REVIEW
 
I hope everyone has been growing with me as we’ve been getting in shape spiritually with these truths about exercising our inward man. It’s been revelatory, church, and oh so beneficial as we have been using the way we get fit physically to show how we get fit spiritually. 
 
This is something that the apostle Paul shows us in First Timothy 4:6-8 when he says, “If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. But reject profane and old wives fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”
 
So most recently, we’ve been looking at some practical things that go into exercise –namely, the importance of hydration & rest. We learned that our relationship & connection with Jesus is the source of both and these things, and the thing we looked at last week was no different – the importance of plain ole’ walking.  
 
We learned that there are a lot of people out there who will spend all kinds of dollars to get fit. They join multiple gyms, they pay a personal trainer, they purchase all kinds of clothing and equipment, etc. But there’s something to be said for the simplicity of just walking to get in shape and to keep ourselves healthy.
 
You see, there are a lot of people who view spiritual fitness the same. They view the cost as too great and are, therefore, unwilling to put forth the effort to get in shape spiritually. I mean, after all, they never went to Bible college, they haven’t been a Christian that long, they aren’t as smart as other people, they’ve done too many bad things, etc., etc., etc. All of these excuses are similar to the reason folks don’t get in shape physically – because they don’t feel like they know how or it would be too much work because of their current condition. 
 
Well, what these who either might not feel like they have the time, or everything just seems so overwhelming, need to know is just how simply walking does so much for us. Likewise, walking with God does more for us than any other spiritual practice. 
 
We learned that this “walking with God” is man’s primary purpose for being on this earth: From the very beginning, the LORD made us for simple fellowship with Him and not for all of the things we do for Him. Yes, Adam & Eve regularly walked with God in the Garden, but we saw how that after their sin, they hid themselves from His presence, which is what we learned that we do, not just when we sin, but when we don’t walk with Him.
 
As we learned, the best way to avoid doing the wrong thing is to do the “one thing” which is to dwell in the presence of God every day. This was another point that we made last week from the 27th Psalm that made David a man after God’s own heart. But we learned that this was not just what David desired; it was something he learned was his vital need. 
 
Yes, spending time walking with God – that is, living in His presence – is something that we must have to experience the “eternal, everlasting life” that Jesus came to provide for us. And oh, how many benefits there are to walking with God. Just as there are a myriad of benefits to walking physically, there are equally as many benefits to walking with God spiritually.
 
So just like walking is one of the most basic things you and I can do to get fit, walking in His presence is one of the most foundational & effective things we can do to get spiritually fit.
 
So let’s grab those walking shoes – those spiritual walking shoes that say we are more than conquerors – and start fellowshipping with God on a regular basis in order to cultivate a good & effective Christian “walk.”
 
In fact, you can actually do both at once – walk with God while we walk physically. Yes, you can physically take a walk and walk with God at the same time! In fact, I highly encourage this! There have been a lot of times in my life where I would spend my times with God while I took a morning or evening walk, and those times are so fresh & flourishing – because I am raising up two birds with one stone (See what I did there?).
 
THE OUTWARD MAN VS. THE INWARD MAN
 
Now the next part of our spiritual exercise that I want us to take a look at is one that might not be the go-to form of exercise for most people.
 
You see, most people’s focus when it comes to exercise is external. In other words, most exercise to improve their physique like strengthening their muscles or shedding some excess weight. But most forget how important it is that we also give attention to strengthening the most important muscle in our body – that is, our heart.
 
Now the reason why so many focus on the outward & external rather than what lies beneath this flesh is because most walk in the flesh. In other words, they only care about what they can see and what others can see, which is just plain ole’ carnality.
 
This really speaks to something you’ve heard me harp on throughout this series – that the condition of our inward man is even more important than the condition of our outward man. Yes, the same epidemic of focusing on the carnal over the spiritual is manifest in how man tends to focus more on the outward than the inward.
 
Second Corinthians 4:16 says something along these lines: In this verse, the apostle Paul says, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.”
 
You see, like the world, oftentimes we as Christians are too focused on the outward man, our physical bodies, and never spend any time focusing on our inward man, our spirits.
 
Notice how the apostle Paul starts off by saying, “Therefore we do not lose heart.” But how many do this every day? They lose heart – meaning, they allow their hearts to become troubled, discouraged, anxious, etc.
 
Didn’t Jesus tell His disciples to not let their hearts be troubled (See John 14:1)? That means that we have to have the mentality that it is OUR job to not let our hearts be in a troubled condition. Yes, it is our job to not lose heart. Why? Because we are the bishops over our own heart. Amen?
 
Then Paul went on to say here one of the reasons we don’t lose heart: It’s because even though our outward man is perishing, our inward man is being renewed day by day.
 
Let’s deal first with the outward man part: This means that no matter how much we try, our physical bodies are decaying – meaning we are going to get wrinkles, we are not going to be quite as strong, we are not going to have the vision and hearing we once had, and we are going to lose hair where we once had it and gain hair where we don’t want it. These are just the facts of life.
 
But Paul went on to say, “the inward man is being renewed day by day.” So he was showing us that the difference between the flesh and the spirit is that while the flesh is doomed to decay, that the spirit is renewed every day. This means that the spirit should get stronger, smarter, and better looking every day. This is a great reason to look forward to getting older. The reason that most people hate getting older is because they won’t be as physically attractive or as physically active, but if we had the right mindset, we would love to get older because even though we might be losing some of our physical benefits, we can gain eternal spiritual benefits.
 
