Knowing God serviced by Rev. E. Anderson

March 28, 2008 at 11:03 pm (Knowing God)

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Rev. E. Anderson

UPGRADING IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 

Reading     Philippians 3 

Text           v10 

Introduction 

PAST HISTORY: The record has it in the Acts of a very religious, traditional Jew, by the name of Saul, who had an historic knowledge of God passed down to him but really didn’t know God in a personal capacity. He was imbued with a religious spirit and attitude and sought to completely eradicate Christ and Christendom – see Acts 9: 1, 2. From what he says in Philippians 3: 5, 6, he was a zealot for the Judaist faith but had no real, dynamic experience of God. In his testimony elsewhere he confesses this fact. DIVINE ENCOUNTER: But he has a dramatic and dynamic encounter with Jesus Christ that was to completely revolutionise his life and future – Acts 9: 3-9. He was never to be the same again having been apprehended by Christ. The chief antagonist becomes the most committed believer, follower, preacher and missionary. That initial knowledge brought an immediate awakening in his spirit toward God and was to impact him for the rest of his earthly career. PRESENT PASSION: Here in this letter to fellow believers and Christians at Philippi, he is affirming what his present passion and pursuit is. Having been converted to Christ he is now consumed with continual desire to know more and more about Christ. He had found that not only had Christ transformed and changed him into a new creation but it was in order that Christ might become fully known and expressed in and through Him. He uses a similar thought to the Galatian Christians. Note the sequence: Christ revealed to, in and then through me – Galatians 1: 13-16.  It is possible to discover from the context of his words where the knowledge needed to increase and intensify. 

     1/. IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIS DYNAMIC LIFE – v10      

He speaks first of all of knowing something of ‘the power of His resurrection’. There had come the special moment in his life that He knew Christ was raised from the dead and was an up-to-date reality because he had been confronted with Him on the Damascus road and now it was important and imperative for him to know that same kind of life in his own being and ministry. No longer was he to be self-driven, rather, the very life and nature of Christ must be his possession and inspiration – see Galatians 2: 20.       He taught that every Christian should walk in ‘newness of life’ thus signifying that they needed to draw upon the fresh power source in Jesus Christ – Romans 6: 4, 5. 

     2/.  In the knowledge of a close association with his sufferings – v10       

He knew from the onset becoming a disciple for Christ was not going to be an easy joy ride. Already he had witnessed what those first Christians had to face and what ordeals they had already been put through but had noted their spiritual and moral courage and commitment. There must have been the consciousness at the start that the future would entail a great deal of suffering but he would not run away from it. If the Christ could face it and win through, so could he. As he had seen Stephen confront it and win, so could he by Christ’s enabling. It would be made known to him the rough ride that would be his but he was up for it – Acts 9: 16. He did not nor would not seek an escape clause – see Acts 20: 22-24. 

     3/.  IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF CONTINUAL PROGRESS IN THIS RELATIONSHIP – VV11-14      

As far as he was concerned he possessed a divine purpose and goal in his being which had been implanted by Christ and he would not let go until all was perfectly consummated. It was to be evolutionary as well as a revolutionary movement. Advancement and development had to take place on all fronts that was Christ inspired and produce a marked improvement in his knowledge of and relationship with Christ. It is an admission that there was still need for improvement that would lead on to the final revelation and fulfilment. In the immediate he must never lose the passion and drive to see the end result. 

     4/.   In the knowledge of the ultimate prize and possession – v14 

There is a choice optimism about his knowledge. He knows that he will reach and accomplish all that Christ has planned and destined. Whilst thankful for what has occurred and the stage now reached, he knows that he will finally come to that complete understanding of Christ that will be perfect, absolute and most satisfying. He knows what the ultimate is as revealed in Romans 8: 29 – ‘to be conformed to the image of His Son’. He could think of no better, greater aspiration and achievement. He knows what the final upgrade is! 

CONCLUSION         From his final testimony to Timothy it would appear that he has finally made it. He leaves behind a confident witness as to how matters stand at the termination of life and work on earth – 2 Timothy 4: 6-8.  One of his prayers for the saints focussed on this: ‘that they would come to know Christ better’ – Ephesians 1: 17. He wants them to improve their understanding of Him in understanding and experientially.        

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Healing Testimonies selected by Rev. E. Anderson

March 28, 2008 at 10:57 pm (Healing Testimonies)

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Rev. E. Anderson

CANCEROUS LUMP 

A man says a cancerous lump on his body has miraculously disappeared. 

Steve Smith, 40,-believes his faith in God has led to the miracle. He told New Life how his battle with testicular cancer was one of the toughest of his life. He said, ‘We had been going through hell. I was constantly asking God the question “Why?” and could not understand why all this was happening. ‘I always believed God could heal me, but it wasn’t easy going through the trial.  

I was facing surgery and that can really knock you off your feet. I  was so over­joyed when God performed a miracle.’ 

