Can God Be Known? - Part B

There's plenty of evidence of God and you can examine all of that evidence, but it's still going to require a level of faith on your part. And when I talk about faith, it's more than mere acknowledgement.

It's one thing to go, yes, I have all of the adequate information and I acknowledge that there is a God who exists somewhere out there, a cosmic force. That's not faith. Biblical faith is more than an acknowledgement or a mental assent.

Look at it more like a receiving of the cure. Biblical faith is when you bet your eternal life on Jesus Christ. Knowing about God and knowing God are two different things.

He's given you the opportunity to know Him on a deep personal level, but have you taken those steps? Connect with Skip Heitzig today as he shares how you can have a more intimate personal relationship with the God of the universe. Then stay tuned after the message as Skip and his wife Lenya talk about how you can find true satisfaction in your pursuit of God.

I think of Paul the Apostle, you know, he was in lockdown for two years in a Roman jail and under house arrest. Yet he wrote to the Philippians and he said, I want you to know brethren that the things that have happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel. So he saw his life as just in the flow of God's perfect will to bless others. Thank you Skip and Lenya. Be sure to stay with us after today's message to hear the full discussion. Right now, we want to tell you about a resource that helps you take your best step forward in life so you can embrace your God-given purpose. I've enjoyed watching the growth and the ministry of my friend Levi Lusko. This month's Connect with Skip resource, Take Back Your Life, the new book by Levi Lusko.

Here's Levi to tell you about it. It's all around this idea of taking back your life. It's a 40-day interactive journey to thinking right so you can live right. And it's going to be really powerful and special, I think, for people to have this.

Not only is it in hardcover, which just makes me happy because I've never had a book released in hardcover, but it has a ribbon. So you'll be able to keep track of your progress through these 40 days. It would be an incredible gift to someone who is looking to grow in their faith or for any of us who want to maybe kind of do an oil change for your heart, a checkup on your wellness, on where you're at.

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1-800-922-1888. Now, as we join Skip Heitzig for today's teaching, we're in Hebrews chapter 11. Now, sometimes when I speak to an atheist and they say they don't believe in God and I ask them why, some of them are intellectually honest as they grapple with the whole God question. But I've found a lot of them haven't done their homework. And I've discovered that a lot of atheists hold the position of atheism for moral reasons, not intellectual reasons. Because if now they're open to the possibility that there's a God, it means there's an accountability to that one.

It means I have to stop certain things that I've done or am doing in my life on a moral level, and so I won't even entertain the idea that there is a God for moral reasons, not for intellectual reasons. As someone well put it, an atheist cannot find God for the same reason a thief can't find a policeman, because he's not looking for him. And I aim to show you that you don't have to look very far to discover God.

I'm going to start on that next week. But even Albert Einstein said, certainly there is a God. Any man who doesn't believe in a cosmic force is a fool, but we could never know him. Now, with all due respect to Albert Einstein, and I know he's not here to defend himself, that's where I part with him.

He's a brilliant, or was a brilliant man, far more brilliant than I would ever imagine to be, but I would contend with him on this point. There is a God. He is not a cosmic force. He can be known because he is personal.

That brings us to the second great reality. Not only does God exist, but God is personal. Notice how the writer of Hebrews in verse 6 frames it. Notice how the writer of Hebrews in verse 6 frames it. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Not only does God exist, God can interact with those that he has made.

He is able as a person to be personal, to love, to care, to reward, as it says, those who diligently seek him. Years ago, I found a book, and I read it, and I have since read it and reread it and reread it. It's so frayed, the cover's fallen off. It's a book I recommend to you called Knowing God. It's by J.I.

Packer. Now, I'll admit to you, it was the title that sold me. I remember walking by it in the store and seeing this huge print, Knowing God, and it was as if my heart lunged toward it, because I longed to know God more personally, more intimately, and I've discovered among even the most astute Christian, an active Christian, that there's this vast, unfed hunger to know God personally that lies just beneath the surface of all of our busy churchly activities. We want to know God, because we read in the Bible how God walked with Adam, how God spoke to Moses, and we read stuff like that, and we go, what about us? Listen to the words of a struggler, another great book that I found, but written by Tim Stafford. He talks about this struggle. He says, I did not lack for intellectual satisfaction or for demonstration of God's power. I saw him changing lives. On a man-to-man level, Christianity was wonderful. It was the man-to-God level that I felt shaky about.

