Knowing God [Part 2]

Pastor, author and Bible teacher Alan Wright your belly and can keep you from sharing in the face to the father but just as equally your own attempts at righteousness can keep you from sharing in the feast know God's Pastor Alan Wright welcome to another message of good views that will help you see your life will deliberate excited for you to hear the teaching today. In this series Galatians is presented at renewal the church in North Carolina not able to stay with us throughout the entire program I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now.

It can be yours for your donation this month made to Alan Wright Ministries so as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today special offer. Contact us Pastor Alan.org at pastor and.org or call 877-544-4860 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program. Now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright relationships are sabotaged when instead of being about knowing and being known.

They are about performing and expecting a return. In other words, relationships will either be based on grace, which is gift and love are they will become based upon law, which is I do so that you will do. I give this in order to get this I perform in this way, expecting that you will return the favor.

In this way, and the attack on relationships is an attack to take what is built and founded on grace and infuse it with law for what law does is it incites the heart to condemnation, bitterness and anger, revenge, everything that destroys our share this awful vivid picture of a real-life story before with you about a shirt again that I can think of no clearer demonstration. What happens if law rules your relationship. Former if my former church was a couple of they had great friction in their marriage. The man had no real experience of grace they been through many difficult things in his life and it cost and be a better person and angry man and he and his wife were separated because of his anger and they had to little children.

I counseled some with the man he wanted to know in and out trying to counsel him, but is asking the wrong question he was asked the question what money did you get my life back and and will try to get away from that question, but he is in this way law thinks what do I need to do to get her back is the wrong question and instead of a grace question. How can I know God and be known by God, since it I'm cleansed and transformed and grow into a ever-increasing likeness of Christ himself, but the law mentality always was a note I'll do this so that I'll get this in return is I just want to know what what is a good husband look on what is a good husband.

Do and against counsel, they decided to early and in their separation and in their process too early. They decided to have a have a evening together and he had been trying to demonstrate all the right things I'm saying the right things bring in flowers treating her with respect doing, doing everything that what it looks like a good husband should do and ended the evening was was pleasant together and so it made a further mistake and that was a they weren't ready for this. He spend the night and in the morning I got up and he said okay so this is one of us all go get my stuff and I'll move back in and she said no. This is this is not what this is about were not ready for that. This is not what I meant by this. We had a nice night together so but where were not ready. We got more healing to do. We go along way to go you can't come back now and he he walked silently out of the house and went to his pickup truck and got wire clippers and he came back and equipped the telephone line a log back into the house very calm anyone ever begin to strangle his wife and he was going to strangle her to death. It's at one of their twins toddled into the room and and distracted him, and she escaped. I share this because this is more painful picture than what we would normally see, but it is the same seed in the same fruit as if you're in a relationship you build it on if I do this, then you'll do this, then all that you've got working for you is the fear of the law. What I'm saying is the fear of the law is destructive. Fear is destructive in relationships. What does God say about his relationship with us. He says it is a perfect love and what does perfect love.

Do perfect love casts out fear. The goal of grace and the power of grace is to assure that love is set, not according to laws, but according to gift this is the nature of God's love and what happened to these Galatian Christians as a Judaizers and come in and they had begun to contaminate through false teaching. What a relationship with God is all about. In other words, they wanted to take this relationship. The relationship of knowing and being known by God as 100% built upon God's grace and introduce into it laws that say if you do this, then God will like you more if you'll do this then you'll be more assured that you belong and this is why Paul is so vented about this and this is why Paul says if you go back to this, then your returning to the same elementary principles and demonic spirit under which you were enslaved before you ever even came to know the Lord because everything that's important about knowing what Christianity is all about is this is not knowing about God and doing things for God what it is all about is knowing God and being known by God. You can know God, you can know God is the greatest delight of all of life in the conspiracy of hell that is against your walk with God to tempt and lure you away from the simple knowledge of God to a performance-based allegiance. I love the words of Tim Keller in his fantastic book the prodigal God. When she speaks about the story of the of the two sons and one hood left for rebellious living in the other state home quite dutiful that older brother and and as he explains further about how shocking it was. The statements that Jesus is making in that parable he he addresses the factor why doesn't the elder brother go into the party after the younger sons come home and Keller rights. He himself the older brother gives the reason you have never disobeyed you listen to Keller's words, the elder brother is not losing the father's love in spite of his goodness, but because of it is not his sins that create a barrier between him and his father. It's the pride he has in his moral record is not his wrongdoing but is righteousness that is keeping him from sharing in the feast of the father. This is why it's a spiritual battle and this is what Paul is identifying in such a rash terms here saying how can you go back to the weak and worthless elementary principles. This is what is referring to.

