Rickie's yearly address to those who are going off to college.
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Sermons: Campbell Road Church of Christ
Our Walk With The Lord
It's that time of year. A number of our college students as Jordan said are returning to school this coming week to begin furthering their education. Some will stay here. We're thankful for that. Others who have gone off are going to return. I remember those days when Cody and Cam would come home. You must, Joey, I enjoyed it, so I know your brothers and fathers have enjoyed having you hold immensely. And I'm sure you've enjoyed it, but I'm sure at this point in time you've had enough of them because you want to go back to school and be on your own. But we wish you God's speed, young people, pray that you'll be safe. And above all, we pray you continue to serve and please God more than anything. But that also means we have some young people that are going off for the very first time. I too remember that. I remember when it was time for Cody Glenn to go. Jody and I couldn't sing a song without crying. Darryl and Marley would tell us it'll be better and Darryl and Marley were right, it got better. And so when I would tell parents whose children are going off for the first time, it is a natural step for them and it will get better. And just enjoy the time that you have to embrace these few days before they go. I know some are leaving that apart this week to do that. Normally, when I do this, I try to highlight each child and say some things about them. But we have submitted this morning, if I do that, I'm not going to get to the lesson. Some will say some things as a group. And first of all, we'll start with the parents. The parents of these young people who had devoted their lives not only to the conceiving and the bearing of birth and the raising of these children, but they devoted their lives to walk before the Lord with them. To set the right example for them, to teach them, and to help walk through the good days and walk through the rough days. You are to be praised, you are to be thanked, and you are to be appreciated for the work that you've done, bringing your young people to this point in their lives. Every one of these young people I'm going to mention are tremendous young people and have gifts all their own, and have a great future ahead of them, not only educationally, but also growing in the Lord. And so the parents, first of all, I would just tell you, thank God for you. And for the work that you've done as your child goes off, and some stay as well. Bryn Walsen will be staying, and we're glad for that. She'll attend Colin. Caleb Clayton is staying, and we're thankful for that too. And he'll also begin attending Colin. So if our Eldridge will be leaving us, he's going up to the High Plains. He's going to attend Texas Tech, and we wish him God's speed. Ella Williams, we're going to see her a little while longer because, while she's not going to Colin, she's staying here, so you're going to go to UTD. Kohal, in the spring, will be going to Texas A&M. College Chandler, we're going out of C for a while, so you're going out E, so you're going to go to SFA. And then an Eldridge, different than his brother Connor, is going to stay close to Hull and go to Colin. And then last but not least, we can assume eight, and the spring will be going to college, not yet identified for her yet, so you've got some more core study to finish this fall before she takes that step, but in the spring, she'll also be going to college. And so we thank God for each one of you. I love to take the time to highlight many of the gifts that you have and everything, but just know we appreciate you so much. Just know it's been our joy to see you here. Many of these young people I mentioned, many have been born and have been raised among this congregation. Others came at a very young age. And so for those who came at a young age and those whose birth we have seen and the growth we've seen, we just thank God for you and the encouragement you are and the blessing that you are to us. And have them been able to teach many of you in the 4th and 5th grade, the junior high class, senior high class, and also the capstone. It has been such a joy to have you in the classes and interact with you, and to get to know you better. So thank God for every, every one of you. And we mean that sincerely. And as a congregation, we bid that God's speed would go with you and would help you. In your walk as well. We still want to know about you and how you're doing and how you're growing. So we look forward to hearing good things about you. But for many, the yellow school bus rode by old Thursday. Because for me, the school districts around here, schools start on Thursday. If you're in DISD, I think you're starting tomorrow. And so the school bus is going in and out through the neighborhoods. Maybe your parents took you the first day or two. But the school buses come and the time for school, school has started. That brings us to something to think about as we walk through our lesson this morning. Life is all about choices, and that's not an overstatement, that's not an understatement either. Life is really about the choices that we make. Some are good, and some are not so good, then some are bad. And we bear the consequences of whether good or whether in different or whether choices are very poor choices that lead us down the wrong road. We bear those consequences. But the word