This passage from the Old Testament refers to the fact that our effectiveness as believers is directly tied to Knowing the Lord. I remember the first time someone asked me, "Do you know the Lord?" I was somewhere between offended and confused. Offended because I figured I was as religious as anyone. I went to Church once a week and paid my taxes. Confused because the person who asked me the question was clearly different than anyone I had met before. When he said "know" the Lord, somehow it meant something.

This morning I want to talk about what it means to know the Lord. I could say, I know Rudy Giuliani and be technically accurate. I met him once. It is an entirely different thing to say I know my wife. In this sense it is closer to the passage that said, "Adam knew his wife and she conceived."

In one instance, it is a casual fact. In the other, it is an intimate relationship. John wrote words to this effect, "This is eternal life, that they know Thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you sent." Jesus on the eve of his execution, prayed for His disciples, that they would know the Father and be "one even as He and the Father were one." That sounds like a much more intimate relationship than a casual acquaintance.

I pray that this morning you and I will be challenged to ask this question. "Do I know the Lord or do I merely know about Him?" We are not left to wonder. The Bible says some very clear, concise things about this subject. The early Church faced a heresy which claimed in its teaching that knowing the Lord meant possessing ‘special knowledge.’

I didn’t have a good answer for the person who asked me that question all those years ago. Now I "know that I know." I want for you to have the same confidence. Knowing Him and the power of His resurrection means everything. Information about a god somewhere is no comfort. Having a personal relationship with the God who made you is the most important issue you will ever face.

Pastor Jim
May 6, 2007