Touré Roberts - Knowing God

We talked about covenant or confidence, bringing covenant and confidence. I also realized that, as it relates to knowing God, this covenant not only brings confidence, but knowing the character and characteristics of God elevates confidence to a whole new level. It offers a greater dimension of reassurance. If we look back at all the people who accomplished great things for God, one thing they all had in common was that they truly knew God. They weren’t simply acquainted with Him. Let me show you something quickly. This is something that Job said; Job is the guy in the Bible that nobody wants to be like. You have your heroes in the Bible—like Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Peter—but no one says, «I want to be like Job,» because, as you know, Job went through a lot of trials. However, Job said something powerful at the end of his ordeal. By the way, there is always an end to your ordeal, so if you’re in a difficult situation—like I mentioned earlier—just know that there is always an end, and the end is better than the beginning. Are you tracking with me? That’s why you have to keep going; you can’t quit or give up because you’re moving toward an end. I feel this for some of you; I hear God saying that the end is going to be worth the middle and the beginning. Some of you feel like you’ve missed out on certain things. I can’t address that right now, but let me pull it together. Some of you feel like you’ve missed out on opportunities, thinking, «I’m past my prime; I missed out on this or that.» But you are counting the end with reference to the beginning or the middle. The end of a thing is what qualifies it; it’s not how you started, but how you finish. Are you following me? Where are my finishers at? Just to see what the end will be, I will keep on running! Oh, no, wait! I need to pull it in.

So anyway, at the end of his days, Job says something in Job 42:5 that is powerful. He says, «I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes have seen you.» He refers to going to another level in his relationship and knowledge of God, because, too often, a significant percentage of believers have a relationship with God that is based on hearsay. «I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear.» Yes, I know my pastor says these things about you, and my grandma speaks of you, and we often try to live vicariously through other people’s faith. Are you following me? If this is the conclusion of Job’s testimony, could it be that the only reason he went through what he endured was to transition from having a relationship with God through hearsay to having a relationship with God through personal experience? Here’s what I mean: when you’re growing in your relationship with God, a dialogue should be cultivated between you and Him. Here is how the dialogue works: first, God comes to you and says, «I am, ” and by the time He’s finished with you, you don’t just hear Him say, „I am;“ you start declaring, „He is!“ He is my light and my salvation; He is my shepherd; I shall not want. That takes time. Right now, some of you are in a season where you are just hearing God say, „I am, ” and that’s fine; everyone has to start somewhere. But if you’re going to fulfill your calling, if you’re going to be everything that God has called you to be—like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in every season—you have to transition from God saying „I am“ to you proclaiming who God is. Are you tracking with me? If you know who God is—not simply because He said it, but because you have found a testimony—you can confidently declare it. Come on and holler at me this morning: „The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?“ Are you tracking with me? We must reach the point where our relationship is no longer based on hearsay.

Let me clarify what hearsay means. The literal definition of hearsay is unverified, unofficial information gained from another person that does not constitute direct knowledge. Oh man, if you’re taking notes, write this down: the most important thing you can ever do in your life is to know God; it is to truly know God. Now, let me level with you: knowing God the way that He wants you to know Him is a journey of evolution. Paul said something significant, and if you’re taking notes for your own Bible study, check out Philippians 3:10. Paul states something intriguing at a time in his life when he already knew God. He had already planted churches and everything, so clearly he had a relationship with the Lord. Yet, he proclaims, „to know Him.“ This is what I want for you! First, he lists all of his earthly accomplishments, and they were vast.