knowing God

We are in the third week of a series called “Christianity 101.” Each week, as I have prepared my messages, I have become more and more aware of my own inability to teach about God. Even if I was the greatest teacher on the planet…even if my “students” were passionately engaged with the material…even if the environment was perfectly conducive for instruction…it would not be enough. It would not be nearly enough!

Knowing God is not an intellectual exercise. Yes, it involves our intellect. Yes, we use our brains to think about and study. Yes, we can utilize tools like logic, reason, history and science. But those things are all simply a beginning. To truly know God is to experience God. And to experience God is to be forever transformed by God.

The ancient Hebrews used to talk about knowing God in a much deeper sense than we do today. Dictionary.com’s first definition of the verb “to know” is to perceive or understand as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty. Now, that’s not a bad definition, but it certainly isn’t complete either. It’s all about the head, but what about the heart, the emotions, the spirit? The Old Testament word for our verb “to know” is yada. It carries a much deeper connection to feeling and discovering and relationship. It is even used in a sexual sense as exemplified in Genesis 4:1. “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain…” (NKJV)

To this point in our series we have talked about God the Father. The main idea there is that God is love. God can be described in a lot of ways (i.e. holy, righteous, Judge, Master, etc.), but above them all, taking precedence, is love. Last week we learned more about God the Son. The thesis there is that Jesus came to demonstrate true life for us. His entire existence on earth, from birth to ascension, is a model for us to study and follow. Well, this Sunday we’re going to talk about God the Holy Spirit. I think my two dominant emotions heading into it are nervousness and excitement.

See, if there was ever an opportunity to truly know God, to experience God, it is found in seeking the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is our daily guide, friend, counselor and teacher. The Holy Spirit of God literally dwells within us every moment of every day. The Spirit of God warms our hearts, cools our temptations, stirs our emotions, calms our fears. The Holy Spirit is our true means of knowing God.

I don’t know exactly what this weekend holds, but I sense a high level of expectancy leading up to it. God has always done what He wants, when He wants, in the way He wants. But our study of Him, I believe, is pleasing to Him. Here we come, Holy Spirit! Meet us here!

storming the beach

For years now I’ve viewed Holy Seed Community Church through the eyes of a military officer. In fact, we very boldly proclaimed September 1, 2007 as our spiritual D-Day. We saw it that way then and still do today. Well, in the past few weeks the Lord has been bombarding me with reminders of the opening images of Saving Private Ryan. I re-watched those gruesome moments this week. This bloody scene occurs on D-Day. Considering the amount of time Hitler had occupied that part of France and how heavily it was defended, the fact that the boats were even there was quite a miracle. To even set foot on that beach was amazing. But then the firing began.

Tom Hanks leaps into the water and almost dies instantly. Some soldiers are weighed down by too much gear and never even take one step toward the mission. Those that do, including Tom Hanks’ character, Captain John Miller, are shell shocked. There are several moments where he’s completely numb, ears ringing, unable to move. His men are screaming at him, his eyes are witnessing the most horrifying sights possible, but he simply stands there (actually, he kneels there) not knowing what to do or how to move forward. Finally, after what seems like an eternity during a firefight, he snaps out of it and begins to press on toward their goal.

If September 1st was our spiritual D-Day—simply setting foot on the enemy’s long-held ground of Seattle—then our first year was like that slow, arduous, shell-shocked trudge toward the beach. It took us months just to get our bearings and understand where we were and what was happening all around us. People would ask us how it was going and we didn’t even know how to respond. We looked around us and witnessed horrifying things, but were numb to it all. Finally, after a year of feeling dizzy and wounded, we snapped out of it.

The next thing Captain Miller has to do is rally his men to a safe place and decide what to do now. They can’t simply sit where they are and discuss their options. To remain in one spot is to face certain death. So, they bravely make their way up the beach and regroup. As best they can, they dodge machine gun fire, explosions and corpses in order to dive to the safest place possible. Based on their location, supplies and who’s survived the first fifty yards, they quickly realize that creativity and improvisation is required. Though a master plan was in place beforehand, in the heat of battle it serves only as a guide. These men are facing nearly impossible odds. They do the best they can with what the have where they are. That is the position of Holy Seed Community Church in March of 2009.

We are slowly and painfully making our way up the beach. The enemy is firing at us fast and hard because he desperately does not want to lose this strategic position. He has held it for a long time and will only be forced out. We have experienced much suffering and seen casualties, but, by the grace of God, we continue to move in incremental and important steps. Every person and every action has proven to be extremely difficult and extremely crucial to the completion of the mission.

Eventually Captain Miller and his courageous men clear a very narrow path to the enemy bunkers. Their bravery and sacrifice clears the way for many more soldiers to land and, eventually, for the allied forces to control this vital piece of territory in the larger war. Most historians agree that D-Day, despite the horrific cost in terms of human and material resources, was the turning point in the war. When the firing, explosions and screams finally cease, Captain Miller and his men are left shaken, weeping, wounded and terrified. They are given a few brief moments to rest and attempt to deal with the unbelievable trauma of war before the next grueling push.

God is still destroying lies and overthrowing fear within Holy Seed Community Church, but we now recognize a narrow path that needs to be cleared. We have almost reached the first objective. We’ve long passed the point of no return and, thanks be to God, have achieved a turning point in the war. The very core of our faith has been shaken and assaulted, but it withstood. A short rest and debrief is coming. The building and planting is just around the corner. Hoorah!

the day of the Lord

Our faith community just finished reading a book together. It is a very short yet powerful work called Epic by John Eldredge. Not only was the book great, but our weekly discussions made it even better and more important. I loved to experience the interaction between each other, the book and, of course, Scripture. Fantastic!

