"KNOWING GOD,
LIFE’S ULTIMATE PURSUIT"
TEXT: 1 KINGS 18
INTRODUCTION
One of the most powerful scenes in the bible is the prophet Elijah going 1 on 450 -- against the prophets of the false god Baal.
1 KINGS 18:22-29
Elijah prepares his altar - soaks it down 3 times, and then prays to God -- and God sends down fire that not only burns up the sacrifice but also burns up the wood, the stone, the soil and even licked up the water in the trench.
It was a powerful display of God’s power...
Listen to the prayer that Elijah prayed:
"O LORD, GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND ISRAEL, LET IT BE KNOWN TODAY THAT YOU ARE GOD IN ISRAEL AND THAT IA M YOU SERVANT AND HAVE DONE ALL THESE THINGS AT YOUR COMMAND. ANSWER ME, SO THESE PEOPLE WILL KNOW THAT YOU O LORD ARE GOD, AND THAT YOU ARE TURNING THEIR HEARTS BACK TO YOU."
There is a statement in that prayer that intrigues me... One that makes me kind of scratch my head and ask the question, What does Elijah mean when he says, "SO THESE PEOPLE WILL KNOW THAT YOU, O LORD ARE GOD"?
I mean didn’t these people know God? After all they are God’s people they bare His name. They had been God’s people for over a thousand years, He delivered from bondage in Egypt. Had this people really forgotten God and therefore didn’t know Him anymore?
That’s what I want to talk about today, "KNOWING GOD." And as we study the condition of the people on Mt Carmel who bore God’s name that day and their knowledge or lack of knowledge, of God, we will see that they closely parallel the condition of many who bare God’s name today...
More important then the food we eat, the air we breathe, more important than anything else is our knowledge of God -- My goal today is twofold; first to challenge us to honestly reflect on our own personal knowledge of God -- and second to send all of us on a fast pursuit to know God better. To make knowing God the Creator and Redeemer of mankind -- our number one main pursuit in life.
And to help break the ground on this ultimate pursuit -- "KNOWING GOD" we will answer 5 questions.
THE FIRST QUESTION IS,
1. DOES GOD WANT TO BE KNOWN?
This is an important and vital question, because if God does not want us to know Him -- no matter how hard we try we will not find Him.
Does God want to be known by man, by you -- by me? Yes He does. You see God is not some cosmic hide and seek player who is stashed in the bushes saying to us "your getting warmer, your getting warmer...as we fumble around in the dark trying to find him" No God is not trying to hide from us -- but has rather disclosed Himself to us... You see, God wants us to know Him.... And I am grateful that he does....
A. The created world itself, speaks to God’s desire to be known....
The Psalmists writes in Ps 19, "THE HEAVENS DECLARE THE GLORY OF GOD, THE SKIES PROCLAIM THE WORK OF HIS HANDS. DAY AFTER DAY THEY POUR FORTH SPEECH; NIGHT AFTER NIGHT THEY DISPLAY KNOWLEDGE..."
And the apostle Paul writes in the first chapter of Romans, "SINCE WHAT MAY BE KNOW ABOUT GOD IS PLAIN TO THEM, BECAUSE GOD HAS MADE IT PLAIN TO THEM. FOR SINCE THE CREATION OF THE WORLD GOD’S INVISIBLE QUALITIES -- HIS ETERNAL POWER AND DIVINE NATURE -- HAVE BEEN CLEARLY SEEN, BEING UNDERSTOOD FROM WHAT HAS BEEN MADE, SO THAT MEN ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE..."
B. And God has not only revealed himself to man in His creation, but He has also revealed Himself to man personally/directly...
Right from the beginning it was God’s desire to be known by man -- the crown of His creation.
We are told that in the garden God walked with Adam and Eve...
Later we see God walking with Enoch, speaking with Noah, calling Abraham, wrestling with Jacob and appearing to Moses in the burning bush.... Throughout the Old Testament in events like these and in many others like: God giving His people His law -- sending the prophets, performing great miracles and in inspiring the written word of God. It is readily apparent that God desires that His people know Him -- that they know what He is like... God has given us glimpses of His majesty.
