Pastor Rev. Steven Wagner Telephone: 573-437-5190

Rt 3, Owensville MO. 65066

Serving God is a Daily Walk

Morning Service 7/19/97

Rev. Steven Wagner

Scripture: Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.

A. Serving Christ is a daily relationship

1. Relationship to

a. Wife

b. Animals

c. Friends

d. Work

e. Play

2. All relationships in life take a daily effort showing attention, communication, love, and depending on the relationship one can take more of these things then others.

3. God taught Israel early that they would have to carry on a daily relationship with Him to receive food, forgiveness, protection, advice, strength etc.

4. Today God is the same, the Bible says he never changes, so today our relationship has to be a daily relationship to receive food, forgiveness, protection, advice, strength, love etc.

B. The Church today wants to treat God like a Image, a graven Image. Or like a checking account or credit card.

a. When I need something or get in trouble I will go and get my little god and put him in front of me and bow down and worship him like a graven image and expect him to respond. Then when I'm done with him I will put him back in the drawer or closet until next time and go on my marry little way.

b. Or when I need something I will take out my check book or credit card and expect God to take care of me to pay and meat my needs come to my rescue, but when I'm done with him I just put him away in my pocket and forget about him.

C. God is a person not a thing, not a image, not a genie you can rub to get what you want, but a person like me or you.

a. You can't treat God like a thing and have a relationship with him.

SERVING GOD IS A DAILY RELATIONSHIP, HE IS A REAL GOD, HE HOLDS YOUR REAL FUTURE IN HIS HANDS, YOU WILL HAVE TO SPEND SOME REAL TIME WITH HIM IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM.

D. Many Christians wonder why they can't live for God why they can't overcome sin in there own live, why they can't over come the devil in there lives and families, why they can't prosper,

a. Where did God go?

b. This God thing is not working?

c. My ministry is not working?

1. God didn't go anywhere you did or shall I say your not going anywhere with God.

(WE WILL ONLY HAVE A SUCCESSFUL LIFE AND RELATION SHIP WITH GOD WHEN WE REALIZE THE FOLLOWING THINGS ABOUT GOD)

I. GIVE US THIS DAILY BREAD (MAT 6:11)

A. DAILY SACRIFICE

1. Do you realize that in the old testament that Israel had to sacrifice daily it wasn't a one time thing but daily sacrifices.

(Heb 7:27 KJV) Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.

(Heb 10:10 KJV) By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

(Heb 10:11 KJV) And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:

(Heb 10:12 KJV) But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

2. It was a daily sacrifice, not just come and do it once a year and forget about it, but every day they had to go through the sacrifices.

3. When God was bringing Israel out of bondage to the promise land he had them go out and collect the manna daily. They had to eat daily, and God supplied daily not a week or month but daily.

(Read Ex 16:15-29) twice on the sixth to supply for the seventh.

a. We try to collect enough in one service for months, but it rots.

b. We wonder why we can't live for God, because what we had dissolved and we think were still running on an experience we had 10 years ago, and it left us along time ago, were just running on our own strength because it rotted along time ago and what we have is just stinking. Have you ever felt like a persons Christian experience stinks?

c. God will supply enough for you to live on in six days if you trust him and make the Sabbath holy. But if you want to work you will just be spinning your wheels, your just working and working but you never have enough because your not following Gods commandments, Kind of like paying tithes you can not pay your tithes and keep your money for yourself, but don't expect God to bless you in anything, because your trying to bless yourself with your filthy lucre. Why can't people learn that serving God is a relationship that is daily.

d. Our trouble is we want to be able to see weeks down the road and God doesn't operate that way, its a daily walk a daily relying upon him.

II. SERVING GOD IS A DAILY COMMUNICATION WITH HIM

(Prov 8:34 KJV) Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.

(Acts 2:46 KJV) And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

(Acts 2:47 KJV) Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

1. Blessed is the man that prays and listens daily to God.

a. God wants us to talk to him daily and have a conversation with him, which takes listening.

b. Waiting, you know talking to God requires waiting upon him not saying three words and jumping up well I prayed. That's not prayer or communication with God.

c. Does that kind of behavior work with any other relationship you have. You have to spend time talking and listening, and waiting upon the other person.

2. Act 2:46,47- Communication with God requires a daily fellowship with God praising Him, spending time with Him.

a. Not just bowing down on one knee and up on the next or a short little prayer but some quality time with him in prayer and fellowship and praise.

b. When we spend time like this with him we will have a relationship with God.

III. IF WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD WE MUST RECEIVE AND STUDY THE SCRIPTURES.

(Acts 17:11 KJV) These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

1. Can you have a relationship with someone if you don't know anything about them or what they expect from you.

2. Can you receive anything from someone if you don't know what you can have.

3. Can you expect to know God or what he has done for you or what he wants to do for you if you won't even take the time to read His scriptures to study them so that you can be everything he wants you to be.

4. It says daily read, study, the scriptures, we only receive from God daily we can't store up a relationship. When we read the scriptures its like a electronic link between us and God. As soon as we pick up His word it initiates the link through the spirit of God a direct connection and he begins to download and illuminate Himself in us. Its more than reading a book its supernatural through God.

IV. IF WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD WE MUST DENY OURSELVES DAILY.

(Luke 9:23 KJV) And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

1. This is a hard one for us sometimes you want me to give up my time, my money, my talent, my own will, my wants, my good pleasure, my my my my my.

a. But isn't that really the secret to the 20, and 30 year marriage, that life long friend, the dog that loves you, the job that your successful at, isn't because you have given yourself to that person, you have given up your rights if you will and put the other person first, you have denied yourself to meet their needs.

b. God is a reel person and to have a real relationship with Him he requires we give up self, sin, this world, and follow him daily.

c. We want to give up everything maybe once a month, a year, but daily come on.

d. See to have a relationship with God we must die to self and take up our cross for Him because we love Him, because he is everything to us and we want to please Him not ourselves or our flesh etc.

V. IF WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD WE MUST DAILY TELL OTHERS ABOUT HIM.

(Acts 5:42 KJV) And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

1. A big part of out relationship with Jesus Christ is caring out the great commission.

2. If you really love someone you want to do and be a part of what they are doing.

3. Part of what strengthens us and makes us healthy in God is sharing Jesus Christ's work and vision.

a. That not one person should perish.

b. That he wants to help every hurting person.

4. How do we have a relationship with Christ if we don't share is concerns His desires.

5. If we really love Him and appreciated what He has done in our lives then we need to share Him with people daily.