Two Ways We Live With God
Message Two In A Four Part Series
Presented by
Pastor Paul Newell
January 4, 2004

We began a new series last week, Learning To Live Life as a Winner.

Last week we laid the foundation by discovering the four types of people and the choice they each make. Each choice characterized by a what they typically say.

There is the “normal” person who simply lives naturally, according to how they feel, what they desire, the things they think. Such a life is apart from God. The Bible talks a great deal about the “natural man”. The “natural” person simply says, “It’s just the way I am!”

But when a person sees their need for God and willing accepts His forgiveness and makes Jesus Christ the Boss, the Lord of their life they become that second type of person, a “new” person. 2  Corinthians 5:17 tells us, “those who become Christians become new persons” The new person says, “I’m ready! Help me grow in my walk with God!”

The third type of person is the defeated believer. So many “new persons” get stuck in their walk with God. Instead of continuing to grow in their relationship with God they turn back to living naturally and in the process they the get discouraged. Romans chapter eight describes this type of person in detail. Their “sinful nature controls [their] mind” and that “sinful nature can never please God”. Imagine attempting to have an eternal relationship with Jesus and living contrary to His will, it’s got to be discouraging. That’s the life of a defeated believer. The defeated believer says, "What's the use?"

The final type of person we discovered last week, though, was the winner, the victorious believer. First John chapter five says it this way, “For every child of God defeats this evil world by trusting Christ to give the victory. And the ones who win this battle against the world are the ones who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” (1 John 5:4-5)

We can choose to be winners. We don’t have to live naturally or defeated. After we become be persons we can choose to live the life God designed us to live and gain a victory over the pull of this world. That’s victory!

The winner says, "I can through Christ!"

It all begins by choosing the type of person you want to be, choosing how you will live. Last weeks message ended by sharing three steps to living that victorious life: (1) genuinely rely on God, (2) join with other winners, (3) use what God has already given you.

That was last week: FOUR WAYS WE LIVE WITH OURSELVES

This morning we want to look at TWO WAYS WE LIVE WITH GOD.

Once we choose to live the victorious life we need to understand how to live that life with God.

It is impossible to live a winning life apart from God.

But what happens when we fall? What happens in the process of living our life with God when we blow it?

Does God walk away? Does He give up? Does He let us down.

Sometimes we assume that when we left God down He gives up on us. Nothing can be farther from the truth!

You see, if we are going to live life as a winner we need to understand two words:

RELATIONSHIP and FELLOWSHIP.

There is a huge difference between relationship and fellowship. They are not the same. The second depends on the first, but they are not the same thing.

Let’s look at these two words a little closer.

First, God’s desire has always been FELLOWSHIP.

As Terrie shared a few minutes ago, the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, were created by God for fellowship. God created them and placed them in the Garden of Eden. Each evening God would come and walk with them through the Garden. They would have fellowship together. Man, what would it have been like to have such intimate companionship, friendship with God, face to face?

That’s why God created us, to have fellowship with Him. We were created for fellowship.

But you know the rest of the story. Sin entered the picture. The man and woman choose to go contrary to God’s design for them. They crossed the boundaries God had established for their own good. They chose to know what sin was (the knowledge of good and evil – it’s hard to have knowledge without experience.)

And that sin destroyed their fellowship with God.

Romans 8:7-8 shares it this way, “When people’s thinking is controlled by the sinful self, they are against God, because they refuse to obey God’s law and really are not even able to obey God’s law. Those people who are ruled by their sinful selves cannot please God.”

Fellowship was gone, but something else, even worse…their RELATIONSHIP with God changed.

Fellowship was gone and RELATIONSHIP WAS BROKEN.

They learned a painful lesson that day. Sin, disobedience always leads to pain.

The rest of the book of Genesis, in fact the rest of the Bible, is a recounting of how sin ruins lives. But the Bible is also the story of God’s desire to restore that relationship to Himself.

That’s when we get to the New Testament, the Gospels (Good News) and God’s ultimate proof of His love and desire for fellowship. God sends Jesus Christ, His own Son, to this earth to pay the penalty for our sins.

Romans 5:8, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ was God’s eternal means of bringing us back into relationship with Himself!

John 10:28-29, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from me for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. So no one can take them from me.”

Did you catch all of that? “eternal life…never perish…no one will snatch them away…he is more powerful…so no one can take them from me” That’s RELATIONSHIP! Once we are forgiven and give our lives to Jesus – we are His. Nothing can change that – nothing.

We are eternally secure in Christ’s salvation.

Notice with me a great verse found in Romans chapter eight:

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

What can separate us from God’s love? What can separate us from our relationship with Jesus Christ?

Death can’t.

Things in this life can’t.

Angels and demons can’t.

Our fears and worries can’t.

All the powers of hell can’t.

Whether we are high above the clouds or at the depths of the sea – nothing can ever separate us from God’s love and what Jesus has done in our lives when we accepted His forgiveness and made Him the Boss of our lives.

