Knowing about someone and knowing someone are two very different things. God isn't looking for us to just know of Him but to know Him. Daniel Sumoge helps us see how we can add true knowledge to our faith.

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OC Church of Christ

What is up church?

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Good morning.

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How are we feeling this morning?

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We're feeling good.

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Sorry about my voice.

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Um, I don't know what it is

about us preachers and football.

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Last week, Marcel was screaming at

a football game or last weekend.

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Yesterday I was screaming at a football

game and my voice is shot right now.

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So I really need your encouragement

today to get through it.

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So, but it's great to be

with you all this morning.

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Um, my name is Daniel Samogi.

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I hope I serve here in Orange

County with the youth and the campus

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ministry, and it has been amazing.

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I've been truly blessed

and honored in doing that.

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Like this past Friday, with

the teens actually, we had

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a life size game night, so.

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We had, uh, we played

Hungry Hungry Hippos.

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We put the teams on, like, this

dolly and we rolled them in the

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center as they try to grab the,

the, the balls into their bucket.

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And then we also did,

like, Human Battleships.

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So the teams were having fun with that.

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And then yesterday, the Campus Ministry,

we had an all LA football tournament.

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And, man, that was awesome.

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If we can give it up for the men,

for the campus men over here.

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They fought hard.

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They represented OC proudly

because we won our first game.

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We made it to the semi finals.

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We won the semi finals and we

made it to the championship game.

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We made it to the championship game

and college just didn't go our way

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and unfortunately we got second place.

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But I'm proud of the guys.

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If you see them limping, if you see

them with the battle scars, just know

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that they represented OC proudly.

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Uh, but anyways, we're continuing our

series, um, we started earlier this year.

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It's called Becoming More in 24.

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And with that, the theme

passage is 2 Peter chapter 1.

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And in 2 Peter chapter 1, the message,

the passage Peter talks about makes clear

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that God provides everything for us.

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He gives us all the resources and

the tools to live a godly life.

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And when I think about that,

I think about, when I read the

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scripture, I thought about a dad.

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I don't know about you guys, but

my dad, he was always prepared.

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He had that toolbox ready to go.

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When something was broken down

the house, he was ready to go.

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He provided everything

for me to have this life.

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He provided everything for my

siblings and my mom, and I'm

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definitely grateful for that.

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And, you know, in it, in 2nd Peter chapter

1 verse 3, it says, His divine power has

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given us everything we need for a godly

life through our knowledge of him, who

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called us by his own glory and goodness.

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And we say, you know, it says divine

power, you know, think about God's power.

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So God's power has given us

everything we need for a godly

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life through our knowledge of Him.

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And it was through His glory and

goodness, uh, that we get to,

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to align to His righteousness.

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And it mentions that in verse, uh, 8

and 9, I'm jumping over, but, for if you

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possess these qualities in increasing

measure, they will keep you from being

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ineffective and unproductive in your

knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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But whoever does not have them is

nearsighted and blind, forgetting what

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they have been cleansed from their past.

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So, you know, Peter makes it clear for us.

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If we do not add to these qualities,

if we do not add goodness to our faith,

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if we do not add perseverance, if

we don't add knowledge and so on, we

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become ineffective and unproductive.

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We become nearsighted and blind.

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And when I think about that, you

know, in the other version, when

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it talks about ineffective and

unproductive, it talks about, uh,

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another version, they say barren.

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Meaning, you know, you're

unable to produce offspring.

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You know, think of a woman that

is barren, she is without child.

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She is unable to reproduce.

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Think about a tree that is barren,

it is unable to bear fruit.

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If, you know, if we have these, if we

don't have these qualities, uh, sorry, if

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we have these qualities, such as goodness,

knowledge, faith, you know, perseverance,

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all that, we become effective.

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I don't know about you guys, but I

feel like all of us, we want to be

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effective for God, don't we, church?

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We want to be effective.

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But in order to be effective, you know,

we have to be able to, to produce.

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I don't know about you guys, but when

I go on campus, sometimes at Cal State

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Fullerton, I meet a lot of people who

claim to be a Christian and attend church,

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but yet they're unable to bear fruit.

