Can I Know God Personally?.

Steve Gentry

[0:03] Amen. [0:04] All right, go ahead and have a seat. [0:06] Welcome to Village Church. [0:07] If this is your first time here, my name’s Steve. [0:09] I’m one of the pastors here at Village Church, and I’m thankful and grateful to see each [0:13] and every one of you this morning.

[0:14] If you have your Bibles, go ahead and open up to Hebrews chapter 11. [0:18] But before we get into that, I just want to make you aware of two things. [0:22] The first one is that next week we’re going to be starting a new series going through [0:26] the book of Ruth as a church and specifically taking a look at it through the lens of, you [0:32] know, what do you do if you’re having a disappointing life? [0:36] How do you live a disappointing life to the glory of God, trusting God’s plan through

[0:42] all of it? [0:42] So I think it’s going to be a great couple of weeks in there, kind of unpacking all [0:47] that God has taught me through that book over the last few months. [0:49] And then this evening, we’re going to be having our bi-monthly Theology Matters series. [0:55] Tonight, speaking specifically about what’s called complementarianism, male and female [1:01] roles inside of the home, inside of the church for really what is all of life.

[1:06] We’re going to unpack that biblically, talk about, you know, what are some of the false [1:10] views of this? [1:11] What are some of the false notions of this? [1:13] And then what is complementarianism? [1:15] What are the things that are against complementarianism, false views that in theology about gender [1:22] roles as well?

[1:23] And ultimately, what I want to take a look at is why it is distinctive upon Christianity [1:28] to live in this way. [1:30] It’s going to be different than most of the world lives, specifically in this era, in [1:34] this culture, and why we as Christians glory in gender roles by aligning the way that [1:41] we not only live, but view our roles within marriage and in the church to the glory of [1:47] God.

[1:47] And so I’m looking forward to that. [1:48] We’re going to have a time of Q&A where you can text questions in throughout the message [1:54] tonight. [1:54] And so it should be a good time together. [1:58] But if you have your Bibles in Hebrews chapter 11, over the past six weeks, we’ve been unpacking [2:05] these answers to questions that many people in culture have in this series called Explore

[2:11] God. [2:11] And so oftentimes, people will go through life wondering about these questions, but [2:17] never either, A, getting answers to these questions or, B, never really being settled [2:23] about the answers to these questions. [2:25] So what we’ve done is we’ve sought to biblically address each of these issues and kind of [2:31] unpack the answers to these questions, because I truly believe that there are specific objective

[2:38] answers to every single one of these questions. [2:41] But the issue is, sometimes we don’t want to accept the answer to these questions. [2:48] And so today, we’re specifically going to be talking about, really, acceptance. [2:53] And that is ultimately where we’re going to land in this final week as we seek to answer [2:59] the question, can I know God personally? [3:03] In struggling to answer or accept the answers that God has given us, what we often find

[3:10] is, is that our lives don’t naturally, we don’t have a default mode of falling in line [3:17] and finding joy in all of the answers that God gives us about why we exist, about what [3:23] we should do with our lives, and about how we should think about our lives, and then [3:27] ultimately how we should act within our lives. [3:31] But the truth that I hope you understand is that we need God to accept us more than God [3:38] needs us to accept Him.

[3:40] We want the terms to be ours, and we don’t want to have to change, even if God has a [3:48] different idea for our lives. [3:51] I’ve often said that for many people, it is easier to reject God than it is to turn [3:57] towards God. [3:59] It’s easier for many people either, A, to live in full rebellion of the vision that [4:04] answers that God has for life, rather than accept that we are wrong, that God has a different

[4:12] vision for my life than maybe I have for my life. [4:16] And so the reality is that some people will go as far as to even, in light of all of [4:22] the evidence, deny the very existence of God, rather than seek to realign life according [4:30] to His vision. [4:32] And so therefore we make the clear vague, rather than turning from error to embrace [4:37] truth.

[4:38] And so for this final week, the question at hand, can I know God personally? [4:42] And that question does assume the answers to the previous weeks that we’ve unpacked. [4:49] And so if there is a God, quite frankly, we better hope that we can know Him. [4:55] Because if we cannot know God, and He is there, then all is lost. [5:02] Then everything is pointless. [5:04] There is no point to this life if we cannot know the God who is there.

[5:07] And the purpose of all that God has done, though, is to reveal Himself to us. [5:15] And I would put forward that many have referenced this term, friendship with God. [5:22] And so life ultimately is about more than can I know God personally. [5:26] Because I know lots of people personally. [5:28] I’m not friends with them. [5:30] God is not satisfied just with you having knowledge of Him.

