Growing in Your Relationship with the Lord!

If you desire growth in your relationship with Jesus Christ and Father God, you must make it your highest priority. A growing love relationship with God is central to everything else that happens in the Christian life. That’s why we were created, that’s why Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that’s why God is preparing an eternal home for us in heaven.

I. First step in growing closer to God. [Mk.12:30] “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength”

a. Do you love the Lord more with every passing day? Is God your greatest desire? Has He become your highest priority? Jesus says this is the most important thing of all for the Christian.

II. Must have a thirst and longing for God. 

Psalms 42:1-2 (NKJV) 1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. ² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? The psalmist compared his yearning for the living God to the longing of a deer for water. The animal’s need for water to sustain its life forms a fitting metaphor for a soul’s need of the living God, the Source of spiritual life. Nothing else will satisfy that longing in your soul.

Psalms 143:6 (NKJV) I spread out my hands to You; My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Hands lifted in thirst for God's presence will result in answered prayer.

Psalms 130:6 (NKJV) My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning-- Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

The Palmist compared this waiting of the watchman on the walls of the city for the first rays of light to his waiting for God to appear and fill his hungering soul.

III. Longing for God and His house will bring satisfaction. Psalms 84:1-2 (NKJV) ¹ How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts! ² My soul longs, yes, even faints [feeling weak] for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. When we meet in God's house as He ordained, we experience the blessings of a closeness to each other, with God and we experience the moving of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We will surely be satisfied as we long for God and His house.

IV. Must desire God more than the things of earth. [Psalm 73:25]

Psalm 73:25 (NKJV)  Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.

a. David said there is no other person nor thing in heaven or earth which I can seek or hope for that will bring me joy and contentment in my soul. I will accept no one else or thing as my God.

As you grow in closeness to God, you will find that everything here on earth will lose its luster and all you have worked so hard for will belong to someone else. You can take nothing with you when you leave this earth. If you have spent no time with God, you will have nothing of any eternal value.

These scriptures are the words of those who have lived a life full of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding walking in the ways of God yearning for Him day and night.

V. God's promise to those who seek Him. Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV) You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

We will find Him when we sincerely seek Him with all our hearts, which means we seek Him with all our mind, soul, strength and emotions.

James 4:7-10 (NKJV) ⁷  Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹  Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Listen to the Holy Spirit and you will hear the voice of God saying to you “Seek My face through the study of My word and prayer?” Then be obedient to Him and receive all that God has for you. God waits for you right now!

Conclusion: As we seek a closer relationship with God, His blessings and favor will be poured out on us. God seeks those who desire more of Him in their daily lives. He wants to lead, guide, and direct us along life's journey. He made us and He knows the way that brings His blessings into our lives. God wants to bless all people, but He can only work in the lives of those who desire Him to.

We have free wills with which to make decisions in life each day.

If you begin to desire God as these scriptures point out, you will discover something that will bless your life and give you a greater sense of the presence of God working in your life every day No matter what life may bring. God's Presence and victory is yours through Christ our Lord.

Invitation: Do you have a personal relationship with God? A personal relationship with God starts by confessing your sins to Jesus and asking Him to forgive your sins and then invite Him into your life to save you and lead, guide, and direct you each day. Be baptized and Jesus will help you in your daily life here on this earth. Then as you begin to grow in your relationship with God, you will receive blessings you could have never imagined!