Knowing God
iKnow (Assurance of Salvation) • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 30 viewsMany of us grew up in a religion where everything was just fed to us, and we took them hook line and sinker because of respect to our family elders who are blinded by their traditions. We simply believe everything that we are told, unmindful of the gravity of its perpetual consequences. If we are meticulous with our general affairs, shouldn't we be more prudent on matters that are eternal? Until when are going to do things simply because we are told to do so? Thankfully, we have within our fingertips the God-given "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth" (The BIBLE). It is the true authority that contains the infallible and inerrant Word of God. I don't know about you, but I will not put my eternity at stake to teachings that we just hear from here and there. We must be like the Bereans that examines the Scriptures every day to see if what they were taught are true. Knowing God should be our top priority. Do we really know the God that we are worshipping? How much do we know about Him aside from His name? For us to truly know God, we must be REBORN. Receive Jesus. Edify the Lord. Believe in Him. Obey His commands. Reconcile with God and Nurture His love.
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Opening
Opening
When Jesus had the conversation with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, Jesus said...
You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
BREATHE!
In a different time
After an agitated crowd in Berea, Paul was sent to Athens to wait for Silas & Timothy
While in Athens, Paul was greatly distressed to see the city was full of idols
So he began to reason in their synagogues
A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him, accusing him of advocating foreign gods
The Jewish confronted him and said, may we know what this new “strange” teaching you are presenting
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
BREATHE!
Do we Really know the God that we are worshipping?
How much do we know about Him aside from His name?
Do we know
Text: Moses and the Glory of the Lord
Text: Moses and the Glory of the Lord
After the golden calf
When they were preparing to embark on their journey to the promise land
Moses had another conversation with God
Moses said to the Lord, you have been telling me, ‘lead these people’, but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. (v.12)
Moses further said to God that, “if your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here”. (v.15)
And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you’ve asked because I am pleased with you and I know you by name”. (v.17)
Then Moses said, “now, show me your glory” in other words your visible earthly presence. (v.18)
But God said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live”. (v.20)
Now, i’d like invite you and be clarified about Moses speaking to God ‘face to face’ in other parts of the Bible
The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
he said, “Listen to my words: “When there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”
Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.
Deut 34:
The phrase “face to face” in these passages should not be taken literally, but instead metaphorically
In the ancient Near East, it was dishonorable to look a superior in the face
To understand the Bible accurately, you must consider the historical & cultural background
“face to face” here means that Moses, being a successful mediator, is superior than other prophets
So here, “face to face” is a metaphor (figure of speech, analogy, symbol) that actually means intimacy and accessibility
BREATHE!
Why did Moses wants to see God’s glory? (His Visible Presence)
Moses wants assurance that God will be with them throughout their journey to the promise land. (v.12)
Like we all are, we want assurance that God will be with us in this journey called life
Moses wants to know God’s ways and find more favor in the process. (v.13)
In the same manner, we want to know His ways for us to merit His favor
Moses wants distinction from the rest of the world. (v.16)
Like we want our distinction being different from the rest of the world
BREATHE!
Now, lets get into our time machine and travel forward in history
As we know that there are four (4) gospels in the Bible, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
The Gospel according to John is believed to have been written by John, the beloved disciple
It was estimated by Bible scholars that John penned this book sometime between 90-95 A.D.
It emphasized that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God,
God who took the form of human
It covers the ministry life, crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus
and in His incarnation, in other words, resurrecting from the dead, overcoming the grave, Jesus made God Known
The Word Became Flesh
The Word Became Flesh
BREATHE!
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
Referring to the time of creation, John used the word “Word”, Greek word “logos”, as a preexistent agent of creation with Yahweh from the beginning in
John made a clear distinction between God the Father and Jesus when he said, “the Word was with God”,
While emphasizing their unity in all other regards when he said, “the Word was God”
“In Him was life” meant that Jesus, the Word, is the source of both physical life through creation and spiritual life through resurrection
John also described Jesus as the light that shines in darkness
And he goes to mention John the Baptist who came before Jesus to witness to the light
The world was made through Him, but it did not recognize Him
The word ‘world’, greek word ‘kosmos’, can have several meanings, depending on the way it was used
It could mean the physical world, but most of the times it refers to humanity in rebellion against God
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
John clarified that the children he meant here are born not of natural descent
Nor of human decision, in other words, not through a husband and wife deciding to conceive
But, children born of God, born of the Spirit
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Remember in the OT “His glory” meant Yahweh’s earthly visible presence
And so through the visible presence of the Lord Jesus, they saw the glory of God
Grace and Truth is alluding to two central attributes of the the divine character used throughout the OT
BREATHE!
How can we truly know God?
How can we truly know God?
We must be REBORN!
Receive Jesus
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
Edify the Lord
Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
Believe in Him
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
Obey His Commands
We can be sure that we know God if we obey his commands. Anyone who says, “I know God,” but does not obey God’s commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.
Reconcile with God
But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?
Nurture His Love
But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
Prayer
Prayer