Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: Amos 3: 3; I John 1: 5-2:6 Oct. 8, 2023

Message: “Walking Together!” by Pastor George Gnade

Intro.: 1. As most of you know, we are now doing a series on the Book of Amos, and today I would like us to consider a very familiar verse. It is very simple but very important.

a. In Amos 3:3, God asks a very important question: “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?”

b. Rewording it, “How can two walk together if only one side cooperates?”

2. In Amos 3: 2, God said to Israel: “You alone have I chosen of all the families of the earth,” but then quickly adds, “Therefore I will punish you for all of your sins.”

A. First of all, let us consider why God chose Israel.

1. Abraham begot Isaac who begot Jacob and Esau. Now God told Abraham He would bless him and through him the whole world would be blessed. This would happen through the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

a. Abraham passed that promise on to Isaac who was told by the Lord to pass it on to Jacob. Then God changed Jacob’s name to Israel.

b. Now Jacob was not chosen because he was so good. He was simply chosen because God loved him.

c. So the first reason why God chose Israel was because the Messiah, the Christ, would come through his descendants.

2. In the process, God also planned to give them His holy laws, and to grow a relationship with them through which He would also give them His Holy Word. Through them and His Word, God wanted the whole world to learn who He was.

a. The problem was it turned into a one way street.

In fact, it got so bad that God had no choice but to punish the very people that He loved.

b. If you have ever been a parent, you know it is only natural to love your own children. But our children may or may not listen to us or obey us. Then what can you do?

c. You can be extra kind to them to encourage them to do better, but often you may also have to discipline them. These are the only two options you have.

3. In the days of Amos the prophet, God was running out of options. He had blessed Israel in fantastic ways, and had also punished Israel many times over.

a. Israel kept saying they would change, but kept doing worse and worse.

b. While there was a remnant that still loved and followed the Lord, the vast majority had rejected Him. And Amos was told to warn them that it had gone too far, and God was about to send the Assyrian army to capture and scatter them.

4. In this context, God asked them this very helpful question. In Amos 3:3, He said: “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?” Amos was begging them to reconsider their original agreement one more time.

5. God wrote this about them to help us. He doesn’t want us to make the same mistake.

a. Sadly many in America and around the world are breaking their agreement to follow God and are making the same mistake.

b. But I do not want to dwell on the negative this morning. I want us to take the rest of this message to talk about our agreement to walk with Jesus and how that should and can change our lives.

B. In Amos 3:3, God called this “walking together.” Let’s consider how walking with Him should affect our lives.

1. To begin with, we have excellent examples of people who walked with God. Enoch walked with God and was taken directly to heaven. Abraham walked with God and became known as a friend of God.

a. In the N.T., Jesus invited His disciples to follow Him and walk with Him and learn from Him. They did this, not because they had to, but because they wanted to.

b. People who want to walk with Him are invited to pray and ask Jesus to forgive their sins and to come and live in their hearts. I hope all of us have done that. That is a good way to get started.

2. In Ps. 1: 1, it says: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on that law he meditates day and night.”

God says those we choose we walk with will influence us.

a. Those who want to walk with the Lord learn all they can from the Lord; they don’t spend time getting counsel from those who will teach them differently. They don’t scoff with those who don’t believe, or do things with those who are setting bad examples. It will rub off onto us.

b. In contrast, in Luke 10:38-42, Jesus praised Mary, the sister of Lazarus, for learning at His feet, and told Martha Mary had chosen what is better.”

c. So we need to ask ourselves: Who is influencing our behavior? Is it the world around us, or is it Jesus?

3. In I John 1:1-4, John describes walking with the Lord as “having fellowship with (God’s people). And our fellow-ship,” he said, “is with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.” It is very hard to grow in Christ all by ourselves.

While we can have personal devotions, the Bible also encourages us to worship with other Christians. We need their fellowship and their influence on our lives.

4. In the Bible “walking” is also used to represent how we live. In John 8: 12, Jesus said: “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

a. Darkness often represents the ways of sin; light represents the way of Jesus. In John 10:10, Jesus said: “I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly.”

b. If you believe that, then you will do your best to find that exciting life by asking Jesus to help you “walk the way He walked” (John 2:6). Without help, we will fail (John 15:5). But it is amazing what we can do with Him.

c. This time ask yourself: “Am I trying my best to fol-low Jesus? Would people know I am a Christian by the way I live? With Jesus’ help, am I learning to do better?”

5. That is why many Christians used to ask themselves the question: “What would Jesus do?” Would Jesus do what I am doing?

a. Many Christians like to start their day by asking: “Dear Lord, what would you like me to do today? Who would you like me to meet? How can I help that person to come to know you as a friend the way you are my friend?

c. I like to pray that prayer. It often amazes me whom God lays on my heart and how I can show forth the love of Jesus to the person God lays on my heart.

6. Finally, walking together is how friendships grow. The Bible constantly encourages us to grow in our knowledge of and our relationship with Jesus. Of course, that will only happen if we want it to happen and walk with Him.

a. Prayer is how people talk to God, and the Bible is God’s way of teaching us about Him. We must always remember this is not a relationship between equals.

b. As David explained it in Ps. 100: “Remember that the Lord is God. It is He who has made us and we belong to Him. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”

This should be the most important relationship in our life.

In Conclusion: In James 4:8, it says:: “Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh unto you.” Israel made it a one way street. Don’t let that happen to you.