Knowing God

The Lord has taught me an important lesson over the years – no matter how simple a truth is, we all need to be reminded of it from time to time.  We have short memories.  We forget.  One of the most significant prophetic words I ever gave someone, which I believe had eternal impact, was to a friend who had strayed away from church and away from God.  God gave me a dream in which He told me to tell this friend, “I love you.”  I hadn’t seen this friend for over a year, and had no idea what was going on in his life.  But the prophetic word I was supposed to deliver was too simple, too obvious.  I doubted that it was timely or even necessary, but I knew without a doubt that God had spoken to me, so I couldn’t ignore it.  At the time, I was on 3 months of prescribed bed rest during my pregnancy with Cascade.  I only left the house 3 times a week – to go to church on Sundays, to visit my obstetrician on Monday, and to Elijah House training on Thursday evenings.  So I figured that God would have someone else deliver the prophetic word.  One time, Paul had bumped into this friend in downtown Atlanta, so I prayed that that would happen again so that he could deliver the word.  One Thursday I decided to take the boys to Dairy Queen before our Elijah House class, and for some inexplicable reason I didn’t go through the drive-through but waddled inside so we could sit down to eat our ice creams.  Wouldn’t you know, this friend was in there with his kids, too, so I hesitantly delivered the profound prophetic word – “ummmm, God told me to tell you . . . that . . . He . . . ummm . . . loves you.”  An immediate change came over my friend, who had previously been in high level leadership in the body of Christ.  His eyes brimmed with tears, and he began to pour out some of his story.  Shortly afterwards, He did return to the Lord and began to attend a church again.  Within a few short years, his life came to an untimely end due to the sin of others.  God knew.  God cared.  God spoke.  God restored.  My point is – simple truths are important.  We need to remind ourselves and one another of simple truths.

I want to talk today about knowing God.  We know this is important.  But we need to remind ourselves and one another.

Hebrews 5:7 – 8 – “ ⁷During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. ⁸Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered . . .”

One key phrase I want to hone in on today is “he was heard because of his reverent submission”

 (The Message) – “. . . he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do . . .”

(Amplified Version) – “. . . He learned [active, special] obedience through what He suffered . . .”

In what ways do we need to learn active, special trusting-obedience . . . by reverent submission, honoring God, reverence toward God, godly fear, piety?

Psalm 46:10 says – “Be still and know that I am God.”  We don’t usually hear this verse linked with the topic of submission.  My son Michael adopted a puppy a few months ago.  I have always been a cat lover, but this is my first close encounter with a dog – I have fallen in love with Michael’s wonderful beagle.  When we first brought Runner home, he would jump up and down in great excitement whenever one of us approached.  He wanted to enthusiastically leap and run, go on adventures, find new friends, discover fresh treasures.  Over recent months, thanks to Michael’s and Paul’s patient training, Runner has learned some etiquette.  When I approach him now, he sits still, often lays his head down in a humble posture, and waits.  His tail wags furiously – he still gets excited, but he’s no longer wild and unrestrained.  He can sit still and wait to know what he should do next.  I am watching him grow in submission.

Be still and know that I am God.  Let’s firstly look at what this verse does not say, in order to discover some of the things that keep us from knowing God more intimately and deeply.

“Be noisy and know that I am God” = we can have difficulty knowing God when there are too many voices or too much chatter . . . before an orchestra plays, they tune their instruments in a discordant cacophony – if this were to continue during the performance, we would not be able to hear the music clearly.  Being still and quiet before God, minimizing the noise both internally and externally, helps us to know God.

“Be agitated and know that I am God” = anxiety keeps us from knowing God deeply.  Agitation and anxiety cannot co-exist with His peace that passes understanding.  When we cast all of our cares on Him, He restores peace to our hearts, so that we can know Him more.

“Be frenzied and know that I am God” = busyness keeps us from growing in our relationship with God.  A friend in Nizhny told me last week that life for them has changed drastically and suddenly in the last 3 or 4 years, largely due to the rapid increase in the number of vehicles in the city.  Friends customarily visited one another mid-week, after work, for tea and conversation, as is usual all over the world.  But now because of traffic, increased materialism, and sheer busyness, these kinds of relationship-building meetings have all but ceased.  This is a clear warning for all of us – busyness can so easily crowd out time with people, and more importantly, our time with God.  We each have the same 24 hours a day – it’s our choice whether we live in a place of frenzy or a place of peace.

