How do you know if you really know God? or you just know a lot about God. Today we'll learn four tests where you can know how deeply and authentically you You actually know God. Stay with me. Thank you for being with us for this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
Chip serves as our Bible teacher for this global teaching and discipleship ministry, helping Christians develop an authentic faith.
Well, in just a minute, we'll continue our series, The Real God, as Chip asks a pretty straightforward question. Is your perception of God too small? Chip's insights today really lay the groundwork for what we'll study the rest of this series, so let's not waste any more time. Here now is Chip with the second half of his talk, Seeking God. There's two big idols that I want to touch on that I think have infiltrated Bible-believing evangelical Christianity.
The first one is what I would call. happiness and self-fulfillment. Um The awesome God that spoke the galaxies into existence sent God the Son. on a rescue mission to explain him To redeem mankind, to forgive us of our sin, to restore relationship and build a bridge, bring people to Himself, and that He would actually be God, and we would be followers, or the Word His disciples, to take that ministry and mission. And He would be the creator, and we're the creatures, and we would obey Jesus and follow Him as His Spirit in the New Covenant living inside of us.
And we would be on this mission together to fulfill God's will, and He would be the focus. That was the game plan. But somewhere along the line We we flipped it. And it was Jesus is my self-help genie and guru. And there's a Christian way that if I read the Bible and if I pray, go on a short-term missions trip, you get extra points if you give beyond 10%.
Go to religious activities and try and be a little bit more moral than other people. The promise is you'll have a marriage that's out of sight with no problems. Your kids are all going to turn out great. You're going to be upwardly mobile. They're going to get into the very best schools.
If other people get cancer, you won't. You're going to have amazing prosperity. God's going to bless you financially. And Jesus' role in your life. And the formula is that his goal is to make you happy.
Because what really matters is: are you happy? Are you fulfilled?
So much so that if some of the commands of the Bible or some of the challenges in your life threaten to make you happy, you redo your theology and we do our theology and say, this couldn't be God's will because God wants to make me happy. A member of We did a series at Living on the Edge called Love, Sex, and Lasting Relationships and became one of our real well-received small groups. Then a book came out of it. And so when you do that, usually you're on these like two or three days you do these radio kind of talk shows and people call in and they talk about that stuff. This lady said, Well, I hear what you're saying.
I hear what you're saying, but I just want you to know I believe in God and I love Jesus so much. You know, Jesus really loves me, but I'm just. I We've lost the love in our marriage. And I said, well, I mean, is your husband committed some... Immoral.
Oh, no, no, no. He's okay, but you know what? I just want you to know that I know God wants me to be happy, so I'm divorcing him. And I'm divorcing him because I can't see the next 10 years. These challenges are just too hard.
God wants me to be happy. And you know, then I sort of gave her a number of Kind, clear passages about he certainly, as a byproduct of obeying him, wants us to have joy and happiness. But actually, you made a covenant and you made a covenant with God. And these are pretty normal times we all go through. But I will tell you, is in the evangelical church, the divorce rate is no different than outside.
And by the way, I mean, this please, if you're sitting here going, my wife is divorced. There are biblical divorces. My wife was an unbeliever, married a guy. He started selling drugs. He ran away with another woman.
She wanted it to work and he. After two years, And, you know, God Can redeem and take things, but the great majority of divorces in our day are not about. That it's you know, irreconcilable differences. It's hard, it's difficult, it's painful. Hello?
And guess what? The second one is hard and difficult and painful. And the third one is harder and more difficult and painful. And honestly, here's the thing: we think that the whole goal of marriage is self-fulfillment, redefined. Guess what?
It's to make you holy. The purpose of marriage is that the people could see the covenant of a man and a woman worked out in the flesh with the ups and downs and struggles, and so they could see what Jesus and the church looks like. It's a testimony. Other than the body of Christ, it's the most powerful visual that God has for his relationship with his church.
So, as I obey that, yes, there's a byproduct of joy and connection, but we've turned everything on its head. And so life really becomes about: am I happy? Am I self-fulfilled? And then all of a sudden, we've got. We've got this prosperity stuff everywhere.
And we have disillusioned Christians. Because guess what? You can have your quiet time, read the Bible, give above 10%, go on a short-term missions trip, and a drunk driver hits one of your kids. Or your wife gets cancer, or you save and save and save, and faithful and serve and serve and serve, and it's a fallen world, and you saved, and these are going to be the sunset years, and you're 68 and in great health, and someone gets cancer and is gone in three months, and it's like, what? Men, this, what happened to the formula, Jesus?
