If I were to tell you that behind this door was, a new car, keys to a new home, or a million dollars—would you be interested?
If I were to tell you that behind this door was all the wisdom in the universe, knowledge about everything you needed to know, strength to face every situation you’d encounter for the rest of your life.
Enough provisions to take care of your every need, and the source of genuine love that would enable you to consistently forgive, love the unlovable, graciously serve others—would you be interested?
Revival is the door of intimacy with Christ—when you are intimate with him you will have everything you need because everything flows from the presence of the Lord.
Luke 10:38-42—38As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.
40But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" 41"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "You are worried and upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Intimacy is often lost through the lure of many good things. Martha was distracted or drawn away. What was she drawn away by? They were not terrible things, sinful things, or bad things. They were just not the things that should have been the priority for her life at that moment.
How do we know if we are being distracted and drawn away from the most important thing? Are you worried? Bothered? Angry? Whining? If so, that is an indication that somewhere you have replaced the best thing with some other thing, perhaps even with good things.
Intimacy is the portal to what matters and lasts. The World Wide Web (the Internet) is an amazing thing. Everyone, though, must go through a primary portal, an access point. Once you go through your portal, the door is opened to a massive world of information and communication.
Only those who choose intimacy with Christ gain entrance to the most important things of life. This is the portal. These are the things that last when everything else fades, that stand when all else falls.
Only through this portal of intimacy will you gain a relationship with Christ, reality with the one who sees the end from the beginning, and the adventure of a spirit-led life.
Intimacy always comes through an invitation and a choice. It is incredible that the God of the universe would condescend to come and be with us, but He does and He does it so we can have an intimate relationship with Him.
If we are to gain this intimacy with Christ, a sense of humility, need, and patience is required. It takes TIME to really enter into God’s presence—daily time, weekly time, special retreat times, etc. We also must give great attention to listening to the Lord through His Word and by His Spirit.
J. Oswald Sanders says in Enjoying Intimacy with God, “Each of the disciples was as close to Jesus as he chose to be, for the Son of God had no favorites. With Him there is no caprice or favoritism. It is a sobering thought that we, too, are as close to Christ as we really choose to be.
It would seem that admission to the inner circle of deepening intimacy with God is the outcome of deep desire. Only those who count such intimacy a prize worth sacrificing anything else for are likely to attain it. If other intimacies are more desirable to us, we will not gain entry to that circle.
The place on Jesus’ breast is still vacant and open to any who are willing to pay the price of deepening intimacy. We are now and we will be in the future only as intimate with God as we really choose to be.”
Revival’s door is open; you and I must choose to walk in!
If I were to tell you that behind this door was all the wisdom in the universe, knowledge about everything you needed to know, strength to face every situation you’d encounter for the rest of your life.
Enough provisions to take care of your every need, and the source of genuine love that would enable you to consistently forgive, love the unlovable, graciously serve others—would you be interested?
Revival is the door of intimacy with Christ—when you are intimate with him you will have everything you need because everything flows from the presence of the Lord.
Luke 10:38-42—38As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.
40But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" 41"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "You are worried and upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Intimacy is often lost through the lure of many good things. Martha was distracted or drawn away. What was she drawn away by? They were not terrible things, sinful things, or bad things. They were just not the things that should have been the priority for her life at that moment.
How do we know if we are being distracted and drawn away from the most important thing? Are you worried? Bothered? Angry? Whining? If so, that is an indication that somewhere you have replaced the best thing with some other thing, perhaps even with good things.
Intimacy is the portal to what matters and lasts. The World Wide Web (the Internet) is an amazing thing. Everyone, though, must go through a primary portal, an access point. Once you go through your portal, the door is opened to a massive world of information and communication.
Only those who choose intimacy with Christ gain entrance to the most important things of life. This is the portal. These are the things that last when everything else fades, that stand when all else falls.
Only through this portal of intimacy will you gain a relationship with Christ, reality with the one who sees the end from the beginning, and the adventure of a spirit-led life.
Intimacy always comes through an invitation and a choice. It is incredible that the God of the universe would condescend to come and be with us, but He does and He does it so we can have an intimate relationship with Him.
If we are to gain this intimacy with Christ, a sense of humility, need, and patience is required. It takes TIME to really enter into God’s presence—daily time, weekly time, special retreat times, etc. We also must give great attention to listening to the Lord through His Word and by His Spirit.
J. Oswald Sanders says in Enjoying Intimacy with God, “Each of the disciples was as close to Jesus as he chose to be, for the Son of God had no favorites. With Him there is no caprice or favoritism. It is a sobering thought that we, too, are as close to Christ as we really choose to be.
It would seem that admission to the inner circle of deepening intimacy with God is the outcome of deep desire. Only those who count such intimacy a prize worth sacrificing anything else for are likely to attain it. If other intimacies are more desirable to us, we will not gain entry to that circle.
The place on Jesus’ breast is still vacant and open to any who are willing to pay the price of deepening intimacy. We are now and we will be in the future only as intimate with God as we really choose to be.”
Revival’s door is open; you and I must choose to walk in!
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