[5:35] God does not want to be an acquaintance among many. [5:38] God desires for you not only to know Him personally, but God literally desires to be our friend. [5:46] And that this is the most important and vital thing that you can chase, that you can pursue [5:54] with your life. [5:56] But what is going to be difficult, and what is difficult for many people, is that we are [6:00] used to defining the terms of our friendships.

[6:05] That when we look at earthly relationships, when we look at the relationships that we [6:08] have with people, one of the cornerstones that often we will put in those relationships [6:12] is compromise. [6:14] Is that meet me in the middle. [6:17] But with God, that is absolutely impossible. [6:20] He is completely uncompromising in the relationships that He carries on.

[6:26] He is completely uncompromising with the terms that you will seek to put on your relationship [6:34] with Him. [6:35] Your terms do not hold any weight with God, because if they did, then you would be in [6:40] the driver’s seat. [6:41] And that is something that God simply cannot have and still be God. [6:47] Friendship with God is different than the besties that you have on earth.

[6:52] There is a relationship where you will get all of the benefit, but you cannot define [6:59] any of the terms. [7:01] Friends, for God to be God and purpose to be lived, God can be known by submitting to [7:08] His terms. [7:10] So number one this morning, understand that God can only be known according to His terms. [7:16] God can only be known according to His terms.

[7:19] We have unpacked over these past few weeks the reality that God is there and He has never [7:25] been silent about His existence. [7:28] And to know Him, you have to find Him. [7:31] And that does mean that you have to pay attention. [7:34] Over the last several weeks, we have talked about the ways in which God has revealed Himself [7:38] to humans.

[7:39] And for a larger treatment on that, go listen to all of the podcasts from the last six [7:44] weeks if you’ve got a few hours. [7:45] But God has revealed Himself ultimately in three ways. [7:49] He’s revealed Himself to us through creation. [7:52] For all that goes to be in the life that we have, all that went into the world, all that [7:58] we see around us, all of the factors that must remain constant, for all of that to be

[8:04] as it is. [8:05] It is nothing short of just a cosmic rebellion to look at all that is and not think to yourself [8:12] there is a designer behind it all. [8:16] There’s not chance at play with creation, but rather there is a creator behind it all. [8:22] But as Thomas Aquinas so wisely put forward, you can look at reason, you can look at philosophy, [8:27] you can look at creation, all that is around us, and you should, for it all cries out to

[8:31] But that does not beget personal knowledge. [8:36] That we need more than just creation to tell us that God is there. [8:40] Rather, we need God Himself to reveal who He actually is. [8:45] And by His grace, that’s exactly what He has done. [8:49] First, through the scriptures. [8:52] God has worked through His Spirit to reveal through men, or across centuries specifically,

[8:59] how He works in this world, who He is, and how He can be found. [9:04] But He’s done more than that. [9:06] In seeing our great need to come to Him, what has He done? [9:09] He actually stepped out of heaven and became part of His creation in the person and work [9:15] of Jesus Christ.

[9:18] And so when we look at it all, we see a message not just of God’s existence, but a message [9:25] of who He is and how He can be found. [9:31] And in Jesus, we see not just how He can be found, but how He can be known personally. [9:40] Because Jesus came to be the fulfillment of all of God’s plans for all time. [9:44] He came to actually live a perfect life as we were designed to live, but all falling [9:50] short.

[9:51] Jesus lived a completely righteous life in front of us all so that we could view what [9:57] is it to be a perfect man. [10:01] And then ultimately, He also died for our sin. [10:06] Died so that we could have a path to God without the penalty or the debt of our sin hanging [10:14] over our head. [10:15] And this is good news.

[10:18] Not just that God can be known, but God wants to be known and has done the work that He [10:24] demands so that we can know Him favorably. [10:28] So even in light of all of that, we could see ourselves, I can be realigned with God, [10:33] I can be reconciled to a relationship with God, but God doesn’t just seek the type of [10:39] reconciliation in which you can exist in His presence. [10:44] That you can come in His presence and be, as it were, someone who is still somewhat

[10:50] far off, not really comprehending who He is as God, fearing Him as He is God in His [10:57] presence forever. [10:58] But instead, God offers us a whole type of reconciliation in which we can go past just [11:05] personal knowledge to an intimate friendship. [11:09] And that’s a much larger view of the reconciliation that Jesus offers. [11:14] Note what Jesus said in John 15 verse 15.

