Intimacy with God
Why did God create you? Why did He send His Son to die for you? Why did He even create Adam and Eve in the first place? The Bible tells us that “in the beginning God…" Genesis 1:1, meaning that God was there before the beginning. It is therefore clear that He does not need us, with or without us and the earth He is still God. So why did He create the earth and us?
God
does not need you, He wants you. God loves human beings,
which is why He created us in His own image, that we can feel, think, decide,
act and be just like Him. This way we can enjoy each other’s relationship. He
created Adam and Eve to love them, to enjoy a relationship with them. Just like
you would buy a dog or a cat to love him or her, He created us to love us and
bring Him glory. When humankind failed to do this by sinning, He sent His son
to mend this, give us an opportunity to once again have a relationship with
Him, and bring glory to Him; an opportunity to once again experience His love,
and love Him back. Jesus was the solution God had, the plan “B”, to bring us
closer to Him.
God
doesn't want to be your morning/evening/Sunday companion. He didn't send Jesus
for that. He sent His son to bring us closer to Him, that He can be a part of
EVERY detail of our lives. This is what is called INTIMACY.
Intimacy
means “close familiarity or friendship;
closeness. A private cosy atmosphere. Something of personal or private nature.”
There
is a HUGE difference between intimacy and respect. Have you ever tried to have
a “casual friend” who would never allow you to be intimate with them? Or even a
relative who you’ve been trying to close the boundaries with, and be closer to
but they just keep pushing you away? You respect them and value their
friendship, but you would never allow it to go beyond casual friendship? This
is how many Christians are, with God. They respect Him and even fear Him, but
have no intimacy with Him. They go to church on Sunday, give tithes and
offerings, pray to Him, study His word etc. but have no intimacy with Him. They
just respect Him. They have put some boundaries between them and God, seeing
Him as a “far away God.” This is not what God wants.
Going
back to the story of creation to see God’s intention with man, we see that God
created man and was so close to Him that He and his wife knew the footsteps and voice of
God (Genesis 3:8, 10).
Genesis 3:8, 10
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
Adam was so intimate with God that God knew His deepest
needs, including one for a helper, and made him one without him even asking!
Genesis 2:18
And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
He wanted this deep and intimate relationship to persist. Sin
broke this intimacy. Sin equals to pride and rebellion. When sin came, the
intimacy was lost and casualness crept in. Fear and 'respect' showed up in place of genuineness and
openness, and Adam and Eve hid from God. God wants us to fear Him, not be
afraid of Him. Fear results from knowledge of Who He is, being afraid results
from guilt over wrong done.
After
Adam, few men had intimate relationships with God, until Jesus came. One of
them was Moses.
Exodus
33:7-22
Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp. 8 So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. 9 And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. 10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. 11 So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.12 Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.”
14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”
17 So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.” 18 And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”
19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. 23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
Few
points to note from the story of Moses:
1. There was a tabernacle of meeting. Everyone
went into this tabernacle (verse 7), but it’s Moses’ relationship with God that
made a difference. People watched Moses entering into the tabernacle (verse 8).
You have to have a place of quiet meeting with God, a place where you spend
time with God on a daily basis. It may be a common place where people go, but
your time with God alone matters. It is not the place that matters, it is your
relationship with God. The tabernacle was the same, but it’s Moses’
relationship with God that brought down the pillar of cloud and caused God to
talk to Moses (verse 9). It is not the place that matters, it is the heart.
2. Others went to talk TO God, but Moses talked
WITH God (verse 9). God spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to a
friend (verse 11). His relationship with God was so intimate that the children
of Israel admired it. Intimate relationships are admirable by many. How does someone
man speak to a friend to suggest and exhibit intimacy? There are several
factors that characterize intimate friendship:
a. Time: Time grows friendship. Intimate
friendship is characterized and made by time. Friends who do not have time for
each other will never be intimate, or grow past the “casual” boundary. The more
time invested, the stronger the relationship will be. Time away from each other
erodes intimacy. An intimate relationship with God is enjoyable, just as a
normal one is. In the presence of God there’s fullness of joy; so an intimate
relationship with God means that you always walk with Him, and you’re always in
His presence = joy at all times!
b. Two-way Communication: Intimate friendship is characterised by a willingness to speak, and to listen. It is characterised by
a swiftness to listen/hear, slowness to speak:
James 1:19
So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
There is a time to
speak, and a time to listen.
