Pursuing Intimacy with the Lord, Pt. 1

“Pursuing Intimacy with the Lord,” Part 1

(NKJV)

Isaiah 29:13 NKJV

Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,

Isaiah 29:13

Introduction:

Soon after coming off a fast, it is easy to drift back to the habits, pleasures, and lifestyle aspects that we refrained from.

But in doing so, we take back on the lack of discipline and the lackadaisical approach to life, and even our relationship with the Lord.

But a lot can be said for the fruitful time many of us spent with the Lord and in His presence during the time of consecration.

What can we continue to do that would allow us draw ever-closer to our Lord Jesus Christ?

The REASON for Drawing Near to God

Why do we need to intentionally draw near to God?

The SLIDE (; Isa. 29:13)

A law of the created universe (law of entropy) is that things always degenerate from one state to a lesser state.

We can fall into a trap of still doing the religious things that come with our faith, while sliding into a state of cooling off in our relationship with the Author of our faith.

The STRUGGLE ()

The New King James Version Psalm 69

Hear me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good;

Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies.

17 And do not hide Your face from Your servant,

For I am in trouble;

Hear me speedily.

18 Draw near to my soul, and redeem it;

Deliver me because of my enemies.

The Presence of TROUBLE (69:17)

The challenge of walking with the Lord in a world that is against Him, is that trouble seems to come looking for us!

The Need for REDEMPTION (69:18)

Whether it’s an interpersonal relationship or an internal brokenness, we need a close walk with the Lord to experience the fullness of what it means that He is our Redeemer (He knows how to take an “ugly” and make it “pretty”)

The Need for DELIVERANCE (69:18)

The reality of life is that our pursuit of righteousness comes with enemies!

Drawing near to the Lord allows us to experience His deliverance, even if we never get rid of the enemies!

The PROCESS of Drawing Near to God

Fueled by HOPE ()

The New King James Version Chapter 7

for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

As we seek to grow closer to Him, any of the things we do, we can do with a hope and an expectation that He sees and appreciates and will respond to our efforts.

Focused on HEARING ()

The New King James Version Chapter 5

Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil

“Draw near to hear” - don’t expect to grow closer to Him by talking and just complaining.

Do more listening than requesting!

Fully HOOKED Up()

The New King James Version Chapter 10

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

BECAUSE we have the blood of Jesus working for us, and

BECAUSE Jesus serves as our High Priest/advocate/intercessor

We can be SURE that whatever we are seeking in our pursuit of Him will be granted!

The REWARD of Drawing Near to God

It’s REFRESHING ()

The New King James Version Psalm 73

Whom have I in heaven but You?

And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.

26 My flesh and my heart fail;

But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

27 For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish;

You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry.

28 But it is good for me to draw near to God;

I have put my trust in the Lord GOD,

That I may declare all Your works.

People will leave you by yourself (v.25)

Our capabilities will fail (v26)

People who choose to drift away from God mess themselves up (v27)

That’s why IT IS GOOD for us to draw near to God.

Trusting in Him reverses all those problems!

It’s RECIPROCAL (Jam. 4:8)

The New King James Version Chapter 4

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

If we draw near to Him, He will work to shorten the distance by drawing near to us.

Conclusion:

Hopefully, we have established that it is not hard to continue to pursue an intimate relationship with Lord, even when we’re not fasting.

The hard part is simply the intentionality of drawing near to God.

What from the time of fasting can you continue in your daily routine?

What if we kept an hour in our daily schedules for reading and studying His Word, prayer, and worship?

The good news is, that He rewards and reciprocates in anything that we do to draw near to Him!