January 14, 2024

HOW TO WALK WITH JESUS IN 2024

January 14, 2024

Matt Willmington

If we had asked for a show of hands in the morning service, do you think most of the congregation would have admitted they “follow” someone (or many) on social media or YouTube? Probably! And yet how many actually know the people they follow? Depending on your sphere of interest, do they use profanity as they do their monologue or writing? Do they write of profane things, or have pictures that you shouldn’t view? Do they glorify Christ as our Savior? Almost all of us follow someone but is it someone who will take us to a place that will bring us closer to Jesus? Nothing else is worth our time! He is the only One we should follow.

Focal Passages: Luke 9:23-24; Gen. 5:22-24, 6:9, 17:1, 48:15; Ex. 16; Lev. 18:4, 26:12; Deut. 6:7; I Sam. 12:2; 1 Kings 3:3, 6, 14; Acts 2:46, 6:1, 16:5, 17:11; Heb. 3:13; 1 Jn. 2:6.

Where are you walking in 2024? When you get where you’re going, where will you be?                                           Who are you following? Will they lead you to Jesus?                                                                                                          Who are you walking with? Will they destroy you or get you where you want to go?                                                          The correct answer to these questions? JESUS!

  Walk:

  • Read Genesis 3:8-9. Were Adam and Eve in a perfect world? Why were they not satisfied with what God had provided? Why did He ask, “Where are you?” Did He mean physically? What had God been doing? Was He wanting them to walk with Him?
  • Read Gen. 5:22-24. What do you think Enoch was doing as he “walked with God”? Read Heb. 11:5 and Jude 1:14. What is one thing that we know he did? Would you like to live your life in such a way that God would say about you, “You pleased me”?
  • Read Gen. 6:9. What are some things you know about Noah, outside of this verse? How do you envision that he lived his life? Do you think his sons lived as their father did?
  • Read Gen. 17:1. What was God’s instruction to Abraham? Did he do this? Why did he not trust God enough to deny Sarah the suggestion that he lay with Hagar? What was the result of his having a son by Hagar? When did he follow God most closely?
  • As you think of the people who are in Hebrews 11 (the “Hall of Faith”), what was the predominant thing about them?

God walking with His people in Good Places:

  • If you were asked the theme of the entire Bible, how would you define it?
    • A. The Old Testament:
  • Read Micah 6:8 and 2 Chron. 16:9. As you read the Old Testament, what did it point to? What did God seek in the Garden of Eden? What was the giving of the Law for? Why did He allow Solomon to build a Temple? What were two main themes of the OT prophets?
    • B. The Gospels of the New Testament:
  • What is the essence of the New Testament? Why did God robe Himself in flesh and come to dwell among us? Did He leave us helpless when He returned to heaven?
    • C:  The Letters of the New Testament:
  • What were some of the main issues that were addressed often in the letters of Paul, James, Peter, and John?

How to walk with Jesus in 2024:

  • Read Luke 9:23-24. What is the very first admonition to walking with Jesus found twice in this passage? If you don’t “want” to do something, what usually happens? In your average day, how many non-business things do you do that you don’t want to?
  • God tells us four things we must do if we want to walk with Him. What is the first one?

What must we deny ourselves? What does God desire from you? How hard is it to do?

  • What is the second one? What kind of cross do we carry? What are things we must give up? Are you willing to give up things in your life that you would be ashamed of if you could physically see Jesus walking beside you? Yet what does He say of your body?
  • What does He mean, that you must FOLLOW Him? In Psa. 23, where does He lead?

Take time later to read these Scriptures for walking with Jesus: Acts 2:46, 6:1, 16:5, 17:11, and Heb. 3:13. How often do we do all these things?

How do we follow Jesus together at TRBC:

  • Does anyone know the Mission Statement for our church? Condense it to four words.
  • What are some activities we can engage in that will help us walk with Jesus daily?
  • Why is fellowship with others so important to living our Christian life?

CLOSE:

            When you think of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, it’s hard to picture a perfect world, with a perfect friend/spouse, with God as the central figure to walk with. Did He appear in His pre-Incarnate form, as He did to Gideon, to Abraham, and others? Possibly. Why, then, were they not satisfied with what He had provided, being willing to obey the one thing He had said not to do? Why did Adam not intercede when Satan deceived his wife?

What must YOU do to follow Jesus wholeheartedly? Are you like Adam and Eve, willing to give in to Satan’s seductive ways, following paths God has told us not to take, just for the moment’s thrill? Or are you like Enoch and Noah, desiring to walk with God so closely that you are willing to be the butt of jokes from the world, tuning them out as they jeer at you, so you can hear the Father’s voice? Are there things you are not crazy about doing, but since He wants you to, you are willing to die to yourself in order to please Him? It all comes back to you heart, whether you are sold out to be the person He created you to be, or to be the person Satan is trying to get you to be. You will have that fight between the Spirit and the flesh as long as you live, and it’s vital that you stay strong and resist Satan—when you do, he will flee from you!      

 

By Sandy Day

January 14, 2024

 

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