Title: To Know Jesus / Philippians 3:10-14
Contents
to know Jesus
(Philippians 3:10-14)
Until last time, I said that man was born to worship God, and that in order to worship, we need to know God. He said that he can know whether he knows God or not. Although the order seems to have changed, today I would like to share the grace of Paul through the story of how to know God.
There is a saying, “To get to know a man, travel with him.” This means to experience him. If we want to know who we are, we can find out by having deep conversations and experiencing certain events with him. A lover met a molestation on the way. The man took off his shirt and killed all three molesters. Before that, the woman did not know that the man she was dating was such a strong Taekwondo practitioner. It was then that she thought it was worth entrusting her life to her. This is how the woman knew the man through experience.
So is Jesus. It's not that I know that I'm penetrating the life story of Jesus. Knowing that you are one of the Four Great Saints does not mean you know Jesus. You have to know it through experience. But that experience is written in the Bible. The Bible is the experience of Jesus himself and of the disciples who knew him. If you know the Bible accurately, you can know Jesus accurately. What should I do to know Jesus?
have to tell
This text is a record of Paul's struggles to know Jesus. He is a man who tried to get to know Jesus without permission. It tells how Paul, who met Jesus, did to know what it was like to share in the power of Jesus' resurrection and suffering. First, they say that they are trying to reach the resurrection no matter what they do by imitating the death of Jesus. Of course, these words have a spiritual meaning. You can see how much effort Saul, a man of the flesh, made to live as Paul, a man of spirit. With the goal of living as Jesus' person, we forget our physical life and run toward the spiritual life for the reward that Jesus will give us. But he never thought he had done it.
Paul has already experienced Jesus. Still, the struggle to get to know him never stops. When this passion cools down, you are already spiritually dead. Is there anyone among you who thinks that he knows everything about Jesus, so his passion for knowing has cooled down? You need to restore your Dish passion. Paul, who exclaims that the knowledge of Jesus is the noblest, asks Timothy in a dark prison in Rome and says: (2 Timothy 4:13) “When you come, bring with you the cloak that I left in the house of Troas and Heirloom, and bring books specially written on leather paper.
At this time, Paul wrote more than ten books of the Bible. He is a man who has been preaching the word while traveling here and there with the Bible for decades. But he asks him to bring the Bible from his mouth. No, to know more. What are you asking for this? But it is not. The more you know, the more you want to know the truth of the Bible. No matter how well you know the Bible, you cannot understand everything. We should realize many things from Paul, who has extensive Bible knowledge, to bring the Bible. Through this request, we can see that Paul's passion for knowing Jesus did not fade. Everyone, even if you go to church for a few years, don't say you don't know about Jesus, and have a passion to know first.
have to inform
There is a saying, “Do not teach anyone who does not want to learn” and “A good teacher is a good student”. This also means that teaching is learning. Learning and teaching are intertwined. Paul is a good balance between learning and teaching. Let's say we know about Jesus. What are you going to do? Not all knowledge or experience is meant to be known. The purpose is to use what you know. So is Jesus. We must try to make Jesus known. It must be propagated. It must be communicated through life through words. That is worship. A true worshiper knows exactly about Jesus. Not only that, but precisely.
Listen to Paul's confession. (Acts 20:20) “Whatever is beneficial to you, whether in public or in every house, without hesitation, preach it to you and teach it.” He is proud of preaching God. (Acts 20:24) “I do not regard my life as precious in the least, so that I may finish my course and the mission I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” To say that you risked your life to preach the word means that you value it the most. I have already said that worship is anything we do for the things we value the most. Those who value money the most are those who worship money, and those who value God the most are those who worship God. Paul is the latter.
Paul didn't stop at having a passion for what he knew. He was a person who tried to convey with the same passion that he wanted to tell. A true worshiper is a seeker who knows, and an evangelist who wants to preach. Paul is the right person for this. (Acts 20:31) “Therefore, wake up and remember that for three years I did not stop admonishing each one with tears, day and night.” He devoted himself to preaching Jesus. It is said that he taught with tears day and night.
Knowing Jesus will change the purpose of your life. Paul is such a person. The reason I had to live was to preach the gospel. That is Paul's mission. The mission is the very reason for existence. Paul says that making others know Jesus is the reason for his existence on this earth. That's why I put my whole life on it.
then you will grow
Paul was a man who lived to know Jesus more deeply and more. But that is the reason why Paul can stand before us in the form of spiritual growth. People who have a passion to inform and a vision to inform them are bound to grow. He makes this confession. (2 Corinthians 4:16) “Therefore, we do not lose heart, for though our outward man perishes, but our inwardly is renewed day by day.” What about the age of eating? What to do with the growing wrinkles? But thoughts can be rejuvenated day by day. The spirit can be renewed day by day.
Today's Word teaches you the secret to always staying spiritually alive. It is possible when you want to inform, and you want to inform. If you set a goal for Jesus and follow him every day to catch him, can there be spiritual decline? Paul did not stop learning, nor did he stop teaching. This enabled him to declare that he was full of the Spirit every day. The day we give up trying to know is the spiritual funeral of the believer. The day we give up preaching is the day we collect the body of a Christian.
The Lord says that the church in Sardis is alive, but it is dead. (Rev 3:1) “To the angel of the church in Sardis, He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars said, “I know your works; you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” A spirit may not have lived just because it lived. If you don't grow, you're dead. What is spiritual growth? It is a positive change. Are you making positive spiritual changes right now? If not, it is dead. Being unchanging is spiritual stagnation. If it turns negatively, it is spiritual regression. Both stagnation and regression are dead.
Dear saints,
True worship is worship in spirit and truth. The word ‘spirit and truth’ means to give spiritually. Therefore, a person whose spirit is dead cannot offer such worship. Worship in spirit and truth is possible only for those who have a living spirit, that is, those who have achieved spiritual growth. Knowing Jesus is so important. I hope that you will achieve spiritual growth and become true worshipers by trying to get to know Jesus and making it known. Hallelujah!