Religion vs Relationship | Discipleship Series

[SPEAKER_01]: Do you have religion or do you have a relationship with Jesus Christ?

[SPEAKER_01]: That's what we're gonna talk about today

[SPEAKER_01]: This is the discipleship series with me and Pastor Elwood.

[SPEAKER_01]: Today we're gonna talk about religion versus relationship.

[SPEAKER_01]: This is something that you ain't taught very much.

[SPEAKER_01]: A lot of people don't talk about what it means to either be in a relationship or a religion.

[SPEAKER_01]: But those are two vastly different things.

[SPEAKER_01]: A relationship with Jesus is way different than being in a religion.

[SPEAKER_01]: That's what we're gonna talk about today.

[SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely, because first of all Christianity is not religion.

[SPEAKER_02]: Christianity is a relationship with Jesus Christ, and as a Christian, all Christians have a relationship with Jesus Christ, and so therefore, just get the religion, plumb out your mind, and so just get the relationship that you need with Him.

[SPEAKER_02]: And you can go through the Bible, always back to Adam and Eve, and for God, want the relationship

[SPEAKER_02]: with his people and that's the same way he wants today.

[SPEAKER_02]: He wants a relationship.

[SPEAKER_02]: And we find out that there's other religions out there that doesn't have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

[SPEAKER_02]: When you get a relationship with Jesus Christ,

[SPEAKER_02]: Then, therefore, that you can go to him and you can talk with him and you can pray with him and you'll get in a car with you and he'll walk through the wood with you.

[SPEAKER_02]: You have a relationship because you're continually looking to him because he is the author and a finisher of your faith.

[SPEAKER_02]: Therefore, it separates religion when you got that relationship with Christ because they will not work together.

[SPEAKER_01]: Exactly.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, religion is something your fault, religion comes from traditions and practices and even rituals.

[SPEAKER_01]: A lot of times people are doing things in religion that they don't realize.

[SPEAKER_01]: They don't realize they've been rooted in man-made doctrine.

[SPEAKER_01]: And when you have a relationship with Jesus, now he starts showing you things with discernment and you start seeing, hey, why am I doing this?

[SPEAKER_01]: Where'd I learn this from?

[SPEAKER_01]: Does this match with what Jesus told me?

[SPEAKER_01]: And that's how you come to the conclusion that, hey, I might have been a religion, not a relationship.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's right.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, my personal story is, I had religion most of my life.

[SPEAKER_01]: I grew up Southern Baptist, sat in the pew's every Sunday.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I didn't know Jesus very well, I knew of him, I knew the Bible's stories, but I didn't have that personal relationship, and I'm telling you, it is so crucial that you know Jesus Christ and that you know him in your heart, that you're able to speak to him, that you're able to have that relationship formed, otherwise you do have religion.

[SPEAKER_01]: And this could be a pivotal moment in your life to where you realize it as I had realized it, where it's like, hey, you know what?

[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe I just have religion.

[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe I don't have a relationship.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, if you're not talking to Jesus and you're not hearing His voice, and you know, the Bible says that we will hear His voice.

[SPEAKER_01]: And if you don't hear Him, if you don't talk with Him, if you don't walk with Him, if you don't know anything about Him, other than what other people taught you, then you might find yourself in a spirit of religion.

[SPEAKER_01]: Spirit of religion is real.

[SPEAKER_01]: It is where people literally take on a spirit of beliefs and you have a belief system, and that's it Your belief system is what provokes your mind into thinking things rather than your spirit being one with Jesus

[SPEAKER_01]: And so that's what we're going to kind of cover today.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, we're going to talk about this with scripture We're going to talk about this with discernment.

[SPEAKER_01]: We're going to talk about this as Jesus guides us But I want to start this one out in prayer because pastor Elwood and I we were on a little sabbatical for a little while We went to the beach We took our families and we had just a good all-time Elwood didn't want to come home

[SPEAKER_01]: And it was a great time.

[SPEAKER_01]: We really enjoyed ourselves.

[SPEAKER_01]: We got to eat some really good food.

[SPEAKER_01]: Have a lot of laughs, but we really needed the time with the Lord.

[SPEAKER_01]: Because we know we're in a relationship with Jesus.

[SPEAKER_01]: We have to take time to where we are going and spinning it with Jesus.

[SPEAKER_01]: So that's what we've done.

[SPEAKER_01]: And now we're back where we're fresh.

[SPEAKER_01]: We're ready to go, ain't we?

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, we're ready to get it.

[SPEAKER_01]: So we're going to go and pray and then we're going to start this lesson for you.

[SPEAKER_01]: So Lord God, we just thank you so much for this discipleship series.

[SPEAKER_01]: We thank you, Lord, that as we're serving in the water and we're baptizing people that we hear people continually say thank you for your discipleship series for it as taught me so much.

[SPEAKER_01]: So Lord God, we thank you so much for this series for being able to teach people.

[SPEAKER_01]: That God you lifted us up and you guided us our whole lives to be able to come here and to be able to teach your word and to show your people how to be set free and God we thank you for that Lord God we ask that you've got our words that every word we say is of you that Lord God the Holy Spirit just drives this entire lesson that whoever is listening to this lesson Lord that it helps them

[SPEAKER_01]: that it just produces fruit in their lives, that they're able to grow closer to you through this Lord.

[SPEAKER_01]: We thank you God for your Word, that it rings true.

[SPEAKER_01]: We thank you God for Pastor Elwood, being able to say here and to be able to teach us after 27 years in a church that now Lord God, He is the world's preacher.

