That I May Know Him

At the beginning of this year I shared with our Pioneer Family about experiencing the person of the Lord. I felt that much of what we would encounter corporately & personally would flow from this word. As this year has progressed, I'm discovering more and more just how timely this prophetic utterance has been in my own life. It put me on a path of discovery, of rethinking paradigms, and experiencing the Lord in a much more personal way.

Life is a journey. I remember being a young preacher interested in knowing the faith. I wanted to articulate what we believed. After 20 plus years in ministry I'm beginning to see that even though my goal was admirable, it was not the best path for life. I can know the faith. I can articulate what we believe. I can debate the necessity of Christianity. But this does not mean that I know Him. It does not mean that I give good witness to who He is for me and the world.

The Apostle Paul could list a ton of achievements from his life in Judaism. Instead, he counted them as rubbish. The goal of His life was to know Him. To know this Jesus he had persecuted. To know this One who was in the beginning with God, who took on flesh, who died and rose again, who now sat at the right hand of the Father. He wanted to know the person of the Lord. To experience His heart. To think the way that He thought. Sound like an insane endeavor?

As a way of encouragement, let me share with you the difference in this approach to life:

#1 - Knowing Him is not the same as Knowing Of Him

Knowing "of" Him is second hand information. In other words, we can believe what we have heard but there is no experience. No encounter.
The question you need to ask yourself is, "Is it enough to know of His goodness or do I want to experience it myself?"

#2 - Knowing Him is not the same as Knowing About Him

I can know a lot of stuff about a lot of people, but it does not mean I know them. I know about George Washington. I know about Michael Jordan. I know about the Pope. I don't know any of them on a personal level. I may be able to share facts and figures but I cannot share them with you. Our relationship with the Lord must go deeper.

Make the Transition

Determine in your heart that you want to know HIM. Allow the Scriptures to bring you into an encounter with the person of the Lord. Allow prayer to be a means of communicating back & forth. Allow the Holy Spirit to be so real in your life that you never question what the Lord is saying or doing. This has to matter. Experiencing the person of Jesus is a vital part of our faith. It's not for the elite. It's not for the "special" ones among us. Each and every one of us are invited into an experiential relationship. Something that goes beyond goose bumps when we hear a song. Something that goes beyond an exercise in emotionalism. This is a real relationship with a real person. Jesus is not some mystic being hovering in the heavens. He dwells within us. The Spirit testifies of this truth in our lives. Don't miss this reality. Don't exchange His with-ness for a religious experience.

The greatest prayer you can pray in this endeavor is simple: "Lord, I want to know You. Above everything else. I want to hear You. I want to see You. I want to encounter You. I will not be satisfied with less."

Trust me when I say that this is a journey you will not want to miss. The Lord is excited about manifesting Himself to you. Excited about showing the realness of this relationship. Longing to bring you closer and closer to who He is and who you can fully be in Him.

Enjoy the journey!