You know, we like to pretend that we know somebody who's famous. And if we can kind of drop their name and attach it to our name, it kind of makes us look a little bit better, doesn't it? But you know, the word know has a lot of shades of meaning. So if somebody were to say to you, do you know such and such a person, your immediate answer may be yes, but what exactly do you mean when you say yes, I know that person? You might know about them.

Maybe they're a public figure. Everybody knows about them. So yes, do you know such and such? Yeah, I know him, you know.

Of course, then we add an extra bit, which is a lie. He and I go back a long way, you know. Just means you actually have known him for a long time.

You first saw him years ago. He never met you. Don't know who you are.

But yeah, I know that person. Well, you know, sometimes we may be able to move a little bit closer, get to know them a little bit better. You say, well, yeah, I've seen him.

He's on TV all the time. I've watched some of his videos. Maybe you even saw him on stage, you know.

You're kind of that close. Yeah, yeah, I've seen him. I know him.

Well, you know a little bit more about him because you've kind of seen some of his mannerisms. You didn't just hear about him now. And then maybe you've heard him.

Maybe you've listened to some of his audio tape. Maybe you listened to him on the radio. Okay, so some of your senses are involved.

And that increases our knowledge, you know, when our senses are involved. When we can see and we can hear. And then perhaps, perhaps you even had the privilege to speak to this person.

Maybe you got to talk to him on the phone. You know, maybe by some sheer stroke of luck you managed to call and he answered instead of his secretary. Or maybe you did the next best thing which is available these days.

You sent him an e-mail. And it probably went into his junk box and he didn't even read it or it got passed to somebody else to read. But hey, yeah, yeah, I've communicated with him.

We've chatted. You know, I know this guy. You know, yeah, I've spoken to him.

Have you really? Or perhaps you have. And now that you've spoken to him or even sent him an e-mail, perhaps you can say, well, I know him fairly well. But do you really know that person? Well, maybe you were privileged enough to get an opportunity to stand before this person face-to-face and actually exchange a few words.

So, nice weather we're having, hey? Yeah. Hey, I really know him well. In fact, we had a good conversation the other day, you know.

You know, I got up on the plane to go to the bathroom and he was in the same plane and we passed. You know, in the middle we said, nice day. Something like that.

We had a conversation. Well, yeah, maybe you know him a little bit better now. You've kind of seen the way he walks and what he dresses like when he's casual or whatever.

You know a little bit more. But do you really know this person? You say, yes, actually I had a visit with him once. I actually had a chance to sit down with him and have a bit of chat.

And we spoke on a work basis. We discussed the ministry. We discussed work.

We discussed situations. Yeah, I actually sat in his office. Actually, we had a conversation.

So, now you really know him, don't you? Now, you were probably the employee and he was the boss. So, now you sat and had a conversation with him and even visited with him for a while in his office. Does that mean you really know him? Well, you know him better than some of the other level, but you still don't have a full knowledge, do you? Well, you can say, you know, I know this person because I actually spent a bit of time living with him.

We actually had a time together living in the same place. And I got to know him really well. I got to see what he's like when he gets up in the morning.

I got to see how he eats because we had meals together. I got to see how he handles situations when they come up because I was there when it happened. I got to know him fairly intimately.

And then the ultimate knowledge, I suppose, which doesn't happen with everybody, is where the scripture says, and Adam knew his wife. The Bible uses the word know to refer to the ultimate knowledge, the intimate knowledge that takes place in the sexual relationship. That is the ultimate knowledge.

So, yeah, if you've slept with him, then I guess you know him better than anybody else because you've come to closer communication than anybody else has ever been, huh? That's about as close as you can get. Now, I'd like to ask you the question, how well do you know God? You say, yeah, I know him. I've heard the preachers preach about him all the time.

I've seen things happen. I've seen when they prayed and people got healed. I've seen him do things.

Yeah, I talk to him every night. Yeah, we bombard our little prayers at him and call that a conversation. Well, maybe a little bit more.

Maybe you've heard him talk back. But how well do you know God? Paul seemed to think that these Ephesian Christians needed a greater knowledge of the Lord. These people were saved, born again.

