| Youth Corner: I Want To Know Him |
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As we begin our topic"I Want to Know Him" I will begin with the scripture we will be using throughout this discussion. Paul said in Phi 3: 8-11, he had counted all of the status and possessions he had gained in this world as a prominent pharisee as "dung" and freely lossed as compared to gaining the knowledge of Jesus and the righteousness found through Him. "...so that I may win Christ...that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death..."
As Christians our desires should be the same...and the basis of our faith.
To know Jesus intimately, to know the power of His resurrection, to know the fellowship of His sufferings, and to be made conformable ot His death. If we will focus on that first things have a way of falling in line.
In knowing Jesus we must understand that only through Jesus is remission of sins possible. Remember we are to forgive one another and that we are forgiven but remission is a whole other level... Our sins are washed away by what Jesus did. When a child molestor enters the congregation and receives Jesus he is forgiven of his sin. But we are not to let him around our young people as an act of stewardship to the church and to him. He is forgiven, but we cannot remit what he has done. Jesus can only do that. There are many verses that talk of Jesus forgiveness of sins but I want to bring 2 to mind. Heb 9:22-23,27-28 amd Rom 10:9-11. Heb talks of remission and Romans of forgiveness...but pay attention to the last verse. "for the scriptures say, 'Everyone believing on His Name shall not be put to shame." What does that mean when so many are persecuted for believing...it means that in light of eternal security...we will not be the ones afraid and in trouble.
In knowing Jesus it must be understood that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess _Phi 2:5-12)...we decide when and where...on which side of eternity... Interestingly enough Jesus who had all power never used any for Himself. Even in the desert when Satan came to tempt...turn stones to bread...what is wrong with that?
Simple, if Jesus had used any of His power for Himself, He could not have been our mediator (Heb 4:15) and would have disqualified Himself from being our sacrifice...He was tempted in ALL ways yet did not sin. What would we have done with that power? Air conditioning, running water, automobiles...that first comes to mind. Jesus found us to be a better prize...that is someone worth my attention.
There are some basic things we can do to get to know Him more.
Trust Him...it sounds so simple and way too easy...but trust Him when things don't seem right, that is more difficult. Trust His Word when everything seems contradictory from what the presents. Psams 9:10 says "and those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, oh Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You." Which leads us to another way to know Him more intimately...
Seek Him. Some verses to read are Is 55:6, Mat 6:33, Psa 24:6, Isa 40:32, and Heb 11:6. But I want to focus on seeking Him first before asking of Him. If we will seek the Lord without agenda, we will find Him, He will reveal Hiself to us and what He offers we will be overjoyed with. BUT if we seek Him to fill a need...that is not the roadmap He provided. He said seek My kingdom and My righteousness and the other stuff will makes itself shown when I so choose...that is tough to walk in but the reward...is ...eternal.
Trust and Seek with the faith of a child. Mat 18:2-3...we must think as children. Children trust their father with a perfect trust. I could convince my daughter of anything and she will believe me. I could walk up to her intending to do her harm and she would not believe or even conveive the thought until it was too late. We must have that with the Lord. If we have, we have in Him, if we have not, we have not in Him.
Finally, Abide in Him. 1Jo 2:27-28, Jo 15:4, Psa 27:4,8, Acts 17:28. If we are defined in Him...and we make ourselves of no reputation other than in Him...we will draw closer to Him b/c He will be our only source. |
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