Sermon Transcripts

November 14, 1999

THAT I MIGHT KNOW CHRIST

Praying Hyde once noted: "If every person in the world had adequate food, housing, income, if all the men were equal, if every possible social evil and injustice were done away with, men would still need one thing: JESUS CHRIST." An exaggeration? Hardly! The truth is, man can never be complete, peace can never be sure, life can never be fulfilling, evil can never be eradicated, injustice can never be stamped out -- WITHOUT JESUS!!!

To make this up close and personal, YOU can never be whole, perfect, free, sufficient, saved or completely happy without HIM! Now, do you KNOW him? Before you answer, please listen again to the question, do you KNOW this Jesus that I am talking about this morning?

Notice, please:

• I didn't ask if you know something about Him.
• I didn't ask if you are able to identify His name or if you could remember any of His great works.
• I didn't even ask if you are a member of this church or if you consider yourself a Christian. Those are side issues.
• I didn't seek after titles; I inquired about a relationship.

AGAIN, DO YOU KNOW JESUS?

I hear someone say that they have known Jesus for years. Really? That's great. May I follow up on your answer by asking, HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW HIM? Is yours a casual relationship or is it intimate? Is He merely an acquaintance or is He your dearest and closest friend?

The importance of these questions can be seen in John 17:3, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." Jesus is praying here in His great High-Priestly Prayer. He is interceding on behalf of His disciples. Ultimately, He is praying for you and me as well as the saints throughout the ages. Again, what is His petition? "THAT THEY MAY KNOW..."

Paul likewise noted in Colossians 2:2: (The Living Bible) "This is what I have asked of God for you... that you will have the rich experience of KNOW-ING CHRIST with real certainty and clear understanding...." The writer is directing this to the church. He is addressing those who have been in fellowship with other believers. And yet his desire is, again, that the church might truly come to KNOW Christ in a new and living way!

Furthermore, Philippians 3:10 states: "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death...." Again, what is he saying? Even though He knew the Lord, He wanted to REALLY KNOW Him. He wanted to know Him in depth. He wanted to know Him in power. He had a consuming passion to know Him in a measure that he had never experienced before!

Shortly after my former church in Warrensburg, Missouri bought and moved into a former nightclub, then Governor -- now Senator -- John Ashcroft of Missouri came to conduct a concert for us on a Sunday night. He is a gifted singer and songwriter as well as an outstanding Christian gentleman. He is also a member of the Assemblies of God. The Governor walked in at 6:30 sharp -- the time the service was to begin -- and he left during the dismissal prayer. I had been told that his schedule was extremely tight. Nonetheless, the service was good and the people were truly blessed. Personally, I spent maybe one minute with Mr. Ashcroft. I am sure I had no more time than that with the brother. And yet, the truth of the matter is, local citizens took from that service that Michael Jackson the preacher and John Ashcroft the Governor were personal friends. I had calls asking ME to help get messages through to the Gov. A farmer friend was having a farm show. He wanted me to get John to attend. It got to be funny, if not ridiculous!

To prove my point, let me ask:

• What is his favorite color? I don't know.
• What is his favorite food? I don't know.
• Does he like to fish? I don't know.
• When is his birthday. I don't know.

I only know OF him, I do not personally know the man. Again, I have met the man. I have shaken his hand. I have introduced him from my pulpit. But that is it. I do not truthfully know John Ashcroft.

SOMEONE HAS NOTED THAT THERE ARE FOUR LEVELS OF FRIENDSHIP.

LEVEL #1: ACQUAINTANCE

"Hi, how are you doing? It sure is a nice day, isn't it? How do you think the Packers will do this year?"

This is the level of relationship one might have with the checkout clerk at the supermarket or the fellow at the service station. Surface stuff. There is nothing real in the conversation.

LEVEL #2: CASUAL FRIENDSHIP

This is the type of relationship one has maybe with a fellow employee at work. Family names are thrown in and the questions might be of a more personal nature, but again, nothing heavy. You would not want to discuss your financial status with this individual nor would you want to tell him or her if you were having trouble with your spouse. Again, this is nothing more than a casual relationship.

LEVEL #3: CLOSE FRIENDSHIP

This is the person you would invite over for an evening or for a meal. You might even want to go places together. In other words, you would spend time with each other. You would want to. If the two of you are of the opposite sex, you might even feel some affection at this point. Love might start to blossom.

LEVEL #4: INTIMATE FRIENDSHIP

You will not have many friends on this level. Usually not more than two or three people. He or she might well know of your fears, your concerns, your strengths as well as your weaknesses. You would call this individual a best friend. I call this one my wife.

Now you, more than likely, have numerous LEVEL #1's, fewer LEVEL #2's,

fewer still 3's and, again, only a small number of LEVEL 4'S. That is normal.

Paul encouraged us to know Jesus, better than we know the clerk at the market, better than we know the worker on the job, even better than we know our close friends. His cry was that we might know Jesus on the intimate LEVEL #4 basis.

The songwriter captured this so well:

"What a friend we have in Jesus.

