{"id":36222,"date":"2022-09-13T12:46:39","date_gmt":"2022-09-13T17:46:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/what-can-i-do-to-have-an-effective-relationship-with-jesus-christ-sierra-leone\/"},"modified":"2022-09-13T12:46:39","modified_gmt":"2022-09-13T17:46:39","slug":"what-can-i-do-to-have-an-effective-relationship-with-jesus-christ-sierra-leone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/what-can-i-do-to-have-an-effective-relationship-with-jesus-christ-sierra-leone\/","title":{"rendered":"What can I do to have an effective relationship with Jesus Christ? (Sierra Leone)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Many think if a person believes in Jesus and lives a righteous life, that is enough. Not so. Jesus said, “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself<\/strong>, and take up his cross<\/strong>, and follow me<\/strong>.” Mark 8:34. We deny our own wills, bear opposition, and follow Jesus’s example. The relationship is based on love, knowledge, and submission. At the same time, it is a joyful relationship!<\/p>\n

Obedience is key<\/strong> to an effective relationship. Jesus said in John 14:21 (NLT), “Those who accept my commandments and obey<\/strong> them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.<\/strong>” <\/p>\n

There is much to learn in order to follow Jesus. We must study the Bible. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth,<\/strong>” 2 Timothy 2:15. Understanding and living God’s word transforms us into mature Christians. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine<\/strong>, for reproof<\/strong>, for correction<\/strong>, for instruction in righteousness<\/strong>: That the man of God may be perfect,<\/strong> thoroughly furnished unto all good works<\/strong>.”  <\/p>\n

The heavenly calling requires self-denial, sacrifice, and obedience to God’s will. For example, righteous living would not require the Apostle Paul to suffer to serve God<\/strong>. 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 (NET), “… I am even more so: with much greater labors, with far more imprisonments, with more severe beatings, facing death<\/strong> many times.  Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes less one<\/strong>.  Three times I was beaten with a rod<\/strong>. Once I received a stoning<\/strong>. Three times I suffered shipwreck<\/strong>. A night and a day I spent adrift in the open sea. I have been …in dangers<\/strong> from robbers, in dangers from my own countrymen, in dangers from Gentiles…in hunger and thirst<\/strong>, many times without food, in cold and without enough clothing<\/strong>.”  <\/p>\n

But it is the suffering as a result of obedience that grants us the victory. Hebrews 5:8-9, “…though He was a Son, yet He (<\/strong>Jesus)<\/em> learned obedience<\/strong> by the things which He suffered<\/strong>. And having been perfected<\/strong>, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him…” Remember: “…if children, also heirs \u200b– \u200bheirs of God and co-heirs with Christ \u200b– \u200bif indeed we suffer with him<\/strong> so that we may also be glorified with him<\/strong>.” Romans 8:17 (CSB)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many think if a person believes in Jesus and lives a righteous life, that is enough. Not so. Jesus said, “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Mark 8:34. We deny our own wills, bear opposition, and follow Jesus’s example. The relationship is based on … Continue reading “What can I do to have an effective relationship with Jesus Christ? (Sierra Leone)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36222\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}