What is it to Know Christ

John's epistles are easy to read.
They're easy to understand, at least in the head. I know what
he's saying. To put into practice and to experience
what he's saying is another thing, but you do know what he's saying.
They're very easy to read, written in the simplest words. You cannot
accuse John of departing from the simplicity of Christ. Secondly,
the spirit of his epistles is love, all love. That's the theme
that runs all the way through 1 John. Every line he writes
is seasoned with love. He tries all professions by the
rule of love. Do we love Christ? Do we love
one another? You will find it all the way
through his book. It's a theme that goes straight
through the book of 1 John. It's the spirit of love. And this is one of the main things
about this first epistle. All through the book of 1 John,
John unravels the web of hypocrisy. That's what it is. He unravels
the web of hypocrisy. He will not suffer us to be deceived. If we continue in deception,
it's our own fault, because he continues to show the difference
in reality and profession, all the way through this book. You
want to see the difference in reality and profession, John
shows it to you. He shows us the difference between
those who have and those who say they have. Now let me show
you that. 1 John 1, all the way through
this book. Now these are three things that
are characteristic of the book of John, and as you read The
epistles I'm talking about, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, if you read
it, you'll find it in the simplest words. Don't approach the book
of John trying to find any hidden mysteries. It's out there in
the open, in simple words. Here it is. Here it is, just
like it's written. If any man say he has no sin,
he deceives himself. Truth's not in him. Any man say
he hath not sin, he makes God a liar. Any man says he loves
God and hates his brother, he's a liar. You see, John's very
plain. We used to call it flat-footed.
He's just flat-footed. And plain, and you have no problem
understanding that. It's right there for you to look
at. Simplest word. And the spirit
of love, the theme of love, all the way through this epistle.
But thirdly, and I suppose very importantly, he unravels this
web of deception. This web of hypocrisy that's
so dangerous that a person can, like the unsuspecting fly coming
through the window, can hit in the spider web before he knows
it's in front of him. And John shows the difference
between reality and profession between those who have and those
who say they have. 1 John 1, 6, listen. He that
saith he abideth in Christ ought himself also so to walk as Christ
walked. That's 1 John 1, 6, I beg your
pardon. If we say that we have fellowship
with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth.
Verse 6 of chapter 2 now. He that said he abided in him
also, or himself also, so to walk as he walked. Now look at
verse 9. 1 John 2, verse 9. He that said he is in the light
and hated his brother is in darkness even unto now. Look at verse
4, 1 John 2, He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments,
is a liar, and the truth not in him. Look at 1 John 4, 20.
If a man sayeth, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is
a liar. He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how
can he love God whom he hath not seen? So this too is a theme
throughout every chapter of this book of 1 John. If a man say
he has fellowship with God and walks in darkness, he's a liar,
does not the truth. If a man says he knows God, he
ought to walk as Christ walked. He that saith he is in the light
and walks in darkness abides not in the truth. Now, turn with
me to Jeremiah chapter 28, and preachers are so hard on people
in the congregation as if they were themselves perfect. But
a man may say that he's sent of God and that he is a prophet
of God and not be what he claims to be. Now here was a man in
Jeremiah 28, verse 11, a man named Hananiah, and he came with
all the pomp and pageantry of a prophet of God, speaking forcefully
and dogmatically, and yet He was not God's prophet. In Jeremiah
28, 11, And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people,
saying, Thus saith the Lord, Even so will I break the yoke
of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, from the neck of all nations
within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah
went his way. Now turn over to verse 15. Jeremiah
28, 15. Now this man, Hananiah, spoke,
thus saith the Lord, this is what's going to happen, he said.
God said this. He spoke with a dogmatic attitude
and spirit. This is the way it is. Now listen
to Jeremiah. Jeremiah 28, 15. Then said the
prophet Jeremiah to Hananiah, hear now, Hananiah, the Lord
didn't send you. You make these people trust in
a lie. God didn't send you. And therefore thus saith the
Lord, Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth
this year. Thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against
the Lord. So Hannah and I, the prophet, died the same year in
the seventh month. So a man can say that he is God's
servant, God's preacher, God's messenger, and not be at all.
A man can say that he is a believer and not be a believer. We can
say that we pray and really never have a true experience of prayer. We can say that we love God and
yet not have love in our hearts for Christ. We can say that we're
praising God with the motive of thanksgiving and gratitude
and yet be very insincere. We can say that Christ is our
Lord with our lips and our hearts be far from him. That's true.
