Bob Josey - Thriving in Jesus  - Lesson 2 - Dimensions of  Relationship - Aug 28, 2021

Thriving in Jesus

2 – Dimensions of Relationship

Review

Last lesson we discussed the important ingredients in having in having a serious or intimate relationship with another believer in Jesus.  The ingredients that we discussed to be very important were: 

• Communication

• Trust 

• Respect 

• Supporting each other 

• Treating each other as equals 

We also discussed having a personal and intimate relationship with God should be on the top of our list of priorities. Having that intimate relationship with God includes fulfilling of the purposes for which He created us to include:  

• Evangelism and discipleship

• Representing Him as an Ambassador

• The use of our spiritual gifts for the edification of other believers

Today we will continue our series Thriving in Jesus by discussing the Dimensions of Relationship with God.    

Dimensions of Relationship

Today to focus on the Dimensions of Relationship that Pastor Stroud laid out in chapter 2, we will answer and discuss the questions on page 13 in Rightly Related concerning our relationship with Jesus. 

• Is He accessible and approachable, or does He seem distant and faraway? 

A relationship with the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe begins when one trusts in Jesus as Savior. The depth and intimacy that is reached in that relationship actually depends on the believer. Proverbs 8:17 gives us some insight into that.

17I love those who love me,

And those who seek me diligently will find me.

18Riches and honor are with me,

Enduring riches and righteousness.

19My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold,

The writer of Proverbs is saying that those who are committed to that personal relationship with God and one who seek Him diligently with a longing to know Him more intimately will find that intimate relationship for which they are seeking. Seeking for that personal relationship results in spiritual riches that are better than the physical riches of gold and silver. Remember that when we are born into the family of God, we were given every blessing in the spiritual ream, but these must be activated by faith.  

If a believer does not feel close to God as he or she once did, guess who moved? If a believer does not feel that intimacy with Jesus or had that feeling intimacy but it is no longer there, this can be attributed to several things.

1. Unconfessed sin 

Isaiah 59:1-2

1Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened,

That it cannot save;

Nor His ear heavy,

That it cannot hear.

2But your iniquities have separated you from your God;

And your sins have hidden His face from you,

So that He will not hear.

When a believer sins, fellowship with God is broken. Our prayers seem to just go any further than the ceiling and not to God. Has anyone ever experienced that? The remedy for the restoration of fellowship is found in 1John 1:9.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness

The word confession means to agree. When one sins, one has to tell God that he or she has committed a certain sin or sins. 

2. Trials/Discipline 

There are times in our lives as believers when God tests our obedience to Him. These times are considered trials. There are also times in our lives when God disciplines us for sinning. Everyone experiences them on different levels and of difficulty and time. During these times, we may not feel that close relationship with God. But we must always remember Romans 5:8 during these times. 

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

The verb is a present tense not a past verb. Every second of every day God demonstrates that He loves a believer and is committed to him or her. God demonstrates that by the fact that Jesus died on the cross for our sins so we could have a personal relationship with Him. Next time you are in a trial and do not feel that intimate relationship, look to the cross. These times of not feeling connected to God is why L.B.  Cowman wrote the devotional book Streams in the Desert. 

• Do you daily draw near to Jesus through prayer and Bible study? 

James 4:8 

Draw near to God and He will near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 

Did you notice what is required before you try to draw near to God? One must confess and repent of one’s sins. Repent means to change one’s mind or turn in the other direction, Repentance does not mean to be sorry. 

Serious prayer and Bible study to draw near to God is not a five or ten-minute exercise. Devotions are good and reading the Bible is good, but neither or those qualifies to be Bible study. How much time do you spend in pray and Bible study each day?

Two acronyms for prayer:

1. ACTS  

Adoration 

Confession

Thanksgiving

Supplication 

2. PRAY

Praise

Repent

Ask

Yield

• Does God talk to you, and do you talk to Him throughout the day? 

Do you talk to Him and does he talk to you throughout the day as you would you spouse or a friend? We have things happen during the day for which we should thank or praise Him. Do you have a custom of thanking or praising Him for something immediately after it occurs? Hebrews 13:15 says, Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 

Psalm 136:3 says, Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures

forever:

We know that King David praised the Lord because there are many praise Psalms that He wrote. He also he wrote many lament Psalms where he cried out to the Lord for help.

When things happen during the day for which you need guidance or help, do you ask the Father for guidance or help at the moment of need as Jesus did in Mark 14:36? 

 And He said, Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.

If you don’t, you should. Remember that the Holy Spirit indwells in us and that Jesus is our Advocate to the Father.  

There is a book intitled The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. Nicholas Herman of Lorraine, better known as Brother Lawrence, was born in 1611. He entered the Carmelite Order in Paris as a lay brother at the age of 55. He believed in speaking to God all day and night even at work in the kitchen. Some of his conversations and letters are found in this book.    

• Is He sharing His heart with you, and are you sharing yours with Him? 

This has to do with being honest and open to God about every aspect of your life. It’s about speaking to Him as you would a pastor or counselor. Share not only the good about your life but also the struggles. As you are open up to Him and share your heart with praises and needs, He will come back at you by means of the Holy Spirit in prayer, Bible study, rumination or Biblical meditation, through people, and/or through circumstances.  

