Truth isn’t something you learn, but Someone you know. And the truth will set you free.
We are exploring highlights from How to Live Right When You’re Life Goes Wrong, by Leslie Vernick. This week we will learn some of the many ways to develop and improve your relationship with God.
Knowing God involves talking with and listening to God.
“We are creatures of conversation; that is the way we get to know someone. We build relationships through intimate dialogue.” (pg. 11) The Bible is full of character studies revealed to us through dialogue; often prayers. Paul left us many conversational letters that serve as examples of knowing God through conversation.
[16] Rejoice always, [17] pray without ceasing, [18] give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV)
What does “praying without ceasing” look like? Is it still possible to pray like that?
Knowing God involves learning to discern God’s voice.
“Listening is hard for us. . . . We often find ourselves paying more attention to the competing voices of the world, the flesh, and the devil. All vie for our ear. Sometimes it seems their volume is pitched higher than God’s.” (pg. 13) Many of us confuse the voice of God with our internal voices. Do any of these sound familiar?
- “Good job, but you’ll never measure up.” (self-doubt and inferiority)
- “This church is so lucky to have me. God is well pleased with all the work I do.” (self-righteousness)
- “I’ve had a rough life. I shouldn’t be expected to obey God. It’s not fair” (self-pity)
- “I deserve to be happy. I’m not hurting anyone.” (self-indulgence)
- “You miserable failure. Who do you think you are?” (self-condemnation)
Share your victories and your struggles with learning to hear God’s voice.
Intimacy with God involves valuing what He says.
“One of the most difficult journeys a Christian will ever take is the journey from the head to the heart, or from knowledge to trust.” (pg. 16) “Betty professed to be a Christian, but in her heart she believed that the sin she committed was so bad it was unforgiveable. Although her head knew Jesus died to forgive her sins, her heart didn’t trust that.” (pg. 17) . . . “When your feelings or thoughts are in competition with the voice of God, which wins?
[33] For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. [34] And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:33-34 ESV)
Walking with God intimately must include obeying Him.
“God desires us to know Him. . . . Sometimes we think that obeying God means gritting our teeth and following the rules. But Jesus doesn’t desire external conformity or intellectual commitment to orthodoxy any more than a parent desires robotic children.” (pg. 17)
[21] Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21 ESV)
The more you “do life” with someone the better you know them. It is no different with God. Do you have deeply personal conversations with strangers?
Intimacy with God involves loving Him with your whole heart.
“Rules won’t change us, but a growing relationship with Christ will. . . . He tells us that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments (John 14:15). Our love for Him is what begins to move our heart toward obedience.” (pg. 18) “We cease from sin, not just because we’re disciplined, but because we have found something better.” (Gary Thomas) What are some of these better things that have caused you to sin less?
Loving God changes us from the inside out.
“Christ often used the metaphor of garden life as a teaching tool. An apple tree cannot bear figs, can it? Why not? Because the very essence of an apple tree is defined by its roots, which are apple-tree roots and not fig-tree roots. Apples are a natural outgrowth of the roots. We will never have Christlikeness or the fruit of the Spirit in our lives if our roots are shallow, underdeveloped, diseased, or of a different stock. What are the roots of Christian living?”
[14] For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, [15] from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, [16] that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, [17] so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, [18] may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, [19] and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19 ESV)
[5] You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV)
Rules don’t change us – relationships do!
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