GOD’S REQUIREMENT

GOD’S REQUIREMENT
Deuteronomy 10v12-13
“And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God,
to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and
with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes,
which I command thee this day for thy good?”
Are you a Child of God or a Minister in God’s vineyard? Are you seeking to know the Lord better? Are you hungering and thirsting after righteousness? Are you feeling frustrated and burned out or are you in need of a revival in your life? Are you today asking “what does God expect of me?” God’s requirements have not changed and will never change because God Himself is constant, He doesn’t change like shifting shadows James 1v17(b). Micah 6v8 declares “He has showed you, O man what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God.”(Amp)
Moses speaking and admonishing the children of Israel answered this question about God’s requirement or His expectation. In the above quoted verses of scripture Moses gives a summary that is simple in form and easy to remember.
Although Moses was speaking to the children of Israel (Physical Israel i.e. the church in the wilderness) his answer given through the Spirit of God is still very relevant to us today (Spiritual Israel i.e. the church of the New Covenant). God is still saying the same thing to us for II Peter 1v19-21 tells us;
a) That this Word i.e. the Bible is a more sure word of prophecy than even an audible voice from heaven.
b) It is of no private interpretation
c) It did not come by the will of man but Holy men spoke these words of God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
So we do ourselves a great favour when we carefully consider and pay close attention to God’s words, for according to II Timothy 3v16-17:
1) Scripture is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.
2) It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.
3) Its God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.
In these two verses of scripture, Moses itemized God’s requirements for all. It is written in the book of Genesis 17v1(b) “I am the Almighty God; walk before me and be thou perfect”. God’s standard was and still is perfection.
GOD’S REQUIREMENTS
1) Fear God (have reverence for him)
2) Walk in all His ways
3) Serve Him with all your heart and soul
4) Observe His commands i.e. obey Him

1) Fear God: – Respect God, honour God, revere, regard, venerate. Fearing God implies an awesome esteem of His person, after all, He is the Sovereign God. The creator of all things.
Revere, adore, be in awe of, defer to, honour, look up to, think highly of Him and worship Him, The Almighty God.
Ecclesiastes 12v13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and Keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man”. The book of Ecclesiastes is an analysis of life’s experiences and a critical essay of the meaning of life. At the end of that book, King Solomon, reputed to be the wisest man in his time, came to just one conclusion Fear God. Isaiah 8v13 “Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear and let Him be your dread. [lest you offend Him by your fear and dread of man and your distrust of Him]” (KJV & Amp)
I Peter 1v17(b) “Live your life in reverent fear of Him during your time as foreigners here on earth” (NLT) because God is going to judge your work and my work impartially.

Benefits of fearing God
1) Psalm 25v12 “Who then is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him the way chosen for him” NIV (Divine instruction)
2) Psalm 31v19 How great is your goodness which you have stored up for those who fear you…..”. (goodness is what gives to you, that which naturally you do not deserve)
3) Luke 1v50 “His mercy extends to those who fear Him from generation to generation” (NIV), Mercy is what keeps away from you that which you deserve
4) Acts 10v35 “God accepts men from every Nation who fear Him and do what is right” (NIV) (Divine acceptance) See also Amplified version.

