Spiritual Intimacy – The Desire of God’s Heart

Assignments to be completed

• Prayerfully read Chapter 3 of 4 Keys to Hearing God’s Voice.
• Watch Session 3 of the teaching, following along and taking notes in your LEARN notebook.
• Answer the exercise questions for Lesson 3 found in the Quiz section of the Kairos portal.
• Memorize John 17:3.

Additional Requirements

• Submit your 2-3 Spiritual advisors/counselors with name, email, and contact number on the Quiz section of the Kairos portal.
• Submit your first two-way journal assignment in the Quiz section of the Kairos portal.

Subjects to be explored

• Spiritual Intimacy – The Desire of God’s Heart

Related objectives

• You will quote John 17:3.

  And this is eternal life, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.

• You will have an increased awareness of God’s overwhelming love for you and His desire to have an intimate relationship with you. This sense of being loved will awaken within you a greater desire to spend time in communion with the Lover of your soul.

• You will briefly state the four keys to hearing God’s voice.

Spiritual Intimacy — The Desire of God’s Heart

God’s Passion: Daily Walks with His Children

• The fall broke the fellowship
• God chosen Abraham “the friend of God” (Jas 2:23)

The Alternative to God’s Spoken Voice: God’s Laws

• Israel wanted to be governed by laws (Deut 5:22-31)
• God offered His voice (restoring fellowship) but Israelites turned down relationship and preferred the law.
• God continues to speak but only Moses wanted it
  • Moses got relationship
  • Israelites got the law
• David enters the scene, “I have found David… a man after Mine own heart” (Acts 13:22).

  At last there is someone who “gets it” — this is what I have always wanted — to love and to be loved!

• Jesus lived out a relationship with His Father
  • He saw His Father work (John 5:19-20, 30; 8:26, 28, 38)
  • Adam & Eve lived this way, daily conversation with God

Eternal Life is Intimacy With Almighty God

Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent (John 17:3)

• ginosko (to know):

  to be involved in an intimate, growing relationship

  • Gen 4:1 - “Adam knew Eve and she bore a son”
  • Jesus’ statement meant for us to have an intimate relationship with God
• yada (counter part to ginosko)
  • Loving fellowship time in prayer
  • Communing with our Lover, Jesus

Two Ways to Show Our Love for God

• Story of Mary & Martha (Luke 10:38-42)
  • Mary leave work and sits
  • Martha works

• Phil 3:10-11med to His death; in order that I may attain to the [outer] resurrection from the dead

  • Paul’s yearning to be intimate with Jesus

Do Not Refuse Him Who I Speaking

• Heb 12:18-26

  See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking for if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth…

• They did not want to hear the sound of His voice (rhema)
• Choosing to live with the law and become legalists or Pharisees
• Confess

  Lord, I choose relationship rather than rules. Please draw me into a full and complete relationship with You, Almighty God.

We Are Engaged and Getting Married

• Culmination of all of history is a wedding (Rev 19:6-7)
• Chosen to be the Bride of Christ

Romance With the King of Kings

• Learn to seek the Lord for Himself alone and not for the things He can give us
• See His power flowing out from us, touching hearts, renewing life, strength, working miracles

Come Wholly Unto Me

5 Aspects of wholeheartedness that God requires in our approach to Him:

1. Make Me your greatest treasure so I can give Myself to you (Mark 12:30)
2. Search for Me with your whole heart so I can reveal Myself to you (Jer 29:13)
3. Trust Me with your whole heart so I can guide your steps (Prov 3:5)
4. Praise Me with your whole heart so I can gift you with My presence (Ps 9:1)
5. Return to Me with your whole heart so I can be compassionate and bless you (Joel 2:12)

• God yearns to be your Friend
• Wants you to recognize His voice
• Spend intimate time with Him
• Offer your physical senses, faculty of your soul
• Move our of your box and into His flow
• Out of your mind and into your heart
• Out of rationalism into true spiritual Christianity