[SPEAKER_01]: We

[SPEAKER_01]: We just thank you for that God, we thank you for Elwood, we thank you for this lesson, we thank you for this series, we thank you, Lord, for Walt filming it, we thank you God for all the listeners out there that whoever this is for God that it just goes deep into their hearts and in their minds God and that it takes root and that every bit of these words, Lord, that they hear, that it produces a closer relationship with you.

[SPEAKER_01]: God, we ask if there's anybody that don't know you.

[SPEAKER_01]: that Lord, if they are listening to these words, that they will know you by the end of this lesson, that they will no longer have spirit of religion, but that they will have a relationship, a true relationship with you.

[SPEAKER_01]: In Jesus Christ name, I pray.

[SPEAKER_01]: Amen.

[SPEAKER_02]: Amen.

[SPEAKER_02]: Amen.

[SPEAKER_02]: Amen.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'll tell you what, a relationship with Christ.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's everything, because you can ask for discernment, he's your companion.

[SPEAKER_02]: He can ask for wisdom or understanding or whatsoever may be the case.

[SPEAKER_02]: And that's where the relationship comes in.

[SPEAKER_02]: There's nothing that what you can ask him and talk to him, I talked to him yesterday, I thought couldn't believe it or not and but that's the relationship that we have and when you got to religion you don't have that relationship.

[SPEAKER_02]: because it's a one-on-one relationship that we have with Christ.

[SPEAKER_02]: But he becomes your companion, he becomes your friend, he becomes your comforter, he becomes your peace, he becomes everything to you.

[SPEAKER_02]: And religion doesn't.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_02]: Religion is man-made.

[SPEAKER_02]: First of all, it's man-made.

[SPEAKER_02]: And through the redemption of Jesus Christ and what He did as a cross has gave us a relationship with Him because when we have troubles, we have sorrows.

[SPEAKER_02]: We have joy.

[SPEAKER_02]: We have victory.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's all through Christ.

[SPEAKER_02]: You know, and we can take every bit of that to Him.

[SPEAKER_02]: that he can lead us in guide us and help us stay on straight streets or speak, you know.

[SPEAKER_02]: And through the Holy Spirit, as he teaches us, as we're on our wall, and we have a relationship with him.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I'll tell you what, that relationship with Jesus Christ is everything.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I like to say this if I can.

[SPEAKER_02]: What happens in the water when we go baptized people?

[SPEAKER_02]: We hear people getting healed.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, we do.

[SPEAKER_02]: People getting delivered.

[SPEAKER_02]: People getting saved up on the bank, there before they ever get in the water.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's not of that person that's doing it.

[SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's a relationship that they have with Jesus Christ that Jesus Christ is working through them.

[SPEAKER_01]: All right, come on.

[SPEAKER_02]: And those people that come in there, they have the faith but leaving.

[SPEAKER_02]: And therefore, as Christ works through His vessel, amen to that individual's coming in there, that's where the victories come from.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's where the deliverance come from.

[SPEAKER_02]: And all that.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I know there's a little bit of a lot of people say that we can't heal, we can't do it.

[SPEAKER_02]: We can't, but through Jesus Christ, it's all through Jesus Christ.

[SPEAKER_02]: that's that relationship that we need to keep so solid in our life that there's nothing impossible with him.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's right.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so, you know, these people that's coming in there, they're looking for a move of God upon their lives, some ways, whatever it may be.

[SPEAKER_02]: But

[SPEAKER_02]: They need to understand it.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's Christ that's working through his vessel.

[SPEAKER_02]: The same thing as he said told Paul, he's a chosen vessel that God worked through Paul.

[SPEAKER_02]: And just the same as God works through his vessels in the waters.

[SPEAKER_02]: Right?

[SPEAKER_02]: That we can see the victories take place in people's life.

[SPEAKER_01]: that's right you know religion don't do that no it does not it has to be a relationship when you have a relationship that's how Jesus uses you you know a lot of people out there they have say things like I want to work for Jesus do you know him though yeah if you don't know him then how can you work for him it's very important that you know Jesus and so if you don't if there's any moments where you thought through this lesson so far that hey maybe I don't know Jesus like I should

[SPEAKER_01]: Well, let me introduce you to him.

[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus Christ is the living God.

[SPEAKER_01]: He is the one true creator are living God.

[SPEAKER_01]: He came to this earth, God in human form, and He did it so that He could redeem us.

[SPEAKER_01]: See, we are sinners.

[SPEAKER_01]: You and I, we are sinners.

[SPEAKER_01]: And we break the law of creation.

[SPEAKER_01]: There's, there's sins that we commit, our flesh does a lot of things, and therefore we go against our Creator often.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's an unfortunate truth of the world we live in.

[SPEAKER_01]: But Jesus came here to offer us redemption and mercy and forgiveness, and He did that upon the cross.

[SPEAKER_01]: You see, he was here and he taught his disciples, he taught people, they followed him, he was able to heal the sick, to cast out demons, you know, to set people free in his own name.

[SPEAKER_01]: He was able to show people his power and authority, his signs, his wonders, his miracles.

[SPEAKER_01]: And then he taught his disciples, you know, a lot of religions that you have out there, they're not going to be teaching other people power and authority.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's right.

[SPEAKER_01]: They're going to be trying to harness it all for themselves, but Jesus wants us to have his power and authority to be able to continue his works.

[SPEAKER_01]: He says, greater, will the works that you do?

[SPEAKER_01]: Will be.

[SPEAKER_01]: And so Jesus died upon the cross.

[SPEAKER_01]: And when he did y'all, he defeated death for you and me.

[SPEAKER_01]: And he also forgives us of our sins.

