practice.
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  Speaker 2: Sitting is about position. Walking is about practice. Sitting tells
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  Speaker 2: us who we are in Christ. Walking shows the world
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  Speaker 2: who Christ is in us.
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  Speaker 3: You get that?
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  Speaker 2: Are we being Christ-like in our day-to-day activities? Walking shows
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  Speaker 2: the world who Christ is in us. It's our expression.
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  Speaker 3: If sitting is heavenly, walking is earthly.
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  Speaker 2: You know, and scripture is full of all kinds of
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  Speaker 2: walking language, especially in Ephesians. I think the word walk
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  Speaker 2: or walking or walk is used like eight, nine times
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  Speaker 2: in the book of Ephesians. Ephesians 4.1 says, walk worthy
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  Speaker 2: of the calling you have received. Ephesians 5.2, walk in love. 5.8,
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  Speaker 2: walk as children of light.
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  Speaker 3: 5.15, walk.
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  Speaker 2: And then another epistle that Apostle Paul wrote, Colossians 2, 6,
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  Speaker 2: Walking is about slow, steady obedience. It's not about sprinting.
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  Speaker 2: It's not about performing. It's not about impressing. It is
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  Speaker 2: the slow, faithful movement.
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  Speaker 3: Of a disciple.
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  Speaker 2: And I think through the word, his point is simple.
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  Speaker 2: The Holy Spirit's point is simple. If the life of
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  Speaker 2: the heavenly places, if your life, if your seated life
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  Speaker 2: in the heavenly places, those of you who know the
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  Speaker 2: Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and you have a saving
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  Speaker 2: knowledge of him, you want to follow him, you are
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  Speaker 2: seated in the heavenly places. But if that Being seated
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  Speaker 2: in the heavenly places, if heavenly places never touch the ground,
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  Speaker 2: it loses its meaning. If the kingdom of Jesus never
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  Speaker 2: touches the ground, it's meaningless. Unless we bring the life
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  Speaker 2: of the heavenly places to our daily lives, it's worthless.
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  Speaker 3: It's worthless.
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  Speaker 2: Because let me tell you, it is possible to know
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  Speaker 2: the language of being seated with Christ. It's possible to
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  Speaker 2: use the vernacular of being a Christian, but we live
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  Speaker 2: a life that looks nothing like him. It's possible to
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  Speaker 2: celebrate our position while neglecting our practice. Essentially, what I'm
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  Speaker 2: saying is it's possible to sit well on a Sunday,
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  Speaker 2: but then walk poorly on Monday. But Paul refuses to
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  Speaker 2: let us separate the two things. If you're seated, you
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  Speaker 2: have to walk. If you're seated in the heavenlies, you
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  Speaker 2: have to walk well. Heavenly identity must produce earthly integrity.
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  Speaker 2: Heavenly seating must produce earthly walking. If our walk never
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  Speaker 2: reflects our seat, then our theology is disconnected from our reality.
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  Speaker 2: We're just talking, right? Our walk isn't matching our talk, essentially, right?
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  Speaker 2: Because many who say they are seated in heavenly places
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  Speaker 2: manifest a questionable walk. A questionable walk is a walk
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  Speaker 2: that contradicts the seat where you are placed, a walk
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  Speaker 2: that denies the identity, a walk that misrepresents.
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  Speaker 3: The one that we belong to.
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  Speaker 2: Your walk, your Christian walk, must match your seat. You know,
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  Speaker 2: I live in Beaufort, South Carolina. I was in the Navy,
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  Speaker 2: and I was stationed here twice, once 2010 to 2014,
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  Speaker 2: and then I retired, and my family and I stayed here.
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  Speaker 2: But before that, I was a junior corpsman stationed here
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  Speaker 2: at Parris Island, you know, giving medical support to the
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  Speaker 2: Marines back in the late 90s, and I was HM3 Schmuckatelli.
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  Speaker 3: Like nothing, right.
