steps to restoring your relationship: god
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How to establish or re-establish a personal relationship with God.TRANSCRIPT
Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
2 Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
Copyright 2013 Mission Globe www.missionglobe.com
Introduction
I had an occasion to be around a particu-
lar youth group some years ago, and I
learned a lot of their idiomatic terms
and phrases. One abbreviation they
would always use was DTR. I found out
that was an abbreviation for “Defining
the Relationship” and that it generally
applied to a time when two friends of
the opposite gender sat down and had a
conversation to see what direction their
relationship was headed in.
Now that method didn’t work out to well
for that group. It led to a lot of confusion
and mess, but I use it to show a parallel.
We as Christians need to sometimes
take inventory of our relationship with
God and see where it is headed. Are we
just going to be acquaintances? are we
going to be good friends? or are we going
to have that special intimacy that God
created us to have with Him?
Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you
and learn of me …”
God didn’t save you from your sins just
to give you a wonderful life and take you
on to glory. That was a part of it, but it
wasn’t the entirety of it. God came to set
you free from the power and penalty of
sin so that you could have a personal –
intimate relationship with Him.
Isaiah 59:2 “ But your iniquities have
separated between you and your God,
and your sins have hid His face from
you, that He will not hear.”
You must realize that sin breaks your
relationship with God. God is of purer
eyes than to behold evil (ref. Habakkuk
1:13). He’s not going to just go along
with your wrong.
Therefore, while you were out in sin do-
ing what you wanted to do, God could
not have the intimate relationship with
you that He desired to have. That is the
reason He sent His Son into the world to
die on the cross that you might have ac-
cess to Him.
John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and
the life: no man cometh to the Father,
but by me…”
If we’re not careful we’ll miss the whole
point of Christianity in our attempt to
prove our spirituality. We’ll be so busy
Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
3 Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
Copyright 2013 Mission Globe www.missionglobe.com
with what we think we should be doing,
that we leave out the most important
part: that special connection, that one-
on-one, personal, intimate relationship
with our Heavenly Father.
Those early morning talks with Him,
those times you steal away on your
lunch break to spend a few moments
with Him, those nights where you stay
up conversing with Him late into the
night.
Intimacy with God. A close personal re-
lationship. Something between you and
Him that no one else is involved in. It’s
not for show, it’s not for public display,
it’s not to be shared with others in a cer-
tain way.
You should be growing closer to God as
you go along in your Christian experi-
ence. You should know Him better than
when you first started out. You should
be learning some things about Him eve-
ry day. You should be experiencing a
deeper, closer walk with Him.
This is the problem Jesus had with
those who said, “Lord, Lord have we not
prophesied in thy name, and in thy
name have cast out devils, and in thy
name done many wonderful
works” (Matthew 7:22), they did a lot of
works, but they didn’t have a certain in-
timate relationship with God; they did-
n’t do those things that God would have
them to do, because they never consult-
ed God about what He wanted them to
do.
Matthew 7:23 “And then I will profess to
them, I never knew you, depart from me
ye workers of iniquity.”
Was it necessarily because they were
committing the grossest sins or doing
the vilest things? Not necessarily. They
weren’t walking in tune and in step with
the Holy Ghost and that caused them to
lose out with God more so than anything
else.
How’s your relationship with God? You
must first see where you are and recog-
nize that your relationship isn’t where
you want it to be before you will admit
to needing help. The first step is to real-
ize you have a problem, to see your
need, and then determine to do some-
thing about it.
Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
4 Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
Copyright 2013 Mission Globe www.missionglobe.com
Isaiah 59:1-3 “Behold your iniquities
have separated between you and your
God and your sins have hid His face
from you, that He will not hear.”
1. Recognize your condition and your
need of God’s help.
John 8:21 “Ye shall die in your
sins: whither I go, ye cannot
come” (ref. John 14:2-3)
1 Kings 21:17-29 note verses 27-29
“When Ahab heard those words,
that he rent his clothes, and put
sackcloth upon his flesh, and fast-
ed, and lay in sackcloth, and went
softly.
