Lost | Rules Of The Relationship

A WILDERNESS SEASON IS WHERE WE LEARN WHO GOD IS, HOW HE LOVES US, AND HOW WE SHOULD INTERACT WITH HIM   All relationships have rules Friendship has rules Dating has rules Marriage has rules Parenting has rules Business partnerships have rules Employees and employers have rules Rules give identity and terms to relationships What are some common rules? No lying – Breaking trust breaks the foundation of EVERY relationship Eyes only for that one person – Choosing each other over everyone else No stealing – Don’t take what doesn’t belong to you In the absence of rules, there is no freedom except for the one who is mightier and meaner than all the rest   God has Reintroduced Himself – THE GREAT I AM Rescued – From Egypt and their enemies Provided – Food and water in the desert All this without ANY RULES But God is about RELATIONSHIP Exodus 6:7 7 I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians. In order for this to happen, God has to give the people: RULES FOR THE RELATIONSHIP   Exodus 20 1 Then God spoke all these words: 2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 3 Do not have other gods besides me. 4 Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 7 Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses his name. 8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 12 Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 13 Do not murder. 14 Do not commit adultery. 15 Do not steal. 16 Do not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17 Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. What do the 10 Commandants teach us? 1: They teach us about God   Dating & finding out you hate what they love I HAVE to go Camping I NEVER want to travel I MUST have 5+ kids Rules demonstrate values God’s rules demonstrate his values   We see this in the Structure The first 4 commandments deal with the Israelites’ responsibility to God The final 6 commandments address the Israelites’ responsibility toward each other   This is why Jesus said… Matthew 22 37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” This has ALWAYS been what God valued He wasn’t saying something new   2: God’s rules don’t strip us of our freedom Instead, they give us freedom in their design and order   The right tool for the job – WASHING THE CAR Car wash mitt vs Sanding block Both will “CLEAN” the car But only one will not require a lot of EXTRA work Living in God’s laws allows us to OPERATE as he designed us That was true then; it’s true now If your life seems out of order, then you need to EXAMINE your life to see what must change Psalm 139 23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. 3: We don’t earn our salvation by following God’s Rules; we follow God’s rules because we are saved.   Wedding Vows… Sickness and in health Rich or poor Imagine saying these things to someone you just met…   Wedding Vows only apply because the RELATIONSHIP is established You are not EARNING their love; you are responding to it   This is how God’s laws work You choose not to follow them But then you are choosing not to be in a relationship with him He has made the way He has paid the price He only asks that we respond But we are NOT saved through following them   Ephesians 2:8-9 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. There is only ONE way to God Through JESUS   John 14:6 6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. So if we are NOT saved THROUGH the rules, then what are the rules for now?   Knowing how to walk in God’s freedom in his designed order He is the creator He knows how we best operate Paul talked about this… Romans 6:1-2 What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?   Romans 6:12-13 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. Offer yourself to God for RIGHT LIVING (righteousness) Live in the grace and Goodness of created order New Rules for New Relationships Some of you have never truly experienced what following Jesus feels like because you have not chosen to live under HIS rules You have continued to live in old habits and desires You will NEVER experience life there New Rules for New Seasons In some wilderness seasons, you need to operate under NEW rules Fasting more Praying more seeking more Cutting out unnecessary things Are you willing to learn what God is teaching you in your WILDERNESS SEASON? God is trying to teach you who He is How he loves you How to follow him How to trust him