“Be stirred and know that I am God” = we hide from God when we do mental gymnastics with what we think God has spoken.  There’s a huge temptation and tendency in the body of Christ – sadly we have few good role models – to make “words from God” fit what we want to do.  This is an area where many well-meaning believers get into trouble.  It’s so vital to test words – do they line up with the Bible?  Are we willing to submit what we think God is saying to us to the wise counsel of other mature believers?  When we get all stirred up and act impulsively, we put ourselves and those around us in danger.  Jesus never rushed around from one place to another.  Even after he heard from His Father, he proceeded in a peaceful way, waiting for God’s perfect timing in everything.  It has greatly helped Paul and me to gather a group around us when it comes to making significant life decisions – to ask hard questions and seek the Lord together in community.  Each of us has blind spots, and it’s easy to err when it comes to hearing from God.  We need one another, especially in times when our emotions are stirred up.  Coming together in the body of Christ for the purpose of seeking God together causes the waters to be stilled so that we can together know God’s heart and purposes.

“Be still and doubt that I am God” = unbelief blocks us from relational intimacy with God.  We can be confident that if we submit our mind, will, emotions, and lives to God, and wait on Him, and test His word, that He will speak to us.  God does speak, now one way, now another.  Little by little, as we choose to believe Him, God grows us in our understanding of who He is and who we are in relation to Him.

In the context of growing in understanding and practical application of prayer, the reason to be still and know that He is God is twofold – firstly, to know Him, and secondly, as we get to know His character and heart, He shows us His will.  It’s important to keep that ordering in mind.  God wants us first and foremost to know Him.  In knowing Him, He opens up His will to us in the way and time of His choosing.  Jeremiah 31:33 – 34 says,

³³ “I will put my law in their minds
       and write it on their hearts.
       I will be their God,
       and they will be my people.

 ³⁴ No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
       or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’
       because they will all know me,
       from the least of them to the greatest,”
       declares the LORD.“

God wants us to know Him.  He also wants us to know how to pray.  May we be like the men of Issachar, who, we are told in 1 Chronicles 12:32, “understood the times” and knew what God’s people, should do.  The fact that you’re in this room today means that you have a heart for prayer . . . God wants us to pray with an understanding of the times, to pray according to His purposes for His people.

2 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT) – “We will boast only about what has happened within the boundaries of the work God has given us, which includes our working with you.”

2 Corinthians 10:13 (The Message) – “We’re sticking to the limits of what God has set for us.”

God’s work for us is not vague or undefined.  Paul speaks here of specific limits.  In the NIV, he uses the image of a field – as we know, fields have edges, often defined with a fence or other boundary marker.  Some people have large fields that stretch to the horizon; others have cottage gardens.  The size of the field, location, type of soil, species of plants, and climate aren’t important.  What’s important is to stay within the boundaries of God’s plan for us.  In prayer, we do not want to stray out of those boundaries.  When God gives us a field to tend, it’s because He wants us to be fruitful and productive in that field.  Being still and listening to God is the posture we need to have in prayer.  Then we will know God’s heart and God’s plan so that we can effectively partner with Him in accomplishing His Kingdom purposes.  It’s how we pray on target instead of ineffectively shooting out random arrows in multiple directions.  Yes, we may occasionally hit the target, perhaps without meaning to, but when we zero in on God’s heart and God’s plan, we will hit the bull’s eye consistently.  Many of us know what it’s like to hit the bull’s eye in prayer, and I believe that is God’s intended norm.  When we reverently submit to the Father by being still before Him, we’re obeying Him by sticking to His limits.  God tells us plainly that to obey His voice is better than any amount of sacrifice.  This is an important principle in prayer, because our tendency is to pray indiscriminately without first being still before God to discover the boundaries inside which He wants us to labor.

