By Clifton Jones
I want to highlight intimacy with God, which is one of the greatest needs of any believer. It strikes my attention and stirs my appetite because of its urgency. It has become an incommodious thing to realize that people seem to know something about some of everything, but fall so short when it comes to knowing the Lord. Or maybe it’s that they can enjoy other things above their relationship with the Lord. It is fruitless to talk about how much we love the Lord and won’t spend time with him. Our desire to hang with Him tells how we feel about Him. Our refusal not to spend as much time in other things that He is not a part of tells us how closely knitted we are with Him.
Intimacy
We are not talking about strangers; we are talking about somebody or something that is closely connected. Things that are known from an inward relationship. Intimacy, that which is known not causally but thoroughly and completely. Intimacy with God, not just casually knowing Him. Philippians 3 really got my attention. I was impressed with a man whom I felt truly knew God, but to listen to his language you would think he didn’t know Him as he should know Him. Whenever we are content with what we are doing, it is like putting up a stop sign, our progress comes to a complete arrest. We will have difficulty going beyond what we seek after.
I know every now and then God throws in a blessing, but the greatest blessings are those which are sought after. God does not encourage us to let a blessing fall out of the sky, but he encourages us to seek him. The Lord is concerned about our relationship with him. He is not just concerned about somebody panhandling for another Christmas handout, another emergency bail-out, another quick fix. We have to ask for some quick fixes some time, but that is not the total expectation in the Lord’s mind.
He wants us to know Him. He wants us to really get to know Him. Know Him to the degree, that we will appreciate being with him. We shouldn’t always blame the devil for our failures. One of our problems is that we have too many things which interfere with our relationship with Christ; time consuming things, mind distracting things, mind boggling things, that are there that we tend to enjoy above that of our relationship with the Lord. Until we become intimate in our relationship with Him, to the point that everything else is useless and secondary, I promise you there will always be something in our way. Not only in our way, but we will be stumbling over them, when Christ isn’t first in our lives.
Many seem to feel that standing up for Christ, means putting down the things that stands between you and him. Notwithstanding, an intimate relationship is our truest defense against any intrusion. A person who spend years living for Jesus, need to be commend, while there are so many who the kind of relationship we have with the Lord. Please realize that it is possible for some people to bow seven days a week without being able to utter a word. You know why? Such a one have not developed a habit of talking to the Lord. Their relationship is not personal enough to hold a genuine conversation. You say, “I’m praying in my mind.”
If Satan finds out you are praying in your mind, he will bombard your mind with worry and distractions, confusion and all kinds of problems, to make sure your mind cannot concentrate. We might hear someone say, “I prayed all night.” Maybe they didn’t really pray all night, that’s why it took all night, they might have just walked the floor and worried. We can rest sure that the evidence will show on our countenance. If we pray all night something good is going to happen. But if we worry, it will take its toll on our entire being.
Ephesians 1:15 – Look at the language, “When I heard of your faith.” You only talk like that when you know and value faith. You only say to a brother or sister, I am encouraged by your faith, when you are intimate with the Lord Jesus. That’s true fellowship. If you truly know Jesus, you can talk for hours about something that will help someone else. Paul is highlighting his appreciation for the virtue that reflect the Jesus that he knows. “You don’t have to ask a people who have been with Jesus, “Where have they been?” It will be seen in their actions.” Remember, what we eat is what we will become.
What kind of prayer would a person pray who is intimate with the Lord? They will make intimate requests. They will desire to see intimate virtues and experiences in the lives of those they are concerned about. You will never have to worry about a person who is intimate with the Lord praying that a bolt of lighting will strike you between your eyes and kill you. Never! Never will you have to worry about a person who is intimate with God, praying that you fail in any manner. They do not make those kinds of requests.
They are intimate with Him and as a result the compassion of the Lord becomes their compassion and one request for a person the things they want for themselves. Intimacy with the Lord means wanting to fulfill his purpose. My concern has been buried and raised in His concern . That is, the things that He wants are the things that I want. To some I might sound carnal, but I visualize the Lord laughing when He’s happy. The reason I believe that is based upon the way he tickles me. I believe that I’m kin to him, therefore some of the feelings I express, are derived from him. There are some things that really thrills and excites me. One is seeing someone going after Jesus with an all out effort.
