Creflo Dollar - The Worthy Walk - Part 1
Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 1. I say that this is the most important sermon I've ever preached before in my life because it's all of the pieces that have finally come together and the Lord said to me as I saw what Paul said that he was privileged to preach the mystery of God. And he said, "So likewise, son, be privileged to preach the mystery of God". And I'm about to unfold to you the mystery of God that in some cases many have lived and died and have never been able to see it. And that this morning we are privileged to be able to see the plan and the mystery that came by God for his enjoyment, glory to God.
Let's begin. Ephesians 4:1 and I call this "The Worthy Walk". Ephesians 4:1 he says, "I," and Paul is speaking. "I, therefore," underline the word therefore, I never thought this word would have so much significance. "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you," I beseech you, I exhort you, I encourage you, "To walk worthy of the calling with which you were called". Now for many years I assumed that I knew the calling that I have been called and I limited to, "Well, I was called to pastor," or you might limit it to, "Well, I was called to sing," or, "To show compassion". But I can no longer do that, verse 1, I can no longer do that because Paul said, "I, therefore".
So in this appeal, he says, "Walk worthy of what you've been called". So this appeal, and when I use the word appeal this morning, is an attempt. The word appeal means to persuade you to do something. And so here in verse 1 he's trying to persuade us, "To walk worthy of the calling with which you were called," he's trying to persuade us to do that. So he's making an appeal for us to do that. And then later on you'll see an appeal put away bitterness, later on you'll see an appeal, lie not one to another. Later on you'll see the appeal. So the appeal is for an earthly life in full harmony with the exalted position to which the believer has been called.
There's something about understanding what you've been called to, that in a sense justifies the appeal. In other words, I'm appealing to you to do something but it doesn't work well until you know the call, until you know the background behind it. And so this word, "therefore," became real big. The word therefore points back to certain things presented in the preceding chapters which are the basis for the appeal. So he'll say something in the preceding chapter. Chapter 1 says this, chapter 2 says this, chapter 3 says this. And now as a result of what has been said, therefore. So you see, I can't preach this until I satisfy this therefore. "Therefore, I beseech you to walk worthy of the calling which you have been called". What is it that will say, "Therefore do this"?
What did he say in chapter 1? What did he say in chapter 2? What did he say in chapter 3? I got to back up in order to give reference to therefore. Yeah, y'all, I've been hoping to shout on therefore. So in these chapters that we're about to go back to look at, those chapters you will find the greatest revelation of our present position. I'm about to show you the greatest revelation of the position that we are all in whether you know it or not right now. You will before you leave but whether you know it or not I'm getting ready to show you the greatest revelation of where you are right now, and I'm gonna show you the eternal destiny of all of us who believe.
So we gonna satisfy where you are today, rat, R-A-T right now, and we're gonna also satisfy the eternal destiny. No, you're not gonna walk out here no more talking about, "I wonder if I'm going to heaven to hell". It's gonna satisfy that destiny. And once you find out your position and your destiny, the devil will not be able to touch you no more with all his tomfoolery that he's been hitting you with. The appeal to walk worthy of the call is not to live so as to gain the high calling. So he's not asking you to walk worthy of the thing that you've been called so you by walking worthy will gain the call.
Now watch this now. This position that the believer has been called to is so high that it cannot possibly be earned not even if you live a perfect life if that was possible. I don't think you understand what I'm saying. This position cannot be earned not even if you lived a perfect life. It's not possible for us to live a perfect life but if it were possible for you to live a perfect life, you still would not be able to earn this position. Now that messes up your religion, doesn't it? Because we've been trained in religion, "Do a lot of stuff so you can earn a lot of stuff". But this is something you cannot earn, this position cannot be earned even if it were possible for you to live a flawless, perfect life.
The position belongs to the believer and it is his because God's calling and his own purpose, it is his because it is a gift of his grace. The position I'm about to show you is a gift of his grace given to you before you were born. This calling cannot be altered, it is unalterable. And then this appeal will never lose its force because this calling is unalterable, it is irrevocable.
Look at the scripture Romans chapter 11, verse 29, in the New King James Version. Romans 11 verse 29 here's what God says and he was referring to this, you're gonna see a lot of scriptures that we just kind of used through cherry picking, you're gonna see it all come together now. "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable". The New Living Translation says, "It can never be withdrawn". It can't be repented of, it won't change, it can't be taken away. The call can't be lost, the call can't be changed, you can't do nothing to lose it, you can't do nothing to mess it up, it can't be... it is what it is.
Now let me give you an example before I nail it down so you can gain concept what I'm saying. Children born into a royal family are taught to conduct themselves as become royalty. Why, because they are that by birth. Y'all getting with me? I don't care how perfect you are, you will never be in the royal family by all of your perfection. You are born into it. You didn't ask for it, you didn't work for it, you had to be born into it. So they honored the king and their country only as they so conducted themselves. They are forbidden many things which other children do. They weren't trying to have good conduct so they could be a part of the royal family, they were already a part of the royal family and they said, "I might as well get my conduct to a place where it matches my birthright".