Ecclesiastes 3:7
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
The more the communication, the stronger the
relationship will be. Casual relationships are characterised by 'once in a
while' communication. The more you communicate, the more you know each other,
and trust each other. How's your
communication with God?
c. Trust: Trust is the boundary that, when
broken, will take a casual friendship to intimacy level. Most people do not
relate intimately because they do not trust each other. To relate with God
intimately, you have to trust Him: that He is who He says He is, can do what He
says He can do, and is willing to do ANYTHING to win your trust and be intimate
with you. That He has your best interests at heart, no matter what He does or
tells you to do. God wants the best for us, and will never hurt us. That's what
a good and intimate partner does. He has your best interests at heart.
d. Genuineness: Casual friendship is superficial
and hypocritical. Intimate relationships are characterized by total OPENNESS.
You are hiding nothing from each other. This is what broke Adam and Eve's
intimacy with God, when they started hiding their sin from God. No matter how
deep the relationship is, hiding things from each other takes you back to casualnessn
until the time HONESTY will resume.
e. Commitment: For every relationship to grow,
there has to be mutual commitment and submission. Selfless sacrifice and
determination to do whatever the other partner needs and whatever it will take
to grow the relationship is what grows relationships. God wants us to give OUR
ALL to the relationship, put His interests above ours, just like He did:
Philippians 2:2-5
... fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus...
He wants us not to do anything out of selfish ambition, as
long as we're in a relationship with Him. It calls for a death to pride and
selfishness. He has already made the first move, are we willing to make the
next move?
James 4:8
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
1 John 4:19
We love Him because He first loved us.
Love is the life of intimacy. The difference between strangers and best friends is
time put in, communication, trust, genuineness/ openness, commitment and love.
Love is as a result of all the five, and all 6 are constantly growing,
complementing each other. Love isn't forced or pushed, it's intentional and
deliberate. God can make you do all things, but can never and will never make
you love Him. He has given you free will, and hopes for you to CHOOSE to love
Him.
3. Moses' relationship with God was so admirable
and visible that it prompted others to worship (verse 10). No one needs to be
told that a relationship is intimate, if it is we'll all see. Intimate
relationships with God always attract and make people want to have the same.
What are people seeing from your relationship with God? Does your relationship
with God prompt people to worship, or push them away from God?
4. When Moses went into the tabernacle to
worship, the pillar of cloud would descend (verse 9-10). This signified the
glory of God. People who have intimate relationships with God are covered by
His glory, and His presence is visible in their lives. Gradually or even
suddenly even your countenance changes, and everybody is attracted to you:
young, old, men, women, children etc. Once the glory of God covered Moses' face
that it glowed, they couldn't even look at him and he had to cover his face
with a veil:
Exodus 34:29-35
Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them. 32 Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them as commandments all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. 34 But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. 35 And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.
It wasn't a one time thing, but eventually he
had to keep His face covered with a veil. Intimacy with God changes your life completely.
You
are as close to God as you want to be. We all determine our level of
relationship with God, God doesn’t. He says we draw near to Him, AND He’ll draw
near to us. It starts with us. Determine to seek first His kingdom, and all
other things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33). Delight in Him, and He will
grant you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4). When you’re close to God, you
don’t have to worry about many things, as He is committed to cater them for
you. Seek His face, not His hand. If you seek Him, He’ll be found by you
(Matthew 7:7, Jeremiah 29:13). If you submit to Him and obey Him, then He’ll
even fight your battles for you! (James 4:6-8). Before you resist the devil,
make sure you’re close enough to God.
How
do you do build intimacy with God?
1. Prayer: The Bible instructs us to
pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17, Ephesians 6:18). I believe God
doesn't like religious prayers (using big words, formality and hiding behind
structured prayers). He's our Father, and which father would want their kids
talking to them like they were talking to a dignitary? Talk to Him from the
bottom of your heart, like you would a friend. Let Him know when you're angry,
sad, happy, disappointed, irritated, moody, afraid, faithless, feel guilty,
condemned, etc. Remember, He knows it already - so just let Him know -- it
creates more intimacy and breaks formality with Him.
Let Him know how you
REALLY feel. I usually tell my friends to let God be their best friend, and the
1st person you tell things. When you do this, you'll find that you need less
people in your life to confide in, since you've already discussed it with your
Almighty n Powerful best friend. What happens to your stress-levels? They
drastically go down! Don't get me wrong, I don't mean you need less people in
your life. I mean when you get used to telling your friends your issues and not
God, guess who takes up the place of God in your life.. Yep!.
