How To Have Intimacy

Theme: God created us for intimacy. No one can truly live happily without it. Jesus was the happiest man who ever lived, because of his unbroken intimacy with One who loved him.

Have you ever experienced being too happy? Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, preached a sermon entitled Prodigal Love for the Prodigal Son (or Many Kisses for Returning Sinners). The verse he based it on is "...and kissed him." (Lk 15:20). In his sermon Spurgeon said, "Some of us know at times what it is to be almost too happy to live! The love of God has been so overpoweringly experienced by us on some occasions, that we have almost had to ask for a stay of the delight because we could not endure any more. If the glory had not been veiled a little, we should have died of excess of rapture, or happiness."

As a Christian, how does one find intimacy? We need to know the following about God and man (ourselves):

1. A true knowledge of God and of ourselves (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Chapter 1, Sections 1,2).
2. The love of the Father (Jn 3:16; 1 Jn 4:8, 16; Jer 31:3).
3. The grace of the Son (Ac 20:24; 2 Tim 2:1; Gal 2:20; Eph 2:8-9).
4. The presence of the Holy Spirit: love, joy and peace (Gal 5:22-23) and freedom (2 Cor 3:17).
5. Having family, friends and a safe church who truly love you, care for you, and are invested in your life, future, success and happiness, while respecting you and not violating your boundaries.