[SPEAKER_01]: He was the ransom for you.

[SPEAKER_01]: He paid your cost of death.

[SPEAKER_01]: He paid that.

[SPEAKER_01]: Therefore, you can have eternal life through Jesus Christ.

[SPEAKER_01]: But it's up to you.

[SPEAKER_01]: You have to be the one to choose that you won't that relationship

[SPEAKER_01]: You have to accept Him as your Lord and Savior of your life.

[SPEAKER_01]: Nobody else can do that for you.

[SPEAKER_01]: You have to believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ yourself.

[SPEAKER_01]: And then that relationship forms.

[SPEAKER_01]: You start realizing, hey, I am connected to my Creator.

[SPEAKER_01]: I do have a relationship to where I can reach out to Him.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know the enemy will try to make you feel distant from Him.

[SPEAKER_01]: The enemy will try to make you feel like you can't hear Him.

[SPEAKER_01]: You can't see Him.

[SPEAKER_01]: That's a big one.

[SPEAKER_01]: People think they have to see to believe, doubting comuses.

[SPEAKER_01]: Um, but the thing is you do see him.

[SPEAKER_01]: You see him all around.

[SPEAKER_01]: You see him in the things that he has given you.

[SPEAKER_01]: You see him in the air that your very lungs breathe.

[SPEAKER_01]: You do see Jesus.

[SPEAKER_01]: You just have to be the one to reach out and grab him.

[SPEAKER_01]: And to be like, you know what?

[SPEAKER_01]: I do want a relationship.

[SPEAKER_01]: I don't want just religion.

[SPEAKER_01]: I don't want to just hear about what Jesus has done.

[SPEAKER_01]: I want to be able to feel His presence.

[SPEAKER_01]: I want to be able to talk to Him to walk with Him.

[SPEAKER_01]: And that is something that you can do.

[SPEAKER_01]: You can have this.

[SPEAKER_01]: You can have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

[SPEAKER_01]: He wants you to.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, he does.

[SPEAKER_02]: As believers, we don't have religion.

[SPEAKER_02]: We have a relationship, and, you know, people ask to say, what the domination you are from or whatsoever.

[SPEAKER_02]: And we just tell them, we're just Christ's followers.

[SPEAKER_01]: They can't stand that, can they?

[SPEAKER_02]: No, no.

[SPEAKER_02]: What church you can naked to?

[SPEAKER_02]: We're just Christ's followers, you know, doing the work that Christ has called us to do.

[SPEAKER_00]: That is right.

[SPEAKER_02]: And we have that relationship with him.

[SPEAKER_02]: And there's nothing.

[SPEAKER_02]: compared to that relationship.

[SPEAKER_02]: And that's a reason Satan wants to sever it so badly.

[SPEAKER_02]: He wants to drive a wedge between the Christians and their faith.

[SPEAKER_02]: But as Christians as we stay strong, stay in his words and our prayer life and our reading life, our meditating life, upon God's word and what he has done,

[SPEAKER_02]: That gives us that relationship to knowing and the Bible is full of adventure.

[SPEAKER_02]: It is full of it in order of what men of old has cried out to God for and God answered the prayer because they had relationship with Him.

[SPEAKER_02]: And we see for Paul once he got on straight streak and Paul got out the religion and God in the Christian entity.

[SPEAKER_02]: Then we see what happened to Paul and Paul said I can't all things is done for the cause of Christ and Because what's Paul God he has eyes open and that's a problem with so many people today They've got this religion about him, but they they don't have the relationship

[SPEAKER_02]: And if they get this religion out of their life and get the relationship, I'll guarantee you, you can see our church people are whole lot happier and what they are, whole lot joyful, a whole lot more testimonies of what God has done for them, but religion is just, it's man-made, it's what it is, it's not, it did not come from God.

[SPEAKER_02]: And we see all these other religions like I don't know if they were to name them or not, you know, but they're man-made and so therefore they do not have the relationship with God Almighty.

[SPEAKER_01]: you know Paul was the prime example for relationship versus religion you know Paul had just religion you look back into the Bible of how Paul lived his life he actually persecuted those who followed Jesus he persecuted those who were actual true Jesus followers because he thought his religion was right

[SPEAKER_01]: You see, he had the Torah, he had the things that he thought was what God wanted.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, people can get so wrapped up in the thinking that they're right in religion, that they are blinded, that they can't see the real truth of what Jesus taught us.

[SPEAKER_01]: Now, this Bible tells you, just like I said with Paul, Paul thought he was right.

[SPEAKER_01]: Paul was standing on business thinking he was right.

[SPEAKER_01]: He was doing everything he thought he was supposed to do.

[SPEAKER_01]: And then one radical encounter with Jesus Christ on a road to Damascus,

[SPEAKER_01]: changed Paul forever.

[SPEAKER_01]: Paul realized in that moment, you know what?

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not right.

[SPEAKER_01]: I have been following religion.

[SPEAKER_01]: He met Jesus Christ and he realized that he had a religion, not a relationship.

[SPEAKER_01]: Then he started having a relationship with Jesus.

[SPEAKER_01]: He said, Lord, what do you need me to do?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_01]: And he started working for actual Jesus Christ, not religion.

[SPEAKER_01]: And see, that's the big difference in how we have to also reflect on our own lives.

[SPEAKER_01]: Are you serving Jesus Christ?

[SPEAKER_01]: or are you following religion.

[SPEAKER_01]: Religion will have you in laws, in restraints.

[SPEAKER_01]: But Jesus Christ wants you to follow him when he came here on the earth and he called his disciples.

[SPEAKER_01]: He said, follow me.

