Father s House Ministries. Walking with God

Transcription

1 Father s Huse Ministries Cpyright Jhn K. Park Walking with Gd Genesis 5: And after he became the father f Methuselah, Ench walked with Gd 300 years and had ther sns and daughters 24 Ench walked with Gd; then he was n mre, because Gd tk him away. Tday, I wuld like t share abut a very special man; his name is Ench. The Bible, in Genesis 5:22, tells us that Ench walked with Gd. In fact, the New Testament, in Hebrews 11:5, describes that Ench walking with Gd was pleasing t Gd: Hebrews 11:5 Fr befre he was taken, he [Ench] was cmmended as ne wh pleased Gd. Nw, befre I share n Ench, let's quickly g thrugh the genealgy f Adam and find ut a hidden prphecy abut Gd's plan fr the mankind. Adam, whse name means Man, fell Adam had Cain & Abel, but Cain killed Abel, s Cain was remved frm the Gd's generatin; s in Genesis Chapter 5, Adam's generatin starts with Seth, whse name means Anther; the secnd generatin; Seth then had Ensh, whse name means Mrtal, Flesh; Ensh had Kenan, whse name means Srrw; Kenan had Mahalalel, whse name means Blessed; Mahalalel had Jared, whse name means Shall Cme Dwn; Jared had Ench, whse name means Teach; Ench had Methuselah, whse name means His Death Shall Bring; Methuselah had Lamech, whse name means Despair; and Lamech had Nah, whse name means Bring Relief. S Nah is the ninth generatin frm Adam, and the tenth generatin f men. S, the names f Adam's seven generatins in Genesis utline the Gd's redemptive plan fr all mankind: Man fell, and Gd will send Anther as a Mrtal (r in Flesh), wh will be a man f Srrws, but He will be called Blessed and He Shall Cme Dwn, Teach, and His Death Shall Bring Despair t all, but will als Bring Relief. This prphesy may apply t the Gd's salvatin plan in Nah, but we can all be assured that this prphesy utlines the Gd's redemptive plan fr all mankind thrugh ur LORD and Savir, Jesus Christ. As we study the Bible, it is amazing t me hw Gd has rchestrated His prphetic message f His Sn cming t bring salvatin t all. Jhn 3: Fr Gd s lved the wrld that he gave his ne and nly Sn, that whever believes in him shall nt perish but have eternal life. 17 Fr Gd did nt send his Sn int the wrld t cndemn the wrld, but t save the wrld thrugh him. 18 Whever believes in him is nt cndemned, but whever des nt believe stands cndemned already because he has nt believed in the name f Gd s ne and nly Sn. 1

2 Father s Huse Ministries Cpyright Jhn K. Park Nw, ging back t Genesis, back t the stry f Ench, the Bible tells us that Ench was the 7 th generatin ( th after Adam) f men. In this 7 th generatin, smething wnderful happens that has nt happened befre. The Bible tells us that Ench walked with Gd. S, what is this walking with Gd that is s special that the New Testament clearly states that it was pleasing t Gd? Befre I talk abut walking with Gd, it is interesting t nte that Adam knew Gd, and he had apparently taught abut Gd t his children. We knw this t be true because bth Cain and Abel had relatinship with Gd and bth had ffered sacrifices t Gd. Hwever, ur sin nature takes ver Cain and Cain kills Abel, and Cain is remved frm the genealgy f Adam. S, hw many f us knw that just being taught abut Gd and even talking t Gd des nt guarantee us f a gd relatinship with Gd? Cain, if he were alive tday, he culd have easily amazed us with what we thught f his spirituality. After all, he was talking t Gd in a persnal way But, we knw that Cain was rejected by Gd and he was a murderer. As Cain murdered Abel and was cast ut, Adam was left with n sn. S, Gd graciusly gave Adam a by named Seth, whse name means Anther. Genesis 4:25 25 Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth t a sn and named him Seth, saying, Gd has granted me anther child in place f Abel, since Cain killed him. Thank Gd that Gd was gracius and generus t Adam that He gave Adam, anther, because withut Seth, we all wuld have been lst frever. Hwever, n ne, nt Cain and nt even Satan, culd thwart the plans f Gd. Just think abut it, frm the very beginning f Genesis, starting with Gd giving fallen Adam and Eve garments f skin, shedding inncent bld f the animal, prbably f a lamb, prphesized that Gd will redeem men by shedding f bld f an inncent, but Satan was and is unable t thwart the plans f Gd. Als, even thrugh the genealgy described in Genesis Chapter 5, as illustrated earlier, Gd clearly prphesizes His plan f redemptin f men using the names f the first ten generatins, but Satan was and is unable t thwart the plans f Gd. S, Hallelujah! Will smebdy praise the greatness f ur Gd? Nw, ging back t Adam and Seth, merely being taught abut Gd and even talking t Gd persnally is nt walking with Gd. S, let us nt assume that we are walking with Gd, just because we have heard abut Gd r just because we pray r talk with Gd. Anther interesting thing is that since the secnd generatin, frm the time Seth had a sn, men called n the name f Gd. Genesis 4:2 2 Seth als had a sn, and he named him Ensh. At that time men began t call n the name f the LORD. S, hw many f us knw that just calling n the name f Gd, r having a prayer life, des nt guarantee us f a gd relatinship with Gd? Als, the Hebrew wrd translated as "t call n" in Genesis 4:2 culd be translated as "t prclaim". 2