2) Walk in all His ways: – means walking with God, walking with God signifies Divine fellowship and friendship (E.g. Enoch – Genesis 5v22, 24. Noah – Genesis 6v9). You cannot walk with God unless you are in agreement with Him. See Amos 3v3. Deuteronomy 5v33 “You shall walk in all the way which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land which you shall possess” (Amp). God has always desired the friendship and fellowship of man that is why He created man in the first place. See Genesis 3v8.
Benefits of walking in all his ways
Deuteronomy 5v33
1) You will live
2) It will be well with you
3) Your days will be prolonged
4) John 8v12- “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (KJV). (When you walk in the light you cannot stumble)
5) John 10v27 “My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me” (KJV). (Divine knowledge of God)
6) Walking with God secures life and wellbeing. (See Job 22v21-28).
3) Love God: – How do we love Him? We love Him with all our heart and soul and might. (See Deuteronomy 6v5). Jesus said loving God with all of ourselves is the first and greatest commandment (See Matthew 22v37-39, Mark 12v30-31) (No commandment is greater than these). Why do we love Him? I John 4v19 answers the question why we love Him. It says “We love Him because He first loved us”. When do we love Him? All the time.
4) Serve Him with all your heart and soul: Joshua 24v14(a) “Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth……. “
Where is your heart?
a) God knows our heart. (See Acts 1v24)
b) God searches our heart. (See I Chronicles 28v9)
c) God tries our heart. (See Proverbs 17v3b). According to the book of Isaiah 1v19 It is only if you are willing of heart and obedient that you will eat the good of the land. God sometimes deliberately leads us into a wilderness experience to humble and to prove us, (See Deuteronomy 8v2). When you are going through a wilderness experience what is in your heart? Is your heart still perfect towards God? (When the shaking comes only the unshakeable will remain, See Hebrew 12v27). When God is slow in answering your prayers in your heart still perfect towards Him?
d) God proves us to know what is in our heart.
Service to the Lord is not always convenient. Many times it involves shelving our own plans and choosing God’s plans for our lives. The way we live and the choices we make will show others the strength of our commitment to serving God.
Compare II Chronicles 25v1-2 (Amaziah) with II Kings 20v3 (Hezekiah)
Amaziah did what was right on the outside but inside he often resented what he had to do. The word of God says that he (Amaziah) did not serve God with a perfect heart even though he did that which was right in the sight of God. We must always search out our own hearts and root out any resistance to obeying God. Grudging compliance is not true service from the heart. Proverbs 4v23 says “Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life”
5) Obedience: – Observe His commands. Deuteronomy 26v16 “This day the Lord your God has commanded you to do these statues and ordinances; therefore you shall keep and do them with all your (mind and) heart and with all your being” (AMP). According to I Samuel 15v22, obedience is better than sacrifice. Obedience is the key to the manifestation of the power of God. Someone said “The world has yet to see what God can do In and Through and For one individual who is completely yielded to the Lord”. The true test of our love for Christ is our obedience. Complete and total obedience is required of those who want to walk with God. John 2v5b “……Whatsoever He says to you, do it”.
According to the book John 10v27,5. The sheep follows the shepherd and do not hear the voice of the stranger. According to;
i) Exodus 19v5: – We are to obey fully
ii) Deuteronomy 11v13: – We are to obey faithfully
iii) Deuteronomy 26v16, 32v46: – We are to obey God whole heartedly
iv) Isaiah 1v19: – We must obey willingly.
Obedience to God is the imperative and necessary duty of life. In the book of Acts 5v29 Apostle Paul said we must obey God rather than man. According to the book of Matthew 7v20-23 by the fruits of obedience that we bear we shall be known.
Note also that according to Matthew 7v21: – Obedience is what will secure our entrance into God’s Kingdom. According to Luke 8v21: – Our obedience is actually what makes us heirs with Christ.
And according to John 14v23: – Obedience is what secures for us the blessing of Divine fellowship.
Blessings of walking in obedience
1) Exodus 19v5: – You will be God’s treasured possession
2) Deuteronomy 5v29: – It will go well with you and your children forever.
3) I Kings 3v14: – It gives long life
4) Deuteronomy 7v12-15, 28:1: – Blessings on all you have
5) Deuteronomy 11v13-14, Job 36v11, Isaiah 1v19: – You will live in blessings and prosperity.
6) James 1v25: You will be blessed in all you do.
Prayers
Use the Pauline prayers in the books of Ephesians 1v17-19 and Colossians 1v9-10 to pray and decree upon your lives.

GOAL SETTING IN LIFE AND IN MINISTRY

Goal – aim, ambition, destination, objective, purpose, intention.

Setting – Putting in place, installation.