Paul when he spoke in Athens to the intellectuals of the day, said this about God’s dealings with man.
"FROM ONE MAN HE MADE EVERY NATION OF MEN, THAT THEY SHOULD INHABIT THE WHOLE EARTH; AND HE DETERMINED THE TIMES SET FOR THEM AND THE EXACT PLACES WHERE THEY SHOULD LIVE. GOD DID THIS SO THAT MEN WOULD SEEK HIM AND PERHAPS FIND HIM, THOUGH HE IS NOT FAR FROM EACH OF US. FOR IN HIM WE LIVE AND MOVE AND HAVE OUR BEING.."
C. AND, what is the greatest example of God revealing Himself to man, what is the ultimate unveiling of God’s character and nature? It is when God in the person of the Son put on flesh and walked the earth -- so that man could see with his own eyes and hear with his own ears -- the person and very words of God. Jesus Christ was God incarnate/God in the flesh and he made His dwelling among men.
Jesus said as recorded by John in 14:6, "I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIGHT. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME. IF YOU REALLY KNEW ME, YOU WOULD KNOW THE FATHER AS WELL. FROM NOW ON YOU DO KNOW HIM AND HAVE SEEN HIM...IF YOU HAVE SEEN ME YOU HAVE SEEN THE FATHER...."
Does God want us to know Him -- O yes He does!! Since the creation God has revealed himself to man in many ways; and in these last days he has revealed Himself to us through the person of The Son.....
We need to praise God, we need to be thankful to God -- for revealing Himself to imperfect and finite creatures like us.
NOW THAT WE HAVE ESTABLISHED THE TRUTH THAT GOD WANTS TO BE KNOWN -- THE NEXT QUESTION WE WANT TO CONSIDER IS THIS...
2. HOW DO WE KNOW WHEN PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW GOD?
That day on Mt Carmel when he prayed that payer, How did Elijah know that the people didn’t know God?....
Well among other things, by the way these people were living.. They had build altars to and were worshipping false gods, they were committing indecent acts... Their worship of God was half hearted and their allegiance to Him was partial and divided -- they were riding the fence, wavering between 2 opinions -- and if they knew God -- if they really knew God, they would not have been so foolish as to act in this way...
The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of children’s books by CS Lewis are a fantasy based on the truths of Christianity. Aslan, the golden lion represents Christ. And in his description of that fierce and loving lion. Lewis has illustrated The Lord’s character.
In one scene, some talking beavers are describing Aslan to Lucy, Peter and Susan, who are newcomers to the realm of Narnia. In anticipation of meeting him, they ask questions that reveal their fears. "OOH!" SAID SUSAN, "I’D THOUGHT HE WAS A MAN. IS HE QUITE SAFE? I SHALL FEEL RATHER NERVOUS ABOUT MEETING A LION." "THAT YOU WILL DEARIE AND MAKE NO MISTAKE," SAID MRS BEAVER, "IF THERE’S ANYONE WHO CAN APPEAR BEFORE ASLAN WITHOUT THEIR KNEES KNOCKING, THEY’RE EITHER BRAVER THAN MOST OR ELSE JUST SILLY." "THEN HE ISN’T SAFE?" SAID LUCY.
"SAFE?" SAID MR BEAVER. "DON’T YOU HERE WHAT MRS BEAVER TELL YOU? WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT SAFE? COURSE HE ISN’T SAFE. BUT HE’S GOOD. HE’S THE KING I TELL YOU."
AFTER THE CHILDREN MET ASLAN, LUCY OBSERVED THAT HIS PAWS WERE POTENTIALLY VERY SOFT OR VERY TERRIBLE. THEY COULD BE AS SOFT AS VELVET WITH HIS CLAWS DRAWN IN OR SHARP AS KNIVES WITH HIS CLAWS EXTENDED.
You see, if the Israelites on Mt Carmel that day had known God they would have known that He is powerful.... That He is Holy and that because of His Holiness He will tolerate no rivals to His throne and He will not let sin go unpunished.... If they had really known God the Israelites would have come before Him not with indifference or pride, but in fear and trembling:
seeking His forgiveness....
desiring His grace
and Longing for His presence in their lives...
realizing, that God is what they need, and that God is all they need.
