Religion or Relationship?

                                                                       Peter Tuchyna

John 1: 1-14

 

It is impressive to come into the house of the Lord, when the big game is on.

• There are many activities taking place outside right now.
• so many games and entertainments
• so many promises and expectations
• so many hopes

but it is only in the house of the Lord God Almighty, that the real and big game goes on.

It starts with the worship in the spirit and truth as

• we recognize that the earth is not our home.
• as we recognize that all things pertaining to this life are just temporal.

We are passing through some phase in our lives, but we do not rush in the last hour, the last minute to get some special bargain.

To discover some treasure.

 

We already have our treasures placed and secured in heaven and the purpose of our lives and walk is not to stand in the que and hunt for some bargains.

 

• We know, where our treasure is.
• We know what our priorities are, and they are right here in the presence of the Lord.

 

We are done with the big business living in the big end of the town.

We’ve just signed the contract.

We swapped the involvement.

 

We’ve done the deal to take care of the Lord’s business and allowed him to take care of our own business.

Straight swap?

 

We are now taking care of his business:

• To praise him -     to offer thanksgiving to him
• To worship him - to offer him the glory, honor and glory for his goodness
• To magnify him
• To uplift him
• To propagate him
• To talk about him
• to be his witnesses

and the Lord Jesus is taking care of our daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and lifelong lasting business.

 

2 Tim. 4: 3-5

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up to themselves teachers, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables.

But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry.

 

There is a big difference in having knowledge – religion and

Having relationship.

 

The Word of God showed us the real picture of the days and attitude of many in our days and ministry:

• the petty bargain hunters
• the narrow minded
• the exclusive and secluded, self-minded only
• having no interest in looking, to watch and to hear what the Lord has to say.

 

We were taught by the Word that people today want to be entertained.

• amused and
• to put at ease.

 

So, when you start preaching the Word of the Lord, when the big game starts, the world around us doesn’t want to hear. When Jesus was performing many miracles, multitude of people were around him, but when he started  to teach all left, so he asked the disciples, will you go also?

 

• They admire our worship.
• They admire our liberty.
• They admire our relationship.
• They admire our dance.
• They admire our music, our talents.

But only as the spectators.

 

They did not do the deal with the Lord Jesus.

 

• You do not hear their voices in praise and worship, they do not praise, admire Jesus.
• They do not magnify Him, nor acknowledge Him.
• They do not talk to Him and about Him

 

They are just gazing around and looking for petty bargains.

They have knowledge, they have religion, but they

Do not have personal relationship with Jesus.

 

• This world cannot have victory,
• Cannot have joy and liberty without the pure and unpolluted Word of the Lord shinning into their lives

 And exposing all foreign agents of human will in them and cleansing them from all spiritual and moral impurities.

 

We do not want to do anything without the Word.

We do not want to sing without the Word.

 ….………………..          preach……………..

……………………….      worship………………

………………………….   dance ……………….

…………………………    shout  ……………

…………………………    prayer  …………..

…………………………    prophesy without the Word.

 

We have no pleasure, no interest in habits and customs, rituals, repetitions in regular activities.

We do not have interest in religious customs.

 

We do have interest in personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

• We have interest to talk with him.
• ……………………….. to walk with him.
• We engage in relationship with the Lord.

 

Relationship is a connection with the Lord.

• We are his place of abode – of his presence.
• It is kinship with Jesus.
• It is a bond of love and trust and companionship.

 

There is no relationship without fellowship.

It applies in relationship with the Lord and Each other.

We are not coming here as to the UNI lectures, listen and go home.

We are interacting and encouraging to interact with each other as family and friends. It is not about self interest, only to talk with the same person about the same thing.

 

The Lord wants to have relationship, so he came to have fellowship with us.

 

The religious people who just come and do always the same things do not want the sound Word.

 

It is the relationship with the Lord that is taking us into deep water.

• …… that opens the blind eyes.
• ……..that sets the lame walk.
• …….that sets the oppressed free.

 

The relationship is taking us out of religion.

• Out of the man-made rules and expectations.
• Out of dead bones misery.
• Out of self-imposed oppression.

