WALKING WITH GOD

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I have already put up two posts relating to walking with God. Can I suggest that if you cannot remember them that you go take another look? As we approach Jesus’ second coming, we need to be walking with God or we will not be an overcomer and part of His Millennial Kingdom.

1. Cultivating God’s Presence: It focuses on what Jesus has done to enable us to walk with God. It also looks at Enoch’s walk with God and what that teaches us. Finally, Matthew’s Gospel links our eternal destiny with the way we live now. It is why this website is called Living Eternal Now.

2. Getting in Step with God: It teaches that in just about all situations God takes the initiative. Hence, it is important for us to learn how to identify what that is in every situation, and to get in step with Him.

This post will look at the challenge that God’s will is not always easy to embrace. Fortunately, the O.T. prophets and Jesus’ disciples were good examples for us. They show us that walking with God requires us to have the single-mindedness of an athlete, one determined to train hard and to perform well on the day. The temptation to relax or give up is a constant.

For example, Abraham’s family set out from Ur, under the leadership of Terah, Abraham’s father. The biblical record shows us that they quickly got waylaid. Once they arrived in Haran they became settlers. It was only when Teruah died and Abraham got a fresh call from God that he resumed their journey (Genesis 11:31-12:3). It is not always easy to continue our journey and we tend to seek the familiar rather than embrace the vulnerability that walking with God entails. Jeremiah 12 recounts a story where the prophet is fed up with finding himself in yet another vulnerable situation. He had already been through the mill and he had had enough. His complaints to God are seen as evidence of his being a glass half-empty-person. But, who would not complain when he found himself imprisoned and not feel peeved in such circumstances? God’s initial call to Jeremiah seemed to imply that he would experience continual deliverance coupled with being given great authority in speaking to those in power (Jeremiah 1:8-10). Moreover, God’s response to Jeremiah’s prayer of complaint might seem lacking in sympathy to us. Jeremiah is told to toughen up because he would find himself in even more vulnerable situations in the future: ‘If you have raced men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses?’ (Jeremiah 12:5). Jeremiah was called to walk with God and embrace the journey, whatever the circumstances, and wherever his pilgrimage might lead, as indeed are we.

The prophets of Israel needed to exhibit greater than average stability or they would not have survived their calling for any longer than a month or so if that. They demonstrated exceptional perseverance in circumstances that must have created a huge sense of personal threat. Most of us would have looked for a way out of the call, as in the case of Jonah. However, God gave all of them the end of the story. They all saw their Messiah ruling and reigning the nations from a magnificent Jerusalem. I am sure this was in large part why they persevered.

For most of us on our faith journey, we really do feel vulnerable and our faith is usually a mixture of active trust and insecurity. Our memory of the past, the story of how God turned up the last time we trusted him, can sometimes help, but a previous positive experience doesn’t always make things easier the next time around. We need the stories of men and women of faith in the Bible to inspire us; we need to look to the example of Jesus, who looked to the joy set before him at the end of the journey.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder, and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2

Attachment to material possessions can often be a stumbling block, acting as a distraction to the main thing, which is knowing and following God. We are given the example of the early church where believers shared their possessions.

“And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” Acts 2:45

Their heightened awareness of the presence of God following Pentecost appears to have freed these early disciples from having to find security in their possessions. An unprecedented outpouring of generosity is a sign of – and the result of – the presence of the Holy Spirit. Generosity is also the natural response to the realization that God’s gifts to us are wholly unmerited. The fact that we are recipients of God’s generosity can also enable us to love ourselves more. After all, if God is so outrageously kind to us, if he welcomes us with open arms, perhaps it is true that we are loved extravagantly.

One way to express generosity is to practice regular financial giving. A rule can include the decision to give away a certain proportion of income to specific causes, individuals, or organizations. Having a rule actually simplifies our lives, saving us from constantly having to make decisions about where and how much to give. Of course, regular giving as part of a rule does not preclude additional giving to other causes.

“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:7-8

Also utilizing the gifts of the Holy Spirit will draw us closer to God in our walk with Him:

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.” Romans 12:6-8

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2

It will be extremely important as we come closer to the prophesied last seven years prior to Jesus’ second coming when persecution of Christians will escalate that we draw closer to God and our every step is guided by the Holy Spirit.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13

Keep in mind that what you will be doing, and the role Jesus assigns to you in His coming Millennial Kingdom will depend upon how you live your life now. You need to be living eternal now.

GETTING IN STEP WITH GOD

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We observe in Acts 10 and 11, God, rather than the apostles, took the initiative in most situations. The apostle’s involvement invariably requires their availability in prayer. God had heard Cornelius’s prayer and He also, with some considerable difficulty, sought to guide Peter as he prayed. Both Cornelius and Peter experienced the presence of God in a vision (Acts 10:2-3 and 9). Peter was rather slow to understand what was going on, trying hard to keep up with the God who had already gone before him. He eventually realised that he should visit Cornelius, but was astonished to find that God had already been working well beyond the bounds of the Church. To Peter’s amazement, he got halfway through his talk when the Spirit took over. The account reads as if the Spirit is rather impatient, perhaps even bored by Peter’s sermon, and doesn’t wait for him to finish (Acts 10:44)!

Even on the day of Pentecost, Peter was simply keeping up with God’s action and he did not initiate anything himself. He just happened to be present and took the opportunity to explain the events unfolding before his eyes, starting with a disclaimer to drunkenness (Acts 2:15).

