PREACHING OF 09 FEBRUARY 2025:
Pastor Antonio Russo
GROWING IN INTIMACY WITH GOD
In this worship service, we will talk about intimacy and how to grow in intimacy with God, and if we grasp this word, it will become another key in our prayer life, bringing great change. At the beginning of the year, as we already know and have often repeated, we receive words from heaven and make ourselves available to the Holy Spirit, declaring our desire for Him to speak to us and reveal Himself in our lives. He reveals deep truths to us, such as the principle of the "three-stranded cord" mentioned in Ecclesiastes, which makes us strong and stable and is not easily broken, a concept that Jesus spoke about at the beginning of His ministry. So, we have a new year ahead of us, and after thanking God for its beginning, we need His guidance as He unveils what He wants to accomplish in us and through us. That is why we are taking time to set ourselves apart and tell the Holy Spirit that we want to start the new year well, offering Him the first fruits of our time, our income, our fasting, and our consecration, because we know that this will mark the rest of the year. Let us remember what is written in the Epistle to the Romans: when the first fruit is consecrated to God, everything we have is under His protection, and the devil cannot touch our house, our work, our children, and every gift we have received, because everything is dedicated to Him. After highlighting the significance of the three-stranded cord, we enter the heart of the message by speaking about intimacy. We know that, unfortunately, many Christians do not have intimacy with God and do not understand its true meaning. In fact, about eighty percent of believers in the church do not experience this. This means that even though they have good fellowship with the Lord and share many things with Him, they lack intimacy, and that is why we want to delve deeper into this topic. We begin today and will continue next week to explore the true meaning of the word "intimacy," reflecting on what it means to have an authentic relationship with God and examining ourselves on this matter. We often use deep words without truly understanding them, and even we who speak about them sometimes struggle to grasp their real meaning because there is a lack of intimacy with God. That is why we need time to set ourselves apart, allow ourselves to be known by Him, and learn to know Him, because without intimacy, there is no true knowledge, and we cannot understand who God is unless we experience Him deeply. God created man to have intimacy with Him, to have an exclusive relationship, one that must not be contaminated by anything or anyone but is privileged with His presence. Why were man and woman created to have intimacy with God? Because within intimacy, there are fundamental elements. The first aspect is pleasure, because living in intimate communion with our Father and God generates joy and satisfaction. When we enter this dimension, we experience a deep pleasure that transforms our lives and causes us to advance from one level to another, filling us completely. When human beings do not experience intimacy with God, they live in deep dissatisfaction, as if they are always missing something, constantly running after what eludes them. Unfortunately, we know that this does not only concern those outside the church but also believers who do not live in intimacy with God. We have seen dissatisfied Christians, living a life without fullness, always searching for something that is missing, and all of this happens because the fundamental foundation is missing: intimacy with God. This shows us that neither money, nor social status, nor a husband, nor a wife, nor children can fill the emptiness that man feels in his heart; only the presence of God can satisfy this lack. Intimacy with God is a fundamental prerogative for human beings, created specifically for this purpose, while no other creature, whether animal or plant, can experience it, making our relationship with the Creator unique. Why are we on earth? Because God has a wonderful plan for our lives and wants us to experience a deep and intimate communion with His presence. Intimacy is the deepest level a human being can experience in a relationship, and it is the highest level we can reach in friendship, marriage, and worship. We are called to have intimacy with Christ and to live in deep communion with Him because without intimacy, there is no true knowledge of God, and we cannot live the fullness of our calling. Today, we want to take hold of this key and keep it in our hearts because intimacy with God transforms everything and takes us to the highest dimension of our relationship with Him. When we know God, we understand that the prince of this world is called Satan and that the disasters in the world are not God's responsibility but that of the devil and of human beings who give him authority to act and bring destruction into their lives and those around them. When we truly know who God is, we can say that this is not our Father. Many ask questions about God, but if we truly knew Him, if we knew His heart and His motivations, we would know that He is love, that He is compassion, that He is mercy, and that He is good. The devil stole authority from Adam, but Jesus won it back, and we Christians must use it. In recent weeks, we have said that we possess the keys: everything we open remains open, and everything we close remains closed. We have authority in our lives; we are children of God and have the power to allow or prevent certain things. When we have this revelation, we begin to walk in agreement with the Word of God, and this intimacy is born from our relationship with Him. Jesus gave His life so that we could recover our authority and return to intimacy with the Father. Many have only heard about God and judge Him based on what happens in the world, but those who know Him intimately understand that God is good and merciful. If we knew the Father, we would not speak wrongly about Him and would not be deceived. The knowledge of God is not based on books read or titles earned but on a relationship of intimacy with Him. Many know that God works miracles, but few experience them because there is a great difference between knowing a reality and living it. God wants us to experience His power and His miracles because healing is not an effort for Him but part of His supernatural nature, and when we know Him, we can receive them in our lives. There is a great difference between knowing the system in which God operates and being part of it, knowing where He dwells and abiding in Him, living in His presence and His will. So, to summarize, today, more value is placed on intellectual knowledge, from the Greek "noesis," rather than experiential knowledge, from the Greek "gnosis," because Western society is programmed this way. Only the mental aspect is developed, but since we are spirit, have a soul, and live in a body, we must learn to live according to our true spiritual nature. The spiritual world is more real than the physical one because the physical world will pass away, but the spiritual world is eternal. Everything we see in the natural world was first conceived in the spiritual world. We must experience God's presence without following the Western way of thinking that plans everything and denies space for experience. Today, we live in a society based on appearance, where image matters more than reality, but God calls us to be, not to appear, because He has created us wonderfully and desires that we live in the reality of His presence and truth. Therefore, we need to have experiences with God in our lives, practical experiences that are not learned from school books but from the Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit, who is God, who reveals God because He self-reveals and desires to be known. In fact, He told us that we will know Him if we desire a relationship of intimacy with Him by experiencing His presence.
