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Back to Sermons Index Back to Home Page 5th March 2006TO KNOW CHRIST AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN Pastor Linton SmithWeek by week our mission statement in brief appears in the bulletin – To know Christ and to make Him known. The complete version says we aim to make Christ known by what we are, say and do. Many churches and Christian ministries state their mission in a similar way. How did so many arrive at this statement? Probably by reading the writings of the Apostle Paul. His twin passions were to know Christ and to make Him known.. and he did so by the man he was, by what he said and wrote [he wrote many of the letters in the New Testament], and what He did. He made Jesus known all the way from Jerusalem to Syria, Turkey, Greece, Italy and possibly Spain. He was passionate about knowing Christ and making Him known.. to his dying day. Quite often we are passionate about this.. and then the passion dims. Not so with Paul. He was passionate about this to his dying day. He is a challenge to me.. and I hope.. to you. Why was he so passionate? How could he remain passionate his whole life? How can we be passionate about knowing Christ.. and making Him known? How can we recover our passion? How can we maintain it? With questions like that in mind I decided to look at Paul at four stages in his life.. unbeliever.. new believer.. mature believer.. believer about to die. First of all we will look at him as.. o AN UNBELIEVER. Paul was born about the same time as Jesus and born into a Jewish family. From a child he was trained in the Jewish faith.. and became a highly educated leader. In Acts 22:3 he says.. I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. In Acts 26:4,5 he says.. The Jews.. have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee. And in Philippians 3:5,6 he describes himself as.. Circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. He was thoroughly trained in the law. He lived as a Pharisee. As for legalistic righteousness.. he considered himself faultless. The Jewish people were sent into exile in Babylon 586 BC. The Pharisees believed they were exiled because they did not keep the law.. the Torah.. the first five books in Hebrew Bible. It was their passion to obey every law to the letter. They believed that the law could be applied to every situation in life.. and this was the task of those who had made a special study of the law. First of all they studied the Torah.. and found it contained 613 commandments.. 248 positive, 365 negative. Then they set out to interpret and supplement these commandments so that there would be no possibility of breaking them by accident or ignorance. One example is the rules they decided on about the Sabbath.. they decided on 39 actions that were prohibited on the Sabbath. Here they are: Sowing.. ploughing.. reaping.. binding sheaves.. threshing.. winnowing.. Selecting.. grinding.. sifting.. kneading.. baking.. Shearing wool.. washing wool.. beating wool.. dyeing wool.. spinning.. weaving.. making two loops weaving two threads.. separating two threads.. tying.. untying.. sewing two stitches.. tearing.. Trapping.. slaughtering.. flaying.. salting meat.. curing hide.. scraping hide.. cutting hide up.. Writing two letters.. erasing two letters.. Building.. tearing a building down.. extinguishing a fire.. kindling a fire.. hitting with a hammer.. taking an object from the private domain to the public, or transporting an object in the public domain. [http://www.jewfaq.org/shabbat.htm] [and New Bible Dictionary] The list went on and on.. and there was a list for each commandment.. until everything imaginable was covered. Paul had been trained in this.. was an expert in what could and could not be done.. And he lived by these rules.. Why? Because he wanted to earn God’s favour.. be righteous in God’s eyes. And he almost made it. He says.. As for legalist righteousness, he was faultless. But he had a problem. Externally, he may have been faultless.. may have done all the right things.. but.. internally.. in his heart.. he had a problem. In Romans 7:7,8 he tells us that one commandment flawed him. The command: You shall not covet. It had to do with the heart.. the inner person.. desires.. greed.. jealousy.. and it flawed him.. The result? He knew he had failed.. had fallen short.. was not righteous.. and he had no inner peace! That may be how some of us are.. We believe God will be pleased with us if we do the right thing.. that when we die.. stand before Him.. He will say.. you were a good person.. come in.. but.. deep in our hearts.. we know we have fallen way short.. are scared of facing God.. lack peace.. long for peace.. o A NEW BELIEVER. Paul found the peace he sought at about 35 years of age. He was on his way to Damascus to track down and imprison believers in Jesus.. when the Risen Lord Jesus appeared to him.. he was blinded.. and had to be led into Damascus.. there a believer spoke with him.. and Paul was baptised.. Then.. Acts 9:19,20.. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. Paul had been introduced to Jesus.. and now he was full of passion and enthusiasm.. to tell others about Him. About 20 years later.. he wrote.. 2 Corinthians 4:5,6.. We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. That is what happened to Paul that day on the Damascus road.. and in Damascus.. God filled his heart with His light.. and he saw the glory of God in the face of Christ.. saw that Christ was the image of God.. was God.. had died as the sacrifice for sin.. forgives.. justifies people.. declares them righteous.. He had come to know Christ.. and now he was passionate to make Him known to others.. Has God done that for you? When a person comes to believe in Jesus for the first time.. it is because God has made His light to shine in their hearts.. That is what we need.. our friends need.. Pray.. o A MATURE BELIEVER. When he was about 61 years of age.. Paul was in prison in Rome.. because of his passion to make Jesus known. He was facing possible death.. and some of his enemies were trying to stir up more trouble for him by preaching about Jesus.. This is what he writes from prison.. to the believers in Philippi.. Philippians 1:18-20.. The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached.. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. He is overjoyed that Christ is preached.. whatever the motive and whatever trouble it may bring upon him. He is still passionate to make Christ known.. and not only by word but also by life. He prays that whether he be executed or live he will handle it in a way that exalts Jesus. Later in this same letter he says.. Philippians 3:8-11.. I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ.. 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, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Paul had lost everything.. his occupation as a Pharisee.. his standing in the Jewish community.. people had tried to kill him.. Does it bother Paul? No! Nothing compares to knowing Christ.. nothing compares to having the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus.. nothing compares to the peace in the heart that this brings.. Now.. his one desire is to know Christ.. live in close relationship to Him.. so close that he shares His resurrection power.. and suffers because of his stand.. even to the point of dying.. and rising again. Here Paul shows us the clear difference between being a religious person.. and being a Christian. Religion is about ritual. Christianity is about a relationship with Jesus. Religion is about laws. Christianity is about loyalty to Jesus. Religion is about longing for God’s favour. Christianity is about loving God because He shown us His favour.. has forgiven us.. declared us righteous. Which are we? Religious.. or Christian? o A BELIEVER ABOUT TO DIE. About 7 years later.. Paul is in prison again.. now he is about 68 years of age.. this time he knows he will be executed. He writes to Timothy.. 2 Timothy 4:6-8.. I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. He is facing death.. but confident.. God will give him the crown of righteousness.. It will be something like this.. Paul will die.. stand before God.. and God will say.. Come.. My Son, Jesus died in your place.. you put your trust in Him.. His righteousness is yours.. Is that what we expect when we die.. and stand before Jesus? If God were to say to you.. Why should I let you into my heaven.. what would you say? A little later Paul tells us that when he was on trial.. no one stood by him.. says.. 2 Timothy 4:17.. The Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. He is facing death.. sure of heaven.. because he knows Jesus Christ.. he trusts in Jesus and His death in his place.. still passionate to make Jesus known to others.. What a challenge this man is to us! From the day Jesus Christ came into his life.. he was passionate about knowing Jesus.. about living in relationship with Him.. and making Him known. Can we be like him? Yes! Where do we begin? We begin by asking ourselves some probing questions. Do we know Jesus.. really know Him.. do we have peace in our hearts.. are we sure of heaven? If the answer is.. ‘no’.. or.. ‘not sure’.. seek Him.. look to the cross.. believe… If the answer is ‘yes’.. ask another question.. Am I passionate to make Him known? If the answer is ‘yes’.. press on. If.. ‘no’.. remember what life was like before you met Jesus.. ponder all He has done.. what it cost.. and spend time with Him.. daily.. and the fire will burn again.
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