Your Breakthrough comes from Relationship

Are we seeing a breakthrough in our lives of following Jesus? Are we pushing through the veil that is already broken for us? This isn't about a Father who is so far off that you will never experience Him. This isn't about being smacked on the head by a Father who is ready to scold us every time we make a mistake. Do we want to look deep into this divide, or continue putting band-aids on the surface? God does not need us to walk a perfect tight rope, no matter what we have been told.

Let's be honest with each other for a few minutes. I'll be honest with you and you can just be honest with yourself. Firstly, getting into any relationship comes with several implied responsibilities from both parties, does it not? And if not, would you really call it a relationship?

Since the word relationship can only be traced back to the 1700's let us look at the Greek & Hebrew words.

Koinonos in classical Greek means a companion, a partner or a joint-owner. Therefore, koinonia can imply an association, common effort, or a partnership in common. Two people may enter into marriage in order to have "koinonia of life", that is to say, to live together a life in which everything is shared. Koinonia was used to refer to the marriage bond, and it suggested a powerful common interest that could hold two or more persons together.

In the Hebrew we find the word “know” (yada'), which is a common root in the semitic languages, has a wide range of meanings depending upon the context in which the word is found. But the concept of “knowing” something or someone takes on a special meaning in the semitic languages, and this specialized meaning has to do with relationship, and primarily a relationship that is based upon the making of a covenant.

I could go on for a whole 10 pages if I really wanted to, trust me, it took me a whole day just to get this first part written due to the amount of information. I know I said I was going to be honest, but aren't we both around so many people who take relationships for granted. So if we spend a little time understanding the word itself, then won't we be able to truly seek a relationship with a Heavenly Father that doesn't need a relationship with us for His gain. A relationship with Him means that He provides us everything we need in life. Doing some research I found something that honestly blew my mind when I read it.

The first usage of koinonia in the Greek New Testament is found in Acts 2:42-47, where a striking description of the common life shared by the early Christian believers in Jerusalem is given:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the communion, to the breaking of bread and to prayer...All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need…They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.

Did you read that? It said "had everything in common....they gave to anyone who had need". How rare would it be to find people doing this in the culture we find ourselves in. It really sounds like the early church really knew what relationship/fellowship meant. If they didn't take ownership of their possessions, shared everything with each other that they needed to survive, and had sincere hearts. I don't think there was any pride here. I don't see anyone comparing themselves to another or contradicting one another. I don't see any accountability here. I don't see any competition here. I don't read anyone saying, "well if you do this for me, then I'll do this for you...". Do you? I would give up everything I had to live in this kind of society. Would you?

Does the word "relationship" have a different meaning to you at this point? Still with me?

If we applied these principles in every area of our own lives, how incredible would our jobs, families and marriages actually be. Think about it. Unfortunately, without a real relationship with our Heavenly Father we will try and try again at these things only to fail. You cannot fit Him in later, He doesn't deserve your leftover time.

When we have a walking, talking relationship with God through Christ, life becomes nothing short of exciting as He stirs up a passion inside us to love people, and we don't have to struggle, it just happens naturally. If you love everyone you can never be offended, you can never be angry or hateful, you can never be frustrated or hurt by words, the mistakes from your past no longer exist. That is freedom from yourself, and freedom from them. When this happens you do things for your spouse without expecting something in return. When this happens you do things for strangers without waiting for them to thank you. When this happens you hang around friends or family and not get caught up in their misery or complaints. Why would we ever not want this freedom?

He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. ~ C.S. Lewis

It took me 30 years to find real freedom from myself and others, and no that doesn't mean it should take you that long. I prolonged the process by holding on to problems that I needed to give to my Abba Father, but I had to first realize what having a Heavenly Father meant. Then losing the control I pretending to have over every little aspect of my life was a little easier for me to give up.

Some actions to take to begin your journey towards a breakthrough of freedom through relationship:

Talk/Pray with God/Spirit daily and constantly…Ask Him to use the Spirit in you to teach you in all things
Tell Him how grateful you are for what you have instead of complaining to everyone about what you don't have
Read/Listen to His teachings daily and as much as possible (give up a lunch or break)...
Help someone and expect nothing in return (this has nothing to do with money)...
Die yourself daily and in every situation, think humble and meekness
Become the Son or Daughter God says you are...Then you will see/become what He sees you being
Do not rely on your strength, knowledge or understanding...Biggest hurdle you’ll have
God is not impressed with your good deeds. What He cares about is your heart