One of the condemning words that Christ spoke to his generation,
he said, you call me Lord with your lips, but your hearts are
far from me. Let us not be content with a
bare profession of religion. Let us not be content to call
Christ Lord with our lips and our hearts, not embrace him.
Let us not be content with the motions and traditions and ceremonies
of religion. The Bible doesn't say, he that
saith he believes shall be saved. The Bible says he that believes
shall be saved. The word of God does not say
he who says he knows Christ will be saved, but it says he who
knows Christ will be saved. What is it to know Christ? All
right, let's go to Exodus chapter 1. Exodus chapter 1. What is it to know Christ? I'm
going to give you four things. And I pray that this is of the
Lord. I pray that he'll make this effectual
to us for his glory and our good. What is it to know Christ? Not
say I know him. Not say it, but know him. Not
say I believe, but to believe. Not say he's mine, but know he's
mine. First of all, to know Christ
is, and you have to start here, this is where we start, is to
acknowledge him. This is where everyone who knows
Christ begins. It's to acknowledge him. Acknowledge
Christ. In Exodus 1 verse 8 says, Now
there rose up a new king over Israel who knew not Joseph. There rose a new king over Egypt
who knew not Joseph. Now the people of Israel, while
they were down in Egypt, they fared well They fared well under
those kings and pharaohs who knew Joseph, who acknowledged Joseph. They
may not have personally met Joseph, for Joseph was dead, but they
acknowledged him. Now there arose this king, he
knew history, he knew about Joseph, but he didn't acknowledge what
had been done by Joseph. This new king, you couldn't say
this new king never heard of Joseph, that this new king didn't
know anything about the history of Egypt, and this new king didn't
know what Joseph had done back yonder, because you know he did.
But he didn't acknowledge Joseph. He didn't acknowledge what had
been done by Joseph. He didn't acknowledge any obligation
to Joseph or to his people, and he did not acknowledge any promises
made to Joseph. The original Pharaoh promised
Joseph that his people would always find a home in Egypt,
but this man did not acknowledge that promise. To know Christ
is to acknowledge him. Now turn to John 10. In John
chapter 10, our Lord Jesus Christ says here, in John 10 verse 4,
John the 10th chapter verse 4, And when he put forth his own
sheep, his sheep go before him. And the sheep follow him because
they know his voice. They acknowledge the voice of
their shepherd. All the voices speak. And these
sheep, they recognize the voice of their shepherd. They acknowledge
the voice of the shepherd. And they follow him. Look at
verse 14. I am the good shepherd, I know
my sheep, and they have known of mine." They acknowledge that
I am their shepherd. So believers, first of all, in
knowing Christ, is to acknowledge him. He is God. Thomas came and fell down before
him and he said, My Lord and my God. I acknowledge before
God the Father, before this congregation, before the congregation of the
righteous, before the world, I acknowledge that Jesus Christ
is God Almighty. Look back at our text again,
1 John 4. It's talking about trying the
spirits, and it says, Hereby we know the Spirit of God. Every
spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is
of God. I acknowledge that Jesus Christ
is God Almighty and that he has come to this world in human flesh. I acknowledge that. I know him
to be God. I've never walked up and spoken
to God, and God's never spoken to me. But I know him to be who
he is, King of kings and Lord of lords. That's who he is. That's
what Peter said there at Pentecost. He said in Acts 2, verse 36,
listen to this, Acts 2, verse 36. Peter says, Therefore let
all the house of Israel know, acknowledge, Assuredly that God
hath made the same Jesus whom you crucified Lord and Christ. I acknowledge that I Also acknowledge
him to be my Savior He said there's none other name under heaven
given among men whereby we must be saved none other name Other
foundation can no man lay than that which is laid Christ the
Lord. I acknowledge that I acknowledge that we are not redeemed with
corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious
blood of Jesus Christ. I acknowledge that. You see that? This new king arose who did not
know Joseph, that is, he acknowledged, he did not acknowledge what had
been done by Joseph, any obligation to Joseph, or any promises to
Joseph. As far as he is concerned, that
person Joseph didn't even exist. If he had known Joseph, all of
these things would have been acknowledged. So to know Christ,
first of all, is to acknowledge that he is God. To acknowledge
that he is our Savior and our only Savior, and to acknowledge
him in his offices. He is that prophet of whom all
other prophets spoke. He is that priest to atone for
our sins, of whom every other priest is but a type. He is that
king to reign supremely, supremely over us, that king of whom every
other king is but a picture. We acknowledge him. We acknowledge
his greatness. We acknowledge his glory. We
acknowledge that in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead
bodily. We acknowledge that he is our
representative, that before the law and before the justice of
God, we acknowledge that he is our substitute who bore our sins
in his body. We acknowledge that he was buried.
