Know God, Know His Ways, And Follow Them!

March 2015

Dear Friend,

We had a glorious time in the Presence of God last Sunday; and it is out of the overflow from that service that I write this letter to you.

Our speaker: Reverend Cynthia Quek gave the following message in tongues with its interpretation:

For I have brought you here for a purpose: to learn of the things of the Spirit. To learn of the ways of the Spirit. And there is a way, which is the higher way. It is not the ways of man; but it is the ways of the Spirit. And you are to walk in them, you are to learn of them, and then the Lord will show you, and bring you to victory.

God is calling ordinary people like you and I to learn His ways; to follow Him in His way, which is a higher and more excellent way. This is not reserved for 'super' Christians; but it is for everyone who desire to follow. And as we follow that way, we will walk in victory as He said.

A realistic question to ask would be this then: What does it  mean to walk in His ways?

God spoke of Himself through the prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV)
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

God does not think as we do. His ways and His thoughts are much higher than anything we could come up with. Not only that, He's seen our end even from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10)! He knows the path that we should take, so that we fulfill the call and destiny He placed on us even before we were born.

The Psalmist David writes of a man who knew the ways of God. That man was Moses. Read Psalm 103:7 with me:

Psalm 103:7 (NKJV)
He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.

The Hebrew word used for 'known' is the word 'yada'; which carries several meanings which is more than to just know:

Brown, Driver And Briggs defines it as:

- to perceive and see; to know by experience; to know, be acquainted with; to know (a person carnally) [be intimate with]; to know how, be skillful in

This tells me that Moses knew God intimately. That his knowledge of God and His ways was borne out of experiencing God; not only through knowing of or about God, but to know Him and be acquainted with Him. And the acts of Moses that we read about was a fruit born out of that intimate relationship he had with God.

Israel saw the acts of God. They saw the parting of the Red Sea, water coming out of the rock, manna from heaven, and many other miracles. But only Moses knew His ways. What you and I do in the life we live will be an outflow of the depth of our relationship with Him. We could choose to be like Israel and merely watch miracles taking place, or we could choose to be like Moses and do them.

We read in Exodus 33:7-10 how Moses met with God in the tabernacle set up in the wilderness. We can see how the people of Israel merely stayed at their own tent doors. Only Moses entered the Tabernacle, and a young man called Joshua never left the tabernacle. But read verse 11:

Exodus 33:11 (NKJV)

So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

God spoke to Moses. Face to face. As two close friends. And we can see that as he knew God more intimately, we see him growing more skillful in the ways of God. It is said that there was no prophet like Moses in Israel, who the Lord knew face to face. And that was under the Old Covenant. And we know that Jesus brought us near to God under the New Covenant. We have a better covenant established on better promises!

I want to be skillful in the ways of God as Moses was. I don't want to be like Israel, passively watching as God moved mightily. I want to be like Moses was, who knew his God intimately and performed mighty miracles because of that intimate relationship!

I strongly believe that there is a generation who will hunger to know God AND His ways. They will seek after His heart. They will want to connect to that heart and draw from it. Acting out of the overflow of that intimate relationship WITH HIM.

The prophet Daniel spoke of such a group of people, that they will know their God, and be strong, and carry out great and mighty exploits. (Daniel 11:32b) The word used for know is the exact same word used in Psalm 103:7, yada! That the people who knew Him intimately would be strong. That they would carry out great exploits BECAUSE they knew Him.

Hosea also prophesied in Chapter 6:3,

Hosea 6:3 (KJV)

Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. 

That as we know God intimately, He WILL come to us as the rain. That we won't just hear about Him, we will experience Him in all His goodness. We will be skillful in His ways!

Now read Ephesians 3:19 with me:

Ephesians 3:19 (AMP)

[That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!

Paul prayed this prayer for the Ephesian church; and it is also what God wants for us. God desires that we may know through experience; the Love of God; which is far greater than mere knowledge without experience. And why? That we may be wholly filled and flooded with God Himself!