Goal setting starts with an understanding of destiny. You are called to discover your destiny. You must understand that your destiny is different from that of another person. We as believers in Christ are all called to a glorious destiny in Christ as children of the most high God, but while my own glorious destiny is in ministry yours might be in the legal profession. The fulfillment of destiny varies from person to person. To fulfill your destiny, you must first of all discover it, after you have discovered it, you must then work hard at fulfilling it by putting certain things in place. Ignorance of destiny actually makes life a waste, if you lack knowledge of your destiny you cannot have the right vision nor can you pursue the correct goals.

I want you to know that you cannot have goal setting in isolation, it is closely tied to destiny, purpose and vision. Proverbs 25 v 2 “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing but it is the honour of kings to search the matter out”

What is destiny? destiny is simply God’s plan for your life, see Jeremiah 1v4-5. It is your responsibility to step into God’s plan for your life and fulfill it. destiny is God’s pre-planned, pre-determined, pre-ordained counsel for your life. I said goal setting is tied to destiny, purpose and vision. What therefore is purpose? Purpose is the original intent in the mind of the creator that motivated Him to create a particular item. Purpose is the reason why God created you. You are fulfilling purpose when you know, understand and enter into what you were born to accomplish. Your fulfillment of purpose is what completes your destiny. You must strive to be all that God has created you to be. You have a uniqueness that differentiates you from the billions in the world and you must pursue this uniqueness deliberately and consistently. Fulfilling purpose therefore must be the primary goal or everyone who wants to fulfill their destiny.

Closely tied to the subject destiny and purpose is the issue of vison. Purpose is what supplies a vision for the future and gives life significance and meaning. Proverbs 29v18(a) “Where there is no vision the people perish” (KJV) “Where there is no revelation the people cast off restraint” (NIV). Purpose is what gives direction and apart from purpose direction is lacking and nothing important happens. Vision therefore is a direct result of purpose. When you discover your purpose with it comes a vision for your life. What is vision? Vision is the ability to see the end from the beginning. Vision is the ability to see the fulfillment of your purpose in the mind by faith. When you are able to see your purpose, your vision comes to life. “Vision is foresight with insight based on hindsight”. Vision therefore is what sets goals because after seeing the end God takes you back to the beginning and then asks you to work your way to desired end.

You must translate vision which is derived from purpose into a plan of action i.e. goal setting. Purpose when it is translated into a vision causes things to happen and people to act. In other words, purpose is what creates vision and vision is what produces goals, i.e. the development of a plan to achieve the vision. A plan is what allows for an orderly journey.

You were born to be distinct, you were born to be known for something, you were born with a unique vision, God has wired you for something spectacular, you were born to meet a need, you were born with a deposit in you that this generation needs, you were born to shine. What are goals? – Goals are simply the steps you take towards a desired end. Jesus’ destiny was to be savior of the world, His purpose was to come and pay the debt that mankind owed by dying on the cross. He properly articulated the reason for which he was born (see John 18v37) “For this reason I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth”. Luke 19v10 “For the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” Acts 10v28 “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” and I John 3v8(b) “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil”. Throughout His life on earth, Jesus’ goals were consistent with and in furtherance of His purpose and vision. Jesus’ purposes defined his goal setting, i.e. it informed his decisions, created his priorities, predicted his choices, dictated his companions. Also Apostle Paul was a nuisance until he discovered purpose and with purpose came a vision. See Acts 9v15 “Go thy way for he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles and Kings and the children of Israel.

Acts 26v19 “Where upon king Agrippa I was not disobedient to the heavenly vison” Also see Philippians 3v8. Once Paul had discovered his purpose in life, he worked towards it, it became his life’s goals. In pursuance of purpose he set clearly defined goals. His priorities changed, his choices changed, his companions changed, his decisions changed. Look at Paul’s goals before and after his conversion. After his conversion he began to advance the cause of Christianity, he set goals e.g. he went on three missionary journeys. He was focused, determined and dedicated to his life’s purpose and his vision.

You can see that goals are fundamental to the fulfilling of vision. Goals are important because: –

• They create priorities
• They determine your decision
• They determine your choices
• They dictate your companions

Now it’s your turn to set goals

• Proverbs 16v3 “Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed” (NIV). Commit to the Lord – you cannot commit to the Lord until you know the Lord.

