Speaker 1Hello, welcome to Day 17, Intimacy 30, and this has been a blessing bringing these videos and these messages to you, and I want to really, really trust the Lord that it has built you in your relationship with the Lord, hallelujah. Now we've started looking yesterday at the hindrances to intimacy, what are the things that creates a hindrance in developing intimacy with the Lord, and we looked at sin consciousness yesterday, and today I want to look at something else that's equally as important, very important as well, and it's a lack of consistency, a lack of consistency. Now the Lord said this to me very importantly. He said everything that supports the human life, the natural human life, the human body, He said, put on a rhythm, everything that supports it, everything that gives it life. So, and I want to just spin the scenario to you, you breathe on a rhythm, you sleep on a rhythm, your heart beats on a rhythm, and many of these things are unconscious rhythms, which means you don't consciously breathe. If you start breathing and you consciously feel like you're breathing, then chances are that there's a problem. If your heart starts beating now and you consciously feel like your heart is beating, then chances are that there is a problem. In essence, God has designed that the things that sustain human life are not left to decision and inspiration. He put them on a schedule. He put them on a rhythm. Now it's the same thing with the spiritual life, that if you have to always decide about certain disciplines, and you always have to decide, and you always have to, as it were, wait for inspiration. You know, there are people who just wait for the inspiration of the Spirit, and then they go six hours in prayer, they go on a three-day prayer, drive, you know, fasting, and then after, for three months, they are off the grid again, and then they come back again and all the rest and things like that. You see, you never will develop intimacy with the Lord if you leave your walk to the Lord, to emotions, feelings, inspirations, and all of that. You see, even in the natural. You build a relationship by faithfulness. There are times you don't feel like being a husband, but you have to be a husband. There are times you don't feel like being a father, but you have to be a father. There are times you don't feel like being a wife, but you have to be a wife. There are times you don't feel like cooking for your husband, but you choose to cook for him. In essence, faithfulness, which is showing up when necessary, showing up when required, irrespective of feelings, doing things on the terms of the relationship. Irrespective of how I feel in the immediate about those things, which means I may not feel like doing it, but these are the terms of the relationship, and I have to give myself to the terms of the relationship. So it takes faithfulness to build any relationship. Unfaithfulness is one of the biggest reasons. You see, another word for infidelity, even though infidelity is the end of the spectrum, but infidelity does not start overnight. A major reason for infidelity. Infidelity is unfaithfulness. You see, if you keep practicing unfaithfulness, then at some point you won't be fidel to the covenant and loyal to the covenant that you have with that person. It's the same thing with our relationship with the Lord, our walk with the Lord. All right? Faithfulness is a critical ingredient, and that's why, if you observe, a major way Jesus describes the servants, every time in his parable, you see good and faithful servant. Who is the good? And faithful servant that the Lord will find doing so when he shall come. So faithfulness is required in building a relationship with the Lord. Now, what do I mean by God put it on an unconscious rhythm? I'm saying that everything that supports your walk with the Lord, intimacy, building intimacy with the Lord, must be put on an unconscious rhythm. By that, I mean you show up in prayer. You wake up. Even if you're burdened. Somebody is hurting you to pray because you have said 5 a.m. I must be in prayer. You show up by every Monday in fastings, even though this particular Monday you feel very, oh, I need to, I want to eat, or it's a Wednesday, whatever it is. You show up because consistency is required to build anything of what? Particularly relationship, and in this case, a relationship with the Lord. Let me show you a scripture, a very painful scripture. Genesis 49, Genesis chapter 49, and verse 4. Talking about, I'll read from verse 3. This is Jacob speaking about his son called Reuben, the firstborn son. He said, Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power. Then he says something about him. He said, unstable as water, thou shall not excel. In essence, the one. Major reason people don't excel in anything in life, in any endeavor in life, is that they are unstable as water. Another word for that is unfaithful. Why did he say unstable as water? You see, because water takes the path of least resistance. Now, if you pour water on the floor right now, it will not go up here. It will go down here. And then it will look for the path of least resistance. Now, the thing with it, I mean, you can study. You know what I'm talking about, even by practice. The thing with it is that any form of resistance that water faces, it stops movement. And then it looks for that next point of least resistance. And that's what happens with a lot of people. They are not willing to put in the effort and the energy that is required, which means once there's some form of resistance from their flesh, some form of discomfort, some form of this and some form of that. And I need you to know that this, even though we are not able to put in the effort and the energy that is required, narrowing this into our relationship with the Lord, it's a major principle in life that the reason many do not excel is that they are unstable. They always look for the path of least resistance. They think that, well, listen, this prayer is too much. It's too hard. This fasting is too hard. Ah, this reading, watching videos and taking courses is too much. They are looking for the path of least resistance. And that's why they never show up on the radar of life. It is the same thing when it comes to our relationship with the Lord. You know, the Bible tells us that Elijah was a man of like passions as we are. Which means, you see, because sometimes when we read the stories of these people, we think they were supermen. No, their flesh cried out as well. When it says he was a man of like passions as we are, it means that he was tired like you can get tired. He was sleepy as well. It means that he, it means he went through exactly the same motions that you are going through right now in your life. In your mind, he would wake up and snooze the, snooze the alarm if need be. But Elijah knew he had to show up if he was going to build a relationship with the Lord. Now, can I say something to you? Show up. Make sure you're there. Make sure, listen, don't take the path of least resistance. In fact, can I tell you this? It shows the value you place on a person or a thing, the amount of sacrifice you're willing to put into it. The amount of sacrifice you're willing to put in shows the value, that you're placed on a person or a thing, which means if it's comfortable, it's not, it's not exactly valuable. Sometimes sacrifice is the evidence of the value and the premium that we place on the Lord and that we place on our pursuit of the Lord. And so show up. You're going to be tired. You'll feel tired. In fact, read the story of Jesus. The Bible tells us he was tired in many occasions. But, you know, and it's amazing how the Bible never hides the humanity of Jesus. He slept in the boat, all right? He was sleeping because he was tired, most likely. He was hungry and he wanted the people to go get him food. The disciples went to get him food. But by the time they came back, what did he say? My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work, which means, listen, I am now satisfied. He set aside his hunger to be faithful to his assignment. And so you see that to build a depth of relationship with the Lord, faithfulness is a major requirement. You can't keep going through the path of least resistance. You pray when it is comfortable to pray. You fast when it's comfortable to fast. You meditate when it's comfortable to meditate. You separate yourself only when it's comfortable to separate yourself. You will not develop a relationship with the Lord, a vital relationship with the Lord that way. Let me say this to you. You see, when we talk about unfaithfulness, the lack of consistency, we're talking about a lack of stability. Check your Bible study life. Check it. The people who start out and they read two chapters a day, two chapters a day, and then they go another two weeks and they have never opened their Bible. It is difficult to build a relationship with someone who doesn't show up. It is difficult to build a relationship with someone who shows up only when comfortable. The only way to build a relationship is to show up, as required. So that lack of stability, lack of consistency, lack of reliability, because God will show up. He came in the cool of the day, but Adam was not there. That lack of steadfastness. Can I add another one? To be easily swayed by conditions and emotions. So because you feel good, God has done something great for you. Oh, quiet time is powerful. All through the day, you're fellowshipping with the Lord. But because something you expected didn't show up, now your prayer has suffered. Your study of the word is suffering. Showing up as required, you're not there again. You see, it's impossible to build a fellowship with the Lord if you're not consistent. I'm praying for someone today that the grace for consistency will rest upon you. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Stay consistent and see your relationship with the Lord blossom. God bless you. I'll see you same time tomorrow.
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