On Trial- Relationship With God
I will be starting a 5 week series titled "Is there Enough Evidence to Convict You?," covering the thought that if you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? We can get so consumed with the deeper questions of our faith, and forget the basics of whether we're actually living and looking like a Christian. In this series these topics will be covered: Relationship with God, Fruit of the Spirit in your life; Real Religion; Living Rightly, and Evangelism.
I've covered the topic of "relationship with God," but this is crucial. If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be any evidence that you daily walk, talk and commune with your Creator? Do you know Him- His character, the deep things about Him, His personality, His feelings, His heart, His passion, how His heart aches for the world, and His purpose for you? And, do you allow Him to know you- your desires, your pains, your feelings, your heart, your goals- EVERYTHING? Or, does the evidence show that you keep Him at a distance, only going to Him when it's convenient for you?
If you were sitting on the witness stand and a prosecuting lawyer was showing the court the evidence of your Christian faith, what would he/she say? Would they only have a few pieces of evidence, or would there be an overwhelming amount of evidence that would clearly convict you for being in a committed relationship to God?
To know God and to grow with Him is a lifetime journey. The way you know Him now should be at a deeper level than when you firstly let Jesus into your life. And, not just God the Father, you should also have a relationship with the Holy Spirit, being intimate with this Person of the Godhead- daily. And you should strive to live out the teachings of Jesus, walking, acting, talking like Him and reflecting His character in your daily life?
God too has feelings and He doesn't just fully open Himself up to a person all at once. He does it bit by bit, looking at the heart to see if a person is hungry to know Him more.
There are men and women in the Bible that the evidence clearly shows they had strong relationships with God. Enoch walked with God and God took Him up to heaven; Moses and God were extremely close that Moses could talk in such a way to God that would change God’s mood; the Virgin Mary had the favor of God- she was very Godly and came from a very devout Jewish family; Jesus was very close to His Father when He was on earth; the Apostle Paul received so much divine revelation from God by way of the Holy Spirit from his jail cells; and the Holy Spirit opened up deeper revelation to John the Revelator on end times.
To be convicted of being a Christian firstly starts with a committed relationship with God. If the evidence is lacking in this area, then how can one consider themselves to being a true Christian?
Sit and reflect if whether there is evidence of whether you’re truly committed to God, and if you let Him in to know you.