I'm not having the right kind of conduct so I can earn royalty, I was born royal so I might as well learn how to conduct myself as a royal. And we are a royal nation, a holy people. So the royal position is the basis for the appeal for royal conduct. It's because I'm already royal it's the basis to appeal, learn now how to walk like what you already are. So when Paul wrote, "I, therefore," he pointed to the believer's high and exalted calling as the reason for a life that would be in harmony with his calling. So this calling is the sufficient reason for the appeal. So when he says, "Lie not one to another, don't be bitter one to another, don't steal no more one to another". He's not saying do all of that so you can be holy, he is saying, "Holy has already been established, you were already born that way, it's already been established for you so match it with your living".
So now the question is what is this calling that he is beseeching us to walk worthy or to conduct ourselves and to carry out this appeal because of this calling? I gotta know what this calling is. Now let me pause. Everybody on the bus so far? Go to Ephesians chapter 1 and 3. Now this calling is a long list that makes up the believers calling and it's introduced here in Ephesians 1, verse 3. Now follow very carefully now. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, who have blessed and empowered us with," this is powerful, "With every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ". We've been blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.
So now here's what we know so far. This at once identifies the calling as first of all being what? Spiritual and related to heavenly things. The calling is spiritual and it's related to heavenly things. So the walk to be worthy must then be of spiritual order and that walk must be on a heavenly plane. So this would be more than having a good moral life, much more. Now look at verse 4 and 5. "Just as He chose us in Him," so when did he choose us? "Before the foundations of the world". He chose you, this is way before, we're not even talking about before you were born. Think about it. God knew you before he made the world. "He chose you before the foundation of the world".
And what did he choose us to do? "That we should be holy," stop right there. God chose you to be holy. Before the world started he chose you to be holy. Now he didn't say if you're gonna be holy, he chose you to be holy, you were gonna be born that way. And "He chose you," this blew my mind. And "He chose you to be without blame". So in order for you to be without blame, you can't be responsible for nothing. He has to accept all responsibility for you. So if there's any blame to go around, God says, "The buck stops with me". "Without blame before Him in love," in verse 5, "Having predestined. He predestined us to an adoption of sons by Jesus Christ Himself".
In other words, he made his mind up that every believer was going to be his son. He made his mind up that I'm grafting you into the family and every privilege Jesus has as a Son you are now adopted into this same privilege. Y'all don't understand what I'm saying. I need to show you something. Romans 5:2 in the New Living Translation. We'll come back to verse 5 here. I'm rightly dividing this truth because the devil, I thought he was gonna start playing with us today like, "They ain't gonna hear this message, I'm gonna turn the lights off..." Like, well, I can preach it in the dark.
Now watch this 'cause everything I'm telling you is gonna require your faith that's it. Will you receive what he has done before the foundation of the world with your faith? He said, "Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege... where we now stand". You are a born again Christian and you stand in this place of undeserved privilege, that's royalty. You're privileged with stuff you don't deserve. The only reason you're privileged, you're privileged because you were born into it.
People in the royal family are privileged because they were born into it and they wasn't deserving. They are standing in the natural in an undeserved privilege and we who are born again are sons of God, not deserved but adopted and so we now stand in undeserved privilege just like people born in a royal family stand in undeserved privilege. You are privileged. You are privileged, privileged to be the righteousness of God, privileged to be redeemed, privileged to have healing, privileged to have the wisdom of God, privileged.
So start walking in what you're privileged in and quit trying to figure out how you can deserve it 'cause I'm telling you, you don't deserve none of it, you're privileged. So when you need to be healed you declare, "I'm healed, I'm a son of God, I am privileged to have it," don't try to tell me what I did or what I didn't do. Don't try to talk about how I acted or how I should've acted, I am privileged, hallelujah, I am holy, I am without blame. "Having predestined us to the adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according". All right so he, "Predestined for us to be his sons, according to his good pleasure of His will".
Somebody say, "Why'd he do it"? 'Cause he wanted to. It gives him pleasure to adopt all who believe as his sons and give you a privilege that you don't deserve. And now you're privileged to cry Abba Father. This is nothing less than eternal enjoyment of God's limitless love. This position in his presence is that of a son. This position in his presence is that of a son. God has made himself determined according to the good pleasure of his will that in the eternal state all believers shall be his sons.
So this is a family relationship. Walk worthy of the family relationship. This is a family relationship. It's a position that's higher than any other celestial being. There are no angels in the angelic class that have this position. None of the celestial beings, none of the seraphim's, none of the... nothing, nothing in heaven carries this position and we forget about it on a daily basis as we proceed to conduct ourselves as if we're not royalty. You keep acting like you're not born into this.