This why the apostle Peter said in First Peter 3:3-4, “Do not let your adornment be merely outward - arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel.”
 
Peter was not saying that it was wrong for women to fix their hair, wear jewelry, or wear nice clothes. He simply said to not let it be “merely outward.” He went on to say in the next verse to “rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” Peter said to let our adornment be of “the hidden person of the heart” – the “hidden person” as opposed to the “seen person.” That “hidden person of the heart” is the spirit of man.
 
So Peter was saying that the beauty of the spirit is “incorruptible” (or, imperishable). In other words, being physically attractive is fleeting, but being spiritually attractive is eternal and “very precious (or worth something) in the sight of God”. This shows us that just as the world deems someone to be worth something by how they look and what they wear, God deems us worth something when our spirits are adorned properly. Yes, the LORD says that a properly adorned heart is “very precious in the sight of God.”
 
So my point is that God is evidently more focused on our inward man than the carnal, natural man. And didn’t the LORD reveal this to us in the story of how David was picked to be Israel’s next king?
 
First Samuel 16:7 shows us God’s heart when He told Samuel— “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
 
So the LORD focuses on the heart – the inward man – and not on our outward appearance. This is what is important to Him and what in turn should be important to us – both physically and spiritually.
 
So let’s focus this week on the heart – no, not our physical heart, but the spiritual heart that the Bible speaks of. But before we tackle the spiritual heart, let’s look at what we can learn from the exercise that strengthens our physical heart.
 
WHAT IS CARDIO AND WHAT IT DOES
 
Now I already alluded to the fact that the exercise of our physical heart muscle is not something that most people like to focus on, but this “cardiovascular” exercise is so important to our overall health.
 
You see, this term “cardio” that we use as an abbreviation comes from the Greek word “kardía,” which means heart. Cardio exercise, also commonly referred to as aerobic exercise, is any type of physical activity that increases your heart rate such that it challenges and strengthens your cardiovascular system. The term “aerobic” means “with oxygen,” so cardio exercise involves exerting yourself to an intensity level where you can still breathe (even if rapid and deep) enough to take in the oxygen your muscles need to produce energy for the movements you are performing. Simply put, exercise typically counts as cardio if it involves intentionally coordinated physical actions that raise your heart rate for an extended period of time.
 
So a good cardiovascular workout will have you consistently breathing faster than you would while resting. The result will be more oxygen in your blood for your heart to pump to the rest of your body.
 
The following are a lot of the activities that fall into the category of cardiovascular exercise: cycling, running, jogging, swimming, walking, hiking, etc.  You can also use machines like ellipticals, steppers, treadmills and rowing machines to get the cardio your body craves.
 
Now this cardio exercise obviously has a ton of benefits for our physical hearts, but the benefits of cardio go beyond just our heart. It affects our entire body! Yes, cardio benefits our brain, our joints, our skin, our muscles, our digestion, our lungs. All of these things produce other benefits, such as weight loss, increased energy, improved sleep, a strengthened immune system, better moods, etc., etc., etc.
 
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE HEART
 
But again, I’m not wanting us to primarily focus on “cardio;” we are more focused on “kardia” – that is, our spiritual, immaterial heart.
 
So like I’ve heard it coined by certain fitness buffs when they are planning on doing a lot of cardiovascular exercise – “I’m going to kill the cardio today!” – we are going to do the opposite; we are going to give life to the kardia (i.e. the heart) today! In other words, we are going to learn how to guard, keep, and protect the heart because of just how important it is to our spiritual lives.
 
Church, our heart is one of the most valuable things we possess. It is not only what God looks at, it’s what He looks for (Second Chronicles 16:9). It’s valuable to Him and, therefore, should be to us as well.
 
When Jesus came, He also had a lot to say about the heart. In fact, much of the doctrine that He brought revolved around the condition of our hearts. Part of the reason for that was because of the religious nature of His chosen people to only focus on the outside of the cup. But Jesus came to reveal that what comes out of the heart is what is truly important.
 
He connected the fruit of our lives with what comes out of our heart (See Matthew 12:33-35 & Mark 7:15-23). He taught in His Sermon on the Mount about how things like anger & lust in the heart are what the LORD looks at, not just the mere external observation of the law, which said not to murder or commit adultery (See Matthew 5:21-22; 27-28).
 
So, yes, Jesus placed a premium on the heart during His ministry. But did you know that the second wisest king Israel ever had also understood this very well? We see Solomon exhorting God’s people in Proverbs 4:23 with – “Keep your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (NKJV). The original King James says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
 
Notice what Solomon says comes from the heart – He says out of it “spring” the “issues” of life! Now the words “spring” and “issues” give us a word picture that I believe is extremely helpful to understanding the importance of the heart …
 
This word “issues” was oftentimes used in the times of the Old Testament to describe the “outgoings, goings forth” of a body of water or you could say the “channels or streams” that come from that larger body of water. So then when you combine this definition with the word “spring” the picture is painted of water that flows up out of our heart like a fountain or spring. It’s what “issues” from the heart like a well spring. (i.e. the outflow)
 
But it is not water that Solomon says flows from our heart; He says that the “issues in our life” are what flow out of it. You see, many of the conditions of our life are directly tied to the condition of our heart. Let me say it this way since we are talking about a spring of water: The purity and satisfaction of our life is determined by the fountainhead of our heart! If our heart is corrupt and impure then our life will be corrupt and impure. In other words, the currents & channels that come from a large body of water are symbolic of the influence (i.e. currents) and direction (i.e. channels) of our heart. 
 
