I wonder if there is anyone out there who really wants to know God! I mean know him like you know a friend or a family member. Know him like you know a person you work with or someone you are acquainted with. Is there anyone out there who wants to know God as close as anyone you have ever known in life? That is what this study is about, knowing God and having a relationship with him just like you do people. Spending time with him in a real relationship where you speak to him and you hear him speaking with you. I know this might sound a little strange, but the truth is you can have a relationship with God that is real and personal.
God wants relationship with all people. The reason we are created is to have relationship with Him. We are created for God's pleasure and He wants to be personal with everyone. His love for mankind is compared to a father's love for his children. This is not a love like some may have experienced with a father who says he loves you but never shows it or never has anything to do with you. This is true love that is always faithful, always giving, and always abiding with concern for the one he extends the love to. Understand God loves you and wants you to love him. He wants to be a father to you and desires that all people have a personal relationship with him as Father.
1. God's Way is Not Religion's Way
If you are serious about knowing God, you must start by learning things God's way. This requires you to listen to the things of God as he has revealed himself to mankind. Religion does a poor job presenting the things of God because religion is how man perceives God. If you want to know God you must come to him in faith and receive His revelation of who he is. A faith based relationship does not fit God into what you believe, but rather, trusts God for who he is and what he desires of us. In faith you allow God to help you take on his nature while you respond to him in love. Religion tries to please God with actions that are generated through rules and commands. If you live by your religion you will find yourself frustrated, always wondering why nothing seems to work even though you are doing everything your religion teaches. Religion is based upon traditions of men with truths of God injected into its structure; while faith in God is man being injected with God.
This may sound as though I am against religious organizations. I am not advocating anyone leaving their church or religious denomination. What I am pointing out is faith looks at God and responds to his love, while religion looks at God and responds to commands, rules, and traditions for the purpose of controlling people to become what is perceived to be Godly. You do not come to know God in a personal relationship by following traditions, nor by completing curtain tasks. God loves us as we are and where we are. As we learn more about who God is, we see he wants us to be like him and take on his nature. Then we respond to him by following him as His disciple.
You can live by faith and still be involved with the church you are presently attending. If you are not attending a church, you really need to find one and become connected. Being attached to a local church allows you to involve with cooperate worship that is another level of experiencing God. God has set the Body of Christ in place to edify each other through the power displayed by cooperate demonstrations of the Holy Spirit. Find a church that is Bible based and follows the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Find a church that has a vision and is going somewhere. If for some reason you can't get connected where you are, or realize they really are not going anywhere, find another church to attend. If you are unable to find a church that meets these needs, contact us and we will provide you with churches in your area that can help you to become all that God wants you to be.
2. Knowing God Through His Revelation.
The purpose for this blog is to help people know who God is and how to have a personal relationship with him. Through his Word, which is the Bible, he has made available to us revelation of who he is and how he will have relationship with us. We must come to God on his terms, not our own, nor by means of man's traditions (religions). The Bible reveals to us how to approach him, no matter who we are or where we are from (Matthew 7:7; Revelation 3:20). If you are wanting to approach God and start a relationship with Him it does not matter what religion you are, what your culture is, how you were raised, or your race. What does matter is the way you come to God.
The Bible teaches that no one can come to the Father (God) except by Jesus Christ (John 14:6). This is because God used Jesus to be our sacrifice for sin (Matthew 26:28, John 17:1-5). God wills not to fellowship with sin due to his righteous character and nature. If you want to have a relationship with God you must do something about your sin. The Bible also says, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). This means we all have sinned and we all are unable to be like God in His righteous nature. We are not able to do anything that will clean us from our sin, nor can we stop committing sin on our own. The Bible says, "God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). The Bible also says, "If you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). Call on Jesus by simply asking him to save you. As you pray, tell him you understand he paid the price for your sin and that you accept him as your savior. Ask him to come into your heart. He will do just that and you will be saved.
This is the way to start a relationship with God the Father, by receiving his son. Then start learning who God is by reading in the Bible and talking to Him. The more you read the closer you become with God as your Heavenly Father. Get involved with some local church near you that teaches Jesus is the Savior and teaches walking in the Spirit of God as part of your relationship with God.
