Drawing Near #2
Lessons from the Old Testament
Psalm 119:97-105
SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 119:97-105
INTRODUCTION:
Last week we talked about Lessons from Mt. Horeb. At the same Mountain where God gave the 10 commandments, God showed that He passionately wants a close, personal relationship with His people. In fact, God spoke in an audible voice to all the Israelites at the base of that mountain. Unfortunately, they drew back from God. Only Moses took God up on his invitation to DRAW NEAR.
Today we’re going to look at more Lessons from the Old Testament. We’ve seen what God wants. But how does God expect us to respond? The answer is summed up in a small book toward the end of the Old Testament.
Micah 6:8 says, He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. What does it mean to walk humbly with your God? The first person who is recorded to have walked with God was a man named Enoch.
1. Enoch - Walk by Choice Genesis 5:24
Four verses in the book of Genesis tell us about this man: When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. Genesis 5:21-24
Enoch is listed as the 6th descendant of Adam in Genesis chapter 5. If you do the math, it looks like Enoch was born 622 years after Adam and Eve were created. Since Adam lived 930 years, it is likely that Enoch knew his great1-great2-great3-great4-great5-grandpa6 Adam. He probably learned about the GOD of CREATION from Adam and Eve themselves!
Hebrews 11:5 says, By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
Enoch’s son was Methuselah (maybe you’ve heard of him --- he lived longer than any other person recorded). Enoch’s grandson was named Lamech. Both Lamech and Methuselah died in the Great Flood. But not Enoch. Evidently, when he was walking along with God one day, they just walked right up into Heaven.
Now here’s something I found interesting: it sounds like Enoch started walking with God at age 65. He lived to be 364 years old, and the scripture says that for 300 of those years he walked with God. What happened at age 65? It seems that Enoch made a CHOICE at that point in time. From age 65 onward, Enoch he walked with God.
Have you made the decision to walk with God? Take a lesson from Enoch. Walking with God is a CHOICE you must make. And it’s never too late to make that choice. Enoch had been around for 65 years when he started his Walk With God. By that time, most of us figure it’s time to retire. We think all our choices have been made. The lesson from Enoch is that any person --- at any stage of life --- can decide to DRAW NEAR to God.
Lesson number 2 comes from Enoch’s great-great-grandson, Noah.
2. Noah – Walk in Obedience Genesis 6:9, 22
Genesis 6:9 says, This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.
If you skip to verse 22, you see the lesson we can learn from Noah: 22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
God told Noah to build a boat --- and Noah built a boat. God gave Noah specific directions on the size and shape of that boat. Noah followed every detail God gave --- which is why he stayed a-float. From Noah, we learn that walking with God means Walking in Obedience.
Have you ever tried to walk a cat? Last December, Susan and I had the exciting job of transporting Kaysha & Chris’s cat, Gus, to Lincoln, IL. We gave the cat a sedative for breakfast, so everything was okay until we got to the Hotel that night. We thought we’d put the cat on a leash so he could walk around some. Big mistake. The cat had no intension of walking WITH us. He streaked all over the room, getting tangled up in everything. When we tied the leash to a chair, he just went as far as he could … and stood up on his hind legs … choking himself. (By the way, that hotel had a sign up that said “Pets are Welcome.” I have a feeling they took that sign down after our visit… Well, we won’t go into that…)
I wonder if some of us act like a cat on a leash when we try to Walk with God. We take off our own direction, pulling with all our might against His plan. We all need to take a Lesson from Noah. If you take God’s hand, you need to know that HE will set the pace, and HE will choose the direction of your walk. Pulling against God won’t do you any good at all.
When you decide to walk with God, you need to be like a child who takes Daddy’s hand before crossing a busy street. The child doesn’t know all the rules of the highway --- but he knows he’ll be safe as long as he follows Dad’s lead.
And that leads us to Lesson number 3. Abraham teaches us that we need to Walk by Faith.
3. Abraham – Walk by Faith Genesis 17:1
Genesis 17:1 says, When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty ; walk before me and be blameless.
Hebrews 11:8 explains, By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went --- even though he did not know where he was going.
God gave Noah a lot of specific instructions. But it wasn’t that way with Abraham. When Abraham started Walking with God, he had no idea where he was headed. Isn’t that how life feels most of the time? I don’t know about you, but so far God hasn’t given me a Map that shows me the future. I don’t know what may come 5 years from now. I don’t know for sure what will happen in the next Month. In fact, I really don’t even know what might happen when I pull out of the parking lot after church today. (I hope I’m going to lunch … but I have to take that on Faith.)
Walking with God is a Walk of Faith. And if you’re going to walk with God, you might as well get ready for rough roads and steep climbs. Sometimes you may have to just grit your teeth and step out in pure faith. But we can always count on God to give us enough light to see the next step we need to take. And that leads to the last Lesson from the Old Testament.
• From Enoch we learn that Walking with God is a CHOICE.
• From Noah we see we must Walk in OBEDIENCE.
• From Abraham we learn to Walk by FAITH.
• Now we jump ahead to Abraham’s famous descendant, David.
4. David – Walk with all Your Heart Psalm 119:24
One thing is obvious about David: when he walked with God, he put his whole heart into it. In fact, scripture calls David a man after God’s own heart. (Acts 13:22)
In Psalm 119:30 David declared: I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws.