Ahab humbled himself before God.
When he saw himself through the
eyes of God, when he realized his
condition before God, he got very
low and began to seek after God.
He changed his behavior. He was
affected greatly by what God had
pronounced against him and that
caused him to make some changes,
to humble himself and to seek
God’s favor.
No matter how far you are from
God right now He is waiting to re-
store you, He’s desiring to rescue
you, He wants you to return to
Him, so you can have that special
intimate relationship with Him
that you once had.
2 Chronicles 33:9-20 verses 12-13
“And when he was in affliction, he
besought the Lord his God, and
humbled himself greatly before the
God of his father’s, and prayed un-
to Him.
Unlike Ahab, Manasseh ignored
the words of the Lord when the
Lord tried to correct him, but
when God allowed certain afflic-
tions to come upon him then he be-
sought the Lord his God.
Sometimes God has to allow us to
go through some things, some-
times God has to allow certain
things to befall us in order that we
Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
5 Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
Copyright 2013 Mission Globe www.missionglobe.com
might seek Him in real way; that
we might humble ourselves before
Him and realize that He is God.
God wants to get your attention.
God wants you to stop and listen
to Him. God is trying to talk to
you, to show you yourself, to show
you your sins, your condition, your
fate if you don’t change your ways,
but you’re too busy with life, you’re
too busy with this thing and that
thing and other things and you
like Manasseh will not hearken.
God gets no delight out of your go-
ing through, He doesn’t want to
have to plague you as He did Phar-
aoh but He’ll do whatever He can
to get your attention because He is
merciful.
People when going through diffi-
cult times or circumstances often
ask, why would a loving God allow
people to suffer? So they will re-
pent, so they will change, so they
will hearken unto His voice before
it be everlasting too late.
There are many terrible things you
may suffer down here; most of
which you bring on yourself, but it
is nothing compared with what
you will suffer in eternity if we
don’t repent and turn to God.
We notice in both of these cases it
was God who acted first to show
these wicked men the error of their
ways. God must give you repent-
ance.
2 Timothy 2:25 “…God peradven-
ture would give them repentance
to the acknowledging of the truth.”
Hebrews 12:17 “He found no place
of repentance, though he sought it
carefully with tears.”
Jesus confirms this in the book of
John.
John 6:37 “All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me; and
him that cometh to me I will in no
wise cast out.”
John 6:44 “No man can come to
me, except the Father which hath
sent me draw him.”
Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
6 Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
Copyright 2013 Mission Globe www.missionglobe.com
John 6:65 “No man can come to
me, except it were given unto him
of my Father.”
God must reveal His Son unto you.
Not intellectually, not by your lit-
eral eyes seeing Him, but by your
spiritual eyes being enlightened.
Not by the word of man, not by a
form of religious worship, but by
the word of God being revealed un-
to you spiritually.
John 6:63 “It is the Spirit that
quickeneth; the flesh profiteth
nothing: the words I speak unto
you, they are spirit, and they are
life.
Romans 10:17 “Faith cometh by
hearing and hearing by the word
of God.”
You are saved by faith, you are
made alive by faith, but what hap-
pens is the word of God inspires
your faith, inspires you to believe
in God in a real way so that you
realize and acknowledge the truth.
You must realize that you have
crossed God’s word, that you are
outside of God’s will, that you are
guilty before God and that you
must repent or change your mind
about what you have been involv-
ing yourself in, change your mind
and your heart about your former
actions and turn from them with-
out reserve and turn to God be-
cause you realize only He can help
you, only He can change you, and
that He loves you and wants to
make you acceptable in His sight.
There therefore must also be the
realization that you were made by
God, for His pleasure, to do His
will, and that He has given His
Son to die on the cross that you
can return to Him and “serve Him
acceptably with reverence and
Godly fear” (Hebrews 12:28).
Colossians 1:16 “All things were
created by Him and for Him.”
Luke 1:74-75 “That He would
grant us, that we, being delivered
out of the hand of our enemies,
might serve Him without fear, in
holiness and righteousness before
Him, all the days of our life.”
Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
7 Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
Copyright 2013 Mission Globe www.missionglobe.com
2. Stop doing the things you know
are offensive to God.
Matthew 3:7-9 “Bring forth there-
fore fruits meet for repentance:
And think not to say within your-
selves, we have Abraham to our fa-
ther…”
There are some things you must
bring to the bargaining table. You
can’t just come empty in that
sense, you must bring your sins
with you, you can’t still have and
desire to continue on in sin and yet
get saved. You’ve got to come with
the mind to stop sinning once and
for good.
Psalms 66:18 “If I regard iniquity
in my heart, the Lord will not hear
me.”
Your sins are what has separated
you from God, how then can you
get back to God without first put-
ting away your sins?
You can’t free yourself from the
bondage of sin, but you can change
your mind about the sin you’re in-
volved in.
You must desire to be free of it
with all within you. Then God can
help you get freed up from it. So
part of the equation is to bring a
different mindset about the sin
you’re involved in. A desire to be
free from sin.
What are the fruits meet for re-
pentance?
Meet means apt or suitable.
So these fruits are suitable, some-
thing that fits in with the act of re-
pentance.
Psalms 51:17 “The sacrifices of
God are a broken spirit: a broken
Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
8 Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
Copyright 2013 Mission Globe www.missionglobe.com
and contrite heart, O God, thou
wilt not despise.”
You must be truly broken before
God, not only tired of sin, but real-
izing you’ve sinned against God,
you’ve been unfaithful to God in
much the same manner as a
spouse that would go out and com-
mit adultery. You’ve hurt the
heart of God, you’ve broken the re-
lationship, you’ve severed the con-
nection.
Now you want to repair it, but you
can’t just come strolling in like it is
nothing, say I’m sorry and go on
about your business.
God loves you more than a spouse
loves, God has done more for you
than anyone in your life has done.
Your very existence is only by the
love and mercy of an almighty God
and do you presume on that mer-
cy? Do you embolden yourself
against the God of the universe?
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now let us rea-
son together, saith the Lord.”
Realize into whose presence you’re
coming. God wants you to come,
He wants you to return to Him,
but you must come with a right at-
titude; humble, broken, ready to
give up sin and serve God.
Contrite means caused by or show-
ing sincere remorse.
Be real with God, be truly broken
up, truly regret that you ever did
what you did. Wish from the bot-
tom of your heart you never in-
volved yourself in the sins you
committed. Realize that no matter
what momentary thrill it brought
it is not worth your relationship
with God. Its nothing compared to
being right with God.
Salvation is the best thing mortal
man has ever found. There is noth-
ing that compares to being deliv-
ered from sin and all the evil de-
vices of the devil.
Until you’ve been truly delivered
from all sin you can’t know what
its like to be truly happy and joy-
ous within.
Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
9 Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
Copyright 2013 Mission Globe www.missionglobe.com
3. Count the cost.
Luke 14:26-30 “For which of you,
intending to build a tower, sitteth
not down first, and counteth the
cost, whether he have sufficient to
finish it.
Is there anything in your heart of
your life that you’re not able to
give up for this blessed salvation?
Is there anything, whether sinful
or not that will rival your affection
for God?
Jesus told the people here, don’t
even start this journey if you don’t
intend to finish it.
Don’t bring me your sins today and
then take them back later on.
Don’t come all weeping and casting
yourself down if you know in the
back of your mind you’re going
right back out and do the same
thing over.
This is where you empty yourself,
this is where you give up all re-
sistance. Settle it, you’re going all
the way with this thing no matter
what the enemy of your soul might
come with, no matter what you
have to go through, no matter
what you have to give up, no mat-
ter who stands with you or against
you.
You might have to tell some people
that are very dear to you that your
relationship with God means more
to you than anything else in life;
that you’re not turning your back
on God. This is a conscious deci-
sion and it is a critical step in truly
restoring and maintaining your re-
lationship with God.
For you will suffer persecution if
you determine to be saved and go
with God.
Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
10 Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
Copyright 2013 Mission Globe www.missionglobe.com
2 Timothy 3:12 “…all that will live
godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution.”
You’re going to go through some
things but you must make a choice
as did Moses.
Hebrews 11:24-27 “By faith Mo-
ses… refused to be called the son
of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing
rather to suffer affliction with the
people of God, than to enjoy the
pleasures of sin for a season; Es-
teeming the reproaches of Christ
greater riches that the treasures of
Egypt: For he had respect unto the
recompense of the reward.”
Moses could have had a great in-
heritance in Egypt if he had went
along with the enemies plan, but
instead he joined himself with the
oppressed people of God, spurning
the king and all his authority and
power that he might rather serve
God.
You must come to a decision – to
serve sin and enjoy those fleeting
pleasures for a moment, or to serve
God and have true joy now and a
great reward in heaven.
Now let’s look at some facts that
might help you in your decision
making process.
Ecclesiasties 11:9 “Rejoice O young
man in your youth; and let thy
heart cheer thee in the days of thy
youth, and walk in the ways of
thine heart, and in the sight of
thine eyes, but know thou, that for
all these things God will bring
thee into judgment. Therefore re-
move sorrow from thy heart, and
put away evil from thy flesh: for
childhood and youth are vanity.”
The preacher here gives two op-
tions. Either go in the way of your
flesh, your heart, and your eyes
and do what feels good for the mo-
ment or put those things away
from you with the sorrows they
bring and serve God.
Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
11 Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
Copyright 2013 Mission Globe www.missionglobe.com
Romans 6:22-23 “Being now made
free from sin, and become servants
to God, ye have fruit unto holiness,
and the end everlasting life. For
the wages of sin is death: but the
gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord.”
You can be made free from sin and
be holy and inherit eternal life or
you can continue to sin and die
spiritually, tear down your body,
heart, mind and reputation natu-
rally, then die and have your soul
suffer eternal separation from
God.
Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
12 Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
Copyright 2013 Mission Globe www.missionglobe.com
4. Put yourself in position to be helped.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto me
all ye that labor and are heavy lad-
en, and I will give you rest.”
Now that you’ve made a decision.
Now that you’re ready to make a
move for God in truth; you must
come to Jesus, you must make a
move to free yourself from the
bondage of sin.
I don’t know your situation. I don’t
know if you’ll have to get in your
car and drive some miles down the
road until you find a place where
the Spirit of God is yet working in
the midst. I don’t know if you’ll
have to make a phone call and get
someone who can give you some
help in a real way.
I don’t know if you’ll have to bow
where you are and pour out your
heart to God in a real way.
Proverbs 28:13 “He that covereth
his sins shall not prosper: but who-
so confesseth and forsaketh them
shall have mercy.”
Isaiah 55:7 “Let the wicked for-
sake his way and the unrighteous
man his thoughts: and let him re-
turn unto the Lord, and He will
have mercy upon him; and to our
God, for He will abundantly par-
don.
Luke 11:5-10 “And I say unto you,
ask, it shall be given you; seek,
and ye shall find, knock, and it
shall be opened unto you. For eve-
ryone that asketh receiveth; and
he that seeketh findeth; and to
him that knocketh it shall be
opened.
If you desire to be right, if you’ve
ready to forsake your sins, if you’re
ready to make a confession to God
to admit to Him what you did was
rwong, what you did was against
Him, then God has promised to
Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
13 Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God
Copyright 2013 Mission Globe www.missionglobe.com
hear and help you. God has as-
sured you He will hear and help
you.
John 6:37 “All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me, and
him that cometh to me I will in no
wise cast out.”
Come to Jesus, don’t let the enemy
tell you you’re going to be cast out.
Come to Jesus, let God bless your
heart, let God change your life.”
Realize the value of your soul, re-
alize the power of God is the only
cure for sin. Realize the im-
portance of acting in tune and in
step with the moving of God’s Spir-
it.
2 Corinthians 6:2 “Now is the ac-
cepted time; behold now is the day
of salvation.”
Don’t put off, don’t delay your new
life with God begins today.