Jeremiah 9:23 – This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches.
24 – but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, Who exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for in these I delight.”
Jeremiah 29:13 -You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.
On our last road trip to Chicago to see Becca, Sue and I passed the time by listening to an audio book. This particular book had been very popular—and also very controversial, which is one reason we decided to “read” it on our trip. I’m referring to THE SHACK by William P. Young.
THE SHACK is a novel about a man who suffers a horrible tragedy in his life—one that causes him to question God—one that in fact makes him ANGRY with God. Well, God places an invitation in this man’s mailbox—God actually writes him a note inviting him to spend a weekend with Him at a shack in the mountains—the same shack where the tragedy occurred. At first the man thinks it’s some cruel joke but his curiosity gets the best of him and he goes to the Shack and when he arrives God—or more specifically—each Person of the Trinity—is there waiting.
This is ONE reason the book has been controversial. You see in Young’s novel God the Father appears as an old but healthily rotund African American WOMAN. Jesus is a 33 year old Jewish carpenter dressed in contemporary clothing. And the Holy Spirit is an Asian woman who seems to be more spirit than flesh because you can’t quite get your eyes to focus on her. All three are equally God while at the same time being distinct.
Now—without getting into a long discussion I’ll say that in my opinion it was a good book. I particularly liked the way Young dealt with a QUESTION that seekers have always asked, namely: “How can God be good if He allows so much evil in the world?” But—I would caution you—this book is not for the spiritually immature. Again this is my opinion. But I would say you have to be well-grounded in the Biblical essentials of our faith or there’s a good chance this novel could lead you down some wrong paths. If you’ve read the book and have specific questions—drop me an e-mail and we’ll chew on the answers together. In any case, I thought of THE SHACK as I prepared this message because it shines a spotlight on ANOTHER question that is on people’s minds these days—namely: “Is there a God—and can He be known? If there IS a God—what is He like?”
As I told you on Vision Sunday, we’re going to deal with THREE questions during this Holy Week—questions that I believe are answered by the events leading up to and including Easter Sunday. This Thursday, before we share communion with each other—as Jesus did with His followers on the night of His arrest—I’ll try to give answers to the question: “What Really Happened on the Cross? What does it have to do with me and my life?” On Easter Sunday I’ll direct you to the Scriptures that answer another popular question—namely: “What happens when I die?” And as I said, on this Palm Sunday morning we’re dealing with a question many people wrestle with—concerning the existence of God and whether or not He can be known.
Now—as we BEGIN our search for answers I think we need to acknowledge that there are people who have some very odd beliefs about God.
(1) For example, many people think of God as “The Old Man Upstairs.”
I’m reminded of the story of a group of pre-school children who were touring a retirement home—and when the tour was over, the resident who had been their guide asked the kids if they had any questions. One little girl raised her hand and asked, “How old are you?” The resident replied—very proudly—“I’m 98!” Clearly impressed, the child’s eyes grew wide with wonder and she said, “Did you start at one?”
Well, many people view God like this—they think if He does exist He must be much extremely old—which would make Him weak—and helpless. They think He is way past His prime. His creating days are over—His dividing the Red Sea days are past him. He can no longer deliver people from the mouths of lions or fiery furnaces. In their minds if God DOES exist—and if He started counting birthdays at “ONE,” well He must just be a feeble old man of sorts living somewhere up there in the heavenly realms.
(2) Other people picture God as the GREAT JUDGE in the sky.
They think He sits on His judgement seat and does nothing but pronounce sentence on guilty sinners. In their minds, nailing us for our wrong-doings is what rings God’s bell. This week I read about a grandmother in Springfield Oregon who stands 5 foot 6 and one day a six foot teenager came along and when her back was turned he stole her truck. Well, this grandmother actually chased down the truck—traffic was apparently congested enough that she caught up with it a few blocks later. When she did, she yanked open the door, pulled the shocked driver out, and started slapping him. By the time the police arrived, he was crying for mercy and the truck was back in her possession. Well, this “slap-em-around” grandmom is not far from the view that some people have of God. They think of Him as a Heavenly version of JUDGE JUDY—an ancient but powerful being Who loves nothing more than to punish us for our sins.
