Walking with God vs Working for God

Walking with God vs Working for God

 Halleluyah! I bless God for this privilege to share his word with you. I pray that these ancient words that resound after God's own heart will impact our lives.

 The objective of this article is to establish that our walking with God should always precede our work for him by studying the life of King Saul.

 But first, we need to understand the concept of “walk with God” and “work for God”. According to THE FREE DICTIONARY, “to walk with someone “ means to accompany (to go with someone) or to escort. According to the Merriam -Webster dictionary “to work for someone “ means to work or to be a servant for or to serve. In Genesis 5:24, the Amplified version describe ‘walking with God' as being in close habitual fellowship. New Living Translation (NLT) says being in close fellowship with God.

 God has called us to preach (Mark 16:15), he has assigned us with the task( 1 Corinthians 7:17), he has called us to use our gifts to serve others ( 1 Peter 4:10-11). It is therefore important that we offer our service to God, and use our gifts to edify the body of Christ. 

But, I want us to understand that our walk with God should precede our work for him. We should not be working for him without walking with him. “ The impact of your ministry to people is in direct proportion to the time you spend with God" ~ anonymous. You can’t give what you don’t have. 

Hebrews 11; Acts 13-22 ; 1 Samuel 10 -15

 SAUL

In 1 Samuel 8, the people of Israel asked for a king. In chapters 9 and 10. God chose Saul as the king. In chapter 10 vs 9, the Lord changed his heart. And in Chapter 13, he disobeyed God and God was already looking for a replacement. What happened along the line:

1. Saul lived for the gratification and praise of the people (1 Samuel 15:24). He listened to the complaint of his people rather than the command of God (Chapter 13 vs 8-9). He knew the law of the lord, but yet he chose to satisfy the people (Vs 13-14). And in Chapter 15, there was a repeat of disobedience. God is not interested in our sacrifices while we disobey him (1 Sam 15:22-23). The message bible

     Vs 22 Then Samuel said, Do you think all God wants are sacrifices-empty rituals just for show? He wants you to listen to him! Plain listening is the thing not staging a lavish religious production 

Vs 23 Not doing what God tells you is far worse than fooling around in the occult. Getting self-importance around God is far worse than making deals with your dead ancestors. Because you said No to GOD'S command, he says No to your kingship.

• Self-importance: The synonym is Pride. The moment we stop depending on God, we are arrogant. Pride is being self-reliant. The moment, we begin to think we have it all figured out, we are becoming self-important. Someone said 99% obedience is disobedience. God is looking for men that will obey him and do his will completely.
• You can’t say you are working for God, yet you don’t love his commandments (John 14:15). David was a man of OBEDIENCE. Let’s take a look at Acts 13:22.

 Acts 13:22: “God removed him from office and put King David in his place with commendation, “ I've searched the land and found this David, son of Jesse. He's a man whose heart beats to my heart, a man who will do what I tell him.” • 

• You can’t obey God if you don’t love him ( John 14:15). How can you love a man you do not know? You must accept him as your Lord and walk with him. Abide in him and he will abide in you (John 15:4)
• How do you build a relationship? By spending time with a person. Until you spend time with him, you cant know him intimately. Have a desire to know God for yourself, you don’t need to go through prophets or sacrifices. The veil has been torn and now we have full access to the father. No more limitations. No more fears. Draw near to him and he will draw near to you (James 5:8)

   2. Saul never had a personal relationship with God. He personally consulted God once. 1 Samuel 14. He would rather wait for Samuel to bring a message. And when Samuel died, he had to consult his dead spirit(1 Samuel 28:3-25). The veil has been torn. Develop a personal relationship with him. Know him. In Chapter 13, he erred. He never repented, he only gave excuses. And then he repeated it in chapter 15. David fell so many times but he was quick to repent. He always had fellowship with God. Times when he erred, God sent prophets to him and he repented. Andrew Wommack said ‘When the bible talks about having a pure heart-perfect heart- it doesn’t mean that you never sin. It is talking about how you respond when you do sin ‘ 