God presents himself to us through revelation of who he is. We hear or read something about God we never knew and respond to what we have learned about Him. We let what we have learned help us to become more like God through the changing power and ability that comes from what he has revealed to us. Then he gives us a greater volume of revelation than the first one. We respond to that revelation by doing, believing, trusting, or whatever the revelation is about and he gives us even more revelation of who he is. This process of more and more revelation causes us to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and God the Father. The more you respond to his revelation, the more you grow. Proverbs 1:5 "A wise man will hear and increase in learning." Those who choose not to respond to each level of revelation stay where they are in knowledge and truth until they do respond. These people never grow though they are in church all their life. We should not hold back from God when he is showing us who he is. It does not matter the source by which the revelation came from, just receive it. Truth about who God is, is always truth about God. You will know it to be truth by comparing the revelation to the Word and letting the Holy Spirit guide you in the truth. (John 14:26; 16:13). Respond to God's revelation and do what God is showing you. Trust God rather than man and you will grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Those who respond are the ones God uses to get his kingdom work done on the earth.
If you do not know Jesus as your personal savior: meaning you have never been saved through the blood of Jesus Christ, you can pray to him right now and be saved. All you have to do is pray to him and ask Jesus to forgive you of your sin, come into your heart, and declare that you make him your Lord and Savior. If you do that in your own words, praying with trust that Jesus is your savior, you will then be saved. If you do this please contact us and let us know you have been saved. We want to rejoice with you!
If you need assistance to help you understand being saved or what to do after you are saved, please click "Contact Us" and state your need.
May God truly bless you in your new relationship with Him. Talk to God as often as you want to. He is listening. Continue in this blog and learn how to hear Him as he talks with you.
3. Being Filled with the Spirit of God.
God has provided a way for mankind to have fellowship with him through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This is the way He has chosen for man to know Him (John 14:7). Jesus was sent by God the Father, to do the Father's will and testify for him (John 10:25-30, 36-38). In his teaching, Jesus promised that he would send a comforter from the Father to be with us and guide us in all truth. This "comforter" Jesus called the Holy Spirit (John 15:26; 16:13-14).
He told his disciples, "John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit..." (Acts 1:5). The Holy Spirit fell on the disciples in Acts Chapter 2. From then on when someone was saved, hands were laid on them and they were filled with the Spirit. In the Book of Acts, you will see whenever people were saved they then had hands laid on them and received the Spirit also. If followers were found that had not received the Spirit (Act 19), hands were laid on them and they were then filled with God's Holy Spirit.
Religion will teach you that baptism of the spirit ended with the death of the Apostles and that you have the Holy Spirit in you when you become saved, that is, receive Jesus as your savior. Religion will also try to teach you that water baptism is all we need today. Let’s look at what the Bible teaches and let the Holy Spirit guide us in what is truth.
Know first that it is God's will that people be filled with His Spirit (Ephesians 5:17-18). Those who want to obey God will receive His Spirit (Acts 5:32). Peter told those listening in Acts 2:38 to repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is something that God wants believers in Jesus to do. All disciples in the book of Acts received Jesus as their savior (were saved), then they were baptized in water in the name of Jesus Christ, then they were laid hands on and were filled (baptized) in the Holy Spirit.
God wants His Spirit in us so we are able to know the things of God and know He is our Father(1Corinthians 2:10-14; Galatians 4:4-7). If you will come to God through Jesus Christ and receive His Spirit, as the disciples did, through baptism of His Spirit, you will have His Spirit dwelling in you. You can pray and ask the God to fill you with his spirit (Luke 11:13). The best way is find a church that teaches these things and they will lay hands on you and help you. You need to be with people who can continue supporting you in the things of the spirit. You can then hear God better because the Spirit of God will speak to you from inside you.
