March 15, 2024 • 42 mins
If we are to become the church he is coming after, then we must get intimate with him. Not run away when he calls us but draw closer to him. In our latest podcast episode, we delve into the essence of what it means to be a "God chaser" and the profound impact this pursuit can have on our lives, especially during times of trial and uncertainty. The episode invites listeners to contemplate their personal relationship with the divine and encourages a spiritual journey towards a deeper and more resilient faith.<br><br>The concept of a "God chaser" is introduced as a beacon against the tide of complacency that threatens our spiritual vitality. It calls for a fervent relationship with God that transcends the need for religious figureheads. This notion draws inspiration from the early church's direct communion with the Almighty, prompting us to reflect on the intimacy of our own spiritual practices and to rekindle our personal connection with God.<br><br>The episode also touches on the transformative potential of shifting our perspectives on life's challenges. We are encouraged to embrace these trials not as obstacles but as opportunities to grow and deepen our faith. By viewing our hurdles as catalysts for spiritual development, we are empowered to forge an unyielding faith that stands firm in the face of adversity.<br><br>Moreover, the podcast discusses the impact of community and service, exemplified by an invitation to join a mission trip to Belize. This trip is not only about helping others but also about experiencing spiritual growth through service. The communal aspect of faith is highlighted as we are urged to come together in building and strengthening the bonds within our communities.<br><br>The episode further confronts the concept of "hot house Christians" – believers who thrive only within comfortable environments and struggle when faced with real-world adversities. In stark contrast, the resilience of persecuted believers is examined to inspire a faith that is not dependent on ideal circumstances but is deeply rooted in a relationship with God.<br><br>In summary, this podcast episode serves as a blueprint for building an unwavering faith. It stirs the soul and urges a personal revival that aligns with the collective resurgence of spiritual energy. Listeners are called to pursue God with passion and purity, to become true "God chasers" who seek a profound and transformative relationship with the divine.<br><br>The discussion in this episode is both timely and timeless, providing wisdom and guidance for anyone seeking to deepen their spiritual life. Whether you are facing personal trials, seeking to serve your community, or simply yearning for a closer relationship with God, this episode offers valuable insights into the heart's journey to deeper faith.<br><br>As we conclude, the podcast stands as an invitation to explore the depths of our spirituality and to actively pursue a faith that is vibrant, resilient, and intimately connected with God. It is a journey that promises to transform not only our spiritual selves but also the world around us, one step at a time.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Having a bilugnion seat.
There is space in the sun, itwill get almost sunny.
It's always a Plan B ByeAmbience.
(00:21):
Hello, this is your host, glennKivitt, and welcome to today's
episode of the Christian Cafe,where the bread is made fresh
and delivered right from theWord of God.
(00:43):
To keep up the date on what'scoming up, be sure to follow me
on Facebook, at the ChristianCafe, also on Twitter.
Feel free to email me with yourbird quest at
theChristiancafe2022 at gmailcom.
I would love to hear from you.
So grab your seat, place yourorder and we will deliver it
(01:06):
fresh and hot, just for you.
Guess what time it is.
(01:43):
Hey, everybody, welcome back tothe Christian Cafe.
All my friends, my families,thank you for joining in.
I do hope and pray that youhaven't been waiting very long
and, if you have my apologies,there has been so much going on
in my life the last couple ofmonths and it's been really
(02:04):
hectic, but nevertheless I'mback.
I'm back here spreading thegood news, here at the Christian
Cafe, to serve up the good newsof Jesus Christ.
Since our last visit, there's alot going on in my life but,
like I said, we're still doingwhat God wants us to do.
(02:25):
We're still here delivering theWord of God.
We're trying to do everythingwe can to get the Word out that
Jesus is coming soon.
I know last time we left leftoff in our book and we was
talking about do we run in or goaway?
(02:46):
We're going to get back intothat book, right back in there
where we left off.
I know we took a break and ourlast broadcast we talked about
the kingdom for the 2024 seasonsand what God has installed for
his people is coming year.
I tell you I've been seeingsome great things and God's been
doing some marvelous things inour local church and in our
(03:10):
family and I'm so thankful forwhat he is doing.
You know God is does what hesays he's going to do.
He is not, does not fail us, hedoes not say anything that he
does not back up by the word andI'm thankful for that.
But we do want to get backwhere we is in the book and see
(03:33):
if we can't finish this thingout here in a few weeks.
I hope nothing else comes upand then have some technical
problems with my equipment I'vehad to change out my mics and
stuff and but nevertheless weain't defeated.
We're still plugging along hereand I'm excited.
I hope you are.
(03:53):
I hope this year has been agreat year so far and you
haven't been very sick, me andmy wife.
Both we've been dealing withsome healthy shoes and for the
longest time there we both waskind of the weather and it took
for a few months to get us backon our feet.
But we're back there and we'restriving along, still dealing
(04:17):
with some back issues and rightshoulder issues.
But you know we can't let thatkeep us down.
We've got to keep going on forJesus and doing what he wants us
to do.
Like I said, a lot been goingon.
I've changed jobs since then.
Now I'm still teaching CDLstructures, but with another
(04:38):
company, and got to open thatdoor and it's been a blessing to
us and I'm thankful for that.
But we're going to take a shortbreak and when we come back
we're going to get right backinto our book and pick right
back up where we start off.
Start left off at.
Excuse me, I'll get it out in aminute, kind of tongue tied
(04:59):
tonight, but we're going tostart back in.
The part of our future dependson our outlook.
We'll be right back.
(05:28):
I'm thrilled to share someexciting news with you this
summer.
From July 27th to August 4th,I'll be going on a mission trip
to Belize with a team from therising church.
We've got some amazing planslined up and I love for you to
be a part of it.
During our time in Belize,we'll be focusing on making a
(05:50):
positive impact in the community.
We'll be working closely withthe wonderful children at
Hearthouse, where we'll bespending time with them and
providing a special lunch forboth the children and their moms
.
Additionally, we'll be runninga basketball count for teens and
young adults, aiming to fosterfriendships and teamwork.
(06:12):
One of the highlights of ourtrip will be a community
outreach event at the futurehome of Harvest Praise Church
Belize, the rising church.
This one day won't just bebringing awareness to the future
church.
It also an opportunity for usto provide much needed items to
(06:34):
families and share the love ofJesus with the local community.
I'm reaching out to ask you foryour support in making this
mission trip possible.
We are working towards afinancial goal of $2,000 and any
contribution, big or small,will mean the world to me.
Your donations are taxdeductible and every penny
(06:55):
counts towards helping us make adifference in the lives of
those who will be serving.
If you're unable to contributefinancially.
I completely understand yourprayers for our team as we
prepare and embark on thisjourney will be incredible.
I appreciate it.
If you would like to sponsor mefinancially, you can send a
(07:18):
check to the post off to therising church at PO Box 3116,
morganton, north Carolina, 28680.
Again, that is the risingchurch at PO Box 3116, morganton
, north Carolina, 28680,addressed to Wesley Glenn Kivett
(07:39):
.
Or you can donate online atHopeRisingMinistriescom.
You can also cash out me atdollar sign WGKIVETT.
Thank you so much forconsidering supporting me on
this journey.
