"Knowing God, Loving God"
John 6:43-47
Sunday, January 6, 2013

Introduction:

Chuck Colson, the former White House assistant to President Richard Nixon, went to prison for his involvement in Watergate. While in prison he had a tremendous transformation, and became a Christian. As a Christian, he began to have a different perspective on things, and discovered a revelation; he discovered that an insidious disease is infecting and crippling our nation. It is called “me-ism.” It is the subtle, yet consuming passion to please one’s self.

            There seems to have been hundreds of self-help books written in the last decade, and it always seems that one of these books is on the top ten list. Have you noticed how people are seeking after ways to feel better about themselves? We live in a society that stresses eating right and looking good. Now this isn’t all bad, but the problem is that the self has been exalted in our society!

             I want you to think for a moment about something that is pleasurable to you….It could be a tropical vacation, or lying in the sun, or taking  a long bath in peace and quiet, or reading a good book, or spending time with a good friend…

             Something else that is pleasurable is hugs. We are told that physical contact is good for our well-being, and hugs can be a pleasurable kind of contact. Someone wrote a book entitled the “Hug Therapy Book,” and in this book there is some theory and rationale behind the concept of hugging. The theory says: “Touch is not only nice, it is needed. Scientific research supports the theory that stimulation by touch is absolutely necessary for our physical as well as our emotional well-being.” The rationale says: “Hugging feels good, dispels loneliness, opens doors to feelings, builds self-esteem, eases tension, affirms our physical being…”

            However, no matter how pleasurable this world is, we have to remember that it is God, and not self, that should be pursued. In fact, we can only find our true self, and only truly feel good about ourselves, when we pursue and find God.

            Self is important. Loving yourself is even more important. But this really only comes together if we KNOW GOD AND LOVE GOD!

I.                   The Importance of Knowing God- (Jeremiah 9:23-24; Psalm 18:1-2; 1 Timothy 6:17-19)

Knowing God helps to shape us in many ways! First,

it shapes us in our moral standards.

a.      Knowing God shapes our moral standards- In Jeremiah 9:23-24,

Jeremiah says: “Thus says the Lord: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast, boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the Lord; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord.”

             Jeremiah tells us that we should boast in the fact that we understand and know God. Why? All you have to do is look around and see that our world sorely lacks good ethical standards. We see people stealing from others, people being dishonest, people abusing others, people living in sin, without any remorse.

            I have been to many pastor’s conferences where you can just leave your things on your chair, even when you leave during a break. It is nice to know that when you come back, your things will still be there. When we know God, our morals and our ethics are stronger, and we treat others with respect and love. We know that we can give our trust to others, and believe what others tell us!

b.      Knowing God affects our response to pain and hardship- Second, it

shapes how we deal with the pain and hardship of life.  Psalm 18:1-2 tells us: “I

love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

            What great words these are, in referring to God’s place in our lives: he can be our strength, our rock, our fortress, our shield, our salvation, and our stronghold. The difference in our lives when we know God is that we can be in a strong and secure place even when there is pain and hardship and uncertainty. God is there to watch over us.

            In this world we will experience pain and hardship. Because of the sin in people, people behave in hurtful ways. Their hurtful ways at times will impact our lives in negative ways. It is nice to know that God is there to deliver us!

c.       Knowing God determines our response toward fortune, fame, and power-

Third, it shapes our response to the things of the world. I read a quote the other day, which said: “Many people have finally realized that money can’t buy happiness. Now they are trying credit cards.” People are always seeking ways for how they can gain more fortune; how they can have more spending power.

With the existence of the lottery, many people are hoping against hope that they might win. They think that if they win, if they have money, then they will be happy. But the truth is stated by so many who have been rich, that money alone does not bring happiness. If you are not happy before you had money, or fame, or power, you won’t be any happier when you have money.

            But if you know God, you can put these things into perspective. The apostle Paul challenges us in this when he says in 1 Timothy 6:17-19: “As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be proud or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the

future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.”

d.      Knowing God determines our lifestyle and philosophy- Fourth, it shapes

our philosophy for life. In the comic strip  Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin is sitting by a tree with his stuffed pet tiger Hobbes (who is alive to Calvin when they are alone). Calvin says to Hobbes: “Why do you suppose we are here?” to which Hobbes responds: “Because we walked here” Calvin then says: “No, no….I mean here on earth.” Hobbes answers back: “Because earth can support life.” “No,” Calvin says, “I mean why are we anywhere? Why do we exist?” “Because we were born,” Hobbes says. At this point Calvin is getting very frustrated, and so he concludes: “Forget it.” And Hobbes responds: “I will, thank you.”