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And not many people have

the fruit of the Spirit.

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But in order to produce, be effective,

and not be nearsighted and blind, we have

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to make every effort to add to our faith.

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And last week, you know, Marcel talked

about adding goodness to our faith.

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And this week, today, I'm going to talk

about adding knowledge to our faith.

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Let's go to God in prayer.

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Father God, just thank you

so much we get to be here.

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God, just to honor and worship you, God.

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I'm so grateful for the people here, God.

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And then people online just

wanting to know more about you

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and add to your faith, God.

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And I just pray right now, God,

that you just remove me, God.

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That, uh, you speak through me,

God, that, uh, you know, it's your

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word being spoken and not mine, God.

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Um, God, we love you so much.

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In Jesus name, amen.

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Alright, so, we're gonna

explore knowledge, okay?

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Now, what does that mean,

adding knowledge to your faith?

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Well, 2 Peter, chapter 1, verse 5,

it says, For this very reason make

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every effort to add to your faith,

goodness, and to goodness, knowledge.

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Alright, so when you think about

knowledge, I know we can think about, you

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know, facts, you know, stuff we learn in

school, stuff we learn in observation.

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And here in this context, you

know, I don't think this is

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what Peter is talking about.

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You know, it's great to

add knowledge to our faith.

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It's great to memorize scriptures.

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It's great to know, you know,

certain doctrine and theology.

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Yes, I'm not trying to dismiss that.

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But I think here what Peter's

talking about, what I want to take

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a closer look at, is more so this

spiritual knowledge, this deep

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knowledge of really knowing Christ.

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And in, you know, 2 Peter 1,

verse 5, you know, it's rooted in

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Godin goodness and glory of God.

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And, you know, how do we do that?

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How do we, you know, become, uh, rooted

in the goodness and glory of God?

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It comes from God and His Word, obviously.

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And in that, we discover that

God's power, uh, grants us

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everything for this godliness

life, this godly life through Him.

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An example of this, you know, I

think of Knowing God, I feel like

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there's two different examples.

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There's this distant knowledge

of God, and then there's this

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intimate knowledge of God.

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And when I think of a distant knowledge,

I think of someone you may know, you know,

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maybe in your classroom or at your work,

you're like, yeah, I know this person,

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I know of them, I know their name, I

know where they're from, I kinda know

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a little bit about them, but that's it.

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You know, example of this could be maybe

knowing someone, uh, a public figure or a

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celebrity that you may know, but you don't

really have that personal connection with.

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And I know for me, honestly,

this past Friday, I feel

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like I got to live that out.

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Uh, this distant knowledge of someone.

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You know, this past Friday, I was

meeting with Marcel at Starbucks, and

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all of a sudden, next thing you know,

this celebrity walks in, this musician.

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Marcel tells him I didn't believe him.

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I, then I go up to the celebrity,

and I ask him if that's who he is.

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And he said, yes.

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And I was like, oh, no, no way.

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And that person turned out to be Mr.

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Andre 3000 from the OutKast.

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Or just OutKast.

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I don't know if you guys know OutKast.

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You know, the one, two,

three, uh, the exact.

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Oh, sorry.

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I'm so sorry.

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There it is.

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That's just good.

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But there, Andre 3000.

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Yes, got to meet Andre 3000.

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And you know, it was great.

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I knew, I know of Andre 3000

though, but I don't really know him.

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I know of his music.

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I know of his work.

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But he doesn't know me really at all.

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He just, he probably forgot my name, but

I don't really know him also as well.

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And there's this lack of intimacy

that we have, like this personal

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knowledge that we have of each other.

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Rather, it's just a distant knowledge.

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But then there's also this intimate

knowledge, which I believe what

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Peter wants us to have with our Lord.

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He wants to have this intimate

knowledge where he knows us, or

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we know him, and he knows us.

