Build a relationship with Him (Jacksonville, FL)

Build a relationship with Him

How to Build a Close Relationship With GodAlthough God is invisible to us mortals He can become the most reliable trusted and loving reality in your life King David poetically described His experience of God s greatness and nearness to us Whither shall I go from thy spirit or whither shall I flee from thy presence If I ascend up into heaven thou art there if I make my bed in hell behold thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea Even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say Surely the darkness shall cover me even the night shall be light about me. Yea the darkness hideth not from thee but the night shineth as the day the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins thou hast covered me in my mother s womb. I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made marvellous are thy works and that my soul knoweth right well. (Psalm 139 7-14). 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 YouThe psalmist wrote But it is good for me to draw near to God I have put my trust in the Lord GOD that I may declare all thy works . (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 man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him and I will raise him up 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 nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands ye sinners and purify your hearts ye double minded. (James 4 8). The promise of a resurrection to life after death becomes a primary motivator. It is that 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).How valuable is it to read and study the Bible 2 Timothy 2 15 Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth. (Many don t know that we are commanded to study His word notice it didn t say I wish you would study or if you find the time to study. It says study ) 2 Timothy 3 14-17 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse deceiving and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of knowing of whom thou hast learned them And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto 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 perfect throughly furnished unto all good works.Proverbs 3 13-15 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.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 (according to His standards) to fulfill our purpose and to obtain by far the best results. Even kings were commanded to read the Scriptures daily (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 what is a major key Joshua 1 8 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.1 Timothy 4 13 15 Till I come give attendance to reading to exhortation to doctrine Meditate upon these things give thyself wholly to them that thy profiting may appear to all.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 (Hebrews 8 10).Can we talk to God at any time and know that He hears us 1 John 5 14-15 And this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us And if we know that he hear us whatsoever we ask we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. (Notice that we must ask according to His will not our will).John 16 23 [Jesus said] And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily verily I say unto you Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name he will give it you. Sincere prayer is powerful because the Creator of all the universe loves to hear our prayers and loves to answer 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. And the more you pray the more natural it will be for you. The Bible compares the prayers of the saints with sweet-smelling incense (odours) because they please God (Revelation 5 8).Can we walk with God And what exactly does that mean 1 John 2 6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk even as he walked.2 John 1 6 And this is love that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment That as ye have heard from the beginning ye should walk in it.1 John 2 3 And hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his commandments.In the Bible the word walk is often used to refer to one s lifestyle how we live our life. To walk according to God s Word means to apply it to put it into action. To walk with God means to obey His commandments (standards) and to follow imitate Jesus example. This includes keeping the Fourth Commandment as Jesus did. Observing God s Sabbath day provides a whole day to focus on drawing close to God. As you see we must talk and walk with God.When we meditate on God s ways and His creation can we learn valuable lessons Romans 1 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal power and Godhead so that they are without excuse Psalm 143 5 I remember the days of old I meditate on all thy works I muse on the work of thy hands.Psalm 145 5 I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty and of thy wondrous works.As we discussed in Lesson 4 in this series God has two primary means of revealing Himself to humanity His written revelation the Bible and the evidence of creation. Creation is fascinating because we never cease to learn from it and be inspired by it. From creation we learn many things about the Creator.Will we be much closer to God if we stay away from bad influences 1 Corinthians 15 33 Be not deceived evil communications corrupt good manners.Proverbs 12 26 The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour but the way of the wicked seduceth them.2 Corinthians 6 16-18 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols for ye are the temple of the living God as God hath said I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate saith the Lord and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you And will be a Father unto you and ye shall be my sons and daughters saith the Lord Almighty.We are continually faced with choices. We often must choose between exposing ourselves to bad influences or surrounding ourselves with good influences (including other believers). God is very displeased when we choose evil or what will lead us toward evil. The mind is like a sponge that will soak up whatever you expose it to whether good or evil and what goes in stays in to a great extent. A computer is a good comparison. A computer s output depends on what was input. Garbage in garbage out. God knows our every thought. Don t allow experiences and thoughts in that you will be ashamed of when you face God.Do materialism and an overly-busy life-style interfere with our relationship with God Luke 16 13 No servant can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon [mammon money materialism in other words covetousness greed]. Mark 4 18-19 And these are they which are sown among thorns such as hear the word And the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word and it becometh unfruitful. 1 Timothy 6 9-10 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil which while some coveted after they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.Money is not evil but the love of money is a major root of evil. So yes materialism and a super-busy life interfere with all our relationships and especially our relationship with God. They can choke to death our spiritual life like weeds choke to death the life of garden plants. When money and things become overly important to us they are becoming our gods which means we are breaking the first of the Ten Commandments (by prioritizing them over God).Are satanic and demonic influences a significant danger 1 Peter 5 8-9 Be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour Whom resist stedfast in the faith knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.James 4 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (Notice that this is conditional we must submit to God).Ephesians 6 11-12 Put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places.Satan deceives the whole world (Revelation 12 9) so even followers of Christ can be deceived by Satan or a demon when we aren t continually on guard. Satan hates all people but he especially wants to deceive and destroy anyone trying to obey God (he wants company in the lake of fire). We attract Satan and the demons and become vulnerable to them if we are sinning dabbling in spiritism or the occult or letting down spiritually in some other way. And when one walks in the way of the devil he or she is alienating himself or herself from God.What is the ultimate most powerful way to stay close to God Acts 2 38 Then Peter said unto them Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.Romans 8 6-9 For to be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his.How is it possible for a mortal human to have an intimate and ongoing relationship with the divine God The most important key is God s gift of His Spirit to dwell in one s heart and mind God s Spirit works to transform human nature to a godly nature and the mind of Christ so instead of being inclined to selfishness and sin we become inclined toward love and godliness (Philippians 2 1-5). To receive the Holy Spirit we must repent of our sins and be baptized.God desires a close relationship with everyone. In fact He wants all people to eventually be His sons and daughters (2 Corinthians 6 18).