We should have a real desire to see the Lord. Hebrews 9:28 tells us: Unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
In John 3:3 we read: Every man that hath this hope within him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
We read in the Scriptures about the appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ. There were men unto whom God appeared in the New Testament.
In I Corinthians 15 the resurrection appearances are mentioned and then Paul says, And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
When you read the epistles of John you notice how many times it talks of seeing the Lord. There is a lot of truth hidden away in those epistles that seems to be so simple on the surface. It takes a good deal of depth spiritually, before you really get to them.
There are people who know the blessing; there are those who can sense His presence; there are some who can understand His moving.
Though the Spirit moves like the wind that bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth, there are some people who are very sensitive to the movings of the Spirit.
The thing that we seek is not just to know about Him, not just to look for something that He is going to do for us, but let’s pray to know Him. There really isn’t anything greater than that we should know the Lord.
In Philippians 3:10, Paul has laid out the burden of his own heart: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.
We could say, “Why, Apostle Paul, you have been a ministering missionary for years and you don’t know Him?” There are those that know Him and yet there are some who really know Him.
Some can interpret Him, but few really know Him. There was once a party to which an old Anglican minister was invited as well as one of the very well-known Shakespearean actors in England. During the course of the evening, they had a period of reading and of course the actor wanted to show off. The old minister requested that he read the twenty-third Psalm, and the actor did so. His inflection was perfect, the diction was eloquent, and after he had finished everyone applauded, for it was beautifully done. Then, for a little bit of sport, the actor said, “Let’s hear the good Reverend read the Psalm.” The old man opened to the twenty-third Psalm, but he never looked at the page, for he knew it by heart, and he spoke it. The eloquence wasn’t there, the fine Shakespearean voice was missing, and when he had finished nobody clapped. Tears were running down their cheeks. The actor bowed his head in humility and said, “I know the twenty-third Psalm, but this man knows the Shepherd.”
There are people who can interpret His Word, but that isn’t really knowing Him and walking with Him. It isn’t a matter of what you can get away with and still be a Christian. It isn’t how close you can get to the brink and not fall off into the pit.
What really counts is: how close can you walk with Him; how can you really know Him? There is only one way you can really know Him.
The Father reveals Him, the Spirit reveals Him; it comes by revelation. We can’t even see what God is doing today unless God reveals it. And it is revealed to babes, not to the wise and prudent. So many people don’t see the Lord when He is moving right in their midst. They don’t know Him, they don’t behold Him. There is something that you just must reach into for revelation.
Jesus brought forth this truth in Matthew 16 in a most tender little story. He asked His disciples, “Whom do men say that I am?” Then Peter said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus told him, “Blessed are you, Simon, for flesh and blood did not reveal that unto you, but my Father which is in heaven. I tell you, you are Petros (a little rock, a movable stone) and upon this petra (rock) I will build My church.” What was Jesus talking about? Many say that the church is being built on Peter, but these are two different words—a movable rock and a solid rock foundation. Jesus was saying that upon this rock of revelation to people’s hearts He would build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. When God has revealed Himself to you and you know who He is, then you come to find out who you are, and then you make it. That is the key
What should we pray for as young people? Just pray that the Lord will reveal Himself to you. When you pray for blessings, pray for nothing less than that too, “Lord, I want to know You; I really want to know You.” You can be shaken unless you really strive to know Him.
Some say that you have to believe His word: that is faith. But when the book of Hebrews talks about faith, it says, Without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
He is not talking about the fact that everyone believes there is a God. You must believe that He is the God the Word reveals Him to be and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, in accordance with the promises. You don’t come like the theist with some vague thing that says, “Yes, I believe that there is a God, somehow, somewhere, some place;” you go further: you believe with the faith that He exists—more than exists, He is the God that He represents Himself to be. Then you come to know Him.
The most important thing that you can have in this life is a walk with God. You can’t walk with God unless you have the revelation of Him to your own heart.
Saying, “I want to walk with God” is a very vague thing because you can say that without really implying that you believe to literally have that communion and oneness with the Lord, based upon a deep knowledge of Him. How can we know Him? By revelation, reading the Word. You find His fingerprints all through it. Read His words—they echo as the words He has been speaking for centuries, from eternity.
Open your heart to the Spirit’s moving. Don’t be like those Christians who say, “I have to be religious and read so many chapters in order to be a good Christian.” They are doing it out of a sense of duty. What God loves is person who love Him, want Him, and hunger for Him. They want to know about Him, they want Him to get through to them, and so they live in the Word. They drink it in. Jesus brought that out when He said to the Jews, Ye search the scriptures because ye think that ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of me. John 5:39. It is a deadly thing to read the Scriptures and see doctrine, when you could read the Scriptures to see Jesus.
All the mystery of the Word becomes so beautifully solved when you can see the Lord in it. You can read doctrines, ideas, instructions, the thing that makes it live is that you see Christ in it and He begins to reveal Himself. Read the Word; pray, cry for revelation of the Lord to your own heart, for that is the one thing that He is trying to do for you—reveal Himself.
The whole purpose of the Bible is not to give you a code of behavior, but it is to introduce you to Christ. The law was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. You don’t even know what the Old Testament is about if you just read it, thinking that is the way God dealt then and now He’s dealing differently. All of that was to make men conscious of need, conscious of their sin, and to make them look up because God was going to send His Son for them. Oh, to know Him, to really come to know Him.
Young folks, don’t play with the world. Don’t let it poison you. The poison of the world is accumulative. It is like the DDT that builds up in the soil—the soil doesn’t absorb it because it doesn’t break down. After awhile there is too much of it and the soil is poisoned. It takes just a little bit of the world, a little bit of folly. It is very difficult to get rid of the accumulation of poison that builds up and builds up until your minds are corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ and you’re not yearning and crying for Him. You lose the keen edge of your hunger. Then you sing the songs mechanically and you pray the prayers out of habit and you do the works that you are to do for the Lord without any force, without any cheerfulness. You have lost a great deal—it has been poisoned. Whatever you do for the Lord ought to be out of a spontaneous love as you are coming to know Him, you are drawing closer to Him every day, and you confess you are His love slave. You love Him so much that you can’t do anything but serve Him with all your heart.