The Yearning Heart of God: From Religion to Relationship

By Adam Spacagna

Available to all of humanity is a place of intimate love with our Creator. Within this sacred realm of fellowship is a treasure chest of knowledge, intelligence, unimaginable peace, and indescribable pleasure. I wrote this book to help individuals and church congregations, make the vital transition from religion to relationship. The Yearning Heart of God is an in-depth, detailed revelation of God's heart revealed in Scripture, as well as His blueprint on how to discover the way into a love relationship with Him. This book will help individuals and churches identify exactly where they are at on their spiritual journey, and what to do next to keep moving closer to God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 25, 2011
• ISBN: 9781463428860

Adam Spacagna

Adam Spacagna has served as senior pastor of Community Friends Church in Cleveland Ohio, and of Wayland Community Church in Ravenna Ohio. Adam has a Bachelor of Divinity Degree and has completed countless hours of Bible and Torah research. As a pastor, father, husband, and entrepreneur, Adam has discovered many fascinating details about humanities need for relationship over religion, which lead to a decade long study of God's heart. At age 19, Adam Spacagna began waking everyday at five in the morning to spend time with the Lord. Since an encounter with Gods presence one morning, Adam began seeking God daily, in everyday life, relying on these times of fellowship for strength and serenity. The Lord developed in Adam an active prayer life, calling him into ministry and intercession in his early 20s. Adam Spacagna currently resides in Bedford Ohio with his wife Emily, and two wonderful children Adam and Grace. Mr. Spacagna currently serves at his local church in Cleveland Ohio, and continues to guest speak at churches across the country, promoting his message of moving from religion to relationship.

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CONTENTS

Introduction

CHAPTER ONE

THE BIRTH OF DESIRE

CHAPTER TWO

PLEASURE AND JEALOUSY

CHAPTER THREE

THE ALURE OF GOD

CHAPTER FOUR

TABERNACLE

CHAPTER FIVE

GROWING IN YOUR LOVE

CHAPTER SIX

GROWING IN YOUR KNOWLEDGE

CHAPTER SEVEN

BEING DRESSED IN READINESS

Introduction

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.

Psalm 139:17&18 (NASB)

Available to all of humanity is a place of intimate love with our Creator. Within this sacred realm of fellowship is a treasure chest of knowledge, intelligence, unimaginable peace, and indescribable pleasure. I wrote this book to help individuals and church congregations, make the vital transition from religion to relationship, and experience these blessings.

When I began my search through God’s Word, looking for clarity concerning this subject, the first discovery was that a relationship with the Lord would ultimately arrive to intimate love. This process of falling in love with God has little to do with religion, and it does not normally take place within religious activity. I learned that true intimacy is two hearts exclusively revealing themselves to each other and creating a deep bond of love, which is the very heart of the human voyage in life. This revelation shook the basic understanding that I had always thought to be, the systematic prayer into a relationship with our Creator called, the sinners prayer. After long research, I discovered that people usually get just an introduction to God at a church gathering. At these meetings, a person may recite a guided prayer of repentance and acceptance of God’s Son. However, they do not normally bond deeply in love with Him until God Himself unveils their eyes and reveals His heart to them in a realm of awareness the Bible calls, the secret place.

Many people who identify themselves as Christian have lived within a realm of relationship with God called the outer courts. This book will examine specifically, what the differences are between the outer court relationship, and the secret place. People have a tendency to link external religious activity with the inner affection of a person’s heart, therefore, whether a person displays an outward religious and moral passion or not, they can still be miles away from connecting with the heart of God. We do not always know whether a person truly has fallen in love with God by just observing their religious activity. Repetitious religious activity tends to be an obligatory response to God and can become a dark veil hindering an affection driven love for God.

The wonderful thing about all this is that God passionately longs to reveal Himself to us. God’s desire for us is to create a hunger inside our hearts that causes us to seek after Him. This revelation within scripture tends to turn dry religion into a personal ocean of delight that exhilarates God as we begin to be fascinated with Him. Once we start to draw close to God, His presence then begins to blossom in our hearts as a daily intimate revelation of the utmost pleasure known to man, the pleasure of the divine character and brilliant personality that created everything that exists! I pray that this book will help you start the greatest journey you could ever embark upon, the journey into the yearning heart of God.

CHAPTER ONE

THE BIRTH OF DESIRE

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Good morning

sweet Lord of my heart.

I call to Thee to walk with me.

I can see You this morning Beloved, walking

By Your stream, In Your garden,

Your presence has awakened the lilies,

Your lovely voice directs the songs of nature’s choir,

Your gentle touch dries the dew of the morning,

You honor creation with Your entrance.

I bow with the daisies,

I surrender with the quieting of nature,

I tremble with the quaking trees.

Here I flow with my eternal love

Down Thy eternal stream,

Here I walk in the eternal garden

With the eternal King.

The birth of desire began in God’s secret place of intimacy called the Garden of Eden. I like to call it the garden of desire because that is what Eden was all about, and as you get to know God more, you will discover that desire is a flame of passion ignited within His heart every time one more soul falls in love with Him.

The First Date

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.

Genesis 3: 8 (NASB)

"My beloved has gone to His garden, to the beds of spices, to feed

His flock in the gardens, and to gather lilies. I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine."

Song of Solomon 6: 2&3 (NASB)

Almost everyone has a fairly good recollection of their very first date with a person who captured their heart. Most of us can recall the preparation we went through before the date, what to wear, what you are going to talk about, and most importantly where to go. Ambiance is always an integral factor in romance. Dinner and a movie is a good getting to know you better before opening up type of ambiance, while the walk and picnic basket in the park is most always a definite I’m interested in you atmosphere. There is a greater level of affection and unveiling in the quiet and scenic moments of life than in the distractions of a loud restaurant or movie. Why did God choose the Garden of Eden to have His first encounter with man? Was this a getting to know you more first date? Or was this a scene of intimate love and divine romance. What did God reveal in Genesis about His heart’s desire for humanity?

As I began my study in Genesis, I could not help but wonder what was going on in God’s mind and heart as He was planning His first date with humanity. What was the first impression He wanted us to have of Him? What did He want to reveal to us first? What was the first thing He was going to say to His newly created companion? As I was reading the first three words of the Bible; In the beginning, I suddenly heard God whisper to me, asking me if I could see it. See what? I asked. My preparations, My hearts desire, the Lord whispered. Then it hit me. The scripture came to life and I could see that God was a God of romantic and intimate love. Everything I had ever learned about God and the Bible prior to this moment suddenly began to weave together a message from God’s heart that I had not heard before. The preparation and planning, the decision to go to this beautiful and quiet garden to have His first date with humanity, all demonstrated God’s deep desire to reveal Himself to us and in essence, cause us to fall in love with Him. I was amazed that I started to discover God’s heart in an old Sunday school Bible story that I learned many years ago, when my journey into God’s yearning heart had begun. I kept reading, looking for what was going to be God’s first message to us, and I was not disappointed.

The Plan to Win Man’s Heart Begins

And God said, See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every grain, herb for food, and it was so. Then God saw everything he had made, and indeed, it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Genesis 1:29-31 (NASB)

The first move the Lord made was to show His creation that He would provide for us all things. He wanted