Knowing about
Jesus Is Not the Same
as Knowing Jesus
Dear Mr. Wilson:
I am 51 years old and
have attended church all of my life.
I was baptized at 14, read large
portions of the Bible, and heard more
sermons than I can count.
After reading last month’s Wake
Up Report!, I learned that religious
life is not a substitute for
spiritual life. I now realize
that I considered myself spiritually
secure without actually knowing
Jesus. I may know a lot about
Jesus, but I am ashamed to admit that
I really don’t know Him. So,
what can I do now? Sincerely,
Bonnie
Dear Bonnie:
Thank you for your
email. Whether you realize it
or not, the Holy Spirit has led you
into a profoundly important
discovery: Knowing about Jesus
is not the same as knowing Jesus.
I have four suggestions that may help
you to know Jesus in a personal way.
Please consider the following:
Step 1. Ask
for the Holy Spirit with
Determination
“Then he [Jesus]
said to them [His disciples],
‘Suppose one of you has a
friend, and he goes to him at
midnight and says, “Friend, lend
me three loaves of bread, because a
friend of mine on a journey has come
to me, and I have nothing to set
before him.” Then the one
inside answers, “Don’t
bother me. The door is already
locked, and my children are with me
in bed. I can’t get up and give
you anything.” I tell you,
though he will not get up and give
him the bread because he is his
friend, yet because of the man’s
boldness [persistent
determination] he will get up and
give him as much as he needs. So
I say to you: Ask and it will
be given to you; seek and you will
find; knock and the door will be
opened to you. For everyone who
asks receives; he who seeks finds;
and to him who knocks, the door will
be opened. Which of you
fathers, if your son asks for a fish,
will give him a snake instead? Or
if he asks for an egg, will give him
a scorpion? If you then, though
you are evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more
will your Father in heaven give the
Holy Spirit to those who ask
him!” (Luke 11: 5-13,
insertions mine)
Even if a 10,000 watt
broadcast antenna is 50 feet away, a
radio cannot receive the signal
unless it is turned on and tuned to
the correct frequency.
Similarly, Jesus could be standing in
our presence (as He did among the
Pharisees), yet we cannot know Him
and love Him until the Holy Spirit
has “turned us on and tuned us
in.” Millions of people
are physically alive, but spiritually
dead, and the interesting thing about
this condition is that we cannot make
ourselves spiritually alive through
our own efforts! Without the
Holy Spirit’s help, there are a
million concepts within the Bible
that we cannot see or
understand. Paul wrote, “The
man without the Spirit does not
accept the things that come from the
Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness to him, and he cannot
understand them, because they are
spiritually discerned.” (1
Corinthians 2: 14)
If you want to know
Jesus, go to your prayer closet and
ask the Father to send the Holy
Spirit to you. The Holy Spirit
will activate your spiritual
receptors so that you can know Jesus.
Step 2. Stop
the “Easy Sins”
For the sake of
discussion, let us suppose there are
three categories for sin: “easy
sins,” “difficult
sins,” and “accidental
sins.” Sins that fall into
the easy category are sins of
carelessness, such as taking
God’s name in vain, swearing,
lying, cheating, and
dishonesty. (Overcoming them is
not easy, but they are easy to
identify.) Sins that are in
the difficult category are sins like
hatred, jealousy, bitterness, sexual
immorality, selfishness, and greed.
Overcoming sins in this category
requires significant time with the
Lord. Accidental sins are
unintentional sins which pop-up
without warning. These sins
occur because we have a sinful nature
and from time to time, it overpowers
our best intentions.
When a person wants to
know Jesus, he shows his desire to
the Father by cleaning house. He
begins to eliminating the things that
he knows are offensive to God. A
person should not expect God to
listen to his prayers if he willfully
lives in sin. (Psalm 66:18) Jesus
cannot abide with a person who is
negligent, lazy, or indifferent about
the importance of sanctification.
If you want to walk and talk with
Jesus, you need to know that the road
to Heaven is “uphill,” but
worth the effort every step of the
way!
Step 3. Be
Willing to Let God of the World
John wrote, “Do
not love the world or anything in the
world. If anyone loves the
world, the love of the Father in not
in him. For everything in the
world – the cravings of the
sinful man, the lust of his eyes and
the boasting of what he has and does
– comes not from the Father but
from the world. The world and
its desires pass away, but the man
who does the will of God lives
forever.” (1John 2:
15-17)
A carefully oriented
person loves the world and everything
in it! Only when we have a
rebirth experience can we avoid
loving all that is in the world.