Many people think the Holy Spirit dwells in them once they have been saved because the Bible states the Spirit is in us: Galatians 4:6; 2Corinthians 1:22; 1Corinthians 3:16, and 6:19; Romans 8:9-11; Ephesians 2:22, and 3:17. Each one of these passages of scripture are written to disciples that converted through the missionary work of Paul the Apostle. Paul did not have a convert that was not filled with the Spirit. He taught that being filled of the spirit was the will of God (Ephesians 5:17-18). He also taught that salvation and spirit baptism was not the same thing. If he found anyone without the spirit, he had them receive the spirit, i.e. Acts 19:1-6. The point is, all believers are to be filled with the Spirit. People began perverting the gospel of Jesus, teaching things that were not true, and leaving out things that were (Galatians 1:6-12; 2Peter 3:14-17). The Apostle Paul spent most of his ministry defending the truth of the gospel and the truths of spirit baptism. This is not a doctrine out of some denomination. This is a truth about the "Good News" of Jesus Christ.
The reasons for being filled of the Spirit are to have life and relationship with God in the Spirit, and to energize the power of God in your life. Why things are not working for you in religion is there is no power. We need the power of God in us so we can be like God and be able to do anything necessary in life. It is through His power working in us that we can live a purpose filled life.
If you have never received the Spirit and you want to, or you have questions, click “Contact Us” to send us a message. We will get back with you and help you receive the Spirit of God and find a church that will continue teaching you about the things of the Spirit.
4. Talking With God.
When you have a real relationship with someone, you talk with them in conversations. Religion has taught us that we talk to God when we pray. Praying is one of the best ways to talk to God. We are taught in the Bible to pray always for ourselves, for others, and when we need to convey things to God. I want to discuss having a conversation with God, not just talk to him.
The best way to have a conversation with God is to just speak out loud. After all, he is right here with you. He hears every word we speak, so just talk to him. I know you are thinking, "I can speak to him, but how do I hear what he is saying to me? You have to hear God by learning to hear his voice. You do not have to be Moses or some prophet in order to hear God speaking. God speaks to all people, all the time. There is no one he will not talk with; you just have to listen in ways He has chosen to be heard.
Jesus told Pilate in John 18:37, "Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice." If you want to hear Jesus speaking to you or you want to hear God's voice, you must listen in truth. That means the way God wants, not how you think, or how religion has taught us. The only way to know truth is by using the Bible and following the lead of the Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth, John 16:13. This is how God has revealed to us who he is and how we are to learn the truth. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me", John 14:6. So if you want to hear God speaking, you have to start in truth.
One way God speaks to us is through his word, the Bible. If you have never read in the Bible, find a version (translation) you can understand. I recommend the Living Bible, or the NIV (New International Version). Many want to start by using the King James Bible because it is the one so many people used through the years. There is nothing wrong with the King James Version of the Bible, however, it may be difficult for you to grasp some of the old English meaning as you read. There are other versions easier to understand. Find one you can understand and use it. As you read in the Bible you will sense this voice coming out of the pages. This is the voice of God.
When you read in the Bible, don’t start in Genesis, the first book. I recommend you first read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). These are the first four books of the New Testament. Then read Acts, Galatians, and Ephesians. These will give you the foundation for knowing how to live as a Christian. By the time you have read these, you will have learned enough to read any of the other books as you please.
Another way we hear God's voice, is through preachers and other people who speak things into your life as they are led by the Holy Spirit to do so. It might be someone God sent to you or just someone preaching, teaching, singing a song, or saying something in simple conversation. Something they say is a direct confirmation to what you have been talking to God about. When we hear God in this way it is His voice, just not in the form of personal conversation.
Talking with God directly is the way to have a conversation with Him. Having a conversation with someone depends upon one person talking while the other listens. Then the other person talks while the first person listens. This back and forth talking and listening is what we call conversation. Having a conversation with God is mostly getting use to his voice as He speaks with you; knowing what you are hearing is His voice. In John 10:27 Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." We can know the voice of God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. As you read in the Bible and pray, listen and you will become more and more aware when He is saying something to you.
The best way to hear God in conversation is through His Spirit (the Holy Spirit), by being filled with His Spirit. Once you have God's Spirit dwelling in you, the Spirit speaks and you hear him. This can be anytime, anywhere, because you are talking with God in you.
I recommend you look at this website for more information about talking with God: http://www.godtalkstoyou.com/.