It truly will be not bepossible, for without amazing
(08:00):
people like you.
I'm excited for the opportunityto serve others and witness the
incredible work that God willdo through our efforts and
believes.
Welcome back, my friends.
(08:39):
This book has been nothing butamazing.
I hope you've enjoyed it.
As I've said before, you'rewelcome to have a free copy of
this book.
All you have to do is just jotme an email at the Christian
Cafe 2022 at gmailcom and I'llbe glad to send one out to you
(09:00):
free of charge.
It seems like it no deeper weget in this book, the more Of
revelation we get on what Godmeans, about us being a God
chaser and I believe in this dayand time that we're in, we need
to be Chasing God.
(09:20):
More than ever, he desires usto chase him, and every step we
get closer, the more greatly Godcan enrich our lives.
The closer we get to him, thebetter off we are, because we
think we're fighting a battlenow.
The battle's just begun and thebattle's gonna get worse, but
(09:43):
we know that in the back of theBible that we win, and Jesus
Christ is Victor, is Victor overdeath, helen grave already and
he takes his children home.
But in the meantime, we have totarry here and what we can
learn about God and what hewants us to do is only going to
(10:03):
help us Continue on in our fightOver the enemy, because the
enemy is getting ready to Starta war.
Well, he's already started thewar, but he's getting ready by
the more he can chew.
We're seeing this happening inour government, we're seeing it
happening and all over the world.
(10:23):
And as a Child of God, we needto be prepared.
We need to be ready to take thebattle to him and not be afraid
to stand up and call, seeingwhat it is, and Call out the
devil when he's trying to defeatour families, our children, our
country, our communities, evenin our churches.
(10:44):
So much corruption going on inour churches today.
It's just unreal things thatback in my day you didn't hear a
lot of, but you hear a lot ofnow.
So we need to need to beprepared.
I Promise you.
It's just begun.
It's only gonna get worse fromhere.
So let's get back into our, ourBible, but into our book, the
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God chasers we're gonna starttalking about.
Our future depends on ouroutlook.
Frankly, our future depends onour outlook in this hour of
decision.
If our outlook is well, we'vedone pretty well, then this is
probably all we'll do.
But our futures will looktotally different if we say
(11:32):
Thank you, lord, but where's therest?
There's got to be more.
Show me your glory.
Satan's most successful trick isto get us to race to false
finish lines.
He works tirelessly, tirelesslyto get us to stop short and say
we made it.
(11:53):
He delights when he sees usfall or pull over to the wayside
, only to notice that at thelast moment that the finish line
is still ahead.
It's still ahead.
The apostle Paul knew of whathe spoke when he said I Press
toward the mark for gettingthose things that are behind.
(12:18):
We need to learn from the eventsat Mount Sinai.
It was there that theIsraelites built the tabernacle
according to the instructionsGod gave to Moses.
It was on Mount Sinai that Godgave to Moses the great
revelation of his law in the TenCommandments, but other Equally
important things happened thereas well.
(12:40):
It was also there, at a goal,that a golden calf of idolatry
was created.
First of all, god revealed onMount Sinai that he wanted to
begin dealing with the peopledirectly and personally.
Until that day, moses hadalways relay related to the
Israelites everything that Godsaid.
(13:03):
That was a time of transition, aperiod in which God was saying
Okay, it's time to grow up.
I want to talk to you directlyfrom now on, as an entire nation
of holy priest.
I don't want to have any moreIntermediaries.
I love Moses, but I don't wantto have to speak through him to
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reach you.
I want to deal with youdirectly as my nation, as my
people.
The God wants to deal with usdirectly.
He longs to communicate with us, but if we do not communicate
with him, how do we know what hewants from us?
How do we know what else isthere?
How do we know where the finishline is.
(13:46):
In NASCAR you have so many lapsthat you race and Sometimes you
don't finish and you getWrecked or motor blows or
something like that.
You never reached a finish line.
Oh, you go around the finishline several times, but the race
(14:07):
is not over until they drop thechecker flag.
Saints, our race is not overUntil the checker flag is
dropped, until Jesus calls ushome.
That's when our race is over.
We can't stop now.
We gotta keep going.
Many have become milk babies,impatted pews.
Unfortunately, the Israelitesuffered from the same problem
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many Christians do today.
We have become addicted to thenointing, the relayed word of
God, preaching and teaching.
Too many of us have become milkbabies who want to sit on
padded pews in our airconditioner, climate controlled
Building where someone else willpre, digest what God has to say
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and then regurgitate it back tous in a halfway digested form.
We're afraid of gettingspiritual indigestion for
messages we think are too roughto handle.
Ender timings are unused totough truth.
The solution is Hunger anddesperation for God himself,
(15:19):
without intermediaries.
We need to pray, god.
I'm tired of everybody elsehearing from you.
Where is the lock on my prayercloset?
I'm going to lock myself awayuntil I hear from you for myself
.
We make a great deal out ofreading the word, and that is
(15:40):
important, but we need toremember that the early church
didn't have access to what wecall the New Testament.
For many years they didn't evenhave the Old Testament
scriptures, because thoseexpensive scrolls were locked up
in synagogues.
The only scriptures they hadwere the verses from the law,
the Psalms and the prophets thathad been passed down orally
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from grandfather's andgrandmother's, and that only if
they were Jewish believers.
So what did they have?
They walked and talked with himin such a rich level of
intimacy that it wasn'tnecessary For them to pour over
dusty love letters that werewritten long time ago.
They had God's love notesfreshly written on their hearts.
(16:29):
The Holy Spirit is saying look,I know it's great that I
Brought you out of the sin andyour clothes aren't wearing out.
You are living in a measure ofblessing and you have my
precious presents revealed inthe cloud and the fire every day
.
I know you've got goodleadership, but what I really
(16:50):
want is this I Want to grow youup and I want to pull you close
in a new level of intimacy.
No true revival has everoccurred simply because people
sought revival.
They were birthed when peoplesought him and our presumptuous
(17:13):
thinking.
We have said, okay, we're goingto hold a revival.
You might as well try to hold ahurricane.
If you can hold it, then itain't no revival.
If you can contain it orcontrol it, then it ain't
revival either.
We need to call it what it is aseries of good meetings
(17:36):
complete with whipped cream,preaching and marciano cherries
of man on top.
We may love it and lick ourlips through every minute of it,
but it isn't revival.
We have to face the fact thatwe have become addicted to all
the things that accompany church, like the choirs and the music,
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but they are not what God callschurch and they are not the
true revival either.
I have a strong sense that Godis about to strip all that away.
To ask us now who loves me, whowants me?
It's time to seek the revivalinstead of the revival.
God is tired of having longdistance relationships with his
(18:23):
people.
He was tired of it thousands ofyears ago in Moses' day, and he
is tired of it today.
He really wants to haveintimate, close encounters with
you and me.
He wants to invade our homeswith his abiding presence in a
way that will make every visitorbegin to weep with wonder and
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worship the moment they enter.
I was thinking I was as I wasreading this.
You know how a lot of ourchurches today are so big on
praise and worship and I don'thave a thing against praise and
worship, because I can worshipalong with the best but we're so
concentrating on the sound andthe lights and the smoke and all
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those things that were takenaway the most important part of
the reason we worship, andthat's the presence of God.
