Do you know Him? HHM Pastor Jim Parisi 6-30-02
My question today I want to pose before you today is.
How well do we know Him?
How well do you know this person Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior?
I don’t mean like a guy you may have bumped into on the street. A mere acquaintance. Someone in the office you have Lunch.
I talking about a relationship that is closer then a brother
The way I want to describe this today is “the fellowship with Him that will lead us to the Cross”.
The Cross-is a place of death, but also a place that Life can start anew.
This is because His love was so great for you and I that He laid His life down for all Humanity.
No man can give a greater gift then to lay down his life
John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
Yes, we are all brothers and friends of Christ.
Jesus knew it was the Father’s sheep He was to lay His life down for.
John 10:15 - As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
With this knowledge, the passage implies a union beyond words with the Father: and I lay down my life –
Jesus was speaking of the present time. For his whole life lived was only to one end, His Death on the Cross on Golgotha’s
I ask you today …..
Can you lay down your life for the one next to you?
If someone new visited your church this weekend and sat down right beside you, would you welcome that person?
Before you automatically shout "yes Pastor , of course I can ,"
think about
How you might feel if he or she practiced New Age rituals witchcraft, Spiritual hocus pocus,
Campaigned in favor of abortion, or live an alternate life style.
People who make you uncomfortable are not your enemies.
They are people Jesus loves.
In addition, He hopes those people will be welcomed into churches and your lives so they can develop relationships with Him.
Realize that no one is hopeless as far as God is concerned. His grace is strong enough to reach and transform anyone, no matter how they had been living before encountering God.
Remember that everyone is a child of God, made in His image. Therefore, every person is worthy of respect and love.
Refuse to be threatened by someone’s lifestyle, no matter how destructive.
Understand that behind the darkness is a person who is ultimately very unhappy and unfulfilled.
Ask God to give you compassion for the person and wisdom to know how to share His story and His love with him or her.
Don’t label people. Rather than categorizing them as "liberals" or "feminists," think of them primarily as human beings
Know that the underlying reason for their current alienation from God isn’t certain political ideas; it’s sin.
Understand that they are people of God just as you are, except they aren’t currently acting in ways that please Him.
Devote your time and energy to pursuing relationships rather than agendas.
Wherever you speak out against sin, help people overcome it.
Be clear about God’s moral standards and do not compromise them, but at that same time, offer ministries to those currently living in darkness.
For example, rather than simply preaching against sexual immorality, serve people in the community who are suffering from AIDS.
Genuinely listen to people living in sin. Take an interest in their lives and seek to understand their perspectives. Affirm any beliefs they have that are biblical, such as a New Ager’s concern for the environment.
When talking with people about God, use persuasion rather than force. Pray for them; that is how the real power will come into their lives.
Accept diversity. Know that God loves diversity because He has designed His creation to be diverse.
Understand that someone’s personal preferences can differ from yours, but he or she can still be living biblically.
For example,
don’t expect all Christians to necessarily vote Republican or have large families.
Offer a dynamic sense of community in which God’s unconditional love is always present,
As well as encouragement and support to grow in holiness.
Can you walk freely to the fate of the cross? Can you lay your life down as Jesus did?
Jesus is saying…. I cheerfully die to compensate to
Pay all costs … for the sins of men,
Jesus Christ came to this earth, was born of a woman and died on the cross for one reason, so that you and I may become acceptable before the God the Father.
He teaches us the ultimate sacrifice of Love, TO GIVE YOUR LIFE.
His life ended here So that you and I can have eternal life.
Look at the relationship between the Fathers love for His Son.
The obedience of the Son, even to His death on the cross
John 10:17 Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.
His father is pleased with His son.
He is willing to give up this earthly life to be with the father.
To live again at in His fathers presence
He is saying …. To this end, I will die now so that I may rise again for their justification. Justification for you and I.
I lay down my life that I might take it again in the presence of the Father
What does he ask of you and me?
1John 3:16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
Because He died, He gave of the ultimate sacrifice.
We are to follow and lay down our lives for one and other.
He teaches us that only through our own death we can obtain everlasting life.
When was he last time you died to yourself?
This is when it is not popular to be a Christian.
If things aren’t working out the way, you thought they were to be.. Put it on the Cross
It is easy to give up sin when …..we want to.
It is easy to ………on our terms and schedules
We as a society are consumed with the SIN of Selfishness.
It’s all about me ..Me ME ME
My life
My Pleasure
How does it effect me?????
One problem here.. He has called us to live a life of sacrifice serving others….
He has called us to serve our fellow man
He has called us to Die to our self’s so that others may live.
He has called us to give it all hang it on the cross
You didn’t own it in the first place so it should not be hard to give it up right.
He wants us to empty ourselves so that we may be filled with His Love….. And His spirit.
So that WE may Live Again
The only way to live is to die first…. so that what springs forth from our death is acceptable to God
What do are you holding on to that is keeping you separated from God or his people?
Let’s try digging deep inside our spirits, pulling out our hearts today, and examining them?
We will call this a self-exam
We are all on the Honor system today.
Look where it isn’t as pure and acceptable as it can be.
Look at your heart and check where there is room for improvement.
You know the thing you need to forgive another but your pride gets in your way
The thing that draws you away from His spirit to places and situations you don’t want to be in.
The thing that stops you from praying and Reading His word
The thing that stops you from Fellowshipping with Him
This is where dying to self comes in.. you die so others may live
You die so you may live and serve Him by serving His people
If we don’t get rid of the carnal nature that is in us we will surly die and not reap the benefits that Jesus died for on the cross.
Are you willing to reexamine your heart?Are you willing to die for one another?
Are you willing to Go to the Cross like Jesus and Die to yourself so that others may live?
Are you willing to die today so that you may live and see the Jesus in Glory?
Because each one of us at one point will stand before God for our lives. How will you fair?
Maybe today is the day we change….. Amen