[11:18] He says, no longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master [11:23] is doing. [11:25] And that’s oftentimes how we view God. [11:28] We say, He is the master, we are the servant. [11:31] And in one analogy, that does fit. [11:34] But when it comes to our relationship with God, the one that He draws us into to be

[11:39] able to have intimate prayer, to be able to have intimate knowledge, so that my affections [11:44] go after Him, He does not view our relationship as the master-servant relationship. [11:49] Because what does the master of a house do when he goes by his servants and the servants [11:53] dare look at him and say, hey, what are you up to? [11:56] Silent.

[11:58] Don’t ask me such a question. [12:00] But God goes further. [12:03] He says, that’s not the relationship that I want. [12:06] He says, but I have called you friends. [12:11] For all that I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you. [12:16] And so you see this amazing thing throughout the life of Jesus Christ.

[12:20] When He goes through this world, it is not as a wholly separate being. [12:24] It is not in His transcendent nature. [12:27] He is not removed from creation just floating around like a holy one. [12:32] But instead, Jesus sits. [12:35] Jesus talks. [12:37] Jesus eats and He drinks with people.

[12:40] Jesus sits at wells with sinful people, revealing to them all that He’s known about them, but [12:45] also offering them a great forgiveness. [12:47] Jesus shows all that He is to people. [12:50] Jesus shows all that His plan is. [12:52] And He shows Himself in every moment more than a God who demands allegiance, but instead [13:00] a God who has made the greatest path known to us so that we could come into His presence

[13:09] and have peace. [13:11] So that we can come into His presence and speak. [13:15] So that we can come into His presence and hear. [13:18] So that we can come together with Him and have the greatest gift that anyone can ever [13:26] know, that gift being fellowship with God. [13:31] But make no mistake, you don’t get to pick the path.

[13:35] This is precisely why you can’t make your own path. [13:39] You don’t get say in this matter. [13:41] It must be fully up to God. [13:44] It is not because God is begrudging overlord, but because He is a loving God who knows [13:49] the best and only path will come from His making. [13:53] Now understand, there are thousands of years of human history to know that you shouldn’t

[13:58] trust your path to utopia. [14:01] You shouldn’t trust your version even of what utopia would look like. [14:05] Your heaven will disappoint every single time. [14:08] And your pathway there will crumble along the way. [14:13] And ultimately, even if you get what you think it is that life is all about apart from God, [14:19] you will ultimately be left dissatisfied at best.

[14:25] It’s not that God is hard to find. [14:28] It is that you have to turn away from your effort to recreate God in your image to see [14:36] Him, know Him, and trust Him. [14:39] Because in all of our planning, in all of our effort, what do we typically find if [14:45] we were to zoom out from the sketch of God that we would naturally write with our own [14:51] hand?

[14:52] Ultimately, you will find a sketch of yourself. [14:56] Because most of us cannot imagine a God who would act differently, think differently, [15:03] and want different things for myself than I want. [15:09] And when all that you’re doing is forecasting your view of self, your desire for self, and [15:15] your vision for self onto God, you are left with nothing more than God is you, for you. [15:25] But God, the real God, the one who’s revealed Himself in so many ways, has so much more

[15:31] for us. [15:33] So how do you know Him? [15:34] So how do you get there? [15:36] When James chapter 4, the half-brother of Jesus puts it this way, He says, draw near [15:40] to God and He will draw near to you. [15:43] And that sounds wonderful, does it not?

[15:45] That sounds great, inspirational. [15:48] But what we typically do with that type of chicken soup for the soul is we leave the [15:52] second half off and we just say, okay, now I’m going to devise a plan and I’m going [15:58] to draw near to God the way that I feel a person like me should draw near to God and [16:05] He will draw near to me. [16:06] No, that’s not what it says.

[16:08] Note the second half.

[16:11] Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and you’re like, wait a second, where did all that positivity [16:17] go?

[16:19] Purify your hearts, you double-minded.

[16:24] You see, so often what we’re stuck with is this dual view and this dual passion. [16:32] We want to find God, but we do not want to find Him apart from the plans that we’ve [16:39] made. [16:40] We do not want to consider for a moment that the life that we have built or the life that [16:45] we are building or the dreams that we have had or the dreams that we want to have could [16:51] possibly be different than what God has in mind for us.

[16:58] This is exactly what James is writing, because when we’re dealing with James, we’re dealing [17:02] with someone that’s the half brother of Jesus Christ, whom is recorded as probably being [17:06] one of the group of his brothers who comes and they find Jesus saying these amazing [17:10] things about himself, healing people, calling himself God, and they actually stand on the [17:13] outside and they’re like, hey, could you go in there and tell Jesus that his brothers [17:16] are out here, because we’re going to talk some sense into him.