[SPEAKER_01]: He didn't say, follow religion.

[SPEAKER_01]: He said, follow me.

[SPEAKER_01]: When you follow Jesus, then he will lead you and guide you.

[SPEAKER_01]: That's why he gave you the Holy Spirit to be within you, to lead you and guide you.

[SPEAKER_02]: I like to read in first Timothy chapter one, verse 12 and 13.

[SPEAKER_02]: and maybe you'll just a little more and said in verse 12 and said Paul's writings and I think Christ Jesus, Error Lord, who had been able me for he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, who was before a blasphemer and a persecutor, an encherist, but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

[SPEAKER_02]: And the grace of our Lord, Amen, was exceedingly abunding

[SPEAKER_02]: in Christ Jesus.

[SPEAKER_02]: You know, Paul learned about religion in the hard way.

[SPEAKER_02]: And just like you talked about when he was struck off his beast, only wrote Damascus.

[SPEAKER_02]: And, you know, God let him stay blind for three days.

[SPEAKER_02]: He let him have some thought time.

[SPEAKER_02]: Some damn time, I guess what you might say.

[SPEAKER_02]: But both when the scales was dropped off of his eyes, the man that God ever put his tracks on fire.

[SPEAKER_02]: But he learned about religion the hard way, so to speak, I guess what you might say.

[SPEAKER_02]: And Christ is righteousness in able every believer to have a right relationship with God.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so, if we'll have that and look to Jesus Christ for everything, everything, yet to religion out of our lives.

[SPEAKER_02]: But when you get that relationship with Christ, it's better and better being.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm telling you, they don't track with God and have that relationship with him because he can talk you can talk with him when you're in a house all by yourself, in the car riding down the road, walking through the woods or in the gym or whatever in the case may be.

[SPEAKER_02]: But that relationship is so important to each and every believer.

[SPEAKER_02]: The Bible said that David was a man after God's own heart.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so David had a fellowship with God.

[SPEAKER_02]: We see Moses, we see Noah, we see Job, we see all these boys.

[SPEAKER_02]: They had a relationship with God.

[SPEAKER_02]: And it wasn't religion that they had.

[SPEAKER_02]: And we see what God did in their life.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so when you have that relationship with Christ, your faith just continues to grow.

[SPEAKER_02]: in Christ every day because you can go to him in prayer.

[SPEAKER_02]: And like Jeremiah 33 and 3 says, calling me and I will answer the and show the great and mighty things that I'll know it's not.

[SPEAKER_02]: The Bible saw it also, you have not, but call you as not.

[SPEAKER_02]: He's as God is our Father.

[SPEAKER_02]: He wants us to ask him and we need to get the religion out, get the relationship where it needs to be and therefore I bleed without a shadow of a doubt and we have seen God answer over and over again because of that relationship that we've had with him.

[SPEAKER_01]: That's right, you know religion is where people dress up on Sundays.

[SPEAKER_01]: they go to church once a week.

[SPEAKER_01]: One hour is what they devote to God.

[SPEAKER_01]: They go through a service.

[SPEAKER_01]: Usually they sing a few songs.

[SPEAKER_01]: They stand up.

[SPEAKER_01]: They pray.

[SPEAKER_01]: They worship a little bit.

[SPEAKER_01]: The preacher preaches about 30, 45 minutes.

[SPEAKER_01]: and then they're dismissed into the world.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think it's a sad truth, is that that's religion.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think that it's something that people must say here and really reflect on of why that has become religious to them.

[SPEAKER_01]: Now, we look in the Bible and how much they serve the Lord, how much they love the Lord, how many times the day they went to the Lord, and you know, they did go to the temples.

[SPEAKER_01]: They did go to the synagogues, they did go and worship God in many places, but that was not their relationship.

[SPEAKER_01]: That was not their only duty to fulfill to the Lord.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I think that's what's happened in our church world today is that people have replaced Jesus for religion.

[SPEAKER_01]: They think if they dressed up on the Sunday and they go to church then that is a check box and it is checked and they are a Christian.

[SPEAKER_01]: And that is not the case.

[SPEAKER_01]: If you are a Christian, you are a Christ follower.

[SPEAKER_01]: You are to follow Christ in your whole life, not just once a week.

[SPEAKER_01]: You are to go and to follow Jesus Christ.

[SPEAKER_01]: He wants a relationship with you, not a religion.

[SPEAKER_01]: When you get to heaven in his judgment day, he's not gonna sit there and look at your church attendance.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's right.

[SPEAKER_01]: He's going to look at your heart, he's going to look at what the relationship is between you and him.

[SPEAKER_01]: That is a difference.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think it's so important that people start reflecting upon why they're doing the traditions of things they're doing.

[SPEAKER_01]: Are you doing traditions of men or do you know Jesus Christ?

[SPEAKER_01]: Are you going to serve him?

[SPEAKER_01]: Are you going to love him?

[SPEAKER_01]: Are you going to commune with him?

[SPEAKER_01]: Are you going to have fellowship with him?

[SPEAKER_01]: If you're not doing those things, then maybe you should ask yourself if you're just in religion.

[SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely, you know, religion says I can do it.

[SPEAKER_02]: Relationship that says I can do it through Christ, you know, and so therefore It's through Christ that you reach out to people and that you can tell them and talk to them and witness to them

[SPEAKER_02]: that the Holy Spirit will serve their heart and they'll give their heart to Christ.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's through Christ and all this is possible.

[SPEAKER_02]: And like the Bible said, all things is possible through Christ, through them that believe.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so it's always through Christ.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's not through religion, whatsoever.