Steve, a pastor in Essex, revealed how he jumped off the doctor’s table when she told him the lump was no longer there He added I jumped off the doctor table thanked the doctor and gave all the glory to God for this healing.

The doctor was amazed and was looking at all previous scans. I couldn’t believe what I had heard. ‘My wife and I went for coffee and I rang the peo­ple who had been praying for me’. 

In the midst of the cancer crisis, Steve was also having trouble paying the bills at home. He was on the waiting list to find a new church, and had to settle for a job­ stacking shelves at a supermarket. Having pre­viously earned a large sum in the jewellery trade, this was a humbling experience. He said, ‘I thought God had told me I was going to be a pastor and here I was facing surgery and in unem­ployment. It didn’t make sense to my natural mind. I had to put the focus away from me and on to God. 

‘The doctor told me I had depression, but I knew it wasn’t that. ‘The Holy Spirit actually told me it was oppression. I was feeling so low and didn’t understand why this was happening to me Little did Steve know that another miracle was about to be performed in his life.  

Just weeks after receiv­ing the all clear from the doctor he was offered a job pastoring a church at Clacton-on-Sea Essex.  Before long, Steve, wife Elizabeth and their three children were on the move. ‘God has taken us from the depths of despair and doubt. He is al­ways sovereign and He always does what he wants to do. There will be troubles and trials but we must never forget that God is a God who delivers us, and if we are obedient to him he will be faithful to us’. 

The family now hopes to bring God’s healing power and love to the people of Clacton.  ‘Clacton is a church that has experienced difficulties, but God has told me that I must show His love and care to this congregation’.

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Messages for the Moment presented by Rev. E. Anderson

March 28, 2008 at 10:51 pm (Messages of the Moment)

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Rev. E. Anderson

GOD’S GRACE SETS YOU FREE
by Jon Walker

Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. (2 Corinthians 3:4-5 NIV) 

Grace. If you carry away only one thing from these devotionals, my prayer is that it will be a mind-transforming, behavior-altering understanding of God’s infinite, indestructible, and immovable grace.

Not just a quick, yet correct sound-bite explanation – like the “unmerited favor of God” – but the deep, ancient meaning of grace that stretches across the depth and breadth and width and height of God’s character.

This is on my mind because these devotionals present some high standards for Christian discipleship. My hope is to press us both – myself as well as you – toward an honest assessment of our faith, a deeper commitment to our beliefs, and most importantly a sacrificial, wholly-abandoned love for our Lord.

The standard is high; in fact, it’s impossibly high. That’s why we need God’s grace. I can’t, but God can. My confidence is in the healing, cleansing power of Jesus Christ; my competence comes from God, and God alone. (2 Corinthians 3:4-5 NIV)

Although I strive for these standards in my own life, I repeatedly fail, but that doesn’t mean I should settle for a mediocre, warmed-over faith walk or stubbornly hide behind a devilish denial that I did and do fail. I cannot walk the walk without Jesus in me – but with Jesus, I can.

Knowing this, I can set my mind on the things above, not focusing on the things below, such as my failures, my strength, my weaknesses, and all the material, temporary matters that keep me focused only on the things in front of me.

Instead, I can get out of the way, inviting the Holy Spirit to work a transformation in my life. Whether I succeed or fail, I fall upon the grace of God. I remain immersed in his grace, knowing I cannot create myself holy, but the Spirit of God within me and the blood of Jesus Christ allow me to connect with, and be cleansed by, a holy God.

We are God’s workmanship, not creations of our own hand. (Ephesians 2:7-10

)If we don’t understand God’s grace, we stand in danger of growing weary in our walk with God, descending into a quiet resignation that the abundant life is just a notion to describe our “sweet by-and-by” future in heaven.

Or we’re in danger of descending into legalism, believing we can somehow reach God’s holy standard through our own efforts. In effect, we’re saying we can achieve godliness without God’s power! We behave as if we become one of God’s children by the things we do or the things we don’t do and not from the extraordinary grace of God.

As if.

We become like the foolish Galatians, who began their Christian walk with the Spirit, but then they began to behave as if godly goals could be reached by human effort. (Galatians 3:1-5 NIV) 

The apostle Paul, who struggled with legalism, taught the Galatians that the law was only put in charge to lead us to the grace of Christ. (Galatians 3:23-25) The Spirit of the living God transforms us by writing the law into our hearts rather than on simple stone tablets. (2 Corinthians 3:3) The godly standard is set within, where it cannot be lost, diminished, or forgotten, instead of on tablets of stone that can be broken, misplaced, or simply ignored.

So, you and I – my sister, my brother – we share in an inheritance from God, and that inheritance comes from grace. In fact, that inheritance is God’s grace.

What does this mean? 

        · You need not fear failure – God’s grace allows you to live boldly. “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV)

       · Your good works will be powered by God’s grace – “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV)

      · Let your roots take hold in the soil of Christ – My friend, today “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love.” (Ephesians 3:16-17 NLT)

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