"Knowing the God Who Knows You"
Introduction: First, there is no question that God knows you. He knows you on several levels. He knows you by virtue of creation. He created you! He knows you by virtue of His omniscience. Since He knows everything, past, present and future, He knows everything about you. So the real question for us is, not does He know us but do we know Him? Do you know the God who knows you? I want to take just a few minutes to tell you how you can know the answer to this question and it's really very simple?
I. Have You Had an Experience of Conversion
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
I heard a story about a man who was out knocking doors trying to win folks to the Lord. He came to a door, knocked and it was opened by a woman in her mid-thirties. He introduced himself and asked her one simple question. "Do you know God?" Her response was to slam the door in his face. As the day progressed she became troubled about the man's question and how she had responded. Later that evening her husband came home and she related her experience to him. She said, "This man came to the door and he asked me if I knew God and I slammed the door in his face." Her husband replied, "Did you tell him that we are members down at the First Free Will Baptist Church?" No, that's not what he asked. He asked me if I knew God. Did you tell him that we have a good reputation in the Dothan community? No, she said, that's not what he asked. He asked me if I knew God. Did you tell him that we give to charitable causes and belong to several civic organizations? No, I didn't because that is not what he asked. He asked me if I knew God." That is the fundamental issue for all of us isn't it? Jesus used the phrase "...born again..." to describe the conversion experience. Have you been born from within; have you had a life changing experience with God being born of the Spirit of God?
II. Have You Embraced the Cross
Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Have you claimed Jesus as your own personal Savior and are you living for him daily. I see so many folks who claim to know God but there is no evidence that they know God, that they have embraced the Cross. They are what I call "admirers of Jesus" but they are not followers of Jesus. You cannot separate following Jesus from the cross.
Text Illustration: James Chandler
As a teenager, I went to an outdoor drama of the crucifixion of Christ. I was not a Christian but was curious about all of this Jesus stuff. The audience was to play the part of the crowd during Jesus's trial and death on the cross. We all shouted "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" They brought Jesus out and began to beat him. Even though I knew it was just a play, I was amazed at how I was drawn into it. As we the crowd began to follow Jesus up the hill carrying his cross, Jesus stopped and fell to his knees. (I didn't know he was supposed to do that.) A Roman Soldier looked right at me, pointed, and yelled- "You carry his cross." I was stunned and confused. I hoped he was talking to someone else. Before I knew it, there I was carrying this heavy wooden cross up the hill. For the first time, all of this Jesus stuff began to make sense.
Jesus said:
Matthew 12:33 "...for the tree is known by his fruit..."
An apple tree will bear apples, and orange tree will bear oranges! How can we know if Jesus is truly our Savior? It's by our fruit! It's by the fruit of love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, kindness, self-control, patience etc. These are all fruits of the Spirit and they are found to one degree or another in the life of a true believer!
III. Have You Enthroned Christ
In my last point I talked about making Jesus your Savior. Here there is a third important principle. For you and I to truly be converted, to know Jesus as our Savior we must make Him Lord of our lives. You have an opportunity to do that here this morning. You can invite Jesus to sit on the throne of your life and He will accept your invitation. How? There is a well-known verse in the Bible that says:
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
We enthrone Jesus by "confessing" Him as our Lord and believing that God raised Jesus from the dead. What does the word Lord mean and why is it so important that we do this? A very simplified definition is that Jesus is your "boss!" It is important because the Bible says that you cannot be saved unless Jesus is your Lord. It is also important to know that we must confess Him as our Lord in this life for us to be saved. There is coming a day when everyone will confess that He is Lord but for millions it will be too late. Paul writes this about Jesus:
Philippians 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
So let's review what I've shared so far. In order to know the God who knows you, three steps are absolutely necessary. You must:
I. Experience Conversion
II. Embrace the Cross
III. Enthrone Christ
None of this sounds like religion does it. I haven't mentioned church membership or baptism or anything else like that have I? I'm not talking about religion but a relationship with God. Do you know the God who knows you?
REAL COMFORT
"When life caves in, you do not need reasons -- you need comfort. You do not need some answers -- you need someone. And Jesus does not come to us with an explanation -- He comes to us with His presence."
SOURCE: -- Bob Benson