[17:18] We grew up with him. [17:20] He can’t be that. [17:23] And so now, years later, you have a man after the resurrection who’s gone so far as to [17:29] say, I might have been wrong about my brother. [17:33] And if you have any siblings, how difficult must it be to say, no wonder he was mom’s [17:42] favorite.

[17:44] He’s God. [17:46] That’s pretty tough to compete with. [17:48] So here’s James from personal experience saying in order to know God, you have to [17:55] be cleansed of what you have apart from God. [17:57] In order to know God, you have to get rid of your preconceived notions that are really [18:03] you that you’re forecasting on to God.

[18:07] You need to cleanse yourself of all that and take God according to his terms. [18:15] Hebrews chapter 11, the author of Hebrews puts it this way. [18:18] He says, now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, [18:24] for by it, the people of old received their commendation. [18:27] By faith, we understand that the universe was created by the word of God so that what [18:32] is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

[18:36] And in verse six, he says, without faith, it’s impossible to please him. [18:43] For whoever would draw near to God, there it is, must believe that he exists and that [18:49] he rewards those who seek him. [18:53] But see, before he talks about seeking God, before he talks about the rewards of knowing [18:58] God, he talks about the path that God has made to get there. [19:04] That’s why trust is an important way of understanding what faith actually is.

[19:14] And in Hebrews chapter 11, he’s informing us. [19:17] He’s trying to guide us to the realization that faith is taking God at his word. [19:23] It is believing all that he has done and submitting to its necessity and sufficiency. [19:30] He is not talking about this thing where faith is believing something that isn’t so [19:34] is so that it becomes so. [19:36] That’s Baptist hocus pocus that doesn’t really exist.

[19:39] What he’s talking about is looking, and we see it there in verse three, at what God has [19:44] actually put in front of our face. [19:47] The signs that he has actually shown us, there’s a creator behind all that he has made. [19:52] He’s not silent in the way that he reveals it to us. [19:55] He shows us why he did it through the scriptures. [19:57] And then the person of Jesus shows us the pathway in order to reorient our lives into

[20:04] a relationship with him. [20:06] But to have it, you have to trust him more than you trust anything else, even yourself.

[20:19] You have to take God at his terms. [20:22] Because if you do not, it’s impossible to please him. [20:29] And please him, we must. [20:31] Without trusting God, you simply remain opposed to him. [20:37] And that is not friendship. [20:40] That is not what God wants.

[20:42] That is enmity with God. [20:46] But second, to know God, you need to turn from everything else you treat as God. [20:53] To know God, you need to turn from everything else you treat as God. [20:59] Because isn’t that the outcome of new trust? [21:03] Isn’t that the outcome of I once trusted this thing, but now I trust him? [21:12] You see, you cannot have both.

[21:16] God wants all of you. [21:19] Jesus himself once stated in the book of Matthew that you can’t serve two masters. [21:24] That you will ultimately end up hating one and loving the other. [21:28] And if you’re anything like me and your default mode is to trust yourself above all and to [21:33] trust sin above righteousness, the one that you will hate will ultimately be God and you [21:38] will choose the false allegiance over the best one.

[21:41] This is ultimately a statement about us, but it is also a statement about God. [21:46] Many people go through life trying to have multiple allegiances in how we live. [21:52] And so what do we do? [21:53] We compartmentalize our pursuits because we aren’t willing to sacrifice one for the other. [21:59] We believe a lie that we can have it all. [22:03] But Jesus was clear.

[22:05] God won’t accept a compartment. [22:07] He’s either Lord of all or he is Lord of absolutely none of it. [22:12] And our divided mind are a double mindedness like James talked about. [22:17] And our pursuits are why we need to be saved by Jesus in the first place. [22:23] So it won’t be cohesive if we don’t turn from one master to wholly give ourselves over [22:30] into the trust, admiration and faith of God, our new master who wants to be our friends.

[22:40] This is what Jesus said in his life. [22:43] In Luke chapter 9, starting in verse 23, Jesus stated that following him requires the sacrifice [22:50] of other pursuits. [22:52] I mean, he talks so harsh in this passage. [22:54] I believe that this is the hardest saying that Jesus gives throughout the Gospels. [22:59] And it’s one that strikes every one of us to our core.

[23:01] Note what he says. [23:03] He said to all that were around him, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself. [23:09] Now stop right there and let that sink in.

[23:14] Deny himself.

[23:16] That is hard. [23:19] And he’s not talking about the type of denial that most of us point to when we’re like, man, [23:24] I’ve really denied myself. [23:26] I forwent the latte on Thursday so that I could buy the steak on Friday.