Without the presence, there isno one being saved, there is no
one being healed, no onedelivered.
But yet we go to church and wehave a what we call a good
service.
You know, people are in order,people worshiping God, and we
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call it revival, we call itchurch.
God doesn't call that church.
God sees churches when peopleare getting delivered, when
they're getting set free, whenthey're seeking Him.
He says it seek Him first, noteverything.
If our churches was to do awaywith all the music and all of
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the the lights and all that,what do you think our church was
to be?
How many people do you thinkwould come to the house of God
or say, really we have to havethose things for young people to
bring them in.
God didn't use in His day, whenJesus was preaching on the
(20:10):
Mount, he didn't have music.
He didn't have the drums andguitar and all this fine
equipment we got today to bringpeople in.
My goodness, he fed 5,000 plus.
Why?
Because he was teaching theWord of God.
He was teaching about Himself,how to be delivered, how to be
set free, how to be what he saidis here to be.
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That's what draws people.
It's time that we seek therevival and not a revival.
We're going to take a shortbreak and we'll come back and
get right back into the book.
(20:55):
Hello, everyone, everybody.
Would you like to be put on myprayer list?
I would love to pray for you.
Whatever needs you have, Iwould love to pray for you.
Just drop me an email at theChristian Cafe 2022 at gmailcom
and I'll be glad to put yourprayer list and pray for you.
It doesn't matter the need, itdoesn't cost you anything.
(21:15):
I don't believe in chargingnobody for my prayers.
I want to pray for you that Godwill meet your need right where
you're at.
I don't care what it is.
Feel free to drop me an email.
I would love to hear from you,love to hear where you're
listening from, because I knowI'm reaching a lot of places,
but I would like to hear fromyou.
Send me a letter, send me anemail.
(21:38):
Let me know where you're from.
Give me your prayer request.
God bless you.
Welcome back, guys.
(22:02):
We're going to continue backhere in our book.
You know this is veryinteresting, that you know God
is telling us that he does notwant a long distance
relationship with us.
He wants to commune with usintimately.
I'm so thankful that we serve aGod that desires to be intimate
with us.
You know, when we fall in lovewith Jesus, we really fall in
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love with him.
We desire that more thananything, and I hope today that
you're in love with Jesus andyou're really want to get
intimate with him, because hedesires to be intimate with you.
We're going to continue on.
We're going to try and finishthis chapter tonight, in this
episode, and so we can start afresh one next time.
(22:48):
So I hope you're gettingsomething from this.
Like I said earlier, you knowI'd love to hear from you.
Just drop me an email if youwould.
I'd appreciate it.
Let me know what you thinkabout this and how God has
touched your life through this.
I'd love to hear from you.
Let's continue.
Run away or go in.
And all the people saw thethunderings and the lightnings
(23:11):
and the noise of the trumpet andthe mountain smoking.
And when the people saw it,they removed and stood afar off.
And the people stood afar offand Moses drew near unto the
thick darkness where God was.
That's in Exodus 20, 18 through21.
What a divine, what a divinedichotomy.
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One ran in, the other ran away.
God was calling the people tointimacy and they ran the other
way.
They told Moses Let not Godspeak with us lest we die.
They understood that onlythings that matched the charter
(23:54):
of God as depicted in the TenCommandments would stand to live
in His presence.
By running away, they weresaying Look, we don't want to
live up to that.
Don't let God talk to us rightnow.
All God wanted them to do whenhe gave Moses the Ten
Commandments was to clean uptheir act, so he could do more
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than just see them from adistance.
He wanted to walk with themonce again in the cool of the
desert.
He wanted to sit with them andshare His heart in intimate
communion.
Nothing has changed, my friend.
He wants to do the same thingnow with you and me.
(24:36):
Our proper response is Please,god, speak with us, even if we
have to die.
The sad reality may be that mostChristians in America don't
have a real sense of the abidingpresence of God because they
refuse to clean up the clutterin their lives, and many of us
(24:59):
who attempt to clear the cluttertend to get stuck in the logjam
of legalism.
When the Israelites told Mosesthat they were afraid, he tried
to explain to them Fear not, godis only trying to prove you
that thunder and lightningreminds you of His awesome hour
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so that you won't sin.
You see, he's just wanting youto come clean so he can talk
with you.
Isn't it amazing how ponderousand heavy your parents'
footsteps seem to be when youheard them come in the direction
, especially at those times whenyou were doing something you
shouldn't have done been doing.
(25:42):
The Israelites were hearingfather's footsteps.
Do you remember that time whenyou heard your father walking
down the hallway?
Because you know he's donesomething wrong and he was
coming to get you, to chastiseyou?
That was a scary feeling, soyou can imagine how the children
of Israel were feeling whenthey heard the thunder and the
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lightning and saw his power.
They were afraid.
That's why they didn't want togo in, because they didn't want.
They were afraid they weregoing to die.
Because, you know, in thetemple the only ones that was
allowed behind the veil was thepriest and they had to have no
sin.
If they went behind the curtainwith sin, they died.
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So that's what they werethinking.
I'm glad we serve a mercifulGod today.
Amen.
The Bible says.
And the people stood afar offwhile Moses drew near, unto the
thick darkness where God was.
What a picture.
The people are running this waywhile Moses is running that way
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, saying come on, guys, it's God.
He's just saying come near tome.
He's never done this before.
When I was up on the mountainhe let me get this close, and
now he's come down because hewants all of us to draw near to
him together.
God always starts with theleadership, and Moses had
(27:07):
already stepped into that thickdarkness once before on the
mountaintop.
At this point, god wanted therest of the Israelites to join
Moses in his presence, but theyran away instead.
It appears to me that thehistory of the Jewish people
went downhill from the momentGod said come near.
(27:28):
And they said no way.
And it is abundantly clear thatthis problem isn't unique to the
Israelites of Moses's day.
It is also a serious problem inthe church today.
All they want to do is date God.
There's something in us thatmakes us afraid of the
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commitment that comes with realintimacy with God.
For one thing, intimacy withGod requires purity.
The days of fun and games inthe church are over.
What do I mean by fun and games?
If you, your definition of funis low commitment and lots of
thrills and chills, than allyou've ever wanted to do is date
(28:11):
God.
You just wanted to get in theback seat with him.
Do I need to draw a picture?
God is tired of us wanting toget our thrills from him without
putting on the ring ofcommitment.
Some are more enumerate with thegoosebumps than the glory.
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They're addicted to theanointing, liking, the feeling
of being blessed, receiving thegifts like a religious gold
digger, happy with chocolatesand flowers and jewelry.
The last time I checked, he wasstill looking for a bride, not
a girlfriend, one who will stickwith him.
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I'm afraid the writer iscorrect when he's saying this
we're too busy.
We want the goose bumps, youknow, but we don't want the
glory to go as long with it.
We want the blessings, but wedon't want to do anything to get
it, we just bear.
We're just a gold digger.
We want to give anything back.
We want to take and take andtake from God, but yet we don't
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want to abide by the word of God.
Now I'm preaching the choir here.
