I CANNOT UNDERSTAND GOD

1st Issued Date 29.05.2021

2nd Issued Date 23.09.2023

People of God GREETINGS!  

It is another week and we thank and rejoice in the Living God, the Father, through the Lord Jesus Christ for His provision, love, care, and his indwelling peace in us by the Divine Person of the Holy Spirit.  

Main Bible Scriptures:

Hebrew 11 v 6

Other Associated Scriptures:

Proverbs 3 v 5, Romans 10 v 11, Isaiah 55 v 8-9, Isaiah 40 v 13, 28, Matthew 13 v 13, 2 Corinthians 6 v 6, Ephesian 4 v 18, Ephesian 5 v 17, Philippians 4 v 7, Hebrews 11 v 3, 6, James 3 v 13, 2Peter 2 v 12, 1 John 5 v 20, Romans 12 v and so on.

Prayer:

Father God, in the Name of Jesus Christ, we thank you for another week of divine health, divine peace, divine provision and divine wisdom and revelation of God, the Father. As we come in our own accord to feed our born-again spirit-beings with the rich nutrient of God’s Holy Word, we agree that your Word is the truth. We trust the Holy Spirit to bring the light of God’s Holy Word into our minds and the direction of that Word into our spirits. We trust you, the Lord Jesus Christ that we will be doers of your Word and not speakers, hearers or readers only.   In Jesus Name. Amen

Theme/Subject: “I cannot understand God”

Our theme or subject is “I cannot understand God.”   

Our main Holy Bible Scripture from Hebrews 11 v 6 reads “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Why have I chosen the theme: “I cannot understand God”

On Monday 24th May 2021 whilst travelling for work I asked God in my car that He would guide me through the Holy Spirit on a subject He will guide me to teach that week. I left it with Him and I thanked Him for answered prayer. This is because the Holy Written Word of God teaches that God listens to our prayers and He is not a person that He should lie.

On Tuesday 25th May 2021 as I sat in my car, a gentleman in his late sixties or early seventies walked by my car and he looked at me as I was resting in the driver’s seat. I asked him “what are you doing walking around here, are you monitoring the layby to keep it safe?” He did not respond however he retraced his steps back and came close to where I was sitting.

We engaged in conversation for about an hour and half starting from favourite cars and ended with Christ. It was during my conversation with this elderly gentleman that he kept making this statement “I cannot understand God” During the hour and half long conversation, we introduced ourselves and although, this person gave me his full name but we will call him ‘Mr Smith’ to protect his identity.

Mr Smith is a retired head teacher, with two grown up children. His wife died at aged 44 and he raised his two children by himself. His children are very appreciative of the role he played in their lives growing up. Mr Smith loves his grandchildren and he is a renowned author of more than five published books.

As a child, Mr Smith was raised up in a Christian home and he admitted that even in his teenage years he had prepared and preached sermons. But at eighteen years old, he lost fellowship with God and then had since turned bitter towards God. Mr Smith blamed God for everything that happens to vulnerable people – children, women, refugees and so on. During our conversation he kept saying “If God is so powerful and loving as Christians claim He is, why can’t He stop the death of innocent children?”

I cannot understand God and I do not want to have anything to do with Him said Mr Smith. I listened to Mr Smith carefully and intently whilst at the same time I was interceding for him in the Name of Jesus Christ for him to return back to the Father of spirits like the prodigal son of old. Mr Smith had run away from his heavenly Father for many, many years but despite his rejection of God the Father. He still loves him and always will be (see Ephesians 2 v 4-6).

Mr Smith made these statements in our conversation “I can understand love but I cannot understand God.” Of which I responded, God is love, Agape! Mr Smith also said “I will do everything to deny religion because religion is the number one cause of all the troubles in this world.” Of this, I responded to Mr Smith, you are absolutely right, I will also do everything in my power to deny ‘religion’ but will do all I can to have a personal deep RELATIONSHIP with Christ Jesus.” Mr Smith paused upon hearing that response and went ahead talking with me.

I had my large print New King James Bible on my seat and when he saw it he said to me I have read all that and know what it says but I still cannot understand God. My final words to Mr Smith when we parted our ways were: “You have not opened your heart door to Jesus to enter but I will encourage you to do so” When he left I asked the Holy Spirit for Mr Smith to constantly remember this encounter for him to open his heart to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you still remember I told you that on Monday 24th May 2021 on my journey for work I did ask God to guide me through the Holy Spirit on the subject to teach?

Glory to God! After my encounter with Mr Smith, the LORD had given me the theme or subject of this week’s teaching and that is Mr Smith continuous use of the statement in our conversation “I cannot understand God” When Mr Smith spoke of that he cannot understand God, he meant he cannot understand God with his natural mind.  More precisely, his un-renewed natural mind or understanding. Un-renewed mind to the truth of God’s Word.

I do not profess to have known everything in the Holy Bible but I have never come across any passage of the Holy Scripture either from the Old or the New Testaments which tells us to “understand God with our natural mind.” Have you? But I have read from the Holy Scripture where it teaches you and I to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

God, the Father of spirits is and will never be understood with our natural un-renewed minds. He cannot be figured out with our natural heads.  God the Father is believed and trusted in our hearts. When the Holy Scripture speaks of the heart, in particular, in the New Testament, it speaks of the human spirit. In our case, our born-again spirit-being through Christ Jesus. Renewed minds continuously feed on the word of God, speaks the word of God and practices the word of God. Renewed minds never doubt God’s Word but believe and act on that Word that it is so in Jesus Name.  The Holy Scripture is very clear that we are not to lean on our own understanding (see Proverbs 3 v 5). Your own understanding is your natural un-renewed mind. Un-renewed mind doubts God’s Word and fails to practice that Word (see Romans 12 v 2, 1 Corinthians 2 v 14-16, James 1 v 5-8). When it comes to faith in God, thus, believing, submitting and be found always in God in Christ Jesus, we cannot understand God the Father with our natural un-renewed mind regardless of how developed intellectually.