Here's what it is: you owe me God. You owe me happiness. You owe me a future. You owe me this. You know why?
Because we're claiming all kinds of promises that aren't in scripture. When's the last time you heard a Christian claim this promise? For all those who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Oh, yeah. That's uh um pla that's the plaque in the bathroom.
Or, how about Philippians one? For to you, For to you it has been granted. Not only to believe in him, but to suffer for his sake. Experience the same conflict which you see and hear to be in me that I'm presently suffering. The Apostle Paul.
What a joy, right? That's what we. See, American Christians, it's like, what? I sat across the table from a House church undercover pastor in Hong Kong who came out to do some work and go to a seminar. And on his last trip out, his wife was beaten by the police.
And she claimed to be the pastor so he wouldn't get in trouble, and none of the other people. And I mean, she was beat to a pulp. And I'm at the edge of my seat in my mind thinking. Man, I don't know if I could be very Christian with those police when I got home, you know. I sting like a butterfly.
Yeah. You know. And I'm getting mad for this pastor. And then it gets to the end where I'm thinking, you know, in my good American Western Christianity. Man, I know it would be sinful to do something really wrong, but I want to take them out.
And then, with tears in his eyes, he looks at me, he goes, Can you imagine? That our God gave us the privilege to suffer for him even as he suffered for us. And I was thinking Embarrassingly. Actually, I didn't say this. That thought never crossed my mind.
It never entered my mind. That we get to enter into his suffering, that the goal would be intimacy with God, that the goal would be, we say it, glory for God, that the goal would be that God would take the difficulty and the pain of a difficult marriage or a hurting child or a physical disability or a downward economy or the upside-down house, and that the real goal is that God would meet you in ways that your friends, your neighbors, your family could be. Completely aghast at what holds you up inside because those circumstances crush everyone else. See, that's it's He's God. He's a kind God, but it's a fallen world.
Where I live, I'm I'm surely it's not where you live, but I see great Christian families. that you would think that um The goal in life is to have your kids in as many activities as possible. to be in the car most of the time. to figure out how not to eat together almost ever. not tuck your kids in bed.
and don't teach him the Bible. But they made the traveling team. No, don't get me wrong. I love sports. God paved my way through school and sports.
I've coached my kids. But we I I've just I mean, is there like ESPN 45 channels now or something? I mean, It has become a cult movement. I mean, we don't even care about the games anymore. It's just my fantasy team.
And have you even think of the focus of. Forgive me, Lord. But The self-focus of it doesn't even matter what teams play, I just choose people that I'm coordinating. He got hurt. Take him off my team.
The trivia of life. See, see, here's what I want you to know, is if we get a clear view of the real God, Some of the things that we have slowly, slowly, slowly come accustomed to and think is normal as Christians. would shock us. And one is the idol of happiness. And self-fulfillment.
The other idol, I think, is what I call the salad bar approach. To Christianity. And the way it goes is something that we're seeing in Bible-oriented churches now. And it's like God had a good day when He gave the Ten Commandments, just not a great day. Eight out of ten are good.
Now you get to choose which two you don't like. In our day, you know this one about adultery or sexual purity, I think that was very old fashioned. It was probably for the community of that time. And in our more existential, wiser way, I don't think that really applies today. Oh this one, oh no, we don't worry oh just no, that we've been you know that thing about greed.
Greed is good. He obviously hadn't seen the movie. We'll cut that one out. And we have taken the Bible. And we've decided selectively which parts are true, which parts are not true, instead of it being the authority.
And we've created it around a lifestyle and an American dream vision, and we have taken a book. Remove the God of authority and the God that is holy and the God who loves us and the God who wants our best. And we have basically said, how again can this? And so, when you decide what's true and what's not true, there's a new God on the throne, and it's you. I mean, it's massive across America right now.
We have ten. tens of thousands of people Flocking to services where part of the Bible is taught as though it's some sort of a positive thinking self-help manual. Instead of the holy creator of the universe, sent his son, and that he's asked us to join him in a mission to rescue people off this world called the Titanic that's sinking, and we have the only hope, and that needs to be our priority. And by the way, By the way, as that's your priority, and He is Lord, and as you serve Him, He is so kind and so generous that the byproduct. is very, very often an amazingly deep intimate marriage.
The byproduct is a level of joy regardless of circumstances. The byproduct is that your kids will see that and catch the vision and probably follow in your steps. But it's a byproduct. And so, what happens is when you make the means the end, it becomes an idol. It's what happened, I believe, with Abraham.