Guys, none of us are perfect.
None of us are perfect.
We're too busy dating Godrather than just, you know,
committing ourselves to himwholeheartedly and doing exactly
what he's asked us to do.
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I'm afraid that many people inthe church have simply
approached God to get what theycan from him without committing
anything in return.
God is saying to his church Idon't want that.
Now, if you want to marry me,let's do this right.
Let's pledge ourselves to eachother.
(30:00):
We've chased after cheapthrills without the commitment.
But God is saying intimacy, andhe's saying it everywhere
intimacy, and out of thatintimacy will come revival.
The babe of revival is hewnfrom the granite rock of
commitment to the bridegroom.
Babies are always birthed fromintimacy.
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It's time to draw near.
Let's take a break and we willbe right.
Let's take a break and we willbe right.
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We've often placed the cartbefore the horse.
We say we want revival andnever mention intimacy.
We seek revival without seekinghim.
That's a lot like some strangerof the opposite sex walking up
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to you and saying I want kids.
What do you say?
I don't really know you and I'mnot even sure I like you.
Of course I don't want all thecommitment that goes with
marriage, but I really do wantchildren.
How about it?
Leaders in the church havewritten countless books on how
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to grow churches, but sometimesthe underlying message there is
this is how to grow churcheswithout relationship with him.
We have tried to find shortcutsto short circuit the intimacy
requirement every way we can.
Why?
It is because what we want is abunch of kids sitting on the
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pews in the church so we canlook around and compare with
everybody else's church familyin town.
Children in and of ourthemselves do not make a
household.
They are the natural byproductof a loving relationship and
intimacy in a marriage.
You get in the picture.
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Here.
Intimacy is key.
Frankly, most of our churchestoday are the spiritual
equivalent of a dysfunctionalhousehold Single parent,
trestitaries whereas dad.
What we really need to beseeking is a real relationship
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with God.
Anytime you put a man and awoman together who love each
other, you don't have to worryabout whether or not they will
have children.
In most cases it's a naturaloutgrowth of the process of
intimacy.
Why is it that the largestrevivals in the last century
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have never been held on Americansoul?
I think it dates to the erawhen our morals went down the
tubes along with our commitmentlevels.
I purpose that our nation'scollective ability to really
grow deep in its relationshipwith God is accurately mirrored
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in its reciprocal or oppositefactor by our skyrocketing trend
toward rampant divorce ratesand broken marriages.
In other words, we haveforgotten our dismissed as
unimportant, the lost arc ofcommitment to God.
As we made the choice to turnaway from God's face at the
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mountain, every other commitmentin our lives began to
deteriorate and fall apart aswell.
Hot house Christians have noroot.
Most Christians in NorthAmerica are hot house Christians
who bloom, as long as they arekept in a protected and
(34:15):
carefully controlled environment, far from fear, distress or
persecution.
God forbid that it should costus something to speak the name
of Jesus.
But time and again we have seenthat if you take hot house
Christians out of the protectedenvironment and put them into
the real world where the windand adversity blows and the rain
(34:39):
of sorrow falls.
If they have to endure the hotsun and the drought it brings,
then they discover that theynever develop a root system in
the hot house.
So they will there and say I'mjust not cut out for this.
Now, my, my God has dealt withme to the point where I have
(35:03):
been forced to redefine some ofmy criteria for what it means to
be saved.
If it takes the perfection ofenvironment to prove the
presence of God in your life,then my guess is that the
persecuted Christians just don'thave God.
How can they?
They don't have Bible seminars.
(35:24):
They don't have choirs or thelatest worship music.
They don't have airconditioning, ushers, nurseries,
electronic paging systems,carpeted sanctuaries or staff
counselors.
Their worship environment isterrible.
If they get caught havingchurch, they must pay a terrible
price.
I read an account of a group ofChinese Christians who are
(35:47):
caught holding a church service.
The officials placed a horsetrough in the middle town and
forced every man and woman inthat congregation to urinate
until into it.
Then they drowned the pastor init right in front of their eyes
.
Do you know what happened?
(36:07):
The church congregation doubledin two weeks and it wasn't
because of the nice sanctuary, adynamic worship team.
True church growth, wherever itmay be, in freedom or
persecution, comes because ofonly one thing it springs forth
from an intimate knowledge ofthe living God, the confession
(36:35):
of people in love.
These kinds of believers don'tgauge the relationship with God
but whether they receive asalary raise this quarter, by
how things are going with theirbank accounts or by how much fun
they've been having duringchurch activities.
They have joined Paul by sayingbut none of these things move
(36:57):
me, neither count I my life dearunto myself so that I might
finish my course with joy andthe ministry which I have
received of the Lord Jesus totestify the gospel of the grace
of God, acts 2024.
This is the confession ofpeople in love and an intimate
communion with their maker.
(37:18):
God is calling the first time.
God revealed this to me.
God revealed this to me.
I trembled in web in front ofthe people as I told them.
The same thing I tell you today.
You are at Mount Sinai today.
Listen closely, guys.
You are at Mount Sinai todayand God is calling you into
(37:40):
personal intimacy with him.
If you dare to answer his call,then it is going to redefine
everything you've ever done.
Your decision today willdetermine whether you go forward
or backward in your walk withChrist.
He is calling us into intimacy,guys, right now.
(38:04):
We're on Mount Sinai right nowand he's asking us to come.
He's coming down off themountain and he's asking us to
come.
Are we going to run in or arewe going to walk away?
Moses went in.
I would think I want to be thesame way.
I want to go see and talk toGod Myself.
Intimacy with God requires acertain level of brokenness,
(38:25):
because purity comes frombrokenness.
The gains are over.
Friend, he's calling you.
Everybody say he's calling me,he's calling me.
Could it be that we don't wantto get into that cloud or God
with God, because we know he'sgoing to look into our hearts
(38:46):
and we know what he will findthere.
We have to deal with more thanour outward actions.
We have to deal with our inwardmotives also.
We must come clean, because Godcan't reveal his face to a
partially pure church.
It would be destroyed in aninstant.
God is calling people who wantserious revival into a place of
(39:09):
transparent purity.
It's you who he's after.
He wants you to draw near, butat the same time, if you come
near, then he will have to dealwith you.
That can only mean one thingyou must die.
This is the same thing God toldMoses.
(39:34):
No man has seen my face andlived.
So remember to pass by thealtar of forgiveness and
sacrifice on your way into theHoly of Holies.
It's time for us to lay ouregos on the cross, to crucify
our will, to lay our agendasaside.
But if you're dead, then hewill make you lie, you alive
(39:57):
again, and all you need to do isdie if you really want to get
into his presence.
When the apostle Paul wrote, Idied daily.
He was saying I enter into thepresence of God every day.
Run in, don't run away.
(40:17):
Some powerful words right there, guys.
He wants us to run in, he don'twant us to run away.
He desires to be intimate withus.
He desires to have arelationship like we've never
had before, and I think it'sthat's what it's going to take
(40:38):
in these last days.
I said it in the beginning thatyou think the battle is hard.
Now Just wait.
It's going to get worse.
And if we're not prepared, ifwe're, do not have that intimacy
with the father, then we willnot make it.