[23:35] That’s selfish denial. [23:38] All right. [23:39] You’re denying yourself to benefit yourself. [23:45] Now what Jesus is talking about is real denial of self for the sake of God, [23:53] for the sake of trusting God. [23:56] So you are not entering into this so that you can enter into this with God.

[24:02] And he goes on, he says, and take up his cross daily. [24:05] And so there he expresses the difficulty of the matter. [24:09] It is not easy to deny yourself. [24:11] It is not easy to give yourself over to God at the forsaking of something that you’ve [24:17] poured your life into or are pouring your life into or desire to pour your life into. [24:22] He likens it to what he is going to do to actually save us.

[24:27] He says it is like a man who’s about to be nailed to a cross. [24:32] The denial of self is so difficult. [24:36] But then that third phrase within the sentence says what the outcome is following Jesus. [24:44] So Jesus does this inside of the reality that he’s going to die on a cross. [24:48] He knows the difficulty entailed. [24:50] He knows what he is about to do.

[24:51] He says, if you want to follow me, do you not think that you will not have to walk [24:57] a similar path? [25:00] The son of God stepping out of glory to become part of his creation, to sacrifice his very life, [25:08] die on a cross, a sinner’s death, a thief’s death, he who knew no sin becoming sin so [25:15] that we might become the righteousness of God. [25:17] And we look to what he does and then we thank to ourselves, well,

[25:19] I’m not going to have to sacrifice anything to follow him.

[25:23] If you don’t, then you will never know Jesus. [25:27] If you don’t, then you will never know his road. [25:30] If you don’t, then you can never know him because it is not that he is on many paths. [25:35] He is on his path. [25:37] That is a narrow path. [25:39] He says, if you want to follow me, deny yourself.

[25:45] And so, so often we walk the exact same road that we’ve been on all the while lying to [25:53] ourselves. [25:54] Oh, I’m following Jesus. [25:56] He has to become Lord and motivator for all of your pursuits.

[26:03] Knowing God is not cheap. [26:06] Grace and faith, friends, they are a gift, but it certainly isn’t a cheap gift in which [26:13] there is no sacrifice on our part. [26:17] But consider, ask yourself the question, if I look over the last year of my life that [26:23] I have claimed to be following Jesus, where have you denied yourself for his sake over [26:30] the last year?

[26:31] Don’t throw a frivolous example of you denying yourself to benefit yourself. [26:36] Tell me something real in this path where I can say I’ve denied myself here so that [26:42] I could know God better, so that I could serve God better, so that I can know him [26:50] and the power of God in my life. [26:55] I’ve gotten up early. [26:57] I’ve done without financially.

[26:59] I’ve served him in this way. [27:02] I’ve endured the uncomfortable notion of starting relationships just for the purpose [27:07] of telling them about Christ.

[27:11] I’ve suffered the disdain of my family. [27:14] I’ve suffered the disdain of my friends. [27:17] I’ve done without so that I can know him. [27:21] But many of us, we go through life getting, getting, getting, getting, getting, getting, [27:27] getting, getting. [27:28] I’ll give you a little bit here, Jesus.

[27:30] Getting, getting, getting, getting. [27:32] You get that compartment, Jesus. [27:33] Getting, getting, getting.

[27:37] Where are you denying yourself?

[27:42] He goes on in Luke 9, 24, and he says, for whoever would save his life would lose it.

[27:50] So you often look at a phrase like that. [27:51] You think to yourself, surely this is hyperbole. [27:53] Surely this is a literary device where Jesus is exaggerating about what following him means. [27:58] But if you look at the chapter as a whole, if you look at the context of what’s going [28:03] on in Luke 9, this is not hyperbole. [28:05] Jesus means this.

[28:09] He says, if you want to follow him, everything that you’ve been building without him, [28:17] everything that you could have without him, lose it.

[28:23] Forsake every part of it. [28:26] Because he does not want part of you. [28:31] He wants all of you. [28:34] He says, whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. [28:39] That is what is at stake. [28:41] For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

[28:46] For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed of [28:51] when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. [28:57] Friends, do not let your pursuits squander your purpose. [29:06] Because that is what we do so often, is we come up with a plan. [29:10] We come up with a life. [29:11] We come up with a vision.

[29:13] We come up with a desire. [29:15] We come up with a path. [29:16] And then we execute it, execute it, execute it. [29:19] And along the way, we attempt to know Jesus, follow Jesus, and worship Jesus in the life [29:25] we are building apart from Jesus, while throwing up some praise, while throwing up some indulgences [29:31] along the way.

