What Happens When You Know Your God

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE KNOW OUR GOD
But the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits (Daniel 11:32)

As a Spiritual Weapons Guide, I've written a book that is principally aimed at knowing Satan and the tactics he uses against believers. But in order to be able to triumph over him, it is paramount that we know our God, who is a Spirit, and who occupies the same spiritual realm as Satan. Therefore, to be effective, we must understand the entire spiritual realm and the personalities of those in that realm, which includes God, as well as our chief enemy, Satan, who are both spirits. It's within that realm that spiritual battles are fought, and either won or lost.

Successful spiritual warfare necessitates us knowing God; knowing His character, His personality, His divinity, and His works so thatwe may receive clear direction as He guides us in our spiritual battles. One character trait of God is that He is a man of war (Exodus 15:3), as well as a Father to His sons (Matthew 6:32). As a man of war He goes with us into battle and fights on our behalf. As a Father, He loves, protects, provides for us, wants us to know Him, and to enjoy an intimate relationship with Him. God the Father wants His sons and daughters to be able to talk to Him about anything; to be able to depend on Him at all times and in all circumstances, just as we do our earthly fathers.

I have learned to love God with “all of my heart, all of my soul, all of my might, and all of my strength” as we are instructed in His word. It didn’t start out that way because I didn’t know Him. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. It took a long time to really get to know my Him and to enter into a personal relationship with Him. As a new convert, I learned to talk to God about almost anything; so I wasn’t afraid to believe the word of God that says “ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7). But, it took years until I learned to worship Him in “spirit and in truth.” It may be the same for you. But, we're all on a journey, and our heavenly Father is loving, patient, and longsuffering. So, He waits on us.

We serve God with our spirits
Paul said, “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit” (Romans 1:9). This lets us know that God is in a realm other than the natural realm. He is spirit, so we have to serve Him with our spirit. The Word of God says plainly that “God is a Spirit.” And because God is a Spirit, it requires using our spirits to draw near Him and to learn of Him. John 4:24 says that “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

With earthly fathers, we can touch them physically, we can speak to them personally, and we can see them with the natural eyes, but with our heavenly Father, we must touch Him by faith; we must talk (pray) to Him by faith; we must see Him not with our physical eyes, but with our spiritual eyes, which requires faith. Thus, it takes faith to know God. That’s why the scriptures says on three occasions, that “the just shall live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17 and Paul says it again in Hebrews 10:38): “now the just shall live by faith: but if any draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” God wants us to trust Him and to live by faith.

Building up the type of relationship God wants us to have with Him requires us to touch Him and to commune with Him through our human spirits, as Paul spoke of in Romans 1:9. Why? Because, God is Spirit. Spirit only can touch spirit. So, as believers, we need to do as Paul did; serve God with our spirits. It takes faith, and we have to learn to do so. Jesus suggested that we “take my [His] yoke upon you, and learn of me:... for my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30).

Increase our knowledge about God and how to approach Him
We need to increase our knowledge on the subject of God; to be familiar with spiritual things, and to understand the realm in which God resides. God is a Spirit and if we never learn to serve God with our spirits, then we will rarely touch Him, because we can only touch Him with our spirits. As Sons of God, who are made in the image and likeness of our Father God; we too are spiritual beings. We have an open door to touch Him and to come boldly into His presence at any time. So, if we never learn to touch Him with our spirits, we will not have direct access to His throne. We will then have to behave as commoners and other subjects who live within a kingdom; they have to wait to be invited into the king’s presence. But, those who are aware of their sonship never have to wait for Him. We can come directly into the presence of He, who is “King of kings,” or approach Him at any time. We have access to Him 24-7; 365 days a year. Let’s begin the journey of getting to know our God so that we may do those mighty exploits in the spirit as spoken of by Daniel.

Children’s expectations of their fathers
Most children are accustomed to their fathers taking care of their needs. It has only been in recent times that we have faced such a crisis of far too many absent fathers who are not there for their children; and in any many unfortunate cases, the children don’t know who their biological fathers are. That is unfortunate because children who grew up in homes with an absent father may find it difficult to identify with their heavenly Father, who is technically; physically absent, and must be touched by faith. It takes faith to serve God and faith is something you can't see, touch or feel--you just have to believe and trust.

Jesus told the disciples to pray: “Our Father, who art in heaven” because “if your earthly father knows how to give you good gifts, how much more will your heavenly father give you the things that you ask of him (Luke 11:13).” It’s regrettable that some Christians did not have good earthly fathers and hence may find it difficult to believe that God is the loving, caring, compassionate Father He claims. But it is true. “God is not a man that He should lie.” It may be difficult for some new believers, who are babes in Christ and not yet mature to reach out to a God they cannot see, touch, or feel. So, when Luke 11:13 says “if your earthly father knows how to give you good gifts, how much more will your heavenly father give you the things that you ask of him,” it may be hard for some to believe that’s true; because they can’t get pass what their earthly fathers did or did not do for them. This may be an underlying reason why some new converts remain babes, or carnal Christians for so much of their Christian life. They just can’t trust God because they haven’t taken the time to really get to know Him.