Our first birth is according to the
flesh and it is attracted to the
deeds of the flesh. If we are
born a second time, we are born by
the Spirit and we are attracted to
the endeavors of the Holy
Spirit. A born again person
sees life through a very different
set of lenses. Paul indicates
that everything is different. “Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation; the old has gone, the new
has come!” (2Corinthians
5:17)
When we pester the
Father to give us the Holy Spirit (as
mentioned in Step 1), we must be
ready for a life-changing
experience. When the Holy
Spirit dwells within a person, He
brings with Him transforming
power. The most powerful
evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit
is not prophesying, talking in
tongues, or working miracles.
Instead, it is obvious of the Holy
Spirit brings peace (a calming
serenity) and love (replacing
hostilities, contempt, and malice for
others). The Holy Spirit also
brings a strong desire for personal
sanctification (not corporate
sanctification*). When the Holy
Spirit arrives at our doorstep, the
world and all its enticements quickly
dim and the things we used to love,
we will soon hate, and the things we
used to hate, we will soon
love. It is the Holy
Spirit’s to transform earthbound
sinners into heaven-bound saints.
This is important because
earthbound sinners would not enjoy
Heaven at all.
(*Note: When
you come across people who are more
concerned and frustrated with the
religious behavior of others more
than themselves, watch out. The
Holy Spirit is not involved.
Substituting religious ideology for
personal sanctification is not the
work of the Holy Spirit. However,
there is one exception to this
warning. People who the Lord
appoints to speak corporately on
these matters can do so with the Holy
Spirit’s approval.)
When a person receives
the gift of the Holy Spirit (John
16:13), he becomes a new creation and
he cannot get enough of God’s
Word. Suddenly, the Bible is no
longer a giant reference book, but
instead, it is God’s
voice! A born again person is
encouraged to see and love people as
Jesus saw and loved people.
Every born again person receives a
mission along with a new set of
eyes. As he matures in the
Lord, the mission unfolds.
Through eyes of faith, he sees and
understands the temporal nature of
everything that exists on
Earth. He also understands that
no one can serve God and money.
A born again person may not know
where God is leading, but he knows
God and wherever He leads will be
fine. A born again person
understands that using the name of
the Lord is not the same as being
called by the Lord! Compare
these two passages:
“Not everyone
who says to me, ‘Lord,
Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but only he who does the will
of my Father who is in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy
in your name, and in your name drive
out demons and perform many
miracles?’ Then I will
tell them plainly, ‘I never knew
you. Away from me, you
evildoers!’”(Matthew 7:
20, 23)
“Therefore,
prepare your minds for action; be
self-controlled; set your hope fully
on the grace to be given you when
Jesus Christ is revealed. As
obedient children, do not conform to
the evil desires you had when you
lived in ignorance. But just as
he who called you is holy, so be holy
in all you do; for it is written:
“Be holy, because I am
holy.’ Since you call on the
Father who judges each man’s
work impartially, live your lives as
strangers here in reverent
fear. For you know that it was
not with perishable things such as
silver or gold that you were redeemed
from the empty way of life handed
down to you from your forefathers,
but with the precious blood of
Christ, a lamb without blemish or
defeat.” (1 Peter 1: 13-19)
Step 4. Spend Time
with Jesus
It can be very
difficult to consistently spend quiet
time with the Lord. This is a
huge problem in today’s society
because people are going crazy with
busyness. If spending time with
Jesus is not protected (in prayer and
Bible study) the devil will quickly
notice our developing habit and he
will make sure that we have no time
for Jesus! Every time I see those
little solar lights lining a
sidewalk, I am reminded of my need
for Jesus. The solar light
says, “No Sun means dead
battery.” The Christian
says, “One week without Bible
study and prayer makes one
weak.” There is no
substitute for spending time with
Jesus. If reading the Bible is
difficult, start with easier books
like Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John. If you take your eyes off
Jesus for a week or two, your
intimacy with Him will
evaporate. You will be left
knowing about Jesus instead of
knowing Him. Jesus said, “You
will seek me and find me when you
seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah
29:13)
Please try these four
steps for six weeks and let me know
the results:
Step 1. Ask for
the Holy Spirit with Determination
Step 2. Stop the
“Easy Sins”
Step 3. Be
willing to Let Go of the World
Step 4. Spend
Time with Jesus
Larry Wilson
