Building an intimate relationship with God takes time, just like any other close relationship. It takes time to know your spouse or a friend. We must take time to build that relationship.
God trained Moses in the wilderness for 40 years. God trained Israel for 40 years to obey and trust God. They went through trial and tribulation and, through that, learned to trust God.
They were trained for 40 years, but how long did it take for them to lose that relationship with God? Sadly, not very long. You can tell that by Joshua 24, the people of Israel had started turning away from God. That was only 5 years after they came out of the wilderness.
Joshua 24:20-33
20 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.”
21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord!”
22 So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord for yourselves, to serve Him.”
And they said, “We are witnesses!”
23 “Now therefore,” he said, “put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel.”
24 And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!”
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
26 Then Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.” 28 So Joshua let the people depart, each to his own inheritance.
29 Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old. 30 And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash.
31 Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the Lord which He had done for Israel.
32 The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph.
33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in a hill belonging to Phinehas his son, which was given to him in the mountains of Ephraim.
Building a relationship with God takes a long time, but losing your relationship with God happens very quickly.
Joshua brought the people together and made a new covenant with them in the place where they had buried Joseph’s bones. These Israelites were better than those who had died in the wilderness, but even still, they were turning away from God. When they saw the Promised Land, their commitment to God started fading away.
You cannot rely on your past relationship with God. You must have a relationship with God today.
To have an intimate relationship with God every day, you have to feed yourself spiritually every day. You must purpose in your heart to connect with Him every day. You must discipline yourself to spend time in His presence every day.
Your sacrifice yesterday, your giving yesterday, your prayers yesterday don’t count if you turn away from God today. You must have a continual relationship with God. You must pray and study the Word and spend time with God no matter how you feel.
We must renew our minds every day. Forget about what you did yesterday, both good and bad. Forget about how you worshipped God yesterday. Forget about how you sacrificed yesterday. What about today? Your walk with God today is more important than anything else. Do not rely on your relationship with God yesterday.
Our spirit cannot survive on yesterday’s relationship with God.
1 Corinthians 10:9-12
9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
As soon as you think you are strong and stand firm, watch out. That is when you fall. When you think your relationship with God is strong, you put yourself in a dangerous place.
1 Corinthians 10:12
12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
Watch out. This verse is for me. This verse is for you. This verse is for everyone. Don’t ever think that you stand firm. The moment you think that you stand firm, you are already falling.
The Israelites were trained for 40 years with a pillar of fire and cloud, with the tabernacle, with the voice of God on the mountain. It took less than 5 years in the Promised Land for them to fall.
If you think you are in a good place, if you think that you have served enough or given enough or sacrificed enough, take heed lest you fall. There are very few people who enter into heaven. The gate is very narrow.
Many people only confess Jesus as Savior. They run to Him in times of trouble or trial. But they haven’t made Jesus their Master. You will not change until Jesus is the master of your heart. If you are the master of your heart, you will focus on yourself, on making yourself comfortable. When you change the master of your heart, you will change.
Who is the master of your life? Who is the master of your heart?
If you are the master of your heart, you will only serve God when things are comfortable, when you have extra time, or when it’s convenient. If Jesus is the master of your life, you will serve Him all the time, when it’s inconvenient, when it could cost you your reputation, your money, your relationships, or your life.
We must humble ourselves every day. We must train ourselves every day. We must grow in the Lord every day.
Satan has an assignment against every believer. His assignment is to destroy God’s children. We cannot relax. If you stop growing in the Lord, Satan will attack and destroy you. We must hold onto Jesus every moment.
When Israel turned away from God, Joshua was so grieved. (Joshua 24:1-16) Israel made covenant after covenant with God, but if you look closely, you see that they held onto the gods of Egypt. They went after other gods. Then, in the book of Judges, they totally turned away from God.
Examine your heart: Who is the master of your life today? Who is in charge of your mind and heart today?
God bless you,
Pastor Sun East