What would it take for God to consider you faithful? Maybe the first things that come to mind are how often you attend church, how frequently you give to the church, or maybe how much you serve those who are in need. But in this week of our series Scoreboard, we see that God measures faithfulness not by the things we mentioned above, but by the time we spend personally with Him! For many of us, having a “personal” relationship with God just seems a bit odd. How can we have a personal relationship with the God of the Universe? Find out in this teaching what it means and how being faithful in communicating with God is a marker of someone who is growing in their faith.

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MESSAGE NOTES

Scoreboard: Keeping track of our habits that help us become the masterpieces God intends to make us. Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Eighth Marker: Faithful – Spending Regular Time with God

God does not avoid you when you mess up.

James 4:7-8 “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you.

-God’s waiting, calling us to come out from behind the tree we hide behind

-If you come, he will come close

-God WANTS to spend time with you

Marker:  I talk to God throughout my day.

God has been calling his kids to talk with them since the very beginning.

Adam and Eve sinned, they hid but God came

When the ark comes back to Israel, David throws a huge celebration and then writes in 1 Chronicles 16:8-11 “Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds. Exult in his holy name; rejoice, you who worship the Lord. Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.

Faithful means regularly pausing to talk with God

Ephesians 6:18 “Pray in the Spirit at all times, and on every occasion…”

Luke 18:1-8 “One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. ‘There was a judge in a certain city,’ he said, ‘who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear god or care about people. But this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’ Then the Lord said, ‘Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to his day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”

How is faith seen? By how we PRAY!

What should we pray for?

So I won’t fall into temptation – Matthew 26:41

Enemies – Matthew 5:14

Everyone I can think of, asking God to bless them and thanking God for them – 1 Timothy 2:1-2

Anything stressful because prayer gives us peace – Philippians  4:6-7 “Don’t worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Thank God for what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

A Word of Caution on Prayer

Pray for HIS WILL to be done, not yours

1 John 5:14-15  “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.”

Sometimes our prayers aren’t answered because of our motives

James 4:3 And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.

The key to prayer is knowing what God would want you to pray!

John 15:7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!

Marker: I make time to read and memorize scripture

Why? Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

  • It’s God’s words, thoughts, and instructions to me
  • It pulls back the layers and masks that I’ve allowed
  • It exposes the things in my life and heart that need to change

Every time I open the Bible, I’m taking a time-out from life to check in with God and see what he wants for me. That matters to him!

  • It’s the GPS of my heart and the compass for my life
  • It tells me where I am, what I need to do, and how to get where I want to be most

2 Timothy 3:15-17 You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

  • It gives me the wisdom to walk with God
  • Shows me what is right and what is wrong
  • Teaches me what to change and what to keep
  • Prepares me for every good work that God prepared FOR me in Eph. 2:10

That’s why we are supposed to memorize parts of it

Joshua 1:8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do

Psalms 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Easy have made God’s law their own, so they will never slip from his path

Easy tip on memorizing scripture…

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good thing he planned for us long ago.”

  • FWAGM. HHCUAICJ, SWCDTGTHPFULA.

Marker: I respond to God quickly.

Hebrews 3:15 Remember what is says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.

  • The more times between when you know what you ought to do and when you do something about it, the harder your heart becomes. The right time is now!

2 Corinthians 6:2 For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.

Application 

God wants more than just your weekend church service, he wants your life. The weekend service is a huge step in the right direction, but it’s not the destination.

You can’t get close to anyone you don’t spend time with. That’s true in your relationships with others and it’s true in the relationship with God.

  1. Set up regular prayer time 2:20
  2. Take a Prayer walk, use the time on your commute
  3. Systematize your Bible reading (car, breakfast)
  4. Use notecards to memorize scripture that has personal meaning

This isn’t going to come natural. Nothing meaning does! It has to happen intentionally or nothing meaningful happens.