Is God Real to You?

Today I want to talk about Godly relationships. First of all, I would like to commend all of you for the wonderful examples that you've set. Through the past couple of weeks, it seems like it's been a year since we've been here, but it's only been two weeks. We were in Ruston. Last week we had wonderful services there. We had 29 in attendance, and of course we spent 10 years with Ruston congregation, so it's always good to see them. And we have Texeracana and Ruston with us today as cybercast, so welcome to all of them. Is God real to you? I don't mean that just in the abstract sense. Is God real to your children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren? Or is God a name that you use in the abstract and refer to at times? Do you and your children have a relationship with God? Do you walk with God? Talk with God on a daily basis so that He is as real to you as any other being in the universe? He is as real to you as the one closest to you, whether it be your wife, your husband, your children, your father, your mother, or whomever we might name. Do you know and know that you know that He is walking beside you? It is possible to develop a relationship with God to the point that you know and know that you know that He is walking beside you. And you have Romans 8.31. Romans 8.31 says, So in this relationship, are we to the point? Are you to the point? I believe I am to the point that I can cry, Abba, Father. Abba, Father. Enoch walked with God for 300 years. Let's turn to Genesis 5, verse 21. Genesis 5 and verse 21.

Genesis 5.21, we see there were two preachers of righteousness before Noah's flood came upon the earth. We call it Noah's flood.

In Genesis 5 and verse 21, Enoch lived 65 years and begat Methuselah. And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah 300 years and begat sons and daughters, and all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 300 years that Enoch had this kind of relationship with God where he knew and knew that he knew that God was real to him, that God was walking beside him. And I'm sure that he could cry in whatever language he spoke, Abba, Father. There's no closer relationship than you can have than that of Father and their children. You might say, well, there's a closer relationship between Mother and children. Perhaps in some ways, yes, but in the spiritual sense, there's no closer relationship that you should have or can have than that with the Father. The first memetic sounds of him, an infant's voice, za-va-va-va, and the Hebrew word for Father is abba, just two letters, a-v, ab-father. In Jude, Jude has one chapter, so Jude 1 and verse 14, even before Noah's flood, see, how much did Enoch know? Enoch was way back, way back, even before the flood. In Jude 1 and verse 14, Enoch also the seventh from Adam, so the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Eternal comes with ten thousands of his saints. Sort of similar to what you read in Revelation chapter 19, where Jesus Christ is coming on the great white horse.

A sharp two-edged sword goes out of his mouth, which is the word of God, and those that are with him are clothed in white linen. To execute judgment upon all and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. Surely we're in that period of time in which we see the fruits of the ungodly. We see the hard faces. We hear the hard speeches. And of course, everything seems to be against God until something happens like what happened in Connecticut yesterday. Before the event happens, we don't want God in our lives. But after it happens, oh, we want God in our lives. And many are quick to blame God. As someone was saying that on Facebook, one person wrote, Well, God has a lot of explaining to do after this.

Verse 16, These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lust, and their mouth speaks great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage. In other words, how can I get ahead? How can I get to where I want to be? How can I be somebody? Well, I will say what I need to say to those who may be able to get me there. Regardless of how hypocritical it might be, or regardless of whether or not it's true or not, I'm going to play up to those who can get me where I want to be. Having men's persons in admiration because of advantage, but, beloved, remember you the words which were spoken before, the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, how that they told you there would be mockers in the last time who would walk after their own ungodly lust, these be they who separate themselves sensual, having not the Spirit.

So as we sit here today, we could ask ourselves, are we constantly building this relationship with God that we need to have so that no matter what happens, we know and we know that we know that He is by our side, and God is not the author of evil.

Satan is the author of evil. He is a murderer and a liar from the beginning. That's what it says clearly in John 8 and verse 44. And are our children constantly reminded of God, and how important it is to recognize Him as Father and Creator? Who made the stars? Who made the moon? Who made the sun? Who made the earth? Who created us in His own image?

We could ask ourselves, we could ask our children, we could ask all of our family members. And of course, you can't force your religion on someone else, and so many of us have learned the hard way. In so many cases, even young and old that are present in body, in church services, especially in the church services of this world, hopefully there are none here, go through a certain form, but their heart and affections are somewhere else. Of course, our track record with regard to retaining our youth tells us that somewhere along the line, the hearts and minds of our youth go somewhere else. A new research study shows how even the majority of the youth who attend church have already separated themselves from their hearts before they actually leave the fellowship of the church. They're just biding their time, treading water, waiting for the time in which they can leave. The study states that if you look around in your church today, two-thirds of the young people who are sitting among us have already left in their hearts. Soon they will be gone for good. The study found that we're losing our youth in elementary, middle school, and high school rather than college. And the Sunday School Syndrome is contributing to the epidemic rather than helping to alleviate it. They have made Sunday School into sort of a playtime, a circus.

