What is the definition of God? Why is it so important to know your God? What is the right age or phase of life to know God? After marriage, when you've lost all your freedom and you say "God, you're all I want"? That's when people tend to become very spiritual right? đ
God has wired man in such a way that he is always on the pursuit to find that supernatural power, that entity that can fill up the void in his life.
But, who is this "God" really whom we so often refer to? We often say OMG!, God bless you!, By God's grace.. etc.. right? Who is this God? Do you really know Him?
I recently came across a blog in our company intranet written by a person from our top management titled "A visit to Thiruvannamalai". In that he expresses religion to be some force that holds people together, the "glue holding the society together". But there was one line in that blog that caught my attention.
"The actual content of the religion(which deity etc) does not matter as much as the feeling of religiosity"
Wow, that statement came took me by surprise & made me realise that we are living in a world where people have taken the "God" factor out of the equation.
How did the concept of religion and spirituality even come into existence? Who or what was the founding principle of 'religion'? Wasn't it God? Wasn't God the prime focus and reason for even such a belief system to come into existence?
But in our current world scenario, people are taking out the fundamental/founding principle out of the picture & just giving importance to the surrounding factors, the factors that make them "feel good", "feel religious". This reminds me of 2 Tim 4:3 where it says that, in the last days, "people want to hear things that sound good to their itching ears". Hmmm.. Hope we now realise "why we really need to know God"?
We need to know Him because He is the very foundation, the very fundamental element of our beliefs & hopes(even for the future) & just basically this summates to 'our entire being/life'.
There was a skit played by a youth team some time last year where a young scientist wanted to publish the bible all across the world and make it the central moral system for all people to follow, because the bible has beautiful principles and moral values that everyone can follow & is easy to understand. But the only impediment that the young scientist expresses to his chief mentor was that people are offended by the word 'Jesus' or 'God' being present in the bible. His point was that, if we take out the word Jesus & all occurrences of the word 'God' from the bible, it would be easier for all men to accept it. But this is what his chief mentor says.
"Morals and principles become mere words without the principal element called God present as the governing factor in these morals".
So, how can you 'know your God'? What are the ways & means to know God? How has God revealed Himself to us?
1. Ps 19:1 - The creation expresses who our God is.
2. 2 Tim 3:16 - The Word of God is "God breathed". It is the most beautiful biography written. It has the 'breath' of God. Breath is the indication that there is life. The fundamental factor of life is the distinguishing factor of whether there is breath or not. The fundamental of God is present in the Bible that God has given to us. Hallelujah!
3. 1 Cor 2:10 - He has revealed Himself to us by His Spirit.
4. Eph 3:5 - Through God's people like pastors, prophets, through their messages, testimonies, videos etc
5. Luke 24:35 - Through personal encounters with us, by leading us through life's situations & experiences.
Despite God revealing Himself to man in so many ways, the sad fact is that God's chosen people still do not know Him. This is the cry of God that there are still so many people who do not know God(Jer 4:22).
Who are these God's people by the way? We guess that it is referring to the Jews, right? But, who are we then? đ
So here goes the question to you.. Do you really Know Your God? How confidently can you say that "I know whom I have believed"(2 Tim 1:12)?
Okay, but... what only does it mean to "know your God"?
In Genesis we see this verse that "Adam knew his wife Even and she bore him a son". Outrightly, we know the meaning of this phrase. It refers to the physical intimate relationship they both had in order to have a child. But, if we look at the Hebrew bible, the word used here is 'Ya-da'. Yeah dawww!
This term 'Ya-da' is present a few other times in the Bible & it has different meanings in each context & also has a lot of connotations(connotation means an idea or understanding that is triggered when you hear a particular word or phrase)
In this first case of Adam & Eve, the meaning of Ya-da is given as
⢠Dedicating oneself to the other, so we engage them with love & affection.
There are similar verses in the bible in a similar context like about Jacob & Rachel etc. There the meaning is given as:
⢠Knowing someone in a way that no one else can
This is true in a husband-wife relationship, right?
Another connotation for the word Ya-da is:
⢠To reveal one's self to the other
And this is my favourite..
⢠Continual growth in understanding of who they truly are through an entire lifetime.
In another instance, like in Paul & David's life, the word Ya-da is defined as:
⢠a sense of covenant & belonging(Paul)
⢠an intimate relationship where one offers oneself to the other(David)
Isn't it so beautiful to Know Your God? Wow! So here's the question for you, again!
Do you really know your God? Uncertain of it?
Here are some 3 quick test to check if you really KYG
1. 1 John 3:6 - We do not continue to sin. If anyone 'knows' his/her God, then he/she does not continue in sin, which includes the old sins repeating as well being enticed to do sins in the future.
2. 1 John 4:6 - Listens to the word of God. Does not 'allocate' the word coming to them to others. Listens, submits and obeys the Word, even when it is strong & sharp.
3. If you know yourself, that is, when you've realised your frailty, when you realise your dependance on God, when you realise where you were & where God has brought you to now.
Did you realise what we've meditated so far?
It is not 'knowing about God' nor is it about 'knowing as God', rather it is about 'knowing your God'.
The first part 'knowing about God' is just General Knowledge. It is for all, even for unbelievers.
The second part 'knowing as God' is quite much for Christians, those who need to be saved.
But 'knowing your God' is for those who have crossed the above 2 levels. This is what God really expects from you and me. He says this specifically in Jer 31:34 like
"..for they all shall know me..".
The word used here 'shall' is the most affirmative word even stronger than 'will' or 'would'.
Till now we saw 1) Why we need to know our God, 2) How God has made himself known to us or revealed Himself to us, 3) What knowing God really means & 4) Ways to test & see if we really know our God.
But, what is the outcome of Knowing your God(KYG)? How is it even something important? What is the effect of it?
This is the driving verse for this entire message..
Dan 11:32 - The people who know their God (1) shall be strong and (2) carry out great exploits
And that's when our prayers become powerful, that's when we get to see visual answers for our prayers, that when we don't get bogged down by the things of the world that discourage us so often, that's when we go strong and capture the enemy territory for the glory of God, that's when we defeat the forces of the enemy.
Alright, so what can you do... today?
1. 2 Peter 3:18 - Grow in the Grace and Knowledge of our God.
How can we do that?
Like we already saw..
⢠Read the bible(it is God breathed)
⢠Listen to the word of God from anointed pastors
⢠Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it to you
2. Allow God to know you.. everyday..
Make this your prayer every day night before you go to bed.
"Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts." Ps 139:23
This is my prayer, this day, that I would always say like Paul "..that I may Know Him".
Is this your desire too? Pray & surrender đ
Comments