Asking for a friend 7

Intro

In this series we intend to answer your questions

You guys submitted questions to us and over the next 7 week we intend to answer them!

I always love doing this type of series because it allows for us to really dive deep into the questions that you and to show you that Jesus is truly the answer to every question we have

So far we have tackled:

Our identity

The Bible

Science and Creation

Evangelism

A lot of random questions

Sin

Today we are closing out this series with some questions that are all application based in nature

They are all designed to help us grow closer to Jesus

Relationship with God

The questions we will be answering tonight are:

How do I have a real relationship with God?

How do I have a strong relationship with God that lasts

Is there a good time of day to pristine my relationship with God?

How to have consistency in my relationship with God?

How can I be more focused on God?

All five of these questions are asking essentially the same question

How can I grow closer to Jesus?

So tonight I want to get a little practical with you all and see how we can grow closer to God by modeling what Jesus did

Prayer

If we want to grow closer to God and follow Jesus’ example we must

Pray

Matthew 14:23 NET

23 And after he sent the crowds away, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.

Mark 6:46–47 NET

46 After saying good-bye to them, he went to the mountain to pray. 47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea and he was alone on the land.

John 6:15 NET

15 Then Jesus, because he knew they were going to come and seize him by force to make him king, withdrew again up the mountainside alone.

Luke 6:12 NET

12 Now it was during this time that Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and he spent all night in prayer to God.

Jesus consistently spent time praying and seeking God

He would constantly retreat from people, from distractions, from the things that are pulling him in all different directions and he would spend time praying

Praying can seem like a daunting task at times

I know sometimes it feels like we are just talking to our self, or maybe you know you should pray, but just don’t know how

But we must remember that we when we call out to God, He hears us

1 Peter 3:12 NET

12 For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer. But the Lord’s face is against those who do evil.

The Lord hear’s our prayers and is close with us

If Jesus retreated and prayed to the Father we must also

So if we want to be closer with the Lord and grow that relationship we must pray

Bible reading

If we want to grow closer to the Lord, we must follow Jesus’ example by:

Read and study the Bible

Luke 4:17–21 NET

17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to tell them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.”

Luke 24:27 NET

27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things written about himself in all the scriptures.

Here we have two different examples of the Lord reading/explaining the Bible

Now they didn’t have the entire Bible like we have today — they just had the OT or what they called the Torah and Tanakh

Yet in both of these examples we see that Jesus read the Scriptures and had an understanding of them

This is important for us

We must read the Bible, and seek to understand it

It is what connects us with God — it is how we hear from God

It is the literal words of God that allow us to grow closer to Him

2 Timothy 3:16–17 NET

16 Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work.

The Bible will equip us, train us, correct us

The Bible is what allows us to grow closer to God

If we want a strong relationship with the Father we must read and study the Bible

A simple way to do this is by using the SOAP method

S - Scripture

As your reading, what verses stick out to you? Write them down

O - Observation

Write down your observations about that specific verse. What do you see? What do you feel God is saying to you about it? What seems to be the point of the verse?

A - Application

Now, write down how you’re going to apply this to your life. Ask yourself, “How will I be different after reading this verse?”

P - Prayer

Write out a prayer to God for the day and relate it to the verse you’ve just been reading.

Using this method will help you to better read and understand the Bible

It will help you grow closer to Jesus

Relationships

If we want to grow closer to God by following Jesus’ model we must:

Have Godly relationships

John 3:22 NET

22 After this, Jesus and his disciples came into Judean territory, and there he spent time with them and was baptizing.

Mark 14:32 NET

32 Then they went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”

This is two verses — but we know that Jesus hung around his disciples — they were with Him everywhere

He spent intentional time with them

They were all seeking the Lord, and He spent majority of His time being around them

This needs to be true for us as well

We need to be spending time intentionally with people that are going to help us grow closer to God

People that are actively seeking the same things we are — striving to grow closer to God

Proverbs 27:17 NET

17 As iron sharpens iron, so a person sharpens his friend.

We become like who we are around

When I worked at Lowe’s foods in the produce department we had a specific strategy we would use for bananas

We could order them either green, green-yellow, or yellow

When we ordered bananas we would always order them green — unripe

You look and you’re like that’s crazy, no one wants bananas that are unripe

And you’re correct, so here is what we did — every night the closer for the produce department would put a single ripe yellow banana inside a box of green bananas

When we did this the next morning we would come in and the box of green bananas are now green-yellow — they are turning ripe

We did this every day to allow for bananas to become ripe

The same is true for our lives

The people we hang around with matters

The people that pour into our lives matter

Jesus knew that — he spent time with sinners and lost — but His closest relationships were with the disciples

The same needs to be true for us

We need to be spending time with people who are actively seeking to grow closer to Jesus

Conclusion

This is just three examples that you can put into practice right now!

You can start praying more consistently — it’s our direct connection to God

You can read and study your Bible — it will help you learn and grow closer to the Lord

You can find and spend time with people who are actively seeking Jesus — seeking to grow

If we do these three things you’re relationship with God will grow exponentially!