The study continues. This is an alarming wake-up call for the church, showing how our programs and our approaches to Christian education are failing and our children are paying the price. The statistics reveal a huge disconnect taking place between our children and their church experience. And of course, we do not want that to happen. And what we are so emphasizing in our Sabbath School and in our teens and all the way through the underlying philosophy of where we are coming from is developing a relationship with God and Christ and the truth and with one another. Now, the fact is, as we'll see later, is that you cannot have a close relationship with God and not have a loving relationship with fellow human beings. It is not possible. And we'll see that reciprocal part a little later. The same thing is happening with adults as well. People separate themselves emotionally and psychologically from the church as an organization before they leave. And they bide their time, and then oftentimes looking for the loose brick or the excuse, they separate themselves. One of the main culprits that people fall into, or one of the main traps, has to do with cynicism and criticism. Cynicism was a structured Greek philosophy that dates back to the fourth century, which taught that virtue is the only good, that the essence of virtue is self-control and individual freedom. While you might think, well, that's good, self-control and individual freedom, and that surrender to any external influences is beneath the dignity of man. In other words, it's just another way of saying existentialism. Do your own thing. Be your own essence designer. Don't let anybody else tell you what to do. Because that is below my dignity.

Cynicism also includes the holding or expressing of opinions that reveal disbelief and sometimes disdain for commonly held human values and virtues. All the world today has disdain for certain values.

A woman must be free to choose whether or not she will carry her baby to birth. We must be free to choose whether or not we're going to use marijuana or drugs. We must be free to choose whether or not we're going to have an abortion. We must be free to choose our lifestyle. And as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else, it's okay. Of course, the logical fallacies I pointed out before, and that is that you choose what hurts someone else.

Today's cynicism is more aptly defined as an attitude of scornful or jaded negativity, especially a general distrust of the integrity or profess motives of others. Oh, yeah, you said that. But, yeah, there is a psalm that is dedicated to this, and in fact, it is the first psalm. In Psalm 1, if you would like to turn there, Psalm 1, it is a warning for all of us. All of us, to some degree, at one time or other, have sat in the seat of the scornful, in the seat of the cynic, in the seat of the critic.

In Psalm 1, verse 1, Blessed is a man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly. We read about the ungodly in Jude, in verses 15 and 16, murmurs, complainers, having men's admiration for advantage. Blessed is a man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.

So many people have left the church over what they see others doing, and so many have not come because they say, Well, I hear that they do this. I hear that they do that.

And of course, some don't even know what the truth really is. There have been so many lies told about true Christians and what they really profess and what they really believe.

Blessed is a man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of eternal, and in his law does he meditate day and night. And we sang to him, O, how love I, thy law, it is my meditation all the day.

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. You go now to 1 Peter 1, verse 22. Remember Peter, the Apostle Hope, being told that he would be crucified upside down, was the way according to tradition and legend that Peter met his death, a martyr. In 1 Peter 1, verse 21, Jesus Christ was dead in the grave three days and three nights, as it says in the Scriptures. One of the proofs that he was is the Messiah, who by him to believe in God that raised him from the dead and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing you have purified your souls and obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren. What does unfeigned mean? It means there are no ulterior motives. That you're not going to get anything out of it, per se. You do it because you are that way. The most powerful motivating force in the universe is love. God is love, and everything that he does springs from that fact of his being that he is love. God is love. Unfain love of the brethren. See that you love one another with a pure heart fervently.

In recent years, many of the brethren have allowed themselves to become caught up in issues that divide the brethren. So that they can get caught up in debates over men and material things that do not edify. Similar to the Corinthians. The Corinthians were divided on so many different issues, but especially about men and holding men's admiration for advantage. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians. These things destroy relationships. We want godly relationships. We want a relationship with God and with the brethren. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 10. 1 Corinthians 1, 10. Now beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing. That there be no divisions among you, but that you be the perfectly joined together in the same mind, in the same judgment. Now obviously, everybody, this is in the general sense with regard to where your focus should be. The focus should be on God and Christ, developing a relationship with them and loving the brethren with an unfeigned heart, with a pure mind and a pure heart, so that there be no divisions among you. Everybody's not going to see everything exactly the same way. That's not what he's talking about. We are not yellow pencils. We're not automatons. But that you speak the same things with regard to where your faith, your trust, your hope is, and that you develop this relationship with God and with Christ and with one another in such a way that no one can drive a wedge between it.

Verse 11, it's been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say that every one of you says, I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, and I am Cephas and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in the name of Paul? Paul goes on to say that he only baptized a few of them. And now in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 1, And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes. I fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto you were not able to bear it, neither are you able to now. For you are yet carnal, for whereas there is among you, envying in strife and divisions, are you not carnal and walk as men. For while one says, I am of Apollos, another I am of Apollos, are you not carnal? Who then is Paul, who is Apollos, but ministers by whom you believe, even as the Lord gave to every man? I planted Apollos water, but God gave the increase.

