If you don't know me by now, you may never know me.

Our Text will be taken from Jeremiah 9

Our topic will be the importance of an intimate relationship with God and the consequences of knowing about God without really knowing God personally.

My prayer is that by the end of this sermon, you will have a desire to know God and not just about God.

The Bible describes two different scenarios about people who claim to know God, but do not. And Paul, whose desire in this life was to know God at any cost.

Matthew 25:41 NLT

“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.

Philippians 3:10 “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;”

IF you don’t connect with Jesus NOW, you may be lost forever

In today's world, we can’t seem to get anywhere without GPS.

Have you ever tried using a GPS without entering a destination? It just spins aimlessly! That's how life can feel without God. We may take paths that lead us nowhere and miss the true destinations God has for us. Knowing Him gives us direction, purpose, and assurance in our journey.

Knowing about God is not enough. Having a GPS is not enough; you must know how to use it.

In the Bible, the demons believe in God and tremble (James 2:19). They have knowledge about God, yet they do not know Him. This stark contrast shows that intellectual acknowledgment of God is not the same as a personal, relational knowledge of Him. It challenges us to focus on cultivating our relationship with God rather than being satisfied with mere facts.

God desires a relationship, not just scholarship.

In John 17:3, Jesus says, 'And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.' This verse emphasizes knowing God in a relational context rather than simply through information. It's like attending a lecture about love versus experiencing love firsthand—one offers information while the other brings transformation.

Knowledge Puffs up

In 1 Corinthians 8:1, Paul writes that "knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." Imagine a balloon filled with air. As you add more air—representing knowledge—the balloon swells, becoming larger but also more fragile. If too much air is added, it pops. Similarly, an overinflated ego from knowledge can burst under pressure or conflict, leaving us humbled. Real strength lies not in how much we know, but in how much we love and serve God.

Two Trees, One choice.

Knowledge:

People are still eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

Life/ Relationship:

Jesus is still offering the tree of Life through his self: John 17:3 “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

The Prophets cry!

Heart-broken, shedding tears. Concern for others will produce tears. Note the desire of Jeremiah —

Jeremiah 9:1 “Oh, that my head were waters And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For those slain of the daughter of my people!” .

Paul shed tears for three years, night and day

Acts 20:31 ESV

Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.

About Jeremiah

DATE WRITTEN: During the ministry of Jeremiah (c. 627–580 B.C.). These were dark days in the kingdom of Judah (from the thirteenth year of Josiah, the last good king, until some years beyond the captivity).

PURPOSE: To declare God’s judgment upon His people and call them to repentance and spiritual restoration.

TO WHOM WRITTEN: The nation of Judah.

MAIN THEMES: The backsliding, bondage, and restoration of the Jews. Other principal subjects include…

(1) The fountain and cistern,—Jeremiah 2:13 ““For My people have committed two evils: They have abandoned Me, The fountain of living waters, To carve out for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That do not hold water.”

(2) The ineradicable stain of sin,—Jeremiah 2:22 ““Although you wash yourself with lye And use much soap, The stain of your guilt is before Me,” declares the Lord God.”

(3) The search for a man,—Jeremiah 5:1 ““Roam about through the streets of Jerusalem, And look and take notice. And seek in her public squares, If you can find a person, If there is one who does justice, who seeks honesty, Then I will forgive her.”

(4) The old ways best,—Jeremiah 6:16 “This is what the Lord says: “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; Then you will find a resting place for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”

(5) The lost opportunity,—Jeremiah 8:20 ““Harvest is past, summer is over, And we are not saved.””

(6) The tearful call to repentance,—Jeremiah 9:1 “Oh, that my head were waters And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For those slain of the daughter of my people!”

(7) The depravity of the human heart,—Jeremiah 17:9 ““The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”

(8) The clay and the potter,—Jeremiah 18 “

(9) The false shepherds,—Jeremiah 23.

(10) How to find God,—Jeremiah 29:13 “And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

(11) The new covenant,—Jeremiah 31:31–34 ““Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord: “I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their wrongdoing, and their sin I will no longer remember.””

(12) The mutilation of God’s Word,—Jeremiah 36:21–24

(13) REJECTION:

(a) By his neighbors,—Jeremiah 11:19–21.

(b) By his own family,—Jeremiah 12:6.

(c) By the priests and prophets,—Jeremiah 20:1–2.

(d) By his friends,—Jeremiah 20:10.

(e) By all the people,—Jeremiah 26:8.

(f) By the king,—Jeremiah 36:23.

Jeremiah 9:1    1 mOh that my head were waters,

and my eyes a fountain of tears,

that I might weep day and night

for the slain of jthe daughter of my people!

2 2 Oh that I had in the desert

a travelers’ lodging place,

that I might leave my people

and go away from them!

For they are all nadulterers,

a company of otreacherous men.

3 pThey bend their tongue like a bow;

falsehood and not truth has grown strong3 in the land;

for they proceed from evil to evil,

qand they do not know me, declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 9:4    rLet everyone beware of his neighbor,

and put no trust in any brother,

for every sbrother is a deceiver,

and every neighbor tgoes about as a slanderer.

5 Everyone deceives his neighbor,

and no one speaks the truth;

they have taught their tongue to speak lies;

they weary themselves committing iniquity.

6 Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit,

uthey refuse to know me, declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 9:7    Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts:

“Behold, vI will refine them and wtest them,

for what else can I do, jbecause of my people?

8 xTheir tongue is a deadly arrow;

yit speaks deceitfully;

with his mouth zeach speaks peace to his neighbor,

but in his heart ahe plans an ambush for him.

9 bShall I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD,

and shall I not avenge myself

on a nation such as this?

Jeremiah 9:10    “I will take up weeping and wailing for the mountains,

and a lamentation for cthe pastures of the wilderness,

dbecause they are laid waste so that no one passes through,

and the lowing of cattle is not heard;

eboth the birds of the air and the beasts

have fled and are gone.

11 fI will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,

ga lair of jackals,

hand I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,

without inhabitant.”

Jeremiah 9:12   iWho is the man so wise that he can understand this? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined jand laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through? 13 And the LORD says: k“Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice or walked in accord with it, 14 but lhave stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them. 15 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: mBehold, I will feed this people with bitter food, and give them npoisonous water to drink. 16 oI will scatter them among the nations pwhom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will qsend the sword after them, until I have consumed them.”

Jeremiah 9:17    Thus says the LORD of hosts:

r“Consider, and call for the mourning women to come;

send for the skillful women to come;

18 let them make haste sand raise a wailing over us,

tthat our eyes may run down with tears

and our eyelids flow with water.

19 For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion:

u‘How we are ruined!

We are utterly shamed,

because we have left the land,

because they have cast down our dwellings.’”

Jeremiah 9:20    Hear, O women, the word of the LORD,

and let your ear receive the word of his mouth;

teach to your daughters a lament,

and each to her neighbor a dirge.

21 For death has come up into our windows;

it has entered our palaces,

vcutting off the children from the streets

and the young men from the squares.

22 Speak: “Thus declares the LORD,

w‘The dead bodies of men shall fall

like dung upon the open field,

xlike sheaves after the reaper,

and none shall gather them.’”

Jeremiah 9:23   Thus says the LORD: y“Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but zlet him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. aFor in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

Jeremiah 9:25   “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when bI will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh— 26 cEgypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and dall who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are euncircumcised in heart.”