How Do We Know God/How Is God's Being Made Known to Us?

How do we “know” God? Don’t go telling me to pick up a Bible and begin reading. I know that I can find out about God by reading but I want to hear how we “know” God. Another way to put the same question might be, “How is God’s being made known to us?”

I’m trying very hard not to form my questions by using any gender specific pronouns. That’s not very easy. I grew up reading the King James version of the Bible and every pronoun used the masculine reference and it’s very hard for me to not use that reference. So if I slip and say “Him” or “His” please forgive me. I know that God doesn’t have a gender. I know that God is, was, and yet to be but I am after all just a male human being and it’s very hard to change what has been programmed into my brain.

So, back to the original question, “How do we know God or how is God’s being made know to us?” The only point of reference I have is from my own experience as a human being. How do we get to know others?

We get to know others by talking with them, by hanging out with them, by spending time with them. After a while we “know” them, kind of. Actually we only know what people allow us access to. What we know about each other is probably pretty superficial.

Remember the old television program The Newly Weds. We all laughed when they were asked questions to see how well they really “knew” each other. Today the shoe’s on the other foot. The question is, “How do we know God?”

Now, when your friends ask you to tell them about God what descriptive words or phrases do you use? I believe the answers we would give depend on our relationship with God.

I haven’t even got to what today is all about yet, the Trinity. And I don’t think I will. I think, if we’re all honest, we all “know” God in different ways and some of them are gender specific. Why’s that? I don’t have a good answer because to be honest it’s all a mystery to me. It’s kind of like calculus. I know what it is but there’s no way that I can begin to describe what it is or how it works or what it’s used for. Trying to explain God is about the same for me.

A lot of words have been written in the Confessions and in church doctrine in an attempt to more clearly understand and define God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I think, and it’s only my opinion, that God will reveal everything we need to know in his good time. And how that is accomplished is another mystery.

We “know” God through the life of Jesus as recorded for us in the Bible. And we come to understand it through the power of the Holy Spirit as the Word is interpreted to us, as we read, ponder, and reflect on its Message for each of us.

How you “know” God, how God is revealed to you is, more than likely, different for each of us. Basically I believe it depends on our faith which is what Paul was speaking about in his letter to the Romans. We are “justified by faith” and “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand.”

So, there you have it. We “know” God through our faith and we have our faith because God has granted us access by his grace. It’s all grace. We know God by being in relationship with God. We know God by how willing we are to believe, by how willing we are to let go of the things that tie us down to this world. The more we relieve ourselves of our burdens the more God is revealed to us.

The more we give or give up the more we receive. I don’t know why that’s just how it seems to work. And it’s different for every one of us. Why, ask God. Only God can answer these questions.

Theologians have spent years and years trying to answer this question. If they can’t come up with something simple that everyone can understand then I’m certainly not going to try. As I said it’s all about our faith and God’s grace.

So, now what do we do? I think the most important action any of us can take is to work on our relationship with God. Relationships take a whole lot of work. At least human relationships take a lot work. And we don’t always do so well in that area. I’m always stubbing my toe or biting my tongue, or putting my foot in my mouth and I don’t think I do so well with God either.

At least I know that God will forgive me, humans find it much harder to forgive our slips of the tongue. I think the psalmist has the question right, “Who is this God, that he is even mindful of us humans?” We’re just a speck in the universe, actually less than a speck. Yet here we are and he loves us.

So shouldn’t we get to know our Creator? Shouldn’t we be in some kind of relationship with the one who redeems us?

We all know what we need to do. Now we just need to do it. We need to intentionally spend time with our God. As we do we will begin to know God in many different ways, in many different roles. God may be our Father, our Mother, our Counselor, our Confidante, our Advocate, our Friend, our Brother, our Sister, our Confessor, our…you fill in the blank.

The thing is in order to “know” God we have to begin to develop our relationships. It all begins with us. Our relationships with God won’t improve; we won’t know God any better unless we take the step. The sooner we make a start the sooner we will “know” more about our God. And it won’t seem like such a chore once we take that first step. That’s because God will be right there with us all the way from the very beginning as always.

What's Happening Here?

What’s happening here? That may have been the question Jesus’ disciples asked each other when the Holy Spirit descended on/in them. Just imagine what it must have been like. What if the same thing happened here today?

We are all gathering in this room to worship. We’re visiting with each, we’re talking about what went on in the community last night, we’re complaining about the weather, but we’re not ready for what God is about to do. We’re not expecting anything different to happen than what happened last Sunday. We’re not prepared for what’s coming next.

All of a sudden without warning there’s this sound like a tornado approaching but the other signs aren’t showing themselves, no green sky, no trees moving, not even a leaf, but there’s still that sound. You look around at your friends and you notice that something else strange is happening. Something that looks like tongues of fire is settling down above everyone’s heads. What’s happening here? That’s the question going through your mind, maybe. Or you might be just too surprised to even know what to think.

Then it gets quiet and then you think, “What just happened here?” The next thing that happens is even weirder. Everyone begins to talk, but no one is speaking in their own native tongue. They are speaking in the languages of all those who have immigrated to Jerusalem. It’s all very confusing. There’s so much noise. Everyone’s talking at once.

