Galatians 5:16-26
“How To Walk With God”
By: Rev. Kenneth Sauer,
Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church, Newport News, VA
www.parkview-umc.org
One time I was in a mall, when I spotted a cute little kid with his mother.
When her son started to veer away from his mother, the woman called out his name: “Noah.”
I had never heard of a child named Noah before.
I figured that this woman must be a Christian or even Jewish—to have named her son Noah.
So I walked over to the woman and her child, looked lovingly at the child and quoted from Genesis chapter 6: “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.”
The mother of the child just stared at my smiling face for a couple seconds.
Obviously, she had no idea what I was talking about.
And without saying a thing, she turned and whisked little Noah away.
Anyhow, this is how the Bible describes Noah… “among the people of his time…he walked with God.”
That’s what I want to do.
How about you? I want to walk with God!
Among the people of my time, I want to walk with God.
We are told that the people during Noah’s time were “corrupt” and “full of violence.”
Noah was really, really going against the grain of the world by walking with God…
…but it sure was well worth it!
And in this day and age, we too, are going against the grain if we are walking with God…
…things don’t change much…
…human nature remains the same…
…but if we do walk with God, well, just like it was well worth it for Noah—it will be well worth it for us and for those around us as well.
So how do we go about walking with God?
In verse 25 of our Epistle Lesson for this morning Paul tells us: “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
Which also can be translated as “let us walk in line with the Spirit.”
But I suppose that we must understand what it means to “live by the Spirit” of God before we can begin to unravel what it means to “walk in line with the Spirit” of God or “keep in step with the Spirit” of God.
Every one of us, every believer has a sort of civil war going on inside of us.
It’s a continuing battle, a war between our fallen nature and the Holy Spirit Who has moved in and taken residence within our hearts.
It’s a battle between our old nature and our new nature…
…it’s a battle between what our sinful nature desires …
…and what our new nature desires.
As far back as I can remember, a part of me wanted to ‘walk with God’—
---to be the person God wanted me to be—
--to be the person I knew…deep down inside…I could be and was created to be…
…but I couldn’t figure out how to go about doing it.
Because I was being controlled by another part of me that was at complete odds with walking with God.
I was very much part of the world.
Just about everything I was involved in, whether it be in thought or deed, was in direct opposition to the way of God.
I was in slavery to sin.
And a very big part of me enjoyed that slavery.
But at the same time, another big part of me wanted to be free from that slavery…and free to do what is right.
But how could I make myself free?
Well, I couldn’t make myself free, but I could choose to be free.
During my freshman year of college I met a kid who asked me if I was a Christian.
I must admit that I was more than a little surprised by his question, but my answer was “yes.”
After-all, I had gone to church all my life and I did believe in God.
So, this Christian kid and I became very good friends.
But it didn’t take long for me to figure out that his definition of what a Christian was and my definition of what a Christian was were completely different.
He was walking with God.
It was very evident in the way he talked…
…in the way he treated other people…
… where his priorities were…
… and most of all in the way he lived.
Over time, I came to see that it was truly possible—not only to believe in God and want to walk with Him—but it could actually be done.
Wow.
I wrestled with that new found epiphany for a while.
If this is actually possible, do I really want to do it?
Do I really want to do it enough…
…to do it?
Finally I made the decision.
I gave my life to God.
I repented of my sinful desires and acts.
I asked Jesus Christ to be Lord of my life.
And at once, I knew that I had become a new person.
I felt that great burden of slavery to sin fall away…and I was free at last…to walk with the One Who loves me and wants only what is best.
This was the beginning of my walk with God, and my life has never been the same since.
I would not trade my walk with God for all the money in the world—nor would I trade it for anything else.
It is the most important part of my entire life.
It is the central meaning of my existence, and the longer I walk the more grateful I am for the privilege.
Also, the longer I walk the fruit of the Spirit becomes more and more part of my nature and ingrained into who I am.
For we are called as Christians to be conformed to the likeness and to have the mind of Christ.
“Those who belong to Christ have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”
Now this is a daily crucifixion because sin does try and resurrect itself over and over again as the Tempter—Satan—tries his best to entice and lead astray the children of God.
Therefore we are to “keep in step with the Spirit.”
We are to be aware of the Spirit’s leading and direction.
This comes through prayer and listening to God’s still, small voice.
It also comes through studying God’s Word—which sheds light on and dispels the darkness.
We are told in Hebrews Chapter 4 that “the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.
Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
If we don’t know God’s Word—it will be extremely difficult for us to “keep in step with” God.
God’s Word “is a lamp to” our “feet and a light for” our “path.”
If we do not know God’s Word—we will stumble around in the darkness, get lost and die.
That’s why it is imperative for all who desire to walk with God to read His Word, meditate on His Word day and night—not just knowing what it says—but putting it into practice.
Are we doing this?
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” Paul instructs us in Colossians chapter 3.
“The words of the Lord are flawless…” we are told in Psalm 12.
They are “sweeter than honey,” they give “understanding to the simple,” they are “true,” they are “eternal” declares the writer of Psalm 119.
To walk with God hand in hand is to know His Word, to love His Word and to put His word into action no matter where we are, no matter who we are with—at all times, in all situations.
In our Old Testament Lesson for this morning the Prophet Micah tells us that God has shown us what is “good.”
“And what does the Lord require of you?” Micah asks…
“To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Do we act justly?
God speaks through the Prophet Isaiah and tells us: “learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”
In other words, walking with God involves lifting up those who are down and out…
…taking time to help those who need our help…
…caring for the people who the world has cast out as being disposable…
…loving those whom the world deems unlovable…
…forgiving those that the world condemns!
Are we doing this?
Are we allowing the down trodden to see Christ through us?—
And thus being vessels through whom their chains of oppression can be forever broken…?
We are to love mercy!!!
Has not Christ been merciful unto us?…
…We, who because we are sinners deserve the death penalty—but have been forgiven are to have mercy on our fellow human beings—whether they are rich or poor, male or female, black or white, and we know that the list can and does go on and on and on.
Do we love mercy?
Are we willing to die in order to forgive?
Are we willing to die to self and live for Christ in order to forgive?
“Blessed are the merciful…”
Those are some of the first words Jesus taught in His ministry.
James, the brother of Jesus tells us: “judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
Let us remember this, dear brothers and sisters in Christ—as we have often been ‘fairly portrayed’ by the world as being more judgmental than merciful.
Great harm has been done and is done to the Gospel of Jesus Christ when those of us who claim to walk with Him do not walk humbly.
Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians: “…think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.”
To say the least, God has chosen very ordinary people to be His disciples…
…to learn from Him…
…to walk with Him…
…and He is able to do extra-ordinary things through them.
Do you want to walk with God?
If so, “live by the Spirit” and you will learn to love the way God loves, you will experience the kind of joy that nothing but God can produce…
…you will inherit peace which transcends all understanding no matter what the outside situation…
…and patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control which the world knows nothing about.
I want to walk like that!
How about you?
Let us pray: Almighty God, we praise You and thank You as we stand in awe of a God Who wants to walk with those He has created. We ask that Your Holy Spirit live inside our hearts, and control our thoughts, words and deeds. We pray that we will keep in step with You. We pray that we will be faithful, just as You are faithful. For Your sake we pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