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An example of that, I mean, I went to the

slide here, but I think of people in my

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life who really know me, you know, they

know my, my, my joys, my sorrows, they

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know my, my weakness, they know my pain,

we experience life together, you know, we

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know each other's dislikes and everything,

and likes, we've spent countless hours

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of each other, with each other, in each

other's company, and during challenging

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times as well, you know, it's great to

have this Knowledge of each other, right?

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It's great that we have people in our

lives that we have this close intimate

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relationship with where people really

know us and we know Them and they

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know what's going on in our lives

But I also think that peter wants

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us to have that with god as well.

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He wants us to have that deep

intimate knowledge Of jesus and I

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think of story that that kind of

encapsulates knowledge knowing really

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knowing jesus Is in Luke chapter 10.

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So if you guys can turn your

Bibles there to Luke chapter 10.

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We're going to look at a story

of, you know, these two women in

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the Bible where I feel like we

can be either one or the other.

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And it's in Luke chapter 10 verse 38.

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We're going to do 38 through 42.

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Sorry.

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And it says, As Jesus and his

disciples were on their way, he

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came to a village where a woman

named Martha opened her home to him.

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She had a sister called Mary who sat at

the Lord's feet listening to what he said.

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But Martha was distracted by all the

preparations that had to be made.

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She came to him and asked, Lord,

don't you care that my sister has

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left me to do the work by myself?

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Tell her to help me.

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Martha, Martha, the Lord answered.

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You are worried and upset about

many things, but few things are

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needed, or indeed, only one.

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Mary has chosen what is better, and

it will not be taken away from her.

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You know, like I said, I love this

story of Mary, Martha, and Jesus

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because there's certain times, certain

seasons of our life where we can be

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either Martha or we can either be Mary.

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You know, in verse 39 it says,

Mary sat at the Lord's feet.

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You know, I don't think you guys,

I, I, when I was doing research on

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it, there's so much importance to,

to Mary sitting at the Lord's feet.

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Because back then, you know, Jesus

being a rabbi, when you're a rabbi, it's

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such a high honor and call as a man.

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Most rabbis were men, and because

you get to, you know the scriptures,

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not many people knew how to

interpret the scriptures or read it.

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And you were able to, to read

and, and, um, and help others,

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uh, understand it as well.

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And, you know, when it becomes a rabbi,

you know, it's almost like being a Jedi.

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You know, you don't just be born a Jedi.

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You gotta, you know, have

the midichlorians in you.

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And you have to train.

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And it begins at a very young age.

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So at the age of four and five, there

is these Jewish boys who, who, uh, they

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would start reading the scriptures.

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They'll start reading the Torah.

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They'll start memorizing it.

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So just imagine some of the kids kingdom,

you know, the kids right now, instead

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of coloring and doing memory, like,

you know, they're actually memorizing

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the whole Bible right now, at that age.

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But, uh, but yeah, so at four and

five, they start studying the Bible,

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and as the boys grow older, uh,

they start interpreting other texts.

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And then, next you know, a rabbi

or a teacher would take notice of

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a, of a young boy, probably around

the age of twelve or thirteen.

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And he would choose a young

boy who he believes that he

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can, you know, he has faith in.

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He's like, I know I can train him, and you

know, he's gonna, he's gonna be with me.

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So the rabbi would take the young boy,

and then the rabbi would train him.

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And they would follow closely.

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It wasn't just, hey, I'm gonna teach

you how to interpret scriptures.

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But you're gonna see my life.

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You're gonna be right behind me.

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Whatever I do, you're gonna follow.

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You're gonna see how my life is.

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And that's where the saying, you know,

being in the dust of the rabbi's feet.

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You know, the idea of being in the dust

of the rabbi's feet where the rabbi is

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walking, uh, is walking on these dusty

roads that your student will follow so

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closely that the dust walked on by your

rabbi will fall on your feet as well.

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And this symbolizes the, the, the

commitment from that student to learn

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and imitate the ways of their rabbi.

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And when we look at Mary, we see

the significance of her choice,

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sitting at the Lord's feet.

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You know, it wasn't merely about gaining

intellectual insight, but it was an

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acknowledgment that true knowledge

begins in a context of a relationship.

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Mary knew what was important.