3 Father s Huse Ministries Cpyright Jhn K. Park Therefre, the peple, since the secnd generatin, prclaimed and wrshipped Gd with the prper name f Gd, but hw many f us knw that just prclaiming the name f Gd, preaching in the name f Gd, r wrshipping in the name f Gd des nt guarantee us a gd relatinship with Gd? Fr example, Pharisees called n the prper name f Gd all the time, had very disciplined prayer life, had prclaimed His name in awe and in hnr, and wrshipped Gd in His name, but Jesus rebuked many f them as sns f Devil. Then, what is it that Ench did that Gd said "Ench walked with Gd," t which Gd said Ench pleased Gd s much that Gd tk him away s Ench wuld nt have t experience death? Hebrews 11:5 5 By faith Ench was taken frm this life, s that he did nt experience death; he culd nt be fund, because Gd had taken him away. Fr befre he was taken, he was cmmended as ne wh pleased Gd. The answer, I believe, is given in Hebrews 11:, right after Hebrews 11:5, and it is by faith; nt by any faith, but by faith f thse wh earnestly seek Him. Hebrews 11: And withut faith it is impssible t please Gd, because anyne wh cmes t him must believe that he exists and that he rewards thse wh earnestly seek him. Then, des nt all religin claim t earnestly seek Gd? Even in the time f Ench, there were ther religins. We knw this, because there were blasphemers in his time; in fact, at that time, there were supernatural beings wh actually dwelled amng men and even married wmen. Genesis :1 When men began t increase in number n the earth and daughters were brn t them, 2 the sns f Gd saw that the daughters f men were beautiful, and they married any f them they chse And many refer t these sns f Gd f Genesis :1 as fallen angels r gds with small "g's." And their children were called Nephilim. Therefre, these Nephilim were hybrid f supernatural beings with wmen, and refer t them as demi-gds and many refer t them as giants, because f their size. Genesis :4 4 The Nephilim were n the earth in thse days and als afterward when the sns f Gd went t the daughters f men and had children by them. They were the heres f ld, men f renwn. 3

4 Father s Huse Ministries Cpyright Jhn K. Park Even tday, there are many zealts in ther religins wh earnestly seek their gd, many with mre passin and mre zeal than us. Hwever, nne f them can identify themselves as walking with Gd and Gd certainly will nt identify Himself as walking with them. Why? It is bvius. It is because n ne can g t Gd, except thrugh his r her faith in Jesus Christ! Jhn 14: Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. N ne cmes t the Father except thrugh me. That is right! N ne can meet Gd except thrugh Jesus! Therefre, it is nt any faith that pleases Gd, enabling a persn t walk with Gd. Fr example, Pharisees had dedicated their entire lives in seeking Gd and they certainly believed that they had sincere and strng faith; in fact, they sincerely believed that their faith was greater than anyne else's, fully attested at least in their wn eyes by what they preached, what they taught and what and hw they did things related t Gd. Nw, allw me share briefly abut faith. All faith are similar in its develpment: Faith is Birthed by a Chice Birthing Faith Faith is Strengthened by Will Blind Faith Faith is Strengthened by Understanding Faith is Strengthened by Discipline Faith is Strengthened by Experiences & Testimnies Faith is Strengthened by Hearing & Sight Faith is Strengthened by Perseverance Faith is Strengthened by Relatinship Hwever, nt all faith leads t Gd. Jhn 14: Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. N ne cmes t the Father except thrugh me. And, nt all relatinship with Gd is walking with Gd. Fr example, Adam knew Gd even after he fell, but Gd did nt say Adam walked with Gd; Seth knew Gd, but Gd did nt say Seth walked with Gd. Here is a hint: T ther than Ench, nly Adam & Eve, befre they fell, Gd said He walked with them. But, t Ench, Gd said twice, in Genesis 5:-24, that Ench walked with Gd; that Ench walked with Gd fr 300 years; that Ench walked with Gd and Gd tk him away (withut seeing death)! Genesis 5:-24 When Ench had lived 5 years, he became the father f Methuselah. 22 And after he became the father f Methuselah, Ench walked with Gd 300 years and had ther sns and daughters. 23 Altgether, Ench lived 35 years. 24 Ench walked with Gd; then he was n mre, because Gd tk him away. 4

