YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.

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1 Intimacy with God The believer has been called into fellowship with the Trinity in order that the believer might enjoy and experience intimacy with the Trinity. Just as there is intimacy in families in the natural realm, there is also intimacy in the royal family of God. Our lives are composed of many relationships and the greatest relationships that we have in life are those where we are able to experience intimacy with the other person. Most of our relationships with the people are merely acquaintances. An acquaintance is simply a person that you are not on intimate terms with. Intimacy is a close, familiar and usually affectionate or loving, personal relationship with another person or group. In relation to people, intimacy is a close association with or detailed knowledge or deep understanding of a person. Jer 9:24, 'but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things, declares the LORD. If you are smart you will only be on intimate terms with a few and in fact, if you have 1 person in your life that you can be on intimate terms with then you are truly blessed. David had a friend that he was on intimate terms with, namely Jonathan. 1 Sam 18:1, Now it came about when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself. But as great as this relationship with Jonathan was, it did not last; Jonathan was killed with his father Saul in battle. The Lord will at times remove human relationships from our lives that we value and have great intimacy in because He is trying to gain our attention. The Lord is demonstrating how much He loves us by taking away these human relationships that we have great intimacy in because He wants us to recognize our most important relationship in life and that is our relationship with Him. He loves you more than anyone He will never let you down He is a trusted friend when all of have forsaken you, He is there waiting for you to come to Him. He is there waiting in the darkness as you lay on your bed at night when your tears fall like rain and you feel as if you can t go He is there waiting for you with open arms! Matt 11:28-30, Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Sadly, in our day and age, believers treat God as a mere acquaintance or they simply ignore Him, abandoning Him until the next time they are in a terrible jam. We as believers must recognize the awesome privilege that we have been given; namely, we have been called into fellowship with the Triune God. 1 Cor 1:9, God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 John 1:1-3, Who has always existed from eternity past, who we have heard, who we have witnessed with our eyes, who we observed, even our hands touched concerning the Word who is the life (of God), that is, this One who is the life (of God) was revealed (by the Holy Spirit) and we have witnessed and we testify and we proclaim (from God) for the benefit of all of you this One who is the eternal life (of God), who indeed by virtue of His divine nature has always existed face to face with the Father and was revealed (by the Holy Spirit) for the benefit of all of us. Who, we have witnessed and we have heard, we also 2002 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 1

2 proclaim for the benefit of all of you in order that all of you without exception might continue to experience fellowship and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. So why do believers treat the Lord as a mere acquaintance? They do not love Him and are disobeying the 1st great commandment. Mark 12:28-31, One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, What commandment is the foremost of all? Jesus answered, The foremost is, HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH. The second is this, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these. If you love the Lord you will obey His Word. John 14:24, He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me. There is a curse upon you if you don t love Him. 1 Cor 16:22, If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha. Too often, believers value their human relationships rather than their relationship with the Lord. This is reflected in our priorities in life. Priorities: Put the Lord first. Perspective: Acquire His divine viewpoint. Performance: Put into practice His divine viewpoint. The Lord is last on the list of priorities in our lives in many believers lives. How ungrateful can you be? The Lord Jesus Christ constantly challenged His disciples to put their relationship with Him above every relationship that they had in life. Luke 14:26-27, If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. Of all the relationships that you have in life, your relationship with God is the most important, but it must be cultivated and matured. At the moment of salvation when you expressed faith alone in Christ alone you were entered into an eternal relationship with God and at the same time given the opportunity to become intimate with God. Gal 3:26-28, For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. This relationship with God can never be broken. Rom 8:38-39, For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. You and I as Church Age believers have been entered into a marriage relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ at the moment of salvation. Eph 5:28-32, So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body. FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL 2002 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 2