There are those who believe that the Lord sits around with a long straight face, waiting for the opportunity to strike us down. If God wanted to kill us for our wrong doings, he could have killed all of us long ago. He could have cut us off long before now, and could have had it over with. Paul said, “I heard about your faith, and I heard about your love.” Now, I am praying for you and I want something else to happen. I believe the reason he requests such uprightness is because it is the order which he lived by. But the Father of glory may give unto you the Spirit of Wisdom. What is the beginning of wisdom?
The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. What is the fear of God? Respect, Honor, & Reverence.” If anyone should wake you in the middle of the night, and ask, “Why is evil so bold today? You could easily answer it by saying, “Men have lost their fear of God.” Where there is the absence of the fear of God, sin will operate at an all time high. There are no rules that you can write and stop folks from sinning. The only thing that will stop them is when the fear of God is in their hearts. What Paul tells us in Philippians, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling?”
Not fear that we are about to fall into hell, but fear that we might hurt Him who we love. He will grant to you the spirit of Wisdom. You’ll probably hear someone praying from now on, “Oh God, visit the body of Christ with the Spirit of Wisdom.” What do we mean the body of Christ? You see, everyone that is in the body, regardless to where they are, when we pray for the body of Christ, we are praying for every born again believer. When we pick out a half dozen and pray for them, we leave out so many others. Our little circle is too small, let us make the whole body our concern. The God of glory will give you the spirit of Wisdom. What is wisdom? It is insight.
Someone said that wisdom is the ability to use knowledge aright. We can be ever so knowledgeable and not have a drop of wisdom to go with it. We can make a mess out of a good thing. He will give you the spirit of wisdom. After we receive this information we will need wisdom to know how to use it correctly; “that they may receive the spirit of wisdom and the spirit of revelation.” What is revelation? Something in times past that was hidden, but now uncovered. There are many things that are still covered in the word of God on which you and I need light on. On various occasions the Lord pulls back the curtain of our minds and say, “There it is!”
If you ever hear someone exclaim and don’t know what they are hollering about, it could be that God has just dropped some revelation knowledge into their spirit, the spirit of wisdom and revelation. We can actually pick up the Bible and read some of its verses and not get anything out of it. Then God, at the needed time, can take his Word and explode it in our spirit. I think that’s why the Devil tries so hard to get us to stay away from the Word, because he knows it’s like dynamite waiting for someone with burning faith to light the fuse. He wants you to stay away. He will tell you that you are too tired to read. You are yawning already, why don’t you get a nap and then get up and read you’ll be able to read longer and better.
Why would he encourage you to get a nap, so you can read better? By the time you agree with that, he’s called every sleeping demon in your community and tell them, “I want you to land on him/her” and when that person wake up, it’s all over. They will awake, after having slept so long, they will awake feeling guilty. Oh Lord, I have slept so long and I haven’t done anything for you today. I feel so ashamed. I can see the Lord saying, very clearly, “The spirit indeed is willing” Verse 17, “The God of our father and Lord Jesus Christ, the father of Glory may give unto the spirit of wisdom and revelation.” He is not talking about a revelation on how to get rich quick, but the revelation of the knowledge in Him. “Do you have a better relationship with Jesus today than you had one year ago?”
If your answer is yes, that’s progress. If the answer is I’m not sure that’s stagnation. If your answer is no, that’s defeat. I believe that each of us who is hungry after God, ought to answer unequivocally, yes! My knowledge of Him is greater than it was a year ago. If it isn’t, you have really been cheated. “Well, I am not where I used to be.” That’s bad! You are just like the Devil, he is not where he used to be. He was in heaven singing with the choir. He used to Praise the Lord, but now he is trying to stop the praise of God from going up. He loves praise as long as they are directed to him. Ephesians 1:18 “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.”
Intimacy with the Lord prepares your heart for knowledge. As we were praying this evening, the Lord dropped into my spirit, “Have you noticed that the people in the Bible who worked for me, knew me before they started working”? Right away my mind went to Abraham. Abraham, from the time we pick him up in the latter part of Genesis 12 until he dies, was a profound alter builder. His alters represented his meeting place with God or his prayer life. He reflects throughout his life a relationship and knowledge of God and also intimacy with him.