They were an on-fire church. They were one of the churches in Revelation that John got. He gives them a very good message, except for the fact they believed their first love.

But everything else they've done very well. They're a very good, organized, on-fire church. These people were not new believers.

But yet, Paul prays that God would give them an increased knowledge. An increased knowledge of God. Now, when it comes to the Lord, there are different levels of knowledge that we can have.

Even as in the natural, there are different knowledges that we can have. So the question is, which ones do you have right now? How well do you know him? I'm sure everyone, if I were to ask, do you know God? Yeah, I know God. I'm born again.

I'm one of his children. I'm saved. But do you really know him? Now, I'd like to look just a little bit at the subject about how to get to know God.

And let's look first at where we get knowledge of God from. Paul says that our first knowledge comes from God the Father. He says, I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory.

God is the source of all knowledge. God himself, the Father, is the founder of all knowledge. You say, well, yeah, I know Jesus pretty good.

And I've had some experience with the Holy Spirit. So I know the Spirit very well. How well do you know the Father? See, perhaps your level of knowledge is the point of salvation experience, perhaps the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit.

Perhaps you've moved into a more intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus in prayer, particularly if you've gone into the prophetic ministry. But do you know the Father? Because, you see, the Father is the source, the ultimate source of all knowledge. Paul calls him, yeah, the Father of Glory.

What's glory? Glory is magnificent splendor, awesomeness, magnificence, the kind of pomp that you would get in royalty of a king sitting on his throne. He's the God, the Father of Glory. And if you want to know God in his fullness, you're going to have to move from just having a salvation experience and having a bit of an experience of the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

You're going to have to move beyond knowing the Lord Jesus, perhaps in an intimate way, or even knowing some of the manifestation of his power all the way up. These are all different levels of knowledge. And so the question is, where do you stand right now? What is your knowledge of God? You say, well, I'd like more.

No matter what I have, I'd like more, because there is more available. Well, how then do we go about receiving that knowledge? And Paul gives us a hint in the rest of the verses that he shares here. He says that, I pray that God will give you, he will give you a spirit of wisdom and understanding and revelation in the knowledge of him.

So firstly, a knowledge of God is not something that you have to work hard for, not something you need to strive for. It's actually his free gift to us. It's available to us as a free gift, which you simply need to reach out.

Paul says, I pray that God will give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation. Oh, what is wisdom? You say, well, I know so much about the law. You know, I've gone on these theological courses.

I've been to Bible school. I've studied. I've filled my head with knowledge.

That's wonderful. There's a lot of people walking the streets, can't get a job, but their head's full of knowledge. I say, knowledge is power.

Yeah, but only if you know how to use that power. You see, you need to be able to take the knowledge that you have and do something with it. Well, I'm sitting here with my head full of knowledge, and I expect everything to happen.

You know, when I went to school, I went to the highest level of education that was available at that time, which was GCEA level, equivalent to first year university. But the highest level of education that there was. And one would think I could now just walk out and everybody would be looking for me.

This man with all this knowledge, what an awesome guy. We would love to employ him and give him a job because he's so knowledgeable. I found that it actually didn't make any difference at all.

That knowledge was no use unless I knew how to use it, unless I was prepared to apply it. Being a young little upstart, dependent on his intellect to get some acceptance and recognition, my knowledge actually counted as a disadvantage. See, I don't care how much you think you know right now.

If you don't know what to do with that knowledge, if you don't know how to take that knowledge and use it and transform it into something practical and something that can be used to extend the kingdom of God, your knowledge is worthless. If people have got degree after degree after degree, they've gone to different... You know we have people sometimes apply to come to our school and we ask them what studies they have and they give us a list of all the courses they've done with all different churches and denominations. And I ask myself, so why are they coming to us? Didn't they learn something? Wasn't that enough? Now they want more knowledge, but what did you do with the knowledge you already had? See, you need a spirit of wisdom and wisdom actually is a spiritual force and only comes from the spirit of God within you.

Without that wisdom you will not come to a full revelation of the knowledge of God. You see most of the knowledge you had probably came down as far as your head and down into your soul. But Paul says we need a bit more than that, we need revelation knowledge.

