It's interesting to me how in life we oftentimes find ourselves connected to people who are really a whole lot different than us. That was how my relationship was with my Childhood best friend, Andrew.
Andrew was pretty laid back; I tend to be a little intense.
Andrew was slow to get angry, I was always ready to fly off the handle.
Andrew was a country boy... he had bee-bee guns, was an excellent fisherman, and was tough.
I was essentially raised on the cul-de-sac, wore power-rangers costumes for way too long, and was addicted to video games... and was less tough.
One thing we had in common however is that we both loved sports. Which meant we would always play home-run-derby and one-on-one basketball as often as possible.
I liked to manipulate the situation into playing basketball, because Andrew was way-way better at baseball. But one day in particular, while we were playing basketball, I can remember Andrew just beating me over and over again. I was a grade older, and a smidge taller, So I usually had a fighting chance, but Andrew just would not lose that day.
So being the calm, cool, and collected child that I was, I proceeded to throw hissy fit. Think of that utterly stereotypical, I'm-not-getting-my-way hissy fit. That was me when I couldn't win.
But things escalated to the point where I said one of the stupidest things I've ever said in my life... I looked at Andrew as said "Well, Maybe we just shouldn't be friends anymore!"
Have you been there before?
You aren't getting what you want, so you throw a hissy fit? Or maybe it's the more adult, socially acceptable form of a hissy fit. You just start acting passive, start to shorten your answers, and begin to act ambivalent about something you actually care about.
In our relationships we often lose sight of what actually matters most. We miss the point. Far too often, the focus of our relationships is not the person we're relating to – the focus becomes what we can get out of that person.
Interestingly enough, we oftentimes take our fallen perspective in our human relationships, and project that into our relationship with God.
If prayer is simply an opportunity to communicate with a sovereign, mighty, all loving, all knowing God, is the purpose of our prayer to know Him, or to use Him?
I believe that the point of life in general is to Know God, and to know His Son Jesus that has been revealed to us. We do that by acknowledging who God is, and who His Son Jesus is. And we don't know God, so we can use him, we know God so we can know Him more.
We know God as we move from selfishness to relationship. And the door to relationship is always open.
Let's pray
Prayer is something that was a complete non-factor for many of the formative years of my life. My mother certainly taught me to pray and modeled that in my home. I'm thinking of every time she was driving me to school late because I refused to get out of bed, and in the stress and rush of that scenario we would always pray (Or at least she would pray while I quietly stewed in my anger with my head pressed against the car window).
I guess I just thought that prayer was absurd. You mean you expect me to quietly direct my thoughts to a God that I cannot see, and cannot hear? How absurd is that?
I fought having a real connection with God for years...I now understand that by fighting off prayer all those years, I was fighting off the very source of my life.
At the end of the last supper Jesus takes a vocal caveat and begins to just pray to the Father. Yes, Jesus himself, in the hour of His betrayal prays. Many of us consider Matthew 6:9 and following as the Lord's prayer... "Our Father in heaven..."
There is nothing inherently wrong with that prayer, but the name can be deceiving. Yes the Lord has taught us how to pray in Matthew chapter 6, but in John chapter 17 Jesus prays from His own spirit and self to the Father. So in some regards John 17 is more true to the idea of The Lord's prayer. And in this prayer, we are shown the secret and purpose of life.
"And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."
Now hold on with me. There is a lot going on at this point in the Bible. And practically, there is a lot vying for our attention in our lives presently. Jesus is making a transcendent, Incredible claim.
He says: I AM LIFE. He says: Life means: Knowing me, and knowing my Father.
He says: I am life, not what you can get from me. I am life, not how better or worse your life gets after you start following me. I am life, not the results of following me. I, myself, literally am life.
If you're the type of person to fill stuff in or take notes this is your first point:
The purpose of life is to Know God and to know Jesus.
At the deepest root of it all, why do we pray?
The answer is simple, and not all that complicated: We pray to know God and to know Jesus. Knowing God and knowing Jesus is life.
Jesus gives some more hints at this in Chapter 17:1-2:
When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
As Christians, we stake our whole lives to the preposterous claim that we could know God. And how is it possible to know God? We claim to know God, because his son Jesus has made it possible.
Jesus says "glorify your Son, that the Son may glorify you." Plainly speaking, God has been made known through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. On the cross, God was glorfied, and made known through Jesus.
In Jesus, an unseen God becomes visible. In Jesus God is knowable.
The Apostle Peter describes this a bit further in 1 Peter 1:8, "8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory..."
Practical observation for everyone: I have never seen God. He didn't make a visible cameo at my baptism when I was 9. He didn't crack open the ceiling to say hello when I was ordained.
But through Jesus, This unseen God can be deeply known. This is worth putting your faith in. This is worth living your life for.
And so we pray. We pray to know an invisible God.
The purpose of life is to Know God and to Know Jesus. But how do we do this?
Is there a special prayer to pray? Is there a class we need to take? Do I need to go to a certain church?
Knowing God can seem like a complicated process. Far more complicated than it actually is.
Jesus tells us that the point of life is to know God and to know Him, but He doesn't just leave us hanging around clueless as to how to do that. In his prayer in John 17, Jesus gives insight into how exactly you can come to know God.
To really, deeply know God, there is a clear starting point.
8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
Jesus' disciples knew two really important things. The most important things in fact
1) They acknowledged who Jesus was.