[29:33] Making sure we feel like we are alright with the Lord. [29:37] It doesn’t matter if you feel alright with the Lord. [29:40] Does the word say you are alright with the Lord? [29:42] If you want the life that Jesus has for you, you must lose everything that you are building [29:50] without him. [29:52] And he will not compromise on that.

[29:55] And the little tokens you throw him along the path, could you imagine being the God [29:59] of the universe, and part of your creation tries to fool you with little tokens?

[30:07] He wants all of it.

[30:10] He wants everything. [30:12] Full allegiance. [30:14] Full submission. [30:15] Full faith. [30:18] He won’t settle for less. [30:20] In Acts chapter 17, the apostle Paul was speaking to an audience that was not steeped

[30:26] in scripture. [30:27] They were basically ignorant, considering other philosophies above that philosophy. [30:32] And his sermon often, though, in this passage describes our efforts at finding purpose, [30:38] which ultimately means we are looking for God. [30:42] You’re craving for the things of this earth to give you satisfaction. [30:46] It is your longing for God, but you must realize that.

[30:51] God made from one man every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, having [30:57] determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should [31:01] seek God and perhaps feel their way toward him, find him. [31:08] Yet he is actually not far off from each of us. [31:13] Note that.

[31:16] So many of you believe the lie that you’ve gone too far. [31:19] So many of you believe the lie that you’ve done too much. [31:22] So many of you believe the lie that you have rebelled against God and you have screwed [31:26] your life up so much that God can’t possibly want to be your friend, or that God can’t [31:32] possibly use you, or that God can’t possibly want you. [31:35] And this passage serves to show us that no matter how far you’ve gone, no matter how

[31:41] much the anticipation is that God’s going to drop the hammer any second, the passage [31:46] says he’s not far off.

[31:50] He’s pursuing you. [31:53] He’s following. [31:54] But what is he pursuing you with? [31:56] He says, for in him we live and move and have our being as even some of your own poets [32:01] have said, for we are indeed his offspring. [32:04] Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold

[32:08] or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man, the times of [32:14] ignorance God overlooked. [32:17] There’s forgiveness.

[32:19] But. [32:21] So this amazing passage, and he’s saying you’ve not gone so far that God is not still with [32:25] you. [32:26] You’re not so far removed from him that he can’t find you. [32:29] He’s all around you in everything. [32:31] And he’s willing to look over the ignorance that you’ve had from him.

[32:35] He’s willing to look over the life that you’ve built apart from him and rebellion against [32:39] him, where you’ve tried to build this token life with all of these things that’ll satisfy [32:44] you that aren’t God, but God wants you to know him. [32:49] But now.

[32:51] He’s done with your ignoring him.

[32:55] He doesn’t accept your forgiveness and excuse me, your ignorance any longer. [33:00] He doesn’t accept the reality that you don’t know who he is.

[33:11] He commands all people everywhere to repent. [33:17] Because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world and righteousness by a man [33:21] whom he has appointed. [33:23] And of this, he’s given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. [33:27] Jesus.

[33:29] Silver.

[33:33] [33:34] Stone. [33:36] Career. [33:38] Money. [33:39] Possessions. [33:41] Prestige.

[33:42] Power. [33:44] Significance.

[33:48] None of them are God.

[33:53] None of them will offer you what you need. [33:57] None of them will fill the longing. [34:03] None of them will satisfy the craving.

[34:07] Absolutely none of them are what only God can be for you and only God can give you. [34:17] But he throws out this term. [34:19] He says, in light of all that God has done to bring you home to him, he commands all [34:25] people everywhere to repent. [34:28] There it is again. [34:29] You have to look at what you’re doing.

[34:32] You have to look at what you’re filling your life with apart from him. [34:36] And you have to turn away from it and follow him. [34:40] He has to be the motivation behind everything that you are doing. [34:46] And if he is not, then stop doing it.

[34:52] And wait until you find the motivation to live following him. [34:59] That is what he demands. [35:00] That is what he commands. [35:02] That is where the scriptures take us. [35:04] That is where Jesus leaves us. [35:06] And he says, I’m walking down the path of sacrifice.

[35:09] You follow me.

[35:13] So oftentimes we’ve seen and we believe that Jesus is God. [35:18] I mean, we want heaven. [35:19] Who wants heaven? [35:20] Who wants hell? [35:22] And we say, but I need to follow him, but I’ve got this over here. [35:25] So what we do is we grab a knapsack and we just start throwing things in.

[35:31] And we try, we say, oh, I’m coming.

[35:34] Wait. [35:36] Too much of a head start. [35:37] Hold on.

[35:40] How’s that working out for you?

