Choosing to Know God

Welcome to living in the light with Bible teacher and Graham lots of your life and the glory of God in pursuing with everything and I can't tell you the blessing and they are not seen or heard God's preparing for you choosing to know God is today's message thing on living a life and Graham was so glad you joined us for this weekly studying God's word and reminds us today the importance of recommitting our lives choosing to know God, for the purpose of living our lives for his glory at the end of today's broadcast. Be sure to take advantage of all that's available for you@andgrahamlots.org to help you in the process of living a life of purpose in Christ. Here's an is a story told of the days when the Romans were trying to take over the British Isles and they had laid siege to the British Isles by erecting a naval blockade around Great Britain and they did this, day after day week after week, month after month and the British Isles refused to file. They refused to surrender and the people living on shore looked out of the windows and they saw the Roman ships on fire and the Roman soldiers coming to shore and they knew that those Roman soldiers would either conquer the British Isles and they would not try because it burned their ships behind them and I believe this comes a time the challenge each one of us with her and all of this we know so much, and now the time is come to just burn your ships and abandon yourself to the purpose of knowing God exactly and personally and experientially.

Don't put it off until you get home don't put off one more moment make the decision to get to know God.

Now, several years ago Mikey ran a series of ads that featured Michael Jordan and is a great basketball player from the University of North Carolina and then the Chicago bull had Michael Jordan dribbling a basketball down the court and he just took off the foul line and how he does that I don't know his eyes on the basket is I've never leave the basket and you bring that ball up over his head. He's flying over the basket jams the ball down to the basket and the screen goes black in three words appear just the idea being there comes a time to stop practicing the stop dribbling, stop talking to her coach stop studying the playbooks bragging about how good you are energized and I think the time is come for us to stop talking about knowing God and praying about knowing God and wanting to know God and thinking about knowing God and going about things about going on conferences and seminars, not just dots, it's time to make the decision to get to know God personally exactly experientially. Right now, would you open your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 12 I believe this is the challenge of the writer to the Hebrews is giving you and me in Hebrews chapter 12 he says in order to choose right now to get to know God, you need to recommit your lie that purpose. The purpose of knowing him that you might bring glory and praise and honor and blessing to the one who is your creator who became your Savior, who is now your Lord and King. And you recommit your life by remembering the saints verse one therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great caught of witnesses once have gone before us in chapter 11 are they an astounding group of men and women and we remember Abel so dedicated to the gospel. Taking that blood sacrifice in order to come back to God in a right relationship that he witnessed to his brother, evangelized his brother got so offended that his brother took his life and it Abel didn't love his own life so much that he was willing to compromise the truth in the gospel and then after Abel we see the neck came next and Enoch who was a man who had a large family after Methuselah was born. He had a ministry sort of a lay minister because he was a preacher of righteousness. He must've had a job to support all of that and make the time to walk with God every day. A devotional life that was so strong that when they just walk right into God's. It was not because God took him to stick them right to heaven and we see Noah with his deeds God coming down and say no. I want to build an ark because I'm going to judge the world, but I want to say those are willing to receive my salvation and know in the midst of living in a hostile civilization. Only one alive who acknowledge God are thought to be right with him blameless before the other people did what God told him hundred and 20 years. It took him the bill that Mark and Otley glad because God through Noah save the entire human race from extinction.

They were saved from judgment after no other came our beloved Abraham.

We felt almost like we know it now like we've been living with them for the Rollins Abraham someone so determined to pursue God in his life that he would leave everything behind and let everything go lay everything down in the end I just poured out his blessing on that man and called him his friend yet. After Abraham we have his son Isaac blessing his children as he was departing from the men's Isaac son Jacob blessing his grandchildren as he was getting ready to leave the men's and we have Joseph blessing.

The descendents were 400 years. After about telling them what Donald Berryman pyramid, but I want to be.