walk is a favorite word of the Holy Spirit. It's used over and over again in different books. We're turning the book of Proverbs with me, chapter 4, called "Be in Just a Moment." Proverbs, chapter 4, that word of the walk appears. But in the book of Proverbs, that word walk occurs over 20 times. It's not only a popular word by Paul, especially the book of Ephesians, but the Proverbs, right, the one that put together the Proverbs also, also uses that word in a very prominent way. I'm reminded of this time that in his first year of the book of Genesis, Enoch walked with God. Noah walked with God prior to that. Noah, what would God have found favorite, Enoch, what would God and was no more. God took him home, only one of two men, never to die. We hear Paul will say walk in light, walk in love, walk circumspectly. And so the word walk is a prominent word and it has to do with the habit of one's life. It has to do with the pattern of one's life. It's not a step, it's a series of steps. It's not how we walk physically, that's the consideration. It's what is the pattern or the habit of our life as we establish our life. There are times in which a picture is presented in the Bible that it's just a point in time. Just that point in time, something happens. And that point in time, once for all not to happen again. But often, more often, it is the walk that's under consideration. If you think about this from the standpoint, that point in time is like a snapshot that you take. The walk is like the film, the video is rolling. And so we have the video rolling our life making choices and they form the pattern or the habits of our life. So I think about that before we turn our picture to Proverbs 4. There are three things I'd like for us to think about this morning. Three things that you will face young people, three things that you will face. First of all, not everybody is going to share your convictions. Not everybody is going to share your convictions. If you turn with me to 2 Peter chapter 2, 2 Peter chapter 2, you have an illustration of this. And really, this is a reference to a story that goes back all the way in the book of Genesis to about chapter 14. Becoming out of Egypt, chapter 13, coming out of Egypt, Abram and Lot are both wealthy men. And they see the land cannot hold both of them at the spot. They're fighting between the two tribes that are there. And so they say it's not good. And so, Uncle Abram gives that few lot the option of which direction he wants to go. And, if you want, chooses that which was more plush. The land that was well watered, the grass was high, the cattle could feed easily. The land was not desolate like the land that no, the Abram was left with. And what's interesting in that narrative is the progression that Lot made. At first it says he pitched his tent toward Sato. Well, that's a choice, right? You might not have seen in that moment that he chose well watered land like the garden it says. You might not have seen the consequences of that. And it might not have seen the consequences of having pitched his tent in that direction. And had he stopped there, there might not have been a cataclysmic event that happened in his life that was catastrophic. That the progression goes. You find Lot moving in the psalm. And you find Lot sitting in the gates of psalm. See, the gate represented a place where for all the city events took place, all the people who were somebody set play, took place. I call it the original Spittin' Whittle Club. You know, outside the old, old, Mayberry. Bobber shop, they sit out there and they spit in Whittle and talk about the city business. That's what took place in the gate. Lot now is part of it. The psalm is so corrupt. It says in 2 Peter chapter 2 and verse 7, "And delivered righteous Lot who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked." You see that? He was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked in verse 8 says, "That righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul." From day to day, seeing and hearing their lawless deeds. Lot put himself in the right place for all the wrong things that happened to his family. He was oppressed by the filthiness of the people. His soul was tormented day and night. Not everyone shared the convictions that Lot had. Lot made some choices that put him in the wrong place. Peter will further say in 1 Peter chapter 2, when we think about that, in 1 Peter chapter 2, he will give this warning. "Having your conduct audible among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may buy your good works which they observe glorified God in the dead visitation." And the point of you says is people are going to speak against you as evildoers. In the third chapter, in the third chapter 1 Peter, looking in verse 16, verse 16 of chapter 3, "Having your conscious, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your conduct in Christ may be ashamed." Now are you going to have those who are going to blaspheme you? You're going to have those who also reviled you. Peter is saying, "You live in such a way that when you encounter those, they may be ashamed to speak of you in that way." In the fourth chapter it says, "That here are those who ran with the Gentiles, they changed their minds, and now the Lord run with the Gentiles, and they thought it's strange that they no longer ran with them." There was a way of life. And the convictions changed, and now the people who they once ran with, they don't understand