Getting To Know God

Posted by Brance on March 20th, 2005 filed in Relationships

Part 2 of the series "Relationships, God’s Way"

Our most important relationship is with God. All our other relationships should be based on, and patterned after, our relationship with Him. In our last lesson we learned what a relationship is. And we learned how to start a relationship with God. Today we’re going to build on that by learning what kind of relationship we have with God, and how to develop it. Our definition for "relationship" started with:

A connection, association, or involvement

So just what is our association with God? What kind of relationship is this? Our relationship with God is very complex. The Bible describes it in many different ways.

Sinner to Savior

Our relationship is that of sinners to our Savior. We detailed this in the last lesson.

Children to Father

Our relationship is that of children to our Father. Next week we will be studying the relationship between parents and children. We will see how our relationship with our parents reflects the relationship we have with our heavenly Father.

Siblings to Christ

We are brothers and sisters to Christ, and also to each other. In upcoming lessons we will discuss our relationships with our siblings, and our church family. Once again we will see that our relationship to God is foundational to all our other relationships.

Bride to Bridegroom

The NT repeatedly teaches that Jesus and the church share the relationship of bridegroom (Christ) and bride (church). The last two lessons in this series will focus on dating and romantic relationships. Even here, our model, our standard, is set by Christ.

Friend to Friend

Becoming God’s friend is something so special that only Abraham is ever referred to as God’s friend. It should be a goal for us to strive for.

Our relationship with God is so profound, so complex, so interesting and exciting, that it cannot be described by simply comparing it to one type of human relationship. Rather, all our human relationships should be compared to our relationship with God.

As complex as the relationship is, it is also quite simple. There are some very simple, very real, ways that we can relate to God. These are things we can do, no MUST do, to become involved with God.

So just what are these activities that involve us with God?

• Prayer

• Worship

• Bible reading

• Bible memorization

• Meditation

• Obeying Him

Ok, you’ve heard all this before. But now it’s time to get real. How much do we do any of these things?

Ok, let’s take a personal inventory of our spiritual lives and see where we are. Here are a few questions. Answer these honestly. You don’t have to share your answers with anyone. This is just for your own examination.

• Have I been reading my Bible daily?

• The last scripture that I memorized was?

• Do I meditate on God’s Word?

• Am I spending quality time alone with God?

• When was the last time I really heard God speak to me?

• What sin do I struggle with the most, have I made an effort to break from it?

• How have I grown closer to God in the last month?

• What areas do I need to grow in?

• What will I do to grow in those areas?

• Am I willing to let someone hold me accountable to my growth?

Biblical Example - David, a man after God’s own heart

Our Biblical example this week is David. David was a shepherd and musician who later became king. The first thing we are told about David comes before we even know his name. Saul was the first king of Israel. He disobeyed a direct command from God. When this happened, Samuel, who was God’s prophet at the time, said this to Saul.

As Samuel seeks to find the person God has chosen to be king, the Lord says this to him:

From these two verses we can see how incredibly important the heart is. We know our heart, the organ that pumps blood to the entire body, is important, but that’s not what is meant here. In this context the heart is referring to a person’s innermost self, the central part of who you are, your character, feelings, and inclinations. David’s heart was similar to God’s own. Since the heart is the innermost part of you being and the center of your emotions, it will be discussed often during this series, especially in the last two lessons dealing with romantic/dating relationships.

The scriptures speak of the heart often. It is the heart that determines a persons words, thoughts, and actions. The heart can be wise and pure, or deceitful and perverse. Therefore the condition of one’s heart is very important. So how did David manage to keep his heart in tune with God’s own? While we don’t have time here to do a complete biography of David’s life, we can take a peek into his journal so to speak. David wrote a great many of the Psalms and they give us wonderful insight into his thoughts. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Here we see David involved in worshiping and praising the Lord.

Here David is taking joy in God’s Word.

Here David speaks of meditation being pleasing to God.

When speaking of the "law of God" a Hebrew usually is referring to the scripture. The first part of the Old Testament consists of five books of law. Here David is saying that the scripture is in the heart of a righteous man. I would take this to mean he had memorized it. David goes on to say that because God’s law was in his heart, it kept him from sinning. There are many places in scripture that speak of preventing sin by keeping God’s Word in your heart.

David was not perfect. He did sin. Here we see him praying for God to cleanse his heart.

Here David relates a desire to obey God by walking in God’s truth.

The Psalms are a great place to turn for inspiration. This man whose heart was close to God’s wrote many of them. By reading, memorizing, and meditating on them we can draw closer to God ourselves.