May the peace of the Lord be with you and your household. I give thanks to the eternal God, the Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, for this time He allows us to expose ourselves to His Word and to the power of His Holy Spirit. This is a time of openness, of grace, of mercy, but above all things, it is a time of revelation.
Introduction: What God Demands
In this fifth teaching, we will study Deuteronomy 10:12, where the instruction of the Holy Spirit through Moses establishes what man and woman must know about what God demands:
“He has shown you what He requires of you: that you fear the Lord your God, that you walk in all His ways, that you love Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your strength.”
Today we will focus on the second instruction: that you walk in all His ways.
It is essential to understand that these four instructions are interrelated with one another. They are not four steps or four options from which man can choose whichever seems best. Moses, by the Spirit of God, is establishing a correlative order to be able to please and do what God wants us to do before His presence.
The Fear of God: An Indispensable Foundation
The first thing we must establish is that no one can walk in the ways of God if they have not first learned to fear God. This is crucial and is not optional or alternative. It does not depend on whether we want to or whether it pleases us to do so; it is what God has established for those who wish to act according to His will.
The Work of the Cross Does Not Nullify the Word
Many people say: “That’s in the Old Testament. We’re now in the New Testament and Jesus did it all for us. We don’t have to do anything at all.” I must tell them, as I have said on other occasions, that the work of Jesus on the cross is a provision of life. Only those who approach that provision of life enjoy the benefit. The fact that Jesus did it all on the cross does not mean that automatically or instantly man should do absolutely nothing. This is one of the great errors we have committed within the gospel, because we have not understood what the redemptive work on the cross of Calvary consists of.
The Word of God is not nullified even though it is in the Old Testament. On the contrary, the work of the cross validates it. How is it possible that we say “Jesus did it all on the cross and I don’t have to do anything at all”? What about the fear of God? What about loving Him? What about serving Him with all your heart and with all your strength? Where do these instructions fit?
Christ Jesus did it all, but only the man and woman who approach that provision of life and walk according to it are those who can enjoy what Jesus achieved on the cross of Calvary.
Beyond Respect
The fear of God goes beyond simple reverence or respect, which is unfortunately how it is defined today. There are people who define it as “a reverential respect, a reverence to the Lord.” But it goes far beyond respect. It is precisely because of that rather vague definition that there are many men and many women who have not been able to walk according to the will of the Lord.
The fear of God means understanding that God is present at all times. It means understanding that God gives and takes away life, that God is above us, and that His presence establishes commotion in the places where we are dwelling.
In the book of Acts of the Apostles, we find that the disciples come from being beaten by the Council, they tell the other brothers what has happened, and they pray. The Word says that after they prayed, the place shook. Not because there was a coincidental earthquake, but because the presence of the Lord established that commotion.
In Acts 16 and 17, speaking of the presence of the apostle Paul, Barnabas, Timothy, and Silas, it says: “These who have turned the world upside down have come here also.” This is precisely the result of the fear of God.
Surrendering Free Will
The fear of God has to do with the fact that I do not live for myself. Galatians 2:20 says it clearly: “What I live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God; I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
The fear of God has to do with the fact that I do not direct myself. Although it is often proclaimed, even in ecclesiastical circles, that we have free will, I must say: the man who walks under the fear of God cannot say “I have free will and I decide what I’m going to do, what I’m going to say, how I’m going to dress.”
The man who walks in the fear of God, the woman who walks in the fear of God, has surrendered free will. They cannot claim their own decisions, their own thoughts, or their own feelings.
There are many men and many women who respect God and say: “I know that God can do everything, that all things are possible for Him.” But they end up doing whatever each one wants to do. That is not the fear of God. The fear of God is: I have disappeared, I no longer live, Christ lives in me. My flesh has been crucified together with Christ.
The Ways of God Are Not Predetermined Processes
The second crucial point is to understand that the ways of God are not specific processes predetermined by man. It is not about saying: “Tell me what the way of God is so I can walk in it. Tell me what I have to do to know that I am in the ways of God.”
The ways of God cannot be defined by saying: “This is a way of acting, this way of conducting yourself, this way of dressing, or this way of speaking is part of the ways of God. If you dress this way, if you speak this way, if you walk through this process, you are in the ways of God.”