Spend quiet
personal time with Him on a frequent basis, as much as you can. Talk to Him
about your friends, family, job, everything and anything. Make Him part and
parcel of your life. Your prayer means A LOT to God: 'The earnest (heartfelt,
continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic
in its working].'
James 5:16b
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
You are righteous by virtue of what Christ did,
not by virtue of what you do or not do.
2. Constantly interact with His
Word. His Will is His Word, and His Word is His Son (see John 1:1-3). Spend time in
His Word, not as a routine but as a necessity, something you can't do without.
Start with a few verses or a chapter a day, but do it thoroughly. Ask Him to
commune with you and reveal Himself to you through His Word. Take your time. He
delights in us when we desire to know Him (see James 4:8), and He will reveal
Himself to us. Invite the Holy Spirit, our teacher, to interpret the scriptures
for you. Furthermore, He is there to teach us all things:
John 14:26
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
Memorize the word and memorize scriptures, so that you can have the Word implanted in
your spirit (see James 1:21). The enemy isn't bothered much by the fact that you may own many Bibles, or by the Word that is
read casually and out of obligation, but that which is meditated on and
implanted in your spirit. How much Word is implanted in your spirit?
3. Consult with Him in every
area of your life. Ask His Spirit, who is always with you, for guidance even
for simple stuff such as 'should I eat this food?' 'What should I wear?' 'Is this person telling
the truth?' 'Is it wise to buy this thing?' 'Should I give my heart to this
person?' 'Is this movie worth my time?' Remember, whether you acknowledge the
truth or not, it doesn't cease from being the truth. The truth is, whatever God is involved in becomes sacred and blessed.
The Holy Spirit is the
Spirit of Truth, and His work is to lead us to all truth (see John 16:13).
Acknowledge Him, learn to recognize and listen to His voice. He's our Helper,
make use of Him. Imagine me hiring you a helper and realizing you do everything
on your own, and don't make use of Him. Jesus paid for the Helper (by His
life), so that we may live, do things and be just like Him on earth, I believe it hurts Him when we don't make use of His Spirit!
Please, don't
shut God out of some areas of your life. Evaluate yourself: which area of your
life are you afraid of involving God? Is it your job? Relationship? Friends?
Shopping? Fun time? Family? Whatever God is involved in becomes sacred, and is
blessed. You not involving Him is futile as He knows everything and just wishes
that you allowed Him to be a part of EVERYTHING you do, so that everything you do and have becomes blessed and sacred.
Always keep in mind that Jesus didn't die for you to have a religion, but for you to have a close and personal, intimate relationship with His Father, like Adam and Eve had, before they sinned. Don't be comfortable with half the package (accepting Christ and waiting to go to Heaven); go for the real deal (walking with God and enjoying a loving close Father-child relationship). Don't be content with the gift wrapper, go for the real gift!
Revelations
3:15-16, 20-21
“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
There
are only 3 people who know the exact depth of your relationship with God: you,
God and the devil. God knows your depth so well that He states that He knows
your works. He knows if you’re cold, or hot. We may fool everyone around us by
the way we talk, walk and behave, but we can never fool God. He wants us to be
either hot or cold: there is no neutral ground, no lukewarm ground. He hates
lukewarm ground, so much that He says that He will vomit the lukewarm.
Don’t
get me wrong, just because you’re not intimate with God doesn’t mean you’ll go
to hell. You’ll go to heaven as long as you've accepted Christ; but you’ll end up missing on a lot, and not
pleasing God or honoring the sacrifice He paid for you to be intimate with Him.
Revelations
3:14-22 was written to the church of the Laodiceans, who were believers. Yet,
Jesus says that He’s standing on their door and knocking! They were believers,
but still Jesus was knocking on their doors! I believe this is because they Is there an area of your life that
you’re locking Jesus out of? Today, Jesus is knocking on the door of your
business, job, marriage, relationship, pass-time, eating habits etc. He wants
to be involved in EVERY area of your life. Will you let Him in? If you do, He
doesn’t promise to condemn you or punish you for the time you locked Him out:
He just wants to dine with you! If you let Him in, you will be victorious and
an overcomer (verse 21). Jesus was an overcomer because of His intimacy with
the Father, and with the Spirit.
IF you’re intimate with God the Father, God
the Son and God the Holy Spirit, you will definitely be victorious in life.
Blessings.
-- Sam Gitonga.
Sam Gitonga is a Youth Leader at Africa Transformation Mission, a ministry under Christ Harvesters Ministries.
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