Knowing Jesus

Knowing Jesus

Scripture: First John 2:3-5; Job 36:26; Matthew 28:19-20

The title of my message this morning is “Knowing Jesus.” As I go through this message, I want you to consider this question: On a scale of 1 to 10 how well do I know Jesus?”

Now some people could answer this question by saying I know “of” Jesus but I do not know Him personally. That would a 1. Some could answer the question by saying “I am very acquainted with Jesus” which could apply to some Christians. The definition of the word “acquainted” means “having some, often not very much, knowledge of something.” So, let’s say that would be a 2. I will explain shortly why this could possibly apply to some Christians. Still others might say that they know Jesus because they grew up in a Christian home and went to Church every Sunday. But, does growing up in a Christian home and going to Church every Sunday truly make us know Jesus? For the sake of argument, let’s make going to Church every Sunday a 3. So how well do we know Jesus? Are we just acquainted with Him or do we have a more personal relationship with Him? Some pray to Him occasionally but not regularly – is this proof of knowing Him? On a scale of 1 to 10, how well do we know Jesus? Job said, “Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him; nor can the number of His years be discovered.” (Job 36:26) Job confessed that they knew that God was great but still, at the same time, they did not truly know Him. We know things about Jesus, but does that mean we know Him?

First John 2:3-5 records the following, “(3) Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. (4) He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (5) But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” (First John 2:3-5) John wrote that the way we know that we actually know Jesus is through keeping His commandments. We often think about keeping His commandments in relationship to the “do nots.” What I mean by this is we focus on the commandments that tell us what not to do – sins that can get us into a world of trouble. But knowing Jesus is about lot more than what He commands us not to do – it’s also about what He commands us to do and the impact those choices have on our lives and the lives of those around us.

In my last message I shared with you about the path of least resistance. In that message I told you that when we make a concrete primary choice, in this case accepting Christ as our personal Savior, all of our secondary choices should align with and/or support the primary choice. So in order for this to happen, we must spend time getting to know Jesus as this is the only way to understand the change that takes place within us when we make the decision to accept Him. Spending time with Jesus and the Father and getting to know them is a requirement for every Christian if we are truly going to walk with Him in knowledge. So this morning I want us to consider how well we know Jesus. I believe that every person who is hearing or reading this message has some knowledge of Him, but this morning I want us to focus on the depth of that knowledge. Do we have that closeness with Him that causes us to consciously and always be aware of His presence in our lives regardless of where we are? Do our thoughts turn to Him throughout our day or just when we are in Church, bible study or during our personal meditation times? Think about it, on a scale of 1 to 10, how well do we really know Jesus? Let me narrow our focus on the answer with a few questions for you to ponder.

Do we know Jesus well enough to recommend Him to others? If we are thinking about a scale of 1 to 10, it would be difficult to be in a position to recommend Jesus is you’re at 1-3 on the scale of knowing Him. What does it take to recommend someone to someone else? In order to refer someone to someone else we have to know them – we have to be certain that they are more than capable of doing whatever it is we are referring (or recommending) them for. This comes from more than just a cursory knowledge of what someone is capable of doing. This type of referral comes through personal knowledge and experience with the person. We know what they are capable of because we have witnessed it, not just in a one off situation, but repeatedly. They are consistent in what they do and, based on that consistency we are able to refer them to someone needing their expertise. When Jesus rose from the dead He gave His disciples (and us) this commission: “(19) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.” (Matthew 28:19-20) Jesus told His disciples to go into all nations and do what? They were to go, share His word, win souls for Christ and teach them how they can be like Jesus by making them His disciples. He tells them to do this by “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” The disciples knew Christ personally so they could speak of Him from personal experience. When you read the book of Acts and the other letters to the Church, we see example after example of them speaking of Christ from a personal experience point of view. We cannot have the disciples’ point of view per se, but we sure can have our own. No one can tell our story like we can. No one can speak to what Jesus has done for us better than we can. Do you know Jesus well enough to recommend Him to others? Has He been true to His Word in your life? On a scale of 1 to 10, I would say that the disciples’ knowledge of Jesus was 10. How would you rate your knowledge of Jesus to be able to recommend Him to others?