He says, I want God to give you a spirit of wisdom and I want God to give you a spirit of revelation. A revelation comes deeper than the mind. Revelation is when you see something that you never learnt.

Something that was never put in there in the first place. Not something you dredged up from your subconscious from your years of study, but something that wasn't there before. Something brand new.

And that kind of ties in with wisdom, doesn't it? Because you're taking this knowledge, you've found out how to use it, and then you're saying, okay Lord, I need a plan. I need a direction. I need something to put the cap on this knowledge of mine.

I need something that I haven't learnt. Give me a spirit of revelation. God will give you a word of revelation and show you something you didn't know.

That extra piece in the puzzle will make the picture come together. You'll know what to do with it. Well, how do we get wisdom? How do we get revelation? Fasting and praying.

Doing without certain things. Living a sanctified, holy life. Abstaining from sin.

I don't watch TV anymore. I don't do anything worldly. I just sit at home, and pray, and pray, and fast, and spend hours in the presence of God.

That's wonderful. But there's an easier way I could have saved you the trouble. See, it's a gift.

It's like salvation. It's a gift. All you need to do is ask for it.

Lord, can I have a bit of wisdom? James says, if any man lacks wisdom, ask of God. It gives freedom. Really, much as you like.

He won't even condemn you for being so greedy. He'll give it to you. Lord, I need revelation on the circumstance and the situation.

I need revelation. Reveal yourself to me, Lord. Then you'll get spiritual enlightenment.

Paul says, the eyes of your understanding will be opened. Watch, they're going to be opened. It means you're not just going to see with your physical eyes, you're going to see within your heart.

And you're going to see a few things you didn't notice before. You know how we can look at something every day and not notice things? I did a project once. I read a book on writing, and they said, one of the best things you can do to learn how to write is to pay attention to detail.

I said, here's a good way to practice. If you take the same route to work every day, from tomorrow, every time you ride, look for something on that route that you didn't notice before. I've been that route hundreds and hundreds of times.

I kind of figured I could almost picture it in my mind. But you would be amazed. What was there that I didn't see before? See, we need a revelation.

We need to see. And one of the first things you need to see is that guy we usually look at in the mirror. But you need to see him from a different viewpoint.

You need to see her from a different viewpoint. We need a revelation from the Lord. To see what I am, you need to see what God is.

Because the two of us are going to flow together. The eyes of your understanding will be opened when you ask God for wisdom. When you ask Him for a revelation, you will suddenly see the potential that was within yourself that you didn't know.

You'll suddenly see something about God. How do we do it? We reach out and receive the gift. We ask for it in faith.

And we receive it. And then what happens? I don't know what has come. What are the results of me receiving this knowledge, this enlightenment, this new revelation from God? Well, you come to a whole new level of knowing according to Paul.

And he says, one of the first things this is going to produce is a hope of your calling. What is hope? Hope is actually not that negative thing, I hope something happens, I hope it comes right. Hope is a positive expectation.

Hope says, you know what, I'm actually ready to walk out the front door because I know I'm not going to get run over when I walk out there. I'm expecting good things to happen. I'm expecting when I get out there I'm going to meet people, things are going to happen.

I expect when I get out there and do my job, it's going to work well, things are going to go good. I have a hope for the future. Why? Because I've suddenly got wisdom and an ability to use all the knowledge I've got.

Suddenly I realise, you know what, I actually know quite a lot. Yeah, I've been trying so hard to get more knowledge, suddenly I've realised, you know what, I've actually never really used the knowledge I did get. Go on, how much have you used the knowledge you got at school? I can't even remember it.

You don't use it. You don't use it. So why do we bother wasting all that time learning the stuff? Just to prove to them how clever we were.

And then when we leave school, we think, well, you know, I don't need to do it anymore because I've already proved how clever I am, so I no longer need to accumulate knowledge. Very foolish, isn't it? We need to continue to accumulate knowledge, but we should be in a place where we realise, you know, I know enough to at least get something done. The question I want to ask you is this.

