Knowing Christ

1
Knowing Christ

• The Gospel and Culture
• US Christians use make up
• German Christians drink beer
• Taiwans Christians pray unison
• What is the heart of the gospel?

2
Knowing Christ

• The Heart of the Gospel
• The early church circumcision?
• Today?
• A lot can be left out!
• Phil 31-11

3
Knowing Christ

• Phil 31-6
• 1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It
  is no trouble for me to write the same things to
  you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2
  Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil,
  those mutilators of the flesh.

4
Knowing Christ

• Phil 31-6
• 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who
  worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ
  Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh--
  4 though I myself have reasons for such
  confidence.

5
Knowing Christ

• Phil 31-6
• If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put
  confidence in the flesh, I have more 5
  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

6
Knowing Christ

• Phil 31-6
• 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church as for
  legalistic righteousness, faultless.

7
Knowing Christ

• The Heart of the Gospel
• No need to become a Jew first in order to become
  a Christian!
• No rules but a relationship!

8
Knowing Christ

• Phil 37-8
• 7. But whatever was to my profit I now consider
  loss for the sake of Christ. 8. What is more, 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

9
Knowing Christ

• more important than
• being a Jew (Chinese)
• background (Pharisee)
• academic knowledge
• All rubbish!

10
Knowing Christ

• freedom from burden of law
• 8 . I consider them rubbish, that I may gain
  Christ
• 9 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 -- the
  righteousness that comes from God and is by faith
  

11
Knowing Christ

• freedom from burden of law
• relationship not rules
• He wants to bless us always
• 'I will never stop doing good to them... I will
  rejoice in doing them good.' (Jer 3240-41)

12
Knowing Christ

• means blessings
• salvation
• joy, peace, love
• freedom
• healing
• Himself!

13
Knowing Christ

• His Blessings
• we want more blessings
• do we want more of Him?
• only a few in any generation believe that the
  weight of knowing God is a blessing more
  wonderful than any other

14
Knowing Christ

• Madame Guyon
• sat for hours unable to move
• tremendous suffering
• all taken away
• booklet

15
Knowing Christ

• A price to pay
• 10 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, 11
  and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection
  from the dead.

16
Knowing Christ

• Biggest problems Gods blessing
• divorce of parents goes through
• cancer claims loved one
• broken friendship not restored
• singleness intolerable burden
• lost income not replaced

17
Knowing Christ

• through shattered dreams
• Pain forces us to make a choice
• numb our pain
• squarely look at it with Christ
• a call to greater intimacy

18
Knowing Christ

• through worship
• holding on to Him in pain
• trusting Him when all goes wrong
• through tears

19
Knowing Christ

• Do you really want to know Him?
• countless blessings
• greatest blessing Him
• price to pay suffering

20
Knowing Christ

• and making Him known
• overflowing
• power
• blessing to others