If we don't come to him withpure hearts, pure minds, then as
(41:02):
we do try to get close to him,it's going to destroy us, just
as it did to children.
As long as you, guys, I hopeyou've enjoyed this today.
I hope this episode has openedyour eyes on what God wants from
us.
He wants to draw closer, hewants us to follow hard after
him and I believe if we do, wecan see changes in our life.
(41:25):
Thank you for joining me at theChristian Cafe.
I hope your meal was good foryou today.
I hope you received and waspoured into and your field to
capacity, capacity and you cantake this with you and learn
from it and see what God wantsyou to do.
Next episode we'll start inchapter six how to handle the
(41:48):
holy moving from anointing toglory.
That is a fascinating chapter.
I can't wait for you to hear it.
You can wait to dive into thatand let God show us what he
wants from us.
Thank you again, guys, forstopping by the Christian Cafe.
Have a blessed day, a wonderfulweek.
(42:11):
May everything go the way God'splan is in your life.
God bless you and we're prayingfor you.
Having a bilugnion seat.
There is space in the sun, itwill get almost sunny.
It's always a Plan B ByeAmbience.
(00:21):
Hello, this is your host, glennKivitt, and welcome to today's
episode of the Christian Cafe,where the bread is made fresh
and delivered right from theWord of God.
(00:43):
To keep up the date on what'scoming up, be sure to follow me
on Facebook, at the ChristianCafe, also on Twitter.
Feel free to email me with yourbird quest at
theChristiancafe2022 at gmailcom.
I would love to hear from you.
So grab your seat, place yourorder and we will deliver it
(01:06):
fresh and hot, just for you.
Guess what time it is.
(01:43):
Hey, everybody, welcome back tothe Christian Cafe.
All my friends, my families,thank you for joining in.
I do hope and pray that youhaven't been waiting very long
and, if you have my apologies,there has been so much going on
in my life the last couple ofmonths and it's been really
(02:04):
hectic, but nevertheless I'mback.
I'm back here spreading thegood news, here at the Christian
Cafe, to serve up the good newsof Jesus Christ.
Since our last visit, there's alot going on in my life but,
like I said, we're still doingwhat God wants us to do.
(02:25):
We're still here delivering theWord of God.
We're trying to do everythingwe can to get the Word out that
Jesus is coming soon.
I know last time we left leftoff in our book and we was
talking about do we run in or goaway?
(02:46):
We're going to get back intothat book, right back in there
where we left off.
I know we took a break and ourlast broadcast we talked about
the kingdom for the 2024 seasonsand what God has installed for
his people is coming year.
I tell you I've been seeingsome great things and God's been
doing some marvelous things inour local church and in our
(03:10):
family and I'm so thankful forwhat he is doing.
You know God is does what hesays he's going to do.
He is not, does not fail us, hedoes not say anything that he
does not back up by the word andI'm thankful for that.
But we do want to get backwhere we is in the book and see
(03:33):
if we can't finish this thingout here in a few weeks.
I hope nothing else comes upand then have some technical
problems with my equipment I'vehad to change out my mics and
stuff and but nevertheless weain't defeated.
We're still plugging along hereand I'm excited.
I hope you are.
(03:53):
I hope this year has been agreat year so far and you
haven't been very sick, me andmy wife.
Both we've been dealing withsome healthy shoes and for the
longest time there we both waskind of the weather and it took
for a few months to get us backon our feet.
But we're back there and we'restriving along, still dealing
(04:17):
with some back issues and rightshoulder issues.
But you know we can't let thatkeep us down.
We've got to keep going on forJesus and doing what he wants us
to do.
Like I said, a lot been goingon.
I've changed jobs since then.
Now I'm still teaching CDLstructures, but with another
(04:38):
company, and got to open thatdoor and it's been a blessing to
us and I'm thankful for that.
But we're going to take a shortbreak and when we come back
we're going to get right backinto our book and pick right
back up where we start off.
Start left off at.
Excuse me, I'll get it out in aminute, kind of tongue tied
(04:59):
tonight, but we're going tostart back in.
The part of our future dependson our outlook.
We'll be right back.
(05:28):
I'm thrilled to share someexciting news with you this
summer.
From July 27th to August 4th,I'll be going on a mission trip
to Belize with a team from therising church.
We've got some amazing planslined up and I love for you to
be a part of it.
During our time in Belize,we'll be focusing on making a
(05:50):
positive impact in the community.
We'll be working closely withthe wonderful children at
Hearthouse, where we'll bespending time with them and
providing a special lunch forboth the children and their moms
.
Additionally, we'll be runninga basketball count for teens and
young adults, aiming to fosterfriendships and teamwork.
(06:12):
One of the highlights of ourtrip will be a community
outreach event at the futurehome of Harvest Praise Church
Belize, the rising church.
This one day won't just bebringing awareness to the future
church.
It also an opportunity for usto provide much needed items to
(06:34):
families and share the love ofJesus with the local community.
I'm reaching out to ask you foryour support in making this
mission trip possible.
We are working towards afinancial goal of $2,000 and any
contribution, big or small,will mean the world to me.
Your donations are taxdeductible and every penny
(06:55):
counts towards helping us make adifference in the lives of
those who will be serving.
If you're unable to contributefinancially.
I completely understand yourprayers for our team as we
prepare and embark on thisjourney will be incredible.
I appreciate it.
If you would like to sponsor mefinancially, you can send a
(07:18):
check to the post off to therising church at PO Box 3116,
morganton, north Carolina, 28680.
Again, that is the risingchurch at PO Box 3116, morganton
, north Carolina, 28680,addressed to Wesley Glenn Kivett
(07:39):
.
Or you can donate online atHopeRisingMinistriescom.
You can also cash out me atdollar sign WGKIVETT.
Thank you so much forconsidering supporting me on
this journey.
It truly will be not bepossible, for without amazing
(08:00):
people like you.
I'm excited for the opportunityto serve others and witness the
incredible work that God willdo through our efforts and
believes.
Welcome back, my friends.
(08:39):
This book has been nothing butamazing.
I hope you've enjoyed it.
As I've said before, you'rewelcome to have a free copy of
this book.
All you have to do is just jotme an email at the Christian
Cafe 2022 at gmailcom and I'llbe glad to send one out to you
(09:00):
free of charge.
It seems like it no deeper weget in this book, the more Of
revelation we get on what Godmeans, about us being a God
chaser and I believe in this dayand time that we're in, we need
to be Chasing God.
(09:20):
More than ever, he desires usto chase him, and every step we
get closer, the more greatly Godcan enrich our lives.
The closer we get to him, thebetter off we are, because we
think we're fighting a battlenow.
The battle's just begun and thebattle's gonna get worse, but
(09:43):
we know that in the back of theBible that we win, and Jesus
Christ is Victor, is Victor overdeath, helen grave already and
he takes his children home.
But in the meantime, we have totarry here and what we can
learn about God and what hewants us to do is only going to
(10:03):
help us Continue on in our fightOver the enemy, because the
enemy is getting ready to Starta war.
Well, he's already started thewar, but he's getting ready by
the more he can chew.
We're seeing this happening inour government, we're seeing it
happening and all over the world.