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She knew that sitting at the Lord's

feet, Jesus, and being present, getting

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to know him is what mattered most.

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You know, she wasn't there to

impress Jesus with, with her

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theology, but to know him intimately.

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To understand the heart behind the

teachings and be transformed by Jesus.

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You know, Mary was making every

effort to add knowledge to her faith.

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Knowledge that Jesus is the most

important relationship in her life.

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And because of that, she decided to

carry, uh, uh, she decided to drop

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everything in the midst of busyness.

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And church, I think that's so

important for us to kind of

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carry that posture of Mary.

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Of, hey, I know there's a lot

of things going on in my life.

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I know there's plenty of busyness.

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I know I'm in school.

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I know I have a family.

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I know I have work.

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I have so many things I have to balance.

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But all of that, you know, it does matter.

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But none of that should

compare to being with Jesus.

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Really knowing Him intimately.

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You know, I also want to remind us, you

know, That adding knowledge to our faith

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is not passive, but involves actively

seeking God's word and teachings.

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So we must continue to add knowledge

to our faith and continually seek God

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on a close intimate level like Mary.

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Because we see that Martha was caught up

in many things in life that she thought

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was important and she had Jesus right

there, right in front of her in her house.

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She was in the presence of Jesus and

had decided to do many other things.

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And at times, I think, you know,

we can get caught up in that.

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I know for me, in my life right now,

like, trying to do so many things.

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Oh, I'm trying to plan a wedding.

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Oh, I'm trying to plan this.

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Oh, I gotta, you know, I wanna

do all these other things.

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And I'm just like, you know what, God?

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I feel like these things

are more important.

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But guess what?

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I'm gonna know you, though.

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I still know you, God.

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But I'm gonna do all these

other things because I feel

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like that's what matters most.

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But no, it's not true.

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Jesus is what matters most.

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Being in the presence, getting

to know Him is what matters most.

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And if we want to become more in

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to add knowledge to our faith.

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You know, it's not a suggestion.

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It's not, hey, perhaps

you may add knowledge.

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No.

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He said, make every

effort to add knowledge.

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And not just knowledge of

memorizing scriptures, as I

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said, or theological teaching.

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It's great, but the knowledge

that's intimate and personal.

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You know, I've made the mistake as a

young man who's been very passionate

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and eager to To, you know, wield knowing

scriptures as a weapon to others.

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And because of that, I've been

drawing people away from God.

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And I had to realize, like,

wow, God, like, I don't know why

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people don't want to know you.

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But I had to take a look in the mirror

of myself, knowing that I don't really,

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I'm not living the life you called me.

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I'm just using scriptures

here as a weapon.

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I'm, I'm too busy condemning people.

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I'm too busy being black and white of the

scripture rather than the heart of it.

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Rather than having the, the

knowledge, intimate knowledge.

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Not allowing His Word to

be transformative for me.

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And I think that we have to

allow the knowledge, knowing

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Jesus, to be transformative.

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To shape every aspect of our lives.

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Our thoughts, our actions, our

identities, and our purpose.

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But practically, what would it

look like for us, church, if we

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were to add knowledge to our faith?

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When I think of the, you know,

2 Peter 1, I think of the

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progression of the scripture.

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It says,

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For this reason, make every effort

to add to your faith goodness,

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and to goodness knowledge.

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Add to your faith goodness, which

is virtue, and virtue knowledge.

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The coupling of adding goodness with

knowledge implies that knowledge

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is not isolated, but intimately

linked with virtuous living.

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Knowledge when lived out,

Church, translates into virtuous

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actions in a life that reflects

transformative power of Jesus.

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Now, what do I mean by that?

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Well, it means, Church, that if I'm

at work and I deeply understand the

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knowledge of Christ's teaching on

servant and leadership and integrity and

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fairness, at work, I'm going to foster

a relationship, a workplace culture

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where respect and teamwork are valued.

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Or maybe it's in our community where

we are inspired by Christ's teaching on

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love and compassion and service of others

that we get to organize other community

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outreach in addressing local needs.

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Maybe we're a student in school

and we understand the values

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of honesty and integrity.

