Hello, and welcome
to The Missing Peace.
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My name is Jason Bradley.
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Our primary
host for this program
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is Dr. Nadine Joseph-Collins.
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Dr. Nadine hails from
the island of Saint Lucia,
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and prayer is her passion.
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She has been empowering
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the prayer lives of
people around the globe.
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Dr. Nadine is
an author, speaker,
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and an affiliate of
SanareLife Ministries
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where she works alongside
her husband Nyse Collins.
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Dr. Nadine is going
to share information
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to make our prayer lives go wow.
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What are gonna talk
about today, Nadine?
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Today, we are going
to talk about prayer
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as intimacy with God.
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Hmm, prayer as
intimacy with God.
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If you're interested in somebody
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on a personal level,
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I'm sure you
would not want to be
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the acquaintance forever, right?
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No.
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And if you're
interested in having that person
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in your life for a lifetime,
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you'd want to take that
relationship to another level?
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Absolutely.
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The thing is, when
we're talking about
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our prayer lives,
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we're looking at our
relationship with God.
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Many of us are contented just
to probably be His acquaintance
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or to just be His friend,
maybe even His close friend,
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but God desires to have
an intimate relationship
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with each of us.
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Now the thing is
when we speak about
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taking the
relationship to the next level
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or we talk about intimacy,
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it's usually associated
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with some negative
connotations, right?
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We usually look at it in ways
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relating to
just things like sex,
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and I believe that's just
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because of our
distorted thinking.
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But apart from,
let's say marriage
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in the context of intimacy,
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it's usually just
about familiarity,
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togetherness, friendliness,
warmth, and affection.
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That's actually the definition
you'll get if you google it.
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So you will get something
that probably looks like,
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something in the
context of marriage,
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but you will get
this kind of thing
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that just means that
you are really familiar with
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or very friendly with somebody.
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So this is what
intimacy is really about,
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that kind of exclusivity.
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And God is looking for
that type of relationship
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with each of us.
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He doesn't just
want the friendship part.
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He just wants us to take that
relationship to another level
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because when you are
intimate with someone,
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there are a lot of
benefits that come with it.
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Or you guys probably would
relate on a different level.
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So yes,
friendships are probably good,
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I've been hearing.
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You know, the
relationships that we have
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with our intimate
partners and so on
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are different to
the relationships
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we have with our friends,
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and if you just
say, our acquaintances.
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And that's really what
we want to talk about today,
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prayer as intimacy with God.
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the Bible says,
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"What God has joined
together, let no man separate."
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And when I look at that
text, it reminds me of intimacy.
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It kind of gives the picture
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of two people
glued together so close,
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that the Bible says,
"Let no man separate."
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So if that's the
context of intimacy,
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it means that God wants
us to be with Him that close
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that nothing can
separate us, right?
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Yeah.
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And one of the songs I
think that really highlighted
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that sort of intimacy
is, "Nothing Between."
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You know that song,
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"Nothing Between My
Soul and The Savior"?
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I've heard it before,
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but I'm not
familiar with the words.
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The words are powerful.
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It says, "Naught of
this world's delusive dream,
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I have denounced
all sinful pleasure.
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Jesus is mine,
there's nothing between."
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One of the other verses said,
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"Nothing between
my soul and the Savior
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so that His
blessed face may be seen.
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Nothing prevented
the least of His favor,
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keep that way clear.
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Let nothing between."
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And it goes on for
about three more verses.
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But some of the
things that it highlights
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is that you do not
want anything to come
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between you and God,
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not worldly
pleasures, not habits of life,
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even though they seem harmless.
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Wow, those are
beautiful words. Yes.
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And the other three
verses continue to say,
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"not pride, not
self, not friends,
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not the hard trials of life,
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even though the
whole world is against you,
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you do not want to let anything
get in between you and God."
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Yes.
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And it's like, the other words
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actually would
give the indication
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that you would do
anything to see the face of God,
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the face of that love,
right, because He's your all.
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Even though it
cost you tribulation,
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you resolve,
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it says in one of the verses,
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"you resolve,
there's nothing between
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because you will
watch with prayer
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and much self-denial."
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That's a lot of
intimacy in just one song.
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Absolutely.
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You know, something that
I love that Ellen White says
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and I don't
remember where it's from,
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but I remember her saying that,
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"When we get to heaven,
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we'll say that
heaven was cheap enough."
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Wow. It was cheap enough.
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You know, there's nothing
that we should be holding on to
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here on this earth
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that will prevent us
from going to heaven.
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And seeing Jesus
face to face. Exactly.
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And so this song,
"Nothing Between,"
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really highlights that,
that whole point of prayer
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as intimacy with God.