We acknowledge that he is risen. Like the angel said when he pronounced
Christ's epitaph, he said, he's not here, he's risen. We acknowledge
that there is one God and one Mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus, who has no rival, who has no competitor. He is the one Mediator. We acknowledge
that. We acknowledge that He is the
rightful heir and we are heirs with Him and in Him. We acknowledge
that He is the coming Redeemer, the coming King, He is the coming
Sovereign. We acknowledge that God has committed
all judgment to the Son, that the Father judges no man. We
acknowledge that this book is of Him and about Him and will
bring men to Him. That's what we acknowledge. And
that's first to know Christ. It's to acknowledge. He that
believeth not the record that God hath given concerning his
son doesn't know Christ. Believe not the record. We acknowledge
our total dependence upon him. We acknowledge that his righteousness
is our robe of acceptance. We acknowledge that even without
Christ our righteousness is a filthy rag. When in his beauty I see
the great king, joined with the ransom, his praises to sing,
all through the ages, my tribute I'll bring, and that will be
sunrise for me." That's what it is to know Christ. Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And in calling
on the name of the Lord, you acknowledge all that that name
contains, and all that that name is. All right, secondly, turn to
Isaiah 53. What is it to know Christ? Now,
this is first. It's to acknowledge Him. Acknowledge
Him as God, God in the flesh, God incarnate. Acknowledge Him
as the only Savior, the Substitute, the Redeemer, our Righteousness.
To acknowledge Him as the only Mediator. To acknowledge Him
as the reigning King, the prophet, priest, and King. Acknowledge
Him. All right, secondly, is to believe on him. It's to believe
on him. In Isaiah 53 verse 11, he shall
see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his
knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he
shall bear their iniquity. This verse has given me some
problems through the years. I think by changing, and I don't
mean changing, but by revealing what the prophet is saying will
help us. He's talking about verse 11 here,
he shall see the results of his sufferings, the tribunal, the
birth pains of his soul. He shall see, he shall know the
results of it. And the word here is actually
what I said, birth pain, travail. Through travail, a woman brings
forth a child. And for the joy that's set before
her, she endures the discomfort. She endures the nine months of
sickness or whatever is involved for the joy of bringing forth
a child. And she's not able to see the results. She's not able
to see a healthy, fine baby, or she could endure the travail
even easier. She has a certain amount of uncertainty
because she doesn't know whether the child shall live or this,
that, or the other. There's an uncertainty. There's
a fear. And therefore, that takes away a lot from the joy of the
travail. That takes away a lot from the
expectation. But when Christ came down here
to suffer, to make his soul an offering for sin, he could see
the travail of his soul. He knew his people would all
be. He said, this is the will of him that sent me, that of
all which he hath given me, I'll lose nothing. The Holy Spirit in bringing many
sons to glory has never lost one yet. Never. And Christ could see in the future
that travail of his soul, the soul agony and suffering and
travail that he went through to give birth to his own, to
bring them into the kingdom of God. And now watch this next
line. By his knowledge, and this is the way that should read.
By knowledge of him. by a knowledge of him shall my
righteous servant justify me." By a knowledge of him. And what is that knowledge of
him? By believing on him, by receiving him. Turn to Philippians
chapter 3, and in most of your Bibles there will be a reference
there to Philippians 3.8, there in the marginal reference Philippians
chapter 3, verse 8. Turn over there a minute. This
is what Paul's talking about here. In Philippians 3, 8, Paul
had spoken of his religion, and he was a religious man. Paul
had spoken about his tradition, his doctrine. He talked about
his heritage, how he was born of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew
of Hebrews, a Pharisee, all these things, you know. And then in
verse 8 he said, I count all things but loss for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered
the loss of all things, and I do count them but dumb that I may
win Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness."