Nothing can separate us, nothing can break that relationship once it has begun.

So who is responsible for “keeping” us “saved”? GOD!

Our relationship is totally dependent on God.

THAT’S RELATIONSHIP.

And relationship is all God’s responsibility. Once we accept Him, it’s His job to keep us secure in Him.

First John 5:13 says, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

That’s RELATIONSHIP. But as we said earlier, there is a difference between relationship and fellowship.

Fellowship is our responsibility. Fellowship is US!

The little book of First John near the back of the Bible talks a lot about this fellowship. Listen to what chapter one, verse seven says,

“But if we are living in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin.”

When we choose to walk in the light of God’s presence (following His plans for our lives) we have fellowship with Him!

Maybe a good way to explain that fellowship is to talk a little about my own family.

Terrie and I are married. We have a relationship with each other that began the day we stood before each other and a preacher, and said, “I do!” We have a relationship.

Relationship is one thing. I wake up every morning knowing I am married to Terrie. She knows the same thing. We live inside that relationship.

But the marriage relationship does not guarantee fellowship. We can be married and still act single if we choose to do so. We can choose to ignore each other. Choose to do the opposite of what the other desires. We can live totally for ourselves, selfishly. We can fight each other. But if we choose to live that way, thought there is relationship – there is no fellowship.

There are things we must do to ensure fellowship.

[Remember that definition for fellowship we shared a few months ago? Fellows in a ship, working, going in the same direction, together.]

What a miserable marriage that would be. Terrie and I don’t just want relationship. We want fellowship. We want to be on the same page, living life totally together. Fellowship is what makes marriage fun, enjoyable, exciting!

Now think about your relationship with God. He doesn’t just want relationship; He wants fellowship.

And there are things we must do to ensure fellowship with God.

First, we must deal with our disobedience.

By the way, First John 1:8 warns us that denial doesn’t work.

“If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth.”

We must be honest about the things that get in the way of genuine fellowship with God. Notice what 1 John 1:9-10 tells us.

“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.”

How do we deal with our disobedience?

We start by confessing it. Confession simply means to admit to God what the problem really is. It’s not just quickly saying “we’re sorry”, it’s talking to God about the real problem! That’s our part.

Once we genuinely acknowledge the sin and what got us there, God assures us that His forgiveness is already there because of what Jesus did on the cross.

Then the real work begins, the cleansing. God doesn’t want to just forgive us of our sins, He wants to cleanse them from our lives!

Just remember, denial doesn’t work. If we continue to contend that everything is ok, that nothing is wrong in our fellowship with God – we’re lying to ourselves, calling God a liar and demonstrating that His Word isn’t really working in our lives.

Why is this so important? Because Psalm 66:18 tells us, “If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened.”

If I don’t deal with the things that mess up my fellowship with God doesn’t listen to me. Why? Because fellowship is all about listening to each other!

We must deal with the things that get in the way of our relationship with God. That’s the down side. But relationship is about more than simply not hurting the other person – relationship is growing closer to the other person. Which leads us to the second step in developing fellowship with God.

Second, we must talk regularly with God.

Note this, it’s not just about talking to God. It’s about talking with God. It’s a two way proposition.

Far too many of us just want God to listen and respond to us. We seldom think about actually stopping and listening to Him as He attempts to get through to us.

That means listening to His WORD!

Fellowship is two directional. And God speaks to us specifically through His Word, the Bible. That’s the mail reason why we as a church are starting a year long Bible reading program together. Make sure you get caught up with us today as we read through the Gospel of John.

Finally, we must allow ourselves to become like Jesus!

They say when two people live together a long time they start to look like each other. I know they start to sound like each other.

There is a great verse in the Book of Acts that illustrates this point:

Acts 4:13, “They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.”

The people looked at the disciples, listened to the disciples and came to the conclusion that they  had been with Jesus.

Here’s the point.

The more you deal with the things that hinder your fellowship with Christ, the more you talk to and listen to Him, the more you will become like Him.

It’s not something you have to force, it will come naturally.

The Apostle Paul writing to the church in Galatia said it this way, “I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

The more fellowship with have with Jesus, the more we become like Him.

That’s God’s desire for our lives. Romans 8:29 tells us that God’s plan has always been for us to become like Jesus Christ in all we are. That can only happen through our fellowship with Him.

Relationship is God’s responsibility.

Fellowship is our responsibility.

So here are the two questions that deal with how we live with God.

#1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus Christ?

#2. How’s your fellowship with Him?

Choosing to live life like a winner means committing ourselves to intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ and doing whatever it takes to maintain that fellowship.

For information on graphics and PowerPoint for this or any other message on our site, contact Paul Newell at paul@familyfellowshipchurch.com.
 

(c) Paul Newell 2003

FamilyFellowship Church

P.O. Box 465, Beaumont, CA 92223

churchforfamily.com