Back in the promised land. I want to be identified with the people of God. Each one of them in that departing witness sharing their faith when we had Amram and Jaco bed. The parents of Moses defined the Kings even when the king said that all the baby boys were to be killed, and we find for ourselves that we have to sometimes defile those who are in authority over us when what they're telling us to do is contrary to what God said and Moses that fabulous man in the full vigor of his manhood when he was totally at the point that he could have succumbed all the temptations and the opportunities and everything the world would offer him just turning his back on the world and Raven to suffer disgrace with Christ and the pleasures of sin for a season and not caring what the king would say in rejecting all of the treasures of Egypt and choosing to follow Christ and disavow himself from the world just disassociate from that glamorous opulent luxurious world that would've been his. And then we have after Moses, the Israelites that went through the wilderness, but they ended up at the Red Sea with Pharaoh's army back in the desert on one side, the mountains, on the other hard place that deadpanned, totally dependent upon God for their salvation and he opened up the Red Sea for them and we have Joshua facing Jericho the enemy stronghold having get past Jericho before they could come and all the blessing that God had for them and Joshua did exactly what God said and marched around that city until the seventh day, the seventh time the walls came coming totally dependent upon God for victory over the enemy an enemy stronghold. I was keeping him from everything God wanted him to have in Rahab the prostitute with the past so desperately wanted to escape God's judgment wanted a relationship with God. She hung that court out of her window and when walls came tumbling down the wall underneath her house remain standing in she was say totally depending upon God for her salvation and we have enough time did we talk about Barrick Gideon and Daniel and all the others who kept their focus when they were successfully kept their focus when they suffered, and that's a great cloud of witnesses, listen to me there. God is your God and then God is my God so they can live a life that is faith anchored in God's word and purpose driven in glory bound plot in the world. Can't you and let's change so much is just our hearts. For some reason seem to be more apathetic and complacent and sophisticated, and somehow we just have lost the cutting-edge commitment to Christ and to knowing God in a personal right relationship and making them known to others, God brought up that passage from Isaiah the expense of convicting to me. What more could have done for you.

You think of what he did for the characters in Chapter 11 and then you think of what he's done for us.

They didn't even know Jesus name. They didn't even know the plan of redemption. We know so much less with that 2000 years of church history with all those have gone before is not just Chapter 11 but all those have gone before. What more could be done for you. What more does he have to do for you until you make the choice to just burn your ships and abandon everything for the purpose of living for his glory and getting to know him in the process.

We remember the witnesses and we look at them and sometimes people suggest that's they look at us on about the theology of that. But there's an idea that were sort of playing in a cosmic stadium and they're all gathered in the stadium watching us live out our lives on the field and and when we do something right. We have victory over the enemy. We decide to read our Bibles were sharing Christ with a neighbor there cheering us on call for just yes you're on the right track.

This the right decision because we know it. Finally out of you.

Go for it and then we do the wrong thing and we roll over and go back to sleep for 15 minutes and we don't spend time with the Lord. We had that opportunity to witness the Amount they all just grown and and just really out there cheering us on.

Somewhere in the cosmic universe just saying I know it's on the other side. If you just live your life to the glory of God in pursuing with everything you got. I can't tell you the blessing of the on the glory and I've not seen the word God is preparing for you.

Maybe watching us when we die we step into eternity. One eternal timeframe and you eternity there no minutes or hours or days or weeks is all just sort of. One day is as a thousand years a thousand users a day when be something if when we step into eternity were in our own cloud of witnesses and were in that stadium in the seats watching ourselves play our life out on the field, not the terrifying thought to me but if I was watching myself live my life from an eternal perspective, watching me live my life right here and now. Be ashamed what would be embarrassing.

What would I wish I had done differently.

What regrets what I have seen the glory of heaven. Everything God had prepared for me. What I wish I had done what I wish I had made the commitment to pursue God at any cost in my life, burn my bridges abandon myself to living for his glory.

I think so, God was say what more can I do for you that I've done.

You have everything you need.

Jesus is enough you need anything else. He's enough to know God. Now in the making known to others, so I would just challenge you to recommit your life for the purpose of living for the glory of God and getting to know him exactly and personally and experientially.

Not only do you recommit your life by remembering the saints and those of gone before you butts by repenting of your sin, because not only do we want to remember the saints, but I think in light of who they are. I see myself and who I am and I am ashamed and convicted of the shallowness and the superficiality of my life that Christians in America have grown a mile wide and an inch deep and I just don't think that's pleasing to God. And so he says in verse one therefore, since you're surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and were to repent of sin by throwing off everything that hinders what's hindering you from making the decision to get to know God once again bring you from living your life all being faith anchored and purpose driven in glory bound sludges go to Midland for a minute could be television the time you spend watching soap operas sitcom not just your teams ball games with everything that comes on ESPN.

