Intimacy with God - My Introduction to this level of Relationship

 

Intimacy with God

My Introduction to this Level of Relationship

 

 

In the early 1990's, the Lord brought key people into my life to teach me about intimacy with the Lord. I had not really received any teaching on this prior to that time, although I had always loved the Lord and cherished His Presence since being a child.

 

I was ripe to hear the message about intimacy with Jesus, and I soaked it all in like a sponge. I was in my mid 20's, very lonely, wanting to be married sooooo bad. I thought that a man could fill the empty places of my soul and then I would feel complete, but came to learn that only Jesus can meet my deepest desires and complete me.

 

As I received the message on intimacy with the Lord, little by little I began to allow Him access into the secret chambers of my heart and sharing with Him all my secrets, my heartaches, my dreams ... everything. The Lord did promise me a husband, and that he would be a tremendous blessing to my life. But he would not be my source for meeting all of my needs. Only the Lord can meet every need.

 

One of the key people God used to teach me about intimacy with God is Rev. Pat Chen. She was a member of Shiloh Christian Fellowship in Oakland, California at the time (two years later God led me to begin attending Shiloh) and occasionally would come and minister to the women's group at Family Worship Center in Concord, California (now called Harvest Church). In 1995, Rev. Pat Chen came on pastoral staff at Harvest Church.

 

Below are notes that I took on April 30, 1993 when Rev. Pat Chen spoke on intimacy with God:

 

Notes on Intimacy With God

April 30, 1993

Rev. Pat Chen

 

 

A.	Levels of Closeness
	1. Walking side by side with God 2. Face to face with Jesus 3. Intertwined with the Lord 4. One with God
B.	Intimacy = Entering into innermost character. Knowing someone to the very fiber of their being.   Intrinsic = inherent, innate, inbuilt, real, genuine, central, native, natural, inborn.
C.	God wants us to be as crushed powder, crushed to be poured out as a fragrance. He wants us to be broken before Him so that we are pliable as fine soil. It’s the only way we are going to reach full intimacy with Christ.
D.	Intercession = Praying on someone else’s behalf. Standing in the gap. Partnering with God to see His will done. But there’s more: we need to touch the heart of God. It’s not enough to say the right words. Silence before God is a form of communion and prayer before God.   Prayer means to ask earnestly, to seek the favor of, to entreat, to make His face pleasant (to delight God and to be delighted), to fall upon, to cry out, to ask, to worship, to supplicate, to beseech or request, to give thanks, to share thoughts, ideas and everything.
E.	A = Adoration C = Confession T = Thanksgiving S = Supplication
F.	R = Retreat (get alone with God) R = Relate (share your heart) R = Read (take in the Word of God) R = Record (write down what He shares with you)
G.	Jealous = demanding exclusive loyalty; protective of us. God is a Jealous God (Exodus 34:14).
H.	Communion = interchange of thoughts, agreement, fellowship, mutual union, giving and receiving.
I.	Why do we pray? Because God wants us to. God is love and wants fellowship with us. He is Almighty, with eternal love. It’s to please God. It satisfies God.
J.	The greatest form of spiritual warfare is having intimacy with God. To kiss Him. His kiss is as equipping us with weapons. This is the other side of spiritual warfare.
K.	God does the work. He just wants us to pray, trust and be in His Presence. He does the work through us. Enjoy God and watch Him do the work.   When we are with Him, He fills us with all the power we need when it comes time to be used by God. Don’t underestimate God. He’s too small in our eyes. We put Him in a box. When we struggle with believing for something, then He’s too small in our eyes.   The only struggle we should have is travailing in prayer. Praying in tongues is very important. Be prayed up and be an open channel. Be a step ahead of what the devil is attempting to do. Satan is afraid of prayer. That’s why he tries to get us to slack off. Through prayer, you bring power and changes to situations, and it saves the lost.
L.	Sitting Before the Lord.   Luke 10:38 – Mary was continually listening to Jesus. She was concentrating on Him. This word of “sitting” means to be established at Jesus’ feet, to be quiet, to listen, to humble yourself, to wait, to gaze upon. 2 Samuel 7:18 talks about sitting and meditating upon the Lord.
M.	Meditation The activity of calling to mind the various things that God has done. Holy thoughts consciously performed in the presence of God as a means of communion with God. Sharing your heart with the Lord. The purpose of meditation is that it clears one’s thoughts and mind. To ponder. To converse with oneself. To mutter.   Psalm 1:2, 119:48, 143:5; Joshua 1:8
N.	Rest To colonize; abiding by the guidelines and meditations of God. Living in the world, but abiding by God’s Word.
O.	Being careful with vows you make. Ecclesiastes 5:2
P.	If you become disciplined in your prayer life, it will spill over and carry over into other areas of your life. You’ll start to get more disciplined in other areas.
Q.	Established To stand perpendicular; to make firm; to be prosperous; to render sure.

 

 

 It is God's will that no one should perish (end up in hell), but that ALL should come to repentance. 

For God so loved this world that He gave His only begotton Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God did not send His Son into this world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him would be saved.

The thief (Satan the devil) comes only for to kill, steal and destroy. But Jesus has come to give us life, and life more abundantly, until it overflows.

I urge you to come to the Cross today and receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord. He will wash away all your sins and make you as clean and white as fresh snow. 

Just pray this prayer and mean it with your heart:

Dear Lord Jesus (if you are not able to call him Lord yet, then just say "Jesus")

I receive You as my Savior and Lord. I give my life over to You. I believe that You died and rose again, and that if I call on the Name of the Lord I shall be saved. 

I accept you into my heart right now, and confess that You are Lord and have risen from the dead and forever live to make intercession for me. 

Thank You for washing my heart pure and clean and making me whole, and for giving me peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 

Thank You that now I am a new creature in Christ Jesus. The old has gone and the new has come. 

And there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh (carnality and sin), but walk after the Spirit.  In Jesus' Name, Amen. 

If you prayed this prayer, I believe you got born again and are now heaven bound and will be with the Lord forever and have eternal life. Your sins are now forgiven. You are accepted in the Beloved.

I would encourage you to find a good Bible based local church to help you grow in your faith, to learn the Word of God, to praise and worship Him, and to have fellowship with the saints. 

Serving Christ is the best decision you will ever make. 

God bless you!!!