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What It Means to Truly Know God · In the Stillness Podcast

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  Hey guys, this is friendly. Welcome back to another episode
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  on the podcast. OK, so today is really special
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  because we closed out in Second Thessalonians yesterday and
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  we're starting a new book study series.
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  I kept praying and asking the Lord as I was wrapping up Second
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  Thessalonians. OK, God, what should I study
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  next? What do you want me to really
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  press into and learn? And what has been so clear on my
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  heart is this desire to know the Father's love even deeper and
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  have more of a revelationary response and so that I can give
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  it out more freely and more sacrificially because Jesus
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  tells his disciples freely. You have received so freely give
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  and I don't want to just talk about love.
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  I want to actually live it out from a place of truly knowing
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  Him who is love. So we are going to be walking
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  through 1st and 2nd and 3rd John over the next few weeks and I
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  really believe that this is going to be a super identity
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  shaping series for me and I pray for all of us.
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  Before we read, just a little background that I want to go
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  into to set the tone. This book, it was written by
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  John. This same John who literally
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  walked with Jesus, talked with him and witnessed his teaching
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  and ministry. And this man, he had front row
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  access to this life of Jesus like he is literally leaning on
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  his chest at the Last Supper. He wrote this letter to affirm
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  believers in their faith, to correct any false teachings and
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  misunderstanding, and to really build their confidence in their
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  identity in Christ. And something that I love about
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  John is how he writes because he's very simple and direct, but
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  he also uses very vivid contrast.
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  He contrasts light versus darkness and truth and lies,
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  love and hate. It's super straightforward, but
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  it still paints a picture that we can imagine, and honestly, it
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  is so relevant for us today. At this point in the early
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  church, Christianity had already been around for about a
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  generation and there was starting to be a decline in
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  commitment. We could see more compromise.
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  There's more conforming to the world standards and kind of like
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  a lukewarm cultural Christianity, which sounds
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  familiar. So as we read this, don't just
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  listen to it and hear it as history.
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  I want us to hone in and think this is for us right now because
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  God's Word, it is living and active and it is not dated by
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  time. It does not expire.
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  So let's just look at it from a lens of this is for us today.
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  And also one more thing that I do love.
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  John is often referred to as the disciple whom Jesus loved.
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  And as I was thinking about this as I started this book, I
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  thought it was kind of funny because we see him refer to
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  himself as this in his own gospel.
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  But instead of that coming from an area of pride, I think it
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  actually reveals something really powerful.
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  John knew his identity. He was secure in the fact that
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  Jesus loved him. And that confidence that he had,
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  it shaped how he lived and how he loved those around him.
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  So that really inspired me as as I was thinking on it.
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  But with that, let's go ahead and read.
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  I'm going to be reading from the Passion translation, but we're
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  going to read first John chapter 1 verses one through 4 today.
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  We saw him with our very own eyes.
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  We gazed upon him and heard him speak.
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  Our hands actually touched Him, the one who was from the
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  beginning the living expression of God.
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  This life Giver was made visible and we have seen him.
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  We testify to this truth. The eternal life Giver lived
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  face to face with the Father and has now dawned upon us.
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  So we proclaim to you what we have seen and heard about this
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  life Giver so that we may share and enjoy this life together.
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  For truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son
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  Jesus, the Anointed One. We are writing these things to
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  you because we want to release to you our fullness of joy.
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  So good. OK, so going into my takeaways,
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  I really liked how John started this letter.
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  It wasn't with opinions, but it was with evidence.
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  He's basically saying in layman's terms, guys, I saw
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  Jesus, I heard him speak, I touched him.
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  This is real. And there is so much weight in
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  that because he immediately establishes A foundational
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  truth. Jesus is the living expression
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  of God. God did not stay distant.
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  He came near. He took on flesh.
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  Jesus is God. That is a core part of the
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  Christian faith, and we see this all throughout Scripture.
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  We see this in Colossians 1, John 1, Hebrews one.