If the natural mind or understanding is not renewed to accept that God’s Word is the truth, it cannot receive the teachings of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 2 v 13). The Holy Spirit teaches the wisdom of God not the wisdom of this natural world.  The un-renewed natural mind or understanding does not receive the things of the Holy Spirit, for they are foolishness.

Like Mr Smith who although claimed he had read the Word of God but deceived leaning on his own understanding apart from God Word that he has to understand God. The Word of God is not just read, it is put into practice and whilst that living Word is being put into practice the natural un-renewed mind begins to accept that God’s Word is absolutely the truth. Truth in this case is not what the natural senses confirm that it is so but what God’s Word says and the inspiration the Holy Spirit brings through that Word.

Sadly, many are and have been members of a local church for many, many years yet deceived into thinking that they must understand God rather than take Him on His Word and to act on that Word. For it is acting on God’s Word that brings results. Our brother and apostle, Peter, answered Jesus and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Jesus said “COME.” Peter acted on Jesus’ Word and He is the only person that I know of apart from Jesus who has had the experience of walking on Water. In my own experience of acting on God’s Word. In September 2020, without knowing that Ghana Embassy will not allow entry into Ghana with a foreign passport less than six months of its expiration date and having already booked a very important trip, due in less than four weeks, without panic I prayed and told God that I genuinely did not know about this requirement but I need to make this trip. Therefore, I rely on Him to apply for my passport renewal and receive it before the departure date. I contacted my dear sister in Christ, Karyn, and asked her to agree with me based on the Word of God in Matthew 18 v 19 and she did. At the end of our prayer, Karyn by faith spoke and said “it is done.”  I made the application, of which I was told it might take at least three months and even express service will take a month. Anyway, I made the application and trusted God that “it is done.” To cut a long story short, glory to God, I received my renewed passport in five working days and with normal application option. But that was not the end of the story, now that I received my new passport, I needed to further apply for Visa at the Ghana High Commission, UK. I did and thanks be to God that application also took a week to come, giving me ample time for my trip. Brothers and sisters, God’s Word works when it is believed and acted upon. 

“If two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.” Deceit is never found in Jesus and if His Word is believed on in the heart and it is acted upon, we always have the result. It might not be the result you and I expect but always we get the result.                          

The greatest threat in our day for believing and acting on God’s Word as children of God comes from ‘unbelieving believers.’ Unbelieving believers doubts God Word and fails to practice the Word and they mentally agree that God is and His Word is the truth and never in their hearts or spirits.  These have believed God in their minds but never have in their hearts. God and His Word is believed in the heart and not in the head. The mind is the door to our spirit and once our minds are renewed in accordance with the truth of God’s Word, we enjoy life as heaven on earth. For with the heart (the human spirit), one believes unto righteousness (see Romans 10 v 10).

“John Wesley once through the Holy Spirit said that the devil has given the church a substitute for faith; one that looks and sounds so much like faith that only a few people can tell the difference. This substitute is called mental assent. Many people read God’s word and agree it is truth, but they agree only with their minds.”

The real answer came through the prophet Isaiah in the book of Isaiah 55 v 8-9 and it reads “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways My ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” We live in a generation where many actually believe that they are wiser than God, the Creator of the universe and instead of believing Him and His Word in their spirits, they try to figure Him out in their heads, in their minds and with their own understanding. But, God is a Spirit and He is not seeking worshippers to figure Him out with their natural heads, natural minds or natural understanding. Rather, God the Father is seeking true worshippers who will worship Him in spirit and in truth (see John 4 v 23-24).  If God the Father is seeking the true worshippers to worship Him in spirit and in truth, then by necessity, He has equipped us to do what He expects of us. Else, He will be an unjust God but we know that God is just, righteous, holy and faithful.

God’s justice permeates what He has made us in Christ Jesus (1 John 1 v 9, Ephesians 4 v 24). You and I can as God’s children worship the Father in spirit because an individual is a spirit-being, he has a soul and he lives in the physical body (see Hebrews 4 v 12, 1 Thessalonians 5 v 23). We can worship God in truth because we are born-again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever ( see 1 Peter 1 v 22-23).

Hebrews 11 v 6 reads “But without faith it is impossible to please Him for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” We do not come to God to understand Him with our natural un-renewed minds but we come to Him believing in our heart (spirit) that He exists and that He rewards they that diligently seek to renew their natural minds to the truth of God’s Word by constant feeding on the Holy Written Word of God and by putting that Word into practice.

Therefore, Mr Smith’s statement; “I cannot understand God” as sad as it is, is true in the natural that the un-renewed mind cannot understand God. This is because God and His Word is to be believed in the heart or in the spirit of a person and not to be understood in the head. It is my prayer you do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by renewing of your mind.

And my God shall supply all your need in accordance with His riches by Christ Jesus.

To God be the glory forever and ever in Jesus Name by the power of the Holy Spirit. I know that you are edified, exalted and comforted by this teaching, why don’t you share it with others to edify, to exalt and to comfort them also? It is also important to get your feedback and how together, through the weekly teachings we are growing in faith in God’s Holy Written Word.  Amen

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father in Christ Jesus we thank you for your incorruptible living Word, that Word has come to us, help us to be doers thereof. In Jesus Name. Amen.

By: Bro Thomas Boakye