What are you doing with what you already know? Well, you know, I teach other people and impart my knowledge to them. And what is the purpose for this? Well, you know, so that they can probably take that knowledge and impart it to somebody else. And then we can all be clever.

What use is it if you can't take your knowledge and turn it into something practical? And as a believer, if you can't take what you already know and use it to extend the kingdom of God and to fulfil the ministry that He's given you, what use is that knowledge? You say, well, you know, I just don't know enough. I just don't know enough. So now, in fact, in business, some of the most wealthy men are the guys who bombed out of school or were too stupid to study or were too dyslexic to study properly.

But you know what? They knew how to sell. They knew how to do business. And they became so wealthy, they could have anything they wanted in this world.

And there's you and I working hard, studying. We say, you know, I need to increase my knowledge. I need to get my university degree and my master's and my doctorate so I can be in a place where I can be of more use.

No, you don't actually. You don't. You can if you want to, but you don't.

You see, when you come to the place of realising the value of what you already have, then you have a hope for the future. And you don't have to feel insecure and think, well, you know, I really would like to do great things for God, but, you know, I'm not too clued up. You know, I don't know the word like the big preacher who stands up there.

I don't have the ability to do what that guy does. Don't you? I think you need a revelation. I think you need to see yourself through God's eyes, because you'll be amazed what you have the ability to do.

You need to have a hope for the future that you can go out and do that with what you have right now. Look, we've got training schools. We want you to have knowledge.

We want you to come in and study and learn with us. But you know what? In the meantime, what are you doing with the knowledge you already have? What are you doing with it? Well, I'm waiting for the right time. One of these days you'll be retiring and still waiting for the right time.

Paul says that we may have a knowledge of the wealth of his glory. The riches of his inheritance in the sense he calls it. Well, what's that? I'm not very wealthy.

I'm just poor. You know, what is wealth? Wealth isn't money in the bank. Wealth is actually the ability to take your knowledge and turn it into money in the bank.

See, a millionaire isn't somebody who has a million in the bank. A millionaire is somebody who knows how to put a million in the bank. Not a millionaire sitting there with nothing in the bank.

Of course, they're waiting for it to happen. Waiting for somebody else to put the million in the bank. Maybe somebody's going to wake up one night with a revelation from God to put a million in my bank account and I become a millionaire.

It's not going to happen. We have wealth. We have riches.

And the psalmist said these words. You will make known to me the way of life. In your presence, there is joy that fully satisfies.

What price will you pay for joy when you're feeling down? At your right hand, there are pleasures that last forever. Oh, what do you consider fun? What gives you pleasure? You know, this wealth is already yours in his presence. But the trouble is, you don't know how to use the knowledge you have to get it.

You don't have a revelation of who you are and what you have. You're sitting there waiting. You're sitting there pressing in and putting your foot on the land and taking what God has given you.

And then Paul says that we'll know the manifestation of his power. He said the same power of God that raised Christ from the dead will be available to you as you gain this new revelation of knowledge of who you are. See, that power is available to you.

That same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to you and I. When? From the moment he became his child. It's ours. It's ours.

See now, Paul doesn't just pray for more spiritual wealth and more power. He prays for these people. God will give them an improved knowledge and open their eyes.

You know why? Because we actually already have these things. We already have them. Just don't know it.

See, we're trying so hard to get the wealth. We're trying so hard to get the power of God. We're trying so hard to take our knowledge, get out there and minister and make a difference in this world and do wonderful things for God.

And we strive to get this. We already have. See, all you need to know, all you need to realize is I already have it.

All you need is the knowledge of who you are and what is yours and what is your inheritance in him. Once you get that knowledge, your hope will increase and then you can add it to your faith and your love and you'll have the fullness of the forces of the spirit of faith, hope and love and now what you need to do, reach out and take it, go out there and use it. All of these things follow naturally.

So I ask you again, how well do you know God? How well do you know him? And how can you improve that knowledge? How can you take that knowledge that he gives you freely and use it to make a difference in your life and in this world and in the lives of others? Don't you think it's time we just said, Lord, I want that knowledge, show me, open my eyes, here I am, I'm ready to take everything you've given me to go out to turn this world upside down for you.

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