3 BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Many believers are committing spiritual adultery with the Lord today forsaking their relationship with the Lord and have committed spiritual adultery by putting idols in their souls such as money, houses, wives, husbands, children, jobs and self. Jer 3:8-10, And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception," declares the LORD. James 4:4-10, You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. A great marriage relationship is one in which the woman respects her husband and responds to his initiation. In our spiritual marriage, our Lord and Savior initiated the relationship with His death on the Cross, which demonstrated not only the Father s love for all of us but demonstrated His infinite, eternal love for all of us in that He was willing to suffer the humiliation of the Cross. Now, why wouldn t you want to get to know a God like that and fall in love with Him? How could any of us, not respond to so great a love as our Lord demonstrated at the Cross in that while we obnoxious sinners, He died for us as our Substitute. Rom 5:6-8, For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for all of us as our Substitute. Many believers show no appreciation for the fact that their sins have been forgiven and this is manifested after salvation when they place the Lord as last on their list of priorities. There is a woman in Scripture who appreciated the forgiveness of her sins and it caused her to love the Lord. In fact, the Lord states because she was forgiven much, she loved much. You know we have all been forgiven much by the Lord and we should all love Him much! Luke 7:40-47, And Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he replied, "Say it, Teacher." "A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?" Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have judged correctly." Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. "You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. "You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. "For 2002 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 3

4 this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little." Like all relationships such as marriage, you need to put some effort into your relationship with the Lord. Those who make a diligent effort to know their God and be obedient to His commands as found in the Word of God will be on intimate terms with God. Prov 8:17, I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me. Those who don t make the effort will not become intimate friends with God. There is no accident we are as close to the Lord as we want to be. Those who put the most effort into their relationship with the Lord will have greater intimacy with the Lord than those who do not put as much effort into their relationship with Him. This is illustrated in the Gospels where Peter, James and John more intimate with the Lord than the other 9 apostles. Mark 5:35-37, While He was still speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore? But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, Do not be afraid any longer, only believe. And He allowed no one to accompany Him, except Peter and James and John the brother of James. Mark 9:2-3, Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. Mark 14:33-34, And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. And He said to them, My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch. The Lord discriminates and the fact that he chose these 3 rather than the others demonstrates this principle. He chose Peter, James and John because He was most intimate with them. Now, many believers erroneously think that because they devote 1 hour on Sunday to going to Bible class or even 2 or 3 hours a week that they have a good relationship with the Lord and that they love Him. May I say to you that you even if you come to Bible class every day of the week this still does not mean that you have an intimate relationship with the Lord. There appears to be 2 types of Christians in the world today: (1) Those who love the Lord because they obey His Word. (2) Those who do not love the Lord because they do not learn His Word or they do not apply that which they have learned. Loving the Lord is picking up your cross and experiencing the Cross of Christ in your own life on a day by day basis. Picking up your cross means you are willing to experience identification with Christ in His death meaning you are willing to exchange living for self for living for Him and by doing so, you can experience the life of Christ. Matt 10:37-39, He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it. The Word of the Cross is the basis of fellowship and intimacy with the Lord. 1 Cor 1:18, For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. The apostle Paul made personal application of the Word of the Cross in his own life William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 4

5 Gal 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Gal 5:24, Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Gal 6:14, But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Those who pick up their Cross will become intimate with the Lord because our spiritual life and fellowship with Him pivots off His Cross! Those who achieve greater intimacy with Lord are those who have experienced the Cross in their own lives meaning they are dedicated and are devoted to picking up their own Cross making personal application of the Cross in their own lives. Those who pick up their Cross daily agree with God that they were crucified with Christ and have been raised with Christ. The Lord wants us to acquire His viewpoint of ourselves, namely that we have been crucified with Christ buried with Christ raised with Christ ascended with Christ and seated with Christ. Gal 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. The greater the effect the Cross has in our lives, the greater our intimacy with the Lord. Finally, those who are diligent in pursuing their relationship with the Lord will also be rewarded with even greater intimacy with the Lord during His Millennial reign and eternal state. Those who are willing to pick up their Cross in time will reign with Christ in the future and those who reign with Christ will have greater access and intimacy with the Lord. Rev 2:26, He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS. Rev 3:21, He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Rev 2:17, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it. The hidden manna in Revelation 2:17 refers to the special intimate access to the Person of Christ during His millennial reign and throughout all of eternity and will be given only to the overcomer or winner believer. Manna is called food from heaven (Ps. 78:24). In John 6:48-51 the Lord spoke of Himself as the true bread from heaven that gives eternal life in contrast with the manna of the OT. The new title on the white stone in Revelation 2:17 refers to the privilege of having intimate access to the Person of Christ during His millennial reign and throughout all of eternity which will be exclusively to the overcomer. Rev 22:12, Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I will say to each one of you that the greatest reward that can be bestowed upon us as believers by the Lord is greater intimacy with Him, greater access to His Person, greater access to His presence for the Lord is our inheritance, our reward William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 5