Anyway, the final chapter of the book, Act Four, according to Eldredge, is called “The Kingdom Restored.” He paints a picture of what the end of God’s story looks like. It’s an image that includes wonderful dream-like thoughts of heaven and also horrible nightmare-like thoughts of hell. His point, which is a very good and Biblical one, is that the story had a beginning and it has an ending. At some point that only the Author knows, the narrative will end.

There is a phrase spoken throughout Scripture, but especially by the Old Testament prophets, that applies here. They continually talked about “the day of the Lord.” Now this day was spoken of in much the same way. In some cases it was the picture of paradise…when a lion can literally lie down with a lamb…when sickness, pain and sorrow cease…when evil is finally eradicated forever. In some cases, though, it’s the opposite depiction…when judgment for sin finally comes swift and hard…when all human control ends and we must pay for what we’ve done and how we’ve stewarded our time on this land.

Lots of people talk about “eternity.” Many are familiar with terms like “heaven” and “hell.” Just about everyone wants to end up in “the sweet by and by.” Regardless of our terminology, however, I think we must acknowledge this fact: there is an end to this story. One day life as we know it will cease. There are dozens of variations as to what happens at that point, but I think the Bible is fairly clear on the basics. On that day the Lord will make all things new again. It will all be restored. Whatever is broken gets fixed. Those who have remained faithful get rewarded. Those who rebelled get punished. God is love, but He is also just. And a just God must eventually make all things right again.

To those who stand opposed to God, this is very bad news. When a child is guilty and hiding, facing his/her parents is a dreadful thing. To those who stand with God, however, this is phenomenal news. When a child is forgiven and loved, facing his/her parents is a wonderful thing. “The day of the Lord” ought to be fantastic news for us all. It was meant to be that way. The whole idea is to seek God here and now, before it’s too late, while we still have a choice. See, our part in the story is quickly fading and if we wait too long…

The invitation stands. It’s there for all humanity everywhere. God does not play favorites with anyone and loves all of His children equally. Scripture implores us, and I implore you, not to toy with this eternal decision. He is calling to you today, right now. He has been calling your entire life. Answer Him. Speak back. Surrender control. Begin a new relationship today. I can promise it will be the best decision of your life!

surrender

I think I could have been a good soldier. I’ve always imagined that if I hadn’t been called into pastoral ministry, I would have joined the military. I like the structure, the tradition, the honor. One of the hallmarks of our armed forces is to never give up, never give in, never surrender. We will fight on no matter the cost because we know it’s the right thing. To surrender would be an embarrassment; dishonoring to all that we are and what we believe.

To surrender is to give up, to yield, to submit. Maybe it’s because I’m a guy, but those words sound like poison to me! I know I’m not alone on this one! Most people detest the idea of submitting to anyone or anything. It’s painful to even think about relinquishing control, power or authority of any kind. I may not go out and intentionally pick any fights, but if I find myself in one, I’m not giving up or giving in for anything. Either win or die trying! What’s so ironic and difficult, though, is that Jesus asks us to surrender anyway.

We are at war. No, I’m not talking about Iraq or Afghanistan. I’m not referencing any current, physical war. I’m talking about something much more real. Yes, you did read that right. I’m talking about an invisible, spiritual war that is, in fact, much more real and much more significant that any visible, physical war.

This war saw its first casualty before the earth was even formed. It has plagued Adam and Eve, Jesus and Paul, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and you. You may not think about it a lot, but you feel it from time to time. There are some who have grown more accustomed to these unseen, spiritual forces and, therefore, recognize it more than others. But regardless of your level of involvement or your understanding of Truth, we all have one primary responsibility in this war: surrender.

See, the war is really not about us. We’ve just gotten caught in the middle of a firefight. This may sound a little far fetched to some, but this war is between two supernatural forces of good and evil. It began when Lucifer, a beautiful captain of the angels, rebelled against God Himself. Well, he should have known how that battle was going to turn out. He lost. He was crushed, in fact, and cast out of heaven—banished for all time. Now, he spends all his time and energy trying to get back at the One who so soundly defeated him. Unfortunately, we human beings are his best bet at retaliation.

There is a very real and yet very ignored battle going on right now for your heart. You feel it every time temptation peeks its head up and makes you wonder if you would get caught. You sense it whenever your pride is assaulted or your feelings overlooked. When we’re honest with ourselves, we recognize the battle. And, as expected, we want to fight back! To not fight back, to give up or give in just isn’t…well, natural. Our inclination is to win or die trying. So, most of us die…because we can’t win. We don’t stand a chance against these immortal forces of darkness. Even if all humanity were to unite together and fight as one, we would lose. We are utterly helpless in this battle. There is but one alternative: surrender.

Jesus is the only One who can help us. We are beyond assistance to anyone or anything else. We can’t win on our own. Certain death is on its way. But, if we surrender to Jesus, He will fight for us. He doesn’t join our cause, but we join His. We relinquish all our former (and false) rights, privileges and power. We freely submit all the control and yield to His will. We must forget the days that were all about us and acknowledge that it’s all about Him. It may sound odd from a visible, physical perspective, but the path to victory is through surrender. So…go ahead!