Copyright 2020, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
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Intimacy. What does this word mean to you? Intimacy. What are the emotions that it evokes? Intimacy. It’s a word that should only be spoken tenderly, preferably whispered. Intimacy. It captures close relationship, mutual vulnerability and tangible love. Intimacy. It’s a word for lovers.
I just started a book, that a very good friend shared with me. The book is ‘Seen. Known. Loved.’ by Gary Chapman (author of The 5 Love Languages) & R. York Moore and this is the quote from the introduction that my friend hooked me with:
“Why then are so many religious people rude, harsh, and condemning of others? Where is Christian love? While just over 70 percent of the US population identifies as Christian, many of them are merely cultural Christians. They call themselves Christian because they grew up in a Christian culture. More importantly, many of them have not personally and deeply responded to the love of God. They are, in fact, still searching for love. As are so many of us, whatever our spiritual beliefs. And until our deep need for love is met, we are not likely to become lovers ourselves.”
I don’t know what the rest of the book holds but this quote has been reverberating and resonating with other strains of thought and longings of my heart in this season. It has been like another clue that God has given me on my journey with Him.
As I suppose is natural in life, I have been coming into contact with people with a wider and wider variety of Christian upbringings, who have been part of different Christian traditions and cultures. But what I have noticed is that there is one thing that, for me, makes the faith of some individuals overwhelmingly more attractive than others. I can define that thing as ‘intimacy with God’. There is something about a person whose Christianity is centered on a relationship with the person of God. There is something different about a man or woman who is passionately in love with Jesus.
One would think that a personal relationship with Jesus is a no-brainer, par for the course for all Christians, but… (re-read the quote above). Many are still searching for God. You can hear it in the way they pray, their choice of words, what flows from the abundance of their heart. Many have fallen in love with the idea of God. Most have fallen in love with the idea of being biblically righteous. Some love being dominion enforcing heaven warriors. The list could go on and on, and none of these are bad things, but they are not THE thing.
The whole point of Jesus’ death was so that we could be intimate with God. This is what He died for! He rent the veil that separated us from His Presence! By the blood of Jesus, the Father threw our sins into the sea of forgetfulness that they would no longer separate us from His touch! Jesus left the earth so that He could send the loving Spirit to dwell in our very hearts. The entire death and resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit was our God leaping across the mountains to draw His betrothed to Himself and shadow us under the wings of His loving embrace.
We are His beloved betrothed bride, but we are yet to taste of the final ecstasy of union in marriage with our Lover. Revelations 21:2-4 (ESV):
2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
God’s choice of words in Revelations is not by accident. He uses the picture of a bride and her husband very deliberately. It is the most intimate relationship that we can experience on this earth. Our King wants to share Himself with us and for us to share ourselves with Him. This is the center of the heart of God toward us. Every Word of God has this heart desire for intimacy with us at the very core. All creation whispers, “I know you. I love You. Come to ME.” Jesus’ final prayer on the earth was that we be one as He is one with the Father. He desired that the love fellowship of intimate and eternal communion that He shared with the Father be extended to envelop us. Wow!
This is why the answer to every single issue that we face is, ‘Draw closer to God’. Lost? Lonely? Purposeless? Draw closer to God. Problems in your marriage, in your church? Draw closer to God. Want to walk in greater anointing, gifting, supernatural power? Draw closer to God.
Intimacy with my God is my raison d’etre. This is the purpose of my existence. This is my why and my how. Many sincere souls have tried to sell me ‘accurate doctrine’ or ‘cutting edge truth’ or ‘biblical exactitude’ or ‘the kingdom prototype’ or ‘missions’ or ‘the apostolic’ or ‘house churches’ or any number of a million things as THE key and it has distracted me in years gone by… but not any more… Those years are but an insignificant distant vapour to me.
Some months ago, God said to me, “You have learned the part of the student, now understand what it means to be a worshipper.” With it He gave a clue – the woman who anointed Jesus with the alabaster jar of perfume. I am beginning to understand… worship is about intimacy. There is only ONE THING, one burning, indomitable pursuit – deeper and deeper intimacy with my Maker… now and forevermore. Amen.
Copyright 2020, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
Well folks,
we have come to the end; the final instalment in my kingdom culture series! I
hope you have enjoyed the content thus far. My aim in this series has been to
highlight some of the values of authentic kingdom culture and to juxtapose that
against the prevailing culture in the world. My hope is that the series has
provoked thought and inspired you to live the values of the kingdom wherever
you are!
