New Hope Notes
Relationships That Delight God
Making People Better
Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
November 3, 2002 - W0244
Too many times I used to come across something in the Bible that would confuse me and I would stop reading right there. I couldnít go further and it would actually stunt my growth. Or I would see someone in church doing something unbiblical and I would say, ìThatís not very Christian!î And I would stop growing.
But it was precisely at that point that God would show me something: He said that if He had explained it to me then, my maturity level wouldnít have been adequate enough to understand it. So He would just let that question wait, and then somewhere later down the line He would explain it to me using a relationship, event, or circumstance.
Iíve found that when you donít understand something, itís best to write that question on a little mental post-it and put it in the ëbasketí of your brain, storing it away for later. Then just keep following the Lord. There will come a time when the Lord will explain it to you. Whatís important is that you continue to follow the Lord based on your faith, not on your understanding: ìTrust in the Lord with all your heart and donít lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct and guide your pathsî (Pr. 3:5,6).
Q1: In your Bible reading, do you sometimes come across a passage thatís difficult to understand? What do you do when this happens?
A few weeks ago I was reading in Ezekiel, and I came to the portion that talks about bones getting put together: ì...He said to me, ëProphesy over these bones, and say to them, ìOh dry bones, hear the word of the Lordîí ... So I prophesied as I was commanded... and the bones came together, bone to bone. Then He said to me, ëProphesy over these bones and say, ìThus says the Lord God,... Breathe on these slain, that they come to life.îí So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life, and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great armyî (Ez 37: 4,7,9,10).
I understood that God was telling Ezekiel that the bones needed to go together, but I couldnít understand why. Wouldnít it be much simpler for God to do it Himself? I thought the whole thing was nuts, so I just wrote it on a mental post-it and tucked it away in my ëbasket.í A little while later I was at the airport and saw a man interacting with his son. And thatís when God revealed His answer:
? GOD DELIGHTS TO CARRY OUT HIS WILL THROUGH HIS CHILDREN.
That father I saw at the airport delighted in having his child carry out the simplest tasksólike handing claim tickets to the baggage inspector or pushing elevator buttons. The father could certainly have done it himself, but took greater delight in seeing his son be a part of the action. And the son, entrusted with responsibility by his father, shined to the occasion.
Likewise, God could have put those bones together Himself, but He loves to carry out His will through His children. God doesnít need us, but He delights in carrying out His will through us. He does this because Heís not just looking to get people into heaven, but Heís looking for people who have heaven abundantly in them. These are His greatest lights in our world!
? GOD DELIGHTS IN US HAVING A GENUINE RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS!
God delights to carry out His will with Christians in vibrant relationship with Him. When I was on the cruiseship in Rome, I met a waiter who professed to be a Christian. Yet he admitted he didnít read the Bible or go to church. He claims to have faith, but doesnít really have a living faith, an ongoing relationship with God. He has a dead faith, the kind of faith that isnít put into action. That may be faith, but it wonít influence anybody.
Manís tendency is to take the vibrant, living relationship God intended to have with us, and make it into religion. For instance, while in Rome, I noticed people praying to statues of saints all over the city. They were also canonizing more people to become saints, so they could erect another statue. I thought, Wow, thatís just manís tendency!
Peter, who was supposedly the very first Pope, displayed that tendency. He was on the Mount of Transfiguration when Moses and Elijah appeared. Peter got so excited that he said, ì...ëLet us make three tabernacles; one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.í Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud saying, ëThis is My beloved Son; listen to Him!íî (Mark 9:5,7).
By creating a statue or memorial, we try to keep that event alive and accessible to us so that we can go back to it whenever we feel the need. Now it is no longer God, but rather we who are in control. And weíve distanced ourselves from a living faith and personal relationship with Him. God says, ìNo! Donít make tabernacles! Donít make a religion out of this! What delights Me is not your tabernacles, but you having a genuine relationship with My Son.î
Look at what Scripture says about living faith: ìThe people were praising God and having favor with all the people, and the Lord was adding to their number those who were being savedî (Acts 2:47). ìFor the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to those who are being saved it is the power of Godî (1 Cor. 1:18).