The ways of God are acts or actions that enjoy the good pleasure of God. To be able to do it, man must understand that it is necessary to walk in the fear of God. If one does not walk in the fear of God, we really have no assurance that we are walking in the ways of God.
Biblical Examples
I want to present two cases that illustrate this principle.
Joseph, the Husband of Mary
In Matthew 1:18-19 we read:
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: that Mary His mother being betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to have conceived of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a just man and not wanting to disgrace her, intended to put her away secretly.”
I want to call attention to this definition: “Joseph, being a just man, did not want to disgrace her and intended to put her away secretly.” If we review the Old Testament, the law dictated that betrothed virgins who were found to have conceived had to be stoned, and the one who first threw the stone was precisely the betrothed.
However, verse 19 says that her husband Joseph was just. With this expression, what it is saying is that he was walking in the ways of God, but his action differed from what the law established in this regard.
This shows us that the ways of God are actions that enjoy the good pleasure of God. Man and woman, practically without having said “this is the way of God or this way of conducting yourself is the way of God,” find themselves walking in the ways of God.
The Prophet Elijah
The second case is found in 1 Kings 17:5-6:
“So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.”
When we review this case, we look at it as something miraculous, supernatural. How is it possible that the ravens were bringing him bread and meat morning and evening for quite some time, until the brook dried up?
When we go to the law, we discover that ravens were unclean animals. They brought him meat and bread. What kind of meat was it? It was not purchased meat; it was meat torn from animals that had died because of the three-and-a-half-year drought. It was meat from animals that had fallen dead due to the absence of water. And what kind of bread was it? It was stolen bread.
Was the prophet naive about this? No, the prophet knew it, he was aware of it. But not because they were ravens and unclean animals did he say: “I don’t accept this meat nor do I accept this bread.” He took it and consumed it morning and evening.
These cases speak to us of men—Joseph, husband of Mary, and the prophet Elijah—whose actions were even going against what the law established, but they enjoyed the good pleasure of the Lord.
The True Nature of the Ways of God
Walking in the ways of the Lord is not following ordinances, it is not following commandments, it is not walking through processes. Man and woman find themselves walking the ways of the Lord when they have learned to fear God. That is why it is important that we, men and women who want to walk the ways of the Lord, know that before walking the ways of the Lord we must learn to fear God.
Two Spiritual Foundations of the Ways of God
First Foundation: Knowing and Understanding God
Let us go to Jeremiah 9:24:
“But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness on the earth. For in these I delight, says the Lord.”
The ways of God are founded on two spiritual principles. The first of them is understanding and knowing God.
There might be someone who says: “But can God be understood?” Well, if God could not be understood, this verse would not be within the Holy Scriptures. “Let him who glories glory in this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord.”
What does it mean to understand and know God? It means being able to discern: this is from God, this does not come from God, even when it involves situations related to preaching or proclaiming the gospel.
Paul’s Example in Asia
Many times we predefine and predetermine: “For the glory of God, if I’m going to preach, that is a way of God.” No, if the Lord has not sent you, it is not necessarily the way of God.
“What? Don’t we have the Great Commission?” Yes, it is a provision, but if the Lord has not sent you, if the Lord has not instructed you when and to whom you are sent, if we do it on our own account, it is not necessarily the way of God.
This is shocking for the traditional gospel in which we have lived, because we have understood that there are actions we must take because they are contained in the Holy Scriptures. But we must understand that if the Lord has not given us the precise instruction, even when we do it, we are not walking the ways of the Lord.
In Acts 16:4-9 we find a revealing case:
“And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily. Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.”
How is this possible? Where then is the Great Commission? How is it possible that the Holy Spirit forbade them to speak the word in Asia? It is not a continent in this case, it is a region, a province. They were forbidden and they did not know why. Paul did not know why, and he was accompanied by Barnabas, who was a prophet.
Verse 8 continues: “So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.” They kept walking, and when they arrived at Troas, in verse 9 a vision is shown to Paul of the young Macedonian man: “Come over and help us.”
The ways of God are not predetermined processes. This is the part we must have full knowledge of.
The Warning of Matthew 7
The ways of God are founded on the knowledge and understanding of God. If we do not understand that God is demanding it and we do it on our own, we do not find the good pleasure of the Lord.
Matthew 7:21-23 says:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father.”