(10:23):
And as a Child of God, we needto be prepared.
We need to be ready to take thebattle to him and not be afraid
to stand up and call, seeingwhat it is, and Call out the
devil when he's trying to defeatour families, our children, our
country, our communities, evenin our churches.
(10:44):
So much corruption going on inour churches today.
It's just unreal things thatback in my day you didn't hear a
lot of, but you hear a lot ofnow.
So we need to need to beprepared.
I Promise you.
It's just begun.
It's only gonna get worse fromhere.
So let's get back into our, ourBible, but into our book, the
(11:07):
God chasers we're gonna starttalking about.
Our future depends on ouroutlook.
Frankly, our future depends onour outlook in this hour of
decision.
If our outlook is well, we'vedone pretty well, then this is
probably all we'll do.
But our futures will looktotally different if we say
(11:32):
Thank you, lord, but where's therest?
There's got to be more.
Show me your glory.
Satan's most successful trick isto get us to race to false
finish lines.
He works tirelessly, tirelesslyto get us to stop short and say
we made it.
(11:53):
He delights when he sees usfall or pull over to the wayside
, only to notice that at thelast moment that the finish line
is still ahead.
It's still ahead.
The apostle Paul knew of whathe spoke when he said I Press
toward the mark for gettingthose things that are behind.
(12:18):
We need to learn from the eventsat Mount Sinai.
It was there that theIsraelites built the tabernacle
according to the instructionsGod gave to Moses.
It was on Mount Sinai that Godgave to Moses the great
revelation of his law in the TenCommandments, but other Equally
important things happened thereas well.
(12:40):
It was also there, at a goal,that a golden calf of idolatry
was created.
First of all, god revealed onMount Sinai that he wanted to
begin dealing with the peopledirectly and personally.
Until that day, moses hadalways relay related to the
Israelites everything that Godsaid.
(13:03):
That was a time of transition, aperiod in which God was saying
Okay, it's time to grow up.
I want to talk to you directlyfrom now on, as an entire nation
of holy priest.
I don't want to have any moreIntermediaries.
I love Moses, but I don't wantto have to speak through him to
(13:25):
reach you.
I want to deal with youdirectly as my nation, as my
people.
The God wants to deal with usdirectly.
He longs to communicate with us, but if we do not communicate
with him, how do we know what hewants from us?
How do we know what else isthere?
How do we know where the finishline is.
(13:46):
In NASCAR you have so many lapsthat you race and Sometimes you
don't finish and you getWrecked or motor blows or
something like that.
You never reached a finish line.
Oh, you go around the finishline several times, but the race
(14:07):
is not over until they drop thechecker flag.
Saints, our race is not overUntil the checker flag is
dropped, until Jesus calls ushome.
That's when our race is over.
We can't stop now.
We gotta keep going.
Many have become milk babies,impatted pews.
Unfortunately, the Israelitesuffered from the same problem
(14:30):
many Christians do today.
We have become addicted to thenointing, the relayed word of
God, preaching and teaching.
Too many of us have become milkbabies who want to sit on
padded pews in our airconditioner, climate controlled
Building where someone else willpre, digest what God has to say
(14:54):
and then regurgitate it back tous in a halfway digested form.
We're afraid of gettingspiritual indigestion for
messages we think are too roughto handle.
Ender timings are unused totough truth.
The solution is Hunger anddesperation for God himself,
(15:19):
without intermediaries.
We need to pray, god.
I'm tired of everybody elsehearing from you.
Where is the lock on my prayercloset?
I'm going to lock myself awayuntil I hear from you for myself
.
We make a great deal out ofreading the word, and that is
(15:40):
important, but we need toremember that the early church
didn't have access to what wecall the New Testament.
For many years they didn't evenhave the Old Testament
scriptures, because thoseexpensive scrolls were locked up
in synagogues.
The only scriptures they hadwere the verses from the law,
the Psalms and the prophets thathad been passed down orally
(16:03):
from grandfather's andgrandmother's, and that only if
they were Jewish believers.
So what did they have?
They walked and talked with himin such a rich level of
intimacy that it wasn'tnecessary For them to pour over
dusty love letters that werewritten long time ago.
They had God's love notesfreshly written on their hearts.
(16:29):
The Holy Spirit is saying look,I know it's great that I
Brought you out of the sin andyour clothes aren't wearing out.
You are living in a measure ofblessing and you have my
precious presents revealed inthe cloud and the fire every day
.
I know you've got goodleadership, but what I really
(16:50):
want is this I Want to grow youup and I want to pull you close
in a new level of intimacy.
No true revival has everoccurred simply because people
sought revival.
They were birthed when peoplesought him and our presumptuous
(17:13):
thinking.
We have said, okay, we're goingto hold a revival.
You might as well try to hold ahurricane.
If you can hold it, then itain't no revival.
If you can contain it orcontrol it, then it ain't
revival either.
We need to call it what it is aseries of good meetings
(17:36):
complete with whipped cream,preaching and marciano cherries
of man on top.
We may love it and lick ourlips through every minute of it,
but it isn't revival.
We have to face the fact thatwe have become addicted to all
the things that accompany church, like the choirs and the music,
(17:59):
but they are not what God callschurch and they are not the
true revival either.
I have a strong sense that Godis about to strip all that away.
To ask us now who loves me, whowants me?
It's time to seek the revivalinstead of the revival.
God is tired of having longdistance relationships with his
(18:23):
people.
He was tired of it thousands ofyears ago in Moses' day, and he
is tired of it today.
He really wants to haveintimate, close encounters with
you and me.
He wants to invade our homeswith his abiding presence in a
way that will make every visitorbegin to weep with wonder and
(18:46):
worship the moment they enter.
I was thinking I was as I wasreading this.
You know how a lot of ourchurches today are so big on
praise and worship and I don'thave a thing against praise and
worship, because I can worshipalong with the best but we're so
concentrating on the sound andthe lights and the smoke and all
(19:06):
those things that were takenaway the most important part of
the reason we worship, andthat's the presence of God.
Without the presence, there isno one being saved, there is no
one being healed, no onedelivered.
But yet we go to church and wehave a what we call a good
service.
You know, people are in order,people worshiping God, and we
(19:30):
call it revival, we call itchurch.
God doesn't call that church.
God sees churches when peopleare getting delivered, when
they're getting set free, whenthey're seeking Him.
He says it seek Him first, noteverything.
If our churches was to do awaywith all the music and all of
(19:50):
the the lights and all that,what do you think our church was
to be?
How many people do you thinkwould come to the house of God
or say, really we have to havethose things for young people to
bring them in.
God didn't use in His day, whenJesus was preaching on the
(20:10):
Mount, he didn't have music.
He didn't have the drums andguitar and all this fine
equipment we got today to bringpeople in.
My goodness, he fed 5,000 plus.
Why?
Because he was teaching theWord of God.
He was teaching about Himself,how to be delivered, how to be
set free, how to be what he saidis here to be.
(20:31):
That's what draws people.
It's time that we seek therevival and not a revival.
We're going to take a shortbreak and we'll come back and
get right back into the book.
(20:55):
Hello, everyone, everybody.
Would you like to be put on myprayer list?
