Bob Josey - Thriving in Jesus - Part  1 - Aug 15, 2021

Thriving in Jesus

1 - Relationship

Review

At our last meeting we laid a foundation for our new series Thriving in Jesus. We learned two important concepts. The first one was justification. Justification is a judicial work of the Father in which He declares righteous any individual who trusts in Jesus as their Savior. It is like the birth of a child in that it is a one-time event that will not be repeated. Once a sinner is declared righteous by their faith in Jesus, nothing can be added to it or subtracted from it. 

The second important concept we discussed is progressive sanctification. The word sanctification means the word sanctification means “to be holy, to become separate, or to be set apart.”  Whereas justification can be compared to a child being born, sanctification can be compared to the growth of a child after birth until adulthood. After a child is born into God’s family by trusting in Jesus, the new child of God should begin to grow spiritually. This spiritual growth is called progressive sanctification. It like a progressive dinner; it happens in stages. A child grows in stages. A believer should grow in stages. As believer begins to grow in stages, they become more and more set apart to God and more set apart from sin. Justification is a one-time act of God but progressive sanctification is a continual process just like the growth of a child. 

Another word that is synonymous to sanctification is transformation. To be transformed means to change. Transformation like sanctification is a process not a onetime event like being born. A baby is transformed into an adult. We call this maturity. In nature it is called metamorphosis. A tadpole is transformed or changed into a frog and a caterpillar transformed or changed into a butterfly.  In the spiritual realm a new born babe in Christ should begin a lifelong process of transformation into a mature Christian. 

As we continue in this series, we will discuss how to practically how to be transformed and how to set apart to God and from sin in our daily lives.  Today we are going to discuss the importance and relevancy of relationships in our daily lives.

Relationships 

We all have relationships with people. When we are born, we usually begin a life-long relationship with parents or a parent. Then over the years as we get older, we begin relationships with other children in school and in one’s neighborhood, relatives, teachers, neighbors, doctors, dentists, those of the opposite sex, co-workers, bosses, spouses, in-laws, children, grandchildren, etc. Each of these relationships are of a different kind and on different levels. 

The concept of relationship can be defined as a way in which two or more people, groups, countries, etc., talk to, behave toward each other, and deal with each other, and or the way in which two or more people or things are connected.

We learn as we read the Bible that most families and were dysfunctional and many relationships were difficult. Think about the bad relationships between Cain and Able, Sarah, Hagar, and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his 11 brothers, David and Saul, David and Absolum, etc. We also can think of nations in the Bible that did not have a good relationship with each other. We could go on and on through Acts 28. We know, however, there a few good relationships. We think of Jonathan and David, Ruth and Boaz, Elizebeth and Zacharias, Mary and Joseph, etc.

Today it is no different. There are people, groups, and nations that do not get along. But as each of us know so well, relationships with some people at different times can be very difficult and sometimes heart wrenching and with others at other times can be sweet and rewarding. We not only know this from life experiences, but we see this playout in the lives of others almost on a daily basis. 

It is interesting that under the Law of Moses there were guidelines for relationships among different groups of people to include personal enemies and even to include nations. And now in the New Testament there are guidelines for relationships among different groups of people. The New Testament has guidelines concerning how spouses are to treat and relate to one another, It has guidelines on the way parents are supposed to treat their children and the way children are supposed to treat parents. There are guidelines on how believers are to treat one another and how believers are to treat unbelievers and even their enemies. 

An intimate and personal relationship can also be called fellowship. How can we affectively maintain an intimate and personal relationships with fellow believers in the body of Christ? 

• Communication – How many times have you heard the cliché “communication is key?” But here’s the thing – it’s a cliché for a reason. Good communication is one of the most important aspects to having a healthy relationship. Sometimes this means being honest, open, and having uncomfortable conversations, but if you’re in a healthy relationship they will be receptive and listen (and you should do the same).

• Trust – This one is right up there with communication in importance.  All Meaningful and intimate relationships require mutual and unguarded trust between believers.

• Respect – Listening to the other person (like actually listening, not just waiting to speak) and trying to understand their perspective is a key way to show respect in your relationship. All healthy relationships require mutual and unguarded trust between believers.

• Support - One of the best things about being in a meaningful relationship is having a supportive partner who you know has your back. Whether it’s sticking up for you when someone says something negative about you, or always being that rock you can rely on. In a healthy relationship you and your partner will support each other and treat each other as equals.

• Treat each other as equals – No one in a relationship should view himself or herself as superior to the other person.  In Philippians 2:3-4 Paul wrote, 

          3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in           

          lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each 

          of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of   

          others.

Questions and Comments

Relationship with God

Even though relationships between people and groups of people are very important because they impact our daily lives, there is another important relationship that we must also acknowledge and deal with on a daily basis. That relationship is with the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens and the earth. 

After creating the heavens, the earth, aquatic life, flying creatures, vegetation, and animals, God created man, male and female. God first made Adam. God created him outside of the Garden of Eden and then placed him there as we see in Genesis 2:15. 

15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 

In verses 18-20 we find Adam giving names to all land animals and flying creatures. God then created Eve from Adam to be his helper companion. Adam and Eve had an intimate relationship with themselves and with God. In Genesis 1:28 we find one the purposes for creating Adam and Eve.   