There is the good pleasure of God. And many will say to Him on that day: “Lord, but in Your name we cast out demons, but in Your name we spoke in new tongues, but in Your name we did miracles.” And Jesus’ answer is: “Depart from Me, I never knew you.”
Were they believers? Some say: “No, those were not believers and the Lord never knew them.” But if we go to Mark 16, they are presenting the proofs, the signs of one who has believed in Christ Jesus: “These signs will follow those who believe in My name.”
What they are saying is exactly what Mark 16 establishes as the signs of having believed in Jesus. They were believers, and very good ones, because in His name they did miracles, spoke in new tongues, were baptized with the Holy Spirit.
How is it possible then that Jesus says to them at the end “depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness”? What was missing? They did not know the Lord, they did not understand the Lord. They began to do things: “We must preach, we must evangelize, we must hand out tracts, we must sing, we must do this, we must do that.”
The ways of God are not predetermined processes. The ways of the Lord are founded on understanding and knowing God, so that the man of God can say: “This does not come from God. Stop, do not continue, this does not come from God. You are rising up against God.”
The Case of Jeremiah
In Jeremiah 15:19 we find a personal, individual word directed to the prophet Jeremiah:
“Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘If you return, then I will bring you back; you shall stand before Me; if you take out the precious from the vile, you shall be as My mouth. Let them return to you, but you must not return to them.’”
God is speaking to the prophet Jeremiah and is saying: “If you return, I will bring you back, you shall stand before Me and your mouth shall be as Mine.”
What had happened? That Jeremiah was not walking the ways of the Lord. If we review the previous verses, Jeremiah is complaining, he is lamenting: “These people, I speak to them and they don’t react. These people, I speak to them and they take it against me. These people, I preach to them and they don’t listen. Lord, Your word, why did You make me?” He is reproaching.
And God had to confront him, stop him, and say: “If you return, I will bring you back. You must not return to them, let them return to you, but you must not return to them.”
The ways of the Lord are the good pleasure of the Lord, where I have completely vanished, where I have completely disappeared. I no longer live, Christ lives in me, and what I live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God.
Knowledge of God More Than Burnt Offerings
In Hosea 6:6 we read:
“For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
How can we reconcile all this? Knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. The prophet, in saying this on behalf of God, is establishing what God determines.
What is God demanding of us? That we walk His way. Very well, but how do we walk the ways of God? In the knowledge and understanding of God. What does God want? Does this please God or is this displeasing to the Lord? Is this what He expects me to do or is it simply the imagination of my mind?
That is why it is important that we understand that the ways of the Lord are not predetermined or predefined processes. The ways of the Lord are acts, actions characterized by the good pleasure of the Lord, even when these do not go according to what we had predetermined should be done.
In Micah 6:8 it says:
“O man, He has shown you what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”
All these texts are showing us that the ways of the Lord are founded on understanding and knowing God. It is not only about acts, it is not only about actions, it is not only about projects. If those acts, if those actions, if those projects do not go according to the work of God, then they would be of no use and we would not be walking the ways of the Lord.
The first foundation, then, to be able to walk according to the ways of the Lord is that we must know God, that we understand God. That the man of God, that the woman of God can say: “This is from God” or “No, this is not from God, this does not come from God. What you are doing, what you are saying, what you are establishing, does not come from God.”
That the moment may come when man, when woman can determine: “This is from God, this is not from God.” Because the ways of the Lord are founded on the understanding of who God is, on the understanding of what God is determining for each of us in the places where He has made us dwell, according to the work He is developing in that particular place.
Second Foundation: Maintaining the Purity of the Calling
Let us go to Ezekiel 2:6-8:
“And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house. You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”
The second element for knowing the ways of the Lord, for walking in the ways of the Lord, is maintaining the purity of the calling.
When the apostle Peter found himself before the Council of Jerusalem, intimidated, pressured, and punished by them, he said to them: “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey men rather than God.” The purity of the calling.
The Pressures That Compromise the Calling
How many men and how many women have we not yielded to peer pressure? How many men and how many women of God have we not yielded to the intimidation of others?
The man and woman who yield to pressure, who are coerced economically, morally, emotionally, rationally, cannot walk the ways of the Lord.
In Jeremiah 15 we read a few minutes ago: “If you return, I will bring you back, the Lord said, and you shall stand before Me, and your mouth shall be as Mine.”
