ITS A RELATIONSHIP
PART 9
PART 9
"....TO KNOW.......THE ONLY TRUE GOD AND JESUS CHRIST..." (JOHN 17:3
*
You can’t truly be in a
relationship with God without being in godly loving relationships with your
brothers and sisters-in-Christ. “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For
whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot
love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves
God must also love their brother and sister. (1 John 4:20-21).
In other words, godly, loving relationships
are a tell-tale sign that God’s Spirit is dwelling in us “…but if we love one another, God lives in us”
(1 John 4:12b).
Adam didn’t just freely respond against
God’s command, but he exercised his own will; along with Eve.
This attitude (self-will,
selfishness, pride) is the driving force behind all sin and darkness in our
lives. Adam and Eve, like Lucifer, wanted to be like the Most High in equality,
not just created in his image or subject/servant to him as King of kings or
Lord of lords.
Instead, they followed after their
own will and desires. Can this attitude be seen today?
Yes, most people, even Christians, want to respond
to life based on their own will and desires instead of God’s will and desires.
When Christians pick and choose which of God’s
commands they want to obey and which ones they don’t want to obey; they are
responding to life in “their own way.”
If you are truly in a relationship with God, you
will keep his commandments regardless of your own will or desires. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." (1
John 5:3).
God knows one of the biggest problems we face is letting
go of our own will. It was a struggle even with Jesus, but he did it (Luke
22:42).
Adam following after his own will caused the whole
world to be born doing the same thing generation after generation (Psalm 51:5).
“Therefore,
just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and
so death spread to all men, because all sinned—“(Romans 5:12 NAS). “For
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..”(Romans 3:23).
Christ, however, followed after the will of God “….yet not my will, but yours be done…” in
order to restore the whole world through faith in the finished work of Christ
on the cross (Luke 22:42).
We are not individualistic, but collectivist and one
person, following after their own will, can destroy his or her life; taking
others with them. “….by one man sin
entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for
that all have sinned…” (Romans 5:12).
Your “sphere of influence” is impacted by everything
you do whether they see you do it or not. “….by one man sin entered into the world, and death by
sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned…” (Romans 5:12).
Nothing demonstrates the detriment of man’s responses
to life more than close relationships. No other event impacts our lives in
either a positive or negative way than close relationships.
In Joshua chapter 7, Achan’s whole family was killed
because he responded “...against the Lord...”
and broke the covenant between himself and God. Achan admitted he … “…coveted...” some material things, stole
them, and hide them in his house (Joshua 7:21-26).
All that we know, feel, find interesting, believe,
do, think, discover about love, respond to, react to, learn about, or inherit, usually
come through close relationships.
These close relationships impact our lives every day as we grow and develop through
the life span.
Man’s ability to respond to the life willfully, as
he or she pleases; continue to keep humanity falling deeper into the abyss of
darkness and separation from holy God.
The driving and motivating attitude of Adam/Eve’s
response to life screams “my will be
done and not God’s.”
No relationship can survive when one person forces
their way all the time. Relationships are a loving, mutual cooperation and
interactive between two committed people.
God loved Adam/Eve and wanted to protect their
safety, their innocent, their holiness, and their spiritual connection. It was
up to Adam/Eve to participate with and respond to God’s love.
However, Adam/Eve participated with and responded to
Satan. When you exercise your own will against God’s, you will always move and
fall away from God, not towards him. Where in your life are you doing it your
way and not God’s?
Jesus’ life demonstrated two things: his love for God and
God’s love for Him. (John 14:3, John 15:9).
“…so
that the world may learn that I love the Father….”(John 14:31). "…As
the Father has loved me…..” (John 15:9)
Loving relationships are the best
way to demonstrate you are God’s disciples. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have
love for one another”
(John 13:35).
God’s kind of love “IS” the mark
and evidence that says you are an authentic child of God. Without the love of
God, everything else you do or possess – even faith, prophecy, knowledge etc;-
is meaningless.
“If I speak with the tongues of men and of
angels, but have not love [for others growing out of God’s love for me], then I
have become only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal [just an annoying
distraction].
And if I have the gift of prophecy [and speak a new message from God to the
people], and understand all mysteries, and [possess] all knowledge; and if I
have all [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have
love [reaching out to others], I am nothing. If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not
have love, it does me no good at all”
(1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
In Genesis we first see God’s
relationship with Adam, and then Adam’s relationship with Eve, which highlights
the two most important commandments “...Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor (those living beside you every
day) as thyself" (Luke 10:27).
Without true LOVE, you have
NOTHING!!
EXCERPT FROM THE CHAPTER
"ITS A RELATIONSHIP" FROM THE
"ITS A RELATIONSHIP" FROM THE
BOOK TRANSFORMING LOVE
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