Introduction:
* The Bible is filled with great men and women who walked with God:
• Adam walked with God
• Enoch walked with God.
• Noah walked with God.
• Abraham walked with God.
• Hannah walked with God.
• Jacob walked with God.
• Moses walked with God.
• Deborah walked with God.
• Elijah walked with God.
• Elisha walked with God.
• Isaiah walked with God.
• Jeremiah walked with God.
• John walked with God.
• Mary walked with God.
• Paul walked with God.
• Lydia walked with God.
• Apollos walked with God.
• Peter walked with God.
* We all know that we are supposed to walk with God. We know that we are commanded to read the Bible and pray every day. Consider our text for this morning:
Micah 6:8 “He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
* Sadly, many Christians do not have a daily, fruitful, enjoyable, consistent walk with God. Why? There are two reasons:
1) They don’t want to. That is, it isn’t a priority for them
2) They don’t how to. That is, they have tried and failed.
* You MUST walk with God. That is the purpose for which God created you. You CAN walk with God. But, HOW?
** Let’s examine some principles that will help you walk with God:
1) See yourself as you really are.
* You cannot walk with God while you think yourself to be more than you are. Pride will hinder your prayers from being heard and close your eyes to the truths of the Bible.
* How do see yourself as you really are? Consider the example of King David:
SEE Psalm 51:3-6
* Be honest and open with God. Admit your sinfulness, and confess openly and thoroughly to God. Be real.
Genesis 18:27 “And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:”
Job 42:5, 6 “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
God does not walk with proud people!
2) See God as He is.
* Before you pray or read your Bible, take a moment to remind yourself of the greatness and majesty of the Person with Whom you are about to fellowship.
Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”
* There is a balance of intimacy and reverence that we must achieve in our walk with God.
* Remind yourself of the greatness of God before you come into His presence. Think of His great power, holiness, glory and strength.
3) Convince yourself of the need to walk with God.
* You will NEVER have a consistent walk with God until you have learned what a great privilege and priority it is to do so.
* Walking with God is not very important to most Christians. How do I know that? Because they spend more time getting showered and ready for the day than they do with God.
* You must deliberately convince yourself that you need to walk with God, or else you may never do so. How can you convince yourself?
a) Obey Scripture:
Micah 6:8 “He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
1 Peter 2:2 “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”
1 Timothy 2:1 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;”
b) See your great need for God.
c) Yield to your desire as a child of God.
d) Be around others who walk with God.
e) Read biographies of those who walked with God.
4) Purpose in your heart to walk with God every day.
* You must make a solemn decision to walk with God every day. It may be necessary to make a public decision at church or tell a close friend of your decision.
Daniel 1:8 “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”
5) Set a daily time for your walk with God.
Daniel 6:10 “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”
* The reason that many Christians do not have a consistent walk with God is simple: Walking with God is not a habit for them.
* Make your walk with God a part of your daily schedule, just like eating, sleeping, driving to work, going to school, etc. Make it a part of your daily routine.
* Set a minimum time. E.g. 30 minutes
6) Choose a place where you can walk with God.
Genesis 19:27 “And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:”
* Find somewhere convenient where you can read the Bible and pray without interruptions and distractions. This will reinforce the habit of walking with God.
* Have a place where you meet God each day. It will become a holy, special place, and it will help you to walk with God.
7) Do not squeeze God out of your schedule!
* If you are too busy to walk with God, you are too busy!
Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Exodus 20:3 “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
* Why don’t many Christians walk with God? Because it is not a PRIORITY for them. You must choose to MAKE it a priority.
8) Plan your Bible reading and prayer time.
Proverbs 30:25 “The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;”
* The ants are wise enough to plan for the cold winter months when they will have no food. Yet, most Christians are not wise enough to plan their lives.
*” When you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
* Plan what you will do in your Bible reading, and in your prayer time. Write out a strategy and stick to it.
ILL – Bible reading schedules and prayer journals
Plan your work, and work you plan.
9) Be patient and persistent.
* It’s never easy to walk with God:
SEE Matthew 26:36-43
* It’s hard because it is spiritual, and nothing spiritual is easy.
* Sometimes you may feel like you are getting nothing out of your Bible reading. You may be confused, and even bored at times.
* Sometimes you will wonder if God even hears your prayers. You often will not feel like praying, or you may fall asleep in prayer.
* Should you quit because it is hard? NO!
Galatians 6:9 “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
SEE 1 Corinthians 15:57, 58 “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
Conclusion:
* You will NEVER be a joyful, useful and fruitful Christian if you do not learn to walk with God.
* Your personal life, your marriage, your children and your career will NEVER reach their full potential if you don’t walk with God.
* You CAN walk with God. You MUST walk with God. Will you?