You see, in the Middle East – especially during the days of Solomon – fountains and wells were watched over with special care. Why? It was because if the source of their water was contaminated, then their supply of water was useless. There were not many sources of water in those days (No, they didn’t have Macon Water Authority back then), so they protected the ones that they had at all costs. It was vital for them to do that! Likewise, the part of us that all the issues of our life stem from must be protected at all costs, lest we allow the enemy to contaminate our life. Therefore, this is a vital issue for us as well!
 
GUARDING THE HEART
 
But not only do we see the analogy of a wellspring being used, but we also see the analogy of a garden …
 
Any of us who have ever had a garden understand fully well that it takes work to keep a productive garden. In many cases, if you do not spray it down with insecticides or put an electric fence around it, different kinds of bugs and animals will devour your harvest. Likewise, our hearts are like the garden, and we must keep it with all diligence.
 
Let’s now look at this phrase – “Keep your heart with all diligence”: The word “keep” literally means “to guard, watch, protect and preserve.” It describes keeping something in a safe, secret place, and then, guarding that place. So Solomon was saying that we are to keep our heart in a safe and secret place similar to how we would keep our wallet, checkbook, or jewelry in a safe & secret place.
 
In the world, an extremely valuable jewel is oftentimes placed in a high security vault with all kinds of motion detectors, cameras, etc. And they do this for a rock which only has temporal value! How much more, should we apply this same kind of diligent guarding to our heart, which has eternal value?
 
Notice what Solomon goes on to say – He says that we are to guard our heart “with all diligence.” Actually, the Hebrew word for “diligence” here describes “keeping or guarding; to keep in custody or to imprison” and is actually translated “ward” in most cases in the King James Version. So that’s right – It has the essentially the same meaning as the word “guard” at the beginning of this verse!
 
So what the first portion of this verse literally says is – “Guard your heart above everything else you guard!” In other words, the Holy Spirit through Solomon was saying that the most important thing you have to guard is your heart! Therefore, guarding & keeping our heart is more important than guarding & keeping our most valuable possessions!
 
Now most people obviously don’t think this way. Most value things like fame, friends, family, finances, etc. But I think the LORD knows what is truly valuable, amen? And here we see wisdom telling us that the heart of man is one of the most important things that we possess, and we should guard & keep it with the same diligence as we would the physical things that we value the most.  
 
Like we’ve said, just consider the physical heart in this. When it comes to physical fitness, most only esteem vain things like how we look and that’s their motivation for exercise. But exercising the heart through cardiovascular exercise is by far the most important thing we can work on – because next to our brain, the heart is the most important organ we possess. And the reason for this is the heart is responsible for the “issues” (the channels & streams) of blood that flows through the body (and the life is in the blood, right? See Leviticus 17:11).   
 
THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER
 
Now if you study Jesus’ Parable of the Sower – the first and most important of the many parables about the kingdom of God that Jesus taught on His “sermon by the sea” – you will find that Jesus showed just how important the heart is. (See Mark 4:1-9;13-20)
 
You see, this parable is the one that Jesus said if we do not understand this parable, how can we understand any other of His parables (See verse 13). That was not Him saying that it was the easiest parable to understand, but that it was the most foundational parable on how His kingdom operates. 
 
And in this parable, while the emphasis might appear to be on the seed and what it produces, I see that at least equally important is the ground that the seed was being sown into. In fact, Jesus spent a lot more time talking about the different conditions of the ground than He did anything else in this parable. And guess what Jesus compared the ground to here? You guessed it – He said the ground that the seed is sown into is our hearts (See Mark 4:15).
 
So the fact that Jesus spent a lot more time talking about the various conditions of our hearts than He did describing the seed, teaches us an important lesson. What lesson is that, you ask? – that our heart is the issue!
 
Church, the seed of God’s Word works the same for all of us. It’s no respecter of persons. The variable is the condition of the heart that it is sown into. Therefore, what is the greatest issue here? It’s our heart!
 
You see, the things of God are not complicated. It does not take a rocket scientist to get it to work! All we have to do is be simple enough to read it, believe it, and then sow it.
 
Have you ever noticed how most farmers do not usually have PHD’s? No, in most cases, they are just hard workers with self-discipline that are simply capitalizing on the laws governing seedtime and harvest. Likewise, in God’s kingdom it is not those with the greatest pedigree, the greatest resources or the most education that produce the most in the kingdom of God. Generally, it is those who are least in the kingdom that produce the most in the kingdom. Amen! 
 
So, again, the complications are evidently not with the Word or else Jesus would have spent more time talking about the seed in this parable. No, the complications are usually within us - that is, in our hearts. This is why Jesus spent a considerably longer amount of time in His Parable of the Sower talking about the ground of our hearts that the Word is sown into.
 
Now it is important for us to understand that all four types of ground that Jesus describes here are actually those who come to hear the word. This is not those who stay at home, who willfully reject the truth or who are enemies of the Cross of Christ. These are those who actually want to hear the words of the Master. So if you are reading this today, this parable describes you, and it describes me also!
 