(3) And then there are those who think of God as sort of a celestial MR. GOODWRENCH.
They attend church sporadically and are usually referred to as “CEO’s” by more faithful worshipers. By the way, “C.E.O.” is an acronym that stands for “Christmas and Easter Only.” Well these people pretty much ignore God and His commands—until they have a crisis or a problem. Then they ask Him to fix it because in their minds He’s their “Mr. Goodwrench.”
(4) And then others—others believe there is NO GOD.
They think all this just happened—and that there is no such thing as God. A few weeks ago three of the members of our AV team did on the street interviews in downtown Derwood—and they met several people who fall into this category. We’ll see the footage of their interviews next Sunday—but it proves there are people all around us who have decided God does not exist—and never has.
I once read the story of an atheist was spending a quiet day fishing in Scotland when suddenly his boat was attacked by the Loch Ness monster. In one easy flip, the beast tossed him and his boat high into the air. Then it opened its mouth to swallow both. As the man sailed head over heals, he cried out, “Oh, my God! Help me!” and at once, the ferocious attack scene froze in place and as the atheist hung in mid air directly above the open jaws of the Loch Ness monster, a booming voice came down from the clouds saying, “I thought you didn’t believe in Me?”The man replied, “Come on God, give me a break! Two minutes ago I didn’t believe in the Loch Ness monster either!”
Well, many people are like this guy. They don’t believe in God—until they get in between a rock and a hard place. When they find themselves in the fox holes of life even atheists have been known to cry out for God’s help.
Okay—that’s enough about what OTHER people think—what do YOU think? Is there a God? Let’s see a show of hands! How many believe GOD exists?
I’m not surprised at your response—because as Christians we of course KNOW God is real. But—don’t think you’re getting off with a short sermon today because there’s more to ANSWERING this question than that. You see, people need to know that not only does God exist—He WANTS us to know He exists. God WANTS to be known—and by the way, that’s the only reason He CAN be known. You see, the only way we would be able to KNOW God—is if He MADE Himself known to us. He is infinitely above you and me.
Do you remember the questions Job posed—questions that inferred a NO answer? In Job 11:7 he said, “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?” What’s the answer again? “NO!” God is simply too big for us to understand. So if we are to have a relationship with God then He must reveal Himself to us. He must take the initiative. And as I said, He has—God has revealed Himself in several ways. In fact, He has left CLUES of His existence and attributes all around us. Let’s review them.
(1) First, God has made Himself known is in CREATION.
I mean, if we want to know that God exists—if we want to understand what He is like—all we have to do is open our eyes and look because as Psalm 19:1-4 says:
The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display His marvelous craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known. They speak without a sound or a word. Their voice is silent in the skies; yet their message has gone out to all the earth and their words to all the world.
And, Romans 1:19ff says,
What may be known about God is plain…because God HAS MADE IT PLAIN…for since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made…
I love these words to that old Hymn, “This is my Father’s world…He shines in all that’s fair. In the rustling grass, I hear Him pass…He speaks to me everywhere.” I love these words because its OBVIOUS they are true. As Max Lucado puts it, “Our universe is God’s preeminent missionary.” I mean, it’s OBVIOUS that this amazing world of ours didn’t just happen accidentally. It had a cause—which means there was a Cause-er! And the more that scientists study—the more they are forced to admit this OBVIOUS fact—that creation itself implies a Creator—an infinitely intelligent One!
Scientist Roger Penrose estimates that the odds of our universe just happening on its own are one in 10 Billion to the 30th power. That’s 1 in—well’ just look at the slide:
…10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000!
So the fact is we can know God EXISTS just by looking at the world around us. But by looking, we can also know ABOUT Him.
A. For example, we can know GOD loves incredible beauty.
How many times have you looked at a sunset—a sunset so spectacular that tears welled up in your eyes—and before you knew it two words were on your lips: “Oh God!” We get similar responses when we look at the mountains or at an ocean view or pictures of the stars or even when we use a microscope to look at a tiny cell! The Being Who created this universe—has an eye for beauty doesn’t He!?
