Knowing God

June 4, 2006

Introduction

 

Bring Christ Your Broken Life, So marred by sin,

            He will cerate anew, Make whole again,

Your empty, wasted years He will restore,

            And your iniquities remember no more.

 

Bring Him your every care If great or small

            Whatever troubles you- O bring it all!

Bring Him the haunting fears, The nameless dread,

            Thy heart He will relieve, And lift up thy head.

 

Bring Him year weariness, Receive His rest;

            Weep out your blinding tears Upon His breast;

His love is wonderful, His power is great.

            And none that trust in Him Shall be desolate.

 

Blest Savior of us all! Almighty Friend! 

            His presence Shall be ours Unto the end;

Without Him life would be How dark, how drear!

            But with Him morning breaks- And heaven is near!

 

            These are the words to our well know hymn 911 that we use as an invitation hymn, but have we really looked at the words?  Is it just an invitation hymn, or are there thoughts that should be part of our daily walk with God?

           

Body

 

I.        Do we really know God?  Moses was very close to God on Mt. Sinai, but He said he wanted to know God.

 

(Exo 33:12-16 NKJV)  Then Moses said to the LORD, "See, You say to me, 'Bring up this people.' But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.' {13} "Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people." {14} And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." {15} Then he said to Him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. {16} "For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth."

 

A.  Show me now Your way, that I may know You  v. 13

1.      Notice that Moses equates knowing God with knowing His way.

2.      John also equates knowing God with doing His commandments.

 

(1 John 2:4 NKJV)  He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

 

a.  We won’t know God until we do His will.

 

Jesus said, "If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.”  (John 7:17 NKJV) 

 

  1. Show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight.

 

1.      Moses indicates that we must know the way of God to find grace in His sight.

 

  1. "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

 

1.      And I will give you rest; that is, “settle down.”

2.      We recently studied in our Sunday night lessons that Jacob trusted God to get him home.

 

a.       He encountered problems with Laban.

b.      He met Esau with 400 men.

c.       But God got him home safely, but he wrestled with God.

 

3.      Knowing God doesn’t mean life will be without encounters or problems, but He will give us rest.

 

II.     God’s people were to be holy – to be separate.

 

So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth."   (Exo 33:16)

 

A.  That’s what God wanted.  He wanted a holy people.

 

(Lev 19:2-4 NKJV)  "Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: 'You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. {3} 'Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. {4} 'Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods: I am the LORD your God.

 

  1. That’s what God wanted:

 

1.      He would give them rest – they could dwell in safety in their own land.

2.      They in turn were to be separate from the people of the land.

 

  1. What did they do?

 

1.      They turned to the idols of the land.

2.      God saw to it that they were taken captive by their enemies.

 

III.  What about us?

 

  1. It was Jesus prayer that we might know Him and God.

 

(John 17:3 NKJV)  "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

 

  1. This is Jesus high priestly prayer as He faced the cross.

 

1.      These are the words that are important.

2.      In this same prayer, He prayed for unity among His followers. – Three times!

 

(John 17:11 NKJV)  "Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.

 

(John 17:21-22 NKJV)  "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. {22} "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:

 

Conclusion

 

I.        What is it that really matters?

 

A.     Knowing God and His Son Jesus Christ.

B.     Being One in Him, that the world may believe (that God sent Jesus)

C.     And that we love one another.

 

(John 13:35 NKJV)  "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

 

II.     Where are you?

 

A.     Do you know God?

B.     Can you talk to Him?  Is He real?

C.     Are you a Christian?

 

Scripture quotations marked "NKJV™" are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

 

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