Walking with Others

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the fifth Sunday in Lent, the 26th of March, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, today is the fifth Sunday in Lent.  As I said, it is our time to look deep within ourselves, to examine and test ourselves, to see if we are walking through this life in a way that pleases God.  And while the Lenten season represents the 40 days and nights that Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting, praying, and being tempted by Satan, we’ll be using this time to walk with Jesus all the way to Jerusalem and on to the cross where He gave up His mortal life for us.

In our walk with Jesus, we’ll be following in His steps.  And today we’ll be looking at how we should interact with others along the way.

In his letter to the church in Rome, the Apostle Paul warns us to not be conformed to the world.  Another way to put this is that we should not adopt the behaviors and customs of this world, to not be like the rest of the people in the world.  Even though we have no choice but to live in the world and among its people, we are supposed to be different, new creations, children of God.  And if we are different, we need to act differently.

I feel this is especially true when it comes to how we interact with other people we encounter each day.  We can watch the nightly news to see how the world behaves when faced with difficult situations.  Every now and then, though not nearly as often, we can even see how a Christian behaves in similar circumstances.  The news does seem to focus more on the bad, the spectacular, rather than the good that occurs.  But we need to keep our focus on the good, on good behavior, especially our own.

Paul can help us with this if we pay attention to his teachings.  Please listen and follow along to what he tells us and the church in Ephesus through the 5th chapter of his letter to the Ephesians, verses 1 through 20.  And I’ll be reading this from the Easy-to-Read Version of our Holy Bible, which I may not have used before…

1 You are God’s dear children, so try to be like Him. 2 Live a life of love. Love others just as Christ loved us. He gave Himself for us — a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God.

3 But there must be no sexual sin among you. There must not be any kind of evil or selfishly wanting more and more, because such things are not right for God’s holy people. 4 Also, there must be no evil talk among you. Don’t say things that are foolish or filthy. These are not for you. But you should be giving thanks to God. 5 You can be sure of this: No one will have a place in the kingdom of Christ and of God if that person commits sexual sins, or does evil things, or is a person who selfishly wants more and more. A greedy person like that is serving a false god.

6 Don’t let anyone fool you with words that are not true. God gets very angry when people who don’t obey Him talk like that. 7 So don’t have anything to do with them. 8 In the past you were full of darkness, but now you are full of light in the Lord. So live like children who belong to the light. 9 This light produces every kind of goodness, right living, and truth. 10 Try to learn what pleases the Lord. 11 Have no part in the things that people in darkness do, which produce nothing good. Instead, tell everyone how wrong those things are. 12 Actually, it is shameful to even talk about the things those people do in secret. 13 But the light makes clear how wrong those things are. 14 Yes, everything is made clear by the light. This is why we say,

“Wake up, you who are sleeping!

Rise from death,

and Christ will shine on you.”

15 So be very careful how you live. Live wisely, not like fools. 16 I mean that you should use every opportunity you have for doing good, because these are evil times. 17 So don’t be foolish with your lives, but learn what the Lord wants you to do. 18 Don’t be drunk with wine, which will ruin your life, but be filled with the Spirit. 19 Encourage each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord. 20 Always give thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

--Ephesians 5:1-20 (ERV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for all the great lessons our Bible provides.  These help us not only get through this life and its really tough days, but also help us live in a way that is right in Your eyes.  Father, please forgive us when we forget that we are new creations and we lapse back into our old ways.  Forgive us when we fail to live wisely and do good at every opportunity.  Please help us set a good example of Christian living and be an encouragement to others.

And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who are so willing to carry out his evil works.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Help us to serve You and Jesus in all we do.  This we pray in the glorious name of Christ Jesus, our Lord.   Amen.

A telemarketer called a home one day, and a small voice whispered, "Hello?"

"Hello! What's your name?"

Still whispering, the voice said, "Jimmy."

"How old are you, Jimmy?"

"I'm four."

"Good, Is your mother home?"

"Yes, but she's busy."

"Okay, is your father home?"

"He's busy too."

"I see, who else is there?"

"The police."

"The police? May I speak with one of them?"

"They're busy."

"Any other grown-ups there?"

"The firemen."

"May I speak with a fireman, please?"

"They're all busy."

"Jimmy, all those people in your house, and I can't talk with any of them? What are they doing?"

"Looking for me," whispered Jimmy.

Little Jimmy was hiding all by himself, while others were looking for him.  He was probably going to get in trouble – a lot of trouble - once they found him.

Don't we all try to hide sometimes?  Hide from something we don't want to face?  Try to get away, get alone, and hide from our troubles?  Well, we can only hide for so long until eventually we have to face whatever it is that troubles us.

And really, we're never all alone.  God is always with us, watching over us, looking to see how we react to whatever it is we’re going through, seeing how we interact with others during our trials.  When we put all our trust in Him, He upholds us with His strong right hand.

In our scripture reading, Paul gives us instruction on how to live so as to be right in God's eyes, and to help us live with others, to get along with others.  We must avoid the many sins that the world thinks is OK, and here Paul emphasizes immorality, greed, and gossiping.  We must be careful to keep from being deceived.  We are children of the light and we should share that light, shining it in all the dark places, and on the deeds done in the dark, telling all how wrong those deed are.

