2. Especially when it comes to God…
Ranges from a true biblical definition of God to a
totally wicked cultic defi-
nition, to one of “You-
make-it-as-you-go.”
Here are some examples
of the definitions of ‘God’
that some of the more
well-known cults have
3. Jehovah’s Witness: One-person God, called
Jehovah. No trinity. Jesus is the first
thing Jehovah created.
Mormons: God the Father
was once a man. but “pro-
gressed” to godhood. He
has a physical body as
does his wife. No trinity.
Worthy men may one day
become gods themselves
4. Unification Church: God is both positive and negative.
The universe is God’s body. Their god does not know
the future. He is suffering and he
needs Moon, Sun Myung
to make him happy
Scientology: They do not
define God or Supreme
Being. Everyone is a
“Thetan”, an immortal spirit
with unlimited powers of its
own universe, but not all
are aware of this
5. Islam: Allah is God. Human attributes such as
fatherhood cannot be associated with God
New-Age: Everything and
everyone is God. God is
an impersonal force or
principle, not a person.
People have unlimited
inner power and need
to discover it
6. Everyone runs around with his or her own idea of
God and they don’t have the foggiest idea who
God truly is, because they
choose not to know God
400 BC, Plato wrote, “To
find out the Father and
Maker of all this universe
is a hard task, and when
we have found Him, to
speak of Him to all men is impossible.”
7. Big Shocker that Plato was wrong too
We don’t have to wait until we enter heaven to get
to know God the Father
We can know Him today and
receive from Him the spirit-
ual resources we need to
keep going when the days
are difficult
8. 7 If you had known Me, you would have
known My Father also; from now on you
know Him, and have seen Him.” 8 Philip
*said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father,
and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus *said to
him, “Have I been so long with you, and
yet you have not come to know Me,
Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the
Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the
9. Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in
the Father, and the Father is in Me? The
words that I say to you I do not speak on
My own initiative, but the Father abiding
in Me does His works. 11 Believe Me that I
am in the Father and the Father is in Me;
otherwise believe because of the works
themselves. 12 Truly, truly, I say to you, he
10. he who believes in Me, the works that I
do, he will do also; and greater works
than these he will do; because I go to the
Father. 13 Whatever you ask in My name,
that will I do, so that the Father may be
glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me
anything in My name, I will do it.
John 14:7-14, NASB
11. V 7 says, the only way to know the
Father is thru a relationship w/ Jesus
Tongue in cheek I think, reminding
the boys that that didn’t really know
Him until Pentecost
The Greek word “to know is gin-os-ko
4 different meanings
Simply knowing a fact– anybody can pick
up a book and know a fact—head knowlege
12. Understanding the truth behind a fact– however,
you can know the fact and the truth and still be
LOST– failing to allow Him to become
their personal savior (Many will say
Lord, Lord)
Getting into the personal relationship.
“To know” means “to believe in a per-
son and become related to him or her.”
The fourth use of “know” means “to
have a deeper relationship with a per-
son, a deeper communion.”
13. Vv 8-11, Philip does exactly what so many others
do
Here are a couple people make that keep them
from God
1. Preconception of what God
“should” be.
Even if your IQ is 3 digits, GOD
is INFINITELY WISE. Trying to
comprehend Him is futile
14. When you hear someone say, “My view of God is
different…” or “I always pictured God as…”
They are billions of miles off base– you can’t make
God fit into your box
2. People demand inappro-
priate confirmation from God
Like Phil in v8, people want proof
of His existence, faithfulness, ca-
pabilites, etc.
15. As if they give God permission to do something or
to even exist
They seem to think that without their approval, He
can’t do anything
That’s NUTS!
Longing to see God with our
physical eyes is often an ex-
cuse for unbelief, and begin-
nings of idolatry
16. V 12, A promise to claim, but requires faith
Going back to His Father is an encouragement to
us because He is interceding
Greater Works, really?
Yes– this word means many
more, much farther reaching
Peter- 3000 saved at sermon
Ordinary folks used gives even more Glory to Him
17. Vv 14-15,Privilege of Prayer– NOT a magic formula
Asking in Jesus’ name means
We ask what Jesus would ask
What would please Him
What would bring Him glory
by furthering His work
Charismatics use these verses
to “name it and claim it”
18. This couldn’t be further from the truth in context
“in My name” is the control-
ling element.
To know God’s Name means
to know His Nature
What He is
What He wants to do
To bring honor and Glory to his name…
19. The prayers must be within His Will
1 John 5:14-15 says this,
“Now this is the confidence that
we have in Him, that if we ask
anything according to His will,
He hears us. And if we know that
He hears us, whatever we ask,
we know that we have the petitions that we have
asked of Him.”
20. We can know the Father and Maker of the
Universe because Jesus revealed
Him to us
How Can we be troubled when
the Creator and Owner of the
universe is our own Father?!?
Memorize these two verses– they will come to
your rescue
21. “6 Be anxious for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known to God. 7 And the peace
of God, which surpasses all
comprehension, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7, NASB
22. Knowing Jesus person-
ally and closely is the
key to your Christian
journey
Knowing Jesus should
be without our own
preconceptions about
Him
Knowing Jesus is the
only way we can pray properly for His glory