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Because if we
take that approach,
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we realize nothing
is really worth that.
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And this song was a song of...
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the favorite song of
one of my deceased aunts.
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And my grandmother
also loved that song.
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And one of the things
she used to say frequently,
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and I didn't
understand it until now
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that I am
continuing to grow in Christ,
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she used to say she felt
like she was His only child.
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Like, you know, it
was just Him and her.
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And another
friend of mine Debbie,
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we used to be prayer partners.
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When we pray,
she would say to God,
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"Lord, draw me close to You.
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Closer than You would allow
any human being to get to You."
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And so that, at the time,
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I didn't realize was really
intimacy she was talking about,
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you know, because
that sort of closeness,
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that glue that we
spoke about there in Mark,
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it's like, nothing
will separate you from God.
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Yes.
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And so that has
become one of my resolutions
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that I will not allow
anybody, any situation
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to come between me and my God
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because you want
to be so close to Him
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that nothing can
really separate you from Him.
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Absolutely.
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And, you know, folks
have been very ambitious.
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And one of my friends,
some time when he was preaching
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and when I did
some research online,
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I found that other
people use a phrase intimacy
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is really saying, "Into me see."
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So in to me you see.
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And even in an article I
read in the Huffington Post,
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it was really speaking
about that into me see,
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referring to
intimacy saying that,
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"When you are
intimate with someone,
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you are literally opening
yourself to be vulnerable,
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you are allowing that person
to see all of your weaknesses,
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you are letting go
of all of your defenses
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and that really
is what intimacy is."
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Now if we look at that
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in context of our
relationship with God,
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it's really about just
opening up ourselves to Him.
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Yes.
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It's really about
just sharing with Him.
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Yes, He knows.
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But the fact that
you actually take time
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to share these things with Him,
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it means that you are
desiring that time with Him,
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you are desiring
your relationship.
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You want Him to see that
you are allowing yourselves
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to be
vulnerable in His presence.
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And so if our
intimacy with human beings
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gives that connotation,
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how much more important
it is for us to be able
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to open up ourselves to God
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who can really attend
on to all of these things
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that are actually
bothering us sometimes?
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Absolutely.
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You know, one thing that I think
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truly shows God's intimacy
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is the fact that Jesus died
for each and every one of us.
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The fact that He
sacrificed His life
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and spared no expense
to save you, to save me,
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to save, you know, He wants...
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the end game is
for us to be saved...
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And to be face to face with Him.
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I think that is the ultimate
example of love and intimacy
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and how, I
believe, it's in Revelation
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how it talks about
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how Christ is coming
back for a purified bride.
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Yes, exactly.
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Because He really
wants that intimacy with us,
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and I think, in
our prayer lives,
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he's saying, "I
want you to see into Me."
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So in our relationships on earth
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we say into me you see.
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But God is saying, "I
want you to see into Me.
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That's how intimate
I want to get with you
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because I already know you,
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but I want you
to get to know Me."
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You see, and so He's
really pushing the button there
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because He wants us to recognize
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that our prayer
lives is really about
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having that intimate
relationship with Him.
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In The Privilege of Prayer
chapter 11, Ellen White says,
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"Through nature and revelation,
through His providence
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and by the
influence of His Spirit,
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God speaks to us."
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But these things are not enough.
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She says, "We need also to
pour out our hearts to Him.
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In order to have a
spiritual life and energy,
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we must
actually have intercourse
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with our Heavenly Father."
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That blew me away when I read it
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because every time you
hear that word intercourse,
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it's always in the
context of something else.
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But she's saying that
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yes, He's going to reveal
Himself to us through nature,
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yes, the Spirit
will influence us,
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yes, God will speak to us,
00:10:08.84\00:10:10.17
but these things are not enough.
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We need to pour
ourselves out to Him.
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But also in order to have
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spiritual energy
and our spiritual life,
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we must have intercourse
with our Heavenly Father.
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She's not saying that
we're actually literally having
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the S-E-X with God.
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She's saying that we need
to be so intimate with God
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that we pour out
our hearts to Him,
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and we receive from Him so much
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that we are revived spiritually.
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You know, 'cause
she's taking about
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the spiritual life and energy
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and that only comes from having
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that deep sort of
relationship with God.
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So it shows here, He
really wants to me personal.
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It's really
about a personal thing.
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Your relationship with Him
00:10:50.78\00:10:52.11
is not dependent
upon somebody else.
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Nobody else can be that personal
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with God for you but you.
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Yeah. You see?
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Which is amazing
because you start thinking about
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how many people
there are in the world,
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but yeah, God takes
time for each one of us.
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We're going to get there.
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Yes, it's like
we're the only ones
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that He's talking to.
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Yes.
