Pathways to Intimacy with God - It's Not about Rules, Ritual, or Religion, Part 1

You like to know God, I mean really know him, I mean no God like a personal friend.

It's possible that God gave us a map centuries ago, and over the next couple weeks working on a journey together, where you can experience intimacy with you. Learn to hear his voice, you learn to talk to him you want to listen to what he says to you, and you're not stable welcome to this Monday edition of Living on the Edge with your finger tips are Bible teacher is international discipleship program begins a new series called pathways to intimacy with God turning into Living on the Edge for the very first time were glad to have you here to find out more about us, just visit our website Living on the Edge, but I think you should say that for after the program just about the Georgia fours message from Lou Chapter 11. It's not about rules, rituals, or religion. There is something that all people of all time in every culture and every generation have in common think it this something is found in the most sophisticated of cultures around the world and yet you going to the most primitive tribe you'll find it there to. It transcends all languages, all people groups and all time periods is the most universal thread that connects all men and all women of all time.

What is it it's the quest for meaning and purpose beyond our material existence you do any archaeological dig, you discover of any time. Anywhere in the world and you will find people groups of multiple languages and backgrounds. They will have one thing in common there be some form some system, some attempt to say what is the meaning and purpose of life beyond this material existence. It's the spirit of man that searches for contact and relationship with his creator, it's that desire in the human heart is the painting of Michelangelo of the finger of God and the finger of man coming close to touch in the soul of every human being in the spirit of each man and each one that's ever born.

Is this desire to touch God to know him to Something where there is a contact that says you matter your important there's more to life than just this. In the words of Pascal.

It's that God -shaped vacuum inside every heart that is never filled and tilts filled with the relationship with God in the words of Augustine. It was the restlessness of every single heart of every man of every woman of all time. That never finds peace and never finds rest in Augustine's words until we find our rest, as he said in the in the search for intimacy with the Almighty people have taken about three primary roads.

They travel down the same three paths to seek to touch God to know God and the roads are rules and then a way to say if I do this and I keep these rules maybe I can please him, or in most cultures in the world if I can keep these rules maybe I can prevent his wrath from destroying me a second road travel is not rules, but the making of rituals and rituals or traditions or patterns that we seek to somehow bridge the mystery between the known and the unknown to answer the questions of immortality and so we light candles and we bow we pray certain times and certain days and wear certain clothes in the final road is not just rules or rituals. But religion their man-made systems of belief to explain the unexplainable ways to for men and women over time in ages in a multitude of ways to say, life can make sense and immortality in life after death, and why I'm here and we develop systems of religion, or thought that say this explains it and inside these rules and rituals and religions that have for centuries and centuries and centuries comes Jesus and Jesus makes the ridiculous claim ridiculous claim. Think of it when he said it. I've come to explain the father. Jesus would say if you've seen me, you seen the father. He would say the writer John would say God incarnate, came in the flesh, and he has explained him. Jesus was if you want to understand what God is like. If you want to touch him. If you want contact if you want understand all the mysteries of immortality and purpose and meaning can be connected to God. Jesus said on the way on the truth and the life.

And then he proves it with miracles and he taught like no one else in the race people from the dead and all of history hinges on this time before Christ in this time of his death and his resurrection. It's interesting to hear what Jesus says about rules and ritual and religion.

Notice he says in Luke 1139 you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you're full of greed and wickedness translation is not about rules, not about external rules and keeping rules is not about performance. Notice what Jesus says in Mark 713.

He says to them flesh you nullify the word of God by your traditions that you've handed down and you do many such things. Translation is not about ritual not about tradition is not about how many times you pray, what direction you pray how many candles you like.

What kind of robes you where what days you do certain things, rituals have no power to build a relationship with God. Jesus goes on to say Luke 1615 you are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in the sight of God.

Translation is not about religion is not about external forms. It's not about systems of do's and don'ts, and belief systems. It's about issues of the heart. It's about being seen by God and being right with God as men go to seek God and touch him. Notice what Jesus says in Matthew 65. He says and when you pray, don't be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on street corners why to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they receive the reward in full translation when you seek to touch God warning motive is paramount religion in rules and ritual are almost always twisted in ways to serve people to put people in positions of power in summer and in summer out and rules and rituals and religion are used to exalt men and impress people and they are fruitless in the real knowledge of God. Finally, Jesus says in Matthew six and when you pray, don't keep on babbling like the pagans, for they think or they believe that they'll be heard because of their many words warning number two. Human performance is a vain attempt to touch the creator Jesus would say communion with God is not about rules communion with God is not about rituals communion with God is not about man-made religions so than the question is Jesus. How do we commune with God.

How do you touch the invisible. How do you know your creator.