[35:45] And you know you’re doing it. [35:47] You got one foot in finding every hope that you can have in the things of this world, [35:53] in the successes of this world, having all of the stuff of this world to find your security, [35:59] to find your significance, to find your hope. [36:03] But you don’t want hell. [36:04] So you got to have this other foot on Jesus’s path, but you’re not moving and he’s over there.

[36:15] How many of your personal pursuits and hours are spent in pursuing these things at the expense [36:23] of your friendship with God? [36:25] I mean, you could be pouring your life into friendship with God, [36:28] but you got all this other stuff going on, right?

[36:34] What is it that if you lost it tomorrow would devastate you? [36:39] What is it that if you lose it or fail to gain it forces you to question the goodness of God towards you?

[36:49] You see, those are the things that really define who or what your God actually is.

[36:59] My fear is that some of you are thinking that you’re following Jesus [37:04] while you have never actually repented of anything along the way.

[37:10] You’ve laid down at night and you said, all right, think about all the immoral things you did today. [37:16] Sorry, God.

[37:19] Better luck tomorrow.

[37:23] But have you really looked at what you’re doing in your life apart from Jesus and said, [37:28] I’ve got to turn from that and I’ve got to follow Jesus with all of my affection. [37:32] I’ve got to find my motivations from him. [37:34] I’ve got to have a reason for everything that I do and how it is pointing to Jesus Christ. [37:40] That is so hard.

[37:45] Let us not pretend that this is easy. [37:48] It’s like losing your life.

[37:52] But Jesus says you’ll do it if you want to gain what real life actually is.

[37:59] You need to turn from your false God and follow the resurrected Jesus. [38:06] He demands full allegiance.

[38:11] But the good news is that God has made a way.

[38:16] Jesus, thirdly this morning, has made the way to God.

[38:23] So what do you do when you feel like you’re at the end of Bad News Road and you’ve hit a road block and there’s a no U-turn sign?

[38:31] You feel like, oh my goodness, this is right. [38:34] I don’t really have any place in my life where I’ve made sacrifices. [38:38] I don’t really have any real life change to point to. [38:42] I don’t have any real motivational change going on in my life. [38:47] How do I get it right? [38:48] Because in our success-driven, effort-driven minds, what we are tempted to do is say, I’m going to do better tomorrow.

[38:58] You’ll end up in the same place with the same problems. [39:02] Because even if you are a success at it all that you’re going to find is a religion based on your effort. [39:09] And then you’re still building a monument to you. [39:12] And so what do you do? [39:14] We understand the thing that we talked about two weeks ago. [39:18] That knowing God is all about Jesus.

[39:22] He is the centerpiece of the knowledge of God. [39:24] He is the way in which God is known. [39:26] He is the source and destination of literally all knowledge in the universe. [39:33] Apart from Jesus and apart from the good news of his salvation, you can’t know God and hope to be friends with him. [39:40] That’s why apostle Paul says he demands all people everywhere to repent. [39:44] For he has marked a day in which he will come to judge every one of you.

[39:49] And he’s appointed that day by the resurrection of his son Jesus. [39:53] He’s telling the crowd you need a God who can resurrect you from the death of your self-god. [40:00] Of your false motives. [40:02] Of your heaping all of these things in your life saying I’m going to find God while looking nowhere past creation. [40:10] And he comes and he lives a perfect life. [40:16] Dies that sinner’s death.

[40:18] Rises again in that victorious resurrection. [40:21] And he says all of your failures were paid for on the cross. [40:25] All of your false worship was paid for through the death of Jesus. [40:29] All of the ways in which you’ve committed treason against God by worshiping idols instead of worshiping God. [40:36] Jesus paid every single one of them. [40:42] That’s why Titus 3.5 recorded Jesus saved us not because of works done by us in righteousness.

[40:49] But according to his own mercy by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. [40:56] By giving you a new life. [40:59] So what do you do if you’re dragging that bag and you can’t keep up with Jesus because you forgot [41:04] you’re supposed to take this trip without the luggage that you were taking on the old trip. [41:09] In that moment you cry out to God for mercy.

[41:13] In that moment you look to God and you say God I can’t do it. [41:17] In that moment you realize the detriment that you’re doing to yourself. [41:21] You realize the failure of trying to keep up with everything and everyone around you. [41:26] And in that moment the father responds with Jesus Christ.

[41:31] You are at the mercy of God. [41:35] The good news is he is a merciful God.

[41:41] And he will give mercy. [41:43] He will save you. [41:44] He will forgive you. [41:46] He will redeem you. [41:48] And he will give you a new life. [41:52] It isn’t just better.

