Having called this message “Knowing God,” I by no means presume to present Him Who is the Lord of lords, Alpha and Omega in all His majesty, essence, power and all that He is. My desire is to seek to know Him as much as He allows me, definitely try and strive for it, because the Lord desires to reveal Himself to those created in His image and likeness. His will for people is “good, acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2), and its fulfilment in a person’s life depends on how much they know God.
The disciples were with Jesus Christ many days and months. They saw a lot of miracles and listened to His teachings. However, one day, when they were in a boat that was about to sink because of the storm, they thought with terror how careless their Teacher was, because He was sleeping unaware of all that. “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mk. 4:39). But they all were afraid and amazed when Jesus commanded the storm, and it obeyed: “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” (Mk. 4:41).
Those who believe in God Who created the universe worship Him with songs of praise, pray, read the Bible, listen to sermons and shout “Amen!” in regular circumstances. However, suddenly, when they are in an uncomfortable or hopeless situation, in which the boat of their lives seems to sink, they start panicking, having forgotten who is the Lord of their lives, Whom they were worshipping and Whose miracles they were declaring.
One day, the Holy Spirit told me, “I sent you to the earth to serve Me.” I was puzzled. How did He send me? I was born on this earth. For years, I thought about this. I was sure it was spoken by the Holy Spirit, but I did not understand the meaning of these words until one day I heard the following from a famous minister. He said, “When someone confesses Jesus the Savior as his Lord and receives the new birth, he becomes a citizen of the Heavenly Kingdom, and the Lord sends him to this earth as a citizen of Heaven to serve here by fulfilling the calling for which he is sent.” I was delighted!
A born-again person knows his Lord, knows his calling, has constant fellowship with the Lord and while on this earth, does nothing of himself, but only what the Lord desires. In his service to the Lord of glory, he not only worships Him, but also lives in security and peace regardless of circumstances. He understands that no matter what happens, his Lord is the God of Victory. When a born-again Christian understands who he is in God, the Master of Universe, Who holds the eternity in His hand, he will always remain in peace, because he relies on his Lord. He knows that if he fulfills the word received from Him about his current situation, he will surely have victory!
A U.S. Ambassador who lives and works in a developing country is by no means afraid of poverty; he does not worry about the problems of that country that pressure the locals, but taking control of the situation, he makes decisions according to the directives of the head of his own country, and is always secure because he realizes what country he represents and what rights and powers he possesses.
Unfortunately, many Christians are constantly defeated in different areas of their lives. It is not about how many hours they devote to daily prayer, Bible reading or fasting, but whether they have an encounter with God at that time, whether those who pray are able to discern the voice of the Lord, or they are led by their own soul and the feelings of their own flesh, going from one defeat to another.
Jesus said, “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me” (Jn. 5:30). The life of Jesus showed that it was the Father that spoke to Him. His obedience brought forth miracles, glorified the Father and made people happy, setting them free from demonic bondage.
Prayer, fasting, reading the Word of God and sermons are tools that shall be used the way they were originally intended by the Creator. If you do not plug the iron in, it will not heat up and will not iron. If you do not turn on gas in the oven, the food will remain raw. Likewise, prayer without fellowship with the Lord cannot bring forth miracles or effect changes.
Reading the Word of God must bring forth revelations and help change the character. It is written in James 1:22-25, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who… is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the word, this one will be blessed in what he does.”
Fasting does not mean staying hungry. During our fast, we need to have fellowship with the Lord so that the word received from Him can enlighten our path and show the way to our victory. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105). Problems are solved not by hunger, but by doing the word received from the Lord. Fasting by abstaining from food or something else is a means to restrain the desires of the flesh and is a sacrifice to receive a word from the Lord.
The life of a godly person must be completely full of the presence of the Lord. It helps him to live in the will of the Lord and be sure the eyes of the Lord are upon him. It helps him to speak properly, treat people the way that is pleasing to the Lord, and know that the Lord sees the motive of every action. It helps to watch proper movies and listen to music that conveys positive emotions.
Of course, there are quite a few songs conveying positive emotions that are written under the influence of demonic spirits. I really liked and listened to the songs of a famous singer Zaz. Since the lyrics were in French, I did not understand them. One day I decided to listen to an interview with her about what inspired her for songwriting. She said that before a concert, she liked to stay alone in a room to fellowship with spirits of dead people and even dead animals… it was horrible. I was amazed by the fact that such wonderful concerts could come forth from such demonic encounters…
Fellowship with the Lord helps us receive a necessary word in a difficult situation and act on it. Oftentimes, an unexpected bad news causes fear and makes people pray. The person perplexed by the bad news prays without realizing that fear is what placed him on his knees, and this state of anxiety distances him from knowing and doing the will of the Lord. However, when a person is constantly in the presence of the Lord, then a word received from the Lord “swallows” every demonic plan and action in the same way the rod of Moses “swallowed” the rods of the Pharaoh’s magicians. “…But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods” (Ex. 7:10-12).
Peace cannot come through meditation or self-inspiration. The Lord is the one who establishes and maintains peace in a person’s life; that is why it is important to be with the Lord both in the prayer closet and in a mall or while relaxing on a beach. This does not mean to pray or talk about the Lord all the time. This means to build up your mind on His Word, because the quality of a person’s life depends on his mentality.
My favorite book in the Bible is the book of Job. In this book, I see the majesty of God in a special way. “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding… Or who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth and issued from the womb; when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band; when I fixed My limit for it, and set bars and doors; when I said, ‘This far you may come, but no farther, and here your proud waves must stop!’ “Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place?” (Job 38:4-12).
The book of Job shows that deeds according to God’s will make a person pleasing to the Lord; however, good deeds won’t save from the snares of the devil. No person can ever rely on his deeds; he can only rely on God. His savior is Jesus Christ Who died on the cross and was risen by the power of the Holy Spirit. “His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters” (Rev. 1:14-15).
We can conclude the following. When God created the heavens and the earth, He established laws to govern the universe, and He holds all creation by His Word. The word that comes from His mouth will surely come to pass. “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Is. 55:11). God will not accommodate to the desires of the human flesh and soul. He acts on the basis of His own laws, love and mercy. His mercy is everlasting. “For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations” (Ps. 100:5). Who can withhold Him from His decisions? “…My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure… Indeed, I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it” (Is. 46:10,11). The Creator is the One Who gives commands and makes sure they are carried out. A godly person shall place his hope on Him and receive a word from Him to enlighten his journey, so that he can live on this earth in a way worthy of a citizen of Heaven and fulfill the will of the Lord on this planet.
The Bible says about Moses, “Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth” (Num. 12:3). However, the hand of the Lord did not allow him to enter Canaan, because he did not fulfill the command of the Lord. “Then the Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying: ‘…because you trespassed against Me… because you did not hallow Me in the midst of the children of Israel… you shall see the land before you, though you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving to the children of Israel’” (Deut. 32:48-52).
God is holy, but the harlot Rahab received an honored place in the list of genealogy of Jesus our Savior because, according to Hebrews 11:31, “By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.”
God gave His Son for the sake of salvation of humanity: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16). However, the end of those who do not live according to His Word will be eternal torment: “And will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Mt. 13:42).
The Alpha and Omega acts based on His Word; His love and mercy work according to His Word: “As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” (2 Sam. 22:31).