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That, you know, as a student,

I'm gonna do everything I can

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to, to have academic integrity.

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I'm gonna do everything I can to get

the, the, the good grade in school.

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I'm gonna make every effort to.

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I'm gonna help my classmates

who are struggling.

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I'm gonna help them understand

this topic in school.

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I'm gonna be, uh, you know,

I'm gonna actively promote

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positive and inclusiveness

environment within the school.

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Or maybe it's at church, where we

understand Christ's teachings on community

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and worship and spiritual growth.

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That it will allow, it'll lead us

to participate in church activities.

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And maybe it's with family and friends

where we actively, you know, we know

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and add to our faith the values of

Christ's teaching on forgiveness and

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love and support with relationship.

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That it will lead to us actively

pursue forgiveness and grace with

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our own family and close friends.

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You know, in each scenario, you

know, knowledge becomes a guiding

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principle and informs actions,

decisions, and interactions.

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And an interaction I think of,

we're not going to turn there,

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but I think of an interaction with

Jesus and the Samaritan woman.

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It's in John chapter 4.

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I really encourage you guys to read it

if you guys haven't done so already.

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But it's such a powerful story,

because Jesus engages in a

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conversation with the Samaritan woman.

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And in this conversation, Jesus displayed

a profound knowledge of her life.

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He didn't just know facts about

her, or he did know facts.

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He didn't know, okay, you're a

Samaritan, you're a woman, yes.

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He knew the, uh, The distant

knowledge, but the intimate

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knowledge that he knew of her.

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He knew that, hey, you have more

than one husband, I know that.

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Oh wait, I know you say you're

thirsty, but I know you're

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longing for something more.

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I know your heart, I know your

desires, I know your longing.

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Jesus knew that.

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And because of that, that

knowledge, in this instance,

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led to a radical transformation.

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Because Jesus knew that she was

struggling, and she needed a drink

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of water from the eternal life,

where she would never go thirsty.

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And by Jesus engaging in this

conversation with the Samaritan

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woman, he was breaking cultural norms.

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I mean, Jews and Samaritans were not,

like, they, there was barriers there.

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No one, you know, they didn't like

them, or they didn't like each other.

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And for Jesus to interact with

a woman who was a Samaritan, it

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did not go well with the culture.

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But the knowledge he demonstrated

shattered these prejudices,

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and revealed a God whose grace

transcends all cultural divides.

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You know, the Samaritan woman encountering

with the living knowledge of God results

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in the transformation of her own heart.

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You know, knowledge, when

lived out, becomes a beacon

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of light in this dark world.

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It's not about wielding information as a

weapon, but embodying Christ's teaching,

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Christ's way, dispelling darkness

in this world and bringing healing.

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You know, knowledge, when expressed

through love, compassion, and

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grace, Church, becomes a powerful

force of positive change.

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And that means knowledge when

coupled with goodness has potential

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to impact the world around us.

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It looks like sacrificial love,

compassion for the marginalized, and

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forgiveness in the face of wrongs.

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So let's have our knowledge be a

lived out expression of goodness.

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Now, you're probably thinking, how can we

add knowledge to our faith though, Dan?

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So as we continue about that, you

know, I think there's certain ways

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to add knowledge to our faith.

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There's a few ways, and I think of the

first one, You know, just, oh, sorry.

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There was supposed to

be another slide there.

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But the first one is

just being in your word.

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You know, I think of the

scripture in Acts 17 verse 11.

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It says, Now the Berean Jews

were of more noble character

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than those in Thessalonica.

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For they received the message with great

eagerness and examined the scripture every

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day to see if what Paul said was true.

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You know, the Bereans, they weren't

satisfied by just hearing the text.

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They went back to see what

Paul was said was true.

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They were eager to hear it.

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They were in noble character of it.

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And by that, you know,

they were in their word.

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And because of that, we have

to be in our word in order to

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understand the knowledge of Christ.

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You know, the second one is prayer.

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We have to, we have to be praying.

