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.’
When you pray, do you ever sense closeness with God?
• Have you ever sensed He was … right there?
o Because you have been seeking Him and were connected to Him
o You have been growing in your knowledge of Him
o You have been learning more about who He is
For the man/woman of God, prayer is not an option… it is a necessity.
• Prayer is an act of intimacy between the individual and God
Psalm 145:18-20 (NIV)
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.
Would you say that you “love God”?
1 John 5:1-5 (NIV)
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
Our faith in Jesus as the Son of God … this is powerful … overcoming the world and it’s ways … faith in God brings about change in a person’s life… overcoming ourselves and our selfish ways … faith prompts a response within us to obey … obedience models our love of God
John 14:15 (NLT)
If you love me, obey my commandments.
As a man of God/woman of God, how can you model your faith and commitment to Jesus?
• By living a life that declares the truth, goodness, glory, and majesty of God.
• Unlike the priests in Israel referenced earlier in Hosea
o They refused to acknowledge God
• However, when we acknowledge the truth of God’s good work through Jesus
o We are a part of something bigger than just ourselves
1 Peter 2:5 (NIV)
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
So the big QUESTION…
Do you KNOW Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?
• It’s a fair question to ask… even in this place.
• It is truly life changing …
o And it is a change that is seen in one’s life
o Not just talked about
• It is worth letting go of all the temporal, earthly stuff to gain the eternal
Philippians 3:7-11 (NLT)
I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!
If you have not surrendered your life to the Lordship of Jesus…
• I invite you to do so.
• Receive what He has to offer you.
• Accept the knowledge which He makes available to all of us.
C.S. Lewis once wrote … “We are half hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
• How easily we settle when there is so much more to know.