To sum up this first section, we can all grow in reverent submission:

• By listening to God’s voice more than the other voices
• By giving more thought to God’s greatness than our problems, and not allowing anxiety to occupy any place in our thought life
• By making time to be still in the midst of our busy lifestyles
• By listening to what God says and considering the whole counsel of God, sticking closely to orthodox biblical teaching
• By choosing to believe God and saying “no” to doubts as often as they arise

As we reverently submit ourselves to God, by being still and knowing that He is God, we get to know Him better.

When it comes to knowing God, we need to know Him both in our heads and in our hearts.  Growing in our knowledge of God is a lifelong process.

Philippians 3:7 – 14:

“⁷But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. ¹⁰I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

¹²Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

To know God, our goal is to know Christ Jesus, because as Hebrews 1:3 tell us, Jesus is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.”

I see 5 Stages of relationship with God, as it relates to prayer . . .

• 1^st stage – Formula / distant from God
  • Prayer “techniques” . . . we’re such a do-it-yourself society, there’s even a book called “the complete idiot’s guide to Christian prayers & devotions [tagline: open the lines of communication with God]”  It includes “human-to-God relational prayers”, “short memos to God”, “prayers for the holy days” and other formulas guaranteed to “nurture your divine connection.”
  • Then there are the chain-letter-magic prayers like this one I received in an email recently: “The cross in the picture is supposed to be swinging when you receive this.  I hope it still is.  This is cool – had to pass it on. I think we could all use a miracle. I know I certainly can!!!  You are in my 7X7X7. I am not breaking this. No way! I’M TOLD THIS WORKS!!! Just repeat this prayer and see how God moves!!  ‘Lord, I love you and I need you, come into my heart, and bless me, my family, my home, and my friends, in Jesus’ name. Amen.’  In 7 seconds share this message with 7 people and you will receive a miracle tomorrow. I Hope that you don’t ignore; God bless.”
  • This kind of praying is analogous to kids talking to each other in earshot of their parents – imagine if you overheard your kids saying, “hey, try saying this next time you talk to mom or dad – it really works!” Parents are not vending machines, much less God!  It seems so ridiculous when we pause and look at this, but think how often we are tempted to take shortcuts and pass on formula prayers to others, often motivated by compassion, thinking that somehow if it worked for one person, it might “work” for another in a similarly desperate situation.
• 2^nd stage – 1-way conversation / turning towards God
  • When we begin to get to know God, our prayers often resemble grocery lists, wish lists of what we want God to do for us.
  • One-way conversations with God remind me of the Toby Keith song: “I wanna talk about me
    Wanna talk about I
    Wanna talk about number one
    Oh my me my
    What I think, what I like, what I know, what I want, what I see
    I like talking about you you you you, usually, but occasionally
    I wanna talk about meeeeee”
  • We all know that prayer is more than a 1-way conversation, but how often do we fall back into this inadequate posture when we’re tired or pressed for time?  Monologues don’t work too well in other relationships, so why do we think they’re ok in our relationship with God?
• 3^rd stage – 2-way conversation / closer to God
  • This is when we start realizing God might have something to say to us, too.
  • We all know the two ears / one mouth ratio, and it’s good advice when it comes to prayer.  There are many wonderful teachings on conversing with God, both speaking and listening.
  • Although this is not the final stage, this stage is a place where many Christians camp out.
• 4^th stage – Embrace
  • Philippians 3:8 – 9 (The Message) – “Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him.”
  • There’s a stage in our relationship with God where we realize that words are not always necessary or sufficient.  When my children were tiny, they wanted to be by my side continually, regardless of what I was doing.  They trailed around after me whether I was in the kitchen, the bathroom, in the grocery store, or at worship practice.  The important thing was that we were together.  Sometimes we would converse, but often we would simply be side-by-side but engrossed in our respective activities – my tiny one would be staging a battle or dressing a doll while I folded laundry or prepared a meal.  Words were not always necessary – we were in perfect harmony with one another.  My child didn’t need to ask, “mummy, do you love me?” to know that it was true.  Similarly, we can live in that place of embrace, where we know the depths of God’s love for us without the necessity of words.  We can go about our days with an awareness of God’s presence touching every aspect of our lives.  On Tuesday afternoon when I stepped off the escalator at the airport and into the welcoming embrace of Paul and my children, words were not the most important thing.  “I really missed you” is valuable and meaningful, but warm embraces and kisses speak volumes.  How precious it is to fall into the sweet embrace of our Savior.  In my mind’s eye I often picture myself just leaning back onto Jesus’ breast as the apostle John did at the last supper.  The Lord’s embrace sustains me, fills me, gives life to me, at all times, but especially in difficult times when words are simply not sufficient.
• 5^th and final stage – Unity
  • 1 Corinthians 6:17 – “he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.”
  • Philippians 2:1 – 2 – “¹If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.”
  • In the Christian marriage ceremony, we often hear Mark 10:7 – 8 quoted: “a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, ⁸and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one.”  This two-becoming-one is an event on a specific day.  But two-becoming-one is also a process that occurs over a long period of time.  Paul and I celebrated our 24^th wedding anniversary last Monday; we are more one than two today than we were 24 years ago, and as each year passes, Lord willing, I trust that we will be even more “one” as we grow in love and unity in our relationship.  This is analogous to each believer becoming one with Christ – unity with Christ is both an event and a process.  Paul speaks of this in Philippians 2:1, as an event that has already occurred for the believers to whom he is writing.  He speaks of the process in Romans 6:5, as something that will continue until we are resurrected with Him.
  • I believe firmly that this final stage of intimacy with God speaks not only of our individual unity with Christ, but our corporate unity with Christ.  The Bible says that we, as a body of believers, are the bride of Christ.  I feel that we (the body of Christ) have barely begun to understand this kind of intimate unity.  Unity resides in the very heart and mind of God, because unity is only possible if each participant gives everything to the other – this is what God has done for us and complete surrender is what He also requires of us.
  • In the August 6^th installment of My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers writes: “The idea of prayer is not in order to get answers from God; prayer is perfect and complete oneness with God. . . We are not here to prove God answers prayer; we are here to be living monuments of God’s grace.”

