Resources - Bumping Into vs Walking With
Illustration:
[Have two individuals walk with each other, stepping on/bumping into one another in the process. Then have these same two people walk side by side together with harmony]
Hard bumping, soft bumping, walking with!! (Walking individuals represent God and man – although we were meant to walk in harmony side by side often times we bump wills)
King Saul? 1 Chronicles 14 – Did he walk or did he bump with God?
Rom 7:21-25 (NLT)
21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God's law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power* within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
Many people seem satisfied with just a small touch from God —“God has ‘touched’ my life, so everything must somehow be okay.” Is this really enough? Church twice a year? Occasional prayer when we need something?
What does the Bible say?
DISCUSSION POINT: DOES THIS MAKES SENSE!
Jesus spoke of a “continuous sort of thing” (A continuous/daily lifestyle, not just an occasional touch)
John 8:12 KJV
12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
John 8:12—“follow” and “walk” are linked together
- He did not say, “He who has an XYZ experience shall have the light of life.”
Luke 8:4-8, 9, 10 -15
- 1st—N/A (You wouldn’t be here if you were in this category)
- 2nd/3rd—Those who had some sort of experience with the Word of God, but do not stick with it.
- 4th—Keep the Word of God, and produce good (rich young ruler could also be an example)
Other scriptural guidance:
I John 1:5-7—“If we walk in the light”
Galatians 5:16-17, 22-25—“Walk in the Spirit”
Romans 8:1-8, 9-11—“Walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit”
“to be spiritually minded is life and peace”
v. 9 —“if”
Conclusion
Experiences with God are wonderful, at any level. These are, however, only the
beginning of our walk with God. God wants each of us to have a relationship more
analogous to marriage than having a “friend.”
Therefore, no matter what level of experience we have had with God, I am challenging
everyone here to build on that experience and develop a daily walk with God.