How is it we can do so many things God asks us to do and yet, for many, we have seemingly no clue about who He really is? i mean, we say we do, and of course we actually do to a degree, but really getting to know the person whom we say we love takes time and patience. Our abilities to observe and reason must change from the way we understand the world to understanding someone who is not of this world, bigger and better than anyone we can imagine. Like an infinitely faceted diamond, there is so much of the Lord Himself to know about, i can’t help but think that if we actually knew Him better, our difficulties and problems would be seen with such a shift in perspective they would become insignificant to the point where we would truly be willing to endure anything to be where our lover is.
What is that old song from back in the 50’s, “Getting To Know You”….you know the one:
(part of tune “Getting To Know You”, Julie Andrews)
How should that old love song NOT apply to our relationship with Jesus? The lyrics seem to fit so well. So just how does one get to know God, and why would anyone really want to know, who *I* think is, the most wonderful, worthy, loveable person, in the entirety of forever, Jesus?
i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts, a semi-live broadcast from the late night, cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge, the fire fly’s are out by the billion, and every evening is pleasant, peace is our cornerstone.
Cool Jazz and contemplative conversation is our format, i hope you enjoy this Friday evenings content. We’re venturing out into the deep waters of “Getting to Know God”, why would you want to do that, and the benefits of knowing Him. Stand by, refresh your coffee, tap your toe, dream a little, and we’ll be right back.
Matthew 14:23 “When the crowd dispersed, he climbed the mountain so he could be by himself and pray. He stayed there alone, late into the night.”
Spending time with God is THE key to developing the essential and vital relationship with Him we all so desperately need. Just simply being involved with God gives us the tools we need to meet the difficulties of life in general. i’ll be the first to say, hanging out with God is the greatest joy of my life, but it’s not an easy sort of thing to do, not because He is difficult, but because *i am* difficult. Regardless, we need to develop the discipline of spending time alone with God—He is the fertile soil, we are rooted in Him, and grow we must. The Lord is interested in us all becoming mature children, and if we are to mature then we must do the work of growing. i need Jesus to grow and so do you …. as no one is an island unto themselves, neither are we able to grow in Christ by ourselves.
Luke 2:40 says very plainly, speaking of Jesus, “And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of God was upon Him.”
Jesus grew and we must grow also.
i suppose it would be easy to ask the question: “What’s in it for me?” The “what about me” crowd seems to, foundationally, be interested in a relationship with God, but it’s overlaid with a heart posture that wonders what they get out of it, always measuring the profit margin. Friends, it is a “relationship”, not a pecking order …. a “love relationship” is not a merit/demerit system…… the word “relate” is the root of relationship and God has made a way for us to relate to Him through Jesus Christ. The Lord a two-way street for us through the cross of Christ, not just the one way street of an action, but the two way street of interaction. He’s interested in spending time with you and i, and He doesn’t want to chase us down all the time in order to do that. Have you ever had a friend who never called you, but you always called them? …. and it seemed you were always the initiator? Yea…one of those….And one day you sort of wake up and realize, if you never dialed their number, chances are VERY good you’d probably never hear from them….well, unless they needed something. Many a church goer is like that friend when it comes to a relationship with Jesus.
That relationship with God is the goal of Christianity and it’s where the true joy in being a Christian is found, so if we neglect it, we’re missing the whole point. Is your goal, your skopos in Greek, is it just something you’re shooting for, or is it a person who encompasses all you hope for, who drives your life, and motivates your passions? What’s your goal?
Getting to know God means we must spend time with Him. One way is simply reading His word. Ya’ gotta admit, we can’t know it if we don’t read it, and we can’t just sleep with a Bible under our pillows and hope that by osmosis, somehow the words and meanings will just seep into our mind and spirit. Reading your Bible is a choice. We’re not reading because we’re too busy, that’s an excuse. We’re not reading because we are choosing.
Most all of us have gone into our room to read our Bible, and there on the table is a Bible and one of our favorite magazines. Which one do you think the devil would prefer you pick up? It’s not the Bible. Reading your Bible is a purposeful choice, we have to choose to Get To Know God, we have to aim ourselves at Him, or position ourselves, and purpose to set our feet in the direction of Jesus. Maybe it seems as if the day you met Jesus was a bit “coincidental”, but i can assure you it was not. NOTHING just ….happens… God purposed to meet you, He orchestrated the entire encounter, and now you must purpose to meet Him. A one way street only runs just so far, and a relationship is a two way street.
Prayer is another way of getting to know God. Now isn’t it the truth that if we don’t talk to anyone, it is right nigh impossible to have a relationship, much less relating to anyone as an acquaintance. It is silly to think of saying we know someone if we don’t talk to them. Talk to Jesus, we’ve got everything to gain and nothing to lose by carrying on a conversation with the Lord. If we’ll talk to Him, i promise He will talk back, if we’ll listen.
Plainly spoken, knowing Jesus !IS! the benefit of knowing God. There are other benefits, but that is primary. Praying gets us involved with Him; reading our Bible gets us involved with Him, but is reading and studying His word really enough? i’ve known more than a few, sadly, who read, study, analyze, and get certified in the study of the Bible, yet are quite possibly some of the most spiritually blind people i’ve ever met. They interpret it based on experiences, flesh, and the findings of other “really smart people”. How is it someone can read the Word of God daily, and not understand even the elementary characteristics of God? We can’t know the Lord based on what someone else says. We’ve got to know Him for ourselves.