• Does Jesus console your pain, empathize and sympathize with your suffering, bear your burdens, and care for you? 

All of us have had, now have, and will in the future have pain, suffering, and burdens

to bear. In Psalm 55:22 David wrote this: 

Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. 

And Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5:7, … casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

• Is He jealous for your affection, and does He discipline your sin? 

Exodus 20:4-5 - 4You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…

James 4:4-5 ... 4Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

Yes, and the result of His being jealous is at time discipline. Discipline is not for punishment but for correction. 

Hebrews 11:5 says, My son, do not despise chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

Hebrews 11:12 - Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Does anyone have a story about being disciplined by the LORD for disobedience? 

• Do you feel the presence of the Lord on a daily basis during different activities? Do you spend time with Him daily in Bible study and prayer? Do you feel His presence doing your time of Bible study and prayer? 

When you attend our connect group and/or the church worship service on Sunday morning, do you feel the presence of the Lord as you study and worship? When you are out and about during you daily lives to buy groceries, to visit children and grandchildren, to go to the beauty salon or the barber shop, to go to Home Depot, Lowes, or Ace Hardware, etc. do you feel the Lord is with you? As you study the Scriptures and pray, do you feel his presence when you talk to Him? Does He talk to you during prayer and Bible study?

• Are there times when you sense His admiration and approval and times when you sense His disapproval?

Does the Lord ever convey the thought to you that you that you have done well as a faithful servant in general or in specific activities in which you have been involved such as Wears Valley Ranch, Must Ministries, Hanukkah baskets to rabbis and staff members, witnessing, helping someone repair something in their home, providing funds for someone in need, etc.? 

Are there times when you sense His disapproval? Certainly, you should feel His presence of disapproval when you knowingly sin. Can anyone elaborate on that in your life? 

• Do you regularly express your appreciation to Him? 

In the Psalms we find 54 occurrences of the psalmist giving thanks to the Lord and 21 times in the New Testament. Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 the exhortation, …  in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Do you praise and thank God in your prayer time and throughout the day? Do you ever have a time to just praise and thank the LORD for who He is and what He had done for you and your family without asking for anything or telling Him your needs?  Try it sometimes and I think you will find it spiritually uplifting and exhilarating. 

• Is Jesus patiently, lovingly working all things together for your good? 

We know Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” 

We say that we believe what Paul said in Romans 8:28 but when trials, suffering, 

and difficulties come along, do we have a different view of that concept? We know that Jesus is patiently and lovingly are working out these things in our lives, but are we usually as patient and loving as He is during those times? The book of James and 1 Peter were written to the Jews in the diaspora who were suffering and facing many trials. In these two books, James and Peter give suggestions on how believers in Jesus should act and conduct themselves during trials and suffering. 

• You trust Him, but is He trusting you with His business?

Remember the parable about the nobleman in Luke 19 who left went out of the country on a trip. Before departing, he left each servant 10 drachmas apiece. Each drachma was equivalent to a day’s wages. He told them to do business with the drachmas while he was gone. When he returned, one man had doubled his coins. He will have authority over ten cities in the kingdom. The second man increased his coins by five. He will be given authority over five cities in the kingdom. The third man hid his because he was afraid of losing them. He took no risk. The nobleman was not happy with the last servant for taking no risk. When Jesus returns at the Rapture of the Chrich, will He find that you have used your spiritual gifts and material possessions in a way that will be pleasing to Him? 

• Are you transparent with Him, and is He illumining your mind and heart with His truth? 

This really goes back to prayer and Bible study. Do you really tell Him like it is? Do you ever withhold details about your life? Those intimate and maybe embarrassing details of your life to include successes and failures. Do you ever argue with God as David did in some of his Psalms that he wrote. David at times showed he was frightened, thankful, remorseful for sin, happy, utterly dependent on God. David even showed his anger at times. David was real with God, Are you?

Do seek God truth in Bible study? Does Bible study excite you, bore you, or can you just take it or leave. Without serious Bible study, God cannot illumine you mind to give you guidance on relevant issues in your life, answers to questions you have about life in general and circumstances, or to equip you with what is needed to use your spiritual gifts to edify the body of Christ and to glorify God.

How do you rate yourself in that area of the Christian life? 

Questions and Comments

Assignment for next class meeting

Read and study chapter 3 in Rightly Related, Getting Started.

Chapter revolves around beginning a relationship with the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens and the earth. You might be saying to yourself that you have had a personal relationship with Jesus for many years. Even though that may be the case, we are going to talk about some areas of beginning that relationship with Jesus that are not usually discussed.

First thing we will discuss is what exactly is the gospel that we share with others. The answer is found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8.

After we have discussed what the Gospel of Christ is, we are going to discuss the presenting the Gospel to others. We are going to discuss some of the popular ways the gospel is presented today in relation to Scripture. Please find scriptural references for following:

• Ask Jesus into your heart

• Give you heart to Jesus

• Give your life to Jesus

• Repent of your sins

• Trust in Jesus as your Savior

• Make Jesus your Lord and Savior

• Confess your sins 

• Believe in Jesus

• Turn from your sins