How to Build and
Maintain a Relationship with God Part 2
October 13th
Teacher: Tory Spring
Tonight Tory gives us Part 2 to the
topic How to Build and Maintain a Relationship with God. Last week we learned
house building and our relationships with God can and are representations of
homes God is building within us. God is building His home in us because His
Spirit dwells in those who have accepted His Son as His Lord and Savior. Last
week was about the building process
tonight is about the maintenance
work a saint performs to keep God and their home happy. Tonight we go deeper
and we shall learn as we undergo this house building process within us, we also
gain an understanding of how as our strength, wisdom, and knowledge of God increases,
our outer life should start reflecting those changes. God is an inside outside
kind of God. He may show you here and there outer lying problems, but He will
definitely direct you to the inward cause, or root of the problem. With this in
mind, we can all agree we are all in various stages in our walk with God. So
with this in mind last week my prompting question or scenario was to describe
your dream house, today I am asking you guys to close your eyes and imagine
what does the house your building with God look like? Are you in the process of
building walls, are you remolding the living room, does your house have a
kitchen? Where does God envision you?
The first
principle tonight is
1. If you want to maintain a relationship with God,
know that love is not complete without forgiveness.
a. Listen in your Christian life you are
going to make mistakes. If this was unlikely Christ would not have died for us,
however it is what you do after you sin is what really matters. It is written
that “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) Don’t beat yourself up over
the little things. God knows we’re imperfect, we’re flawed, and no God’s grace
does not give us an excuse to sin anyway, but when we sincerely fall, sin, or
miss the mark it is an opportunity for us to exercise the mercy of God, and
return to his unfailing grace. We will perform many mistakes and it is okay. A
mistake is when bind your wound and keep going, it does not rock you to the
core, there is no little discipline and or chastisement needed.
·
However,
throughout our journey we come across times that are not mistakes but epic
fails. What is an epic fail? An epic fail is a life changing experiencing that
is often times shattering to your heart, your character or the people you love.
·
The
difference between a mistake and epic fail is this, a mistake is used to lead
you in the right direction, an epic fail God uses to transform your character
and change your heart.
b. For example the story of Peter denying
Christ three times is an epic fail. Christ prophesized Peter’s denial of Him,
Peter swore he would never do it. He committed the very act and was broken to
pieces in the process. These epic fails shake us, they break our spirits, keep
us crying at night and there are times when we believe we are doomed to be
victims of our own misfortunes. Mark
14:66-72)
c. Thankfully God will never regret sending
His Son to save you. For Peter was redeemed and restored by His Savior Jesus
who did not leave him to die in despair but become a testimony and bold
disciple of God’s love. (John 21:15-19)
·
So always
remember failure in the truest sense is never accepting God’s hand of
forgiveness and learning to press forward. Jesus did not leave Peter to feel bad about himself, He didn’t turn his
back on Peter and when we’re at our lowest low and when we reach the point of
no return, Jesus comes and restores us
·
This goes into the next point:
2. If
you want to maintain a relationship with God, recognize He knows what is best
for you and your life. Jeremiah 29:11 “ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the
Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a
future.” Be willing to
accept a no as an interpretation of God’s love and not every rejection is a
rejection but a redirection. I know we have our set plans, our ways or thoughts
or how we’re going to craft our life but keep in mind our life is not ours to
begin with. God has plans for every single one of us. He is a big pictured God
who also cares about minute and intimate detail of your life. Don’t let Satan
fool into thinking any area of your life doesn’t matter or is too small. God
has plans for you, because He loves you an unconditionally abundant love.
a.
Have you ever experienced God’s love in
such a way that has made you feel special?
1.
When
life is not working well for us or when we experience death, sickness, loss, or
academic failure etc…we often believe we did something wrong or God stopped
loving us. But God’s love isn’t conditional, He’s not like us humans He doesn’t
require a condition to love someone. He does that naturally because that is who
He is. So when you are going through a storm reflect on the moments where God
has made you feel special and praise Him through your pain.