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In Proverbs 2, Verse 3 to 6 says,

Indeed, if you all call out for insight

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and cry aloud for understanding, and

if you look for it as for silver and

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search for it as for hidden treasure,

then you will understand the fear of

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the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

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For the Lord gives wisdom.

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From his mouth come

knowledge and understanding.

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You know, we have to actively seek

knowledge and wisdom through prayer.

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And I don't know about you guys, but

when I read this scripture, what I

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thought of is a little kid at Target.

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Now, you ever bring your, your kids

to Target, you've seen a little kid in

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the toy section or the candy section,

they start crying to their parents.

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They're like, Mom, Dad, I want this toy.

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They start pounding the

ground, you probably see that.

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I want this candy, and you say no.

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But, guess what, I thought about, uh,

are we doing the same thing in our lives?

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Are we crying to God, wanting to know

more and more about Him each day?

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Are we doing that, church?

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You know, another way to add knowledge

is to seek advice from others.

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You know, I feel like this is, at least

for, for my generation, just a lost start.

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We're, we're too much in the feeling

generation of what feels right.

431

And that's not the case here.

432

You know, when we, uh, uh, we actively add

knowledge to our faith by going to others.

433

And the importance of listening to

advice and being open and learning

434

from others, it leads to wisdom there.

435

You know, just to, to show you, here

are a few scriptures to show just, uh,

436

Searching for wise individuals, how they

can contribute to your wisdom, and seeking

437

their counsel aligns with the idea of

actively adding knowledge to your faith.

438

You know, there is value in seeking

the advice and counsels from others

439

to make informed and wise decisions.

440

By actively seeking wisdom from

others, you don't add to your

441

faith necessarily like that, but

it does complement your faith.

442

And in that area, it

does enhance your faith.

443

Just as 2 Peter 1.

444

5 encourages us to.

445

Uh, add knowledge to the faith.

446

Engaging in knowledgeable and wise

individuals, listening to their

447

counsel, incorporating their their

insights into your understanding can

448

contribute to spiritual growth from

a deeper connection of your faith.

449

But with that being said, there are also

challenges though, of course, of adding

450

faith or adding knowledge to your faith.

451

And the first one being complacency.

452

Being complacent is the

most dangerous thing ever.

453

You know, we, we as humans, we

think that we are always right, and

454

that we don't really have to grow.

455

But that's not the case as disciples,

because we made Jesus Lord of our life.

456

We said yes to being a disciple.

457

And the disciple in the heart of it,

in the root of all, is a student.

458

And a student is a learner.

459

So we are always learning, church.

460

You know, I think of

complacency of being stagnant.

461

I don't know if you guys ever seen a

stagnant water in, at a lake or a pond.

462

But stagnant water,

it's disgusting church.

463

It's nasty.

464

There's, there's algae on it.

465

The, the livestock around it is dead.

466

You know, dead plants,

dead sea animals in there.

467

Or dead, uh, uh, like fish in there.

468

But I think about it, like how

does, uh, uh, water become stagnant?

469

Well it becomes stagnant

because it has less oxygen.

470

And I think about how

do we become stagnant?

471

Like what would happen if

we were to be stagnant?

472

Well when we're stagnant church,

we also become like that pond.

473

There's less spiritual oxygen for us.

474

We start suffocating ourselves.

475

We start becoming, uh, that body of

lake where it becomes nasty, stinky.

476

The livestock around it's not flourishing.

477

It's not doing its best.

478

It's not thriving.

479

We become that.

480

We become complacent, church.

481

That's where we are unable to

bear fruit and become barren.

482

And the second challenge is distractions.

483

And we live in a fast paced society, guys.

484

I mean, social media has been,

you know, Everything's just

485

been, uh, enhanced to a 10.

486

But, I think other distractions besides

social media can be, like I said, school.

487

It can be work.

488

It can be certain relationships.

489

And when we, you know, when we're

distracted by it, Um, you know, we

490

just, we lose sight of God, obviously.

491

And even Peter, writing this

before social media, he knew

492

that there was distractions.

493

He knows that we have

to make every effort.

