Being known by him

Bob Sorge, in his life-changing book, Secrets of the Secret Place, arrested my attention with these words:

Someone once asked, “Do you know God?” But there’s a question that is far more important: Does God know you? The issue on the great day of judgment will not be whether you know God but whether God knows you.1

This is the issue in the last three verses of the parable of the ten virgins. Two blogs ago, I investigated this parable in an effort to discover the secret of “THOSE WHO STAY FILLED.” I concluded that their secret is avoiding “second-hand religion” but instead drawing near to God and living by his Word—for themselves. In the next blog, I explored what it means to truly know God and stay alive in him, the way the five wise virgins were able to do. Now we come to the last three verses of the parable, which expose the critical matter of being known by God.

"Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'

"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour . . .” (Matt. 25:11-13).

These three verses are puzzling to most of us, I venture to say. A great deal of light is shed on them by Bob Sorge’s continued discussion of it:

“But,” someone might counter, “I thought God knows everything about us anyways!”

True, He does. But just because He sees certain dark rooms in our heart doesn’t mean we’ve invited His light into those dark rooms.2

Have we failed to talk to God about our dreams, because we’re afraid he might not agree and might try to talk us out of them? Do we avoid discussing our attitudes with him, because we don’t want to change them—we feel so strongly that “this is part of who I am”? Do we “keep from him” our secret sins or sinful thoughts, because of the shame and condemnation we expect to feel in his presence?

If so, we have completely misunderstood the type of relationship God invites us to. We are operating out of how we have learned to behave in human society. We have learned to reveal only a little about ourselves to other people. And there’s wisdom in that. Who knows what certain people will do with intimate knowledge about us? Who knows whether they will reject us, if they know our weaknesses and our past deeds? Who knows whether they really even want to hear about our dreams and our struggles? But God is different. His love is unconditional. His understanding is complete. Our secrets are safer with him than they are with us. We don’t know what to do with them. He does.

Still, many of us might feel that mentioning ugly things about ourselves to God is as unseemly as wearing stained clothing in public. We may feel that it would be disrespectful to God to “wear our dirty laundry” before his eyes. But the Bible clearly states

He who conceals his sins does not prosper. . . (Prov. 28:13).

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault . . . (James 1:5)

God is not surprised, shocked, or turned off by our sins and our shortcomings. He is frustrated by our unwillingness to admit the obvious and let him change us by his love and his grace. Being open with God about our sins and our lacks is the way to grow and prosper in our relationship with him. Peter is an example of an honest, transparent follower of Jesus. He blurted out what he was thinking countless times. He undoubtedly was expressing what the rest of the disciples were thinking—but they were too proud and too afraid of Jesus’ rejection to say so. And who prospered the most? Who grew by leaps and bounds in love for Jesus? Who dared to believe that he could do what Jesus did (like walking on water)? Who was admitted into Jesus’ closest circle of disciples? It wasn’t the careful, fearful ones who kept their thoughts to themselves. It was Peter, whose heart was an open book to the Lord.

Consider, for example, an incident after Jesus’ resurrection, when the disciples were at loose ends, wondering what they were to do next. Peter didn’t hang around, trying to figure out the pious response to the situation. He said, “I’m going fishing!” This candor did not put a rift between him and the Lord. It actually set the stage for the Lord to meet him with the miracle of a super-abundant catch—and to commission him to “feed my sheep.”3 The Lord wants to meet us where we are. He can’t meet us when we’re pretending to be somewhere else.

Bob Sorge, in speaking of Zecharias’ vision of the lampstand and the two olive trees,4 says this:

What we really want is wider pipes. The pipes that carry the oil from the bowl to the seven lamps are critical to the degree of light emitted by the lampstand. If the pipes are open and unclogged, oil will flow freely to the flames of our hearts. When this admixture of oil (the word and the Spirit) flows into our hearts and sets us ablaze for Him, the kingdom will advance in and through our lives in staggering proportions. The issue is not, “Work harder!” The issue is, “Get oil!” The secret is: Apply yourself to enlarging your connection to the source of divine oil.5

Opening our innermost beings to the Lord greatly widens our pipes and enlarges our connection to the source of divine oil.

How about it? Will we entrust ourselves to his love and let him know us? Much rides on our decision.
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1Bob Sorge, Secrets of the Secret Place (Lee’s Summit, MO: Oasis House, 2001), p. 175.
2Bob Sorge, Secrets, p. 176.
3John 20
4Zech. 4:1-9
5Bob Sorge, Secrets, p. 207.

