Knowing Him Series: Father s Heart Text: Matthew 22:34-40; John 4: Copyright 2017, Stephen G. Negus 1 Date: July 16 th, 2017 at 11:00 am Summary: Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment is. In His reply he gave not only the greatest love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength but also the second greatest - love your neighbour as you love yourself. He also said that the entire Law and Prophets i.e. the Old Testament can be summed up in these two. This is the essence, the bottom line of what the Scriptures are all about to love God through having an intimate, personal relationship with Him (i.e. to know Him) and to love others as we love ourselves by making God known to them. 1. Good morning. We re continuing today in our series entitled Father s Heart in which we are exploring our heavenly Father s heart for us and this city. When we moved into the Father s House on June 4 th, about 7 weeks ago, the Lord spoke to us and told us that on that day we crossed over our Red Sea. Whatever had happened in and to Hong Kong City Church before that date was to remain in the past in Egypt, so to speak. He also told us that our past does not define our future; He does. And so, we re discovering who our Father is and what His heart is towards us. It is in that discovery that we will find His plan for our lives, both corporately and individually. In the past couple of weeks the Holy Spirit has been calling us to draw near to the Father, to abide under the shadow of His wings, because that is the place where we find safety and also the place that enables us to bear fruit that brings glory to His name. Last week He spoke to us about casting our cares our fears, worries, stresses and anxieties on Him and receiving His rest and peace in our lives. How were things in your life this past week? Did you experience His love, joy and peace? If not, did you remember to come to Him and cast your cares on Him? Today and next week we re going to look at two themes which are related, both to each and to the themes of the past two weeks, namely drawing close to God and casting our cares on Him. Today I want to talk to you about KNOWING HIM what does that mean; why is it important; and how do we do it? and next week we ll have a special guest speaker whom you all know Lilian Tan who will come and speak to us about MAKING HIM KNOWN to others. Knowing God, obviously has to do with us growing in relationship with Him. But, you see, our relationship with God is not just for us; it is for others also. As we grow in our love for Him and in understanding and experiencing His love for us, there needs to be an outflow of that love to others. That s why we have to go and make Him known also. Jesus was asked once what the greatest commandment is. In His reply he gave not only the greatest love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength but also the second greatest - love your neighbour as you love yourself. He also said that the entire Law and Prophets i.e. the Old Testament can be summed up in these two. This is the essence, the bottom line of what the Scriptures are all about to love God through having an intimate, personal relationship with Him (i.e. to know Him) and to love others as we love ourselves by making God known to them. Today we will focus on the first aspect of knowing God and next week Lilian will come and talk to us about the second aspect of making Him known. Let s begin today by reading the passage that describes the scenario I just mentioned to you. It is found in Matthew 22:34-40 2. Matthew 馬太福音 22:34-40 34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 34 法利賽人聽見耶穌堵住了撒都該人的口, 他們就聚集 35 內中有一個人是律法師, 要試探耶
3. 4. 5 & 6. 穌, 就問他說 : 36 Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? 37 Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. [Deuteronomy 6:5] 36 夫子, 律法上的誡命哪一條是最大的呢? 37 耶穌對他說 : 你要盡心 盡性 盡意愛主你的神 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself. [Leviticus 19:18] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. 38 這是誡命中的第一, 且是最大的 39 其次也相仿, 就是要愛人如己 40 這兩條誡命是律法和先知一切道理的總綱 As we already mentioned, in this passage Jesus tells us the two main things we as His followers must focus on in life. The first is to LOVE GOD (or to KNOW Him) and the second is to LOVE OTHERS as we love ourselves (or to MAKE HIM KNOWN). As we consider these two aspects there are two images or metaphors that describe us as God s people In both of these pictures we see the aspects of knowing God (loving God and growing in relationship with Him) and making Him known (loving others both within our community and without). We must pursue both and keep them in balance. We must pursue God. We must draw near to Him. We must abide under the shadow of His wings. We must run to Him when we struggle with and are burdened by the cares of life, just as any child runs to their father in times of need. We must get to know Him. And we must grow closer to Him day-by-day. On the other hand, we must also grow in our love for one another. In fact, I believe that if we are growing in our love for God, we will also grow in our love for other people. The two go together the HUB and the HIVE. That s why Jesus mentioned both even though He was only asked about the greatest commandment. So, today we re going to talk a bit more about the first one, loving God and getting to know Him. Then next week we will talk about loving others by making God known to them. Now, a few weeks ago, as we moved into this place, The Lord told us that we had crossed our Red Sea and we are on our way to the Promised Land that He has prepared for us. But, what we need to keep in mind is that, just as Israel did not enter their Promised Land immediately after they crossed the Red Sea, neither have we. We have just begun our wilderness journey. Now, when you first hear that you might say, What! I don t want to be in the wilderness. I mean, who wants to be in a dry and dusty place that is hot and unpleasant. Of course, that is nobody s first Copyright 2017, Stephen G. Negus 2