And then Paul warns that we must be very careful how we live, living wisely and not like fools, doing good at every opportunity afforded us because these are evil times.  We don’t have to look very far or hard to see the evilness of much in this world.  So we Christians need to encourage each other, uphold one another, be kind and respectful and merciful and forgiving of one another.  And this needs to carry forward with our interactions will all others we encounter in our daily walk.  How else can we show the love of Jesus other than by showing our love?

Many people in this world have a bad impression of “Christians” because of the things some have said and done.  Too many see these self-proclaimed Christians as no different from anyone else in the world.  But family, if they don’t have love in them, if they don’t act out of love, with love in their hearts and in their methods, if they don’t show the love of Jesus in what they do, then they are “Christians” in name only, for the Spirit is not in them.  If we show the love of Jesus in all we do, then maybe some of the doubters and haters will see the light and be more open to accepting the Gospel Jesus brings.

Like I said earlier, we’re never really alone.  God is always with us, and unless we go off on our own and live as hermits, we are pretty much surrounded by other people.  And the thing is, God did not intend for us to go it alone, to live this life alone.  From the very beginning of human life, God had it all set for us to share our world with others.

Hear the words God spoke through Moses at the dawn of human history, from the 2nd chapter of the Genesis, verse 18…

18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

--Genesis 2:18 (NKJV)

Now, while this specifically relates to God’s creation of Eve, a wife for Adam and the mother of us all, the implication for us is greater.  It is not good that we should be alone.  For one thing, if we’re alone too much, we tend to brood too much, thinking about what used to be or what might have been, sinking deeper into our own little world.  So God made sure that we would have “helpers” that are “comparable” to us.

These are our contemporaries, our peers, our equals in God’s eyes.  They are our family, our friends, and our circle of acquaintances – maybe someone we’ve known all our life, maybe someone we just met.  They are all the people that help us get through each day.  They are a gift from God, just for us.  And that means that we are a gift to someone else.  So we should do as Paul says and love each other and hold each other up.  We should encourage each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in our hearts to the Lord.

That sounds like a worship service, doesn’t it?  Well, in chapter 10 verses 24 and 25, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews echoes Paul’s sentiment when he writes…

24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

--Hebrews 10:24-25 (NKJV)

We gather here each Sunday morning, and for special occasions, to worship our Father God.  And we come during the week sometimes to plan or discuss or carry out the mission of this church.  But in all this, each time we come together as a family, we are supporting each other, upholding each other, helping each other in some way.  This is what fellowship is all about.  Oh, and as an added side benefit, when we gather together, we help hold each other accountable as Christians.

Paul tells us we are God’s children, full of light in the Lord, children who belong to the light.  He encourages us to walk in the light and to help each other stay in the light.  The Apostle John says that in Jesus was life, and the life was the light of men.  Hear what Jesus tells us about light, from a few selected verses in chapters 8, 11, and 12 of the Gospel account of His beloved disciple John...

8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

11:9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”

12:35 Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

--John 8:12; 11:9-10; 12:35-36 (NKJV)

How many times have you ever gotten up in the middle of the night and found a piece of furniture with your toe or your knee?  Or maybe you discovered a pair of shoes out of place by tripping over them?

If it’s dark, we can’t see.  We trip and stumble and bump our shins in the dark, even in a place that we’re very familiar with, like our living room.  We need the light to see our way clear of obstacles.

And you know I mean this metaphorically as well as literally.  We need the light that is Jesus to keep from stumbling over the obstacles Satan moves into our path.  We need to be able to see the truth so as not to fall prey to the devil’s traps and snares.  We need to see past all the bright and shiny temptations of the world and focus only on the things of heaven and what is right with God.

And family, all of us need the light.  All of us, and especially those walking in darkness right now.  The lost need the light most of all.  As we walk along with Jesus, following in His footsteps, let us share the light of truth with any and all others we happen to find ourselves walking with.  We may just come across someone who really needs the truth explained to them, who may be willing to listen.  If we strive to do good at every opportunity, we may be able to help lead some lost soul to salvation.

In the name of our Lord, Christ Jesus, let us share the light.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for sending Your Son to bring light to the world.  Too many people prefer the darkness, so they can do whatever they want thinking they’ll get away with it.  But we who believe welcome the light and cherish it for the truth it reveals.  Thank You, Father God, for showing us the truth by the words You inspired.  Thank You for the guidance given in our Bible.  Forgive us, please Father, when we hesitate to spread the light, when we fail to share the truth with others.  Forgive us when we slip backwards, when we allow ourselves to return to some part of a sinful life.  Please, loving Father, help us let go of the world and ignore all its charms.  Help us remember to do good every chance we get.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what we face.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You are the Light, the Truth, and the Way.  As children of God, You are our heavenly Brother, and You are our very best role model.  Lord, please help us model our own behavior after how You lived Your mortal life.  Remind us of how we should love others: unconditionally, sacrificially giving of ourselves, just as You loved, just as You gave.  Help us continue to walk in Your footsteps, and especially as we walk along this earth with other people, with both believers and the lost.  Please show us how to interact with them all in a way that is pleasing to God our Father.  And Jesus, please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us remain trusting and obedient no matter what we go through.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.