[41:54] It’s the only life worth having. [41:57] It’s the only life that will last forever. [41:59] Because I think some of you have a view of God that if the changes are made that need to be made [42:05] you walk onto God’s construction site. [42:07] He hands you a hammer and architectural plans and he says all right build the life I want. [42:14] And we’re like well I’m going to blow it giving my track record.

[42:18] Your relationship with God isn’t like that.

[42:22] Relationship with God is all one of mercy in which you walk onto that site. [42:26] The house is already built. [42:28] The curb appeal is already there. [42:29] And God the Father says Jesus Christ bought the house for you. [42:33] Move on in. [42:33] It’s fully furnished.

[42:35] Live there. [42:36] It’s yours. [42:38] And so you’re not building the house. [42:40] You’re living in the house. [42:41] And you say well if I’m just living in the house that God’s built for me there’s not much for me to do. [42:45] Oh there’s a lot for you to do.

[42:46] You know what there is for you to do? [42:48] To be friends with God. [42:51] That’s the kind of God I want to be friends with.

[42:54] And you live you live your life in pursuit of that friendship. [42:57] You live your life enjoying that friendship. [43:00] You live your life following him everywhere he goes because he’s got everything that you need. [43:04] Where else would you go? [43:05] This is the God that gives you everything. [43:07] This is the God who is your friend.

[43:08] This is the God that provides everything. [43:10] This is the God that at the end is going to judge absolutely every one of us. [43:13] And he’s given us a path in which on that day he can look to us and he can say enter in [43:18] to the kingdom of God where there are in my right hand our pleasures forever more.

[43:26] But the only way that’s going to happen is if you trust him. [43:29] The only way you get to move into that house is if you believe him. [43:32] The only way you get to live as friends with God is if you put your faith in his path. [43:38] And his path goes through Jesus Christ. [43:42] John chapter 3 Jesus said one of the most famous not just verses in the Bible but [43:48] phrases ever.

[43:51] Starting in verse 16 he says for God so loved the world that he gave his only son [43:58] that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [44:06] For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world [44:09] but in order that the world might be saved through him. [44:13] Whoever believes in him is not condemned but whoever does not believe [44:18] is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only son of God.

[44:27] That’s the path. That’s the road he’s on. [44:31] And there are many things that happen on that road. [44:34] There are many things that God will call you to on that road but he will never call you to [44:40] that effort so that you can earn your place in his kingdom. [44:43] Instead he calls you to that effort and he says come on buddy it’s because you’re my friend. [44:47] And I love you and I’ll always endure with you in relationship.

[44:54] As the band comes forward I want you to understand that salvation

[45:03] is an amazingly tremendous gift and the greatest aspect of that gift

[45:10] is that God gives us the gift of himself. [45:14] And so many times we think about salvation what’s in it for me [45:18] and what’s in it for you is the greatest gift that you could ever have [45:21] and that’s the gift of friendship with God. [45:23] That’s the purpose of the eternal God that created everyone that is and everything that is. [45:30] The ability to know the purpose for which you exist and actually walk into a life of that.

[45:36] You don’t just get heaven. [45:38] You get all of the fringe benefits on the way to heaven.

[45:42] But I think that there are probably some of you who are sitting there and you’re like I don’t know [45:46] if I’ve ever turned from my old life. [45:48] I don’t know that I’ve ever repented. [45:50] If I think I can’t think of the great sacrifice that I’ve made for Jesus. [45:54] I don’t know that I’ve ever truly given my life to Jesus Christ. [45:59] For you I want you to know that you can be saved.

[46:02] I want you to know that you can know God. [46:05] And in just a moment I’m going to ask you to do something pretty bold. [46:08] I’m going to ask you to do something that’s going to require you to trust me. [46:12] And that is that you walk out into the foyer and meet me there. [46:17] I’d love to pray with you. [46:19] I’d love to answer any questions that you might have.

[46:21] I’d love to encourage you to continue to seek God. [46:25] To continue to explore who he is for you. [46:30] But if you’re in here this morning and you’ve heard everything that I’ve said. [46:34] You know like I’m not doing it perfectly but by God’s grace I don’t have to be. [46:38] Perfect. [46:39] Praise be to God he saved me.

[46:42] Well for you in just a moment the tables in the front and the tables in the back are going to be [46:46] open. [46:47] And I want you to celebrate your salvation by reflecting on the cost of your salvation. [46:52] The bread represents the broken body of Jesus. [46:54] The cup represents his shed blood. [46:57] And when we eat and drink we proclaim to everyone around us our friendship with God

[47:03] at the cost of his son. [47:06] As a friend when you’re ready come.