Revelation 21:3
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God."
What a great time I had at Gadsden Vineyard yesterday.
A ministry team from Catch The Fire Ministry School Toronto had come to town to lead worship, teach and minister to those present.
The teaching was delivered by a young 19 year old girl from Germany, who spoke on our need for intimacy with God if we want to grow spiritually. Such a thing as spiritual intimacy is hard to explain to others who either don't have a relationship with Christ, or who are just starting this journey. Never the less, it is an important part of life with Christ.
Intimacy can only come through friendship. Having a commitment to study the Word, spending time in prayer, as well as meditating and sitting in quietness listening for God to speak to you. During the teaching, the young lady made a statement that really stuck out to me, concerning development of intimacy with God: "You have to be willing to surrender your "Owness" to grow in intimacy with God." In this new way of living, it truly does stop being all about me as I loose myself (my selfish wants, desires and lusts) in order to find who I truly am in this intimate relationship with God. No one....no other person....can tell me who I truly am, except the one who created me. That, to me, is His heart...that I become aware of who I am to Him and what He desires for me as far as living in this dark world.
Intimacy also involves a spiritual "nakedness" and openness. I must live a new way of having nothing to hide from God and from myself. I can live this way, in a pure relationship, because I am trusting Christ with every area of my life. As the young girls teaching progressed, she made another statement that stood out to me. "You have to let God "rummage" your heart." In other words, nothing is off limits when it comes to me and my life. I surrender all access to God's Holy Spirit. And this is an ongoing process, not a one-and-done thing. When I rest and begin to resist God in this inventory of self, I cease to grow spiritually. Using the analogy given in John Chapter 5 of Jesus as the vine and we as branches, are grafted or attached to Christ in the new life. It is in this relationship of Vine and branch that we are nourished and given what we need to grow. At no point am I suppose to detach myself from the vine. To do so would suggest a slow spiritual death that can only be corrected by confession and repentance.
As the message continued, I found myself remembering the words in Revelation written to the church in Ephesus. "Remember how far you have fallen. Remember your first love and return to Him (Paraphrase). Suddenly the words "First love" jumped out at me. In truth, there should be.........there can't be any other love but our love for Jesus. But sometimes, we allow others and other things to creep into our hearts and occupy a place that is reserved for Christ alone. There is no other love except Jesus. No other level of love, no other number in our hearts...He has to occupy this first place. This can only happen when I stay in a surrendered state to Him. To be honest with you, why would I want my love to be thrown to anyone else or anything else except Jesus?
Yesterday at Gadsden Vineyard, I heard a very simple message. It wasn't a dazzling piece of theological insight. It was the simple message that God loves us and desires us to live in a relationship that returns our love to Him. Why do I complicate this whole "Jesus" thing?
God on you....
mb
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