John 5:19; 19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
The religious leaders spoke about God without knowing Him, but Jesus said, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). Who are the most dangerous people on earth? Those who want to know God only intellectually. These people block the movement of the Holy Spirit because they rely solely on reason, but through reason alone, God does not reveal Himself. If God says He is the God of miracles, let us believe it, and we will see miracles. Look at a child: if we tell them something, they believe it without doubting. Unfortunately, as we grow older, we become rational and closed off. Children, on the other hand, are open to the spiritual world, like blank notebooks on which we write the works and miracles of God so that they may know Him intimately and personally. Many people have had intellectual and mental knowledge many theologians, many good people but today, they find themselves in hell because they never had a true experience with God.
John 17:3; 3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
What is eternal life? Knowing God! Many think that eternal life simply means living without sickness or infirmity, dwelling in heaven in God’s presence, but the heart of eternal life is knowing God. What is the motivation behind our prayer life? It must be to know God, to know Jesus, and to know the Holy Spirit. When we fast, it is not to obtain a miracle but because we love knowing Him and desire to submit the flesh to receive God’s revelation in our lives, for fasting does not change God it changes us. Jesus spoke of the "Tameion," the secret place where God will give us everything we need, but our first motivation must be to know Him. Christianity is the only faith that requires an intimate relationship with its founder: Buddha remained in the tomb, Muhammad died, but Jesus rose again.
John 11:25; 25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
Do we believe it? How do we know if we are growing in our intimacy with God? How can we discern whether our communion with Him is advancing and developing in our personal relationship? The answer is found in three signs:
First sign: Observing His commandments.
1°John 2:3; 3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
Another translation expresses the same concept as follows: if we observe and obey His Word. This knowledge does not refer to rational understanding but to an intimate relationship with God. Many say they know God, but do they obey Him? Do they put into practice what is preached on Sunday, or do they examine and analyze it, taking only what suits them and discarding the rest? And with the Word of God, do they obey it, or do they question it? If you know Him, it means you obey Him, and if you are getting to know Him, it means you are learning to obey Him. Verse four of 1°John warns us about those who say they know God but do not keep His commandments, calling them liars in whom there is no truth:
Verse 4; 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
We have said that eighty percent of Christians do not know God intimately, even though He desires to reveal Himself and has already done so.
Second sign: Not sinning as a lifestyle.
In other words, we will not only observe His Word but also practice it because we obey Him and know what pleases Him.
1°John 3:6; 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
Here, we must stop and reflect on how many of us, after experiencing rebirth in Christ, have sinned. And if that is the case, what does it mean that we have not known Him? Absolutely not! At first glance, this verse might seem to contradict another passage of Scripture:
1°John 1:10; 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
It might seem like a contradiction: on one hand, we read that anyone who sins has neither seen God nor known Him, and on the other, that denying sin makes us liars. But this is not a real contradiction, it is only apparent, because the Bible explains itself with the Bible. The verse in 1°John that says anyone who abides in Him does not sin refers to a lifestyle of sin. In fact, a born-again Christian can sin, but they cannot live habitually in sin. To sin does not mean to be a sinner; for example, just because you drove a nail into wood one day, it does not make you a carpenter. A Christian can fall into sin, but their nature has changed: they are a new creation in Christ, and the old things have passed away. Before, we were a "sin factory," but today we are not anymore, because when we sin, our conscience speaks to us, and following the teachings of the Bible, we go to God to claim the blood of Jesus and receive forgiveness.
1°John 1:7; 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
How can we live a lifestyle of sin and claim to have communion with God? We cannot; we must immediately repent and ask for forgiveness from God. Those who know God no longer desire to sin because that desire was removed when we received Him into our lives.
Third sign: In His love.
1°John 4:8; 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
How can we say that we have known God and hate our brother or sister? If we hate our brother, the Bible says that we have not known God, because God is love, and it is something powerful. Observing His Word, living without sin as a lifestyle, and walking in love are not the result of our effort, but the outcome of our intimacy with God, because the more we know Him, the more His love transforms our life.
Matthew 7:22-23; 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
God is more interested in our intimacy with Him than in the works we do for Him. We can preach, prophesy, perform miracles, but if we don’t have an intimate relationship with God, it won’t benefit us. God calls us to know Him deeply, to walk with Him, to live in His presence every day. Our spiritual growth is measured by our obedience, our turning away from sin, and our ability to love. If these things are present in our lives, then we are truly getting to know God, but do we really want to know Him, knowing that behind all of this there are trials, purification, and a deep change that calls us to deny ourselves to live according to the Spirit?