00:11:12.17\00:11:13.50
And, you know,
we're going to get to that
00:11:13.54\00:11:14.87
and I remember having a
conversation with my mom.
00:11:14.90\00:11:17.11
She's not a devout
Christian or anything.
00:11:17.14\00:11:19.54
But I believe through prayer,
00:11:19.57\00:11:21.01
you know, I've been
praying for and I...
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we reached a point
where I was able to have
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a really deep conversation
with her about her and God.
00:11:24.25\00:11:27.28
And I was sharing with
her, while I was reading a book,
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I read some of what I
was reading in the book.
00:11:30.45\00:11:32.32
Telling her, you
know, God wants to do
00:11:32.35\00:11:33.76
more for you, mommy, and so on.
00:11:33.79\00:11:36.16
And she said the most
innocent or childlike thing
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I had not thought
about it, she said to me,
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"My girl, God has so
many of us to take care of.
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He has so many people
to answer to their prayers
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and to bless and to heal,
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and so whatever He does
for me, I'm fine with it."
00:11:51.91\00:11:55.84
And I thought to myself,
"Wow," and I was saying to her
00:11:55.88\00:11:58.61
and I realize I
couldn't push it on her.
00:11:58.65\00:12:00.25
My idea is that He wants
to do for you personally.
00:12:00.28\00:12:05.29
There's nobody that
really that's going to come
00:12:05.32\00:12:07.49
between the two of you,
00:12:07.52\00:12:08.86
or take your place, or
whatever the case may be,
00:12:08.89\00:12:10.79
but in her own childlike faith,
00:12:10.83\00:12:12.93
she's seen that he
has 7.5 billion children,
00:12:12.96\00:12:16.23
I'm one of them and I'm
going to just stand in line,
00:12:16.26\00:12:18.57
and, you know, just take
what I can get, and so on.
00:12:18.60\00:12:23.04
But the thing is to
take our relationship
00:12:23.07\00:12:24.67
to the next level with God,
00:12:24.71\00:12:26.74
we will have to look at,
00:12:26.78\00:12:28.11
you know, getting to
the point of understanding
00:12:28.14\00:12:31.35
that we are really the
only persons in God's eyes.
00:12:31.38\00:12:35.62
And I want to share something
00:12:35.65\00:12:36.99
really that something
that's really new to me
00:12:37.02\00:12:40.19
in understanding the intimacy
part of it is that God...
00:12:40.22\00:12:45.59
one of the first things
that God created was time.
00:12:45.63\00:12:49.06
One of the first
gifts that He has given us
00:12:49.10\00:12:51.67
was actually time
00:12:51.70\00:12:53.03
because He gave us the Sabbath,
00:12:53.07\00:12:54.57
He gave us morning and
evening, He gave us time.
00:12:54.60\00:12:57.24
The first thing that He did
00:12:57.27\00:12:58.61
when He redeemed
the children of Israel
00:12:58.64\00:13:00.81
was also to give them time back.
00:13:00.84\00:13:03.55
So intimacy spends
on the currency of time.
00:13:03.58\00:13:08.68
That's deep.
00:13:08.72\00:13:10.05
The only way we can maintain
00:13:10.09\00:13:11.42
an intimate
relationship with anybody
00:13:11.45\00:13:15.29
is if we spend
quality time with them.
00:13:15.32\00:13:17.63
Absolutely.
00:13:17.66\00:13:18.99
And the only way we can maintain
00:13:19.03\00:13:20.36
an intimate
relationship with God
00:13:20.40\00:13:22.20
is if we spend time with God.
00:13:22.23\00:13:24.73
Absolutely.
00:13:24.77\00:13:26.10
And the only way we
end up trusting somebody
00:13:26.13\00:13:29.80
is if we spend time with them.
00:13:29.84\00:13:31.27
Exactly.
00:13:31.31\00:13:32.64
And sadly, the enemy
has crowded our space
00:13:32.67\00:13:35.91
to eat away at our time.
00:13:35.94\00:13:40.32
All the
distractions, the entertainment.
00:13:40.35\00:13:43.72
Yes, everything.
00:13:43.75\00:13:45.52
And because the
lack of spending time,
00:13:45.55\00:13:49.82
quality time
with our loved ones,
00:13:49.86\00:13:51.46
with our
spouses, with our friends,
00:13:51.49\00:13:54.36
eating away at
our relationships,
00:13:54.40\00:13:56.16
destroying our relationships,
00:13:56.20\00:13:58.43
it's also doing the same thing
in our relationship with God
00:13:58.47\00:14:02.30
because many of us don't realize
00:14:02.34\00:14:04.44
that if we do not invest
time in getting to know God,
00:14:04.47\00:14:08.68
if we're not investing time
in getting to know His voice,
00:14:08.71\00:14:11.25
knowing the voice of His Spirit,
00:14:11.28\00:14:13.01
if we do not spend enough
time with Him, to grow in Him,
00:14:13.05\00:14:19.79
we are actually
damaging our own selves
00:14:19.82\00:14:22.29
and destroying our
relationship with Him,
00:14:22.32\00:14:24.19
just as if it was
another relationship
00:14:24.23\00:14:27.26
that we would have had.
