Walking out our Christian Faith

Today I will be looking at four important aspects of our Christian faith that are crucial to seeing our lives making a great impact in this world for eternity

1) The importance of having ongoing intimacy in our walk with the LORD

Maintaining intimacy in our walk with the LORD is crucial if our lives are to bear much fruit and if we are to see all that God has planned for our life unfolding.

Jesus Himself emphasised the importance of maintaining an intimate walk with the LORD

Jesus said, “‘And you shall love the LORD

your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.” (Mark 12:30)

Jesus also said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot

bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5)

Involving God in all that we do is a great key to seeing our lives making a great difference

in this world for eternity

The LORD said to the prophet Jeremiah “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show

you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

When we involve God in all that we do in life He promises to direct our paths

In the book of Proverbs we read, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And

lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

There are many blessings and benefits that come from maintaining an intimate walk with the LORD

i) We can continually have peace in our hearts even during the trials of life.

In the book of Isaiah we read, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind

is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.” (Isaiah 26:3-4)

ii) We can experience fullness of joy

King David wrote, “You will show me the path of life; In Your

presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

In the book of Nehemiah we read, “...Do not sorrow for the joy of the LORD is your

strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)

In the book of Isaiah we read, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,...,” (Isaiah 61:10)

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say

rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)

iii) We can receive wisdom from God to make right choices in life that are in line with God’s

will for our life. The bible is full of wisdom

In the book of James we read, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who

gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5)

In the book of Proverbs we read, “Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts

will be established.” (Proverbs 16:3)

iv) We will see all that God has planned for our life coming to pass

King David wrote, “Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the

land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37:3-5)

v) Life will be less complicated and easier to live as we learn to cast our cares upon the LORD continually

Jesus Himself said, “Come to Me, all you who labour and are

heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

vi) We can be assured that every need that we have in life shall be met

Jesus Himself said, “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we

eat?’ Or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31-33) AND

vii) We can be assured that with God nothing will be impossible

The Angel Gabriel said to Mary the mother of Jesus “For with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37)

Jesus Himself said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will

find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

So briefly what are some keys to maintaining an intimate walk with the LORD

I. Having a lifestyle of prayer (involving God in all that we do in life) – Letting Jesus become our best friend

II. Purposely making time to spend with the LORD in a quiet place on a regular basis (Psalm 46:11)

In the book of Isaiah we read, “He gives power to the weak, And to those who have

no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:29-31)

III. Mediating on and speaking out the Word of God and expecting God to speak to us through His Word (A GREAT KEY TO MAINTAINING A STRONG FAITH) The Apostle Paul wrote, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

IV. Having a lifestyle of worship (John 4:23-24), King David was a worshipper and a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22) and

V. Having short accounts with God. Having a repentant heart helps to keep our heart soft towards God

Intimacy with the LORD is the key to continually knowing the will of God for our life – It is when we are in the centre of the God’s will for our lives that we see His continually favour and blessing upon all that we do in life

King David wrote, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall

give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

Given the unstable times that we are now living in, more than ever before we need to seek God daily for His peace, stability, joy and guidance

King David wrote, “In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me.” (Psalm 56:11)

“O GOD, Your are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for you; My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You.” (Psalm 63:1-3)

“Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.” (Psalm 63:4-7)

Maintaining intimacy in our walk with the Lord needs to be our primary focus in life. It is the key to enjoying the fullness of life that God has planned for our life. If we continually delight ourselves in the Lord no challenge in life will ever overwhelm us

2) The importance of continually loving others

As Christians we have the ability to love others with the Agape unconditional love of God.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love

of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:5)

For some people we are the only bible that they will ever read – It is our unconditional love

for people that will often make the greatest impact on the lives of others

THERE IS A SAYING THAT PEOPLE DO NOT CARE HOW MUCH WE KNOW BUT THEY DO WANT TO KNOW HOW MUCH WE CARE

Jesus Himself emphasised the importance of loving others when He said,

“And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31)

And “A new commandment I give to you, that you

love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

It is so important that all that we do in life is undergirded by love

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of

angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

In a world which is growing more and more impersonal, it is our genuine and sincere love for

others that will help to make us shine in this world for Jesus

This is why the Apostle Paul wrote, “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts,

but especially that you may prophesy.” (1 Corinthians 14:1)

We must simply just choose to love others at all times and the Holy Spirit will give us the ability to do so – In doing this we will truly stand out in our Christian witness to others

3) The importance of flowing in our gifts and calling and following God’s plan for our life

The Apostle Paul wrote, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus

for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

We are most fulfilled and most anointed

when we follow God’s plan for our life

As believers we have been saved for a purpose. Every believer has a unique plan and purpose for their life

When we follow God’s plan for our life

• We experience great purpose and meaning in life• Our lives bear much fruit as God blesses the work

of our hands• We help to see others come to Christ and to fulfil

their God given destiny• We experience the joy that comes from using our

gifts and talents for the Kingdom cause• We see God continually meeting our every need

in life, and

• We store up treasures in heaven

Every believer is uniquely gifted. We are most effective and most fulfilled when we flow in our own unique gifts and calling

The Apostle Paul wrote, “For as we have many members in one body, but all

the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: If prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:4-8)

As we faithfully follow God’s plan for our life we will see God doing great things through our

life

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Now to Him who is able to do

exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,” (Ephesians 3:20)

God does not look at our ability, only our availability and obedience and willingness to take steps of faith – He will empower us to great things for His glory if we are prepared to live for Him

4) SHARING OUR FAITH WITH OTHERS (Helping to lead others to Christ)

The closer we are in our walk with the Lord, the more we will have God’s heart for the lost

In the gospel of Matthew we see

the compassion of Jesus for the lost “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages,

teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.” (Matthew 9:35-36)

With the reality of there being a hell to shun and a heaven to gain sharing our faith with others should

be an important part of our walk with the Lord

In the book of Proverbs we read,

“Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Surely we did not know this,” does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?” (Proverbs 24:11-12)

Jesus also emphasised to His disciples the urgency of preaching the gospel to others

Jesus Himself said, “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and

then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” (John 4:35)

Before ascending back to Heaven Jesus said to His disciples, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)

As believers we all have a mission field, unsaved loved ones and friends. Helping others come to Christ should be a big focus in our walk with the Lord

I will finish by looking at Proverbs 11:30 “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he

who wins souls is wise.” (Proverbs 11:30)

How we need to be available to share our faith with others as part of our Christian walk

SO IN CONCLUSION FOUR IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF OUR CHRISTIAN WALK ARE

1) The importance of having ongoing intimacy in our walk with the LORD

2) The importance of continually loving others

3) The importance of flowing in our gifts and calling and following God’s plan for our life, AND

4) SHARING OUR FAITH WITH OTHERS (Helping to lead others to Christ)

It is in the doing of these four things that we grow in our faith and love for the Lord and that our life makes a great difference in this world for eternity