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  Speaker 2: A junior corpsman doing, you know, junior, junior corpsman things,
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  Speaker 2: a young, uh, I don't know how old was I
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  Speaker 2: back then? 23 year old, um, you know, uh, working
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  Speaker 2: and doing, you know, what I was supposed to do
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  Speaker 2: for the most part. Uh, and for the most part,
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  Speaker 2: it's going to come to light here in a second
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  Speaker 2: as I continue to tell this story. Um, and, I
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  Speaker 2: was here for three years and in one of those, uh, years,
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  Speaker 2: and I, I can't recall exactly when it was, it
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  Speaker 2: was a long time ago. Um, but I won sailor
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  Speaker 2: of the quarter. Um, and for those of you who
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  Speaker 2: don't have a military background, um, Sale of the Quarter
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  Speaker 2: is a competition, essentially, where people of like ranks go
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  Speaker 2: against each other and go in front of a board.
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  Speaker 2: And then it looks good on your eval, and it
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  Speaker 2: helps you with promotion and those sorts of things. And
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  Speaker 2: so I went in front of this junior sale of
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  Speaker 2: the quarter board, you know, and I had my uniform
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  Speaker 2: all perfect, you know, all inspection ready. And I answered
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  Speaker 2: their questions, you know. And so it's about it's about composure.
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  Speaker 2: It's about knowledge. It's about military bearing. It's about all
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  Speaker 2: of those things. And I actually I won sale of
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  Speaker 2: the quarter. And when you win sale of the quarter
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  Speaker 2: or sale of the year, whatever it is, you get
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  Speaker 2: your picture put up on the command bulletin board. Like
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  Speaker 2: this is our junior sale of the quarter for third quarter,
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  Speaker 2: you know, 2000 and whatever. Anyway.
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  Speaker 3: And so I won that.
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  Speaker 2: And then at some point after I won that and
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  Speaker 2: after they put my picture up on the board, I.
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  Speaker 3: Came to work. I came hungover. Shocker of all shockers.
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  Speaker 2: Junior Gorman, young woman in the Navy, single, no family, partying.
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  Speaker 2: You know, I came to work hungover. Was I now
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  Speaker 2: showing my position as Sarah LaCourter? Was I walking that
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  Speaker 2: out appropriately?
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  Speaker 1: No. No.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely not.
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  Speaker 2: I was not walking in a manner worthy of my position.
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  Speaker 2: And we do that all the time as Christians, I think.
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  Speaker 3: Or is that just me?
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  Speaker 1: I don't know.
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  Speaker 3: Maybe it's just me. But we do that, I think.
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  Speaker 2: You know, and so Paul uses walk in a manner
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  Speaker 2: worthy in order for us to think about how we
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  Speaker 2: are representing Christ, right?
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  Speaker 3: He's trying to help us be practical.
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  Speaker 2: Eight times in Ephesians, as I said, eight times in Ephesians,
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  Speaker 2: the word walk is used. He repeats it because walking
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  Speaker 2: is where the Christian life becomes visible, right? It's where
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  Speaker 2: the grace that we received becomes the grace we extend.
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  Speaker 2: What God has done in us is what he extends to.
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  Speaker 3: Others through us. Paul is giving us the big picture.
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  Speaker 2: We need to walk worthy, walk differently, so we can
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  Speaker 2: walk in love, we can walk in light. And then
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  Speaker 2: he brings it kind of down to the everyday, right?
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  Speaker 2: Into the places where people actually feel our walk. So
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  Speaker 2: the question doesn't just become where are we seated or
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  Speaker 2: are we walking in a manner worthy, but it's practical.
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  Speaker 2: What does that even look like? What does walking in
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  Speaker 2: a manner worthy of the Lord, what does that look like?
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  Speaker 2: And I think it shows up. in ordinary places, right?
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  Speaker 2: It can show up in our relationships. Ephesians 4.32 says,
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  Speaker 2: be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.
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  Speaker 3: It shows up in our speech.
