WALKING TOGETHER
BIBLE PASSAGE: LEVITICUS 26: 1-12, 27; AMOS 3:3
Picture taken from Google
Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of
Solomon’s Wisdom FB page
Lesson
ideas taken from: https://www.biblestudytools.com/
MARCH 07, 2021
MEMORY VERSE
And I will walk among you, and will be your God,
and ye shall be my people
LEVITICUS 26:12
INTRODUCTION:
Who do you want to walk with? I remember when I was in my
early years of being a Christian, we used to walk on our way home, no matter
how far it was. An industrious young people accompanied all the girls on their
way home and that was he was doing after Gospel Hour Service. It was also one
way of saving money for transportation because lot of young people had not
given money by their parents in going to church at that time. It was okay doing
this because you love the fellowship of the believers. Back to the question, do
we want strangers or someone we love?
How about in spiritual life, do we want to walk with unbelievers or with
God?
Our subject today is, "Walking with God, or Separating from
the World." Of course, this address is to those that have been
redeemed by the precious blood of Christ; for no man has a desire to walk with
God until he is saved. For six thousand years, since Adam fell out of communion
with God, God has been trying to win back the sons and daughters of Adam into
communion with himself. When Adam was innocent of sin, he could walk with God;
but the moment he fell, he ran away and hid himself and was out of communion
with God. When men are going away from God, they do not desire to walk with him;
but after we have become his children, the sweetest lesson we can learn is how
to walk with him in constant fellowship, how to be in communion with him all
the while. In line with this, let’s see what the advantages of walking with GOD are.
LESSON OUTLINE:
1. WALKING WITH GOD MAKES US PROSPER
(LEV. 26: 12, 27-28)
And I
will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people. And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary
unto me; Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I,
will chastise you seven times for your sins.
Remember the Israelites when they chose for a king
instead of a prophet, ordained by the Lord, to guide them? We can see that they
had free will to decide.
Now if nations will not walk with
God, it is the privilege of individuals to do so; and each one of us in this
house can be brought into communion with God, and walk with him the rest of our
days, if we will. It says in 1 Peter 2:20-21 says, "For what glory is it if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall
take it patiently? but if when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it
patiently, this is acceptable with God, For even hereunto were ye called:
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should
follow in his steps."
Now if you read the history of
that nation, you will find that as long as they kept the law, they prospered
which means they walk with God. He gave them the rain in season, and God caused
their land to bring forth abundance; but when they turned away from him and
would not reverence his law, then they brought calamity upon themselves, and
they were taken into bondage and servitude. Nebuchadnezzar took them into
bondage and kept them for seventy years, because they would not reverence the
law. Now it says in that same chapter, 12th verse: "And I will walk among
you and will be your God, and you shall be my people." He said, I will
come down among you, and you shall be my people, and I shall be your God. And
what nation had a God like that? What nation was blessed like that nation, when
God was walking with them? If they were in battle, God sent legions of angels
to help them if they put their trust in him. But then he warns them in the 27th
verse: "And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary
unto me, then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will
chastise you seven times for your sins."
This is a walk
with GOD: "Enoch walked with God." This Is not an ordinary
walk, and you do not keep company with the ordinary. You are walking with God.
However strange it may seem to our finite minds, it is possible, according to
the Word of God, to live in the realm of the Spirit and walk in fellowship with
the heavenly Father. Enoch’s walk emphasizes an Important relationship between
humanity and divinity, between God and man, between that which Is weak and
limited, and that which Is powerful and unlimited. Think of the high and holy
privilege of walking with God. What an exciting thought that I can walk with
God. 1 John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his
Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
The
walk of which the Bible speaks means you
have discovered the road of truth. The quest for truth is as old as the
human race. Pilate was not the first man to ask, "What is truth?" Men
of every generation have asked that question. The followers of Buddha have
answered it by saying truth is following the teachings of Buddha. The disciples
of Confucius have answered it by saying, truth is observing the teachings of
Confucius. The devotees of the Prophet Mohammed have answered it by saying
Allah is God and Mohammed is his prophet. But the voice of Jesus Christ speaks
loud and clear above all others as he declares, "I am the Way, the Truth,
and the Life. No man comes to God except by me."
