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I Know You

Writer's picture: DeborahDeborah


Matthew 7:23 ESV

Matthew 7:21-23 ESV

Psalm 6:8 ESV


There is a “thing” in human nature about being known.


Humans were created (generally) to be social people. We are tribal. Even those humans who are extremely introverted long to be with some sort of tribe.


Even if it’s a small tribe of introverts.


We want to belong to something greater than ourselves.


I believe that three of my four children are introverts. Only one of my children is an extrovert. But, even my children who are introverts are part of a small tribe.


The one extrovert cannot have too many friends. His motto is, ‘The More the Merrier.’


I do not think it’s an accident that Jesus said in Matthew 7:23, “And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”


I never knew you was a stark reminder of just how much God wants His children to return His love.


God wants us to love Him back.


Just prior to the statement Jesus made to the crowd He made it clear in Matthew 7:21-22 that, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’”


We might tend to think that if someone prophesied or cast out demons in the name of Jesus they would surely know Jesus, but according to this text that was not always the case.


God always wanted humans to turn to Him. In Psalm 6:8 David wrote, “Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.”


David made it clear that we can discern the difference between those who truly seek God and those who are pretending to know God.


That begs the question, how do we know that we know Jesus?


I can try to tell you what I experienced as a child and as an adult.


When I was a child in Sunday School I learned about Jesus. I would also talk to my dad about Jesus and I learned about who Jesus was to him.


That didn’t mean I knew God.


I prayed to Jesus as a child and asked God to bless my food.


That didn’t mean I knew God.


I read my Bible.


That didn’t mean I knew God.


I was even baptized and I joined the church. You might think surely that means I knew God, but that’s not necessarily true. Those were choices I made saying I wanted to belong.


I did want to belong…but that didn’t necessarily mean I knew God.


Then in September, 1967 I went to hear Billy Graham preach at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. When I walked into the stadium that night the Holy Spirit touched me and I threw the door open.


Because I knew about Jesus, had read my Bible, had witnessed my dad’s faith and love for Jesus, I resoundingly said “yes”.


The Spirit came in that night.


Everything leading up to that moment taught me about who God is, but that night God changed my life forever.


After that night I started having dreams and visions that came true some time after.


Since my encounter with The Spirit was so dramatic, that helped me to know what the Spirit felt like and I wanted THAT again and again!


When I prayed I wanted the Spirit to touch me. I asked my dad what I needed to do to have God touch me again. My dad told me to be still before I prayed, to call on God, and to wait. You will feel great peace.


He promised that God would come.


God did come.


Thousands of times God has come.


Now when I speak or answer questions about KNOWING Jesus, I ask people to separate what the know about Jesus from what they have personally experienced. God is a relational creator. God touches those who seek Him in a personal way.


If you’re not sure be still before you pray. Call on God/Jesus. Wait for the Spirit to come. You will experience great peace.


Spiritual Practice: Ask God


Be still. Ask God to come. Wait. Let God’s peace fill you. Spend as much time with God as you want.


In God, Deborah

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About Me

I am a child of God. I can’t remember when God wasn’t part of my life. I served in a church setting for 30+ years and now I seek to help others see and find their sacred space. Daily when we turn to God we begin to recognize where God is at work in our lives.

 

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