How Well Do We Know God

Sermonette, so I apologize to you, Jason. I was not wanting to miss your message, but the Force had to be with me. See, I heard the Star Wars analogy playing through.

You know, I carry something with me, and fortunately, that's one thing from moving in a different area. You all haven't heard some messages I've done in the past, so I have one with me. But I will tell you, I hadn't looked up until the last 30 minutes to note this one in over five years. So I may be a little note-tied, and it also was from where we had two-hour churches, so it could be a tad bit long, but I'll try to do my best to manage that and not ramble, and we'll go from there. So God always blesses these things. It works out. To start today's message, I would ask if you would turn to Mark 8 in verses 27 through 30.

Mark 8, 27 through 30.

When Jesus was born, he was obviously the firstborn of Mary, of Joseph, and he started growing up. And as always happens with kids, you look around and you have ideas of what somebody's going to grow up into, right? You say, well, Drew, he's good at building Legos. He might be an engineer, and we naturally extrapolate. So they may have looked at Jesus and thought, he could be a good carpenter, right? Or maybe he'd be a builder. Maybe he'll be a lawyer or a priest.

It was undoubtedly a shock when he said who he really was. Mark 8, verse 27. Now Jesus and his disciples went out to the town of Caesarea Philippi, and on the road he asked his disciples, saying to them, who do men say that I am?

So they answered John the Baptist, but some said Elijah, and others one of the prophets. He said to them, but who do you say that I am?

Peter answered and said to him, you are the Christ. Then he strictly warned them that they should tell no one about it.

So even when Jesus became a public figure, people who met him had mixed ideas, right, about who Jesus Christ was.

They saw him living a special role, but none of them went so far as to believe that he was the Messiah. That was a struggle for them. They didn't see that the God of the Old Testament was living in the flesh.

The question Jesus asked, who do you say I am, can be asked directly of us today.

It's actually the core question that I'd like us to talk about today, or to think about, but I'm going to rephrase it a bit. It's going to be this, do you and I know God?

Do you and I know God? Now, I'm not asking if you believe God, or believe there is a God, because even Satan and the demons are said to do that, right?

They know without a doubt that God exists.

A third of them learned very powerfully that he exists. Other two-thirds knew it already and didn't try to disobey because they got it. What I'm asking you is, do you and I really know God? And we'll find that the storyline for this sermon is going to be captured in a phrase that's repeated over and over throughout the Bible.

It's a phrase that I'm sure you've read many times.

And for those of you who were at the last great day at the feast, you heard it mentioned, I can guarantee you.

The challenge is it's a phrase, like so many, that when it's repeated, we can read it and fly right past it.

The phrase for the day is, and you will know that I am the Lord.

And you will know that I am the Lord.

And that general phrase is used approximately 90 times in the Bible. We're going to go through all 90 of them. We'll be here a long time. We had the... Okay, never mind.

Every time this phrase is used, it's done intentionally to give us an example of what God is willing to do to bring His people to that point of obedience, to that point where we are at one with Him.

Now, it's a very interesting phrase because it's conditional.

Whenever, and you will know that I am the Lord, is used, there is an action from God that's highlighted, either before it or after it.

And so that's something I want you to look out for. And so as a result of this action, whatever action is being highlighted, God expects people to have a better knowledge of Him. In essence, it's saying, and as a result of this, you will know that I am the Lord.

So as we walk through some of these phrases in the Bible, I think that you're going to find that it frames the major ways over history, over the last 6,000 years, that God has worked with His people. And you'll see it even carries forward into the future of God's plan. The point of the sermon, though, isn't just a history lesson. Each of the scriptures we're going to look at reflect either praise, or they reflect condemnation, on whether the people were doing what they were supposed to do.

And whenever you hear this, I ask you to personalize it, right?

The Bible's just a history book, unless you personalize it. So every time you go through it, ask yourself, do I fully know God? Do you? I fully know God. Put yourself in those situations. Say, how well would you do if you were in that situation? So to get us started, if you'll please turn to Exodus 6, verses 2 through 9. Exodus 6, verses 2 through 9. This is the first time that the phrase is used, and it's when God decided to free Israel from being slaves in Egypt. Now, obviously, that was a huge deal. Now, obviously, that was a huge deal. That God would liberate millions of slaves from the most powerful nation in the world.

It was a milestone in human society, but it wasn't what God was trying to achieve.

See, success to God wasn't freeing Israel from the Egyptians.

After all, God made the universe. The concept of freeing the Israelites from a single nation of humans?

That was the easy part.

God wanted the children of Israel to not only leave the nation of Egypt physically, but to leave it spiritually.

He wanted them to live the rest of their lives, fervently knowing that the Lord who saved them was God.

Exodus 6, and we're going to read from verses 2 through 9. Exodus 6, too.

