This Is Us: A People Who Know

Aug. 18, 2019 This is Us: A People Who Know 

2 Peter 1: 2-13

Well friends, as we head into our message this morning, I wanted to take a moment to briefly reflect on Pastor Tim’s impact. Just last week, Pastor Tim was standing to read our first Scripture at the 10:30 service, full of the same joy and energy we had come to expect of him. But on Tuesday, God called him home. As I talked with people throughout the day, they all said the same thing about Pastor Tim—he was an encourager, a blesser, someone who lived his life in purposeful and meaningful ways. And most importantly, he lived his life with one goal in mind: to help people know Jesus. When news of Tim’s passing reached our ears, I called the staff into the office and shared that moment with them, and interestingly, Cindy had just started working on Pastor Tim’s review of a book called, “Knowing God.” And Pastor’s Tim’s final sentence pointed us to Philippians 3: 10, which paraphrased, says this: “I want to know Christ and become like him.” Today we’re beginning a three-week exploration of our mission here at Lakeside (our reason for being), and Pastor Tim has pointed us in the right direction. We want to know Christ and become like him. At our very core, this is who the are, a flawed, messy, and broken people, yet a hope-filled people yearning to know God.  If you have your Bibles…

One of my favorite Psalms in the Bible is Psalm 8. It’s this beautiful picture of a person looking up into the heavens on a clear night, a night where all the cosmos seems to be fully alive. And the majesty of what he sees is enough to drive the author to worship. In the midst of this stunning night sky, the author poses the question: why would God want anything to do with us? Why on earth would God pay any attention to simple human beings when there is so much beauty in the world? What a great question. Sometimes I think about the mistakes I’ve made and the drama I’ve helped create, and the sin that I so easily give in to, and I understand the author’s question. Why would God want anything to do with me? There are days I can’t stand to be around myself, so why would the God of the Universe, perfect and holy, give me even a hint of attention? And I’m still not sure I have a good answer for it. But what I do know is this: all throughout Scripture, God is actively pursuing us, which tells me that God is inviting us to something more. 

That something more is what we call relationship. And I’m convinced that the God of all creation wants to be in a life-giving relationship with each of us. In other words, God wants to know us and God wants us to know him. You might remember the story of Adam and Eve, the first human beings mentioned in the Bible. Before sin entered their story, they had the type of relationship with God that is almost inconceivable to us: they were so extraordinarily close with God, so intimate with Him, that they walked with Him in the garden and talked like old friends tend to talk. And it was life, the best type of life that any of us could ever imagine. So when I think of what God is offering us, what God wants for us, that’s the image that comes to mind. That’s the goal I believe God has for every one of us. And it’s possible. It is possible to truly know God, because God wants to be known! But like any healthy relationship, it takes some work. 

A few years ago, I was introduced to a couple hoping to salvage their marriage. They had been married for well over a decade, and for most of those years, they were in love. But things were now quickly beginning to break down. And so from time to time we met and talked…and those moments never seemed to produce any type of positive change. In fact, some of our sessions were so tense I was convinced that one of them would simple throw up his or her hands and walk out the door. Sooner or later I began to realize that their marriage was missing something. The more we talked, the clearer it became that this couple knew everything about each other, but they didn’t actually know each other. They had no problem telling me what he or she did or didn’t do, but they couldn’t look each other in the eye. It was as if these two people, once so full of love for each other, were now more strangers than friends. And I grieved for them.

Those marriage conversations were painful for me. It’s painful to watch two people fall so out of touch with one another, painful to know that neither of them expected this to happen. But it did. And if we had more time, we probably could’ve dialed back to moments that led up to this point, moments when they consciously or unconsciously traded intimacy for complacency and beauty for status quo. And do you know what I find to be so unsettling about this reality? This isn’t just a reality for struggling married couples, but something that has crept in the life of many in the church today.

