1. Today's Topic: Walking with God

Today's sharing is on the topic of Walking with God. Recently, I was reading a book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The author proposes an exercise: If you were to walk into a church right now, and that church was holding a funeral—and it was your own funeral—what would you hope to hear your relatives and friends say about your life?

What meaningful things have you done in your life that would make people remember you?

The ending of life is important; what leaves an impression is what counts. The direction of life is important. Chinese people generally dislike talking about death and funerals; it seems pessimistic. But if we don't consider the end of life, we won't think about the direction of life—where I should go and what I should do to make a difference. That's why I'm sharing the topic of walking with God today.

2. Scripture

Genesis 5:21-24: When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. After he fathered Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him.

3. Prayer

Lord Jesus, may You reveal Your will, let our eyes see the emptiness of this life, and let us break free from our daily lives to enter the life You have prepared for us. Let us walk with You every day, every moment. Let us continuously experience and know You. Lord Jesus, You grant thoughts of peace; please continue to do the work of revelation to transform and renew our minds. Thank You, Lord Jesus, in Your name, Amen.

4. Background

Genesis 5 records the genealogy of Adam, but there is one person in it called Enoch, and his life is different. We are familiar with the name Enoch; many people like to name their children Enoch. When it comes to others, it’s usually three sentences: xxx lived xx years, then had sons and daughters, and then lived xx years and died. We cannot see what meaning they lived out in their lives. But there is only Enoch; his life trajectory is different from others. He walked with God—Enoch walked this path for 300 years, and God took him, and he was no more. Some may ask, is walking with God really good? He lived shorter than others. But in fact, Enoch truly lived out the meaning of life.

Enoch saw many people live and die. What is the meaning of human existence? Why did God create man? Today, we see people living eight or nine hundred years as impressive, but they are not truly happy. Therefore, Lamech said, This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands. The meaning of life lies in the ending. Why should I live and then die? Enoch began to walk with God. At 365 years old, he was still in his prime in that era. He did not need to experience aging, sickness, or excessive toil. He went home in glory. This is his meaningful life. Walking with God is a good path, so the name Enoch is very popular.

We must learn to walk with God. We must now begin to know why we are living in this world. What is the meaning of human life? If we are not with God now, what is the point of living? Living long does not necessarily mean living well. We must walk with God and be in communion with Him now. We should not always feel that we are fine and have no problems. We must now learn from the life of Enoch. What does it mean to walk with God? It is not just constantly saying that we cannot do bad things. We all know what kind of people God is pleased with, but many people do not know how to do it. Many people do not know why they are living every day.

5. Walking with God Means Starting to Do What God Wants to Do.

We do as God says because Enoch obeyed God in this way; he did as God said.

Wise people know to obey God and know how to do things that please God. Wise people choose to listen and then act. The faith of Jesus Christ is a faith of growth. When our faith is insufficient, we should not doubt or be trapped by problems. Weakness and pain cannot stop us. When we encounter problems, this is the time for growth. Solving the problems intelligently is what we must do. Do not retreat and be afraid when we encounter problems. When we overcome problems, we will progress. We must now progress a little bit every day. Everyone must have a goal and grow towards their goal day by day. If we do not give up easily, we will get closer and closer to our dreams. We must now begin to seek, grow, and persevere.

If you don't do something because of doubts, then you are wasting that time. Even though I have doubts, I am willing to do it and do what God says. You are walking with God. We must begin to embark on the path of walking with God. After that, you must continue to do the things God does. Our faith in Jesus Christ is not a rigid faith, but a faith of growth. Even if our faith is insufficient, we must grow.

God leads us into the church, and we have pastors to guide us. God's purpose is not to set a very high goal for us. This is a crucial point in faith. Many people are scared off by this overly high goal. We must also do this in our pastoring—realizing that walking with God is continuous growth, and you will walk faster and faster. We must look with an eye for growth, rather than being scared off by difficulties.

In this process, we will discover the arrangements God has made for us. This is also the case at the church level. I came to the church in 2013. Our church pushed for reconstruction in 2011. Our church performed many miracles, and the building of the church was also like this. When we see the Book of Acts, there are many miracles. When we see such a church, the standard is too high. Our church started with prayer and healing and deliverance.