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  Speaker 2: Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, Ephesians 4.29 says.
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  Speaker 3: It shows up in our habits.
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  Speaker 2: Romans 13, 14 says, make no provision for the flesh.
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  Speaker 2: It shows up in how we forgive. It says, forgive
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  Speaker 2: as the Lord forgave you in Colossians 3, 13.
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  Speaker 3: It shows up in our purity.
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  Speaker 2: First Thessalonians 4, 3, this is the will of God,
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  Speaker 2: your sanctification. It shows up in how we produce integrity.
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  Speaker 2: Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, it says in Proverbs 10, 9.
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  Speaker 2: And in other places, in Ephesians 4, 2, it looks
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  Speaker 2: like having patience. Am I the only one that struggles
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  Speaker 2: with that? Ephesians 4, 2 says, with all humility and gentleness.
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  Speaker 3: With patience. Patience that stretches.
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  Speaker 2: Again, putting up with one another in love, bearing with
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  Speaker 2: one another in love, choosing grace over irritation. Now, does
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  Speaker 2: that mean you're never going to get irritated?
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  Speaker 3: I don't think so.
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  Speaker 2: I get irritated a lot. But what's coming out of you?
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  Speaker 2: Is the irritation coming out of you or is grace
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  Speaker 2: coming out of you? Ephesians 4.25, it looks like putting
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  Speaker 2: away falsehood, therefore having put away falsehood. So this is
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  Speaker 2: a call to truthfulness, no deception, no mass. Quit trying
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  Speaker 2: to be something that you're not. It looks like speaking
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  Speaker 2: the truth. It says, same verse, let each one of
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  Speaker 2: you speak the truth with his neighbor. This is the
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  Speaker 2: call to honest speech, truth that heals, not harms. How
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  Speaker 2: many times have we embellished something just to make ourselves
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  Speaker 2: look a little bit better and somebody else look a
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  Speaker 2: little bit worse?
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  Speaker 3: Speak truth.
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  Speaker 2: Ephesians 4.26 says, be angry and do not sin. This
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  Speaker 2: is the call to spirit-governed emotion. What is one of
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  Speaker 2: those fruit of the spirit? Kindness.
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  Speaker 3: Self-control?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm pretty sure self-control is that last one in
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  Speaker 2: Galatians 5. In Ephesians 4.28, Paul tells us to let
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  Speaker 2: the thief no longer steal. So stealing no more. Integrity
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  Speaker 2: in every part of your life. Every part of your life.
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  Speaker 2: Being kind to one another. Forgive one another. 432, forgiving
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  Speaker 2: one another as God in Christ forgave you. This is
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  Speaker 2: the call to forgiveness that mirrors Christ's forgiveness. So these
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  Speaker 2: are not random virtues. These are relational logistics of the kingdom.
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  Speaker 2: These are principles that grow out of being seated with Christ.
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  Speaker 2: Paul is not giving us a list of behaviors to perform.
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  Speaker 2: He is describing the natural outflow of a life rooted
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  Speaker 2: in Christ. We walk this way because we sit with him.
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  Speaker 2: We walk this way being kind to one another, showing patience,
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  Speaker 2: showing grace, not sinning in our anger, always speaking the truth.
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  Speaker 2: We walk this way because we sit with him, because
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  Speaker 2: we're seated with him in the heavenly places. We walk
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  Speaker 2: this way because we belong to him. The walk is
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  Speaker 2: not self-improvement. It is spirit-empowered transformation. And that's the key
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  Speaker 2: thing right here because I know, at least for me,
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  Speaker 2: early on in my Christian walk, I was like, I
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  Speaker 2: don't have self-control. I can't be patient. People are irritating me.
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  Speaker 2: You know, all of these things, you know, I'm angry
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  Speaker 2: with my husband. I'm allowing, you know, people just to
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  Speaker 2: get on my everlasting nerve, you know. And so over time, though,
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  Speaker 2: those things start to depart because I allow the Holy
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  Speaker 2: Spirit to transform me from the inside out. Ephesians 3.20 says,
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  Speaker 2: by the power that works in us. What power is that?