He’s my friend. Somebody I know I’m close to. Somebody I can depend on and love to spend time with. That’s intimacy! It is not necessary to go back to the university to get a degree to understand this. It is more to salvation than coming into a building with a Bible in our hands. The Lord wants us to increase in our knowledge of him. The more intimate we are with
God, the more it will reflect in our relationship with others.” Your intimate relationship with Jesus Christ gives you a desire to be in fellowship with others. In Saint Paul’s prayer, he asked God to visit the Saints at Ephesus.
What do you want God to give them Brother Paul? “Lord, give them the spirit of wisdom and of revelation and knowledge of you. Let the eyes of their understanding be open. There’s so much about you Lord. You are so big and wonderful! You are thrilling, complete, wholesome and helpful. I wish everyone would get to know you in a very personal way, and not just settle for a causal acquaintance.” I haven’t been to the White House and I don’t recall talking to anybody who have taken a tour of the White House that chatted with the President. He is off limits to the general public, although he is a public figure, not everyone gets to be intimate with him. Isn’t that something? Now that’s just the President.
I am glad Jesus is not like that, he is never off limits for those who really want to know him. And I do not want just a causal acquaintance. I want to know Him for my self. We are talking about intimacy with Jesus. Intimacy, not just casual acquaintance. Intimacy. The prayer that we are looking at now is most definitely a prayer that comes out of a heart that is intimate with the Lord Jesus. One who knows the Lord well enough to know that there’s something that others can know of Him. One who knows the Lord well enough to know that those things can be known of him? “People who are intimate with the Lord can’t be selfish.” You know why? They are controlled by their closeness with Him. If we associate with someone long enough, we will begin acting like them. You don’t have to try, it will come naturally.
Acts 4:13 “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” We should have at least dog judgment. If he is being adequately fed, that dog is not going anywhere. If he does, he is coming back.
If you find in Jesus Christ what your soul longs for, you aren’t going any place. You will be too busy digging nuggets from the treasures of Jesus! “I want the eyes of their understanding to be open and I want them to open their hearts.” The Lord will show them something. Showing goes beyond I have a bible, I’ve got a song book or I go to church; it exceeds occasionally attending Sunday school, or making three or four nights of a revival service. “Those who are experiencing intimacy with Christ want others to know that in Christ Jesus there are treasures & more treasures.”
Each of us are given a key to enter into the treasures and benefit to our satisfaction. In Exodus 33, God visited with Moses in the tabernacle. The Glory of God came down and after the majority had gone, Joshua remained there intrigued by the fellowship between the Lord and Moses. That is called being provoked to Godly jealousy. He saw Moses talking with God and was influenced to want to know God better. Joshua wanted to remain and see if God would speak to him. The Glory of God challenged Joshua to desire intimacy with God as he had witnessed between God and Moses.
“When we see someone intimate with the Lord, it should provoke us to want a better relationship. “The Religious leaders pointed out that the Apostles had been with Jesus; they were judged by their actions. Not because they had picket signs on their backs saying, “we know Jesus.” A few months ago, all on television you would hear, “Bo know this, and Bo knows that.” You know why no one is telling what Bo knows now? Because Bo’s injury put him out of commission and Bo is no longer running footballs, or hitting baseballs. Therefore, his promotion value diminished to the point they cannot use Bo. That is why it’s not good to invest your all in ‘the world’s ‘so called success system.’ The world will use one while he/she is hot, and drop them when they are not. I sure hope Bo knows Jesus. No matter what one might break, Jesus won’t go any place. Even after the skin worms have supper on us, Jesus is still there.
Out of all the celebrities I have seen in my traveling, I have never seen or met one that caused me to say I wish I was like that guy. What I have, I know is super wonderful. It surpasses that which money is capable of purchasing or earthly fame is able to do for any. When believers are enlightened to the outstanding riches that are in Jesus Christ, we won’t so easily exchange them for these worlds’ goods. I think one of the things that causes so much shifting and drifting, is due to the lack of being truly plugged in and drawing from what is available. If and when we enjoy Jesus to the fullest we won’t have to go to the world seeking satisfaction. The reason you see a dog leave home going to another house, more than likely he is being better fed there, we should have at least dog judgment.