B. We can also know that our Creator—God—loves variety.
He made all shapes, sizes, colors, intensities. Did you know that God made over 300,000 species of beetles alone? Wouldn’t you call that creative overkill? I mean, couldn’t the world have been happy with just 50,000 species? Why did God create 300,000? Did you know that in one cubic foot of snow there are 18 million snowflakes and no two of them are alike? Now, nobody else is going to appreciate this but GOD so He obviously loves variety!
C. And perhaps God’s most OBVIOUS love—is His love for people.
We know this because science shows the cosmos was made with people in mind. Scientist Francis Collins writes,
When [we scientists] look at the universe, it looks as if it knew we were coming. There are 15 constants—the gravitational constant, various constants about the strong and weak nuclear force, etc.—constants that have precise values. If any one of those constants was off by even one part in a million or in some cases, by one part in a million million, the universe could not have actually come to the point where we see it. Matter would not have been able to coalesce; there would have been no galaxy, stars, planets, or people.
Stephen Hawking admits,
The odds against a universe like ours emerging out of something like the Big Bang are enormous. I think there are clearly religious implications. It would be very difficult to explain why the universe would have begun in just this way except as the act of a God Who intended to create beings like us.
And that leads to a second way that God has made Himself known.
(2) God has also revealed Himself to the CREATED.
This is literally nothing NEW—because from the very beginning of time it was God’s desire to be known by the created—by man—the crown of His creation. The Genesis record says that God actually WALKED with Adam and Eve in the Garden that He made for them. Later we see God walking with Enoch, speaking with Noah, calling Abraham, wrestling with Jacob and appearing to Moses in the burning bush. We see this throughout the Old Testament in events like these and in many others like: God giving His people His law, sending the prophets, performing great miracles and inspiring the Bible. It is readily apparent that God desires that His people know Him—that they know what He is like. We see this in Acts 17:26-28 where Paul said,
From one man God made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. ‘For in Him we live and move and have our being. We are His offspring.’”
One of the clearest ways we see God revealing Himself to us is in the fact that He placed within every human being a HUNGER to know Him. In Jeremiah 24:7 God says, “I will give them—people like you and me—I will give them a heart to know Me [a longing to know Me]—that I am the Lord.” Because of this part of our “wiring” I believe ALL people know in the depths of their being that there is a God. They may not admit it but they know God is there!
This is WHY even atheists cry out to God in times of crisis. God put the knowledge of His existence in our hearts. Writer Anne Lamott was raised by her dad to be a devout atheist. He even forced she and her siblings to agree to a contract to that effect when they were two or three years old. But Anne started backsliding into faith at an early age. She testifies,“Even when I was a child, I knew that when I said ‘HELLO,’ someone heard.” She knew this because God has wired an “invitation” to know Him in our minds. J. I. Packer refers to this and says,“What were we made for? To know God. What aim should we set ourselves in life? To know God. What is the best thing in life, bringing more joy, delight, and contentment, than anything else? Knowledge of God.” Well, Packer is right—we are made to KNOW GOD—created this way by our Creator—Who for some unfathomable reason loves us—and wants to be known by us.
In his book, God is Closer Than You Think, John Ortberg shares his impressions of Michelangelo’s painting of God and Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He says,
If you look carefully at the painting, you notice that the figure of God is extended toward the man with great vigor. He twists His body to move it as close to the man as possible. His head is turned toward the man, and His gaze is fixed on him. God’s arm is stretched out, His index finger extended straight forward; every muscle is taught. Before Michelangelo, art scholars say, the standard paintings of creation showed God standing on the ground, in effect helping Adam to his feet. Not here. This God is rushing toward Adam on a cloud, one of the ‘chariots of Heaven,’ propelled by the angels. It is as if even in the midst of the splendor of all creation, God’s entire being is wrapped up in His impatient desire to close the gap between Himself and His man. He can’t wait. His hand comes within a hairbreadth of the man’s hand. Apparently one of the messages that Michelangelo wanted to convey was God’s implacable determination to reach out to and be with the person He has created.
(3) We also see God revealing Himself to us—reaching out to us—in our CONSCIENCE.
