2018 Maryland Men of Faith: The Want of Men

<p>Surprising insights on knowing Jesus.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Maryland Men of Faith

Shane Anderson

Ecstasy, Agony, Harmony

This media has been presented to you by the Maryland Men of Faith, where men are challenged and encouraged to form the character of Christ.

For more information, please visit www.mmof.org.

Father in Heaven, we are grateful for your Sabbath.

We thank you Lord that we can gather here as a group of men in your name.

We pray Lord that as we look at this very important topic, how to know you, how to know you better, I pray Lord that you would send in great measure your Holy Spirit to be here.

Give us wisdom, give us understanding, and I pray that you would be glorified in our lives because of our time here today.

This particular topic, let me just say right here at the beginning, 2 things.

Number 1, I do not claim to be an expert on this topic.

If somebody says I am an expert on how to know God intimately, they haven't gotten to the humility part yet.

God at the risk of gross understatement is an infinite topic, and for all eternity we will be getting to know Him deeper and deeper and deeper.

So, what I'm going to talk about today is not the end, it certainly isn't for me.

In fact, I do feel like I am going to be presenting in some measure over my head, because I'm going to tell you what I know from the Word and from the spirit of prophecy about knowing God deeply, but there are portions of this where I cannot say yet, I've mastered this, I'm all the way there.

So I come to journey with you this morning on this path.

And secondly, what I'm going to show you this morning is how can I put this without sounding too vague?

When I started out college, I started out as an engineering major.

I had dreamed from the time I was this big to go and be a mechanical engineer working for 1 of the big 3 in Detroit.

The Lord interrupted my progress in that direction and made it abundantly clear, I need you to take theology instead of engineering.

But the engineering bent has stuck with me.

And so I find that there are some people that just seem to naturally have a personality that engages them intimately with God.

I need to repent of my sin, I understand.

But I wish I had that natural bent towards it.

I instead tend to be somewhat structured, and I find it helpful to me, don't be held back by the structure I'm going to show you.

This is but 1 way of looking at what does it mean to know God intimately.

I don't know if you've noticed or not, there's been quite a bit of silliness that has gone around in Christian and occasionally Adventist circles when it comes to how to know God, using Eastern mysticism, those types of things.

This is about biblical understanding of what it means to know God.

Now that said, I want to give credit where credit is due.

Back in 1989, I think all of you except for you 2 gentlemen here will remember that 1989, that's true, yes?

1989, there was a book that came out by a lady named Janet Hagberg and a gentleman by the name of Robert Gerlich.

What they talked about in their book is what I have based a fair amount of my presentation on.

I've taken it and put it together with my own experience and most importantly with scripture and the spirit of prophecy.

So, 6 stages of spiritual development, of growing in the Lord.

I want to share with you those 6 stages, and they will take us from agony, ecstasy, and harmony to knowing Jesus Christ.

So, without further ado, let's look at some Biblical foundations.

If somebody would look that up, I'll call on you in just a moment.

Any brave soul willing to read that 1 for us?

These 4 texts form the essential spiritual understanding, the biblical foundation for what I'm going to share with you here in our few minutes together.

Gordon, would you read Ephesians 4, 11-13 for us?

It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service so that This is 1 of the problem texts in the New Testament, not because it's offensive, but because you see what it's saying.

To attain maturity, and just in case we missed the point, to attain to the fullness of Jihad.

Now this is not about the elevation of man in status, this is about the intimacy of one's connection with Jesus.

We're not called to be babies in the Lord, we are not called to be immature, we are called to be mature, and that means somehow attaining to the fullness of Jesus Christ.

This is a mystery, but it is nonetheless, it is all to say, at the very least, if we believe that baptism and a few moments in the Word covers it, we have grossly underestimated what God has called us to.

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

This is 1 of my most favorite, I have to say most favorite because I have many favorites, there are many superlatives, but This is 1 of my most favorite texts in all of the Bible.

Of all the definitions that Jesus could have given for salvation, he chooses this 1 in John 17.

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

It is knowing, and I think most of you are probably familiar with the biblical understanding of knowing.

You have to get it right back here in your throat.

It means to know the essence and the depth of 1 another.

It was the word for sexual interaction between husband and wife.

And here Jesus says this is eternal life.

He could have said eternal life is forgiveness of sins, and that's true, there's no doubt about it.

He could have said, it is learning to have oneness amongst ourselves in the church.

But Jesus cuts right to the core and he says, this is eternal life, that we might know each other.

Christianity at its root is a personal deepening relationship with Jesus Christ.

We arrive at heaven's gates because we know the owner of the house.

And then he goes on in 20 and 21, and he points out here, Jesus is saying, this isn't just for the disciples that are sitting here right in my physical presence, this is for us meeting here at Camp Etna, right here today, because he says, all those down through the ages will believe in me, and this will be a sign to the world that they are who they claim to be, that they know me." The calling is sky high, isn't it?

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the thing.

Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you?

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Ecstasy, Agony, Harmony

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