Session 1 Draw Near To God

Drawing Near to God

"When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." (Genesis 5:21-24, NIV)

Enoch walked with God and that is what he loved about Enoch.

What we feed on is what we hunger for.

Walking with God is walking in intimacy with Him

We in the last days, the days of the second coming.

Matthew 24:37-38 (NIV)

37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;

Noah had a boat that delivered them from Gods Judgement

What is the believer’s boat that will carry them through the last days …it is intimacy with God

John 14:23 (NKJV)

23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

[mone /mon·ay/] From 3306;  Two occurrences; AV translates as “mansion” once, and “abode” once. 1 a staying, abiding, dwelling, abode. 2 to make an (one’s) abode. 3 metaph. of the God the Holy Spirit indwelling believers.

John 14:2 (NKJV)
2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Exodus 37:1-2 (NIV)

The Ark

37     Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. 2 He overlaid it with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it.

Acacia. A large thorny tree with rough gnarled bark. The orange-brown wood was hard-grained, thorny and it repelled insects.  It was a very ugly tree.

Thorns……

Our Lives   

The Gold of Gods glory covers our lives and makes us worthy…….His heart he just wants to draw near….

James 4:4-10 (NIV)

4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud

but gives grace to the humble.”

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

God desire for you to draw near to him is much greater then your desire to draw near to him.

A lie from hell is that, “God is not that interested in me.”

“I am not good enough I have sin, you don’t know me.” He is not like the dads of the earth. 

"Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?" (James 4:4-5, NKJV)

You made yourself an enemy of God.

"Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”" (James 4:5-6, NKJV)

The spirit yearns for us.

To Long for intensely

The Holy Spirit yearns for us. He longs for us.

Yearns to longs for “intently” he wants no rivals.  You make yourself a friend of the world you make yourself an enemy of God.

If you have an appetite for the world your are in trouble. We need to be sold out for God, that is every part of us.  You need to follow Jesus in the way where you say to the world,”I will have nothing more to do with you.”

The spirit of God in us yearns for us, he longs for us, for our fellowship, jealously.  I will not have arrival, I will not have competition.  And if you do you are in trouble.

We are in a day when we need to walk separately from the world and walk wholly with God.  We need to walk in on compromise at all.  The world loves it own.

Jeremiah 31:20 (NIV)
20     Is not Ephraim my dear son,

the child in whom I delight?

Though I often speak against him,

I still remember him.

Therefore my heart yearns for him;

I have great compassion for him,”

declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 31:20 (KJV)
20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.

4578 מֵעֶה [me`ah /may·aw/] n m. From an unused root probably meaning to be soft; TWOT 1227a; GK 5055; 32 occurrences; AV translates as “bowels” 27 times, “belly” three times, “heart” once, and “womb” once. 1 internal organs, inward parts, bowels, intestines, belly. 1a inward parts. 1b digestive organs. 1c organs of procreation, womb. 1d place of emotions or distress or love (fig.). 1e external belly.

It is not about setting a 20minite prayer time.  It is about perusing him.

"Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior! " (Isaiah 45:15, NKJV)

He draws back at times to get us hungrier

"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.”" (2 Chronicles 16:9, NKJV)

"When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” " (Psalm 27:8, NKJV)

"My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”" (Psalm 27:8, NLT)

We have to draw near first.

We can do something so that God will draw near to us.  It always starts with us.

You are the one who determines your level of intimacy with God

You can do this any time and as many times as you want.

"But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”" (James 4:6, NKJV)

God is attracted to humble people and will draw near to you.  You need to humble your selves.

"For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones. " (Isaiah 57:15, NKJV)

God says I am drawn to those people.

The Prodigal Father

Luke Isaiah 57:15 (NIV)

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15     Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Luke 15:11-20 (NIV)

The Parable of the Lost Son

11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

If you want to follow Jesus you must completely deny yourself take up your cross and follow him whole heartedly.

There is no way we can have intimacy with God if we don't understand who he is.

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AV Authorized Version

n n: noun

m m: masculine

TWOT Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament

GK Goodrick-Kohlenberger

AV Authorized Version