How can you be known, and known in this mystery of life and life after death and why am I here and what's my purpose and how can I touch God, Jesus, please explain. And so Jesus does make outrageous claims and the people that were closest to him, could spot anything that was false. His disciples, the eight within the travel with him early in the morning light at night they saw him under pressure. The song was tired. They watched him speak.

They watched and pray they watched him do miracles. But there was something that he did that attracted them more than all else.

It's when he communed with the father when he modeled for them how they indeed touch God and so notice in Luke chapter 11, after observing Jesus deep commune with the father. The disciples make a request. Notice how it opens up on one day verse one Jesus was praying in a certain place. You get the idea. These praying and the disciples are close enough to hear. And it's almost as if they're here and there, waiting, and he's praying and a watch this happen. Multitudes of times. There's times where they said go ahead and he went up the price. There's times when I prayed as a regular practice in the garden. There's other times when he said you used to you come with me will price.

There's times when they went in the room and he would pry into a miracle. This time he's praying as he's praying.

The disciples are watching and they can ask him anything but there's something about the way he talks with the father. There's something about the reality of his relationship. These modeling the causes a request to be formed in the mind. Their heart, and as was praying when he was when he was finished, one of the disciples said him, Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples to pray you have something we see it, it's authentic. It's real, there's power, there's presence there's reality you have the outward forms you break all the rules but you're in touch with God all the things we dreamed and heard of and wanted to see if there's an attraction about you there's an authenticity about you.

There's a purity about you there's a power about you and it doesn't come from you. You have this practice of talking with God in such a way we want to know John the Baptist. He has a formula he taught his disciples where young boys. We grew up in Rabbi every rabbi had a formula he taught his special prayers to his disciples, we want to know what to pray.

They're not asking, teach us to pray in general. They're not saying we want to learn about prayer. There's literally saying teach us what to say we want to pray prayers like you pray John has a formula. The Pharisees have a formula we want one. In verses 2 to 4. Jesus condescends to the request and he's going to provide them with with an approved pattern that there is a system there are formulas there are things that should be prayed and are more important and notice Jesus gives us to them and he said to them when you pray, say, is not just giving a general thought about prayer. He saying when you come before God. One thing that you can actually say when you come before God is this and is going to teach them some very important not only theology but some truth about God, he says pray this father, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive our sins, for we are also forgiving everyone is sins against us and lead us not to temptation. The first word would've startled them the word for father is Bob's in Aramaic. It's, it's, what little small little children say is a term of affection and request to ask one of their parents. A question or to be picked up as a small child be brought into his arms, the Jews. By this time, a very transcendent view of God is Almighty. He's powerful. They have a multiple rules and all these things you can and cannot do. They have a written tradition in oral tradition and men are overwhelmed with the load in the pains of the law.

Jesus would say you put heavy weights on men. Your blind guides there, filled with religion.

There filled with ritual there, filled with rules, but there's no reality in Jesus cuts through and says the very first thing you say Bob, you come to God as a father. He's accessible. He's personal.

He's warm.

He's available he loves you and then as you go through the prayer he says recognize his holiness and his reference and then pray first about God's agenda and then pray specifically about your needs and then make sure you address the issues of forgiveness not only what you need from God. What you're giving to others and finally pray for spiritual protection. The purpose of this message is not to do an exposition of the Lord's prayer as it's called, but what I want you to see is that he gives them an approved pattern. He says this is a good pattern to pray, and it begins with their view of who he is but notice after he gives them the approved pattern. There's a question behind the question when they said teach us what to say when we pray, it was more than that it was we want to be connected to God the father, the way that you're connected to God the father, and so we want. They thought it was a formula give us a formula. So this is okay need a formula here's a formula, but that is good.

Same but the question behind the question is you really want to know how to touch the invisible.

The real question is how do you touch the heart of God. The real question is, what's the path where you can come before God and experience God the father. The way I experience God the father and so to do that you not only get gives him a formula but he now gives them the secret to communion with the father the transcends any pattern or any form, and he gives them what I like to call an astounding parable. Notice what picks up in verse five. Then he said to them, have given you the pattern. Then he said to them, notice the first word, suppose it's hypothetical. He's making it up. He says suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine is on a journey has come to me and I have nothing to set before him, would you circle the phrase I have nothing will come back to it later. I have nothing to set before him, then the one inside answers, don't bother me. The door is already locked my children are in bed with me. I can't get up and I can't give you anything.

And Jesus says I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is a friend, yet because of the man's boldness, put a little box around the word boldness he will get up and give them as much as he needs. If you're in the King James version it says persistence or perseverance doesn't the word here for boldness or persistence or perseverance. The word can mean either one. The literal meaning of that word is without shame coming before someone without shame.

