GETTING TO KNOW JESUS

Transcription

1 Lesson 1 December 2, 2018 GETTING TO KNOW JESUS Lesson Text: Philippians 3:1-10 Principle: True followers of Jesus relate to Him, and they allow Him to influence their day-to-day lives. I have finally figured it out. After forty-five years of Bible study, preaching, teaching, writing and prayer, I now know why some Christians are dedicated and why others are superficial. What s my dramatic discovery? Some Christians know Jesus, and some Christians don t know him. For example, when the apostle Paul met Jesus on the Damascus road, he gave up his old life, and from that point on he wanted to know more about Jesus. Describing what he gave up with no regrets Paul told the church at Philippi that he wanted to know Jesus and the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10). Know (gnonai in Greek) means to know personally through experience and implies a personal relationship between the knower and the one who is known. Know implies that the one who is known has great influence on the knower. The apostle Paul knew Jesus and had a personal relationship with Him. Jesus knew Paul and had a profound influence on his life. Consequently, Paul lived for Jesus (Philippians 1:21), counted everything before his profession 5

2 of faith as garbage (Philippians 3:7, 8), accepted his call to ministry and took the gospel to the known world. Knowing Jesus, relating to Jesus and allowing Jesus to influence our lives is the difference between superficial and dedicated Christians. I want this quarterly, which focuses on Jesus ministry in Galilee, to inspire you. In fact, I believe when you get to know Jesus, the knowledge you gain will motivate you to serve Him for the rest of your life. What is important to you? According to the World Economic Forum s (WEF) annual Global Shapers survey, the following issues are most important to millennials: (1) Climate change and destruction of natural resources, (2) Large scale conflicts and war, (3) Religious conflict, (4) Poverty, (5) Government accountability, transparency and corruption, (6) Safety, security and well-being, (7) Lack of education, (8) Lack of political freedom and political instability, (9) Food and water security and (10) Lack of economic opportunity and unemployment. Where is Jesus in all this? Dedicated Christians believe Jesus is more important than they are. EXPLORING THE PRINCIPLE Jesus Is More Important Than We Are Saul of Tarsus the apostle Paul before he was saved was a brilliant, young scholar with a bright future ahead of him. Paul was circumcised eight days after his birth, the normal Jewish procedure. Paul was of the tribe of Benjamin (Philippians 3:5) (one of Israel s best). Paul was a Hebrew of the Hebrews (verse 5) referring to the fact that although he was one of the Diaspora (Jews scattered around the world), he remained true to the Law and Jewish traditions. Paul was a Pharisee, (verse 5) meaning he was set apart to interpret the Scriptures and to set rules for the observance of the law in daily life. Paul was so zealous about his national and religious pedigree that he persecuted the church. He was so adept at keeping the Law, he considered himself blameless (verses 5, 6). At thirty-three years of age, Saul had it all: a great education, status, prestige, power and a future filled with promise until he met Jesus on the Damascus road which changed everything. Blind and trembling, Saul fell to the ground, called Jesus, Lord (Acts 9:5), spent three years communing with Jesus in the wilderness and discovered that Jesus was more important than his education, his status, his prestige, his power and his future. In fact, thirty years later Paul wrote, But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss [damaged goods] for Christ (Philippians 3:7). 6