You know, as I look around at the Church, and as I talk with others involved in Church work all over the country... And as I seriously and honestly look into my own life... The same question pops up into my mind... Do we know God? Have we who bare His Name forgotten that he is the one who delivered us from sin? Have we forgotten His absolute Holiness? (His Power/His Justice) Have we forgotten God? Did we ever know God?
As I consider how God’s people live, the things they do! The things they say! The places they go! The problems they face, many times because of their sin, and the way they then deal with those problems. I like Elijah wonder if we really know God...
Is God real to us!
If we believe in His power, in His goodness -- If we believe in His risen Son -- If our eyes are truly fixed on that city whose builder and designer is God wouldn’t our lives be different? Wouldn’t there be more faith, more joy, more love, more service and less sin and indifference to The Holy One/To the King!!
I am convinced that the problems in the church (the whole church and not just this one) and the problems in the lives of individuals would be greatly diminished (and would w/o doubt be viewed differently and handled differently) if people really knew God....
Again the evidence of todays lack of knowledge of God is the same as on Mt Carmel ... it’s the way we live...
The Bible says in Titus 1:16, "THEY CLAIM TO KNOW GOD ( A LOT OF PEOPLE CLAIM THIS) BUT BY THEIR ACTIONS THEY DENY HIM... THEY ARE DETESTABLE, DISOBEDIENT AND UNFIT FOR ANYTHING GOOD..."
And we read in [I John 2:3-6]
You see, there is more to knowing God then simply making the claim, or knowing some facts, or singing a special once in a while... When we really know God it will effect how we live... and will be seen in our actions...You can’t be in the presence of God, you can’t behold His Holiness and Glory and not be changed!
OKAY WHAT DO WE KNOW SO FAR, THAT GOD WANTS TO BE KNOWN BY HIS PEOPLE, AND THAT MANY PEOPLE DO NOT REALLY KNOW GOD...
NEXT WE WANT TO CONSIDER THE QUESTION,
3. WHY DON’T PEOPLE KNOW GOD
A. One reason people don’t know God is that no one really told them of the importance of knowing God.
Many times one generation failed to pass this knowledge on to the next... [Listen to Psalm 78:3-7...]
The Israelites standing on Mt Carmel before Elijah were removed from those great event of deliverance by hundreds of years and mom and dad apparently didn’t pass the truth on as God commanded...so these events meant nothing to them, if they even heard about them at all.
Tragically, in Christian homes today a lot of parents are also dropping the ball... failing to pass on knowledge of the Lord to their children. And what they are passing on instead is that God and His church (though a little important) are not really as important as :(friends, family, disney, sports, job, beach..etc). And their children therefore won’t know God... and their children’s children won’t know Him either -- And God will be reduced to a distant fairy tale or a kindly old man in a rocking chair that they really don’t have to bother with...and their souls will be lost..
B. Others don’t really know God because even though they have heard about God, they have never experienced Him personally... Their faith is not theirs it belongs to someone else; their father, their mothers, their spouse, a friend... But it is not theirs because they have never took the time to meet Jesus themselves.. personally.
C. Still others don’t know really God because they have confused deeds with knowledge. I am sure some on Mt Carmel may have thought, "HEY I HAVE NEVER MISSED PRESENTING BURNT OFFERING OR SACRIFICE, I’VE NEVER BEEN ABSENT FROM SABBATH SCHOOL...SEE MY PERFECT ATTENDANCE PIN "
But God says IN HOSEA 6:6, "I DESIRE MERCY NOT SACRIFICE AND KNOWLEDGE OF GOD RATHER THAN BURNT OFFERINGS.."
God desires that we know him rather than merely perform outward acts and rituals.
Activity in the church doesn’t necessarily mean that we know God... We can do all kinds of things in the church, and still not know the one, who is the Church... You see, we must understand that it is possible to do the works without having a heart for God... (And it is also worth noting that we can’t have a true heart and true love for God, without doing Godly works.. Godly service flow naturally from a life given to God...).
