FINDING INTIMACY WITH GOD

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FINDING INTIMACY WITH GOD

Have you noticed how many new faces we have at Grace these days?  Just a quick look around the room on Sunday morning will show you that God really is doing a new thing among us.  It is so exciting to see this kind of growth happening right alongside the hunger and thirst for God that is stirring in so many of our hearts!  Mary Brack asked Pastor Phil and I earlier if we had noticed this "new thing."  We've talked about this before at Grace, remember?  In Isaiah 43:19 God says, "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?  I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" (Isaiah 43:19).  God is blazing a trail in the wilderness and at the same time making streams of living water flow into desert hearts!  It's so beautiful and inspiring to see and know that God is at work.  This Sunday, there's a good chance you'll see a face you haven't seen before–say hi!

This "new thing" makes us want to know God more and more deeply, doesn't it?  It creates a desire, a longing, in our heart of hearts for intimacy with God.  We just naturally want to get close to the God who makes life flow like a river and love burst forth like a fountain.  But many of us feel like we're not qualified for that kind of intimacy with God.  We feel like we don't measure up, or we're too mired in sin, or we don't feel bad enough about our sin, or there's so much more we should be doing for the kingdom of God.

Well, I'm here to say that NONE of that disqualifies you from the life God wants for you.  In fact, the more inadequate you feel, the more qualified you happen to be!  Here's the rub, though–are you willing to let go of all that--of anything and everything that hinders your approach to Him--and enter into the fountain of life that flows 24/7?  Whenever you're ready, He's right there waiting for you, ready to begin a new work in you.  Any time.  Day or night.

I was reminded of this new work God is doing in us a few weeks ago when Pastor Phil shared an article with some of us called "Seeking the Face of God," by James Emery White.  White writes about what we've been talking about so much in recent months–that God is "doing a new thing," that abiding in Christ is central to walking with Christ, and that spiritual practices are an essential element to formation and intimacy with God.

And it's that intimacy that I want to mainly focus on today.  Once we see in ourselves a desire to be close to God, to be more like Jesus, to bear fruit for the kingdom, we very often get off on the wrong track by trying to do all sorts of things to bear that kind of fruit.  But White reminds us that fruit is just that–the end result of something else going on inside of us.  I'll let him explain:  

"Fruit does not exist in and of itself. It is something that is produced. It comes from a

life source—a branch or a vine. A person does not decide to be patient, much less will

themselves to be patient. Patience must be cultivated from the source of patience.

That is why the Bible speaks of such things flowing from the Spirit. They emanate from

a life with, in and through the Spirit. Only when a spiritual life is cultivated will spiritual

fruit be manifest. The true goal of spiritual formation is not the fruit of the Spirit, but

rather the relational intimacy that produces the fruit of the Spirit…" (James Emery

White, emphasis mine).

We work hard at being good people (or at least better people), which usually means doing more things than we're already doing, or trying to do what we're already doing better or more faithfully than we have.  But do you see White's point?  It's not our more energetic efforts or improved intentions that produce fruit, it's intimacy with God (see John 15)!  

And we don't know very well how to do this–at least I don't.  White reminds us of Psalm 105:4, "Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always" (Psalm 105:4, NIV).  It's all about relationship, connection, which way we're pointed.  And it's more about learning how to not do, how to stop our misguided doing and simply abide with Christ–after all He already abides in us.  Let me show you what I mean.

Years ago, when I turned 40, I signed up to lead a mission trip to the Bahamas to support a missionary friend of ours.  I decided that this might be a good time to learn how to swim (that's right, I didn't learn to swim until I was 40 (even now, I might be able to save my life in a crisis, but then again, maybe not)!  I was shocked to learn two things.  First, my body wants to float.  My instructor told us to go to the side of the deep end of the pool, then push ourselves up as high as we could and shove ourselves down as deep as we could go, touch the bottom of the pool and push ourselves back up to the surface.  I couldn't do it.  No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get to the bottom of the pool!  "No wait!  Let me try again!"  But it was no good.  My body wanted to rise to the surface.  The whole time I thought my body wanted to sink like a stone it actually wanted to rise and soar.  Amazing.  That possibility had never, ever occurred to me.

A little while later, she taught us (well, me–I was the only student left by then) how to float.  I learned that if I simply put my body in the right position, I would float.  Get that?  I didn't really have to do anything.  All I had to do was put my body in a position to do what it naturally wanted to do!

I think spiritual formation, abiding in Christ, and bearing fruit in the Spirit are almost identical to floating.  The secret is not trying harder or doing more stuff–or doing more stuff harder–it's putting our souls and spirits in a position where God can get at us and do His work of transformation in us.  This is the whole purpose, the entire purpose, of the spiritual practices.  

And this is how we find intimacy with God.  Left to ourselves, the weight of our sin will cause us to sink like stones.  But when we're joined with Christ, His life in us rising and soaring, we can know intimacy and fruitfulness with God that we could never otherwise know.  We simply put ourselves in a position where His life courses through our veins.  

I'll say one more thing about my learning to swim.  When I finally did get to the Bahamas, I couldn't wait to get to the ocean!  I had never in my life seen water so clean and clear–and you could see so far down!  But you know what?  I didn't venture out very far.  I got a little beyond my depth and then assumed the position.  I loved it.  I was floating in the Atlantic Ocean, for crying out loud!  But I'll bet I never got into water more than twenty feet deep.  

My guess is that many of us are this way in our relationships with God.  We've learned to trust–a little.  And, like Peter, who gets out of the boat and starts walking on the water toward Jesus (Mt. 14:22-33), we get a little wobbly in the knees pretty quickly and cry out for help.

My encouragement for you today is to take David's advice–"Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always."  Don't be frightened by the vast depths beneath, just look to the Lord.  And lastly, do what I didn't have the courage to do in the Bahamas–get out of your depth!  Find a spiritual practice (like fasting or solitude) and practice getting out of your depth so that when you get into the deep end in real life you can flourish as you were meant to!

Be encouraged, friend, for God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, who spoke all worlds into being, is both with you and for you.