There's no question that the United Church of God is sowing the seed around the world through the internet, especially. We're on satellite television. We're on one of the largest television stations, reaches across the United States, and WGN on Sunday mornings.

Responses have increased, but just because a person responds, of course, doesn't mean that they are going to follow up. To a large degree, God plays a great role in that. And then also, we play a role in it with regard to whether or not we are solid enough, stable enough, spiritual enough, whatever else you want to add to it, in the positive sense, that God can give us increase, and we will take them under our wings. We will shelter them. We will teach them. We will nourish them. We will disciple them in every way so that they will not fail, and so that they will be properly nourished and admonished in the truth. Verse 7, So then neither is he that plants anything, neither he that waters, but God that gives the increase. One other thing about the Apostle Paul. He talks a great deal about Jesus Christ. He talks a great deal about different things, but the bottom line, Paul will always bring you back to God the Father, and the relationship with him. So Paul always pointed people to God and not to man, not to himself. Do you ever get caught up in the issues that divide the brethren and destroy relationships? Do you sow seeds of doubt about others and attribute motives to others that are without basis and fact? The sons of men have been historically divided because of jealousy and making the assumption that God is not fair. These kinds of actions destroy our relationship with God and with the brethren. Of course, there will always be some who will be drawn away and sit in the seat of the scornful. Cain killed Abel because he was jealous of the fact that Abel's sacrifice was accepted, and his wasn't. And from that day to the present day, humankind has given place to the devil, allowed themselves to be drawn away of their own lust and all kinds of sin while thinking, in many cases, that they're doing God a service. And in almost all situations in which people bring accusations and that kind of thing against other people, to a large degree, especially those who claim to be pious religious, will say that they're doing it in the name of God. Look at James 1.

In James 1, verse 13, death. Do not earn, my beloved brethren, if you want to receive the great reward of eternal life, don't ever get the idea that it comes from men. It says in Psalm 75 that promotion comes not from the east nor from the west, that God sets up whom he will. God is the one. It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Fear not, little flock. It is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Verse 17, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights with whom is no veribleness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will be get he us with the word of truth that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creation. The firstfruits, those who are being called out now, who will have the wonderful opportunity to be able to minister alongside Jesus Christ, the apostles, and so many others that have gone before and bringing the whole world into a situation in which they will be able to have their minds open, to understand you'll be there to teach them the way of God and Christ. Brethren, keep that big picture burning brightly in your mind. Put on the helmet of salvation. That's what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5.8. Put on the helmet of salvation, which is hope. And what is that great hope? One place Paul writes that we're saved by hope. That hope of the resurrection. If we have life, if we only have life here. If this is all there is to it, as Paul writes, we're of all men most miserable. But there is a resurrection from the dead. Look at James chapter 3, one of the great enemies here that we're warned of with regard to destroying our relationship with God and one another. James 3 verse 13, Who is a wise man and in dude with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conduct his works with meekness of wisdom, meekness, humility, understanding what we are in relationship to God. But if you have bitter envy and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. One of the things in the Sermon on the Mount, blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are the peacemakers. And hopefully we are all peacemakers. The United Church of God has determined that it's critical essence. We covered this at the GCE in May of this past year. It's critical essence. In other words, the very heart and core of our message is to focus on helping people develop godly relationships, unfeigned love for the brethren, and to be servants, one of another, and to promote servant leadership. Sincere, pure, innocent love with no ulterior motives. That's the way God is. Why does God do the things He does? He does what He does because He is love. That's the way He is. And that's the way He wants us to become.

This focus on godly relationships must apply to all of us, the young and old. No one can wave a magical one that will result in a close, loving relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ. You can't just say, be done, and it'll be done. Neither can anyone wave a magical one that will result in you developing a close relationship with another human being.

Godly relationships are based on love, for God is love. And what about all of us? Are we developing? Once again, we ask the question, are you developing a relationship with your Heavenly Father, or are you just biding your time? If you're a young person here today, and you begin to think about what life is all about, I know I began to think about what life was all about at a very early age. And I think young people think about deep things, deeper things than most people give them credit for. It is said by those who have studied learning psychology and that kind of thing that by the age of six, a child has developed an attitude, 80% of his attitude toward life.

What he will do, what he will be like. And that's why those first six years are so very critical. And so each young person could ask yourself, are you just biding your time, or are you really with it? Let's look at the admonition that is given in Scripture, Ecclesiastes 11, verse 9. Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes 11, verse 9. You know, people talk about experiencing life. We used to hear this from the students at Ambassador, oh, this is not real life. We have this sort of fake environment here where everybody tries to be nicey-nice. It's not the real world. How can we really learn the real lessons of life unless we go knockheads in the real world?

We be...that's how you really learn what to do. So I guess you need to be out in the honky-tonks and whatever else to really learn what life is all about. Well, that's not what the Ecclesiastes of all books is. The book in which Solomon reportedly the wisest man that ever lived in the flesh outside of Jesus Christ, the wisest man that ever lived, he tried it all. He says, and here he tried it all. He found out that it was vanity, temporary, lasting but a short time, and he came down to certain conclusions.