3 If you are tired of being a superficial Christian, like Paul, you need to come to grips with the fact that Jesus is more important than you are. To Paul, his national, religious and personal credentials meant nothing once he got to know Jesus. After all, Paul is the man who wrote, For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21). From the moment Paul believed and was saved, the most important person in his life was Jesus Christ. Paul, the perfect Jew, a Pharisee, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a man who considered himself blameless, wants you and me to know Jesus the way he knew Jesus. And what is Paul s advice? For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think (Romans 12:3). Knowing Jesus means we understand that Jesus is more important than we are. What Jesus Wants Is More Important Than What We Want No doubt, there are many things Saul of Tarsus wanted out of life before he met Jesus. The truth is, Saul was well on his way to becoming the leading scholar in Israel. He had already spent many years in Jerusalem learning from Gamaliel, Israel s greatest scholar. Saul, more than likely, was already a member of the Sanhedrin Court. But when Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, what Jesus wanted took precedence over what he wanted. What exactly did Jesus want? The day he confronted Saul, Jesus told Ananias of Damascus, He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: for I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name s sake (Acts 9:15, 16). Obviously, Jesus wanted Saul to bear His name to Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel, but He also wanted Saul to know that he would suffer for His name s sake. Astonishingly, Saul believed what Jesus wanted, bearing His name to Gentiles, kings and Israel, was more important than what he wanted. In fact, Saul wrote, I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus As a Hebrew of the Hebrews (Philippians 3:5), Saul would never have considered lowering himself by talking to a Gentile. Saul didn t want to deal with Gentiles because they were beneath him, they didn t know the one true God, and Gentiles did things Saul would never dream of doing. Gentiles didn t understand or live up to the morals of the Law. Gentiles ate food Saul considered unclean. Gentiles didn t circumcise their children. Furthermore, Saul was an educated man, and the last thing an educated man wants is to suffer no man in his right mind wants to suffer. 7

4 Paul got to know Jesus. He laid his desires aside, because Jesus wanted Paul to bear His name before the Gentiles and suffer for His name s sake (Acts 9:15, 16). my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ (Philippians 3:8). Dung graphically describes how Paul felt about his former credentials. Dung (skubalon in Greek) is the excrement of humans and animals. When Saul got to know Jesus, he concluded that everything his education, his status, his prestige and his power was nothing more than what people flush down the toilet when they go to the bathroom. To Saul, what Jesus wanted was far more important than what he wanted. We are human, and we want what we want. We will fight for what we want. We close our minds, if what we hear is not what we want to hear. We want to do things the same way we have always done them. We want to bury our heads in the sand and pretend things will go on forever just the way they are. Don t you think it s time to let go of what we want and ask Jesus what He wants? Have you ever considered what you want may not be on God s to-do list? The only thing that matters is what God wants. Have you considered, really considered, what Jesus meant when He instructed us to pray, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven? (Matthew 6:10). When we get to know Jesus, we conclude that what Jesus wants is more important than what we want. When Saul of Tarsus met Jesus on the Damascus road, the first words out of his mouth were, Who art thou, Lord? (Acts 9:5). There wasn t a doubt in Saul s mind that he was addressing someone special, someone who was more than he would ever be. The special person answered Saul and said, I am Jesus. We Are Not As Good As We Think We Are, and Jesus Is More Than We Will Ever Be Self-righteousness is the oldest form of false religion. In the Garden of Eden, Adam tried to cover his own nakedness, but God had to do that for him (Genesis 3:7, 21). The problem with Saul of Tarsus was that he believed keeping the Law made him righteous. To Saul s credit, when he got to know Jesus, he quickly learned that Jesus was more important than he was. He concluded what Jesus wanted was more important than what he wanted. He realized that he was not as good as he thought he was, and that Jesus was more than he would ever be. Saul, therefore, considered his life before Jesus as human excrement and wanted to be found in Christ, not 8

