In the Groove-With Others

This morning we will continue to think about the importance of being in-step or in the groove with the Holy Spirit.

This was illustrated rather pointedly a few weeks ago when I went to Pensacola to attend my uncle’s 100th birthday celebration.

He Opened in prayer

One of the organizers stood in front of everyone and said: “Grandpa, why don’t you lead us by playing and singing. And the rest of you, if you brought an instrument, come and play and sing, too.”

Beforehand, I had asked permission and so I had brought my guitar. My Uncle Virgil had encouraged my guitar playing when I was a teenager. He wowed me back then with high-tech amplifiers and other wiz-bang things.

He was the high-tech uncle — playing an electric guitar, not an acoustic — there was no such thing as an acoustic-electric back then.

I remember some sort of machine that had a tape on which he recorded himself playing and then he could play along with it as he played it back.

Anyway, my Uncle pulled out his acoustic guitar, his electric is a little heavy for him, now, and begin to sing into a mic.

Immediately I knew a few things were wrong.

That is quite amazing because I am NOT a musician.

I am a just music technician.

But even I knew we had a problem.

I realized that Uncle Virgil was not playing with a standard tuning. He had, for whatever reason (maybe for ease of fingering a guitar at 100 years old, or singing with a 100 year-old voice) tuned his guitar down ABOUT a step low.

Before we could even begin to play along with him, we had to tune the same way.

That kind of disrupted the flow.

But that was only the start.

Uncle Virgil is a very accomplished guitarist.

He plays a kind-of Chet Atkins style (you’ll have to look that up).

So the rhythm was had for me to follow — especially since I was sitting behind him and could not watch his picking and strumming.

So, we had some problems getting in the groove.

That kept us from achieving the desired result.

Being in the groove, being in-sync with the Holy Spirit and being in-sync with each other can lead to beautiful things.

It can lead to supernatural victories.

Being out-of-sync with the Holy Spirit and each other can lead to disasters and defeat.

We see that illustrated to so well in the OT.

Ai

This is not about artificial intelligence, this is about a city in what would become Israel.

At the time of this OT account, it was part of the land promised to Israel, but still had to be conquered.

Before the battles of Ai, Israel had seen a supernatural victory over Jericho.

At that battle they had been in the groove with the Holy Spirit.

They followed the Spirit’s leading precisely.

They acted together.

And God knocked the impregnable walls of Jericho down flat.

But God had told Israel that all of the riches of the city belonged to him.

They were not allowed to have any of it.

Unfortunately, a man named Achan, chose to disobey.

His disobedience would cost Israel lives, their reputation among the nations, and defeat.

All of which stalled the progress of Israel possessing the land God had promised to give them.

One man and his family (they were complicit) being out-of-syn with God and out-of-sync with the rest of the people brought about defeat.

The Holy Spirit calls us to unity in Him and with one another.

But we read in Joshua 7:1–5 (NASB95) [In spite of the glorious victory over Jericho] the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban, therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel. 2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 They returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up; only about two or three thousand men need go up to Ai; do not make all the people toil up there, for they are few.” 4 So about three thousand men from the people went up there, but they fled from the men of Ai. 5 The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of their men, and pursued them from the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them down on the descent, so the hearts of the people melted and became as water.

The people were not in-sync with God and not in-sync with one another.

The result was a disastrous defeat.

Jehoshaphat

In 2 Chronicles 20 we see a dramatically different outcome as the people face an overwhelming enemy in-sync with the Holy Spirit and in-sync with one another.

First we see the situation in 2 Chronicles 20:1–4 (NASB95) Now it came about after this that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat. 2 Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, out of Aram and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi).” 3 Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to seek help from the LORD; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the LORD.

In his fear, Jehoshaphat pulled the people to a place of alignment with the Holy Spirit.

The place of prayer — seeking God’s favor.

Jehoshaphat prayed with the people: 2 Chronicles 20:12–13 (NASB95) “O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” 13 All Judah was standing [in unity] before the LORD, with their infants, their wives and their children.

Their unity brought a response from the Holy Spirit …

2 Chronicles 20:14–17 (NASB95) Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph; 15 and he said, “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s. 16 ‘Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 ‘You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the LORD is with you.”

In unity the people chose to believe God:

Together, in unity of purpose, in unity of the Spirit they went forth against the enemy with praise and song:

2 Chronicles 20:20–25 (NASB95) They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the LORD your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.” 21 When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the LORD and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “Give thanks to the LORD, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” 22 When they began singing and praising, the LORD set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed. 23 For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir destroying them completely; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. 24 When Judah came to the lookout of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude, and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and no one had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found much among them, including goods, garments and valuable things which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. And they were three days taking the spoil because there was so much.

What a difference unity makes!

Being in the groove with the Spirit, walking in obedience, walking in dependence brings victory.

Being in the groove with one another in praise and singing brings the victory.

Agreement

Last week in her message Sister Madeline mentioned

Amos 3:3 (NLT) [that asks the question] Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?

This is a question that God is asking us today.

It is a question upon which we need to reflect constantly.

Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?

Are we walking with God?

Are we walking with each other?

Walking With God

Let’s talk about the most important agreement — agreement with God.

Agreeing is the necessary cause before there can be the effect of walking.