why the convictions changed. Not everybody's going to agree with your convictions, number one, number two. Not everybody's going to share your values. Not everybody's going to share your values. Even Satan could quote scripture to the Lord. But that didn't mean Satan shared the values of the Lord. Just because someone can come to you quoting scripture doesn't mean they necessarily share your values. There will be bullies that you may face, young people. Yes, that's a sin. You know, growing up here, you've had kind of a protected environment. You've had a protected environment in your home. And growing up here, you've had the protected environment. You come together, you study the Bible, we sing these songs. But not everybody's going to have those kind of values. There are going to be bullies out there. Do you know where to go? Not everybody is going to have the same value to practice the golden rule that you do. You're going to have questions that's fine, but know where to find the answers. Though regarding our convictions, it may be that somebody else's convictions is not ours, but we can compromise those. And regarding our values, we can change our values and lay those aside. But then forth and filing, not everybody's going to appreciate your influence. Nobody's going to appreciate your influence. So I think about the influence that you are to have, that all of us are to have. Like to be solid light, or the influence, the first few or two, twelve, and also three and six, and chapter four and verse four. Those passages we just read. I think about those influences that we can be in our lives. But even the Lord was able to spoken of. And even the Lord's people lived in his time amidst ungodly people, just like Lot did in Son of Himself. We often sing the song, "This world is not my whole. I'm just passing through." That is a true, true statement. But while this world is not our whole, we're passing through. We still can be solved and lied. Now we can choose, like the man mentioned in Proverbs, with a wall falling down all around it. I think I said a little more sleep, a little more slumber. We can choose just procrastinate, put things off while the world crumbles around us. Or, as James says, to him that knows to do good and do it not, to him and his sin, that there's something you know you ought to do that's right, but you don't do that. He said that's a sin. And so we do have a choice how we respond to those whose convictions are different, whose values are different, and who try to influence us in a different way. Those are three valuable things to think about. And now turning our attention to Proverbs, chapter 4. There's some things in Proverbs, chapter 4, I think that really, really make a difference for it. These are things that matter. Look at chapter 4 and look at beginning in verse 20. Proverbs, chapter 4 and verse 20. "My son, give attention to my words and climb your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes, keep them in the midst of your heart." Notice the word, give attention to and climb your ear. Do not let them depart, cheat them. Give a teacher to incline your ear. There was an advertisement years and years ago about EF Hutton. And there was this group of people that had gathered around the body and the casket. And everybody's talking in the loud room, real loud and filing. One of the people in the room says EF Hutton says, "And immediately the room was quiet, and even the body sat up to listen." That's inclining your ear. That's giving attention to. Notice you say the incline of your ear, give attention, don't let this depart. You keep these things. We have safe deposit mocks, don't we? If you have a bicycle, you probably lock it up somewhere. You walk away from your car, you hit your fob, and the alarm goes off. The alarm sound goes off. Why? Because we're trying to keep things safe. We put things of value in safe places and keep them safe. We'll suggest to you, there's some words that the test that the old test that gives us that I think are important to keep safe. Look at Psalm chapter 19 with me, Psalm chapter 19. In the first part of Psalm chapter 19, you have the world book spoken of. Beginning verse 7, you have the word book spoken of. I want you to hear the words from the word book. Listen to these. Psalm 19 verse 7. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise a simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The command of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean and during forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold. Jayden and much fine gold, sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover, by then your servant is worn, and in keeping them there is great reward." And Psalm says, "Keep the law of God in your heart. It's sweeter than honey. Hear our words to live by. Hear our words to incline your ear to. Hear words that you should not let depart. Hear our words that you must keep safely deposited." Look at the 119th Psalm, Psalm chapter 119. Look at verse 9, Psalm 119, and verse 9. How can a young man cleanse his way? Listen, by taking heed according to your word. How can a young man cleanse his way? Taking heed according to your word. Let these statues, these words, these commands, let them find rest in your heart. And you incline your ear to you give attention to them. You don't let them depart. You keep them in a safe place, a safe place in your heart. I might give an analogous passage of that in the