Walking the Work
Ephesians 2:1-2
Opening illustration: Labels
Have you checked the labels on your
grocery items lately? You may be getting less than you thought. According to
U.S. News & World Report, some manufacturers are selling us the same size
packages we are accustomed to, but they are putting less of the product in the
box. For example, a box of well-known detergent that once held 61 ounces now
contains only 55. Same size box, less soap.
How something is wrapped doesn’t always
show us what’s on the inside. That’s true with people as well. We can wrap
ourselves up in the same packaging every day——nice clothes, big smile, friendly
demeanor——yet still be less than what we appear to be.
Our Daily Bread, June 22, 1992
Eph. 1 and 2 address a related subject as
it teaches us that what we have
experienced internally from God we are to exercise externally toward others.
Eph. 1:3-4 …What has been enabled and established by God’s
power internally is to be exercised and expressed in our lives.
What God has accomplished internally we are to “be” …
emphasis on "be" as opposed to
"do."
Eph. 2:10 We are to daily, habitually walk…. in the work God
has accomplished in our lives.
I have heard it said we are to walk the walk …… it
may be minor, but that really is not correct ……we cannot walk the walk ……what
we are to do is ……" We are to walk the work."
What God has accomplished in me is to govern what I
am.
What I have experienced from God I am to express.
All of that being true we need to see one of the
applications Paul was making ……Where Paul was applying this truth. One application was in the differences and
relationship between the different people groups.
·· Jews and Gentiles had trouble with one
another Eph.
2:11 –– 14 Paul taught that the work Christ did was "make both one" Vs 19
Paul's message was "Christ by His work has made both one, based on the fact that Christ has made
both one … now His expectation is to walk that work.
Question: Who else does the Scripture declare has been made
"one"? What other occasion
takes two people and God says he makes them "one"? Husband and wife!!!! Eph. 5:31
You won’t believe this, but a few husbands and wives,
on some very rare occasions, have trouble getting along!!!!!!
I can tell you that on every occasion when that is
the case, the reason is, someone is not walking the work. At least one and maybe both are not living
out the internal work of Christ.
Now let’s really put some flesh on the phrase
“walking the work.”
It means letting God’s treatment of me determine my
treatment of others.
It means letting what I have experienced from God’s
heart be in my heart to others.
It means letting what God had in His mind about me be
what I keep in my mind about others.
It means letting what I have experienced from God’s
hand be in my hand to others.
Letting how God treats me control how I treat others.
That is walking the work.
The next question is, how has God treated me?
I. He extended grace and mercy … and
expressed acceptance of us in spite of our lack of perfection. Eph. 2:4-5
Acceptance is
not the condoning or approval of every action, but it is the choice to exercise
acceptance in spite of imperfections.
·· Many relationships are built on: The monthly
payment plan …I will measure how you treat me this month and that is what you
can expect from me…I will be as merciful to you as you are to me …that is a
million miles from mercy.
··
We can be glad God did not approach us in that
manner. We couldn’t have survived our
best treatment…if you will remember we crucified Him.
The example of Christ …Christ did measure how He
would treat us …measuring is not the problem.
A measured relationship is not the problem …the problem is, who we are
using as a measurement to establish our response?
Romans 15:7 Wherefore receive ye one
another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God
He fully committed Himself to a relationship with us
for His Father’s glory knowing full well all of our imperfections.
He fully committed Himself to our well being, knowing
for His Father’s glory, knowing full well our inability to recompense.
He held no reserves in regard to us knowing full well
our imperfections and inability to repay because it was what pleased His Father. Walking the work means we have mercy and
grace and acceptance of one another because that is what we received of the
Lord.
Eph. 2:5
Romans 5:8
Romans 14:1
Note: He did not weigh our activity or our ability to
repay and then determine His response.
He was to us what He needed to be to glorify His Father, regardless of
what we were.
Let me tell you why we are ahead of the game by
trying to please the Father as opposed to a mate; because there are times when
we will not know what pleases us much less what pleases others.