To know Christ is to trust him, to embrace him, to believe on
him. Now you listen to me. He who does not trust Christ
does not know Christ. He who does not rely completely
on the Savior, he doesn't know Christ. He who does not rest
his soul in the hands of Christ does not know Christ. Paul said,
listen to it, I know whom I have believed, and in knowing him
I am persuaded, I am confident, I'm sure that he is able to keep
that which I've committed to him against that day. I know
him, and I'm persuaded he's able to keep that which I've committed
to him. Now listen to this. One day Mr. Spurgeon was witnessing
to a man talking about salvation, talking about sin, doing what
I was talking about this morning in the message. And when Spurgeon
got through talking to this gentleman, this is what the man said in
reply to Spurgeon. I'd like to believe on Jesus
Christ, but I can't. To which Mr. Spurgeon replied,
what do you mean you can't believe on Christ? What do you mean you
can't trust Jesus Christ? Have you found a flaw in his
character? Have you found his word or his
work to have a flaw? If you have, tell me what it
is, because I ought to know. You see, I've committed my soul
to Jesus Christ, my life to Jesus Christ, my hope to Jesus Christ. I've committed everything to
Him. If you've found a flaw, you say you can't trust Him,
you can't believe Him. If you've found a flaw, you tell
me. I've got to know." The man said,
Oh no, no, that's not what I mean. He's all that he says he is.
Then Spurgeon replied, don't tell me you can't trust him.
Use the right word. Tell me you won't trust him. There's a lot of difference.
He can be trusted. To know Christ is to trust him. To know Christ is to wholeheartedly
receive him. To know Christ is to embrace
him with confidence and persuasion and committal. That's what it
is to know Christ. To know him is to love him. And
the man who does not love him does not know him. The man who
does not trust him has never met him. He that seeth the Son
and believeth on him. When Thomas saw who he is, he
fell and worshiped him. When Paul on the road to Damascus
had a revelation of who he is, he was never the same. All right,
thirdly, to know Christ. First, it's to acknowledge him.
Secondly, it's to believe him. It's to believe him. And thirdly,
it's to experience him. Now this is where I think that
modern religion is missing the mark. Now confession comes in
there with the belief, but to experience Christ, to actually
experience Christ. Now the verse of scripture goes
something like this, speaking of the Master. He knew no sin. He knew no sin. Now that doesn't
mean he didn't know what sin was. The Lord Jesus knew what
sin was. It didn't mean that the Lord
Jesus Christ didn't know anything about sin, because he did. He knew all things. But it said
he knew no sin. And this is what that means.
It means he never experienced it. He never felt it. He never was moved by its power. He was never influenced by it. It never operated in his soul
or in his spirit. That's what that means he knew
no sin. He never felt it. He was never
moved by its power. He was never influenced by it. He never experienced sin. To know sin, you and I know sin. We've felt its power, we've felt
its control, we've felt its influence, we've experienced it. All right? To know Christ is to feel his
presence. That's so. To know Christ is
to feel his presence. Now, people say, well, salvation
is not an experience, or experience is not salvation. I know experience
is not salvation, but salvation is an experience. It's to feel
the presence and the power and the personal indwelling of the
Son of God. It's to be influenced by his
person. It says in the Bible, if, if,
if any man be in Christ, he's got to be a new creature. It's
impossible. It's just like running a car
through a car wash. If it goes through, it's got
to come out clean. If the thing's working, get some things working. If any
man be in Christ, he is a new creature, not he ought to be.
I get tired of hearing preachers saying, God wants you to do this
and God wants you to do that. God commands these things. So if you are saved, you sure
ought to worship the Lord. At my foot, you will worship
the Lord, not you ought to do nothing. If any man's in Christ,
he is a newt. John makes it plain. Turn to
1 John 2. There's no quibbling here. There's no ought to do it here.
In 1 John 2, verse 3, it says, "...hereby we do know that we
know him, if we keep his commandments." There's no ought to there. "...he
that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar,
and the truth's not in him." What is his commandment? Well,
turn to John 15. John chapter 15, verse 10 through 12. Verse 10 through 12. Now, you
needn't bring me the Ten Commandments, the moral law that Moses gave,
and say, if a man doesn't keep those, he's not in Christ. And
no human being ever walked in shoe leather that keeps all of
the Ten Commandments in nature, in heart, in attitude, in motive.
We're talking about Christ's commandments here. In John 15,
verse 10, if you keep my commandments, John 15, 10, you abide in my
love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide
in his love. These things have I spoken unto
you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might
be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as
I have loved you. There's the motivating, compelling
power of the commandments is love. It's all summed up in these
two. It's summed up in these two.