You see, all people are wired with a sense of right and wrong—a code of ethics. Think of it—even as a child you knew it was WRONG to HURT people and RIGHT to HELP them. Your parents only reinforced this moral code. Well Who gave it to you in the first place? What is this magnetic pole that pulls the needles on the compass of your conscience—if not God? Lucado writes,
You aren’t alone with your principles. Common virtues connect us. Every culture has frowned upon selfishness and celebrated courage, punished dishonesty and rewarded nobility. A universal standard exists. Just as a code writer connects computers with common software bundles, a common code connects people. We may violate or ignore the code, but we can’t deny it. Even people who have never heard God’s name sense His law within them.
And Lucado is of course right. As Romans 2:15 says “There is something deep within humanity that echoes God’s ‘YES’ and ‘NO,’ right and wrong.” (The Message) So—ironically when atheists decry injustice, they can thank God for the ability to discern it. The conscience is God’s fingerprint…further proof of His existence and character.
(4) And then, as I said a moment ago, God has also made Himself known in the CANON of Scripture.
2nd Timothy 3:16 says,“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” Anyone who has tried to live by the Bible’s teachings has to admit that it works—that life works best when we live it according to the principles and precepts that are found in Its ancient pages. It’s as if our Manufacturer has given us a “Handbook for life.” Plus—the Bible is bursting with direct statements from God and about God. It reveals His mind, His heart and His will for us. In fact, I would say these pages are the written story of God pursuing a relationship with humanity. Perhaps this is part of the symbolism Young was getting at in his controversial novel. Because in a very real sense, the Bible is God’s written invitation to us—an invitation for each us to spend not just a weekend—but our entire lives with Him. So the OBVIOUS truth is YES—GOD EXISTS! HE WANTS US TO KNOW ALL ABOUT HIM. He’s left clues to His existence and nature in us—and all around us.
But we are still not done because the most wonderful truth is that God wants much more than for you and me to know ABOUT Him. He wants us to KNOW Him.
And I must point out—there is a great difference between those two concepts. For example—thanks to the news media that keeps a spotlight focused on the White House—I can know a great deal about our president…his likes, his dislikes, his habits, I can keep a list of all his latest mistakes…and successes. I can read about his policies and plans and perspectives. I can know all ABOUT President Obama—BUT still not KNOW Him.
Well, the same is true of God. In fact, in His inspired Word God warns us to not make the mistake of thinking that knowing ABOUT Him is the same as KNOWING Him. Remember, in Matthew 7:23ff Jesus warned,“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven…I will tell them plainly depart from Me for I never KNEW you.”
J. I. Packer says,
It is possible to know ABOUT God without KNOWING God intimately. It’s easy for us to fall into the trap of thinking that since we know a lot of things about God, that we must know Him well. Just because we’ve read the latest book or attended the latest seminar, doesn’t mean that we know God. While knowledge about God is good and absolutely essential, knowing God is more than knowing facts about Him. It’s like trying to get to know your wife by reading her resume….it’s like ‘having a relationship with the Postmaster General on the basis of one’s ability to lick a stamp. Hardly a life-changing experience.
Okay then—how can we go from knowing ABOUT God—to KNOWING GOD intimately and personally? Well, this is where we turn to EASTER for help.
(5) You see, God’s fullest revelation of Himself is seen in the Person Who hung on the CROSS.
Jesus—God’s ONLY SON—Jesus came for the express purpose of making it possible for us to know God. Now—first, He came to help us to know ABOUT our Creator. As it says in Hebrews 1:1-3,
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by HIS SON. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.
Read the Gospel accounts—study the record of the life and ministry of Jesus and you’ll learn all about God—more that you could learn in any other way. You’ll see His limitless power and love. You’ll see that God cares about our hurts and is moved with compassion by our sorrows. You’ll see that He sent His Son to seek and to save lost people like you and me. I could go on and on but suffice it to say that You can know ABOUT God BEST by looking at His Son.
