WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.119 10. Beyond Religion Rediscovering a Direct Relationship with God 2 00:00:08.119 --> 00:00:12.920 Humanity has long wrestled with how to relate to God. This struggle isn't new. It traces 3 00:00:12.920 --> 00:00:18.360 back to Adam and Eve and echoes throughout history, from the Old Testament to the establishment 4 00:00:18.360 --> 00:00:25.200 of the Church, through the Protestant Reformation, and right into our modern lives. Repeatedly, 5 00:00:25.200 --> 00:00:30.960 man has tried to define the terms of interaction with the Almighty, building up rules, rituals, 6 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:37.120 and theological frameworks to reach out to God on human terms. But here's the hard truth. 7 00:00:37.120 --> 00:00:42.880 All of these efforts, however well-intentioned, miss the point. The essence of religion is 8 00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:48.240 man's attempt to reach God by our own means, to manage and control our relationship with 9 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:54.560 Him. And that's not what God intended. Many believers have a relationship with God that 10 00:00:54.560 --> 00:01:00.520 is clouded by layers of religion that they've inherited. Instead of a direct, vibrant connection 11 00:01:00.520 --> 00:01:06.360 with the Lord, they're left navigating traditions, rules, and rituals that, for many, feel more 12 00:01:06.360 --> 00:01:12.920 like barriers than bridges. The problem is that religion, at its core, is man's way of 13 00:01:12.920 --> 00:01:17.980 defining the terms and conditions of how we interact with God, rather than simply receiving 14 00:01:17.980 --> 00:01:25.580 the relationship He freely offers. This focus on religion, especially institutional Christianity, 15 00:01:25.580 --> 00:01:31.220 often leads to what I call religiosity—a devotion to the structure rather than to God 16 00:01:31.220 --> 00:01:38.100 Himself. Doctrines and traditions take center stage, pushing aside the personal, transforming 17 00:01:38.100 --> 00:01:43.700 power of the Holy Spirit. Many churches still operate under the old covenant model, focusing 18 00:01:43.700 --> 00:01:49.060 on external actions and behaviors rather than embracing the new covenant, which invites 19 00:01:49.060 --> 00:01:54.880 conversion through a direct divine relationship. This can be difficult to comprehend because 20 00:01:54.880 --> 00:02:00.600 it often challenges a good deal of conventional church practices. But God isn't interested 21 00:02:00.600 --> 00:02:05.700 in us just following rules or trying to be good on our own. He desires to bring true 22 00:02:05.700 --> 00:02:11.980 transformation through the Holy Spirit. Religion tries to modify our behavior from the outside, 23 00:02:12.220 --> 00:02:18.380 but God works from the inside out, changing our hearts and minds so that our actions naturally 24 00:02:18.380 --> 00:02:24.100 align with His will. It's a shift from doing things to please God to focusing on being 25 00:02:24.100 --> 00:02:31.220 in relationship with Him and allowing His Spirit to mold and transform us. Unfortunately, 26 00:02:31.220 --> 00:02:36.980 over time, many religious institutions and leaders have unintentionally—and sometimes 27 00:02:36.980 --> 00:02:43.060 intentionally—put themselves in the place of the Holy Spirit. They've become the gatekeepers, 28 00:02:43.060 --> 00:02:48.700 controllers, and wardens, overshadowing the intimate personal relationship God desires 29 00:02:48.700 --> 00:02:54.900 with each of us. The Holy Spirit's role—to guide, teach, and empower—gets replaced 30 00:02:54.900 --> 00:03:00.960 by rules, regulations, human expectations, and intermediaries, and we're left with something 31 00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:08.200 less than God intended that is hollow and powerless. But it doesn't have to be this way. 32 00:03:08.200 --> 00:03:13.760 When God sent His Son, He didn't offer us a new religious system to join. Christ offered 33 00:03:13.760 --> 00:03:20.400 us Himself. He came to restore what Adam and Eve had lost—a direct, personal, unbroken 34 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:27.660 relationship with God. Jesus came to mend the broken connection between us and our Creator. 35 00:03:27.660 --> 00:03:32.820 If God had wanted to establish a new religion, He could have easily done so through the Pharisees. 