Knowing God Intimately
- Rev. Jerry Lepasana
- Oct 23, 2005
- Series: Spiritual Intimacy
KNOWING GOD INTIMATELY
Psalm 46:10; Philippians 3:10-11
- "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
- I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
- and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
An old preacher and a professional actor both attended a social gathering to honor the actor. The actor received many requests to recite portions of the well-known works. The preacher requested Psalm 23.
The actor agreed only if the preacher would recite the piece too. After the actor concluded, the crowd clapped for the professional delivery and flawless expression. Then came the preacher's turn. He read haltingly with a raspy voice, but when he finished, the audience wept.
Someone leaned over and asked the actor, "What caused the difference?" He candidly admitted, "I know the psalm but he knows the Shepherd."
Do you know the Great Shepherd personally? Or do you know Him intimately? Last Sunday, we started with a new series entitled - Spiritual Intimacy. And for the first message, I tried to help each one of us understand what spiritual intimacy is and why we need to experience it. Allow me to just reiterate our definition of it:
Spiritual Intimacy is when a believer has gained an access into the heart of God and God has been allowed access into his or her soul.
This morning, I want to speak about Knowing God Intimately. You see, knowledge is an absolute pre-requisite for intimacy. Every strong and intimate relationship is based on knowledge. Why is this so? Well, knowledge brings greater appreciation and understanding in the relationship. For example, in our marital relationships, many of our conflicts and tensions happen because of we don't know our spouse as much as we should. Hopefully, the longer we stay together, the more we will get to know each other. This brings into our marriages greater appreciation and understanding, which inevitably would lessen our conflicts and tensions.
In our relationship with God, there is no doubt that God has a perfect knowledge of us. He knows exactly how to relate to us. However, our knowledge of Him is so limited resulting to our failure to understand and appreciate Him as much as we should.
Psalm 46:10 is a personal invitation from God to all of us to know Him. We can see that it is His utmost desire for us to know Him. While, in Philippians 3:10-11, the apostle Paul expresses his highest aspiration to know God not just theoretically, but experiencially. How about you? Do you want to know God intimately? Let me share three ways on how you can do it:
I DISCOVER HIS REVELATIONS:
Time and again, you probably will meet people who believe in the existence of God, but they also believe it is impossible for humans to know Him. They are the Agnostics.
Indeed, in a sense God is incomprehensible. Because God is infinite and we are finite, we really have a problem.
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.
Now, with our limited capacity to understand, God provided a way for us to know Him. In theology, this is called REVELATION. There are two kinds of revelations:
A. Natural Revelation:
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Nature has a way of telling us how great our God is. David in Psalm 19:1 was moved when he meditated on the heavens. He understood that it reveals God's splendor.
Although creation does not speak audibly in words, its message is heard all over the world and by all men.
- The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
- since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
- For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
B. Special Revelation:
God has also revealed Himself through the Bible. Nature reveals God, but it is very limited. God has provided His Word so we can have a fuller understanding of His character.
The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.
This verse explains how God revealed Himself to Samuel. Very clearly, He used His Word. Today, everyone who desires a deeper knowledge of God can do it through the same method.
One way God has revealed His nature in the Scriptures is through the different names He used for Himself. Whenever you read the Bible, you have to be conscious of God's names:
- Elohim (Gen. 1:1) - The Self-existent One
- El-Shaddai (Gen 17:1) - The Almighty God
- I AM (Ex. 3:14) - The Eternally Unchanging One
- Jehovah- Jireh (Gen. 22:14) - The God Who Provides
- Jehovah-Rophe (Ex. 15:24-26) - The God Who Heals
There are so many names we need to be familiar with. It is our responsibility to spend time with the Word in order to intimately know God. More time for the Word means greater knowledge of God.
II DEVELOP A DAILY QUIET TIME WITH GOD:
If we go back to Psalm 46:10, we can find another way we can know God. Notice the phrase, "Be still, and know that I am God." This statement can also be translated, "Be silent and know that I am God."
A time of silence with God is very significant for every believer because this is a special time when he or she can get alone with God for the purpose of communion and worship. In times like this, God is able to reveal Himself in a very special way. Often, we call this our Quiet Time with Him. Even the Lord Jesus needed a time like this.
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
What is involved in having a Quiet Time?
- Set a time - "Very early in the morning"-Time must be predetermined. If you don't set a time, you won't have a time.
- Set a place - "Solitary place" - Find a place that is quiet where you will not be interrupted.
- Set a plan - "Where he prayed" - Commune with God by first allowing Him to speak to you through His Word, and then spend time in prayer talking heart to heart with God.
Jesus had a lot of pressing responsibilities, and yet He sought some quiet times with God. It is definitely for our advantage if we delight in fellowshipping with the Lord.
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
III DETERMINE A LIFE OF OBEDIENCE:
As the apostle Paul in Philippians 3:10-11 expresses his great desire to know Christ more intimately, he also understood the fact that it would involve following Him even to the point of sharing in His sufferings.
Now, this is a very important truth. You see, every Christian who chooses to have a loving relationship with Christ or an intimate relationship with Christ must live a life of obedience regardless of its consequences. If you truly delight in the Lord, you will also delight in His commandments. Notice what Christ has said:
Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
The Lord Jesus gave a very significant promise to those who will live in obedience - "We will come to him and make our home with him." For me, this simply means that an obedient Christian will experience a special communion with God as he or she goes through life. God will reveal himself in a very special way whereby His power and presence will be manifested.
Do you want to know God not just theoretically, but experientially? God wants you to know Him more intimately, but you have to discover Him through His revelations, develop some quality time with Him, and then determine to live a life of obedience.
I know this means more time and effort from us. However, I trust that we will recognize that it is for our personal benefit if we will have an intimate relationship with HIM.