New Testament, Colossians chapter 3, verse 16, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." Don't you don't say, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you poorly." It says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." The word of Christ dwell in richly is the kind of your ear to it. It's giving attention to it. It's not letting the part. It's keeping it. And so the first thing that we learned from Proverbs chapter 4 is there are some things that are precious to precious to be lost. Second of all, a little beginning in verse 22. He says, "For they are alive, to those who find Him and help to the flesh." Here's our word, keep it again. If you're a heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. The New Testament writers, Matthew and Luke will say, "Out of the heart certain things proceed." All evil things proceed from the heart. Our manner of speech, our actions, our attitudes, our behaviors. All those things first proceed from the heart. You might tie back in that one or not thing solemn to cleanse your heart. Let the word of God reside there. It's going to clean the heart. It's going to come because the word of God resides there. But notice again, he says, "Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life." Guard your heart. Don't let anybody have your heart. You keep watch on your heart. You take responsibility for that. In this period of time that I have been slightly disabled, I have been restricted in physical activity up until just recently, which meant a part of that was I could not mow my yard and work in my flower beds. I am very particular about that. I don't allow weeds to find a place in my flower beds. I put too much effort in howling them, making them and putting mulch on them every year and then try to make those plants grow. And I love it. A lot of people come in in the house there. They look in the back yard. They look in front yard. And they see my flower beds. All they just rain about the flower beds. I love it. I love it. But nobody that's ever come in to tell me how great my flower beds is. I love it. It says, can I help you weed them? Can I help you keep the babuda out? Why? Because it's not their responsibility. My flower beds are mine. I have to take responsibility for them. Well, nobody can keep your heart for you. You have to take responsibility for your own heart. Perhaps the greatest lesson of life under the sun is when you take that one step on your own to be responsible for your own heart to garden and to garden diligently because out of it all kinds of good things can come and out of it all kind of evil things can come. Now along the way you can have assistance. I paint somebody in my yard for like five weeks. I had assistance. But they didn't weed my flower beds. And then you keep the grass growing into my trees like I don't like it. I can't stand it there. All they did was assist in mowing the yard. You can have someone if you know where to go for assistance that can help you. But still, you're going to have to guard your heart with all diligence because out of it are going to come the principal issues of life. You have to take responsibility for that. That's the ultimate in growing up. You take responsibility for your heart. Again in Proverbs, look in verse 24. Put away from you a deceitful mouth and perverse lips far from you. The Lord would set this way that your yes be yes and your no be no. Don't lie. Don't use deceptive language. Don't play the blame game. Don't play it's not my fault. You know what's interesting when you look at the case of Adam and Eve and the youth plays of Abraham and Sarah. When they're playing this deal about Hagar was she'd have the baby. You have the garden. You have Adam and Eve and the sin is committed. Who got the blame for it? God. Why? Because Adam told God this woman you made me and Adam said is that serpent you made. And then you come to chapter 16 of Genesis and you have the Hagar incident there. And at Sarah says to Abraham you'd go into her and he had a child by her. And Sarah said to Abraham this is on you buddy. You get rid of her. And then Abraham says no it's not on me it was your choice you get rid of her. And Sarah runs her all through the desert. Wait no nobody took responsibility. You're going to be responsible for your truth or be responsible for your lives. If you choose to go down the blame game if you choose to go down that road if you choose you deception if you choose you's fault. You're never going to learn responsibility because it's always going to be somebody else's fault. There's an old old saying that President Harry Truman had on his desk and it was true. I'm not sure he always practiced it but it was true. The bug stops here. Here the bug stops with me. The bug stops with me and my personal responsibility. So what? What does he say? He says put away deceitful things remount and perverse things from your lip. You get a choice. You get a choice. And to look again he will say in verse 25. That your eyes look straight ahead and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the feet of your path and let your ways be established. If you do not turn to the right or to the left remove your foot from evil. There's a few verses we read how many times this idea of a warning about evil comes in. But notice how this passage begins. Let your eyes look straight ahead and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path that you're walking. Ponder the path you