Shenandoah Bible Baptist Church
How Well Do You Know Him?
I promise I will not be super long. William is in the sound room and he said, "Dad, I have control of the sound board and at 20 minutes, I'm gonna cut you off." So there you go, we'll do that. If you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn to Philippians 3, 10. We'll be our scripture for this afternoon, Philippians 3, 10. We'll go ahead and read that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable, unto his death. I want to talk to you about our relationship with God. How well do you know him? When God created man, he said it was not good for man to be alone. And so God then created woman and that began the relationship that human beings have. We are relational creatures and so we, unless you're a real loner and I can be a loner sometimes, we desire to have a relationship with people, we desire to talk with people, to build bonds and have friendships. With that in mind, I've been thinking a lot about our theme and so I asked him to put that back up for know him. I sit every service over here with my family and that message of know him has just been there all year long when Pastor introduced it back in January. And it's just constantly been there as I sit here and I listen to the messages, know him, know him. And as I do my personal devotions in Bible reading, know him, know him. And so the Lord has been speaking to me. So I'm going to talk about our relationship with the Lord. It's hard to believe, my family and I, we came to church here at SBBC four years ago this month and time has just flown by and the Lord has just over and over just reaffirmed that this is where we need to be. And in that four years, I've gotten to know a lot of people, a lot of new people because of new church to us. And so, you know, it's been, it's been interesting. Some of you are some characters, I tell you, Brother Knight. He is something else. So we've got a couple of people. There's a young man who has been coming. I get to help Brother Jake in the crossroads Sunday school class. His name is Damien. He's not here today. But Damien got invited to the knife making ministry. He got saved, started coming to church. He's been in Sunday school and I've had the opportunity to get to talk to Damien and get to know him a little bit. And, you know, you could say that we have an acquaintance, right? Because he's only been coming to church for a few weeks. So, you know, we're not best friends, but we have an acquaintance. But if you ask me, "Hey, Adam, do you know Damien? He's in your Sunday school class?" Yeah, I know Damien. So we use that word knowing someone very, very loosely sometimes. Brother Jordan Jones, I think he's out on assignment right now. He's our school principal. I know Brother Jordan. We work together with school, helping with the sports program and scheduling and just different things like that. And I've got to know him and spend some time with him and talk to him. We've become friends. I know Brother Jones. Brother John Inglar. I think he's on security. There's a Bible verse Proverbs 27, 17, "Iron sharpenedeth iron." So a man sharpened the countenance of his friend. John Inglar is my friend and he sharpens me. And together we have made each other, you know, better Christians stronger. We share prayer requests with each other. We share praises with each other. Things that the Lord has done in our lives and with our families and just how he answers prayer requests. John Inglar is my friend. I know Brother John Inglar. The person I know the best in Shenandoah is my wife. We have been married or will be married 20 years in December. And she deserves whatever big medal there is for putting up with me for 20 years. But I know her. I know her better today than I did when we started dating. I know her better today than at our five year or 10 year and our 15 year anniversary. You see, I know my wife's favorite foods. I know her favorite color. I know where she likes to go when we have a chance to get away. I know if she has any allergies. I know all of these different things that she knows the same about me. I know my wife. But just with any relationship, it takes a work. And if I stop learning about my wife, even after almost 20 years, if I stop right now, how are we going to grow and be able to know each other more? I've got to continue with each of these people, with each person that you know, you have to continue to learn about them, to invest time in that relationship, so that you can know them more. And so I've got to do that because when we get to 40 years and there's no kids at home, it could be really awkward. So I got to continue to know my wife. I started to think about different men in the Bible. Different men who knew God as this message, this theme, "Know Him," has just been penetrating my mind. There are people in the Bible who have known God in a way that you and I will never be able to know Him. Adam. Adam was the first man created by God. His first breath was God breathed. He had the privilege of being able to name all of creation. He was given rule and dominion over a perfect world. His spouse was created with his own flesh by God, made especially for him. But they sinned. And God came in the cool of the day to walk and talk with Adam. It didn't just happen that one day, I don't think. I think it was something that happened on a regular daily basis as God would come and commune with His creation. Adam knew God. Enoch. What's really cool is Enoch is the