The Hebrew word that is rendered "agreed" is speaking of meeting.

Can two walk together, unless they have met?

The obvious answer to this question is no!

If two people each take separate ways then they will not be walking together.

This was the situation with Israel in Amos.

God had delivered them from Egypt with the desire that they would meet with Him in the wilderness and begin to walk with Him in both a physical and spiritual sense.

He established a covenant that would show them how to meet with Him — how to walk with a holy God.

He gave them a destination, the promised land, as a shared goal, so that they could walk together.

But all of this was to no avail.

From day one Israel walked in rebellion.

It was only on rare occasions and for short periods of time that they actually met with God and walked with Him.

Israel never truly met God in a spiritual sense.

It was as Jesus spoke in Matthew 15:8 (NKJV) 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.

This was despite the fact that God had chosen them and had made intimate contact with them.

But they rejected His love,

they rejected His deliverance saying: "Oh that we were back in Egypt."

they rejected His commandments which meant the difference between life and death to them.

they rejected His leadership by doing what was right in their own eyes and desiring a king like the other nations. (doesn't that sound like a kid? Everyone else has one.)

they rejected and made light of His salvation by constantly following after idols.

All of this rejection in spite of Him choosing them above all other families of the earth.

Israel would not meet with God and so they did not walk with Him.

It was like a bride rejecting the most handsome, wealthy, eligible bachelor around.

Lessons

What can we learn from this about OUR walk with God?

First, let's not be lifted up with pride and arrogance and say, "Oh, that was Israel. I would never act like that."

That is a foolish remark.

We must not lift ourselves up above anyone.

Our task is to humble ourselves in His hand

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

We need to realize that God has shown us favor because we have heard the life-giving message of the Gospel.

WE have heard.

He chose US.

How easy it would have been for God, in Acts 16:6, to open the door to Asia for Paul and we would never have heard the transforming message!

And even though we HAVE been chosen to hear realize as Paul told the Roman church:

Romans 11:17 - 21 (NKJV) And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." 20Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.

So instead of boasting about our favor from God, in fear let's concentrate on our walk with God.

The Christian life is often compared to a walk in the Bible.

Let's concentrate on renewing our walk with the Father everyday.

First, we need to meet with Him so that we can walk with Him.

Amos 3:3 (NKJV) Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?

Our meeting with Him needs to include remembering the starting point — our initial meeting with God.

George Whitefield was a tremendous British preacher who preached here in America during The Great Awakening after the Revolutionary War years.

Whenever he was back in his home country he would always go to the tree in Oxford where he surrendered his heart to Jesus.

He kept remembering where he started his journey with the Lord.

I still think back to the altar at which I surrendered my heart to God.

I can still clearly see that place in my mind's eye though I've not been there for over 54 years.

As I discovered this past May, I can NEVER go back there except in my memory, because the physical place no longer exists.

But, that moment is special to me.

It is when I started my walk with the Lord.

Probably many of you can remember similar instances.

We need to remind ourselves of our starting point in our walk with God.

We need to remember where God brought us from.

He delivered us from Egypt (a type of the world).

After we remember the meeting point we need to remember that this walk is a FAITH walk.

It will take great faith to stay on the salvation road with Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

This walk CANNOT not be dependent on emotions, sight, or anything else.

Faith is the way that we meet with God each day and continue the journey.

Next, we need to walk in agreement with the Word that tells us that Jesus' returning is near.

Jesus could come at any moment.

That needs to saturate our being and change our thinking.

His soon return needs to change our words and actions.

2 Peter 3:10–14 (NASB95) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,

We need to be united with God and one another in the urgency of the return of Jesus.

We need to walk in the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the [Holy] Spirit.

Galatians 5:16 I say then: Walk in the [Holy] Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Ezekiel 36:27 "I will put My [Holy] Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

If we walk in the [Holy] Spirit then we are walking with God.

The Spirit enables us to walk a holy walk with a holy God.

We must walk in love towards God and with one another.

The girls reminded us Wednesday night:

Matthew 22:37–40 (NASB95) … [Jesus] said to [a lawyer], “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us...

Why? because we serve a God of love. He is, in fact, the embodiment of love.

1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

1 Thessalonians 4:12 that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.

We need to walk in love and compassion toward those who are outside the ark of safety.

Finally, we must daily walk in the light of Jesus.

Ephesians 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

1 John 1:6-7 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

There are 2 ways of looking at verse 7.

Walking in the light provides fellowship with Christ.

Walking in the light provides fellowship with one another who are children of the light.

Walking In-Sync

We met with Jesus at Calvary and walk from that time on in HIS light.

This walk is not an aimless walk.

We have purpose and we have a destination.

Our purpose is to please Him who purchased us with His very life-blood.

Our destination is glory.

Walking with God requires us to walk with each other.

Truly we are fellow travelers on the road to glory.

Let's help one another on the way.

IF we are walking in the Holy Spirit we WILL be walking in-sync with one another.

The 2 go together.

We need to be agreed not only with God, but also with one another.

Jesus taught us that one of the most powerful types of prayer is the prayer of agreement.

Jesus said in Matthew 18:19-20 "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

Altar

Let’s pray in agreement that the Holy Spirit will touch our world through us as we are in alignment with Him.