For the last few weeks, we’ve been doing a series called “Closeness with the Father.”
- We’ve been learning the importance of having a close, intimate relationship with God.
- Our key verse for the series is James 4:8 which says, “Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.”
Do you ever feel like you’ve been used?
- This is a true story about a man named David Scott Ghantt, he was used big time.
- David Scott Ghantt worked as a supervisor for an armored car company called Loomis, Fargo & Co. in Charlotte.
- He was part of one of the worst robberies in history.
- Though he was married, he started to become attracted to a co-worker, a woman by the name of Michelle Chambers who was also married and worked for the company. She ended up leaving the company but had kept in contact with David.
- Her husband was a professional thief, so together they convinced David to steal a bunch of money from the office of where he worked. The reason David Ghantt decided to do it was his attraction to this girl. He thought that maybe he would rob the company and flee the country with this girl.
- So after months of planning, one night David and another employee went into the vault, grabbed whatever money they could and took it in a van.
- They left the office and met up with some others to distribute the money and hide it.
- David Ghantt took $25,000 and fled to Mexico because they knew he was going to be caught if he didn’t.
- So they packed up most of the money from the van but decided to leave the one and five dollar bills behind (they didn’t realize that what they left behind would later be totaled to be over $3 million).
- They also forgot to check to see if the airport that David Scott Ghantt would be leaving out of was open…which it was not. Second mistake.
- When he got to Mexico, David Ghantt started living somewhat modestly but soon he started running out of his money. He kept in contact with the couple that talked him into stealing the money.
- They were spending the millions of dollars that David stole and were planning on sending a person to Mexico to have David killed. They moved from a mobile home to a house worth more than $630,000.
- So, after David Scott Ghantt stole over $17 million dollars in cash from his job, fled to Mexico with only $25,000, left behind over $3 million dollars, his friends were spending all the money and were now wanting to kill him.
- Eventually, he was arrested in Mexico and all the other people in connection were also arrested.
The point of the story is that that girl, Michelle Chambers used David to get what she wanted.
- She knew how to “play” him.
- She had him wrapped around her finger. She knew that she could use him and that he’d go right along with it.
Do you ever feel like you’ve been used?
- In life, we all at times feel that way, right?
I remember when I was growing up, I couldn’t say “no” to anyone.
- Someone would ask me for a favor and I’d just do it.
- Even if I had something else to do or if I was really busy, I’d stop what I was doing and do that favor for that person.
- It got to a point where I was just burned out of doing favors for people.
- I thought that every time someone would ask me for a favor, they were trying to use me.
- I was about 15 or 16 years old when I decided that I wasn’t doing every favor that someone would ask of me.
- I came to the conclusion that I was going to truly examine why the person is asking the favor and if I felt that they were going to use me.
- I became kind of a jerk to some people because I thought that they were just using me to do things for them.
- I was hurt and frustrated because I was being used.
Most of us, though we don’t even realize it, we use God all the time.
- When we pray, we ask God for this and ask God for that.
- We start our praying saying,
o Dear Jesus, thank you for this day. I would like to pray for my cousin Jimmy who keeps on hitting me. I pray that you’ll cause him to stop. Can you help me with my paper that’s due tomorrow? Even though I’ve waited to the last minute to finish it, can you please help me? I would also like to pray that I’ll get a goodnight sleep tonight and also for this mole on my back to quit hurting…
- Even though God said in His word that He will answer our prayers, I’m sure that He feels used sometimes.
- We need to set aside time to listen to what God has to say to us.
- Ecclesiastics 5:1 says, “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.”
- There are times when we are praying that God wants us to listen so He can speak to us, but we hardly ever do that.
- We just keep asking for God to help us, to give us things, to this or that.
- We need to listen to God. In doing so, we’ll draw closer to God. The more we listen, the closer we’ll get.
- We need to set aside time for God so He doesn’t feel like we’re using Him. He deserves so much more than that.
- He loves us so incredibly much. He wants to spend time with us and develop a close personal relationship with us.
Some people go to church all their lives, never knowing that they can have a personal relationship with the God who created me and you.
The God who created the universe. The trees, the mountains, the animals… and even Dr. Pepper.
Exodus 34:14 says, “…he is a God who is passionate about his relationship with you.”
- God is looking for passionate people to serve Him.
- Ones who will draw close to him and seek to be please God.
- He is passionate about his relationship with you.
- Are you passionate about your relationship with Him?
King David wanted a passionate relationship with God.
- He wasn’t satisfied living without God.
- In Psalm 28:1 David says, “For if you are silent, I might as well give up and die.”
- He would rather die than live his life without closeness with the Father.
That is the kind of heart God wants from His people. A heart that passionately seeks after Him.
He wants us to seek after Him and when we do, He will draw close to us.
- Do you see now how powerful James 4:8 really is?
- We need to draw close to draw through prayer and quiet time and He will draw close to us.
- We will feel His presence and our lives will be greatly impacted.
There is a great song called “Child of God” and here are some of the lyrics:
- Father, you’re all I need. My soul suffiency. My strength when I am weak. The love that carries me. Your arms enfold me, until I am only a Child of God.
When I think of God, I try to think of someone who arms are big enough to wrap all the way around me.
- I know that is a big area to wrap around but I know He can and wants to hold me like a child.
- That’s what I am…a child of God.
God is not someone who is out of reach.
- He makes Himself available to us to draw close to Him.
- He wants closeness with us.