grandson, whatever, how many down the line, of Adam. And they actually overlapped their lives for probably a couple hundred years. And I wonder, what did the conversation look like? I remember going up and growing up and going and sitting in my granddaddy's lap and him talking to me and sharing things with me. What did that conversation look like between Adam and Enoch? I can see Adam telling him about the time they walked in the Garden of Eden. And why he named Anat. I mean, I can just see this. I mean, it's amazing. Enoch did not have the law. He did not have the Bible. He did not have organized religion. He did not have a priest or a pastor. But Enoch's relationship with God was so different from anyone else that God decided to not have Enoch die natural death. The Bible says that he was not for God took him. What kind of a relationship did that take for God to pull him home at a young age of 365 years? I don't want to be that old. Abraham. Abraham is another one called out away from his family and the early of the Caledese. And God chose to make of him a great nation. And for a little while, Abraham tried to do it on his own. That didn't work. And Abraham had a special visit from the Lord. Here's my big word, a theophany. The Lord came down before his birth, obviously, and met with Abraham. He sat in the door of his tent. He ate with Abraham. He talked with Abraham. The Lord explained to him what was going to happen, that he was going to have a son in his old age. Sarah was laughing, by the way, and the Lord called her out for laughing. But he got to talk to the Lord and got to have a relationship with him. He then had the son, miracle, in his old age, a son, went to sacrifice the son and saw the Lord provide a ram in the thicket. Something you and I will never get to see will never get to experience. One more person that I thought about who had a relationship with God and got to know him like we could not is Moses. Exodus 33, Moses is talking with God. A God that Moses met at the burning bush. A God that Moses saw, deliver the children of Israel from 400 years of bondage. A God that Moses saw bring plague after plague and harden the heart of Pharaoh until the children of Israel were released. This same Moses says that God knew him by name and asked if he had truly found grace that God would show him his way so that Moses would know him. Imagine after having seen God do all those things and speak with God that Moses still just wanted to know him. And we know that God hid him in the cleft of the rock and allowed him to see the backside as he passed by because no man can see the glory of God. Moses knew God. You and I were never going to have the opportunity to do that. How are we to know God if we don't have those opportunities? First Corinthians 13, 12, for now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know even as I am known. There are truths in God's word that we don't understand. There are things that are not revealed to us. We don't have the ability in our imperfect bodies to truly understand all that God is. But the Bible says that one day when I see him face to face, I will know him as I am known. What does that mean? So I got to thinking about this and the Lord just brought several passages to mind. Jeremiah 1, 5, "Before I formed the in the belly, I knew thee." God knew you before you were formed in the belly. Before your parents met, before you were born, before you lived a life, God knew you. That's pretty powerful. Isaiah 49, 16, and this one, I love this one, "Behold, this is God," talking to Isaiah, "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands. Thy walls are continually before me." God said that he has engraved Israel in the palm of his hand. And this is a prophetic chapter. It's looking forward to the cross when Christ would be nailed to the cross of Calvary and his hands would be pierced with the nail. Now, the Lord is dyed on the cross and his hand is graven and every time he sees that he thinks of me and he thinks of you. In the New Testament, John 20, 25, the other disciples therefore said unto him and to him is Thomas. We have seen the Lord, but he said unto them, "Except I shall see in his hands the prince of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." Verse 27, then sayeth he to Thomas. This is the Lord, reach hither thy finger and behold my hands and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side and be not faithless but believing. God knew Israel because they were graven in the palm of his hand. God knows you and I as believers because he sees the nail prince in his hand when he went to the cross of Calvary to die for us. He knows me because I'm graven in the palm of his hand. How else does God know me? Revelations chapter 20 verses 11 and 12 and I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it from whose faith faced the earth and the heaven have fled away and there was found no place for them and I saw the dead small and great stand before God and the books were opened and another book was opened which is the book of life. In verse 15 says and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. He knows me because I'm written in the book of life and I mean I'm sealed forever. My name cannot be erased and I think in my mind's eye I think what does that book look like as it's opened and the pages are turned? What ink is used? I think it may be the blood of Jesus Christ. My name is written in the book of life never to be erased. I have a home in heaven forever