00:14:27.30\00:14:28.63
So God desires
intimacy with each of us so much
00:14:28.66\00:14:33.94
that we will go to the point
00:14:33.97\00:14:35.30
that you mentioned
earlier that He died.
00:14:35.34\00:14:37.31
Yes.
00:14:37.34\00:14:38.67
If He had to die for 1
out of 1.7 billion people,
00:14:38.71\00:14:42.64
He would have done it.
00:14:42.68\00:14:44.05
That is love.
00:14:44.08\00:14:45.75
That speaks to the fact
that He really wants to have
00:14:45.78\00:14:49.25
that deep personal
relationship with each of us.
00:14:49.28\00:14:53.52
And the good thing about it
00:14:53.56\00:14:55.52
is that we do not have to worry
about competing with anyone
00:14:55.56\00:14:58.49
for His time.
00:14:58.53\00:15:00.23
We don't have to compete
if anyone for His attention,
00:15:00.26\00:15:03.06
for His love, for
answers to our prayers,
00:15:03.10\00:15:05.57
and anything like that.
00:15:05.60\00:15:07.34
Out of the 7.5
billion people in the world,
00:15:07.37\00:15:10.51
He deals with each of us
as if we were the only one.
00:15:10.54\00:15:14.24
Let me ask you this question.
00:15:14.28\00:15:15.94
What would you say to
somebody who might say,
00:15:15.98\00:15:19.48
"Well, I don't love God
or I don't think I love God"?
00:15:19.51\00:15:24.35
The thing is, whether you
love Him or not, He loves you.
00:15:24.39\00:15:27.49
He is that relentless
lover. He died for you.
00:15:27.52\00:15:29.89
He has demonstrated already
by His sacrifice on the cross
00:15:29.92\00:15:33.50
that you mean everything to Him.
00:15:33.53\00:15:35.36
So even though you do
not acknowledge that love,
00:15:35.40\00:15:37.67
even though you do not
think that you love Him back,
00:15:37.70\00:15:40.20
He loves you.
00:15:40.24\00:15:41.57
And love awakens
love and that's the thing,
00:15:41.60\00:15:45.34
it's like when you
really look at Christ's life
00:15:45.37\00:15:48.18
and you look at the
things that he went through,
00:15:48.21\00:15:51.18
even being perfect sinless
00:15:51.21\00:15:54.75
and He went through life
00:15:54.78\00:15:56.12
and they still just
persecuted and mistreated Him
00:15:56.15\00:15:58.59
the whole way through,
00:15:58.62\00:16:00.36
and He took all that for us.
00:16:00.39\00:16:02.79
How can you not love Him?
00:16:02.82\00:16:04.33
You see the thing is
it's easier for us to see
00:16:04.36\00:16:06.53
because we are
oriented to understanding Him.
00:16:06.56\00:16:09.63
And so for other people,
00:16:09.66\00:16:11.00
they do not
understand that sacrifice.
00:16:11.03\00:16:12.90
And I get to understand more
00:16:12.93\00:16:15.07
that we cannot
even fault them for it
00:16:15.10\00:16:16.67
because they just don't
understand the type of love
00:16:16.71\00:16:19.04
that God has for them.
00:16:19.07\00:16:21.11
Our goal is to pray that one day
00:16:21.14\00:16:23.98
they could be
awakened to understand,
00:16:24.01\00:16:25.71
"Hey, this person did
such a sacrifice for you."
00:16:25.75\00:16:28.48
Absolutely.
00:16:28.52\00:16:29.85
And I think that
too, we need to pray
00:16:29.88\00:16:32.59
that the Holy Spirit
will fill us and help us
00:16:32.62\00:16:35.99
to give an accurate
representation of Christ
00:16:36.02\00:16:38.46
and reflect Christ
love to other people
00:16:38.49\00:16:41.03
because sometimes, you
know, even us, as Christians,
00:16:41.06\00:16:45.10
we can misrepresent God.
00:16:45.13\00:16:47.97
You know, we
cannot show the love
00:16:48.00\00:16:51.24
that He pours out
and instills in us.
00:16:51.27\00:16:54.21
We need to
reflect His true character
00:16:54.24\00:16:57.41
to all those that
we come in contact with
00:16:57.45\00:16:59.18
so they can see God in us.
