Seek Knowledge

Isaiah 5:13 “Therefore my people have gone into captivity, Because they have no knowledge; Their honorable men are famished, And their multitude dried up with thirst.”

What is it about knowledge that makes it so crucial, particularly regarding the people of God?

God uses the lack of knowledge as a primary reason for people finding themselves in bondage to sin. A lack of knowledge leads to spiritual famine and drought.

If knowledge is so crucial to God’s people, we should be seeking knowledge continually…..but how?

1 John 2:21 “I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.”

Without knowledge, we are more apt to believe a lie. The enemy continually seeks whom he may devour, and lies are his specialty. He deceived Eve with a lie and countless others after her, the pattern of deception has continued throughout human history.

So how do we counter the lies?

Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”

1. Knowledge begins with God’s law. The foundation of knowledge is to know the importance of following after God in obedience. Romans 7:7 “What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” You can’t walk in obedience if you don’t know where to trod. David embraced the law, Jesus led people to the law, and Paul instructed sinners in the law. The law is central to obedience.
2. The Spirit of God directs us to grow in knowledge. Since the Spirit leads those who follow after Christ, true knowledge is only acquired by people filled with the Spirit. The world can’t understand because they can only strive by their own understanding. 1 Corinthians 2:14 “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” If you are a follower of Christ, walking in the Spirit has to be intentional. It doesn’t come naturally.
3. We must seek knowledge once we come to Christ. Our natural inclination is to seek out our own welfare and good. When we seek to please God in all we do, the desire to follow in obedience becomes an act of worship. Romans 8:11 “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” Once we begin to see the benefits of walking in obedience, we begin to partake of the blessings that follow.

The more we walk in the Spirit, the more acquainted we become with God. The more we get to know the Lord, the more we appreciate the depth of knowing Him.

Depth of Knowledge

If you have never walked with God or have just began, you have no idea how deep that knowledge goes. I have known the Lord for 45 years and feel like I’ve just began to see. The moment I feel like I’ve made a breakthrough, the Lord reveals a depth that can seem terrifying.

The majesty and awe of knowing the Lord intimately only magnifies with each step toward Him.

Romans 11:33 “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”

If you desire to seek after a greater level of knowledge, you only need to submit to the Spirit. The process of submitting is found in humility and a contrite spirit. Forget about bringing anything to the table of the Lord, you’ll find very quickly you have nothing of value other than yourself. Come humbly, ready to listen, ready to obey, and let the hunger for God become insatiable in you.

If you think you can’t do it, maybe your past is continually being thrown in your face by the enemy, remember, Satan has no authority over you.

Luke 1:37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

The things that God encourages you to seek after are the ways that lead to the fullness of life. When Jesus promises success in your endeavors, it is in regards to those things God has called you to pursue.

The false teachers of today take scripture out of context and apply it to whatever the flesh desires….they are mistaken. In God’s blueprint of life, we are to seek after Him first and then all our “needs” will be taken care of in time.

1 John 2:27 “But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.”

The Importance of Abiding

There will be many influences in this world that will try to knock you out of alignment with God’s purposes. The enemy knows where you were weak before and will try to exploit it. The world will hate you the more you reflect Christ and will try to lead you down to their level of depravity.

If you pay attention to the pitfalls of life, you might be more prepared with they attempt to ensnare you. You might avoid standing too close to the edge of falling when the enemy makes it seem like it’s safe. Placing safeguards in place means preparing for these attacks.

Job 11:7 “Can you fathom the deep things of God or discover the limits of the Almighty?”

Your ability walk in the depths of knowledge can be a sign that your spiritual walk is healthy. The more you walk faithfully in the knowledge of Christ, the more of a testimony you will be to others.

The more you walk this path of knowledge, the more sanctified or (set apart for Christ) you will become.

John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”

The knowledge of God is the Truth of God. The more you walk in Truth the more consecrated unto God you will be. The more you dwell in Him, the less appealing this world becomes and the concern for worldly acceptance slowly diminishes.

We must tell others about the Truth that we have found. The Lord loves them as He has shown love to us, we can show our gratitude by embracing His desire for the lost.

If you want knowledge, you go to the source. Seeking God’s lead takes humility, patience and a willing heart of obedience when we hear the Lord’s instruction.
We can draw from the knowledge we have gained and grow in learning how to listen to the Holy Spirit or learning through the Word of God. God may speak through someone else, and if they are led by the Spirit then this instruction still comes from Him.
However God leads, we must keep the desire for knowledge at the forefront of our lives, seek it out, and embrace it when we receive it so we can apply it accordingly.
This is how the wise lives their lives, how they impact their family for Christ and those around them for an eternal reward.