So Solomon based a lot of what he came to see on experience, experiential knowledge, whereas David spent a lot of his time in meditating on God's law and meditating on the things and the ways of God. When David was a very young man, maybe 16, 18, somewhere along in there, he was bringing food to men, soldiers, Israeli soldiers on the front line in their battle against the Philistines. And there was this giant Goliath who was, in a sense, holding them all at bay. And David challenged this man. And so the famous battle of David and Goliath, in which David took the smooth stones from the stream, Goliath towering seven or eight feet tall, however tall he was, and his battle armor and all of that, David said, you come to me in the name of military power and might, paraphrasing, and I come to you in the name of the living God.

And of course, you know the story of how David hurled the rock with his slingshot, hit him between the eyes, and Goliath fell. In Ecclesiastes 11, 9, Rejoice, O young man, in your youth! Let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes. But know, but know you that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. There is no free ride, just like there is no free lunch. There is no free ride when all is said and done.

Therefore remove sorrow from the heart, put away evil from the flesh, for childhood and youth are vanity. That means temporary, just lasts a short time, it's like a flash, it's gone. And of all the things that I've learned in life, I've learned life is short. Another year is almost gone on the man's calendar. 2012 flash before our eyes, so quickly I can't believe it. 16 more days in this year as the way man marks time. Chapter 12, verse 1, Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, while the evil days come not, and the years draw nigh, when you shall say, I have no pleasure in them.

Sadly, we are in the time described in Proverbs 30 beginning verse 11. Turn back a few pages there to Proverbs 30 verse 11. And what we saw, what happened yesterday in Connecticut, we have seen that there have been 30-something school shootings in recent years in the United States.

The one yesterday, the second deadliest in history, exceeded only by that which happened at Virginia Tech College campus. But no shooting there compared to what happened yesterday. Where any person that bears the name human being could go into a classroom of children and systematically shoot them down. In Proverbs 30 and verse 11, There is a generation that curses their father and does not bless their mother. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes, and their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation whose teeth are his swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth and the needy from among men.

All of those things are prevalent in our society today. It's not limited to young people by any means. It permeates all youth, all age groups, all social stratus, and it's the way things are. So how will the people of our nation respond to the horrifying events of yesterday's mass murder of innocent children in Newtown, Connecticut? The tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary School will be indelibly stamped on the minds and hearts of people for decades, especially those in that area.

And our deepest sympathy goes out to those who lost loved ones in this senseless massacre. None of us can really imagine what that would be like. Your child didn't come home, and finally you know he's lying dead, he or she, in a classroom.

You can't even go to her. Sealed off. Life will never be the same for all those who are involved in this horrendous nightmarish tragedy. As horrific and tragic as these mass killings are, there are only one sliver of an ugly kaleidoscope of events that are plaguing our beloved nation at this critical, crucial juncture in human history. So how will we, as people, respond to this event and to the many other tragic events that are plaguing the peoples of the world at this critical time on the world stage?

Some will focus totally on the physical. Build higher and thicker fences. Employ more metal detectors. Lock more doors. Put more security guards. Enact tougher gun control laws. They had just upgraded their security profile, procedure, protocol at that school. The doors were locked. No one buzzed him in. He shot his way in. We will of course talk about psychological profiles of mass murderers, talk about how we can take measures to identify these people earlier. We will talk about gun control and better security. But no one will really get down to the heart and core of the reasons why the world is an increasing state of chaos and confusion.

Suicide bombers are killing people every day all over the face of the earth. We try to stop them with greater military presence, increase security measures. But the blood of human beings made in the image of God continues to flow freely in the killing fields of the world. More and more we can see the truth of what the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8-7. Because a carnal of mine is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. This does not mean that we are born with an evil mind. We are born in a neutral state when it comes to knowing right and wrong. We must be taught what is right and what is wrong.

But at the same time, we are born with certain innate desires, drives, and reflexes. These drives, desires, reflexes help us to survive. But yet at the same time, they can be turned on other people. Couple this with the fact that in the early years of life, our nervous systems and mental capacities are still developing. So we are in need of a great deal of nurturing, a great deal of teaching, a great deal in need of a great deal of love and care and concern in every facet of our lives. And so this thing of relationships, relationships with God, relationships with one another, relationships between parents and children. For the first eight years of our lives, we are what psychologists call egocentric. That means self-centered. The whole world revolves around us. But then, as we begin to be able to deal with abstract things, we see that the world is larger than just us. So children have to be trained to control all of these natural attributes so they can learn to function in a family unit and in society at large. This process is called socialization, that you're able to function and interact with human beings in a so-called normal way. But yet we have flooded the minds and hearts of our youth with video games, with cell phones, with every kind of electronic media that you can imagine. Children come out of the operating room, and they wake up, and the first thing the mother puts in her hand is a cell phone. It is said that the average teenager sends 122 text messages a day. I can't comprehend that, but that's what it said. So sadly today, in our world, we don't get the kind of nurturing that our children so desperately need in order for them to be able to successfully function in a world that has been turned upside down. Some of these enemies, broken families, drug addiction, alcohol addiction, licentious behavior, homosexuality, exploitation by the media, lack of love, lack of discipline, and the list goes on and on. Who's going to stand in the gap and fill it for your children, help them develop that relationship with God, with you, and with one another? It will be you if it's done. It will be you. Now, the church can help some if you're in the right church, the true church, you know the truth, then basically we can do a good job.