5 Father s Huse Ministries Cpyright Jhn K. Park Then what kind f faith did Ench have that he was able t walk with Gd fr 300 years, that he pleased Gd s much that he did nt have t experience death? Hebrews 11:5 5 By faith Ench was taken frm this life, s that he did nt experience death; he culd nt be fund, because Gd had taken him away. Fr befre he was taken, he was cmmended as ne wh pleased Gd. I believe the secret f faith Ench had, the secret f the relatinship he had with Gd, is repeated twice in Genesis 5:-24: Genesis 5:-24 When Ench had lived 5 years, he became the father f Methuselah. 22 And after he became the father f Methuselah, Ench walked with Gd 300 years and had ther sns and daughters. 23 Altgether, Ench lived 35 years. 24 Ench walked with Gd; then he was n mre, because Gd tk him away. The Bible tells us that Ench walked with Gd. Then, what is walking with Gd? Is it having faith by chice? Is it having faith by willpwer? Is it having faith thrugh understanding and revelatins? Is it having faith thrugh discipline? Is it having faith thrugh experiences and testimnies? Is it having faith thrugh hearing and seeing Gd? Is it having faith thrugh perseverance? Is it having faith thrugh relatinship? The answer is N! Each f these is s very imprtant in ur develpment and in ur relatinship with Gd; therefre, we cannt neglect any f these. Hwever, nne f these by itself is walking with Gd. Even the cmbinatin f all these wnderful things, even as the whle, what we may define as ur great spirituality is nt walking with Gd. Each f these is a fruit f walking with Gd, but nt walking with Gd. Smetime the peple, especially well-intended Christians, fcus s much n these fruits and n hw t bear these fruits, miss the fruit bearing tree! Thus, we celebrate the fruits, but miss the bigger picture, the tree. We write ff the tree as smething that is always there, and because it is always there, we ignre it t a pint, we neglect it. 5

6 Father s Huse Ministries Cpyright Jhn K. Park Then what is walking with Gd? I believe the Bible gives us the answer in Ams 3:3. Ams 3:3 3 D tw walk tgether unless they have agreed t d s? Then what is walking tgether in Ams 3:3 represent? It is entering int an agreement. Then the questin is, entering int what agreement? It is agreeing with the Truth! It is agreeing with the fruit bearing Tree, rather than its fruits. Then the questin is, agreeing with what truth? What is this fruit bearing Tree that I am talking abut? It is agreeing with Jesus and what Gd has dne thrugh Jesus N wnder Jesus said in Jhn 14:, Jhn 14: Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. N ne cmes t the Father except thrugh me. Then hw d we agree t that truth? We agree with that truth when we believe in Wh Jesus is and What Gd did thrugh Jesus! Clssians 1: Fr Gd was pleased t have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and thrugh him t recncile t himself all things, whether things n earth r things in heaven, by making peace thrugh his bld, shed n the crss. S, what did Gd d thrugh Jesus? Clssians 1:2-23 Once yu were alienated frm Gd and were enemies in yur minds because f yur evil behavir. 22 But nw he has recnciled yu by Christ s physical bdy thrugh death t present yu hly in his sight, withut blemish and free frm accusatin 23 if yu cntinue in yur faith, established and firm, nt mved frm the hpe held ut in the gspel. Therefre, walking with Gd is fully believing and knwing that we have been fully and cmpletely recnciled t Gd thrugh Jesus Christ, thrugh the sacrifice Jesus did n the Crss; fully trusting in the pwer f the Crss and the Bld f Jesus spilled n the Crss; and trusting in nthing else! Let me ask yu, can we cme int a full agreement with Gd withut a full recnciliatin with Gd? Of curse nt! T walk with Gd is t cme int a full agreement with Gd, such that we fully believe that we have been cmpletely and perfectly recnciled thrugh His Sn. Then what des walking with Gd, that is fully believing and knwing that we have been fully and cmpletely recnciled t Gd thrugh Jesus Christ, thrugh the sacrifice Jesus did n the Crss, thus fully trusting in the pwer f the Crss and the Bld f Jesus spilled n the Crss, like? I believe Galatians 3:10-12 tells us what it lks like. Galatians 3: All wh rely n bserving [r rely n] the law are under a curse, fr it is written: Cursed is everyne wh des nt cntinue t d everything written in the Bk f the Law. 11 Clearly n ne is justified befre Gd by the law, because, The righteus will live by faith. 12 The law is nt based n faith.

