Intimacy with The Lord / Knowing Our Identity In Christ
1 John 2:28-3:24 is so good, y’all should read this later but I want to touch on the first and last verse > 1 John 2:28 & 3:24 — this is our identity, we are children of God. God abides in us and we abide in him.
Abide : to remain, to endure (in battle) (Ephesians 6:12) there is a war in the spiritual realm for us, to stand firm in your faith in God and his faithfulness,
1 John 5:18-21 “We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life. Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.”
Ephesians 5:1-2 “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”
John 1:12-13 “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.”
”The mature children of God are those who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit. And you did not receive the “spirit of religious duty,” leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the “Spirit of full acceptance,” enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as he rises up within us, our spirits join him in saying the words of tender affection, “Beloved Father!” For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!”“
Romans 8:14–16 TPT
Find your “secret place” with The Lord
- Matthew 6:6 “But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”
The Lord just wants to hang out with us, without works, without empty words, without empty sacrifices, He genuinely loves you and wants to be with YOU.
- John 10:38-42 “As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”
But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” - The only thing that is worth being concerned about is your intimate relationship with God, fix your eyes on God, sit at His feet.
God loves us no matter what we do, nothing can separate us from His love. This is God’s promise
- John 14:18 “No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.”
- Romans 8:37-8 ”And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.“
- Psalm 91:14-16 “The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”
- Psalms 139 – there is absolutely no escaping the love of God, our Father. He knows everything about us and still loves us. His love is unconditional.
- v.5 NLT (You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.)
- v. 1-2 (O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.)
God just WANTS us to abide in Him & Him in us
- Psalm 51:6,10-13,16-19
- v. 16-17 “You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.”
- come to God in your desperation for His love, desperation for His grace, desperation for His peace, He will meet you where you are at.
- 1 John 4:13 “And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us”
- John 14:15-31
- Jesus promises us the Holy Spirit!
- 2 Corinthians 6:16-18
- “And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters says the LORD Almighty.”
- Exodus 29:45-46
- “Then I will live among the people of Israel and be their God, and they will know that I am the LORD their God. I am the one who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I could live among them. I am the LORD their God.”
- Ephesians 3:17 “Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.”
- Revelation 21:3 NLT ”I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.“
- John 14:23 “Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.”
- John 15: v.1—17 ABIDE / RESIDE IN GREEK
- The Greek word μένω (menoÒ) translated resides (in the NET Bible – TAR) indicates a close, intimate (and permanent) relationship between the believer and God.
- v.5 Jesus says “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”
- apart from me you can do nothing.
- Our life without Jesus –
- Ephesians 2:12-14 “In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us”
Abiding in God as His Child.
- Its not about striving, it’s about walking with the Lord — this is a RELATIONSHIP , not a religion.
- Galatians 2:16 “Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”
- Galatians 2:19 “For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God.”
- take your disappointment to The Lord! He can handle our emotions, he cares for us and our emotions.
- Matthew 11:28 “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
- “come unto me” Jesus invites us to come to HIM! all who labor > self sufficient heavy laden > the burden others put upon us.
- Fixate your eyes on Jesus.
- fixate means to be obsessed with.
- continually renewing your minds — Romans 12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
- 2 Corinthians 10:5 “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ”
- Hebrews 12:5-9 ”And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?
- Matthew 7:9-11 “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him”
We MUST humble ourselves in His presence.
- James 3:13-18
- “If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
- “Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.”
- 1 Peter 5:5-11
- “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen.”
- James 4:1-12
- align your heart and will with The Lord’s (honoring God, advancing His kingdom purposes)
- v. 5 – 10 “Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”
- v.5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us” God is JEALOUS FOR US!
- God wants to protect what is rightfully his. He created mankind with a “spirit” / wind — Ruach ; in Hebrew this means an invisible force or power. / HIS SINGING OVER US! he deeply desires that our spirits worship him (John 4:23-24) He has redeemed us. He deserves our worship and our friendship.
- John3:6-8
- we are born of the Spirit! we are no longer of the flesh we are saved, set free and delivered!
- WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD
- NOT of this world! We are set apart for God. Live in the spirit and allow His love transform you through sanctification.
- 2 Corinthians 10:3-6
- “We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient.”
- God’s mighty weapons Ephesians 6
The Corinthian Christians tended to rely on and admire carnal weapons for the Christian battle:
Instead of the belt of truth, they fought with manipulation.
Instead of the breastplate of righteousness, they fought with the image of success.
Instead of the shoes of the gospel, they fought with smooth words.
Instead of the shield of faith, they fought with the perception of power.
Instead of the helmet of salvation, they fought with lording over authority.
Instead of the sword of the Spirit, they fought with human schemes and programs.
- Philippians 2:3-8 “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”
- Jesus relied on spiritual weapons when He fought for our salvation. Philippians 2:6-8 describes this: who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. This kind of victory through humble obedience offended the Corinthian Christians because it seemed so “weak.” The carnal, human way is to overpower, dominate, manipulate, and out-maneuver. The spiritual, Jesus way is to humble yourself, die to yourself, and let God show His resurrection power through you.
- Our spiritual weapons are scorned by the world but feared by demonic powers. When we fight with true spiritual weapons, then no principality or power can stand against us. “As the spittle that comes out of a man’s mouth slayeth serpents, so doth that which proceedeth out of the mouths of God’s faithful ministers quell and kill evil imaginations, carnal reasonings, which are the legion of domestic devils, that hold near intelligence with the old serpent.” (John Trapp)
God IS working towards our prayers as they align with His will
- Psalms 81:10 TPT
- ”I am your only God, the living God. Wasn’t I the one who broke the strongholds over you and raised you up out of bondage? Open your mouth with a mighty decree; I will fulfill it now, you’ll see! The words that you speak, so shall it be!“
- 1 John 5:14-15
- “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.”
- John 14:12-14
- “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!”
> James 4:2-3 “You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.”