3. Get connected and committed to your creator this is what makes for your sure foundation Psalm 11v3.
4. For your life to be fruitful, purposeful and focused you cannot do away with the God factor – “For in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17v28). For you to be fruitful, fulfilled and full blown you need God and you need to have a solid relationship with THE ALMIGHTY.

• Locate the reason for your existence before you were formed God knew you and set you aside for a specific purpose, a specific thing. When you locate the reason for your existence you will answer the question who am I, what I here for, where am I going. How can I locate the reason for my existence? – Go directly to God your manufacturer – Habakkuk 2v1-3, Proverbs 18v16 “A man’s gift makes room for him” (NKJV). You were designed to be known for something i.e. a gift “A man’s gift brings him before great men” (NKJV). Whenever you exercise your gift the world will make room for you e.g. Michealangelo, Beethoven, Alexander Graham, Bell, Thomas Edison. II Timothy 1v6 – stir up the gift in you by developing, refining, enhancing and using it.

Proverbs 17v8 “A gift is a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it, wither so ever it turneth, it prospereth”. There is a treasure in you.

• After you have located the reason for your existence commit to it. Without commitment your life and destiny may suffer a nervous breakdown. For lack of commitment many destinies have crashed. May you never crash.
• Invest in your life as a person. This should affect every area of your life.

1. Spiritual, physical, mental etc.

Develop skills, do your best to enhance your worth.

Develop yourself in the area of the calling. Develop yourself in your chosen field of endeavour career. Until you develop your mind, someone said your world will not mind you. Go to school, acquire the relevant knowledge, broaden your knowledge base, create and embrace opportunities to better yourself.

• Understand your uniqueness work on your character, develop it – I John 2v6 “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also to walk even as He walked” Acts 11v26 – The disciples displayed the character of Christ.

1. Association – Proverbs 13v20 “He that walketh with wise shall be wise but the companion of fools shall be destroyed”. Relationships are vital to the fulfillment of your vision and goal setting. Your association defines your destination. Any relationship you encourage never leaves you the same; they either add to you or take something away from you. Any relationship not adding the required value to your life must give way.
2. Carriage and comportment

Carriage – The way in which you hold and move your head and body. Your carriage is your characteristic way of bearing your body. Your comportment is your posture, stance, or movement. Comportment means to behave in a manner conformable to what is proper and expected. You are Christ’s Ambassador. So don’t talk only but walk the walk and live the life.

I Peter 2v9, I Corinthians 15v41. You are chosen, royal, holy and peculiar. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the stars for one star differeth from another star.

• Make wise choices: – To make a choice is to make a decision from a numbers of alternatives. We make a choice on a daily basis; the choices we make affect us negatively or positively. Choices are directly related to the matter of destiny, vision and goal setting, and choices either enhance your goals or hinder it. Wrong choices can bring about ruin while right choices lead to excellence. Note that God always respects our choices.
• You can choose to be lazy
• You can choose to be mediocre
• You can choose to be average
• You can choose to be excellent (Daniel 1v8)

You need to understand the power of choice to adequately prepare for your future and preserve it. If your tomorrow must be great the foundation of that greatness must be laid today. You are where you are today as a result of your choices of yesterday therefore you must not underestimate the power of now.

Personal Plan Program

To fulfill the plans of your life, it is necessary to discipline yourself and submit to wise counsel and put to practice wise planning. You must put pen to paper and answer the following questions: –

• What is my purpose in life?
• What do need to accomplish?
• What steps do I need to take to accomplish it?
• What relevant information do I need to enhance me and how do I access such information?
• Who do I need to associate with?
• What academic skills or otherwise i.e. (ministerial skills) do I need?
• How much will it cost me?

Sample yearly goal

• Reading through the Bible and at least 7 spiritual books
• Enroll in the university. Study for a Degree, Masters or Phd
• Go to Bible school to broaden your theological insight.
• Lose weight, eat right and get a physical check up
• Spend more time with your family etc.