I bring this up because this then shows us that the majority of people who come to church, study their Bibles, etc. are not going to produce abiding fruit. So if only one out of every four believers will actually be considered fruitful in God’s sight, then that means that only about 25% of believers who have God’s Word sown in their hearts are considered productive. Now that’s a sobering thought, isn’t it?
 
Now in one of these four types of ground (i.e. the wayside heart), they never produced anything at all. In the next two (i.e. the stony ground & thorny ground), their vine did grow above the ground, but they did not produce any fruit that lasted. It was only with the good ground that we see any fruit that endured, and even in that type of ground, there were varying degrees of production (i.e. some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred).
 
So what should we say to these things? Should we just throw our hands up in the air and say, “Que sera sera?” No, the purpose of recognizing this truth is to encourage us to change the condition of our hearts, so that we can become that “good ground” and begin to produce some thirtyfold, some sixty and some a hundred. Amen?
 
Church, we might not have been doing this up until now, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late! We can begin guarding our heart today so that this process of seedtime & harvest can start working in our favor.
 
I cannot fully convey to you just how important the condition of our heart is! Please do not miss the truth that your spiritual heart is just as important to your spiritual life as your physical heart muscle is to your natural life. Now that is the gospel truth!

REVIEW
 
Did you know that the Scriptures speak of spiritual exercise in a similar way that we talk about physical exercise? Yes, there is a development & conditioning with our inward man that mirrors how we do these things with our outward man.
 
The apostle Paul makes this point in our golden text – First Timothy 4:6-8 where he says, “If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. But reject profane and old wives fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”
 
So what we have been doing in this series is we have been learning how getting physically fit mirrors getting spiritually fit. And we have gained some wisdom in doing so.
 
Most recently, we’ve been looking at some practical things that go into exercise –namely, the importance of hydration & rest.
 
Two weeks ago, we looked at the importance of hydration, seeing how our bodies need fluid to keep functioning because both our muscles and the entire body itself are made up mainly of water. So if we lose fluid in our bodies, we absolutely have to rehydrate ourselves or we are in serious trouble.
 
So we looked at what our spiritual hydration is, and His Name is Jesus. Yes, Jesus is that water of life that will quench every thirst and satisfy every desire.
 
So we learned that we have to continually come to the Lord Jesus and drink from the water that only He can provide. Just like you won’t be properly hydrated by only drinking something on Sunday but not on the other six days of the week, we need to realize that in order to remain spiritually hydrated, we must drink, drink, and keep on drinking.
 
So we learned how to go to the well – Jesus’ well – and let Him abundantly satisfy our hearts instead of looking to the broken cisterns of this world to fulfill us.
 
Then last week, we looked at the role rest plays in exercise, seeing that there are multiple benefits to resting. For one, taking regular breaks allows our body to recover and repair. It’s actually essential for progress and overall well-being, regardless of your fitness level or sport. We also looked at what some of the signs are of needing rest like pain, muscle fatigue, and extreme emotional changes.
 
But we also learned that one of the reasons why rest isn’t respected amongst most fitness junkies is because some view taking a recovery day or resting in general as a sign of weakness. In other words, many of those who are into exercise have learned to discipline themselves and press through those feelings of laziness. And because of that, they can tend towards not listening to their body and resting when it really needs it.
 
But as important as it is to be driven & determined to exercise and to push through those times that your flesh doesn’t want to put forth the effort, it is equally important to not get over into the other ditch either.
 
I think all of this certainly applies to us spiritually as well, amen? Some of us are hard workers. We have the mind to serve the LORD with all of our might and to labor for Him. And while that is certainly good and has its place – those of us who are wired this way can usually tend to err in doing “too much” for Him.
 
This is when we need to understand that the LORD is our rest stop and come to Him regularly. Yes, just as Jesus is that water of life that satisfies our spiritual dehydration, He is also our Sabbath rest and the One that gives us rest when we are laboring & overburdened.
 
Church, rest is essential – both naturally and spiritually. If we don’t learn to rest in Him and rest physically, we are in danger of burnout. Yes, I’m convinced that if we learned to rest physically periodically and found the rest that Christ offers us spiritually, we would experience much more grace to do the things that He has called us unto, and we would have peace while doing them. Yes, if we were sure to schedule a week or more of rest during the year, made sure we had a day every week where we rested, and made sure we spent a period of time daily in His rest, we would live in this supernatural Sabbath that Jesus said was ours. Amen.
 
But I want you to notice that Jesus is the spiritual fulfilment to these practical things like hydration & rest. In other words, Jesus is all in the simplicity of getting spiritually fit and into the spiritual shape that we aspire to. Always remember = Jesus is the answer. Amen!
 
And the next thing we will look at today is no different – Today, we will look at how important our time spent in fellowship with the Lord is. We will call today’s message – “Walking with God.”
 
PLAIN OLE’ WALKING
 
Yes, the next thing about spiritual exercise that I want us to talk about is the role just simply walking plays in us getting fit – Yep, just plain ole’ walking is one of the best things you and I can do to stay healthy & get fit.    
 
You see, all of the equipment and other helpful aids to getting in shape are man-made, not God designed. But the truth is that God gave you and I everything we need to get fit both physically and spiritually without the assistance of these manufactured things. In fact, if you go far enough back in history, you’ll find that the only real things that people used to stay in shape were just their physical members. So if someone wanted a “leg day,” that was comprised of simply walking, jogging, and running.
 