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  Speaker 2: That's the Holy Spirit power, not our own. The same
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  Speaker 2: power who seated us empowers us to walk. Remember, last
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  Speaker 2: time we talked, Ephesians 2, 6, it says that the
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  Speaker 2: Spirit seated us with Christ in the heavenly places. The
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  Speaker 2: Holy Spirit did that. So the same power that seated
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  Speaker 2: us also empowers us. Ephesians 2.10 says that we are
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  Speaker 2: created in Christ Jesus to do good works. So walking
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  Speaker 2: is not optional. It is what we were created for.
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  Speaker 2: Walking in patience is not optional. It is what we
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  Speaker 2: were created for.
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  Speaker 3: So we can be that light.
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  Speaker 2: In the world that Jesus called us to be in
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  Speaker 2: the Sermon on the Mount, he says that we are
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  Speaker 2: salt and light. Good works are not the root of salvation.
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  Speaker 2: They are the fruit of salvation. So essentially what I'm
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  Speaker 2: saying is that it's not our good works that earn
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  Speaker 2: us our position in Christ. Our position in Christ is
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  Speaker 2: already attained, but by virtue of that position, we need
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  Speaker 2: to be having the fruit of the Spirit, ones of love, kindness, patience, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control.
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  Speaker 3: I always forget.
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  Speaker 2: There's nine of them, and I always forget some when
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  Speaker 2: I'm listening.
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  Speaker 3: I'm like that.
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  Speaker 2: It's like the seven drawers. You can't ever name them
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  Speaker 2: all at the same time. I mean, I could, but
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  Speaker 2: not when I'm out there doing things. Anyway. So the
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  Speaker 2: good works are not the root of our salvation. It's
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  Speaker 2: not how we earn it, but they are a byproduct
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  Speaker 2: of it. And so this should be the rhythm of
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  Speaker 2: the Christian life. God works in us by the power
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  Speaker 2: of the Holy Spirit. And so then we work that out.
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  Speaker 2: we show that Holy Spirit power to the world around us.
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  Speaker 2: We are not walking to earn identity. We are walking
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  Speaker 2: because we already have one. Let that sink in. I'm
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  Speaker 2: going to say that again. We are not walking to
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  Speaker 2: earn identity. We are walking in accordance with Christ because
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  Speaker 2: our identity is already secured. And then finally, You know,
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  Speaker 2: when Paul is calling us to walk, you know, if
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  Speaker 2: you're walking somewhere, if I'm walking to the store or
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  Speaker 2: walking to my bedroom or walking, you know, whatever, it
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  Speaker 2: suggests progress, right? You're going from this place to the
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  Speaker 2: next place. So it implies movement. And movement implies, in
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  Speaker 2: the spiritual anyway, if we're moving, we're spiritually growing, right?
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  Speaker 2: And growth takes time sometimes. I know that a lot
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  Speaker 2: of times we have this thought, you know, after we
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  Speaker 2: give our hearts to Christ, like, why isn't all the
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  Speaker 2: bad stuff that's happening to me, why isn't that going away?
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  Speaker 2: Or why isn't that temptation going away? Or why isn't,
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  Speaker 2: you know, that going away? You know, I'm born again,
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  Speaker 2: you know, but I think the Lord wants us to
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  Speaker 2: partner with him. He's wanted to partner with us from
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  Speaker 2: the very beginning. You know, all the way back to
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  Speaker 2: Genesis 1 and 2, he called us to rule and reign.
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  Speaker 2: Could he have done it himself? Sure he could have.
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  Speaker 2: But he wanted a partnership with his creation. And I
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  Speaker 2: think he wants us to partner with him in our
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  Speaker 2: sanctification as well.
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  Speaker 3: And sometimes that takes time.