And then it gets quiet again. People are gathering outside and we’re all inside. They’re probably wondering the same thing we are, “What’s happening here?” And we’re not sure either.

There are some who believe we’ve been filled with God’s Spirit but there are others who think we been drinking too much new wine even though it’s only nine o’clock in the morning. And we ask ourselves again, “What just happened here?”

Today we know what happened there. Luke did a pretty good job describing what took place. My question is, since we know what happened there, do we come to worship expecting the same thing to happen? Do we come to worship expecting the Holy Spirit to fill the room and baptize everyone with his power?

Do we expect anything extraordinary to happen in this room when we come to worship, when we come to praise this great God who created everything we see, when we come to thank Him for sending his Son, Jesus, here to teach us and show us what God is like? Do we expect to be surprised by God when we come to worship? Do we come to worship and expect to leave different from what we were when we came inside? Do we want to be changed?

Do you think the disciples had any idea what Jesus meant when he told them God was going to send an Advocate to them after Jesus ascended into heaven? I think the disciples were no different than you and me. I don’t think they fully understood what Jesus meant or what was going to happen. One thing is for certain they trusted him but they didn’t really get it until he left them and the Holy Spirit showed up. Then they got it, the Holy Spirit and understanding.

So they were inside waiting, watching, worrying and the others were outside waiting, watching, and worrying. Kind of like us, we’re inside and others are outside. We’re worrying about numbers and finances and those outside are worrying about food and money.

Then the Advocate came and they were filled with his power. But their problems didn’t go away. Actually it was like they had new problems added on top of the old ones. Now they were compelled by the Spirit to go out and tell the story, to tell their story to the world, God’s Good News for the world.

When they were filled with the Spirit of Jesus they just had to go out and teach, and preach, and listen, and heal, and tell their stories. And it wasn’t easy. It isn’t easy today. But because they were driven by the Spirit because they weren’t scared silly by the wind and the fire and the noise because they felt compelled to tell their stories we are here today.

And sometimes, we say to ourselves, “What’s happening here?” Maybe we don’t ask the question often enough though. When we get up out of the pews do we feel the compulsion to go out and tell our stories? Do we feel driven to share the Good News with the community? Do we even speak their language?

“What’s happening here?” Are we hiding inside like the disciples were waiting, watching, worrying, fretting about what’s going on outside? What do we expect to happen?

Jesus Prays for Us

Just before Jesus went to the garden to pray, before he was kissed by Judas and arrested by the High Priest’s soldiers, Jesus prayed for his disciples. He knew that the time of his arrest, the time of his torment and suffering was very close. If he was going to pray for them this was the time for it.

You know I’ve wondered if the disciples were like us. I mean, when someone begins to pray and I know they’re going to go on for a while, my body just kind of goes into a meditative trance. Some people would say I’m sleeping but I think it’s a form of meditation. Anyway, when Jesus prayed for his disciples were they all listening to his words or were they in a meditative trance, like I’ve been known to go into? Have you ever wondered about that? I have, especially when I know that some of my own prayers get kind of long during worship and I’m sure some in the congregation have gone into their own meditative trance.

I’ve just been wondering were they really listening to what Jesus prayed or was John the only one who got it all down. Do we need to remember every word that someone prays when we’re present or is it okay for us to just be there quietly with them, even if we are in a trance? What do you think?

Jesus made some very important statements. Some of it was just letting God know he was aware of all that God had done for him and his disciples. God gave the disciples to Jesus. We’ve always thought Jesus chose them as he walked along the beach and through town but today we learn that God had chosen them a long time ago and gave them to Jesus to be his core group to carry on God’s work after Jesus ascended into heaven.

He wasn’t just praying for the disciples, he was praying for everyone who would believe in him through the Word. He was praying that they would all be one, so that the world would know for sure that God had sent him to save the world.

It sounds to me as if Jesus was praying for the Church to be one, God’s love in his children and Jesus in his children. Has his prayer been answered yet? Are we one church? Are we filled with God’s love and Jesus?

Jesus’ prayer was for all of us to be completely one. I don’t think we’re there yet. I’m really not sure if we’ll ever get there in my lifetime. But I trust that God will one day make us one with him and each other.

So, if we’re not there yet and since we are sometimes referred to as “the hands and feet of Jesus” shouldn’t we be working towards being united with all the other churches? What is it that we should be doing? Is there anything that we can do that would make a difference, that would bring us closer together?

I think the early church struggled with this very same problem. Peter and the disciples were doing their thing in Jerusalem and Paul and his cohorts were doing their thing in the part of the world outside the bounds of Jerusalem.

Peter, James, and John were preaching and teaching to other Jews, and a few Gentiles, while Paul and friends were preaching primarily to Gentiles and a few Jews. I think each group probably alienated those on the fringes. Even the disciples didn’t agree with how Paul was doing things and Paul thought Peter and the disciples were making a few mistakes too.

We have the same things going on today. There are Lutherans, Pentecostals, Baptists, United Methodist, Brethren, Friends, Roman Catholics, Jehovah Witness, and Latter Day Saints. There are so many it’s difficult to get a count. And there seems to be one or two theological differences that keep us from all getting together as one church.