choice we like our comfort. But, what it the wilderness experience is part of the Father s plan? What if EVERYONE must go through the wilderness to reach the BEST that the Father has for them? What do you say then? Are you willing to go through the wilderness to get to the promises that the Father has for you? Are we as a church willing to do that? I don t know about you, but I AM WILLING. Did you know that even Jesus had to go through the wilderness to before He began His ministry, doing what the Father sent Him to do? You can read about it in the first few verses of Matthew 4, but let me refresh your memory. At the end of Matthew 3 Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist. As He is coming out of the water, the Holy Spirit descends upon Him in the form of a dove (3:16) AND the Father speaks from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased (3:17). In the very next verse (4:1) it says that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness where He spent 40 days and forty nights fasting (i.e. suppressing His flesh in order to focus on God) and being tempted by the devil. The wilderness experience is NOT all fun and games, but the rewards of going through it are literally out of this world. The PRIMARY reason for Israel going into the wilderness and for us too is so that they could WOSHIP God. In other words, the wilderness experience is designed to help us GET TO KNOW God so that we can worship Him. How are we to worship God? Jesus gives us the answer in His conversation with the Samaritan women at the well recorded for us in John 4 7. John 約翰福音 4:23-24 8. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 23 時候將到, 如今就是了, 那真正拜父的, 要用心靈和誠實拜他, 因為父要這樣的人拜他 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. 24 神是個靈, 所以拜他的必須用心靈和誠實拜他 To truly worship God, we must worship Him in SPIRIT and in TRUTH. Jesus says it twice. What exactly does that mean? Let s talk about TRUTH first. To me this is a reference to God s WORD. The Word of God I vitally important to us knowing God and also knowing how to worship Him what is acceptable and what is not. We cannot truly KNOW God or how to worship Him if we do not know and study His Word. The Word of God tells us ABOUT God who He is, what He is like, what pleases Him and what does not please Him. It reveals to us the nature and character of God. It shows us what His WILL is and teaches us how to live according to His WAYS. But we need more than just the Word of God. We also need the Spirit. We must be born again of the Spirit in order to really KNOW God and worship Him. Without the Spirit we can KNOW ABOUT God, but when we are born again of the Spirit i.e. the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us then we can KNOW God PERSONALLY and INTIMATELY. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is the PRESENCE of God in our lives. And besides, without the Holy Spirit s help, we cannot truly understand the Word any way. Let me read a quote to you from R.T. Kendall (Author and former pastor of Westminster Chapel in London, England). In his recent book, Holy Spirit, Is That You? he says this 9. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit that He would guide us into all truth (John 16:13). The work of the Holy Spirit is to reveal what is there. Right there in the Word. Under our nose. Paul said that the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God because they are foolishness to him. Copyright 2017, Stephen G. Negus 3
The natural man cannot understand them because 10. they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14). The natural man assumes he can read and understand the Bible because he reads and grasps literature, philosophy, architecture, psychology, and even theology. Therefore, when he picks up the Bible he assumes he will understand it. He cannot! The Bible is not an ordinary 11. book. It is a spiritual supernatural book. You cannot understand the Bible without a guide the Holy Spirit. The truth is right there it is all around you. Yes, under your nose. But without the Holy Spirit to show you what is there, you will see nothing! 