The Walk of Intimacy With God, Part 1

In our day, it would take someone completely out of touch with reality not to realize that our world is on the verge of not just one major event but rather a series of events–events that mankind is unable to stop.  I will go further than this.  Our world is now prepped for the Apocalypse.  Because I am working on another article having to do with details and proofs of just this, I will leave it alone for now, except to introduce my reasons for this series of articles on intimacy with God.  The condition we find ourselves in today gives very good reason for us, not only to need a walk of intimacy with God, but to want it more than anything else.

I know that many believe there is no “Pre-Tribulation Rapture” of the true Church, but I believe the Bible gives us overwhelming evidence that the “harpazo”, or sudden removal of God’s own, will not only happen, but is described and prophesied in both the Old and new Testaments of the Bible. I also happen to believe that this event will happen sooner than most think. It is now truly imminent!

But whether you are a believer in this “Rapture” , or “harpazo” as it is called in the original Greek translation of the New Testament, happening before the “Great Tribulation”, in the middle of the Tribulation, or at the end–or maybe you don’t believe in it at all; regardless, the Apocalypse is coming at us like an out of control freight train.  There isn’t a one of us that can afford not to have an intimate walk with God now, no one!  We have been experiencing the “Birth Pangs” for some time now, and they are becoming more frequent and intense as the weeks pass.  This is the real deal, and there is no chance of it stopping now.

There is a contemporary Christian song put out by Hillsong which has lyrics appropriate for the subject.  I have included it below.

“Oceans”

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fall
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
for I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my saviour

I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

God calls all of His children to an intimate walk with Him.  The problem for most of us is that we do not take the time to do so.  Most of us use the excuse that we don’t have the time, but maybe it is more a problem with priorities.  What is it that we do when our personal finances get tight?  If the question is between our entertainment budget and our grocery budget, I would hope that we would cut our entertainment expenditures!  This is exactly what we need to do with our spiritual lives.  Cut the entertainment and start feeding and nourishing our souls.

John 4:24 tells us that by walking with the Holy Spirit leading us, He will show us the things about Jesus we need to know.  True spiritual life, spiritual intimacy and real worship comes from within our own human spirit.  Intimacy with God takes time alone with Him, those quiet times when we can read his Word, reflect on what it says, and with prayer, meditate on what God is teaching us.  Let’s look at what Psalms 5:1-3 says:

“Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing, Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.  In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”

Then in Psalms 63:1-8, we find these words:

“O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.  Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.  I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.  My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods, with singing lips my mouth will praise you.  On my bed I remember you, I think of you through the watches of the night.  Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.  My soul clings to you, your right hand upholds me.”

Psalms 119 is full of passages that fit this theme but let’s at least include one more passage. It is found in 119:115-117:

“I have put my hope in your word.  Away from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God.  Sustain me according to your promise, and I will live, do not let my hopes be dashed.  Uphold me, and I will be delivered, I will always have regard for your decrees.”

Actually, the more one reads through the Psalms, it is easy to see why God called King David a man after His own heart.  This is a man that lived a turbulent life.  He was also guilty of grievous sins, yet he had God’s heart! We should all desire this.  Here’s what 1 Peter 2:4-6 says:

“As you come to him, the living Stone–rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him–you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  For in Scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

Above we read a scripture that spoke of meditating on God and His Word in the morning, but that is not enough.  Psalms 91:1 speaks of abiding under the shadow of the Almighty. Some of the psalms speak of “coming into” the Presence of the Lord, but then there are those that speak of “living” or “abiding” there.  In my own personal spiritual walk, I find myself talking with God all day long.  Do you?  The Bible speaks of praying without ceasing.  That is more than the list of griefs, problems, and requests that we always have for Him.  It has to do with communion with the Spirit of God.  Without this kind of intimacy or “communion” with our God, we don’t understand what this walk is all about. Psalms 90:12 has David saying this:  “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” If we could just learn to do that!  Psalms 16:11 says:

“You have made known to me the path of life; you will find me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

I just had the honor of presiding at a military funeral for an elderly gentleman whom I had met not long ago.  It was a great honor for me to preside at this service and share some thoughts .  The service was a strict 30 minutes and my time as the presiding pastor was ten minutes, but it gave me plenty of time to say the things God had put on my heart.

One thing that the Lord had given me to share was something He had brought to my attention the day before.  Being an avid reader, I have read many books.  Each book has an introduction to it, but the introduction is not the main part of the book; it is just that–an introduction to the main event.  This is what God had me share about the life John had lived on this earth.  It had only been the introduction to an eternal book in which he had just started chapter one!

We think that life is long, yet it is not.  I remember when my kids thought I was old at 30. Now they have all passed that mark, the oldest now going on 44.  It goes by so very fast! In Psalms David says that God gives us about 70 years, maybe 80 if we have extra strength. David was 70 when he died. The man in this funeral service had been 89 when he passed away.  He had lived longer than most, but what is that next to eternity?  Even Adam, who the Bible tells us lived to be 930 years old; what is even 930 years next to eternity?  It’s not even a drop in the bucket!  We put so much stock in this life, which is no more than an introduction to our eternal existence. Yet, people are willing to jeopardize eternity just to get some extra jollies now!

I have done many funerals over my lifetime.  Some were easy and some were very difficult.  In John’s case, it was easy because he had become a follower of Christ during his lifetime.  There was no question which way he went to spend his eternity.

There is a story told by Gordon MacDonald, of a Chinese pastor who was imprisoned for 18 years by the Communists because of his faith.  Day after day, year after year, he was assigned to work in the prison camp’s cesspool. Every morning he had to wade into that stinking hole and spend his entire day scooping out the human waste.  He was given this job as a special punishment because he kept holding tenaciously to his faith.  The pastor was grateful for the assignment because of the solitude he had.  The stench was so bad that even the guards stayed at a distance.  This pastor had the freedom to pray aloud, sing hymns to the Lord, and recite Scripture.  This pastor found his communion with God in the cesspool!

Many of us–you and I, find ourselves overcome by sin, depression, and fears that incapacitate us, but it is because we don’t practice the Presence of God in our lives.  We forget to walk with God and commune with Him, don’t we?  James 4:8 promises us that if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us.  What a deal!  Philippians 3:10 tells us that we need to get to know Him.  This has to happen by–or via a daily communion.  It will not come any other way.  We need to be connected to the Lord.  It’s called the “hidden man of the heart” by the Apostle Peter.

Everything of any real value flows from our relationship with the God that created us.  We dare not look at our spiritual life with God as an accessory option we can pick up or put down whenever we feel like it.  We’ll totally miss the boat if we do!  Walking in intimacy with God cannot be an option. God must be our “heart-throb”.  If He is not, we will never ever experience what he has in mind for us, neither will we ever excel in our relationship with Him.

Another problem which is much worse is that we will fit into the category of the “lukewarm”–at best.  The Lord tells us in Revelation 3 that He’d just as soon we be hot or cold, instead of lukewarm because lukewarmness makes Him throw-up!  Where are you at today?  Don’t be lukewarm!

It’s interesting to note that Jesus had 70 disciples following Him (Luke 10:1), but  then there were the twelve, which we know as the 12 disciples. Of those twelve, there were three, James, John, and Peter, which formed the inner circle.  Of those three though, there was one that seemed to always be leaning on Jesus.  That was John, the beloved.  John wanted to get as close as he could possibly get.  As I write this, I find myself wanting to deepen my own walk with Him.  I pray that you, the reader, also want this!

-To be continued in Part 2-