TO KNOW HIM

The Apostle Paul's chief desire was “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death (Phillipians 3:10) “. The Amplified version of the Bible states it like this: “[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly],” Being the educated man that he was, Paul knew all about Jesus. He knew all of the old testament prophecies better than pretty much anybody in his time. I can know my husband's name, social security number, birthday, etc. etc., but that doesn't mean I KNOW him. Having knowledge of Jesus wasn't enough for Paul and it shouldn't be for us. He said that he may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him. Knowing God is a continued process. We don't just get to know Him and then it stops there. We must be in constant pursuit of knowing God. This being the age of information with the internet at our fingertips and books on just about every subject, there are a lot of people that know about Jesus, but don't really know Him. You can't know someone by simply reading a book, but you have to spend time with them.

In his book, “The Pursuit of God” A. W. Tozer says, “Self is the Opaque Veil that hides the Face of God from us. It can only be removed by spiritual experience, not mere instruction. As well try to instruct leprosy out of our system.” He spoke of self sins such as self-righteousness, self-pity, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self-admiration, self-love and many others. These are the hinderances that keep us from truly KNOWING God. We can't be taught into knowing God just like any other relationship, it is developed by investing our hearts and time into Him. Notice I said hearts, sometimes we invest our times, but our minds are distracted by the many outside sources. We must set aside time for God and God only. Working for Him does not count as spending time WITH Him. Serving in your church are great and necessary aspects of the Christian life, but should never be substituted for spending time with God. Even Jesus got away from the crowds to spend time with the Father.  

 

Jesus said, "the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." (John 6:63).  He also said, "I am come that you may have life and life more abundantly."  (John 10:10).  He is speaking to us and He is speaking to us abundantly, but to know His voice, we must spend time with Him.  The Bible calls Jesus the Word which means one of His chief characteristics is that He wants to speak to us.  He longs for a relationship with us.  Many people say God isn't talking today and He is.  It is just that we are hearing too many other things and the voice of God is being drowned out.  

I encourage every person reading this to go beyond having a knowledge of God and strive to KNOW Him through reading of His Word, worship Him, and getting quiet to hear Him speak.  You say you are busy, but what could be more important that knowing the one who gave it all for you.  

 

Focus on The Lord

Psalm 34:3 says "O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together."

What does that mean when it says magnify the Lord?  Are we making Him bigger?  Of course not!  When you looking at something through a magnifying glass it does not get any bigger but it seems like it we are a whole lot closer to it and we see much more detail.  To magnify the Lord is to focus more closely on Him and His characteristics and His love rather than our circumstances. What about the part that says "let us exalt His name together."  Isn't His name already a name above every name? Are we making His name higher.  This is also talking about exalting His name in our own lives.  

So how do we magnify the Lord and exalt His name in our lives? Psalms 34:4 says " I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." Notice it didn't say "I sought the Lord and He SAW me."  It says, "He HEARD me."  that means that the psalmist was SAYING something.  We magnify something in ours by what we think about and what we talk about.  The magnifying glass of God is the Word of God.  The Word tells us of all of God characteristics and His love for us.  

The reason you see some people are successful in the things of God and some are not is because of what they are magnifying, focusing on, and exalting.  Are you constantly talking about how someone hurt you or how hard it is to pay your bills or sinful things?  Then those are the things that you are magnifying.  Joshua 1:8 says "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." That is why the psalmist said to magnify the Lord because that is the formula for success: thinking about the Lord, speaking the Word of God out loud, and then, finally doing the Word.  

So, I invite you like the psalmist did to magnify the Lord with me by focusing on the Word of God through speaking it and reading it and also to exalting His name together by praising Him and thanking Him in advance for what He is doing in our lives.  I guarantee if you change your focus from your circumstance to God, He will change your life tremendously.