Pastor Crawford emphasizes the importance of understanding and knowing God in his Sunday night sermon. He begins by discussing the imminent return of Jesus Christ, highlighting the urgency of being spiritually prepared. The sermon explores how individuals can deepen their relationship with God through various means, including creation, scripture, and personal experience. Pastor Crawford shares insights from Psalm 88, illustrating the psalmist's earnest cries during trials, and how these moments can lead to a greater dependence on God. He concludes by affirming that knowing God profoundly impacts one's decisions, relationships, and overall purpose in life, urging listeners to reflect on their own understanding of God’s nature and presence in their lives.

Pastor Crawford's Sunday night sermon centers around the theme of knowing God, emphasizing the importance of understanding His nature and presence in our lives. The sermon begins with a powerful reminder of the imminent return of Jesus Christ and transitions into the discussion of how God reveals Himself through various avenues. Pastor Crawford highlights the significance of creation, stating that the beauty and complexity of the world around us serve as a testament to God's existence and glory. He references Psalm 19, where the heavens declare the glory of God, urging listeners to recognize that God is not distant but actively involved in our lives and the world.

Takeaways:

• Pastor Crawford emphasizes the importance of knowing God, which impacts every decision in life.
• He discusses how understanding God's nature can influence personal finances and relationships significantly.
• The message highlights that trials and hardships can deepen one's relationship with God and reveal His purpose.
• Pastor Crawford encourages the congregation to rely on God's presence and power during difficult times.
• He notes that God's attributes are displayed through Jesus Christ, providing a clear picture of God's love and grace.
• The sermon reiterates that faith in God equips individuals to handle life's challenges with strength and resilience.

Could be tonight.

Amen.

I'm glad the Bible teaches in the imminent return of Jesus Christ and it could be any time.

Our two missionaries a week are kind of unique.

Brother Levi Pittman, I've known him since he was a kid and his dad Jerry, and of course we support his sister and her husband and Vanuatu as well.

But Brother Levi, what he does is there is, I'll call it a compound that missionaries there in the jungle there in Vanuatu are a part of.

So there's multiple missionaries there, not just in the jungle but also in the city.

In fact, that's where his sister and her husband live now.

Their names escaping me right now that we support.

Lydia.

Yeah, Meads.

Yes.

And so anyway, so Levi, he keeps all the stuff going.

I mean his job, his ministry is keeping motorcycles, scooters, mowers, anything mechanical.

The guy can fix anything, he can tear apart anything and put it back together.

He's absolutely inclined.

And there in Vanuatu there's not a lot of, as was just said, there was a mechanic that took apart the brakes and couldn't put them back together and Levi had to put them back together.

And so that's again what he does.

Helping with the water situation, if you've been reading about that, where they have had opportunity to go into the jungle and help a couple of villages, actually several villages to get water.

And he just has a mind for that.

He can mechanically figure that stuff out.

And so it's an opportunity that he has to minister to the missionaries and then in turn the missionaries can keep going, keep going.

If you remember, if you've read some, if you remember Brother Mead talking about Nvanuatu, there are times in which they can't cross certain creeks and they can't cross certain rivers and, or when they do, they, you know, you've seen some of those vehicles where the muffler has been put up by the hood and up so they have to go through water.

It's rough, rough, rough areas to reach those in the jungles.

And so it is a unique ministry.

And then Brother Scott as well, unique in that helping churches to remodel, helping churches to build.

And right now he's helping a brand new from the ground up building there.

But he also helped us in the Kona with the remodel of that building and does so many things.

And we appreciate Brother Steve Scott and we appreciate Ms. Barbara putting up with him.

And that's a big, big chore.

Maybe they're listening tonight.

Ms. Barbara, we love you.

We do.

Turn.

If you wouldn't Your bibles to Psalm 88 tonight.

We'll have a kind of devotion together tonight again we get lots of people out, be in prayer for them.

Psalm 88 years ago I came across 12 lessons on knowing God.

And I have over the years taught these lessons periodically in various forms.

And just such really good material by Charles Shoemaker.

This has been years ago.

Literally got those lessons when I was at Norris when I was 18 and still using them.

