Spiritual Intimacy

Sun 6th March

Dan Harding

*Developing spiritual intimacy
*Can outlive suffering, emotional and physical intimacy
*Colossians 3:18-21: Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

*Where is the intimacy in this passage?
*You can disagree but try and understand why Paul talked about

1. Finding a Christian Partner
*Colossians 3:1-4: Since, then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

*Colossians 3:10-11: and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

*If your a Christian, something internal is living in you
*Spiritual intimacy can only happen through Jesus with another Christian because we Christians are given a new self
*We can't have spiritual intimacy with someone who does not have the Holy Spirit in them
*The Question is do you have God in your life to experience together then
*It's a joyous and a beneficial thing to share Christ in them
*God brought us together as Christians so we should not give up so easily

2. Sharing your commitment to become like Christ
*Colossians 3:12-15: Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

*It's growing out character to become like Christ
*His plan is to become like Christ
*Richard Foster said we should do these things to become like Christ
Prayer
Journaling
Meditation
Worship
Celebration
Studying
Devotions
Fasting

*Colossians 3:16-17: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

*We can do things together if we have a Christian partner
*We have spiritual intimacy

3. Thinking responsibility, not rights
*When we think of submitting, we will think how dare they demand us to submit
*Its not common for husbands to say I love my wife
*They can be passionate about passion, job, hobbies, kids but we choose to ignore to love their wives and speaking politely
*Intimacy is always fostered and never demanded
*We should have passion to faithfully love our spouse, and the one who saves us
*That doesn't mean you have given up your right
*Jesus loved more than anybody else and willingly submitted to us so that we could experience his love. We never deserved it but He did.



**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**