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  There's something about all of these authors starting it and
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  establishing it because everything was created through
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  him, by him, and for him. And here's why that really
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  matters. Life is found in Jesus and not
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  just eternal life, like one day when I die, I'm saved.
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  But it's your present life right now.
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  So I want us to really sit with this.
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  What do you believe brings you life?
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  What do you run to for happiness or fulfillment?
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  And if you're honest, if that thing was taken away, something
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  that really brings you happiness, think about your job,
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  maybe it's a relationship, your body or appearance, your plans.
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  Would you still say that life is found in Jesus?
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  That Jesus is enough? Because John is making it
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  crystal clear. Life is not found in what Jesus
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  gives, it is found in him. And when you actually know him,
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  not just know about him, when you truly know him and
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  experience Jesus, you cannot help but share.
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  John lays out this kind of road map.
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  I'm very visual, so I like to put things in arrows sometimes.
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  It's like an equation. But I wrote out he's seen arrow,
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  he testifies, arrow he proclaims.
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  And while we have not physically walked with Jesus like John did,
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  we do walk with him by his Spirit.
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  So I think the question then becomes, are we testifying?
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  Are we proclaiming? Because guys, you know if you
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  know God, just like you know if you know a person in your life,
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  there's no room for question marks.
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  And knowing God is not just a feeling, it's so much deeper
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  than that. It produces an assurance, a
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  confidence, which gives us a secure identity.
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  But that kind of knowing it only comes through a relationship.
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  It's not a once a week meet and greet with God or a surface
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  level check in. It requires consistency,
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  intentionality, and intimate time with the Lord because
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  that's when you learn His voice sitting in His presence.
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  You begin being transformed by His word.
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  And it's out of that relationship that something
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  beautiful is born. Because we're then brought into
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  fellowship, and John addresses the shared life that we're made
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  for. Fellowship is not just hanging
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  out, It's actually a partnership in the truth.
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  It is anchored in God's Word, it's unified by belief, and
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  ultimately it's sustained every single day by the Holy Spirit.
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  We are to know God and to walk with others who also know Him.
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  We're made to live in the fullness of His presence where
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  Psalm 1611 says that is where the fullness of joy is found.
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  So I think that this is a moment for us to really take kind of an
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  inventory on our lives. One, are you taking advantage of
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  the gift of fellowship? Who are you surrounding yourself
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  with? What are you filling your time
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  with? And also, is your confidence in
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  your relationship with Jesus the true life giver?
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  Is it being reflected in how boldly and openly you share Him?
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  It's not just meant to be with your words, but with your entire
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  life. Are you unashamed?
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  Because when you do know Jesus, it naturally shows.
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  So with all of that, I'm going to go ahead and close this out
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  in prayer. Father God, thank you so much
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  for revealing yourself to us through Jesus, the living
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  expression of who you are. Thank you for not staying
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  distant, but for coming so near, so much so that we would truly
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  know You and experience full, abundant life in You.
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  I pray that You would really deepen our understanding of Your
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  love, that it would not just be in our thoughts and minds, but
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  anchored in our hearts. Would you draw us into a more
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  intimate relationship with You? Jesus?
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  Teach us to recognize Your voice and to crave Your presence every
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  single day from the moment that we wake up to the time that we
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  lay our heads. Would you strengthen our
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  confidence in our identity as your beloved children and let
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  that confidence overflow into how we love others?
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  Would you give us a boldness, not that is proud, not that is
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  arrogant, but humble, humble enough to testify and to
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  proclaim and to live unashamed of the truth of the gospel.
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  May our lives reflect that we truly do know you, Jesus.
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  We give this entire study of first and second and third John
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  to you. We give this day to you.
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  Lord, just do your work in our hearts from the inside out.
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  Transform us. We are here to glorify your
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  name. We pray this in your name,
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  Jesus. Amen.
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  OK y'all. Well that is what I have for
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  today's episode. I'm so looking forward to going
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  through the series with you guys and praying that y'all have a
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  wonderful rest of your day. I will see y'all on the next
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  pod.