5 having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith (Philippians 3:9). Paul realized that he couldn t make himself righteous by keeping the Law, as he had been taught. Paul realized his righteousness came from God, not keeping the Law, because he had believed that Jesus is the Son of God. Paul, no doubt, realized that he wasn t as good as he thought he was and that Jesus was more than he would ever be. Too many Christians base their lives on performance they keep a list of rules they think will earn them favor with God and keeps them in good standing with Him. This is a guilt-motivated system that produces twenty-first century Pharisees remember Paul was a Pharisee and it slows the growth of the kingdom of Heaven. But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in (Matthew 23:13). If you think keeping rules and regulations will earn you brownie points with God, you need to get over yourself. This mind-set is a total misunderstanding of justification. The apostle Paul makes this abundantly clear in Romans 3: He points out that all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, that we are justified freely by his grace through the redemption Jesus provided on the cross when He shed His blood as a propitiation [a covering] for our sins, to demonstrate the righteousness of God that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Justified (dikaio in Greek) means to show or regard as righteous. There is a huge difference between being righteous and being regarded as righteous. Am I a righteous man? No! Are you a righteous person? No! The only righteousness I have is the righteousness of God that I received when I believed that Jesus is the Son of God. The blood of Jesus is my propitiation my covering for sin and now, because of my faith and His grace, God doesn t see my sin, He sees the blood of His Son that covers my sin. I am not righteous. The only righteousness I have is the righteousness I receive from God when I believe that Jesus is His Son (Philippians 3:9). 9 No one can compare to Jesus (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus is the brightness of the glory of God. Jesus is the express image of the person of God. Jesus upholds all things by the word of his power. Jesus purged our sins and sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high (Hebrews 1:3). The first time Jesus came to earth He came as the Lamb and died for the sin of the world (John 1:29; Isaiah 53:7). The next time Jesus comes and He will come He will be KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS (Revelation 19:16).

6 GRASPING THE PRINCIPLE Charles Templeton was a close friend and preaching associate of Billy Graham in the 1940s. Templeton effectively preached the gospel to large crowds in major arenas. Sadly, intellectual doubts began to nag at him. He questioned the truth of Scripture and other core Christian beliefs. Templeton finally abandoned his faith and tried unsuccessfully to persuade Billy Graham to do the same. In fact, Templeton pitied Billy Graham, and said, He committed intellectual suicide by closing his mind. Templeton, of course, resigned his ministry and became a novelist and a news commentator. Several years later, Templeton wrote a critique of Christianity titled Farewell to God: My Reasons for Rejecting the Christian Faith. Interviewed when he was eighty-three years old, Templeton talked about the reasons he left the Christian faith: I started considering the plagues that sweep across parts of the planet and indiscriminately kill more often than not, painfully all kinds of people, the ordinary, the decent, and the rotten. And it just became crystal clear to me that it is not possible for an intelligent person to believe that there is a deity who loves. When asked what he thought of Jesus Christ, Templeton wouldn t acknowledge him as God. Rather, he responded: He was the greatest human being who has ever lived. He was a moral genius. His ethical sense was unique. He was the intrinsically wisest person that I ve ever encountered in my life or in my readings. He s the most important thing in my life. I know it may sound strange, but I have to say I adore him! Everything good I know, everything decent I know, everything pure I know, I learned from Jesus. He is the most important human being who has ever existed. And if I may put it this way, I miss him. Templeton s eyes filled with tears and he wept freely. He refused to say more. Superficial Christians, those who only know Jesus as a fire insurance policy, can easily go the way of Charles Templeton. Jesus, to them, becomes an enigma, just another human invention, and not the life changing Son of God. How well do you know Jesus? Is Jesus more important to you than you are? Is what Jesus wants more important than what you want? Have you come to the humbling realization that Jesus is more than you will ever be? If you have not, I pray that you will believe with all your heart that Jesus is the Son of God. 10

7 1. What do you want in life? 2. What do you think Jesus wants for your life? 3. Is Jesus important to you? DISCUSSING THE PRINCIPLE 4. Explain the reason why what Jesus wants is more important than what we want. 5. Do you think highly of yourself? Why? 6. What does this statement We are not as good as we think we are and Jesus is more than we will ever be tell us about ourselves and Jesus? 7. Where does our righteousness come from? (Romans 3:23-26). APPLYING THE PRINCIPLE Know that Jesus is more important than you are, that what He wants is more important than what you want, and that He is more than you will ever be. Understand righteousness comes from God and that the blood of Jesus covers your sins. Respond by acknowledging the holiness, grace and love of God and by appreciating God giving you His righteousness. Rejoice knowing how deeply Jesus loves you (Romans 5:8). 11