There are different levels/types of the relationship that we can have with God. A few examples: John 3:16 God’s love for everyone. Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.
“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” step 1: Salvation is an umbrella. Protect yourself from false teaching, prophecy. This is the only ticket to heaven. John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. After you accept Jesus as your personal saviour you need to have a stable relationship with Him. Salvation is a one time prayer ( Jesus, I pray that you forgive me my sins. Write my name on the book of life and teach me to love you. Fill me with your Holy Spirit to guide me as I follow you. Amen ) Welcome to the God family! You are saved. Salvation is a process. It does not end with a one time prayer. This is a beginning of a journey. You will need to work out your salvation with the help of the Holy Spirit. As long as you live. Get a relationship with the Lord.
step 2: Relationship A relationship begins with Communication - it is two way. Prayer is communicating with God. Prayer is a dialogue and not a monologue . God reveals Himself to us one step at a time as we continually talk with Him and also search to know Him. Salvation and Communication are a process so it takes time to know God. Read your bible and pray everyday in order to grow. Knowing the Lord has no end. Growth comes through hearing and hearing by the word of God. As you hear/study the word of God, values like faith and trust are built up into your relationship with God to a point where you don't need to see in order to have faith. We learn along the way, through the steps we take. Growth occurs step by step. Growth partly take place through Tests which God allows to train us . Tests don't come to kill but to build us. Through test God reveals himself to us. Learn to see the God standing behind the difficult times that you are going through. Pressing an orange disfigures the fruit but gives you juice at the end of the pressing. You will get no juice if you don't press the orange. Pressings on our lives may disfigure us but at the end of it we will see God’s goodness through it all. All things, good and bad work together for our good if we love the Lord. Separation in growth . A crowd prayer is good but also spend time with God. Learn to regularly pray alone. God will not talk as long as we are looking up to another source of company and solution. God did not talk to Abraham until he separated himself from his cousin Lot. Being alone must not be a lonely issue. We are not alone when the Lord is with us. Learn to enjoy God’s company. A good example is Jesus often going to the mountains to talk to His father, even leaving leaving the disciples behind. Trust is built up during spiritual growth. God has a blueprint of our lives and He knows the end from the beginning. He is not planning as things as they happen. God is Resting. He loves us such that He made man on the sixth day after creating/providing everything we will ever need on the first 5 days. We are now living on creation day number 7. Resting. We can trust Him while resting. The Holy Spirit is our Navigator guiding and correcting us in love as we grow spiritually. If you are deaf to the voice of the Holy Spirit then He cannot navigate you on your journey. God navigates us while we journey, while we drive. So, move.. grow. Abraham would have killed Isaac if he was deaf to God's voice. If he had insisted on acting on the last word that he heard from the Lord, Isaac would have become a sacrificed story. Yesterday’s word is good but Rhema words (now word) is best. Can God interrupt you? Service unto the Lord is good but can you hear Him out. He got something to say. Church can you shut up for a minute, can you lay aside your busy schedule.. God has got something to say. Silence as part of communication. Silence talks loud. Learn to hear/interpret silence. Continue doing what He said to do until He speaks again. Trust that you can act as God would say to act, when you cannot hear Him. Trust that He will correct your wrong turns. You will not always make right turns. But again, all things work for our good if we love the Lord. In the midst of many voices and noises : Still hear. Listen even in the midst of turmoil. His sheep know His voice. God doesn't change but His ways change - learn to recognise the ‘transfigured Christ’. The disciples called Jesus a ghost as they failed to recognise Him. The more you know the Lord the more you will get familiar with him such that you won't mistake Him for a stranger. Don't be Stagnant . Grow. Move from glory to glory. It not about growing from Title to Title. Being on service unto the Lord as a minister or a prophet, etc has nothing to do with your relationship with Him. Before God, we are Father and son/daughter. Grow from Glory to Glory. Know God, today better than you did yesterday. One day at at time. Joshua said,” As for me n my house we will serve the Lord.” If your house won't serve Him, Will you still choose to serve God?.