7 Father s Huse Ministries Cpyright Jhn K. Park It is living by faith! Nt any faith, but faith in the recnciliatin wrk Jesus did n the Crss that catapulted us int the full recnciliatin with Gd. S, when a persn relies n what he r she has dne, then the persn is relying n the law. When a persn relies n the chices ne made fr Gd, then the persn is relying n the law. When a persn relies n his r her willpwer t fllw Gd, then the persn is relying n the law. When a persn relies n his r her understanding f Gd r the revelatins he r she has, then the persn is relying n the law. When a persn relies n his r her discipline r abilities, then the persn is relying n the law. When a persn relies n his r her aninting f his gifts, then the persn is relying n the law. When a persn relies n his r her hearing Gd r seeing Gd, then the persn is relying n the law. When a persn relies n his r her maturity in Christ r spirituality in Christ, then the persn is relying n the law. When a persn relies n his r her perseverance r his r her intimacy with Gd, then the persn is relying n the law. Gd has graciusly given all f the abve gd things fr ur enjyment and s that we can cme t knw Gd better, but nne f these can be relied n in rder t agree with Gd r t be recnciled with Gd. The walking with Gd is based slely n faith, and that faith must be n the wrk Jesus has dne n the Crss! S, when appraching Gd, lay dwn everything but what Jesus has dne n the Crss, and Gd walks with yu. 1 Crinthians 1:-23 Fr since in the wisdm f Gd the wrld thrugh its wisdm did nt knw him, Gd was pleased thrugh the flishness f what was preached t save thse wh believe. 22 Jews demand miraculus signs and Greeks lk fr wisdm, 23 but we preach Christ crucified. If I may amplify these verses a bit, it reads: 1 Crinthians 1:-23 Fr since in the wisdm f Gd the wrld thrugh its wisdm did nt knw him, Gd was pleased thrugh the flishness f what was preached t save thse wh believe. 22 Jews demand miraculus signs, Greeks lk fr wisdm, and "mdern Christians" lk fr discipline and spirituality, 23 but we preach Christ crucified. S, when appraching Gd, lay dwn everything but what Jesus has dne n the Crss, and Gd walks with yu. Dn t wrry abut the fruits yu are bearing because, when we truly embrace the pwer f the wrk Jesus has dne fr us n the Crss as the nly means t please Gd, the very fruits we are seeking will be brne naturally, because we have changed frm within - the fruit f true transfrmatin and f true faith. Such truth will truly give us freedm in Christ, s we are free indeed! 7

8 Father s Huse Ministries Cpyright Jhn K. Park Hwever, let us always heed the warning f the Bible in Galatians 5:13-14, and use that freedm t serve ne anther in lve as much as we can. Galatians 5: Yu, my brthers, were called t be free. But d nt use yur freedm t indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve ne anther in lve. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single cmmand: Lve yur neighbr as yurself. Nw, if what I have stated abut walking with Gd t be true, then Ench must have had a revelatin f Jesus and His wrk n the Crss, in rder t be recnciled t Gd s that He culd walk with Gd, right? But he lived thusands f years befre Jesus' first cming Hwever, we knw that Ench knew Jesus and he has had persnal revelatin f Jesus even thugh he lived thusands years befre Jesus came. His persnal knwing and his revelatin abut Jesus is attested by Jude Jude Ench, the seventh frm Adam, prphesied abut these men: See, the Lrd is cming with thusands upn thusands f his hly nes 15 t judge everyne, and t cnvict all the ungdly f all the ungdly acts they have dne in the ungdly way, and f all the harsh wrds ungdly sinners have spken against him. T me, it is interesting t nte that Ench started t walk with Gd when his sn was brn, whm he named Methuselah, whse name means His Death Shall Bring. Culd it be that Ench named his sn Methuselah, because he had just received a revelatin f Jesus, the Messiah, and His wrk n the Crss? We will knw mre fully when we meet Jesus. Therefre, t summarize tday's sermn: Faith in Gd is nt relying n what we have dne in the past r what we can d fr Gd nw r in the future, is nt relying n ur spirituality r ur discipline, is nt trying t be hly r be set apart (fr we have n idea what that is - it is Gd wh gives us hliness and sets us apart nly because what Jesus has dne fr us). Faith in Gd is cmpletely relying n what Jesus has dne fr us. S what we call bearing the "gd fruits", withut having the cncept f the Vine that prduces gd fruit, is wrthless effrt f men. S, let us mediate n what Jesus has gifted us, rather than what we have dne r what we must d t please Him. Anything we d t please Gd, ther than believing in what He did, is abminatin t Gd; mere pursuit f the law which is nt based n faith. S, let us, tday, mediate n what Jesus has dne fr us - the pwer f the Crss and the Bld! When we truly embrace nly the pwer f the wrk Jesus has dne n the Crss, the very fruits we are seeking will be brne naturally, because we have changed frm within - the fruit f true transfrmatin and f true faith. Knw that when we rely n ur maturity in Christ, when we rely n ur spirituality in Christ, when we rely n ur experiences with Gd, rather than relying cmpletely n the wrk f Jesus, we are fling urselves and weakening ur relatinship with Gd. 8