Even the fishing and mesmerized by the TV. Think about it, the time that it takes and compared to the time you spend in your Bible, and this time you spend on your knees could be TV that's hindering you from knowing God could meet the Internet on your computer and doing all the email and just web browsing all the kind of stuff you can do that becomes addictive. Our's pants on the Internet could be just hobbies that are wonderful and we all need things to relax and and we needs things that help us relate to the people around us, but sometimes we just get so obsessed with them and since I'm meddling. I'll just tie a lot of my friends are married to men who are totally obsessed with hunting and fishing. The point they sacrificed their families and they sacrifice what they might be doing for the Lord is it something like that. These are sins in themselves, but their hindrances to you when it comes to making the decision and following that decision with a commitment to live your life for the glory of God in the know him and listen to me. That takes time. There are no shortcuts knowing God. It takes time spent on your knees in prayer and time spent in the Bible and time spent just that by experience as you sign them and you know exactly what is calling you to do what you believe is this new take a step of faith in you.and then you find out my experience that was am leading you, and that was what he wanted to do it the next time you recognize his voice more clearly and more quickly and and you begin this journey of living for him and it's wonderful and I'll tell you something afterwhile. The TV just as an attractive anymore, and the hobbies, and some of these other pastimes they're just not even nearly as thrilling as knowing God and experiencing him out there in the marketplace and seeing what he can do in and through your life impacting somebody else's life for eternity. Now that's worth living for. That's worth dying for. That's worth committing your life to and would you throw off everything that hinders maybe it's just love of comforts. Maybe it's laziness that's one of the biggest struggles I have in my life. I'm so lazy I have to make myself get out of bed in the morning have to make myself go through my day. Everything I do is an exertion of the will. I just been born lazy and I promise you that's the truth and I know if I can do something for the Lord, you can do something to but I know it's something I have to exert my will to overcome and so one thing it's important for you to know what your weaknesses are and what some of these things that hinder you that you might exert your will. When you make the decision that you want to know God more than anything you want to love for his purpose and his glory, and then you exert your will and and he'll give you the power to overcome and you just choose to overcome some of these things in your life that you might achieve the greater purpose to see if we don't were going to succumb to some of these hindrances in our last end up at the end of her life lazy getting a lot of sleep. You know, watching a lot of TV but really no eternal fruits. Nothing to show for a life lived on earth. That was a one time opportunity to bring God glory down here and were squandering its just two things that hinder selfishness, apathy, lack of discipline that the opinions of other people. I wonder if it's fear, if there is a hindrance you're afraid if you burn your ships and afraid if you just pursue God with everything you've got that in the end of your life. It won't of been worth it. That somehow God is not as wonderful.

Do you have these other things you enjoy your life and that somehow if you give them everything you going to come up short fear like that. We know fear doesn't come from God.

You just take the fear across it's a hindrance. It will paralyze you make you totally incapacitated to get to know God and to live for him and to serve him and I know you may still feel afraid one of the favorite things that Jill Briscoe says that's I have been so blessed by. She says you just live for God you serve God and you share Christ. You just do it scared know what it takes away your fear. Maybe her fear won't you just do it scared and don't let fear hinder you from sharing Christ with your neighbor when you go home and you're afraid to share Christ. You're afraid to be offensive and just do it scared you're afraid to read your Bible for fear you will get something out of just doing way and then you read your Bible, you open up your ears and you do that, simple format of what does it say what does it mean what does it mean to me and then the responsibilities go to open it up and make it meaningful and to give you something for yourself but least you make yourself available and listen to what he has to say what you would you throw it off.