In 1976 Edward T. Hall proposed a model for viewing culture as an iceberg. The part of an iceberg that is visible above the water is only 10% of its mass. The remaining 90% lurks hidden below the surface. Hall proposed that culture is the same; what we can see; the food, festivals, flag and fashion, is only 10% of what constitutes the culture. Underpinning that are dispositions, values, attitudes and beliefs. Let’s transpose this to the local church. The worship songs, preaching, activities, etc. are the most visible expressions of the culture but what I have been trying to focus on in this series is the underlying beliefs that lie below.
For this
final piece I have chosen an issue which I believe is at the very bottom of the
iceberg – love. I believe that love expressed through relationship is the very
foundation of kingdom culture. I do not believe that anything achieved or
constructed in the kingdom is of any value or merit or integrity unless it
comes from a motive of love that finds expression through relationship.
Jesus said
that all the Law and the Prophets depend on two commandments:
You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind.
You
shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Love for God and love for others are the foundational values of the kingdom.
Paul said
that the most powerful exhibit of spiritual
gifts or the most pious expressions of religious duty are all nothing if they are
not done with love. Wow!
What does
this mean for us? Well one practical implication is that God is not impressed
by and He doesn’t respond to, mere spiritual activity. Often, I hear people say
that the church would be better if we pray like we used to, or we attend
services like we used to. I understand where those sentiments come from but the
answer is not in the activity. The answer lies first in the quality of our
relationship with God and with others. The activities are the 10% overflow from
the 90% foundation.
I have found this to be a radically life-changing understanding. It means that our lack of victory in a situation may be more linked to the heart attitude we have toward our spouse than the time we put in in prayer.
This was recently brought home to be in a very tangible way. I was struggling with mild depression. I felt overwhelmed by the challenges in my marriage and the melding of two families under one roof. Extended family members weren’t making it any easier either. But worst of all my prayer life was nonexistent and my bible study was dull. Then God showed me that I had been carrying around a little undercurrent of resentment toward my wife. I thought it was nothing. I thought I had good reasons why I should feel that way but God saw it and He did not share my view. I was stopping the free flow of His love. The moment I saw it and acknowledged it for what it was, my life changed.
The same principle applies to other spheres of our lives. If we want more of the Presence of God in our ministry, don’t necessarily focus on what activity we need to add or change, focus on who we need to forgive or who we need to ask forgiveness of, or maybe which other ministries, leaders or denominations we pull down!
Kingdom power and the Presence of God flows and endures where
people know His heart and live His values.
My dear friends, devote your lives to loving God completely and loving others well. Nothing else is of greater eternal consequence!
Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
I recently attended a wedding where a Catholic bride was wedded to a non-denominational Evangelical groom 😊. Before the nuptials his pastors had hoped that she would get ‘saved’ and baptized and her priest had impressed upon him that the Catholic Church was the only true church. They each listened politely but were unfazed. Their love for each other and respect that they had for their equally fervent but slightly unique faiths in God had been cemented in Christ by the Holy Spirit beyond the reach of doctrinal dogma.
The wedding
started with the Latin song Veni Creator Spiritus, inviting the Holy Spirit.
And He came. The church filled with joy, peace and love, mirroring the natural
ambience created by the sunlight that filtered through the stained-glass
windows and a light breeze that wafted through the sanctuary.
I suppose men
will be arguing points of doctrine until Christ returns but you know what you
can’t argue with? Love. God IS love.
“You shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all
the Law and the Prophets.”
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures
all things.Love never ends. As for prophecies,
they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will
pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the
perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a
child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I
gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.
Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is
love.
Love is the greatest! There is no higher law. Everything else will
fade, everything else will give way under the sheer force of love. In the midst
of our dark ignorance, constant failures and stumbling faith, God will still
show up… for love.
In the midst of that church, a bridge of love was forged in the
Spirit. Pastor and priest joined hands with bride and groom and God smiled. Two
families united and the Holy Spirit danced. A multitude of sins were covered
over and Jesus was glorified.
Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
The whole set up for the birth of Jesus is amazing. Consider first of
all the simple fact that He came! God left His pure, ethereal, glorious existence
and took on physical form. If I had unlimited power and existed in a world
outside of time and space I’m not sure I would have willingly chosen to become
a mere mortal confined to time and space. I mean consider that Jesus (God
incarnate) had to be fed, have His diapers changed, learn to walk, go through
puberty, make friends in school, study, get a job, work hard, feel tired, feel
sad… the full range of what it means to be human.
