Sermon Notes

“How to Walk With God"

By George Holmes

July 11^th, 2010

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            Part of having a personal relationship with God is walking with God.  Some people talk about running the race, but I’m gong to talk about just having a walk with God.  You have to just take a step each day.  Some agnostics would ask, “How can you have a personal relationship with someone that you’ve never met, that you cannot see, that you have not heard?”  Some would say, the same way you develop a relationship with your spouse. 

Ephesians 2:8  …by grace are you saved through faith…

            The Spirit of God has touched each one of us.  I wasn’t really pro-life at one time; I just thought people did whatever they did, and that was okay.  My wife helped me understand that better, and then God spoke to my heart.  Now I am really pro-life.

            Talking about relationships, it amazes me how other religions don’t have the same relationship with God.  They call on the Creator, god, goddess, or lord, but not the Father.  How can we go from a creator-created relationship (which isn’t really a relationship) to a Father-child relationship?  The first step: 

Luke 24:47-49             …repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem…

            This was Jesus, after He had risen on the third day, talking to His apostles.  Peter, who was one of the apostles, preached the first message of repentance and remission of sins at Jerusalem. 

Acts 2:38-41    …Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…

            So the first step is to get right, and that establishes the relationship. 

Genesis 6:9     …Noah walked with God.

            Webster’s Dictionary defines walk as:  To go on foot at a moderate pace; to follow a certain course.  The Strong’s concordance defines walk:  To walk; go forward; a pattern of conduct; to walk as a lifestyle.  There are many different ways to walk with God, such as:  fellowship with believers, obedience, seeking the guidance of the Holy Ghost, and noting God’s providence, but I’m going to cover three basic points:

1)                  Read scriptures

2)                  Prayer

3)                  Meditation

1)                  Read scriptures:

Bob Heirtzler shared one time that ‘BIBLE’ stands for Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.  It tells us how we’re supposed to walk in Christ. 

John 8:31-32   …the truth shall make you free.

            If you are free, then you are free indeed.  We may not have ever been physically bound, but we have been spiritually bound.  I know I have, but the Spirit of Grace ministered to my heart. 

Psalms 119:105          …a lamp unto my feet…

            I was going through hard times until I established the truth of God in my life. 

Matthew 4:4    It is written…

            Use the sword against Satan.  Sometimes you just have to say, “Get thee hence.” 

2)                  Prayer

            In every relationship there must be communication.  You know the saying, “The family that prays together stays together.”  We are a family; we need to pray for each other.  I was at work the other day, and we had two trucks parked beside the road.  The lead truck is pouring out asphalt, and the truck in back is there to protect us from cars as we shovel the asphalt where it needs to go.  This lady hits the back truck, and keeps going.  She got a flat tire, and started spinning.  I looked up, and saw her coming at us, but the car stopped just a few feet from us.  The guy I was working with said, “Oh my God!” and I said, “Yeah.”  I went over and talked to the driver, and she started asking me what happened; she didn’t remember any of it.  Every day when I leave for work, my wife says, “Drive careful.”  I always tell her, “It’s not me, it’s them.”  We need to pray for each other, and parents need to pray over their children. 

Philippians 4:6            Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer…

            Sometimes you have to pray that God would blind your eyes, because there are things going on that you don’t need to see.  Pray that God would keep your conscience.  You can really blow it if you aren’t spiritually prayed up. 

Luke 11:1-4, 9-13        …teach us to pray…

            These men knew how to pray.  Parrish and I went down to the Oriental Museum recently, and they had a display of all of the idols from that time period.  There were gods of this and that, and they had to pray to all of them.  The disciples wanted the Master to teach them how to pray, though.  You notice that Jesus taught them to start by acknowledging God; to say, You are my King; You are my Heavenly Father.  Then to petition God for the things that we need for our walk with Him.  And in verses 9 though 13, He gets into asking, seeking, and the Father-child relationship.  One time I was stationed in New York, and I went down to Norfolk for the week-end, and I boo-hooed to Pastor Thomas that I didn’t have the victory and that I was going through a lot of trials.  He asked me if I was praying about it, asking God for help, and seeking God’s will, and I said, “Thanks.”  Well, the conversation was much longer than that.  If you want this walk with God, and you’re having problems, ask God for help.

            There’s an old story about a pastor who told his congregation that praying to God was just like talking to anybody else.  Then he challenged people to take time right there and pray.  He walked around to see how people were doing, and he heard one man laughing.  He walked over closer, and he heard that man say, “God, did you hear the one about…”  But, really, talk to God the way you would your father, or your boss, or your friend.

3)      Meditation

            Meditation is to muse over, ponder over, to revolve something in your mind.  I was watching this clip of Dr. Oz, and he was talking about meditation.  He said it will make you healthy, and wise, and it will lengthen your life.  He’s right, but, there’s a difference between worldly meditation and Godly meditation.  

Psalms 1:1-2   …in His law doth he meditate day and night.

            Worldly meditation is to empty one’s mind.  Of course, we know that if you clear out your mind, Satan will fill it with deception.  Godly meditation is the practice of filling your mind with God’s Word for the purpose of applying it in your life.  There are many ways to meditate, but I want to cover three right now:

1)      Meditate quietly.  Give deep meditation without distractions, find a quiet place.

Genesis 24:63 …went out to meditate in the field…

            Sometimes you just need to get away. 

2)      Meditate prayerfully.  You should pray before meditating.  Prepare your heart, ask God to open your eyes and understanding.

Psalms 119:48            …I will meditate in thy statutes.

3)      Meditate vocally.  Just because you are in a quiet place doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to be quiet.  You can sing songs, or rejoice and give thanks.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18         Rejoice evermore…

4)     Meditate in pen.  Or meditation depends.  No, wait; meditate in pen.  Depends?  As long as this message is getting, I may need some depends.  You know David wrote what was on his heart.  The Book of Psalms is full of things that David wrote about sin, battles, victories, thanksgiving, and praise.  The really good thing about writing it down is that it can edify other people, too. 

Let’s read Romans 1:16 together:       “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

                             Sermon notes by Pete Shepherd