Do you know God?

Today I'm praying for a spirit of revelation (Ephesians 1:17-19). I want to really know God, not just know about Him, not just know Bible verses. I want to know Him! I want to know His heart. I want my soul to be impacted by His emotions, the way He feels about me. The more I know learn of Him, the more I realize I don't know Him at all, not even a little bit. A young man by the name of Elihu is my hero. In Job 36:26, he makes a profound statement, 'Behold, God is great and we do not know Him!' I do not know God and yet He longs to reveal Himself to me. God wants to be known us, by His people. The greatest glory of my life is to sit before the Lord, in recognition of the poverty of my own soul, and ask Him to reveal Himself to me. Proverbs 25:2 says, 'It's the glory of God to conceal a matter and it's the glory of kings to search it out.' It's our eternal glory to search out the knowledge of God. The knowledge of God can be simply defined as, who God is, how He feels, and what He thinks about you.

More and more I am coming to see that I have bought into lies concerning the knowledge of God. We all have. A.W. Tozer says it well, 'The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him.’ What are some lies you've believed about God? Perhaps you've regarded Him as mostly angry, critical, and disappointed. Maybe you've viewed him as a strict disciplinarian, a demanding judge, a harsh drill sergeant, or a stern businessman. Perhaps you've thought of Him as far removed from your life, detached, distant, and aloof--a kind of God who is too busy to think about the daily affairs of your life. Maybe we think of Him as non-emotional or indifferent, like He won't do good or evil; He just doesn't do anything at all. Perhaps we think of Him as we think of our earthly fathers or other authority figures that we've known, maybe as cold, abusive, non-affectionate, non-relational, always busy, or never satisfied with anything that we do.

The greatest question facing you today is 'Who is God?' What you think about God is the most important thing about you.

The Bible gives us insight into God's nature. Here are just a few things to consider today about God: He is mostly glad (Psa 16:11, Psa 45:2). He takes great delight in you (Zeph 3:17, Psa 16:3). He cherishes you (Eph 5:29). He is attentive to even the most minute detail in your life (Psa 139). He is deeply aware of every movement of your heart (Pro 15:11). You are valuable to Him, in fact He has numbered every strand of your hair (Luke 12:7). He sees you as beautiful (Song of Sol 1:15). You bring Him pleasure (Psa 149:4). With one look of your eye toward Him, you steal His heart away (Song of Sol 4:9). You overcome God (Song of Sol. 6:5) In your weakness, He finds you lovely (Song of Sol 1:5). His love for you is stronger than death (Song of Sol 8:6). He is a good, caring, affectionate Father (Mat 7:11). He is a Bridegroom whose madly in love with you (Isa 62:5).

Do you know Him this way? Do you know God? We need a spirit of revelation.

A Good Idea

So this weekend I had the random thought that it would be a good idea for me to start blogging, web journaling, or whatever cool 'techie' term you want to use. It's not like I don't have enough that I am doing...I have lots of time to write. In all seriousness, I do want to attempt to blog. I process things best through writing. I am looking forward to taking a little time throughout my week to share what the Lord is doing in my heart as I sit before Him in the House of Prayer, things I'm learning, things I'm teaching, and things that are transpiring in my life.

I'll start this post by sharing a portion of a sermon that I did last Sunday on being 'Poor in Spirit.'

At the end of the day, there is a little piece in all of us that believes we have some goodness to offer God. We are aware, in touch at a certain level, with our barrenness, our inadequacies, and our shortcomings. However, we also keep a record of how good we are: how much we are reading, praying, fasting, giving, serving, etc. We are aware of our strengths and we so often build them up to cover and hide any of our weaknesses. We lean on our natural and spiritual giftings and because it is impressive to men, we think it is likely impressive to God. Because our giftings are bargaining chips with men, we assume that we can use them to bargain with God. Somehow we think that we can outweigh the wickedness of our hearts by doing good deeds to counteract our wickedness. We think if we somehow manage to do more good than evil, and that we are doing better than others, we are ok and in good standing with God.

When we are shocked by the darkness of our own heart, we are trusting in our own dedication to God. When we say, ‘I can’t believe this is in me, I should be so much further along than this.’ God replies, ‘I knew it was in you all along.’ When we are shocked by the truth of our hearts, it is an expression of our own pride. We must settle it, without God we are wicked to the core. When God is our strength and when we understand He is merciful, we will go to him without any accomplishments or bargaining chips, without anything to contribute. God’s commitment to us is far greater than our commitment to Him.

Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven."

The Kingdom of God is populated only by those who are poor in spirit, those who have no goodness in and of themselves. To be poor in spirit is to be spiritually bankrupt without God.

Jesus says to the man who is 'rich' in spirit and justifying himself, coming to God with his bargaining chips, "You really are poor. Go sell all you have. Trash your résumé. Mark all your gains as losses."

Jesus says to the 'spiritual beggar, the poor man', who has nothing to offer God, "You are in fact poorer than you think you are, and you are loved and desired by God more deeply than you’ll ever know. The Kingdom belongs to you."