Our Relationship With God
Understanding our relationship with God is very important. We being the bride
of Christ implies an intermit relationship. We are betrothed to Jesus; the
selection of the bride was followed by the betrothal. It was confirmed by
oaths. In Hebrew custom, betrothal was actually part of the marriage process;
and could be dissolved only by the man’s giving the woman a certificate of
divorce (Matthew 1:18-19) “now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise.
When as His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, before they came
together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. then Joseph her
husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was
minded to put her away privily”.
We are to become one with Him (John 17:21-23) Jesus prayed for us “that
they all may be one, as You Father are in Me, and I in You, that they also may
be one in Us, that the world may believe that You have sent Me. And the glory
which You gave Me, I have given them, that they may be one, even as We are
one. I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that
the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them, as You
have loved Me”. After all we are made in His image and likeness.
When you love someone, you want to be in their presence. Psalms 100:1-5
tells us how to get into His presence; “make a joyful noise to the Lord Yahweh
all you lands. Serve the Lord Yahweh with gladness; come before His
presence with singing. Know you that the Lord Yahweh, He is God; it is He that
has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His
pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with
praise; be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord Yahweh is good;
His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations”.
Jesus’ death burial and resurrection was the finished work of Jesus that
reconciled us to God, restored us to the original state of mankind, as Adam
was before the fall (II Corinthians 5:17-21).
We build our relationship by what we do now; the Bible tells us to “draw near
to God and He will draw near to us” (James 4:8), this indicates that we have to
make the first move. We do this by submitting ourselves to God and resist the
devil (verse 7); we resist the devil with the word of God. This is our
reasonable service, in other words, it is what we are supposed to do (Romans
12:1-2) says “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that
you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is
your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be you
transformed by the renewing of your mind; that you may prove what is that
good, and acceptable and perfect will of God”.
Even though God is invisible, He is real, and we can be conscience of Him at
all times. Isaiah 26:3 says “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is
stayed on You, because he trusts in You”.
Are you going to be like the apostle John, and lean on Him, or are you going
to be like Peter who stood afar off? And there is Judas, who wanted Him to act
a certain way and got angry and betrayed Him. Our relationship with God
depends on how much we desire to be with Him. God is a loving God and will
not force anyone to be with Him. The Bible tells us that “in His presence there
is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures for evermore”
(Psalms 16:11).
God considered His relationship with Israel as their husband, but by not
understanding this, they stood afar off, and asked Moses to draw near to God
and then tell them what He said, and they would obey Him. But by doing this,
they put someone between them and God. The Bible says that God made
known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel” (Psalms 103:7).
God’s plan was for Moses to sanctify the people and then He would draw near
and speak to all of them. They were afraid, as they saw the lighting and heard
the thunder and the fire burning the mountain.
Many today are afraid that they can not be good enough to come into the
presence of God, but God said that He is married to the back slider. If you
make a mistake, repent and draw near to God, so He can cleanse you with the
washing of water of the word.
Prayer is the means by which we communicate with God; we can talk to Him
about anything, and can talk to Him at anytime. It is the means we can
develop our relationship with Him. The more we open our lives to Him, the
more He will do in our lives. David understood this, and he would inquire of
the Lord Yahweh. He often recanted what God had done in his life, and this
caused him to look at God as being with him. And even when he sinned, after
being convicted he repented and ask God not to take His Holy Spirit from him
(Psalms 51).
Many people call Christianity a religion, but true Christianity is a relationship
with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Some try to take Jesus as their Savior,
but not as their Lord. If your relationship is not firmly fixed in Christ, then you
are still trying to relate to God in fallen Adam, and you have to remember that
Adam pledged his relationship to the devil, with sin. When he made the
choice to obey the devil over God (Romans 6:16) says “know you not, that to
whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom
you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness”?
The same goes that if we choose to obey God, that’s why the devil tries so
hard to tempt people into disobedience; then he condemns them, remember
that he is the accuser of the brethren; but if you are quick to repent and ask
for forgiveness (I John 1:9) says “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.
