Pastor Aaron Cordeiro
March 18, 2012 - W1212

Today we are going to talk about the closeness with God. How close are you with God? Are you 3 feet away from Him? Or 9 feet? Do you only come across Him once in a while? Before we get to be close to God, we need to first recognize the importance of the closeness with God and how we can get close to Him. Let’s start with a powerful promise from God in which the scripture said, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8) So it is an absolute truth that He will draw near to us whenever we draw close to Him no matter what suffering we might be experiencing, and this truth stands regardless how distant you feel from Him. It was also written, “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.” (Jeremiah 29:12-14) When you seek and search God, you will find Him. He always listens when we ask for Him. Aren’t you glad that we have a “findable” God? He always lets us find Him and all we need to do is to draw near to Him and seek Him with all our hearts. And this leads to the question of why it is so important to draw near to God and be close to Him. We have to understand the importance so that we will take the initiative to get close to Him. The Bible said “Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!” (Psalms 65:4) It clearly stated that being in His closest proximity is the most satisfying state we can ever have in life. There is nothing that can be as satisfying. Since being in the presence of God is so good, it explains why it is very important for us to be close to God and keep being close to Him. If you want to be in a satisfying state, you would want to be close to Him all the time.

However, we do get distracted at times in reality. We can get distracted by work, relationship, etc. And we can get drifted away from God when distraction comes. When we first walk with God, it starts off great but then we can let our guard down as we are enjoying the good moment and become less alert. When we let our guard down, it’s the time we can get easily distracted by the outside world, and then get drifted away afterwards. If we get drifted far enough to a point that we never return back to God, we will be in eternal separation with God and that’s also how hell would be like. Sins also drift us away from God to a point that we no longer turn back to God, and get separated from Him forever. As we learn that being in the presence of God is the most satisfying state in life, I believe that you wouldn’t want to be separated from God forever. The good news is that there are ways to guard your closeness with God and to decrease the distance between you and God, so that you don’t get drifted away forever. We will be looking into Peter as an example for learning the 3 steps from closeness today.

Peter was named as Simon. Simon meant withered weed. Who would want to be named as withered weed? But Jesus renamed him as Peter, which meant a rock. Jesus named him as a rock as He is going to build churches through Peter. And Peter was constantly close to Jesus for years while Jesus was doing His ministry on earth. But something changed after Jesus was arrested. It was written, “So they arrested Him and led Him to the high priest’s home. And Peter followed at a distance.” (Luke 22:54)

(Read Luke 22:54-62)

So what happened to Peter here? He was:

1. Following at a DISTANCE.

He probably sensed danger so he got drifted away. He followed Jesus at a distance instead of following and standing closely with Him. Are you being a follower of God but following at a distance, as if you are following someone on facebook or twitter, that you would only check into God once in a while? Or would you take a step further and have relationship with Him instead of following at a distance? We can follow Jesus closely or at a distance. We could have started following very closely, but something happened that made you feel insecure and scared later on and you got drifted away afterwards. It could be because you are not being welcome as being a Christian, then you are afraid of standing with Jesus and get drifted away. Or someone thinks of you less as a Christian, then you would want to drift away to protect you reputation. However, there are two ways for you to decrease your distance with God. First, you need to:

·     Count the COST.

It was written, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:12) The word “persecuted” in Greek means being pursued systematically so that someone is set into a rapid motion. So it’s like when you try to catch a roach, you will set the roach into a rapid motion as the roach is trying to escape from your pursuing. Some people don’t want to hear the truth or don’t even like the truth, so they will scatter the truth by persecute those who represent the truth. The disciples were scattered after Jesus was arrested. As the disciples were scattered, Peter also became distant from God. However, we ought to remember the scripture saying that, “Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed My teaching, they will obey yours also.” (John 15:20) We are going to be persecuted here and there where Jesus was being persecuted. But if we count the cost, counting the fact that the truth and all the goodness of God in Heaven is available for us eternally, and everything on earth is all temporary when comparing with Heaven, then you will not want to be far from God and will decrease the distance between you and Him. So if you sense that you are being distant with Him now, you will need to the second step, which is to:

·     INTENTIONALLY press into CHRIST.

