Where to Walk and What to Do

Proposition:  Where should we walk and what should we do?

Introduction

Nebuchadnezzar had conquered Jerusalem and left a man named Gedaliah in charge of the cities of Judah.  The people that had fled to other countries when the Chaldeans came returned and lived in Judah again.  They had an abundant harvest of wine and summer fruit.  Life for those in Judah seemed to be going well, but trouble was brewing.  A man named Ishmae,l whose was of the royal family, was hired by the king of Ammon to kill Gedaliah.  Johanan tried to warn Gedaliah, but Gedaliah didn’t believe him. Johanan offered to kill Ishmael for Gedaliah and then the people in Judah would not be scattered and the remnant of Judah perish.  At a feast in Mizpah a while later Ishmael and ten men with him killed Gedaliah and the Jews with him.  Ishmael took the rest of the people captive and started on his way to Ammon.  Johanan and the commanders of the forces with him heard of what Ishmael had done.  They attacked Ishmael and rescued the people from him.  Ishmael escaped to Ammon.  The people and Johanan were afraid of what Nebuchadnezzar would do now because the man he had left in charge of the people had been killed.   They want to flee to Egypt, but they want the Lord’s blessing on their plan so they ask Jeremiah what to do.

He gives them the answer in Jeremiah 42:7-22.

The people didn’t like the Lord’s answer, Jeremiah 43:1-7.  They asked two great questions, but they didn’t like the answer.  We must ask these questions, and accept what the Lord gives us for an answer.

I. Where should we walk?

II. What should we do?

I. Where should we walk?

A. Don’t walk out of the Promised Land.

1. God told the people to stay in Judah.  They had had a lot of trouble in Judah.  Their leader had been killed, and they had been taken captive.  They were afraid to stay where God told them to stay.  They wanted to go back to Egypt.  God had delivered them from Egypt about 1,000 years before.

2. Sometimes there are troubles in the church.  Some people are ready to walk out, when God says stay.  They say if that is what Christians are I don’t want to be a Christian.  Sometimes people who claim to be Christians don’t act like Christians.

3. I Corinthians 11:17-19, if I attended the Church at Corinth I would be tempted to say I am leaving.  Paul instructed the people in Corinth to fix their problems.  He didn’t instruct them to leave.  Sometimes people give up and leave the church and return to the bondage of sin.

4. Hebrews 4:9-11, We are walking to heaven, don’t turn around and walk back into sin.

B. Walk in the Spirit.

1. Galatians 5:16

2. If we walk by the Spirit we won’t be tempted to go back into sin (Egypt).

3. We will have the fruits of the Spirit

4. Galatians 5:22-23

5. If we don’t have the fruits of the spirit in our life we are on our way back into sin.  It isn’t enough to just not sin, we must have the fruits of the spirit in our life.

6. Romans 8:1-9, we must walk in the Spirit, not according to the flesh.  We are not hostile to what God tells us to do or where to walk.  We are happy to do what our Lord tells us to do even if we think it is unpleasant.

C. Walk in truth

1. II John 1:4, deceit is one of the first bad things a child learns.  It is a blessing to have children walking in truth and knowing what the truth is.  Satan likes to have us walk in deceit and believe a lie.

2. Be honest in your life.  Liars will be in the lake of fire.  A lie may get you out of trouble for a little while, but they usually catch up with you. 

3. Proverbs 11:3, integrity is always the best guide.  If you are honest you will sleep better if you are honest.  Your conscience will give you rest.  If you are dishonest you will always be worried if someone will discover your lie.

D. Walk in His commands

1. II John 1:6

2. If we love God we will keep His commandments.  We will walk in them and meditate on them.

3. Psalms 1:1-6

II. What should we do?  (What should we do?)

A. Don’t be afraid (Jeremiah 42:11 and 12)

1. Sometimes we think about what is going on in the world.  Are we going to have a nuclear war?  Is inflation going to make our money worthless?  Is global warming going to cause droughts and floods?  There are all kinds of things to be afraid of worry about, we are not to worry or be afraid.

2. Proverbs 3:21-26, God will take care of us.  There is nothing to be afraid of.

3. Psalms 56:11, man can kill our body, but he cannot kill our soul.  He can only threaten us with heaven.

4. Romans 8:35-39

B. Do what the Lord says

1. These people didn’t want to do what the Lord said.  They had made up their minds to go to Egypt.  They wanted the Lord to agree with what they decided instead of agreeing with what the Lord had decided.  The Lord will not change his mind.

2. Many others have asked, “What shall we do?”

a. Luke 3:9-14, these people wanted to repent and do what was right.

b. Acts 2:37, these people listened to Peter and did what he said.  Three thousand of them repented of their sin and they were baptized. 

c. Acts 9:6, Paul listened to what the Lord said.  He went to Damascus he didn’t go the opposite direction like Jonah did.  He stayed there.  Ananias came to see him.  He healed Paul’s eyes and told him to be baptized.  Paul obeyed.

d. Acts 16:30, The Philippian Jailer did what Paul said.  Paul said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved.  You and your household.”  The jailer believed.  Paul taught him and his family and they were baptized that night.

e. When we ask what shall we do?  We need to be ready to obey.

C. Pass the test

1. Jeremiah 17:10

2. God tested these people to see what they would do.

3. With Gedaliah alive they were not going to go to Egypt.

4. Jeremiah 40:7-10

5. Gedaliah made up his mind to listen to Jeremiah and serve the Chaldeans.

6. Most likely He had surrendered to the Chaldeans before they took Jerusalem.  He wasn’t one of the captains of the forces in the fields.  These men had not surrendered to the Chaldeans.  They had evaded captivity.

7. God let Gedaliah be killed to test these men to see what they would do.  He put them in this situation to test them.  They acted like they wanted to do what was right, but what they really wanted was God’s blessing on what they had already decided to do.

8. Jeremiah 41:16-18

9. From the very beginning God has tested man.  God put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden along with the tree of life.  He told them not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  They ate from the tree and failed the test.

10. God is going to test us to see if we will obey him or not. 

11. He tests me and he tests you. 

12. He puts us into situations to see if we will do his will or if we will do what we want to do.  He doesn’t tempt us to sin, but he does test us. 

Conclusion

Where should we walk and what shall we do are two of the most important questions we can ask. 

I. Where should we walk?

A. Don’t walk out of the Promised Land.

B. Walk in the Spirit

C. Walk in truth

D. Walk in His commands

II. What shall we do?

A. Don’t be afraid

B. Do what the Lord says.

C. Pass the test