Introduction
You may know this rare word: ultracrepidarian. It describes someone who talks endlessly about a subject he does not really know. A true waymaker, one who opens the way, is not like that. Before he speaks, he knows. And what he must know above all else is not other people's business. It is God.
Jesus said it clearly: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). Your most vital need is not eating, drinking, or getting dressed. It is knowing your Creator. And this knowledge changes everything: your prayer, your reading, your character, your eternity.
Outline of the Sermon
1. Your Primary Need: Knowing God
We live in a society that stacks up needs: feed the body, entertain yourself, succeed. These are not the essential needs. The first need is to feed your spirit, because your spirit will live forever. A famous preacher put it this way: "The knowledge of God is the salvation of sinners." And Jesus himself confirms it: "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3).
In other words, eternal life, that life beyond space and time, is only yours if you know God. There is no shortcut.
2. To Know Is "Yada": Intimacy, Not Intellect
In Hebrew, the verb "to know" is yada. And it is not intellectual knowledge. It is a deep relationship, an intimacy, a union with your Creator. Genesis says: "Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain" (Genesis 4:1). To know God is to be joined to him, to become one with him.
You can have all the biblical knowledge in the world and still remain far from God. True knowledge begins with an encounter.
3. The Encounter: God Takes the Initiative
Look at Saul of Tarsus. Trained by the greatest rabbis, he thought he knew God better than anyone. He persecuted Christians while convinced he was serving God. Then on the road to Damascus, Jesus comes to meet him. His first words: "Who are you, Lord?" All his intellectual knowledge collapses. Later, he himself would write that everything he had accumulated, he counted as rubbish "because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:8).
The good news is that you are not the one climbing up to God. God is the one coming down to you. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son." He took the initiative. And he still comes today, wanting to meet you again, more deeply than yesterday.
4. The Daily Relationship: Meditative Prayer and the Living Word
A relationship does not survive without time spent together. That is true with your husband, your children, your friends. It is even more true with God. If you do not tend your daily relationship with him, it fades out.
Two things grow this knowledge: prayer and meditating on the Word. Careful, meditating is not just reading. You can recite long prayers with your mouth while your mind is elsewhere. You can open the Bible every night and retain nothing. That only serves to ease your conscience. What changes everything is speaking to Jesus as to a present friend, and actively searching his Word to discover who he is.
5. Being Transformed to Enter the Kingdom
God does not let you know him just for your comfort. He knows you in order to prepare you and transform you. "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Think of your fingerprint: it unlocks your phone, it is your identity. One day, to enter the Kingdom, the name of Jesus will need to be engraved on your spiritual fingerprint. You cannot stay the same. Without transformation, there is no entry. The Kingdom is prepared for those who prepare themselves.
6. Hosea's Call: Do Not Perish for Lack of Knowledge
The prophet Hosea gives two powerful passages. The first is a warning: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). The people die spiritually because they do not enter into a relationship with their God. The second is an exhortation: "Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord" (Hosea 6:3).
You put in effort for many things. Put in effort for God too. Take time. Do not say "I do not have time," you find time for other things. Find time to know him.
Key Takeaways
- A true waymaker knows first and speaks after. The knowledge of God comes before any credible testimony.
- Knowing God is not an intellectual exercise. It is yada: a daily intimacy, a union.
- God always takes the initiative in the encounter. It is up to you not to harden your heart when he comes.
- Without inner transformation, there is no entry into the Kingdom. The knowledge of God changes you from one degree of glory to another.
Personal Application
- Do I talk about God more than I actually know him? Am I a spiritual "ultracrepidarian"?
- When I open my Bible, is it to check a box or to meet Jesus?
- Is my flame burning bright, or is it only smoldering without burning? What do I want to say to God today?
- What concrete transformation does God expect of me this week so his mark shapes my life even more?
Verses Cited
- Matthew 4:4
- John 17:3
- Genesis 4:1
- 1 John 4:8
- John 14:8-9
- Philippians 3:8
- 2 Corinthians 3:18
- Hosea 4:6
- Hosea 6:3
FAQ
What does "knowing God" really mean in the Bible?
The Hebrew word yada describes relational knowledge, an intimacy, not mere mental information. Knowing God means entering into a daily union with him, through prayer and his Word.
Why isn't intellectual knowledge of the Bible enough?
Because it can leave you just as far from God as Saul was before Damascus. Without a personal encounter, without a love that binds itself to your very being, theology stays sterile. Paul himself eventually counted his learning as rubbish next to Christ.
How can I start over if my faith has grown cold?
God does not snuff out smoldering wicks. Today, simply open the door to him. Take up prayer again as you would speak to a friend, open the Word seeking Jesus, and let him rekindle the flame.
to take notes and ask questions.