Knowing God:
Everyone that draws breath from the womb will at sometime
come to a “knowledge” of God. It will depend on the exposure they receive through
many factors, family practices, social examples, even personal pondering will
play a part in this universal attraction. Many will develop a comfortable
application that they will embrace and hold on to till revelation by the Holy
Spirit proves otherwise. This exposure to Truth is a Divine happening that is orchestrated
by God that “none may perish, but all have everlasting life”. It can be through
someone witnessing to them, a brush with scripture in an article, social media
of the time, a disaster in their lives that causes them to fall on their knees
and hope that the God in heaven will intervene. Because of God’s plan for man
there “will” be an intervention regardless of the hardness of the person’s
culture, religious training, social status or geological location. A good
example is Paul the Apostle. All his religious excellence/training, life
practices, and adherent love of his faith ultimately brought him to his
Damascus road experience. This was a Divine intervention at the highest scale.
Let’s not forget he fell to the earth, was blinded by light, then came the Lord’s
reproof before he would even say “Lord what do you require of me?” It took the
very presence of Christ before the hardness of his heart and disbelief was broken.
Most people will get an exposure to Truth somewhat less
dramatic. Mostly by witness of a Believer, or stimulating article, but all by
the hand of the Master, not unplanned but very much part of everyone’s journey.
Now that it is established that we all will have the Divine
encounter what happens from there? Well not straying from scripture we have the
parable of the Sower. The Word falls on rocky ground, shallow ground and fertile
ground. Enough has been preached on this subject so we will assume an
understanding and move on from here.
Fertile/prepared ground is what we will look at from here
on.
So the ground is fertile and the Word germinates and takes
root. Let’s look at how it is fed to grow at a personal level, not ignoring
church, Bible studies, devotionals, chat groups, but at a personal effort for development.
At this crucial point in growth the greatest influence will
come from the “measure of Faith” the person has for his search to “know God.”
The idea that we can gain any understanding of the Divine aside from Faith is a
shipwreck at best. Look at all the different shingles that hang on church
buildings today. The only difference is “what they believe/hold to/practice by
Faith”, believing with great vigor that “theirs” is the more accurate way and necessitates
a separation from the others. Keep in mind we are “save by Grace through Faith”
we must then admit that EVERYTHING we do in our search for the Divine
Revelation of God must be by His grace through Faith. Any effort that doesn’t
rely on this staircase to understanding is at best a purely logical effort
based on mental acuity and will result in error, weakness, and end up
incomplete. God’s Word is Spirit and it takes a man instructed by the Holy
Spirit to receive its Truth and instruction.
So how do we grow the Word that germinated and “know God”?
First we need the Holy Spirit as more than a Coverer but an Infilling, no
longer coming alongside to direct but filling to reveal the will of God to us.
Sort of like standing outside of a car and giving instruction of how to get
somewhere opposed to getting into the driver’s seat and taking the wheel. Then
having asked for that Infilling we need to immerse ourselves in two inseparable
practices: first prayer, second if the word is available we need to feed on the
Word, relentlessly, passionately, and without distraction whenever possible.
This will allow God to “take the heart of stone and replace it with a heart of
flesh where in is written the word of God by the finger of God.” Once this is
done our understanding will grow on a personal level guided by the Mind of
Christ regardless of what external influence we use to aid in the instruction.
Why prayer first? Because we must learn to humble ourselves
before God and see the importance of asking so we can receive in Jesus name.
Humility makes us teachable. True prayer is a conversation not a monologue and
we must learn to listen for instructions from the Great Teacher/Master. As we receive
Grace and practice Faith we will grow in the understanding of God. The
Scriptures call it the “Revelation of Jesus Christ”, and as we grow in that
Revelation daily we will grow in Truth and the knowledge of God knowing His
will with excitement to do it.
The Word next: Immersing ourselves in the Word of God is
necessary because as it so states it is “Real Meat” the perfect food to feed
the starving soul. I said something odd in the above paragraph, it was “if available”.
What does that mean? We in Western societies have the Bible all around and readily
available to us but there are places in the world where it is just not so. Now
here is where Faith comes in. God is able to get His Word out to those who have
no access to the written Scriptures by Divine intervention. Yes He does use us
for distribution but even with our best efforts we have done a limited job of
succeeding. Remember Faith? I have read accounts that the Holy Spirit has
filled individuals, in countries with other beliefs, and after several years of
preaching finally receive a copy of Scripture to find that all that they have
preached has been near word for word. God would have none to perish and will
supply a way to hear the Truth that sets us free, no matter where we are in the
world, or our limitations to receive the Gospel. This does not dispel the need
for Missionaries but does cover our lack of being able to cover the world with
the knowledge of Christ. If God “so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whomsoever believeth on Him shall not perish but have
eternal life””that none may perish” then I am led to believe by Faith, that God
has a complete plan for every man to receive the Gospel so that the Blood of
Christ denies none that possibility.
God Bless and Keep
Jerrold Cavasin