There's just some material that you just, you can't set aside.

It's that good.

And as I approach Christmas and we approach teaching again there in Isaiah about the names of Jesus, the Messiah, who would come, who shall be called Emmanuel, you know, again, counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, Everlasting Father.

We're going to be covering some of those again this year.

Reminded that we that God wants us to know him.

And that's come up in several messages here of late.

We've had the.

We quoted again here lately again that Vance Haviner.

Not Vance Haviner, Vance Havner's a good guy too.

If you ever want to read some of his stuff.

Very good.

But aw Tozer, what comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.

It really is.

And until you can get that straight, until you can put aside your thoughts of God that you have put in there that are not biblically accurate, it's going to affect your entire life.

It's going to affect every decision you make.

And I always use the hospital as an example because it's usually at the hospital we sometimes have to make life changing decisions.

And if I'm in the hospital, I'm making decisions.

Man, I want to be close to God.

Man, I want to be walking with God when I make a decision.

Amen.

Don't you?

Well, again, having the proper view of God, how big is your God will impact the decision you make.

If your God's too small, you'll make one decision.

If your God's big, you might make a different decision.

I'm just telling the truth.

I'm in the same situation.

We all are.

And so to have the proper view of God is very important.

It affects your finances, it affects every relationship you have, your view of God.

So it's very important.

Look at Psalm 88.

O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee.

Let my prayer come before thee.

Incline thine ear unto my cry.

For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.

I am counted with them.

That go down into the pit.

I am as a man that hath no strength.

If you want to read the rest of it, it's all pretty negative.

Look at verse nine.

Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction.

Lord, I have called daily upon thee.

I have stretched out my hands unto thee.

Look at verse.

Let's turn.

Look at verse 13.

But unto thee have I cried, O Lord.

In the morning shall my prayer prevent thee again.

I have cried unto the Lord.

I've cried unto the Lord.

I've cried, I've prayed unto the Lord.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, bless the reading of your word.

And Lord, again help us as we think upon you and who you are and what you have done for us and what you will do for us.

And God, May we continue to grow in our knowledge of you.

And Lord, may you use that in our lives.

Well, thank you.

In Jesus name, amen.

How can we know God?

I know that's pretty simplistic, but how can we know him?

We can't see him, so how can we know him?

And we've.

We've gone over this before we see him through creation.

Right.

Psalm 19 says that again that the.

That the.

That the creation is seen, the glory of God is seen.

I'm going to turn over there.

Since we're really close, we'll turn there.

Psalm 19.

The heavens declare.

So now remember it.

Psalm 19.

The heavens Declare.

The glory of God and the firmament showed his handiwork.

Day unto day utter speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.

There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.

Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

In them hath he set fixed a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.

His goings forth is from the end of the heaven and his circuit, call him the circuit riding preacher under the ends of it.

And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

Heavens declare who and what God is.

The creation declares who and what God is.

We've mentioned many times here of late too that it's either you believe in eternal matter or the eternal Master.

Takes more faith to believe in eternal matter, which is what the evolutionists believe, than it does to the eternal Master.

Either believe in God or gu.

There's not three choices, by the way.

There's only two.

I'm going to take a little liberty.

Brother Denap that joined this morning, him and his wife has a wonderful testimony, if you haven't heard it.

Brother Nunap was raised Catholic and then married a Baptist girl.

And I'm not going to go through the entire testimony.

I want him to give it someday.

But a friend at work invited him to a Billy Graham crusade.

That tells you how long ago it was too long time ago.

And he went, and there's a lot of story behind that.

He went to hear Billy Graham preach.

He got saved out of Billy Graham crusade, gloriously saved again.

He married a Baptist girl who believed in the Bible as it's written, who believed in creation.

24 hour, 6 day creation.

And they would argue a lot about evolution.

You know, he believed in evolution and believed that, you know, creation came through a process and evolved.

And over billions of years he just, you know, again, that's what most people in the world believe, right?

It's taught in our schools, public schools, indoctrinating our kids with things that are theory and not fact.

And anyway, so when he came home, or it was the next day, I don't remember, she just very bluntly asked him, well, you got saved, huh?