Now, I hope I don’t scare you off by saying this, but there’s a very real problem in cultural Christianity. We’ve settled. We’ve settled for for a faith that knows about Jesus. I mean, we have more resources, more books, and more information than any generation before us, but knowing about God has never been the goal. We’ve been invited into a living faith that actually knows Jesus. And I think this lies at the heart of Peter’s letter. If anyone knows a thing or two about relationships with Jesus, it would be Peter. You probably remember some of Peter’s story. He’s eager to follow Jesus. He even boldly says that he would willingly die with Jesus. But towards the end of Jesus’ life, there’s this unsettling moment when Peter realizes something: He got Jesus wrong. Three years studying at the school of Jesus. Three years of miracles, healings, and teachings and yet he got something wrong. Three years with Jesus…and yet he was missing the most important part. He thought he had Jesus all figured out. He thought he could use Jesus to accomplish what he thought was important. And as Jesus makes his way to a cross, Peter speaks the truth of his heart “I don’t know the man.” This man who spent so much time with Jesus didn’t actually know him. So that’s why Peter writes this letter. He understand there’s so much more to Jesus, and he never wants his people to settle for anything less than an intimate relationship with God. 

What about you? Is that something you want? St. Augustine once said that our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Christ alone. And that type of rest, that type of victory, that type of peace, comes only when we walk and talk with Jesus as a friend. You see, the only way to truly know another is through a personal relationship. You can’t outsource your friendship with God to any teacher, book, class or podcast, as helpful as they may be. Your friendship with God, your knowledge of God, must be cultivated between you and God. And our job as a church is to help you do that. Now, all of this can sound a bit intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. The first step is always the hardest one, but it’s more natural than what you think. You just have to commit to taking it. When I first met Joanna, I knew I wanted to have some type of relationship with her, which meant I had to pursue her. And at first it was clumsy. We had silly conversations about kool-aid and third grade Disney plays, but over time, the conversations shifted, and before long, we started to know each other… until the day our lives were joined together as one. And all it took was time, presence and trust.

If you want know God, then I would commend to you those three words, which are really three disciplines that help us begin to form a friendship with God. And I could be wrong, but I really believe that these three words are at the core of healthy relationships. I don’t know of any relationships that survive without the commitment of time. In fact, one of the reasons for the marriage implosion of the couple I referenced earlier had to do with exactly that. They stopped paying attention to each other and simply grew apart. One of the healthiest things you can do if you want to know Jesus is this: Set aside time every day to pay attention to God. Take your Bible, open it up and ask God to talk with you. He will, and you’ll be better for it. You can know about God through me. You can know about God through others. You can know about God through study. But you can only know God through God, and that requires time. 

The second word I commend to you is presence. And by that, I simply mean this: Find undistracted moments and space where God can have your fullest attention. Have you ever noticed how often Jesus would escape the crowd and find some mountain, simply to be present with the Father? He would leave everything behind, just to be present to the Source of life and strength and joy. Sometimes he would pray. Sometimes he would simply listen. But those moments were all about giving the Father space to do His work in the Son. And if Jesus had to do that, then so do we. Those moments are not about “finding yourself.” They’re not about mediation. They’re about creating space where God can do God’s work in you. If you drive early in the morning and pass my house, you might see me sitting on the front porch, wasting time away in God’s presence. That porch is my mountain, a place where I’m free from lists and voices and distractions, so that I can be fully present to the One who wants to know me. Where is your mountain? Find that place and go there often. 

The final word I have for you is trust. That’s an important word, because as you give God time and presence, He’ll begin to speak to you. In other words, he’ll begin to know you. That’s how you can tell that a relationship is forming. When the other party begins to take interest in your life, a friendship is growing. And that can feel really vulnerable, and sometimes even scary. You see, ultimately, knowing God is also about letting God know us- the good, the bad and the ugly. Remember, in the garden Adam and Eve were originally naked before God, and it was good. God knew everything about them, warts and all, and yet they had life. When God has full knowledge of who we are, both inside and out, we have to trust that He will do what is good. 

Time, presence and trust. Three disciplines to cultivate a life-giving relationship with the God of the Universe. Are you ready to take those steps? This is us. This is who we are at our core, a people who long to know God. As we wrap up, I wonder today if you’re satisfied with who you are in Christ. If not, maybe it’s time to respond this morning. Maybe you’ve been like so many, and you’ve settled for a knowledge about God instead of a knowledge of God. Maybe you’ve been hiding something from God and haven’t been able to trust him with that news. Or maybe, your faith has just grown complacent and weary. If so, why not do something different and new today? It might just lead to life. Amen.