He's saying that your rebellion can keep you from sharing in the face to the father but just as equally your own attempts at righteousness can keep you from sharing in the feast of the father. You can know God.

The New Testament concept of knowing and being known is rooted in the Old Testament verb Jan.which is a word that broadly means to know and is using so many variety of context.

But it is a word that is also used in the most intimate of terms even to refer to the way in which Adam knew Eve his wife that that the very consummation of their marriage together was defined as the knowing of a husband of his wife and and when God speaks of of of knowing you and you knowing him. It is of this deep level of intimacy in which he sharing he's talking about the kind of relationship that we by human analogy would know involves the sharing not only of information but the sharing of hearts, the sharing of feelings, sharing of secrets. The sharing of of of love.

The very nature of what it means to know God. This is something that is deep and impersonal and it is it is intimate even though he is the Creator of the ends of the earth, and his ways are not our ways. There there is a way in which we are invited to be known by God and to know God. That is, that is so personal. He's he is he is like a the dearest friend. He is like a husband to a wife.

He is like a father to to assign the heat. He is he is. We have a relationship with God. He's he's everything to me, that's Alan Wright will have more teaching moment from today's important series like something is holding you back as if you lack an important scene that could change everything. Is there someone you love hissing stock to help them out what's missing blessing. We all need faith filled vision spoken over, I learned you can learn how to embrace the dental practice, a blessing to Pastor Alan writes new book, it's a blast, which quickly became an Amazon number one bestseller after 370s until now the hardcover book has only been available through retail sales this month. Alan Wright Ministries once send you the book I thank you for your donation.

Make your gift today discovered the power to bless the gospel is shared when you get to Alan Wright Ministries.

This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support.

When you get today we listen Jake a special offer. We are happy to send this to you as I banks from Alan Wright Ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor Aron.like today's teaching now continues your once again is Alan writing I take a little trip this way to been way too long since done this. Does the life you know life kids everything just keeps you up this pulling away that you and and and I had not gotten a way to just have a day or two by ourselves and a long time years. We should we should we should try every year, at least in some time away you with young kids, you know, you know, it's hard, there's always somebody's nose to wipe her milk to clean her diaper to change or something, but we just said this year we got an opportunity. Both kids are grown up now. Both were on the trip same week 1 to 5 in the sun and Jekyll Island. The other was at Montreat at a camp all weekend so it was just the two of us. My wife and and we say we're gonna take a couple days and get away and at first it week to start getting lazy on Sunday to be gone on Monday and Tuesday and with her getting lazy with her, looking at not spending money and return to my just staying around the house and and we had to fight off level laziness and say no were going somewhere. We finally settled on going down to the pineal resort and planners close by and perfect place golf everywhere you look in just perfect in the matter where we where we went because we we have spent two days together just the long time is good I'm, you know, my wife, 28, 29 years.

He said you know and I say I know and that if you asked me what happened after that trip I say well I got to know my wife deeper way to get to know her again that something about a relationship you can really know somebody and then just with time just with time. This time the listen time to talk time not to be distracted.

Time is time you can know somebody this is wonderful to know and to be known wonderful. So is the number one thing I recommend about marriage is just a safe place to know and to be known well and one time open the door for the car right and she's I like it when you open the door for me like that that wasn't new information to me but I forgot away from it just been too busy to open the door for lightly and she said I like you and she said it was in the context of two days of just sharing meals together and and talking about our hearts and our desires and our gratitude in challenges and notes sharing the mixing of your lives like that and then said I like it when you open the door and you know I will open the door for you because it wasn't a law like that. She knows me and I know her.

I realize it for her. This is tied up in in just a grand sense of a noble thing that silver chivalry is not something that never spoke to die away and that there is a headship of a husband and there's a covering is a blessing that can take place.

It might be expressed in little ways like opener or car door and I just, so I want to open the car door you see the difference between want to ever open the car door for me and another thing about it, open the car door than THE good husband list and then the notice shall be nice to me in an excess law what God is inviting you into his relationship knowing it to be unknown and is out of the context of knowing and being known we serve it's it's it's an end and the more I know God is heart what his heart has compassion towards and what breaks his heart.

Then my heart becomes more naturally broken.

For those thing. What I'm saying is that all of the service and obedience of your life is inextricably woven into knowledge of God you can know you can know him. Your life is not built on your duty to God. But when you know him and you known by him. Your duty and your desire start becoming more more the same thing. John Newton, the author of the famous amazing grace him wrote another hymn that puts this perfectly. In the verse it says our pleasure and our duty, though opposite before.

Since we have seen his beauty are joined to part no more.

