The Audacity of Intimacy Pt. 1 - Living Grace Fellowship

Wednesday 2/18/15

Series: The Audacity of Intimacy Pt. 1

Topic: Drawing Near

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:19:21 — 109.0MB)

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Scriptures:

Psalm 32

Deuteronomy 5

Hebrews 12:18-29

The Audacity of Intimacy

By the time of Christ, the people of Israel had lived in, what I call, second generational faith for well over 400 years (the Maccabean epoch). I define second generational faith like this….

“Any successive generation of a people who are born after a culture actually encountered God, were changed by that encounter and lived lives reflecting that change BECAUSE of that encounter.”

Two examples of second generational faith are…

Those children of those who entered into the promised land who had not experienced God’s hand of deliverance from Egyptian bondage, safe travel and provision in the wilderness, nor the dividing of the Jordan river to settle into the land of Canaan.
The children and grand-children of those who rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s day.

These generations who came up AFTER their parents, did not internalize the stories of deliverance they were told. They were not stirred to seek after the God their parents and grandparents spoke so joyfully and reverently about. This second generation, conformed to the “religious acts” and “religious responsibilities” of their parents, but they had never personally encountered their God, nor were they hungry to.

This was the state of Israel when Jesus came onto the scene. This is not to say that there were not individuals who had sought God and encountered Him, especially concerning the coming of the Messiah. Anna the widowed Prophetess was one and Simeon of the Temple was another and their mention is found in Luke 2:21-39. The largest number of Israel however, were holding out hope for a conquering King who would deliver them from Rome and that was the extent of most of their “knowing” of God.

Don’t be a dumb…mule

Psalm 32 was read early on in the message and the verse I particularly drilled down on was verse 9. It says,

“Do not be like a horse or mule, without understanding, that must be controlled with bit and bridle, or else it will not come near you.”

This was the state of those coming out of Egypt initially. They two began their trek in second generational faith and in fact many of them perished with nothing more than that as well, thought God had come near to them.

This story is told us in Deuteronomy chapter 5.

In this story, it was rightly stated by Israel that they needed a mediator.

Man always needs a mediator due to their fallen state – either to enter into relationship or to HAVE entered into relationship – for we have NO relationship to the Father outside of Christ – both now and forever…but we are NOT outside of HIM!

Once one responds to the invitation to intimacy with the Father through Christ Jesus, they are to realize that their in invitation to intimacy is radically different than that offered to Israel in the wilderness.

Heb 12:18-29

“(18) For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, (19) and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. (20) (For they could not endure what was commanded: “AND IF SO MUCH AS A BEAST TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN, IT SHALL BE STONED OR SHOT WITH AN ARROW.” (21) And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I AM EXCEEDINGLY AFRAID AND TREMBLING.”) (22) But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, (23) to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, (24) to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. (25) See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, (26) whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “YET ONCE MORE I SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO HEAVEN.” (27) Now this, “YET ONCE MORE,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. (28) Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. (29) For our God is a consuming fire.”

We closed tonight with a passage found in Matthew 11:25, where Jesus talks about knowing the Father and that no one else can come to know Him unless Jesus bids them to come. Then he says these words,

“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” ~ Mat 11:28-30

I hope it will challenge you and encourage you to discover genuine hope in Christ that transcends your previous expectations.

If you have been spiritually fed by this ministry and wish to give to its ministry, you may do so here.

Blessings!

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!