Children learn method more than they do content. That is their concept of loving, caring, sharing, what is right and what is wrong will be shaped to a large degree by how they are loved and cared for and treated in general by their parents, their relatives, their friends, and society at large. Let's go to Ephesians 6. Ephesians 6. This great admonition here for children and for parents with regard to relationships and nurturing.

Ephesians 6. Children, obey your parents and the Lord for this is right. First Commandment with promise. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise. That it may well with you and you may live long on the earth. And you fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

The nurture and admonition of the Lord. Let's look at that word nurture for a moment.

The word nurture in the Greek is pahidia. Pahidia means the whole training and education of children, which relates to the cultivation of mind and morals. It employs for this purpose admonitions, reproof, and punishment if the discipline is broken. So, nurturing covers basically the whole gamut of teaching, caring, and also then for them to understand the consequences, and then for there to be a punishment if the discipline is broken. Children who are not properly nurtured in the early years of life are apt to reflect that lack of nurturing in their interaction with others. So, as we look at what children are taught around the world, we should not be surprised to see why the world is wracked by war, rumors of war, terrorism, suicide bombers, crime, drug addiction, child abuse, spousal abuse, mass killings, mass murder, and the list goes on. The Bible is so clear about the necessity of building a relationship with God, with Christ, with each member of the body of Christ, about building relationships in the family unit, and how important they are. So we need to all ask ourselves, am I here because of my commitment to God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the truth? Is that why I am here? Am I here because I've totally surrendered to God and Christ and realize that I have a life because of God's love, mercy, and grace? I said before you, God says in Deuteronomy, life and death. Choose life! Perhaps we should read that, let's go to Deuteronomy 30, verse 19, because there's an aspect in there that really we need to meditate on for it to sink in deeply into our being, into our minds, into our hearts. Deuteronomy 30, verse 19.

I call heaven and earth a record this day against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life. And there is a recipe, there is a way to life. Do you think that the author of life, the Creator, would have left us clueless with regard to how we can sustain life? No. He gave us clear instructions. Choose life. I've set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life that you and your seed may live, that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, that you may cleave unto Him. You cling to Him. It's like you get a certain kind of wet soil on you, gumbo. You can't shake it off. You can't rub it off. It's very difficult to get it off. Cleave unto Him. You may obey His voice, that you may cleave unto Him. For He is your life. He is your life.

And the length of days that you may dwell in the land, which the Lord sware unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. Godly relationships fulfill the two great commandments. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul. And the second is like unto it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. And on these two commandments, hang all the law and the prophets.

See, to love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, you have to have a relationship with Him. To love your neighbor as yourself, you have to have a relationship with Him. Jesus Christ came to the earth to reveal the Father and point people to the Father. Jesus Christ pointed people to the Father, not to Himself.

Paul pointed people to the Father. Peter pointed people to the Father.

John pointed people to the Father. Jude pointed people to the Father. God deeply desires a relationship with you. He wants to come to know you just as He came to know Abraham, just as He came to know Moses. Now back at Genesis 18, let's go there. I could read those Scriptures. I think it would be well for all of us if you have Bible software of any sort, online Bible, or if you don't have that, you have a concordance. And you just read every Scripture that has Father in it.

If you read every Scripture in the Bible that has Father in it, it would be quite enlightening to you. In Genesis 18, verse 17, The Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do, seeing that Abraham should surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations there shall be blessed in him. How were all the nations blessed in Abraham? It was not through physical posterity. That is, that in a physical sense, that because you are a physical descendant, it is through Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ, through him all nations are blessed, as it says in Galatians 3, 15, 16, 17. All nations shall be blessed in him, for I know him, for I know him. To say that you know somebody, you have to have a relationship with them. So God had a relationship with Abraham, or we could say it on the other hand, Abraham had a relationship with God. I know him that he will command his children in his household after him. They shall keep the way of the eternal to do justice and judgment, that the eternal may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him. The promises that through his seed, that is, through Christ, all the nations would be blessed. God said that he called Moses by his name. Go to Exodus, for a few pages, Exodus 33, verse 12. Exodus 33, verse 12. God had a relationship with Moses. You say, well, that was Moses. Moses, I don't believe, had nearly the knowledge that you have in some ways of what lies before us, the promises that we have in Exodus 33, verse 12. And Moses said unto the Eternals, See you say unto me, bring up this people, and have you not let me know whom you will sin with me? Yet you have said, I know you by name, and you have also found grace in my sight.

