To Know Him

TO KNOW HIM

PHILLIPPIANS 3

THIS MORNING I WANT TO ASK YOU A QUESTION.

DO YOU “KNOW HIM” ?…REALLY KNOW HIM ?

CHRISTIANS CAN BE UNIQUE TO SAY THE LEAST! THINK ABOUT IT, CHRISTIANS BUY & WEAR SOME OF THE STRANGEST THINGS….

T-SHIRTS, COFFEE CUPS, TAGS, BUMPER STICKERS, READ ABOUT HIM, SING ABOUT HIM, TALK OF HIM, BUT AGAIN, DO YOU KNOW HIM?

IF GIVEN THE OPPROTUNIY YOU MIGHT SAY OH YES I KNOW JESUS. I CAN TELL YOU WHO HE WAS, WHAT HE DID, I CAN EVEN TELL YOU WERE HE IS RIGHT NOW!

BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT I’M ASKING YOU!

WHAT I’M ASKING IS THIS… DO YOU KNOW HIM PERSONALLY, INTIMATELY, PASSONATELY?

IS JESUS YOUR HOPE, SALVATION, YOUR EVERYTHING?

THERE IS A BIG / HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KNOWING ABOUT JESUS ……AND KNOWING JESUS!

• ONE IS INTELLECT ……….tHE OTHER IS INTIMACY

• A MATTER OF THE HEAD…..A MATTER OF THE HEART!

• ONE IS RELIGION……..tHE OTHER IS A RELATIONSHIP!

Through out the world today there are people WHO LONG “TO KNOW HIM”?

They sense there is a God, He exists, that He’s there, and that they need a relationship w/ HIM!

Yet they’ve no idea how to get to Him, let alone how to know Him!!!

This need for God has stirred the religions of the world causing many to believe a lie.

• Men want to be right w/ God!

• They want to be accepted by God.

• They want Him to look after them, and they want to spend eternity w/ Him.

• And so, they set out to do what they fell is necessary to please God and know God, and in the process they miss HIM!

The Apostle Paul speak of this…Romans 1: 19-23 (turn w/ me)

19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 21 for although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and there foolish hearts were darkened. 22 although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts …25 they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen.

Paul’s say’s look, God has revealed Himself, in and through His creation, for us to see & understand who He is because, He wants us to know him.

• If there had been no prophets, no Jesus, no Word of God, men are still w/o excuse for creation testifies to the existence of God.

25. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator. --

THIS IS STILL TRUE TODAY!

I’M NOT TALKING ONLY ABOUT THE OCULT or NEW AGE, BUT PEOPLE WHO CALL THEMSELVES CHRISTIANS, WHO HAVE EXCHANGED THE TRUTH FOR A LIE.

BELIEVING THEY CAN GET TO HEAVEN THROUGH”SELF- RIGHTEOUSNESS”. IN OTHER WORDS “I’M GOING TO BE GOOD AND DO GOOD AND GOD WILL ACCEPT ME IN TO HEAVEN”.

THE VEHICLE OF THIS SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS IS CALLED RELIGION!

RELIGION OF…

• works…...doing good being good…...legalism / law…...religion……ritual

These are but a few of the religions of self-righteousness. Trying to become a good and righteous person,

To earn God’s favor and forgiveness.

In other words I’m going to earn & work my way to Heaven.

There’s only one problem w/ the religion of self-righteousness

“IT DON”T WORK”

ROMANS 3:10 as it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;

ROMANS 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

ISAIAH 64:6 …all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…

Only God is perfect! Holy! Righteous! No person can do enough of anything to become perfect, holy, and righteous no matter what they do!

In fact, man is imperfect, and once perfection is lost, it’s lost. Imperfection can never become perfection.

Not by human efforts!

The point is this: no person can ever earn or merit the right to live in presence God. If a person is going to live in His presence, it will be because God loves that person enough to forgive & accept.

This is exactly what God does through Jesus Christ. He accepts men and women through the love and grace of His son, who died on Calvary for their sins! Through Jesus we are made perfect, & acceptable to God.