Some are like Martha and are so busy doing, running here and there -- but they never take the time to do what’s most important -- set at the feet of Jesus, stand in His presence, behold His glory and learn from Him...
D. And still others, don’t know God, simply because they don’t won’t to know Him, they don’t want to see God and they don’t want Him to find them because of their sin....
They are like Adam and Eve who after their sin hid behind trees when they heard God walking in the garden in the cool of the day... For many their sin has keep them from knowing God --their sin is a dark dense fog that hides God from their view... They don’t want to know God, because they DO know enough about God to understand that God and the knowledge of Him, will mean that they will have to change their lives -- stop their sin... and serve the King... And right now sin is far too appealing...far too much fun...
And so they choose sin over knowing God >>> (it’s their choice but it is a costly choice! - a deadly choice).
GOD WANTS TO BE KNOWN
AND MANY DON’T REALLY KNOW HIM
THE NEXT QUESTION WE WILL CONSIDER IS
4. HOW CAN WE KNOW GOD
As I was preparing this message, I felt that when I got to this 4th point I would just jam right through it, that I would be on the home stretch and everything would just flow fast and easy from here.. I felt the question of how to know God was an easy one to answer.....
But when I finally arrived at this point, I found myself struggling as to what to say. I couldn’t find the words that would explain the path to God without making them sound like a rigid formula -- you know a How to find God in 5 easy steps...
Because the path to God, the road that really leads to Him is not traveled by merely following some FORMULA OR WALKING SOME....
I am convinced that we will find God only to the degree that we want to find God... And until our passion to know God -- to be in His presence exceeds all other passions... Until we desire to know God more then anything else... For who He is and not for what he can do for us and the problems in our life that He can solve -- Until we desire to know God because He is God, we will not know God as deeply as He wants to be known by us...
Jeremiah 29:13 reads, "YOU WILL SEEK ME AND FIND ME WHEN YOU SEEK ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART..."
To know God to really know God is a passion that was awakened in me a few years back -- due in part to a book I’d read called, "MOVING THROUGH YOUR PROBLEMS TOWARDS FINDING GOD" by Larry Crabb.
What the world needs now, what the church needs now, what I need now and what you need now -- is to really know the One True, Almighty, All Present, All Knowing ... all Powerful King of Kings and Lord of Lords... And How do we do that....? As I prayed and thought about this I concluded that the best way.... to tell this would be to briefly sketch my own journey to know God....
C.S. Lewis once said, "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I am made for another world..."
Though I would not have said it that clear or well that is how I felt as a teenager when I first prayed to God to know Him... Life didn’t make sense and I desired something more and that is where my journey began to find God.
And God with providential care used the US Navy to expose and bring me to the truth.... To bring me within reach of Him... I meet Judy went to Church, studied the Bible.... And came to the decision that I needed the Lord... To save me from my sin... and to give me new life... I was then obedient to the Lord’s command and was immersed into His name on Dec 30, 1979. This was an important step a vital step and essential step in knowing God... Because now I was in Christ my sins were forgiven and as the Bible says in 2 Corinthians the 3rd chapter the veil was taken away and I now was able to understand spiritual truths more deeply, they now had meaning.
And this was also important because obeying God’s commands are essential in knowing Him, Jesus said in John 14:21, "WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME, HE WHO LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY THE FATHER, AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM..."
To know God then requires a search, exposure to truth, a decision to submit to God’s commands and immersion into Christ....
AND for far too many this is where there journey ends... They feel they have found God --- the search is complete and now they can go on with life.... And the years pass and we may go to Bible College, attend sunday and Church -- we may learn a lot more facts about God.... but we don’t know Him any better, maybe we even know him less, the desire and passion for Him is now like a fire that has gone out, with only a few coals still burning with heat.