All our sins and griefs to bear.

What a privilege to carry,

EVERYTHING to God in prayer.

CAN WE FIND A FRIEND so faithful

who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows your EVERY WEAKNESS,

Take it to the Lord in prayer."

Jesus knows our sins. He knows our sorrows. He knows and understands our weaknesses. This is not some feeble fair-weather relationship that I am talking to you about! No, the Bible says that Jesus is that friend that sticketh closer than a brother. He desires to be LEVEL 4 all the way!

Hear me; I am not talking about simply knowing OF JESUS; admiring Him, respecting Him, revering Him, or even honoring Him. This message is a call to have a TRUE, LOVING KNOWLEDGE OF HIS NATURE, HIS WILL, HIS PERSON, AS WELL AS HIS BLESSINGS. This is a relationship that is open and honest. It is commitment and again, it is intimate. Jesus prayed, Paul prayed, that our knowledge of the Holy One might well be on such a precious level.

• Some of you know the peace of God, but do you know the God of Peace?
• You may have felt the power of God, but have you felt the God of Power?
• You may have known the blessings of God, but do you know the God of Blessing?

Loren Cunningham, President of Youth With A Mission, summed up the heartbeat of Christ-ianity when he said of Jesus, "We are to know Him and make him known." That's it in a nut-shell! Everything else is secondary at best. Know Him and make Him known!

According to Oswald Chambers in his classic book, "My Utmost for His Highest," our priorities must be, GOD FIRST, GOD SECOND, AND GOD THIRD.

The world didn’t know Him. They put Him on a cross. They cried, "Crucify Him, crucify Him." His ways, His laws, His Words were all a mystery to them. Yet, saints, that is not to be the case with us. We are His church, we are His body, we are His family, we are His bride. We are to KNOW Jesus!

NOW I MUST ADMIT, THERE ARE MANY WHO CLAIM TO KNOW HIM WHO HAVE ONLY HEARD OF HIM, THEIR KNOWLEDGE IS SKETCHY AT BEST. THEY ONLY KNOW OF THE HISTORICAL JESUS.

They remind me of the passage in 2 Corinthians 5:16, "So from now on we regard no-one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer."

Other translations put this: "We no longer know Him after the flesh...." The Living Bible has this: "Once I mistakenly thought of Christ...merely as a human being like myself. How differently I feel now!" This speaks of knowing Jesus from a human point of view. The writer is talking levels 1 or 2.

He speaks of knowing Jesus merely as the historical Jesus.

Many in the Lord's day fell into this trap. They were acquainted with Him. "Hi, Jesus, how's business down at the carpenter's shop? I trust that Mary and Joseph are doing well?" That was it. Scripture records that they asked concerning Him: "Is not this the carpenter's son...." They inquired: "Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren't all his sisters with us?" (Matthew 13:55) The folks felt that in knowing these facts, they knew Him. Again, later on, these same people crucified The Lord. They thought they knew Him, but they were wrong; big-time WRONG!!!

John The Baptist fits here too. He was a man sent from God. He testified concerning the Messiah in Mark 1:7, "After me will come one more power-ful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." To stoop down and untie one's sandals was a very menial job. In fact, it was a duty that was generally reserved for slaves. John was thus declaring that he was far inferior to the one who was to come after him. At this point, John had no idea that this very one was Jesus -- his very own first cousin!

John 1:31 quotes the Baptist as saying: "I myself did not know him...." The King James Version puts this: "I knew Him not." It was when John was baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River. It was when the Lord was 30 years old. It was when the Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove. It was when the Father spoke concerning His Son from Heaven, that John finally realized that his very own cousin, Jesus of lowly Nazareth, was in reality the VERY SON OF THE LIVING GOD!!! WOW!

I want you to understand, even though he had lived so near and they had been so close, John did not really know Him. They may well have played together as children, their families probably exchanged regular visits, and no doubt they had eaten together many times, yet all John knew was the young man from the carpenter’s shop. He only knew the historical Jesus; the Jesus after the flesh!

One of my favorite encounters in all of the Bible is the one between Jesus and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. This event happened shortly after the resurrection. The three men walked together for what must have been some time. Jesus was talking about the Scriptures; Moses and the prophets in particular. He was explaining how each of the writers wrote concerning the Messiah. As the three neared the village, the disciples urged the Lord to remain with them for the night. They said, "Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is nearly over." The Lord agreed to stay. During this entire time the two men failed to RECOGNIZE THAT THE STRANGER WAS NONE OTHER THAN JESUS THE CHRIST!!!

When He took the bread and blessed it, their eyes were opened and they finally recognized Him for who He was.

• They had walked with Him.
• They had talked with Him.
• They had listened to Him.

And yet, they had failed to recognize Him. What a lesson for each and every one of us!

In Matthew 16, Jesus discusses the popular views of the day concerning Him. Notice His words in Matthew 16:13, "When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets....’"

