If you've
been a Christian for any length of time, I'm sure you've found yourself
feeling like God is distant at times. Looking back on your life,
there are probably times when you felt like God was close and that
you were confident in what you believed. Maybe you heard an amazing message
from a pastor a while ago, or you returned from a camp feeling refreshed or had a good streak
of doing your devotions. But now it feels dry. And with this dryness
comes a level of guilt. And you think to yourself,
What's wrong with me? Why does God feel far? Or What do I do? So in today's video, we're going to tackle
this question the best we can. How do I get right with God? And this video will be focused
on giving four helpful tips to struggling Christians
trying to find God in their hardships. Tip number one, go to the cross. While this video covers four tips
that can help you get right with God, you must understand this monumental truth. You yourself cannot get right with God. Many people fall prey to this lie. I need to fix up my life
so I can get right with God. Let me tell you this. Getting right with God doesn't mean
praying and reading your Bible every day. Getting right with God. Does it mean to have consistent church
attendance or to tithe everything you get? Now, let me elaborate. Remember, God has a holy God and perfect
and just beyond measure. So while being good right now may be nice,
it doesn't erase our past failures, nor does it account
for all our future mess ups. We lie,
we're selfish and probably have a past with holding on to sexual immorality
or stepping on others to get ahead. Or we held on to feelings
of bitterness and resentment. We are sinners and Romans 623 tells us
that the penalty of our sin is death. The reason why Jesus died on
the cross was to pay for our own penalty. He died in our place. And when we understand
and believe that Jesus died for our sins, we now can have a close relationship
with a perfect and holy God. Romans ten nine reads that if you confess with your mouth,
the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead,
you will be saved. Save from what? Save from hell
and eternal separation from God. So application when you feel like
you need to get right with God, remember that you don't get right
from doing a bunch of good things. You're right with God
by acknowledging that God loves you so much
that He sent Jesus to die in your place. Reading, praying, and going to church should not stem from this necessity
of trying to be good or get right. It should come from a heart of gratitude
and love for God. We read and pray so that we can learn
more about the God who loves us so dearly. Focus on your relationship with God, not
on all the rules that you have to follow. So now that you understand
that you can get right with God and that God made everything right
between you and Him through Jesus, it's time to continue our list of helpful
tips. Tip number two. Feelings aren't reliable. God's word is one of the first things
you need to understand is that how you feel can be different
from what is true. Looking at John 1416,
Jesus is speaking to his disciples before He goes to the cross and He tells them,
and I will ask the Father and he will give you another advocate
who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit
who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him
because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you know him because he lives with you
now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans. I will come to you all this to say you may feel like God is distant,
but if you're a Christian, God, the Holy Spirit dwells enough and is close
to you, regardless of how you may feel. Also, in Romans 838 239
it tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. You see,
sometimes our feelings can be misleading. Sometimes we feel like God is far, or that he doesn't love us
the way he did before, when the reality is that God is close and that nothing
can separate us from His love application. What do you do? Make it a point
to read God's Word regularly so that you can keep your feelings
in check with what is true. Tip number three input equals output. Paul tells us in Galatians
Chapter six seven through eight. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked for whatever a man sows
that he will also reap, for he who sows to his flesh,
will of the flesh reap corruption. But he who shows to the spirit
will of the spirit, reap everlasting life. So imagine if your life were a field. If you wanted apples,
you'd plant apple seeds. And if you wanted avocados,
you'd plant avocado seeds. So now I want you to reflect. What are you planting in your life? Hours of mindless social media
scrolling video upon video of YouTube bingeing, movie
after movie, show after show. Think about it. Sometimes it's not that God is far. It's that we see so much with our eyes
and hear so much with our ears. Nonsense
that anything God wants to tell us affect severely gets tuned out. So application. Think of your eyes and ears
as gateways to your field and what gets planted in your field
will be what grows in your heart. Are you planting enough of God or is your
mind being overrun with weeds and stones? You see, God's seeds are sincere. Prayer. Reading and meditating on God's Word. Spending time with other Christians
and serving others. And as a side note,
if you're going to read and pray, make it a point to disconnect. Put away the phone, turn off the TV,
and put yourself in a place where you can concentrate. Tip number four Sin can destroy this tip connects with tip number three
going back to your field. There may be something
that's growing out of control. Look at James chapter one verses 14 to 15. But each one is tempted when he is
drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then when desire has conceived,
it gives birth to sin. Ensign when it is
full grown, brings forth death. It's important to understand
that sin has destructive consequences. Sometimes our selfish and sinful nature
can destroy close relationships, our confidence,
or our close relationship with God. Jesus In Luke, chapter nine, verse 23,
says, If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross
daily and follow me. You see, when it comes to following God,
we must understand that there's more to it than just going to church
and hanging out with other Christians. Being a disciple of Christ requires
a level of discipline that chooses to deny certain pleasures. When we indulge in our sinful desires
and give in to temptation, one of the things that dies
is our intimacy with God. To follow
God means to carry our cross daily, which means to make the decision every day
to say no to sand, no matter how bad we may want it. So application
look to see if you're allowing a certain sin to grow in your life
and then cut it out. If you need help cutting it out verbally,
ask for help from someone that you trust. Maybe a pastor,
teacher, mentor, family friend. Make sure that they have your best interest in mind and make sure
they have a higher spiritual maturity than you do. Note that sometimes the all consuming sin
is an addiction, or maybe someone who's a bad influence or something that causes
your mind to go into a dark place. You need to take serious steps
to cut this out of your life so that your walk with God can grow. Take great heed to what Jesus says
in Matthew chapter five, verse 30. And if your right hand causes you to send,
cut it off and cast it from you, for it is more profitable for you
that one of your members perish than for your whole
body to be cast into hell. Okay, so we shared
four tips on how to get right with God. Tip number one,
the most important tip, Go to the cross. You can get right with God. You're made right
based on what Jesus did for you. Tip number two Feelings aren't reliable. God's word is tip number three. Input equals output. So be careful with what you plant. Tip number four, sin can destroy and
it can destroy your relationship with God. So as you continue to seek God,
hold in your heart what James says in chapter four, verse eight Draw near to God
and you will draw on year to year. Cleanse your hands
you sinners and purify your hearts. You double minded. In this verse lies a promise drawn near to God, and He will draw near to you. God is not some unknown God in the sky. He's a God that desires
to have a relationship with you. Our prayer for you is
that you continue in your walk with God, understanding that you're going to have
some high points and some low points. God uses both. So keep going
and know that Jesus loves you. God bless. Everyone. Thanks so much for watching. We really hope this video bless you guys as you take proactive steps towards
drawing closer to God. Feel free to like subscribe and leave us a comment
if there's something specific you'd like us to talk about
in a future video. We definitely read the comments,
so we try to prioritize those if we can. Until next time. My name is Joseph. Thanks so much for watching. God bless.