Why would God ask Abraham to give his son? I mean, you wait 100 years for something, you think that by 1213 the kid kind of was an idol?
So, anytime we worship an idol, two things happen: the idol can't deliver, and we take God out of the equation in our life.
So the whole point of Abraham giving Isaac was for his good to free his heart. Isaac can't deliver fulfillment. Isaac can't fulfill my will. Isaac is a gift. It's to steward.
Children are a gift from the Lord. And so that moment for him to take Isaac up was a moment of lordship. To believe that he could trust what? God's word. And Hebrews 11 says what?
He went there believing. That though he slay him, he would rise. And you know, we might as well just start this time off together. Just ask yourself. Before you hit the pillow, do I have any Isaacs?
And usually they're good things. It's a good job. It can be a great marriage. It could be one of your kids. Heck, it can be ministry, believe me.
So what we want to do is we want to pause and say, okay. Lord, I I know that you're not like me. I know that I will reduce you to manageable terms. And third, God can only be known as He reveals Himself to us. And he does that in three ways.
And these will develop throughout the whole time. But let me give them to you. The first way God reveals Himself to us is through nature. Psalm 19:1 says, The heavens declared the glory of God, the skies proclaimed the work of his hands. Day after day, they pour forth.
speech Night after night they reveal knowledge. One of the things I do, I just like to get up early. It's just work for me. And so it's always dark. And often when I get up, you know, that's when I spend time with God and.
My warped personality, sometimes I think of all the things I've got to do and I start feeling pressure. And so I usually list the things I'm thankful for to get my perspective. And then I'll write a little box in my journal. And I'll put a box and then I'll write and I'll turn the pressure into a prayer request. And some of them, sometimes, you know, I have like 8, 10, 12 going, oh my gosh, and that's just today.
And then I often, you know, get that second cup of coffee and I'll go outside. And when I go outside and I just look at all these stars. And I just look at my little box. It's all those stars. And I'll just think.
Men have been looking at these for thousands of years. You hold, you know, every name. This is just the Milky Way. There's only a billion stars. Only a billion.
And you know all their names. By the word of your power, you're holding them right now. Outside the Milky Way There's between 200 and 300. Billion galaxies. I'm going to cast my care upon you because you care for me.
You're an all-powerful God. And yet? You care about one little guy in California named Chip? And you know I feel those pressures. You're committed.
To giving me the grace to either say yes, to say no, or or to do whatever. you want me to do.
So I'm going to go back inside. And I'm just going to remember who I'm really talking to. And sometimes it's three minutes, sometimes it's ten. And then I go back. And I say, Okay, Lord, What do you want me to do?
What do you not want me to do? What could someone else do? And then, okay, I know these.
Okay, I gotta record this video and Prepare me. I I need to have a hard conversation. I need And It just changes. It just changes. Yeah.
When's the last time you were out in nature and saw it? The theologians call it general revelation. In Romans 1, the Apostle Paul would say, We're all without excuse because from the stars and the balance of nature and the mystery and the harmony of nature alone, God's invisible attributes, His eternal existence, and His very character is revealed. What kind of a God has a bird that lays an egg here and flies thousands and thousands of miles way over to here, and a year later, drops an egg 12 inches from the same spot. What kind of a God has GPS in into whales that travel and crisscross?
What kind of a God has 600 different kinds of beetles? He's a God of variety, a God of beauty, a God of power, a God of love, a God of design. But you know what? He can just be the God of, help me get through this. God, I need a parking spot.
Help it to be on sale. Yeah, I mean go to some of our prayer meetings. You know, they're like anatomy meetings. Help Ethel's toe. Help Bob's shoulder.
Help George's ear. I'm gonna help him clean out that valve and Bob. It's a second time through. No. Yeah.
If you listen to us pray, you would think, honestly, what we really feel like is I can only pray about things I think I can control. And since God is obviously unaware of all this, what I'm trying to do is take this awesome, powerful God and bring him into my little world to get him to do what I think he ought to do. Then listen to how the Apostle Paul prays. I pray that the eyes of your heart Might be enlightened. I pray that you might grasp the height and depth and length and breadth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.
I pray that God would give you insight into His will, that you could discern good from evil, in order that you might walk in a manner worthy of Him. I pray that you would understand the depth. of his love for you. How precious of inheritance you are to Him and the power that dwells within you. I pray that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will.