Some
people say, "Let’s be broad-minded. All roads lead to heaven. You go your
way, and I’ll go mine and we’ll arrive at the same destination." But the
truth reveals there is only one way to heaven. The Bible says it is a narrow
way; it has a strait gate, and only a few will find it.
Others
have said it doesn’t really matter what you believe so long as you are sincere
in believing it. But I beg to differ with such an opinion. Sincerity is
commendable only so long as it is based on truth. I have no doubt that Adolph
Hitler was a sincere man. He believed in what he was doing and sold a nation on
it. Jim Jones with his cult in South America was sincere-but his sincerity
could not be commended when he coaxed or forced nearly 1000 people to commit
suicide in the name of religion. It does matter what you believe. Our faith
must be based upon truth.
The
psalmist says, "Teach me thy way, O Lord, I will walk in thy truth: unite
my heart to fear thy name" (86:11).
Let’s read some spiritual quotes from famous people - “Those
who walk with God, always reach their destination.” ― Henry Ford
“If I walk with the world, I can’t walk with God.”
Dwight L. Moody
2. YOU WON’T LOSE POWER; GOD WALKS WITH
YOU (AMOS 3:3)
Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
In
electrical terms, lose power means when the electrical power goes out
unexpectedly. A power
outage may:
· Disrupt communications, water and transportation.
· Close retail businesses, grocery stores, gas
stations, ATMs, banks and other services.
· Cause food spoilage and water contamination.
· Prevent use of medical devices
Spiritual losing power means you are not in the
light; you can fight back the influence of this world. We need to walk with
God. THIS IS A WALK OF FAITH: The
Bible says that Enoch had this testimony that "he pleased God"
(Hebrews 11:5). How was Enoch able to please God? The writer of Hebrews tells
us that "without faith it is impossible to please [God]" (11:6).
Enoch could walk with God because he was a man of faith and placed his trust in
God. God is a big God. He is the God of the maximum and not the minimum; the
God of might and miracle. He is the God of unlimited power, and He will reveal
Himself to us if we believe and trust Him. He will shake heaven and earth
in order to reveal His glory and power to His people.
In 2 Corinthians 3:5 Paul says, "Not
that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our
sufficiency is of God." Paul never glories in the flesh but ascribes the
winning of life’s battles to "Him that loved us."
·
Walking in faith means walking in power for God is
power. His power is at work in us and through us and for us. This being true,
our lives do not have to be sick and anemic, but we can be men and women of
faith keenly aware of the adequacy of divine grace for every need. In Ephesians
1:19 Paul states, ". . . according to the working of his mighty
power." Other phrases in his letters such as "the effectual working
of his power" (Ephesians 3:7) and again "to Him that is of power to
stablish you" (Romans 16:25)-these and fifty other passages give us
authority to echo Paul’s words, "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of
his might." (Ephesians 6:10)
· Walking by
faith also means growing in Christ. In Colossians 2:6, 7 we read, "As
ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him, Rooted and
built up in him and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding
therein with thanksgiving."
In this one passage Paul
talks about four elements of the Christian experience. Walking-Growing-
Building- and Abounding.
Walking expresses Life.
Growing expresses an inner
power.
· When we walk
with God by faith, we will also experience intimate fellowship with Him.
"What a fellowship, what a joy divine, Leaning on the everlasting arms . .
. I have blessed peace, with my Lord so near, Leaning on the everlasting
arms." We have discovered, as did Enoch, that walking and living in the
presence of God is an experience of blessed fellowship and sweet communion.
We read in
the chapter 3 of Amos, 3rd verse: "Can
two walk together, except they be agreed?" If you see a man that is in
communion with another man, you say, those two men agree pretty well. If you
see two businessmen that go to their stores together every morning, you say
they agree; and if they do not have fellowship with one another, you do not
have the same impression. If a man is going to walk with God, he has got to
agree with God. He has got to give up his own thoughts and ways; for God is
above us and is not going to give up his ways to walk with us. What is the
first thing you notice if a person is a Christian or not? For me, a person’s
lifestyles – we don’t know how they talk but we can already see their lifestyle
– vices like smoking and in appearance – piercing and other worldly getups. Let’s
take this example - Suppose I walk with a man to a bank, and while he breaks in
and steals $100,000, I wait for him and then walk off with him. The police get
hold of us, and they make no difference between us. I walked to that bank with him and walked away with him; and I am just as bad as that man. If we are
going to be hand and glove with the ungodly, there is no difference between us.