But that didn’t keep Jesus from praying for us to be one in unity. It didn’t keep Paul and Silas from singing their hymns in the jail. It didn’t keep the psalmist from writing his psalms praising this great God we come here to worship today. And it shouldn’t keep us from working toward reconciliation with our sisters and brothers of other faiths and denominations.

I believe that Jesus is still praying for us. I believe he’s praying for us right now. I believe he’s praying for us right now as we worship inside this church, First Presbyterian, in Walnut, Iowa. I believe he’s praying for us to be one with our adopted brothers and sisters who are worshipping at Calvary and Peace and Our Savior and Monroe and St. Patrick’s. That’s what I believe. What do you believe?

Do you believe that we can all be one? Can we be one diversified church? I believe that is Jesus’ prayer for us.

I believe it can happen if we will join Jesus in praying for unity within our denomination and with all denominations and faiths in the world. I believe it takes faith, it takes time in prayer, and it depends on God’s grace. Actually, when I think about it, it’s all about God’s grace.

We pray and petition God and God in his grace will bring it all about. As John said in Revelation, “Come, Lord Jesus! Amen.”

Thanks be to God for his amazing grace. Amen.

A New Heaven, A New Earth, A New Commandment

Peter experiences a vision, not just once but three times. In the vision God shows him every living thing he ever created. Then he told him to “kill and eat.” Now this went against everything that Peter had been taught by the teachers in the synagogue.

In the reading from Revelation John has a vision where he sees a “new heaven and a new earth and a ne Jerusalem.” In the vision he saw that God had moved into the neighborhood and was living among the men and women. He was shown in the vision that God was indeed in the world. What Jesus had told his disciples about the kingdom of God being right here, right now was in fact true.

This new heaven and earth was a place where there were no more tears, no more death, no more sorrow. Everything the human race thought they had all figured out was being tossed out the window with the wash water. All the rules, all the laws of nature, everything that scientists and mathematicians thought they had figured out, all that was gone. Everything was being made new. There was a new dimension being revealed that no one ever knew existed. God was showing it first to John in a vision.

As if this isn’t enough “new” for us John tells us in his gospel of the “new commandment” Jesus gave them before he departed this world. That commandment was to love one another as he had loved them. Love everyone as Jesus had demonstrated to them by his teaching and his actions.

If they lived by his commandment showing love for everyone as Jesus had then everyone would know that they were truly his disciples.

On top of all that the psalmist reminds us that the whole world should be giving God praise for all that he provides.

So where should we begin? What’s the most important lesson for us today?

I think that the key point in the scriptures heard from the Word today is that God is love. Jesus was the perfect example for his disciples and for us. He lived his life in love for his Father, God, and love for all God’s children.

It did not matter what their station in life was. It did not make any difference to him what mistakes they had made or were still making in the lives. He invited himself to dinner. He invited them to join him wherever he was. He shared his love, God’s love, with them even before they had asked forgiveness for their sins. He just loved them as there were, where they were, unconditionally.

Just imagine what this world would be like if we were perfect examples of Jesus to the world where we live. But we aren’t perfect. We make mistakes. We turn our backs on folks who are begging for handouts. We try to not see those people who are scrounging through the garbage we set out at the curb to be picked up. We think that all the government agencies, all the non-profits, will take care of those who can’t find employment, who can’t afford the same health insurance we have.

But friends, is that love? Is that the example Jesus was to his disciples? He said, “Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another.”

How are we to love those who are doing the killing in Omaha? How are we to love those who abuse children and spouses? How are we to love those who are trying to destroy this country we call home?

Friends, it’s definitely not easy and it’s not something we can do through our own will power. In fact, if we try to do it all by ourselves we will fail miserably. We will make a terrible mess of everything.

The only way it’s possible to live lives of love as Jesus lived is to first off develop a close relationship with God. The only way to begin is by accepting God’s grace. God’s gift to us was given to us in the life and death of his Son, Jesus the Messiah.

God doesn’t ask anything of us because he knows it’s impossible for any of us to earn his grace. His grace is a free gift to us. He doesn’t expect anything from us except our acceptance of his Son, Jesus.

Will we ever get it right? Will we ever be able to perfectly love everyone? What do you think? Have you tried? How are you doing at loving everyone? I’m not doing so well. In fact, some days I fail so miserably that I wonder if God hasn’t given up on me.

By God’s grace I know that I’m forgiven. By God’s good grace we are all forgiven. We can’t give up. We must keep on trying. We must keep on loving. We must lean on God for stronger faith, more persistence, more stamina to continue the race we are running.

The goal is the new heaven, the new earth, the New Jerusalem and eternal life with the Triune God. We need to be reminded that God is love.

He is cheering us on. He is rooting for us to succeed. Friends, in his photo album your picture is on the front page. God has many front pages.

By God’s grace we will be filled with his love through his love for us in Jesus the Messiah. By God’s grace we will be enabled to share his love with all who come to us for nurture and help and love.

God loves you my friends and so do I. Amen.