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  Speaker 2: If we go down to Ephesians chapter 5, starting at
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  Speaker 2: verse 15, it says, Be careful then how you live,
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  Speaker 2: not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of
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  Speaker 2: every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore, do not
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  Speaker 2: be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Paul
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  Speaker 2: connects this walking that we're supposed to be doing, this
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  Speaker 2: Christ-like behavior, he connects it with wisdom, with time, with intentionality.
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  Speaker 2: He says for us to walk wisely, to make the
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  Speaker 2: most of the time, and to understand the will of
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  Speaker 2: the Lord. So a wise walk is a purposeful walk.
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  Speaker 2: A foolish walk is a wasted walk. Walking is not
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  Speaker 2: supposed to be perfection. You are not supposed to have
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  Speaker 2: all knowledge and all truth and all of these things
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  Speaker 2: right away. It is not perfection, but it is progress.
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  Speaker 2: It is the slow, steady, spirit-led movement of a life
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  Speaker 2: shaped by your position in the kingdom. Our walk is
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  Speaker 2: the earthly expression of our heavenly position. If we are
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  Speaker 2: seated with Christ, then our walk should look like Christ.
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  Speaker 2: And the good news is this, the same spirit who
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  Speaker 2: seated us empowers us. We don't walk in our strength.
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  Speaker 2: We walk in his. We don't walk to earn identity.
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  Speaker 2: We walk because we already have one. And as God
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  Speaker 2: works his grace in us, we work it out in
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  Speaker 2: the world.
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  Speaker 1: Amen.
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  Speaker 2: You cannot walk in what you have not first received.
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  Speaker 2: Walking flows from sitting. Ephesians 2.10 says, we are his workmanship.
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  Speaker 2: And again, I mentioned it before, created in Christ for
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  Speaker 2: good works, which God prepared beforehand. So our walk is
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  Speaker 2: not self-generated. It is spirit empowered. Galatians 5.16 says to
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  Speaker 2: walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the
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  Speaker 2: desires of the flesh. Walking is spirit alignment. Walking is
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  Speaker 2: not moral striving. It's not just doing the next right thing.
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  Speaker 2: When you are walking in Christ, you are walking with
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  Speaker 2: the spirit. Your will is aligned with God's will and
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  Speaker 2: and you are being a conduit of God's grace here
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  Speaker 2: on earth. You know, and, and, Sometimes too, I think
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  Speaker 2: we get discouraged, right? Because our walk is sometimes uneven.
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  Speaker 2: Just like you're walking on an uneven path. You know,
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  Speaker 2: I live in Beaufort and Savannah's just about 45 minutes
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  Speaker 2: to an hour away. And there's River Street in Savannah.
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  Speaker 2: If anybody's ever been to Savannah, you know what I'm
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  Speaker 2: talking about. But to get down to River Street, there's
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  Speaker 2: this section, a path of a cobblestone road, essentially. And
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  Speaker 2: if you've ever walked on cobblestones, you know, they're uneven.
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  Speaker 2: You know, it's not a smooth, you know, sidewalk. It's
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  Speaker 2: here and there. And if you're walking that in heels
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  Speaker 2: or bad shoes or whatever, you know, sometimes you can
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  Speaker 2: feel pretty clumsy on that.
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  Speaker 3: You know, and I think that the same is true
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  Speaker 3: for our Christian walk.
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  Speaker 2: Some days we're on the smooth sidewalk, you know, and
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  Speaker 2: we're doing everything great. And then something happens or something happens.
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  Speaker 2: Either we do something or something happens to us or
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  Speaker 2: whatever it is. And next thing we know, we're on
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  Speaker 2: that cobblestone path and we feel like we're going to
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  Speaker 2: fall over, you know. But.
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  Speaker 3: This is, this is what I love about the Lord.
