Let's stand together and say our memory Scripture for this Quarter ...
2 Timothy 2:11-13
“Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him. If we disown Him, He will also disown us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown
Himself.”
And our "Memory Refresher" Scripture for this week is ...
John 14:6-7
“Jesus said, ‘I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you know Me, you will also know My Father. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.’”
You may be seated.
Please open your Bibles to Philippians 3:1-14 which we will read in a few minutes.
This past Sunday we took a look at two of the aspects of the Lord, His righteous judgment which causes us to fear the Lord and His unbelievable Love for us.
The fear of the Lord is a natural response to the awesomeness of the Lord.
We, in our human condition, as we are now, would die if we were to see the face of the Lord.
For those who have rejected Jesus, fear of the Lord will consume them.
The prophet Joel said in Joel 2:11 NIV
“The LORD thunders at the head of His army; His forces are beyond number, and mighty is the army that obeys His command. The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?”
But, we didn’t just leave it there … we also examined the Lord’s great love for us in providing undeserved salvation for us through His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.
And, God demonstrated His own love for us in that while we were in full rebellion to Him, “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!”
What an amazing, terrifying, indescribably, loving God we serve.
And, out of that comes creed that can and should be a central focus for our personal lives and for our church, “To Know Christ and to Make Him Known.”
With that in mind let’s go ahead and read Philippians 3:1-14
Philippians 3:10-11 NIV
“I want to know Christ - yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”
“I Want to Know Christ.”
That’s a pretty good start to the creed of “To Know Christ and to make Him Known”
We must have a desire to know Christ.
This is something that happens automatically to anyone who is truly saved.
We have diminished the transformation of salvation to saying a simple prayer and you’re good to go.
But, Jesus said in Luke 14:33 AMPC,
“So then, any of you who does not forsake (renounce, surrender claim to, give up, say good-bye to) all that He has cannot be My disciple.”
Recently I was flipping through the TV channels and saw a preacher talking to a small group in what was a seminar type of class. In this seminar he was telling his class how to “achieve their destiny.”
What was the destiny of the students in that class?
What is my destiny? What is your destiny?
I know. Do you know?
I don’t know this because I am brilliant; I know this because it runs throughout the New Testament!
Here it is … “To know Christ and to make Him known!”
When we come to Christ as our Savior it becomes our mission to know Christ!
It doesn’t matter if you’re six years old or 106 years old.
But, before you come to Christ you must count the cost. Are you willing to renounce, surrender claim to, give up and say good-bye to everything in your life?
Yes= you CAN be Jesus’ disciple
No= you CANNOT be Jesus’ disciple
The Lord put a law into effect when He created everything and that Law is,
“each one after its own kind.”
When a rabbit has offspring the offspring is a rabbit.
When you put corn into the ground and corn plant will grow and bear corn.
When you abandon everything for the cause of Christ you will be different.
If your goal is to know Christ, things are going to change!
When you plant the desire to know Christ in your heart the intimate relationship with Jesus will spring up within you.
There is a verse in the Bible, a prophetic verse, that was written to and for the people of Israel. The verse was an instruction for the nation if they ever became disobedient to the Lord and He sent them into exile as a punishment for their rebellion.
That verse is found in Deuteronomy 4:29 and it says:
“But if from [exile] you seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
The Lord is not hiding from us; He came to save us!!!
Do you see that motto on the back wall? It says,
“Making Christlike Disciples in the Nations?
And, that is our goal; to increase the kingdom of God around the world; to tell others that there is a Savior who came and died so that their sins might be forgiven and so that they might have eternal life!
But, there is a prerequisite for this. In order to make Christ known you must first know Christ. To Know Christ and to Make Him Known!
How do you know Christ?
1) You come to the point in your life where you realize your need for Jesus and you start to seek Him.
2) You start seeking Him in the Holy Bible
3) You start seeking Him in prayer (Often in conjunction with the Bible)
Once you come to know Him as your Savior that is just an introduction!
You CANNOT make Christ known until you Know Christ personally.
Now the real work of coming to know Jesus intimately starts.
1) You still realize your continuing need to seek Him in the Bible and in prayer
2) You come to know Christ more by emulating Him in sacrificial self-denial
My desires are set aside for His desires
“Whatever”
Looking at whatever is in your life and asking, “Do I really need this?”
Will this help me to know Christ more or will it be a stumbling block?
“Lord, please use this sacrificial self-denial to help me know You more.”
Do not allow this sacrificial self-denial to become a ritual or an object of pride
(See Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5)
Also ... “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.”
3) You come to know Christ more by emulating Him in acts of service
James – true religion = care for widows and orphans
“How can I help someone with the help of Christ today?”
“How can I help someone as a representative of Christ today?”
Whenever you do an act of service with someone else you get to know your
co-laborer better!
We come to know Christ better by working with Him.
4) You come to know Christ better in worship
We come to church to GIVE WORSHIP and in that giving we know Christ better
When we know Christ intimately, worship becomes a part of life as natural as
breathing, which, of course, we do all the time!
5) You come to know Christ better in times of Christian fellowship
Men’s Group
Sharing how the past couple of weeks have gone - victories and failures
Sharing burdens
Praying for one another
Encouraging one another
Helping each other to know Christ better helps us to know Christ better
6) You come to know Christ better through perpetual cooperation with the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit urges and empowers you to know Christ better
The Holy Spirit lets you know when you fail
The Holy Spirit corrects you and enables you to follow Jesus better
The Holy Spirit knows Jesus intimately and will help you to do so, too
OK, so remember the creed, “To Know Christ and to Make Him Known?”
Knowing Christ intimately will result in a natural outflow of Making Him Known!
All I once held dear - built my life upon
All this world reveres - and wars to own
All I once thought gain - I have counted loss
Spent and worthless now - compared to this (Knowing You)
Now my heart's desire - is to know You more
To be found in You - and known as Yours
To possess by faith - what I could not earn
All surpassing gift - of righteousness
Oh to know the pow’r - of Your risen life
And to know You in - Your sufferings
To become like You - in Your death my LORD
So with You to live - and never die
Knowing You, Jesus. Knowing You. There is no greater thing.
You’re my all, You’re the best, You’re my joy, my righteousness.
And I love You Lord!
Those who truly know Christ will always have a burning desire to make Him known.
There’s plenty of Him to go around!
Closing comments and prayer