3. So
if you want to maintain your relationship with God expect all doors off their
hinges. Once you invite
God into your life, understand privacy is a myth. God is not about your outside
life, He always digs deeper and deeper into your subconscious waiting for you
in your closets. Sitting there, waiting patiently for you to sit with him, and
talk about your deepest insecurities, your strongest fears, and to embrace your
troubled mind and heart—not turn you away. Although God is the Most High and He
is the vast, all powerful one True God, God is also a personal God. God longs
for the moments of sweet intimacy with you. He is not human. God does not walk
away from us when he sees our filthiness, our deceit, our dark hidden chambers.
No, He is ready to embrace you, approve of you, and then set you free, purified
from the darkness and running into the light. Expect in your relationship with God
to feel uncomfortable, awkward, and even a little apprehensive, but know God
only does this because he truly, truly, truly
loves you.
“The Lord appeared to us in the
past,[a] saying:
“I have loved you
with an everlasting love;
I
have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” (Jeremiah
31:3 NIV)
4. If
you want to maintain a relationship with God, realize He should be first in
your life.
Put God First by Having:
·
Bible Studyà
o
James 1:22-27à 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive
yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but
does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and,
after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives
freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing
it—they will be blessed in what they do. There are two types of people who walk out
from a sermon. There’s the person who nods their head and says it was good the
Lord was working and there is the other person who applies the Word which they
heard. If we want to enter into new-ness with God we must show ourselves
faithful unto Him who has delivered us. The Word of God “gives freedom,” to
those who try to apply it even in the little things. For a man who forgets
himself in a mirror, forgets his nature, in this world you can’t forget who you
are, where you came from, and who you used to be, a lot of times us Christians
leave the sermon unchanged because we forget ourselves, we forget the condition
we are in and how much we need God.
·
Prayerà
o
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of
God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if
we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. (1 John 5:14 NKJV) This verse gives us much confidence, it
brings us so much comfort, so many times we wonder Lord God how could we of all
people receive the things of which we need from God that we desire. On what
grounds do we have authority, and it is because of this verse that strengthens
us to approach the throne of grace fearlessly, because it is Christ living in
us! Know and believe God loves us, and we know He loves all of us, but we
praise God that we have Jesus who is our “Great High Priest.” We thank God that
He intercedes and sympathizes with our human weaknesses and faults. For we have
God-fidience in Christ Jesus because He is always there and He is always
faithful, though we sometimes waver in doubt, Jesus never did, and His presence
becomes stronger the more we abide in Him. God hears not because of the
Christian work we done, no God hears us because the foundation established by
Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection has created a telephone line, a life
line to God that can never be broken.
·
Fastingà
o
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they
disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they
have received their reward in full. 17 But
when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are
fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what
is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:16-18 NKJV) Fasting
should always be done secretly. Fasting is not about getting what we want from
God or even getting an answer from God. The function of fasting is to remove
the physical comforts of this world, food to rely on the strength of the Lord
God to pull us through. As we fast we must train our bodies to hunger after the
righteousness and face of God and not the cares and riches of this world. The
more we fast, the more we should become one with God in mind, heart, and
spirit. Breaking bonds and strongholds to this world, are the benefits of
fasting, since it is us recognizing our God is our everything and not this
world.
·
Worshipà
How do you best
communicate with God? When you want to express something to Him, what do you
do?
o
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy,
to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is
your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able
to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2 NKJV) All
three of these characteristics should elevate and enhance our worship with God.
The more we develop a relationship with our King the easier it is to worship
Him for who He is. The building of a relationship with God is about breaking
your ties and bond to this world, so you can be a Christian warrior in the
spiritual world. At the end of the day your life is not about you, your life,
your relationship with God, your dream house is a testament to the world.
Whenever someone looks at you they should see God working in you, and be
inspired by the love of God and drawn in by the redeeming work of Christ. So
invest in your relationship with God and let Him make you the essence of His
craftsmanship, let Him glory in His house, which is You.
Were these tips helpful? What
other ways can you maintain your relationship with God? How do you feel about
your relationship with God? Comment below!
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