How to Establish a Proper Relationship With God (II)

Bible Verses for Reference:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8)

Relevant Words of God:

First, you must pour your heart into the words of God. You must not pursue God’s words in the past, and must not study them nor compare them with the words of today. Instead, you must completely pour your heart into the present words of God. If there are people who still wish to read the words of God, spiritual books, or other accounts of preaching from the past, who do not follow the words of the Holy Spirit today, then they are the most foolish of people; God detests such people. If you are willing to accept the light of the Holy Spirit today, then completely pour your heart into the utterances of God today. This is the first thing you must achieve.

from “Know the Newest Work of God and Follow the Footsteps of God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Only by building on the foundation of eating and drinking God’s word, and thereby coming to know Him and to satisfy Him, can one gradually build a proper relationship with Him. Eating and drinking God’s word and putting it into practice is for man the best way of collaborating with God, and it is the kind of practice that they can best stand firm in their testimony as His people. … To arrive at a proper spiritual life, one should first eat and drink God’s word and put it into practice, and then, on this foundation, establish a proper relationship between man and God.

from “Those Whose Disposition Has Changed Are Those Who Have Entered Into the Reality of God’s Word” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Establishing a normal relationship with God is entirely attained through quieting your heart in God’s presence. A normal relationship with God means being able to not doubt or deny any of God’s work and submit to it, and furthermore it means having the right intentions in the presence of God, not thinking of yourself, always having the interests of God’s family as the most important thing no matter what you are doing, accepting God’s observation, and submitting to God’s arrangements. You are able to quiet your heart in God’s presence whenever you do anything; even if you do not understand God’s will, you must still fulfill your duties and responsibilities to the best of your ability. It is not too late to wait for God’s will to be revealed to you and then put this into practice. When your relationship with God has become normal, then you will also have a normal relationship with people. Everything is established on the foundation of God’s words. Through eating and drinking the words of God, practice in accordance with God’s requirements, put your viewpoints right, and do not do things that resist God or disturb the church. Do not do things that do not benefit the lives of the brothers and sisters, do not say things that do not contribute to other people, do not do shameful things. Be just and honorable when doing all things and make them presentable before God. Even though the flesh is weak sometimes, you are able to attach the highest importance to benefiting God’s family, not covet your own benefits, and carry out righteousness. If you can practice in this way, your relationship with God will be normal.

Whenever you do anything, you must examine whether your motivations are right. If you are able to act according to the requirements of God, then your relationship with God is normal. This is the minimum criterion. If, when you examine your motivations, there emerge those that are incorrect, and if you are able to turn your back on them and act according to the words of God, then you will become someone who is right before God, which will show that your relationship with God is normal, and that all that you do is for the sake of God, and not for yourself. Whenever you do or say anything, you must put your heart right, be righteous, and not be led by your emotions, or act according to your own will. These are the principles by which believers in God conduct themselves. … people are able to have God in their hearts, not seek personal benefits, not think about their personal future (referring to thinking of the flesh), but rather they bear the burden of entering life, do their best to pursue truth, and submit to God’s work. This way, the objectives you seek are correct, and your relationship with God is normal.

from “How Is Your Relationship With God?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

For every utterance of God, after you have read it and you have gained an understanding, you shall put it into practice. Regardless of how you used to practice before—perhaps in the past your flesh was weak, you were rebellious, and you resisted—this is not a big deal, and it can’t obstruct your life from growing today. As long as you are able to have a normal relationship with God today, then there is hope. If for every time that you read God’s words, you have changes and allow other people to see that your life has transformed for the better, it shows that you have a normal relationship with God and that it is put right. God does not treat people based on their transgressions. As long as you are able to not rebel again and not resist again after you have understood and are aware, then God will still have mercy on you. When you have this understanding and the will to pursue being perfected by God, then your condition in God’s presence will be normal. No matter what you do, consider: What will God think if I do this? Will it benefit the brothers and sisters? Will it be beneficial to the work of God’s house? Examine your intentions in your prayer, fellowship, speech, work, and contact with people, and examine whether your relationship with God is normal or not. If you are unable to distinguish your intentions and thoughts, then you have no discrimination, which proves that you understand too little about truth. If you are able to have a clear understanding of everything that God does, see things according to God’s word and see things by standing on the side of God, then your viewpoints will be correct. Therefore, to build a good relationship with God is a top priority for anyone believing in God; everyone should treat it as the most important task and as their major life event. Everything you do should be weighed against whether or not you have a normal relationship with God. If your relationship with God is normal and your intentions are correct, then do it. In order to maintain a normal relationship with God, you can’t be afraid of losing out on personal interests, you can’t allow Satan to prevail, you can’t allow Satan to find anything against you, and you can’t allow Satan to make you into a laughing stock. Such an intention is a manifestation that your relationship with God is normal. It is not for the flesh, but rather it is for peace of spirit, it is for obtaining the work of the Holy Spirit and for satisfying the will of God. If you are to enter into a correct state, you must build a good relationship with God, you must set right your viewpoint of belief in God. It is to allow God to obtain you, to allow God to reveal the fruits of His words in you, and to enlighten and illuminate you even more. This way you will enter into the correct manner.

