"RELATIONSHIP..RELATIONSHIP...RELATIONSHIP"
Illus.
When the 1960s ended, San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district reverted to high rent, and many hippies moved down the coast to Santa Cruz. They had children and got married, too, though in no particular sequence. But they didn’t name their children Melissa or Brett. People in the mountains around Santa Cruz grew accustomed to their children playing Frisbee with little Time Warp or Spring Fever. And eventually Moonbeam, Earth, Love and Precious Promise all ended up in public school. That’s when the kindergarten teachers first met Fruit Stand. Every fall, according to tradition, parents bravely apply name tags to their children, kiss them good-bye and send them off to school on the bus. So it was for Fruit Stand. The teachers thought the boy’s name was odd, but they tried to make the best of it.
"Would you like to play with the blocks, Fruit Stand?" they offered. And later, "Fruit Stand, how about a snack?" He accepted hesitantly. By the end of the day, his name didn’t seem much odder than Heather’s or Sun Ray’s. At dismissal time, the teachers led the children out to the buses. "Fruit Stand, do you know which one is your bus?" He didn’t answer. That wasn’t strange. He hadn’t answered them all day. Lots of children are shy on the first day of school. It didn’t matter. The teachers had instructed the parents to write the names of their children’s bus stops on the reverse side of their name tags. The teacher simply turned over the tag. There, neatly printed, was the word "Anthony."
SOURCE: Luanne Oleas in Salinas, Calif., Reader’s Digest.
Sometimes society may not know you or anything about you...
but it's a totally different story when it comes to God,
He knows everything about everyone..and there are "NO EXCEPTIONS"
Not even the brutal isis rebels, or the most ardent atheist..
are outside the knowledge of our Loving God
Psalms 139:13-16 MSG
13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.
Even when the world may not know who we are or be able to identify us by our name tag… God knows us and everything about us
Sometimes there are those who like to think that when it comes to the things of God and of the spiritual nature...
that we have a secret identity and God is on a need to know basis...
And that if we don't acknowledge Him then He doesn't become and isn't involved in our day-to-day routines
All the while failing to realize that Gods Great handiwork… Is in every breath that we take and in every moment we live
Psalms 139:7-12 MSG
7-12 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings
to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—
you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
At night I’m immersed in the light!”
It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;
night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.
We like to think that we inhabit our own universe as people here on earth.
Some of us even like to think that we are the universe
and the world revolves around us.,
But in reality we are just participants in the universe that was created for us by the Almighty God and maker of everything in it.
We often get busy doing our own thing and living our own life and we lose sight of the reason that we were created in the first place.
It may come as a shock to some this morning… But we were created for one express purpose "to worship God"
Rev. 4:11 KJ
11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created
There you have it..we were created for Gods pleasure!
We were created to have an intimate and loving relationship with our creator.
David realized this, even at a young age...
When he was called and anointed as a young boy to be the king of Israel…
His relationship didn't begin at that point...He already had a close and intimate relationship with God
That's why in the story of David and Goliath… He was aware of where his abilities and strengths came from and he said in
1st Samuel 17:45-47 NKJ
45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
He knew all his battles were the Lord's battles..he had learned that at a young age
When the Lord had helped him over come both a lion and a bear..he had been victorious over both..
He depended on God and he knew that the Lord would fight all his battles for him as long as God was a part of his life
He was willing to not only acknowledge but to have God be a major part of everything that was going on in his life and in his world
Psalms 139:1-6 MSG
139 1-6 God, investigate my life;
get all the facts firsthand.
I’m an open book to you;
even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say
before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
then up ahead and you’re there, too—
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
I can’t take it all in!
David's life was an open book to the things of God…
Everything God had to offer David wanted to be a part of..
He worshiped him both in private as well as he worshiped him in the public square in front of the whole kingdom...
2 Samuel 6:12-16 Voice
12 When news was taken to King David that the Eternal had blessed Obed-edom and all his household because of the covenant chest of God, the king went down and brought the chest from Obed-edom’s house up to the city of David, again accompanying it with rejoicing and ceremony.13 When the people carrying the chest of the Eternal had gone six steps, David sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf; 14 and he danced before the Eternal One with all his might, clad in a priestly vest.
15-16 So David and the house of Israel carried the covenant chest of the Eternal One up to the city of David with shouts and the sounding of the trumpet. When Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked out the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Eternal without thought for how he looked, she hated him.
he had no inhibitions about the way he worshipped the Lord...
he didn't care what people thought...
he didn't care about being politically correct...not at all
he only cared about being correct in his walk with God...
TBS. He danced before the Lord… Now I don't know about you but as for myself, I would have to say I have a few inhibitions about dancing in private let alone on the Public Square in front of everyone to see...
But yet David danced before the Lord…and I don't imagine it was just a two step either...
I'm sure it was a beautifully orchestrated dance...
he danced before the Eternal One with all of his might!
He didn't care what anyone else thought...he was all about worshiping God…
And if everyone else worshiped God with all their might
They wouldn't care about anything else either! Amen?
And for his effort..Gods divine favor was a every day part of David's life..
and for that God said that David was a man after his own heart!
And in the end, aren't those the words that we will all want to hear when we stand before our Lord and maker and give account of what we've done with our lives.
It is impossible for you to have the divine favor of God in your life if you don’t know God. So I encourage you to do as David did...
get to know and worship God with every fiber in your being
When we live to know God’s ways and to know God more...
