Base text:
“Then let us know, and let us press on to know the Lord”. Hosea 6:3
The verse above makes it clear that we should not only know God, but also continue to know Him. We know that God is infinite, and in this life we will never know Him fully because of His greatness, however we cannot be satisfied only with what we hear about this God, but rather know Him more and more each day.
Inspiration.
This study arose from the reflection mentioned below, because unfortunately many are those who have never had a personal encounter with God, and attend places of worship only because of the stories they have heard. The sources are diverse, one hears from their parents, their pastors, or even read in the Bible, yet they are still lacking personal experiences with the Most High. They need to have a personal knowledge of God in their lives, beyond what the Bible says.
We cannot live merely as spectators of stories that happened in the lives of others.
This week going to the market to buy some groceries, I was meditating on God’s Word, and thinking about His promises, His greatness, His deeds, His mercies that have no end, I could feel Him right beside me and I began to glorify His name right there in the car.
During the journey I remembered a conversation I had with a brother from the city of Ibitinga – SP, in which he reminded me of the words of a sister saying that she no longer wanted to live only from biblical stories, but rather that she wanted to see the same God of the Bible acting in her life.
The remembrance of what the sister had said about biblical stories came after I had commented that in Araraquara once I said to the local Pastor: “I find the biblical facts wonderful, where God’s action is reported in the life of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Peter, Paul, John and so many others, however what interests me most is what God can and will do in my life, and through me”.
God goes far beyond the stories reported in the Bible.
Through the Bible we know that not all the deeds of Our Only God and Lord Jesus are written, because it would be impossible to narrate all the facts, and if we were to report all the miracles and accomplishments of Jesus, there would not be enough books. See: “There are, however, still many other things that Jesus did; and if each one of them were written, I think that not even the whole world could contain the books that would be written. Amen. John 21:25”.
Even though it is not being added to the Bible, God can still perform many wonders in the life of all who believe in Him, and it will not be different with you. Allow the God narrated by the biblical stories to go beyond the stories and cause a tremendous impact on your way of living, casting out everything that prevents you from knowing Him fully, and from being reached by the blessings promised to His children.
The God of Abraham also wants to be our God and transform our lives.
We have seen many times the expression “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” being used in the sacred scriptures, but we need to remember that this is also our God, for there is no other God besides Him, and this Jesus also wants to perform wonders in our lives and through us, however for this to happen we will need to truly know Him, because when this happens, it will be impossible not to have transformation in our lives and consequently we will be able to be agents of transformation also in the lives of those around us.
To know is different from merely having heard about something or someone.
Knowledge means: 1. “the act or effect of knowing”, 2. “the act of perceiving or understanding through reason and/or experience”.
Knowing its meaning, we can affirm that knowledge is the set of information that the individual acquires through their experience, learning, beliefs, values and understanding about something throughout their trajectory. The person who possesses knowledge is able to know some information or instruction and the same can change behaviors and help in decision making.
What experiences have you had with God?
We see from the Bible that Job, although he had always pleased God through his attitudes, still lacked in his life a personal knowledge of God, concrete experiences, which would not leave doubts about the real power and action of God in his life, for he himself said that before he only knew Him by hearing, but after having had his particular experiences, his trials, he was able to see God, obviously he did not see God physically, however he was able to see God’s action in his favor, and he used the expression “but now my eyes see you.”, see the biblical text: “With the hearing of my ears I heard, but now my eyes see you. Job 42:5”.
Do not suffer alone, cry out for help and God will hear you.
The passage about Job makes it clear that God wants to reveal Himself to us, and that is why He allows us to go through many situations, some very difficult even. And this is so that we can cry out to Him and ask for help.
We see that God’s people suffering in Egypt for almost 450 years, but when they cried out for help, Moses was sent to take them out of slavery.
“ And it came to pass, after many days, that the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and cried out; and their cry came up to God by reason of their bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob; And God saw the children of Israel, and God had respect for them. Exodus 2:23-25”.
Ignorance brings suffering and destruction.
Meaning:
"Did you know that in Hebrew the word DARKNESS is the same word for IGNORANCE? Similarly, the word for KNOWLEDGE in Hebrew and in Greek is the same for LIGHT. So when we speak about the world or the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light or the Kingdom of God, we are not speaking about lamps turned on or off. We are speaking about ignorance and knowledge. The prince of darkness is the prince of ignorance. He governs through ignorance. Wherever you are ignorant, he will establish a stronghold". Myles Monroe - Book Citizens of the Kingdom - Chara Publisher
The Bible: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, so that you will not be a priest before me; and, since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children. As they multiplied, so they sinned against me; I will turn their honor into shame. Hosea 4:6,7”
Do not allow the prince of darkness to dominate over you, strive to have a concrete relationship with God, sanctify yourself, draw near to God, for that is what James advised: “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8”.
Experiences with God are infinite, and we will only have them by being near Him.