             Understanding our existence, our meaning for life can be difficult. But we read in Ephesians some words that shed light on this subject. In Ephesians 1:3-10, the apostle Paul talks about how God chose us, adopted us as His children, redeemed us with the blood of Christ, lavished on us all wisdom and understanding, made known His mysteries to us, and let us know that all things are under the Lordship of Christ.

            It is important that we know that not only does God know us, but God desires for us to know Him. The most important decision that we can make in life is to come to know God intimately. Without this knowledge of God, nothing else will make sense. Without this knowledge of God, we will not make good choices.

II.                How can we know God? (John 6:43-47, 14:26; Matthew 11:27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-12)

We need to seek to understand those things of our faith that are most important. We need to understand the role of God in our lives. The Scriptures tell us how we can come to know God. It is by the way of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit that we are led to an understanding of God.

a.       Jesus Christ- In John 6:46, Jesus says: “No one has seen the Father

                                                            except the one who is from God…”

Because Jesus is God in the flesh, Jesus has seen the Father and does know who the Father is. Because of this, Jesus can pass this on to us. In Jesus we see the glory of God. In Jesus we see who God is. In Jesus we can know how to live for God.

                                    As Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:27: “All things have been

committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

            As we come to know Jesus, we come to know the Father as well, because Jesus reveals the nature of God to us/   both by His example, and by His words of truth. So as we get to know Jesus, we come to know the Father.

            Example- It is remarkable to see how so many children of athletes grow up to be great athletes themselves. Peyton Manning and Eli Manning are the sons of Archie Manning. Ken Griffey Jr., is the son of Ken Griffey. I even see how my own son is a better baseball player than I ever was! In seeing these children play, we catch a glimpse of what their fathers were like.

            In an even great way, this is how it is with Jesus. In looking at Jesus, we catch a glimpse of who God the Father is. We can understand the love of God. We can understand the power of God. We can understand the compassion of God!

b.       Holy Spirit- It is difficult to know God because we can’t see God. That is

why Jesus is so important for us. But it is also important, in getting to know someone, to know what they think and feel.

            1 Corinthians 2:10-12 says that no one knows the thoughts of God,    

                                                                             except the Spirit of God.

These verses remind us that it is impossible for us to know the thoughts of God on our own. But the good news is that the Holy Sprit, the Spirit of God, not only knows the thoughts of God, but allows us to have access to these thoughts.

            In John 14:26 Jesus says, “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit….will teach you all things….”

How can we know the thoughts of God? When we accept Jesus Christ as our savior, we are filled with the Spirit of God. As the Holy Spirit resides in us, He begins to teach us of the character of God, and how God wants us to have this same character, and about the mysteries of God, and how God wants us to begin to understand about creation, and relationships, and living.

            Ralph W. Seager wrote a poem entitled “The Extravagance of God,” that goes like this……..

                        “More sky than man can see, more seas than he can sail,

                        More sun than he can bear to watch, more stars than he can scale.

                        More breath than he can breathe, more yield than he can sow,

                        More grace than he can comprehend, more love than he can know.”

(Illus. Unlimited, p. 241, #1)

            The nature of God is more than we can know but God is worth knowing. And we should be thankful that we have God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, and we have the Holy Spirit to lead us to an understanding of who God is. We do have a way to know God and love God!

Conclusion: What are the priorities in your life? As we start each year, this is usually the time we ask ourselves this question. It is the time when we evaluate our lives and seek to find new meaning and direction.

            There is a story of a woman and her son getting off their plane upon arrival. As they are coming out of the tunnel the woman she sees her husband and their dog. She leans down to her son and says: “Now remember, run to daddy first, then the dog!”

            How often in life do we run to so many other things, before we run to God. If we run to God first, we will find that knowing God is truly pleasurable, and that we will have perspective and meaning for all the other things of life.

            I encourage you to reflect on what should be the priorities of your life. Where does God fit, and where should God be. See how you can find ways to grow in your knowledge of God. See how you can find ways to love God through the way you live. 

Seek to make knowing God and loving God a priority in your lifem today and always! Amen.