Walking Humbly with Your God

Walking Humbly with Your God—Part II

March 16, 2008

Introduction

Last Sunday, we addressed the idea of walking humbly with our God. We based our thoughts on: (Micah 6:8 NKJV) "He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?"

Last Sunday we began our study by considering what I consider to be three of the most outstanding prayers in the Bible that are written out for us. I think each of these address the challenge of “walking humbly with your God" In our study, we spent the most time on David’s prayer, then Daniel’s prayer, and then very briefly the Lord’s high priestly prayer. This morning, we want to look at these again, but spending more time on those we gave least attention to last Sunday

Body

I. We considered David’s Prayer of confession as “walking humbly with your God"

A. A plea for mercy. That’s humility.

(Psa 51 NKJV) "Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,

B. The request: What he wants!

(Psa 51:1) Blot out my transgressions. {2} Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.

C. He acknowledges his sin.

(Psa 51:3) For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.

II. Next we mentioned Daniel’s prayer as he interceded for God’s people that they might walk with God.

A. Daniel was apparently one of the most righteous men to live during the Old Testament time.

(Ezek 14:14 NKJV) ""Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness," says the Lord GOD."

B. Daniel’s prayer was a fervent earnest prayer for God’s people based on God’s promise.

(Dan 9 NKJV) "In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; {2} in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

1. Even though it was promised, Daniel prayed humbly and earnestly for the promise.

(Dan 9:3) Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. {4} And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,

2. His confession for his people and he identifies with them.

(Dan 9:5) "we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. {6} "Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land.

C. Walking humbly with God includes acknowledging God’s righteousness.

(Dan 9:10-14 NKJV) ""We have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. {11} "Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. {12} "And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem. {13} "As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. {14} "Therefore the LORD has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice."

D. When we don’t walk humbly with God, what can happen?

1. (Dan 9:11) "Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him.

2. What were the curses that were written?

(Deu 28:15 NKJV) ""But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:". . . (28) ""The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of heart. {29} "And you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you. {30} "You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes. {31} "Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no one to rescue them. {32} "Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be no strength in your hand. {33} "A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually. {34} "So you shall be driven mad because of the sight which your eyes see."

E. Why did all of this happen?

1. Because they did not walk humbly with their God.

2. These are more of the preliminary judgments of God.

3. The great judgment day is still in the future.

F. We fast forward to the interruption of his prayer.

(Dan 9:20) Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God, {21} yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. {22} And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. {23} "At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:

III. Two great men especially loved.

A. Of Daniel it is said, “for you are greatly beloved;”

B. In four verses, Jesus is referred to as the apostle whom Jesus loved.

(John 21:7) "Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!"

C. Today, the two greatest books of prophecy are Daniel and Revelation, written by these two great men.

IV. The prayer of our Lord on the night of His betrayal.

A. Walking means we should be in unity with Him and one another.

(John 17:20-24 NKJV) ""I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; {21} "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. {22} "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: {23} "I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. {24} "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world."

B. So the humble walk leads ultimately to seeing our Lord in His glory and being allowed to live with Him.

(John 14:1-6) ""Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. {2} "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. {3} "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. {4} "And where I go you know, and the way you know." {5} Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" {6} Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

Conclusion

I. There is much more that could be said about these great prayers, but time has run out..

II. What does it mean to walk humble with God?

A. It means much fervent prayer.

B. It means acknowledging the greatness of God and our own weakness.

C. It means asking His forgiveness earnestly.

D. It means sharing Him with those we know.

(Psa 51:13) Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.

E. It means walking with God eternally, if we are truly right with Him.

III. Have you begun your walk with God? Have you obeyed Him?

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