Did you catch what was being said? This was in the third year of His ministry. He had already turned the water into wine, healed the lepers, raised the dead, opened the eyes of the blind, walked on the water, fed the 5,000, and much more! Nonetheless, He was still being confused with His cousin John and the prophets Elijah and Jeremiah. Hey, by this time, each of these people were dead! Isn't doubt crazy?

What makes this all the more amazing is that the Jewish world was activity looking for the Christ to come. Every day devout Jews would scan the eastern sky looking for the coming Messiah. And yet, He was right there -- in the flesh -- before their very eyes -- and they totally failed to recognize Him!

Simply, they didn't know Him as anything other than a normal man. Their knowledge of Him was limited to the flesh. People who know Jesus on this level speak of Him frivolously. They refer to Him merely as "the man upstairs." They use His name lightly. Respect and proper reverence is missing. Faith is low. Jesus is hardly anything more than just another weak and frail human being!

Our Lord seeks something more than such shallowness from us. He does not want us to merely know Him after the flesh, but after the Spirit!

IS SUCH KNOWLEDGE WORTHWHILE?

Paul, in Philippians 3:4-6 gives us his credentials: He was circumcised on the eighth day. He was an Israelite. He was a member of the Tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, as to the Law, he was a Pharisee, as to zeal, and he was a persecutor of the church. In other words, this guy was FRONT STREET all the way. He had all the national and religious degrees a Jew could ever want. He had it made. Nevertheless, he wrote in Philippians 3:7-8, (The Living Bible) "But all these things that I thought very worthwhile--now I've thrown them all away so that I can put my trust and hope in Christ alone. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have put aside all else, counting it worth less than nothing, in order that I can have Christ.

Verse 10 then adds: "Now I have given up everything else---I have found it to be the only way to really know Christ and to experience the mighty power that brought Him back to life again...."

Other translations put these verses in part: "I reckon all things as pure loss because of the PRICELESS PRIVILEGE OF KNOWING CHRIST JESUS my Lord...." "Yet every advantage that I had gained I considered lost for Christ's sake. Yes and I look upon everything as loss compared with the OVERWHELMING GAIN OF KNOWING CHRIST JESUS MY LORD."

Sadly, every once in a while, someone tells me what he or she has had to give up in order to follow Christ. They seem to indicate that they have lost something in the transaction! I hate such discussions. Paul puts such nonsense in proper perspective. Knowing Christ has "SURPASSING VALUE...," is a "PRICELESS PRIVILEGE...," and is "OVERWHELMING GAIN COMPARED TO rank in life, religious status, economic power, or national origin. Simply put, knowing Christ is better; much, much better!!!

Jeremiah 9:23-24 notes: "This is what the LORD says: ‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me…."

HOW, THEN, DOES ONE COME TO KNOW, REALLY KNOW, JESUS? Notice with me the great confession of Peter found in Matthew 16:16-17: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.’"

• I have known drunks who were well versed in the Bible, but they didn't know Jesus.
• I have known people who faithfully attended church services but were ill prepared to face the Lord.
• I have known those who could quote doctrine and yet could not claim any true knowledge of the divine.
• I have known those who were liberal in their giving to the cause of Christ but yet, they did not know Him!

I Corinthians 2:14 states: "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." In other words, friends, it is through REVELATION, NOT MERE FAMILIARITY, THAT ONE COMES TO KNOW CHRIST.

• The Lord's mind,
• His will,
• His love,
• His compassion,
• His plans,
• His purposes,
• His grace,

are not known to those who simply seek to know Jesus level one. Such KNOWLEDGE IS RESERVED FOR THOSE WHO SEEK IT. IT COMES AS ONE DESIRES TO KNOW HIM; AS ONE ENDEAVORS TO KNOW HIM WITH ALL OF HIS OR HER HEART. SUCH KNOW-LEDGE IS SOUGHT, NOT CAUGHT OR TAUGHT!

Let me ask you now, what was the last thing that you really prayed FOR?

Was it about your health? Your finances? Your kids? Your job? A new bike? Or was it to know Christ in a new and living way? How often do you pray to know Him? Does that ambition grip your heart?

Please understand, HE ONLY COMES TO FILL THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST AFTER HIM.

Therefore, I encourage you to pray about knowing Him.

• Read about knowing Him.
• Dream about knowing Him.
• Be consumed with knowing Jesus Christ the Lord in a new and living way!

Peter came to know who Jesus was while Judas and others were still groping about in the dark. What made the difference? He sought after the Lord. He was a part of that inner circle of intimate disciples. He stayed close to Jesus. He wanted to know Him on a LEVEL 4 basis while others were content with a LEVEL 1 relationship!

The songwriter wrote:

I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold.

I'd rather have Jesus than riches untold.

I'd rather have Jesus than houses or land.

I'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hand.

Than to be to king of a vast domain,

and be held in sin's dread sway.

I'd rather have Jesus than anything

this world affords today.

Is that you? Are to willing to commit yourself -- your life, your ambitions, your future -- to this awesome endeavor? Are you ready -- like the Apostle Paul -- to pay the price, whatever it might be, to really know Christ?