I mean, those prayers in Philippians 1 and Philippians 2. 3 and Ephesians 3 and Philippians and Colossians. I'm not the apostle Paul and you're not the apostle Paul. But wow, it sure seems like He's asking not so much about tactical things. And I don't think it's wrong.
I pray for tactical things. But I think He actually believes That if people could see God for who He is, if people could be aligned, if God would reveal Himself and they would be open, they would follow His will, all those tactical things would probably get taken care of. The second way he reveals himself is through his word. John chapter 1 in the beginning was the word. And the word was with God.
And the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Through him all things were made, and without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and the life was a light. of the world.
I love, you might just, in your notes, I think I put Hebrews 1. It's one of my favorite passages. In times past, God has spoken to us through the prophets and the apostles, but in this last days, he's spoken to us through his Son. who is the icon, the exact image or representation of the Father. It's the picture of if you've ever, if you took a piece of putty, And you took like a silver dollar or something like that, and if you pressed it into the piece of putty and then pulled it out real carefully, you have the exact image, right?
That's the word. Jesus is the exact image. Colossians 2. All the fullness of the Godhead dwelt in Christ.
So if you really want to know what God is like, it's Jesus. The very last night, right, he's getting, he wants the disciples to stay on track. And he's talking to them and he's preparing them. And it's really encouraging because they're really slow, which gives me a lot of hope. And he talks to me.
Well, you know the way I go except to Thomas. You know what? Lord, this is the Ingram translation. I think you're talking in circles, candidly, Jesus. I really don't know the way, and I don't really get it.
And Jesus said, Thomas, I'm the way. And the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except by me. And then Philip, frustrated, will say, Lord, it'll be enough. Just show us the Father and it'll be enough.
Philip, how long have I been with you? If you've seen me, you've. Seeing the Father. You're listening to Living on the Edge, and Chip will be back in just a minute to finish today's talk. But quickly, I want to remind you that this program is only possible because of the generosity of listeners like you.
So, if you'd like to support us, go to livingonthege.org. That's livingonthege.org. and thanks for doing whatever God leads you to do.
Well, let's rejoin Chip now for the remainder of his message. If you want to know how your image of God, how does God respond? When you really mess up, when you do something that's willful, malicious, sinful, shameful, you wish you hadn't done it and you feel terrible about it and you're coming to God, how will God treat you exactly the way he did the woman caught in adultery? If you want to know how God thinks of you and how He'll relate to you, when you know some of those times where you feel like, man. I'm reading the Bible, kind of got the quiet time going.
We gave a little extra money to missions. I think I'm feeling pretty holy. Then the way he feels about you is Jesus with the Pharisees. If you know, when your heart is hungry and you don't know the direction and you wish you knew what to do, and you're messing up, but you're making progress, and you say, Lord, would you just help me? It's how Jesus related to the disciples.
Did you realize he never got mad at them? One only issue. All in all the gospels, only one thing. Oh, you have little God's agenda is so simple, we make it so complicated. Here's his agenda.
Trust me. Trust me in the hard marriage. Trust me with your kid. Trust me with your money. Trust me with the decision.
I've got a little question that I write down. In hard situations, question: What does it look like to trust God in this situation? Not how do I fix it. Not God, will you do this, this, this, and that. What's it look like to trust God?
In this marriage, in this decision, in this financial loss. In this hard conversation coming up. What's because here's the thing: without faith, it's impossible to please Him. You can build a ministry, you can build a business, you can have a decent-looking family without faith. You just can't please God.
The heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. is to trust him, and you can't trust someone you don't know. You only trust people that this is their character, this is their track record. And over and over and over, all the lessons to the disciples were: what? You can trust my word because when you see my word, it's always faithful.
So many of the miracles, why did he do them the way he did them? When he wanted to calm the sea, what did he do? He spoke. I mean, he could have done hand signs. How did he He didn't touch her.
Little girl, I say to you, arise. Bam. C Calm. Demon, come out. If I'm a disciple, what I'm thinking, I'm not sure about this guy, but whatever he says, you can trust it.
And that's for us.
So he reveals himself. Through nature, through His word, and ultimately through Jesus. No man has seen God at any time. John 1 tells us, The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We behold his glory.
Glory is the only one. And then he says to us, No man has seen God at any time. but he has explained him. The word is exegeted. Jesus explained the Father.
You want to know what God's like? It's Jesus. That's why I think it's no matter where we're reading in the Bible. Don't go too far away from the Gospels. I've got a buddy.