Passages in Genesis and Hosea show us this:
God’s purpose has always been and still is for His people to be with Him, having constant experiences, and relating with Him every day. Behold what we see in the book of Genesis:
“And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day; and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called to Adam, and said to him: Where are you? Genesis 3:8,9”;
And in the book of Hosea: “Come, and let us return to the LORD, because He has torn, and He will heal us; He has smitten, and He will bind up our wound. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live before Him. Then let us know, and let us press on to know the Lord; His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come to us as the rain, as the latter rain that waters the earth. Hosea 6:1-3”
God seeks worshipers:
Through the passage in Genesis we see God walking through the garden looking for Adam, just as He looks for true worshipers and He said “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; because the Father seeks such to worship Him. John 4:22,23”
There is a promise for those who are near the Lord Jesus:
God wants us to know Him and worship Him in truth, when we do so we can count on the blessings promised in the book of Hosea, where He affirms that if we turn to Him, that is if we are before the Lord Jesus, we can be sure that any wound that He makes, or allows us to have, He Himself will heal it. In Him we also have the certainty that He will send rain at the right time, to assure us food, which will keep us alive to offer our worship before Him.
It is worthwhile to have real knowledge of God.
David’s difficult decision:
“And David’s heart was troubled after he had numbered the people; and David said to the Lord: I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, O Lord, I beseech You, forgive the iniquity of Your servant; because I have acted very foolishly. So David arose in the morning, and the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying: Go, and tell David: Thus says the Lord: I offer you three things; choose one of them, that I may do it to you. So Gad came to David, and made it known to him; and said to him: Do you want seven years of famine to come upon your land; or that you flee three months before your enemies, and they pursue you; or that there be plague in your land for three days? Now consider, and see what answer I shall bring to Him who sent me. Then David said to Gad: I am in great distress; but let us fall into the hands of the Lord, because great are His mercies; but let me not fall into the hands of men. So the Lord sent plague on Israel, from the morning until the appointed time; and from Dan to Beersheba, seventy thousand men of the people died. And the angel stretched out his hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, and the Lord relented of the disaster; and said to the angel who was destroying among the people: Enough, now withdraw your hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah, the Jebusite. And when David saw the angel who was striking the people, he spoke to the Lord, saying: Behold, I am the one who sinned, and I who did wrong; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand be against me and against the house of my father. 2 Samuel 24:10-17”.
Experiences cause us to make the right decisions, as David did:
This text shows us what it is to have true knowledge, for David’s experience with God led him to a difficult decision, but a right one, for although he himself acknowledged his error, and also knowing that it is a horrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God, still he preferred to fall into the hands of this God, who is rich in mercy, and he was spared. David’s personal knowledge in relation to God allowed him to know that God would have mercy on him, and that His wrath would cease. We need to learn from David, and bring the God of biblical stories into our lives, and make Him our refuge and fortress.
When we know God, we can help in the transformation of the lives of others.
God acting through His servants:
“And Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man was being carried in, who had been lame from his mother’s womb, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple called Beautiful, to ask alms of those entering the temple. He, seeing Peter and John about to enter the temple, asked to receive alms. And Peter, with John, fixed his eyes on him, and said: Look at us. And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. And Peter said: I have neither silver nor gold; but what I have, that I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, rise up and walk. And taking him by the right hand, he raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were strengthened. And he leaped up, stood on his feet, and walked, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God; Acts 3:1-9”.
Assurance in whom one has believed:
If Peter had not had knowledge, a real experience with God, he would not have had the faith and courage to command that the lame man rise and walk, nor would he cite the name of the God in whom he believed, but having been used in many other miracles, for we know that even his shadow healed, and thus he commanded with faith “I have neither silver nor gold; but what I have, that I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, rise up and walk”.
Peter being an agent of transformation in the lame man’s life:
The lame man had his life transformed, having ceased to be a beggar and being able to work for his own sustenance, through Peter’s personal knowledge of God, who knew that Our Jesus, God and Lord would not allow His name to be mentioned by a man of faith without performing the expected miracle. Peter’s faith was so tremendous that he took responsibility for himself and said to the lame man: “Look at us” and then said more “I have neither silver nor gold; but what I have, that I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, rise up and walk.” Peter had much more than silver and gold, he had Jesus, the owner of silver and gold, who could perform a miracle in the lame man’s life so that he would no longer need to be ashamed, ridiculed, begging for alms, but rather live at his own expense.
By knowing God, He will reveal to us tremendous and particular things.
Particular revelation to the apostle Paul:
“Truly I must not boast; but I will go to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago (whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know; God knows) was caught up to the third heaven. And I know that such a man (whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know; God knows) was caught up to paradise; and heard inexpressible words, which it is not permitted for a man to speak. 2 Corinthians 12:1-4”.
God has special and particular things to reveal to each of His servants:
In the text above the apostle Paul speaks of a revelation that he had, and it was a particular revelation, in which he saw things that he was not permitted to tell us about. When we know God, living the experiences that He allows us, this same God takes pleasure in revealing tremendous things to us, and doing glorious things in our lives, and many of them are particular, unique, only for us and no one else.
We see another example, for Jesus had twelve apostles, but only Peter, James and John saw Him glorified, and in the same vision they also saw Moses and Elias, Matthew 17:1-4, obviously the other apostles had a life with God, the apostle Stephen even died for the gospel, but it pleased God, to choose only these three to grant them this wonderful experience.
Conclusion.
We see that Our Jesus, the Only God and Lord did indescribable and innumerable things in the life of all His servants, however we cannot remain merely as a spectator of what is done in the lives of others, we need above all to bring this true God, from biblical stories, into our lives, desiring Him, living with Him and for Him, worshiping Him, serving Him. This is the real meaning of being Christian, living with Christ, living for Christ, knowing Him, having real experiences through our daily relationship with Him.
My desire is that you be tremendously blessed by this study, and become a blessing also in the lives of others.