If the church in the Book of Acts was established by Jesus, we can also do it. In such prayer warfare, our speed of deliverance will become faster and faster. Many people like cancer being healed and the blind being able to see, we have the appearance of the church in the Book of Acts. We will do such a church. We start small, from the things we can do, and then start walking with God.

When I realized this, I saw a point in Deuteronomy: For this command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it’? We easily have such a view: if we walk with God, we need someone to lead us. This word is not far from us; it is in our hearts. Walking with God means starting to do what God wants to do. What's next? We must solve a directional problem: our goal is to discover the meaning of living.

Walking with God, we will have a misunderstanding: God is holy, and we must also be holy. This statement emphasizes standards, and in this case, you will be timid and afraid to share problems with pastors. Walking with God is not about proving that we are good. Many people are arguing whether Enoch was taken by God because of faith or works. In fact, these have no results and meaning. Today, he has misplaced a focus. In my experience, when you care about whether you are holy, then your thinking will be trapped, focused on yourself, and it will be difficult to do things. When serving, you will also worry.

When you are walking with God, we must know where we are going. Our goal and direction are also very important. In walking with God, God is infinitely holy, and we must also be infinitely holy. What is said is right, but only focusing on standards, fearing to do wrong things or say wrong things, becomes timid and afraid to do things, afraid to say things, and afraid to share, because you are worried that you did something wrong. In fact, many people are too worried about whether they are doing well, and lose the basics.

There is no guiding significance? By faith? By behavior? Where the focus is placed is very important. In Genesis 5, there is little mention of Enoch, so let's talk about the situation in the church. If some people care about whether their behavior is holy every day, they will eventually be trapped in this bondage. Not only are they bound, but they also care about whether others are doing well and whether they are holy. This question is not about focusing on what you get, it is not that we have to become very holy to walk with God. Walking with God is a goal; it is what I do for others, and what others get from me.

Matthew 20, a very interesting sharing: James and John. One day their mother came to ask Jesus for something. One day after you ascend to heaven, let them sit one on the left and one on the right in the future. Jesus said this thing is not for me to decide, it is for the Father to decide. The other people were very angry when they found out, and Jesus told them: ...

There are many people in the church like lone rangers, and some people only care about themselves, these are not right. God's will is to build a glorious church, and the connection between people is very important. The Lord Jesus focused on His coming to serve everyone. Walking with God means doing the things God wants to do, so we should also do the same. Not being a lone ranger, but brothers live together in harmony, this is the deepest intention, with people's interaction, you can know your thoughts, whether it is in accordance with God's will.

When I came to the church, I had nothing, was physically ill, and couldn't find a job. Later, after I was blessed, I was very happy and shared it with others so they could also know about such blessings. Before, I thought about these things simply. We must have more patience, love, and perseverance to do it. More often, it is how much your growth can help this person grow, rather than how many problems this person has, then we must achieve it.

We may find it difficult to accept being told that we have something bad that needs to be changed. But our junior high school is helping others, we know what our goal is, we know what we care about, is caring about how to help others, we no longer live for ourselves, but live for others. The focus is on how much we can help others. Thank God we grow in such a church, constantly cultivating us to focus more on helping others and building a glorious church. The church is the body of Jesus Christ, even if one person does well, it is useless. The church has many members, so we need everyone to give, put down ourselves, and no longer live for ourselves, but live for others. This way can bring holiness in, holiness is not one person's holiness, but a church's holiness. What is the use even if you can recite the Bible backwards? What is the use even if you go to church every day?

6. Walking with God does not mean walking alone, but preparing to walk this path with others.

In the process of walking with God, you gain much. Some have this concept: walking with God, you go ahead and do it, I also believe in the Lord Jesus, I know the Lord Jesus, His precious blood washes away my sins, I know there is God, God created the heavens and the earth, and I am also created by God. But they do not act, they do nothing. That's what you call a layperson. I am not going to judge you because you are in such a state, after all, you have believed, but you have missed many wonderful things.

