THAT YOU MAY KNOW
Today I want to speak to you about knowing the Lord, and I will begin by having us to consider how well we know those who are closest to us. If you deeply love someone, such as a spouse, you make sure that you are genuine with that person so that they know beyond a shadow of doubt how you feel.
God sees it that way, as well. He wants you to know and understand how much you mean to Him. But in reality many people (both Christian and non-Christian) do not understand how much God loves them.
Our spiritual live will become so much greater the more we know and understand Christ.
One of the most common phrases found in the Bible is,
“THEN THEY WILL KNOW…”
Repeating this phrase over and over is God’s way of trying to get us to understand one of His greatest desires. I have chosen one of those great passages…
TEXT: Isaiah 43:10 - 11
Perhaps for some people - this kind of verse reading can be lumped together with all of the other verses from the Book of Psalms. You know, those verses that seem to just keep repeating themselves over and over whenever we read them. Nice melodic verses of poetry… Not everybody out there is a Bible Scholar, and they may not quite understand what God is really trying to say.
I can almost see the look on people’s face sometimes, and I almost hear them say, “Ah-h-h, the preacher understands God and the Bible, but I don’t…”
Nevertheless, this statement (found in our text) had to be important for God. I say that because there are 21 times in the Book of Ezekiel (alone) that we find this common phrase, “Then you will know.”
And many more times in the Books of Jeremiah and Daniel. Three different prophets in three different times.
How many know just enough about God to know that He is going to get His way…one way or another…???
Especially whenever He declares it?
During each of these times (God declared this statement), we can see that God had His reasons for being so persistent. As it was, the children of God were wandering away (one family at a time) and began to worship false gods and idols.
Well God got jealous of this, and was determined to get His people’s attention back. The people were faced with certain judgment if they didn’t get their eyes and their hearts back on the Lord God Jehovah.
God was so desperate one time in Ezekiel 12 that He had His prophet dress up like someone who had been captured and was being taken away by the enemy.
It was a great illustration to use at the time and God said in verse 3, “Perhaps the people will understand.”
I have to believe Ezekiel felt really foolish trying to be an actor before the people.
Then God spoke through the Prophet Jeremiah who was known as the “weeping prophet”. Over and over again, Jeremiah warned the people of harsh and unusual and unspeakable judgment if they did not repent. Terrible and unimaginable things were going to happen, but then God said in Jeremiah 23:20,
“In the latter days you will understand it perfectly.”
What God was saying was that when the time came for God to judge the children of Israel, they would be so miserable and so lost in their sins that they would have no other choice but to “know and understand” God and His righteousness. In their despair and wickedness, they would have to realize that God has something better for their lives.
Isn’t this what happened in parable of the prodigal son? It wasn’t until he was sitting in all of the pig slop that he realized how good he once had it when he lived in the comfort and care of his father.
Indeed –
“In those latter days you will understand it perfectly.”
My friend that is exactly where we are living in the 21st century. That is, in these “latter days” we will become so disgusted with what we see taking place all around us that we will find ourselves knowing and understanding the Lord in much greater ways.
In all of the filth and perversion that surrounds ourselves and our families, we will have to look to God’s righteousness. The despair of living in a world of corruption and idolatry is happening so
THAT YOU MAY KNOW HIM!
As verse 10 says it, we need to know and believe and understand God and how righteous He is. In a day and time when the only righteousness many people see is what people may try to make of themselves.
But Jesus has told us that we are to “hunger and thirst for righteousness”. We cannot possibly know and understand God without doing just that…
I am of the thinking that with the world that we now live in that (if we haven’t already) we will soon began to starve and crave to know God and His righteousness.
As an example the longer I do without food and water, the more I will want it to replenish/re-nourish me.
There will begin a gnawing in the pit of my stomach and there will nothing else that will satisfy me.
Likewise this is what I will happen with God’s people.
“In the latter days you will understand it perfectly.”
We are going to experience such depravity and despair in these last days that many of us will begin to know and believe and understand God’s righteousness.
Is this possible?
It certainly is as long as we are willing to admit that we are not all that God would have us to be.
Nothing else will matter except knowing and believing and understanding the righteousness of Christ. It won’t be enough for us to be considered or seen as righteous people, we will want it to be something real/tangible in our lives. No more pretending to be righteous, because God is going to prove Himself to you…
No longer will we –
• Want to be near those former things that we know are not what God wants for our lives.
• Desire the frivolous comforts of life more than just being in the presence of Jesus and being filled with the Holy Spirit.
• Try to negotiate with God for what we want, but we will be focused on fulfilling our spiritual needs.
• Allow the devil to tempt or distract us from the Kingdom of God, but we will put him in his place once and for all – UNDER OUR FEET!
• Be satisfied with a shallow ineffective prayer life, we will pray through for the needs of others.
I have met those who think they are righteous already, and they don’t really see a point in knowing, believing and understanding God anymore than what they do already. Instead they are satisfied with their spiritual condition as it stands…after all they don’t want to become a fanatic about being church.
I have met others who have at one time hungered and thirst after the righteousness of God. They once knew, believed and understood God, but that was a long time ago when they were young and energetic. Perhaps they have been a solid Christian for many years. Maybe they outgrew God and know all they need to know…???
I am of the thinking that the more I get of God the more I will want of God.
unable to save ourselves and that we
But only after all these terrible things would happen first.
God is determined for you and I to understand – one way or another. He is going to do whatever it takes!
Now that concerns me…how about you???
Question: Why is God so adamant about us knowing and understanding Him?
Why doesn’t He just give up on convincing us?
Because Gods’ blessings are equally important.
Text: Isaiah 41:18 – 20
Notice that God wants us to –
“see…know…consider… understand.”
God is passionate about this.