Let us look
at chapter 11 of Numbers and on the 13th and 14th verse.
I think that gives us another view of this truth, and how it is we have lost
our power. "And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting:
and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, “Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the flesh that we did
eat in Egypt freely, the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the
onions, and the garlic. But now our soul is dried away; there is nothing at
all, besides this manna, before our eyes." What a sad picture that was.
God gave them angels' food, bread from heaven; and they hated it. Why? On
account of the mixed multitude, they got
in with the world, with unbelievers, and they began to talk against the
manna and about the onions, and leeks and garlics which they ate down in Egypt.
What do you see to-day? Men hate/dislike the Bible; men don't love this bread
which has come down from heaven, which feeds our souls; they run off to operas
and theatres, and the world has come into the church. They hate the manna which
God has sent them from heaven, on account of this mixed multitude.
“God’s mighty power comes when
God’s people learn to walk with God.” Jack Hyles
CONLUSION:
It is always a pleasant experience
to walk with someone you love. We should love walking with God. There are some wonderful things that God, our
walking companion, does for us as we put our trust in Him. I want to mention
three. He guides us, He comforts us, and He protects us as we walk together.
First,
He is our Guide. The psalmist wrote, "For this God is our God
for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death" (48:14). That’s a
wonderful promise. Life can be a frustrating journey. It has many uncertain
turns. I, for one, need a trusty guide and friend to show me the way. When you
take a journey with a capable and trusted guide, you can leave your worries
behind. He arranges the details of the Journey. He knows the destination
because he has been there before; all you have to do is go with him, listen to
him, and follow his instructions.
Martin Luther once said, "I know not the way
God leads me, but well do I know my Guide." He can always be trusted.
Thank God our traveling companion is Trustworthy-He knows the way, He knows the
pitfalls, and He erases worry from our minds when we put the details of the
journey in His hands.
Second,
our walking companion also gives us comfort and strength for each traveling day.
The Bible says in Deuteronomy 33:25, "As thy days, so shall thy
strength be." These words were part of a blessing Moses pronounced upon
the tribe of Asher, but they stand as a testimony of God’s faithfulness to all
His people. We sometimes wonder if the demands of life will be too heavy for
the circuits. Will we make it? But the answer of the Word of God is, "As
your days may demand, so shall your strength be." God has promised that
when you walk, you will never walk alone. He is with you. He reminds us,
"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount
up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31).
God said follow me and it means he
is walking before you therefore, “Don’t worry God has gone before you and
prepared the way. Just keep walking.” (Remember pastor rod had said this)
Third, our walking companion also protects us on our
journey. The psalmist declares, "The Lord is my rock, and my
fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my
buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the
Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so, shall I be saved from mine enemies"
(Psalm 18:2-3).
When
we hear these words, we recognize God as the defender and protector of His
people-an ever-present help in the time of trouble. David says God is like a
great fortress whose walls cannot be penetrated by the enemy. He also says God
is my coat of armor and shield against the arrows that come my way. He is the
strength of my life. When I would be faint and weary, He refreshes and restores
me.
Let me say this quote, “Smart men walked on the moon, daring
men walked on the ocean floor, but wise men walk with God.” Leonard Ravenhill
How
many times have we thought we would perish on our journey? How many times have
we thought we would die in the heat of the battle? But God raised up a standard
against our enemy. When the enemy came in like a flood, God raised up His army
against him. God protects His people from the enemy and surrounds them with His
loving care. Thank God for His watchful, caring, loving protection, along the
journey of life.
Let’s
be reminded that “THE MORE YOU WALK WITH
GOD, THE HARDER IT IS TO SCRAPE YOUR KNEE.”