He's a Bible aholic. He's my hero when it comes to the Bible. He just, I've never been around. We went overseas together when I was young, and he was the first guy that started memorizing small books of the Bible. And every time I'm with Glenn, and he goes, Chip, I just learned something.
What? He says, no matter where you're reading, you ready for this? What? If you just read. Just like three.
three chapters. Just three chapters in the Gospel. I mean, can you imagine? Only three chapters. If you read three chapters every day in the Gospels, You can get through the gospels like 15 times in a year.
Can you imagine 15 times you really see Jesus and I'm thinking... Glenn, you're still blowing me away. But what he's saying is No matter what we're doing, Jesus is the focus. Jesus is the focus. Get to know Jesus, you get to know God.
Okay, the big question. And this is the one we'll impact. And our time together, what must I do to see the real God as He is? What must I do to see the real God as He is? The answer?
Seek him. Jeremiah 29. Eleven. Follow along as I read. For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord.
plans to prosper you and not to harm you. God's not the force, he's personal. Plans to give you a hope. and a future. The God that you're talking to wants to give you hope deep in your soul and a future, and he understands.
Then you will call on me and you will come and pray to me and I will listen to you. And you will seek me. And you will find me. What's the condition? When you seek For me, With all your heart.
And then all I can say is it's almost mind-boggling. God says, I'll be found of you. I'll be fond of you. This isn't for superstar Christians. This isn't just for people who went to Bible school or seminary.
This isn't for people who are smarter than the rest of us. Jesus would make the same statement, seek and you'll find, right? Knock and the door will be opened. Ask. Seek.
Knock. He wants to meet you, but here's the deal. How? How do you seek God where you really know him? It's not through external religiosity.
It's not through just intellectual cognitive information about him. There is a way to seek God, and the wisest person who ever lived, Solomon, lines out for us. Notice what he says in Proverbs 2. I've put it in your notes: My son, if you will receive my words and treasure my commandments within you, put a little arrow and write initiative in God's word. You will never find a man or woman that knows God deeply that isn't a man or a woman in this book.
Treasure his commandments. Receive his sayings. Second, make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding. Put a little arrow and write teachable attitude. This isn't like, oh, I would like to understand the outline of the book of Philippians.
Oh, I want to understand what's the major themes of the Pentateuch. Oh, this all have a reading program. I read three chapters a day to keep the devil away. No, no, this is God. I want you to speak to me.
This is me. I got questions, I got issues, I got struggles. I'm going to open your word. I want you to speak to me in specific ways because here's the deal: if you'll speak, I'll obey. That's when God speaks.
I don't want to become a smarter sinner. I'm going to become a more obedient son or daughter.
So, I'm going to read this, and I don't understand it all, and I may not understand it all, but I want you to speak to me. I have a teachable spirit. Incline your heart to understanding. Third, for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding. Put a little arrow and write passionate prayer.
Passionate prayer. It's the kind of prayer God answers. This isn't no no Lord, it's good to pray. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thou done. I might have missed a couple.
Now I let me down to sleep.
Something about my soul to keep. Catch you later. I'm getting deep. Yeah. This is the kind of prayer when you got a kid in ICU.
And the doctor says, I don't know if he's going to make it. This is the kind of prayer when your wife or your husband. Positive results. It's cancer and it's serious. How do you pray?
No little form prayers. You bury your heart before God. God, I'm asking you, would you intervene, save my boy? God, I'm serious. You know, God, it searched my heart.
If there's something between us, let me know. But it's passionate prayer. It's cry out to God. God wants to hear from you. This isn't religious people.
People who long to know God. Notice it says, if you seek for her, speaking of this wisdom, this knowledge of God. as silver and search for her as for hidden treasure. Look at the result. Then Purpose clause.
You'll discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. Circle, discover. You won't get it from a preacher. You won't get it from a book. You won't get it from someone else.
You will discover. You want God to speak to you. And he wants to speak through his word, and he wants to speak through his spirit. And yes, he speaks through people. But Solomon is saying, as you dig in.
As you make it a priority, he'll speak. He wants to speak.
Next to the one where it says seeker for silver. Right, priority. Priority. Right, first priority. If I told you right now that And if you have a really big backyard, then just limit it to like.
30 feet. out and across. If you have a small backyard, this illustration works. If I told you that in your backyard While you are here, A $10 million was buried in your backyard. We've resotted everything.
You have no idea where to look. It's only six feet deep. You have three days to find it. From the moment you get home, you have three days. If you don't find it in three days, It will be returned.
