A Closer walk with God by Ben Fronczek

http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?p=1162

A Closer Walk With God

A Closer walk with God                                                                                 

Intro. I believe that if you ask most Christians they will tell you that they would like to have a a closer relationship with God. Apart from accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior many of us are not quite sure what God wants and expects from us personally.  In Micah 6:6-8 we have an answer to that question. And what does our Lord and God really want from us? Are we to make all kind of offering and sacrifices or huge contributions to Him? No. Out of obligation to Him do we need to recite a list of prayers over and over for hours each day or go to church each time the door is open? Does God want and expect us to sell our homes and move to Africa to become missionaries? What exactly does God want and expect from you and me?

Read Micah 6:6-8 Here we see exactly what the Lord wants of us… “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

“To act Justly” to me means that we need to act and be fair when it comes to how we act around others. It involves being honest and always doing the right thing. If we want to be close to God we can’t go around ling to and cheating others.  We need to give our best. This also includes our employers.

Then he said we need to…“To Love Mercy” to me this has to do with how we treat others.  The Hebrew word that Micah uses here and translates “mercy,” is a rich one. It is also carries the idea of, tender mercies, loving-kindness, steadfast love.  In relation to God’s mercy, it is used most often refers His grace, or of UNEXPECTED kindness. We are also to fill our hearts with compassion and kindness towards one another and be kind.

Notice also that the requirement here is not that we simply HAVE mercy, but rather we are to LOVE mercy. There is a big difference between the two. One is to do acts of kindness from a sense of obedience or obligation, but when we Love mercy and do kind acts it says a lot about one’s heart.

And finally Micah reports that God also really wants us to “HUMBLY WALK WITH HIM.”

“What does it mean to walk with God?”
Answer: There are several people described as “walking with God” in the Bible, for one, Enoch in Genesis 5:24. Noah is also described as “a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God (Genesis 6:9).

Walking with God is not an activity reserved for a select few. God desires all of His children to walk with Him.

What happens when we walk with someone? Imagine that you and a close friend are enjoying a walk down a country road or path.

You are in close proximity. You talk, laugh, listen, and share what’s on your hearts. Your attention is focused on this person to the exclusion of almost everything else. You notice the beauty around you or an occasional distraction, but only to point it out to your companion. You share it together. You are in harmony, and you both enjoy the peaceful time together.

Walking with God is kind of like that. When we enter into a heart felt relationship with God, He becomes our heart’s greatest desire and primary focus.

We need to realize that going to church and listening to a preacher or listening to a sermon on TV isn’t really time with God. Over and over in scripture we are told not to substitute anyone or anything for God. There is not substitute for spending time with God Himself, talking with Him, sharing our hearts with Him, and quietly listening for His response.

When we do this, things begin to happen.  As He becomes everything to us we are strengthened. Worship our Lord become an everyday part of us.

This walk is so much more than just going to church on Sunday morning.  A. W. Tozer states that the goal of every Christian should be to “live in a state of unbroken worship.” This is only possible when we walk with God.

Just like walking with a close friend requires saying “no” to other things we could do, walking with God requires letting go of anything that would be a distraction.

When the Bible speaks of “walking,” it often refers to a lifestyle. We can walk in the ways of the world as well. In the New Testament, walking with God is often called “walking in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16; Romans 8:4).

To walk with God means you have aligned your will with His. You don’t have to be perfect; none of us are. But our heart’s desire is to seek Him out and commune with Him and do our best to please HIM, and be willing to let His Spirit commune with us and conform us to the image of His Son.

I love the story of Enoch and his walk with God    In Genesis 5:21-24 it says, “21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years.   24 Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” NIV

The NLT put it this way “ 21 When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. 23 Enoch lived 365 years, 24 walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.” NLT

I like how the Amplified Bible translates this…“21 When Enoch was 65 years old, Methuselah was born. 22 Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God after the birth of Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 24 And Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God; and he was not, for God took him [home with Him].”

It is evident that Enoch was a great man because:

– The writer stop in a long list of recited names to mention Enoch’s special relationship with God.

– Then Later in Hebrews 11:5 Enoch is listed with those in the ‘hall of fame of faith’. It says, “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.”

So what are some Results of Walking with God. David was a man who walked with God. One thing I like about David is how he wrote thoughts down which we now have preserved in the book of Psalms. For me it’s like peering into his personal diary or journal seeing his most intimate thoughts. In Ps. 16 we can read what spending time with God gave him.

Read Psalm 16:7-11

7 I will bless the Lord who guides me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I know the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

9 No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice.
My body rests in safety.
10 For you will not leave my soul among the dead
or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.
11 You will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever.

For David walking with God provided Him with: Blessings, guidance, instruction, a sense of security knowing that His God was always right beside him. It enables him to rest, feel safe, it showed him the way of life, it gave him joy and gave him the hope of eternal life.

It is amazes me the depth of spiritual knowledge one can attain by spending much time with God. David understood so many things including the fact that God would allow him to be swept away at the end of his life, but rather he would be granted the joy of God’s own presence and would live with Him in HIS presence, forever.

Enoch also had special knowledge. Listen to what Jude records about Enoch in his letter. “14 Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, “Listen! The Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones 15 to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”  16 These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want.”

Where did Enoch get this information about the Lord’s return and judgement? There is only one place he could have gotten this information, and that was from God Himself as he walked and talked with Him.

There is another good and positive thing seen in scripture that comes with walking with God. In Hebrews 5:11 also mentions the fact that Enoch pleased God. What Father doesn’t what his children to love him and be around him and share with him?

And finally, there is another blessing of walking with God;  Eternal Companionship. Somehow David knew and possessed the hope that he would one day live in God’s presence, forever.

In Enoch’s case, one day God simply took Enoch away. He probably took him home in Heaven.

Do you really want to be happy and know that you are doing what pleases God? Then act justly, always be fair, Love mercy, love to see it in others, love being kind on all occasions.

And learn to walk with God more. Get close to Him. Realize like David, that He is ever present; in your home, at work, in your car, in your bed, in church, everywhere, and then make it a practice to talk to Him. Share your inner most feelings and thought with Him. Thank Him and praise Him for His awesome nature and blessings. Like David share you concerns and fears and your belief that He will take care of you. And take time and be silent and just listen. I believe that God has His own special ways of communicating with us, of bringing us comfort, joy and strength.

It’s not something you have to do to get to heaven but it will make your life so much more better. I challenge you to make it a life goal to walk with Him, knowing that at any monent He is ready to walk with you.