I would love to pray for you.
Whatever needs you have, Iwould love to pray for you.
Just drop me an email at theChristian Cafe 2022 at gmailcom
and I'll be glad to put yourprayer list and pray for you.
It doesn't matter the need, itdoesn't cost you anything.
(21:15):
I don't believe in chargingnobody for my prayers.
I want to pray for you that Godwill meet your need right where
you're at.
I don't care what it is.
Feel free to drop me an email.
I would love to hear from you,love to hear where you're
listening from, because I knowI'm reaching a lot of places,
but I would like to hear fromyou.
Send me a letter, send me anemail.
(21:38):
Let me know where you're from.
Give me your prayer request.
God bless you.
Welcome back, guys.
(22:02):
We're going to continue backhere in our book.
You know this is veryinteresting, that you know God
is telling us that he does notwant a long distance
relationship with us.
He wants to commune with usintimately.
I'm so thankful that we serve aGod that desires to be intimate
with us.
You know, when we fall in lovewith Jesus, we really fall in
(22:26):
love with him.
We desire that more thananything, and I hope today that
you're in love with Jesus andyou're really want to get
intimate with him, because hedesires to be intimate with you.
We're going to continue on.
We're going to try and finishthis chapter tonight, in this
episode, and so we can start afresh one next time.
(22:48):
So I hope you're gettingsomething from this.
Like I said earlier, you knowI'd love to hear from you.
Just drop me an email if youwould.
I'd appreciate it.
Let me know what you thinkabout this and how God has
touched your life through this.
I'd love to hear from you.
Let's continue.
Run away or go in.
And all the people saw thethunderings and the lightnings
(23:11):
and the noise of the trumpet andthe mountain smoking.
And when the people saw it,they removed and stood afar off.
And the people stood afar offand Moses drew near unto the
thick darkness where God was.
That's in Exodus 20, 18 through21.
What a divine, what a divinedichotomy.
(23:34):
One ran in, the other ran away.
God was calling the people tointimacy and they ran the other
way.
They told Moses Let not Godspeak with us lest we die.
They understood that onlythings that matched the charter
(23:54):
of God as depicted in the TenCommandments would stand to live
in His presence.
By running away, they weresaying Look, we don't want to
live up to that.
Don't let God talk to us rightnow.
All God wanted them to do whenhe gave Moses the Ten
Commandments was to clean uptheir act, so he could do more
(24:15):
than just see them from adistance.
He wanted to walk with themonce again in the cool of the
desert.
He wanted to sit with them andshare His heart in intimate
communion.
Nothing has changed, my friend.
He wants to do the same thingnow with you and me.
(24:36):
Our proper response is Please,god, speak with us, even if we
have to die.
The sad reality may be that mostChristians in America don't
have a real sense of the abidingpresence of God because they
refuse to clean up the clutterin their lives, and many of us
(24:59):
who attempt to clear the cluttertend to get stuck in the logjam
of legalism.
When the Israelites told Mosesthat they were afraid, he tried
to explain to them Fear not, godis only trying to prove you
that thunder and lightningreminds you of His awesome hour
(25:22):
so that you won't sin.
You see, he's just wanting youto come clean so he can talk
with you.
Isn't it amazing how ponderousand heavy your parents'
footsteps seem to be when youheard them come in the direction
, especially at those times whenyou were doing something you
shouldn't have done been doing.
(25:42):
The Israelites were hearingfather's footsteps.
Do you remember that time whenyou heard your father walking
down the hallway?
Because you know he's donesomething wrong and he was
coming to get you, to chastiseyou?
That was a scary feeling, soyou can imagine how the children
of Israel were feeling whenthey heard the thunder and the
(26:03):
lightning and saw his power.
They were afraid.
That's why they didn't want togo in, because they didn't want.
They were afraid they weregoing to die.
Because, you know, in thetemple the only ones that was
allowed behind the veil was thepriest and they had to have no
sin.
If they went behind the curtainwith sin, they died.
(26:24):
So that's what they werethinking.
I'm glad we serve a mercifulGod today.
Amen.
The Bible says.
And the people stood afar offwhile Moses drew near, unto the
thick darkness where God was.
What a picture.
The people are running this waywhile Moses is running that way
(26:46):
, saying come on, guys, it's God.
He's just saying come near tome.
He's never done this before.
When I was up on the mountainhe let me get this close, and
now he's come down because hewants all of us to draw near to
him together.
God always starts with theleadership, and Moses had
(27:07):
already stepped into that thickdarkness once before on the
mountaintop.
At this point, god wanted therest of the Israelites to join
Moses in his presence, but theyran away instead.
It appears to me that thehistory of the Jewish people
went downhill from the momentGod said come near.
(27:28):
And they said no way.
And it is abundantly clear thatthis problem isn't unique to the
Israelites of Moses's day.
It is also a serious problem inthe church today.
All they want to do is date God.
There's something in us thatmakes us afraid of the
(27:48):
commitment that comes with realintimacy with God.
For one thing, intimacy withGod requires purity.
The days of fun and games inthe church are over.
What do I mean by fun and games?
If you, your definition of funis low commitment and lots of
thrills and chills, than allyou've ever wanted to do is date
(28:11):
God.
You just wanted to get in theback seat with him.
Do I need to draw a picture?
God is tired of us wanting toget our thrills from him without
putting on the ring ofcommitment.
Some are more enumerate with thegoosebumps than the glory.
(28:32):
They're addicted to theanointing, liking, the feeling
of being blessed, receiving thegifts like a religious gold
digger, happy with chocolatesand flowers and jewelry.
The last time I checked, he wasstill looking for a bride, not
a girlfriend, one who will stickwith him.
(28:54):
I'm afraid the writer iscorrect when he's saying this
we're too busy.
We want the goose bumps, youknow, but we don't want the
glory to go as long with it.
We want the blessings, but wedon't want to do anything to get
it, we just bear.
We're just a gold digger.
We want to give anything back.
We want to take and take andtake from God, but yet we don't
(29:18):
want to abide by the word of God.
Now I'm preaching the choir here.
Guys, none of us are perfect.
None of us are perfect.
We're too busy dating Godrather than just, you know,
committing ourselves to himwholeheartedly and doing exactly
what he's asked us to do.
(29:39):
I'm afraid that many people inthe church have simply
approached God to get what theycan from him without committing
anything in return.
God is saying to his church Idon't want that.
Now, if you want to marry me,let's do this right.
Let's pledge ourselves to eachother.
(30:00):
We've chased after cheapthrills without the commitment.
But God is saying intimacy, andhe's saying it everywhere
intimacy, and out of thatintimacy will come revival.
The babe of revival is hewnfrom the granite rock of
commitment to the bridegroom.
Babies are always birthed fromintimacy.
(30:23):
It's time to draw near.
Let's take a break and we willbe right.
Let's take a break and we willbe right.
(30:59):
We've often placed the cartbefore the horse.
We say we want revival andnever mention intimacy.
We seek revival without seekinghim.
That's a lot like some strangerof the opposite sex walking up
(31:24):
to you and saying I want kids.
What do you say?
I don't really know you and I'mnot even sure I like you.
