Building a Rght Relationship with God - MAKE IT PERSONAL

 

As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.  

If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept 

my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, 

that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.  

John 15:9-11

Develop your new relationship into a personal relationship

Review:

Once the relationship is started by getting right with God, you need to make the second step and develop your new relationship into a personal relationship.  Seven points in how we can build and maintain a right relationship with God:

Point 1 - We must communicate with God through prayer.  We must spend time with God.

Point 2 - We must let God communicate with us.

Point 3 - We should meditate on spiritual things.

Point 4 - We should fast to draw closer to God.

Point 5 - We must stir up the spirit.

Point 6 - We must keep God’s commandments.

 

POINT #7: TO BUILD A STRONG RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD:

We must TRUST GOD.

Relationships are built on TRUST!

Where would a marriage be without trust? Both the husband and the wife must be faithful to each other. Trust and faithfulness give a marriage stability. It helps the love between a husband and wife to grow for a lifetime. Relationships are built on trust not rules!

The Pharisees had rules, rules and more rules.  The Church today has rules, rules and more rules.  Some Church denominations tell their members that they can't visit congregations of other Church denominations. Some Churches tell their members where they must send their tithes and donations.

Without trust there can be no reconciliation between individuals or church denominations. God knows no denominational boundaries. He knows His people by their having His spirit. Jesus Christ is our savior and the head of the Church. We must have faith in Jesus and trust Him that He is guiding the Church, which is the people with God's Holy Spirit.

®       We have to put our trust in God and in Jesus Christ.

Everyone knows the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. They would not bow down to the image that Nebuchadnezzar made even if punished with death in the fiery furnace. They had to make a stand and obey God even to the death. They had no guarantee that God would deliver them from the fiery furnace but they had every confidence that He could. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego put their trust in God.

Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!    Daniel 3:28

We must put our trust and confidence in God. He is our fortress, banner and our high tower. We must put God first in our lives.  A synonym for trust is faith.  The Bible says:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.   Hebrew 11:1

Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.   Hebrews 11:6

Trust is a two way street. We must trust God and God must be able to trust us. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. God is faithful and will not change. Hebrews 11 is the faith chapter and lists many who placed their trust and faith in God.   We can trust God, but can God trust us?

Our relationship with God needs constant nurturing like a plant that needs watering.
By applying these seven points, you can build and maintain a right relationship with God.

¨        Points to Remember:

            ü    Communicate with God in prayer.

             ü    Let God communicate with you through Bible Study.

             ü    Meditate on the spiritual things.

             ü    Humble yourselves through fasting to draw closer to God.

            ü   Stir up the spirit and live by the fruits of the spirit.

            ü   Keep the commandments

            ü   Trust God

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.   James 4:7-8

Although God is invisible to us, He can become the most reliable, trusted and loving reality in our life!  King David poetically described His experience of God's greatness and nearness to us:

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell [the grave], behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall fall on me,' even the night shall be light about me; indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.  For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.    Psalm 139:7-14

King David was inspired by God's omnipresence (He is present everywhere) and His omniscience (He is all-knowing and all-wise). When people are not close to God, they like to think it—whatever "it" may be—is God's fault.  Not true.  People forget about God, but God never forgets about us. He is always available to you if you

"seek Him with all your heart"   Deuteronomy 4:29

®       Draw Near to God, and He Will Draw Near to You.

The psalmist wrote,

"It is good for me to draw near to God"  Psalm 73:28,

and hopefully you are learning how good it is for you. A relationship with God begins when God calls us or draws us. Jesus said:

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up [resurrect him] at the last day.   John 6:44

After God calls us, He expects us from then on to exercise initiative in seeking to draw near to Him. If we do, we have this very encouraging promise:

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.    James 4:8

The promise of a resurrection to life after death becomes a primary motivator. It is that "better hope, through which we draw near to God"

For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.   Hebrews 7:19

®       There are specific ways to develop and maintain a close relationship with God.  Reading God’s word is one way. 

How valuable is it to read and study the Bible?

But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.   2 Timothy 3:14-17

Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding; For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. Proverbs 3:13-15

 The Bible is more valuable than all the rest of the books in the world, combined; it is priceless! It is the Creator's revelation to His creation regarding His plan and how we should live our lives to fulfill our purpose and to obtain, by far, the best results. Even kings were commanded to read the Scriptures daily:

Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.   Deuteronomy 17:18-20

The Bible is God's Word—God speaking to each of us. We must listen, and listen carefully!

To make one's Bible study personally "profitable," never stop reciting these teachings. You must think about them night and day so that you will faithfully do everything written in them. Only then will you prosper and succeed. 

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.  Joshua 1:8

Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine...

Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.   1 Timothy 4:13, 15

    Ø It's important to not read the Bible in a rush.

Take time to really think about what you are reading and you will get a lot more out of it. Meditate and reflect deeply on the meaning of the scriptures and their application to your life. Meditating on God's laws helps immensely to write them on your heart

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  Hebrews 8:10

               Ø Can we talk to God at any time and know that He hears us?

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.   1 John 5:14-15

 [Jesus said], "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you."    John 16:23

Sincere prayer is powerful because the Creator of all the universe loves to hear our prayers and loves to respond to them. The Bible has many scriptures that exhort us to pray and many that give pointers on how to pray. God expects us to maintain daily two-way communication with Him—reading His messages in the Bible and talking to Him in prayer. 

The more you pray, the more natural it will be for you. The Bible compares the "prayers of the saints" with sweet-smelling incense, because they please God.   

Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.   Revelation 5:8

(Biblical Studies)

03/04/22