Be Connected

Be Connected

We are on session three of our Bible Study series on Building a Spiritual Life, more specifically, the Foundations of the Church. So far, we’ve talked about the identity and the role of the Church and our New Life in the Church. This session is going to look at how we become Connected to the Church.

Question:

• When you think about your relationship with God, how would you describe it?

Well, there are those that look at it as a dictatorship, where God is a fierce dictator screaming out commands and barking orders. Others look at it as a “Jiminy Cricket” persona where God just shows up when He wants, gives advice, and whether you take it or not is totally up to you. Obviously, both are wrong, God is not a dictator, nor is He some apparition that is along for the ride. The Bible instructs us to look at our relationship with God as a partnership. Paul writes to the church at Corinth,

1 Corinthians 3:9
⁹ For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

We are laborers together, or we are in a partnership with God, and for this partnership to flourish, we must have a close connection with Jesus and with His Church. And the most effective way to have a connection is to be in constant communication.

Be Connected: Develop A Lifestyle of Prayer

Our primary means of communicating with Jesus is through prayer. Look at it this way, prayer to us is what gasoline is to an engine, or oxygen is to your body. Without it you won’t go. Prayer is the way our spiritual engine is fueled so that it can continue moving. The goal of prayer is not to recite something just for the sake of speaking, nor is it to suffer through a checklist, just to be able to say, now that’s done I can move on with my day. If that defines your prayer life you are not truly connecting. What we should strive to do is develop a lifestyle of prayer where we are constantly connecting with God.

We’ve spent time in Bible Study on prayer models. If you need to go back and pull up the notes (get connected to the website: pobnc.org) and study the models. Find one that you like and begin using it. Here’s the bottom line. Prayer only works if you do it.

Prayer is exciting (if it’s not, you’re doing it wrong) because it is the vehicle that can transport our minds and our hearts from the troubles of this life, into the presence of a loving God. Remember a God who truly wants to partner with us as we are in this life.

Be Connected: Spend Time Daily in God’s Word

Prayer is our primary way to communicate to God, and yes while in prayer God can (and oft times will) communicate with us, IF we listen, BUT the primary way God communicates with us is through His Word. [Theological note: God will never communicate anything to you in prayer, that is NOT confirmed by His Word. Be wary of anyone who says they have a new revelation or a new Word from God that cannot be backed up with the Word, Chapter and Verse.]

You should be spending time everyday reading the Bible, and while reading anticipate how God is going to speak to you through the Word.

2 Timothy 3:16-17
¹⁶ All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: ¹⁷ That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

The church (the body) should love God and desire to please Him, and the best way to do this is to recognize that we should study His Word and apply It to our lives. We learn what displeases Him (sin) and how to avoid it, as well as what pleases Him (holiness) and how to achieve it.

Skeptics look at the Church and wonder why we stand so bold in our beliefs. The answer should always be that we have clear, absolute direction from the God. It’s called the Bible. It is the infallible Word of God that anchors our beliefs. It is His love letter to us of His unfailing, never-ending affection for us. His Word empowers us in our connection with Him because we can better understand who He is, what pleases or displeases Him, and how we can live a life of faith in Him.

One last thought, if all you do is read a daily devotion you are missing the point of this whole section. A devotion is someone else’s attempt at explaining or correlating Scripture, it’s not Scripture itself. You need to be reading the Word every day and in so doing the Word will read you. That’s how you get connected.

Be Connected: Meditate on the Word

Now, let’s talk about something that may make some of you uncomfortable, meditation. Our society has made the word meditate taboo. Most associate this word with Eastern or new-age religions. But did you know that we are instructed to meditate.

Joshua 1:8
⁸ This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Psalm 1:2-3
² But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. ³ And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Questions:

• In Joshua 1:8, what is the main purpose AND benefit of meditating?
• In Psalm 1:2, what does the believer delight in?
• In Psalm 1:3, what is meditating on Scripture compared to? Why?
• What obstacles might keep you from daily mediation?

Meditation, the Bible way, is not practiced much, especially in our fast-paced society. Most think of meditation as a time to empty the mind, but I like to look at it as not emptying but removing the junk from this world and refilling the mind with God’s Word.

Philippians 4:8
⁸ Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

The benefits of doing just this are significant. When we focus on Scripture, we focus on God Himself. The result is a nearness to God and a reprieve from the chaos that our fast-paced, overfilled schedules create in our heart.

Be Connected: Commit to Worship

Question:

• When you think of the word worship what comes to mind?

We tend to relate the term worship to a style of music or a specific portion of a church service, but the term worship goes much deeper than either of these. True worship is an intentional act of honoring God in ALL our words, thoughts, and actions.

In Ephesians 4, Paul used the metaphor of taking off an old garment to be replaced with a new garment.

Ephesians 4:21-24
²¹ If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: ²² That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; ²³ And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; ²⁴ And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

We too should desire this very same action, so that we can enter into the presence of God, and have our minds renewed. We should seek to be filled with His Spirit, so that we can walk in ways that honor OR worship Him.

Ephesians 5:15-20
¹⁵ See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, ¹⁶ Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; ¹⁹ Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; ²⁰ Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Notice that Paul instructs the church to speak and sing the praises of God. Yes, both music and a worship service have an important part to play in our worship, but they are not what brings about worship, they are simply mechanisms in which we can express worship.

[Pastor’s pet peeve: church should not be a peep rally, where you need someone to poke and prod you to get up and clap your hands, sing to God, shout with a voice of triumph. You shouldn’t need a cheer leader to worship. It should be inside of you bursting out. Even when you don’t feel like it.]

Yes, doing what we do in church is worship, but it goes deeper, when you are away from the church you must walk it, redeem it, not drink it (or better said, not participate in sin), and always give thanks (even for those things you don’t want to). That’s a tall order but consistently coming to church and worshipping with others is a way to get strengthened so that when you walk out the door and face a day outside of church you carry the strength you received inside the church. And it’s this strength that will help you make choices daily that honor God.

We need to “be connected” to God and the Church. Pray, Read, Worship, these are core elements to get your life “established”. And when you are established, you are truly connected, and then you can speak just as boldly as Paul.

Romans 8:38-39
³⁸ For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, ³⁹ Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.