Galatians 5:16-25 – Take a Hike
As I mentioned this morning, I heard Dr. Wilson speak yesterday in Miramichi. I love to hear him. The stuff he comes up with is hilarious. Yesterday he read something called The Cowboy Code. Gene Autry came up with his version of The Cowboy Code many years ago, but a more recent author or 2 humorized the Code. Let me share some cowboy advice with you tonite.
Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier ’n puttin’ it back in. If you’re ridin’ ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it’s still there. If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around. Never kick a cow chip on a hot day. There’s two theories to arguin’ with a woman. Neither one works. Never slap a man who’s chewin’ tobacco. If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’. Always drink upstream from the herd. Don’t kick a sleeping dog. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back in your pocket. Don’t squat with your spurs on. Never miss a good chance to shut up. Life is simpler when you plow around the stump. A bee is faster than a John Deere tractor. Don’t name a cow you plan to eat. Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads. Don’t worry about bitin’ off more’n you can chew; your mouth is probably a whole lot bigger’n you think. It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. It’s better to be a has-been than a never-was. Don’t interfere with something that ain’t botherin’ you none. Life is not about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce. And finally, after eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him... The moral: When you’re full of bull, keep your mouth shut.
The Code works well to get a person through life on the range. Over the next few weeks, I’d like to look at some things that will help us get through life here, as well. I’d like to look at the concept of walking in the Spirit. Our text tonite is Galatians 5:16-25.
Well, what does it mean to walk in the Spirit? The Bible tells us to walk in truth, to walk after His commandments, to walk in the light, to walk in wisdom, to walk as children of light, to walk by faith, and to walk in newness of life, among many others. To walk means to live. It means to carry on. It means to conduct ourselves. It means to be believers not just in what we say, but in how we behave. Walking means our whole lives being pleasing to God.
Now, as the weeks progress, I’d like to look at various things that walking in the Spirit means. How we pray, how we study, how we spend our time, how we treat God and our relationship with Him, how we treat others, and so on.
But tonite, I’d like to look at the word “walking”. It’s a word we know well enough. It’s a word we can picture. And the 1st thing we picture is movement. Walking means going somewhere. It means starting out at one place and ending up at another.
Well, walking in the Spirit is the same. It means movement. It means not being content to be where you are right now, and it means stepping out from that. Many people don’t. They get saved, they like their new condition, and they never budge again. Never mind growing up. Never mind changing. Never mind doing different things. For them, following Jesus isn’t really following. Following means going somewhere. That’s movement. No, they are non-following followers. Obedience isn’t an issue. Doing anything new and different else isn’t an issue. Their theme song is not, “I Feel Like Travelling On.” It’s more like “I Shall Not Be Moved.”
Folks, you can’t walk in the Spirit and do what you’ve always done. You can’t walk and stay in the same place, at the same time. Listen: if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always have what you’ve always had. And doing what you’ve always done is what got you into trouble in the 1st place.
So do something different. Read through your Bible. Come to prayer meeting. Come to Sunday school. Volunteer to do something. You can’t walk in the Spirit by never going somewhere new.
Another thing we picture about walking, the 2nd, is that it’s hard to start and hard to keep going. I’ll admit, walking is a habit. Like all habits, it’s hard to start. And like all good habits, it’s just easier not to do them. You see, why do you think it’s hard to start exercising? Because your body likes things as is. Well, why do you think it’s hard to start walking in the Spirit? Because the enemy likes things as is.
He likes you better carnal and worldly. He likes that you do things that make you happy and are convenient for you. He doesn’t care if you go to church, so long as he can distract you once you get here. He doesn’t care that you read your Bible, so long as you don’t try to act on it. He doesn’t care that you do nice things for others, so long as you don’t do it out of love.
Walking in the Spirit, keeping in touch with God all day long so that you can hear Him when He speaks, is hard work. It doesn’t come easy. And once you start, it’s still not easy to keep going. But that doesn’t make it not worth it.
After all, another picture that comes to mind about walking, the 3rd, is that it improves your health. Consistent walking is great exercise, better on the body than jogging or running. Walking is good for you. And so is walking in the Spirit. It’s better than doing your own thing. You see, God loves you so much that He wants the best for you. That’s why He tells young couples to wait until marriage. That’s why He tells us to be careful what we soak in through our eyes. That’s why He tells us to avoid things that will hurt us. That’s why He tells us to forgive those who hurt us. It’s not that He’s trying to make life too hard. It’s because He loves us so much. It’s not a matter of being a spoilsport – it’s a matter of helping us stay away from things that hurt.
And as we walk in the Spirit, as we continually do more and more things that please Him, we avoid more and more things that hurt us. Taking advice on a regular basis, walking in the Spirit, is good medicine.
The 4th picture that comes to mind about walking is this: Walking means leaving things behind. Obviously, when we walk from one place to another, we come to see some things more clearly, and other things get left behind. We put away childish things, the Apostle Paul said. We have done with selfishness and bullying and short-sightedness. Those things need to get left behind.
And we continue to see more things more clearly. We learn to value others’ opinions more. We learn that we don’t always need to be right or first or recognized. We need to grow up. A Christian who still needs to be appreciated or else he/she won’t do it is a Christian who hasn’t been walking in the Spirit. A Christian who thinks that only those people with them are right – that Christian hasn’t been walking in the Spirit. As we grow up, we need to put childish attitudes behind us.
Well, here’s another consolation for you. The 5th picture that comes to mind about walking is this: Walking means going up and down. We would all like to have perfectly level surfaces to walk on. But you won’t find them. The old train bed is pretty close, but even then, there are slopes. Walking means going up and down hills.
There are those who would say that if you stumble, you lose your salvation. I disagree. There are those who say that stumbling makes you unspiritual. I disagree. There are those who would rather scold than lift up. I try not to be among them.
I think that going up and down is part of life. I’d like to think that there are more ups than downs, but to deny downs is foolish, in my opinion. 1 John 2:1 – “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” You don’t have to sin, but if you do, there’s hope.
Walking in the Spirit means confessing sins to God, not denying them. It means that you didn’t live up to your theology. Congratulations. You’re human. Walking in the Spirit means getting up again. Proverbs 24:16 – “Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again.”
The last picture that comes to mind about walking, the 6th, is this: Walking means not knowing what’s ahead. Walking means coming to corners. Walking means not being able to see a mile down the road. That’s life.
And walking in the Spirit is the same. We can’t always see the outcome. We can’t always see where we’re going. Life, as we say, throws us some curves. Listen: if you never do anything until you can see how it all ends up, you’ll never budge. If you never give money unless you know you’ll be OK, even though God has told you that you should and that you would, where’s the faith? If you never try anything new because you’re afraid of failing, how is that productive? Does that sound anything remotely like the lives you read about in the Bible?
To repeat what I said this morning, assuming that you can do what you want and God will bless you for it – that’s not faith. But, not doing something, even after you feel that God has told you to do it, because it’s too frightening, well, that’s not faith either. Faith is stepping out and doing what you feel God wants you to do, no matter what the consequences are, no matter how many challenges you have to get there. That’s walking in the Spirit.
Someone once wrote: “You’re never too old to start getting fit either physically or spiritually. My grandmother wanted to stay in shape so at the age of 60 she started walking five kilometres a day. She’s turns 97 this year and we still don’t know where she is!”
Well, I encourage you to walk in the Spirit, to be led by Him, so that the journey you go on will take you to places you’ve never been before. You may not even know where you are spiritually. That’s OK. Other people may have a hard time recognizing you. That’s OK, too. Not everybody walks, so not everybody appreciates those who do. Either way, press on. March on. Keep walking.
