Anticipated Results When People Walk With God
by Ralph Sutera
Part 1
What happens when people walk with God?
There is anew atmosphere of love, honesty, openness, burden-bearing in the church! Mere handshakes will be replaced by expressions of warmth and genuine love. Homes will be open for fellowship and caring. People will be quick to listen, hear burdens and share needs. Those who are now living in defeat, spiritual pride, self sufficiency, materialism, etc. will know where to go for prayer and support when they become tired of that kind of living. Galatians 6:1-2
Some will find it difficult to get used to so much honesty in the church. The idea of love in the church is fine, but they would prefer it without such honesty. This is impossible because honesty produces the love. We are admonished to be "…speaking the truth in love". Ephesians 4:15. Love results from truth! May we never again prefer the quiet of efficiency rather than face the turbulence of truth. Would to God that we were even one-half as afraid of hypocrisy and cover-up as some are afraid of honesty and truth!
When God opens the gates of heaven to bless, Satan opens the doors of hell to blast. He will come alive as never before because he cannot stand what happens when people meet God! He will attempt to interfere and make things difficult for them in many ways.
At other times Satan may even use respected people in the church to hinder when he comes as an angel of light II Corinthians 11:4. Be prepared for unexpected satanic influence on you and don't be surprised by the source. If I were Satan, I believe I would also consider that to be one of the most effective means to discourage those who really wan to live Spirit-controlled lives. We seem to forget that the real enemy is a spiritual one and not flesh and blood. Satan delights in using flesh and blood to defeat us in the spiritual warfare. The price of personal victory is too great for us to allow him to defeat us in this way. II Corinthians 10:3-5; Ephesians 6:10-12
The church may become a very exciting place! From what is often described as a sophisticated and predictable place adherers need to be ready for the exciting and unannounced to happen. Most of us have preferred to live with a kind of abstract or harmless God, the kind that is manageable by us. Can you imagine what Isaiah felt that day at church if he merely expected it to be some sort of easement from worry, a little soothing of his nerves, or a pleasant building up of his personal ego because of his faithfulness to his religious duty? What a shock it must have been to have his eyes blazingly filled with the glory of God and his heart burned clean in the fires of God. Isaiah 6:1-8.
Quote from Dr. Paul S. Rees
To be where God is quietly talked about seems a lovely thing. But to be where God really grips us is a risky matter. As long as a Living God is about and given any chance at all, it will be found dangerous to be in His presence. Dangerous, that is, to everything that is more to our liking than it is to His. Church going should be dangerous to our self-esteem and self-satisfaction.
Be the first to react on this!
