Revision as of 18:17, 4 April 2023

Theological Proposition/Focus: God is a God who desires a relationship with each of us and therefore we have the opportunity to walk with God.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: Walking with God involves close communion, brings true satisfaction, and is something we are able to do!

Introduction:

Image:

Need: We need to learn how to walk with God because it has the potential to change every aspect of our life.

Subject: Prayer

Preview: Today we are going to talk about walking with God. We will begin with what, move to why, and conclude with how.

Text: Genesis 5:24

Setting the Stage:

If you read Genesis five you will see a pattern.

Adam live, bore a son, lived some more and then he died.

Seth lived, bore a son, loves some more and then he died.

Enosh lived, bore a son, lived some more and then he died.

The pattern continues throughout the chapter but one individual breaks the pattern.

Genesis 5:24 states "Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away (NIV)."

This "no more" comes from the Hebrew particle אַיִן with a pronominal suffix to mean "he was not." This is in stark contrast with those who died earlier and we are supposed to recognize the difference between the earthly end of this man who walked closely with God and all the others.

This begs the question: what does it mean to walk with God and how can I better walk with God?

Body

What does it look like to walk with God?

Hebrews 11:5

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.

We read the description of Enoch in Genesis but there is another reference to Enoch in Hebrews 11:5. Tucked in the testament of the faithful who walked closely with God is this reference to a man whose faith resulted in his assumption to heaven without experiencing death. So what does such a walk look like?

Walking with God involves steps of faith (2 Cor. 5:6-9).

The Context of 2 Cor. 5 is a focus on our future Heavenly dwelling.

A walk with God starts with a recognition that this present existence is not the be all end all of life. We look forward to a future in Heaven. And such a perspective should change us.

Fear of death is replaced with expectation of Heaven.

The physical comfort of life is replaced with an earnest longing for the presence of God.

The security of the seen is replace with faith in the unseen.

The goals of the present are replaced with eternal goals.

Image: a feedback loop

Compound interest is an example of positive feedback loops.

In all sorts of areas of technology there is what is called a feedback loop. Feedback loops can be good, when used properly, and bad, when improperly managed. Interest on an investment is a sort of positive feedback loop. Suppose your receive a large sum of money and invest it in a bank. After a yer you earn some interest and reinvest that, then the next year you have even more money to invest and earn even more money. This is what is called a positive feedback loop. I think that in many areas of our walk we have a positive feedback loop situation. You are faced with a trial, you put your focus on heaven and faithfully endure the trial. You see how God helped you through the trial and trust him more. In the next trail you again trust God but now your faith is even stronger because you grew in the last trial.

What is the point? you don't need to be a spiritual giant today, you just need to start with something small.

Walking with God looks like denial of the flesh and embracing of the Spirit (Romans 8:4).

in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

In Romans Paul pits two areas of life against each other, life in the flesh and life by the Spirit.

Image:

Why should I strive to walk with God?

Image: If I were Enoch I am worried that I would have told God "just wait, I am not ready yet."

Yes, I have to admit, I am not ready to leave this earth. There is still much I want to accomplish and while spiritually I know where I am going, I really am not ready yet. If God were to offer to take me to Heaven right now, I am afraid that I might say, "can we wait a bit?" What does this tell you about me? Well, for one, it tells you that I have not arrived in my walk with God. I really think that if my walk was where it should be then I would quickly respond to God and tell him that if He is ready for me to come to Heaven then so am I!

How can I learn to walk with God?

MTR: Take time to align yourself with God's will.

Amos 3:3, Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?

MTR: Commit to extended time in prayer.

Image: The average person speaks around 16,000 words a day.

There are plenty of anecdotal claims about how much men and women talk but from what I can tell of actual citable sources, it seems that both men and women speak on average 16,000 words a day^[1]. With that in mind consider this: a relationship based entirely on short phrases is not a relationship. What would happen at home if you spoke to your spouse, parent, or roommate at most 3 sentences at a time a half dozen times a day? But how much better is your prayer life?

Luke 6:12, One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.

MTR:

1. ↑ Greve, Joan E. “Once Again: Do Women Talk More than Men?” Time. Time, July 16, 2014. https://time.com/2992051/women-talk-more-study/.