Ever wanted to behave better? Have the godly response to a conflict be your first response? How about hearing God’s voice more clearly or knowing your life purpose? Ever “try harder” to ultimately fail?

The best way I have found to hear God more clearly and have my character shaped by His Spirit, is to place myself in His company on a daily basis. To give Him consistent access to influence who I am.

Many people say they want to be closer to God. The good news is that He is always very near. [Acts 17:27; Philippians 4:5]

The Lord is near to all who call on Him, To all who call on Him in truth.

– King David [Psalm 145: 18 –NASB 2020]

Desire Alone Will Fail

To desire God is awesome. In fact, if you do, I am proud of you. Most people are still fighting the conviction to surrender to His love and guidance. If you are one of those people, the door is open to you my friend. Yet, desiring God alone is not enough to experience His nearness. We must put in the work.

As sinful human beings, we can never work hard enough to be perfect. We can never work hard enough to get into Heaven. Those are gifts from Jesus by faith in His death on the cross and resurrection. What I am talking about is interaction. The makings of a strong relationship.

Let’s say for example, you are trying out for a class team. You tried your best to audition but just kept failing to get in. Finally, the team captain, out of their kindness, let you in. Congratulations. You are now on the team. All you had to do was accept the offer.

Now that you are on the team, can you expect to be a great player by missing the lectures and practices? Of course not. How you interact with your captain and your teammates is up to you. You must take initiative. The captain can provide guidance and the team may provide critiques, however, you must put in the work to improve your skills and foster a healthy relationship with them.

We can use the same example for a marriage. God, as your Father-in-law so to speak, paid for the wedding and the certificate. Now, how you then treat your spouse, is up to you. The health of your marriage will increase or decrease based on your intentional self sacrifice, humility, study, and spending quality time with your spouse.

Access

We can try our best, however, trying harder in our own strength won’t change our hearts or continue the process of change that the Holy Spirit has already begun. We couldn’t try harder to be saved from the power of our sins. Neither can we try harder to behave better. Modifying our behavior will only bring about temporary results, not permanent change.

What we can work on is getting around the word and presence of God frequently and consistently enough for Him to have the time and freedom to influence us. Not influence only on a mental, informational level, but on a deep spiritual and subconscious level. The start of this change happens when we first believe in Jesus. The continual development of it happens by being with Him.

4 “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

– Jesus [John 15: 4- 5 NLT]

Important Note: Being with Jesus and being busy for Jesus are not the same thing. Being busy for Jesus can easily be as detrimental as deliberate sin. Both will cause us to drift from His influence. Busyness for Jesus can become an idol just like the vices of our modern area or the idols of ancient times.

Take for example the disciples Judas, Peter, and John. Judas outrightly betrayed Jesus. Judas can represent blatant sin. Peter, although fired up to work for Jesus, failed in his strength, He also denied Him. Peter represents busyness.

Peter's attention was too caught up in working for Jesus and not really Jesus Himself. When Jesus allowed Himself to be arrested, Peter’s work seemed to be over. His world shattered. He cared so much about the work that he lost sight of his God and friend that was right there in front of him, and he denied Him three times. [Luke 22: 54-62]

Judas and Peter may have had different outcomes in the end. But let their similarities be a warning. Both denied Jesus, and both needed to be restored. One chose restoration, the other did not.

John the beloved, was more concerned about Jesus Himself. His God and friend. Not the work of being a disciple. He out of all the disciples remained the most loyal.

Consistency & Practical Application

"You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine." – John Maxwell

Often we know what to do, we simply do not do it. We can get suggestions, watch videos, read books and attend conferences, however, unless we take action, no lasting change will happen.

That said, here are four practical ways to give God access to your spirit so you can begin to see the change He wants and the change you so deeply desire.

Practical Suggestions

1) First And Last

Make time with Jesus the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing before bed.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” – Jesus [Revelation 22: 13 NLT]

Giving God the first of anything throughout scripture and church history has been a way to show God great respect. The first represents the best. We are more fresh and ready for the day in the morning. Others in your household may still be sleeping, which will give you more freedom to focus. By starting with the Lord first thing, the uncertainty of the day won’t be able to take your time away from Him.

Speaking of best, If early mornings are hectic, but your late morning to noon is more free, then use the start of that free time as your morning. Give God your best.

At the end of your day, spend the last few minutes before you go to bed reading scripture, praying or meditating on the Lord.

2) Section Your Time With Jesus

Your time with God will generally consist of, praying, reading the bible, worship and meditating. It may also include note taking. You can divide these into timed sessions.

You may take more time on some parts of your time with God than others. It may be that you spend 10 minutes in praise, 5 minutes praying, 10 minutes reading the bible, and 5 minutes reflecting and taking notes. That would be 30 minutes of your morning. Then, pray and worship for some time before bed. Perhaps you journal your day in the evening before bed or read a christ centered book to wind down. This will look different in detail person to person, however the main disciplines will essentially be the same.

The important thing is that you are spending meaningful time with Him. If you know that 30 minutes is too short for you, increase the time. If you find yourself drifting after 15- 20 minutes then that may be the extent of your time. Get around Him to be influenced by Him. Also, speak to Him as often as you remember throughout the day.

Never stop praying. – Apostle Paul [1 Thessalonians 5:17]

3) Keep A Clear Conscience

15 I have the same hope in God that these men have, that He will raise both the righteous and the unrighteous. 16 Because of this, I always try to maintain a clear conscience before God and all people.

– Apostle Paul [ Acts 24: 15- 16]

Do not copy the behavior of other people that violates your conscience, even if they are believers. Live by the influence of God’s word and His Holy Spirit. If God sees that you care more about Him rather than compromising, He will begin to make Himself more known. Jesus can read the room. He knows if you care about Him or just care about being a part of a religion or community.

This also applies to being away from a group. Holding on to secret sin and trying to get close to Jesus is like having a secret lover and trying to grow a relationship with your spouse. Or being a double agent of war. Those examples are bad enough, however, Jesus knows all secrets.

He is willing and ready to help you let it go, if you are willing. Some sins fall off easy by His grace, others may be a fight that involves counseling and deep inner healing that takes time. The defining factor will be if you are working away from these sins with all your heart, or making excuses to delay your freedom.

4) Have True Accountability Not Casual Confession

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. – James 5:16 NLT

Confession brings our secret lives to the light of our brothers and sisters in Christ and to the light of God’s cleansing power. This accountability will only work if you humble yourself under their guidance.

Seek out people of clean character full of the Spirit that you can speak to. Those who are thriving ahead of you on the same good path you want to walk on.

This individual or group of people should be able to hold you to a higher standard. They should have the permission and authority to guide and even interrupt certain parts of your life if need be. Their words and appropriate corrective action hold weight against you.

You do not want the kind of accountability that you can casually confess to. There should be love and support from your accountability, but never without challenge, motivation, and correction.

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

– Apostle Paul [Galatians 6:1-2]

Give God Access

By Nigel Sacred

Draft Illustration at the bottom of the post

If You Want To Change

This is a rough draft of the illustration I am working on for this blog post. The completed illustration will be uploaded on January 28th