See, Moses, Abraham and Moses, very bold, when they talked with God, they had a relationship, they knew one another. One place God even talks about talking with Moses face to face.

Now therefore I pray you, if I have found grace in your sight, show me your way that I may know you, that I may find grace in your sight, and consider that this nation is your people. And he said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest. So God promised Moses that his presence would go with them. They had the pillar of fire by night, the cloud by day. And Moses and the children of Israel were led to the Promised Land, and God's presence was with them.

Now in verse 18, Moses makes an unusual request.

And he said, I beseech you, show me your glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before you, I will proclaim the name of the Eternal before you, and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And he said, You cannot see my face. For there shall no man see me and live, that is God in his glorified form.

And the Eternal said, Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand upon a rock, and it shall come to pass, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in a cliff to the rock, and will cover you with my hand while I pass by. And I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen. A picture of Jesus Christ in the glorified form is given in Revelation 1 of him walking among the seven golden candlesticks, which represent seven churches. He talks about his face and various parts of his body, what it's like. But God in the glorified form, of course, we will look upon his face, as it says in Revelation 22 in verse 4, in resurrection we shall behold his face and look upon him.

So Abraham and Moses had this relationship with God. God instructs us on how to build a relationship with him that leads to respect, to reverence, to awe, desire to please, obedience, and submission. And that's what we're going to focus on for the rest of our time, is developing this closer relationship with God. We have seen the pitfalls. We have seen the beginning of how relationships can be with Abraham and with Moses. And I believe that all of us need to develop a more worshipful attitude and approach toward our loving Heavenly Father. So how do you develop a closer and more worshipful relationship with God? The heart of relationships is based on two main factors, communication and spending time with the one with whom you're developing the relationship. Communication and spending time. Communication and spending time. So little communication takes place in families today. They are, quote, on the go. So how much communication is there? How much time is spent? Time is the substance that life is made of. Use it wisely.

Redeem the times. Make the most of it. We have already noted that Enoch walked with God for 300 years. During that time, he doubtlessly spent thousands of hours communicating with God communicating with him. And our prayer should begin with our Father. Our Father. You know, the model prayer Jesus Christ gave us starts with our Father, who art in heaven. Hallowed be your name. Our Father. He is the one that gave us life in the first place. He is the one that will resurrect us from the dead. He is the one that will give us the kingdom. He is the one who sent his only begotten Son to die for our sins so that we might receive and be partakers of the divine essence. Communication with God is viewed as a spiritual sacrifice. And so they say that... Let's turn to Hebrews 13 while you're turning. They say that human beings spend 70% of their time talking to themselves.

I don't know if they're saying how great I am, but we need to be saying how great they are. So, in this 70% of time, instead of talking to ourselves, we could be talking to God. And challenge ourselves with having this running conversation with God. Not that we're some kind of religious fanatic. There are some people that they can't say anything in a normal conversation unless they use the name of God. Well, if God's willing. That, to a large degree, is understood. In Hebrews 13 and verse 14, For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate, forget not, for with such sacrifice is God as well pleased. So this is one of the main ways we offer up spiritual sacrifice. And this is one of the main ways for developing relationship.

We communicate with God through prayer and reading and meditating on the Word of God. So let's go to Psalm 119. I encourage everybody I know to continually read Psalm 119. As all of these commands with regard to asking God, make me, show me, those kind of commands, especially in the first several verses. There are 176 verses. In Psalm 119, verse 97, O, how love I thy law, once again we sang it in the song service. It is my meditation all the day. So this 70% of the time you're talking to yourself, you could be communicating with God, thinking about His law, His way, what you'll do in certain situations.

You, through your commandments, have made me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep your precepts. God does give spiritual gifts. In 1 Corinthians 12, 13, 14, long and there, Paul gives the admonition to seek after spiritual gifts. I have refrained my feet from every evil way that I might keep your word. I am not departed from your judgments, for you have taught me how sweet are your words unto my taste, how sweet are than honey to my mouth. Through your precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp into my feet and a light into my path.

God knows our thoughts. He knows the intent of our heart. He knows what we need before we ask. But he has asked us to come before him and ask through heartfelt prayers. I have had the least pain that I have had in weeks, and it is because of prayer. I hesitate to say that publicly, but that is a fact. And I know that God is there. One of the great reasons why it is so important to ask is that through asking, we affirm that we recognize that he is our God and Creator and giver of every good and perfect gift. We have already read from James 1, verses 17-18, that he is the giver of every good and perfect gift. In Luke 11, verse 13, we focus a moment on this word, ask.

And in asking God, we do not just in a perfunctory kind of routine monotonous robotic way ask. This word ask, ay-e-te-o, a-e-i-t-e-o, ay-e-te-o, means to crave, to deeply desire. It goes beyond just merely asking the way to San Jose. It is that which comes from the depth of our being. Luke 11, verse 13, If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ay-e-te-o, deeply crave, deeply desire, in the very depth of your being, your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him.

