Spending a Little Time with God
Spending Some Time with God
A few weeks ago I spent some time talking about God’s grace-the love He shows us regardless of anything we have or have not done to deserve it.
God calls us into relationship with Him
Sons & daughters-John 1:12
Jesus’ summary of God’s commands-all He desires from us as humans:
Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
(Mat 22:37-40 NIV)
Everything God commands is based upon building a relationship with Him & others…
I’d like to take some time today exploring what this means for us. How should it affect our lives?
A Look at Relationships
1. Take a look at our culture-efficiency. Not a bad thing by itself. It is good to get things done…work hard…move forward. Problem is when we spend so much time on efficiency, real relationship with God and one another suffers…and we suffer.
a. Wendy in Peru
b. Results in an epidemic of broken families, excess anger/selfishness…all kind of emotional fallout. God desires relationship with us because we were made for it.
c. Results in excess busy-ness
i. “Running Just to catch myself”
d. Can see there is a problem
2. The church should mostly be about relationships
a. Sometimes easy in this culture to focus on the things that make us look “successful” to others-lots of people, lots of structured programs. Paid staff of trained ministers who know “the best” way to run all those programs. Very organizationally driven. Easy to get sidetracked if not reminded regularly.
b. Organization needed by where is focus?
c. Nice thing about planting a new church…empty slate. Everything we do based upon building those relationships.
d. True North atmosphere…everything we do based upon relationship…
Relationship Issues
Unpredictable
Actually easier to follow the “program” model. There is something difficult about focusing on relationships, though.
People are not machines-unpredicatable…emotional
God is not a machine….can’t say, “If I do this & this, God will do that.”…Job
Reasons for not telling us everything….just like parent-can’t sit down and tell infant EVERYTHING.
Chaotic
…kids…people who come in not knowing “acceptable” ways of living. OK…don’t expect them to know those things yet(Ponch)
Not total Chaos…there is structure…structure guides chaos…chaos tweaks structure. Need to learn to be OK with this unpredictability…takes faith
The Solution
Says that most important relationship for us to work on is our relationship with God…need to learn to trust Him more and more in order to do what we do as a church…live our daily lives and in all that somehow develop meaningful relationships with unpredictable people.
There is really one primary thing every relationship NEEDS. Time
Quality & Quantity.
Makes sense…look what happens to our relationships with one another when do don’t take time for one another:
-tend to fight more…get grumpy easier.
- What happens to you and your spouse when you are both running all the time and don’t have any real time for one another?
- What happens with you and your parents when you are busy all the time with school work/activities and they are busy with their own stuff?
- What happens between friends when they don’t have time for one another…my childhood?
Our relationships suffer.
God has been telling people this for centuries…didn’t really need all kinds of modern sociology studies to figure this out. Just needed to read and trust the Bible.
Take a look at the 10 commandments. Remember all these commands have something to do with loving God and loving one another.
"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
(Exo 20:8-11 NIV)
Taking time!
Take a look at another Bible verse: Jesus said: (john 15:7)
Our relationship with God suffers when we don’t take time for Him. Vessel filled with God’s love…seeps out when not being filled all the time.
As we get busier…get emptied out…don’t really notice it. Depending more and more upon self…at a certain point….feeling stressed, grumpy, impatient..opposite of fruit of the Spirit…what’s going on? Ask God for help…
-Editor article.
We need that time with God to connect with Him…to fill ourselves with His word…to really hear from Him.
Don’t fool selves…an hour on Sunday is not enough. Perhaps one full day a week-a Sabbath day 24hours dedicated to God-might jolt us back each week….but really in a busy culture like ours…we NEED time with God each day…time in prayer, time in Word, time in silence just listening to Him.
We need time to let God’s love soak into our lives…to remind us that we are His children…that we DEPEND upon Him….need time to remain in His WORD…get to know it…memorize parts of it…need time to hear Him…
Really does make all the difference in the world. All other relationship depend up on this one.
Take some time this morning…I don’t know if you have ever taken this kind of time or not….or maybe you’ve just been too busy to recently…let’s do this right now…
Close eyes...Deep breath…just focus on God…
… … …
Close with a favorite verse…
How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.
(Psa 116:12-14 NIV)
simply come to you…lift up cup of salvation…come an say I am yours because of what Jesus has done…I call on you as your child…and let everything else fade away as I let your Spirit fill me right now…