Sermon Notes: Reverend Thomas Beavers on Relationships (Matthew 1:18-25)
- God did not create us because He needs us. He created us because he desires a relationship with us.
- God left the land of no hardships to dwell with us in the land of several hardships. - Many believers are in a relationship with Christ because of duty, not desire. - Think about how it feels to give 100% and have the other person give 8%. Now, think about how God feels when He desires to be in relationship with us and gave all He has for this relationship, just to have us give a small percentage of ourselves to Him in relationship. - Before God entered into a human body, he had to be in relationship with Himself. Similarly, before we enter into a marriage or other committed relationship, we must first be in relationship with ourselves (continuing to become the best individual we can be, so we can contribute to a relationship). - What makes us think we can be happy with someone else, if we can't be happy with God first? - Mary and Joseph do not just have a relationship with each other, they have a relationship with God. - If we want earthly relationships right, we must first get vertical relationship right. - A relationship with God does not prevent problems with earthly relatinships. - A relationship with God may cause us to become uncomfortable. - You have to be careful how you judge people. What you see on the outside (Mary being pregnant as a teen and before marriage) may not match the vision the person has on the inside (giving birth to the Savior). - A good way to tell if a vision is likely from God is if the vision has caused you to have to grow and mature like you never have before. - We want the blessings that other people have, but do not think about or want the hardships that they have to carry on the way to those blessings. - Relationship with God must take priority over relationships with other people. - If a person leaves you because you are following God, then they were never with you to begin with. - If a person is truly with you, God will confirm in their spirit that you are doing something good regardless of if they understand what your are doing or not. - Being in a committed relationship requires us to love the whole person, not just the part we like. - If a person is intimate with God, you will be able to tell by their fruit. - God with me is not just about God being everywhere, it means you having the responsibility of involving God with every aspect of your life. -
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