00:16:59.21\00:17:01.78
And the only way we
could actually reflect Him
00:17:01.82\00:17:05.79
is if we spend time with Him.
00:17:05.82\00:17:07.92
We may be going to
church that doesn't mean
00:17:07.96\00:17:10.29
that we have a
personal relationship with Him.
00:17:10.33\00:17:12.79
Because the Bible says,
00:17:12.83\00:17:14.16
"By beholding,
we become changed."
00:17:14.20\00:17:15.73
And if we are beholding Jesus,
00:17:15.76\00:17:17.97
if we are in that
deep relationship with Him,
00:17:18.00\00:17:20.70
if we are in that
intimate relationship with Him,
00:17:20.74\00:17:22.50
naturally, when others interact
with us, they will see Him
00:17:22.54\00:17:26.47
because we would
be so filled with Him,
00:17:26.51\00:17:28.41
we would have
been so much like Him.
00:17:28.44\00:17:29.98
You know, they say,
"Show me your friends
00:17:30.01\00:17:31.95
and I'll tell you who you are."
00:17:31.98\00:17:33.31
So if He is our friend and
if we are more than friends
00:17:33.35\00:17:36.05
and we are intimate,
00:17:36.08\00:17:37.42
it means that we are
becoming more and more alike.
00:17:37.45\00:17:39.55
So when people see
you, they see Jesus
00:17:39.59\00:17:42.36
because you are reflecting Him
00:17:42.39\00:17:43.89
because you are spending
so much time in His presence.
00:17:43.93\00:17:46.39
Remember Moses?
00:17:46.43\00:17:47.76
When he came from
spending time with God,
00:17:47.80\00:17:49.66
when he came down,
00:17:49.70\00:17:51.33
the people
couldn't even see his face.
00:17:51.37\00:17:53.77
Because the glory of
God was shining so much.
00:17:53.80\00:17:57.07
Yes. You know?
00:17:57.11\00:17:58.44
And I'm glad that you
brought up by beholding,
00:17:58.47\00:17:59.81
you become changed
00:17:59.84\00:18:01.51
because that also works
on the opposite way as well.
00:18:01.54\00:18:06.51
By beholding we become changed,
00:18:06.55\00:18:08.08
and if you're
beholding the wrong things,
00:18:08.12\00:18:10.55
you're going to put out poison.
00:18:10.59\00:18:12.92
Right, so now we
stick to the intimacy.
00:18:12.95\00:18:15.36
So Moses was
intimate with Him as well,
00:18:15.39\00:18:17.16
that's why the glory
of God could have been
00:18:17.19\00:18:19.46
emanating from Him.
00:18:19.49\00:18:21.03
You see, and the point I
want us to stress on here
00:18:21.06\00:18:23.73
is the fact that we
do not have to contend
00:18:23.77\00:18:25.93
with anybody else
for God's attention
00:18:25.97\00:18:29.17
because many lovers and
spouses and even children
00:18:29.20\00:18:32.57
and even parents
sometimes feel neglected,
00:18:32.61\00:18:35.31
feel abandoned,
00:18:35.34\00:18:36.68
feel that they have to contend
00:18:36.71\00:18:38.61
with other people in their lives
00:18:38.65\00:18:41.08
for the
attention of a loved one.
00:18:41.12\00:18:43.35
But with God,
that's not the case.
00:18:43.39\00:18:44.82
And I sometimes share with folks
00:18:44.85\00:18:47.19
that He is the only man
00:18:47.22\00:18:48.56
that I don't mind
sharing with the world
00:18:48.59\00:18:51.39
because I know
that my time with Him
00:18:51.43\00:18:54.86
does not affect
your time with Him.
00:18:54.90\00:18:57.57
In fact, for God,
00:18:57.60\00:18:59.80
you are first in line
on your line all the time.
00:18:59.83\00:19:03.30
That's beautiful.
Say that, say that again.
00:19:03.34\00:19:05.47
You are first in line,
on your line, all the time.
00:19:05.51\00:19:10.18
It means you do not
have to take a number.
00:19:10.21\00:19:12.95
You know, you go
to a doctor's office,
00:19:12.98\00:19:14.72
you have to take a number
and sit to wait for your turn.
00:19:14.75\00:19:17.12
With Him, you are
first in line, on your line,
00:19:17.15\00:19:19.75
all the time.
00:19:19.79\00:19:21.12
So it doesn't matter
what time you call on God,
00:19:21.16\00:19:23.16
He will answer you
00:19:23.19\00:19:25.76
because you are His
most prized possession,
00:19:25.79\00:19:28.60
you are the apple of His eye.
00:19:28.63\00:19:30.23
I say if He had a fridge,
your face would be on it.
