Knowing God
23 September 2020
Key Verse: Philippians 3: 10 “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection …..”
We will leave Jeremiah for the moment having been given something special in knowing that God has a great plan and had put in place the means of salvation for us all. I would like to return to God’s written story for our lives and how He is constantly working within His chosen ones.
So why is it difficult to believe that God is sufficiently interested in us and has composed a story in our lives. I think that this stems from the fact that we do not know Him well enough. A very good friend of mine whilst in the Navy was awarded an MBE, he told me about the rules a person had to follow when presented to the Queen. There are guidelines about dress, lessons in behaviour are advised for some. You are expected to be at the venue early and be prepared to wait. It is appreciated if women curtsey and men bow. A person is only allowed entry if and only if invited, contrast this with attendance at the court of heaven and with having an audience with the King of Kings.
All may come; there is no question of social standing; no introductions are necessary. No one who is seeking is turned away and you do not need to worry about how you are dressed. What is needed to gain access is to come to the foot of the cross “The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart,…..” Psalms 51:17. Many of us neglect this privilege and act as if a door is barred against us and we cannot enter or we use it to keep God out of our lives. How wrong we are, “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8, “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” John 10:9 and “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20
How can Christ be the person best known to us and to everyone everywhere? How do we know that we are part of God’s wonderful story, how do we get to know Him? Start by drawing a circle around yourself, spend time with Him in prayer and read/study His Word. Ask for revival to start within the circle within your heart and remember Jeremiah how deep within him the Word burned so that he could not keep it in. Praise God because He knows us intimately, there is not one thing we have or said or done that He does not know about. “For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light.” Luke 8:17 and “Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there;…” Psalms 139:7-12 (read all Psalm 139).
We are part of a wonderful story and we have a starring role each, as every one of us is precious in God’s sight. Remember every hair on our head is counted it is known, each one of us has a story and it is one which God has written for us “We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.” Romans 12:6-8. Praise Him that each one of our stories is individual, He has a task for each one of us and we will only find out what that is by knowing Him.
If I ask ‘do you brush your teeth every day?’ The reply would be yes as this little thing has become second nature because you have done this from a little child, it was not easy to start off with you needed discipline to do it without thinking. In the same way we have to exercise some discipline in our lives and the only way we will get to know more of our Saviour and our individual story is to spend time in prayer, spend time reading His Word and spend time studying His Word. This is the only way to know our Lord and Saviour.