from “How Is Your Relationship With God?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

If you want to have a proper relationship with God, your heart must turn to God, and on this foundation, you will also have a proper relationship with other people. If you don’t have a proper relationship with God, no matter what you do to maintain your relationships with other people, no matter how hard you work or how much energy you exert, it will still belong to a human philosophy of life. You are maintaining your position among people through a human perspective and a human philosophy so that they will praise you. You do not establish proper relationships with people according to the word of God. If you don’t focus on your relationships with people but maintain a proper relationship with God, if you are willing to give your heart to God and learn to obey Him, very naturally, your relationships with all people will become proper.

from “Establishing a Proper Relationship With God Is Very Important” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Relevant Fellowship:

And how do you establish a normal relationship with God? Several principles are involved. The first is that you must believe in the almightiness and wisdom of God, you must believe that all of God’s words will be fulfilled. This is the foundation. It will not do if you do not believe in God’s words, for it shows a lack of genuine faith; failure to believe in God’s almightiness shows a lack of genuine faith. Second, you must give your heart to God and allow God to take over in all things. Third, you must accept God’s observation, and this is critical. If you do not accept God’s observation of your prayers and fellowship, your actions and your words, could you have true fellowship with God? Could you tell Him that which is in your heart? You must accept God’s observation. When you speak, you only pray for yourself; when you speak, what you say is mixed with falsehood, carries ill intentions, and is filled with embellishments and lies. If you do not accept God’s observation, can you realize that? Once you accept God’s observation, when you say the wrong things, after you speak words devoid of meaning, after you speak promises, you think, “Oh, am I not deceiving God? Why does this feel like lying to God?” See? This is how God’s observation works. It is critical to accept God’s observation. Fourth, you must learn to seek the truth in all things. Do not rely on the philosophy of Satan, and do things based on whether you benefit. You must seek the truth, making sense of the truth, then you must practice the truth. Regardless of personal gains, you must practice the truth and tell the truth, as well as be an honest person. It is a blessing to be taken advantage of; you shall be further blessed by God when you are being taken advantage of. Abraham was taken advantage of many times, and he always made compromises when dealing with people. Even his servants complained, “Why are you so weak? Let us fight them!” “We are not fighting with them. Everything is in God’s hands, and it is alright to be taken advantage of.” As a result, God blessed Abraham even more. Is that not the case? If because of practicing the truth, you have suffered in terms of your personal gains, and you do not blame God, then God shall bless you. Fifth, you must learn to obey the truth in all things, this is also critical. Regardless of the identity of the person who says things in accord with the truth, regardless of whether the person who says such things has a good relationship with us or not, and regardless of how we treat him, so long as what he says is in accord with the truth, we should obey him and accept what he says. What does this show? It shows that man has a heart that fears God. If a person can obey a three-year-old child who says in accord with the truth, is this person arrogant in any way? Is this someone who is arrogant? He has changed, his disposition has transformed. … Sixth, be loyal to God in fulfilling your duties. Never forget your duties as the created. You shall never be able to meet God’s expectations if you do not fulfill your duties. If man does not fulfill his duties, he is garbage, and he belongs with Satan. If he can fulfill his duties before God, then he shall be one of God’s people, for this is the mark. If he has fulfilled his duties well, then he is a qualified creature; if he has failed in fulfilling his duties, then he is not a qualified creature, and he will not receive the approval of God. Therefore, if man can be loyal to God in fulfilling his duties, if he then associates with God, can God not bless him? Can God not be with him? Seventh, be on God’s side in all things, be compatible with God, be one with God. Say, “If my parents should say anything that resists God, then I shall stand by God and argue with my parents, rejecting them, not accepting them, even though they are my parents. If what they say is not in accord with the truth, then they rebel against God and resist God, and I shall stand by God, not my parents.” Is this not witnessing? Can this shame Satan? (Yes, it can.) … If man can adhere to these seven principles, tell me, will man gain God? Will he receive God’s approval? (Yes, he will.) Then is his relationship with God completely normal? (Yes, it is.) These seven principles are very critical, almost too critical.

from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (Series 135)