[SPEAKER_02]: I like to see God moving our churches.

[SPEAKER_02]: I really do.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I want to see God moving our churches.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: And but we find out that so many people they dress up on some just like just talking about They got to religion going to church Karen her Bible's going back home, and that's it That's it.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's 24 seven seven days a week 360 five days a year The fellowship with Christ is not only a one Sunday of religion is 365 days a fellowship

[SPEAKER_02]: with Christ Jesus and we need to understand that and get your needs, get your thoughts, get your whole being in the hands of Jesus Christ with the fellowship that he has for you because God won't fellowship with one of Adam in the Garden of Eden he said they heard the voice of the Lord walking in the garden that's when they hid them so God wanted fellowship

[SPEAKER_02]: with Adam and Eve.

[SPEAKER_02]: And same as he's born fellowship with us today.

[SPEAKER_02]: And that's the reason it is so vital that Christians get together and a manifus just sit around and talk or have a lunch or whatever may be the case.

[SPEAKER_02]: You know that they can just love one another and have a joy and peace.

[SPEAKER_02]: with one another.

[SPEAKER_02]: They can walk away from there.

[SPEAKER_02]: Nobody's arguing.

[SPEAKER_02]: Nobody's complaining.

[SPEAKER_02]: Nobody's still in a biscuit at somebody or whatsoever.

[SPEAKER_02]: Maybe the case.

[SPEAKER_02]: But they walk away from their glad that they are in the company of one another.

[SPEAKER_02]: You know, when you get that,

[SPEAKER_02]: You walk away with a sense of accomplishment, sort of speed, that you're living the life of Christ.

[SPEAKER_02]: You're living the life of the fellowship that Christ has in your life, that you can show love towards those people.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so God just wants to bless his children.

[SPEAKER_02]: And he's got a storehouse of blessings that he will never ever be able to give them all out to everybody.

[SPEAKER_02]: I just want to have more fellowship above him.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I'll tell you what, as we look at the revivals and we look at these baptisms that shows up, that comes once a month, and you see the lives of people's change, that they can have the fellowship with Jesus Christ.

[SPEAKER_02]: It doesn't make any difference who they are for they come from.

[SPEAKER_02]: If you can get them to have a fellowship with Jesus Christ, it changes their whole world.

[SPEAKER_02]: Religion has to go out the door.

[SPEAKER_02]: And that's where it needs to be put, right, and under our feet.

[SPEAKER_01]: That's right.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, whenever it comes to study in that self-approved, it's very important that you read your Bible.

[SPEAKER_01]: I don't want you to get it confused with saying that you shouldn't have religion meaning that you don't need anything in that Bible.

[SPEAKER_01]: That Bible is your word.

[SPEAKER_01]: You need the word of God.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's not the man made doctor inside that you need.

[SPEAKER_01]: But it is the Bible.

[SPEAKER_01]: The Bible is needed.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, studying that self-approved and knowing the word of God is super important.

[SPEAKER_01]: But it's not all you need, you need Jesus.

[SPEAKER_01]: You can read any words of any book.

[SPEAKER_01]: But if you're not reading with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, if you're not reading with love that you love Christ and you want to know more about Him and you want to get to know Him, if you're just reading because of knowledge, you know, there are atheists out here that read the Bible and they don't perceive it, they don't take it in.

[SPEAKER_01]: It is just religion to them, they just see it as religious words.

[SPEAKER_01]: But if you have a relationship with Jesus, then you're going to read that word and you're going to take it in.

[SPEAKER_01]: You're going to let it be engraved in your heart, you're going to let it renew your mind, and you're going to change.

[SPEAKER_01]: So reading the Bible is super important, that is not part of religion.

[SPEAKER_01]: It is what some religions have tried to base their practices off of.

[SPEAKER_01]: They try to read some of the Bible, but then they inject a lot of man-made doctrine in with it.

[SPEAKER_01]: that's what becomes a religion.

[SPEAKER_01]: It becomes a religion whenever they start a practice, maybe found it on the Bible, but then they start injecting a lot of other things that are not of God, that are man-made practices, that are not biblical.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, a relationship with Jesus is between you and Him.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's not between you and a congregation, it's between you and him.

[SPEAKER_01]: It is between you and Jesus.

[SPEAKER_01]: You have to know Jesus.

[SPEAKER_01]: And if you don't know Jesus, you can.

[SPEAKER_01]: The enemy may try to make you feel like you can't.

[SPEAKER_01]: May try to make you feel distant from Him.

[SPEAKER_01]: But you are only as far from Jesus as you want to be.

[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus loves you.

[SPEAKER_01]: He wants to be close to you.

[SPEAKER_01]: And the Bible says that if you seek Him, you will find Him.

[SPEAKER_01]: That if you ask you, shall receive, that if you knock the door will be open to you.

[SPEAKER_01]: but you got a search.

[SPEAKER_01]: You have to be the one looking for Jesus to find Jesus.

[SPEAKER_01]: You have to be the one.

[SPEAKER_01]: It can't be a one-sided relationship.

[SPEAKER_01]: He already shows that he wants a relationship with you.

[SPEAKER_01]: Now you have to be the one to show you what it with him.

[SPEAKER_01]: search for him and you will find it.

[SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely.

[SPEAKER_02]: You know I got to look at religion and relationship so I want to look up the meaning of them.

[SPEAKER_02]: The find out what they are.

[SPEAKER_02]: And religion is said it's the outward act of form of which men indicate recognition of a God or God's

[SPEAKER_02]: to whom obedience and honor are due.

[SPEAKER_02]: The feeling I've expression of human love, fear, or awe of some superhuman or overruling power, a system of faith and worship, but it does not say what they worship.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's right.

[SPEAKER_02]: forgiveness or whatsoever.

[SPEAKER_01]: Sounds very cold.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, it is.

[SPEAKER_02]: Religion.

[SPEAKER_02]: There is no redemption of sin.

[SPEAKER_02]: If you just have a religion.

[SPEAKER_02]: But relationship has said it's a state I've been related.

[SPEAKER_02]: A kingship, state I've been related.

[SPEAKER_02]: or of connected, described as a social association connected or affiliated between two or more people, two or more people.

[SPEAKER_02]: This is something that all the other religions does not do, that the relationship to all the other religions that I can find, they have never mentioned forgiveness, only through the relationship of Jesus Christ, only through Jesus Christ.

[SPEAKER_02]: He said, repent, repent.

[SPEAKER_02]: In other words, and be baptized for the remissions of sins.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so therefore the relationship is absolutely vital to every Christian.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's your lifeline, I know we say prayer is your telephone line to God, but relationship to God.

[SPEAKER_02]: Amen.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's just like two people.

[SPEAKER_02]: If you don't have a relationship, continue talking to God, it's like two people that get mad at one another, turn her back up on one another and don't talk.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so, but you want to keep Christ always in the forefront, He's gonna be first.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so, you have Him there and you're continually talking to Him, you're continuing to going to Him for your needs of life.

[SPEAKER_02]: Because that relationship will just only grow stronger, the bond will go stronger.

[SPEAKER_02]: And as a Bible says, who shall separate us from the love of God?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.

[SPEAKER_02]: Shownekinist, how cold, food, whatsoever, nothing shall separate us from the love of God.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so therefore that relationship needs to be drawn stronger.

[SPEAKER_02]: And the way it draws stronger is in your prayer life.

[SPEAKER_02]: is in your Word of God that your Word that you have to sit down and read and study to meditate upon what God has done for you.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so it'll grow stronger in that relationship will go stronger and you need it.

[SPEAKER_02]: This then does because Satan has come to kill.

[SPEAKER_02]: to steal and to destroy, and if he possibly can, he'll take his relationship away from you.

[SPEAKER_02]: And that's the reason so many people, when tragedy happens in their life, they want to blame God for it.

[SPEAKER_02]: They want to blame God for it.

[SPEAKER_02]: So many people have started out serving the Lord, but then you find out, after a while, they just fail over from the Lord.

[SPEAKER_02]: And that's a very reason they did this is they didn't have the relationship, they needed

[SPEAKER_02]: they did, they grew it in ground, they didn't read, they didn't study, they didn't pray.

[SPEAKER_02]: And for some odd reason Satan sent something in their life that they just said a heck with it, I'll just go my way.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: But we need that constant relationship with Jesus Christ.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, a relationship with Jesus is not a routine with religion.

[SPEAKER_00]: No.

[SPEAKER_01]: A lot of people have routine.

[SPEAKER_01]: They have something that they have done for, as long as they can remember, a lot of times it's passed down through families and they just do it.

[SPEAKER_01]: They don't even know why.

[SPEAKER_01]: And we're talked to not question things.

[SPEAKER_01]: But the more you know Jesus and the more you read your word, you will find out there's a lot of things that we've been told that are in air.

[SPEAKER_01]: You will find out and Jesus will highlight to you the things that are man-made that are not of him, the things that have been told versus the things he taught us.

[SPEAKER_01]: And then you will be able to discern the truth.

[SPEAKER_01]: But it's up to you if you want to.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's up to you if you want to start learning more.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's up to you if you want to break any sort of traditions of men.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's up to you if you want to kick out that spirit of religion you can.

[SPEAKER_01]: Spirit of religion is real.

[SPEAKER_01]: I see it all the time.

[SPEAKER_01]: The Pharisees look at the Pharisees in the Bible.

[SPEAKER_01]: What did they do?

[SPEAKER_01]: The Pharisees is set of seas.

[SPEAKER_01]: The religious leaders of the Bible are the ones that crucified Jesus.

[SPEAKER_01]: you got to hang on to that.

[SPEAKER_01]: You got to realize that it was not just people out here that didn't have any religion.

[SPEAKER_01]: It was religious leaders.

[SPEAKER_01]: And so therefore we have to be vigilant.

[SPEAKER_01]: We have to be even more vigilant now than ever to be able to realize when someone is leading us astray and when someone is not.

[SPEAKER_01]: when we are being led by the Holy Spirit and by Jesus and when we're not.

[SPEAKER_01]: And those things come whenever you realize relationship versus religion.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, a lot of people think that we hate on churches and we don't hate on churches.

[SPEAKER_01]: We love the church.

[SPEAKER_01]: We recognize the church though as what the Bible says it is.

[SPEAKER_01]: The church is the body of Christ.

[SPEAKER_01]: It is made up of the believers that believe in Jesus.

[SPEAKER_01]: That is the church.

[SPEAKER_01]: But unfortunately, religion has made church a building on every street corner.

[SPEAKER_01]: We do realize that a lot of people that go to church just have religion.

[SPEAKER_01]: And as a pastor here and an evangelist, we want to see people believe in Jesus Christ.

[SPEAKER_01]: We want to see people have this relationship and not just religion, that is not just a practice that they do.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's not just a checklist.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's not just a box that they check on Sundays, that they actually know Jesus Christ.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know that there's so many people that go in these churches and they leave the same way.

[SPEAKER_01]: They leave unchanged.

[SPEAKER_01]: They leave still sick.

[SPEAKER_01]: They still have their chains around them.