• David obviously valued time with God
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. It is a collection of 22 stanzas, one for every letter in the Hebrew alphabet --- all 176 verses tell how much David values God’s Word.
Verse 72 says: The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. Psalm 119:72
And Verse 97: Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Psalm 119:97
David had the same feeling about time with God that young people feel when they fall in love. There’s nothing more valuable to a couple in love that having time together. When they go on a walk, they don’t care where they’re walking. They don’t care what the weather is like. They’ll go to all kinds of trouble and expense just to get together. Time together is their most precious commodity.
• David hungered and thirsted for God
To David, time with God was as necessary as food and drink. Time with God was as refreshing as a cool drink of water and as pleasant as a delicious dessert.
Psalm 42:1-2 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
Psalm 119:103: How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Last summer I read a book by John Bevere that made an impression on me. Here’s what he said about our spiritual appetite: Hunger is your spiritual thermometer; just as physical hunger measures physical health or sickness, a desire for God’s presence will awaken spiritual hunger even if it is a feeble desire.”
The problem comes when we fill up on things of the world to the point that we lose our hunger for God. Proverbs 27:7 describes this problem. He who is full loathes honey, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.
Some of you may remember the Weighdown Workshop that was popular a few years back. One of the things Gwen Shamblin advised was to eat what you really liked and not waste your appetite on anything that’s not a favorite. Pick out what you love the most and leave the rest on your plate. I think there’s a spiritual truth in there somewhere. Often we stuff ourselves with the world and have no appetite left for God.
Things like TV and movies, video games, surfing the internet, novels, sports, and hobbies aren’t all that bad. But if we gorge on them --- if we fill our minds and our time with those kinds of things --- we won’t have any room left for God. If we fill up on worldly junk, the sweetness of God’s Word will be lost on us. In fact, we might lose our taste for God altogether.
The only way to develop a taste for a particular food is to start eating it. (At least that’s what my Doctor told me. He said if I’d eat more fruits and vegetables, I’d develop a taste for them.) And I guess he’s right... When my friends from India come to visit the USA, do you know what they miss? RICE (and Curry and a few other spices) And when I go to India, you know what I miss: Hamburgers, fries, coke … good old American food.
So what’s my point? I’m not just trying to get your mind on lunch … The point is, we can’t develop a taste for God’s Word unless we read it. If you have no appetite for God’s Word, it’s time to take another lesson from David.
• David developed a taste for God’s Word
Look at what David did to develop a taste for God’s Word: Psalm 119:147-148: I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises. And in verse 164 David says: Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws.
David focused on God before dawn. He meditated on God’s Word in the watches of the night. In fact, David took time to praise God seven times a day. Think what 7 times would look like in a day. You might take time for God
o when you first get up in the morning
o during the mid-morning,
o at noon,
o in the mid-afternoon,
o at supper,
o sometime during the evening,
o and again when you go to bed.
Muslims are commanded to pray 5 times a day. Perhaps you have observed people performing these obligatory prayers and wondered what they were doing. Here are the 10-step instructions I found on the internet:
1. Stand. Raise hands and say, "Allahu Akbar" (Allah is Most Great).
2. Fold hands over chest, and recite the first chapter of the Qur’an in Arabic.
3. Raise hands and say, "Allahu Akbar."
4. Bow. Say 3 times: (An Arab Phrase meaning Glory to my Lord Almighty. "Subhana rabbiyal adheem"
5. Stand and say: (An Arab Phrase meaning Allah hears those who call on Him; Praise be to You). "Sam’i Allahu liman hamidah, Rabbana wa lakal hamd"
6. Raise hands and say, "Allahu Akbar."
7. Prostrate on the ground. Say 3 times "Subhana Rabbiyal A’ala" (Glory be to Allah, the Most High).
8. Sit up and say, "Allahu Akbar."
9. Prostrate again and say "Subhana Rabbiyal A’ala" 3 more times.
10. Stand and say, "Allahu Akbar."
That describes 1 "rak’a" or cycle of prayer. Perform at least 2 “rak’a’s” Then sit and recites the first part of the Tashahhud in Arabic.
The Internet site also gave this Tip: If you don’t speak Arabic, learn the meanings in your language, but memorize the Arabic.
CONCLUSION:
That kind of repetitive praying is exactly what the God of the Bible dislikes. God has absolutely no interest in ritualistic, repetitive prayers. Listen to what Jesus said about prayer: And when you pray, do not heap up phrases (repeating the same words over and over) as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for their much speaking. Matthew 6:7 (Amplified Version)
God wants to hear your real thoughts and feelings. That’s the way David prayed. Read the Psalms that David wrote. You will see the heart of a man who had a very real relationship with a very real God.
The Old Testament is full of people who Walked With God. Today we looked at 4 of those examples, but there are MANY more. In fact, the main reason people made it into the Bible was because they were “God-Walkers.” And every one of their stories is UNIQUE.
• God spoke in an audible voice to Moses, but not to David.
• God walked Enoch straight into Heaven, but never repeated that for anyone else.
• God gave Noah lots of details, but He gave Abraham very few details, asking Him to walk entirely by Faith.
God is inviting every one of you to Walk with Him. His relationship with you will be different from His relationship with me.
But one thing is true for everyone: God passionately wants to have a personal, real, day-by-day kind of Connection with you. Will you decide today to Walk With God?
