Extreme Privilege Series

But there is still a higher and deeper level of intimacy with God awaiting us at the top of the metaphorical ascent. We are lovers. In Isaiah 62 God says, “I will take delight in you. As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will I rejoice over you.” (v.5 paraphrase). And we say in return, “I am my beloved’s and his desire is for me.”

Women may sometimes wonder, “Am I lovely? Do you want me?”

Men may ask, “Do I have what it takes? Am I adequate?”

We both want love, the adventure of intimacy, and this is the extreme privilege we are granted in God’s pursuit of us.

In the Sermon on the Mount – Jesus uses the language of a Honeymoon to describe our relationship with God. He says, “When you pray, go into your room and close the door.” He says it is a secret activity.

Kim and I celebrated our 4th Anniversary this past week. After dinner Friday night we sat down and watched our wedding video. It was fun to relive the ceremony and the reception. Each night I am reminded of another significant event that occurred on that day 4 years ago. It was the day Kim and I began sharing the same bed. That day was the start of a lifetime of intimacy. After the wedding, we drove to our hotel, went into the room and closed the door.

God has recklessly pursued us with abandon to win our hearts. Many of us have willingly said, “God, I accept your love. At our baptism, we made a vow of commitment and said, “I do.”

And then, after this absolutely torrid love affair, after all God has done to recklessly woo us and win our hearts, instead of enjoying an intimate honeymoon alone with Him, we avoid him. We don’t spend time with Him in private. Instead of engaging in intimacy we sadly choose to sleep on the couch.

My guess is that a high percentage of us who attend church regularly, while having come to accept God’s saving love, have not yet fully come to know God through extreme intimacy.

We go through the wedding ceremony, and then spend a lifetime sleeping on the couch – never experiencing true intimacy with God.

God wants to be intimate with you. Whether you have avoided intimacy in the past out of reluctance, fear or lack of understanding makes no difference. God wants to be alone with you. He has pursued you so that you could be intimate with him. Hebrews 4:16 says, Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence …A remarkably extreme privilege.

At this point you may be wondering, “What do I need to do to be intimate with God?” Or you may be saying, “If I were truly alone with Him I wouldn’t know what to do!”

Even though intimate times with God take different shapes and forms for different individuals, it is helpful to learn from others. Someone from right here in our church who takes intimacy with God very seriously is Dave Crooks. Dave has graciously agreed to give us a glimpse into a very private sector of his life by sharing with us this morning what goes on when He is alone with God. Dave…

Dave Crooks testimony

As you can tell, Dave has been at this for awhile. But any of us can do the essence of what Dave does. Set aside a time where it is just us and God. A time when the world has to wait.