You see, there are a lot of people out there who will spend all kinds of dollars to get fit. They join multiple gyms, they pay a personal trainer, they purchase all kinds of clothing and equipment, etc. But there’s something to be said for the simplicity of just walking to get in shape and to keep ourselves healthy.
 
But, you know, the great thing about walking is that it can be done at any time and at any place. It doesn’t cost anything, but it certainly pays a lot!
 
You see, there are a lot of people who view spiritual fitness the same. They view the cost as too great and are, therefore, unwilling to put forth the effort to get in shape spiritually. I mean, after all, they never went to Bible college, they haven’t been a Christian that long, they aren’t as smart as other people, they’ve done to many bad things, etc. etc. etc. All of these excuses are similar to the reason folks don’t get in shape physically – because they don’t feel like they know how or it would be too much work because of their current condition. 
 
Well, what these who either might not feel like they have the time, or everything just seems so overwhelming, need to know is just how simply walking does so much for us. Likewise, walking with God does more for us than any other spiritual practice. 
 
So what do I mean when I refer to “walking with God”? Well, let’s go back to the beginning and gain a little insight into what it means to walk with God …
 
OUR PRIMARY PURPOSE
 
If you were to ask a bunch of Christians the question – “What is our primary purpose as Christians?”- you will get a variety of answers. Some think it is to witness to the lost and be a soul-winner. Some think it is to serve Him in the church. Some think it is to just simply love people. But all we have to do to answer this question is to look back at the beginning when God created man …
 
You see, God did not create Adam for him to witness and be a soul-winner. He did not create Adam to love his neighbor. No, God created Adam primarily because He wanted a family to fellowship with!
 
You see, there was no one for Adam to evangelize or to love. Now, of course, there are people that God has called us to win and love now, but based on God’s original intention for creating human beings, the “one thing” that He desires above all else is for us to come into relationship with Him.
 
Let’s look back at a verse in the beginning and gain some insight of how life was in the Garden and how life should be today in our garden …
 
Genesis 3:8 says, “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”
 
Now, of course, this was immediately after man’s sin where they had just been deceived by the devil and their eyes were opened to know their nakedness. But what I want you to notice is that Adam & Eve were obviously very familiar with the Lord’s voice/noise/sound as He walked in the garden in the cool of the day. Yes, they knew His voice and the sound He made as He walked through Eden at this time of day. Why do you suppose that is? It’s because this was likely a regular habit of the LORD – to come down and walk with Adam & Eve, communing with them.
 
But I want you to notice the connection between the LORD “walking” in the garden and Adam & Eve hiding themselves from the presence of the LORD.
 
You see, because they weren’t walking with Him in the cool of the day per usual, they were hiding themselves from His presence. Likewise, when we don’t walk with God through our daily communion with Him, we hide ourselves from His presence and its myriad of benefits for our lives. Amen!
 
But I want you to notice that this is how the LORD designed things before the Fall. His original design was for His creation to walk with Him in the paradise He had given them. So again, if this was a part of God’s original design, we can conclude that this is God’s perfect will for us now. Amen?
 
But back to Adam’s folly for a minute – We understand that Adam willfully threw away his fellowship with God through disobedience, but we also know that Jesus was sent to reconcile & repair that relationship.
 
The most popular verse that we have pertaining to God’s plan of redemption is John 3:16 which states – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever shall believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
 
Now the basic viewpoint of this verse to most people is that God sent His Son to save us from something – namely, perishing in hell. But this verse makes an equal point that God not only saved us from something, but He saved us unto something. And what He saved us unto is “everlasting life” (i.e. eternal life). In other words, the salvation of the Lord that rescued us from sin and death was just the step that needed to be taken in order to bring us into this “everlasting life.”
 
Now the question that needs to be answered is – What is this eternal, everlasting life? Some would answer – “It means that we will live forever.” Well, I got news for you: You are going to live forever whether you believe on Jesus or not! What do I mean by that? I mean that you are either going to spend eternity in hell or in heaven no matter what. There is no other option. Your eternal destination is based solely on what you do with Jesus.
 
So what does this phrase “everlasting (or eternal) life” mean if it doesn’t mean just “living forever”? To find that answer we must look at John 17:3 which says, “And this is eternal (or everlasting) life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
 
The word “know” in this verse describes a personal and intimate knowledge of. It was used the same way in the book of Genesis when it says that Adam “knew” his wife Eve and she conceived and bore a son. This obviously describes Adam having intimacy with his wife Eve.
 
So, you see, the everlasting life that all believers possess is personally and intimately knowing the Father and the Son! In other words, eternal life is having personal and intimate fellowship with Father God and Jesus Christ now and for eternity. Praise God!
 
As First Corinthians 1:9 says, “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Our primary purpose and calling is to have fellowship with the King of kings and the Lord of lords! What a privilege this is, church!         
 
So my question then is, how do we think we are going to be as fruitful as we can be if we do not apply this “one thing” – our primary purpose – into our everyday lives? That would be like trying to build a large superstructure without having a good solid foundation laid, wouldn’t it? Fellowship with God is that foundation on which a fruitful Christian “walk” is based!
 
Now I use the word “walk” there intentionally because, to me, our Christian walk is our fellowship with the Lord – like Adam & Eve’s walk with God was simple fellowship with the LORD.
 