So, in these verses, God promises a lot to Israel. Verse 6 is a classic. God promises to rescue Israel from bondage of being slaves. And not only would God redeem them, He also committed to be the God if they would be people.

The creator of the universe, with all the nations in the world, signaled one out.

And He told them for a very special relationship.

So, we reflect on this a lot of times. Passover, we reflect on this.

And then, just as the thinking of the miracles during the Passover season held us to grow closer to God and know Him better, God expects it is closer to knowing Him better, and committed to Him as a result of the Exodus.

All right? That was immediately, we look back thousands of years and try to learn the lessons. He says this is right afterwards. Remember this. Don't forget this.

Verse 9, though, of course, is really sad. It gives us a sad reality. The New Living Bible translates this as, but by they refuse to listen anymore, they become students discouraged by the brutality of their slavery. They are bonded, they become so extreme and so oppressive, they lost hope of ever being redeemed from the slavery.

And rather than having taken to God the lights would soon say, let us alone in the weeks to serve the Egyptians for, it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than we should die there than we should die in the wilderness, right? They will murmur in the lights.

What about us? We could do that.

Let's move forward into the story. Turn to Exodus 7, and for verses 4-5.

See, God wasn't only stepping in to impress the children of Israel.

He also was building an understanding in the Egyptians.

Exodus 7, verse 5, But Pharaoh will not heed you, so that I may lay my hand on Egypt and bring my armies and my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgment. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.

Egypt was this nation that worshipped a lot of gods. One of the funny things, if you want to Google, is look up the gods of Egypt. And you'll find the top 25 gods of Egypt. If you have a top 25, you've got a whole lot of gods to work through. The Egyptians didn't want to accept that the god of Israel was the most powerful god in the universe. At least to say that he was the only god in the universe. That was a complete contrast to the way they thought.

Turn now to Exodus 29, and we'll read verses 44 through 46. Exodus 29, verses 44 through 46.

So, we're now entering this story after God helped Israel in the first place. After God helped Israel safely leave Egypt. We're fast forwarding a little bit. Israel had already crossed the Red Sea. They had been given the Ten Commandments in Sinai. And Israel was about to consecrate the tabernacle. Exodus 29, verse 44. So I will consecrate the tabernacle of meeting in the altar. I will also consecrate both Aaron and his sons to minister to me as priests. I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their god. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt. That I may dwell among them, I am the Lord their God. So to help the children of Israel grow closer to him, God was going to personally dwell in a tabernacle. So that they would get to know him better. So that they would worship him as their God, personalized it. Of course, did that work? No.

Instead, the same people were the ones that spoke back to Moses, saying, Oh, if we'd only been in Egypt, continued that doubting, continued to question Moses. God scared them too much. Right? Don't have him talk to us. You can talk to us. But still, make sure he's nice when he does it. And by the way, I want more to eat. This is the same group later that would ask for a human king, rather than letting God lead them directly.

They constantly fought against having that close relationship with God. They struggled with it. Remember, though, today's sermon is a review of what God is willing to do to help his people truly know him. How are you and I doing with this? Again, do you and I know God? Is our relationship more like Moses or like the children of Israel?

Do we meekly follow the lead of God, or do we distance ourselves because of fear? Are we uncomfortable having God lead us into places and directions that we wouldn't choose? Do we fight God when he tries to bring us out of sinful actions and beliefs that we have formed living in our own Egypt? How malleable are we to God? I'll just say, for me, I still have a lot of Egypt in me. It's a journey. We're working to grow.

If you'll move forward now to Exodus 31 in verse 12. Exodus 31 in verse 12. It is so easy for us to forget all that God has done for us in the past. We could look at Israel and we could say, oh, I should have known better, but we go down that same path. What happened yesterday can seem so long ago, can it? Even amazing, life-changing miracles can become fuzzy in our memories. And that's why God gave his people a weekly sign to help us keep that close relationship. That's why today is so special.

Exodus 31 in verse 12. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, Surely, my Sabbath you shall keep, for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctified you. You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death. For whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.

So God implemented this very special sign between his people and him for the rest of the world to look at and realize there's something special there. They may not get it, just like the world doesn't get today, and what it does and what it means to us, but they will later. And they'll see there is something very special in this day. That's why we're here.

That's why we worship. We're celebrating a very special sign that signifies those who know God. It's intended to help us keep God in the forefront of our thoughts. Again, today's sermon is not a history lesson.

We're going to cover a lot of history, but it's not a history lesson about dead people. We can always ask why people in the past did what they did. And that knowledge really doesn't matter unless we do something with it. God preserves these stories so that we could learn a lesson and we can change our lives as a result of it. That's why the Bible's there. That's why we study and learn.

What we should question is how we're doing. Do you and I really know God? Now we're going to move outside the book of Exodus. And it's interesting if you look at that phrase.

