“INTIMACY WITH GOD IS YOUR PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM” (JOHN 15: 7)
Friday Sermon as of October 21, 2011
Dear Precious Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
What is really the Intimacy With God or your Personal Relationship With Him and how is it attained? Many Christians are not seriously to take this matter as one of the important things to follow to enable them to commune with the Almighty God. In the meantime, there are many methods and certain guidance and sometimes it seems hard to accomplish. Feeling led to approach this subject from a different angle; I am trying to share what I have studied from the Word of God and learned from my own experiences and from other believers and at last only you can choose what method or guidance will satisfy your decision to reach the spiritual level of Intimacy With God to make you confident that you are walking with God on the right tract.
It is really exiting to know that God created each of us with a longing for intimacy with Him. We must, therefore, come to some understanding of what He is asking of us and what He is offering. We must come to the realization that we were created before the foundation of the world to fellowship with God, our Creator, for we all need Him and He desires us.
“Why does God desire us?” He has created us before the foundation of the world to commune with you and me. He wants us, desires us. He gave the very best He had in His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to redeem what Adam relinquished in the Garden and He did it for intimacy purposes in the life of eternity with God.
Intimacy never involves just one person. As the old adage goes, “It takes two to tango.” God has gone to great lengths to dance with mankind. From the time He walked with Adam in Eden to this day, His desire hasn’t abated or changed. So passionate was His desire after Adam and Eve sinned, He worked intensely throughout time to bring humanity back to a place of intimate communion. He gave the ultimate Gift so He might walk with us in the garden of our lives (John 3:16). From the midst of the Garden, the Lord called out to Adam. Today He is calling out our names, waiting to share His heart with us, waiting to hear our hearts expressed to Him.
Now that we better understand God’s desires for intimacy, let’s consider what it entails. What does it mean? Is it hard to attain? I submit to you it is not a difficult endeavor. All it requires is our relentless pursuit of an abiding and growing personal relationship with God.
The biggest hindrance to have communion with God is our perception of who He is and how close we know Him as the Creator of Heaven and Earth, Basing our perception of God’s character on the ungodly actions or attitudes of others will skew our understanding of His nature. Often circumstances in our lives prevent us from drawing near. Yet David says in Psalm 27:10: “Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.” In other words, regardless of who abandons us, betrays us, or hurts us, the Lord is ready, willing and able to embrace us.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
You cannot know someone you don’t spend time with. Personal Intimacy develops as a result of close contact with someone over a period of time. Trust is built, confidence grows, and hearts change, becoming endeared to one another. Did you ever think about the fact that He is already waiting for you? What an awesome thought: The “Creator” of all that is or ever will be is waiting to talk with you and me and other Christian believers.
But you might say that, “You don’t know my schedule and I am so busy.” Yes I do. I’m just like you. But life is built of many little moments. The little moments are where you start. You can start by simply saying, “I love You, Jesus.”,” I adore you, Jesus” or “I need you ,Jesus”.What would happen if you went through your day, repeating, “Jesus loves me” and did this over a period of a week? Your heart would change. The first step of intimacy would take place: speaking and sharing. You could quote scriptures, praising Him, worshipping Him in spirit and truth or tell Him, “I love You, Lord Jesus” as to repeat it continuously or you can sing a worship song until you feel His Presence and these moments will add up, and your whole life will be consumed with thoughts of God, the creator of heaven and earth..
This is what I mean by being simple: If you struggle with a certain area in your life and need to know God’s thoughts on the matter, then pray to God and find a Scripture from the Bible befitting the need and do the same exercise. You see, not only does God want to have long times of communion with us, but He wants to spill over throughout our day. Before you know it, your desires change, and you find yourself continually in a place of communion going to Him first, bow down to Him, longing for Him, and needing Him in a way that moments are not enough.
When you long to experience deeper times with Him, put on an instrumental CD while relaxing, even while driving or working. Intimacy isn’t always about being verbal. Deep personal relationship with God can be built by sitting quietly with Him, reflecting on His goodness and love or praise and worship Him with all your heart. When you do these things first then you are inviting His Presence to anoint your quite time with God and that is the way you may pray, speak with Him and hearing His Voice.
When thinking about Him isn’t enough, speak to Him in a conversational tone. After all, Jesus walked as a man and built relationships in the same way we do today. If you spend time in worshipping Him and having your fellowship with His Word, He will begin to speak those thoughts back to your heart, giving you vision, revelation of His plan for yourself or others, guidance and encouragement. The more you worship Him in spirit and truth and meditate the Word of God which you have already read and, the more there is Wisdom and Revelation Knowledge for you to hear in your quite time with Him.
This is the second part of intimacy: listening and hearing. When He speaks back to your heart, “I love you no matter what.” It would be good to have a notebook in which to write down the words and thoughts He impresses on you. These reminders will come in handy during dry times. He tells us to put Him in remembrance of His Word, and that includes what He speaks to our hearts and we may call it a conversation between His Children and God.
Remember, He desires to hear about every problem, temptation, thought, plan,desire, and dream. In the Bible, David told God he was angry. Did God know David was angry? Of course. Yet He wanted David to tell Him. This enabled David to hear God’s heart and release his anger to someone who understood without taking it out on others. He chose to remember the faithfulness of God in His life and act upon it.
The closing sermon of Intimacy With God or our Personal Relationship with Him should be our first priority in our whole lives of the True Believers, for many Christians today are still afraid that they can not be good enough to come to the Presence of God, but God said that He is married to the back slider.
Now, what is the conclusion of this sermon today for His congregation. Have you decided to make your Intimacy With God or your Personal Relationship With Him should be the First Priority in your life? Don’t you think that God desires to speak to you and to guide and tell you what to do to live according to His will, desire and perfect plan? A Personal Relationship With Him or Intimacy With God was the lifestyle which had been performed successfully by all the Servant of God who lived in the Old Testament and the New Testament including the Servant of God in these Last Days until today to receive His instruction and Revelation Knowledge according to Ephesians 1:17 during their ministries to fulfill God’s mission on this earth to fully surrender and obey our Father in Heaven, the Almighty God.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
May the Lord bless you all and May the Holy Spirit will help you to have a Personal Relationship or Intimacy With God, for we have been united in Christ Jesus to do His Will, Desire and Perfect Plan as to obey His Commandments and fear the Lord according to His Instructions in Ecclesiastes 12:12-13.
To God Be All the Glory,
Daniel Pasaribu
End of Sermon
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