God often makes his presence known to people, despite our slowness to ‘cotton on’ to whatever He is doing. We play our part, but very much as junior partners who are trying to keep up.

Our partnering with God is good for our mental health. It saves us from feeling we have the overwhelming responsibility of carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders. It releases us to walk with the Lord, in the confidence that He has both gone before us and that we carry His presence with us. Our part is to be attentive and to look for signs of the Holy Spirit’s activity as we fulfil our call to have an impact on people and communities. Doing this by seeking to discern the presence and activity of the Spirit is a different approach to what most of us have been taught which seemed to put the onus on us.

On occasions, walking with God means we have to ‘walk on the water’. Like the disciples, as we set out from the security of the shore, we do not realise all that the journey will entail. The story of Peter walking on water revealed how rash he was, but it also shows us the level of his faith in Jesus compared to his companions who stayed in the boat ‘Peters’ are people who are more desperate to join Jesus than those of us who always weigh up the risk. We need to avoid recklessness, but when it’s in response to having heard the prompting of the Holy Spirit, faithfully stepping into a vulnerable situation will get us closer to Him.

Much of this post is extracted from Richard Brown’s book Cultivating God’s Presence

CULTIVATING GOD’S PRESENCE

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I have found a new book: Cultivating God’s Presence: Renewing Ancient Practices for Today’s Church by Richard J Roberts which has been helpful in the way I look at how I relate to God. But, and there is a big but, Roberts makes no mention of the fact that Jesus made it possible for our heavenly Father to send the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit to indwell our Spirit to enable believers to live the Christian life. There is no way we can live a holy life without the power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is clear that anything good in our lives is a result of the Holy Spirit, The fruit of the Spirit is the Christlike character: a character that reveals what Jesus is like. It is the outward expression of the holy nature of God in the believer. It is actually the development of the life of Christ in the Christian.

In 1 Thessalonians 5;19, Christians are commanded, “Do not quench the Spirit.” We must stay connected to God and always ask Him to help us say not my will but your will be done this day. We must obey God and allow the Holy Spirit to make us more like Jesus. Becoming lax in demonstrating the fruit of God’s Holy Spirit is dangerous to our spiritual life. As Christians, we believe that the Holy Spirit is our guarantee or down payment on eternal life (2 Corinthians 1: 21-22; Ephesians 5:15-21)

Imagine the Holy Spirit as a roaring campfire. What happens to the fire when we stop putting in the fuel and instead throw dirt on it? It goes out. It no longer produces the light or heat for which it was started. In the same way, if we neglect our relationship with God and become focused on the things of the world, we will extinguish the presence of God’s Spirit in our lives and no longer produce the fruit of the Spirit.

In addition to the importance of showing others how God’s Spirit can work in our lives, Christians must never underestimate the importance of fulfilling the covenant we made with the God of the universe when we were baptized and received the greatest gift of all: His Holy Spirit.

We all want to experience God’s presence. However, the presence of God is not amenable to a program, nor to a spiritual self-help manual. God is often elusive and even though we pray for his presence the Spirit is not at our beck and call. Jesus reminded us that the movement of the Spirit, like the wind, can be felt but He cannot be controlled: ‘The wind blows where it wishes’ (John 3:8). We cannot guarantee a certain outcome by adopting a particular spiritual practice.

WALKING WITH GOD

“Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters.” Genesis 5:22

“Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” Genesis 5:24

Enoch was clearly someone quite remarkable even though he lived a somewhat normal life fathering sons and daughters. It is as if the author of Genesis breaks with facts and figures and has to tell us about this person that enjoyed the companionship of God as an ongoing continuous experience. The phrase ‘walking with God’ conjures up a life of constant fellowship with him on the earthly journey. Enoch’s fellowship with God was never broken; his lifespan, unlike that of his forebears, was not limited to a given number of years. Rather, from the moment he commenced his walk with God, Enoch experienced eternal life, beginning right here on earth.

It seems important that we are told, not that God joined in with Enoch’s walk, but that it was Enoch who joined God on his walk. He walked with God, rather than God walking with him. This may seem a subtle distinction, but it is an important one. While we often ask God to join in with and bless whatever we may be doing, ‘to join our walk’, Enoch in contrast, joined God’s walk. The psalmist hints at a similar dynamic when he wrote, ‘Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths’ (Psalm 25:4). Enoch’s life and walk with God raises the possibility for us of a more consistent experience of God’s presence.

Jesus spoke of our having constant fellowship, a constant walk, with God. He made it possible for our heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit to indwell our Spirit to enable this walk:

‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him’ John 14:23

This is a promise of the presence of the Father and the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. But notice also that Jesus tells us that God’s presence is cultivated by obedience to his word, so this is a conditional promise. The promise of God’s presence is not an enticement nor even a reward to keep us on the straight and narrow path. It is simply the outcome of our obedience.

Matthew’s Gospel, in particular, links our eternal destiny with the way we live now, rather than emphasizing a set of beliefs (Matthew 25: 29-30 and 40-46). Grace is a deep appreciation that we are the recipients of God’s wholly undeserved kindness. Grace is often experienced in worship, as we realize how profound the Father’s love for us is, and that experience in turn leads to deeper worship. It is this experience of the mercy of God which changes our attitudes and leads to sacrificial discipleship (Romans 12:1-2). As we respond to God’s grace it inevitably makes us more gracious as people full of gratitude which spills over into acts of kindness to others.