• I want to give this illustration, we said working for someone is an act of service to that person earlier. For instance, I work for someone. He gives instruction and I feel this instruction is not necessary or it needs to be amended. And I do my will. Just a quick question, did I work for my master or myself? I worked for myself, I didn’t work for my master. The moment you don’t obey God, and you think you are doing his work. Sorry, you are not. You are doing your bid.
• I must make this clear you cannot obey God if you don’t walk with him (spend time with him). His sheep know his voice (John 10:27). The more time you spend with him (reading his word, praying, trusting in him, depending on the holy spirit), the more you know him. It happens in our relationship with people too. If you don’t spend time with them, you can never be close to them. So it is with God.
• Walking with God involves a regular fellowship. It involves abiding in him (John 15:4). You must have a relationship with the father. How can you be close to someone you don’t know well? The good news is Jesus died for you and me. If you have not surrendered your life to Jesus. He is calling you. You must confess and believe that Jesus is lord. Romans 10:13.
• You can't abide in God without the holy spirit. For he teaches us all things (John 14:26). He also produces the fruit in us( Galatians 5:23 )He keeps working in us till we become more like Christ. We cant also please God in the flesh ( Romans 8:9-14). Even as we try to make efforts to spend time with God. We must be quick to remember that the flesh cannot please God. We are saved by grace, not by our efforts( Romans 1:17) We must walk in the spirit. Depend on God fully for your walk with him. His yoke is easy, remember (Matthew 11:28-30). We only struggle to walk with God when we try to please him by our efforts and activities (Galatians 5:16-21). Just rely on him(faith, trust in him) (Roman’s 4:16-22).
• Our walk with God involves faith ( Hebrews 11:6). Without Faith, we can't please God. David was listed as a general of faith. Hebrews 11. You need to believe in him and that he is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:2). For we walk by faith and not by sight. 2Corinthians 5:7.
• We must also walk humbly before God (Micah 6:8). David walked humbly before God. Being humble means you have a heart sensitive to God. Whenever we make mistakes, we should be quick to repent.
• Halleluyah! God is looking for men and women who will do his will. Without doing his will, we are not doing his work. We make Christianity look like it is a religion where we follow rules and regulations ( Romans 4:14-16) ( Galatians 2:16-21). It is a lifestyle, allows God to set the pace (Romans 3:28), It is supposed to be easy. God forbid that we follow the law, then Jesus died for nothing (Galatians 2:19-21)
• If you desire to know him, but you haven’t accepted him say this prayer loud out (Romans 10:13) 

“Jesus I confess that You are my Lord and savior. I believe in my heart that God raised you from the dead. By faith in your word. I accept you as my Lord and savior and receive your salvation. Amen” 

• If you said this prayer, congratulations, you have become his child and you have the right to call him ‘ABBA father’ ( Romans 8:16). Study his word that you may grow. Depend on him as you trust him to work in you. Attend a bible believing church and trust God. Pray and get a mentor to help you.
• If you are his child and you think you missed it in your walk with God or you have been proclaiming God publicly but your heart is far from him. You have fooled people with your activities. Well, it is not too late. Seek him and repent. Call him and he will answer. The veil has been torn. Draw near to him. But we must always remember it is not by our efforts but by his spirit. Learn to rely on him as you walk with him (Faith) (Romans 4:5-6)

Prayer

 Lord Jesus, thank you for your word. Lord, we thirst and hunger. We ask that you fill us with more of you, till Christ becomes evident in us. Even as we seek to walk with you, we ask that you help and teach us, even as we make daily conscious efforts to become like you. Lord, we depend solely, help us walk with you, that we may please and do your will, that we may publicly open our mouths and our hearts beat after your heart. Thank you, Lord Jesus. In Jesus' name. Amen

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