Many of you probably had an immediate book of the Bible in mind when I mentioned that phrase. It's used very, very commonly in one book of the Bible. We've just read four verses from the book of Exodus. Exodus represents the start of God working with a large group of people, right?

The nation of Israel. And God passionately wanted Israel to succeed. So as a result, He miraculously blessed them. And God pointed to those miracles and He said, These are there so that you will know who I am. If you'll turn to Ezekiel 20 verses 10 through 20. Ezekiel 20 verses 10 through 20. The phrase, You shall know that I am the Lord, is used far more in the book of Ezekiel than anywhere else in the Bible.

It's used 63 times in Ezekiel. So what was happening when he was writing it? Why was he so compelled and so inspired to use that phrase? Again, a little bit of history. Ezekiel was a priest. He was living in exile in the city of Babylon between 593 and 571 BC. The northern tribes of Israel had been conquered by Assyria about 180 years prior. The rest of the nation of Judah was taken into captivity at the hands of the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar between about 604 to 586 BC.

So that timing is relevant because God is pleading with the remnants of Israel and Judah to turn back to him and obey. It's like bookends. One is saying, I'm doing all these things. Here's what you're supposed to do. The phrase comes back and suddenly you guys missed it. Here's what you should have learned.

You can still turn back. So different areas. One is over miraculous protection and saving. In Ezekiel, it's used in relationship to his judgment, to punishment, all showing you everything that God is willing to do to get our attention. Ezekiel 20 in verse 10. Therefore, I made them go out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. And I gave them my statutes and showed them my judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them.

Moreover, I also gave them my Sabbaths to be assigned between them and me. Again, weekly, all these things I tried to do. That they might know that I am the Lord who sanctified them.

But I said to their children in the wilderness, Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourself with their idols. I am the Lord your God. Walk in my statutes, keep my judgments, and do them. Hallow my Sabbaths, and they will be assigned between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.

Among the most serious sins that Israel committed, and you know there's a laundry list of things they did. Sacrificing children, obeying idols, Sabbath breaking is pointed out.

By ignoring the Sabbath, Israel abandoned any regular pattern of hearing and learning God's words. And you all know people who've left the church, who have lost that closeness to God, have had that insight watered down. God's Spirit has left them, which we get renewed and inspired and redirected and refocused every time we come to church.

But Israel lost track of that.

The Israelites began to believe that one set of religious beliefs wasn't any different than those of their neighboring nations. That sound familiar? We all know people who've gone down that path. It's so true. Everywhere you look today, we just came out of the Christmas season. Isn't that just natural? Many people observe religious holidays now that they say worship God.

And it's just so easy to water down and say, my intentions are good, so I'm going to do something different, but it's for the right reason.

All these things are rooted back in ancient idolatry, are rooted back to the problems that happened when God first started working with the nation of Israel. You'll turn back to Ezekiel 7, verses 1-9. Ezekiel 7, verses 1-9.

Because of Israel's false belief in their sins, God allowed them to go into captivity.

Remember, when God freed them, he freed them from captivity. So it's an interesting back-and-forth journey.

God decided to repay them for their abominations to help them better know that he was God. Ezekiel 7-1.

Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, And you, son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel. And end, the end has come upon the four corners of the land. Now the end has come upon you, and I will send my anger against you. I will judge you according to your ways, and I will repay you for all your abominations. My eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity. But I will repay your ways, and your abominations will be in your midst.

Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

Thus says the Lord God, a disaster, a singular disaster. Behold, it has come. An end has come. The end has come. It has dawned for you. Behold, it has come. I think he's saying it's come.

Doom has come to you. You who dwell in the land, the time has come. A day of trouble is near, and not of rejoicing in the mountains. Now upon you I will soon pour out my fury, and spend my anger upon you. I will judge you according to your ways. I will repay you for all your abominations. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. I will repay you according to your ways, and your abominations will be in your midst. Then you shall know that I am the Lord who strikes.

We worship a God that's amazingly patient.

You kind of get the point he's at is which end at this point?

God's feeling like, okay, enough.

And enough. And I mean enough. And really, I mean enough. And how many times do you repeat the same phrase in just a couple of verses? God is forgiving. God is merciful. But at a certain point, enough is enough. Just like for those of you who are parents.

Look at the words. God would judge them. He would repay them for his abominations. He would send his anger. He would pour out his fury without sparing. He would not show pity. Those are all ouch things that we never want to hear God say to us, right?

We really don't ever want to hear those words.

And you know that look from a parent in your eye when you know you're really in trouble? You can only imagine what God's eyes would have been like when that was being said. He'd be like, oh, all right, just kill me right there.

So how do we respond to reading this? Do we say, shame on Israel? They should have known it.