Kind of like that.

What do you believe about evolution now?

He said, I don't believe it.

If you believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and you believe the Bible in its interpretation or it's telling us of who Jesus is, and you can believe that, you'll believe Genesis chapter one.

Amen.

He said, I believe God created it.

All this was like the next day after they had argued over it for I don't know how long, but it's not just like a month or two.

They've already several years.

Isn't it amazing how God can change a heart?

How do we know God?

We can't see him, but we see his creation.

The heavens declare the glory of God.

Remember that term, Glory of God means who and what God is.

It's found.

The word glory is found over 500 times in the Bible.

And the term glory of God is found, I don't know, a hundred times at least.

Who and what God is?

Heavens declare who and what God is.

Creation just is a beacon of light saying, there is a God, there is a God, there is a Creator God.

We know him through creation, we know him through His Word.

Aren't you glad for the Word of God?

Aren't you glad that God gave us His Word?

Aren't you glad he gave us His Word in a way in which we can read it?

What if he gave it to us and we couldn't?

You know, Read it.

What if it was in a language nobody knew or.

No, no, he gave it to us.

He gave it to us and he gave us in a language that could be understood.

He wants us to know him or why would he gave.

Why would he not give us.

You know, he gave us this, gave us the Bible.

My mind is on high caffeine right now.

Had some of that fancy coffee a while ago.

How do we know God?

Well, we know him through His Word.

We know him through His Son.

Jesus said, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father.

And I'm going to go ahead and make this quote.

I love the way this was described and I don't remember if this is AW Tozer who described it this way.

He says we know him by His Word, Capital W, O R D. We know him by His Word.

That describes him, that describes God for us.

The word of God describes God for us.

His attributes, his characteristics, and it describes His Son.

Listen to this.

Which is his attributes in action.

God's attributes.

God, who he is, is seen, lived out by way of His Son, Jesus Christ.

You want to know how God loves you?

Look at Jesus Christ and how he loved Israel and loved his fellow man and loved mankind.

You want to know what God would do if he was encountered as Zacchaeus?

Look at Jesus.

That is God encountering Zacchaeus.

Zacchaeus is how you pronounce it.

Look at.

We look at Jesus Christ and we see the life of Jesus Christ.

And the life of Jesus Christ is the attributes of God lived out for us.

His love, his characteristics.

What a God we serve.

Again, the word of God given to us.

Jesus said himself, I am the Father, are one.

And over the years I've added a fourth one, just because I've encountered that many, many times.

And that is we see him in history.

Or we could say we see him through providence in the way he has interacted in history, providentially made Himself and done things that are unexplainable other than God did those things.

You read about some of the events of the Revolutionary War and there is no explanation for many of those things unless God intervened.

Aren't you glad for the providence of God?

So we know God exists because of creation, His Word, His Son, and just by experience, 2nd Corinthians 4:4 to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the what the face of Jesus Christ.

We learn who and what God is in the face of Jesus Christ by his life.

It's important again that we know God.

It determines our eternal destiny.

John 17.

It defines our priorities and purpose.

In other words, it gives us direction in life.

Amen.

It gives me purpose.

I have a reason to live.

I have purpose.

More so than just the temporal things.

But an eternal purpose defines our priorities.

Knowing God helps us to know how to treat others.

Aren't you glad you have, again the attributes of God lived out in the life of Jesus Christ?

And we know how to treat others, and that is to treat others as we would treat ourselves, to love others as we love ourselves.

Knowing God helps us to know how to treat others.

It affects our responses in difficult and hardship.

Again, what comes into mind when we think about God's the most important thing about us?

We know him through worship.

Have you ever been there?

Right.

I always, you know, talk about the little pricklies up and down your spine, but I'm not necessarily saying that that's God every time.

But I am thankful that I have sat down in my personal devotional time and worshiping God in my personal devotional time and experience a closeness of fellowship that is indescribable.

You ever been there?

Have you ever experienced the grace of God just in an extraordinary way in your life?

Maybe it was during a difficult time, a difficult season in your life.

Maybe it was at youth camp or during a revival meeting.

