Walking with God, good for your health.
Peace, price, place.
GE 6:9 This is the account of Noah.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
GE 6:11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. 16 Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark--you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."
GE 6:22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
Walking is good for your health.
Some people are not that keen on walking – others love it.
I remember working in a factory once under a manager called Norman. Norman was a brilliant manager and was a man who was purposeful in all he did.
When he walked around the factory he walked quickly and purposefully. Norman, you could tell, was a man on a mission. Other people walked from one place to another in the factory and they weren’t that noticeable, but when Norman walked, people noticed because he was a man on a mission. He had purpose – he had focus and our very livelihood depended on his walk for he was the Manager.
In the same way I believe God wants you to walk with real meaning and effectiveness in your Christian lives.
Your walk is to be remarkable.
Here I am not talking about your physical walk but rather your spiritual walk.
Jesus referred to our walk – He said:-
JN 8:12 "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
In the Old Testament we read about Moses and in Genesis we hear of Moses that GE 6:9 This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
When we become a Christian we become a child of God on a journey with God and I believe that God wants us to walk with him.
This morning I want to suggest from the passages that we have already considered three important things that God wants us to know about our walk with him and the three things that arise out of that that we can do to help us walk with Him.
It is important because if you are not walking with God you could waste a day – a week – a year – a decade or even a lifetime.
There is a story in Pooh bear called looking for small.
It is a long adventure and eventually small is found –
Let me read you a little from the story.
And two days later Rabbit happened to meet Eeyore in the forest.
“Hello Eyeore,’ he said, “What are you looking for?”\”Small of course,” said Eeyore. “Haven’t you any brain?’”
“Oh, but didn’t I tell you?” said Rabbit. “Small was found two days ago.”
There was a moment’s silence.
“Ha Ha,” said Eeyore bitterly. “Merriment and what-not. Don’t apologize. It’s just what would happen.”
It seems to me that the whole world – success or failure is on a similar futile search as Eeyore unless the person is walking with God as Noah did.
The three headings I want to use are.
Peace, price, place.
Firstly Peace. Are you at peace with God????
GE 6:9 This is the account of Noah.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Noah was a man who was at peace with God.
God asked him to do something really unusual – that is to build a giant ship in the middle of nowhere.
To provide a vessel of salvation where there is no sight of a need for salvation.
That is precisely the situation today we live in a world that has little or no time for God.
The scriptures cry out to us about our need for salvation –
Of course all Christians are acutely aware of this – but Noah never takes his eyes off God’s purposes and in that sense he reveals his secret to peace with God.
Noah obediently pursues God’s vision for his life irrespective of what the world around him says.
Peace with God is the first key to walking with God.
What are the things that rob of us of peace.
Our sin – others sin.
If we have sinned then the scriptures are clear about what we should do: MT 4:17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
And 1JN 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
JN 14:23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
JN 14:25 "All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
W hen you know God’s peace you will do God’s will even when you don’t understand what you are doing – Noah trusted God and built a boat.
Let me give you another illustration:-A terrible storm swept the Atlantic and hurled the billows upon the coast of England and a ship was thrown on the rocks. The night fell dark and lowering. The storm rose higher as the night deepened. Fires were kindled all along the shore, if by any means to help those who were needing help. The lifeboat was manned. Out through the breakers and into the storm they went to the rescue. By and by they came back with all on board except one man; and John Holden, who stood upon the shore, cried: "Do you have all the ship’s company?"
They answered, "All but one man."
"Why did you not get him?"
"Well, our strength was nearly gone, and if we had tarried long enough to rescue him we all should have been engulfed in the pitiless sea." Then John Holden said: "These men who have been to the rescue are nearly exhausted. Who is there who will go with me to rescue the one man?" and six sturdy fellows came promptly forward. Then John Holden’s mother threw her arms about his neck and said, "John, don’t you go! Your father was swallowed up by the angry ocean, and your brother William two years ago went out upon the sea, and I fear that he is lost, too, for we have not heard of him since. You are the pillar of my life and my only dependence. Who will care for me if the sea swallows you also?" Then John Holden, with his firm, strong grasp, took those arms in which he had reposed in innocent infancy and removed them from his neck; and then he said, as he gently pushed his mother aside: "There is a man there drowning, and I must go, mother. If the sea should swallow me, God will take care of you; I’m sure He will." Kissing her furrowed cheek, he turned and stepped into the lifeboat which was already manned. They pushed out into the breakers and to the wreck. They found the man still clinging to the rigging, and, getting him into the boat, they pulled back to the shore. As the boat neared the shore, someone shouted, "Have you found the man?" "Yes," answered John Holden, "and rescued him; and say to my mother that he is my brother William!"
This all demonstrates my second point – price.
Jesus says follow me he invites us to walk with him.
We need to understand that that walk has a reward but it also has a price.
Jesus’ walk ended in a cross.
Noah’s walk led to the ark but he had to pay the price of standing outside of the society that he lived in. But despite the cost we read:-
GE 6:22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
There is great blessings available for the person who walks with God but we need also to understand that there is a cost a price and that needs understanding at the outset!!!
The price Jesus paid was the cross and he says to the believer – pick up your cross and follow me.
The other day I heard of a man who I had heard preach in earlier years.
He was a man who shared great truths about God.
But now I hear he has stopped fellowshipping in a church and is working hard at a secular job.
It is an important job but you get the feeling that he has not continued with his walk with God as he should have.
Why is that???
Because when the cost became apparent at some point he chose to re-enter the world – a dangerous pursuit.
In the end Christ has paid the price for our lives on the cross – nothing that we have to do will ever compare with that.
Thirdly is the place you find yourself in.
God will not always lead you to the place you expect.
You may think that living in Waikaia – or riversale may not be where is best for you – but if God puts you there, then that is where you should be.
Noah probably knew that to build a huge ship in a place where there was no way of putting it in water would raise some eyebrows. but this was the place for god so that was good enough for Noah.
At other times God may well lead you away from where you should be.
God could lead you to China or Iceland or ?????? wherever.
It isn’t only about the phsical place it is about position as well.
You might want to be the General Manager but God might want you to be a servant.
A sign of spiritual maturity is when you are prepared to be where god wants you to be and to do what God wants you to do.
I heard of a person who was offered a position as the Principal of a large educational institution.
Previously, he had been a teacher but now he was offered this prestigious position.
He asked a friend for guidance and the friend asked him why he wanted the position.
When he was honest with himself he said well my real motive is to see my photo in the newspaper with the caption of Principal beneath the photo.
He was only b eing honest.
“Well.” Said his friend. “There has to be an easier way to get your photo in the paper.”
Walking with God will take you to unexpected and surprising places.
Jesus walked with God and it lead him into the homes of Pharisees – the company of lepers and even into a Samaritan village the last place you would expect to find a Jew.
Finally it lead him to a cross where even the son of God struggled – so much so that he cried out from the cross –Matthew chapter 27: 46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Your walk with God will lead you to places of blessing and at times to God forsaken places like the cross of Jesus.
If we want to walk with God we need to walk in the place that God wants us to walk.
If you understand what is necessary to fufill these three things then you will have a deep sense of walking with god in your life further since all our words start with the letter P we can add a further “P”
You will discover in that walk that you have power in your life to conquer sin and to fulfill God’s will for your lives.
feel free to contact us.
jgullick@xtra.co.nz