Of course I don't want all thecommitment that goes with
marriage, but I really do wantchildren.
How about it?
Leaders in the church havewritten countless books on how
(31:44):
to grow churches, but sometimesthe underlying message there is
this is how to grow churcheswithout relationship with him.
We have tried to find shortcutsto short circuit the intimacy
requirement every way we can.
Why?
It is because what we want is abunch of kids sitting on the
(32:09):
pews in the church so we canlook around and compare with
everybody else's church familyin town.
Children in and of ourthemselves do not make a
household.
They are the natural byproductof a loving relationship and
intimacy in a marriage.
You get in the picture.
(32:30):
Here.
Intimacy is key.
Frankly, most of our churchestoday are the spiritual
equivalent of a dysfunctionalhousehold Single parent,
trestitaries whereas dad.
What we really need to beseeking is a real relationship
(32:52):
with God.
Anytime you put a man and awoman together who love each
other, you don't have to worryabout whether or not they will
have children.
In most cases it's a naturaloutgrowth of the process of
intimacy.
Why is it that the largestrevivals in the last century
(33:13):
have never been held on Americansoul?
I think it dates to the erawhen our morals went down the
tubes along with our commitmentlevels.
I purpose that our nation'scollective ability to really
grow deep in its relationshipwith God is accurately mirrored
(33:34):
in its reciprocal or oppositefactor by our skyrocketing trend
toward rampant divorce ratesand broken marriages.
In other words, we haveforgotten our dismissed as
unimportant, the lost arc ofcommitment to God.
As we made the choice to turnaway from God's face at the
(33:54):
mountain, every other commitmentin our lives began to
deteriorate and fall apart aswell.
Hot house Christians have noroot.
Most Christians in NorthAmerica are hot house Christians
who bloom, as long as they arekept in a protected and
(34:15):
carefully controlled environment, far from fear, distress or
persecution.
God forbid that it should costus something to speak the name
of Jesus.
But time and again we have seenthat if you take hot house
Christians out of the protectedenvironment and put them into
the real world where the windand adversity blows and the rain
(34:39):
of sorrow falls.
If they have to endure the hotsun and the drought it brings,
then they discover that theynever develop a root system in
the hot house.
So they will there and say I'mjust not cut out for this.
Now, my, my God has dealt withme to the point where I have
(35:03):
been forced to redefine some ofmy criteria for what it means to
be saved.
If it takes the perfection ofenvironment to prove the
presence of God in your life,then my guess is that the
persecuted Christians just don'thave God.
How can they?
They don't have Bible seminars.
(35:24):
They don't have choirs or thelatest worship music.
They don't have airconditioning, ushers, nurseries,
electronic paging systems,carpeted sanctuaries or staff
counselors.
Their worship environment isterrible.
If they get caught havingchurch, they must pay a terrible
price.
I read an account of a group ofChinese Christians who are
(35:47):
caught holding a church service.
The officials placed a horsetrough in the middle town and
forced every man and woman inthat congregation to urinate
until into it.
Then they drowned the pastor init right in front of their eyes
.
Do you know what happened?
(36:07):
The church congregation doubledin two weeks and it wasn't
because of the nice sanctuary, adynamic worship team.
True church growth, wherever itmay be, in freedom or
persecution, comes because ofonly one thing it springs forth
from an intimate knowledge ofthe living God, the confession
(36:35):
of people in love.
These kinds of believers don'tgauge the relationship with God
but whether they receive asalary raise this quarter, by
how things are going with theirbank accounts or by how much fun
they've been having duringchurch activities.
They have joined Paul by sayingbut none of these things move
(36:57):
me, neither count I my life dearunto myself so that I might
finish my course with joy andthe ministry which I have
received of the Lord Jesus totestify the gospel of the grace
of God, acts 2024.
This is the confession ofpeople in love and an intimate
communion with their maker.
(37:18):
God is calling the first time.
God revealed this to me.
God revealed this to me.
I trembled in web in front ofthe people as I told them.
The same thing I tell you today.
You are at Mount Sinai today.
Listen closely, guys.
You are at Mount Sinai todayand God is calling you into
(37:40):
personal intimacy with him.
If you dare to answer his call,then it is going to redefine
everything you've ever done.
Your decision today willdetermine whether you go forward
or backward in your walk withChrist.
He is calling us into intimacy,guys, right now.
(38:04):
We're on Mount Sinai right nowand he's asking us to come.
He's coming down off themountain and he's asking us to
come.
Are we going to run in or arewe going to walk away?
Moses went in.
I would think I want to be thesame way.
I want to go see and talk toGod Myself.
Intimacy with God requires acertain level of brokenness,
(38:25):
because purity comes frombrokenness.
The gains are over.
Friend, he's calling you.
Everybody say he's calling me,he's calling me.
Could it be that we don't wantto get into that cloud or God
with God, because we know he'sgoing to look into our hearts
(38:46):
and we know what he will findthere.
We have to deal with more thanour outward actions.
We have to deal with our inwardmotives also.
We must come clean, because Godcan't reveal his face to a
partially pure church.
It would be destroyed in aninstant.
God is calling people who wantserious revival into a place of
(39:09):
transparent purity.
It's you who he's after.
He wants you to draw near, butat the same time, if you come
near, then he will have to dealwith you.
That can only mean one thingyou must die.
This is the same thing God toldMoses.
(39:34):
No man has seen my face andlived.
So remember to pass by thealtar of forgiveness and
sacrifice on your way into theHoly of Holies.
It's time for us to lay ouregos on the cross, to crucify
our will, to lay our agendasaside.
But if you're dead, then hewill make you lie, you alive
(39:57):
again, and all you need to do isdie if you really want to get
into his presence.
When the apostle Paul wrote, Idied daily.
He was saying I enter into thepresence of God every day.
Run in, don't run away.
(40:17):
Some powerful words right there, guys.
He wants us to run in, he don'twant us to run away.
He desires to be intimate withus.
He desires to have arelationship like we've never
had before, and I think it'sthat's what it's going to take
(40:38):
in these last days.
I said it in the beginning thatyou think the battle is hard.
Now Just wait.
It's going to get worse.
And if we're not prepared, ifwe're, do not have that intimacy
with the father, then we willnot make it.
If we don't come to him withpure hearts, pure minds, then as
(41:02):
we do try to get close to him,it's going to destroy us, just
as it did to children.
As long as you, guys, I hopeyou've enjoyed this today.
I hope this episode has openedyour eyes on what God wants from
us.
He wants to draw closer, hewants us to follow hard after
him and I believe if we do, wecan see changes in our life.
(41:25):
Thank you for joining me at theChristian Cafe.
I hope your meal was good foryou today.
I hope you received and waspoured into and your field to
capacity, capacity and you cantake this with you and learn
from it and see what God wantsyou to do.
Next episode we'll start inchapter six how to handle the
(41:48):
holy moving from anointing toglory.
That is a fascinating chapter.
I can't wait for you to hear it.
You can wait to dive into thatand let God show us what he
wants from us.
Thank you again, guys, forstopping by the Christian Cafe.
Have a blessed day, a wonderfulweek.
(42:11):
May everything go the way God'splan is in your life.
God bless you and we're prayingfor you.
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