494

Yet, as Paul writes in Philippians 3,

What is more, I consider everything a

495

loss because of the surpassing worth

of knowing Christ, Jesus my Lord, for

496

whose sake I have lost all things.

497

I consider them garbage

that I may gain Christ.

498

Even the Apostle Paul expresses the

surpassing value of knowing Christ

499

compared to the worldly achievements.

500

He considers everything a loss, Church,

in the excellence of knowing Jesus.

501

And I have to ask, Church, Do we

have the same attitude of considering

502

everything a loss compared to

the excellence of knowing Jesus?

503

Or do we get our value from our

achievements and our accomplishments?

504

No, it's a conscious decision to view

the pursuit of knowledge as a priceless

505

treasure worth more than any temporary

pleasure the world has to offer.

506

And the key in overcoming this

challenge lies in prioritizing

507

your relationship with God.

508

This involves intentionally setting

aside for prayer, Maybe it's setting

509

time aside for, for studying the

Bible and seeking Him and His people.

510

You know, it's great to

have ambition, church.

511

I, I, I know, like, you

know, get that promotion.

512

Yes, strive for those straight A's.

513

Yes, do all of those things.

514

But don't do it at the cost of having

Lord be number two in your life.

515

Amen?

516

You know, the challenge of

complacency and distractions are real.

517

I get it.

518

But as we prioritize our relationship

with God and view the pursuit of

519

knowledge as incomparable to worldly

distractions, we position ourselves

520

to experience the surpassing

greatness of knowing God more deeply.

521

So as we add knowledge to our faith,

we also get the benefits of it.

522

Not only for us, but for others around.

523

You know, I think one of the benefits,

well For one, I think it's in this

524

Proverbs in 18, it says, Blessed

are those who find wisdom, those

525

who gain understanding, for she

is more profitable than silver and

526

yields better return than gold.

527

She is more precious than rubies.

528

Nothing you desire can compare with her.

529

Long life is in her right hand, in

her left hand are riches and honor.

530

Her ways are pleasant ways

and all her paths are peace.

531

She is a tree of life to

those who take hold of her.

532

Those who hold her fast will be blessed.

533

You know, I, I love this, this,

uh, this scripture here, because it

534

talks about, you know, often using

wisdom, adding that to our faith.

535

And I think about the benefit of

adding knowledge to it, for one, is

536

you get a deeper relationship with God.

537

You know, this scripture, it talks

about a tree, and, you know, obviously a

538

tree just doesn't spawn out of nowhere.

539

I mean, in Minecraft it

does, but not here in life.

540

You have to plant the seed.

541

And just like us, we have to plant

this seed, and we have to water

542

it, and we have to let it grow.

543

And we grow in it by

knowing God more deeply.

544

We get to think about it.

545

We have a deeper relationship

with God, the creator of us.

546

That's one of the benefits.

547

The other benefit is we'll

have a strong foundation.

548

I mean, if you see any big

tree in the sequoias, you see

549

that those trunks are thick.

550

They have a strong foundation.

551

And for us, that strong foundation begins

with, you know, building it on God.

552

I think of the wise and foolish builder.

553

You know, the wise builder who

built his foundation on sand.

554

And when the rain came, the

storm came, the house blew off.

555

But then the wise builder built

it on the rock, which is God.

556

He built it on it, so when times

of rain and different seasons

557

came, that was still standing tall.

558

And when I think about that, when we

have a deep relationship with God,

559

when we have a strong foundation,

we get to experience joy and peace.

560

Sorry, I keep clicking fast, guys.

561

I'm like really excited.

562

We experience joy and peace, all right?

563

And think about this world, everyone

thinks, you know, they want joy

564

and peace and people think they

have joy and peace in their life.

565

But when I ask them and see, you know,

what they're doing and stuff, they're

566

finding it all in this, in substances,

in different relationships, in their

567

accomplishments and achievements.

568

But then when they look at,

you know, our lives, they're

569

just gonna see joy and peace.

570

Because no matter what, regardless

if we're having a good day or a

571

bad day, if we're having drama or

no drama in our life, we're still

572

gonna look at it as joy and peace.

573

We're gonna consider it pure

joy as it was written in James.