Do we have any abominations or evil ways that keep us separated from knowing God? Because, remember, knowing God isn't about some kind of intellectual comprehension. That's not the point.

God wants us to know Him in a way that includes action, that includes obedience.

So move forward a few chapters to Ezekiel 11, verses 8 through 12. Ezekiel 11, 8 through 12.

Who do you and I put our trust in?

Where do we put our trust? If you think back to the Titanic, think back to when it was built. It was this monumental point in human history, right?

The Titanic was the floating embodiment of the new age of scientific optimism. People thought, oh, no one could ever do anything to this. This is almost perfection in human creation.

Bigger, better, faster is what was printed everywhere. It was this proof of this ascending of man, salvation through technology.

Man had finally conquered nature, and the Titanic was said to be impenetrable to supernatural forces.

The arrogance was even seen in the fact that the Titanic builders and promoters actually said not even God could sink this ship.

Oops! Well, of course, you know what happened. Israel, likewise, began to show more respect for the military power of their neighbors than God. And we see that here in Ezekiel 11, in verse 8. You have feared the sword, and I will bring a sword upon you, says the Lord God, and I will bring you out of its midst and deliver you into the hand of strangers, and execute judgment on you. You shall fall by the sword, I will judge you at the border of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. This city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in its midst. I will judge you at the border of Israel, and you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor executed in my judgments, but have done according to the customs of the Gentiles, which are all around you.

Israel was scared. If we had a nation attacking us—I mean, ISIS is scary enough, right? We don't have a nation that's waiting to try to kill us on our border.

But their fear didn't bring them closer to God. Instead, it made them try to build alliances with these powerful neighbors. And as a result, God delivered them to what they feared the most. I said, okay, if that's where you want to put your trust, okay.

God brought the sword upon Israel and Judah and delivered them into the hands of some very vicious strangers. And we can fall prey to the same thing. Many people, including ministers, stayed with worldwide after the doctrines changed because they didn't want to lose their pensions.

Over the years, some have followed a man because they couldn't believe that that person would ever let them down. A lot of people focus their lives trying to store up money so that they can live well in retirement. We keep going down these analogies of stuff that we all run into. Do we depend on things or people instead of trust in God?

Turn now to Ezekiel 16, verses 60 through 63. Ezekiel 16, verses 60 to 63.

Despite all these verses in Ezekiel that are telling of the punishment that is coming on Israel so that they would know God and would know Him better, God never forgot all of the promises that He'd made to His people. He never forgets that. Ezekiel 16, verse 60.

Nevertheless, I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. For I will give them to you for daughters, excuse me, but not because of my covenant with you. And I will establish my covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, that you may remember and be ashamed and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provided you an atonement for all you have done, says the Lord. We were doing a Bible study earlier with Drew, and we were talking about the parable of the talents and the penalty that comes. And Drew asked, well, wouldn't it be better if God was just merciful to these people who didn't use their talents? And that would make them turn.

I said, Drew, how does that work for you? And only we do good and let things go. You can look at Israel. It's the same example that's happening here. Over and over, God is saying, I will do this for you if you do that. But if not, there's penalties coming that you're going to know that there's something bigger that's planned. There's something more important.

God promises to make an eternal covenant with those who obey Him. And so in these verses, God shows us that He's always willing to show this amazing mercy. He has a perpetual willingness to forgive. Did I read Ezekiel 16 verse 60? I did, didn't I? Okay. God is constantly willing to forgive as long as we are willing to repent and yield to Him. That's the nature of the unprandable sin.

But there is a perpetual willingness to forgive if we return. I'm going to repent and if we return. Ezekiel is this book showing that God will try in every way possible to build a relationship with us.

That's what the book is about. And that's why you see this conditional phrase, then you will know that I am God used 63 times in Ezekiel. And my hope is the sermon shows how passionately God wants you and I to know Him. Because it's the most critical thing. It's why He created this universe and created us in the first place. Go ahead and move forward now to Ezekiel 20 verses 36 through 38. Ezekiel 20 verses 36 through 38. And in this next verse, you're going to literally see God pleading. God is pleading with Israel and by extension, He's pleading with you and He's pleading with me. Ezekiel 20 verse 36. Just as I pleaded my case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt. Remember the first time we saw the phrase, then you will know that I am the Lord. So I will plead my case with you, says the Lord. I will make you pass under the rod and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. I will purge the rebels from among you and those who transgress against me.

I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. That you will know that I am the Lord. A very interesting phrase used here in verse 37. It says, I will cause you to pass under the rod. Do you know what that means? This phrase is about a custom used by shepherds when they were tithing their sheep. So what they would do is they would have an opening. The sheep would all be in the sheep pen or whatever you call it. We hold sheep.

