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A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
Rev. Susan Bottger

He who has an ear let him hear what the people are saying….
“I want to be a God chaser, but I’m not sure how.”
“I want a deeper relationship with God.”
“I want to know God.”
 “How do I get from where I am to where I want to be?”
 “I need to know the will of God for my life. What’s my purpose in life?”
“How do I know whose voice I am hearing?”
“I want to move in the gifts.”
“I want more of God.”

 Anything sound familiar?

God has a plan and a promise for all of us.
How do I get from where I am now to where I want to be spiritually?
The answer is: A relationship with God!

Jesus was asked, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: `Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 

This kind of love is found only within your deepest, inner most being!

This means loving Him with our words, actions, thoughts, emotions, minds and our whole body. It means loving Him with everything that is within you!!!

Joshua 22:5 describes it further:

But be careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses, the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk (to carry, to follow) in all his ways (a road; a course of life or mode of action, manner, conversation), to obey (guard, to keep, to trust, to submit to) his commands, to CLING (cling or adhere; figuratively to catch by pursuit, abide fast, cleave, follow close, hard after) to Him, be joined (together, pursue hard, stick) to and unite with Him and to serve (bond-servant, worshipper) Him with all (wholly) your heart and soul.

Lets look at that word “bond servant” even closer. 

A bond servant chose to serve his master for life.

Deut 15:16-17  But if your servant says to you, "I do not want to leave you," because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, then take an awl and push it through his ear lobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life.

In order to love God you first have to know Him.

To know Him is to love Him.

Knowing Him is the key to everything.
Do you really know Him or do you just know about Him?

Paul said he counted all things rubbish in comparison to knowing Him.

We need a personal relationship with God.

God is the initiator of this relationship.

The true meaning of life is found in Him.

This is eternal life; that you may know thee, the only true God

and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent.  (John 17:3)

Jeremiah 24:7  I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

To Know: Hebrew Yada- To know, perceive, regard, recognize, pay attention to, to know by observing & reflecting, to know by experience, by investigating & proving, by first hand knowledge, knowing which one learns and can give back, knowledge, acknowledge, the ‘knower’ has involvement with the known.

When God said, “for I have known him” referring to Abraham, (Genesis 18:19) it meant that He knew Abraham intimately and personally through a love relationship with him.  ‘To Know’ God is paralleled to fear Lord, to serve Him, to believe and trust Him. (I Kings 8:43; I Chronicles 28:9; Isaiah 43:10)

The Israelites were led into the desert to get from Egypt to the Promised Land. They had to travel through it in order to meet the Promiser (God himself).  They were tested to see if they would follow instructions, and to see if they would draw near to their God. The Lord tests us at times to confirm our faith and to teach us. He tests us to reveal the motives of our hearts, and to challenge us to prove our commitment to Him.

God will test us, but He will never tempt you.

Deuteronomy 8:2-11  Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you. Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land--a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God. (NIV)

In the desert times, he builds our character and he reveals to us who He really is.
You can’t bypass the relationship.
We live in a microwave society. We want a microwave God.
We want everything quick and easy. No work - no clean up- no time.
The byproduct is no anointing, no power, and no God! 

Matthew 7:12-23  Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?  And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (NKJV)

The word “many” here means: significant, not few, mostly, abundance, plenty, greater part. Many will be in this group.  “Lawlessness” means flagrant defiance of the known will of God; rejection of the law or the will of God and substitution of the will of self. Lawlessness is sin. (1John 3:4.)

Matthew 25:12 Lord, Lord open for us. But he answered and said, Assuredly, I say to you, “I do not know you.”   He’s saying, “You stand in no relation with Me. It’s too late!”

Know: Greek Gin-os-ko / Oida- to come to know, understand, recognize, get to know, observe, discern, fully perceive, to discover.  A relationship between the“one knowing”and the“one known”.   In this respect, what is known has value or importance to the one who knows and hence the establishment of the relationship. Knowledge obtained by the Holy Spirit.  Recognizing truth by personal experience.   Ginosko is the knowledge that has an inception, a progress, and an attainment. It is the recognition of TRUTH by personal experience.

The Process:

How do we know him at a deeper level?

• Read the Bible and Study the Written Word of God

The Bible will reveal Gods character and His nature.
Jesus is to be our example. Jesus is the Living Word. (Read John 1:1-14)
The Trinity and the Truth will be revealed.
The Bible tells of Him and His ways. The Bible brings revelation and life.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)

We can only get to the Father through Jesus. Jesus declares in John 5 that the knowledge of the scriptures is the pathway to knowing Him well. We get to know God as we read the Bible.

• Pray

Prayer simply is communication with God. Talk to God just as you would talk to a friend, or a parent. A relationship is two sided. We need to be good communicators and good listeners. That’s what we often forget to do when we pray. We forget to listen to what God wants to say to us. We tend to do all the talking. It’s all about us. We give Him our list of wants, needs, and expectations. Then we get up and go about our business. Later, we wonder why we don’t hear from God or feel like He never answers our prayers. It’s that microwave thing all over again.  The Lord gave me an example once that I’ll never forget. He said, “Would you go to the trouble to look up a friend’s phone number, push in the numbers, wait for them to pick up the phone, only to quickly hang up?” That’s what we do with God. We want to be in His presence and go through all this work to get there, but as soon as He shows up we’re out of there.

I love them that love me and those that seek me early will find me. (Proverbs 8:17)

We need to be expectant! Expect to hear from Him. Expect to find Him! He wants to be found by you! We get to know God as we fellowship with Him in prayer.  

The Holy Spirit is promised.

Paul asked, “Did you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

The Holy Spirit will teach you all things.

(Read John 14, 15, and 16)

The Holy Spirit will teach, guide and help you.

(Read John 14:15-18, 26, 16:12-13)

We can receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)

The Holy Spirit reveals the Father and the Son to us.

(Read 1 Corinthians 2:6-14, and Galatians 1:11,12)

• Watch For God’s Working Through Circumstances

God reveals himself to us through the circumstances in our lives.

When scripture speaks of God making His name known, it refers to God  revealing Himself through deeds or events of life. Through these things we can know Him more deeply and know the true meaning of His name. 

When you are healed He reveals Himself as your healer.
When God has taken care of your needs, He becomes Jehovah Jireh, your provider.
Once you experience His supernatural peace, He becomes Jehovah Shalom, your peace.
He is constantly making himself known to you.

• Fellowship With Other Believers

Become part of a local church. The five fold ministry, (pastor, teacher, prophet, apostle, & evangelist) listed in Ephesians 4:11 is there to build up the body of Christ, to nurture and equip you. Many times the Lord will speak through the Pastor’s message, through a prophetic word, or a teaching. It will seem like it was tailor made for you. Ask an older believer to disciple you. Be an Elisha for an Elijah or a Timothy for a Paul.

• Spend time alone with God

How did you develop your relationship with your best friend, your husband, or your wife?  Have you ever fallen in love? What happened? You were introduced and there was an interest. You spent time getting to know them. You began to see their character. You wanted to know what they liked and disliked. You made a commitment and began to trust them. You did things to please them. You invested in the relationship. It’s no different with God. Look at all the reality shows today and all the relationships that fail because they want to bypass the time it takes to build a relationship.

Deut 30:15-31:1  See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (NIV) 

I encourage you to know God at a deeper level.

To know Him is to love Him.

Note: If you have never received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, please click here.

If you want more information on receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, read the teaching entitled, “How do I receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.”