And so Jesus says, okay, I give you the formula now let's let's dig deeper.

Suppose one of you has a friend, and by the way, you have to get into the culture makes no sense. Most of us are thinking you know someone stops over 1130 at night and I don't have any food in the house. No big deal.

I say let's go to bed and get breakfast tomorrow at Denny's, you know, don't worry about it. But this culture is hospitality is a premium. It is an utter disgrace. It is shameful to not be able to offer a guess someone traveling food and shelter is an absolute disgrace. So this is a big problem in our modern ears. It doesn't seem like a big deal in that day. This is a big problem. So much so that he would go to a friend, but the question is what kind of friend, could you go to midnight. I mean you not to knock on a Deibert neighbors door that you have much relationship with minutes, like the people in your life and mine.

There's not many houses where I can go to someone's house, walk over to the refrigerator without asking them open the door, look inside say you know what I think I like a glass of orange juice.

Get myself an orange juice as a boy on, hungry to know what here's the crackers put them on a plate and come in and sit down in the living room and say hey how's it going, how many people are in your world. You can do that with not too many.

But what does it tell you about the relationship when you have people you can go in the refrigerator.

It means that there's an openness there's a friendship there's a there's an accessibility and what Jesus is saying is the only kind of person you would ever go to their house is where there is a level of accessibility and and and at the level of friendship as you would never knock on the door midnight, some you didn't really know this is someone you're expecting to come through for you and he basically says another not come through for you because of your friend to come through because you came without shame. You said the relationship matter so much. I wouldn't come or I wouldn't call anybody here received a call about two in the morning of someone has a flat tire or has an emergency and says can you help me and they think you're a lot closer friends and you think you are with them. I've never had the sense to you but what you it's real sincere. On the other end of the phone and you feel this weird twinge in a weird twinges is 2 o'clock in the morning and I do not want to be getting a record for you. I want to be back in bed but the other part of the twinges you know something I felt pretty good about this person, but I had no idea the fact that they would feel this free to call me means I must have a very special relationship with them that they would feel that sense of freedom or lack of shame or boldness, and Jesus is going to make the point that this friend is going to respond.

Not just because your friend, but is going to respond because you viewed him in the relationship with the kind of esteem. The would come without shame.

Jesus now moves on.

He's going to say there's a point to this parable and what is gonna say now is he's going to summarize the message of the parable in the message of this parable in verses nine and 10 is very unusual. He's going to say God is not like that by his command often in Jewish teaching you. You want to make the truth and so you have a negative example in this is a negative example in the parable, MAs can have a positive example and is in and with the principal. But what is to say here is there's there's a reluctant friend who doesn't really want to get up out of bed but even a reluctant friend for something real serious like hospitality will get out of bed, not because of your friendship, but why because you come without shame you so esteem him of the kind of person that he is in the relationship you have now. Jesus can use a positive example and his point is going to be God never sleeps. God is not like the reluctant friend. In fact, God is exceedingly ready and desirous to bless. That's a negative example and it kind of the a priori logic if you will, but if a friend who is reluctant and really wouldn't want to get up will actually do it when you come boldly, how much more than what a God who loves you and cares for you, who never sleeps is not only not reluctant but exceedingly ready on the edge of his chair, longing to bless his children the notice what he says in verse nine and 10 so I say to you, command asking to be given to you seek and you will find knock and the door will be open for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds into him who knocks, the door will be opened since the application of the positive teaching Jesus lot logic very simply, is if a reluctant friend will respond to your admission of desperation and need for help because you boldly ask for help. How much more will your heavenly father who loves you and longs to help you respond favorably when you boldly ask and seek and knock. In fact, the negative example leads to him making the same point through a very positive example and now notice verse 11 through 13. He reveals what I like to call the path of communion with God to this one. During principal.

He gave a negative one now. Now he he says to them okay which one of you.

If your son asked for fish, will give them a snake instead in the grammar here is very clear to answer. The assumption is that no one may know dad in his right mind if your boy comes to you and says hey could I have some fish and you say there's a snake. No or he plays it out again or if he ask for an egg. We given the scorpion assumed answer absolutely not. If then you notice the logic he's building his case, the pattern, the parable, the application second parable principal if then you though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him to Jesus point is the path of deep communion with the father is not about performance, not about keeping rules. It's not about saying the right words at the right time with the right emphasis old God is not having all your life completely in order so that you never messed up and have I met you have got him. I measured up. We answer my prayer. Now it's not about approaching a God that if you get the right words at the right time and say it just right. You've done ALL the rules and tunnel rituals that maybe just maybe you can twist the arm of God because he really doesn't want to bless you.