[SPEAKER_01]: They're still bound up in addiction.

[SPEAKER_01]: They still have demons.

[SPEAKER_01]: There's people that go every Sunday that have those things.

[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus literally went to a synagogue and cast out a demon.

[SPEAKER_01]: So you can't tell me that they can't go in churches because Jesus showed us that they can.

[SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot of people that sit in there that are in chain.

[SPEAKER_01]: You can't tell me that there's not a difference in religion and relationship when Jesus showed there is.

[SPEAKER_01]: There were a lot of people in that synagogue.

[SPEAKER_01]: There were a lot of people sitting there that had belief system, but did they believe in Jesus Christ?

[SPEAKER_01]: That is the difference.

[SPEAKER_02]: And absolutely, you know, when David came back from the Zig Lake and everything, his family was taking everything.

[SPEAKER_02]: And he said, let me inquire of the Lord because they would want to stone him.

[SPEAKER_02]: David, relationship with God, and he inquired of the Lord, and he asked the Lord to see all I pursued, and the Lord said, yes.

[SPEAKER_02]: He said, shall I overtake?

[SPEAKER_02]: He said, you shall overtake and not suffer no loss whatsoever.

[SPEAKER_02]: With that relationship that David had with God, David didn't know exactly what to do either at the same time, because the Bible said that they whip to the could we know more because of their family.

[SPEAKER_02]: But then they wanted to stone him so therefore he inquired of the Lord.

[SPEAKER_02]: His relationship with God and God Do the outcome and it's the same way with us as well We need to inquire of the Lord in our life as well Lord do I need to do this do I need to do that or whatsoever?

[SPEAKER_02]: Maybe the case

[SPEAKER_02]: And that's where the relationship comes in so strong at in a person's life, that we walk with God and God talks with us and we have that relationship, but you can't have that with religion because religion is man-made, you've got to have a prayer life, you've got to have a read your Bible life, meditation life, and just continue to go to God.

[SPEAKER_02]: every day, in prayers, Paul said, pray without ceasing, you know.

[SPEAKER_02]: We all ought to all be thinking about Christ and what he had done for us down through our life, every day in what he can do.

[SPEAKER_02]: But religion can't give you this, religion can't give you the peace that Christ can give you, religion can't give you the hope.

[SPEAKER_02]: We have a blessed hope in Jesus Christ.

[SPEAKER_02]: And because he was resurrected on the third day, sitting on the right-hand side of the father today, making intercession for us, and we still take our needs to him.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so you just get the relationship with Christ that you need and keep pushing on.

[SPEAKER_02]: Stay out of the religious territory because it will take you down, religion will.

[SPEAKER_02]: every person needs it and Christ wants every person to have it and you know Christ said come unto me all you that burden and have it laid in I will give you rest you know he's saying that to everybody and but you've got to have that relationship you've got to have that relationship and so keep that relationship hot so to speak I guess what you might say let me ask you this do you talk to Jesus?

[SPEAKER_01]: Do you talk to him?

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, a lot of people don't even know how to talk to Jesus, or they think they can't, or they think their words are dumb, or they think that whatever they say doesn't really matter, that why would the God of all creation care what they have to say?

[SPEAKER_01]: Let me tell you he does.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, he does.

[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus loves you.

[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus wants to hear what you have to say, and you know your prayer like is so important, and it's not talked about enough.

[SPEAKER_01]: A lot of people don't even know how to pray.

[SPEAKER_01]: We have a whole discipleship series on how to pray for that reason because it's important to know how to pray.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's important to know how to talk to God.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, He wants to hear everything, not just your concerns.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, a lot of people go to God with just their concerns.

[SPEAKER_01]: Oh God, help me now.

[SPEAKER_01]: Oh God, I'm not feeling good.

[SPEAKER_01]: Please help deliver me from this sickness.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, a lot of times people just go to God when they're in trouble, but God doesn't well, that God wants you to come to Him at all times, whether you're in trouble, you're in happiness, you're in sorrow, whatever you're going through, God wants to help you through it.

[SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, rejoicing and giving Him praise and worshiping Him.

[SPEAKER_01]: Those things cannot be left out, you know, if you don't hear from God and you're wondering why you don't, then maybe see how you're talking to him, maybe see how you're listening, maybe reflect and see what you can do to change to be able to hear God more.

[SPEAKER_01]: If you're not hearing his voice, the Bible says that my sheep will know my voice.

[SPEAKER_01]: If you are guided by your Lord and Savior and you know him and he is your Lord and your Savior, then you will hear him.

[SPEAKER_01]: And if you're not here in him, well, then you got work to do brothers and sisters.

[SPEAKER_01]: And that's only something that you can fix.

[SPEAKER_01]: Now, if you talk to Jesus and you don't hear, then you need to talk to him more.

[SPEAKER_01]: You don't give up, you don't slack off, you don't stop talking to him, you try, you double down, you talk to him more, you start reading your Bible more, you seek him more, you seek and you will find, I say that all the time because the Bible says it, but you will, you will find if you seek, but your prayer life is so important, if you are talking to Jesus,

[SPEAKER_01]: and you are not hearing him talk to him more talk to him in the mornings when it's quiet talk to him throughout your day when it's loud talk to him whenever your head hits the pillow and you're going to sleep talk to him whether being your own mind whether be out loud however it may be pray and talk to God he wants to hear from you not just assume.

[SPEAKER_01]: You can't just leave it all to a assumption that God just knows how you're thinking and that should be enough.

[SPEAKER_01]: He wants to hear from you.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's a relationship.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, when you are with somebody, you don't just sit there and say, I wonder what they're thinking, they never need to speak.