00:19:30.27\00:19:34.20
You know, we put
these little pictures,
00:19:34.24\00:19:36.30
magnet pictures on it.
00:19:36.34\00:19:38.31
If you had a picture frame,
00:19:38.34\00:19:39.97
your face would be
in that picture frame.
00:19:40.01\00:19:42.44
If He had a wallet,
when he opened that wallet,
00:19:42.48\00:19:46.25
your face would be
what would be on the inside.
00:19:46.28\00:19:48.92
Nice.
00:19:48.95\00:19:50.29
And if He had a
tattoo on His hands,
00:19:50.32\00:19:52.79
it would be your face.
00:19:52.82\00:19:54.56
The image of your
face would be on His hand
00:19:54.59\00:19:57.99
because He wants to let you
know that you are my priority.
00:19:58.03\00:20:00.93
"I love you. I carry
you everywhere I go."
00:20:00.96\00:20:03.20
If he had a locket,
when He opens that locket,
00:20:03.23\00:20:05.77
your picture
would be on the inside.
00:20:05.80\00:20:07.50
Now just imagine for each of us,
00:20:07.54\00:20:09.74
God is that personal.
00:20:09.77\00:20:11.81
Wow.
00:20:11.84\00:20:13.17
Because He wants us
to really understand
00:20:13.21\00:20:15.91
that He wants to
be intimate with us,
00:20:15.94\00:20:17.45
He wants to be
that close with us,
00:20:17.48\00:20:19.18
He desires
intimacy for us so much
00:20:19.21\00:20:21.85
that His entire
world revolves around us.
00:20:21.88\00:20:24.72
I'm sure if you met
a guy or even a girl
00:20:24.75\00:20:26.89
who had the
person that they love,
00:20:26.92\00:20:30.33
whether the girl or the
guy picture in the locket,
00:20:30.36\00:20:33.40
in the wallet, in
their purse, on the fridge.
00:20:33.43\00:20:35.73
We'd say, "You're obsessed,"
00:20:35.76\00:20:37.47
when He is obsessed about
us, each of us, personally.
00:20:37.50\00:20:41.90
So we don't have to
contend or compete with anybody
00:20:41.94\00:20:45.11
for His attention
00:20:45.14\00:20:46.74
and His ability to
listen to my prayers,
00:20:46.78\00:20:49.58
His ability to answer my prayers
00:20:49.61\00:20:51.88
does not prevent Him
from answering your prayers
00:20:51.91\00:20:54.55
or listening to
you when you call.
00:20:54.58\00:20:55.92
Very true.
00:20:55.95\00:20:57.29
And so that's the reason why
we do not need to be jealous.
00:20:57.32\00:21:00.52
We do not need to be angry.
00:21:00.56\00:21:02.39
We do not need to feel slighted
00:21:02.42\00:21:03.89
when we see God
blessing other people
00:21:03.93\00:21:06.16
because God blessing them
or God answering their prayers
00:21:06.19\00:21:09.36
is no indication of what
God will do in your life.
00:21:09.40\00:21:13.13
And so the truth is
00:21:13.17\00:21:14.70
if we really have to examine
ourselves on a deeper level,
00:21:14.74\00:21:17.81
if we are not getting
answers to our prayers,
00:21:17.84\00:21:20.08
if we are not feeling like
we are the apple of God's eye,
00:21:20.11\00:21:22.88
we need to check ourselves
00:21:22.91\00:21:24.65
because for each of us
00:21:24.68\00:21:26.01
He has made the
very same sacrifice,
00:21:26.05\00:21:27.45
and for each of us He is
there available just the same.
00:21:27.48\00:21:31.85
And so the problem is
really with us recognizing
00:21:31.89\00:21:34.62
that we need to
really put ourselves in line,
00:21:34.66\00:21:37.23
we need to really access Him
00:21:37.26\00:21:39.06
or take advantage of the
access that He has given us
00:21:39.09\00:21:42.56
to have that sort of
intimate relationship with Him.
00:21:42.60\00:21:46.23
Yeah, absolutely.
00:21:46.27\00:21:47.60
I mean, there's
people on this earth
00:21:47.64\00:21:49.07
that people would be like,
00:21:49.10\00:21:50.77
"Oh, If I could talk to
some famous rich person,"
00:21:50.81\00:21:56.34
they would go talk to them.
00:21:56.38\00:21:58.38
But we have access to
the Creator of the universe.
00:21:58.41\00:22:01.52
Yes. And in Romans 8:35,
38-39, he assures us of that.
00:22:01.55\00:22:07.76
There's a text that says,
00:22:07.79\00:22:10.19
"Nothing shall separate
us from the love of God."