WALKING BY FAITH
 
But was there no opportunity to walk with God after the Garden and until Jesus came? While walking with Him like they did in Paradise might not have been a possibility anymore, that didn’t mean mankind couldn’t walk with Him another way. And what is that way – By faith!
 
Let’s move on to Genesis chapter 5 where we meet another man, one of the descendants of Seth, the great-great-great-great grandson of Adam.
 
In verse 18-24, we read about his genealogy along with a small amount of information about his life – “Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died. Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”
 
So notice how Enoch walked with God for the majority of his life, 300 of the 365 years he lived. That’s a long time to be walking with God, huh? But what does this mean that he “walked with God”? What did this look like?
 
Well, I believe Hebrews 11:5 gives us a little insight into this, answers these questions, and tells us a couple of things about Enoch:

1. It teaches us that he had faith simply because we are told that “By faith Enoch …”
2. It also shows us the fruit of His faith – He “was taken away so that he did not see death, and was not found because God had taken him.”
3. But it also reveals to us the reason the LORD took him – because “he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”

 
But again, if we look at the limited information we have of him in Genesis chapter 5, we see only that he walked with God. So evidently this walk with God for 300 years was a walk of faith and, therefore, a walk that pleased God – for Hebrews 11:6 goes on to say, it is impossible to please God without faith. Therefore, Enoch walked with God by faith and pleased God as a result! Amen!
 
I wonder if we can do that? Again, I know that Adam & Eve lived in the paradise of God and actually had the LORD come down and physically walk with them like they were in heaven. That might not be possible for us today on this earth, but I wonder if the kind of walk with God that Enoch possessed is possible? I can guarantee you that it is! In fact, I can assure you that we can walk with God even better than Enoch did because what you and I have under this new & better covenant far outweighs even what he had.
 
OUR VITAL NEED
 
But it’s not just a question of if we can walk with God like this; it’s more of a question of should we. In other words, how important is it that we learn to walk with God, spending this time in fellowship with Him?
 
Well, if there was one practice that I believe is the most important to apply to our everyday lives, it is spending time walking with God (i.e. fellowshipping with God).
 
The reason I feel so strongly about this is because I have experienced first-hand just how much of a difference it makes in my life when I set aside a relatively small portion of my day to spend time with Him. When I have made this time for Him, I sense a grace that accompanies me throughout the day. I feel more strength in resisting the enemy. I feel wiser and make better decisions. I seem to be in the right place at the right time. And the list could go on and on.
 
On the other hand, when I have not made time for Him, things just do not flow as well. I do not experience the peace and joy that I otherwise would have. There is just not that same state of contentment and satisfaction in my heart.
 
Also, throughout my walk with the Lord, I have had Him tell me time and time again how important it is that I spend this time with Him. It has seemed like every time I have ever approached Him with the frustrations that I was having in my walk with God, this was the remedy and solution that I would get from Him.
 
Psalm 27:8 teaches us this. In in the Amplified Bible says, “You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need]. My heart says to You, Your face (your presence), Lord, will I seek inquire for and require [of necessity and on the authority of Your Word].”
 
You see, God has commanded us to seek, inquire for, and require His presence as our vital need. He never tells us to do something that will not ultimately give us a better quality of life. So many times when He tells us to do something we think that He is trying to take something away from us. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Everything that our Heavenly Father commands us to do will be what turns out to be best for us. So when He says, “Seek My face!” God is not just trying to get something through us; He is really trying to get something to us.
   
You see, He knows that spending time seeking to know Him more and seeking His presence is vital to our spiritual life. As Jesus said, “without Him we can do nothing.” This is eternal life! But the problem is not getting God to know how much we need to spend time with Him… It is getting us to understand how vital it is for us.
 
The best illustration of the importance of this time spent with God I have ever heard was by Joyce Meyer: She likened it to having a pacemaker that needed to be charged at a certain time every morning. In this illustration, she asked the question- “If your life depended on recharging your pacemaker at that specific time every morning, where would you be every morning at that time? Of course, you will be hooked up to that power source! It wouldn’t matter if you did not sleep well the night before, if you would rather watch TV, or even if someone invited you to an all-expense paid trip to your favorite place. No matter how you felt or what came up, you would be recharging that battery at all costs. Why? Because it would be your vital need! This is how we should view our time spent with God!
 
Do you understand the mentality that God wants us to adopt? He wants us to be thirstier for the “living water” of His presence than we are for physical water. He wants us to be more zealous for entering into “the rest” that comes from abiding in Him than we are for our physical sleep. He wants our “one desire” to be in His presence every day! It has multiple benefits! It is our vital need! And it is also our call!   
 
Now of course we do not have to be this rigid about it because we are not going to die spiritually if we miss a day of recharging our spiritual battery. But if we do not adopt this kind of mentality the devil is sure to distract us.
 
Have you ever noticed that when you have decided to go to your prayer closet that every possible distraction will come up - the phone will ring, someone knocks at the door, the dog starts barking, etc? Not only will these external distractions come, but your mind will also start chasing all kinds of rabbits. For instance, you will have all these thoughts about all the things that need to be done around the house. Now you know good and well that if you were vegging out in front of the television you would not be thinking of how you need to clean out the garage.
 
So where do you think these external and internal distractions come from? You got it! It is the enemy that is planting these distractions in your path of fellowship with God.
 
