The light of the Knowledge of God
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Jeremiah 9:23–24 (NKJV)
23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord.
God’s give permission to indivuals to glory in one specific thing. that is the knowledge of God. knowing and understanding who he is?
why?
The Lord reveals the that it is through this knowledge in the heart of man that God will execercise lovingkindness , Judgmenet, rigtheousnes in the earth.
In other words “lovingkindess, judgment, and rigtheousness” is an outgrowth of the Knowledge of God.
5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.
6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
The knowledge of the glory of God is reffered to as light.
Darkness is the absense of light. the Light is the knoweldge of God and therefore darkness is the ignorance of God ( absence of the knowldge of God).
When people are in darkness (ignorant of God) they will manifest the works of Darkness (Sin and all unrigtheousness). When people are in the light ( In the knowledge of God) they will manifest the works of Light ( rigtheousness, lovingkindness and judgement in the earth).
The more poeple are ignorant of God, the greater the darkness , the more you attain to the knowledge of God, the greater the Light
Therefore, sin and all unrighteousness is the fruit of ignorance of God.
34 Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
Sin is the work of darkness, rightheousness the works of light.
Paul reveals that the knowledge of God is the light by which one awakens to rightheounsess. That is, righteousness is the natural outgrowth of light
Example 1 The persecution of the jews
20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.
1 “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.
2 They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.
3 And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.
This works of darkness is a result of their ignorance of God.
Paul persecuted the church because he was ignorant of God, he asked “who are you lord”
Note: We were in this state, we did thinks out of ignorance of God. It is from this darkness God has brought us out.
1 Timothy 1:12–15 (NKJV)
12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,
13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.
15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
Those who are willing to come out of their ignorance will receive mercy.
Hosea 6:6 “6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
Example Athens
16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
What was the root cause of Athens being given wholy to idolatry
It was the worship of the Ignorance of God.
23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:
The lord reveal this to me in a different light.
When people worship the altar of Ignorance of God, ther life and their land is given over to all kinds of sin.
The solution
30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
To repent of their ignorance of God.
The Apostle Paul put it in a different way in Romans 1
Romans 1:28–32 (NKJV)
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,
30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;
32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
They had knowledge but not the knowledge of God.
Their ignorance of God impacts their whole life. Their life is given to darkness
Once ignorance of God not only impacts once life but one’s environment and land
Hosea 4:1–3 (NKJV)
1 Hear the word of the Lord, You children of Israel, For the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: “There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed. ( the fruit of ignorance of God)
3 Therefore the land will mourn; And everyone who dwells there will waste away With the beasts of the field And the birds of the air; Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.
The ignorance of God of the inhabitant has not only lead to their own demise but the demise of the animals in the land.
We are seein unprecident amount of animals and brids dying everywhere
last year in Australia’s bushfire over 3 billion animals were wiped out.
The solution is the knoweldge of God.
There is hope for the earth, there is hope even for the animals
Talking of the milenial reign with Christ Isaiah prophesies in the spirit and says
Isaiah 11:1–9 (NKJV)
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight is in the fear of the Lord, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
(2 Thessalonians 2:8 “8 And then the lawless [wicked] one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” )
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
6 “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea.
(Talk about what the Knowledge of God brings)
What we have recieved through the revelation of the Knowledge of God.
We recieve the grace and peace of God
13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
God’s grace and peace has beeen multiplied in our lives through the revelation of Jesus Christ. The revelation of the knowledge of God.
1 John 5:20 (NKJV)
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
How does a person come out of his ignorance of God. How does a person attain to the knoweldge of God.
Three things that are needed.
One belongs to the individual the other two is of God
A heart that seek out and pursues the knowledge of God
the knowledge of God (light)
Instrument of delivery, instrument to deliver that knoweldge
The individual
he must seek and pursue the knowledge of God. He must want to know God
Hosea 6:3 (NKJV)
3 Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding,
4 If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God.
God
Place the light of his knowledge in an instrument
Open once understanding
The Instrument of God’s Knowledge
We are the instrument of God’s knowledge
Example Paul
Acts 26:15–18 (NKJV)
15 So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
16 But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.
17 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you,
18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’
Just like Paul God delivered us from our ignorance, by revealing himslelf to us and now we are the vessel by which he will open the eyes of other people.
Example God revealed himslef to Moses in the burning bush and used him to reveals himslef to the people of Israel, Egypt and Pharaoh
Exod 5:2 “2 And Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.””
2 Corinthians 2:12–16 (NKJV)
12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord,
13 I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia.
14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.
16 To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?
We are the fragnance of Christ, the Light that he has shone in our life is for the purpose of shining in the hearts of those who are in darkness.
We are not sufficient, but our sufficient is of God
2 Corinthians 4:6–7 (NKJV)
6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
We are clay vessels carrying something so valuable
There is a reason why the enemy fights us, to destroy us but he will never succeed because of what is in our vessel.
8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
Therefore we are debtors
14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.
15 So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.
God has to open once understanding
14 Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.
God opened the heart of lydia to understand and take heed to the things spoken by Paul
44 Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”
45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
After he spoke to them of the scriptures, he opened their understanding
2 Now Moses called all Israel and said to them: “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land—
3 the great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders.
4 Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day.
The people of Israel that died in the wilderness, saw the works of God but did not percieve, they heard the words of God but did not understand. As a result they perished.
Conclusion
That God will bring people to the Light of His knowledge
That God will stregthen our hearts and mind so as to fullfill our duty, the duty of preaching the Gospel to those that God sends us.
God will not only open our eyes, but also the eyes of other people in this nation