God Encounter 2011 – Intimacy
2011 is going to be a year of encounter with God on a different level and scale than the church has known in the past. The opportunities to grow in our relationship with the Lord will expand in this year and the years to come. Events will begin to unfold where knowing God and trusting in Him will be the only foundation we will have in order to overcome the issues of our day (Matt. 7:24-27). Natural circumstances will be challenging at best but for those who know the Lord they will be a light set upon a hill to whom the people and the kings of the earth will come (Is. 60:1-3). As Christians we must be 1) ready to receive these people and 2) prepared to impart to them the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In order to do both of these we must first prepare ourselves by increasing our level of intimacy with our Lord.
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, this is the first and great commandment. – Matt. 22:37
Our love of God must be born out of a desperate and deep desire for His presence to be manifest in every aspect of our lives. Notice the scripture states that we are to love God with all our heart and all our soul and all our mind. We are not meant to have a passing acquaintance with our Lord nor are we to have a slave to taskmaster relationship but rather a relationship where every fiber our our being realizes that without Him in our lives we will not be able to experience all the greatness, majesty and joy of His creation. Nor will we be able to withstand the pain that comes in the night because we will not have access to the truth and the understanding that though our suffering comes in the night, our joy is sure to come in the morning. His righteousness, His peace, His joy is freely given by His Holy Spirit but our only access is through our intimate relationship with Him. How can we be the true light to the world if His light is not glowing in us. His light in us empowers our love for others.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. – 1John 4:7-8
If we as Christians desire to fulfill the Great Commission then we must first fulfill the Great Commandment because love never fails.