If he is being adequately fed, that dog is not going anywhere. If he does, he is coming back. If you find in Jesus Christ what your soul longs for, you aren’t going any place. You will be too busy digging nuggets from the treasures of Jesus! “I want the eyes of their understanding to be open and I want them to open their hearts.” The Lord will show them something. Showing goes beyond I have a bible, I’ve got a song book or I go to church; it exceeds occasionally attending Sunday school, or making three or four nights of a revival service. “Those who are experiencing intimacy with Christ want others to know that in Christ Jesus there are treasures & more treasures.”
Each of us are given a key to enter into the treasures and benefit to our satisfaction. In Exodus 33, God visited with Moses in the tabernacle. The glory of God came down and after the majority had gone, Joshua remained there intrigued by the fellowship between the Lord and Moses. That is called being provoked to Godly jealousy. He saw Moses talking with God and was influenced to know God better. Joshua wanted to remain and see if God would speak to him. The glory of God challenged Joshua to desire intimacy with God as he had witnessed between God and Moses. “When we see someone intimate with the Lord, it should provoke us to want a better relationship.”
Now, it takes more than just a mere conversation to truly reveal our relationship with the Lord. Our ability to maintain serenity when troubles rises, that’s when we can tell if we really, really knows the Lord. When the foundation is shaken, instead of screaming and running for cover one will say it’s going to be alright. No sign at all of anything being alright, yet our faith says it is going to be alright. Faith is continuously saying Lord you are in control, while those in the grandstand are saying when is he/she going to crack up? Crack up for what? When a soul has a intimate relationship with Jesus, there is that confidence that everything is going to be alright. Closely associated-Intimacy.
The closeness of our association with Jesus will bleed over into our daily walk and instead of walking as we once walked. We begin to walk like He walks. Instead of behaving like we once behaved, we are more and more reflecting the behavior of a crucified, risen and living Jesus Christ. No wonder Brother Enoch walked with God. The on lookers wanted to know what he was doing. He’s walking with God. Not behind or in front of Him. That’s intimacy. When we are intimate with someone we can share things because we have things in common. “We can talk the same talk and walk the same walk. There aren’t many of us who claim Christ as Savior, and have enough in common to hold a conversation about gambling with a gambler, I hope.
Yesterday I received a card in the mail that offered me a chance to sign up with the possibility of winning a portion of relationship, when we are intimate with the Lord, He w breathe into us Himself. In our time of prayer and meditate we may not see what’s happening, but the Lord is filtering mind into our minds. His spirit actually overshadows o spirit. His thoughts invade our thoughts. When we hear o mouth speak something profound and we don’t know when it came from, just say, “Lord you dropped a real nugget on me then.” Just admit it you laid one on me. That’s the spirit of wisdom and the spirit of revelation. Often we have begun to speak and the more we talked, the more inspired we became? We should no longer be puzzled we know where it came from by now, the Lord laid it on us.
Do you know when we are intimate with Him; He will share His mind with us. In Deuteronomy 29:29 and Genesis 18, we see that He will share His mind with His intimate friends. The Lord isn’t concerned about housing secrets. He wants to make known His ways. He wants us to pray for the spirit of wisdom and revelation for the body of Christ. The Lord hurts when we allow things to defeat us.” I really believe that the Lord hurts when we allow things to defeat us, which have no business defeating us, when so much knowledge is available to defeat the things that seeks to defeat us. That has to bother him. Those who are parents know how we get vexed with a child when we think or know they could do better and won’t. I am sure most parents have had that experience. We knew they could have done better, and didn’t.
Now tell me how do you think the Lord feels after having equipped us as well as he has, only for us to do so little with it. If by now we are praying, forgive us Lord we are praying the right prayer. Because we need to repent regularly, when we think of all we have received and then ask ourselves what have I done with what I’ve received? If that doesn’t send us to our knees repenting I don’t know what will. Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
Don’t worry about him revealing something that shouldn’t be revealed. Don’t concern yourself for the Lord, because He knows how to run His business. The Lord never had any trouble running His business. He just has trouble getting us out of His way. Those who know Him in a personal way, those who seek Him, those who want to know Him intimately; He will share His mind with them.” Acquaintance, Experience, Familiarity, Inwardness are all included in the word intimacy.”
Inwardness
It’s not how well I know the Lord with my head. But how well I know the Lord in my spirit? Do I know Him well enough for my spirit to reject things that are Anti-God? What causes God to consider a mere person is that person being intimate with Him. There are people in our lives that we tell things that we don’t tell to everybody. More than likely, we all have someone that we talk freely with while there are others that we only give what we feel to be necessary. That equals a Hi and a Bye.