There is a big difference between those who are saved and those who are ìbeing saved.î Those who are being saved have a current, ongoing relationship with Christ. The word saved means ìto be made whole,î which indicates that we should be increasing in wholeness, or fruitfulness, because of a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ.
As we continue to talk about relationships that delight the Lord, there are three characteristics, or hallmarks, of healthy relationships. We can discover and develop these as we strive to continue this series, ìMaking People Better.î Here they areÖ
THREE HALLMARKS OF HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS:
1. SELF-CORRECTING.
One of the neat things about having a healthy relationship with someone is that it becomes self-correctingóyou begin to know what they like or dislike and act accordingly because you love them. After walking with the Lord for awhile, you know what pleases Him and you know what doesnít. When I have a healthy relationship with Him, before I do something dumb or wrong, or say things I shouldnít say, I think, No, that wouldnít delight the Father. I donít think Jesus would want me to do that. And before it comes out of my mouth, I put on the brakes.
You donít have to suffer the wrath of God before you make a change. If youíve got a healthy relationship with the Lord, you will hear the heart of God and self-correct because you know it wonít delight Him. Then you start correcting mistakes before you make them. The Bible calls this, ìwisdom.î Wisdom comes from having a healthy relationship with Christ. On the other hand, if you donít have a healthy relationship with the Lord, you make the mistake, and then you have to correct it.
ìBut I am very angry with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.î (Zech. 1:15) This hit me like a tons of bricks. What God is saying is that He is really angry with those who are at ease in their walk with Him. ìBecause,î He says, ìwhen I was just ëa little angry,í you just continued going.î I read that and thought, I never want to be like that! ìLord, help me to have a relationship with You that is vibrant, genuine, and ongoing. Take delight in working Your will through me. When Iím about to do something, and I sense You are just ëa little angry,í let that be enough for me to make a major change in my action.î
When you have an ongoing relationship with God, and can sense when He is a little displeased and change, youíll be surprised at how freeing it can be. If you donít, youíll keep going down that road until BANG, some huge consequence hits and you have to suffer pain, sorrow, and tragedy. Proverbs says, ìThe fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.î
Q2: How are you doing at self-correcting? Give an example of a time you stopped yourself from doing something because you didnít want to grieve the Lord.
2. REPAIRING BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS.
ì...And to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God.î (Ps. 50:23)
The second thing that is a hallmark of healthy relationships is the repairing of broken relationships, or Ezekiel 37 says, ìput the bones back together.î God delights in repairing broken relationships, and He wants to do this through you. If you have a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ, watch how God is going to use you to heal broken relationships in your home and in othersí lives.
Q3: Are you allowing the Lord to use you to repair broken relationships? Share about one relationship you have (or know of) that needs some repair. What are one or two steps you can make to help bring healing?
3. ADDING LIFE TO RELATIONSHIPS.
More than simply repairing broken relationships, God wants to add life to relationships. The Lord delights in peopleís salvation. If youíve never made the decision to accept Christ, thereís one way you can delight heaven and thatís by saying ëyesí to Godís invitation to follow Him. Thatís the beginning, and nothing happens until that decision takes place.
However, God doesnít merely want to repair relationships broken by sin; He wants to make relationships better. He wants to add life, to breathe on the bones, put them together again, and then bring them to life! He wants us to give life where once it was stolen by death.
God wants us to improve our people skills, our marriages, our friendships, our church, our vision, our insight, our devotion, our worshipÖ He wants to add life to every part of our lives. Thatís why John 10:10 says, ìI came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.î
Q4: Identify a relationship in your life where you might ìadd lifeî right now? How?
God is committed to a church that has a relationship with Him. That way He can impart life not only to us, but through us. Such a church is a delight to God, through which He carries out His will. Such a church doesnít just have faith; it has a living faith. And then God is able to take us and breathe us into ìan exceedingly great armyî! Letís do so by having relationships that delight the Lord!
Final Q: Which part of the sermon impacted you the most and how can you apply it to your life today?
Wow! GREAT Job to our newest volunteer, Dave Martin!!! And thanks to all of you for your faithful prayers, our little ministry has really grown!:)D