walked. Luke will say in chapter 9 verse 52. No man having put his hand to the plow looks back. Looking ahead. Keeping your feet straight. Walking the path. And Paul will say I fought the fight. I ran the race. I finished the course. And what this passage is saying is there's no place. There's no time. There's no opportunity to quit. It may be you have conflict with your convictions with people. It may be you have conflict with values. It may be you have conflict with influence. But there's no place to quit. It may be you fail. It may be you fail in a hard way. But there's no place to quit. You keep your feet on the path. You keep moving forward. There's never place to stop. There's never place to quit. Finally, three questions to ask. Can we think about this lesson from Proverbs 4? Three questions I would leave you with. Number one, will this honor God? Whatever you do in Word of D. Do all in the name of Lord Jesus Christ to be honored. What do you better do in Word of D. Honor him in Word of D. Have I prayed about this? Have I thought this through? Will this honor God? Paul will say in Romans 14, 11, and 12, that everyone's going to confess. Everything is going to bow, and every one of us are going to give a count to God. There's not exception to that. All of the reasonably accountable people who have reasonable accountability for God are going to give it answer to him. We're all going to bow before him, and we're all going to confess his name. We're all going to be accountable for what we say, for what we do, for how we guard our heart, how we've inclined our ear, and how we've walked in the path, and how we've kept perversed things from that. We're all going to be responsible. It's what I'm going to do to honor God. Second thing, will this help me or hurt me? You know, temptation is going to be there. You're not going to be an exception to it. Temptation is not just for older people. Temptation affects younger people too. Temptation is going to be there for you. But I would remind you that it's all that song you learned to sing in one of your first Bible classes. Be careful little, eyes what you see. Be careful little ears what you hear. Be careful little hands what you do. I'll keep the pass straight. Be careful little feet where you go, where the father up above is looking down in pinder loud. Be careful. Be careful. Will this help me? Will this decision, this attitude, this event will this help me be transformed to be in his image? And then third, I would ask, is this going to help others or hurt others? Because as Paul said, Philippians 2 verse 15, we are to be lights in the midst of a perverse and crooked generation. Is this path, is this word, is this inclination going to help others see the Lord in me? But as I bring this to a close, let me say just a few more things to parents. First of all, God has plans for your child. And God's plan A may be your plan B. Second of all, God can use your child to change the world. If he can change the nation, he can change a team. Your child can change the church. There were four young men that were taken captive at a young, young age away from their home-landed parents to live 70 years in captivity. And those four young men change the nation and change the future for God's people. God's plan A may be your plan B and your child can change the world. Whatever your child does, God forgives. It may cut you to the core. It may make you think we did a lousy job. You're going to ask yourself where do we go wrong and you may even hold a grudge against that child for the misery you perceive they put you through. You know why God gave you to their parents? So you can help them through the mess. And if a mess is made, God forgives. And if God forgives, did you lock arms with that young child you put your arms around it? You pull them tight and you help them get back on the path again. That doesn't mean you may not lose sleep. It doesn't mean you may not cry. It may mean you can't sit this, sit this, sit through a whole assembly without tears falling down your ear. But listen, God can forgive. God can forgive. And so I began by saying no one walks with God, and if I favor but then eat it off with God and was no more. So I just want to ask you, easy closer to your house or mine? Two houses you closer to? In other words, which one of us they influenced the most, it is walked with God. Because we're going to leave them art. We'll have an influence. We'll be for good in the glory of God. Some people, God bless you. And parents, thank you. God bless you. God hasn't able each one of us to be his children. He's opened the door of heaven. So each one of us could be his child. And you know what? When we divert from the past, he's made a way to make it straight again. It was a great cost, but he made the way to make it straight again. Heaven's not lost. The Lord opened the doors to it. And he always invites us home. He invites us back into his fellowship because he loves us. There's something you need this morning for that. Or you need the salvation of your soul this morning by being baptized in the midst of your sins. And the Lord's hand is reaching out. Come home. Thank you for connecting with us this morning. We're so thankful that you were able to do that. If you have questions, we'd love to have the opportunity to talk to you. And contact us at www.thebibeway.com or questions@thebibeway.com. We'd love to have you in person. Come if you can. So thank you for connecting with us.