Have the opening. The sheep would start coming out. The shepherd would have in his hand a rod that had been dipped in vermilion, which is a reddish orange dye. And the sheep would start coming out and they would go one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. Then on the 10th one, he would put the rod down and mark the sheep and say, this is the 10th set apart for the Lord. And it would start the same. He was tithing the sheep that came through. So the way God designed it was for all of Israel to be marked when they passed under the rod. All of Israel was supposed to be set apart for the Lord from the rest of the world. And over time, Israel and Judah started becoming more like the rest of the world rather than less. It didn't work as God intended. They began to act and look more like them rather than to look like God. And that's always been the way that we face things, isn't it? We do that today. It's so tempting to do what's socially acceptable. It's so tempting to do what our peers want us to do because there's less pressure that way. But that's not what God wants. He wants us to set us apart. And so as a result, fewer and fewer qualified to pass under the rod. Very few knew God and obeyed as we look through the Old Testament. Would you and I be marked with the reddish-orange dye when crossing under the rod?

Interesting question. We're also called to be a special people. And at various points in the lifetime of every person God works with, a trial comes up that requires us to pass under the rod in order for God to purge the rebels from those who know and obey Him. Again, what group do we fall into? Move forward now to Ezekiel 20 and we'll read from verse 39 to 41. Ezekiel 20, 39 through 41. Even during the final days as Judah was being taken into captivity, God was offering hope.

If they would leave their idolatrous rays, He was still willing to accept them. Ezekiel 20, verses 39. As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God, go into captivity in Babylon, that's what God is saying, serve every one of you His idols, and hereafter if you will not obey Me, but profane My holy name, no more with your gifts and your idols. For on My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel, says the Lord, there all the house of Israel, all of them in the land shall serve Me. There I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the first-roots of your sacrifice together with all your holy things. I will accept you as a sweet aroma when I bring you out from the people and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles. Then you shall know that I am the Lord when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised my hand in an oath to give to your fathers. And there you shall remember your way and all your doings with which you were defiled, and you shall loathe yourself in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed. Then you shall know that I am the Lord when I have dealt with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doing. O house of Israel, says the Lord God. If Judah was willing to repent and serve God rather than idols, he promised to return them to their land. He promised to accept their offerings. He promised to save them for God's name's sake and not according to their wickedness. He constantly cares and wants to guide us through. To the people of Israel, captivity felt like the worst thing possible. It probably would feel that way to you and I. It represented the end of a nation. To God, captivity wasn't that big of a deal. God's goal was for the Israelite people to follow Him. He wanted obedience, maturity, and growth. He wants the same things from us. The only way that Israel could get there as a nation may be through captivity. So He said, okay. Move forward now to Ezekiel 25 verses 3 through 7. Ezekiel 25 verses 3 through 7. Now, there's no doubt that Assyria, Babylon, and the other neighboring nations were helped out when God decided to use them to punish Israel.

And it's kind of like the Globetrotters, I guess. It's kind of like playing a sports game where you're guaranteed to win. God says, I'm going to help you beat these people up. They had, you know, they had a guaranteed win over here in these battles. But while God used them to punish Israel on Judah, He also made sure to remind them who the all-powerful God was. Ezekiel 25 and verse 3. Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God. Thus says the Lord God, Because you said, Aha! Against my sanctuary, when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel, when I was, when it was desolate, and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity. Indeed, therefore I will deliver you as a possession to the men of the east, and they shall set their encampments around you, and make their dwellings among you. They shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. And I will make Raba a stable for camels, and Ammon a resting place for flocks. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. For thus says the Lord God, Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced in heart with all your disdain for the land of Israel, indeed, therefore I will stretch out my hands against you, and give you as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the people. I will cause you to perish from the countries. I will destroy you, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

See, Ammonites made a mistake. They began feeling superior than the God of Israel.

Not a good thing to do. They profaned his sanctuary. They profaned the land of Israel. They disrespected God, and that angered him deeply. So he said, No, I am not going to deliver you again. I am going to now make you have to pay to these countries in the East. We can keep going in just Ezekiel. We can spend the whole sermon going through Ezekiel, and not even touch all the different verses. But today's sermon is about the whole story of what God is willing to do for his people to know him. And so, to see this picture, we need to keep moving through Scriptures. I'd like you now to turn to Malachi. Malachi 2, verses 2-4. Of course, you know Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament. And so the Scripture we're about to read shows God's continual willingness to work with Israel. Malachi 2, starting in verse 2.

It says, If you will not hear, and if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to my name, says the Lord of hosts, I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, because you did not take it to heart. Behold, I will rebuke your descendants and spread refuse on your face. The refuse of your solemn feasts, and one will take you away with it. Then you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you, that my covenant with Levi may continue, says the Lord of hosts.

