John Bevere - Pursue Jesus as Much as He Pursues You
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I’m going to make a bold statement: you don’t even know God; you haven’t even begun to know God unless you have the fear of the Lord. Okay, you just finished chapter 29. Wow, do I love this section! As a matter of fact, this section and the next are my two favorite sections in the book. I’m so glad you’re there! Let’s talk about intimacy. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Is it scientific knowledge? No. Is it knowledge of the Bible? No. The Pharisees knew the first five books of the Bible from memory, but they didn’t recognize the Son of God who was standing right in front of them. No, it’s the knowledge of God.
Chapter 2:5 of Proverbs says this. Let me put it like this: the fear of the Lord is the beginning; it’s the starting place of knowing God intimately. I’m going to make a bold statement: you don’t even know God; you haven’t even begun to know God unless you have the fear of the Lord in your heart. This is how important it is. This is why I believe Jesus delighted in the fear of the Lord. Now, it is the beginning or starting place of intimacy. Moses made this statement in Exodus 33:12 and 13. He said, «You have told me…"—he’s speaking to God when he says this—"You have told me I know you by name.» The word «know» is the Hebrew word «yadah,» which means to know someone intimately. It’s actually used in Genesis 4:1, where it says, «And Adam knew his wife Eve, and she conceived.»
So, the most intimate that two human beings can be on Earth, the word «yadah» is used. Moses said, «God, you know me deeply; you know my thoughts, you know my motives, you know my heart. I know you by name.» Not only does God know him, but he knows him by name. In other words, you’re not a number to God; he knows you by name! Isn’t that amazing? He said, «And I look favorably on you.» This is Moses praying to God. If it is true that you look favorably on me, Moses said, «let me know your ways,» so I may understand you more fully and continue to enjoy your favor. So, in order to enjoy God’s favor, in order to know him more fully, we have to search his heart out the way he has searched our hearts.
You say, «God has searched my heart?» Yes! David says in Psalm 139 that the number of thoughts you have about me outnumber every grain of sand on this planet. Now, God can exaggerate, so when David wrote that, he wasn’t kidding. God has had so many thoughts! If I look at the thoughts I’ve had about Lisa over 40 years of marriage, if I added them all up, I might get a shoebox full of sand. That’s actually pretty good because that’s thinking about her! I think about her once every 8 or 12 seconds; I figured it out one day. God says, «The thoughts I’ve had about you outnumber every grain of sand.»
Now, let’s stop and think about this. What have I enjoyed doing? I’ve enjoyed getting to know Lisa better in our marriage. My thoughts about her include how much she loves coffee with these nut milks and how much she loves to have her feet rubbed. I know how much Lisa loves a really good romantic movie. I know things she doesn’t like; she can’t stand jazz. I’ve learned this over our 40 years, and to be honest with you, I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve pondered: What would she like? If I did this, would she like it? I’m thinking, «What pleases her?» So, I’ve searched out her heart, and that’s why we’re closer after 40 years of marriage. This is what God has done with you and me. He has searched our hearts because he wants to know us intimately.
So, Moses says, «God, I want you to reveal yourself to me because I’m going to search you out.» See, this is the privilege we get as believers: we can be as close to God as we want to be, or we can be as distant from him as we want to be. He is the most wonderful being in the entire universe. I’ve never been around anyone I like more; he is absolutely magnificent! Sometimes we don’t understand why he does things, and we get angry. That’s not smart because he’s perfect. Perfect love means that what he’s doing, even if you don’t understand, is good. You may not understand the enemy you’re fighting. There have been many times when people have gotten angry at God, and it wasn’t God’s involvement at all; it was the enemy.
We have to remember: God put us on this Earth, and he gave us authority on this Earth. Often, he’s waiting for us to take authority over situations in the name of Jesus, but we don’t. We tolerate it, and then we put the blame on God when maybe it wasn’t him at all; it was the powers of darkness. You have to understand, God’s like a radio station; he’s constantly sending signals out. If my radio is not working, I don’t call the station and say, «Hey, you need to start broadcasting.» I need to say, «Hey, what’s wrong with my radio? I need to fix it.»
If we don’t understand what God is doing, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t care for us; it just means we need to seek a little more. So, Moses was saying, «I want to know you deeply and intimately, and the only way I can is if you show me your ways.» Just like I’ve sought out Lisa’s ways over the last 40 years, you seek his ways out, and let me tell you: this is where you will find fullness of life.