So why does he fight our time with God like this? Do you think it might be because he knows how vital this time we spend with God is to our spiritual lives? I guarantee you this is why! He apparently knows something that we don’t… But no more! We are no longer going to be ignorant of and deterred from our high calling in Christ Jesus.
 
Lord, you have said, “Seek Me and require my presence as your vital need!” So we say to You – “Lord, one thing we will desire to do – We will seek to spend time with You!”    
 
So the Lord has made known to us that it is extremely important that we make this a daily habit of ours. Therefore, this “one thing” is what I consider to be the most important daily routine that we could ever adopt.
 
THIS ONE THING
 
Did you know that David already felt this way about His walk with God?
 
Most of us are familiar with how God called David a man after His own heart. Well, I believe we can see what made him a man after God’s own heart earlier here in his 27th Psalm.
 
In the beginning of Psalm 27:4, David said, “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek …” He said that there was just one thing that he desired from God, and it was this one thing that he sought after. What was this “one thing”? “… that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.”
 
Now the “house of the Lord” in the Old Testament was a type and shadow of the presence of God. It was there that the Holy of holies resided and the ark of the covenant dwelt – both of which were symbolic of God’s presence. But today, under our new and better covenant, the veil has been rent! God’s presence is not limited to a physical structure anymore!
 
So when David said that his one desire was to live in the house of the Lord all the days of his life, what he was really saying was that his one desire was to dwell in God’s presence all the days of his life. David longed to spend every day in God’s presence praising, worshipping, and fellowshipping with Him.
 
I believe this was the main thing that pleased God so much about David … David valued his fellowship with God so much and proved it in that he spent much time praising, worshipping, and loving on His God (as evidenced by the myriad of psalms that he wrote).
 
So let’s look at some of the benefits that David gives us of living in His presence …
 
THE BENEFITS OF WALKING
 
But before we get into all of the spiritual benefits of walking with God, let me share with what I learned about the benefits of physically walking because, again, we will find that they mirror each other …
 
I promise you that the so-called experts out there believe in the benefits of walking. I had to look at several different articles before I felt like I truly exhausted all of walking’s benefits.
 
So here is what they say walking does for us and how it benefits us:

1. Walking adds years to your life

 
If you want to keep adding candles to that birthday cake, start walking!
 
Taking into account certain factors, researchers discovered a 51% lower mortality risk for those who took 8,000 steps a day, compared with those who took 4,000. And the more the subjects walked, the greater the benefit. In fact, extending a stroll to 12,000 steps a day was linked to a 65% lower risk of death.
 
So if you think it’s too late for you to reap these benefits, know this: A certain study showed that those who became fit later in life cut their risk of a potentially deadly stroke in half.
 
But while there are benefits to just simply walking, the real benefits come to those who walk a little more briskly. Brisk walkers have been found to have up to 20 years greater life expectancy compared to slow walkers.
 
So yes, walking yields longevity – and the more intense the walk the better.

1. Walking bolsters the brain

 
It’s not a stretch to say that just a little walking (or other aerobic activity) grows your brain. Researchers have found that regular aerobic exercise appears to increase the size of the region of the brain responsible for memory, and the benefits can be pretty immediate.
 
Getting out there and walking regularly may even help those already experiencing memory problems. According to one Neurology study, just 35 minutes of continuous walking or stationary biking three times a week, combined with a heart-healthy Mediterranean diet, improved the scores on thinking tests of subjects who had “verified cognitive concerns,” such as remembering or concentrating.

1. Walking promotes weight loss

 
As we get older, fat that used to primarily land on our hips and thighs can start to shift to our bellies. That spare tire is stubborn, but regular cardio exercises can reduce it.
 
In a small study of 27 obese women, researchers found that power walkers were able reduce abdominal fat. What’s more, they did so without even dieting.

1. Walking helps one rest better

 
If you’re among the 50 percent of people over age 65 with chronic sleep problems, walking could be your ticket to more quality shut-eye — which is important for everything from preventing heart disease to staying sharp as you age.

1. Walking boosts the immune system and wards off certain diseases.

 
Walking can help protect you during cold and flu season too! A study of over 1,000 men and women found that those who walked at least 20 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week, had 43% fewer sick days than those who exercised once a week or less. And if they did get sick, it was for a shorter duration, and their symptoms were milder.
 
Physical activity boosts the immune system response during and after exercise. People who exercise regularly are known to get fewer viral infections and fewer severe symptoms when they do get sick.
 
Research has shown that in addition to lowering the risk of heart disease, regular walking reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, dementia, type 2 diabetes, and even breast cancer.

1. Walking strengthens the heart

 
Walking briskly helps strengthen the heart by increasing the heart rate and improving circulation, which can help lower blood pressure. Walking is an easy way to increase physical activity and is known to help prevent and manage heart disease for those with or at risk of heart disease.

1. Walking also helps lower blood sugar levels

 
Light-intensity walking can improve blood sugar levels after eating a meal. Research has shown that taking a low-intensity walk, even for a few minutes, after eating can significantly improve blood sugar levels compared to standing or sitting after a meal.

1. Walking burns calories

 
Now how many calories you burn from walking depends on how fast you walk, your body type, and even the surface you walk on. But the fact is, just simply taking a walk works wonders in burning those calories that we desperately need to get rid of.  

1. Walking helps lower high cholesterol

 
Research shows that regular walking at moderate intensity can help lower high cholesterol. Walking reduces cholesterol just as much as running. The more distance walked, the greater the cholesterol-lowering benefits.
 