Love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself.
To know Christ is to experience him, is to feel his presence,
to be influenced by his power. It's to be changed by His love.
The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts for the Holy Spirit. It's to be changed by His love.
It's to be subdued by His grace. It's to be begotten of Him. Boy, I'll tell you, you can go
through this congregation and look at these children and pick
out their mothers and daddies. They look like them. They faithful. And sometimes, you know, sometimes
a baby's born and you can't, can't just, it just looks like
a baby. That's about it, you know. Somebody
brought Brother Barnard a picture of a newborn baby one time and
I happened to be standing right beside him. It weren't very pretty,
really. And they handed it to Brother
Barnard and he looked at it and, you know, everybody stands there
and waits on you to say something and he looked at it. Well, he
said, it's a baby, you know, and that's about all you could
say. But if you wait around long enough, That baby is going to
look like his parents. Just hang around. And it's going
to take on the characteristics. It's going to take on the voice.
Sometimes you boys answer the phone, you sound just like your
dad on the phone. You're going to take on the mannerisms. Because
that daddy put his nature in you when he was born, when you
were born. Your little old boy acts like you. He looks like
you. You can see yourself in him. Sure you can. And I'll tell
you this, when Jesus Christ brings a child into this world, a child
of grace, a child of faith, a newborn creature, now you hang around
long enough and you're going to see Christ in that man or
that woman. And if you fail to see Christ
in that man or woman, he's not born of God, he's one of the
devil's children. He's going to act like the devil.
That's what Christ said to the Pharisees. You are your father
the devil. His works you'll do. He was a
liar from the beginning and you're liars. That's the reason you
lie. You're a child of the devil.
If you're a child of God, you tell the truth. He's not going to be Christ,
but he's going to be like Christ. No, you'll see a lot of fault
in a believer. A lot of fault. If you want to,
you can pick him to pieces. But I'll tell you this, he shows
some characteristics of his father. Yeah, he sure will. It's because
he experiences him. He has the life of God in him,
the life of Christ. If we have not the spirit of
Christ, we're none of his. So to know Christ is to acknowledge
him, it's to believe him, and it's to experience him. And don't
you let any preacher tell you that a person, if he walks down
an aisle, shakes a preacher's hand, joins a Baptist church
and is baptized and makes a confession of faith, he's saved and going
to heaven. It's not so. Now those things are necessary.
It's necessary to repent and to believe and to confess Christ.
And he commands us to be baptized, but salvation to know Christ
is to experience him, to experience him. And then fourthly, closing. To know Christ is to commune
with Him. That's right, to commune with
Him. Now you walk down the street, you walk down the street and
you pass hundreds of people. Suppose I'm in Cincinnati next
week and I'm walking down the street and there's hundreds of
people coming by, hundreds of them. I go to Fountain Square
there and there are hundreds of people around and I just sit
there and look at them. I don't speak, I don't carry
on a conversation. I don't know him. I don't know
him. But I look up and here comes
Cecil Rhodes. And when I see him, a big smile
spread across my face and his face, we know each other. And
I won't walk right by him without speaking, without communing.
There's no way in the world. In a strange and dreary land,
in a lonely and desert place, I walk by one whom I know and
love and not speak. Tommy Rod. I may walk by hundreds
of people whom I don't know, but when I walk by, I don't care
if he's a block off. Hold up there. Let's talk. Hold
up. Let's communicate a little bit.
And we stop and fellowship. Now, in a word, to know Christ
is to, is in love and intimate communion, the very same thing,
very similar to knowing your wife, or your children, or your
brother or sister, or your friend. It's to love his presence. It's
to love his fellowship. It's to love his communion. Listen
to John here, in 1 John 1, 3. 1 John 1 verse 3, "...that which
we have seen and heard declare we unto you, and that you also
may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with
the Father and with his Son." Fellowship with God, that's right.
And down in verse 7, "...if we walk in the light, as he is in
the light, we have fellowship one with another." That's not
talking about my fellowship with you there, that's talking about
my fellowship with Christ. We actually, he speaks and the
sound of his voice is so sweet. The birds hush their singing.
