It is one of my favorite scriptures…
Philippians 3:10,11 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
The cry of the spirit and the soul – to know Almighty God, not just know that he exists, but that he is and that there is a deep powerful relationship to be had with him.
Many know of God – they could tell you the basics of who and what he is- He is all powerful, all knowing, he is everywhere present, he is beyond time and space, infinite in his nature, but all that seems rather cold and distant, none of that tells me who he is as a person or what he is like or why I would want to have a relationship with him.
The world knows “of” the Queen of England, but few know her. We see her in pictures, see her performing her duties as queen and see her as a representative of the state, but none of that tells us who she is as a person, what are her likes and dislikes. Is she a cheerful person, or dour and severe? Does she like tea or coffee? Only being properly introduced and spending time with her could we possibly get to know the real Queen of England.
The same principle works with the Lord, you can know “of ” God but never “know” God.
There is so much more here, more about who the Lord is as a person, so much to be explored, studied and eventually to be experienced in communion with him. Spending time with him will enable all of us to to begin to know and understand understand him as a person, what are his likes and dislikes, what makes him smile, what makes him frustrated, and annoyed, and it all starts with an introduction.
Being Introduced to the Lord
Years ago I had the pleasure to babysit a beautiful five year old neighbour, she was so sweet with a real unique outlook on life, and a very powerful sense of imagination. She was playing with “invisible” friends and have quiet the time when the subject of Jesus came up. I asked her if she knew Jesus – her answer said it all., “Some of the kids at school play with him but I don’t know him”, I asked if she would like to meet him, she said yes, so we talked about who he was, and then I took her hands and made the introduction, instantly her eyes got big as she felt his spirit touch her, and the Lord became very real to her.
Oh,That I may know him…
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to really know the Lord
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to meet him personally
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to know his nature
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to know his characteristics
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to know what he thinks
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to know what he feels
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to know his opinions
GOD is a Spirit
John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
One of the first things you need to know about the Lord is that he speaks to us through his Spirit and that He is Spirit…
To meet the Lord you must begin to talk to him, the fancy word for that is prayer.
Also, just as a note one of the first prayers he hears is your apology or repentance for things you may have done or not done that broke his heart.
As you begin to talk to him like my little friend above, you will actually feel his presence, the communication happens in your spirit, so it is a spirit to spirit communication.
It closely resembles the first communication that happens between a new born child and their Mother or Father.
I will never forget being with my precious daughter when she gave birth to her son, we were all there, myself, as Grandma, his Dad and my daughter doing all the hard work… this was my first time seeing a real live birth, for myself I had to have c-sections so I missed the events, but here for the first time… with my precious little family… it was so beautiful.
Shortly after my grandson was cleaned up his Dad gave him to me, and he was awake and smiling, and his spirit and mine began to communicate… it was like I knew what he was saying and he knew what I was saying… it was incredible.
The first meeting with Jesus can be even more dynamic and powerful, you may find yourself weeping or laughing, the emotions may or may not come so don’t worry about your reactions, after all you are meeting the Creator of the Universe, and he wants to connect with you.
This first prayer will start am incredible, powerful relationship that will last for eternity. The Lord is a gentleman so he will take you as fast or as slow as you need.
To know the Lord to find out about his character – not necessarily what is role as God is… not just that he is all powerful, all knowing, everywhere present, infinite meaning… there is no beginning or end with him… but to know who God is as a person …
God is:.CreativeArtisticMethodical think of math, languages, patterns m the universeLoves order and beautySense of humourGoodKind- loving kindnessesCompassionateMercifulFaithfulHolyRighteousJustRealForgivingGraciousLove
God is Love
Another characteristic of the Lord, is the fact that he is love, not that he is loving but his very nature is love.To know the Lord you have to connect with him, you have to get to know him the way he wants you to know him.
The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
Read the Word of God (The Bible)
to truly know him
You don’t need to learn about him from his enemies – read his love letters, read about the people who did know him, read his words from his own writings.
Becoming a real Christian doesn’t mean following a set of laid out rules. no, it is about
- finding the Lord,
- loving the Lord,
- seeing the world through his eyes.
- seeing just how much he loves you and then
- responding to him.
It’s all about relationship.
“That I might know him!”
I pray that may or will be the cry of our hearts, to know the Lord in all of his fullness. To begin the process of creating a deep powerful relationship with him.