Do You Know My Jesus (LHCOC)

Do You Know Jesus?

Philippians 3:7-11

Introduction:

1.                   Do you know Jesus? 

a.                   If you watch religious television or listen to religious radio, you have likely heard the question, “Do you know Jesus” on more than one occasion.

b.                  May I begin by making a bold statement: “When it all boils down, our salvation does not hinge upon our knowing Jesus as much as it does on whether or not He knows us” (Matt.7:21-23).

2.                   While this is true, I may also say that, “In recent years we have not stressed ‘knowing Jesus’ because so many denominations have stressed all you have to is believe if you want to ‘know Jesus.’”

3.                   I wonder if we know Jesus.

a.                   I'm not talking about modern misconceptions of Him. I'm not talking about the "pale Galilean" pictures we often see.

b.                  I'm talking about the real Jesus, the Jesus of the Gospels. Do we know Him?

4.                   There are two things I want to accomplish in this lesson.

a.                   First, I want to paint a portrait of Jesus from the Gospels.

b.                  Second, I want to encourage us to come to know-really know-Him.

Discussion:

I.                        GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH JESUS

A.                An acquaintance is someone we have knowledge of.

1.                  I would say that much of the world has knowledge of Jesus, but their relationship with Him is variegated.

                                                                        a.                   A Buddhist or Hindu may believe in Jesus as there way to Nirvana, but Jesus would be only one of the millions of ways to the same place/state.

                                                                       b.                   A Muslim may believe Jesus lived on the earth as a fact of history, but He would not be as great as their prophet Muhammad.

2.                  Some who claim Christianity would also have conflicting views of Jesus, who He was, what He did, where He came from, etc.

                                                                        a.                   Some may see Jesus as nothing more than a symbol with their crucifix necklace, portraits of Him as a "pale Galilean" (i.e. clean shaven, beautiful hair, spotlessly white garments, etc.).

                                                                       b.                   I saw a bumper sticker one time that said, “Jesus was a pacifist,” and on another occasion, “Jesus was a liberal.”

B.                 Jesus was a man of great courage and conviction.

1.                  Everything I know about Him shows Him to be a real man, a strong man, a courageous man, and a man's man

2.                  Consider some examples:

                                                                        a.                   He withstood the temptations of Satan just after fasting for 40 days (Mt. 4)

                                                                       b.                   He purged the temple in Jerusalem of the money changers (Jn 2).

                                                                        c.                   He reproved the Pharisees for hypocrisy and spiritual blindness (Mt. 23).

                                                                       d.                   He faced the howling mob, the denial of Peter, the betrayal of Judas, the scourging, the mock trials, and the cruel death on the cross with courage and dignity (Matt. 26,27).

3.                  I see no weakling here; do you? I see a strong man of courage and conviction. His goal was to do His Father's will (John 8:28-29).

C.                 Jesus was a man of sharp, singular focus.

1.                  As just stated, His only goal was to do the Father's will (John 4:34; 6:38).

                                                                        a.                   So strong was this goal that He would do right no matter what others thought or said.

                                                                       b.                   So strong what this goal that He would die for the cause He served.

2.                  Luke 9:51 shows His focus in dramatic language, i.e., "He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem."

3.                  His focus was so strong that:

                                                                        a.                   He faced every difficult situation.

                                                                       b.                   He suffered undeserved treatment.

                                                                        c.                   Though innocent, He died so that the guilty might be forgiven.

4.                  At the end of His life, he would says, "It is finished," i.e., my goal has been reached (John 19:30).

D.                Jesus was a man of care and compassion.

1.                  We sing a song that asks, "Does Jesus Care?"

                                                                        a.                   Both the song and the Scriptures answer, "O Yes, He cares; I know He cares, His heart is touched with my grief . . . ."

                                                                       b.                   One simply cannot read the Gospels and not meet a Jesus who loved people, cared about them, and had compassion on them.

2.                  Notice some examples:

                                                                        a.                   He had compassion on Jairus' daughter (Matt. 9).

                                                                       b.                   He had compassion on a Centurion's servant (Luke 7).

                                                                        c.                   He had compassion on a hungry multitude of followers (Mt.14).

                                                                       d.                   He had compassion on two sisters who had lost a brother (Jn 11).

                                                                        e.                   He even had compassion on a city that had rejected Him (Mt. 23).

                                                                        f.                   He had compassion on His mother, as He was on the cross (Jn.19).

                                                                       g.                   He even had compassion on those who were killing Him (Lk. 23).

3.                  Jesus truly felt the pain of those who were struggling, those who were suffering, those who were lonely, and those who were in need.

                                                                        a.                   The good news is that not only did He feel their pain, but that He was also able to do something about it.

                                                                       b.                   Consider His great invitation in Matthew 11:28-29.

II.                        GETTING TO KNOW JESUS

A.                Basic knowledge of Jesus is a must, but we must be more than just an acquaintance of Jesus, what is really important is that we KNOW Jesus.

B.                 We must know Him personally (Rom.8; Heb.4:14-16; 7:25).

1.                  Once again, we have strayed away from knowing Jesus personally because of the denominational error associated with it.  But the truth is that when we stray from truly know Jesus personally that we miss the blessings that are ours.

2.                  Consider:

                                                                        a.                   Jesus is our personal consultant (Heb.4:14-16).

                                                                       b.                   Jesus is our personal referee (1 Tim.2:5).

                                                                        c.                   Jesus is our personal negotiator (Rom.8; Heb.7:25).

C.                 We must know Him intimately (Gal.2:20; Phil.3:7-11).

1.                  Paul had the desire to know Christ, but his desire went above and beyond just having faith in Christ (Phil.3:7-11).

                                                                        a.                   Paul wanted to know the power of the resurrection.

                                                                       b.                   That kind of knowledge would cause him to be conformed into His likeness and to die with Him (Gal. 2:20).

2.                  In the OT, the verb "to know" is yada. In the NT, it is gnoskein.

                                                                        a.                   It is the knowledge Adam had of Eve, when the Bible says, "And Adam knew Eve and she conceived . . ." (Gen. 4:1).

                                                                       b.                   It is personal; it is intimate.

D.                The question is: How do we come to know-really know-Christ?

1.                  Getting to know Jesus begins with getting to know about Him.

                                                                        a.                   We sing, "More About Jesus Would I Know," but why do we want to know more about Him-just to recite facts or to be closer to Him?

                                                                       b.                   Do we study for purely academic reasons, or do we study to come to know Jesus and to grow to be more like Him?

2.                  Getting to know Jesus involves reasonable time.

                                                                        a.                   You can't truly know someone in a short time.

                                                                       b.                   With time and much effort we can know Christ (1 Jn.3:1-3).

3.                  Getting to know Jesus involves putting all of our trust in Him.

                                                                        a.                   Who do you turn to in time of trouble?  Who is in control of this nation?

                                                                       b.                   God, through Jesus, desires to help us if we let Him (1 Pt.5:6-7).

Conclusion:

1.                   We do not know all there is to know about Jesus (Jn.21:20), but we do know…

a.                   Jesus left Heaven.

b.                  Was born of the virgin Mary.

c.                   Was from the seed of David.

d.                  Lived a sinless life.

e.                   Died a criminals death.

f.                   Rose from the dead on the 3rd day.

g.                  Ascended into heaven where He now sits at the right hand of God.

h.                  Will come back at any time to bring judgment on those who have not obeyed His commands, and blessing on those who did

2.                   And the real question will be, Does He know YOU?  He can (Mt.11:28-30).

3.                   Do you still have the burning in your heart that you once had when you met Jesus (Lk.24:32).  He can (Mt.11:28-30).