because of what Jesus Christ did for me. He knows me because I am written in the book of life. Ephesians 5, 22 and 23 tells about the relationship between a husband and wife and between the church and Christ. The church is the bride of Christ. As a believer that's what we are. There are a few words throughout that passage that describe the relationship not only of husband and wife but of Christ and the church. Here's a few of them. Submit, love, give, sanctify, cleanse, nourish, cherish, leave and join. That describes a very personal intimate and deep relationship that is supposed to exist between a husband and wife. And the relationship of husband and wife is what type of a relationship we are to have as a believer with our Lord. He knows me because I am his bride. If you want to know him as he knows you, you must continually learn more about him. If you are saved, you have a relationship with God. What type of relationship is it? Is it an acquaintance? You know him in passing. Maybe it's because you're a new Christian and you're just getting to know the Lord. If you've been saved for a long time and you have an acquaintance relationship with the Lord, oh boy, we got some work to do. Do you have a casual friendship? A casual friendship you show up on Sunday and you're here and you get all the spiritual growth that you need from what the pastor has to say. Maybe you have a close relationship, a close friendship, or maybe you have that deeply personal intimate relationship with your Heavenly Father that he desires for us to have. I got to think in what does it take for us to have a successful relationship? And it came down, in my mind, I'm a very simple person. I think very simply I'm not overly complex. My favorite thing to do is nothing. And so I don't think about too much. So what is it that requires of me to have a relationship with God, that I can know him, requires conversation. The conversation comes in two parts. The first part is how we spend our time with God. What does that conversation look like? Now, no one is going to hear the audible voice of God. Let's just make sure we know that God is not going to speak to you audibly. But how do you speak to him? I think we speak to God through prayer. And so my wife and I, we have started going in afternoon walks as late as possible because it's so hot. And what would that walk look like if when we left the door, it was silent. The other day we walked a mile and a half. I'm getting older. It takes longer. A silent mile and a half would be uncomfortable. And she would tell me, "Leave me alone. Don't walk with me anymore." Or what if on that mile and a half walk the next day and every day after, we said the same exact things to each other. At every turn, it was the same conversation, the same words, every single time on that mile and a half. And I don't know about you. Sometimes I feel like I get in a rut with my prayer life. I use a prayer list. And man, there's nothing wrong with using a prayer list. But sometimes I get very regimented and I go one by one by one. I don't want to miss anyone. And so down the list, I go. And when I'm at the bottom of the list, I say amen and move on. And sometimes that's okay. It's okay to have a prayer list. But that's not a conversation. That's like going to the menu board at McDonald's and I want the number three. What does a conversation look like? You know, God has given us the Holy Spirit when we got saved, the Holy Spirit moves in. And the Holy Spirit is someone who helps us to take the things that are such heavy burdens that we can't even do anything but blubber. And God, the Holy Spirit takes it to the throne of heaven and turns that into something intelligible, more than just my blubber. But the Holy Spirit also will guide us when we are in fellowship with Him on what to pray, on how to pray. And as I mentioned someone's name, it will maybe pray a little bit more this way for that person, or maybe pray a little bit more this way for that specific situation that's going on. But in order to do that, we have to have a conversation with the Lord. I got to thinking about a verse Psalms 119-105. None of this is new to anybody, so it's not going to surprise you. Again, I'm very simple. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. God is with us every day. He goes with us everywhere that we go. And I got to think about this verse and I did a little bit of digging to find out a few more things. Thy word is a lamp. The word lamp is more like a candle. You know, think about the Bible days. There's no electricity. And so I think in my mind's eyes I try to visualize this. It's dark everywhere. And I'm walking on the journey of life and I can't see anything. And I have before me enough light to see where I take the next step. And God wants me to take that step in faith. And He provides me just enough light for one step. One step at a time. Putting faith and trust in Him that He's not going to lead me astray, that He's going to lead me in the right path where I should walk. But then the other part of that verse says, "And a light unto my path." And a light. It's like walking outside. Everything is bright. You can see clearly the sun is out. It's not dark. I can see everything. And there are times in our lives when God just reveals things to us and allows us to see a bigger picture. It's not dark. And we can see that He has gone before us and prepared the way and He has revealed that to us. And God has done that. He is there with us. He desires to hear us. He wants us to talk to Him, to share things with Him. It should be the easiest conversation that you ever have when you talk to your Heavenly Father. There's another way that we can know Him. And I think that is the other part of conversation. And remember, God's not going to speak audibly to you. But He is going to speak to you through His Word. Everything that we need to know about God is found right here. There's no new epistles. There's no new translations. You get you a King James Version Bible and start reading it. And let God speak to you. And so there's a verse 1 Peter 3, 15. