Face intimacy

Face to Face

Today’s message was all about entering into and seeking out times of intimate communion with God. These times of communion will always result in Jesus being further revealed to us. This in turn deeps both our reverence and love for Him. The results, if ongoing and regular will produce hearts of happy obedience to Him and a business in regard to kingdom work.

Seeking God. Seeking His face. Face to face and even calling up the name of the Lord are ways the scriptures refer to drawing near to God, in order to have Him revealed to us. This is often done in times of genuine distress, but CAN be done ANYTIME!

We have this promise from Him, that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us in return. That if we seek, we will find. If we knock, the door will be opened to us and if we ask we will receive.

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be filled.”

And when Jesus had words for the lukewarm church of Laodicea, Jesus took it upon Himself to do the knocking with the promise that if anyone will open the door and LET HIM IN, He would come in to them and eat supper, the principal social meal which denoting intimacy and friendship. So it is no stretching of the text to say that this is an invitation to face-to-face intimacy with our Lord, Savior & Friend!

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Purposeful Intimacy

Purposeful Intimacy

This morning we began taking a deeper dive into the way God designed us to experience closeness in relationships.

Relationships that last long enough, tend to grow more mechanical and utilitarian over time. While there is certainly some comfort and safety to be found in the familiarity of such relationships, it also can be a breeding ground for discontent. But there are things God has “baked into” the human experience that can maintain not only the relationship, but its passionate drive as well.

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Target Testimony

The Targets of our Testimony

Being in God’s Kingdom has both privileges and responsibilities. Many of Jesus’ parables were about our stewardship over these responsibilities.

First and primary among these regard our fellow Christians. This is not a secondary issue but a primary one!

Secondarily is our testimony before the world.

We are NOT here to feed only, but to be trained and equipped for kingdom work. It IS important that we mature spiritually, but the deception of the enemy is to believe that we are growing in Christ’s likeness when we never engage in Kingdom work.

Our coming together for encouragement, instruction, community and impartation and reception of grace through one another is to have the ultimate effect of maturing us into Christ’s image and mobilizing us in kingdom work!

The difference between the way this is typically encouraged in churches today and what I am calling on you to do are two major points.

1. I want you to invite them to Christ – NOT church.
2. I want those who follow you here, to have already met Christ!

Don’t bring them to church to have the pastor or others do you evangelistic work FOR you. You win the lost and they will follow you to where you get fed.

All of this can be accomplished by programs and pressure from your church or pastor, but what it produces are altars built to God, hewn by human tools.

The only way Christianity really works, is when it is real, living and an automatic overflow of your own walk with and hunger for God!

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Your Testimony

The word of Your Testimony

Today we wrapped up Paul’s letter to the Colossians which springboarded us into a study on living out the great commission.

As you know I am beginning to really press you about going out and doing the work of the Kingdom!

We all have a sphere of influence and authority and it is IN that sphere that we are commanded to be lights and salt to the world. 

In order to be lights and salt requires that we FIRST have been and are continuing to be transformed into Christ’s likeness. Our daily encounters with Christ produces a transformed life which is itself a witness and it creates a platform upon which we extend to the world a life line into God’s kingdom!

James tells us that true worship of God is seen in control over your mouth and in extending yourself to those in need – offering orphans and widows as his token examples.

So this was the point upon which our teaching this week is pressing.

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