I'm thankful I have those times in which I can go back and see and see how God worked in my life.

I know him through worship, through corporate worship.

I think about Brother House and many times he's been here to preach over the years, and how his preaching has affected my life.

Amen.

How our revival meetings, whether it's Brother Sam Davison or brother McCracken who will be preaching our revival this next year, whomever it may be, how, again, the word of God has shaped and has impacted my life and your life.

We know him through prayer and talking to him.

Him talking to us in that still, small voice.

Aren't you glad for the still, small voice of God?

If you've been a Christian very long, you should have experienced the still, small voice of God.

You should have experienced the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart.

Again, it's not audible.

It's not something you hear.

It's not something you audibly hear.

If you audibly hear the voice of God run, that's just scary.

It's not God.

It's something else.

I had that question asked by a firefighter here recently.

He was talking about how God uses events sometimes to help us or uses events in our life to kind of steer Us, in a way.

And I said, truly, God does that.

And then we kind of got off on God speaking.

And I said, well, God doesn't verbally speak to anyone anymore because the Bible says in Hebrews one that God in sundry time and diverse manner spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, but hath in these last days spoken to us by his son.

This is the final revelation of God.

What does that mean?

It's the final word of God.

We no longer need the special gifts of tongues and prophecies.

And those things the Bible says they've been done away with because God's word is complete.

And I told this fireman, I said, listen, if some evangelist on TV says, I've gotten a word from God, and let me tell you what God said.

If he's saying that and he's saying that God spoke to him verbally, run, shut the TV off.

The guy is out of his brain.

He had way too much hot sauce or something.

It says, put your hand on the radio.

I'm just kidding.

Do any of the evangelists do that anymore?

Put your hand on the radio.

No, there's no radios anymore.

So put your hand on the TV.

You know, send us $10, we'll send you a napkin that's been anointed by what people fall for, by the way.

What a bunch of shysters.

It's crazy, isn't it?

No, I want to.

I can know God through prayer.

I can experience.

Experience, by the way, is important.

I can experience a still small voice of God.

I can know him.

I'm thankful I have experienced that still small voice.

I serve a risen Savior.

He's in the world today.

I know that he is living no matter what men may say.

I see his hand of mercy.

I hear his voice of cheer.

And just the time I need Him.

He's always near.

He lives.

He lives Christ Jesus lives today.

He walks with me and talks with me along this narrow way.

He lives.

He lives salvation too.

In part.

You ask me how I know he lives.

He lives within my heart.

I. I'm thankful that God does.

Does.

And sometimes as Baptists, we downplay the emotional or even sometimes the feelings.

And we do so because we want to kind of contrast between us and others who overdo it.

But I'm thankful for the feelings I have felt.

I'm thankful for the emotions that I have experienced when it comes to worshiping God in my private time, but also in the corporate time publicly with my church family.

To me, there's nothing like a good revival Meeting.

Nothing like a good Sunday morning and some of the songs that are being sung.

And, you know, the choir's on fire and the special music's on fire.

And, you know, it's just amazing.

You know, I love a church like ours.

Love it.

The last one is we know God through trials.

And we see this in Psalm 88.

The Psalmist speaking about trials that he experiencing.

And he draweth nigh to the grave.

He's crying out to God.

He's praying to him.

Crying, mourning and praying fervently to God.

I'm thankful God hears his prayer.

God reveals himself to us in trials, by the way.

He is our salvation.

We are to call upon him in our time of need.

He stretches out his hand to us.

I'm glad when Peter said, save me, he reached down his hand.

I'm glad he reaches down his hand for me again.

This is a sad psalm.

The cry of a sinner in need of God.

I remind you that Jesus said in John 15 that without me you can do nothing.

We can't make it without him.

Life's trials, the things we face.

I'm thinking about Brother Adou in Cape Verde losing their baby a couple days ago.

You know, about two weeks away from being born.

There's some of you who've experienced that in your life.

Some of you have experienced other things just as tragic.

I can't make it without Him.

Can you?

I don't.

I've said that I don't know how many times.

I've said I don't know how people make it without Him.

And that's why we got a lot of craziness going on in the world, because they are trying to make it without Him.