We could ask, were the people in the Old Testament more spiritual than we are? God commanded them to write the commandments, to speak them, to talk about them, and so on. Let's go there to Deuteronomy 6. Deuteronomy 6, and, of course, what the Jews did, they came to the point where they viewed themselves better than other people because God had committed to them the oracles of life. They were chosen to come out of the nations, and God cleaned them up, and all of that. But it wasn't because they were better. Jesus told them, and John said, Search the Scriptures because in them you think you have eternal life.

But if you don't talk about, if you don't learn, if they're not before your face, you're probably not going to do them. In Deuteronomy 6, verse 4, Hear, O Israel, the Eternal, our God, is one Eternal. A better translation, He is God alone. It is not speaking in the numerical sense. This is not a proof of monotheism, as even scholars today have come to recognize and admit.

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might. See, Jesus Christ said that in Matthew 22, verse 38. Might be 37. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently unto your children. You shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk in the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.

Now, very few of us do that.

I know I have fallen short. So, we get out. Are they more spiritual than we are? Of course, we'll read in just a moment what it says in Hebrews. And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontless to between your eyes, and your brain, and your mind. And you shall write them upon the post of your house, and on your gates. And it shall be when the eternally of God shall have brought you into the land, He swore unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to give you great and godly, goodly cities, which you didn't build, and houses full of good things which you filled not, and wells digged which you dug not, vineyards and olive trees which you planted not. When you shall have eaten and be full, then beware, lest you forget the eternal which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. See, if you don't nourish and nurture that relationship, that communication with God, you talking to Him and Him talking to you, then you will forget, and the nation has forgotten. But on sobering days like yesterday, and the morning of today, spell with a U, M-O-U-R-N-I-N-G, oh yeah, we want God to come to our aid. Now look at Hebrews 10. Hebrews 8 also says something similar to this, about the New Covenant. In Hebrews 10, so if they did that under the terms of the Old Covenant, which they had not been given, the Holy Spirit of Begeth, to become a new creation, God's Spirit didn't lead them and guide them in certain ways. But in Hebrews 10, verse 15, the Spirit of the Holy Spirit also is a witness to us, for after that He had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them, after those days, says the Eternal, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them. See, not only are they written on the door post or a plaque on the wall, the Ten Commandments, which there's definitely nothing wrong with that.

I will put my laws into their hearts and their minds, will I write them, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

So, we have not only the law written that we can read on a piece of paper or we can hear somebody quote, but it's written on our inward parts. Today, God's immutable spiritual law is written on our hearts and minds. Abraham had such a close relationship with God that when he was told that God was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of the sins thereof, that he interceded on the behalf of his nephew, Lut. And Abraham had the courage to try to intercede on the behalf of Lut. Let's go to Genesis 18. We read up to verse 20. So, let's start with Genesis 18.20, the story of Abraham talking with God. You might call this a negotiation. It is definitely an intercession. Oftentimes, when we hear that something is going to happen to one of the brethren, maybe it's some kind of discipline, or maybe it's this or that or the other, it's like, oh, well, he's getting what he deserves, or something like that. See, Abraham and the herdsmen of Abraham, the herdsmen of Lut, had a big dispute. And when this dispute came up, Abraham said to Lut, well, you take whichever way you want to go. So Lut looked toward the plains and the greener pastures, and he pitched his tents toward Sodom. And if you pitch your tent toward Sodom, you'll eventually wind up in Sodom. And so he did. And now the cries of Sodom has become so great that God is going to intervene. In Genesis 18, verse 20, when Abraham drew near and said, will you also destroy the righteous with a wicked? Peradventure, there be fifty righteous men. Will you destroy it? And so Abraham went on down. And you look at verse 32. And he said, O let not the eternal be angry, and I will speak yet, but this once, peradventure, ten shall be found there. So he went from fifty, forty, thirty, twenty, ten.

Perad, if ten be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. And he turned and went his way, and as soon as he had left communing with Abraham, and Abraham returned unto his place. And there were not ten righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah. Apparently there was only one lot. So Lot and his wife and his two daughters were spared. But see, Abraham had such a relationship with God that he was able to go and intercede. How much intercessory prayer do we have going on for one another? One of the things that has been so sorely missing in the Church is loyalty to God and man. Some are quick to throw their brother under the bus. Throw him under the bus, as we say, in order to make themselves look good. Do you say negative things about the brethren? Do other people, people in other areas, maybe at the home office, and yet act as if you love everybody here? This is called two-faced backbiting.

This is by Douglas Malick. Hear say. I moved into this old house. It had been redone. Wanda and I graduated from college. I went to this old house, our first teaching and coaching job. And I went up into the attic, and there was a little book there.