When we walk a united path with one heart and one mind, you will experience many of God's wonderful graces. If you do not pay the price, the God you experience may be your daily and yearly Bible reading, and occasionally you think of taking a walk with God, but walking a life with God, what we experience day after day, year after year, is the fresh word given by God to edify others. In such a glorious church, you will understand what God's will is. When we serve in the church, the growth of others is more joyful than my own growth.

When I was healed, I knew that God could invisibly remove people's problems, but at that time I did not pay any price, because it was God's free grace to me. When I lead others in prayer, I do not know if I can pray, I am drumming up courage in my heart, I ask others how are you, he said that it is better, it turns out that my prayer is really good for him, God really uses me to let me pray good. If you do not walk the road of walking with God, do not walk this road of service, you have no way to experience this moment of experiencing God's grace.

Experiencing God is not about how much grace you experience, but about how much of God's wonderful power you experience. God even uses me, a humble person, and I find it amazing. You constantly experience in this process, you pray for others, and others get better. If you do not experience these, you cannot appreciate them. Do you believe? When you pray for others, you do not know if they will get better, is that called believing? Maybe that's believing in your head. When we pray for others, she experiences pain and we also experience pain, so much so that I do not know what to do, but whenever she turns around a little bit, even if she reads a chapter of the Bible today, we keep trying, and I feel gratified when she changes a little bit.

If you do not serve, you miss the opportunity to be purely happy for others, and being happy for the growth of others is pure happiness. When we walk with God, we gain joy for the growth of others, and we also gain a group of like-minded friends and comrades-in-arms. We have pastors, pastoral district leaders, and pastors who are a group of people. People always want to gain something for themselves, but you rarely see a group of people offering to let others gain something.

A thousand pieces of gold are easy to get, but a true friend is hard to find. When you work hard on your own, you will feel lonely, and you do not know who is walking with us on this road. When you build a church, you will find that many people have the same vision as you to do the same thing. They are not satisfied with helping others and working hard for the problems of others. When you are among us, there is always someone to help you whenever you need help.

Yesterday, a sister felt pressured in her heart, and when she typed in the group, Brother HF came to serve her and was finally healed. Our prayer is that we will keep praying if you have a need. We will feel shocked that a group of brothers and sisters are willing to offer themselves. Sometimes I feel it is difficult, but when I see others still serving day and night, and even being happy after serving, I think God also has other ways to accomplish such things. If they can do it, I can do it too. In the service, you find a group of like-minded partners, and you really do not know where to find such a group of people to walk together.

I was very touched by a passage from Sister XL yesterday. Sister XL came to us in August last year. Her son, Brother FF, was considered by his teachers to have low learning ability since he was a child, and he himself may have accepted such a conclusion, and his studies have declined all the way since then, but I do not accept such a conclusion, I think there is nothing wrong with FF inside. When he came to us, he had not read a complete article for 18 years. At that time, we did not know how to lead him, but when we bit the bullet and led him, he could slowly read Genesis Chapter 1 and Genesis 50. FF has undergone great changes, his learning ability has improved, and his pastor served him with all his heart and mind. In the past half a year, he has been able to write essays, and he also organizes our Bible study notes together with his understanding. At the beginning, he was very afraid of difficulties, and he felt stressed when learning, but now he is actively seeking solutions to problems. He has begun to read the Bible, pray, and even desire to lead others one day in the future. Sister XL shared: It has not been easy along the way, and I once thought that the end of life would be like this, with no hope and no expectation, and just eat, drink, and play to finish life. I never thought that there would be another way of living in life, and there would be people like you. We bring our problems to God, and our problems are solved. We are determined to solve the problems of more people. God's salvation and the gospel of the Lord Jesus are passed down in this way!

If I had a smooth life, and had not reached a dead end, I would have worked, married, started a business, and worried about my children for the rest of my life. What hope is there in such peace? Even if my life is peaceful, can I guarantee that the lives of others will be peaceful? Will others not encounter any disasters in their lives? Just eat, drink, and play to finish life, live and die, and eating, drinking, and playing is the greatest reward, but what can be accomplished?