“A have come to a resolve that instead of just talking about Jesus and preaching about Him and evangelizing about Him and even being a pastor for Him, I want to know Him. That’s my heart. To know Him and to know Him more. Not to know more about him, but to know him. Everything else flows as an overflow of that relationship. When the passion of our hearts changes from mission and vision, and what we can do; to simply knowing Him. Our activity then begins to flow out of the knowing”. (Roy Godwin – the Grace Outpouring )
Matthew 22:37-40 in the Bible encourages us to “Love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind. And love our neighbor as ourselves”.
It’s to do with our heart , not with obedience to a set of rules.
It’s a new heart and a new way of relating to God; A new way of seeing the world and creation, and all that is in it, and God’s heart toward His creation.
It’s not about another experience or even just being able to move in signs and wonders, have angelic visitations, visions, and ecstasies. It’s about knowing the Father, knowing Jesus, knowing Holy spirit. Knowing God in His fullness.
I’m not satisfied just hearing about him, I want to draw close and look him in the eyes. I want to hear his heartbeat, to know his thoughts and his heart.
In life that desire, that passion and fire can die down, or even get extinguished. We can get caught up in the system of the world, and even the system that we may know as church. We serve more as a way of knowing him. We give and give, and we end up having our zeal for Him exhausted by weights which perhaps He never intended for us to carry. I’m not saying don’t serve; Jesus served. But if that is our “knowing him” then we’ve lost our way.
Our motivation must be to love him. To know him more. Out of that our “doing” flows.
What is your determined purpose? Is it to just have experiences and excitement, to only stick to the well beaten path in your walk with God, or do you also really want to know God and who He is more deeply.
The Lord spoke to me about being prepared to go off the beaten track. About going “off road”(four-wheel driving). Some of us struggle with going off road. We like the predictable, the “I know where I’m going”.
But the wind of the spirit is blowing, He is shifting things and bringing change. Where we are going is not always on the map. He’s taking us on what we call in Australia ,”bush bashing”. At times we will meander along on paths unknown and then bang we see why! And then we are in the midst of a crazy wild ride. An adventure!
But if we we don’t take the time to know Him we won’t trust him to take the driver’s seat, and we will take over and head for known paths. When we are under pressure or get afraid, we will head back to the tried and tested road.
We have to anchor the new things God is releasing, and our journey with God in the strength and rest of knowing Him deeply. Then we will trust Him wherever He leads.
“For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power out flowing from His resurrection”. (Philippians 3:8-10)
Prayer: Lord lead me. I want to know you. Not just know about you, but really know you. Forgive me where I have settled for just hearing about you, but have not been seeking you with all my heart. In Jesus name amen.
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