00:22:10.23\00:22:11.56
I love that text so much
00:22:11.59\00:22:12.99
because it demonstrates
that closeness or intimacy.
00:22:13.03\00:22:15.80
It says, "Who shall
separate us, shall tribulation,
00:22:15.83\00:22:19.20
shall distress,
persecution, famine, nakedness,
00:22:19.23\00:22:23.00
danger or sword?"
00:22:23.04\00:22:24.87
He says, "For I
am sure not death,
00:22:24.91\00:22:28.68
nor life, nor angels, nor
rulers, nor things present,
00:22:28.71\00:22:32.11
nor things to come, nor
powers, nor height, nor depth."
00:22:32.15\00:22:35.72
You hear all of that stuff,
"Not anything else in creation
00:22:35.75\00:22:40.29
will be able to separate
us from the love of God."
00:22:40.32\00:22:45.09
Could you imagine that?
00:22:45.13\00:22:46.46
I added to that one more. Okay.
00:22:46.49\00:22:48.96
I added not even sin.
00:22:49.00\00:22:52.67
Not even sin.
00:22:52.70\00:22:54.04
It's reassuring to know
that nothing can separate us
00:22:54.07\00:22:57.21
from God's love.
00:22:57.24\00:22:58.57
Amen.
00:22:58.61\00:22:59.94
You see the thing is, you know,
one of the greatest examples
00:22:59.97\00:23:02.88
of intimacy in the
Bible, in my opinion,
00:23:02.91\00:23:07.82
is found in Elijah's
story in 1 Kings verse 19.
00:23:07.85\00:23:12.42
You see that
experience to me reveals
00:23:12.45\00:23:15.32
what an intimate relationship
with God actually works like.
00:23:15.36\00:23:18.56
You remember that story?
00:23:18.59\00:23:20.36
When Elijah was in that cave
because he was running away?
00:23:20.40\00:23:24.10
He was trying to
hide himself and God...
00:23:24.13\00:23:27.90
in fact, he was there
frustrated, he was alone.
00:23:27.94\00:23:30.57
I don't know for how
long he was in the cave
00:23:30.61\00:23:33.01
but he decided he
was going to live there,
00:23:33.04\00:23:35.51
and God visited Elijah.
00:23:35.54\00:23:40.55
Now for God to visit you,
00:23:40.58\00:23:44.29
that means that you
guys have a relationship.
00:23:44.32\00:23:48.06
You guys have to
at least be friends.
00:23:48.09\00:23:50.76
And God says to Elijah,
"What are you doing here?"
00:23:50.79\00:23:57.23
Elijah begins
to complain to God.
00:23:57.27\00:23:59.57
He says to God. "You know what?
00:23:59.60\00:24:02.44
All of the prophets were
killed and I'm the only one left
00:24:02.47\00:24:05.77
and now they
want to kill me too."
00:24:05.81\00:24:07.51
So he's telling God
that's why he was here.
00:24:07.54\00:24:09.71
God says to Elijah,
"You know something?
00:24:09.74\00:24:11.31
I want you to go to the mouth
of the cave so you can see Me
00:24:11.35\00:24:15.22
pass by, being obedient."
00:24:15.25\00:24:19.02
Now hear what, being obedient.
00:24:19.05\00:24:20.69
We spoke about
obedience as a response to pray.
00:24:20.72\00:24:24.16
So being obedient, Elijah got up
00:24:24.19\00:24:28.00
and began to walk to
the mouth of the cave.
00:24:28.03\00:24:30.77
But the Bible says that
before he could reach it,
00:24:30.80\00:24:33.00
he heard thunder.
00:24:33.03\00:24:34.97
Before he could reach it,
00:24:35.00\00:24:36.34
he began to hear the wind
hitting on the mountainside.
00:24:36.37\00:24:39.77
Before he could reach it,
00:24:39.81\00:24:41.14
then shattering
rocks began to fall.
00:24:41.18\00:24:43.01
So you could imagine
Elijah walk in there,
00:24:43.04\00:24:46.72
the earth began to quake,
so now this cave is shaking,
00:24:46.75\00:24:50.45
rocks are falling,
lightning, thunder,
00:24:50.49\00:24:53.12
everything is happening
00:24:53.15\00:24:54.56
while he is trying to
get to the mouth of the cave
00:24:54.59\00:24:57.19
where God said, "I
want you to meet Me there."
00:24:57.23\00:25:02.16
He heard a lot of wind.
00:25:02.20\00:25:04.13
All of these
things are happening,
00:25:04.17\00:25:05.77
but God said I want
you to meet Me there.
00:25:05.80\00:25:08.00
I just want to put
in something quickly.