I wanted more. I have come to realize since that I was not alone in my longing, but whenever the conversation moves to the subject of knowing God, listeners grow suddenly quiet and attentive. For a long time, I thought this was a disapproving silence.

I know now that it's the silence that falls on a room of hungry people whenever someone talks of food. How do you have a personal relationship with God? Now just think about that. How can you have a personal relationship with the ultimate person, the unique one? There's no one like him.

He is invisible. How do you have a personal relationship with him? We'll discover how. We'll discover how, as I said, his personality crowds the world around us. If the Bible carries one repeated message, it's the message that God wants to be known. Wasn't that the cry of Paul's heart? After 30 years of ministry and life and sacrifice, even the great apostle, that I might know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings. He prayed that.

So the two great realities. There is a God. He exists and God is personal.

He rewards. There's two great requirements that follow in the same text. The first requirement is faith. You'll notice in verse six, faith is spoken about or alluded to three times. But without faith, that's the first one, it's impossible to please him. For he who comes to God must believe, that's the second time, that he is, that he exists, and that, or that is believe that, that's the third time, that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Okay, belief is absolutely essential. In your spiritual journey, at some point, it's going to require an act of faith.

Here's why. Because we are unable to see God, at least for now. We are unable to hear his voice audibly like you're hearing my voice right now, for now. And because of that, as Paul said, we live by faith and not by sight. There'll come a time when you don't need faith any longer. You'll be in heaven. You don't need to place your trust in God.

You're there with him. But until then, we live in that realm. We live by faith and not by sight. So there's plenty of evidence of God and you can examine all of that evidence, but it's still going to require a level of faith on your part. And when I talk about faith, it's more than mere acknowledgement.

It's one thing to go, yes, I have all of the adequate information and I acknowledge that there is a God who exists somewhere out there, a cosmic force. That's not faith. Biblical faith is more than an acknowledgement or a mental assent. Look at it more like a receiving of the cure. Biblical faith is when you bet your eternal life on Jesus Christ.

I'll give you an example. There was a doctor, a skeptical physician, who was attending to a patient. She was a very strong, ardent believer in Christ.

And the doctor was very honest. It was a downtime and he just sort of poured out his heart. He goes, you know, I don't get the whole faith thing.

I believe in God and I guess I believe in Jesus. I have no knowledge that I have a whole lot of doubts, but something is missing. Something's wrong.

What's the matter? And she said this, doctor, a week ago, I believed in you as a very skillful doctor. I believed if I got sick, you'd help me. But two days ago, I let you cut into me and give me some medicine that I didn't quite understand, but I trusted in you.

You see the difference? It's not the kind of faith that there is a doctor who can cure me. This is the kind of faith that receives the cure, takes the remedy. That's active faith. So whenever we deal with God and whenever we examine information about God or the evidence for God, there comes a point when we must activate by faith. And that's what pleases God. Remember when the disciples came to Jesus and said, Hey, Jesus, what must we do to work the works of God?

Remember what he said? He said, this is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent. That's the gateway. That's the door. You enter into that door and you take that step of faith and you live in that realm.

There's something else about this. This is not just initial belief. It is ongoing process of belief. There will be many acts of faith that will be required of you as a Christian. Our faith is progressive.

It's not a one time. Yeah, I prayed to receive Christ one time. That was my faith. Your faith will be required at different stages. And here's why. Because I bet there's a few things about God that you don't know yet.

Would that be an understatement? Because I'll say in my own life, there's a whole lot of stuff. I'm still discovering and learning about God.

Wonderful every time I do. So I bet you that God is still so vast. There's a lot of information, a lot of things about God that are still not discovered by you yet. However, once you discover them in this process, the spiritual journey, once you are enlightened by them, that will require an act of faith. Example, I've known people who believe that there's a God, but he's this nice smiling God who lets you do anything you want to do. And then they discover in the Bible that God hates sin and God will judge sin and God will destroy the world.