She really doesn't want to. If you do everything just right, you can twist the arm of God and he'll give you what you want see that was the thinking of the day. Candidly that's the thinking of most of us see most of us we think about communion with God. We think you know what, how long are you supposed to pray what kind of words you supposed to say.

Should you quote versus when you pray or not, put versus when you pray, where should you pray does God listen more.

If you're flat on your face or if you're on your knees or sitting. Is it okay to pray with your eyes open.

Can I pray in the car. Can I pray when I walk out what's exactly the right way to pray.

Now if I write down the prayers that given more power we have a million ways to talk about. I want to be close to God, will I guess I need to do this if I mess up.

I guess I need to do these two things to make up for it.

I need to tell him I'm really sorry I didn't figure out a way to try and get God on my team. If only God would bless me. If only God would help me. I know he helps other people that are more holy and more kind and more caring and more loving and more pure than me. But how can I get God to get on my team that's the attitude and what Jesus is teaching is that is not the right words or spiritual techniques or rituals.

It's not about twisting God's arm is not praying for long periods of time is not living a perfect life.

It's about understanding who God really will be back with but if you chose to do your listening to Living on the Edge dripping from chip stock today is from a series of pathways to intimacy with God of you found helpful. Let me encourage you to take advantage of the series discounts and order a copy today. I think you'll agree with me. There's no way we can catch all the key points just once through, so if you were listening about yourself. You know what I really want to take this more seriously. Don't let your good intentions slip by. Give us a call at 1-888-333-6003 or check it out online at http://livingontheedge.org pathways to intimacy with God.

Do it today. I'll be right back in just a minute to talk about the specific pathway we address today, but there is a very important reason why this series follows our series on the invisible war.

90% of spiritual warfare is defensive. In other words, it's about putting on the belt of truth, it's about having your mind renewed.

It's about not having doubts the way that you put on the armor of God is the disciplines of the Christian life.

It's being in the word.

It's learning to pray it's renewing your mind. This entire series on pathways is to help you fight the invisible war and win.

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What went through your mind.

I mean, what childhood memories flashed through when I was talking about ritual and tradition and rules. I wondered to myself even as I type this I wonder how many people have lists of rules and warped views of God like I did growing up and I shared some of these but you know what this is all about. This is really about your view of God do you believe in a God who has a list that you have to keep every day in every way. Do you believe in a God who sets the bar and if you even come close to hitting it.

He keeps raising the bar higher and higher and you believe in a God whose down deep in your heart you think. Is it just a little bit down on you or maybe real down on you if you miss a Sunday service, or if you miss reading your Bible work if you don't pray so long then. Boy, you're in big trouble today. A lot of us live with that, God, and what I want you to know is, most people who've rejected Christianity have not rejected the Jesus of Christianity, but a caricature of a pseudo-Jesus, a pseudo-Christianity. As GK Chesterton said Christianity has not found to be tried and wanting. He says true Christianity has rarely been tried.

You see, we have these church experiences.

Unfortunately, your background from baggage and family that we think God is different than he is. And as we start this series I want to give you something very very practical about the God of the how much more it would when you heard that the neck to get to you what, how much more a minute that earthly father would say to his son when there's a real need all of course I'll meet you need him for you am accessible, I love you. I want to help you will how much more would you heavenly father, and here's what I want you to do today.

If you're married and what you take your wedding ring right now.

If you're driving do it very carefully and at what you take your wedding ring and put it on the opposite finger and so instead of on the left-hand put it on the right hand just for today. If you're not Mary don't you take your watch or bracelet, and whatever arm it's on put on the opposite arm. It's amazing how creatures of habit that we are and now throughout the day. Every single time that you look down to see what time it is and realize that's wrong that's wrong. Rest looking the wrong place or when you have that funny feeling and you realize that your ring is on that hand, but on the other hand, three words come to mind. How much more how much more and what you take just a second to think that's what cots like that's how he feels about me how much more does he want to give me what I need, how much more than even the best earthly father is my heavenly father. The beginning of the journey on the ancient paths is getting a clear accurate view of God were you recognize it is about grace. It is not about performance and your heavenly father loves you.

You matter to him right where you're at right where you are with a whole your hurts all your ups all your downs all your struggles. He wants you to come and asked for help and I want you to remember today how much more than even the best earthly father will your heavenly father meet you if you just come and ask no great way to stay engaged and connected to chip in Living on the Edge is with the chip and remap will get free access to all of Chip's recent messages is message notes and much more. Not only that, but it couldn't be easier to call or email directly from the F tomorrow. Chip continues his series pathways to intimacy with God. So I hope you make plans to join us that courtship and the entire team here. This is the thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge