Alive Church Gordonvale

Purpose Our Relationship/Intimacy With God

INTRODUCTION

Good morning and welcome, it is great to be here with you today.

Rachel and I have four grown children all involved in church life. We have the privilege of leading Oasis Church in Rockhampton and Moura

Thank Ps Matt and Ps Shauna for the opportunity of being here and sharing.

LETS PRAY

Prayer: Father we thank You for Your grace and love toward us. We pray that we would be filled with Your strength and power that we can walk in all that You have called us to. We ask Your Holy Spirit to bring revelation of Your word that we can apply it to our lives. Amen

Today we are going to look at the importance of extracting ourselves from the business of life, and going to our intimate place with God. Jesus came to restore our relationship with the Father. In John 14:8-11 Jesus said to Philip, I have come to you to show the Father.

John 14:8–11 NKJV

8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

Moses new the ways of God, the people new the acts of God

Purpose is what drives us

It is our relationship with God that helps us to know God and His ways not just the acts of God. It is personal, God pursue us by force. The moment we turn toward God He is there waiting.

Proverbs 19:21 NKJV

21 There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.

Counsel = Purpose

God has a plan and purpose for our lives

POINT 1 Find Your Intimate Place with God

It is important for all of us to have an intimate relationship with God, Jesus would extract Himself from the crowds and His disciples to go, pray and spend time with His Father.

We all need to purpose this, if we are filled up with everything else it will make it difficult for us to make time with God.

Be hearers and doers - this is the example that Jesus showed us.

John 5:19 NKJV

19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.

John 12:49 NKJV

49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.

Have you ever had the question or thought: What do I do in this situation? / What do I say?

Luke 12:12 NKJV

12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Of all the things the disciple could have asked Jesus to teach them, they asked Him to teach them how to pray.

Teach us how to pray

Luke 11:1–4 NKJV

1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” 2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”

POINT 2 Prayer, Two Way Communication with God

God loves to communicate with us, we know this from the scriptures where God would come down in the cool of the evening and walk through the garden with Adam and Eve

Genesis 3:8 NKJV

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

· Prayer is both speaking and listening

· Communication removes any doubt,

helps us to understand,

and we know God loves us.

· Hearing – He who has ears let him hear

Revelation 2:29 NKJV

29 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’

Seek God Whole Heartedly

Jeremiah 29:13 NKJV

13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

Jesus said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst”.

David was a man after Gods own heart.

Remember David was a man that had everything. But still recognised his need of God.

Psalm 42:2–4 NKJV

2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say to me, “Where is your God?” 4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise, With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.

POINT 3 It is our Responsibility to go to our Intimate Place

Remember, We are the ones who determine our level of hunger for God. It is Not God.

There are many Ways and Paths to Deeper Intimacy with God, lets look at some of these:

We know God by studying His word.

Intimacy starts with us knowing who God is.

We need to commit to living for Him.

Equip the saints for the work of ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ.

The more time we spend with someone, the more we know them, and if we like them, the more we want to spend time with them.

Trust Him.

Prioritise Him.

We need to have a hunger for Him

Our relationship with God grows, through our time with Him:

A Father/child relationship is developed.

He has adopted us as His own through Christ Jesus

The fruit of God's Spirit is cultivated.

The more time we spend in His presence, the more His spirit is cultivated in our lives.

Our daily life will become a reflection of God Himself.

In the New Testament, Jesus spent time alone with the Father many times as described in these scripture passages:

REFERENCE

Matthew 14:13 NKJV

13 When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities.

READ THIS SCRIPTURE

Mark 1:35–40 NKJV

35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. 37 When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” 38 But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.” 39 And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons. 40 Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

CONCLUSION

REFERENCE

Mark 6:45–46 NKJV

45 Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. 46 And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.

Luke 5:16 NKJV

16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

Luke 6:12 NKJV

12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

Luke 9:18 NKJV

18 And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

In the Old Testament, we see many stories where God calls His prophets to come to Him alone.

God called Moses aside to the burning bush,

God met Gideon in the wine press

David would go and spend time with God every day