When you want to decrease your distance with God, you need to take an intentionally effort to meet with God, spend time with Him through daily devotions and prayers. You might need to seek council from others who are close to God, and be in a support group to seek God together with brothers and sisters. The Bible said, “But as for me, the nearness of God is my good.” (Psalm 73:28). We need to make God as our refuge intentionally. I remember that when I was visiting Japan, I observed how the passengers get on the train at the train station. All the trains there arrive and depart on time. People have to get on a particular train at a specific time; otherwise they will miss it and be late. The employees of the train station will help pushing the passengers into the train and the passengers will be pressed into the train like sardines. And this scenario really inspired me, as I think that if we would press into God’s presence as eagerly as those passengers do, and have the sense that we don’t want to miss out God’s presence like the passengers not wanting to miss the train, we will be able to get close to God and consciously decrease the distance between you and Him! It’s not just simply counting the cost, but also requires an intentionally effort from us to press into the presence of God. If we don’t pay such intentional effort, we might actually end up

2. BLENDING into the SURROUNDINGS.

It was written, “After they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them.” (Luke 22:56) In our lives, are we “sitting among them” or “standing with Jesus”? Are you blending in so that no one recognizes you with Jesus, or are you reminding people of your father God? It indeed takes a lot of effort to follow Jesus. And sometimes it can make one feel weary to keep doing good. It was a chaos for Peter at that moment and he was having pressure, he probably felt hungry and tired, too. So he felt that he needed a break and decided to blend in. And I can relate to that because I was very tired from the weekend services one time. Then on the other day which was a Monday, when I was driving with my family back home. I rolled in instead of doing a complete stop at a stop sign. A passenger saw me doing that and yelled at me. He even hit my car while yelling at me. And I lost my temper and said bad things back to Him. Later on, I felt guilty and asked the Lord and my wife for forgiveness. I was tired and I blended in with the world. Sometimes we blend in because we just don’t want to continue because we feel tired. But the scripture said, “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work.” (John 4:34) We all will be oppressed at times and it can be very tough and tiring. We can either sit among the other people, or stand with Jesus regardless what pressure others exert on you. If you choose to get close to God and stand with Jesus, we cannot blend in and have to resist:

3. BOWING to pressure.

If you bow to pressure, this is no longer a distancing issue, but a mind changing issue instead. The scripture said, “But he began to curse and swear, ‘I do not know this man you are talking about.’” (Mark 14:71) Peter was having a heart issue at that point after being distant from Jesus for a period of time. He switched his identification and started cursing and swearing. We behave like what Peter did at times, too. When things are going good, you will proudly identify yourself with God and proclaim that you are a Christian. But when things are not going pleasant, when people oppress Christians, you will hesitate to identify yourself with Christ. Apostle Paul said in the Bible that, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2) We cannot let the external factor to affect who we are. “Conform” means that it allows pressure from outside to change the form to a different shape. “Transform” means that there are changes from inside out, where the changes inside cause an outward change and the pressure is coming from within. We don’t want to bow to the pressure from outside because of how good God is in us. We should be transformed by God’s goodness from our inside, so that nothing from the outside can conform us. And God is so good and kind to us that if we do ever get drifted away, He will call us back. As it was written, “The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord.” (Luke 22:61) Have you ever get that look from your parents when you were a kid? I did. When I got that look from my dad, I knew I’d better stop what I was doing or else I would be in trouble! It’s the same for Peter’s situation. Jesus called Peter back by looking at Him with pure love, faithfulness and kindness. It changed Peter’s heart again, and Peter was moved by Jesus so he regretted and wept afterwards. If you feel that you are at a place that you are being distant from God, I am sure He is giving you that look to call you back, too. He is reminding you that you are a man of God, He is reminding you who you are before you start drifting away. God’s future for you is nothing like what you can have on earth, and identifying with Him is the most satisfying moment you can ever have in your life. Whoever calls out to God will find forgiveness.

If you feel that you are far from Him now, He is calling you home today. Let’s follow Him closely with an intentional effort. We have to stand firm with Him and not to bow down to any pressure from the outside. You have to take all these into your hearts so that these are not only head knowledge to you, and be transformed by Him one day at a time. When you seek Him, you will find Him for sure and He will draw close to you when you draw near to Him. Let’s start walking close with Him from now on. Amen.

Discussion Questions:

1. Why is it important to be close to God?

2. What can you do decrease the distance between you and God?

3. How can you press into Christ intentionally?

4. What can cause you to blend in with the world and be drifted away from your identity with Christ?

5. What should you do when you face pressure from the outside world?