I'm not talking about hearing voices. I'm talking about hearing
his voice here. That's sweet. And the melody
that he gave to me within my heart is ringing. He walks with
me and talks with me. There's a difference in knowing
about Christ and knowing him. There's a difference. fellowship
with Christ, when the weight of sin, the guilt of the broken
law, presses down upon my soul. When I have to cry with David,
my sins are ever before me. When the weight of sin is so
heavy and pressing down upon my heart, then my friends And
my Lord and my Redeemer comes with his precious blood and says,
if any man be in Christ, there's no condemnation. Therefore, being
justified by faith, we have peace with God. He speaks to me. He
gives me comfort. He gives me assurance. That's
communion with Christ. That's communion. All right?
When the clouds of failure, and don't you experience that failure? Personal thought are made so
real that they they seem to hide the son of love and and and and
like like David said is God clean gone And after a while he comes
with his mercy and his grace forgiving every transgression
he's there and Even my faith you will work together for my
good and his glory and he tells me that he assures me of that
I have communion with him And when the deep waters of sorrow
press our souls till they can weep no more, and our hearts
are broken and heavy with grief, he comes with his eternal purpose
and his loving care and kisses away the tears, and he says,
it'll be all right. A fellowship. A fellowship. And David said, even when my
mother and my father forsake me, the Lord will take me up. That's fellowship. And when loved
ones and friends forsake and loneliness grips your heart,
he fills the room and the world with his presence. That's fellowship. And when I come to the river
at ending of day and the last winds of sorrow have blown, there'll
be somebody waiting. To show me the way, I won't have
to cross Jordan alone. I won't have to cross Jordan
alone, for Jesus died all my sins to atone. When the darkness
I see, he'll be waiting for me. And I won't have to cross Jordan
alone. That's fellowship. Christ is not a myth, he's a
person. Christ is not a doctrine, he's a person. Christ is not
a ceremony, he's a person. Christ is not a profession, he's
a person. I can't do that for you. Only
God can do it. Only the Holy Spirit can introduce
you to him. I'll tell you, when we meet Christ,
everything else just fades into insignificance. It loses all
of its big importance. He becomes our life. You know, Paul said, when Christ,
who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye appear with Him
in glory. That's the way I see this thing of knowing Christ.
Knowing Christ. It's to acknowledge Him. That's
where I start. And it's to believe. And I say
with a centurion, Lord, I do believe. Help my unbelief. And
it's to experience it. Christ is real. He's just real. Christ is real to my soul. He's not just a character in
the dead past. He's not just a way. He's real. I feel his presence and power
and influence. And then it's the fellowship
with him. All through life's journey from earth to heaven,
it's the fellowship with Christ. Walk with Christ. Our Father, give us an understanding. Give us an understanding, a revelation
of Christ. Oh, that I may know him and the
power of his resurrection. What a tragedy. Deliver us from
deception. Deliver us from an empty profession.
Deliver us from the ritualistic religions of a natural heart. Bring us to know Christ. To sit
at His feet like Mary sat at His feet. To learn of Him. Deliver
us from that pitfall of ever learning, ever learning and never
coming to knowledge of the truth. Oh, that we may win Christ and
be found in Him. The sweetness of His fellowship
and the sweetness of His presence. and the power of his blood, the
life-changing, efficacious power of his blood, to receive from
him a new heart and a new nature and a new spirit and a new direction,
for this world to lose its attraction and its values to fade, and just
to know him, to count everything but dung, to know him. reveal Christ to our hearts,
for his praise and his eternal glory and for our eternal good,
when we read his word, to have it to bring joy to our hearts and
to give us the refreshing water of life when we pray, to be able
to speak to thee in his name, when we walk through this world,
to be able to love men for Christ's sake, to be able to be motivated
by the love of Christ, the reality of Christ, the glory of Christ,
to be able to see him in everything that he has made and everything
that he does and everything that he says. to count our lives not
dear unto ourselves, to forsake all for Christ's sake, to look
for his coming glory, to see even in the deepest valley of
sorrow the hand of our Lord, the purpose of our Master, to
see in every inconvenience and every difficulty the hand of
our Lord, To see in every blessing the love of our Lord, the grace
of our Lord. To learn to be able to praise
him and to thank him for all things. To be content where he's
put us. To be able to say with the Apostle
when in the prison of Rome, I'm a prisoner of the Lord Jesus
Christ. To really be a bond slave of the Master. We pray this in
his name. Amen.

What is it to Know Christ

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What is it to Know Christ

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