Our Knowable God Series

Our Knowable God

I want to begin this morning by giving you a couple pop quizzes. This first one is pretty easy.

1. How long did the Hundred Year War last? 116 years.

2. Which country makes Panama hats? Ecuador

3. What is a camel’s hair brush made of? Squirrel fur.

4. What color is a purple finch? Red.

5. Where are Chinese gooseberries from? New Zealand

6. How long did the Thirty Year War last? 30 years, of course!

Now, for the second quiz, I’m going to give you some clues, and I want you to try to figure out who I’m talking about. As soon as you think you know, go ahead and shout out his name… (see, I already gave you the first clue ­ now you know it’s a man).

He was born on November 26, 1922

When he was in WWII, he wrote his son every day

One of his jobs was as a teacher

He begins every day by reading the paper, having a cup of coffee and eating an English muffin in an ice rink coffee shop

For the last 50 years, he has worked 365 days a year

His first work appeared in the Saturday Evening Post

He was given the nickname “Sparky” when he was one week old and is still called that today

Many years ago, a girl with red hair broke his heart by refusing his marriage proposal

Charlie was one of his teacher’s names

Because of his recent decision, many people around the world feel like the football has been pulled out from under them

Do you give up? With all this information, do you know who it is? That’s right, it’s Charles Schulz. After 50 years of writing the Peanuts cartoon strip, Charlie Brown will never smooch the red-haired girl or get his kite out of the tree again.

Now, let’s see how you do on the third quiz. This one has to do with how well you know Charles Schulz’s work.

Q. Who always pesters her brother to help her with her homework?

Lucy

Peppermint Patty

Marcie

Sally

Q. What breed of dog is Snoopy?

Terrier

Basset Hound

Collie

Beagle

Q. With whom is Sally in love?

Pigpen

Linus

Schroeder

Charlie Brown

Q. What is Lucy’s standard fee for psychiatric help?

5 cents

15 cents

25 cents

55 cents

How well do you know Charles Schulz? You can know a little bit about him by looking at his work ­ but you can’t know who He really is. Actually, the only way to know him is if he decided to open up to you.

Likewise, the Bible teaches that God can be known. That’s astonishing, isn’t it? The God of the Universe has chosen to reveal Himself to us. He longs for us to know Him more fully, more accurately and more personally.

The Bible and Knowing God

Let’s consider five passages this morning that speak of the vital importance of knowing God.

Jeremiah 24:7: “I will give them a heart to know me…” Friends, you and I were made to know God. He has put within each of us a desire to know Him.

John 17:3: “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God.” Our privilege and responsibility is to know God ­ this is what being a believer is all about.

Ephesians 1:17: “…so that you may know Him better.” You and I can always know God better than we do right now. This should be our heart’s passion.

Psalm 9:10: “Those who know your name will trust in you.” Our knowledge of God should lead to greater faith and obedience.

2 Thessalonians 1:8: “Those who do not know God…” God will judge those who choose to not get to know Him.

Quotes From Others

I have benefited greatly from the writings of several authors on the subject of knowing God. Here are just a few quotes that help me see both the gravity and the joy of knowing Him.

Charles Spurgeon: “Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued investigation of the great subject of the deity”

A.W. Tozer: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us…and the most important fact about any man is not what he at any given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like…The heaviest obligation upon the Christian church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of him…the gravest question before the church is always God himself.”

J.I. Packer: “What were we made for? To know God. What aim should we set ourselves in life? To know God. What is the best thing in life, bringing more joy, delight, and contentment, than anything else? Knowledge of God.”