2) They understood that Jesus was sent by God.
Jesus related very closely with a small group of individuals throughout the course of his ministry on earth. And in a backwards kind of way, His disciples figure out what is most important in life.
The fact that Jesus' disciples are in the Bible often causes us to view them as greater than they are. I mean, they're in the Bible...they're basically professional followers of Jesus right?
Jesus' disciples had the wrong idea a lot of the time. They wanted to make Jesus' a physical political ruler. They wanted him to usher in the righteous reign of God's chosen people the Jews, by overthrowing the Roman authorities that ruled over them when Jesus walked upon the earth. But when Jesus died, his disciples were honestly perplexed. They didn't know the revolution that Jesus was starting was a spiritual one, not a political one.
Jesus' disciples didn't have a whole lot figured out. But they did figure out what was most important...
In verse 8 we see that the disciples acknowledged who Jesus was, and they acknowledged who God is.
Second point for you note taking folks to fill in:
We know God and Jesus by acknowledging who they are.
Isn't it interesting that the start of the Lord's prayer in Matthew 6 begins with acknowledging who God is? In the same way, the most significant thing you can do in your entire life is acknowledge who God is, and who His son Jesus is.
Jesus makes this clear in Mark Chapter 8
27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" 28 And they told him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets." 29 And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Christ." 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
So Jesus is walking along with his disciples, just having a chat and he's testing the waters... "What do the people say about me?" he's stirring the pot...
Then boom... the big fat question: But who do YOU say I am?
To truly know God, we have to acknowledge him. This is the decision that every human being is faced with. It is an abrasive direct call. Who do YOU say I am?
We need to reconcile the fact that Jesus Christ was a human being who actually walked on the face of the earth. No, He's not a 21st century American. He's the 1st century itinerant carpenter. The common-Jewish man who made the earth-shattering claim that He was the Son of the God. The man who was bold enough to say "I am the way, and the truth, and the life." Who claimed that He was the exclusive way to know God.
How will you answer Him? To truly know God, means to have eternal life. Your answer has incredible ramifications. (Pause)
We know God, and we know Jesus by acknowledging who they are. But that is just the beginning.
When I was about 10 years old my dad took me up to the United Center in Chicago for a Chicago Bulls basketball game. That evening, we were sitting in the nosebleeds...way at the top of the stadium. I honestly didn't care; I was just pumped to be there. I love anything Chicago Bulls.
In between the 3rd and 4th quarters we were walking down to the lower level to check out the fan store, when a guy leaving the stadium walked by us with two tickets. He told us to enjoy the 4th quarter. The tickets were for the 5th row. Center court.
Can you imagine the look on the face of a 10-year-old boy as he walks down the stairs to his spot 5 rows off center court? It was like I had never watched basketball before. Sitting that close to these seven-feet tall men. The colors of the jerseys more vivid than ever.
Why do we settle for the nosebleeds when we could be sitting 5 rows off center court?
We do the same thing in our relationships with God.
Why stop at acknowledging God, when we can constantly know him at a greater level?
The sad truth is that for the vast majority a relationship with God constitutes an "in or out ticket." We just want to get into the stadium, makes sure everything is alright... But there's no need to sit too close. We're already in the stadium....
Each any every one of us is being invited into an intimate and ever expanding and deepening relationship with God. We start this by acknowledging who He is. But if we allow it to, it continues to grow from there.
Before that John 17 prayer, Jesus had some more direct words for His disciples. He didn't want them to be content with their present standing with their Heavenly Father. In fact, he wanted them to be bolder. From John 16:23-24 we read...
23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
Here's the misnomer... "If I have a relationship with God I have immediate access to unlimited genie wishes."
FALSE. That IS NOT the point of life.
Third point for note taking individuals
Once we know God, we ask to know Him more.
When we ask to know God more in the name of Jesus... the answer is always, and unequivocally YES.
But do our prayers leading us to know God more?
Are you prayers causing you to know God more?
Sometimes your worried prayers over your children is exactly what is getting in the way of you knowing God. Sometimes your prayer of discontentment about your marriages or relationships is exactly what is getting in the way of you knowing God. Sometimes your plea for financial peace and prosperity is exactly what is getting in the way of you knowing God. Sometimes your prayer for healing is exactly what is getting in the way of you knowing God.
I want to be fair and gentle yet affirmative here. There is nothing inherently wrong with praying for your children, your relationships, your finances, or your health. God cares deeply for all of our needs. However, if those needs are greater than your need to know God... your prayers aren't prioritized correctly. And you are setting yourself up for pain.
A life of prayer directed at knowing God is the only thing that satisfies. And it's the only way to know Him. This is clearly outlined all throughout scripture.
From Psalm 37:4 – Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. When the desire of our heart at the deepest level is knowing the Lord, we have been assured that The Lord will always grant that desire. Desire Him with all of your heart.
From Jeremiah 29:13 – You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. When we have reached the point where we are seeking The Lord with our entire heart – laying aside no effort – scripture promises that we will most certainly find Him. Seek Him with all of your heart.
And perhaps most compellingly told by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:7-8 – But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.
When we have reached the point when Knowing Jesus Christ is worth forsaking all, we have truly grasped eternal life in the here and now. Lay all aside to know Christ.
I think the goal of the relationship with God is to reach the point where nothing is more important than Him. Where all we want is Him. He is more than sufficient for all of our need. I pray that we would take hold of Him, for He is truly life.