Some years ago, Harry Houdini, the famous escape artist, issued a challenge wherever he went. He claimed that he could be locked in any jail cell in the country and set himself free in short order. While he had always kept this promise, one time something went wrong. Houdini entered the cell in his street clothes and the heavy metal doors clanged shut behind him. He took from his belt a concealed, strong, and flexible piece of metal and set to work immediately. Something seemed to be unusual about this lock and after thirty minutes he had not opened the door. Even after an hour passed he had not accomplished his task and he was bathed in sweat and panting in exasperation. After laboring for two hours Houdini collapsed in frustration and failure against the door he could not unlock. When he fell against the door, it swung open! The door had not even been locked, but in his mind it was locked, and that is all it took to keep him from opening the door and walking out of the jail cell.

On this Independence Day we might do well to realize that one of the keys to freedom is knowledge. The lack of knowledge has been a means of keeping persons in bondage. On the other hand, Christianity has placed a great value on providing education throughout history. Knowledge is also very important for spiritual freedom.

Of course, what I have in mind this morning is the knowledge of the person of God. Dr. Stuart Briscoe has suggested that it takes three t's to grow in the knowledge of a person: time, talk, and trust.

I. Time.

I believe that it is persons with whom we spend time that we are more likely to get to know. Some of you I have I have been blessed to spend some time with and as a result may know a fairly well. Some of you I would like to get to know better.

To get to know my wife, and to continue to know her, I need to spend time with her. At least some of this time should include my focusing my attention upon her. However, we can also enjoy times when we know the other person is around even when we are not necessarily focusing our attention upon each other.

Spending time with God can be like that too. Certainly, if you and I really desire to know God we must spend some time intentionally focusing our attention on Him. This is extremely important and this is why we should place an extremely high priority of being in worship every week. I plead with you to putr God first by gathering to worship with other Christians each Sunday. Then, we also can know that God is there for us as we go about other tasks of life.

Have you ever heard of Herman Nicolas, otherwise known as Brother Lawrence? He struggled working as a lay monk in a monastery kitchen until he came to realize that he could know and serve the Lord in that kitchen as well as any other place. Then his attitude and lifestyle changed, and from his experience came the classical devotional book, "The Practice of the Presence of God."

II. Talk.

Closely related to spending time with God is talking with God. We not only need to teach new Christians this truth, but you and I who may have already been Christians for years need to continue to talk to God.

Certainly part of the time we spend with God should be in conversation with God. Can you imagine what kind of relationship or lack of relationship you would have with a friend if you never talked with each other at all?

Similar to the time where we center on God we certainly should be intentional about this if you and I would really desire to know God. Some people might even call this their personal quiet time, their prayer time, or personal devotions. Throughout the everyday occurrences of life we may talk with our Lord.

III. Trust.

While it takes some initial trust to enter into a relationship with God or another person, growing in the knowledge of a person takes a growing trust. Do we insist on someone showing himself trustworthy before we will trust him? How do we have opportunity to show ourselves worthy of another's trust?

What about God? Do you really trust the Lord? Have you really discovered what God can do or have you neglected to let Him show you? Until we really trust God we can not discover God in all His fullness. Will you trust God for that which you cannot do for yourself? That is a way to get to know the Lord better.

Paul is talking about knowing God in a personal, experiential, and intellectual manner. Clearly, he is NOT referring to merely knowing about God. Knowing some facts concerning God may assist us in knowing God better, but this alone is not sufficient.

Do you know God, through Jesus Christ as your personal savior? If this is true you should long to know God better and better. Spend time with God, talk with the Lord, trust Him more each day. Don't allow your mind to become imprisoned as Houdini did. Celebrate the freedom of the mind that is ours through faith in Jesus Christ!

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