Isa 26:2
Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.
I begin this second message of Intimacy as I began the first speaking about revival,
Ffor many years I have searched for and sought after that elusive revival that I have heard so much about, the revival that many say is coming, that revival that many say has already been here, the revival that is supposed to turn the world upside down.
And in my search for revival this is what I have found
Revival is nothing more than the glory of God breaking forth out the four walls of the church and flowing into the streets of the city.
Revival is nothing more than the decreasing of our own selves and the increasing of the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives.
Revival is nothing more than coming to a place of intimacy with him instead of complacency within ourselves,
Revival is nothing more than the fires of God burning hot within our soul instead of being swallowed up within luke warmness.
Revival is nothing more than seizing every opportunity to minister to some one else’s life instead of wanting to be ministered to.
Revival is nothing more than the fresh outpouring of God manifesting himself within the realms of human flesh rather than the flesh of man manifesting itself with in the church through committee’s and programs.
I want you to see something church and that is that we all have one thing in common today with the Israelites, as they were brought forth from there bondage in Egypt, as they were delivered from the hands of there taskmasters and brought forth out of Egypt, so we to have been brought out of our bondages and have been delivered from the evil hand of Satan, our taskmaster and as they were delivered from oppression and depression and the bondages of slavery so we to have been delivered from the bondages of our slavery, alcoholism, drugs, chronic and domestic abuse problems, destitution and despair.
As they were led out of Egypt and brought to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God, so we have been led out of our Egypt and have been brought to the mountain of God.
Now for what reason were they led out of Egypt and brought to the Mount of God,
They were brought forth to enter in to intimacy with God, they were brought forth to enter into His rest.
And the church is faced with the same problem that faced the children of Israel
We stand at the foot of the mountain as they stood at the foot of the mountain,
We all know that according to scripture the multitude that gathered around the foot of the mountain that day did not enter into his rest and neither did they enter into the Promised Land which is a type and shadow of the Lord Jesus Christ.
They did not enter in.
Heb 3:18
And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
Heb 4:11
Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
And so the challenge is set before us, the same decision that they faced faces the church today,
Do we go in or do we stand afar off.
Exod 20:18-21
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
This is the place that I believe the church is in today, in the cross roads of standing far off or entering into His rest.
When the people stood at the foot of Mount Sinai they were only a couple of days march from the Promised land, they were only a short distance from receiving there inheritance.
They were so close
The only thing that was delaying them from going forth into the promises of God was there reluctance to press into the intimacy of God.
And that is the problem of most churches today, there reluctance to reach for the intimacy of God which has birthed within them a reluctance to possess the things of God
And we for the most part as the church do not possess the things of God
He desires to draw nigh to us but we still stand afar off
Our church services are evident of the distance that is between us him,
Our lives demonstrate the distance between the Holy Ghost and us.
All you have to do is to read the story of the man at the gate beautiful to see the distance between us and the Holy Spirit
Acts 3:2-10
And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful , to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
Here is a man who denied Christ, a man who rejected Christ, a man who cursed Christ sitting at the fire of the heathen and in 50 days we see the manifestation of Christ in his life.
The evidence that is portrayed on the outside of his body is the overwhelming portrayal of the intimacy that is taking place on the inside of his body.
And the church stands at a crossroads, a fork in the road and one fork leads to intimacy and the pressing toward the mark of the high calling and other fork leads to complacency and satisfaction,
One fork leads to a resting place and the other fork leads to programs and church meetings and religious things.
Which ever fork that you choose will have its own set of consequences,
If you choose the fork that says we are tired and we need to take a rest,
If you choose the fork where you want to lie down and quit that fork will have its consequences
If you choose the fork of intimacy then through thick and thin, through hard times and the good times your journey will progress to where you will grow into relationship with Him no matter what the cost and no matter what happens.
I want you to listen to Moses in,
Exod 33:18
And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
After the Red Sea, after the drowning of Pharaoh’s army, after the manna from heaven, after water from the rock, after the quail surrounding the camp,
Moses cry’s out
Show me thy Glory
In other words
Lord thank you for your many blessings, thank you for your miracles that you have performed in my life, thank you for meeting all of my needs,
But my desire is to see your glory, my desire to be intimate with you
Show me your glory
Exod 33:13
Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
Paul cried out
That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, that I may know Him and the fellowship of His sufferings, that I may know Him being made conformable in His death.
Satan’s most successful trick is to get us to stop just short of the place called intimacy,
Satan’s most successful trick is to get us to the place of burning bushes, manna falling from heaven, water flowing out of the rock and then convince us that we have arrived at that place where we need to be.
The apostle Paul knew the trap; He knew the dangers of falling short of the goal.
Listen to Him in,
Phil 3:13-14
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
You see I am convinced that the church has not learned from the Mount Sinai experience, they do not comprehend the events that took place on that day and they certainly do not think that these same events have any significance in the church and in there lives today.
It was at Mount Sinai that the Israelites built the tabernacle according to the instructions God gave to Moses, it was at Mount Sinai that God gave to Moses Hs servant the great revelation of His law in the Ten Commandments.
It was at Mount Sinai that God wanted to begin to deal directly and personably with his people
Three wonderful and great events that took place at Mount Sinai.
But something else took place at that mountain as well,
Mount Sinai is the place where the Israelites refused to enter into the presence and into the rest of almighty God,
Mount Sinai is also the place where the Israelites built the golden calf of idolatry and this is exactly the very thing that takes place in the child of God when they do not enter in to the intimacy of God.
When there is no intimacy, there is impatience, fruitlessness, there is no change and there is always an idol that is built or will be built.
Why do we become addicted to preachers when we can have Him?
Why do we follow after preachers when we can have Him?
Why do aspire to think that there are great men of God when there is just a great God who uses men.
Why are we so willing to make idols out of men when we can have Him?
Why do we chase after revival instead of the Reviver?
Revival never happens simply because people want revival, revival happens when people want Him.
I hear people say we are going to hold a revival and I am here to tell you if you can hold it, it is not revival,
If you can contain it, it is not revival and if you can control it, it is not revival.
What you have is a series of church meetings; you can even call them good church meetings, whipped cream preaching with cherries on top accompanied by all the trappings of man.
We may love it,
We may thrive on it but it is not revival.
We have become addicted to all the things that accompany church, the music, the choirs, the testimonies and even the preaching.
But the truth is what we call church is not what God calls church and what we call revival is not what God calls revival
God’s revival is seeking the Reviver
Exod 20:21
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
God is tired of having long distance relationships with His people
James 4:8
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.