"This Is The Way, Walk In It."
Thank you for coming to read our teaching today. Our subject is an important one. When believers choose to fully walk in a way that pleases the Lord, they and the church will benefit from it. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak and reveal the truth to you concerning your walk with the Lord and whether or not any changes need to be made. Eric
I write this blog post to the nations of the earth and the people of God who have fallen from the wisdom and instruction of God. Wait! Before you decide this word isn't for you, please hear me out.
There are many in this world who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ and yet, in truth, they have fallen away from hearing, heeding or following Him and His Holy Spirit fully. As a result, many churches today have become weak because they have compromised with the way of the world.
As we read the Old Testament, we find time and time and time again where the chosen people of God were obstinate, rebellious, disobedient and compromising...all of which is sin. From the eating of the fruit, grumbling following the parting of the Red Sea, the making of the golden calf, abandoning their faith, falling into sin and idolatry, refusing to believe and trust God regarding entering the Promised Land and then spending 40 years wandering through the wilderness until all who gave the bad reports passed away, we definitely see where their hearts were. This list is not all of it, we could go on and on, but you get the picture.
One such episode for the Israelites occurred when the Assyrians were attacking them. Rather than seek the Lord's help, they turned to Egypt, their previous captors! We can read the Lord's reaction to the Israelite's rebellion in Isaiah 30:1-3, and 9-11 (NIV), "Woe to the obstinate children," declares the LORD, "to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin; 2 who go down to Egypt without consulting me; who look for help to Pharaoh's protection, to Egypt's shade for refuge. 3 But Pharaoh's protection will be to your shame, Egypt's shade will bring you disgrace... 9 For these are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the LORD's instruction. 10 They say to the seers, "See no more visions!" and to the prophets, "Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. 11 Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!" "The Hebrew interjection, 'woe' conveys grief, alarm or impending judgment." (Topical Lexicon, Bible Hub). Verses 9,10 and 11 reveal the people's hearts. They are unwilling to listen to the Lord's instruction. They did not want to hear what is 'right' or the truth. They said, "Speak pleasant words to us." They wanted to hear only words that made them ‘feel’ good.
Whoa! Does that sound like anyone you know? You possibly? Me?
Here is the thing, we as believers have numerous opportunities every single day to compromise, rebel or be disobedient in our walk with the Lord. We all do. What evidence do we see today? We know of believers living together when not married, pastors performing marriages between believers and unbelievers. How often do we judge someone based on how they look or dress? What about withholding forgiveness? Lashing out at someone in anger? Have road rage toward someone who cuts you off, causes a collision because they were high on drugs, or is driving slow ... and you left late! How often do we forge ahead with our own plans without seeking God first? How often do we get angry and frustrated at someone we perceive is not doing their share of the work? Do you criticize church leaders and/or members? How many times do you fail to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit? What do you do when He nudges you to pray for someone in the grocery store? Pray or walk away? Like the Israelites, if we are honest, and do a little self-examination, we will find we also sometimes compromise with the world, rebel or are disobedient to the Lord, His Holy Spirit and His Word.
We know that the Israelites faced consequences or judgment for their rebellion, idolatry and constant disobedience. It might have been a military defeat, oppression by a foreign power or exile. They were held captive during the Babylon exile for 70 years, because of their constant disobedience.
However, as we go back to Isaiah 30:18-22 (NIV) we read, "Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! 19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." 22 Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, "Away with you!"
God's heart desire is to extend grace to His people. God always hopes for and seeks for reconciliation. (We realize this from His sending His Son to make a way for our salvation, when there was NO other way!) God is just. Whenever there is repentance, He restores. When we cry for help (repent and turn back to Him), He is willing to forgive and restore our relationship. The intent of all of His divine discipline and correction is to bring His people back to right relationship and reliance upon Himself.
The Lord is our Shepherd and we are His sheep. In the Old Testament, the shepherds often led their sheep from behind. (1 Chronicles 17:7; Amos 7:15). When the shepherds follow the sheep, they are able to assure none of them are going astray. It is important that we read Isaiah 30: verses 21 and 22 again, "21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." 22 Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, "Away with you!" We see that the Lord is omnipresent and guides the lives of His people. We can be assured when we hear the Spirit speak, we will have the clarity and certainty of God's direction. He is our Shepherd and is guiding us. His direction will always be a path of righteousness and obedience. Our part is to hear, choose to be obedient, and take action in faith. The Hebrew word translated 'walk' halak, "ranges in meaning from simple physical motion to the comprehensive idea of a person's life -direction. It can describe footsteps across desert sands, the inner journey of faith, the moral path of obedience and even the future march of redemption." (Topical Lexicon Bible Hub).