Have you ever heard of Kirk Douglas and Michael Douglas? What about Martin and Charlie Sheen? Billy and Franklin Graham, John and John Quincy Adams? It’s been said, “like Father like son” and “the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.” Well, this is true in most cases. To know about the Father—you can look at the son. And the TRUEST example of this principle is Jesus. As it says in John 1:18,“No one has ever seen God, but the Son has made Him known.” Jesus Himself said,“Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father…I and the Father are one.” (John 14:9; 10:10)
But as I inferred, Jesus came for a higher purpose than simply telling us more ABOUT God. As the events of Easter tell us—Jesus came to make it possible for us to KNOW God—to walk with Him through life in the same intimate and personal relational way that Adam and Eve walked with Him through Eden. The problem is that since the day they sinned—and were separated from our Holy God—all people have followed suit. “All of us sin and fall short of God’s glory.” (Romans 3:23) Well, Jesus came to take the penalty of our sin on Himself. He came to shed His blood—the only thing that could wash our sins away so that we could come into God’s holy presence once again.
I love the old story of a young soldier who served in the Union Army during the Civil War. This soldier had lost both his older brother and his father in the battle of Gettysburg—so he decided to go to Washington, D.C. to speak to President Lincoln. He wanted to ask him for an exemption from military service so he could go back and help his sister and mother with the spring planting on the family farm. Well, he applied for and received a furlough and when he arrived in Washington, to plead his case, he went to the White House, approached the front gate and asked to see the president. The guard on duty told him, “You can’t see the president, young man! Don’t you know there’s a war going on! The president is a very busy man! Now go away! Get back out there on the battle lines where you belong.” So the young soldier left, very discouraged, and was sitting on a little park bench not far from the White House when a little boy came up to him. The lad said, “Soldier, you look unhappy. What’s wrong?” The soldier looked at the little boy and began to spill his heart out to him. He told of his father and his brother being killed in the war and of the desperate situation at home. He explained that his mother and sister had no one to help them on the farm. The little boy listened and said, “I can help you soldier.” He took the soldier by the hand and led him back to the front gate of the White House. Apparently, the guard didn’t notice them, because they weren’t stopped. They walked straight to the front door of the White House and walked right in. After they got inside, they walked right past generals and high-ranking officials, and no one said a word. The soldier couldn’t understand this. Why didn’t anyone try to stop them? Finally, they reached the Oval Office—where the president was working—and the little boy didn’t even knock on the door. He just walked right in and led the soldier in with him. There behind the desk was Abraham Lincoln and his Secretary of State, looking over battle plans that were laid out on his desk. The president looked at the boy and then at the soldier and said, “Good afternoon, Todd. Can you introduce me to your friend?” And Todd Lincoln, the SON of the president said, “Daddy, this soldier needs to talk to you.” The soldier pled his case before Mr. Lincoln and right then and there he received the exemption that he desired.
Well, friends, we have been given access to the Father through HIS Son! We can come into His presence whenever we want—wherever we are. We can KNOW God personally—because of what Jesus did on that first Easter weekend. Ephesians 2:13, 18 says,
You who where once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, Who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…for through Him we have access to the Father.
And—understand—this is the ONLY way for us to KNOW God. As Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Okay—that’s my answer to this first Easter question—but as we close I have a couple questions for YOU to answer.
First…do you KNOW GOD? I’m not asking if you know ABOUT God—I’m asking do you KNOW Him? If you don’t—I know you do WANT to know Him. I know you have this HEART longing to know Him. So, this morning, why not decide to stop resisting that heart longing and decide to become a Christ-follower—why not let Jesus lead You into the presence of God TODAY? Pray—and admit that you are a sinner—confess your belief that Jesus is God’s Son—and that He died for your sin. Ask Him to forgive you and then commit to let Him be the Lord of your life.
Here’s my second question—if you do KNOW GOD are you acting…living like you do? Remember—your purpose for being here instead of in Heaven is to make God known!
And sadly many of us fail in this task. Many of us are like the people in Titus 1:16, who, “…claim to know God but by their actions they deny Him.” Well, are YOU acting as if you Know God? If YOUR answer is NO—then I think today would be a great time to commit to making a change. Pray and confess your failings to God—if you do—He’ll be faithful and just to cleanse you from all unrighteousness—and then He’ll help you live a Godly life a life that makes God known to others.
LET US PRAY