[SPEAKER_01]: You won't have to talk to you.

[SPEAKER_01]: You won't that communication.

[SPEAKER_01]: It is the same with Jesus.

[SPEAKER_01]: Have that open line of communication and talk to your Lord and Savior.

[SPEAKER_01]: Have a relationship.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, you know the sparrows God feeds him.

[SPEAKER_02]: He cares about them.

[SPEAKER_02]: And the Bible says, Luke, I think it is a very hares of your head as number.

[SPEAKER_02]: If the hares of our head as number, in God took time enough to number them, to care about that.

[SPEAKER_02]: He cares about what's going on in our life.

[SPEAKER_02]: And He wants us to talk to Him.

[SPEAKER_02]: He wants us to cry out to Him.

[SPEAKER_02]: And because a lot of people say, well said, I think God is just for God.

[SPEAKER_02]: God hasn't forgotten you.

[SPEAKER_02]: It was safe to most get you in such a despair that you don't think that God even cares about you, but God cares about you, specifically, each and every individual.

[SPEAKER_02]: Because if he didn't, he wouldn't have died upon the cross of Calvary, and because he went and bore the sins for every person, every individual, world wide.

[SPEAKER_02]: And tacked their sins to the cross.

[SPEAKER_02]: So he cares about every individual.

[SPEAKER_02]: He did do one little for something, and a whole lot for that.

[SPEAKER_02]: He did the same for everybody.

[SPEAKER_02]: Everybody.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so you just stay in touch with him.

[SPEAKER_02]: You keep in touch with Him and you find yourself even getting lonely sometimes and feel like that God doesn't care about you.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's just a devil whispered in your ear that He doesn't care about you.

[SPEAKER_02]: He does care about you.

[SPEAKER_02]: And He cares about the problems that you're going through.

[SPEAKER_02]: He cares about the situation you're going through, but you just cry out to Him, cry out to Him.

[SPEAKER_02]: But that relationship that you have with Him,

[SPEAKER_02]: Then once you get that relationship that God can work through you, just like he worked through Peter when Peter would walk down the streets, they brought the people and his shadow would touch him and heal their body.

[SPEAKER_02]: Just like when Peter and John showed up at the gate of beautiful said, silver and ungold have our numbers such as I have the give and the name of Jesus Christ rise up in the wall.

[SPEAKER_02]: Christ works through them because of the relationship that they have with him.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so, therefore, you just get that relationship zeroed in.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I'll tell you what, you cannot go wrong.

[SPEAKER_01]: in the Bible when it talks about the Pharisees.

[SPEAKER_01]: It talks about how their religious doctrine was.

[SPEAKER_01]: It talks about them polishing up their gold.

[SPEAKER_01]: It talks about them with their long robes and their tassels and their whole year then out attitudes.

[SPEAKER_01]: It talks about it a lot.

[SPEAKER_01]: And it's for a reason.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's to show that if you are out here in your religious mind and you're thinking that you're whole year then now and that is by the things that you're practicing that gets you close to Jesus.

[SPEAKER_01]: You're mistaken, because these Pharisees no matter what they did, they still do not Jesus.

[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus will stand in right in front of them and they couldn't even see.

[SPEAKER_01]: They didn't even have eyes to see because they had religion.

[SPEAKER_01]: It is important to realize that it is important to reflect to see if you have religion if you're holding on to this religious doctrine or if you actually see Jesus when Jesus is in front of you.

[SPEAKER_01]: Have that relationship with Jesus.

[SPEAKER_01]: Don't just have religion, have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

[SPEAKER_02]: the Pharisees in public and went up to pray.

[SPEAKER_02]: The Pharisees' Lord, I pray that I like this public in the extortioner, whatever may be the case, and then the old public in just about his head, Lord, for giving me a sinner.

[SPEAKER_02]: And Christ said, which one of them went away justified?

[SPEAKER_02]: Yep.

[SPEAKER_02]: And it was a public in, you know.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so the Pharisee got the religion.

[SPEAKER_02]: And Republican got the relationship, and so, you know, that's what God is looking for.

[SPEAKER_02]: People that will want that relationship with Christ and get out of religion, business completely.

[SPEAKER_02]: And just take God as it's worth, and God will show up.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'll guarantee you, God will show up.

[SPEAKER_01]: Amen.

[SPEAKER_01]: The part from me for I never knew you.

[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus is not speaking to people that don't know him.

[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus was speaking to religious people.

[SPEAKER_01]: He was speaking to people who thought they knew him.

[SPEAKER_01]: Because they said, Lord, Lord, first, they said, Lord, Lord, we've been casting out demons in your name.

[SPEAKER_01]: And he said, depart from me.

[SPEAKER_01]: You evil doers, for I never knew you.

[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus says that.

[SPEAKER_01]: He is trying to show us that religion is not going to get you in heaven.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm trying.

[SPEAKER_01]: That it is a relationship that you have to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, that you have to believe in Him, that He died upon the cross, and that you love Him, that you have a relationship with Him.

[SPEAKER_01]: It is your faith in Jesus Christ that matters, not your religion, and that verse right there proves it.

[SPEAKER_02]: Just keep your faith in Christ and keep that relationship open to Him at all time.

[SPEAKER_01]: Well, thank you so much for joining us on this episode of the Discipleship series.

[SPEAKER_01]: We hope that you learned something today.

[SPEAKER_01]: We hope that your faith has increased, that your relationship with Jesus grows exponentially from this conversation, and we just pray blessings upon you in Jesus' name, and we will see you soon with another Discipleship episode.