4 Keys To Being A Christian

This key is for my car, this one my house, the church, my mailbox at school, and these two I don’t know. Keys, we all have them. Keys unlock doors, treasure chests, diaries and much more. In the Christian life God gives us keys, keys that will open doors to bring us closer to Him

There are four keys to having a strong and growing relationship with God. I am not going to tell you the answer to life this morning or give you a four step program on how to have a perfect life. But I am going to tell you about four amazing things that if you do them and try really hard to follow them on a daily basis your life will improve and you will feel so much closer to God.

I was in New York City March of 2005. I was there for a week serving homeless people and helping in a shelter and training center for men. One day while doing street ministry my life was changed. We had been wondering around a park telling people about our faith and our God. I was terrified. I love to talk, but I hate talking to strangers. This was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. We were getting ready to leave and Zach, one of the other team members and I decided to go and talk to a few more people. We started talking to this one man, he told us about his life and how he wished he had a more real relationship with God. He wanted to know how to be closer to Him, and he did not know how. I told him that I felt the same way, and the way that I became closer to God was by talking to Him. I told him that communication was key in any relationship and that by talking with God we would become closer to Him. The man started walking away and tuned to us and said that all day he had been needing to hear something, and then he said that what I told him was it.

I don’t know if that man ever used my advice, but I do know that I did. After that day I realized the importance of talking to God. The first key is communication.

Ephesians 6:18 tells us 18 Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.

God is my best friend, and He wants to hear everything. No matter how small it may seem to anyone else, God will care about it, and He wants to hear about it. I know that no matter what is going on in my life or how badly I have messed up God will listen and He wants me to tell Him.

People always wonder why we need to tell God everything, if He already knows what we are going to say. So I have an answer for that question. I want you to all think of the person that you are the closest to, the person that you know everything about. This person that you love so much has just found out some amazing news. You find out about this news from another person, you know the news now. Your loved one comes to you and tells you their big news and you celebrate with them and tell them how happy you are. Now think about that. You would not have told them when they came to you, “oh I am sorry I already know your news you don’t need to tell me yourself.” No, you wait and let them tell you, because you love them and you want them to share it with you. And no matter what the news is you want them to share it with you because you love them. That is how God is. No matter what the news is, He wants to hear it. He wants to celebrate with you or cry with you or just be there with you when you hit a rough spot.

The second key is love. I just finished my freshmen year in college and the last three months of my school year I lived by a statement C.S Lewis said, this great author put the definition of love best. He said, “Love is unselfishly choosing for another’s highest good.” If you have been in any kind of relationship, from being a parent, friend, spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend you know that this is true. When you love someone so much that you are willing to put them ahead of yourself that is true essence of love. Parent’s make sacrifices so their children can have better lives then they did, spouses pick up and move with their other when a job opportunity arises, true friends drop what they are doing to come and let you cry on their shoulder.