Fully Known, Truly Loved, Part II

In the last entry I spoke about being fully known.  Today I'm going to talk about two other points.

The second is that God wants us to know that we are his sons and daughters.  In Romans 8:14-15 it says this…

¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.^[f] And by him we cry, “Abba,^[g] Father.”

When we allow the Holy Spirit to lead our lives, we become sons and daughters of God.  The Holy Spirit does not bond us in slavery, but opens our lives to so many possibilities.  When we abide in the presence of Gods Spirit, we are adopted into the family.  God says you are my sons, you are my daughters.  I want you to fully know me.  I want to truly love you.  I want to fully know you!

The third is that our lives are holy sanctuaries.  In 1 Cor. 6:19-20 it says this…

¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Our bodies are sacred.  We have been created in the image of God.  We are holy sanctuaries.  We are to treat our bodies as if God has taken up residence in us.
So here’s the truth to tie it all together.  If we are friends of Jesus, sons and daughters of God, and holy sanctuaries; why do we pretend that we cannot be fully known or truly loved?

If we have the expectation on our friends to know us and love us, if we have the expectation of our fathers or mothers or caretakers in our lives to know us and truly love us, if we are holy temples where Spirit of God dwells within our hearts, then why do we fear to be truly loved and fully known?

I think…and this is just my opinion, that we have been stabbed in the back by so many we have trusted, our hearts have been broken by those who we loved and trusted, there has been so much broken trust and heartaches that we don’t even know how to approach God to be truly loved and fully known.

Church, I’m here to tell you today that as sons and daughters, friends, and holy temples you are a remnant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  You are a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and you are a friend of Jesus Christ.  You don’t have to fear, you don’t have to be afraid, you don’t have to live your life in a way that shy’s away from having a relationship with Jesus Christ. 

Christ is calling you to be fully known.  You see in the Old Testament they built the tabernacle around the “holy of  holies”, a place where God literally resided.  The only person that could go into the holy of holies to talk to God was the high priest.  God would give a message to the high priest to deliver to the people.  It was up to the high priest then to share that message from God with all the people.

Well guess what, today Jesus (our high priest) wants to go into your holy of holies (your heart) and deliver a message to you that God wants to fully know you and truly love you.  All you’ve got to do is pull back the shade and let him in. 

However, maybe you’re saying it’s easier said than done.  If that’s the case, and you’re thinking that right now, what if I told you that there’s no one on this earth and nothing in this world that can fully know you and truly love like God? 

Some of us have been living “fulfilling” lives without God or without being completely surrendered to God.  How fulfilling has it really been?  I’m sure you’ve been hurt.  I’m sure someone you’ve trusted has mistreated you or broken that trust.  All of us have been there.

So whether you’re hearing this for the first time or the hundredth time, JESUS CHRIST WANTS TO FULLY KNOW YOU AND TRULY LOVE YOU!

When are you going to let him come into your life and do this?  When are you going to let go of the fear, frustration, and all the things that keep you from living a life the God has truly destined you to live?  Do you want to be fully known and truly loved?  If so, we’re going to take communion here in a second and James is going to tell you how you can be truly loved and fully known by God.

Fully Known, Truly Loved, Part I

There are two things in life that we all desire.  These two things sit above wealth, possessions, knowledge of things, and much more. 

Those two things are to be fully known and truly loved.  Now what do I mean when I say, “To be truly loved”?  I don’t necessarily mean the kind of love that your family, friends, or even your pets can give you.  I mean the love that goes beyond any of that.  Some of us have never experienced what it means to be truly loved.  Oftentimes we look in the wrong places for love.  Whether it’s possessions, wealth, relationships with people, etc.  None of those things and none of those people will give you the true love that Jesus Christ will give you.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  Love from family and friends is very important.  However, even their love can only go so far. 

Also, what does it mean to be fully known?  The other day I was taking a look back at some notes I had made on Facebook.  Interesting to see all the questionnaires I’ve filled out about myself.  Things from what’s your favorite color, to my favorite movie, and also ridiculous questions like do I take the shampoo bottles from the hotel when I leave? 

Needless to say we all want to be truly loved and fully known.  That’s why we fill out questionnaires.  I’ve always said I haven’t met someone who hasn’t at the very least wanted to share something about their life with someone.  So we want to be truly loved and fully known.  But how does that happen?  The Bible tells us three things that we must know before we can be fully know or truly loved.

The first is that Jesus wants to know that we are his friends.  In John 15:14-15 it says this…

¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

In the Old Testament, there are only two people who were called friends of God; Abraham and Moses.  However, because Christ has now come and we too can be friends of Christ.  He says it right here in John!  We are no longer servants, but friends.  And why…because everything that Christ has learned from the Father he has shared with us.

The reason Abraham and Moses were the only two in the Old Testament to be called friends of God is because they were the keepers of the law.  God made himself known to them.  The good news is this, God has made himself fully known to us through Jesus Christ.  And he wants to fully know us as well.

Tomorrow I'm going to post the second scripture where God tells us that we are sons and daughters.  That we are heirs to His love and Kingdom.