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. And be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. How are you supposed to be ready to give an answer if you're never in the Word? You've got to be in the Word. God gives us everything that we need to know. 2 Timothy 2, 15. Says, "Open your Bible once a week to show thyself approved unto God." No. Read your Bible to show thyself approved unto God. It says study. It doesn't say study one time. It doesn't say study through once. It says to study. I was not the smartest kid in school. I was homeschooled. It explains everything. But study involves a slow, meticulous reading and understanding. Get a commentary from someone who believes the way that we believe, who is a studied and learned individual. And God has given some insight into the Scripture and has put together some thoughts. And we can learn from them. Get it and read it. Begg God to open his Word and show you the truth from his Word so that he can talk to you and don't stop studying. It doesn't mean that you just study the book of John. It means you've got to study Habakkuk too. You've got to study all of it. There's a truth in there for all of us. I think back several times I've had the wonderful privilege of being questioned in a very thorough manner. I had to give a deposition for a court case. Sitting down in front of an attorney with my attorney from my work on the side and someone taking notes, deposing me on a matter that was going to court. I had to know the truth. I had to know the facts. I had to be able to give an account for what was going on. It took some study and some preparation to be ready to give that account. My wife and I had the wonderful privilege of having to be interviewed separately about our lives. And then the person doing the interview compared notes. High pressure. The reason we were interviewed is sitting beside my wife. If we hadn't given a true and accurate account, my life looks different. What does it look like when someone asks you about your Lord? Are you able to give a true and accurate account? Are you able to give more than one reference? Can you give the truth? I know allergies, colors, all of these things about my wife and she knows even more about me because she listens better. That's how we should know our Lord. If the relationship that we are supposed to strive to have with our Lord is the same as a husband and wife, then we need to know our Lord pretty good. We can't do that by once a week picking up the Bible or by only listening to what is done on Sunday through the pulpit. Colossians 3, 16, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing with grace in your hearts for the Lord. When you beg God to open the truth of his Word, he's going to do that. There's nothing new, but that doesn't mean it's not new for me to see. Maybe God has for whatever, maybe my heart wasn't right. When I was reading a passage, I just didn't register. That's why I have to read and read and study and study because there are moments in your life when God says, "Okay, Adam, it's time for you to know a little bit more about me and you have to be ready because that can make a difference in your life for a long time." We need to be in our Bible's daily. It's the other half of the conversation. God's speaking to us through his Word, not just on a Sunday or a Wednesday. And if you teach a Sunday school lesson or you teach in the school or you're going out witnessing to people, you really better be in his Word so that you can be ready to give an account to anyone at any time. Begg God to open his Word so that you can see the truth from the Bible so that we can know him more. As I stopped to think about this, I was convicted. How much do I know him? If I had to sit down in a room and give an account, and on the other side, God has given an account of me. He misses no details. He knows the number of hairs on my head. I don't even know that answer. He knows me better than I know myself. He knew me before I was conceived. How well do I know him? Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for this challenge that you've given to me. Lord, I know that this was convicting and challenging for me as I prepared. Father, I pray that you would help us to know you more. Lord, just reveal the truth through your Word. Would you help us to see it? Would you remove scales from our eyes so that we can see the truth that is in your Word? Father, would you help us to grow? Would you help us to have a deeper, more personal, and intimate relationship with you so that we can truly know you more so that we can be better prepared to give an account to others so that we can be a better witness in the testimony for you? We love you. Thank you for this wonderful day that you've given us. Would you be with us this week? And Lord, we just thank you and praise you for all that you do. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.