28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Adam and Eve were not only to serve God in the Garden but to have an intimate relationship with Him. They were to have daily fellowship with God. But they were also to be physically fruitful with offspring fill the earth and also to subdue the entire earth. They were to do more than cultivate the garden. It clear that the Garden of Eden was just a small part in the Eastern part of the earth. Adam and Eve’s job in together in tandem was to be God’s representatives to spread God’s name to make the world like the Garden. Of course, God could have done this Himself, but He chose to create human to do it for Him. They were to do this by multiplying and following God’s direction. Eden is where the idea of the kingdom of God begins. And it’s no coincidence that the Bible ends with the vision of a new Edenic Earth (Rev 21–22). We will see several in between the Garden of Eden and the new Edenic earth. 

We know from Genesis 3 that when Adam and Eve disobeyed God everything changed. The intimacy and the fellowship were no longer there. They were cast out of the Garden where the sanctuary of God was into the world. Subduing the earth and having authority over the animal kingdom was no longer on their “to do list.” They were now in survival mode. 

After the Tower of Babel incident, God scattered mankind with different languages throughout the earth. Then we come to Genesis 12 where God choose one man, Abraham, to begin a new line of people, Isarel who was to be a light to the nations and His representatives on the earth until the Messiah came. From this nation, the Messiah, the second Adam would be born to rule and reign on the earth and do what Adam did not do i.e., subdue the earth and be God representatives to the nations. In the capital of this new nation, God would dwell with Isarel in a Temple built by King Solomon. Then the Messiah came and was rejected by Isarel. Israel was scattered around the world. Since Isarel did not want to be a light to the nations and to be obedient to the Torah, God raised up the church to be His representatives. There would not be a single location for a Temple where God would dwell. God would indwell each person who placed their trust in Jesus the Messiah. Each person would be a Temple of the Holy Spirit.  

As we move through the study of Thriving in Jesus, I want not only to emphasize how to deepen our relationship with Jesus so we can thrive but to intertwine the importance of our purpose for being born. We were not just created to have fellowship with God but also created for a purpose. 

Adam and Eve were to multiply physically, subdue the earth, and be God’s representatives. They failed. Isarel was to be a light to the nations and God representatives. They failed. Jesus the Messiah also gave the church marching orders in Matthew 28:18-20.  

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Jesus 2000 years ago gave the church their marching orders and gave the authority by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to implement these marching orders – evangelism and discipleship. We are to multiply ourselves spiritually. Have we completed these marking orders. Since the word translated nations is ethnos and means people groups not nations then the answer is no. We have failed as well. Look at it this way how many here today have never built a relationship with some of you neighbors in order to share the gospel with them. Forget about reaching people groups in the far corners of the word. We have not even tried to reach our neighbors, coworkers, and friends with the gospel. 

We know that there is not a lot of time for the church to be on the earth to make a difference. How do we know this?  Isarel is back in the land. The seven years of Tribulation grows closer every day. When it comes, God will purge the earth unbelievers and get Isarel for the Messianic Kingdom. During this Kingdom age, the Messiah, the second Adam, will do what the first Adam, Israel, and the church refused to do – to be God’s righteousness representative on the earth.  The conditions will be like a world-wide Garden of Eden. 

Joel Stroud make it abundantly clear in chapter one that to have a personal relationship with Jesus, the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens and the earth, we must trust in Him and Him alone for forgiveness of sin. The first step is justification when God declares a sinner to be righteous because we have trusted in Jesus as our Savior and are placed in Jesus. There are no works involved. 

After the initial stage of justification comes sanctification. This relationship with God should be intimate and growing. It’s one thing to know about a person; it’s quite another to know someone intimately. We all know about Abaham Lincoln, but none of us knew him personally or intimately. Christianity is about know God intimately not about saying we believe in God. 

Jesus did not come to the earth just to have an intimate relationship with the Father. He had that before He came. He did continue that intimate relationship with the Father each day, but He also knew He came with a purpose from the Father. He was to represent the Father, teach men truth verses tradition and error, and went to the cross to die for sins of man.   As we work through this series of Thriving in Jesus, please remember that that we need to strive daily to have an intimate relationship with Jesus and that we too have our marching orders Paul summed it up like this. “Walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;” (Colossians 1:10) 

Several times in John 15 about the vine and branches Jesus commands believers to abide in Him which means remain in fellowship with Him. Abiding or remaining in Him means we have an intimate relationship with Him. 

Questions

1. Can we personally really have an intimate relationship with Jesus without fulfilling our divine purpose for being created? What are some of the reasons for a believer not having an intimate relationship with Jesus. Luke 8:14. 

Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit (that leads) to maturity. 

Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 even give an overriding reason.

 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men.  

2. I mentioned that evangelism and discipleship was part of our individual purpose for being placed on this earth. So, then, could each of us consider ourselves God’s representative on the earth? What might be another appropriate term? (Ambassador) 2 Corinthians 5:20a

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; 

3. Can you think of anything else besides evangelism and discipleship that the body of Christ should be involved in? (1 Corinthians 12:7 gives us this answer.) 

But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

The spiritual gifts are for the edification or building up of believers. Are you using your spiritual gift or gifts to their full potential? If not, why not? What might be some of the reasons believers do use their spiritual gifts to their full potential. 

Next week we are going to discuss chapter 2 of Rightly Related - The Dimensions of Relationship.  Please read and study chapter 2 and ruminate over it.! 

Questions or Comments?