I'm thankful.

There's strength in trusting in God.

There's strength in knowing that God is there.

In fact, Job said, after he lost everything, though he slayed me, yet will I trust in Him?

I know sometimes that's difficult.

I realized that in my own life that sometimes we question God and we wonder why this has happened to us or that has happened or why God would allow these things to happen.

And if we're not careful, we get our focus off the Lord, off of Jesus Christ and onto our problems, as Peter did, onto the storms instead of the Savior.

And the devil loves to do that, doesn't he See trials should sharpen our focus on God.

It's when we go through trials that we should lean on the Lord.

It's through trials that we ought to again and through adversity.

The things that we face that he becomes our teacher.

Isaiah 30, verse 20 describes him that as we face trials, as we go through these things in life, that he is our teacher.

We should see him as our teacher.

By the way, he's the perfect teacher.

He doesn't make mistakes.

I remember asking the question many times, why do I need to learn algebra?

I still ask that question a lot.

But I did use it some in the wood shop.

And you know, sometimes with fractions, I still second guess it sometimes, like, I understand geometry.

I get that one.

Anyway, I'll move on.

But I'm thankful that we have a perfect teacher.

I'm thankful that I had good teachers in high school.

But I'm thankful for the Lord, the perfect teacher, glorying closer to God through trials.

We see this in the life of Joseph.

We won't turn there.

But he went from being the precious child of his dad, the favored child of his dad, to the pit where his brothers threw him in there and sold into slavery.

Sold to Potiphar, put in prison by Potiphar.

So he went from the pit to Potiphar's house, to prison.

But one day to the palace.

13 years he spent as a slave.

13 years.

I'm thankful for the promises of God because that's what Joseph leaned upon.

He knew.

He knew one day that God would raise him up.

Because he promised to one day his parents would bow to him.

One day his older brothers would bow to him.

God promised that would happen.

God always keeps his promise.

So Joseph spent 13 years there in the prison and in Potiphar's house, knowing that God one day would raise him up.

And that's why he could say to his brothers, but as for you, you thought evil against me, but God meant it for good.

God meant it for good.

God used Joseph to save his brothers and their families and his dad's lives.

God used his brothers who threw him into the pit to save a country from starvation.

In fact, the then known world from starvation.

God works all things together for our good.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart.

Lean not unto thine own understanding in all thy ways.

Acknowledge him, and he will direct thy path.

God has a purpose even in trials.

Y' all know the story of Joseph.

We also know the story of the three Hebrew children in Daniel, chapter three.

They would not bend.

They would not bow.

And guess what?

They didn't burn either.

They would not bow to Nebuchadnezzar's golden image.

So they threw him into the fiery furnace.

All three of them.

The two men or the Men that threw him into the fiery furnace, they died from the heat.

Imagine that.

And then those three men are in the fire, and Nebuchadnezzar starts looking down there in that fire.

This is Daniel, chapter three, verse 28 and 29.

And Nebuchadnezzar looks down into the fire, and he said, hey, I'm summarizing.

He said, hey, didn't we throw three men in there?

How many guys did we throw down there?

3.

Well, now there's four.

And the fourth one, what looks like the son of God.

Sometimes again in the trial or in the storm that we face, it's God going with us through the trial, going with us through the storm.

He has purpose.

He has a reason.

We might not always know it.

By the way, what influence did that have on Nebuchadnezzar?

We studied this, remember, in Daniel already.

What influence does it have on Nebuchadnezzar?

I think Nebuchadnezzar is going to be in heaven.

I do.

I believe that.

Isn't that amazing, the testimony of Nebuchadnezzar because of the testimony of these three men.

Do remember that when you're in the fire, that it's God who keeps his hand on the thermostat.

I still like that one a lot.

God is present.

God has purpose for every trial that we face.

And God is present in every trial that we face.

We see that again, the life of these three Hebrew children.

He is our shepherd.

The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.

He leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul.

Yea, thou walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.

He is there, leading us, guiding us, protecting us.

He is our shepherd.

Up in my office, I bought.

When I was in Israel, I bought a figurine of olive wood.