I still have it, about five by seven. And it had an anthology of poems, maybe 145, written by this man, Douglas Malick, spelled M-A-L-L-O-C-H. You'll find those poems on the internet. This one is titled, Hear say. In every town, in every street, in nearly every house you meet, a little wimp who wriggles in, with half a sneer and half a grin, and climbs up on your rocking chair, or creeps up on you anywhere, and when he gets you very dear, he just whispers something in your ear.

So rumor of another shame, and little hear say, is his name. He never really claims to know, he only heard that it's so. And when he whispers it to you, so you will go and whisper, too. For if enough will pass along the rumor, even though it's wrong, if John tells Henry and Henry Joe, and Joe tells Mary and Mary Flo, and Flo tells Mildred and Mildred Ruth, it will very may well pass for truth. You understand this little elf. He doesn't say he knows himself.

He doesn't claim it's really true. He only whispers it to you, because he knows you'll go and tell some other whisperer as well. And so before the setting sun, he gets the devil's mischief done, and there is less of joy and good around your little neighborhood. Look out for hearsay when he sneaks inside the house and slander speaks. Just ask for the proof in every case. Just ask the name and date and place. And if he says he only heard, declare you don't believe a word. And tell him you will not repeat the silly chatter of the street, however gossip, smile, and smirk.

Refuse to do the devil's work. We should always remember the two great commandments in all our relationships. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. One could safely say that God knows the love we have for him by the measure of love we have for one another.

As we have noted, because of Abraham's faithfulness, he is called a friend of God. That's what he's called in James chapter 2. The actions and words of so many against the brethren are really accusations against God. Because in effect they're asking the same thing that Israel asks. Where is the God of Judgment? So where's God in all of this? Well, God is where he's always been. Look at Malachi chapter 2, the great rhetorical question of Malachi. Malachi chapter 2 verse 17. Malachi is a monologue, that is, God is doing all the speaking.

It's written in the form of dialogue. Dialogue is a conversation between two people. But God speaks the part, his part, and the people's part. The great rhetorical question there is verse 17 of chapter 2. You have weared the Eternal with your word, yet you say, when have we weared Him?

When you say, everyone that does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them. Or where is the God of Judgment? Well, verse 6 gives the answer. For I am the Eternal, I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob are not consumed. See, if any of us got judgment, we would not be here. But thanks be unto God, we have received mercy. Through God's love, grace, forgiveness, through faith in the sacrifice of Christ, we have mercy.

Verse 13, Your words have been stout against me, says the Eternal, yet you say, What have we spoken so much against you? You have said it is vain to serve God, or what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, that we have walked mournfully before the Eternal of Hosts? And now you call the proud happy, yes, they that work wickedness are set up, yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. Then verse 16, and I believe this is the time of verse 16, and has been for several years in the church.

Then, when, when this is going on, Then they that feared the Eternal spoke often one to another, and the Eternal hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him, for them that feared the Eternal, and that thought upon His name. And they shall be Mine, says the Eternal of Hosts, in the day when I make up my jewels.

I will spare them, as a man spares his own Son that serves him. So, brethren, we are here today to worship God. We are here to build a relationship with Him in spirit and in truth. Our commitment is to God and to Christ, and each member of the body of Christ. We have entered into a sacrifice with God and Christ.

So, let's all ask ourselves, is our hearts right with God? Is our heart in the Church of God for the right reasons? The Church of God is people, human beings, the body of Christ, the organism in which He lives. It is not just a corporate structure.

Today, God has made it possible through Christ for us to live in the Holy of Holies. And God will live in us if we come before Him in the right way. In fact, we can come into the Holy of Holies. We can come boldly before the throne of God. Notice Psalm 15. Psalm 15. Today we have ascended to the spiritual mount, to Mount Zion, to the church of the firstborn, the church of the living God. And who is going to dwell on His holy hill? Well, we see it here very clearly.

Lord, who shall abide in your tabernacle? Who shall dwell in your holy hill? He that walks uprightly and works righteousness and speaks the truth in His heart, He that backbites not with His tongue, nor does evil to His neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against His neighbor. We are here to comfort, to edify, and to exhort. That's how you use your gifts. If there's something that you have with regard to what another human being, I don't care if they're old, young, or whatever age, you come and tell them, tell the parents, do not do any of the backbiting, and not to say that we have that going on. But, if that should be, we have clear instructions here. He that backbites not with His tongue, nor does evil to His neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against His neighbor, in whose eyes a vile person is condemned, but He honors them that fear the eternal. He that swears to His own hurt and changes not, He that puts out not His money to usury, nor takes reward against the innocent. He that does these things shall never be moved. So, brother, now is the time as never before to really examine our hearts and minds and ask ourselves, what does God think about me? And how does my relationship with God stand? And how does my relationship with my brother and stand? With my neighbor? And neighbors, the one closest to you? It begins with husband, wife, children, and extends out from there. Does He know my name? Is He well pleased with me as a begotten son and begotten daughter? We can develop a deep, abiding, loving relationship with our Heavenly Father, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.