Why Intimacy With Jesus Matters Most

Have you ever read a bible verse that spooked you? One that haunted you like a ghost? When Jesus is wrapping up His famous Sermon on the Mount, He makes a statement that leaves me feeling a little nervous.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ – Matthew 7:21-23 ESV

If you’ve been in student ministry long enough, the reality is that most of us can probably say that we have “prophesied” in the name of Jesus. At least once. Those of us who have had the courage may have even cast out some demons and have a pretty wild story to tell about it. Handling middle school boys in any of our regular programming or events is in and of itself a mighty work, I’d say. But the haunting part of this verse is that Jesus says you can do all of that, and He could declare, “I never knew you.”

I think the heart of what Jesus is saying is that you can do a lot of great ministry without Him. And it’s interesting that He says, “I never knew you.” How does that make sense for the guy who knows the very number of hairs on our head? Or for some, at least the number of hairs that used to be there?

But that’s not how ministry is supposed to be. It’s not how our lives are supposed to be. Jesus’ words in these few verses tell us something we need to be careful not to miss: For many, it will be easier to “do ministry” than to invite Him into every aspect of life. In other words, it’s easier to keep Jesus at a safe distance through our work rather than to invite Him close and experience intimacy in our lives.

JESUS AND INTIMACY

Intimacy isn’t a word we use much and is often one we are uncomfortable with. But intimacy is a word we need to get comfortable with because it’s probably the defining word that describes Jesus’ relationship with His Father, His disciples, and what He wants with (and for) you and me.

Notice the language you see just in Mark’s gospel:

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. – Mark 1:35 ESV

And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. – Mark 3:13-15 ESV

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” – Mark 6:30

And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. – Mark 6:46 ESV

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. – Mark 9:2 ESV

And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. – Mark 9:9 ESV

I could go on, but I think you get the point. Jesus goes by Himself to the Father. He calls His disciples close. He wants to hear about what they did. He invites them to rest. He invites just three of them into a really special moment and tells them that it’s between them and not to share it with anyone else.

Think about how often the crowds come to Jesus. What does He do? In almost every circumstance, He invites the Father into those moments through prayer, and moves close to His disciples. My point is Jesus knows the Father, and His disciples know Him because He invited them into every aspect of His life.

How about you? On a Thursday morning after a long night of ministry the night before, do you, like the verse above, tell Jesus all you did and taught? Or do you begin to plan for the next week or event? Or perhaps worse, just sit in what you thought you didn’t do well and beat yourself up?

When you are scared, do you openly tell Jesus? Do you invite Him into your fears? Your anxieties? Do you tell Him where you feel inadequate? The things that make you angry?

Do you hide behind spiritual language to cover for your spiritual emptiness? “Let me pray about that” is one of my favorites. Translation? I have no interest in that, but I also don’t have the courage to just say no.

What if the next time someone asks you about your “strategy for ministry” or they start talking about strategy, you told them that your strategy centers around being with Jesus? See if you get a weird look.

The bottom line is, when all is said and done, all that matters is that all was said and done with Jesus.

Intimacy with Jesus gives your faith credibility and authenticity, and within an authenticity-starved generation, what a gift that can be for our students! Our closeness to Jesus, our intimacy with Jesus, allows us to pull from that relationship to inform our ministry, work, calling, relationships, and interactions. Intimacy with Jesus forces us to slow down. Intimacy with Jesus fills you up. Intimacy with Jesus calms your anxious mind. Intimacy with Jesus helps clarify direction and empowers you to say no. Intimacy with Jesus will strengthen your relationships with your spouse, children, students, etc. Intimacy with Jesus will destroy pride and keep our pride from telling us we aren’t prideful.

So, what do you need to tell Jesus? Where are you hiding from Him? What parts of you do you need to give permission to Jesus to get to know? Where today can you begin to invite Him closer — into ministry, work, calling, relationships, life?

PRACTICING INTIMACY

Start by telling Jesus your answers to these questions as if He were asking you. Remember, He wants to know you.

1. 1. What was good and hard today?
   2. Did anything scare you today?
   3. Did you hide anything from me or others today?
   4. Where did you see yourself as a son or daughter today?

Share your thoughts with others in our YM360 community:

1. 1. What does practicing spiritual intimacy look like for you?
   2. Does your ministry strategy center around your own time with Jesus or something else?

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