Speaker: pst Germy
GOD CREATED MAN TO COMMUNICATE WITH HIM. Man was created to do what God wants, not to enlist God's help for whatever he chooses to do. To walk with God, we must think rightly about Him — with a real revelation of who God is. What you know of God influences your friendship with Him: if you know Him well, your friendship will benefit; if not, it will suffer. By drifting away from God, man lives at the mercy of his own ideas, and false ideas lead to a false life.
#1. What false ideas do people have of God that keep them from friendship with Him?
Here are a few answers gathered: God doesn't love me; He doesn't understand us; He answers others but not me, or He doesn't answer my prayers; He punishes a lot; When I sin, God doesn't listen to me; His commandments are too strict/severe; He has favorites; He uses suffering to teach or bless; He is unjust in His decisions; He is jealous; He only answers certain people; He shows favoritism; He is very far away in heaven. WRITE DOWN YOUR OWN IDEAS OF GOD PRIVATELY and ask yourself a second question.
#2. How can we cultivate our friendship with God daily?
Draw near to God, meditate on His Word and confess it; live a life of praise and worship; go back to the verses that speak of true friendship between God and us, and replace false ideas with true ones. The prayer that moves God to answer man is a conversation he has with Him about what they are doing together.
Friendship with God is therefore not reserved for a privileged few — it is offered to all who believe. The relationship between man and God is one of collaboration: God depends on you and you depend on Him. Beyond our obedience, God desires our company, because obedience can be sporadic — once a year, for example. HE PREFERS US. Friendship with God grows through listening (active, attentive, discerning, and intentional), trust, and frequent obedience to His instructions.
Prayer and fasting are a means of preparing for God's presence to become manifest. THE FACT THAT GOD BLESSES PEOPLE DOES NOT MEAN HE IS IN AGREEMENT WITH THEM — IT IS SIMPLY BECAUSE HE IS GOOD: IT IS HIS NATURE. Once a person is aligned with God, they become able to listen to Him in season and out of season, as in a conversation with a friend, listening effortlessly. So the person who seeks to be heard by God, or to remain in communion with Him, must ask: what projects are God and I working on together? Anyone who serves God without working on any project with Him is a fraud.
THE BATTLE GOD WAGES IN THE LIFE OF ALL HIS CHILDREN IS THAT OF ALIGNING THEIR WILLS WITH HIS OWN. He wants it joyfully and willingly, not imposed on them, so that they become glad to fight every battle without becoming discouraged or impatient. The ultimate transformation is to lead people to think as He thinks, so that they live their lives as though Christ were living it in their place.
BIBLICAL FOUNDATION OF FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD
Exodus 29:43-46, 33:22, Psalm 23, John 15:14-15, Hebrews 13:5-6
In Exodus 29:43-46, God speaks of His ultimate desire to dwell among His people, not merely to visit them. If this is God's desire, then the idea of a distant God comes from man, not from God. Exodus 33:22 further reveals that God spoke face to face with Moses as with a friend, and in Psalm 23, God appears as a shepherd. As with a nursing mother, what makes someone a shepherd is their constant presence, not merely their consistency. John 15:14 says Jesus seeks friends — He calls His friends those who keep His commandments.
ALL THESE PASSAGES ILLUSTRATE THAT HEARING GOD IS NOT AN EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIENCE — IT IS NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIFE.
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