IF YOU DON’T KNOW ME BY NOW ...

John 14:8-10
“Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”

It can be painful when someone or some people you thought ought to know what you are about, speak or act void of that knowledge or understanding of you, especially if you think everything you’ve been saying and doing had depicted who and what you stand for.

One of the most painful things that can happen to a sincere and honest person is to be seen as a liar and a cheat. This wound cuts so deep into the heart.

I’ve had that kind of experience before when someone, would, with all certainty, make some wrong comments, or act in some unpleasant ways based on what the person thought I said or did, or I was.

To someone that is a stranger, or someone that had not related closely with me in the past, such doesn’t hurt that much. Why? He or she had not closely related with me to the point of knowing or understanding me.

That was the pain in David’s heart when he said ...

Psalm 41:9
“Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.”

It is not every time someone is silent on a matter that he or she had consented to the matter, or had resigned to fate on the matter. It could sometimes mean that the person had weighed that matter, and had seen that talking or making so much fuse about it would take so much energy which would be needed for productivity in other things. Hence, the person may be silent on the matter, but not in agreement with the situation on ground.

Balaam was told by GOD not to follow Balak to curse the Israelites, but he went to GOD again, asking whether GOD had changed HIS MIND. Guess what GOD said? HE told him to go.

Of course, that “Go” wasn’t a consent from GOD. HE said it because his mind was so much on going that he would keep disturbing HIM if HE didn’t say so.

Numbers 22:12
“And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.”

Balak sent greater men and promised greater rewards, then ...

Numbers 22:19-21
“Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more. 20 And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do. 21 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.”

You know the story now. On his way, his ass refused to go, and he beat the ass in anger, and the ass spoke to him. Yet, he didn’t see in all these that GOD was not pleased with him agreeing to go and curse the Israelites.

It was when GOD opened his eyes that he saw the angel with his sword draw that he realized that the ass was not just stubborn, but his saving grace.

Numbers 22:31-35
“Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face. 32 And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me: 33 And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive. 34 And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again. 35 And the angel of the Lord said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

Did you notice what you just read?

He was still saying if the angel wanted him to go back, he would! Why was the angel blocking his way in the first place? Was it not to stop him from going ahead? Yet, his spiritual sensitivity had been dulled because of worldly gains.

GOD was showing him mercy by allowing the ass to see the angel and stopped. GOD went further to show him mercy my allowing the ass that should speak normally, to speak like human. This was to make him see the awkwardness of the situation at hand, and retrace his steps, but he didn’t.

Finally, GOD showed him HIS MERCY by opening his own eyes to see the angel himself. Yet, the gain was still in his heart.

If you were the one, with all that had happened, will you still be asking, “Do you want me to go back?”. Some of us would run back leaving the ass that drove us there behind.

The elders have a saying, that the dog that is doomed to be lost would not hear the whistle of the hunter. That was Balaam.

Proverbs 29:1
“He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”

Balaam died as a soothsayer, being slain by the Israelites ...

Joshua 13:22
“Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them.”

When you refuse to stand for something you ought to stand for, then you will fall as a result of it.

When we were little children those days, our parents didn’t do much of verbal rebuke to us outside the home. They still rebuked us, but it was sign language known to us alone.

My Mum could sternly at you for a split second, and you knew she was saying, “If you don’t stop that rubbish.”. She could blink rapidly for a second or so, and she was silently saying, “Don’t”. She could be smiling when they ask you to collect something, but in a split second that your eyes jammed hers, she could stop the smile, and frown, and then resume the smile, and you knew she was saying, “If they born you well, collect.”.

Balaam died prematurely because he didn’t know GOD well enough. He took GOD’s silence for consent.

There was a song I used to listen to those says when boys were boys, and girls were girls, by “Simply Red”. It goes thus: “If you don't know me by now ... You will never never never know me ... uuu.”

What make a person not to know the one he or she constantly relates with?

1. LACK OF STUDY OF THE SUBJECT MATTER

2 Timothy 2:15
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

How diligent do you study to know YOUR GOD?

Daniel 11:32
“And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”

HOW DO YOU STUDY EFFECTIVELY?

Watch, observe, listen.

2. NOT BEING PRESENT WHEN YOU’RE AROUND

Does that sound absurd? How can you tell someone to be present when around? Simple. It is not everyone that is around that is present.

There had been some times in the time past that we would make announcement that there won’t be service here the next Sunday because of something, and I would still receive a call from someone that was around when the announcement was made, asking, Pastor, is there no service today? The gate of the church is shut.”. I would then ask, “Were you in church on Sunday?”. The person would say “Yes”.

You see, not everyone around is present. Please be present when you are around. Soak in the moments. Get the words being spoken. Decode the message being communicated. Feel the atmosphere. Sense the spirit moving. Just be present.

Imagine the time JESUS was asked who would betray HIM, and HE said it was the next person that would dip his bread into the cup or so, and guess what? Judas did! ... Didn’t he hear HIM?

He heard being around, but he didn’t hear because he wasn’t present. He must have been calculating what he would use the money he would get from betraying JESUS to do.

John 13:21
“When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.”

John 13:25-28
“He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it? 26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. 28 Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.”

3. NOT PUTTING TO TEST IN ORDER TO TRUST

Trust doesn’t just come without test. Testing is equal to proving what is being said by whoever says it.

GOD told Abraham that HE now knew he trusted HIM when he didn’t refuse the sacrifice of his son, Isaac ...

Genesis 22:12
“And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.”

Did he know before? Well, it’s when you do what GOD tells you in HIS WORD that you are seen to really fear GOD, not just saying it, or coming to church everyday.

If I say I love you, in the period of challenges, you will prove it.

You can’t see the Power of GOD made manifest in your life if you don’t do what HIS had said in HIS WORD.

James 1:22
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

James 1:25
“But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

Prayer: FATHER, please help me to know YOU the way YOU want me to in JESUS’ NAME.