Christian Discipleship Course 33.

Question and answer: “How can I go deeper with God?”

Obedience is the key to spiritual growth. As you spend more time with God in prayer and in His word, you should sense Him speaking to you. Obey what the Bible tells you and obey Him as He guides you by His Holy Spirit. Our flesh life, or sinful nature, does hinder our growth in Christ, so surrender each area of your life to the Holy Spirit and let Him change you Psalm 51:17, John 3:30. Put God first in your life. We should love God with all our soul, strength, mind and heart. Mark 12:30.

Proverbs 23:26 'My son, give me your heart, and let your eye observe My way'

The Bible says our heart is deceitful. What comes out of our mouth comes from our heart and our treasure is also there Jeremiah 17:9, Matthew 6:21, 12:35, 15:18. As Christians our heart can be hard, but we need it to be softened and made pliable, Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26.

Wisdom: If you give your heart fully to God as an act of obedience, God will guide you and use you in His Kingdom Jeremiah 18:4-6.

Psalm 34:18 ‘The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit'

“I don’t bow down to a wooden idol!” In the West our idols are not made of wood and stone, but are anything that we put before God. If you think that money, a career, or a relationship is more important than God, then you are in danger of your heart becoming cold towards Him Ezekiel 14:3. We need to unite our heart to fear God, Psalm 86:11. This can only truly be done when we give God our heart.

Fact: By giving your heart to God you unreservedly give yourself to Him.

God allows hard situations that help you get closer to Him. A refiner’s fire removes impurities in molten metal to produce a valuable product Proverbs 17:3.

Think: Do I put anything before God? Does He have my whole heart?

More Info: Psalm 57:7, Proverbs 20:27, Songs of Songs 8:6, Isaiah 43:2, 66:2, Malachi 3:2-3, Matthew 5:8, John 14:1,27, Philippians 4:6,7, Colossians 3:15, 1 Thessalonians 2:4, 1 Timothy 1:5, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 3:15, James 4:7-8, 10:16, 1 Peter 1:5-7.