The journey to knowing God
Taking the time to know God is very rewarding. It helps us to live a victorious life, and it helps us to have victory over Satan and his demonic host. I can honestly say that I have taken time to know my God, and the things of God. It requires becoming students of the Word. We must “study to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” as stated in 2 Timothy 2:15.

Over the three decades that I have been serving the Lord, I have spent countless hours studying the scriptures, in pursuit of the truth and an increased knowledge of God. I have rejoiced, and sometimes labored in the presence of God through prayer and fasting, communion, and intercession to find small nuggets of wisdom that have been of great price to me. I have read and studied the writings of other godly men and women, who have revealed much to me about the character and the personalities of the Godhead: God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Through these spiritual giants, I have learned much about God, but it was only when I spent personal time with Him that I gained revelation knowledge of some of those deep truths prescribed to by these scholarly giants, such as R.A. Torrey; Evangelist Billy Graham; Kenneth Hagin; Kathryn Kuhlman; and contemporaries like Bishop T.D. Jakes; Dr. Myles Munroe and others.

Jesus instructed all his disciples to “take up my yoke and learn of me,” even though the twelve disciples had followed Him; ate, slept, and ministered with Him; some of them still did not know Him. One day Jesus asked them: who do men say that I am; and by-the-way, who do you say that I am? Peter had the correct answer, which was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit, but others didn't have a clue that He was God in the flesh.

Philip saith unto Him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake (John 14:8-11).

To tout that I know everything about God would be foolish, because God does not reveal himself totally to any man. The bible says; For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:11-14). No man knows “the things of God… but the Spirit of God” and for us to know “the things of God” we must know them by His Spirit because no natural man can receive or neither know spiritual things unless they are “spiritually discerned” as it says in the preceding verses.

None of us have the exact same experiences with the Lord. God reveals Himself to each individual in whatever way He deems necessary for that person to benefit and grow thereby. We not only experience the Lord and gain personal knowledge for ourselves, but we can learn from the experiences and testimonies of others and receive insight into the character and personality of our God.

Yours and my personal experiences and encounters with God may be limited but there are a great cloud of witnesses that know God in ways that you or I may never experience. God is nigh to us and will reveal Himself to us if our hearts are right before Him. He revealed Himself to the patriarchs in various ways. And to some, He chose not to reveal certain things, as is indicated in Luke 10:24. God revealed Himself to man through Jesus, through His word, through His prophets, His pastors, His evangelists, and others; as a testimony to His unfailing goodness, grace and love to all who will call upon His name. Just as importantly, He left us the Holy Spirit who is our comforter and our guide to lead us through many dangerous waters and victories as well.

All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. (Luke 10:22-24).
God does not want His children to know about

Getting to know God intimately
God wants His children to know Him. He wants us to know Him in an intimate and personal way. For the individual who wants to know God in a very intimate and personal way; it takes a commitment. It takes a commitment to prayer, to studying the word of God; in some cases, a commitment to fasting, and in other situations learning God through personal crises and in times of victory; and learning Him even from the experiences of others. Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1).

These practices lead us to the path of spirituality, maturity, and of knowing our God; which brings me back to Daniel 11:32, that says; “and they that do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt, but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” This scripture is encouraging and lets us know that when we get to know our God, we will be a people of great power and strength. We will be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might (Ephesians 6:10). Satan knows those that have reached that level. Those are the ones who have moved past the infancy stage of milk, and have become such that are skilled in the Word; because “strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age” according to Hebrews 5:14.

When we know our God it helps us to be successful in fighting the devil, and we don’t have to be worried about him overtaking us. Knowing God and His word gives us faith to know that when we come up against the enemy that God will be with us, just as he has been with others who fought against their enemies. Deuteronomy 20:1-4 lets us know that when we go out to battle the enemy, we can expect the Lord to be with us. It is the Lord God that goes with us to fight for us against our enemies, and to save us. Moses reminded the children of Israel “When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the Lord thy God is with thee…when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people, and shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.”

This is an excerpt from my new book:
How to Whup the Devil: A Spiritual Weapons Guide.
Look for release on February 6, 2010.

Books NOW available for the low price of $12.95 plus $2.99 shipping in USA.

Contact Dorothy Bracy Alston at CISBA Communication Services

Email: CisbaAssociates@gmail.com