If we don't take to heart who God is and hear what he teaches us, this says we're going to be cursed. And what this points out is, even when we celebrate God's solemn feast days, it'll be viewed as garbage if we're not doing it with the right respect for him or the right attitude. We're required to do far more than just intellectually serve God. It's more than just keeping the Sabbath. It's more than just keeping the holidays. Do we hear and take to heart what God is telling us throughout all the hours of our lives, or just when we come into these public ways of worshiping God? Israel didn't, and their descendants were cursed. If you'll turn now to Isaiah 52, verses 5 through 7. Isaiah 52, 5 through 7. We're now in a set of scriptures that's a transition pointing to Jesus, and when he was going to come to earth. The first verses that we're going to read are going to sound a whole like what we just read in Ezekiel, and then you're going to see the context change dramatically in verse 7. Isaiah 52, starting in verse 5.

Now therefore, what have I here, says the Lord, that my people are taken away for nothing. Those who rule over them make them wails, says the Lord, and my name is blasphemed continually every day. Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore they shall know in that day that I am he who speaks, behold it as I. And then the transition. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaim salvation, who says to Zion, your God reigns. Interesting pivot that takes place, and we know verse 7, right? It's this very well-known verse about Jesus Christ coming to earth, and the expression, your God reigns, is very similar to your kingdom come, right? Isaiah was announcing that there was going to be a future victory that would start when Jesus Christ came to earth as a human, and his life on earth started a victory so decisive that when Christ's next return to earth was going to come in spiritual power, peace would be the consequence. It's only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ that it's possible to have peace from from Satan, from his influences, that makes this all so hard. They made it hard for Israel.

It's only through that that he came to teach us this good news about the coming kingdom of God. So now we're going to transition into the New Testament. If you will turn to John 8 verses 25 through 29. This phrase pops up at very interesting times throughout the Bible, and one of the key reasons Jesus Christ came to live a life as a human was to help mankind know God better, right? He came to reveal the Father.

John 8 and verse 25.

Then he said to him, Who are you? And Jesus said to them, Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but he who sent me is true. And I speak to the world those things which I heard from him. They did not understand that he spoke to them of the Father. Then Jesus said to them, When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he. I guarantee you the audience that was listening immediately connected these words to Ezekiel. When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he. Then you will know that I am the Lord, and that I do nothing of myself. But as my Father taught me, I speak these things. And he who sent me is with me. The Father has not left me alone, for I always do those things that please him. God has presented himself throughout history to help mankind, and he's chosen these unique points in time to catch people's attention, to help them have a better understanding of the God, to have a better understanding of who he really is, to better understand his plan for salvation. And those called at this time are intended to live entirely for God. That's what we're trying to do here. That's why we're here. That's why we're trying to grow through his Spirit, through what Christ gave through his sacrifice, and be what God intended from the beginning. Not just for Israel, but to become part of his spiritual family. Ever since Adam and Eve, God has let select people know that he was God. For what reason? With the intention that we would serve him. That we would be yielding ourselves to him. But unfortunately, that hasn't happened. So the Father called people like you and me now, and said, how's your opportunity? Now it's my opportunity. In a very personal relationship, God made us, and he made us for himself. That's the understanding that takes life to figure out, right? We think we're here for ourselves, and we want God to fill in holes if we really need something. You know, the I want relationship from God. But God made us, and he made us for himself. He made every human being for his own glory, and that's why we exist. Again, the core question, do you and I know God? Meanwhile, of course, the world claims there is no God, and there is no need for a God. Darwin and many of the great intellects of the world have professed these things, right? We hear it more and more these days. Let's take down any reference to God in public buildings.

So their concept is humans are an evolutionary being that continues to improve and perfect over time. But the problem with that concept is humans aren't able to make perfect choices.

And I will give you an example of that with this concept of Six Sigma. Some of you have worked in the business world. I see shaking of heads here from an engineering perspective. He's had to try to hold company standards to Six Sigma, and it's a fascinating concept.

So Six Sigma is a data-driven methodology for eliminating defects with the goal of attaining near-perfection. To achieve Six Sigma, a process must not produce more than 3.4 defects in every million opportunities. 3.4 defects for every million opportunities.

That is exceptional. The problem is you and I make far more errors than Six Sigma, and God wants us to work toward perfection, not Six Sigma. Over time, mankind may become smarter, but that doesn't ensure that they'll make good choices any more often than now.

If you'll turn next to 1 Corinthians 1, verses 20 through 21. 1 Corinthians 1, verses 20 through 21.

So obviously, God is all-knowing. He had to know this. Did He select only the fittest, the most consistent decision-making humans to be the ones that He would call and work with?

Did He handpick the cream of the crop, the Six Sigma-ish most likely beings? 1 Corinthians 1, verse 20. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disbuter of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. In other words, who know God and rely on His Spirit to make right choices.