And I bought it on purpose because it depicts a shepherd with a lamb on his shoulder.

But it depicts it right.

The Bible describes there in the parable that the shepherd picks up the lamb that is hurt and puts it on his shoulders, plural, both shoulders.

In other words, he's got the lamb's front legs here, has the back legs here, and he has him on his shoulders, caring for that lamb, caring for that sheep, not going to drop him, not going to drop it.

That's what God does for us.

He is our shepherd, caring for us, picking us up in our time of need.

And then we think about again, God not only is present, but God Is powerful.

We preach on that again this morning.

He's our refuge.

Psalm 9, verse 9 says, Our refuge in a time of trouble.

He's there in our time of trouble.

He's our place to go to.

He is our rock, our refuge.

How many of y' all built a fort when you were a kid?

I think everybody tried that.

We built all sorts of things when we were kids, you know, nothing that was lasting, but we sure had fun playing at it.

And we would build little forts out of wood on the farm up in Oklahoma.

And we play, you know, you can't play cowboys and Indians anymore.

But anyway, we would go around.

Terrific guns made with sticks.

Violent people.

Violent.

Just taught us all sorts of bad stuff.

But those forts weren't very good.

They weren't very protective.

I'm telling you, I'm thankful I have a refuge that cannot be shaken.

I have a refuge.

I have a shelter that doesn't leak.

I have a fort that no one, unless allowed, can enter.

I'm thankful I have a God who is all powerful, who protects me Again, I think about Daniel in the den of lions as he was tossed in there, and how God shut the mouth of the lions.

I believe, like Brother Stewart, I think he just took one of the lions and kind of pulled him over and just laid down on the lion, used it as a pillow.

The king comes the next morning and says, hey, Daniel, you still alive in there?

Is your God, you know, gives credit to God?

Absolutely.

He's still alive.

Then all those men who conspired against him, just to prove that it was Daniel, it was a miracle that the lions were hungry.

They threw them down in there and they ate them all.

Bible's amazing, and it's very dramatic for boys and girls.

All of them got eaten, Archer.

I mean, I'm talking about those lions killed him, Archer.

I mean, they ate him.

All those guys and those ladies just.

They were gone.

But Daniel, no, because God shut his mouth.

Shut the mouth of the lions.

I'm thankful that God shuts the mouth of the lions.

God protects us in our time of need.

We obey him and he protects us.

God prepares us.

The psalmist says in Psalm 119, it is good for me that I have been afflicted.

What?

That I might learn.

The statutes learn the statutes might learn of God.

Rely on God.

Trust in God.

Throw away my dependence on self and depend upon him.

Psalm 119 also says, unless thy law had been my delight, I should have perished in mine affliction.

Thankful for my relationship with God.

Aren't you.

What a wonderful God.

How do I know Him?

I can't see him, but I know him through his attributes.

I know him through my time of worship, not only alone with him, but also corporately with my church family.

I know him through prayer and I know him through trials.

I've seen what he is and how he's affected my life during some of the lowest points in my life.

It's amazing how God gives us grace to help in our time of need, unmerited favor, even unto enablement.

There are benefits to adversity and we need Him.

We need to trust him.

We need to focus on Him.

We grow closer to him by understanding that God has a plan.

God has a purpose in every trial.

And God has.

He is present, he is powerful.

That he protects us, that he prepares us.

God is there.

I know it's cliche, but you can't have fruit, you can't have flowers, you can't have without rain.

If it's all just sun, as it is a lot of times in Texas, then nothing will grow.

Nothing will grow.

God uses things in our life and these adversities to help us grow.

But many times we don't see it that way.

We get our eyes off of the Lord.

We have a wrong view of God.

We need to remind ourselves that our God is big, that God is in control.

If God can shut the lion's mouth, he can surely, surely take care of whatever I'm going through.

If God can.

If three men can be tossed into the fiery furnace and not burn.

If God can do that, what can he do for me?

Do you believe that the God of the three Hebrew children is the same God we serve?

Absolutely.

Is the God of Daniel the same God we serve?

Absolutely.

The God of David.

Our God is an awesome God.

Amen.

Let's all stand.

We'll have a verse invitation tonight.