We see examples in Enoch and Noah. Enoch 'walked' with God and entered directly into God's eternal presence. Noah 'walked' with God and became God's instrument to save mankind from annihilation.
Many nations of the world have turned to follow perversion, corruption, wickedness and every evil way. We see evidence of this in our governments, businesses, homes and even in some churches.
This is where the people of God need to step up. God extends an amazing offer to the church and nations. 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV) reveals, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." The first thing to notice is the 'condition' - "if" my people (believers) do these things, "then", I will... We are to humble ourselves, pray, turn and seek His face. When we 'humble' ourselves, our conduct is marked by quiet submission to His divine rule. We recognize our dependence upon Him. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. When we 'pray,’ we make a deliberate move into God's presence to seek mercy, justice, guidance or deliverance. To 'seek' His face, we let Him know we desire to be in His presence which indicates we desire to commune with Him and prioritize Him above all else. It also indicates we wish to align our lives to His will. When we "turn from our wicked ways" we choose to repent, turn away from our sin, disobedience and pride. Therefore, when we repent, we will stop doing the grievous behaviors. THEN - He will heal (restore the physical and spiritual well-being of) our land.
Believers, we need to choose to whole-heartedly walk with God.
We mentioned earlier we need to do a self-examination. However, that is only a starting point. Psalm 139:23 and 24 (NLT) pointedly reveals what every believer needs to do so that their lives will be in order before God and to solidify their witness to the world, "23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." The word 'search' in verse 23 "portrays a penetrating persevering search that refuses to stop until what is hidden is uncovered." (Topical Lexicon Bible Hub). Here is the thing though, His revealing those offensive things is still not enough. When we ask God 'to search us to reveal anything in us that offends Him,' then, when He reveals those things to us, we must choose to repent of them. After we repent of our sin, then, our witness to the world will be solidified. "The world observes the behavior and life of the church. When the church acts no differently than the world, it loses its credibility and authenticity." (J. Hampton Keathley).
We as believers must take the initiative to turn things around. When we portray and reflect more effectively the character and holiness of God to the world, we will be a more effective witness to them.
We will never be in this endeavor alone. God has given us His Word to guide us and His Holy Spirit to reveal His truth to us. (2 Timothy 3:16,17; John 14:26).
When we read Psalm 32:8 (NLT), we find we have come full circle. "The LORD says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you." God actively participates in guiding our lives. Yes, that voice we hear behind us, "This is my way, walk in it."
"What we focus our attention on is what will dominate our thoughts. If our thoughts are dominated by the things of this world then we are going to get worldly results in our lives. We need to focus on God to get godly results." (Andrew Wommack).
We have been given two distinct verses of Scripture that warn of what we absolutely do not want to do as God's children. Even with the prophet's warnings of their facing the judgement of God due to their unfaithfulness, Jeremiah 7:24 (BSB) reveals, "Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but they followed the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. They went backward and not forward." Then, we read Stephen's words to the high priest and Sanhedrin before they stoned him to death. Acts 7:51 (BSB), "You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did." We must listen, stop doing our own thing and stop refusing to listen to and obey the Holy Spirit. God desires to be merciful and gracious to us - will we choose to be fully guided by His Word and the Holy Spirit? Will we stop being rebellious and disobedient? Will we quit compromising His Word? Stop criticizing, being judgmental, holding on to anger or grudges?
Will we allow the Lord, His Holy Spirit and His Word to lead us? Will we fully recognize we are an imperfect people who honestly needs Him to help us make decisions, to overcome sin and to daily change so we can more clearly reflect His image to those around us? Will we listen more fully? It takes courage and strength to resist compromise! He will provide both if we will allow it and choose to move in it. Will we choose to trust His direction even if we can't clearly see or understand how things will work out?
Let's choose today to seek Him first and love Him above all! (Matthew 6:33, Mark 12:30). Let’s choose today to listen for His voice behind us, then choose to obey and walk in His way.
Scriptures were taken from :
NIV New International Version
NLT New Living Translation