Sunday, October 11, 2009

The passion to Know Love and become like Jesus

This is one of the Navigator Core values. Someone once described it as the Core to the Core.

Core values are the central motivations imprinted in our hearts. When you take them away from us, we loose our identity

Definitions:

Passion – Fervor, ardor, craze, zeal, enthusiasm, excitement, Obsession, oomph drive.
Passion drives you to do the unthinkable (David and Goliath, the woman with the issue of blood)

Know “Ginosko” perceive, realize, recognize, understand.
John 13:12 ,15:8
Knowledge “Epignosis” the power of knowing facts, information, knowledge that a person has acquired thru education or experience.

Know – intimacy Adam ‘knew’ Eve and….

Knowing precedes knowledge, U must have a desire to get info then we can say that U are knowledgeable .

As I go thru life I get to see God in many new ways and I experience Christ in new dimensions at times I think I have know Him only for him to reveal another facet of Himself that I had no clue existed.

The daily experiences cumulatively form the Knowledge of God in my life and that forms the basis of my faith.

Love: A strong feeling of affection and concern for a person or people.
Romantic feelings towards the opposite sex.
1 Cor 13


CHRIST.
Colossians 2.

Over 30times, the law and the prophets talked about a messiah and all the prophecies were fulfilled with astonishing accuracy.

We also have what Theologians call Christophany or Theophany when a’ type’ of Christ appears in the OT. Melchizedek, The mighty warrior outside Jericho.

All these different men lived at different times but they had a commonality in their message – Christ.

Jewish historians described Jesus as the ‘Desire of women”
Isaiah 9:6-7 wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace.

Jesus enters the N.T in a dramatic way … an angel announced his birth. His dad a mere carpenter, born in a stable with no gynecologist.

The atmosphere in that part of the world changed, that shepherds and wise men could not just go about their own business, they had to look for him and pay homage.

At day 1 he was No. 1 on King Herod’s most wanted list – newspapers “baby JC wanted dead or alive!”
As an infant he became an IPD in Africa.
At age 12 he was engaging the MOGs in a theological debate and they were awed by his wisdom.

Fast 4ward at age 30, John the Baptist did what a good MC should do, he introduced him to the world and said, “behold the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.”

At that moment, the Spirit of God landed on him like a dove and God gave a testimony about him saying, “That is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased!’
Even b4 JC had done anything, the father approved him, why did he do this?

WHY CHRIST?

Some philosophers talk about him as a great teacher.
Muslims refer to him as the greatest prophet.
JWs call him the 1st creation of God b4 creation!
Moonists call him the imperfect Adam because he didn’t have a wife.
Skeptics dismiss him as a myth (Zeitegist documentary)

But we who are born again need to know him intimately and to be fully persuaded that He is the one and only true messiah and the answer to ALL our problems.

Adam messed up in the garden of Eden and we became alienated from God, His wrath was aroused and somebody had to pay for that.

The torah instituted animal sacrifices that took care of man’s sins 4 a while by merely pacifying God but not satisfying him.

We need someone to act on our behalf 1 Tim 2:5 ….For there is one mediator….

John 1:1-18

Jesus knew his mission, after his temptation in the wilderness he began preaching on repentance and recruiting disciples, he only had 3yrs so he had to become deliberate and intentional.

He healed the sick, preached to multitudes, prayed and raised the dead….

He was bad news, if he wasn’t ruffling feathers with the Pharisees, he was bust turning tables in the temple, he touched a raw nerve. His publicity spread like wild bush fire, like ash thrown in the wind, he must have been the talk of the town.

He didn’t contradict or seek to obliterate the law, he came as a culmination of all things, past present and future.

His success rate was beyond compare, a resounding 100%, unmatched, unchallenged and undefeated.

He impacted the lives of men and women by imparting life into them
Love him or hate him, U couldn’t help but notice him, he was a radical, he went against the norm.
He did away with ritualistic religion and introduced us to a lifestyle; he was the greatest role model.

He allowed us to a glimpse of divine glory at the transfiguration
He allowed us to see his humanity when he was hungry and when he was tired.
He was real and genuine and unlike our Mps, he paid his taxes


Some of His titles
Gods chosen servant, Lord of Lords
Bright and morning star Prince of peace
The lily of the valley Alpha and Omega
The captain of our salvation Emmanuel, God with us!
The sinless son of God King of Kings
The Lamb of God Royal diadem
The truth The messiah
The I am

The Nature of Christ

John 14:6 a bodacious statement “ I am the way, the truth and the life…”
He is interesting because he does things in a reverse manner, call it orthodox.
He brought healing thru being bruised and being whipped
He eased pain thru being pierced
He brought freedom thru being persecuted
He brought us life thru dying
He is immutable and He is infinite

Col 1:15-20 he is the image of the invisible God…

At the cross at the cross where I first saw the light….

At the cross he dealt with my sin and its power and Im reminded about the need to crucify my flesh and how I need to die daily.

Several things happened when he hung there, the sun refused to shine and there was an eclipse, deep darkness engulfed the earth for 3hrs.

There was an earthquake and tombs broke open and many holy people resurrected and appeared to many as a testimony

The curtain in the temple tore in the middle from top to bottom thereby giving me direct access to the father

A centurion, a gentile, who observed this things got convicted and said surely this man..Was the son of God

There was a missionary who tried to reach one of the indigenous communities in Africa, he preached he built a hospital but with no apparent success.

He was so discouraged, at one time he got supplies from abroad and in there were pineapples which he really loved, he planted them and the villagers began stealing form him, he bought a dog to keep them at bay and one day as he was praying God convicted him to allow the villagers to eat his pineapples.

When he did this the villagers were shocked and said, “ We now think that U are saved, U have been preaching to us but it looks like u didn’t have God, but the fact that U have allowed us to eat your fruits, well looks like its working , you have found God and we will get saved.

Is it possible that sinners can catch a revelation of God that we who purport to be Christians can’t see….? That’s scary!

His death is a biblical truth as well as a historical fact.
We must believe in the Cross of Christ because its our central message. 1 cor 1:22 and 2:22
Phil 3:7-16 and Phil 2:6-11

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