What does a personal relationship with the Lord look like? As we turn through the pages of Scripture we find many examples of men and woman who had strong
relationships with the Lord. So what is it what sets these men and woman
apart? What drove their passion and zeal for the Lord?
Let’s take a step back and examine a few key points from the lives of
several men that are applicable to all who know Him. But first let’s test
our knowledge of the Word of God. Who in the Old Testament could you say was
the greatest revivalist? This person is not someone you would normally think of
in this way. This person is in the line of Christ and had a glaring sin at one
point in their life. Think about it for a moment and we will come back to this
point later.
So what does a strong personal
relationship with the Lord look like? May I submit to you the fruit in our life from a strong relationship with the Lord is the
result of our walk with God! When we are walking with God, spiritual fruit is a sure sign that our
relationship with Him is strong and passionate. In the pages of Scripture
we find seven men who Scripture says, “walked with God”. Let’s take a look at each of their lives and how they
developed a strong relationship with the Lord.
How many names of men can you think of that Scripture says
walked with God?
Enoch ~ The
first example we come to in Scripture is Enoch.
In Genesis 5:21-24 we find one of the only two accounts of his life.
Enoch was one of two men who God took to heaven without seeing death. That by
its self is a huge testimony of his
passionate pursuit and special relationship with the Lord. Enoch is the
only person in Scripture where God says, “He
walked with God” more than once. In Hebrews 11:5 God says, ”By faith Enoch
was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he
obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.” I am challenged to look at my own
life and evaluate my thoughts, attitudes, words, and actions to see if they are
pleasing to the Lord. Even
amongst all this we find that Enoch was
just like you and me, he was not perfect. In verse 22 we see that, “…Enoch walked with God three hundred years…” Though we
sin, if we are willing to confess that and repent God can still use us for His
glory just as He did with Enoch. Enoch
left a Godly reputation for the generations coming after him. What kind of a
legacy are you leaving for those around you?
Noah ~ Three
generations later we see the direct result of Enoch’s Godly legacy in the life
of Noah. In Genesis 6:9 we
find the following account, “These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in
his time; Noah walked with God.” In Hebrews 11:7, we see that Noah
followed God’s will for his life. "By
faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark
for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became
an heir of the righteousness which
is according to faith.” But wait you say, how could Noah have walked with the Lord
with all the evil around him? God has
called us to be a salt and light in the world. Matthew 5:13-16 “You are the salt of
the earth…You are the light of the world” If Noah was salt and light shouldn’t others have come to know
the Lord as a result of his’ testimony?
Sometimes the mission field God calls us to will be hard. Sometimes the life He
ordains will be lonely and seemingly void of fruit. I Corinthians 3:6
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the
growth.” We plant and water, but God brings the harvest through His
sovereign plan. Sometimes God will use
situations in our lives where we look and say, “God, am I the only one
serving you? Am I the only one seeking you?” God can even use hard hearts for
His glory. Think of Noah’s friends, Pharaoh, Moses etc., Ezekiel 3:19
“Yet if you have warned
the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he
shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself.” and Ezekiel 14:12-14. “Then the word of
the Lord came to me
saying ’Son of man, if a country sins against Me by committing
unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand against it, destroy its supply
of bread, send famine against it and cut off from it both man and
beast, even though these three men, Noah, Daniel
and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they
could only deliver themselves,’ declares the Lord God.” As someone who walks with God we
should be a “Herald of Righteousness” as
was Noah. 2 Peter 2:5,”But [God] preserved Noah, a preacher
of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly…”
Abraham and Isaac ~
As we continue through Genesis we find the next two men who walked with God,
Abraham and Isaac. The fathers of a nation, God’s people, the nation of Israel.
Having a strong relationship with the Lord means we,
“GO”
when God calls us to go.
Matthew 28:19 “Go
therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit…” Abraham
stepped out in faith and followed the Lord’s direction for his life and God was
able to use him for His glory. God has called each of us to “GO”. Acts 1:8 “But you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall
be My witnesses both in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria, and
even to the remotest part of the
earth.” What are you doing to “GO”? You do not have to GO to Africa or
South America to fulfill God’s command. We
are FIRST called to go in our own Jerusalem, in our own town, in our own
families.
David ~ All
throughout the Psalms and many other books we see the life of David. Psalms
116:9 “I shall walk before
the Lord in the land of the
living.” As a man or woman who walks with
God,
We must be genuinely saved!
Being genuinely saved comes as we recognize our sin and need for a Savior,
repent of our sin and trust Christ alone to save us, and surrender our life to
follow Him as Lord. This brings us into a right relationship with
God, so that we can walk with Him. (Romans 3:23, 6:23, 5:8; John 3:16, 14:6; I Corinthians
15:3-4)
David was a man after God’s own heart who trusted God. As we read through the Psalms we see that David,
Had a heart of compassion and humility toward the Lord
This is evidenced by his many tears
for the Lord throughout the Psalms. Romans 12:15 shows us a model of a heart that is compassionate for the Lord.
