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You’ve probably heard or even said the phrase, “it’s not what you know, but who you know that matters”. And at first glance, it seems that knowledge is important. Really, you can’t get anywhere today without knowledge. We all need knowledge, education and a skill set to get a job. So knowledge is important. And we all need knowledge of the bible too. But is it enough? Nicodemus was a man who knew everything there was to know when it came to the things of God. He was studied, learned, and as full of the knowledge of God as anyone could probably ever be. And yet, it wasn’t enough. If there was something, some ‘jot’ or ‘tittle’, about the scriptures he knew it. And yet, it still wasn’t enough. In John chapter three we find Nicodemus visiting Jesus to ‘learn more’ about the things of God. “We know you are from God by the things you do” Nicodemus tells Jesus. He came to Jesus on a fact finding mission, sent by the rest of the Pharisees. He came to learn more and Jesus quickly showed him that it wasn’t more knowledge that Nicodemus needed; he needed to be born again. He didn’t need to learn more about God; he needed to be born of God. He needed that personal, intimate, connection with God as his father. Nicodemus shows us a clear example how the acquisition of knowledge about God is a good thing, but it in itself is never enough. To know about God will never satisfy your heart. Our hearts were created to be in a connected relationship with the God of Creation. We are in the middle of a sermon series, “Outflow – everyday outreach for everyday living” to learn how to reach our families, communities and impact our world for Jesus Christ. And I have to ask you this question; if it’s not what you know, but who you know, is that in itself enough? Have you ever heard the phrase, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care”? People have to know that you genuinely care about them before they will ever be interested in your great depth of knowledge, or possibly even the Savior that you know and love. This is why we talk so much about building relationships of impact for the sake of the gospel. It was through the significant relationships in Jesus own life that he impacted the world. Think about it – it was those twelve men that he spent time with, and specifically the three that he poured his time into. And out of those relationships, the world was changed by the power of relationships of impact for the sake of the gospel. We should learn all we can about God – I want to personally challenge you to join a small group and grow in your knowledge of the scriptures. But don’t stop there. You must come to a personal relationship with the God of the bible through his son Jesus. He’s been reaching out to you your whole life. God is looking to connect with your heart in a way that satisfies the soul like nothing else can. And then He’s calling us all to build significant relationships of impact with others so that He can reach out to them through our lives. God wants to use us to reach this world with the Good News of Jesus Christ. So, how will you build relationships of impact for the gospel?
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