He pours out His favor into our lives, through our relationship
we have with His Son Jesus...
We read earlier...Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created
If God is not present in our lives, we are not pleasing Him.
How do we live to please God? I'm glad you asked...
1. We please God by loving Him
Matthew 22:37-38 Amp.
37.And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect).
38.This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment.
Our first priority is to love God with every fiber of our being.
We are called to love God supremely. He desires to have the first and foremost place in our lives.
Society nowadays… Tells us that it's okay to worship any religion, that all religions eventually lead to the same God..even though they may have different names
This is what TBS. "God is a jealous God"...
Gods Word translation says it like this:
(Never worship any other god, because the LORD is a God who does not tolerate rivals. In fact, he is known for not tolerating rivals)
2. We please God by believing in Him Hebrews 11:6
Without faith it is impossible to please God...
David certainly had faith in God… He would've never been able to do all the things that he did had he not had faith in God.
You and I are no different… We will never be able to do all the things that He has called us to do if we don't have faith in God that we will be able to accomplish them..
There is no way that we will ever be able to please God if we do not believe in Him and what He can do.
We place our faith in God when we trust Him completely,
*even when life doesn’t make sense...
*even when it seems like there's no way out...
*even when everyone is telling us to give up
*even when our healing seems so far away and our body says there's no way...
*even when we think we can handle everything on our own...
You can't listen to anyone but God..yourself included
If your ever going to see your miracle come to pass..
Amen?
When life seems the most senseless, that is when we need to trust God the most!
3. We please God by obeying Him
John 15:14 Amp.
14.You are My friends if you keep on doing the things which I command you to do.
Jesus told the disciples what the greatest commandment was…
To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, body and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself
Jesus also told His disciples that they become friends with God through obedience. Our obedience determines the depth of our relationship with God.
TBS. Obedience is better than sacrifice
4. We please God by praising Him...
Just as God saw the way that David worshiped him… He also sees the way that we worship him
If you think He doesn't your mistaken friend..
TBS (The Bible Says) He inhabits your praise,
believe me He is aware of how you worship Him...
David was uninhibited in the way that he worshiped and praised God…and he was remember what God said, a man after His own heart!
Does the way that we feel we are being seen by our peers
affect the way that we praise God?
Shouldn't we be more concerned with the way God sees us… Then the way were worried that our fellow man beside us might see us.
That's why when you come to church you'll hear us say...don't be in inhibited in your praise..
because as far as we're concerned… There is only an audience of one that you have to be concerned about.
If there was ever a time to have tunnel vision...it would be during our worship to our maker..
Psalm 150:1-2 Amp.
1.PRAISE THE Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in the heavens of His power!
2.Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to the abundance of His greatness!
God deserves our praise for every single blessing He sees fit to give us
and His benefits and blessings are inexhaustible. Amen? Amen??
Your Praise is your Opportunity for Thanking and Returning Blessing back
for everything He does for you.
It's a shame but a lot of people don't think that praise and worship is important in their lives… What they fail to realize is that praise and worship is incentive-based…
The more you praise and worship, believe and trust and have faith in the God of all possibilities...the more He releases the amazing blessings that he has for you in your life
That’s why we have and take the time each week for praise and worship...
for everyone to have a chance to take time to thank God for how good
He has been to them!
Distractions are ALWAYS abundant..but we should never let them affect our Focus on Jesus or our Praise and Worship of Him!!!
5. We please God by serving Him
God wants you to live out your life serving Him.
This means more than just showing up on Sunday...
True service is lived out each and every day, In every area and aspect of your life.
If you're not finding an opportunity on a daily basis…
To be a servant of God to and for your fellow man,
then you are missing the opportunities that God brings along your path
each and every day.
Believe me..the opportunities are abundant if you have a servants heart and are
willing to act when you see one
When we see opportunities to give to our fellow man…
We are expected to do just that and when we do God will reward us...
because that is a part of our faith, obedience and diligence in seeking him..
and when we do those things...His blessings are automatic..
Like it says in Psalms 23...Surely Goodness and Mercy shall follow us
All the days of our lives...
The more we seek and follow God, the more He will do and keep all of His promises to each of us.
Ex. 33:17.And the Lord said to Moses, I will do this thing also that you have asked, for you have found favor, loving-kindness, and mercy in My sight and I know you personally and by name.
That’s the kind of relationship He longs to have with you and that’s the kind of relationship you should want to have with Him.
He knows everything about you,
He knows you by name,
He knows the number of hairs on your head,
He knows better than anyone else...
the plans that He has for you, plans to prosper you and not harm you,
plans to give you a hope and a future like you could never imagine.
That's how much God loves you, that's how much God cares about His relationship that He has with you...
He is 100% committed to His relationship towards you 100% of the time!
Where is your commitment level at towards Him?
When you put your hope in your trust and your faith in Gods Ability...
There is nothing that you can't do,
no mountain that you cant climb,
no victory out of reach,
no sickness that can stand against it,
no limit that he won't go to…
To help one of his children
Where is your relationship, where is your walk this morning with God?
Is it where it should be… Is it where it could be???
TBS. Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh unto you.
I challenge you to take your relationship with the Lord to the next level…
There is never been a time in the history of the world, that we need to have a closer relationship with the Lord then we do now...
Bible prophecy… Is being fulfilled right before our eyes on a moment by moment basis, the coming of the Lord is closer now than it ever has been and could happen at any moment…
Lets pray!
