Growing Relationships
We must Grow in our Relationships
How to Grow in relationship with God
Have faith
Confess sins
Obey Him
How to Grow in relationship with God’s People
Consider one another
Encourage one another
Meet with one another
Failure to Grow is Evidence of a Lack of Relationship
Relationships are Costly…yet Rewarding
Slide
Introduction
Relationships are important in Christianity. In helping others come to Christ. In helping others and ourselves, persevere in Christ.
This past week, Laura and I and a few others were able to attend a relationships workshop that was really incredible.
It was beneficial to me in a number of ways and I know to everyone who attended.
Effort Required
But one of the things that I learned or at least was reminded of was that it requires effort to have a growing relationship with people, whether it is your spouse or a friend or a family member.
To have a relationship beyond just knowing someone and to be continuing in relationship with others is going to take effort. Maintaining relationships is hard work.
Anyone who has been in a relationship with another person and thought it would maintain itself has seen that relationship deteriorate into no relationship at all.
I am sure each of us can think back to relationships we had in high school or college that were close and strong, but have deteriorated as you have gotten away from talking and being together. You may still talk occasionally, but it is not the relationship it was.
Even in marriages where you see your spouse everyday and are together and speak each day, it takes work and effort to truly communicate and grow in your relationship.
And even in spite of all the work and effort that being in growing relationships involves, each of us need those types of relationships in our lives.
Transition
Well, the author of Hebrews has a few things to say about our need for Growing relationships in Hebrews 10
We are continuing on in Hebrews 10:19-22.
Slide
We saw last week that Christianity is a new and better Covenant than the Old Covenant and even better than any pseudo covenant that we seek to follow that is really no covenant at all.
And we enter into that New Covenant by receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and entering into relationship with Him.
Let’s see what the author has to say now in light of what he has said to this point.
Let’s read Hebrews 10:19-23
Hebrews 10:19-23
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
So here the author recaps what he has just said and is basing his next thoughts upon it.
The first thing we learn here is that
We Must Grow in Our Relationship with God
Slide
Hebrews 10:22
22 let us draw near to God
Drawing near to God is Growing in your relationship to God.
The author is telling us to Grow in our relationship with Him.
I want to back up and give a bit of context up to this point.
The author has in the previous 3 chapters told us about the New Covenant.
He is telling these Hebrew people, many of whom are believers but a few who may not be, that the New Covenant in Christ’s blood is far better and that we need to enter into that covenant, receiving Jesus by believing in Him as our Savior.
Once that happens, Relationship has been established. Salvation has been given, never to be taken away.
Then you need to grow in that relationship.
Draw near to God, Grow in that relationship.
That is easy to say, but How do we do that?
How do we grow in our relationship with God?
Slide
The inability to know how to maintain particular relationships is what leads to many relationships failing.
Thankfully for us, the author gives us some guidelines in how to grow in our relationship with God.
The first thing he says is
Have Faith in Him
Slide
Hebrews 10:22b
22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,
Now there are a couple of aspects to the faith that we need to have to be in a growing relationship with God.
First we need to have a
Saving Faith
Slide
When he talks about a “sincere heart” of faith, that is speaking about saving faith.
Often in the Scriptures, when it talks about belief, it talks about believing in your heart.
Romans 10:9
9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
That is why when I give an invitiation or explain the gospel message, I tell people that it is not about some words that you say, as if they are special words. It is about your heart being expressed through those words.
A sincere heart of faith.
So the first part is a Saving Faith
Secondly, there is a
Strengthening Faith
Slide
That is the “full Assurance” of faith.
A faith that is growing and giving you strength to stand firm.
This is Paul’s hope for the Corinthians
2 Corinthians 10:15
Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow,
He wants their faith to continue to grow and be strengthened so they will be able to stand in full assurance and continuing to grow in their relationship with God.
Paul sent Timothy to the Thessalonians for the same reason
1 Thessalonians 3:2
2 We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,
This is an important reason that we need to be in fellowship with other Christians. God uses people to help our faith be strengthened.
Through encouragement,
through their example,
through their perseverance,
God wants to see our faith grow so we can be in deeper relationship with Him.
