KNOWING THE LORD
1 Samuel 2:12, “Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the LORD.”

Knowing the Lord goes beyond being a Christian, knowing the Lord goes beyond being a Christian worker, it goes beyond being an ordained Christian minister; knowing the Lord is more than being a Pastor, Priest or Prophet; you can be any of that and yet not know the Lord. The Bible talks about the two children of the High Priest, Eli Hophni and Phinehas, they were priests, they knew the laws of God, they taught the laws of God, they knew the services of God, and they were busy offering the sacrifices of the LORD and doing the services of God. These men were anointed by the Lord has priests in Israel and they continued in the priesthood, making the holy sacrifices of the LORD GOD of Israel. With all these positions and performances, the Bible introduced them that they did not know the Lord. How could that? How could the Priests of the Lord not know the Lord? It is because knowing the Lord is more than working for God.

Know the Lord is not just about being identified as a Christian; it is not about being identified with a church, it is not about being identified as a Christian minister; knowing the Lord goes deeper than reading Bible or being devoted into fasting and prayer. To know the Lord is more than being a faithful Tither or giver; it is not about preaching God’s word or knowing more of God; it is not about speaking in tongues or having the gifts of Holy Spirit; knowing the Lord is not about performing miracles in the name of the Lord or winning souls to the Lord; knowing the Lord is more than being an ordained ministers or being a popular man of woman of God. Hophni and Phinehas were priests of the Lord, they were powerful, popular and performing the works of the Lord, yet they did not know the Lord. That was the reason Jesus Christ said, “Nothing everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven” Matthew 7:21.

Your position in the church, or in Christian activities has nothing to do with your personal encounter with the Lord.

KNOWLEDGE ABOUT GOD
There is difference between knowledge about God and knowledge of God. You can be a non-Christian and know many things in the Bible and about God, you can be a Christian and have great and intensive knowledge about the word of God and about God; you may teach and preach about God, you pray prophesy, and experience miracles in your personal life or ministry; and yet you only know about God. Many Christians and pastors only have knowledge about God, which is the reason they will be disappointed on the last day. Knowledge about God is having knowledge about the Word of God, and being familiar with God, but without personal, present and permanent relationship with God. Knowledge about somebody is not an evidence of personal relationship with that person. You can know many things about somebody, you can talk and describe many things about somebody, and never have a personal relationship with the person; the same thing is applicable in our relationship with God.

Jesus says, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord’ have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare unto them, ‘I never know you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” Matthew 7:22

From here, you can see that it is possible that you can be a Prophet, Pastor; you can perform deliverance for people and cast out demons in them, you can express several gifts of the Spirit without knowing the Lord presently. Same thing is applicable to your pastors and popular ministers, performing miracles with flowing of anointing in somebody’s life is not an evidence of present and personal relationship with God.

KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
Knowledge of God is knowing God and having a continuous relationship with Him! It involves relationship and continuity:

1, Relationship – To have knowledge of God is to create a cordial relationship with God by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord, this happens by repenting from all your sins, confessing them and forsaking them, then starting to please God in new Life. To please God is to keep doing the will of God, and the will of God is righteousness, truth and holiness. Matthew 7:21.

2, Continuity – knowing God is not about the past experience, but present matter. If you have known God yesterday and pleased Him, but today you have gone back to sin, then the knowledge of yesterday is immaterial, before God now, you do not know Him at all. Ezekiel 18:24, “But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.” So it is not about, “I have given my life to Christ Jesus, I have experienced salvation and gifts Holy Spirit” But are you continuously living to please God in holiness and righteousness up to date?

You can be saved in the morning and lose the salvation in the afternoon if you do not start to walk in holiness and righteousness, if you do not start to work out your salvation with trembling and godly fear, if you do not immediately depart from old sinful path, and if you do not take conscious effort to detach from sinful relationship, lifestyle, and if you do not destroy every ungodly materials, music, movies, magazines, and other stuffs in your possessions; let alone being saved some months or years back. So many Christians and ministers are claiming lost salvation and empty relationship with God. Relationship which you claim to have with God without pleasing Him in holiness and righteousness is an empty relationship.

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.” John 8:31. Continuing to abide in the Word and will of God is what makes a person a disciple of Jesus Christ indeed, and not in deception.

Have you really known the Lord in genuine salvation since you have been a Christian or a minister? Do you still know the Lord in continuous sanctification of life after your salvation, or you are relying on empty testimony of yesterday?

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