Invasion of Privacy & Personal Space

Click Here To Listen To Associated Message!

​How many of you struggle when people invade your personal space or privacy???
 
This is about when your personal space and privacy is invaded by God…
 
How does God invade your privacy before you're saved?...
 
He does it through CONVICTION... 
 
John 16:7-11
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
 
The Holy Spirit comes uninvited and “Invades People’s Privacy” and He says “THE WAY YOU ARE LIVING IS WRONG AND JESUS CAN SAVE YOU AND HELP YOU!!!”…
 
Before we know Jesus He invades our thoughts, our actions, and our pride…
 
John 1:43-51
43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me." 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46 And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!" 48 Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." 49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" 50 Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." 51 And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
 
Nathaniel had his private thoughts invaded…
 
In Verse 48 Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”…
 
When no one is around and you are just thinking about things and life whether they are good or bad please believe me that the Lord will invade your privacy and begin to speak to you about your private thoughts in attempt to call you to Himself…
 
The thought life is so important both before and after salvation but when we begin to see God invade our thoughts we are awakened to the reality of an all powerful God who created our consciousness and can also invade it…
 
In John 4:13-18 Jesus meets a woman who had gone out to draw water from a well…
13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." 15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." 16Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." 17The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
 
The woman at well had her private actions invaded by the Lord…
 
Again the conviction of God before we know Him is so strong and He will invade our privacy time and time again and put our business out there until we respond appropriately…
 
This is a good time to remind you of the difference between Conviction and Condemnation…
 
We all say before we know God that people should stop judging us and condemning us…
 
Conviction comes from the Spirit of God and condemnation is the just reward of our actions…
 
People don’t condemn us and when we are judged it doesn’t condemn us…
 
Your own heart and mind and actions condemn you…
 
John 3:16-20
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
 
So Jesus invaded the woman at the wells privacy not to condemn her but to convict her of her sin which had already condemned her to death and hell unless she she was willing to give her life to Him and be forgiven…
 
Many of us before we came to Jesus thought we had private actions but there is no such thing with God…
 
So Nathanael was the invasion of the private thoughts and this woman showed us the invasion of the private actions and now lets look at the invasion of pride…
 
Luke 18:18-27
18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 19 So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 20 You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother.' " 21 And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth." 22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." 23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. 24 And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." 26 And those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?" 27 But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."
 
This rich young ruler had his private pride invaded…
 
He had built up is worth and value and identity upon what he had and when Jesus invaded private pride and brought conviction he was forced to make a decision…
 
I remember before knowing the Lord there were so many areas of my life that I just said “this is who I am and it took a lot for me to get here and I know it aint the best but its me”…
 
It can be hard to see because you aren’t saying you are better than others but it is still pride because ultimately we are saying we know better than God and He invades our private pride and brings conviction…
 
So how does God invade your privacy after you're saved?
 
While there is still conviction in the life of the believer the primary invasion the Lord seeks to accomplish is through “INTIMACY”…
 
John 20:19-22
19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
 
Revelation says that before we are saved He stands at the door of our lives and knocks and we are CONVICTED knowing its Him out there and we don’t open the door…
 
Once you are saved He just comes on in like He owns the place even when you try to lock the door to keep the enemies out…
 
Luke 24:13-20
13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. 17 And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?" 18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?" 19 And He said to them, "What things?" So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 
 
Jesus invaded a private conversation and began to invade their thoughts as the conversation goes on to say because they were His already and He wanted more intimacy with them…
 
3 things I want you to remember…
 
1. Conviction is a gift from God
 
This is how you know there is still hope for you if there is conviction and remorse...
 
Be careful though because if you don't let the Lord invade your privacy you will eventually be void of conviction and lost forever...
 
Romans 1:28
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting
 
2.  Jesus is not interested in a casual relationship or relationship with limitations
 
If you are His there is no such thing as privacy or limitations.... He is going to be all up in your business...
 
What do you mean why did I show up at your job?... 
 
What do you mean why did I check your phone and log into see every call and text for the last 90 days?... 
 
What do you mean why did I check every withdrawal and transaction?...
 
What do you mean why did I bring the kids to eat next door to restaurant you were having girls night out at?...
 
What do you mean why did I show up to get take out from the Buffalo Wild Wings you and your boys were watching Thursday night football at?... 
 
We've turned our hatred of our invasion of privacy into a trust issue that we can flip back on other people but we can't play that game with God...
 
He knows your thoughts and your actions and your pride and He is perfect so you can't convince Him that there is something wrong with Him for always showing up...
 
In our relationships I believe in showing up because that is the model Jesus gives us...
 
The world says clingy but the word says united...
 
The world says hovering but the word says stewardship...
 
The world says untrustworthy but the word says wise concerning our enemy....
 
I'm in a place where I love my wife and children to invade my privacy...
 
I don't want to be anywhere or say anything that they can't be around for...
 
When we really get there with God we see why He isn't interested in a relationship with limitations...
 
What you lose doesn't compare to what you gain...
 
When you show up at a party and everyone is like "man they brought Jesus again"... but you leave having really had a great time and drawn closer to your spouse and realized how much happier you are than the couples who are having "private time" its a great feeling...
 
3.  To have your privacy invaded by God is an amazing gift
 
Psalm 139:1-18
1 For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. 3 You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. 5 You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me," Even the night shall be light about me; 12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You. 13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. 14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. 17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! 18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.

Lord give us the revelation of David to know that there is nowhere we can go that you aren't there!