Why did He do it? Love. Jesus is the ultimate expression of love in the
flesh. He is an exemplar of ‘practice what you preach’. He showed us the way to
live by example. And even more shocking is that His purpose was to effect the
most scandalous gift exchange of all time. He gave His life so that we could gain
eternal life. He took on humanity so that we could have godliness. He suffered
so that we would suffer no more. He took away our sins so that we could become
righteous. He left heaven so that we could have a home in heaven. He lay down
His glory so that we could become glorious. The king became a servant, so that
the servants could become kings!
Who is worthy of such a gift? The answer is no one and everyone. None are
worthy, but all are accepted. The circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus
were intentionally orchestrated by God to let us know that Jesus came for
EVERYONE. He could have been born in a palace but instead He chose a stable. He
could have been laid in a fancy hand-crafted crib but instead he chose a
feeding trough for animals. His first visitors could have been the elite of the
Jewish people at that time but instead He chose his first visitors to be the low-class
shepherds and three wise non-believers. And when they did take Him to be dedicated
at the temple who met Him there? An ordinary but devout parishioner named
Simeon and an old devout widow. It wasn’t the who’s who but the ordinary
faithful.
The bottom line is that Jesus was surrounded by believers and non-believers of humble and sincere hearts regardless of station in life or religious order. This is Jesus. The Saviour of the world. He came for us all. He does not care what denomination we belong to or if we have a denomination at all. He does not care about our social status or how many followers we have on Instagram. He is holding out His arms longing for all to come and receive Him. The Gift is free. The worth is inestimable.
Joyfully,
Copyright Matik Nicholls, 2018. All rights reserved.
A few days ago I started a book called The Veil by Blake Healy and I could not put it down. I finished reading it in two days! MY MIND HAS BEEN BLOWN.
The book shares the highlights of Blake’s life as one who could see clearly in the spirit realm from childhood. He describes in amazing detail the unseen activity that surrounds us at every single moment. You might think that the spectacle of angels and demons and the epic drama that goes on behind the scenes is what got me so excited, but it wasn’t.
What completely shook up my world was two things:
The sheer sovereignty of God. God is not in a battle with satan. There is no contest. When God turns up, everything else moves aside. It is only we who give demonic forces the power to operate in our lives and in the earth.
The copious amount of resources that are constantly being deployed by heaven in demonstration of God’s unceasing love for us! All of heaven is literally rooting for us!
These are not concepts that I have not considered before but hearing (it was an audiobook) the outworking of that described in detail took my faith to the next level! In my humble opinion this book is a must-read for all Christians.
There were so many little details that beautifully communicated the heart of God. Like one time Blake describes a church service where Jesus is personally ministering to each person in the congregation but some are ignoring Him and just looking around bored. Blake says that Jesus doesn’t look angry or disappointed; He’s just standing next to them waiting for an opportunity to be welcomed. That simple detail spoke volumes to me! It spoke of the humility and love of Jesus that is beyond compare!
Another time Blake has a vision of a sea of demons being fought by a man. The man has a sword of blue flames that he wields with stunning effect against a massive tidal wave of demonic forces but he is outnumbered…until…he holds hands with a robed woman with a staff who represents the Holy Spirit. Together, they perform a lethally elegant dance-duel that annihilates the horde with beams of blinding white light. A beautiful and powerful representation of what can happen when we partner with the Holy Spirit.
I love how God captures our imagination. These visions are of course just pictorial representations of a spiritual reality but they communicate a reality nonetheless. And that is the point; this is THE reality. There were some angels that Blake recounts when he looked into their eyes he knew this was a creature that had seen the THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH. He couldn’t look into his eyes for long without feeling completely unworthy.
The implications of a God that is completely unchallenged in authority and power and at the same time absolutely committed to having an intimate relationship with us is this – the battles we face are 99% in our minds and it is a battle for identity. And this is where the demonic realm has a field day. Think about it, He loves us unconditionally and He has all power. So what can really harm us or stop us? Nothing? Except… the lies of the enemy that we believe. Lies like, “Nobody loves me.” “I’ve done too many sinful things for God or anyone else to love me.” “I am a failure.”
These are all lies (and many more) that the enemy uses to get us to have more faith in him than God. Blake says, “Fear is faith in the enemy.” Because when we believe that the enemy has power over us or that we are not loved, we are in effect saying that we do not believe what God says. We are believing something else….
The Father says that He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die so that He could adopt us as sons and daughters! The Son says that He loves us so much that He gladly went to the cross to make us his sisters and brothers! The Spirit comes and dwells in us testifying of the love of the Father for us every moment! Either we are daughters and sons of God or not? Who will you believe?
Joyfully,
Copyright 2018, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
