HOW TO WALK HUMBLY WITH GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY MAY 21, 2023.

SUBJECT : HOW TO WALK HUMBLY WITH GOD!

Memory verse: "He has shown you, so man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6 vs 8.)

READ: Deuteronomy 10 vs 12 - 13:

10:12: And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

10:13: And to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?

INTIMATION:

Walking with God is walking by faith in Him. We can only walk with God when we please Him, and, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him" (Hebrews 11 vs 6). Therefore, our faith walk with God is what pleases Him. 

How then do we obtain this essential 'faith?' The Scripture says, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10 vs 17). It is only by hearing the Word of God that we increase in the knowledge of His Will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding: "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God," (Colossians 1 vs 9 - 10.)

Often we ask, "What does God expect of me?" In our memory verse, the Scripture gives a summary of how to walk with God that is simple in form and easy to remember. Here are the essentials: (1) Fear God - have reference for Him. We must fear God’s awesome being.(2) Walk in His ways. We must obediently walk according to His will. (3) Love Him. We must respond to His being with love. (4) Serve Him with your heart and soul. Our lives must be one of service for His glory. (5) We must keep and obey His commands. 

Compliance with all that God requires results in our well-being on earth among ourselves. When we understand that all the galaxies of the heavens to the minute particles of existence on earth originated from God and that He is over all, then our response to Him is obedience to His will. 

We often complicate faith with man-made rules, regulations, and requirements, which are known as "religious rituals." But such religious rituals are not a substitute for faith, they only compliment our faith. Are you frustrated and burned out from trying hard to please God? Concentrate on His real requirements and find peace: Respect, follow, love, serve, and obey Him.

Prophet Micah noted how Israel responded to God's request by trying to appease Him with sacrifices (Micah 6 vs 6 - 7), hoping he would then leave them alone. But sacrifices and other religious rituals aren't enough; God wants changed lives. He wants His people to be fair, just, merciful, and humble. 

God does not seek ceremonial worship from those who would seek His favor. Countless ceremonial sacrifices will not forgive sins, neither will the ceremonies produce a spiritual life. There is no offering that a man can give that will atone for any sin. 

What God requires comes from the heart. That which is good does not come from outward performances of law. In one’s relationship with his fellow man, he is required to be just and have mercy. Walking humbly with God involves being led by the will of God, not one’s own inventions of religiosity. Heartless obedience to ceremonial law is rejected by God. 

God wants us to become living sacrifices (Romans 12 vs 1 - 2), not just doing religious deeds, but living rightly: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12 vs 1 - 2.) 

People have tried all kinds of ways to please God, but God has made His wishes clear: He wants His people to do what is just, love, be merciful, and walk humbly with Him. In your efforts to please God, examine these areas on a regular basis. Are you fair in your dealings with people? Do you show mercy to those who wrong you? Are you learning humility? What have you sacrificed yourself to the Lord? It is impossible to follow God consistently without His transforming love in your hearts. (Hebrews 9 vs 14.)

Prayer: Abba Father, I love You with all my heart. Search my heart and know there is no deceit. I fall short of Your standards as the human I am. Circumcise my heart, and renew the right spirit within me. And let the Holy Spirit, my Senior Partner, take over my words, thoughts, and actions, that I may consistently walk according to Your precepts, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!