Our relationship grows by our obedience (Isaiah 1:19-20) “if you are willing
and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. But if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it”
and in (John 14:21) Jesus said “he that has My commandments and keeps
them, he it is that loves Me, and he that loves Me shall be loved of My Father,
and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him”.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: March 13, 2009
Understanding our relationship with God is very important. We being the bride
of Christ implies an intermit relationship. We are betrothed to Jesus; the
selection of the bride was followed by the betrothal. It was confirmed by
oaths. In Hebrew custom, betrothal was actually part of the marriage process;
and could be dissolved only by the man’s giving the woman a certificate of
divorce (Matthew 1:18-19) “now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise.
When as His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, before they came
together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. then Joseph her
husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was
minded to put her away privily”.
We are to become one with Him (John 17:21-23) Jesus prayed for us “that
they all may be one, as You Father are in Me, and I in You, that they also may
be one in Us, that the world may believe that You have sent Me. And the glory
which You gave Me, I have given them, that they may be one, even as We are
one. I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that
the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them, as You
have loved Me”. After all we are made in His image and likeness.
When you love someone, you want to be in their presence. Psalms 100:1-5
tells us how to get into His presence; “make a joyful noise to the Lord Yahweh
all you lands. Serve the Lord Yahweh with gladness; come before His
presence with singing. Know you that the Lord Yahweh, He is God; it is He that
has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His
pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with
praise; be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord Yahweh is good;
His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations”.
Jesus’ death burial and resurrection was the finished work of Jesus that
reconciled us to God, restored us to the original state of mankind, as Adam
was before the fall (II Corinthians 5:17-21).
We build our relationship by what we do now; the Bible tells us to “draw near
to God and He will draw near to us” (James 4:8), this indicates that we have to
make the first move. We do this by submitting ourselves to God and resist the
devil (verse 7); we resist the devil with the word of God. This is our
reasonable service, in other words, it is what we are supposed to do (Romans
12:1-2) says “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that
you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is
your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be you
transformed by the renewing of your mind; that you may prove what is that
good, and acceptable and perfect will of God”.
Even though God is invisible, He is real, and we can be conscience of Him at
all times. Isaiah 26:3 says “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is
stayed on You, because he trusts in You”.
Are you going to be like the apostle John, and lean on Him, or are you going
to be like Peter who stood afar off? And there is Judas, who wanted Him to act
a certain way and got angry and betrayed Him. Our relationship with God
depends on how much we desire to be with Him. God is a loving God and will
not force anyone to be with Him. The Bible tells us that “in His presence there
is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures for evermore”
(Psalms 16:11).
God considered His relationship with Israel as their husband, but by not
understanding this, they stood afar off, and asked Moses to draw near to God
and then tell them what He said, and they would obey Him. But by doing this,
they put someone between them and God. The Bible says that God made
known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel” (Psalms 103:7).
God’s plan was for Moses to sanctify the people and then He would draw near
and speak to all of them. They were afraid, as they saw the lighting and heard
the thunder and the fire burning the mountain.
Many today are afraid that they can not be good enough to come into the
presence of God, but God said that He is married to the back slider. If you
make a mistake, repent and draw near to God, so He can cleanse you with the
washing of water of the word.
Prayer is the means by which we communicate with God; we can talk to Him
about anything, and can talk to Him at anytime. It is the means we can
develop our relationship with Him. The more we open our lives to Him, the
more He will do in our lives. David understood this, and he would inquire of
the Lord Yahweh. He often recanted what God had done in his life, and this
caused him to look at God as being with him. And even when he sinned, after
being convicted he repented and ask God not to take His Holy Spirit from him
(Psalms 51).
Many people call Christianity a religion, but true Christianity is a relationship
with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Some try to take Jesus as their Savior,
but not as their Lord. If your relationship is not firmly fixed in Christ, then you
are still trying to relate to God in fallen Adam, and you have to remember that
Adam pledged his relationship to the devil, with sin. When he made the
choice to obey the devil over God (Romans 6:16) says “know you not, that to
whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom
you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness”?
The same goes that if we choose to obey God, that’s why the devil tries so
hard to tempt people into disobedience; then he condemns them, remember
that he is the accuser of the brethren; but if you are quick to repent and ask
for forgiveness (I John 1:9) says “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.
Our relationship grows by our obedience (Isaiah 1:19-20) “if you are willing
and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. But if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it”
and in (John 14:21) Jesus said “he that has My commandments and keeps
them, he it is that loves Me, and he that loves Me shall be loved of My Father,
and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him”.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: March 13, 2009