Sometimes we get it mixed up and its bye-hi. The Lord said, “Should I hide this from Abraham?” He’s God, but he respects Intimacy, that is why He communicates people who will tell Him about the needs of others. “If God isn’t showing us secret things, it is because he knows we won’t do anything with them.” If we want to know his secrets, then we must start praying for the conditions of the world like we should, and God will show us more. There is little need for Him to show us something and we not do anything about it.
“God will share his mind with those who are intimate with him. He will also protect our faith when it is on trial.” In the book of 1 Samuel 17. He will protect our faith when we are on trial, if we are intimate with Him. An intimate relationship with Jesus guarantees that troubled waters won’t mean drowning, fire doesn’t mean burning, darkness doesn’t mean stumbling, and famine doesn’t mean starvation to us. Let me back this big talk up with the Word. I Samuel 17:32 “And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
Our introduction to David did not begin on the mountain getting ready to fight a giant; we first met him in the back woods keeping sheep. It was while keeping sheep, he was given plenty of time to sing, pray, worship, and to really get to know the Lord. I said earlier that we didn’t have to put on signs to inform the public that we know the Lord. You don’t have to put on a church front to impress others. If you are intimate with the Lord, it will testify for itself. In the time of your troubles you won’t be running like roaches when someone turn on the lights. May God help those who know Jesus until trouble rise, and then forsake him. Those who wait on the Lord are the ones who gets their strength renewed, not those who run off and leave Him.
Testimony Service Is Now Open
“Testimony service is now open. Who will be the first?” David stands: “I was keeping my Father’s sheep, and a bear came and took one, but I slew him; a lion took one and I slew him also.
This uncircumcised Philistine, he’ll be just like one of them.” How do you know? “The God of Israel was with me when I slew the bear and the lion; I know that He is yet with me now.
My trust is not in my ability but in the ability of Him who made himself known to me.” Every now and then a measure of trouble comes our way to prepare us for life’s journey. It is somewhat like the teacher telling the students, “Friday we are having a test.” She tells them that so they can prepare. God told us through Peter, “Beloved think it not strange when fiery trials come to try you, as though some strange thing has happen. It is nothing unusual; it happens to all who live godly. All believers will have their time. If He allows you to be chastised, He’s dealing with you like a son. The ones He doesn’t chastise are bastard. That’s what the bible says. In the modern translation it means illegitimate children. It equals the same.
In the book of 1 Peter 5:9, 10, especially the part that says, “After you have suffered a little while.” A little while. The thing about that is that God’s little while and out little while is not the same. If we go through something about three or four days we want out. We began to cry help Lord! “You know I’m your child. Move Lord! Provide for me Lord! Come on! Lord will you hurry up and come on!” But the Lord looks at the clock and says, “he’s been in there 2 minutes, he needs some more time.” By that time we get to feeling that the Lord must have lost our address. It’s after we have suffered a little while.
He will only allow us to go through inconveniences for a little while. One day some of us will pray, “Lord I thank you for your little while. Since your little while and my little while isn’t the same, give me the necessary patience to endure your little while.” David did not wait until his chance to fight with a giant before he got acquainted with the Lord! He acquainted himself with the Lord before he ever tackled the bear. In fact when God sent Samuel to anoint him King, David was in the fields keeping sheep. After Samuel reviewed all the sons of Jesse that were in the house, the spirit of the Lord said to Samuel there’s another one. So he went to Jesse and asked, “You have another son?” But Jesse replied in so many words, “He’s nothing but a chap. He’s down there keeping the sheep. He isn’t old enough to be in the army. He’s just a sheep keeper; He isn’t old enough to be in the army.
He’s just a sheep keeper, don’t worry about him.” Samuel said, “Go get him.” Go and fetch him. As soon as he walked in, the anointing came upon Samuel and he said, “that’s Him!’ David didn’t say, “I want to thank and praise the Lord because they sent for me, because the Lord is looking for me. He just walked in and anointing was upon him and the man who was sent by God was able to recognized that he was the one God has chosen. “When we do right towards God, He will not let s be overlooked.” Those of us who feel overlooked or neglected and all the other negative things to go with that, we need to get to know the Lord better, so we will know that the Lord doesn’t pull such Shenanigans. He won’t do that. He is very concerned about us. The reason the Lord can’t help some of us is because we don’t spend enough time with him.
