I is for intimacy - Close Like Jesus

· Would you like to have a closer walk with Thee?

· Would you like a relationship with God that takes you from the head to the heart?

· Would you like to go beyond merely knowing about God religiously, to knowing God personally?

Foolish and Wise Virgins

Matthew 25:1–13 NLT

1 “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, 4 but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. 5 When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 “At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’ 7 “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. 8 Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ 9 “But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. 11 Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’ 12 “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’ 13 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.

We determine God’s closeness to us

· God is as close to you that you are to Him.

· You have as much God as you want

One of the Greek words that means to know is:

1492 οἶδα [eido, oida /i·do/] [1]

To see, to perceive, inspect, to have an interview with, to experience, to examine, to have regard for

· If we have time for God, He will make time for us

· If we will speak to God, God will speak to us

· Although all ten were virgins, waiting at the door, and even slept, The wise virgins spent the extra time to get to KNOW God, and it paid off in the end.

· It seems the foolish virgins only had a religious relationship with God, perhaps only talking to God when they wanted something, gave when they had to, and then only the minimum amount. Their lives came and went with only a surface relationship with God, while the wise virgins enjoyed a life of intimacy with Christ - which one do you prefer?

God wants a close relationship with all of us!

· Mankind was created for relationship, first with the Lord, then with each other.

· If we would but spent quality time with the Lord, there are blessings abound

Intimacy Speaks the language of Love

What does intimacy bring? The voice of God

God speaks in the secret place

Let’s look at some examples of God’s intimacy with mankind in the Bible:

· God spoke with Moses in the privacy of the mountaintop.

o First through the burning bush for 40 days on Mount Sinai.

· God spoke to the high priest, in the Holy of Holies - In the wilderness

o Why? to show him the spiritual condition of the nation for the next year until he could come again.

· In the cave of Mount Gilboa, God spoke there in still small voice to the prophet Elijah to show him his own condition, correction of his self-pity attitude and direction for the future.

· On various mountains, Jesus separated himself to be alone with his Father God.

o Sometimes spending all night, in fellowship and communion.

· Jesus’ intimacy with the Father was so great that it even caused the disciples to ask Jesus to teach them how to pray because they wanted the relationship with God that Jesus had.

· Have we been with the Father such that people would ask the same of us?

· Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, and he said she chose the better part.

o Always be careful of distractions and busyness or anything that will try to pull you away from your quality time with the Lord.

o What God has to say to you is vital and should be treated as such.

Intimacy reveals identity - It’s “Me”

· Intimacy knows your voice - even when they cannot see you

· Jesus said my sheep know my voice, and the voice of a stranger they will not follow.

· Intimacy knows your number – are you on God’s VIP list

· Intimacy has unrestricted access – anytime anywhere for any reason.

· Intimacy gives transparency. Full disclosure, Yet loves you anyways!

Intimacy Brings Unity

· Through physical intimacy, Adam knew Eve, they were fruitful and reproduced the heart and vision of God through children.

· As we are the bride of Christ, God wants us to know him as intimate as a bridegroom, where we share the same vision, want the same things, and walk in the same direction.

Intimacy with God is the ultimate unity.

Intimacy is vulnerable

· Even though Adam and Eve were naked, they were not ashamed.

· They had nothing to hide from each other, they did not play any games and did not hold anything back from one another or from God until they sinned against him.

· Only after sin did they hide from the Lord to try to cover themselves because of shame.

· But God went immediately to work to cover them and forgive them to restore the intimacy as much as possible until the second Adam would arrive from their family to redeem mankind back to himself.

· Let’s always be open and vulnerable to the voice and leadings of God’s Holy Spirit, regardless of where we have been or what we have done. Let God’s love heal your hurts.

Intimacy is Commitment

Intimacy says - I’ll be there- no matter what

Intimacy Requires Trust

· GOD will never hurt you.

· Don’t let man’s unfaithfulness tarnish your view of God. He is good all the time!

Intimacy is a 2 Way Street

· Intimacy requires a Response

· The deep heart of God calls to the deep need of man!

Intimacy brings Fruitfulness

God gave us natural examples to illustrate spiritual truths.

For example, God walked in the garden of Eden with Adam in the cool of the day

· A natural example of spiritual intimacy between God and man, and between Christ and the Church, is demonstrated by the marriage between one man and one woman.

· Holy matrimony represents holy intimacy.

· Knowing someone means to be intimately close with them

· Holy Discourse brings holy intercourse, one heart one mind.

· God wants to walk with you today.

Intimacy Brings Exclusive Knowledge

· Intimacy means to KNOW someone deeply

· Adam KNEW his wife intimately:

· One of the Hebrew words for intimate knowledge is:

3045 דָּעָה, יָדַע [yadaʿ /yaw·dah/][2]which means - to show or reveal one’s self, to be made known by experience, to recognize one

· God wants you to know Him even more intimately than Adam knew his own wife

· To KNOW Him is to LOVE Him!

Your marriage reflects your relationship with God

· Do you talk about anything with each other, openly and honestly, without fear of judgment or reprisal?

· Can you safely share your deepest desires, regrets, fears, and questions?

· How close do you Walk together?

· Do you still sit close together?

· Is your marriage still a loving relationship, or has it become a business relationship for the sake of the bills and the children?

· Is your life a set of isolated compartments or do you openly share them with your spouse?

· If you own a business, can you mix business with pleasure?

The cross demonstrates God‘s desire to be WITH you

· God wants YOUR intimacy.

· Jesse Duplantis - saw Jesus go “through” God’s throne in heaven - with perfect love and unity for each other.

· Jesus left His intimacy with his father God to bring you to God.

· Jesus, Jesus left heaven to come to your earth so that you could go to heaven to be with God.

· Jesus took your place, so you could see the Father‘s face

Pentecost proves God‘s desire to be IN you - for eternity

· John 20 - I am with you, but soon I will be in you. One cannot get closer than that!

· Prayer in the Holy Spirit is Holy Intimacy

· Let forever begin today!

[1]Strong, J. (1995). In Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship. [2]Strong, J. (1995). In Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.