Steps to Restoring Your Relationship: God by Darius Stevens

Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God

Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God Introduction

I had an occasion to be around a particular 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?

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 doing 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 access to Him.

John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father, Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you but by me…” and learn of me …” God didn’t save you from your sins just to give you a wonderful life and take you If we’re not careful we’ll miss the whole on to glory. That was a part of it, but it point of Christianity in our attempt to wasn’t the entirety of it. God came to set prove our spirituality. We’ll be so busy Copyright 2013 Mission Globe

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Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God

Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God with what we think we should be doing, that we leave out the most important part: that special connection, that oneon-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 relationship. 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 certain way.

You should be growing closer to God as you go along in your Christian experience. You should know Him better than when you first started out. You should be learning some things about Him every day. You should be experiencing a deeper, closer walk with Him.

name done many wonderful works” (Matthew 7:22), they did a lot of works, but they didn’t have a certain intimate relationship with God; they didn’t do those things that God would have them to do, because they never consulted 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 recognize that your relationship isn’t where you want it to be before you will admit to needing help. The first step is to realize you have a problem, to see your need, and then determine to do someThis is the problem Jesus had with those who said, “Lord, Lord have we not thing about it. prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy Copyright 2013 Mission Globe

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Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God

Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with 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.

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 fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.

No matter how far you are from God right now He is waiting to restore 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 unto Him.

Unlike Ahab, Manasseh ignored the words of the Lord when the Lord tried to correct him, but when God allowed certain afflictions to come upon him then he besought the Lord his God.

Sometimes God has to allow us to go through some things, sometimes God has to allow certain things to befall us in order that we www.missionglobe.com

Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God

Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God 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 going through, He doesn’t want to have to plague you as He did Pharaoh but He’ll do whatever He can to get your attention because He is merciful.

People when going through difficult times or circumstances often ask, why would a loving God allow people to suffer? So they will repent, 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 Copyright 2013 Mission Globe

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 repentance.

2 Timothy 2:25 “…God peradventure 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.”

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Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God

Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God 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 literal 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 unto 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 happens 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 involving yourself in, change your mind and your heart about your former actions and turn from them without reserve and turn to God because 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.” www.missionglobe.com

Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God

Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God Your sins are what has separated you from God, how then can you get back to God without first putting away your sins?

2. Stop doing the things you know are offensive to God.

Matthew 3:7-9 “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, we have Abraham to our father…”

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.”

You can’t free yourself from the bondage of sin, but you can change your mind about the sin you’re involved 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 repentance?

Meet means apt or suitable.

So these fruits are suitable, something that fits in with the act of repentance.

Psalms 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken www.missionglobe.com

Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God

Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

You must be truly broken before God, not only tired of sin, but realizing you’ve sinned against God, you’ve been unfaithful to God in much the same manner as a spouse that would go out and commit adultery. You’ve hurt the heart of God, you’ve broken the relationship, you’ve severed the connection.

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 mercy? Do you embolden yourself against the God of the universe?

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 attitude; humble, broken, ready to give up sin and serve God.

Contrite means caused by or showing sincere remorse.

Be real with God, be truly broken up, truly regret that you ever did what you did. Wish from the bottom of your heart you never involved 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 nothing that compares to being delivered from sin and all the evil devices of the devil. Until you’ve been truly delivered from all sin you can’t know what its like to be truly happy and joyous within. www.missionglobe.com

Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God

Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God 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.

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?

This is where you empty yourself, this is where you give up all resistance. 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 matter 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 decision and it is a critical step in truly restoring and maintaining your relationship with God.

For you will suffer persecution if you determine to be saved and go with God. www.missionglobe.com

Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God

Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God 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 Moses… 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; Esteeming 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 inheritance 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 remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.”

The preacher here gives two options. Either go in the way of your flesh, your heart, and your eyes and do what feels good for the moment or put those things away from you with the sorrows they bring and serve God.

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Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God

Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God Romans 6:22-23 â&#x20AC;&#x153;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.â&#x20AC;?

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 naturally, then die and have your soul suffer eternal separation from God.

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Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God

Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God 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 whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” 4. Put yourself in position to be helped.

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, 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.

Isaiah 55:7 “Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.

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 everyone 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 www.missionglobe.com

Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God

Steps to Restoring Your Relationship with God hear and help you. God has assured 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, realize the power of God is the only cure for sin. Realize the importance of acting in tune and in step with the moving of God’s Spirit.

2 Corinthians 6:2 “Now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation.”

Don’t put off, don’t delay your new life with God begins today.