I’d like to read a section from the book I mentioned, "Finding God":
BUT FOR MOST OF US, CHRIST IS IN THE SHADOW, AND SOMETHING ELSE SHINES MORE BRIGHTLY. THAT DESPICABLE FALLEN STRUCTURE WITHIN US -- OUR TENDENCY TO DOUBT GOD’S GOODNESS -- HAS DULLED OUR APPETITE FOR WHAT IS GOOD. THE ENERGY OF A SELF - RELIANT SPIRIT HAS CUT THE DEEPEST NERVE ENDINGS OF OUR SOULS, LEAVING US BORED WITH THOSE THINGS THAT COULD BRING THE RICHEST JOYS AND ACTIVELY CAUGHT UP WITH THE LESSER, AND OFTEN SINFUL, PLEASURES...
WE ARE MORE FLATTERED BY AN INVITATION TO AN EXCLUSIVE PARTY THAN WE ARE BY THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRAY. WE FIND MORE DELIGHT IN BEING WANTED BY CERTAIN PEOPLE THAN IN BEING ACCEPTED BY GOD. THE LOSS OF RESECT OF FRIENDS HURTS MORE THAN LOSS OF FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST. GETTING A BETTER PAYING JOB IS MORE EXCITING THAN SEEING GOD WORK THROUGH US TO ENCOURAGE SOMEONE ELSE.
SOMETHING IS DREADFULLY WRONG. THE SITUATION IS LIKE SOMEONE WHOSE TASTE BUDS SALIVATE AT THE MENTION OF GROUND BEEF BUT REGISTER NOTHING WHEN FILET MIGNON IS OFFERED.
THE LOSS OF APPETITE FOR THE GOOD THINGS GOD DESIGNED US TO ENJOY IS THE MOST TRAGIC EVIDENCE OF THE FALLEN STRUCTURE WITHIN US. THE JOY OF GIVING HAS BEEN REPLACED BY THE PLEASURE OF GETTING. THE THRILL OF LIVING AS UNTHREATENED PEOPLE WHO CAN CONTINUE TO GIVE NO MATTER HOW WE’RE TREATED STIRS US LESS THAN THE CHANCE TO PROTECT OURSELVES AGAINST ASSAULTS ON OUR DIGNITY AND TO AFFIRM OUR VALUE IN THE MIDST OF A DEMEANING WORLD. AND THE SHEER EXCITEMENT OF STANDING FULLY ACCEPTED IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD IS LESS APPEALING THAN STRAIGHTENING OUT OUR LIVES. RATHER THAN FINDING GOD, WE PREFER TO RELIVE OUR TERROR OF LIFE BY MAKING MONEY AND FRIENDS, AND WE EXPRESS RAGE AT A GOD WHO CANNOT BE TRUSTED BY ARROGANTLY TRUSTING OURSELVES.
CRABB CONCLUDES;
SOMEHOW WE HAVE KILLED THE PASSION THAT SHOULD BE STRONGEST AND ARE RULED BY WEAKER PASSIONS.
Friends we must renew are search for God -- we must again seek Him with all our heart, we must kindle anew the fires that once burned with a passion to Know God ...
God wants to let us find Him. Especially when years of living as a Christian have seemiNGly brought us no closer to Him. God delights in being discovered. He is not playing hard to get. It is just that something about the way we are and who He is, makes it necessary for us to want him more than anything else before we can find "really" and "know" Him. "YOU WILL SEEK ME AND FIND ME, WHEN YOU SEEK ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART. I WILL BE FOUND BY YOU."
Do you want to know God really know Him? Man I do!!
Then, seek Him
Read, His word,
Fall; before Him in prayer
Stand and shout; before Him in praise and adoration (he is worthy)
Pray that the spirit that lives within you will help awaken the passion in you to know God..... To find Him...
Come near to God and He will come near to you...
THE FINAL QUESTION TO CONSIDER IS THIS,
5. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO KNOW GOD
Let me share some passages of scripture with you.
[JOHN 17:3]
"...NOW THIS IS ETERNAL LIFE; THAT THEY MAY KNOW YOU, THE ONLY TRUE GOD, AND JESUS CHRIST WHOM YOU HAVE SENT."
[2 THESS 1:6-8]
"...HE WILL PUNISH THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW GOD AND DO NOT OBEY THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS.."
KNOWING GOD IS IMPORTANT... IT HAS ETERNAL CONSEQUENCES IT MEANS LIFE OR DEATH....