I want to close with a story from “Streams in the Desert” (February 9^th):

A Christian woman dreamed she saw three other women in prayer.  When they knelt, the Master drew near to them.  As He approached the first of the three, He bent over her with tenderness and grace.  He smiled with radiant love and spoke to her in tones of pure, sweet music.  Upon leaving her, He came to the next but only placed His hand upon her bowed head and gave her one look of loving approval.  He passed the third woman almost abruptly, without stopping for a word or a glance.

The woman having the dream said to herself, “How greatly He must love the first woman.  The second gained His approval but did not experience the special demonstrations of love He gave the first.  But the third woman must have grieved Him deeply, for He gave her no word at all, nor even a passing look.”

She wondered what the third woman must have done to have been treated so differently.  As she tried to account for the actions of her Lord, He Himself came and stood beside her.  He said to her, “O woman!  How wrongly you have interpreted Me!  The first kneeling woman needs the full measure of My tenderness and care to keep her feet on My narrow way.  She needs My love, thoughts, and help every moment of the day, for without them she would stumble into failure.”

“The second woman has stronger faith and deeper love than the first, and I can count on her to trust Me no matter how things may go or whatever people may do.  Yet the third woman, whom I seemed not to notice, and even to neglect, has faith and love of the purest quality.  I am training her through quick and drastic ways for the highest and holiest service.

“She knows Me so intimately, and trusts Me so completely, that she no longer depends on My voice, loving glances, or other outward signs to know of My approval.  She is not dismayed or discouraged by any circumstances I arrange for her to encounter.  She trusts Me when common sense, reason, and even every subtle instinct of her natural heart would rebel, knowing that I am preparing her for eternity, and realizing that the understanding of what I do will come later.

“My love is silent because I love beyond the power of words to express it and beyond the understanding of the human heart.  Also, it is silent for your sakes – that you may learn love and trust Me with pure, Spirit-taught, spontaneous responses.  I desire for your response to My love to be without the prompting of anything external.”

He “will do wonders never before done” (Exodus 34:10) if you will learn the mystery of His silence and praise Him every time He withdraws His gifts from you.  Through this you will better know and love the Giver.

Let us resolve afresh to know Christ, with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.