A Two-way Love Letter

• Start with:

  Jesus this is why I love You so much…

• Other’s share how they sense the Holy Spirit

  1. God’s voice comes often as a spontaneous thought
  2. The eyes of our hearts are used as God grants vision
  3. The writing of these things is often important

• From Hear His Voice by Douglas Wead

  • An impression came to me.
  • In my mind, I saw a girl sitting at the table...
  • I jotted down the thoughts.
• How does spontaneous revelation actually come? From Spiritual Gifts and You by Larry Tomczak

  1. Pictures

     God spoke to the prophets through pictures and visions

  2. Scripture

     God speaks through specific Bible verses that come to mind. He may impress a part of a verse, even a reference, upon your mind

  3. A word

     God may bring to your mind a specific word or a piece of advice that did not come as the result of a detailed thought process

Personal Application

• Choose a Gospel story that’s comfortable to you
• Picture the story
• Allow yourself to be present with Jesus
• Fix your gaze on Him
• Ask Him the question that is on your heart
• Don’t test it as you receive it
• Test it — share it with your spiritual advisors — after the flow is finished

1. Complete the Personal Application: A Two-way Love Letter on page 84 of 4 Keys to Hearing God’s Voice.

   This is why I love you so much…

   You have been my help and strength, the tower of my refuge, and my deliverer. You continued to shine even when I only wanted to hide in the shadow. You draw me with your tender mercies when I'm in despair of my soul.

   My mercies are new every morning. I continue to be faithful even when you're not and unable to. My promises are eternally sealed in the finished work of my Son on the cross for you. With lovingkindness, I have drawn you to me to show you more extraordinary things you'll find as you search the depths of my love.

2. On another day this week, for your journaling time complete the Personal Application at the end of Chapter 3 on page 92 of 4 Keys to Hearing God’s Voice.

Lord, what do You want to say to me?

I want to gather you into my arms and embrace you as a hen gathering her chicks under her wings. Don't be afraid. Come near me. I know your wayward heart and understand your soul's infirmities. Come near, for I am meek and lowly; you will find rest for your turbulent soul.

1. State five aspects of the wholeheartedness that God requires in our approach to Him, and discuss what they would require in your personal life.

   1. Make Me your greatest treasure so I can give Myself to you
   2. Search for Me with your whole heart so I can reveal Myself to you
   3. Trust Me with your whole heart so I can guide your steps
   4. Praise Me with your whole heart so I can gift you with My presence
   5. Return to Me with your whole heart so I can be compassionate and bless you

I must learn to recognize God's voice and seeking to spend intimate time with Him. It would require me to offer all my senses and moving out of my rational mind into the Holy Spirit's flow. To attain to these requirements it would require that I trust in the sincerity of my heart.

1. Journaling

   1. Write out John 17:3.

      And this is eternal life, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent

   2. Discuss what it means and ask the Lord through journaling how He wants to apply it to your life.

      It means to know (ginosko) or have an intimate relationship with God and communicate with him as a Lover in prayer (yada)

2. Law & Voice

   1. Discuss Virkler’s assertion that if one does not hear God’s voice, then their primary recourse is to live according to biblical laws (Gal. 5:18).

      Hearing God's voice comes with fire that requires putting to death the flesh desires and becoming alive in the Spirit. Those who turn down God's offer of a relationship revert to a life governed by the laws, commandments, statutes, and judgments.

   2. Have you tried living according to biblical laws? What has been the fruit in your life (Rom. 8:1, 2)?

      I have not tried to live by the laws; there are so many of them, and it is not prudent to take on that task. However, besides understanding God's redemptive work through Christ, because of the flesh's weakness, my heart's propensity is to go as far as possible on my own and then call God for help. The fruit has always been the foundation of peace in knowing Jesus loves me. My soul is purified by His essence every time I come near Him.