Today and for the next couple of weeks, we will be talking about something.
Something very important to our walk in Christ
It is actually our walk in/with Christ: INTIMACY
To be intimate with someone is to have a certain closeness with them.
It's the experience of knowing another truly and being known by them also.
Intimacy goes both ways.
It is mutual knowledge in a deep way
Have you ever felt intimate with another person?
If yes, what did you think made you feel that way
For all the answers we will come up with, some things are underlying :
friendship, closeness, spending time together, trust, getting personal...
Which brings me to us and God's desire. A lot of us have impersonal relationships with God
We are His children but everything is just there, out of duty and obligation. We read our Bible, pray, go to church but that's just it, nothing special, nothing deep, all ritual. f most Christians are asked to describe their relationships with God, intimate might be the last word you will hear. You'd hardly hear someone say I'm a friend of God. 90% of those that use that phrase say so cos it's normal to.
In reality, no friendship with God.
We know the Lord
We've given our hearts and lives to Him
We spend time praying and studying everyday
But...
Our "thing" with God is a big chunk of obedience
For some worship, Others service, Some even fear.
But very few will say intimacy.
All these things are good, But it's not where it ends. It's not even where it starts. God created us to not just fellowship with Him but to experience Him, to know Him intimately.
And He wants this experience to be daily, every minute, every moments of our lives.
One would say:
"Oh! But we already have a relationship with God. We are sons"
Well, you have a relationship with your dad, he is your father
I have a relationship with Oyin, she is my sister.
Does that translate to Intimacy? NO.
A lot of us read the bible, we study everyday to learn some truth, understand biblical principles, probably fulfill all righteousness and tick of our daily bible reading or to truly gain insight.
Of course, we will leave with knowledge.
I leave with something every time we come together to share, even when I study personally.
But something is missing: Our knowledge is increased but there is nothing deep going on.
We read about Jesus daily but here is a bigger and better offer.
We know the book, we take time to learn what is written in the book daily but we miss out on the chance to be with the author and focus of the book.
Here is God calling us, every one of us His children, to walk with Him (as Enoch did), to know Him truly, to share something really deep with Him.
God wants to pleasure us as much as we want to pleasure Him.
He wants to delight in us and us to delight in Him also. And this intimacy goes beyond our normal activities.
“You are busy analyzing the Scriptures, frantically poring over them in hopes of gaining eternal life. Everything you read points to me, yet you still refuse to come to me so I can give you the life you’re looking for—eternal life!
John 5:39-40 TPT
We stay studying and searching about Christ yet we have an opportunity to actually get to know Him directly. Everything we read, from Genesis down to revelation points to one person: Christ.
And here is a free opportunity to actually know Him.
Imagine writing a dissertation about someone as a student. All the time and research put into it, then you get a chance to meet the person you are writing about
Not just meet, but fellowship and you pass.
How does that sound?
Now here is the thing, the problem is not that we don't want intimacy with God.
We want it, but most of us want it on our own terms alone.
We want to be friends but we don't want to make friendship sacrifices.
We don't have time
We are too busy
We are not ready to go all out
Friendship is not duty. It is never obligation. Imagine beings friends with someone out of obligation. Who has that time?
And this is why prayer does not equal intimacy.
We can read the word and pray out of obligation. It's the right thing to do as Christians. But you see intimacy, it is something we long for. It runs deeeeep.
Here’s the one thing I crave from God, the one thing I seek above all else: I want the privilege of living with him every moment in his house, finding the sweet loveliness of his face, filled with awe, delighting in his glory and grace. I want to live my life so close to him that he takes pleasure in my every prayer.
Psalms 27:4 TPT
I ask only one thing from the Lord. This is what I want most: Let me live in the Lord’s house all my life, enjoying the Lord’s beauty and spending time in his palace.
Psalms 27:4 ERV
A lot of us know this scripture. I've known it forever but it hit me differently one day. This was David's prayer shortly before he was anointed King.
And you could see something in it.
David wasn't praying this out of obligation
There was hunger for a conversation, friendship with God borne out of love and intimacy.
It wasn't a means to an end.
It wasn't so he could defeat nations or do ministry better.
It wasn't asking so God could give him answers he had been waiting for.
David was in love with God!
I could feel the butterflies in David's tummy that day
Here was David (translated in my understanding);
I long to be in the secret place, you and I alone. Have the privilege of living with you DAILY and communing EVERY moment. I want to find the sweet loveliness of your face, touch the fine lines on it, gaze upon your beauty, stay in awe of how wonderful you are. Delight in your glory, think of your greatness and just revel in it. I want to just ponder on your Grace and burst into tears at how amazing you are. I want to live so close to you that we both find pleasure in this friendship.
I cried the day I wrote this down.
David just wanted to BE in God's presence.
Be here is not just stay, he wanted to just have his being there, his whole existence. He wanted to just marvel and stay enjoying God's beauty.
This is love. This is intimacy!
Take me away with you! Let’s run off together! An elopement with my King-Lover! We’ll celebrate, we’ll sing, we’ll make great music. Yes! For your love is better than vintage wine. Everyone loves you—of course! And why not?
Song of Solomon 1:4 MSG
Look at the bride in this verse: Let's elope together
Do you know how love struck and lost in the sauce you must be to want to run away, to crave the presence of another only? Just like a newly wedded in a hurry to go home to their partner.
We are the bride of Christ, this should be our outlook.
We should study the word
We should pray also.
Prayer is warfare, yes
But prayer is way more than that.
It is most importantly Intimacy
We are laborers in God's vineyard, the harvest is plenty so we have work to do.
But know this, Jesus didn't die just for you to become laborers or soldiers in His army, He died for us to become His bride.
Do you delight in the presence of your groom?
Next time you come to God, come as a Bride.
Come with/in love
Come with intimacy in mind
Forget the war,
Forget the battles, they've been won already!
Come and just BE in His presence.
Come gazing upon His beauty.
Don't look left, Don't look right. Just gaze upon Him.
Their faces looked like this: In front a human face, on the right side the face of a lion, on the left the face of an ox, and in back the face of an eagle. So much for the faces. The wings were spread out with the tips of one pair touching the creature on either side; the other pair of wings covered its body. Each creature went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit went, they went. They didn’t turn as they went.
Ezekiel 1:10-12 MSG
They went in any one of the four directions they faced, but straight, not veering off. The rims were immense, circled with eyes. When the living creatures went, the wheels went; when the living creatures lifted off, the wheels lifted off. Wherever the spirit went, they went, the wheels sticking right with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. When the creatures went, the wheels went; when the creatures stopped, the wheels stopped; when the creatures lifted off, the wheels lifted off, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
Ezekiel 1:17-21 MSG.
Look at the creatures, their gaze does not shift from God. It is focused on the throne.
The elders, their focus is on one person only; The one on the throne.
Here is what God is calling us to, Intimacy with Him
And as I said this is borne out of love for God.
Love so deep we want to leave every other thing and run to our quiet place, just elope with God.
Gazing upon the beauty of His love and just being in it.
God wants us to meet with Him from a place of love.
Love fuels intimacy
Now, we can't love God if we do not come to a knowledge of His love for us.
Our love for God I creases as our knowledge of His love for us increases.
When the love of God hits you hard, the only way you can respond is by loving Him back
David knew the love of God, he came to an understanding of it and his only reaction was love.
Talk to God, allow Him show you His love in a way you've never known and watch yourself respond to Him.
Spend time with Him you bride, your marriage to the groom is kept alive here.
Just BE in His love!
I pray as we all dedicate time to God this way, His love hits us hard. It leaves us in tears. It ignites our relationship with Him.
Amen
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