Whoa, it's not a picture they saw before. They got to deal with that now. Are they going to take that step of faith and believe that or are they going to turn it away? So here's the deal. It's important in this discovery, as we discover the one true God is revealed here in scripture, that we take ongoing acts and steps of faith.

And when we do, our view of him will change, I hope, or be fortified. There's a great book. I'm kind of mentioning a few of my favorite books. There's a great book. I'll tell you the title in a minute.

Cool title. It was written by a Bible scholar translator named J.B. Phillips. Here's the name of the book, Your God is Too Small. And in that book, he describes the different gods that people make up that they want to believe in. For example, there's the grand old man God. This is the grandfatherly, white haired, indulgent God who smiles down on everyone and winks at their adultery, their cheating, their stealing, et cetera. I know a lot of people who have that God. Then there's the resident policeman God, whose primary job it is to make us feel uncomfortable and life unenjoyable. You know, God's always mad.

He's always looking for something I do wrong. They go, aha, see, there's a lot of people who have that God. Then third, there's the managing director God. And this is the God of the deus. He designed and created the universe, but now he stands back to watch the show. He's uninvolved. He's not personal.

He's very distant and very aloof. I know a lot of people who believe in that God. Number four, there's the God in a box God. This is the private, exclusive, personal, sectarian God.

Well, my God is this way. Your God may be different. Your God may be different. All of these are inadequate views of God.

They're wrong views of God. It's no different than the boy in class drawing a picture saying they're going to know what God looks like in just a minute. So as we discover the biography of God, we're going to change. God can be known. And when we know him, it's by the gateway of believing in him, taking a reasonable step, as we'll see, not a leap in the dark, a reasonable step of faith. When we do that, that will please God and we'll be rewarded for it. Which takes us to the second great responsibility and that is to know God requires pursuit. Let's take one final look at verse six. But without faith, it is impossible to please him. For he who comes to God must believe that he is, and notice this, he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. You know what that tells me?

That tells me that God wants to be pursued. Isn't that true of any relationship? Let's say you're married or let's say you're dating somebody. Both in that relationship want to know that the other wants them around. What if one of you said, well, I acknowledge that she exists.

That's not enough. She wants you to know that you want her to be around. She wants you to pursue her and he wants you to pursue him. Any healthy relationship will require that mutual pursuit. And both the Old Testament and the New Testament tell us, not only can God be found, but that God loves to be sought after. Here's a sampling of verses from the Bible. 1 Chronicles 28 verse 9. David said to his son Solomon, if you seek him, he will be found by you.

If you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. Psalm 58 verse 11. There is truly a reward for those who live for God. Jeremiah 29 13. And you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. Luke 11 verse 10. Jesus said, for everyone who asks receives and whoever seeks finds. And to him who knocks, the door will be opened. James chapter 4 verse 8.

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. See, in each of these, there's this seeking on behalf of the human and the response of God. Now I want to just push the pause button for a moment, because you need to understand that God made the first move. It's not that God hides himself and says, okay, let's have a game of hide and seek.

See if you can find me. That's not how it works. God initialized it all. 1 John chapter 4. We love him because he first loved us. He made the first move.

He revealed himself in a number of ways, as we'll see in the next couple of weeks. That demands a response. But in a healthy relationship, there's a mutual pursuit. God, I want to be with you.

Lord, I want to know you. And we seek after him. Remember Jesus in the Beatitudes said, blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.

They will be filled. He didn't say, blessed are those who casually snack after righteousness. There's a big difference between a casual snack and hunger and thirst. It's the hunger and thirst ones who are the ones who are filled. Jesus said, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. So, two great realities. There is a God and that God is a personal God.

He's able to interact with his created ones. And the two great responsibilities requires an act of faith, not one, but several all the way through that act of faith, that growing faith, not a passive one. And you pursue God because a relationship is developed. And when you do that, you please him in as much as all of these in Hebrews 11 did. So, I want to close with this question.

Here it is. What is your chief pursuit in life? I'll ask it a different way. What's your master passion? What are you passionate about? Or, what do you want more than anything else in life? And only you can answer that question. And I ask you to answer it in your own heart very honestly. What do you want more than anything else in life? I'll tell you how most people answer this.

