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Discussion Forum : Revivals And Church History : DEEP INTIMACY with GOD -by Andrew Strom.

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 DEEP INTIMACY with GOD -by Andrew Strom.


[b]DEEP INTIMACY with GOD[/b]
-by Andrew Strom.

With all this talk about the error of the sensual "Jesus as Lover"
teaching, I don't want to give the impression that I am against
having a deep intimacy with God. The fact is - my whole ministry
is devoted to bringing people into a closer and closer walk with
Him - a walk of deep communion and intimacy. But there is one
very important difference. -And it is all to do with the 'CHARACTER'
of God, and how we approach Him.

Since I was 17 years old - when I first went through a true
"Revival" experience in my life - I have found myself in deep
communion with God in prayer. Many times I have found myself
(as it were) in the very 'throneroom' presence of God, where all
I could do was behold His glory and majesty in awe - often with
tears streaming down my face. "HOLY HOLY HOLY". Sometimes
I have been unable to speak or utter any word for hours at a time -
because what words are sufficent for such things? -This is the
God that I came to deeply love. -A 'HOLY' God. For many years
now I have had these experiences - and I believe they are totally
"normal" for all believers. In fact, this is what I spoke about at our
recent 'Gathering'. -How to become 'Revived' and come into a
state of deep communion with God. I am totally committed to the
fact that this is God's will for every Christian. -Nothing 'unusual'.

But there are "foundations" that must be laid to come into this.
And one of the most important of these foundations is a right
understanding of God as a 'HOLY' God. -I mean deeply and
utterly "Holy". -Holy beyond words and almost beyond
comprehension. The more we get a grasp of God's HOLINESS, the
more we ourselves desire holiness, and the closer and closer to
Him we become. I have seen this and I know it is true.

We all know the Scripture- "The FEAR of the LORD is the beginning
of wisdom." But what a lot of us don't realize is that it is through
this reverent 'Fear' of the Lord that we ultimately come into a deep
'LOVE' relationship with Him. In other words, as this foundation of
God's majesty and glory and holiness is laid in our hearts - our
whole approach to Him changes. We start to see Him as He really
is - in all His GLORY - and we start to LOVE Him more and more.
And as His holiness works its way more and more into our lives,
we come closer and closer to Him - until we have a 'LOVE'
relationship and a holy intimacy that is beyond words. -This is
the secret of the truly 'Revived' life. It is all about apprehending the
'HOLY' character and nature of God. -That is where it starts.

Which is why I have such a problem with the "Jesus as Lover"
teaching. -Because it brings God down to "our level" - a sensual,
'earthy' level rather than a 'throneroom' one. It is an awful distortion.

I know from Scripture and all Revival history that it is the God of
GLORY and HOLINESS - the "throneroom" God - that we must
get to know if we are to come into the deepest heart communion
and intimacy with Him. I know it from all my studies of Revival and
I know it by personal experience. -It really is possible to come into
the deepest kind of heart-communion with a 'HOLY' God. -And that
is the key: A 'HOLY' God.

Through the free gift of the cleansing blood of Jesus - a FREE GIFT -
we can truly and deeply become the 'FRIEND' of the King of Kings.
-Now, how precious is that?? How many billions of dollars could
you pay for that?? -We can actually become the 'FRIEND' of the
God of all glory - Creator of the Universe. This is the God that
we can come to intimately know and love. And a major key to
this is first apprehending Him as "HOLY". (-ie. The 'Fear' of the Lord).

If you come to our Friday night online Prayer Meetings then you
will see how often we simply tell God how much we love Him. -So
I am all for LOVING God!! -But to have any real depth, this "love"
must come from a place of apprehending His holiness and glory -
ie. The TRUE GOD.

Real love certainly does not come from apprehending Him as
some sensual "lover"! I am not Jesus's girlfriend - and I will never
approach Him in that way. If we cannot approach God as 'HOLY'
then we will never truly see Him at all. 'HOLINESS' is where
it is all at. -And everything develops from there. That is how we
come to deeply 'LOVE' Him.

By the way, it is important to clarify that the prayer center in
Kansas City does NOT teach "sexual encounters" with Jesus. But
they do major on "Jesus as bridegroom/ Lover" - which causes
these problems down the line. It is totally predictable that as these
teachings go out wider and wider - then "sexual" experiences will
result. -Which is exactly what has been happening - even if they
never intended it to. Their teachings totally lay the groundwork for
such encounters. But I just needed to clarify that point.

So in summary, what I have found (-and all Scripture and Revival
history back this up) is that an approach to a "HOLY" God is
what is necessary if we are to develop a true love and intimacy
with Him. And He is calling every one of us to come into this deeper
walk. Tell me, friend, will you heed His call?


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