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  Speaker 2: Um, scripture reminds us in Psalm 37, though he may fall,
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  Speaker 2: he shall not be cast headlong for the Lord upholds
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: his hand. Um, God's not grading you, you know, he's
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: not giving you an A because you're, you know, um,
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: or he's not giving you an F rather, you know,
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: let me rephrase what I was saying. You know, you're
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: not getting a failing grade because you, you, you stumbled
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: a little bit that, that, that's not how he works. Um,
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: but he is shaping you, right? Messy, you know, your
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: life is messy for a little bit. That does not
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: mean you're failing, but messy can lead to growth. Messy
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: does mean growing. You know, so don't get overwhelmed by
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: the journey. You know, Psalm 119, the longest chapter in
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: the whole Bible, it's all about God's word. The whole
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: chapter 119, it says, your word is a lamp to
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: my feet and a light to my path. In verse 105,
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: a lamp for your feet. It's showing you the direction
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: that you need to go.
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: Right?
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: It's just a little lamp for your feet. Take the
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: next right step. The next step. The next step. It's
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: illuminating just the next step. What's the next faithful step?
• 24:27
  Speaker 3: Ask that. Ask that of the Holy Spirit. Ask him.
• 24:32
  Speaker 2: How many times do we just say, Holy Spirit, can
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: I ask you something?
• 24:37
  Speaker 3: Right? You know, I don't know that we do that enough.
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: Holy Spirit, what's my next step? And then receive from
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: him what he tells you, right? Scripture already has us anchored.
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: Scripture already studies us. Scripture says for us to walk
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: in love, Ephesians 5.2. Scripture already tells us to walk
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: as children of light, 5.8.
• 25:10
  Speaker 3: I've already quoted it, but I'll say it again.
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: Galatians 5.16, walk by the Spirit. You know, walking isn't running.
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: Walking is slow. Walking is ordinary. But walking is holy.
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: You are walking out what Christ has already placed inside
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: of you. And I think a lot of times we
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: forget that, right? Like we don't, it's already inside of us.
• 25:44
  Speaker 2: We just have to walk it out. What does that
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: look like? You know, our walk shows up in our relationships,
• 25:51
  Speaker 2: our speech, you know, our generosity. When you choose to
• 25:57
  Speaker 2: forgive instead of resent, that's a step. When you choose
• 26:01
  Speaker 2: to tell the truth instead of to twist it, that's
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: a step. When you choose to do the right thing
• 26:07
  Speaker 2: instead of compromise, that's a step. When you choose to
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: bless instead of curse, that's a step. And when you
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: put all of those steps together, all of that obedience.
• 26:19
  Speaker 3: Together, that's your Christian walk.
• 26:20
  Speaker 2: Walking is ordinary. Walking is ordinary. Walking is, again, it's slow.
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: We live in a culture that worships speed and spectacle,
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: for that matter, right?
• 26:37
  Speaker 3: And it doesn't necessarily go that way.
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: God loves the long, slow, steady work of forming a disciple.
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: He loves the daily choices. He loves the quiet faithfulness.
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: He loves the unseen obedience. The kingdom of God often
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: looks like showing up again, saying yes again, repenting again,
• 27:02
  Speaker 2: forgiving again, serving again, choosing holiness again. It's not loud.
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: It's not flashy. It's saying, I belong to Jesus and
• 27:16
  Speaker 2: I'm walking with him. So what's the next faithful step
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: for you?
• 27:25
  Speaker 3: I don't know.
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: You know, maybe it's apologizing to someone you hurt. Maybe
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: it's turning off something that's been poisoning your mind. Maybe
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: it's reaching out to someone you've been avoiding, returning to
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: a habit of prayer or scripture study that you've let
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: go of, confessing a hidden sin to a trusted believer,
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: or saying yes to a small act of service. Don't
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: get overwhelmed by the whole journey. You just have to
• 27:55
  Speaker 2: take the next faithful step and take it with the
• 28:00
  Speaker 2: confidence that you are walking out what Christ has already
• 28:03
  Speaker 2: placed inside of you. So as we begin to close,
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: I want to always try to leave you with some encouragement.
• 28:17
  Speaker 3: You know, you won't always feel strong. You won't always
• 28:20
  Speaker 3: feel spiritual.