Knowing him

Today’s thoughts are a follow-up to the previous blog (“THOSE WHO STAY FILLED”). How did the five wise virgins manage to have a constant supply of oil? First of all, what did the “oil” in the parable represent? Zechariah 4:1-9 gives a clear hint. In a vision, he saw seven lamps which were kept burning by a constant supply of oil piped in from two olive trees. The angel’s explanation of this vision was that it was “not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit” that the temple would be rebuilt. So the oil that supplied the lamps was the Spirit.

How can a Christian have a personal supply of the oil of the Holy Spirit instead of having to depend on others to re-supply them? Actually, it’s not really a matter of not having the oil “on board.” The Holy Spirit indwells every believer. But, somehow, there are believers who are more greatly motivated by the Spirit than others. One way to understand this is by considering the example of buying a new product. Once you buy it, it is always available to you. However, this product does not begin doing you any good until you 1) study it—read the directions, try the controls, etc.—and 2) use it to perform some tasks for you. Every time you use it, you become better acquainted with the product’s capabilities and how best to operate it. Eventually, it will have changed your lifestyle to such a degree that you wonder what you ever did without it. . . . On the other hand, it might sit on your shelf and not benefit you in the least.

This analogy falls down in the respect that we don’t “use” the Holy Spirit. We are his followers, making ourselves available to serve him and partner with him. However, in other respects, the above analogy is helpful because it points out that being indwelt by the Holy Spirit has minimal consequences in an individual’s life, unless that person takes it upon himself to learn all about him and to begin—in a daily, personal way—to apply his Word to his life and live in deliberate reliance on Him. As this believer interacts with the Lord in everyday living, his understand of how the Lord operates grows by leaps and bounds. Not only that, his kinship with the Lord deepens tremendously. The oil does not lie dormant in his heart, it flames up continually.

A trademark of such a person is that her faith doesn’t have to be bolstered by someone else. While others are up one day and down the next, she has a fresh supply each day of the joy of the Lord. She has insights into the Word of God that sometimes run counter to what “everyone else in the church” says about it. She is confident in the knowledge of the Lord’s will for her.

How is that different from other believers? Here are some contrasts:

Keepers of the flame have such a rich personal history of God’s provision and grace that they are not dismayed by misfortune—they expect God to come through, as before, in his perfect way.
Passive carriers of the oil are rocked by misfortune. When someone reminds them of God’s promises to help in time of need, they say, “I hope so,” in a tone that says that they don’t really.

Keepers of the flame read in the Word that liars will be thrown in the lake of fire, and react with the “fear of the Lord.” They begin to avoid little deceptions and evasions and whitewashing of the truth. They become confident and fearless witnesses of the Truth.
Passive carriers of the oil read in the Word that liars will be thrown in the lake of fire, and say, “The Lord must not really mean this. After all, all of my Christian friends do it, and I’m sure we are all going to heaven--we have already accepted him as our Savior.” They become weak, compromised Christians.

Keepers of the flame keep their hearts open to the Lord’s leading and enabling in every aspect of their lives. They recognize opportunities to bring Life into everyday situations, and they perform even mundane tasks with divine inspiration and ability.
Passive carriers of the oil are not aware of the Lord very often. They operate on the level of their own agenda, wisdom, and ability most of the time.

Keepers of the flame believe and depend on the Lord and his Word. They love to be in the presence of other believers and learn much from the preaching and testimonies of others. However, they are like the Bereans;* they do not accept anyone’s word as truth until they find out that it is supported by the Word and by the witness of the Holy Spirit.
Passive carriers of the oil depend heavily on the teachings of their church and the (sometimes unspoken) beliefs of their Christian friends. They are mostly unaware that some of these are not Scriptural. They assume their friends know what the Bible says and that, therefore, it is safe to just follow their friends.

Keepers of the flame study every part of the Bible, meditating on the meaning of each passage and asking the Lord to show them how it applies to their own life.
Passive carriers of the oil review the promises of God and other parts of the Bible that are popular in their church, but do not think too deeply about the rest. If they read something that seems to contradict what their church teaches, they tell themselves that there must be an explanation for this. Surely their church’s beliefs are not wrong.

Keepers of the flame are enchanted by the Lord and fellowship with him regularly.
Passive carriers of the oil enjoy the worship and programs of their church—and sometimes sense the Lord’s presence too (usually during a good worship service).