God desires that we be empty vessels, and that as we experience that Divine Love, we will begin to know Him more intimately. We will be filled with Him; where His actions become our actions, His ways our ways, His thoughts our thoughts. We will be led by Him, as Moses was led by Him and fulfilled his part in the plan of God. So also will we fulfill our part in His indescribable plan.

So I strongly encourage you: Be determined like Moses to know God intimately. Don't just settle for knowing about Him like Israel, KNOW HIM INTIMATELY BY EXPERIENCE. Know His ways and follow them, and you will see yourself having the greater victory!

I pray Ephesians 3:19 for you,

Ken

Three Things That Come From Knowing God

February 2015

Dear Friend,

I was reading Ephesians 1:17-23 recently when that passage was made alive to me. I saw some things in Paul's prayer for the Ephesian Church that blessed me as it gave me a revelation of what it really meant to pray that same prayer that Paul prayed; not only for myself but for those around me.

Paul wrote to the Church in Ephesians 1:16;

Ephesians 1:16 (NKJV)
[I] do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:

Some people can and have taken that to the extent that it became a bondage to them, praying long prayers for the people who they knew. When Paul said he mentioned them in his prayers, the word for mention really does mean 'mention'! It's perfectly all right to just mention the names of people you're praying for and leave it at there; don't feel condemned because someone else shared on praying long hours for that same person!

This is what Paul prayed for them:

Ephesians 1:17-18(a)
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened;

The Amplified Translation of Ephesians 1:18(a) brings it out as having the 'eyes of your heart flooded with light'

Paul prayed that the Church would have wisdom and revelation in knowing God. The word used for knowledge would also imply the idea of becoming fully acquainted with God! This tells me that Paul prayed for the Church to have a much closer and deeper relationship with God; so as to become fully acquainted with Him!

And as we become more acquainted with God, we can see a much clearer picture of Him as He is in the Word. David said of God in Psalm 119:130,

Psalm 119:130 (NKJV)
The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple

And what blessed me tremendously was the three things that comes about as a direct result of knowing Him intimately:

Ephesians 1:18(b)-19(a) (NKJV)
that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe,

1. You know the hope to which God has called you.

As I prayed this prayer for myself, I found that I started to know exactly what God was calling me to do, and that it was a living hope that He would bring to pass as I cooperated with Him. God says clearly in Jeremiah 29:11:

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

And as you continue knowing Him intimately, He gives you insight into the plans and purposes that He ordained for you even before you were born.

2. You know the riches of what He has in you

The Passion Translation reads this way:

Ephesians 1:18(b)
And I pray that you will truly experience all the riches of this wealth that has been freely given to all His holy ones, for you are His true inheritance!

You and I are God's true inheritance! And Paul prayed that we would truly experience everything that God has given us freely as His children!

Romans 8:32 describes the love of God for us, and His willingness to give us everything that Jesus died to restore:

Romans 8:32 (NKJV)
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

When you realize that God has given you all things, it will put a much different spin on the way you pray. You'll pray boldly as a child of God, knowing that He won't deny you the petition that you ask of Him; as you ask according to His will!

3. You know the magnitude of the power God has placed behind you.

Ephesians 1:19(a) to 23 describes the magnitude of the power that God has placed within you and I. That same power that raised Jesus from the dead is sitting resident in us! That very power is the Holy Spirit, who is the source of power that we need to be able to carry out the plan of God for our lives!

Paul also write in Ephesians 3:20

Ephesians 3:20 (NKJV)

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 

God is able to do much more than what we can even dare to ask or imagine; and He's made it relative to the power that is in us. As we get a clearer revelation of the magnitude of the power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead; and that God has placed that same power within us, we'll be more bold with our prayers, knowing that God is able to do much more than what we asked.

So I encourage you. Start praying Ephesians 1:17-19. Don't just pray it for yourself. Pray it for your family, your friends, your loved ones. And see them walk in God's plan for their lives!

I pray this for you,

Ken