• 28:22
  Speaker 2: You know, I told somebody once that I don't do
• 28:27
  Speaker 2: daily Bible reading.
• 28:30
  Speaker 3: And I don't. I read a lot. I study scripture.
• 28:36
  Speaker 2: But to say that I sit down on my couch
• 28:39
  Speaker 2: and open my Bible and read a chapter a day
• 28:41
  Speaker 2: or something like that, I just don't do that practice.
• 28:47
  Speaker 2: And they would have, you would have thought that I,
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: you know, they're like, what? Yeah, because I think we
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: think we have to do a certain thing or be
• 28:59
  Speaker 2: a certain thing in that we're being spiritual. We read
• 29:01
  Speaker 2: a chapter in our Bible that day. Oh, I put
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: my little check in the box and I'm doing my
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: spiritual thing. But that's not, that's not it. Are you
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: retaining what you read? Do you understand what you read?
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: Is the Holy Spirit refining you through what you read?
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: If not, then all you did is read a few
• 29:23
  Speaker 2: words on a page. And that might wrinkle some feathers and,
• 29:28
  Speaker 2: you know, might not sit well with people, but that's just,
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: that's the way I see it. And, you know, leave
• 29:33
  Speaker 2: a comment if you want to, and we can talk
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: about it.
• 29:35
  Speaker 3: But, you know, anyway.
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: You can always take that one step, though. Take the
• 29:48
  Speaker 2: one step of encouragement.
• 29:49
  Speaker 3: What is that?
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: It's a step of obedience. It's a step of surrender.
• 29:53
  Speaker 2: It's a step of love. And then over time, that
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: adds up, and it adds up to a slow, steady
• 30:03
  Speaker 2: life of a disciple who is growing in Christ, that
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: is being refined by the work of the Spirit in
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: their lives, and they are spreading the love of Christ
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: and God's kingdom to those they encounter on this earth.
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: So we've talked about today, what we've talked about is
• 30:23
  Speaker 2: the slow, steady life of a disciple. If sitting is
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: about identity, walking is about expression. Walking is often uneven,
• 30:35
  Speaker 2: but it doesn't mean that you're failing. It's slow, it's ordinary,
• 30:40
  Speaker 2: and it's holy. And the key question for you to
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: take away from this, I believe, is, is what is
• 30:48
  Speaker 2: the next faithful step for me? And so as you
• 30:53
  Speaker 2: go through the rest of your day, I want you
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: to carry this. I want you to lean into this.
• 31:00
  Speaker 2: You don't have to sprint. You don't have to impress.
• 31:03
  Speaker 2: You don't have to be spectacular. You just have to
• 31:06
  Speaker 2: walk one step at a time in the direction of
• 31:10
  Speaker 2: the Holy Spirit. And you are not alone in this walk.
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: God is with you. Christ is with you. The spirit
• 31:23
  Speaker 2: is in you. The Holy Spirit dwells inside a believer
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: and the father is for you. He is not against you.
• 31:31
  Speaker 2: He is not mad at you. You are living out
• 31:36
  Speaker 2: what Christ has already formed in you. Thank you once
• 31:44
  Speaker 2: again for spending this time with me. If this episode
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: encouraged you at all, please share it with someone, someone
• 31:53
  Speaker 2: who may feel tired, maybe are feeling a little bit
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: clumsy in their Christian walk right now in this season
• 32:00
  Speaker 2: of their life, someone who needs to know that a
• 32:03
  Speaker 2: slow and steady walk with Jesus is beautiful to God.
• 32:07
  Speaker 2: And so then next time we'll talk about the third movement,
• 32:11
  Speaker 2: the last thing, and that's to stand. What it means
• 32:15
  Speaker 2: to stand firm in what Christ has already done. Until then,
• 32:20
  Speaker 2: keep walking slowly, steadily, faithfully with the one who walks
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: with you.
• 32:28
  Speaker 3: Grace and peace.