The list could go on and on. The common thread through all of these contrasts is this:

Keepers of the flame interact eagerly, deliberately, and regularly with the Lord in fellowship and by considering his Word. They exemplify these two Scriptures:

I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken (Psa. 16:8 NIV).

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you (Psa 119:11 NIV).

Passive carriers of the oil trust, depend on, and follow many things more than they do the Lord and his Word. They think they are just not very spiritual. They doubt their ability to understand the Word themselves or to hear, and know and relate to God any better.

Their pessimistic beliefs about their ability to follow God joyfully and fruitfully . . . are simply not true. Here’s what true:

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. . . . Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up (James 4:8, 10 NKJV).

Here's my paraphrase for these verses: "make a point of getting to know God better for yourself. He will not hide from you. Purposely clear away the sins and confused thinking that keep you at a distance from him. Be like a child before him, in trust and dependence, and he will make you an amazingly strong and fruitful believer." You will be like the five wise virgins who had a personal—not second-hand—supply of the oil of the Holy Spirit—because you have come to truly KNOW HIM.

And then, besides knowing him better, there’s another side to the wise virgins’ secret. For this, tune in to the next blog where we take a look at the last three verses of this parable.
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*Acts 17:11

It's who we are

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing (2 Cor. 2:14-15).

I just noticed today, in the second sentence above, that it says we are the aroma of Christ. It’s not just a whiff of fragrance that clings to us when we have been particularly close to him, it is also who we become as we join Christ in his work. Not working hard for him, but working with him—looking at our surroundings with his eyes, obeying his nudges, making room for him in every situation, not stepping in to speak or act before he has established our thinking and prepared the situation. Imagine how much like him we become as we work that closely with him!

Verse 14 identifies the fragrance we can carry to the world as “the fragrance of the knowledge of him.” We don’t have that fragrance without knowing him intimately. Such knowledge of him comes to every believer from time to time, when we are particularly aware of him, when he comes to us in assurance, when we see his glory, when we receive a call from him. At such times we become radiant for a while with the love, joy, and peace of God. It’s as if we are wearing his cologne. But we can become so Christ-like that we don’t just wear his aroma, we are the aroma of Christ, day in and day out. This happens by spending our days in “the knowledge of him”—keeping our hearts worshipfully open to him and walking through every event in glad, conscious partnership.

Undivided Attention

When people think about Jesus, they tend to see little relationship between him and us. He is God; I am human. He was perfect; I am, well . . . not. But he did not come to increase the distance between God and man, but to bridge that gap. One of his favorite ways of making godliness understandable and accessible was by telling parables. This past June, I saw a parable, if you will, of something that Jesus said about himself:

Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does” (John 5:19-20a).

Inwardly, Jesus kept his eyes turned toward the Father, and immediately did what he saw the Father doing. Doesn’t that sound super-spiritual? But, really, I discovered, it’s very natural. Here’s my parable of what such undivided attention is like:

My daughter-in-law, Heidi, owns a small motorcycle and looks for opportunities to ride it. On the first day of my recent visit to Lexington, Kentucky, to see my son’s family, we all caravanned out to the country to Heidi’s parents’ new home. Mark led the way in the van with Connor and me as passengers. Heidi followed on the motorcycle with Nikki behind her. The plan was to avoid as much city traffic as possible.

Just as we were leaving the city, Mark said, “I need to pull over.” So he signaled and carefully edged onto the shoulder.

Heidi pulled up alongside him and said, “What?”

Mark answered, “Which way do you want to go?”

“What do you mean?” asked Heidi.

“I read your lips. You said, ‘I don’t want to go this way.’ ”

I was as astonished as Heidi. That was some kind of concerned, watchful care! Was Mark watching the road? It's hard to say, but there's no doubt that his eyes were riveted to the rear view mirror. Talk about undivided attention!

That’s how simple it is to keep our eyes on the Father. By so doing, we can detect his every wish, and immediately “pull over” to get complete instructions. When we do, we will be amazed at the results.

Living in Two Worlds

Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God (2 Cor. 2:17).

“Peddling the word of God for profit” reminds me of the moneychangers in the Temple.

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. "It is written," he said to them, " 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers' " (Matt. 21:12-13).

Now making doves and other animals available for worshippers to sacrifice was not wrong. But creating hubbub in the Temple itself and gouging the pilgrims with inflated prices, was completely unacceptable. How could such a thing happen? The vendors did not see themselves as servants of God, aiding the people in keeping the holy festival; they were completely caught up in the opportunity to make money.