00:25:08.04\00:25:09.90
There are many
times when God actually
00:25:09.94\00:25:11.31
instructs us to do things
00:25:11.34\00:25:13.88
but we get so many obstacles.
00:25:13.91\00:25:16.14
We have the thunder,
we have the lightning,
00:25:16.18\00:25:18.51
we have the shaking,
we have the earthquake,
00:25:18.55\00:25:20.85
we have the strong winds
00:25:20.88\00:25:22.22
and we believe that
we're in the wrong direction
00:25:22.25\00:25:24.35
because we are
getting these obstacles,
00:25:24.39\00:25:26.39
but not when in Elijah's story,
God says, "Meet me there."
00:25:26.42\00:25:30.23
But all of these
things are happening
00:25:30.26\00:25:32.09
while he's on his way to do
what God has asked him to do.
00:25:32.13\00:25:36.30
It takes a lot of faith.
00:25:36.33\00:25:37.93
So when Elijah was walking
to the cave and he got finally,
00:25:37.97\00:25:42.44
you can imagine him
trying to stabilize himself,
00:25:42.47\00:25:45.44
finally reached
the mouth of the cave,
00:25:45.47\00:25:47.51
the Bible says,
in a gentle voice...
00:25:47.54\00:25:51.01
"In a gentle
voice God asked Elijah,"
00:25:51.05\00:25:54.58
the very same question.
00:25:54.62\00:25:56.72
"What are you doing here?"
00:25:56.75\00:25:59.42
Elijah goes again and
repeats the entire story to God.
00:25:59.45\00:26:04.66
He says, "They
killed all the prophets
00:26:04.69\00:26:07.93
and I'm the only one left."
00:26:07.96\00:26:09.66
He repeated the same story.
00:26:09.70\00:26:11.60
And the Bible says, "In
a whisper, in a whisper,
00:26:11.63\00:26:16.94
God spoke to
Elijah and Elijah heard."
00:26:16.97\00:26:20.28
Now just imagine
all of that going on,
00:26:20.31\00:26:22.68
but God whispers to
Elijah and Elijah heard.
00:26:22.71\00:26:26.35
It means that God and Elijah
had to be in close proximity
00:26:26.38\00:26:30.39
because you'd have
never heard of somebody
00:26:30.42\00:26:33.32
whispering a
secret from across a room.
00:26:33.36\00:26:36.93
So in order for you
to hear the whisper,
00:26:36.96\00:26:38.96
you need to be pretty close
00:26:38.99\00:26:40.43
and that usually
comes with intimacy.
00:26:40.46\00:26:43.63
And so I really want
to just leave a verse
00:26:43.67\00:26:46.13
today that God really wants
us to be intimate with Him.
00:26:46.17\00:26:50.34
He wants us to
be so close to Him
00:26:50.37\00:26:52.24
that nothing can
come between us and Him.
00:26:52.27\00:26:54.98
And that is what intimacy does.
00:26:55.01\00:26:56.88
He wants to answer
even before we call
00:26:56.91\00:26:58.98
because He is so
anxious to please us.
00:26:59.01\00:27:01.92
And God wants us
to embrace the thought
00:27:01.95\00:27:04.62
that He really desires
to be that close to us.
00:27:04.65\00:27:08.39
He doesn't want a long-distance
relationship with us.
00:27:08.42\00:27:11.53
So we can say a prayer.
00:27:11.56\00:27:12.89
Father, thank you
for having that desire
00:27:12.93\00:27:16.43
to be so close to us.
00:27:16.46\00:27:17.80
Thank you for wanting to
be a greater part of our lives
00:27:17.83\00:27:20.27
and not just being content
to hang on the sidelines.
00:27:20.30\00:27:24.34
Thank you for
pursuing each of us
00:27:24.37\00:27:26.04
as if we were the only ones
00:27:26.07\00:27:27.41
that exist on the
face of the earth.
00:27:27.44\00:27:29.31
What love, what
persistence, what intimacy,
00:27:29.34\00:27:33.11
may we respond to your love.
00:27:33.15\00:27:34.48
Oh, Father, we pray
in the name of Jesus.
00:27:34.52\00:27:36.79
Amen. Amen.
00:27:36.82\00:27:38.82
Thank you so much
for that information
00:27:38.85\00:27:40.86
on intimacy as it
relates to prayer.
00:27:40.89\00:27:44.99
We pray that you were
blessed by today's program.
00:27:45.03\00:27:48.40
Don't let anything
come in between you and God.
00:27:48.43\00:27:51.73
Be sure to tune in next time
00:27:51.77\00:27:53.23
when Dr. Nadine
shares more information
00:27:53.27\00:27:56.20
to supply The Missing Peace.
00:27:56.24\00:27:59.11