Illustration S. FREAUD WHO SAID,
"AFTER 30 YEARS OF RESEARCH INTO THE FEMININE SOUL, I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE
TO ANSWER THE QUESTION, "WHAT DOES A WOMAN WANT?"
Walking the work is exercising grace and mercy and
acceptance for our Father’s sake.
Some need to rethink who we work for:
Illustration I Work for Him Not You
John Kenneth Galbraith, in his
autobiography, A Life in Our Times, illustrates the devotion of Emily Gloria
Wilson, his family’s housekeeper: It had been a wearying day, and I asked Emily
to hold all telephone calls while I had a nap. Shortly thereafter the phone
rang. Lyndon Johnson was calling from the White House. "Get me Ken
Galbraith. This is Lyndon Johnson."
"He is sleeping, Mr. President. He
said not to disturb him." "Well, wake him up. I want to talk to
him."
"No, Mr. President. I work for him,
not you. When I called the President back, he could scarcely control his
pleasure. "Tell that woman I want her here in the White House."
Reader’s Digest, December, 1981
II. The Lord offered Himself to us
as a servant Vs
8-10 for our well being
Now listen carefully, as I am not trying to devalue
Christ or exalt man, but how did Christ present Himself to us?
Phil 2: 5-8
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of man came not
to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many
II Cor. 8: 9 "…though he was rich, yet
for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich…
Eph. 5:21
Listen, when we loose that servant spirit it is
obvious…
Illustration: I can tell this on us as the
statute of limitations has run out on this … I can no longer be prosecuted for
this …Several years ago I was planning on going hunting and I have never
enjoyed leaving Janet at home and she always equally disliked being away from
me, but I was leaving to go hunting and Janet wasn’t feeling well…she had a bug
or virus …and I was trying to back out of going …talk myself out of going and
was, I guess, making a nuisance of myself …and I was saying, “Well I just hate
to go with you not feeling well” and she said, “The closer you get to the door
the better I feel.”
I suspect in that incident it would be a
toss up who had the lesser servant’s spirit.
But we are to maintain a servant’s, submissive
spirit.
Now somebody is going to say, now listen pastor, you
do not know my husband or my wife and if I became generous and a servant and
humbled and submitted I would be run over physically and bankrupt
financially. I would get the short end
of the stick.
Eph. 6: 5 ––8 That seems to be the natural objection …concerning
servants and masters…employee and employer and the degree one commits himself
to the other…Paul's solution would be applicable to a wife or husband worried
about being taken advantage of.
I will guarantee you that you may be taken advantage
of in this life and you may be beaten down in this life and you may be injured
in this life and you may be victimized in this life, but remember, we are not
keeping score here…we are attempting to walk His work…for the Father’s glory,
and we have His assurance our submission and service will not be forgotten or
unrewarded by Him.
To a very large degree it comes down to …Do we trust
God enough to walk His work? Example:
I Peter 3:4-8 4But let it be the hidden man
of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and
quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 5For after this
manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned
themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: 6Even as Sarah obeyed
Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and
are not afraid with any amazement. 7Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them
according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel,
and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not
hindered.
8Finally, be ye all of one mind, having
compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: 9Not
rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing;
knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing
OK Pastor, I see the points and that is my heart.
I desire to walk His work, but I so often seem unable.
III. Note the resources available to
us to enable us to walk the work
Eph. 2:18 We have access to the Father …
Heb. 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto
the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time
of need.
But pastor, I pray for my husband all the time
I pray all the time for my wife to change
I pray all the time for my husband to grow and mature
and be better
But now note … the trouble with that statement is we
are not to be measuring if they are walking the work, how they are treating us,
we are to be measuring if we are walking the work.
We are to be praying that we will be gracious and
merciful and accepting.
We are to be praying about our submission serving
them, not their lack of service to us.
Conclusion: Two potential roadblocks to our walking
His work:
We are not seeking His power for our walk …
We are not submitted to walking His work
…
But know it is Him we work for, Him we are to please
and Him who can enable us to be what He wants us to be.
