Thursday, October 27, 2016

KNOWING JESUS - Do you know Jesus or you know about Jesus? It is always an easy thing to do to substitute religion for the personal and real relationship with the Lord.

Do you know Jesus or you know about Jesus — would this matter in eternity?
I Never Knew You
 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:21 English Standard Version (ESV)
Adoring fans of movie characters, TV, music, or sports stars buy thousands of dollars’ worth of information, photos, and juicy tidbits about their heroes. After poring for hours over such materials, they act as if they really know their heroes.
They know certain facts about their chosen heroes, may be able to cite birth dates, favorite colors, pets, likes and dislikes, but if they were to meet those persons face to face, what would their heroes say?
Jesus reacted to this question in Matthew 7:23: “… I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.
Some people in Jesus' day assumed that they were friends of Jesus because they had mastered the Old Testament Law. They applied the principles of the Torah by implementing strict rules for themselves, imposed these rules on others, and listened to His teaching.
They followed Him, praised Him for the miracles, and told Him what they have done for the Lord (verse 22):”… Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” 
But Jesus calls them workers of lawlessness” and shocked them with these words: “… I never knew you; depart from me…
Millions have been doing good works in the Name of the Lord, have known
about Him from the pulpit, from various media outlets, from books, Bible studies and can recite powerful Bible verses in various translations.
Perhaps they attend church regularly, they have even become sturdy pillars of their church, and commit substantial portions of their material resources for the gospel.
But do they know the Lord? Have they allowed the facts of the incarnation of the Son of God and the new life of His resurrection to become a reality in their personal lives?
They hold knowledge in their heads without allowing the truth to penetrate their hearts. Jesus explained the problem: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules" (Matthew 15:8-9; Mark 7:6; Mark 7:6). 
It is always an easy thing to do to substitute religion for the personal and real relationship with the Lord. Intellectual knowledge and assent would lead us nowhere.
It is always the assumption that if we do so-called “religious activities” or “Christian things” or devote much time in church that we are credited with merits for heaven and the Christian life.
We appreciate the facts of Jesus' death and resurrection, even preach and give witness of the power of God. But until we have repented of our past life and made Him our Lord, and declares Him as our Savior, the facts of the Bible do us no good (John 3:16-18; Acts 10:43; Romans 10:9).
It is only when we acknowledge that the saving faith of the Savior comes by grace alone, by faith alone.
Knowing Jesus means to accept His atoning sacrifice on the shameful cross on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21).
We ask Him to be the Lord of our lives (John 1:12; Acts 2:21).
We identify ourselves with Him in His suffering, in His death and consider our old selves to have died with Him at the cross (Colossians 3:3;Romans 6:2,5; Galatians 6:14; 2:20).
We surrender unconditionally to Him, accept His forgiveness and cleansing from sin and seek to know Him in intimate fellowship through His Holy Spirit (John 17:3; Philippians 3:10; 1 John 2:27).
Is then that Jesus gives us indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; John 14:26; 16:13).
The Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, comes to dwell in us permanently, empowering us and starts transforming us to the image of Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:19; 1 John 3:9).
As Jesus is a Person, we come now to a personal relationship with Him. The greatest commandment to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength" comes to us in a reality we have never experienced before (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27).
We cannot love someone we do not know. Loving starts with a personal encounter and unconditional surrender – and submission to His will – and call Him Lord (Matthew 6:33; Romans 10:9-10; Psalm 16:8).
God is so great, so vast beyond our comprehension, so complex beyond our understanding that we can never fathom everything about Him. But he left us His Word – the Bible – to help us know Him, His attributes, His plans for us and everything we need to know about life.
He has provided means to go on continually seeking Him, knowing more about Him, having more of Him and enjoying His Presence (Jeremiah 29:13; Philippians 3:8).
Would you want to have a deeper relationship with God?
God has made it possible for you to know Him and experience an amazing change in your own life by receiving His Son, Jesus Christ, and have eternal life.
Say the following prayer:

“Father God, I confess I am a sinner and my sins have separated me from You.

I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from my past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to You.

Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again.

I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer.

I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Thank You that according to your Word, I am now born again.

Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. I promise to study Your Word – the Bible.

Please use me for Your glory.

In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.”

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     “Knowing You”  
                (All I once held dear)
       Graham Kendrick 

lyrics
All I once held dear, built my life upon
All this world reveres, and wars to own
All I once thought gain I have counted loss
Spent and worthless now, compared to this
Knowing you, Jesus
Knowing you, there is no greater thing
You're my all, you're the best
You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love you, Lord
Now my heart's desire is to know you more
To be found in you and known as yours
To possess by faith what I could not earn
All-surpassing gift of righteousness
Oh, to know the power of your risen life
And to know You in Your sufferings
To become like you in your death, my Lord
So with you to live and never die

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