Now here's what's most astounding about Galatians 4 and verse nine and that is not that he says you've come to know gone, but then he almost as if he's correcting himself to say or I should say it this way rather to be known by God. The most astounding thing he saying here is that God wants to be known. Let's be honest about it. The reason actually that I don't know Billy Graham is because Billy Graham has not ever had the thought crossed his mind that he like to know Alan Wright is not really that I think Billy Graham thinks that he I don't think that he seems to be such a humble man is just that it had next to crossed his mind. In fact, if Billy Graham really wanted to get to know me then and have me know him, then he could do that as only a couple hours away. I could drive up there and have lunch tomorrow with them. Really, if he just invite me for just invite me.

In fact, really.

If if you wanted to write one last book and he called us down. I'd like you to write the forward I do that I do that I do that if he invited me to lunch at say yes if he invited me to write a Ford for his next book, I'd say yes.

In fact, honestly if he called me and said Alan, would you, mow my lawn. I say yes I mow your lawn.

He just hadn't invited me to do any of those those things. I was up in Montreat earlier this summer doing a conference in the deed. He didn't come to my seminar but he would thinking about it. He he would like to, but he think about it and they had this is if you can think like that for just a moment, could I just invite to beloved just to think about this incredible cosmic truth. God is thinking about you and he is inviting you to know him clearly believe that installing and heard the invitation.

If I go mow Billy Graham's lawn. What could there ever be, that God would invite me into that I would ever say no to the major she loves you, and you can know all this is to say is that the the knowing God is inextricably linked and in fact preceded by the God desire to know you.

He sets forth the Lord does knowledge of himself as the greatest thing in life. Jeremiah 9 this is what the Lord says let not the wise man boast of his wisdom of the strong man boast of his strength of the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this, that he understands and knows me.

Imagine meeting someone great.

Imagine a cleaner president or some superstar that you admire and at first you meet them and you assume that it will be a formal meeting your role is to be courteous and subservient. But imagine that the dignitary then begins to take you into his or her counsel and share important matters with you and personal things and and and seek to make you a friend. What would happen in your soul. What happened is you you you would be shocked at first that this is even taking place and would have to be a process where in you would become willing to actually be friends with this great person you would have to have something happen within you. That would actually believe that this was taking place because if you didn't believe that this is actually taken place and you are being invited into friendship with this great dignitary. Then you would shut off the conversation and sabotage it, but you have to believe that you are you are you are you will your God who made you is actually wanting to know you and for you to know him and here's what happened. Once you actually see that it just thrills your soul. What happens is it thrills your soul and it so exhilarate your inward being that the external peripheral things about knowing about this person are nothing in comparison that this is God's desire in it always has meant that the knowledge of God is is what he desires more than burnt offerings.

Hosea 6.

In fact, remarkably, God says that that for those who think that life is just about doing the religious things in order out of a law mentality or out of some performance mentality that they so missed the point that in Matthew seven Jesus is not everyone who says to me Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven.

But the one who does the will of my father is in heaven right is teaching knowing God. Conclusion coming in her next broadcast in our series elections stay with his allies back in the studio here in a moment with additional insight on this for your life in a final word stay with this blessing your life discovering God's grace filled vision for your life by signing rights, free daily breast your heart with grace and encouragement. Alan writes a daily blessing. It's free. Just a click away.

Pastor I got away feel like something is holding you back if you lack an important scene that could change everything.

Is there someone you love hissing stock invite to help them what's missing blessing. We all need faith filled vision spoken over, I learned you can learn how to embrace the will practice a blessing to Pastor Alan writes new book, it's a blast, which quickly became an Amazon number one bestseller after 370s until now the hardcover book has only been available through retail sales this month. Alan Wright Ministries once send you the I thank you for your donation. Make your gift today discovered the power to bless the gospel is shared when you get to Alan Wright Ministries.

This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you get today. We will send you a special offer.

We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from Alan Wright Ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website Pastor our and data like we were talking the last time we were together about it.

There's a difference if we knowing about someone in the wing someone helped Drew that is with Jesus.

There's a lot of food, especially in America we grew up with this set Christianity on our Barbara mind even in some sense taught. It is a cultural thing, but that there's a total different unit about a relationship. Christianity is not a religion. It's not a system it is a relationship and I know that for maybe someone listening now, who is yet to come into that beautiful revelation of how real God is that it might sound strange to say it that you can know God, but you can know him and in the amazing thing Daniel is not just that you can know him.

It's that God wants you to know him me that I think of a lot of people right now that I might like to know. But the problem is they don't have any interest to me, knowing that let you know how much I like golf and I could list several famous golfers right now that I'd like to know them… Some time with them, but they don't have any others that God wants you to know him.

He wants to be known and so we might as well take him up on if you only caught part of today's teaching.

Not only can you listen again online but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources at pastor@a.org that's pastor at.org. Today's good news message is a listener supported production of Alan Wright Ministries