The world, through its own wisdom, didn't know God. And even those who God revealed Himself to forgot that He was the Lord. Way more often than Six Sigma. We don't know how many right decisions Israel made, but they certainly made a lot of bad ones, and we do too. And if we look back over 6,000 years of human history, even the best and the smartest and the most disciplined people which God has worked with have failed to obey perfectly. And the point is that we need God's help to know Him and to obey Him. And as a result, God makes foolish the wisdom of the world by saving the simple and the weak people in the world like you and like me. And He saves those who know, who believe, who trust, and who rely on Him. Do we know God? Feel turn next to Galatians 4, verses 8 through 9. Galatians 4, verses 8 through 9. So after God has called a person, do the majority of called people realize the blessings that they've been given and avoid falling back to the wisdom of the world? Are we the opposite of Israelites?

If only life was that logical and that easy, right?

People have pointed out that I use the word that life is a journey all the time, and it is. It's just, I don't know a better phrase, so somebody has to give me a better pet phrase to use, but it is. It's just this massive journey of learning. And so let's look at what Paul described happening in the Galatians, or in Galatia, I should say. Galatians 4 and verse 8. But then, indeed, when you did not know God, remember the point of this message, you serve those which by nature are not God's, but now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weakness and beggarly elements to which you desired again to be in bondage?

See, God isn't too weak to save us. God wants to save us, but there's a problem.

Humans tend to decide it's more important to be accepted by the world, and they stop following God's way. We don't trust in knowing God. Do you know God? We don't obey the ultimate source of truth, and as a result, our sins cut us off from God. So God ultimately stops listening to us, and He stops protecting us, and then we say, oh, of course God, and we go through this little circle of learning. Why do we resort back to seeking the ways of the world after being blessed with God's knowledge? And there's a whole lot of explanations that we could give for that one, but a key reason is mentioned in verse 9. God knows us deeply, but we only know Him conceptually. But now, after you have known God, or rather are known by God. Interesting choice of words that Paul put. God knows us deeply. We know Him conceptually. Intellectually knowing God isn't enough. Do you and I know God? Turn now to Psalms 46 verses 8 through 11. Psalms 46 verses 8 through 11. All of us are going to face times when life's pressures seem too much.

What do we do when our instinct is to handle a challenge on our own, or to rely on the wisdom of the world? Sound like Israel? They ran into a whole lot of those situations and looked at the Ammonites, or looked to their own best interests, or thought, oh, hey, doing this would be fun.

If you're facing one of those times, then this next verse is for you. Psalms 46 and verse 8.

Come, behold the works of the Lord, who has made desolation in the earth. Another translation says, see how He brings destruction upon the world. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He brings the bow and cuts the spear into. He burns the chariots in the fire. Now, I'm not sure what any of you are facing right now, but it probably isn't as bad as having an army on the outside of your home trying to kill you. Be still and know that I am God. One of the beautiful verses in the Bible. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Be still and know that I am God. It's a comforting concept. But what exactly does it mean?

Does it mean we do nothing? Woo! I'm just going to be still, watch TV, support your favorite football team, and God will take care of the rest. An oxymoron is a figure of speech which appears to contradict itself. Examples of that are like deafening silence. Hell's angels is actually an oxymoron. But concepts along that line. Well, let me give you an oxymoron related to the phrase that we just read in verse 10. God requires action when He tells us to be still and know that He is God.

God requires action when He tells us to be still and know He is God. Damn, how can that be? If we're really being still and trusting in God, our subsequent actions will validate this knowledge and commitment. Turn next to Titus 1 verses 15 through 16. Titus 1 verses 15 to 16.

Our knowledge of God, our submission to God, has to be exhibited in our actions. Since God created Adam and Eve, He's been looking for active disciples.

After all, knowing God should impact how we see the world, should impact how we think, it should impact how we act. Titus 1 and verse 15. To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. But even their minds and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work. When I think on this topic, I have to question how well I know God.

Maybe it'll make you wonder the same thing, but it's this purpose why we're here on earth every day to get to know Him better, not in the head knowledge, but in actions, in obedience. So the epistle to Titus explained how to tell the difference between professing to know God and between really knowing God. If our thoughts and our actions are pure and undefiled, we know God. When we're disobedient or even when we do good things with wrong intentions, it's an abomination to God. It's a high standard. It's higher in Six Sigma. It's higher in Six Sigma, but it's what we're to aspire to.

Christianity is a lifelong journey of striving to know and become more and more like God.

Turn next to 1 John 4 and verse 7. 1 John 4 and verse 7. So what does being pure look like?

What should our actions reflect? As you know, our actions should be reflecting love if we truly know God. 1 John 4 and verse 7. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God.

Point at this message. For God is love. Do we know God? Do we really know God? Everything we do has to come from the right motivation, by the love of God, or it's going to fail.

Agape is always expressed in actions, and it's always done with a pure motive.