The moneychangers and vendors were in the Temple, but not “in God.” Paul, in the passage from 2 Corinthians, avoided the profit motive in his ministry, because he was “in Christ” and “before God.” (There’s that phrase “before God” again—like the many times in Revelation.)

A person can be in Christ and before God inwardly while involved in any situation outwardly. My father preaches a sermon about Nehemiah, based on the following narrative:

In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, "Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart."

I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"

The king said to me, "What is it you want?"

Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, "If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it" (Neh. 2:1-5).

Nehemiah was standing before King Artaxerxes, but at the same time he was standing before the KING. And this stance made all the difference in the outcome of this conversation.

We do our best living in this world, when our hearts are united with Christ and we stay positioned before God.

Where Are You Standing?

“I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth." These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth (Rev. 11:3-4).

I have been intrigued by how many times in the book of Revelation it is said that an individual or a group of beings stand before the Throne. Then I noticed this passage about the two witnesses who are identified as the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy about the olive trees and lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth. They are not in heaven (like the other characters who are portrayed as standing before the Throne of God), they are on earth. But it is implied that in some sense, they are standing before the Lord of the earth.

I went to Zechariah’s prophecy about the olive trees and the lampstands:

Then the angel who talked with me returned and wakened me, as a man is wakened from his sleep. He asked me, "What do you see?"

I answered, "I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it, with seven channels to the lights. Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left."

I asked the angel who talked with me, "What are these, my lord?"

He answered, "Do you not know what these are?"

"No, my lord," I replied.

So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.

. . . Then I asked the angel, "What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?"
Again I asked him, "What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?"

He replied, "Do you not know what these are?" "

No, my lord," I said.

So he said, "These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth" (Zech. 4:1-6; 11-14).

It appears to me that the two olive trees are the Holy Spirit, whose oil fuels the lamp. This supernatural fuel is greater than any “might or power” of man, and will enable the Israelites under Zerubbabel to finish rebuilding the Temple, against great opposition and discouragement.

Each of the olive trees has a branch, through which the oil of Holy Spirit power flows to the lamp. These branches apparently are the two witnesses who are described in Revelation. They, too, have supernatural equipping for the task of prophesying in the face of great danger and hostility.

How does one receive supernatural equipping to do the works set before him by God? By being intimately attached to the Lord, as a branch is connected to a tree. By being connected to the right tree—the Holy Spirit. How does one stay connected to the Holy Spirit? By standing before the Lord of the earth; that is, positioning one’s heart to keep him in plain view, by maintaining loving attention to his Word and his purposes, and by keeping one’s ears open for his direction.

Staying Connected

Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs. .. . .

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

(Psa. 100:2, 4)

Daily, a Christian can become bogged down in the daily grind, and need to get back into the place (spiritually) in which he see things the Lord's way and can operate in the Lord's patience, wisdom, cheerfulness, power, and love. At such times, one can "enter his gates" by purposely beginning to thank him for his goodness and his blessings. One can walk all the way into "his courts" by praising him. That might be praise directed to him personally or it can be by making a comment to someone else about the goodness of God. One creative way to do this was practiced by my pastor, Tony Shuff, in his early days as a Christian. As his co-workers took a break to have a smoke, he took a break to get away and praise the Lord. ☺

As thankfulness and praise are directed deliberately toward God, the heart breaks free from the crust of care and intense effort. One can again see the Lord, step freely into his presence, and begin again to function in his grace.

How to Approach Him

Worship the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs. . . .
Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.
(Psa. 100:2, 4)

Psalm 100 in its entirety seems designed to be used as a Call to Worship—something to recite out of a hymnal or prayer book in church. That’s all I would have thought about it in bygone years. But it has taken on life-changing meaning since it has was pointed out to me that this is the way to come into the Lord’s presence at all times.

Picture, if you will, a subject of King David's who desired an audience with him. This person would not consider coming into the king's palace and before his throne empty-handed. He would bring a gift to honor the king, to show his appreciation for the king's attention, and, hopefully, to garner his favor. This was mirrored by worshippers coming before the Lord in the tabernacle or temple--they brought sacrifices and offerings. On feast days, throngs of worshippers ascended the hill to Jerusalem singing psalms. Psalm 107 states that such thanksgiving was also an offering or sacrifice to the Lord.

Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,

And declare His works with rejoicing (Psa. 107:22 NKJV)

Do we rush into the Lord's presence and begin asking him for things? Thanking and praising him first will give him the honor that we owe him. It will also lift our eyes to see him--not only as our Father and our Friend, but as the King of all the earth, who is mighty to save.