Knowing God, Growing in God, Going for God

(Excerpts from Opening Day Address, 2024-25 Academic Year at India Bible College and Seminary)

Praise and thanks to God our Saviour through Jesus Christ our Lord. I am very grateful for this opportunity to share my thoughts with you all. We are all looking forward for a blessed new academic year ahead. Today I want to give us an overview of what is God’s bonding with us and sending us for His ministry. I want to comment on three areas: Knowing God, Growing in God and Going for God. 

I. KNOWING GOD

In the Bible the word ‘know’ is a great word which describes the intimate relationship between two people. In John 8:32, Jesus said that you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free. Jesus never spoke about attaining knowledge about the truth, but always referred to having an intimate relationship with truth. In Galatians 4:9, Paul describes the believers’ previous life without God and also about life after knowing God. He says that people always have some concept of knowledge about God but he also refers that God know them. Our experience is the same as the believers in Galatia – We know God rather we are known by God. 

Paul towards the very end of his life talks about his desire to know God. We should have a thirst to know God. We boast about knowing the Bible in and out having read it several times. We have a great God who has revealed Himself so that we can know Him better. We live in a religious country filled with many deities and faiths that are different from ours. In Indian villages there are different deities where they have home gods and village gods. There are gods in hills nearby and supreme gods in remote pilgrimage places. We have the greatest and supreme God who is always around us not far away from us. We never take the initiative to go to Him but God takes the initiative to come to us. He is a shepherd that goes out searching for the sheep that is each one of us. He is the father who waits for the son to come back. This whole process of God providing a way for us to experience Him is based on his initiative. 

Ephesians 2: 4-7 summarizes our life. We are crucified with Christ and are resurrected with Christ. To be resurrected we have to die. Many of us want to be resurrected without dying. We are not only resurrected but also ascended and seated at the right hand of Christ. This is our status – while yet on earth we are crucified, resurrected, ascended and seated in heaven with Christ. We have dual citizenship – we are Indian citizens and heavenly citizens. Phil. 3:20 clearly mentions about our heavenly citizenship. 

God gives us an invitation to come to Him which is of two types: One is the invite to follow God and second is the invite for full-time ministry. Many of us are in full-time ministry because of someone else’s commitment to send us for ministry or to get a respectable job in Christian ministry. Peter says that we must be sure about our calling (2 Peter 1:10). We must make sure that God has called us for ministry. We can excel in ministry if we are called by the greatest God. We will face many problems while doing ministry but always remember whom we are serving. 

What is our central call? In Mark 3:14-15 we see Jesus calling the twelve disciples. If we see the purpose of his call, we can find out a list of things to do: first, to be with Him, then, go out to preach, heal the sick, perform miracles and cast out demons. We may be appointed in the highest positions of organizations or churches but always remember to be with God. The devil will always try to keep us busy in ministry so that we do not spend time with God which affects us in many ways. 

Our definition of being with God is to pray to Him. Our prayers are like shopping lists where we pray for everything. Prayer should be a time where we forget the rest and be with God. One of my definitions about prayer is: Prayer is more a desire for the Giver than His gifts. Being in prayer is not for any need, not for any gifts or analyzing Bible verses, but only desiring for being with God. Knowing God is God taking initiatives towards us to know Him intimately. Our call is great and firm because God is great, and our primary call is to be with God. 

II. GROWING IN GOD

First of all we must know about the hindrances in our growth. One of the reasons is our temptation to project ourselves, to impress others and get credit for our work. Denying ourselves in everything we do is the key for our growth. Second reason is the grudge against someone who has hurt us. Grudge is a self-served poison that we drink. In the Lord’s Prayer there are six requests, and the only request explained is about forgiving others. We should forgive others just like Christ forgave us. Third reason is jealousy when someone’s achievements are better than ours. Another reason is the lack of integrity in our life. Integrity is who I am when God alone looks at me. 

For growing we must completely be under the ownership of God. Ephesians 2: 4-7 speaks about us being God’s workmanship. If God owns us, he will work in our life and we will grow. God is not able to work in our lives because we are rigid at times. Another aspect of growth is corporate growth – growth together outside of individual growth. The Bible pictures us as a body with different organs (1 Cor. 12:14; Eph. 4:16). Our body parts do not grow individually, rather it is always a corporate growth in the whole body. The most important people for God are not the ones who are in the limelight but those who work behind the curtains who deserve respect. 

We are called to build up one another which is the most important factor for corporate growth. Whatever we receive we must share it for the growth of others. One another aspect of growth is by doing something and obedience, and not just knowledge. A friend of mine was teaching about the omniscience and omnipresence of God to his students. He purposefully put some currency notes on the way from classroom to dining hall. He wanted to test whether anyone picks the notes and reports about it. Nobody reported even after studying about the omniscient and omnipresent God. They did not obey or do anything even after gaining knowledge. 

One important aspect of growth is the holistic growth. Luke 2:52 explains about the growth of boy Jesus in physical, mental, social and spiritual aspects. We also need to have such a holistic growth in our lives. We need to love God holistically and not in parts. We need to always find the hindrances in our growth through self-examination. We are very grateful and confident in our salvation and joyful in what we receive, yet before God we are nothing, and we still need to grow. Broken heart and contrite spirit is the sacrifice that God expects from us.           

III. GOING FOR GOD

Many times, we make the Bible very complicated, but let me tell you that the Bible is very simple. People ask me to summarize the Bible which I do in two words – Come and Go. The Bible is filled with invitations to come to God and then go out for God. One of the common phrases I have heard is Lighted to lighten, but when I ask people (who promote this) when and how they were ‘lighted’ they stand clueless. Remember all those who are called by God are sent by God. God wants to reach out many people around us. Many of those are lonely and helpless, and we are the only means to be used by God to reach these people. We need to open our eyes and see how God can use us in these conditions. 

During the Vietnam War, I was travelling from one city to another in Vietnam. A GI co-passenger noticed the pocket Bible I had with me and we started having conversation. He said he was ordered to shoot all in a family boat in the river, and possibly they were innocent. Killing them left a deep scar in him, and he lost all hope in life. I was able to share about the forgiveness of God to him in such a situation. There are many people around us who need encouragement. Jesus said Go to the ends of the earth. Where is the end of the earth? I would say the end of the earth is where you are. There are many people around us in our family, relatives, friends, and non-Christians, and we are the only means to reach out with the light to them. 

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said that the light should reach out to everyone in the home (Mt. 5:14-16). The most difficult place to show our light is our homes because they know us. We should live near to Christ wherever we are. Going for Christ is giving ourself to others. Our life project the light of Christ to others. Lausanne Movement has a watchword – The Whole Church taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole World. We can make a lot of excuses to back off from our Christian service, but let me tell you that even a small light can drive away darkness. The whole Gospel is not just spiritual transformation but the Kingdom of God which comprises everything around us. The whole world for each one of us is the people around us. 

I want to leave you with some questions to think and find answers about – If Christ has called us, what is His purpose and calling for my life? Do I really thirst for Him? Do I deny myself so that I may grab God? How do I grow in Christ? What hinders my growth in Him? What is my integrity? If God examines me what will He say about me? 

Every morning in our life should begin with asking God about how we can serve Him today, how I can build up my colleagues. Look at everything through the eyes and heart of Christ, how does God look at a person. Going for God is increasingly difficult in the present day, but the call for bearing cross is before you. We will not be able to do anything if the power of the Holy Spirit is not in us. May the Holy Spirit empower us and guide us as we move ahead in our Christian journey. Amen.