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who
weep.”
Hezekiah ~
As we continue our journey with the seven men who walked with God we come to
Hezekiah. II Kings 20:3 “Remember now, O Lord, I
beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole
heart and have done what is good in Your sight…” Hezekiah,
Walked in the truth of God’s Word.
He spent time studying God’s Word. A strong relationship with the Lord MUST be
founded upon a love for God’s Word. We must spend time seeking God through
studying His Word. We also see that, “I have walked before
You…with a whole heart…”
He walked with God with a whole and committed heart.
Because of His passion for Jesus we see the fruit of his
life. 1 Chronicles 12:33 “Of
Zebulun, there were 50,000 who went out in the army, who could draw up in
battle formation with all kinds of weapons of war and helped David with an
undivided heart.” With an undivided heart the men of
Zebulun followed David. With that same undivided heart we are to follow after
God.
He did what was good.
Galatians 6:10 “So then, while
we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who
are of the household of the faith.” What are you known by? What is the fruit of your life? Matthew
7:20 So then, you will
know them by their fruits.”
Levi ~ This
brings us to the final person scripture says walked with God. Let’s turn to Malachi
2:4-6 “Then
you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that
My covenant may continue with Levi,” says the Lord of hosts. “My
covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to
him as an object of reverence; so he revered Me and stood in awe of My name. True instruction
was in his mouth and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he
walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back
from iniquity.”
Levi, the father of a nation of
priest had an amazing relationship with the Lord. A strong relationship with
the Lord requires that we,
Revere and fear the Lord
Malachi 2:5 “he revered Me… Exodus 20:20 Moses said to the people, “Do
not be afraid; for God has come in order to
test you, and in order that the fear
of Him may remain with you, so that
you may not sin.” Levi had
a lightning bolt fear of the Lord that caused him to honor Jesus name. Do I have a proper and healthy fear of the
Lord? A righteous fear of the Lord
causes us to:
Stand in awe of God’s name
Verse 5 “so
he…stood in awe of My name.” The
name of the Lord is HOLY, He is our CREATOR. From the beginning of time God has loved us with His Holy love. Between
Genesis 1:1 and 2:7 the name of God ELOHIM is used 39 times. Do we stand
in AWE of our creator ELOHIM?
A strong relationship with the Lord
causes,
True instruction to be found on our lips
VERSE 6 “True
instruction was in his mouth and unrighteousness was not found on his lips…” Let’s examine the Word and allow Scripture to speak for its
self in regards to our language. Psalms 19:14 Let the words of my
mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and
my Redeemer.”
Matthew 12:34 “…For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.”
Ephesians 4:29 “Let
no
unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but
only such a word as is good for edification according to the
need of the moment, so that it will
give grace to those who hear.”
So this brings us back to our
question posed earlier. In light of verse 6, “of whom could it be said they
were one of the greatest Old Testament revivalist?” May I submit to you that it
could be LEVI! “…he turned
many back from iniquity.” How do you live your life? Do you live your life in such a
way that it is a testimony to those around you? Do they clearly see Christ
lived out in your life? Do you boldly proclaim Christ to those around you? Are
you known as someone who turns many away from iniquity? It is my prayer that we will be bold for the Lord and tell
those around us about Christ. May I encourage you to examine your own life and
consider the last time you shared Christ with someone? God has given us a commission to Go and proclaim His gospel. Will you
be faithful to answer His call? This is a great measuring stick
with which to compare our lives to and evaluate our relationship with the Lord.
When we walk with God we are pleasing
to God. When we walk with God it is ONLY because we have a strong personal
relationship with God. That strong
relationship with Jesus comes only from spending time in His word and applying
it to our lives as these men who walked with God have done. We must purpose
in our hearts to, “Seek first His
kingdom and His righteousness, and all
these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 As David said in I Chronicles
22:19 “Now set
your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God…” We must
set our hearts to seek Jesus all our days.
As you build your relationship with Jesus and seek Him I would encourage you to
journal the exciting journey and share it with those around you. May you each
be an encouragement to many!
Thoughts for evaluation:
~ At the baptism of Jesus Christ what did
God tell the world? “That He (Jesus) pleased God!” Is my life pleasing to
God? Are my thoughts, attitudes, words, and actions pleasing to Him?
~ II Corinthians 5:9 says that it should be our ambition
and goal to please God. “Therefore we also have
as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.” What are your goals in life? Is pleasing God and having a
strong personal relationship with Him at the top of that list? In today’s
culture even as Christians we are told we are to please God and ________. Matthew
6:24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate
the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and wealth. God is to be our all. He is to be
the ONLY person we strive to please.
~ What distractions and encumbrances must
I remove from my life to make my relationship with the Lord strong and vibrant?
Hebrews 12:1 & 2 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses
surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which
so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that
is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter
of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising
the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his
hand in God.”
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