Whatever when hinder you from living for the purpose of knowing God and bringing him glory throw it off and the sin that so easily entangles us the picture of a runner trying to run a race in a long robe, your today when we watch track and field is almost embarrassing to me the way they dress because they look like they're running in her underwear and what they've done is just strip down so that nothing is going to entangle them as they run the right and some of these other things will hinder you, but I'll tell you what sin will trip you up every time and is there a sin that's entangling you as you seek to pursue knowing God bringing him glory. Could it be doubts, unbelief for something from your past anger unforgiving spirit or critical spirit, jealousy, what is its the sin that is entangling you, keeping you from your all-out pursuits. Whatever it is, would you bring it to the cross and crucified one of the things that used to entangle me to the point that on if you got a hindrance or sin, but it was a sin that was a hindrance, and it was entangle just self-consciousness that shamus and self-consciousness really Lord showed Nisha's pride you're self-conscious you're thinking about yourself as just pride. Now remember Stephen offered wonderful Bible teacher telling me one way to overcome that is a and you take your self-consciousness to the cross and you crucified and you see that it's one of those sins that nailed Jesus to the crossing is something about saying God I crucify my self-consciousness, that makes me convicted of the seriousness of that sin and marijuana indulge in it anymore because it makes me aware that Jesus died for that sin and that sin was one of those that nailed him to the cross and it becomes repulsive to me and many times I've come up on a platform and even as I'm coming up on the platform print got I just crucify the self-consciousness I just let you have it, let it go, bring it to the cross. Whatever your sin is that would entangle you keep you from serving keep you from knowing him hinder you in the race crucified, bring it to the cross and they let their yes you're forgiven if you been to the cross to receive Christ the Savior, but if it's in you bring it to the cross and crucified nail it.

There has to be clans increasing of the cross acts on your sin like radium on cancer and weakens that sin and its hold in your life until God can set you free.

And by God's grace and mercy. He set me free from that Senate self-consciousness still know it's a weakness and I'm still on guard in that area, but I can come up on a platform now. Still praying that up to be crucified with Christ that other people would see Jesus in May, but no longer paralyzed by that fear no longer throwing up before I get up on a platform so what is the sin that entangles you what is the sin that for the hindrance that would keep you from running this race in pursuing God burning up ships behind you ends pursuing all-out knowledge of God. What is its as it comes to your minds would you confess that by name to the Lords don't leave this mountain until you recommit your life by remembering the Saints is gone before you, and let their lives convict you of the superficiality and the shallowness and weakness of your own Christian life and then let God bring to your mind sins that need to be confessed sins are entangling you things when you go home they're hindering you that you've got to adjust. You've got to change. You got to put out in your life. If you're going to follow through on the commitment to know God, so would you choose to know God right now by recommitting your life, all that that means we don't even understand all that means God will show you but you make the decision to recommit your life to him for the purpose of living your life for his glory and his honor and his praise and his blessing in the process knowing him exactly and personally experienced. Now here's a man with this final word. Listen to me.

I want to know God today better than I knew them yesterday.

I want to know him better next year than I do. This year I want to know them until one day, like Abraham, God refers to me as his friend the workout. That purpose requires time spent in reading, studying, obeying his word after workout on the anvil of my own experience what his word is said I have to live it out. I don't obey him or serve him sacrifice wrong because I have to, because I want to know him and that's the Avenue he's laid out before me with all my heart.

I'm just following Jesus. As a result, I'm blessed with a deep sense of fulfillment, satisfaction, eternal significance, as well as with his presence in my life. Jesus encouraged his disciples by promising where I am, my servant also will be. What more could we desire in this world and the presence of Jesus in our lives. Nothing, not houses or honors or health, not cars or careers, or children, not vacations or victories or vitality, not money or marriage or ministry. Not fame or family or freedom, not strength or success ability or achievement, not even lover life itself.

Nothing is more precious than knowing Jesus. When you and I follow Jesus. He promises that we will be where he is and there is not one place in the entire universe, visible or invisible, or he is not. What a blessing. Why is it we seem to cling so tightly to what we want in the process lose what God wants us to have. God wants us to have power and blessing and glory. But you don't obtain it by adding Jesus to your life. He has to be your life.

You can know him exactly and personally and experientially the glory of his power and blessing and honor and wisdom and strength fully the glory of a character that reflects his perfectly the glory of other people's lives transformed by the gospel. Totally the glory of his commendation personally.

The glory of a heavenly home. Literally the glory of reigning with him eternally.

You've been listening to living in the light with and Graham was if you'd like to share today's message go to and Graham wants.org where you'll find much to assist you in getting into the word of God and praying and sharing Christ with others join us again here next week for living in the life