36 00:03:32.820 --> 00:03:37.900 They already had their elaborate and complex laws, rituals, and traditions. But Christ 37 00:03:37.900 --> 00:03:44.260 didn't affirm their system. He challenged it. He confronted their legalism and self-righteousness, 38 00:03:44.260 --> 00:03:50.260 exposing how they had missed the heart of God. In Matthew 23, verse 23, He says, 39 00:03:50.260 --> 00:03:57.420 You have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness. 40 00:03:57.420 --> 00:04:02.620 Their meticulous adherence to the law could not cover the absence of love, grace, and 41 00:04:02.620 --> 00:04:08.440 humility in their hearts. God was after more—a lot more. 42 00:04:08.440 --> 00:04:12.980 When Christ died on the cross and the temple curtain was torn in two, it signified the 43 00:04:12.980 --> 00:04:18.820 end of the old covenant system and the beginning of the new—the restoration of direct access 44 00:04:18.820 --> 00:04:25.380 to God since Eden, thanks to the work of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 45 00:04:25.380 --> 00:04:31.540 Justice is the heart of the new covenant. Jesus said in John 14, verse 6, I am the way 46 00:04:31.540 --> 00:04:37.820 and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 47 00:04:37.820 --> 00:04:43.420 He didn't say, follow these rules and you'll find the way. He didn't proclaim, adhere to 48 00:04:43.420 --> 00:04:49.500 this doctrine and you'll know the truth. He pointed to Himself as the way to the Father. 49 00:04:49.500 --> 00:04:55.460 He Himself is the truth. The key to that truth is the Father's heart has always been 50 00:04:55.460 --> 00:05:00.060 for intimacy with His children, and Christ's sacrifice made that possible. 51 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:06.240 again. When you embrace the connection with God that Jesus made possible, you stop striving to 52 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:12.480 check religious boxes or live up to arbitrary standards. Instead, you're transformed by His 53 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:20.080 Spirit from the inside out. This is what Jeremiah 31 verse 33 and Hebrews 10 verse 16 are referring 54 00:05:20.080 --> 00:05:27.200 to. This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my 55 00:05:27.200 --> 00:05:34.160 laws in their hearts and I will write them on their minds. Getting right with God is not about 56 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:40.720 self-improvement, personal development, or behavior modification. Everything that we aspire to, 57 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:46.560 or the godly character traits that we seek to reflect, as Paul describes them in Galatians 5 58 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:56.160 verses 22 and 23, are the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 59 00:05:56.160 --> 00:06:02.000 faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These things aren't produced by your will or 60 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:08.960 determination, at least not consistently, but by and through the Holy Spirit's work in your life. 61 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:16.080 Religion will always fall short because it focuses on what we do. But a true relationship 62 00:06:16.080 --> 00:06:21.360 with God focuses on what He has already done, what He continues to do within us, 63 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:24.400 and how we reflect Him because of those two things. 64 00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:30.880 If you're longing for a more genuine connection with God, it might be time to step back from 65 00:06:30.880 --> 00:06:36.480 religious structures and lean into the deeper, more personal relationship He desires to have 66 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:42.880 with you. The Holy Spirit is ready to equip, empower, and transform you in ways you could 67 00:06:42.880 --> 00:06:48.560 never achieve on your own. It's a journey of letting go of the rules and embracing the divine 68 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:55.040 intimacy that redresses you completely. God isn't interested in rituals or religious systems. 69 00:06:55.040 --> 00:07:00.800 He wants a relationship. He wants your heart. He's already reached down to you through Christ, 70 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:05.600 and now He's inviting you to walk with Him in freedom, intimacy, and love. 71 00:07:06.880 --> 00:07:11.280 It's not about trying harder. It's about surrendering to the Holy Spirit 72 00:07:11.280 --> 00:07:17.920 and allowing Him to do a transformative work in you. That is the essence of what it means 73 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:21.680 to move out of rituals and into relationship.