 

People that are coming to Jesus and this place just to feel good came to wrong place.

The Word of the Lord is not sent and designed to make anybody feel good.

 

The Word came to us to impact us, to change our lives.

 

The Word is Jesus.

The way is Jesus.

The life is Jesus.

 

It is not just the experience, nor is it just knowledge.

It is the life itself.

 

We can question ourselves.

We can search for a better ways.

We can polish the oratory skill.

We can refine our manners.

 

The question is – do I have a personal relationship with the Lord or just a way of life?

The world is looking for its own.

• For their own agenda.
• For their own teachers.

 

I don’t want just to feel good.

I need assurance of eternal life.

I don’t want just to feel good and to be numb to the pain of my soul.

 

I need healing and deliverance. I do not want to hear just what the Lord has done for the OT and  NT believers like Israel, Abraham, David, Daniel, Paul, Peter and others.

 

I need to have the touch of the Lord upon my life myself.

I don’t just to hear about the joy and peace. I need the Prince of Peace, joy to dwell in me.

 

I don’t want just to hear about God. I want and need to walk with him,

To talk with him and to be an abiding vessel for him.

 

Therefore, I accepted the Word. The Word is life.

Therefore, I took his yoke upon myself for it is easy for me.

Therefore, I am grateful that the Lord Jesus took my yoke upon himself.

 

• Since I have his yoke I am free to praise and worship him
• ………………………….I am victorious.
• ………………………….I have a purpose
• ………………………….I have a destiny
• ………………………… I belong to the family of God
• ………………………...I have a place
• …………………………I have a friend
• ………………………...I have a counsel
• …………………………I have a light
• …………………………I have a God and Lord.

 

Do not expect this world to embrace you.

• To understand you
• To accept you
• To respect you
• To support you.

Do not expect this world to decorate you with their honor when you are:

• Single minded
• Single sighted
• When you preach against the sin and sinful lifestyle
• When rebellion is sin
• When adultery and fornication is sin
• When alternate lifestyle is sin and abomination unto the Lord
• When there is no alternate lifestyle but the life of holiness or sinfulness
• When he who hates his brother is viewed as murderer
• When backbiting, slander, divisions and discord is what the Lord hates and the child of God abstain from it.
• When the reaching for the lost soul is more important than the bank balance.
• When the privilege to pray is greater pleasure than the comfort of the flesh.
• When the knowledge of the Word id more important than the world’s news.

 

Do not look into this world for approval and applause.

 

The safest place is on our knees where we cannot fall.

• When we respect what the Lord Jesus said.
• When we describe what we see Jesus doing, we are not liable for our words. We just described what we saw to his glory.

 

I want to and I need to be a man of His Word.

We need to come boldly against the dumb spirit settling upon God’s people just sitting motionless and gazing to the floor, while we are carrying on the ministry we were called to perform:

• To praise.
• To worship, to delight and to love.
• To appreciate and to uplift the name of Jesus.

 

Do not look at the religious people who do not recognize Jesus, when he is in our midst.

• They heard of him but do not know him.
• They may recognize him but never learn to love him.

 

When you have relationship with the Lord,

• you do not walk away from it (my sheep know my voice)
• you don’t subsidize it.
• don’t minimize it.
• you don’t have interest in petty business of shallow believers when the Lord invited you into his presence.

You don’t seek a favor of men when the Lord id with you and in you.

 

Relationships require intimacy. Time of closeness. No distractions.

He came into his own – his own did not recognize him. Did not accept him.

They heard of him. They learned of him, but they did not have closeness with him.

No intimacy with the Lord. Therefore, they did not recognize him.

The only way of having relationship with the Lord Jesus is to get to know him

• to know his word.
• ………..his will.
• …………his ways.

He who discovered the beauty of Jesu cannot stay silent in his presence.

The excitement, the joy, the gratitude and thanks are flowing like a lava out of soul.

Jesus said: out of your belly shall flow rivers of living waters.

You cannot contain it, suppress it, deny it, squash it.

It flows and it shows.

 

So let us have an old fashion, Pentecostal worship time in the presence of the king.