He started by sharing the burden in his heart for a sequential path to the spiritual growth of believers. Quoting from Acts 20:32, he showed that there’s a sequence there. First to God, Paul said, then to the Word of His grace, and that guarantees that you are built up. Therefore if a believer is not built up, it means he hasn’t truly met God and really haven’t been exposed to the Word of His grace. “Many haven’t met God, neither do they know Him”, he claimed.
According to Gen 1:1, in the beginning of anything is God. The foundation for a believer’s spiritual experience is God, not vision, not purpose but an encounter with God. Drawing from John 17:1 – 3, he explained that eternal life is a journey that explores the person of God and His son Jesus Christ.
Jer 9:23 – 24, II Tim 1:12
Paul said “I know whom I have believed”. The religions of the world prioritize rituals over relationships; only the faith life emphasises and is predicated on intimacy with divinity.
Dan 11:32b
He went further to share four platforms of knowing God.
The first is the scripture. The scripture is the first of God’s authorised channels. Our desperation must be managed and we must be shown the authorised pathways.
2 Tim 3:15 – 17
There’s a kind of wisdom that the world gives but the one that comes from scriptures is able to bring you to salvation. Note though that it’s not enough to open the bible intellectually, you need the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Scriptures reveal the character of God and His methodologies. When you know God, that is his character, it gives you stability. In this kingdom, results are not as important as how they’re gotten. And so knowing the ways and methods of God is very important. The way of the Lord is revealed in scriptures. “If you do not follow his ways, there would be side effects to the results you get that would not make the journey you took worth it.”
The second platform of knowing God is His names. The dimensions of God are captured in his names.
Ex 3:15 Moses knew he needed to have an answer for the question “who sent you?”
You must catch the dimensions that support your destiny.
Prov 18:10 We know God when we know His names. There are dimensions of God’s power that are invested in His names. There is a name of God you need to call when you find yourself in certain situations.
The third platform that helps us to know God is Jesus Christ himself. Col 1:15, Heb 1:1 – 3 Christ has personified the person of God. Jesus came as the standard for interpreting God and so editing our previous understanding and perceptions of God prior to His coming. You want to know God? Look at Jesus Christ.
I Tim 3:16 Jesus is the embodiment of all the names of God, and that’s why he has a superior name. Jesus is the complete revelation and perfect theology of God.
The last platform for knowing God is very personal, and that is your personal experience of God.
Reading from Job 42:5, he opined that your experience should reveal a dimension of God.
1 John 1:1 In his exact words, “Knowing a theoretical God is very risky, you must trust God for an experience.” Your experience strengthens your convictions. When you go through certain things and God shows up for you in powerful ways, you come to an experience of God. You shouldn’t stop at hearing and seeing; you should handle the things you have heard and seen.
In wrapping up, he made it clear that our vacillation is proof that we only have theoretical knowledge. What our generation needs more than anything is deep conviction birthed out of an experiential walk with God. He thereafter led the congregation in fervent prayers.