574

And when we have that joy and peace

in our life, we see that we become

575

a blessing to others around us.

576

You know, in Proverbs 3

and 18, I'm so sorry, guys.

577

This is Proverbs 3 18, you know, it

talks about the, she is a tree of

578

life to those who take hold of her.

579

Uh, those who will hold

fast will be blessed by her.

580

I think about being a blessing of

others, you know, when a tree grows

581

and becomes bigger and healthy and

strong, it has healthy branches and,

582

and, and leaves and bushes around it

and becomes a shade for us to be in.

583

And I think about when we have a

deep relationship with God, when we

584

have a strong foundation, when we

experience the joy and peace, that

585

others will come to us like a tree.

586

And they will take comfort in us.

587

They will take shade in us from this

dark world that they desperately need.

588

And I think that's where the blessing

lies, when we really know God.

589

It doesn't just benefit us, but it

benefits those around us as well.

590

And similarly, as we grow in our

knowledge, our lives become testimonies

591

to the transformative power of faith,

enriched with divine knowledge.

592

It's not just about personal growth.

593

It's about becoming vessels

through which God's wisdom and

594

love flow into the lives of others.

595

Our actions, and attitudes, and

responses become living expressions

596

of the knowledge that we've gained.

597

And encourage us to keep

adding to the faith, church.

598

Let's add knowledge to our faith.

599

Let's be at the feet of

the Lord, just like Mary.

600

Let's grow in our knowledge and our depth

of God, so we can be a beacon of light.

601

To this world and be wise around others

be, you know beacon of light and wisdom

602

around others So let's make every effort

church So as we close church, I'd like

603

to give a few practicals today You know

action steps to adding knowledge to your

604

faith this week I mean first we gotta

let's pray through second peter chapter

605

one five through seven Let's pray that we

continuously add knowledge to our faith.

606

Let's not be stagnant.

607

Let's not be complacent with where we're

at But let's continue to pray to God

608

to actively work in our lives so we can

keep, um, adding knowledge to our faith.

609

The second one is, do something to

add knowledge each day of the week.

610

What does that look like?

611

Well, it meanit could mean, hey, I'm

gonna set time aside to read my Bible.

612

I'm gonna set time aside to pray to God.

613

Or maybe I'm gonna set time aside to think

about ways I've been stagnant in my life.

614

Or what are the distractions in my life?

615

I'm gonna take time aside to write

that down and combat that this week.

616

So let's continue to make every effort,

church, to add knowledge to our faith.

617

Right now we're about to take

communion, and during this time

618

of communion, we get to reflect on

Jesus dying on the cross for us.

619

And in Luke 22, verse 19 20, it says,

And he took the bread, and gave thanks,

620

and broke it, and gave it to them,

saying, This is my body given for you.

621

Do this in remembrance of me.

622

In the same way, after supper, he took the

cup, saying, This cup is the new covenant

623

in my blood, which is poured out for you.

624

No, it's a simple yet powerful act Jesus

was teaching us and his disciples and

625

extension all of us, that the significance

of adding knowledge to your faith,

626

a knowledge of sacrifice when Jesus

says, this is my body, a knowledge of

627

remembrance and a knowledge of unity.

628

Let's go to God in prayer.

629

Uh, God, thank you so much

just for, for your word, God.

630

I'm just so grateful for the fact

that you've just given us all

631

the resources already, God, to

live a godly life for you, God.

632

God, I just pray, God, that, uh, as

we reflect on adding knowledge, God,

633

uh, throughout our week, God, I pray,

God, that we can, uh, really take

634

time aside, God, to, to really add to

our faith, knowledge, to really just

635

knowing you, having the posture of

Mary, of just being at your feet, Lord.

636

God, as we, uh, take communion, as we take

the, the bread that represents your body

637

and the, the juice that represents your

blood on the cross, God, help us remember,

638

God, the sacrifice that you've made, God.

639

Help us acknowledge that in knowing,

in, in doing that, making us wanting

640

to know you more and more, God.

641

God, we love you so much.

642

In Jesus name, amen.