There is a point in the book of Daniel I want to make and that is, God will protect our faith when on trial. One thing we can’t afford to go bad is our faith. If we loose everything else, we need to hold on to our faith. Daniel 6: 10 read . . . “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did in times past.” He did not change his prayer style even though his faith was on trial, they had already signed the decree, and that if anyone asked a request of God or man within thirty days they would be cast into the lion’s den.
This would have been a good time to say; well I can’t have my prayer meeting. Why? They don’t want anybody to pray. Not Daniel, his faith was on trial, but you know what he did? He acted like nothing had been signed, instead, as if they had called a national day of prayer. “When we step out on the limb, we need to have an intimate relationship with God and know beyond a shadow of doubt that He will defend our cause.” You know the rest story. He did pray and they did what they said they were going to do. Where did they put him? In the lion’s den. How long did he stay? All night. What happened when morning came? Deliverance. Why didn’t the lions eat him?
Well, the critics say that the reason the lions didn’t eat Daniel is because they were full, they had already eaten and they didn’t have an appetite. That’s what the critics said. For those of us who saw the theater version of the lion’s den. They threw men in there as a test and the lions ate them up. Habakkuk 3:5 “Thou walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters.” When did that happen? Crossing of the Red Sea. Verse 16, “When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops.”
This is a picture of adverse things that could happen to try our faith. Attack is being launched. Verse 17, “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall no herd in the stalls.” Usually when there is war, it damages the land to such a degree; you will have trouble raising crops. Starvation has been known to follow war ravaged areas. This man has already calculated, “I don’t care what happens, I’m building my confidence on the fact that He marched through the Red Sea, and brought Israel over safely, I am sure He will do the same for me. That’s intimacy. That’s knowing him up front. Not a casual acquaintance.
Let me ask you this; have you ever been faced with a critical situation that caused you to have to call on your relationship with the Lord to maintain strengthen to settle you? That’s the value of intimacy with God. If, we don’t really know Him in trying times, we’ll bail out. We need a genuine knowledge of Him. Not basing our move upon what appears to be a way out, but the confidence we have in Him knowing that He will provide for us. The variety of Scriptures we have gone over the last few lessons are designed to heighten and build our faith. So we will personally know, that we are not up against something God doesn’t know about.
We would have a critical situation if we were facing something that He didn’t know about. That would be critical. If we came against something that was a puzzle to the Almighty, which is impossible, we would be in trouble, fortunately, that will never happen. He is the all wise God. He knows everything. There is nowhere that He is not or hasn’t been. The question might arise of how Adam fled from the presence of the Lord? It had to be in his mind that he thought he was getting away form God, not realizing God was there supplying him with the strength to get where he was going.
It was God who supplied him with the strength to pick the fig leaves, to make the covering for his nakedness. It should be clear to those of us who are interested in a closer walk with the Lord, that we may not be prepared to received what this message have to offer. If we ever need someone to stand by us, someone that we can be confident of seeing us through, we need to get to know Jesus personally. We don’t need to take someone else’s word for it; we need to seek Him, until He makes Himself known to us. David went to fight Goliath, and Saul put his armor on David, gave him a sword and David took one step and it dawned on him, “I haven’t been accustom to using this kind of equipment, this is not my way of fighting.
I have never tested the use of this fancy equipment,” so, he took it off. Sometimes we hear others say some very good things about the Lord, and give moving testimonies, but if they do not fit us, we better not build on them, no matter how good they sound. We sometimes pray others prayers, because to us they sound good. “Lord I want you to save me, no matter what you have to do.” That could mean having to paralyze you from your waist down, if that’s where most of your trouble seems to be. You should let the Lord do his thing. I hope I am clear in what I’m saying. Jesus said, “If your right eyes offend you pluck it out.” We hear someone else pay, “Lord whatever it takes to save me, Save Me! Lord, help us. Lord, I want to be real. Take out everything that isn’t real.” After praying such a prayer, you might loose everything but your hair. You see, Jesus is more concerned about saving us that he is with anything else.
This article “Intimacy With God” was taken from “Intimacy With God” by Clifton Jones and may be used for study and research purposes only.
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