Acquaintance then Friendship with the Almighty (I)
Bible Nugget 0504 [Job 22 v21-30]
21Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.
22Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.
23If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.
24Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.
25Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.
26For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.
27Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.
28Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.
29When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.
30He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.
Enmity, Acquaintance and friendship are three levels of relationships. Friendship with somebody is a deeper relationship than being an acquaintance of that person. If you are an acquaintance, you may know that person in different degrees and your knowledge of that person may be limited to any or all of the following: name, where he lives, his family members, where he works and other peripheral information about that person.
Today we will focus on acquaintance, a step away from enmity. God wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Acquaintance with God means having a general knowledge, not having perfect knowledge or full intimacy with the Almighty. Acquaintance is the first step in friendship with God. It is the means to an end, not the end in itself.
If you have a quarrel with somebody, the first stage in reconciliation with that person is to strike an accord of peace with that person. You become an acquaintance with that person. Even if you had been the best of friends before the quarrel, the separation strains your relationship and your knowledge about that person during the period of conflict is highly limited. That is what the writer of the above passage is talking about. Make peace with the Almighty; do not be an enemy of God. Why? Because he created you in his own image and likeness. It’s like the story of the prodigal son. He had a father and had an inheritance in the father’s house but decided to stray away to live like a bastard far away, until his life degraded to that of living and feeding with swine [Luke 15:11-24]. The number one issue that strains our relationship with God is friendship with the world. The book of James states it bluntly as follows:
4Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. [James 4:4].
The above verse is not necessarily about sexual immorality because the preceding 3 verses at the beginning of that passage talks about conflict between persons and the reason prayers are not answered. If you “love” the world, the Love of God is not in you. “Love” of the world means “lust” for the things of the world as stated in 1 John 2:15-17
15Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
The first step in building healthy relationship is to believe in that person. You are willing to listen and accept that person’s speech or words. So for you to have a healthy relationship with God, you have to be thoroughly separated from the world if you want God to turn his face towards you or be acquainted with him. Reconcile with God today and believe the word of God. Let your heart be a fertile ground to receive the message of salvation. Job 22 v 22 says
22Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.
There are immediate benefits when you acquaint yourself with the almighty. You have peace, you are built up, iniquity or sin will be strange to you, physical and spiritual blessings will pursue and locate you. Much increase in physical wealth will be your portion because the word of God says the earth is the Lords’ and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein. The Lord will also be your surety or defense. Job 22 v 26 says you can even lift up your face to God, not hiding it in shame or fear of punishment or judgment of God. God begins to hear and answer your prayers and your vows become a holy oblation or sacrifice to God. Your prayers become very potent, you begin to decree what will happen and that is what will happen. You become an encourager of other people and lead them into acquaintance with God. All these are still at the level of acquaintance with the almighty. How glorious will it be at the level of friendship? Re-emphasize Job 22:28-29 yourself as you step into better relationship with God;
28Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.
29When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.
Wouldn’t you like to be fully acquainted with God today? Would you not like to draw near to him. James says draw near to God and he will draw near to you. It means take a step away from God and he will take a step away from you. Woes betide that person if the step God decides to take away is a giant stride. He is calling you today in love. “Acquaint yourself with Me” and have peace and rest for your soul. Come to Jesus and be saved. That is your first step in your journey of acquaintance with the almighty because Jesus is the revelation of the fullness of God to man. In closing read James 4:8-10 and purpose in your heart to draw nearer and nearer to the Almighty in Jesus Name.
8Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Prayer Points 0504
Pray the following prayers with a penitent heart and believe you are in stride with the Almighty.
1. Oh Lord forgive me for walking away from you and your ways in the past. I ask and receive full restoration of sonship with you today in the mighty name of Jesus.
2. I come against every prodigal and vagabond spirit. Be banished from my life in Jesus Name.
3. Oh Lord I place the cross before me and the world behind me. I refuse to be in any bondage to the world and the lust thereof. I live in the world but not by the standards of the world in the mighty name of Jesus.
4. Oh Lord, I claim your peace and full rest for my soul in Christ. Holy Spirit do your work of reconciliation of my heart to God in the mighty name of Jesus.
5. Oh Lord let the benefits of acquaintance and full salvation in Christ begin to rub on me and my household in Jesus Name.
6. I receive the full blessings of Christ by virtue of my spirit being born again by the Spirit of God. All my rights and privileges in Christ I receive in the mighty name of Jesus.
7. Oh Lord, let me experience your lifting up. Let me be a divine encourager to those who are cast down. Fill my heart with the spirit of humility in Jesus name.
8. I shake off every spirit of sadness, sorrow and mourning away from my life. Joy everlasting shall be my portion in Jesus Name. Amen.
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