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That You May Know Him
Many people in
today's world mistaken God as some kind of abstract being, far away, more of a
impersonal "force". Taking
this into account, it is not surprising to see that these same people tend to
view religion and Christianity as a pointless route of endless rites and
rituals. But before we go on
any further with this topic, let us stop for a moment.
Consider the fact that God is a personal God.
A God who is more than a globby-gluey, or an lightning throwing force.
A God that can come into our spheres of existence and penetrate our very
lives. Who, indeed is also PERSONAL
and active. It would make a
profound change in people's lives. Think
of the significance of that! What
glory there is to praise God for!
When we turn to our Bible at Ephesians 1:17, we find that the Apostle
Paul saying in his letter to the Ephesians church, "I keep asking that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of
wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better." Read this verse
again. The latter part of the verse
mentions (referring to God) "that you may know Him..." Obviously, from this
passage, we see the fact that we can know God.
This was Paul's prayer to God the Father. In
the Greek, the word used here for "knowing" is actually epignosei.
Epignosei refers to the knowledge that is personal and intimate;
there is a living God that can interact with us!
Like the Apostle Paul, I too pray that you may know God personally and
intimately too. The same verse also
mention that God gave the Spirit of wisdom and revelation for us to know Him.
Of course, through the Holy Spirit who provides us true wisdom (centered
on God, not worldly wisdom), the Spirit also reveals to us through the Bible who
God is. But this sermon would
be short of it's goal if we ended there. We must come to Jesus Christ for the opportunity
to know God the Father. In the
hours before Jesus' own death, he prayed to the Father God, "I have made
you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love
you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." (John
17:26) So come to Christ,
repent of your sins, be saved through Him and especially, get to God personally
and intimately. Since God is alive
and active, being a Christian isn't a road of boring rituals but a relationship
with the most high! (Note: You can have a
preview of this relationship with God through the poems and the testimonies on
this website.) --Jimmy Li
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