By: Evangelist Joseph Olorunnisola Having a Relationship with Jesus Christ

Date: 12, 2012

"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God. And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together growth unto an holy temple in the Lord." Ephesians 2:18-20. You are now a child and a fellow citizen : talk to God directly yourself.
A Young man on 3 years military assignment outside the country departed with a passionate kiss with his beloved girl friend while also promising to write her every week to maintain the link of passionate love. He kept his promise by writing her weekly and assuring her of immediate marriage on his return. Over 100 letters had been delivered consistently every week by the same mail man within the first two years of the assignment. However, when the young soldier returned from his assignment with the joyous hope of proposing to his girlfriend, he discovered to his utter bewilderment that the girlfriend was already married to the mailman with a bouncing baby boy. What went wrong he asked her? The young lady smiled and replied, truly I saw your letter weekly, but the mailman is the one I saw physically and regularly to establish a personal relationship with. You must be known by name, by your voice, and by your deed personally to Christ and not through intermediaries. When there are special spiritual issues, attacks and challenges, you need the prayer of the servants of God and those of the saints, but this should be the exception rather than the norm. The real problem with a number of believers is within. Outer submission to bondage, worry and fear reflect a lack of inner integration of faith, absolute trust in the unfailing power of Christ, self confidence and love. Despite years in faith, we are yet uneasy, worried, strained, weak in prayer, empty in faith and fearful that we become shallow, and unpleasing to God . Wake up!!!

Having a personal relationship with God means that you are a member of the household of Christ, a certified citizen of heaven; you have become adopted as a child of God and joint heirs with Christ through the process of regeneration which is baptism by immersion unto Christ. At baptism you have become a member of the household of God. You are now known by your name to Jesus Christ. In the covenant with Abraham (Gen 17:9-14) circumcision was required to be identified as a possession of God, but in Christ, Baptism is the divine credential for adoption into Christ. "But after that, the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, Not by

works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of

regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:3-7Once baptized the assurance that you are no longer an alien to God or simply a multitude of
inadequacies and faults should help you in developing a closer personal relationship with God.

A personal relationship with Christ calls for sincere and committed worship in truth and in spirit. Jesus said unto the Pharisees. You Shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. (Matt. 22: 37-38) Christ was blunt when he says I love those who love me and those who seek me diligently will find me. Riches and honor are with me, and I will cause those who love me to inherit wealth (Prov 8. 17-21) And "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and

no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof. I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord......" But whosoever listen unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil." Proverb 1:24-30 Are you indeed a committed and passionate worshipper
or convenient worshipper Are you worshipping in truth and in spirit or in gossip, hatred, pride, and carnality?

Are you a friend of God? Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph etc.. walked with God and were called friends of God. Obedience is the key to the heart of God and is the greatest requirement to developing a personal relationship with God. Complete obedience is the only option to walking with God even if suffering or embarrassment is guaranteed. Just obey even if it affects your lifestyle negatively and leave the consequence to God. "If anyone loves Me, he will keep my commandments and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him" (John 14:23) The voice of some believers are not heard in heaven because they keep the laws that are convenient for them and compromise those that offend their lifestyles and mindset. Partial obedience is total disobedience.

Listen to the parable of Jesus as reported by Luke 11:5-10: "And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him. And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee, I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." It important for you to understand that you need to be a friend of Jesus before you can ask from Him. Again you need to continue asking violently until it is done. You must never give up until it is done. This is the way of the Lord.

Confidence in trouble Time: The rose is a symbol of life. The thorns around the rose represent the road of experience the trials and tribulation that we must pass through to understand the true beauty of existence. And until we recognize that grain of wheat must first die in the ground before producing, that Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego must go through the furnace of fire, and Daniel through the lions den to experience Jesus hand of deliverance; that Jacob, Joseph, Deborah, Ruth etc. must go through the tunnel of humiliation, persecution, sorrow, and imprisonment without complaining before rising unto the pinnacle of honor and that Hannah, the wife of Elkanah must suffer indignation, humiliation, and rejection in barrenness for over twenty years without murmuring before being subsequently crowned as Mary, Mother of our lord Jesus Christ and until you also accept tribulation as unavoidable for eternal glory and as a thing of joy and strength you cannot have a personal relationship with Christ.

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Are you a profitable servant? From somewhere in space, satellites send signals down to the little device called
GPS (global positioning system ) which can then tell us where we are and how we can find our way to our final destination. Sometimes when we pass through tall buildings or even trees, the signal may be lost. Similarly, there is a divine GPS within us which if carefully listened to will guide us to pursuing out God given talent for greatness and divine profit. Just as passing through tall buildings disconnects our telephone network and signals to our GPS, so also have a number of people who are pursuing other peoples gifts lost the signal to their divine GPS and completely get disconnected from the divine fountain of enrichment to their talents. They have covetously abandoned their divine gift which should make them Stars for other people's gifts for which they are not heavenly prepared, thereby rendering themselves mediocre and failures in life and unprofitable for heavens record. The servant given five talents gained other five, the one given two also gained additional two talents but the third servant given one talent decided to bury the heavenly given talent for the covetous pursuit of another person's talent. The result was an abysmal failure in life and condemnation as an unprofitable servant by heavens. Are you actually having a personal relationship with Christ or you are just a church goer? Examine yourself today and make a necessary amendment. Be strong and courageous. Be violent in your prayer, be strong in your faith, be devoted in your worship service, be blameless in your obedience to the commandments of God, be resolute in the face of adversity, be upfront in charity and your relationship with Christ will be rich, blessed and eternal.