Sermon Central
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Intimacy With God
Contributed by Warren Curry on Dec 19, 2024 (message contributor)
Summary: Intimacy is more than knowing about someone... it's actually knowing them and being known by them.
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Have you ever considered yourself a man/woman who has intimacy with God?
I know, the term intimacy brings to mind certain images/thoughts we might reserve for husbands and wives, but intimacy with God ought to go further and deeper than that.
Hosea 2:19-20 (NLT) (God describing the relationship He desires with His people Israel)
I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as the Lord.
Just a couple chapters later…
Hosea 4:1 (NLT)
Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel! The Lord has brought charges against you, saying: “There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land.
5 verses later…
Hosea 4:6 (NLT)
My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God,
I will forget to bless your children.
Again, a couple chapters later…
Hosea 6:6 (NIV)
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
God desires to know His people…
• However, do His people desire to “know” Him?
Psalm 73:25 (NLT)
Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.
In this particular Psalm, Asaph affirms that God was his only possession in heaven and on earth
• For us too, in both heaven and earth… our greatest desire ought to be to know the LORD
• Intimacy simply means … “to know”
o To have knowledge of… familiarity with
• The Greek word for “know” is ginosko
o To know, be aware, comprehend, acknowledge, perceive, realize, understand,
John 17:3 (NIV)
Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
• Eternal life is defined by Jesus…
o Knowing the One True God & the Son, whom was sent from above
o To “know” is more than academic knowledge but rather a close, personal relationship with someone
Define Intimacy
Merriam-Websters Dictionary
in•ti•ma•cy \'in-t?-m?-se\ noun plural -cies 1641
1: the state of being intimate: familiarity
2: something of a personal or private nature
in•ti•mate \'in-t?-m?t\ adjective
[alteration of obsolete intime, from Latin intimus] 1632
1 b: belonging to or characterizing one’s deepest nature
2: marked by very close association, contact, or familiarity
3 a: marked by a warm friendship developing through long association
4: of a very personal or private nature
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Close relationships are part of God’s will for human life. Scripture speaks of intimate relationships between Jesus Christ and the Father, between God and his people, and between various individuals.
What does it mean for you to “worship the LORD”?
I hope that it is more than just singing a song… worship goes much further and deeper
• Don’t get me wrong… singing is certainly a part of it…
• In essence, worship delves into intimacy
Psalm 96:1-9 (NIV)
Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary.
Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.
This kind of worship does not come from someone who does not “know” the LORD.
• To sing, to proclaim, to declare, to ascribe…
o His works are amazing, His Name is holy, He is worthy, He is great
o All of these are to acknowledge the greatness of God
? This can only be genuine & sincere from those who actually “know” Him
? They are also known by Him
Jesus declared that there will be people who cry out to Him pleading that He know about all the good works they have done in His Name…
• Apparently, that is the wrong criteria to be known by Him
Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV)
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
