Vulnerability with others and intimacy with God

From the Pastor's Desk

On Sunday, we talked about intimacy with God. I said that one of the disciplines you can practice to grow in intimacy with God is actually the discipline of vulnerability with one another. It can be somewhat scary for other people to know all your issues, struggles, and so on. However, it's worth the work of being known because God has designed us to be in that kind of community. 

We have several stories of community in action at this church, but one story is great proof that vulnerability with others brings greater closeness with God. The video below is the testimony of Travis and Sara Harkins. In the video, Travis mentions "discipline." He's referring to the church putting him on what we typically call church discipline, which is spelled out in Matt 18. If a person sins against another person, first, we are to confront one-on-one, hoping that the offending party will repent. If he or she does not repent, then we come back with two or three witnesses. If they still do not repent, then we are to tell it to the church in hopes that the church's prayers will lead to repentance. 

In the Harkins case, we were at the third step in the process. When the church began praying, God did a miracle that resulted in Travis transforming in a surprising and powerful way. We didn't immediately celebrate. We waited and watched for over a year, testing this transformation with time. Sure enough, Sara has testified that her husband is a new man. 

Was it difficult for the church to know about such an unspeakable side of this marriage? Of course, it was. But if you ask this couple if it was worth it, they would say yes.

Here is their story.


Notes from the Sermon


Sermon Title: How to Walk Intimately with God

What to Believe:

Even when we respond with the smallest amount of faith, God will change our lives.

Discipleship is when we are instructed on how to follow God's commands. Forgiving our enemies, resisting temptation, taking up our cross, and healing the sick. God wants intimacy; He wants to share a deep relationship with us. Our response to Him changes as we seek this kind of closeness and depth of relationship. It changes from a response of obligation or morality to excitement and delight in pleasing Him. As you draw near to God He will draw near to you. Making disciples means teaching people what to believe, how to obey, and how to walk intimately with God.


The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is a person; He is God Himself and has thoughts, plans, and desires. He is much more than some mysterious force or power. We need obedience, but obedience without intimacy with God becomes slavery. Do not settle for the mentality of being a slave when God has invited you into a relationship with Him as your Father and you as His child. 


How to interact with the Holy Spirit. 

  1. We can have a relationship with the Holy Spirit.

  2. Interaction with the Holy Spirit can be profound and life-changing, or it can be small and seemingly insignificant. 

  3. Interactions with the Holy Spirit can be subtle and internal, as when the leading is an internal “bearing witness” in our hearts. 

  4. You must be willing to hear “no” from the Holy Spirit.


Two common errors when interacting with the Holy Spirit:

  1. It is an error to believe that you can coast through life, ignoring the things you don’t want to hear or pushing away God's voice of instruction for you. Give Him the room to instruct you, even and especially when it isn’t what you want to hear. The best way to do this is to get into a small group and practice the discipline of vulnerability. 

  2. It is also an error to believe that the Lord only speaks to you about things you don’t want to do. This can be when the spirit of religion creeps in and causes you not to want to talk to Him or be intimate with Him. God is a good God. 


How to Obey:

We should not ignore the Holy Spirit. He is someone we should interact with and receive counsel from. We should seek a relationship with him. He will guide and direct us in the ways of the Lord. 

  • The voice of the accuser (the devil) will speak against your desire to be near to God. He will speak ulterior motives against you and make you think that you are guilty of being lazy for wanting to sit at the feet of Jesus. This voice will rush your time alone with God. This voice will convince you you can’t come before God until you get yourself right if you’ve sinned or slipped up. This voice will cause you to doubt your relationship with God. This is not the voice of God. God wants to be with you. Let God teach you the difference between His voice and the voice of the accuser. Pray for this knowledge and seek His word for information about God so you can know His character and voice.

How to Walk Intimately with God:

Practice the discipline of vulnerability. Small groups are a great place to practice this and give people room to know the real you. God has baked community into our DNA; we need others. 

Practice the discipline of stillness. Ask God for grace to sit quietly at His feet and listen to His voice. God's love has been poured into our hearts because we are His children. He wants to be with us!


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