Gracious God, I bow before You and I adore You for Who You Are. Thank You for the privilege granted unto us to be part of the living in the land of the living. We are grateful for everything, be glorified forever and ever. Amen.
Thank God is Friday, I heard someone echoing. I am also thanking Him for the break that follows it. Before, we take our short break, I have something that has been brothering my mind and I need to share it with you.
We consider how well our needs are met by the supplies from God yesterday. But in all, we know that He knows what we need even if we know what we think is best for us and that is where we grumble and get disenchanted.
We claim to know God while in the real sense of it we have little or no knowledge of Him.
In the message before us today, you and I will examine how well we know this “God” and why we sometime have problems with Whom He actually is.
Now, may be before we get into the message proper, can you tell yourself how well you know who God is after then go ahead to read the message on how well you know Him:
Just How Well Do You Know God?
While most of us possess encyclopedic knowledge about God, how many of us give evidence of true intimacy with God in the daily crucible of our market place existence? For example:
- THOSE WHO KNOW GOD HAVE GREAT ENERGY FOR GOD:
His power is at work in their lives over:
- Sin: “The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” (Romans 8:2)
- Circumstances: “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)
- THOSE WHO KNOW GOD HAVE GREAT REST IN GOD:
It is because they accept His sovereignty in the superintending of His universe that they can rest:
“I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning… saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.‘” (Isaiah 46:9, 10)
“Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him… ” (Psalm 37:7)
- THOSE WHO KNOW GOD HAVE GREAT CONTENTMENT IN GOD:
While chained to a prison wall, and awaiting execution, Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord, and again I say to you, Rejoice!… I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances may be… ” (Philippians 4:4, 11; nas and Phillips Translation)
Shoe leather Christianity evidences itself in the crucible of daily living through energy, rest, and contentment. Tell me, JUST HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW GOD?
Then here comes the question why do most people have problem with God, why the solution is no longer far. Let read to find out why:
Most People Who Have A Problem With God
Most people who have a problem with God handle Him in one of two ways:
- They pretend He does not exist:
Which solves the problem of accountability. If He doesn’t exist, we are free to live our lives as we please. There remains, however, the thorny problem of explaining how we all got here. The trick is to concoct a fairy tale to the effect that everything around us just “happened.” “Chance.” TALK ABOUT LIVING BY FAITH!
Currently evolutionists are telling us it all started with amino acids. But where did they come from? Tough to explain away the gnarly issue of “First Cause.”
Perhaps this is why God states “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.‘” (Psalm 14:1).
- They re-invent Him:
Let’s face it, His demand on us for all of our heart, soul, mind and strength is pretty steep, given the fact that we’d rather play than carry a cross. So we cope by:
- Reducing God to a manageable size:
“Knowing God, they refused to honor Him as God… hence all their thinking ended in futility, and their misguided minds are plunged into darkness. They boast of their wisdom, but they have made fools of themselves… because they have bartered away the true God for a false one.” (Romans 1:21, 22, 25 – neb)
- Collecting around us religious leaders who tell us what we want to hear about God:
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers according to their own desires.” (2 Timothy 4:2)
Romans 11:22 speaks about the kindness and severity of God. To those who acknowledge Him for who He is: Kindness. To the rest: Severity. As always, the choice is ours.
On these I sign off for the week, see you next week by God’s grace.
Remain blessed in the Lord.
