Intimacy with God: the key to fruitfulness in ministry

“As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses...The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.” Exodus 33: 9,11

How would you like to have that kind of relationship with God?  That kind of intimacy?  You CAN!

At the moment Jesus died on the Cross, the curtain in the temple which separated God’s people from the Holy of Holies was torn in two!  The barrier between God and man was destroyed through Christ’s sacrifice.  What is it that separates mankind from God, going all the way back to Adam?  Sin.  But Jesus dealt decisively with our sin through his substitutionary death.  If you are in Christ, the barrier between you and God has been destroyed, and you can boldly come before His throne.

Like Adam and Eve, you were created for intimacy with God - and Jesus’ work on the cross has restored you to God’s original purpose for your life.

The intimacy that Moses enjoyed must be available to us.  Special as he was, Moses lived under the Old Covenant.  But we have a New and better Covenant. 

Intimacy with God is a very worthwhile objective in itself.  But God’s plan goes beyond that.  He wants to use you to reach the world around you - to restore lost people to the kind of intimacy with God that you enjoy.  Intimacy with a purpose.  You have a mission!  Jesus called it the Great Commission.  And it is to be fulfilled by believers walking in intimate fellowship with God.  

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. “ (Matt. 28:20).

Moses was a man familiar with being sent on difficult missions.  In Exodus 33, Moses is discussing with God his mission to bring the Israelites out of the wilderness and into the promised land.  What did Moses, the friend of God, ask for in order to accomplish this daunting task?  Intimacy with God.

“If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so that I may know you and continue to find favor with you.”  Exodus 33:13

The phrases “teach me your ways” and “that I may know you” are a cry for intimacy.  Moses has the Commandments of God.  Now he’s asking to know what makes God’s heart tick.   Moses is going beyond rules towards relationship.

“If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” Verse 15

What a key for a fruitful Christian life!  God, we must have your Presence.  You are sending us on a mission that we gratefully accept - but we cannot accomplish it on our own!  We must have You!  We must have Your Presence!

This is the key to fruitfulness. Jesus said, “If a man abides in me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit” (John 15:5)

Ministry flows naturally out of our intimacy with God - if we can learn to let our light shine.  When Moses came out of the tent, his face was radiant with God’s glory.  (Ex. 34:30).  Our light comes from the same source:

“We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory.” (2 Cor. 3:18)

Carry His Presence out of your tent and into the streets.  Let His fire burn bright in you and shine bright!