That’s a lot of benefits, huh? And on top of all of these benefits, walking also is said to help our vision, promote more peace, ward off depression, and even improves mood, tames our sweet tooth, protects against joint pain, boosts our energy levels, etc. etc. etc.   
 
THE BENEFITS OF WALKING WITH GOD
 
But just like walking in the natural has tons of benefits, walking with God does as well!
 
In the rest of Psalm 27:4, David said that He sought to dwell in God’s presence every day for two reasons… “(1) to behold the beauty of the Lord and (2) to inquire in His temple.”
 
What do these two benefits describe? Both of these describe having a heightened awareness of the things of God. You see, in God’s presence we begin to see and know the things of God more clearly.
 
Number one, in God’s presence we catch little glimpses of how beautiful He is. There are times when He is manifesting Himself to us that we see just how wonderful and majestic He is. There are no words to describe just how glorious those times in His presence are. These are just small tastes of what we will be seeing for all eternity.
 
Number two, in His presence we get answers too. It just seems like when we spend time in His presence that knowledge, wisdom, and understanding abounds. I know in my own personal times with God that when I am worshipping Him, revelation knowledge oftentimes seems to come to me. Things that I had pondered for a long time will become crystal clear to me.
 
Then in verse 5 David went on to describe another major benefit of walking in the presence of God – His protection. He said, “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion. In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.”
 
This verse reveals the same truth that Psalm 91 does – that dwelling in His secret place offers us protection. Psalm 91:1 says that “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” And the rest of Psalm 91 goes on to describe all of the promises of God’s protection to those who have applied verse one to their lives. You see, we are sheltered from the devices of Satan when we abide in the secret place of God’s presence.
 
I like to picture it like we are walking down the sidewalk, sharing an umbrella with the Lord. So there is an umbrella over where God is, and when we are draw near to Him, walking hand in hand with Him, we get under the benefit of His umbrella. If we choose to abide outside of the perimeter of His presence, we will get wet. But when we walk in His presence, it’s like we are walking under His umbrella, protecting us from the elements.
 
You see, God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. He is the source of all good and perfect gifts and every blessing. So when we abide in His presence we are abiding in the sphere of all that God is, and a by-product of this is that those blessings of protection and provision become manifested in our lives.
 
But arguably the best benefit of living in God’s presence is the change that takes place in us. Sure, the natural benefits of protection and provision are great, but nothing can compare to the spiritual fruit that is produced in our lives.
 
You know, there is so much truth in the statement that you become like who you are around. Whether the people we hang around are good or bad, we are going to conform to whoever we spend our time with. So what do you suppose happens when we spend a quantity of time hanging out with God? We will become like Him, won’t we? That’s right! If we discipline ourselves to spend time with Him on a consistent basis, we will begin to see His fruit manifested in our lives. What an awesome truth!
 
Psalm 92 gives us a natural way of looking at this effect His presence has on our spiritual lives …
 
In verse 13-14 the psalmist says, “Those who are planted in the house of the Lord (i.e. His presence) shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age. They shall be fresh and flourishing.”
 
To me, these verses seem to be saying the same thing that Jesus said in John chapter 15 when He spoke of abiding in the Vine. In this parable, He spoke of the power of abiding in Him – how we bear much fruit by abiding in Him and how we cannot bear fruit apart from Him.
 
If we take a look at the natural illustration of a vine and a branch, we can see how this works in the spiritual too. You see, a branch derives its life through the sap that it receives from the vine. I have heard that the vine actually pumps the sap into its branches which makes the branches bear fruit. What do I mean by “makes” them? They will actually “drown” if they do not yield their fruit! So the branches have no choice. However, if the branch is detached, it has no source of life and, therefore, has no hope of being fruitful. The result of this is that it will eventually wither and fade.
 
You see, abiding in the presence of the Lord will cause our spiritual lives to be fresh and flourishing – that is, to be full of life, strong, and healthy because His life is causing us to be fresh and flourishing. As a matter of fact, the Hebrew word used for “fresh” literally means “to be full of sap.” Being planted by these rivers of living water will cause us to bear fruit in its season and also cause our “leaves” to not wither. (Psalm 1:3)
 
And the beautiful thing about this is that it’s a promise even if you are up in age. This Psalm promises that walking with God, in His presence, will cause even the elderly to bear fruit just like the young bucks! Amen! 
 
Church, there are so many benefits to walking with God. It’s incredible. And one of those benefits is that it helps get us in good spiritual shape.
 
Yes, just like walking is one of the most basic things you and I can do to get fit, walking in His presence is one of the most foundational & effective things we can do to get spiritually fit.
 
So let’s grab those “nikeo’s” – those spiritual walking shoes that say we are more than conquerors – and start fellowshipping with God on a regular basis in order to cultivate a good & effective Christian “walk.”
 
Oh yeah… I almost forgot … A cool thing about this is that you can actually do both at once – walk physically and walk spiritually. Yes, you can physically take a walk and walk with God at the same time! In fact, I highly encourage this!
 
There have been a lot of times in my life where I would spend my times with God while I took a morning or evening walk, and those times are so fresh & flourishing – because I am raising up two birds with one stone (See what I did there?).
 
So, let’s do it! Let’s walk with God and experience all the benefits thereof. Amen!