If we want to walk the ways of the Lord, we must do what God has entrusted to each one of us.
Economic Pressures
How many times have men of God surrendered and compromised their calling due to economic pressures? How many men and how many women have abandoned a revelation from the Lord to attend to a business, to attend to a job, to attend to an economic commitment?
“I’ll look at it later. I’ll review it later, I’ll ask for a copy later.” How many of us have acted this way?
And I ask: is there fear of God when we act that way? You know perfectly well: there is no fear of God because we are not valuing the things of God as God is demanding that we value them.
Do you know what happens? That in the same way we conduct ourselves with God—that is, “yes, wait a moment, as soon as I finish this, I’ll attend to you”—is the same way God will treat us. It is the same way. We are establishing law over how God will conduct Himself.
Therefore, if we do not learn to value what God is giving us, we cannot ask God to give us, for God to prosper us, for God to open the heavens in revelation to know the things of God. Why? Because we have not developed the fear of God.
Family Pressures
How many men, how many women have compromised their calling precisely because of family pressures?
We have a case in the New Testament: a disciple approaches Jesus and says: “I have no problem following You, I will follow You wherever You go, just permit me to bury my father.”
And Jesus said to him: “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and follow Me.”
What He was establishing is: do not yield to family pressures, do not yield to the pressures that family presents to you. Why? Because we are surrendering the purity of the calling.
The Example of the Apostle Paul
The apostle Paul says: “What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss. What meant everything to me, I count as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, to attain the prize of the upward call.”
Walking the ways of God is not predetermined, predefined processes: “Do this and you are in the ways of the Lord.” It is not like that.
The ways of the Lord are not predetermined processes. The ways of the Lord are acts, actions that enjoy the good pleasure of the Lord, just as in the case of Joseph, even though he was going against what the law had established for those cases. It said: “Being a just man, he did not want to disgrace her.” Because he knew what was going to happen with Mary. He was in the ways of the Lord.
The prophet Elijah was in the ways of the Lord, even when in the eyes of everyone, what he was allowing was against what the law and tradition had established regarding those cases.
Many times God makes us enter into absurd processes to know if we have truly learned to understand and know God.
The Dignity of the Calling
In Ephesians 4:1, the apostle Paul says:
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling”—that is, of the calling—“with which you were called.”
To walk in the ways of the Lord it is necessary that we maintain a purity of the calling. Because by not maintaining purity, by being intimidated, by being pressured, by being coerced at the different levels where coercion can be exercised by external elements, and abandoning what God has commissioned us, we are really not walking the ways of the Lord.
Conclusion
As we have seen, the Holy Spirit establishes in Deuteronomy 10:12:
“What does the Lord your God require of you, O Israel? What does the Lord our God require of each of us?”
And now we have the answer: that we fear the Lord our God, that we walk in His ways.
But to walk in the ways of the Lord we must be founded on the understanding and knowledge of God. No one who cannot understand and know God can walk in the ways of the Lord. They simply cannot. Why? Because they are the ways of the Lord. Therefore, He establishes how and what should be done.
If I do not understand God, I will never be able to walk the ways of the Lord.
Let Us Not Seek Predetermined Processes
Let us not look for predetermined processes. This is where many men and many women get lost, because they seek predetermined processes. They look for them in clothing, they look for them in the way of speaking, they look for them in the personal way of presenting themselves, they look for them in external things.
The ways of the Lord do not have to do with external things. They have to do with understanding God, with knowing God, and being able to determine: “This is from God, this is not from God.”
As the apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10: “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.”
Therefore, we must learn to know, we must learn to understand God. The first foundation on which the ways of the Lord are built.
We must decide to maintain the purity of the calling, the purity of the vocation. The second foundation on which the ways of the Lord are built.
The Final Goal
So that then, and only then, can we go to the part: “Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”
How many of us are waiting for that declaration for each of our lives? Well then, what must we do? Maintain the purity of the calling.
In the next teaching we will study about the hindrances that prevent entering into the ways of the Lord.
I give You thanks, Lord, for this day and for this time that You have given us in Your grace and in Your mercy. Our lives are before You. Thank You for the understanding and thank You, O God, for the instruction and the power of Your Holy Spirit to make us understand about this subject. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
May the peace of the Lord be with you. Amen.
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