LIFE AT THE HIGHEST PLANE!
WALKING WITH GOD!
SERMON #4
Am 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed? (KJV)
2Ki 23:3 And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant. (KJV) The king mentioned here is Josiah and he was reading the word of God to the people. Wouldn’t that be a blessing today if, instead, of CNN news coming on at 5:30, President Bush would come on and begin reading to the nation from the King James Bible? Wouldn’t that cause a stir. Our country would be a lot more benefited from the 30 minutes of reading the Bible instead of the nonsense that the News media channels put out.
INTRODUCTION: I am still talking to you about “Life At The Highest Plane” I have given this formula in every message I have preached about our theme for 2006.
1. Must Read The Bible Daily.
2. Must Pray Daily and on occasions include fasting.
3. Share with someone often what The Spirit has shown you in your Bible reading and what He has done for you, or verbally witnessing of God’s goodness.
4. Commit to live holy and godly.
The other evening as I was working on this message I was listening to a some music on a CD and I heard this song:
I walked today where Jesus walked
In the days of long ago.
I wandered down each path He knew,
With reverent step and slow.
Those little lanes, they have not changed,
A sweet peace fills the air.
I walked today where Jesus walked,
And felt Him close to me.
There are several other verses to that song, but it really blessed me as I thought about walking with the Lord.
Before I even start giving you the points to the outline let me give you a couple of givens. If you haven’t taken care of these matters then forget about walking with God.
You must be saved. A lost person can’t walk with God.
You must want to walk with Him. You won’t walk with God unless you have that desire. A lot of Christians, in fact, most Christians do not walk with God. They don’t want to.
If you decide to walk with God in 2006 – in the manner in which I will be preaching about – there are some very definite terms or expectations in which each one must follow to keep your walk with God according what God will expect. I want to give you some of the expectations today.
I. MUST WALK ON GOD’S SIDE OF THE ROAD
The walk will be according to how God directs you. Our society is so self oriented that hardly anyone will submit to authority.
Turn to: Ge 5:22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: (KJV)
Notice that Enoch walked with God – it doesn’t say that God walked with him. It was Enoch’s responsibility to walk with God. That would tell you and I that it is expected of us to also walk with God. We will have to walk on the same side of the road He is walking on.
Our text Scripture says, “….except they be agreed.” The burden of agreement is on man’s shoulders. You can’t say, “If God will do such and such, then I will walk with Him.” That would be requiring God to agree with you. He will only agree with you when you are in agreement with Him.
A. We Must Walk With Him Daily.
Over 80% of Enoch’s years was spent in walking with God. In today’s life span, that would be 62 years of walking with God. What would happen if each of us spent 80% of each day, or just over 19 hours each day walking with and in the presence of God? Many today will determine in their own mind that it is impossible to walk with God as did Enoch. That’s not true. It will be possible if one would choose to do so.
The only thing we know about Enoch is that he walked with God - Heb 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. (KJV) The fact that he walked with God was action enough to record that his testimony pleased God. We don’t have any record of him doing anything other than just a daily walk with the Lord, and his faithfulness to walk with God gave him a place in the Hall of Fame Chapter in Hebrews 11.
You and I can go a long way in pleasing God if we will just walk with God daily. Spending time in the Word of God; A consistent prayer life; A time of frequent praise; and regular witnessing, and living holy lives.
And He walks with me, and He talks with me;
And He tells me I am His Own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.
B. God’s Side Of The Road Is Always Smoother.
Isa 35:8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.(KJV) When a Christian begins a daily walk with God he will discover the obstacles in the road are not as severe. Bro. Ivan, “My road is very rough” – are you walking with God daily? Are you walking on His side of the road? This passage says men shall not err therein. It means that the most simple or unlearned will not be led astray. It will be easy to follow, if we have chosen to walk with Him.
C. God’s Side Of The Road Is Always Protected.
Isa 35:9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:
10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (KJV) I am not saying you will never be attacked by the devil, but when he does attack you can live in victory.
I remember as a small boy I would walk with my dad through the woods and he would always make sure that none of the tree limbs would swing back and hit me.
II. MUST WALK IN THE SAME DIRECTION GOD IS WALKING
To be on the same road but a different direction would avail nothing. Unless you are walking in the same direction God is walking, you will be walking AWAY from God. “Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you.” If you are not walking in the same direction God is walking, you are walking away from Him, and you are headed for a great crash.
Walking in the same direction with God means that you are in agreement with Him. Walking with God is always one-sided. His way or none. You can’t bargain about your walk. You don’t get to choose where to walk.
A. To Be In Agreement With God Means You View Your Sin The Same Way God Views It.
1. God views your sin as abomination. Most of us want to argue with God about our sin. We think He is too harsh on our sin. We must be in agreement with Him. If we are going to walk with Him we must always conclude that He is always right about everything.
2. God views all sin as punishable by death. We think it is just a measly little mis-demeanor. God says it is a major issue and must be punished.
3. God views it as a separation between He and you. Isa 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. (KJV)
B. To Be In Agreement With God Means You View Yourself A Servant Or Bondslave.
Tit 1:1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; (KJV)
Paul could have been most anything he chose to be, but he chose to be a “bondslave for Christ”.