The Apostle Paul also had something to say about knowing God... In Ephesians 1:17 he wrote to the bros in Ephesus.,
"..I KEEP ASKING THAT THE GOD OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE GLORIOUS FATHER, MAY GIVE YOU THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM AND REVELATION, SO THAT YOU MAY KNOW HIM BETTER..."
And in Philippians [3:4-11]
Why did Paul consider knowing God the most valuable thing in this life....? Why did he pursue God with such great intensity?
Because Paul knew the power that knowing God brings to this life. For when we really know God we know that he is good, that he is powerful, that he is in control, that we can trust him with our life.... that he wants only the best for us --- and that he is actively working in our life to bring about good AND THEREFORE OUR FUTURE IS ONLY GOOD AND FULL OF HOPE... And we can with confidence and boldness face life’s tragedy and chaos, because we know someone who is much bigger than the chaos, someone whose goodness overwhelms every tragedy and someone who genuinely cares about us...
KNOWING GOD FREES US TO LIVE OUR LIVES, BECAUSE LIFE NO LONGER DEPENDS ON US WHEN WE DEPEND ON GOD....
SCRIPTURE RECORDS COUNTLESS STORIES OF ORDINARY PEOPLE -- WEAK, STUMBLING, SINFUL PEOPLE -- WHO FOUND A PATH TO KNOWING GOD AND STAYED ON IT... HOSEA, PROCLAIMED GOD’S COMPASSION EVEN THOUGH HIS OWN HEART WAS SHATTERED BY AN UNFAITHFUL WIFE. HABAKKUK, SKIPPED THROUGH MOUNTAINS WHILE TREMBLING WITH TERROR OVER HIS COUNTRIES IMMINENT DESTRUCTION. THE HATRED OF FRIENDS, COULDN’T DROWN GOD’S FIRE IN JEREMIAH’S HEART. AND PETER, WAS SO THRILLED WITH THE MEMORY OF CHRIST’S SACRIFICE HE DIDN’T FEEL WORTHY TO DIE IN THE SAME UPRIGHT POSITION AS HIS LORD. HE REQUESTED HIS EXECUTIONER TO CRUCIFY HIM UPSIDE DOWN...
AND WE HAVE ALL STUMBLED ACROSS SOMEONE WHOSE FAITH MAKES OURS SEEM SMALL -- WHO TALK ABOUT JESUS WITH THE WARM FAMILIARITY OF INTIMATE FRIENDSHIP AND WITH A GLEAM IN THEIR EYES.., SOMEONE WHO HAS ENDURED LONELINESS, SUFFERING, HEARTACHE... WITH AN UNCOMPLAINING SADNESS... ACCEPTING THE PAIN AS A DIFFICULT PRIVILEGE THAT OPENS THE DOOR TO A RICHER AND MORE LASTING FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD.....
FRIENDS GOD DESIRES HIS CHILDREN TO KNOW HIM IN A MUCH DEEPER WAY THEN WE DO...
KNOWING GOD IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN LIFE -- IT IS WHY WE ARE HERE, IT IS OUR PURPOSE....
AND FINDING HIM IS TO FIND A PRICELESS TREASURE...
AND FRIENDS WE TOO, CAN KNOW GOD WHEN WE SEEK HIM WITH ALL OUR HEART....WE TOO CAN SPEAK OF HIM WITH A GLEAM IN OUR EYES...AND WITH A WARM FAMILIARITY OF INTIMATE FRIENDSHIP....
ARE YOU READY TO START THE JOURNEY THAT LEADS TO A GREATER INTIMACY WITH GOD ...
I AM.... I CAN’T WAIT TO KNOW GOD BETTER -- TO TRUST IN HIM MORE.... TO REST MORE CONFIDENTLY IN HIS LOVE AND POWER....
I AM TIRED OF SETTLING FOR GROUND BEEF WHEN I CAN HAVE FILET MIGNON -- I AM READY TO MAKE THE NUMBER ONE PURSUIT IN MY LIFE TO KNOWING GOD -- ARE YOU...
ARE YOU???