Getting to know Jesus is the key. Knowing who He is and How He is …is more important than just being able to quote scripture or pray eloquent prayers. Knowing Jesus is THE key. Ya know what i mean?
In getting to Know the Lord, we can more easily find out what God wants for us; learning to draw close to the Lord tends to refocus us and get our mind off the world and the worries which surround us. Also i believe in drawing close to Jesus we naturally become more like Him …. for the closer He gets to all things the more all things become like Him. Most importantly, the more time I spend with God, the more I will love Him! To know Him is to love Him, afterall, He *! IS !* the fairest of all, no joke.
Another way to get to know God is through worship and praise. Is worship just going to Sunday service? i see alot of signs that say, “Come worship with us”, but when you go, the idea your left with is a far cry from the idea of worship in the Bible. Worship isn’t the words and singing, but a lifestyle with a constant upward pointing to the sovereignty of God as our second nature. Worship is a decision and action, not a feeling. We need to discipline ourselves to worship even when we don’t feel like it. The Lord deserves our worship, so we should give it to Him. It is His and His alone and there is not another who is worthy of an honorable mention. To reiterate, worship and praise helps us focus on the Lord, not ourselves and not our circumstances; it helps get us out of ourselves. It would probably be good to stop thinking about ourselves so much, and focus on Him so we can put things in perspective. Worship and praise inspire humility and reminds us of the truth of who God is.
Position yourselves to draw close to the Lord and know that getting to know God is the greatest thing in the universe we could ever do. Breathing is at the top of my list of important things to do, and knowing Jesus is more important than breathing.
Shifting gears a little, let me list some of the benefits of knowing God. When we Get To Know Jesus, He shares with us His attributes, like Hope, Peace, Wisdom, Courage, Strength…. and there are some other more subtle benefits like rhyme and rhythm in the ebb and flow of our work-a-day world, or diligence, endurance, persistence, humor, perception, intimacy, and joy. In our getting to know the Lord He shares with us His compassion and privilege, grace and reason, His creativity and righteousness, His sanctification and companionship. Those are just a few of the benefits of knowing God, and over time, i have compiled quite a list.
And why would anyone want to know the King of the Universe? To know Him is to love Him, and if anyone has ever met Him they are permanently imprinted by His goodness and grace…. they will never be the same, in Jesus Name.
Maybe some of us feel we are having a difficult time Getting to Know Him….here’s some very simple suggestions:
Don’t rush your time with God. There are things He’d like to say to you and, honestly, it’s difficult to talk to someone when they are busy talking or they don’t have time to listen. Slow down! Take the time to sit with Him. If we’re not willing to sit with Him a while, why should He share anymore than He does? i think we’ve all suffered a relationship of two where the other person only wanted something from us, and the moment we ceased giving what they wanted, they were off to the next thing.
Do you feel you’ve gotten in a rut and don’t feel you’re connecting? Try looking at different ways to spend your time with Him: read a different translation, move to a different spot, maybe ignore your reading plan! and let the Holy Spirit lead you. How about try a different time or place, maybe add a devotional – do whatever it takes …. how about just being honest and telling the Lord you feel like you’re in a rut in your relationship with Him and ask Him to help you out of it. Being honest and transparent with the Lord goes a really, really long way to knowing Him better.
Another way distance grows between ourselves and Jesus is by our not sharing what God is teaching us. When we don’t share with others what God is doing, it can discourage us and maybe we stumble into what i call, the doldrums of boredom – find some friends to share with from time to time. Let His testimony out of your mouth.
And of course, none of those suggestions really cut the mustard when we are in a crisis of faith and it is a season of literally just holding on, believing God will change things shortly. You know, we all love a prophetic word of encouragement, and sometimes, sometimes…. i think the Lord gives someone a word for us because the world as we know it is about to spin under our feet and, in His mercy, God is giving us something to grip to until our world is repositioned for a new season.
It is a new season. If you will ask Him, He will tell you. If we will draw close to Him, He will draw close you us, and that’s right out of James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
Jesus loves you and has been waiting your entire life to be close to the object of His affection, you and i. Getting to know the Lord is the best thing anyone could do. Really really. Think about it
What do we mean by saying, “Knowing Christ”? Faith, Bible reading, doing right, loving others are all a means to an end, but in the end …. knowing Jesus is the prize. When we say, “I know you”, is that figuratively, literally, euphemistically, or inferentially – the act of passing information around? When i say i know the Lord, it means i have a good idea of what makes Him tick, and what His preferences are. Knowing God means we are more than just aquainted, more than just passing conversationalists. It means we know His joys, His sorrows, what makes Him happy or angry….we know His tendencies, His hopes and dreams.
This has been Outposts, brought to you semi-live from the late evening, cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees lean gently over the rivers edge, and every evening is oh so pleasant. i’m Social Porter and this production has been brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, Area 22 Guitars, Gladys Ward at Select Foods, Bobby Whitmire, Kevin, Perry, and Tommy of the Mebane Freedom League, White Knuckle Studios, and Trinity Bakers, where there’s always something good in the oven.
i hope i’ve not posed too many questions….but i do want you’all to know the questions are posed to encourage us to think our facade of skin, 2-3” below the surface of our presentation face. Do you know what i’m saying?
Hosea 6:3 “So Let us know, let us press on to know the LORD; his going forth is as certain as the dawn; he will come to us like the rain, like the spring rains that water the earth.”
Be blessed this week, pray for your neighbor, get involved somewhere, and be a friend to someone. Till we meet again, amen.