Most of Paul’s epistles begin with Paul announcing that he is a servant or Bondslave to Jesus Christ. In Paul’s day the term Bondslave always meant difficult times or hardships. Most of the timed it meant some sort of persecution. The same is expected by each Christian who is considering a life of service to the Lord. The Lord will bless, but the world will seek to persecute us, and to make us suffer. You only have to listen to the discussions with the advocates of the Gay Rights movement to learn that they are willing to persecute anyone who disagrees with them. The “wicked left” politicians are out to persecute anyone who considers themselves to be a follow of the Lord Jesus Christ. They call us the “right wing radicals”. I want to say to them, “We are right”. Right not meaning the opposite of left, but right because we are correct – walking with God causes one to be right.
C. A Bondslave Has No Personal Rites.
Phm 1:1 Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer, (KJV) A prisoner has given up all rites and comforts he knew in the free life. When a person enters a prison cell they are at the mercy of the prison warden, and most of the things they had known before will be revoked from them. That’s the way it must be if you are planning on walking with God.
III. MUST WALK AT THE SAME SPEED GOD IS WALKING
A. God Will Not Have Everyone Walk The Same Speed.
The speed isn’t important, only that you are traveling the speed that God wants us to. The assignment for some will require a faster pace than others, because He will expect more from some than others. Don’t walk faster than God is walking. Normally God’s pace is much slower than ours. We are always wanting God to hurry.
B. He Doesn’t Bring Everyone Along At The Same Speed.
There are some that God will slow His walk down so they can keep up with Him. Some people God wants their education time will be longer. I am not talking about college, but the daily instruction and knowledge. Your spiritual growth may not be the same speed as others. It may be faster or it may be slower.
C. Time As We See It Isn’t The Same With God.
We see it as days, hours, weeks, etc. God sees it as a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day with God. He doesn’t see your life as a time element that must be accomplished in a number of years. He molds and fashions each of us as we yield ourselves to Him in our daily walk with Him.
IV. MUST WALK ACCORDING TO GOD’S RULES
Isa 35: 8, And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
A. Only The Holy Person Can Walk With God – His Rules – Not Yours.
I have heard people say, “It’s my life and I can do with it as I please.” That’s not true.
Tonight I am preaching on:
It May Be Your Life – But It Is Still God’s Temple..
B. The Unclean Cannot Walk With God.
When a child of God turns from God to sin then the walk is interrupted and halted. Your walk will continue only and when you come to Him in confession and repentance and yielding yourself to His rules and expectations, and then agreeing to walk according to His rules.
V. MUST BE A CONSISTENT WALK
You can’t walk with Him today and then skip tomorrow. When you skip a day your temptation will be greater and you will be more apt to falter.
The great pianist, Rubinstein, said, “If I miss my piano practice one day, I know it, if I miss practice two days, my friends know it, if I miss three days, the whole world knows it.”
If you miss one day in walking with God you will be greatly hindered. One day missing reading your Bible – one day missing praying – one day usually stretches into two days then three and more.
VI. WALKING WITH GOD BRINGS GOD’S BEST TO EACH ONE
Noah walked with God. Turn to: Ge 6:9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. (KJV)
Noah was a just man: “Just” = Justified – saved.
“Perfect” = Mature in his Christian life.
When God looked down upon the earth and saw it at its worst he chose a man with whom He had been walking with daily to use to fill God’s purpose. Could it be that our country is in such a shambles because there are not enough people walking with God for Him to use to straighten things out?
Ge 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. (KJV) Did God just randomly choose Noah? No, he chose him because they had walked together repeatedly and often.
God knew Noah would be:
A. Consistent In His Calling. He didn’t quit when the hours got long and the work was strenuous. Can you imagine building a boat when no one knew what a boat was. Every day God would stop by Noah’s house and say, “Are you ready for our walk?” Sometimes God stops by my house at 4:00 AM and says, “Ivan, are you ready for our walk?” I look at the clock and then at God and say, “Lord, do you know what time it is? He just smiles and says, “Are you going, or not?”
B. Obedient In His Work. He followed God’s plan in building the Ark. It is a good thing he did follow God’s plan or it probably would not have withstood the hard days of the flood waters.
C. Honest In His Dealings.
Most Christians are not honest or just in their dealings – are you always on time? On time for Sunday School? Choir practice? Being late once is understandable. Being late repeatedly is lack of character.
D. Trustworthy In His Service Unto God. God saw that Noah was a man that had walked with him all of his days, and God knew that Noah would be trustworthy.
God knew these things about Noah because they had walked together. What does God know about you? Of course He knows everything, but does He know that you will be consistent in your living for Him? Does He know that you will be obedient?
Will God choose you for a certain job because of these same qualifications of Noah.
Does you walk with God tell God that you are worthy to be given an assignment? If God was looking for someone to do a very special job and He was going to pick from those who were walking with Him, would you be in the running for the assignment?
You don’t have to walk with Him. He will let you wallow around in the mud hole as long as you choose, but if, and when you decide to walk with Him, then it must be in the manner in which I have described today. What will it be?
Are you saved? You can’t walk with God if you are not saved.
Do you want to walk with God?
I walked today where Jesus walked
In the days of long ago.
I wandered down each path He knew,
With reverent step and slow.
Those little lanes, they have not changed,
A sweet peace fills the air.
I walked today where Jesus walked,
And felt Him close to me.
INVITATION
