NJ - Drawing Near to God
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Intimacy with God
Intimacy with God
EQUIP
EQUIP
“Equip the saints for the work of the ministry”
Equip / Empower / Encounter
Equip / Empower / Encounter
EQUIP - We are to be equiped, and we are to equip others for the work of the ministry.
EMPOWER - Empower people to step into all that God has for them.
ENCOUNTER - We all need to have regular encounters with Holy Spirit.
Good morning and welcome to Oasis Church, it is great to have you join with us today. If you are visiting with us, we welcome you, and look forward to chatting after the service around morning tea.
LETS PRAY
LETS PRAY
Father we love You, and thank You, You are a good God. We thank You that You are here with us today. I pray that our minds with be alert and our hearts open to receive all that You have for us today. Bless Your people today in Jesus name. Amen
I have titled my message: Drawing Near to God
I have titled my message: Drawing Near to God
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Opening:
Opening:
Over the past weeks we have been studying Intimacy with God and the importance of extracting ourselves from the business of life and going to our quiet place with God.
The last time I shared with you:
Jesus would extract Himself from everyone to spend time with His Father.
It is our responsibility to go to the intimate place with God.
God called Moses aside to the burning bush,
(Ps Rachel) God met Gideon in the wine press
(Ps Joshua) David would go and spend time with God every day
(Ps Kev) God fully knows us, He knew us in our mothers womb
There is a great need for the church (WE ARE THE CHURCH) to draw near to God. Christ Jesus is looking for a people who long to be near Him, and will do all that is necessary to be close to Him. God desires a close relationship with us His children.
19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.
God wants us close to Him
Point 1
When We Draw Near to God, Things Begin to Happen.
A. The more we abide in God's Word and in His presence, the more we will hear His voice and the more victorious and successful we will be in every area of life.
Hebrews says:
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
B. Abraham was blessed. (because of his closeness)
Isaac was born in his old age.
He became the Father of Nations.
He received a promise from the Lord that through him all nations would be blessed.
C. Jacob received a new name (Israel). (because of his closeness)
No longer Jacob the supplanter, but now Israel, “wrestler with God”.
There are times as we wrestle with the things in our lives that we need God
Time spent with God will change our lives forever.
D. Daniel drew near to the Lord and received deliverance from the lions. (because of his closeness)
E. Moses drew near to the Lord and received directions for service. (because of his closeness)
F. David drew near to the Lord and received forgiveness of his sins after drawing near to the Lord in repentance. (because of his closeness)
G. The Early Church drew near to the Lord and received the Holy Spirit baptism.
1. Power for ministry.
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
H. When the church of today draws near to the Lord, they too, will receive blessings from Him.
Point 2
Make The Choice to come Close
Some Are Following Christ “Afar Off”.
A. They do not want to be cut off completely from the fellowship of Christ, but they are not willing to follow Him close enough to run the risk of suffering persecution for His sake.
B. We need an attitude like that of the Apostle Paul. All he wanted was to gain Christ
8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
C. We need regularly take an “Intimacy Inventory”. (you can’t manage what you do not know)
Point 3
Personal Revival Comes When We Draw Near to Christ.
A. Never when we worship at a distance.
1. Unwilling to suffer for Him.
2. Unwilling to make a real commitment to Christ.
13 I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].
Psalm 63:1-8 A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
1 O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. 2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. 3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. 4 Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. 5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. 6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. 7 Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. 8 My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.
Point 4
How To Draw Near to God.
A. Jesus Christ, is the only Way to salvation
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
B. Through prayer
18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.
C. Through holiness of life
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive blessing from the Lord, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
To be holy is to be separated from sin and set apart for God; it is to be close to God, to be like Him, and to seek His Presence, righteousness and fellowhsip with all our hearts. Above all things, holiness is God’s priority for His followers.
22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
1) Holiness was God’s purpose for His people when He planned their salvation in Christ.
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
2) Holiness was Christ’s purpose for His people when He came to this earth.
21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
3) Holiness was Christ’s purpose for His people when He gave Himself for them on the cross.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
4) Without holiness there is no nearness to or fellowship with God.
1 Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? 2 He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; 3 He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; 4 In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the Lord; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; 5 He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.
D. Through Faith
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
E. Through the Holy Spirit
18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Our access to God the Father is through Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. “Access” means that we who have faith in Christ have the freedom and right to approach our Heavenly Father with confidence that we will be accepted, loved and welcomed.
Conclusion: Let us draw near to Christ that we may experience His love and power!!