This I know because poll after poll after poll, everyone from Barnet to Gallup has asked people this question. You know what their answer is? You know what I want most out of life? To be happy. To be happy. And we're guaranteed that in our constitution, right?

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I want to be happy, they say. And so they search for happiness in all the wrong places. If I have this relationship, I'll be happy. And they are for a while. If I have this status and education, I'll be happy. And they might be for a while. If I have this much money, I'll be happy.

And they do everything, but they leave out the God component. And they're unhappy. Listen to the words of one psychologist after years of clinical research. He writes, about one third of my cases are suffering from no clinically definable neurosis, but from the senselessness and emptiness of their own lives.

This can be described as the general neurosis of our age. Close quote. I read a story about a young man who left his hometown and traveled out to Hollyweird. He had three goals, he said, as a young man that he wanted to have fulfilled in his life. You want to know what they are?

Even if you don't, I'll tell you. Number one, he wanted to see his name in lights. That was his first goal.

I want to see my name in lights. Goal number two, he wanted a Rolls Royce. Goal number three, he wanted to marry a beauty contest winner. He was able to achieve all three goals before he turned 30. And he stated when he got them all, he's still miserable.

You know why? He said, I've run out of goals. So what am I going to do for the rest of my life?

Now compare that and what that psychologist said with what you and I just read. God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. You know what one of those rewards is? You're satisfied. It's a sense of satisfaction.

Now follow the thinking here and I'll sum it up. The more you do as you please, the more you do as you please, the less you are pleased with what you do. The more you do what pleases him, the more pleasure he will give you in that pursuit. You live for yourself, you'll never find satisfaction. If it's all about you, you'll never find satisfaction. But if you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all these things will be added unto you.

And even in the worst of times, there's a deep sense of satisfaction. As Augustine said, we are restless until we find our rest in you. Are you seeking the Lord? Is that your pursuit, your passion?

Because if it is, he will lavishly reward you. You might be saying, well, I've never found God. Maybe you're not looking for him. Like the thief and the policeman. The thief goes, I never found a policeman. It's because every time you hear a siren, you run the other direction.

Well, know this. God has been pursuing you and seeking for you because you're the lost one. But God also wants to be pursued and sought after because he wants a relationship with you.

The doorway is faith, belief. That wraps up Skip Heitzig's message from his series, The Biography of God. Now, here's Skip and Lanya as they talk about how you can find true satisfaction in your pursuit of God. Today we were reminded that the more we do as we please, the less pleased we are with what we do. But pursuing God is what brings real satisfaction in life. Skip, can you talk about how you found that to be true in your own life? Well, yeah, joy I've always seen as a byproduct. It's a byproduct of a pursuit that if we are pursuing joy, you'll never find it.

It's found by not direct pursuit, but as a byproduct of pursuing him. So, I think of Paul the Apostle. He was in lockdown for two years in a Roman jail under house arrest, and yet he wrote to the Philippians and he said, I want you to know, brethren, that the things that have happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.

So, how can a guy like that think like that and have such joy? He writes about joy, he writes about joy more in that epistle than any others, and that's a prison epistle. So, he's really on to something, and he saw the prison as much a part of God's will for his life as being out in the street or being able to travel or being able to write a letter or a book. That was also something God was doing in him and through him and for other people. So, he saw his life as just in the flow of God's perfect will to bless others. I'd say it's, what is your joy in? I mean, I take joy in pizza, but I don't like having a big tummy or thunder thighs. So, I would say, Scripture says, the joy of the Lord is my strength.

So, it's what that joy is in. Thank you, Skip and Lenya. We want to come alongside believers who may be struggling in their walk with God, and you can be a part of getting them back on track and growing stronger in their faith when you give a gift to help keep these teachings you love on the air. Just call 800-922-1888. That's 800-922-1888 or visit connectwithskip.com slash donate. That's connectwithskip.com slash donate. Thank you. And we want to let you know that you can watch Connect with Skip Heitzig on the Hillsong channel on Saturdays at 4 30 p.m. Mountain or watch it on TV and on Sundays at 5 30 a.m. Eastern.

Check your local listings. Tune in tomorrow as Skip Heitzig helps you get to know your God better by following the facts and clues he's given for his existence. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications. Connecting you to God's never changing truth in ever changing times.