Seeing God as He Really Is #5 “Connection”

Seeing God Connection Overview

In this fifth installment of the series Seeing God as He Really Is, the pastor explores what it truly means to be in a living, mutual connection with God. Drawing from John 3:16, John 14:21, John 17:22-23, Hebrews 11:6, 1 John 3:22, Galatians 5:6, and the account of Moses in Numbers 12, the message unpacks the difference between one-sided love and the kind of reciprocal, heart-to-heart relationship God desires with every believer. Using the Hebrew concept of mouth-to-mouth communication found in Psalm 103:7 and Numbers 12:6-8, the pastor illustrates how God spoke intimately with Moses, not through visions or dreams, but directly, transforming his character into God’s very likeness. Personal illustrations, including a long marriage of over 52 years and the story of a family dog learning to accept love, bring the teaching to life. The sermon challenges listeners to move beyond religious duty and head knowledge, toward a faith that expresses itself through love, as described in Galatians 5:6. The central call is to receive God’s love daily, allowing that intimacy to transform identity, fuel faith, and produce genuine fruit in every area of life.

Seeing God Connection Outline

• 00:00 – Introduction to the Series and the Problem of Distorted Words: The pastor opens by revisiting the series premise: many biblical words have been hijacked and redefined, causing believers to misunderstand who God truly is and how to relate to Him.
• 05:30 – The Difference Between One-Way Love and Mutual Love: Using John 3:16 and John 21:20, the pastor distinguishes between agape love flowing from God toward the world and the reciprocal, exchanged love seen between Jesus and John, illustrated by an electrical circuit analogy.
• 14:00 – Faith Working Through Love: Hebrews 11:6 and Galatians 5:6 are examined to show that faith without love is unproductive, and that works done outside of a love relationship with God carry no lasting spiritual weight.
• 24:00 – Mouth-to-Mouth Communication with God: Drawing from Numbers 12:5-8 and Genesis 2:7, the pastor explains the ancient Semitic concept of mouth-to-mouth intimacy, showing how God spoke with Moses directly and how that intimacy transformed Moses into God’s likeness.
• 35:00 – Knowing God Intimately Versus Witnessing His Acts: Psalm 103:7 contrasts Israel, who only saw God’s miracles, with Moses, who understood God’s character and ways. Hebrews 3 warns against hardening the heart and missing God’s rest through one-sided relationship.
• 44:00 – Worshipping in Spirit and Truth: John 4:23-24 anchors the call to worship God not intellectually but spiritually, emphasizing that true knowledge of God is a heart experience, not merely a collection of theological information.
• 50:00 – The Illustration of Unconditional Acceptance: The pastor shares the story of the family dog Daisy, who only truly bonded with them after consistently receiving and accepting their love, paralleling how believers must allow God’s love to saturate their hearts over time.
• 56:00 – Living in Daily Connection and the Closing Prayer: The message closes with a call to begin each morning by receiving God’s love and declaring love in return, followed by a pastoral prayer inviting the Holy Spirit to shed God’s love abroad in every listener’s heart.

Scripture References

John 3:16, John 21:20, John 14:21, Hebrews 11:6, Galatians 5:6, 1 John 3:22, John 17:22-23, Genesis 2:7, Numbers 12:5-8, Psalm 103:7, Hebrews 3:7-11, John 10:27, John 4:23-24

Key Takeaways

• True Christianity is not about religious attendance or rituals but about a mutual, covenant love relationship between the believer and God.
• Faith that does not express itself through love is unproductive and unable to please God, according to Hebrews 11:6 and Galatians 5:6.
• God desires mouth-to-mouth, heart-to-heart intimacy with every believer, just as He spoke directly with Moses, and that closeness transforms us into His likeness.
• One-sided love always produces frustration, and God longs for His people to receive and return His love rather than simply witness His acts from a distance.
• A genuine revelation of how much God loves you removes all striving to earn His favor and allows faith to flow naturally as a fruit of that love.
• Worshipping God in spirit and truth means moving beyond intellectual knowledge into a personal, felt encounter with His love that reshapes identity and character.
• Daily intimacy with God, deliberately receiving His love each morning and responding in kind, is the foundation for every blessing, healing, provision, and fruitfulness in a believer’s life.

Seeing God Connection Notes

The Central Teaching of This Message

The pastor draws a sharp distinction between a one-directional love and a completed circuit of mutual love. Using John 3:16 alongside John 21:20, he shows that while God loves the whole world, something qualitatively different happens when a believer actively returns that love. Like electricity flowing through a circuit, spiritual life only manifests when both parties are engaged. This is the heart of the gospel: not a transaction of duty, but a living exchange of affection between Creator and creature that produces light, fruit, and transformation.

Moses and the Mouth-to-Mouth Principle

Numbers 12:5-8 records God’s own testimony about His relationship with Moses: unlike prophets who receive visions and dreams, Moses heard God mouth-to-mouth, plainly, without riddles. The Hebrew phrase translated face to face carries the meaning of mouth to mouth, echoing Genesis 2:7 where God breathed life directly into Adam. The pastor teaches that this intimate communication is not reserved for ancient patriarchs. It is God’s original design for every believer, and it is the kind of knowing that changes a person’s character from the inside out, producing true humility and Christlikeness.

Faith and Love Are Inseparable

Galatians 5:6 declares that in Christ, the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. The pastor unpacks this by showing that religious acts performed without love, whether circumcision in Paul’s day or church attendance today, accomplish nothing of eternal value. Faith is not passive intellectual agreement; it is an active, love-driven trust in who God is. When believers understand that God is fundamentally love, faith becomes the natural response of a heart that has been captured by that love, not a discipline of willpower.

Witnessing Miracles Versus Knowing His Ways

Psalm 103:7 provides a sobering contrast: Israel saw God’s acts for forty years in the wilderness, yet Hebrews 3 records that they hardened their hearts and never entered His rest. Moses, by contrast, knew God’s ways, His character, motives, and nature, because of their intimate communion. The pastor warns that a Christianity built only on experiencing God’s blessings without pursuing relationship with the Blesser will eventually produce frustration, doubt, and spiritual stagnation. Miracles are invitations to intimacy, not substitutes for it.

Receiving Love Before Giving It

One of the most pastoral moments in the message is the pastor’s admission that when he was first married, he did not know how to love his wife, just as new believers do not yet know how to love God. The solution is not self-improvement but surrender: accepting God’s love until it fills the heart so completely that loving Him back becomes effortless and natural. The illustration of the dog Daisy, who only began to trust and obey once she allowed herself to be loved, captures this truth simply and memorably.

A Daily Practice That Changes Everything

The sermon concludes with a straightforward and repeatable practice: begin every morning by asking God to tell you again how much He loves you, then declare your love in return. This is not a formula but a posture of ongoing intimacy. The pastor points to John 17:22-23, where Jesus prays that believers would experience the same unity He shares with the Father, as the ultimate goal of Christian life. That unity is available not through striving but through a daily, unhurried decision to remain in the love of God.

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