”But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. “ (2 Corinthians 3:18)
THOUGHTS FOR CONSIDERATION: Greetings again my friends. Last month we starting looking at the Servant of God who must have a heart that brings about a right walk or a righteous relationship with the LORD. We will continue this theme for the next three months and look at three different aspects: 1. A walk before God 2. A walk after God, and 3. A walk with God. So, this month we will look at “A walk before God.” In Genesis 17:1 we read, “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 2And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. 3And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 4.As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.( Genesis 17:1-5) What powerful verses! Here God (Almighty) is having a conversation with Abram and He tells Abram to “walk before me, and be thou perfect” Of course this was the beginnings of the Abrahamic Covenant all religious Jews hang their future on. At age 99 God tells Abram to walk before Him and be perfect. What a statement. God told Abram to be “perfect” Stong’s #H8552, without blemish, complete, full, perfect, sincerely, sound, without spot, undefiled, upright, and whole. Now it is important to know at this time there was no Jew or Gentile, only a mainstream mass of humanity that came of the flood. Here God took Abram and called him out of this mainstream mass of humanity and separated him unto Himself. “And he (God) said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.” (Genesis 15:7) to establish a covenant with him and the seeds of his lineage. But please notice God expected Abram to be “perfect” before Him. Do we think today God expects anything less for us to be able to walk in the blessing God has for us? I think not. Far too many Christians think they can live any old way and walk with God. Oh no my friend. God expects, it is His intention for Him to be able to give us all of those “precious promises” Peter talks about we must walk upright spotless, undefiled before Him. Now notice what Abram did when God spoke with Him. Did Abram dance and kick up his heels? Abram, “fell on his face: and God talked with him.” Here Abram worshipped the LORD. True worship has nothing, yes, I said nothing to do with singing or dancing, but everything to do with humbling our self on our face before God. Notice after Abram fell on his face, “God talked with him,” I hear far too many Christians say they want to hear from God, well humble yourself under the mighty hand, fall on your face before God and He will speak to you and lift you in due season. My friend there is only one way we can come to this place of perfection before the LORD and that is to live a life of sanctification before God. Our walk before God must be one that is hallmarked by God’s dealing and judgments about us. Far too many Christians want to live a life of anointing and God’s blessing, but fail to realize the blessing of God in our lives happen AFTER we have allowed Him to work in our lives, AFTER we have allowed HIM to strip us of our earthly nature, AFTER we have allowed Him to kill our life so that we can find His life. This my friend is a consistent life of sanctification before a Holy God. Now sanctification is not a happy way of life, oh no, but maybe that is why not too many Christians are happy in their life. If the world’s ways makes us happy then our earthly life is alive and well in us. Sanctification is that process in our life that kills our fleshly desires, dreams, and wants. We cannot have our earthly life and the life of God in us. Oh no, one has to be put to death in us. And we choose which one dies and which one lives. Abram received the blessings of God that He purposed for Him and even received a new name NOT because God called him out of the mainstream masses of humanity, oh no, but because he had a heart to endure the sanctification process in his life. Abram was wise enough to know what he had to do to be able to receive God’s best for his life and all those who would follow in God’s promises. All he knew was he needed to walk perfect before God, in the understanding he possessed and God would take it from there. You know when I as young we use to sing a song called “Abrahams’s Blessings are Mine.” Everyone would get their tambourines out and beat them to death, but one day, as we were singing this song I realized I do not want the blessings of Abraham. Oh no, I want the blessing God has purposed for me, my wife, and our family. But I also realized I will only get those blessings if I walk humbly before God.
Next month we will continue looking at the perfect heart of the “Prophet of God” as we look at the next walk with God “after Him” looking at a walk of obedience. Are you a Prophet of God? To be a Prophet we must be able to hear His voice. Listen closely and you will hear. Written by David Stahl
