What do You Desire

Out of all the people of the Bible, there are three men that stand out who had an insatiable desire to know God. Moses, who met God at the burning bush and spoke with God face to face, "So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend..." (Exodus 33:11) He desired to know God more intimately, "And Moses said, “Please, show me Your glory." (Exodus 33:18) The second of these three men was David. David was also a man who loved God and had an insatiable to know Him. We see this reflected in the Psalms that he wrote as well as what God Himself said about David, "I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will." (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22) The third is Paul. Paul was willing to all for Christ. He walked out his Christian life through great success and yet most likely with more trials then any other believer in the history of the church. (2 Corinthian 11:24-28) However, even through his continuous trials he said, "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death." (Philippians 3:10)  

Unfortunately, for most believers, there initial encounter with God, the day they receive Christ as Lord and Savior, was the most intimate encounter that they have ever experienced. But, believers cannot be content with only their born again experience. We must know Him. God is and has so much for us. Sadly, believers miss out on divine experiences and encounters with His presence. They are satisfied with the theory, theology, and knowledge they have, but that should never be enough. Jesus promised that He would be with us always. (Matthew 28:20) Affirming this truth should not be just a doctrinal declaration on our part, but see and receive this promise by faith every day, knowing that He is indeed with us.

For instance, Jesus tells us, "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you."..."But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." (John 14:16-18, 26) If you are born again, the Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit dwells with you and is in you! He is our Helper; He is our Teacher; He gives us revelation through God's Word. Although this is true, how many believers truly rely on the Holy Spirit for these things?   

The church today has many resources such as, study Bibles, books, teachings on Cd's and DVDs, computer programs, the internet with Bible studies, and the preaching of the Word. Basically, believers have access to countless resources to help them grow and mature spiritually and even though for-the-most-part this is good, all it has provided is intellectual knowledge that has not transformed lives. We have so much knowledge that we have become selective to the point that some of us place our personal interests above the living and transforming Word of God. As a result, many church leaders often reject revealed knowledge from God and adopt beliefs that seem to be more acceptable to their own lifestyles or worse yet, the lifestyles of the world.

Proverbs 27:7 declares, "A satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb, but to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet." That is to say, that we have become so self-satisfied that we "loathe the honeycomb" that is, reject God's Word, especially the revelation that the Holy Spirit brings. The proof of this is seen in the church today, regardless of denomination. In order to justify a lack of faith and revelation of truth, church leaders develop doctrines and creeds as disclaimers that disagree with God's Word. Jesus experienced the same in His day as the Son of man, "This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."..."making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down..." (Mark 7:6-7, 13) 

The good news is, there is a generation of people of all ages and nations who genuinely hunger and thirst to know God more intimately. They are no longer interested in the ritual of church as usual nor the church programs that are focused on training the natural person and do nothing for ones spiritual condition. They are not satisfied with teachings that only please the flesh and tickle the ears, nor doctrines of men that are contrary to God's Word which do not build faith, but actually erode it. These believers yearn to learn more of Him through revelation by the Holy Spirit and not the knowledge that come through the five senses that only increases the intellect. This hunger to know the deep things of God, to have daily encounters with Him, has made even "that which is bitter a sweet tasting thing."  In other words, those who hunger and thirst after God may face ridicule and even persecution from other believers, but to them it is worth it, it is "a sweet tasting thing" because they are receiving the wonderful things of God which come by being in His presence.  

Jesus has made us promises as to what we can expect if we truly desire Him above all else, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8) "He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." (John 6:35) "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you." (John 16:13-15) Of course this takes faith in the integrity of God's Word. Hebrews 11:6 declares, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently (make a pain staking effort) seek Him."   

So, let us no longer seek for knowledge that only increases our intellect, but let us have an insatiable desire to know Him like Moses, David and Paul. Let us pray everyday the prayer that Paul prayed for the church and receive it through faith, "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge (Epignosis; precise and correct knowledge) of Him." (Ephesians 1:17) Let us desire to have an encounter with the Father everyday. Let us no long put God on our schedules, and try to fit Him in, but let us "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness..." (Matthew 6:33) "For man does not live on bread alone, but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) Grace and peace be with you...