To me. Yeah. You get home. Your three day starts the moment you hit the driveway. I can't quite imagine you going.
Well, you know, that NFL season has started. I think I'll look for it a little bit later. But, you know, it's a big game. Cowboys are playing. Pittsburgh, Steelers, you know, love them.
I think It is Sunday afternoon. You know, naps are really important on Sunday afternoon. I need them, I think I'll take a nap. Or we could, I'll start tomorrow. No, I can't start tomorrow because the kids have a ball game tomorrow.
I have the ladies luncheon in the afternoon. Gosh, I just... Is that what you do? You know what, some of you?
Some of you would be buying shovels at Ace Hardware on the way home. And some of you are high-tech shovels, are you kidding me? The backhoe will be delivered. At 4:35 p.m. And then this, you knock down the fence and this back hose digging up your whole backyard.
Your neighbors, what are you doing, man? You're messing up our yard. What are you doing? Hey, forget it. I'll buy you a new backyard in about three days.
You wouldn't care. What if you had, if you would have that kind of passion? for $10 million in your backyard. What if you had that kind of passion to know God? That you would receive his commands.
that would incline your heart to understanding. That you would cry out with passionate prayer, and that you would seek it as for silver and as for hidden treasure. Then Here's the promise. Then not someone else you will discern. First of all, the fear of God.
You want to learn he ain't your buddy. He's God. And then these great words of Tozer again, the great paradox of the faith. is that you will be afraid. And In awe.
And yet because of Jesus, Fearful, but not be afraid to come. and come to the Heavenly Father. who's eager to be your friend. You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram and the message you just heard, seeking God is from our series, The Real God. In just a minute, Chip will give us some helpful application from today's talk.
But right now, Chip's here in studio to share a brief word with all of you. Chip? Thanks so much, Dave. Hey, I want to take just a minute to ask you something really important. If you've been impacted by this ministry, would you please pray about partnering with Living on the Edge in a new way right now?
Nearly everything we do is dependent on contributions from partners like you. our ability to reach people through radio, online, or our app. Sharing and developing small group resources, providing broadcasts that are international in Asia and the Middle East, and literally dark places around the globe. Please pray how you might be able to come alongside and be a partner to Living on the Edge to help us reach people with the truth of God's Word. Thank you in advance for whatever God leads you to do.
Thanks, Jip. As you've heard, God has called this ministry to help Christians live like Christians, both here in the U.S. and internationally.
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Alright, let's get to that application from Chip that we promised. You see, as we learn today, it really is possible to see God, to know Him. Exhaustively, no. Accurately, yes. How?
By the Spirit of God dwelling in you. The Holy Spirit enlightens your mind so that you can understand and see God for who He is. That's why the first step to seeing God is becoming a believer or a follower in Christ. And then once you're in the family, this is so critical. You must get to know Him.
You must see Him accurately. And we learned today there's three ways that God reveals Himself. Number one, through nature. Number two through His Word, the Bible, and Number Three, through Jesus.
So let me ask you. Are you seeing God clearly? And if your immediate response is, well, you know, I don't know.
Well, gosh, I'm not sure.
Well well let me ask you this. Are you in the Bible? On a regular basis. I don't mean because you ought or should or you feel guilty. I mean, are you in the Bible with a heart that says, Lord, I want to know you.
Holy Spirit, open my eyes. Let me see your glory and your love and your holiness and your kindness. Let me see you as you are. You see, being in the Scriptures is critical. Second, and I'm making a little challenge here because I think we as evangelicals often miss this first one, nature.
Are you spending any time? Do you plan any time at all? to look for God in nature, to catch His majesty and His beauty and His holiness. Just the other morning, I tend to get up a little bit early in the morning, and so it's dark, and I got out and I opened my car door and I just started to get in and I glanced up. And when I glanced up, the moon was, I mean, awesome.
And there were all these stars. And I did something I rarely do. I mean, it was 30 seconds. I shut the door. I leaned against my car.
and I thought the God who made all those stars made me. The God who has the power to call out the starry hosts one by one, knows my name, knows what's going to happen today, and He loves me. and has revealed himself to me through Christ. Can I encourage you? Why don't you take a walk in nature?
If you're near the ocean, go look at it. Find something beautiful. And remember that God wants to reveal himself to you. Seek him. That's a really practical step we can do today.
Thanks, Chip.
Well, from all of us here, I'm Dave Druy, thanking you for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge, and I hope you'll join us again next time.