1 Let me see if I can illustrate this for you from a personal experience that Karen and I had. As some of you may know, Karen and I met here in Hong Kong when we worked as missionaries with YWAM. For the first two or three years of our relationship we were only together (in the same place) for probably less than 5 or 6 months at the most. When Karen arrived in Hong Kong I had already been here for a year. We spent about 6 weeks together at the YWAM base and then we each went on a different outreach team for the next 5 or six months. Then we had Christmas together in Hong Kong, after which Karen stayed in Hong Kong to do a Discipleship Training School while I went off to the United States on a communication and recruiting team. About four months later I came back to Hong Kong, but Karen had left on an outreach team just a few days before. And so it went. Our relationship was mostly long distance. In those days we didn t have smart phones, WhatsApp, or even email (email had just been invented and only a few people had it). Also, making inter-continental phone calls was too expensive for us on a missionary budget. So, guess what, we had to WRITE LETTERS with a pen and paper can you imagine that? Those letters took at least a week to 10 days, maybe longer, to reach the other person, but we lived for them with great anticipation. And when a letter arrived, we devoured every word on every page. We would read the letter over and over and then scrutinize the words that were used. Why did she use that word instead of this one? and many other similar questions were contemplated. What did she mean by this or that sentence? Does she still love me? Is she mad at me? I remember, I wanted to know everything about the letter that I held in my hand. But, I could not get quick answers to my questions. It would be at least a month before I got an answer two weeks for my letter to reach her and two weeks for her answer to come back. You see, while I had her WORDS, what I lacked was her PRESENCE. It is something like that when we have God s Word but lack a closeness and intimacy with the Holy Spirit. So how do we get close to the Holy Spirit? That question will take a book to answer. But, for now, we can learn a lot by understanding a few things that the Bible tells us about the Holy Spirit. 12. The Holy Spirit 1. Is Pictured as a DOVE Doves are sensitive and shy birds unlike their cousin the Pigeon. R.T. Kendall tells the story of a British couple who were sent by their denomination to Israel as missionaries. Shortly after they arrived in their new home they noticed that a dove had taken up residence in one of the eaves of the roof. They were thrilled, taking it as a sign of God s approval of their being in Israel. But soon they noticed that every time they slammed a door, the dove would fly away. Every time they would get into an argument and start shouting at each other, the dove would fly away. One day Sandy said to Bernice, How do you feel about the dove? Copyright 2017, Stephen G. Negus 4
It s like a seal from God on our being here, she replied. Have you noticed that every time we slam a door, the dove flies away? Every time we get into an argument and start shouting at each other, the dove flies away? Yes, she replied, and I m afraid the dove will fly off one day and not come back. Either the dove adjusts to us or we adjust to the dove, Sandy said to Bernice. Their efforts to keep the dove in the eave of their house ended up changing their lives forever. 2 If we want God s presence in our lives i.e. the communion of the Holy Spirit we will need to ADJUST to Him. He will not force himself on us to control and manipulate us; but neither will he allow himself to be controlled and manipulated by us. He will not adjust His ways to ours; we will have to adjust ours to His. This brings us to two other important things that the New Testament tells us about the Holy Spirit 13. 2. He Can be GRIEVED Ephesians 4:30 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. The word grieve comes from a word that means to get your feelings hurt. Did you know you can hurt the Holy Spirit s feelings? He s very sensitive. But how do we grieve Him? What is it that we do (or don t do) that hurts His feelings? Paul gives us a clue in the following verses Ephesians 4:31-32 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. What grieves the Holy Spirit is when we have a wrong attitude towards other people. This is mostly INTERNAL in our hearts: hateful thoughts, evil desires. 14. 3. He Can be QUENCHED 1 Thessalonians 5:19 19 Do not quench the Spirit. What s the difference between grieving and quenching the Spirit? It has to do with what is internal and external. We grieve Him inwardly when we lose control of ourselves and have negative attitudes, thoughts, or desires towards others. We quench Him when He is at work outwardly and we object to what he is doing. Again, Paul gives us some clues in the verse that follow 1 Thessalonians 5:20-22 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil. Prophecy is a gift of the Spirit. When He releases a word of prophecy and we treat it with contempt That s not from God! we quench the Spirit. We MUST TEST all prophecy to make sure it is in fact from the Holy Spirit. If it is from Him, we must HOLD ONTO it, but if it is not we Copyright 2017, Stephen G. Negus 5
must REJECT it. To hold onto something which is not from Him also quenches Him. 15. Conclusion Soaking in Father s presence and ask the Holy Spirit to make His presence real to us. Repent for times we have grieved or quenched Him. 1 R.T. Kendall, Pigeon Religion: Holy Spirit, Is That You? (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House Book Group, 2016), pg. 10 2 Ibid, pg. 12 Copyright 2017, Stephen G. Negus 6