The more familiar you become of the ways God speaks to us the more you hear him when he is speaking to you. As you talk with God and you hear him talking back with you, you become familiar with His voice. Just as you recognize someone's voice on the telephone, you recognize God's voice as he speaks with you. You then find yourself speaking to God all the time. His voice starts being a comfort for you and you realize you are hearing His voice in you (through his spirit) more than any of the other ways we hear him. At this point your conversations become directed and personal. You look forward to each time God speaks with you. This is where he wants each of us to be with him.
So talk with God! Talk with him often. Talk with him as your friend. He is always there to listen and give you direction.
5. Having the Nature of God.
Have you ever thought you could be like God? Actually, being like him is one of the things God desires in us. He wants us to be like him by taking on his nature (2Peter 1:3-4). God has given us, by his power, great promises where we can take on the full nature of God. We can be like God because of the work being done in us through the Holy Spirit, and escape the corruption that works through the flesh. This ability is so real once you have received the Holy Spirit, you actually can do what Peter is teaching in 2Peter 1:5-8, and not be unfruitful or barren in the knowledge of God. You really start being God as you let him flow through you.
The Apostle Paul teaches about receiving the power of God and being strengthened in the "inner man" in Ephesians Chapter 3. He desires that they know the love of Christ and be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:16-19). It is God's desire that we be like him and be filled with all that God is.
This may be hard to grasp, being like God, when people are having difficulty understanding that God is and that he desires to have relationship with mankind. Some have difficulty with the fact that the Bible is God's word or that the God of the Bible is God at all. The great thing about the God of the Bible is He is alive and testifies to us through his spirit (Romans 8:14,16). No other god does this because there is no other God, he is the true and only living God (Isaiah 44:6,8).
Wanting to be like God, so we can overcome the corruption of the flesh and maintain life with the virtues of God, is the desire of all who believe in Jesus Christ. To have compassion for all people and use the power of the Holy Spirit so that all people can enjoy fullness of God upon the earth, is the ultimate joy. It is being able to overcome sickness, despair, disappointment, loneliness, heartache, pain, and anything that keep us from being happy, healthy, productive and full of the abundant life that Jesus speaks of in John 10:10.
When we are willing to do as God desires for us and take on the fullness of God, we can walk in the spirit (Galatians 5:16) while we let the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) flow out of us. We can then use the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:14-17) with success and really make a difference in the world. You will then see you are being just like God, in the image of Jesus Christ.
6. Walking in the Spirit.
When someone speaks of "walking in the spirit" usually it is referring to following God or walking with God. The Bible teaches walking in the spirit as living and existing with the Spirit of God. It is doing Spirit things as a part of our daily experiences. The Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 5:25, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." This means we let things of the Spirit be part of who we are and what we do. We do Spirit things in our jobs, our schools, our recreation, when we are shopping, or when we are at home with our families.
The first thing you need to do is be baptized in the Spirit in order to have the Spirit in you. Baptism in the Spirit is covered in detail under post No.6. "Being Filled with the Spirit of God." Once you have His Spirit in you, you are able to walk in the Spirit and live with Him as part of who you are. You can start using the spiritual tools provided by the power of the Spirit. Day-to-day experiences become spirit controlled, as you use spiritual power to do spirit things, using the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-25) to overcome things of the flesh, and learn to become holy. We use the Gifts of the Spirit (1Cor. 12:8-11) to help ourselves and others to accomplish things of the Spirit. We use the Armor of God (Eph. 5:10-16) for the power of the Spirit to combat the wiles of the devil in order to maintain a purpose filled life that is consumed with the fullness of God.
As you make Spirit things more and more a part of your daily experiences you are walking deeper and deeper in the Spirit of God. You must be doing spirit things to be walking in the spirit. Use the things mentioned above by doing them in your life. Don't let anyone rob you of becoming a true spirit led individual because they do not understand that we can make the Fruit of the Spirit, the Gifts of the Spirit and the Armor of God, part of who we are and what we do every day.
Conclusion
I hope this this study has been a help for you to come to know God better. If you have any questions, please contact us by clicking Contact in the Menu above.