Way higher in Six Sigma. It isn't contingent on how others treat us, and if you are married, understand that one. Doing every action, not contingent on how someone else reacts toward you. Agape involves self-sacrifice. It's this lifelong quest. It's so much more than we can physically do, but it's becoming more like our Creator, and that's what truly knowing God looks like. Excuse me.

So as we become more God-like, we better sacrifice our will, and we serve others, just like Jesus did. So Agape describes God, and it's what we're becoming day by day, if we're truly getting to know Him. And from the moment that God created Adam and Eve, He tried to develop a relationship. It's what started in the Garden of Eden. He tried to develop an intimate relationship with mankind. He saved Israel from being slaves in Egypt. That they would know that He was God. That they would know He was there to help Him. He continued working with and blessing Israel and Judah for hundreds of years. Finally, He tried to help them know Him better by bringing judgment and punishment. After Christ's sacrifice, God began working with a church, a group of called-out individuals, and we're being called at this time, and we're experiencing the same things that Israel experienced. At times, God saves us. At others, He blesses us. And occasionally, He punishes us. It's a continuation. At the start of the sermon, I mentioned to you that when you were at the feast, at the last great day, you heard the phrase, then you shall know that I am the Lord. Please turn to Ezekiel 37, verses 5-14.

God's plan is for all mankind to know Him, and He plans to achieve that in the Second Resurrection.

That's where we finished the conversation with Drew, when we talked about why God doesn't just show mercy right now and help people despite their disobedience. Where we're turning to is the Dry Bones chapter. I don't know if you've ever noticed this phrase in that chapter.

Ezekiel 37, in verse 5. This phrase is actually used three times.

Thus says the Lord God to these bones, Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you, and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. You see these points throughout the story of God's plan, where this phrase keeps coming up.

So I prophesied as I was commanded, and as I prophesied there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. Move forward to verse 11.

Then He said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off. Therefore prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, Behold, O man, O my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from the graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. When I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up from the graves, I will put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your land. Then you shall know that I the Lord have spoken it and performed it, says the Lord.

Between Satan and his constant influence, between our personal weaknesses, humans aren't able to fully know God without God's Spirit. At the second resurrection, God's Spirit will be made available to all mankind, and Satan's influence will be removed. And before God's plan is over, the majority of the world will have that personal relationship that God always intended and He knew would be achieved. But it would be achieved when we get to the point of free moral agency, and we get to the point of deeply wanting to know Him. If you'll turn to Jeremiah 31-34.

I'm sorry, Jeremiah 31-34. So it's good to look at your notes and realize that verse doesn't go. 34-32-33-34. So Jeremiah 31 and starting in verse 31. Ever since God created Adam and Eve, believers have been able or have not, I should say, been able to perfectly follow. We've tried.

The old covenant wasn't the problem. It was the humans trying to imperfectly follow the old covenant. And that's why Jesus initiated a new covenant with mankind. Jeremiah 31-31. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant, which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their covenant and they shall be my people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man his brother to send him to go to the Lord. Do you know the Lord?

For they all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest and that is the Lord. For I will forgive their enemies and their sins I will remember no more.

These verses were all written about the Hebrews, and they speak through time and when the gospel is established a new covenant. It's a beautiful picture, and what it pictures is the core is in knowing God. That's the horrible purpose we turn on earth. That's the reason that we run alive. It's what we do every day in our lives. And verse 34 provides a very interesting contrast. All the verses up into the now have had God either providing the lesson or a punishment to a select group of people with the sole intent of helping them to know that the Lord is God. Look at verse 34. It takes you a time when everyone will know who God is. It's beautiful. It's pointing to the second resurrection, and it's mentioning that all will be forgiven of their enemies and have the law written in their hearts. And at that time God will be their God and they will be his people. Beautiful summary of the Bible, of the plan of God. I'd like to read one final verse which summarizes what God is doing with us today. And more importantly, what he will achieve for all of mankind in the kingdom. And you will find that in Joel 2 verses 26 through 29.

So today's sermon has been looking at the story of all that God is willing to do to bring his people to obedience, to bring his people to salvation. And one thing we can be certain of is that God will take care of his people. He has a beautiful plan for that. Joel 2 verses 26.

It's a beautiful picture. It's a beautiful picture and it's sadly a picture of the future.

Not now, but it's coming and that's what our hope is. My hope today has given you an interesting history of God's work working with mankind by looking at many of the times where the phrase then you shall know that I am the God is used in the Bible. Very interesting phrase and it'll probably pop out more now when you're starting to read the scriptures. God isn't going to give up on you. He is not going to give up on me. He's going to do whatever is needed in order for us to truly know him. I'd like to end today's sermon with the same question that I started with.

Do you and I truly know God?

So with that, I will switch into song lead.