We need to have a saving faith and a strengthening, growing faith in God to be in a growing relationship with the Lord.
That is the first part of having a growing relationship with God.
Secondly, you need to
Confess your Sins to Him
Slide
Hebrews 10:22c
22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience
We talked about this last week.
The Old Covenant sacrifices “were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.” (Hebrews 9:9).
Christ’s sacrifice can cleanse our consciences.
How come some Christians have consciences that are not cleansed?
Because they fail to confess their sins and be cleansed.
1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us (cleanse us) from all unrighteousness.
The reality is that when we do something wrong, anything, against anyone, we are doing wrong to God.
David, when he sinned with Bathsheba and after he was confronted with it by Nathan and wrote psalm 51, said this
Psalm 51:1-4
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
(from New International Version)
Even though David had sinned against others, he recognized ultimately that all sin is a sin against God and breaks relationship with Him.
It is impossible to be in a growing relationship with the Lord when we have broken fellowship with Him and our unconfessed sin causes broken fellowship.
We need to confess our sin to be cleansed and continue on in a growing relationship with the Lord.
Thirdly, we need to
Obey Him
Slide
Hebrews 10:22
22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
Now in the Christian sense when we think of having our bodies washed with pure water, there is an allusion to baptism.
Peter uses this allusion
1 Peter 3:21
this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God.
It is the pledge of a good conscience toward God.
We are saying in baptism
“Lord, instead of sinning against You, instead I am proclaiming my faith to all to strive to obey you.”
And baptism itself should be our first act of obedience.
I meet people sometimes that as adults, they don’t want to be immerse baptized.
They think it is somewhat humbling. And it is. But it shows the truth of our desire to follow.
In the Old Testament, there is a picture of this that occurs with Naaman, a man who had leprosy. It is not an example of baptism, but it carries some of that same allusion of the waters of baptism and the way some people feel.
I want to read that to you.
2 Kings 5:9-14
9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."
11 But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage.
13 Naaman’s servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ’Wash and be cleansed’!" 14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.
(from New International Version)
Baptism, the thing that is being alluded to by the author of Hebrews is not the thing that is going to clean you, just like Peter said.
But it is “the pledge of a good conscience toward God.”
Lord, I am going to follow after the things you tell me to do.
Lord, I trust you.
If we are going to be in a growing relationship with God, then we need to obey Him.
Relationship with God is different
Now our relationship with God is a little different than our relationship with anyone else.
While other people may give advice and desire what is best for us, God knows exactly what is best for us.
Baptism should be our first act of obedience to the Lord after salvation. It is often not today, but in the New Testament, salvation and water baptism were so close together, they were often spoken of in the same sense.
Baptism today
Luke get ready
We are going to be having a baptism this morning. Luke Hanlon has put his trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and desires to walk in obedience to Him.
Maybe you are here today and you have yet to take this important act of obedience to the Lord.
Maybe this is the first you have ever heard about baptism as an act of obedience to the Lord. Then commit to finding out what the Bible says about it and commit to obeying God in all that He tells us.
That is vital if we are going to be in a growing relationship with the Lord.
Salvation
But perhaps you are here today and have never taken the first step of receiving God’s offer of establishing relationship with you through His Son Jesus Christ.
You cannot grow in relationship with God without entering into relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.
John 1:12
12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God- (from New International Version)
By knowing Jesus, we know the Father.
When Philip, one of His disciples asked Jesus to show him the Father, here is what Jesus replied.
John 14:9
9 Jesus answered: "Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
(from New International Version)
Enter into relationship with the Son and you are in relationship with the Father and the Spirit.
John 14:6
6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you have never entered into relationship with God through Jesus Christ, you can do that this morning, right now.
Just turn to Him and tell Him that you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, that He is God in the flesh and that He lived a perfect life, died for your sins and rose again after 3 days.
If you want to enter into relationship with God, pray with me now.
And if you want a growing relationship,
Confess your sins,
be cleansed, and
obey His commands.
God wants the very best for you even when you don’t understand.
Ask him now to help you walk in His ways.
Pray
