A relationship with God is important for us who have been chosen by God in this age to be involved in the preaching of the gospel to the world as a witness, prior to the return of Jesus Christ, as we read in Mathew 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” We are also admonished to grow in Christ’s grace and His knowledge which helps us get close to God the Father. 2 Peter 3:18 says: “… grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.”
The key element for developing a close relationship with God is ODEDIENCE, which almost seems like a dirty word to some people.
How important is obedience? Acts 5:32 quotes the words of Peter in this way: “And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom [better: which] God has given to those who obey Him.”
Failure to obey can prevent one from even being properly baptized and receiving the Holy Spirit. And if they received it, they could lose it again if they consistently resist repenting and obeying God. We must constantly use the Holy Spirit by using the tools God has given us, which are prayer, Bible study, meditation and occasional fasting. Otherwise, we might dim or quench the Holy Spirit. We can even witness this by observing how fast biblical knowledge leaves a person when they leave the Church and/or neglect to use the tools provided for us by God. If or when in their presence, you sense that something is wrong.
To keep a fire burning, it needs constant fuel. Once the fuel is stopped, the fire diminishes in heat and size and eventually, it is reduced to glowing coals. If more wood is thrown on the coals, the fire will reignite and burn bright again. If the coals are left without fuel or wood, they diminish in size, but are still able to reignite, but once it gets down to one spark and keeps fading away, there is nothing you can do to revive the fire.
2 Peter 2:19-26 warns us in this regard:
“While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A DOG RETURNS TO HIS OWN VOMIT,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’”
Refusing to obey has the consequence of possibly losing the Holy Spirit which puts one in the unpardonable sin category.
Hebrews 10:26 says: “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins…”
There is no coming back from this state. It’s the state that Satan is in. He cannot repent because he will not repent. His mind is so corrupted because of sin that it is impossible for him to repent and thus, he now hates God, the ONE he once loved and obeyed.
It is a sad state of affairs one can find oneself in by refusing to obey, so obeying is a key factor in our relationship with God. In this context, prayer is also important. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 admonishes us to “pray without ceasing.” In other words, do not ever give up on prayer; because when we pray, we communicate with our Creator.
Philippians 4:6 says: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”
By supplication and prayer, we put our requests before God. We have many examples of Christ praying to God the Father, and we know He was definitely close to God; and God was pleased with Christ’s conduct and ways, as we read in Luke 3:22: “And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, ‘You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.’” In addition, we read in Matthew 17:5: “While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’”
The admonition on how to pray is also provided in Scripture. Christ instructs us in Mathew 6:9-13: “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
These are the things we ought to pray about, and the key admonition is to pray “IN THIS MANNER,” as it is an outline which should guide us when we pray.
When we pray, we show obedience. Obedience demonstrates our love for God, and that God’s love is in us. 1 John 5::2-3 says: “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”
The commandments are not nor should they be a burden but rather a blessing when we keep them.
How is the love of God demonstrated? By keeping the Ten Commandments. While the last six commandments demonstrate our love towards our fellow man, the first four commandments show us how to love God. Let us now, in the context of this Q&A, concentrate on the first four commandments.
Exodus 20:2-3 quotes God as saying: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.”
It’s important that we put God in first place in our lives and not replace Him with other gods or idols or worthless objects or things. God is the Eternal God, the Creator of all things through His Son Jesus Christ, as Colossians 1:13-16 tells us: “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”
We are to worship the Father. Be cognizant that God the Father is also the God of Christ, as Christ confirmed in John 20:17: “Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.”’” But we are to pray to the Father in the name and with the authority of Jesus Christ, our Mediator.
Exodus 20:4-6 continues: “You 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; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”
We are not to bow down to any idols, be they statues in a church building, statues of Budha or symbols of fish or land animals. People can also make idols of people like rock stars, politicians, actors, husbands or wives, jobs and positions or anything that takes our eyes and attention off the One true God.
Exodus 20:7 says: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”
Taking God’s name in vain includes vain repetitions like using beads or rosaries or euphemisms, like “gee” or “gosh.” It also includes cursing as you hear so much in movies and work sites today.
Exodus 20:8-11 continues: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”
God says to remember, and most people forget. The Sabbath is part of the re-creation week. It was created by God for man to rest. By extension, this also includes the annual Sabbaths outlined in Leviticus 23:1-7 and Deuteronomy 16:1-17. These Festivals outline the plan of God from repentance to redemption, showing that eventually every human being ever born will be offered the opportunity to become a member of the Family of God.
The weekly Sabbath is blessed and hallowed by the fact that God puts His presence in the day— but not in any other day, be it Sunday, Friday or any other weekday. Matthew 12:8 quotes Christ as saying: “For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” As Creator of the Sabbath, He is also Lord of the Sabbath and has the authority to instruct us how to keep it.
Further, Exodus 31:13-17 says: “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.'”
The Sabbath—the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days—are a sign between us and God. They point to the One and true God of Creation—the most high God. They are a perpetual covenant between God and His people, members of God’s Church called in this age.
Bible study is the reading and study of the Bible which holds truths about the creation of the universe and man—including a history of the patriarchs, of the nation of Israel from its slavery in Egypt to becoming a nation and down through the prophets to the time of Christ. It includes the record of the life and history of Christ up to His crucifixion and resurrection, as well as the history of the Church established on Pentecost; the life of Paul; the books of the followers and brothers of Christ up to the book of Revelation, giving us a history of the seven churches down through the ages and prophetic events leading up to the return of Christ. It is crucial to study biblical history, the Psalms and admonitions of the authors of the many books of the Bible. In this context, what is the admonition to us? 1 Peter 3:15 says: “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear…”
In order to give a defense of the hope that lies within us, we have to have knowledge and understanding of the Bible, which we attain through studying it.
Meditation is also important, which means thinking about and analyzing what we have read in the Bible. So the more we meditate on God’s Word, the more it will stay in our mind and it is thus easier to recall when required by someone who asks about our beliefs.
Fasting is the one way of developing a strong relationship with God that not everyone is eager to do. This tool was used by Christ for forty days and forty nights prior to the start of His ministry (Matthew 4:1-2), so the example is to use it prior to major decisions or challenges in our lives. Combined with prayer, Bible study and mediation, it is a powerful tool in our arsenal for drawing closer to God.
Our ultimate goal is to qualify to enter the Kingdom of God as His sons and daughters and inherit life that never ends—a life of productivity, joy and fulfillment. Drawing close to God and developing a strong relationship with Him is an important aspect of attaining that goal, since all of us want to hear this praise from our Savior Jesus Christ at His return: “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord’” (Matthew 25:23).
Lead Writer: Rene Messier
