Yesterday we began a new sermon series GodWalker. This idea comes from the Hebrew word halak. It’s the word used in Scripture to describe those who intimately “walked” with God on a daily basis. It’s much deeper than a set of beliefs or even a theological disposition. It encompasses one’s life in its entirety: work, play, family, church, school, etc.
One’s “walk” is the sum total of who they are. Often, in our business we are fractured and split as people. We are one person at work, another at church, another in public, and all too often yet another at home. As we grow deeper as a GodWalker, these separate “personalities” begin to become one, the true one, the one we were designed by the Creator to bear and re-present to the world around us.
“God…I pray that the Holy Spirit will no longer allow me to be split in my “personality” and my world to be split into compartments. Arrest my attention (spirit, mind & emotions) when I do this and help me to begin walking more wholly with You.
As Bilbo Baggin’s put it in The Fellowship of the Ring,
"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door.
You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet,
there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."
Each and everyone of us is on a spiritual journey as a GodWalker. Each and everyone of us must continue to learn how to increasingly “keep in step with the Holy Spirit” (Galatians 5:25).
We will never arrive at this type of walk arbitrarily, it will require us to be intentional, determined and creatures of change.
“So Cain went out from the LORD's presence
and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.”
(Genesis 4:16)
Scripture says that Cain departed from the LORD’S presence. Literally, Cain, was standing face-to-face with God. He “went out” from that place and settled and lived in the land of Nod. The verse, at face value is pretty straight forward. However, if you look at the place where Cain left and then the place where he would dwell the verse begins to communicate some pretty applicable truths for our present lives.
The word “Nod” means, “place of wandering” or “of aimless fugitive.” Cain began to dwell in a place that its very name meant aimless, purposeless, and wandering.
Any time we “depart” from the Lord’s presence, we depart from the place of direction, understanding and perspective. Furthermore, in those times there will be a sense of aimlessness, purpose will be less clear, and our perspective will be skewed.
Something happens as we commit ourselves to meeting with Him daily – face-to-face. When we do this, we begin to see things differently. We begin to see life as He sees it. We often are inclined to see life from our own vantage point, which is always from the perspective of Nod.
“Until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I understood…”(Psalm 73:17)
(Genesis 4:16)
Scripture says that Cain departed from the LORD’S presence. Literally, Cain, was standing face-to-face with God. He “went out” from that place and settled and lived in the land of Nod. The verse, at face value is pretty straight forward. However, if you look at the place where Cain left and then the place where he would dwell the verse begins to communicate some pretty applicable truths for our present lives.
The word “Nod” means, “place of wandering” or “of aimless fugitive.” Cain began to dwell in a place that its very name meant aimless, purposeless, and wandering.
Any time we “depart” from the Lord’s presence, we depart from the place of direction, understanding and perspective. Furthermore, in those times there will be a sense of aimlessness, purpose will be less clear, and our perspective will be skewed.
Something happens as we commit ourselves to meeting with Him daily – face-to-face. When we do this, we begin to see things differently. We begin to see life as He sees it. We often are inclined to see life from our own vantage point, which is always from the perspective of Nod.
“Until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I understood…”(Psalm 73:17)
1 comment:
Walking with God is basically giving your life over to God for His purposes and glory.
A walk is made up of a series of steps. Every journey, or walk, begins with a first step. A step is taken every time you have to make a choice or decision in your life. When you make a good step (choice), you keep your balance by living for and glorifying God. When you make a bad step (choice), you are living for yourself and your own self-gratifcation. When you make a bad step, you stumble in your walk with God.
Fortunately, God allows us the opportunity to repent. Repent meaning to change one's mind...or changing one's choice that they have made. God meets you right where you are at when you stumble, and allows you to repent and continue on your walk with Him. If you choose to do so. Pride is a dangerous thing that keeps many of us on the ground when we stumble in our life's decisions. Other believers can help a person who has fallen but they cannot make the final choice for him.
If a person chooses to walk with God and follow His path to the Promised Land, he brings glory to God and builds up a reward in heaven. If a person chooses not to walk with God, he wanders aimlessly out into the desert or towards the land of Nod. Every step we take, every choice we make, determines whether we walk towards the Promised Land or the desert. The Holy Spirit is your road map to help you find your direction again in those times you get lost.
If you've already made the first step in your walk by confessing Jesus as Lord, you'll automatically inherit your road map in the form of the Holy Spirit to help guide you on the rest of the steps of your walk.
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