Chapel - 8/24/22

Introduction:

For this entire year, we will be talking about having intimate conversations with God.

Intimate is a scary word because it involves the idea of being vulnerable and transparent. It involves being authentic.

And in our day in age, being authentic is truly a difficult task.

I moved a lot growing up.

Moving gave me an opportunity to change who I wanted to be. Because I spent a lot of time wanting to be someone else.

Why? I think many of you already know why. Because you know the secret that many don’t talk about.

The world typically won’t accept you for who you are.

The world wants you to be something else.

So we try our best, to be who the world wants you to be.

But I doesn’t typically work out.

Eventually, who you really are shines through. Because it’s supposed to.

You are unique and you are you.

Yet we still try to be someone else.

It’s a lot easier to fake it these days because of social media. You can be anyone you want to be online. And you can get so caught up in that that you lose your authentic genuine self.

And that’s sad because you can’t have intimacy with God, if you spend your entire life trying to fake who you are.

Let’s look briefly at the story of Jeremiah the prophet

Jeremiah 1:4–8 ESV

4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” 6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.”

Conclusion: If we want to have intimate conversations with God. If we want to have real relationships with people, we have to start by being authentic.