BEN CERULLO: Thanks for tuning in today. You’re not watching or listening today by accident. Today, I want to ask you a question. Who is Jesus to you? That’s the real question that we all need to be asking ourselves. Too many people know about Jesus, who he is or who he was. Some know the basic story and some know even more detail than that, but that’s as far as it goes. Unfortunately, too many Christians today don’t know all about Jesus. They go to church every Sunday, they sing praises to the Lord, they even know some scripture, and they may even read their Bible on a regular basis.
Still sadly, they don’t know Jesus by name. I challenge you today, who is Jesus to you? Who would you like him to be? What are you willing to do to get to know him? My friend, it’s not enough to know about him we must know him. Paul says in Philippines 3:10-11, “I might know him and the power of his resurrection. The fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death. If, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection of the dead.” Listen to what Paul said, “That I might know him.” First of all, Paul had a desire to be intimate and to know Jesus. Second, he wanted to know the resurrection of power. This is a must for us as children of God. We can’t know that God has power. We’ve got to know that power.
Thirdly, he wanted to know the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death. Paul knew that crucifying his flesh was a must if God was going to be able to use him. It’s no different for us today. We’ve got to know him and the things that we like and through the sacrifices we’ve got to make along the way. It’s not always pleasant but we’ve got to have a desire to know him. Here’s something that I find interesting. Paul said, “If by any means, I may attain to the resurrection of the dead.” Basically, modern English says it like this; I’ve got to know him like this. I’ve got to have a relationship with him. If I’m going to make it to Heaven, I can’t know about him. I’ve got to know about his sufferings, the crucifixion, and his power.
My friend, it’s not optional to know Jesus. It’s a must. Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of Heaven’, but he who does the will of my Father in Heaven. Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord have we not prophesied in your name? Have we not cast out demons in your name and done many wonders in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me you who practice lawlessness.’” You know, I don’t think we sometimes stop to think about how serious our relationship is with God. Sometimes we think that Gods love and grace cover our ignorance. It’s true that God loves us and his grace they never cease.
The Bible says that, “My people are destroyed because of a lack of knowledge and we cannot allow out ignorance to destroy us.” We can’t let the cares of this world blind us to a God who desires and demands our love and our attention. Many think that they know God, but look at it this way. It’s like sports hero. Many people have their sports hero out there either a soccer player, or football player. They know all the stats about them. Where they went to school. What accomplishments they’ve made. What they do in their communities. They have all the information. They wait them on TV. They read about them online or in magazines. They feel like they really know that person. In fact, if they were to walk up to them on the street they would get so excited that their mind would tell them that they have a relationship with this person.
That athlete or that person would look at them and say to them, “Do I know you? Who are you? Have we ever met before?” It’s just like us in the church. It’s one thing to know about Jesus, and one thing to know about his character, his love and it’s a totally different thing to really press in and get to know Him. We rarely go deeper than just the surface to really press into the Lord and to know him for who he really is. Abraham knew him as El Shaddai, the Lord God almighty. He also knew him as a friend. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew him as their deliverer. God is our provider, our healer, our fortress, our redeemer, our father, our husband, our protector, our Lord, our master and that’s just to know a few. Who do you know him as?
Do you know him by his names? If all you know him as is redeemer, do you really believe that you’ve been redeemed or that you just know the information? If the answer is yes, I know him by redeemer, by experience then that’s a good and awesome place to start, but there’s so much more. There is a power and privilege that comes from knowing Jesus. Knowing Jesus, intimately gives you access to things that are hidden to others. Look at Matthew 16:13-19 when Jesus was addressing his disciples. When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea/Philippi, he asked his disciples saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of man, am?” They said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But, who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you Simon Jonah for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father, who is in Heaven. I say to you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church. The gates of Hell will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you bind on this earth, will be bound in Heaven. Whatever you loose on this earth, will be loosed in Heaven.” Listen to what he said here, “Who do men say that I am?” Then he said, “Who do you say that I am?”
He was showing them that there was a difference from those who saw Jesus from a distance, and his disciples who were intimately acquainted with Jesus. The crowd saw Jesus from a distance. They heard the rumors. They saw the miracles. They knew about Jesus, but his disciples were different. They walked with Jesus. They ate with him. They spent time with him. They talked with him. They knew him on a personal level because of Peter’s intimacy with Jesus; it gave him access to something that was not available to everyone.
Peter received a revelation of who Jesus is, and not through carnal knowledge or information but through the Holy Spirit. It inspired revelation. Through Peter’s intimacy, the revelation that he received, positioned him to receive the keys to the kingdom. Peter had firsthand personal intimate relationship with Jesus. Not through information or others but by experience. So I ask you today, do you know him through information or by experience? Who is Jesus to you? Have you experienced him by his names? When you have faced a trial or gone through the tribulations of this world, do you take time to press into who God is? I mean, really press into him, or do you just want the easy way out?
Do you want to run to the pastor or a friend and just want them to pray for you and lay hands on you? Or, do you have a history with God where you can seek him for yourself. There is nothing wrong with seeking prayer or having someone lay hands on you, but too often we want the easy way out. We want to push the big red easy button instead of seeking him ourselves. It’s important that when we face the things in life that our really weighing us down and defeating us that we really press into who the Lord is. If it’s a healing that you need, get to know him as your healer.
If its deliverance that you need, you’ve got to take the time to get to know him as your deliverer. If its provision that you need, get to know him as your provider. He is everything to everyone all of the time. He is just what you need right when you need it. You can’t just sing of his love and faithfulness without knowing him by those names or by experience in your life. No, I can’t do this for you. I can’t pray a prayer and impart intimacy into you. This is something that you’ve got to do for yourself if you ever want to go places with God.
I can pray for the hunger to be increased inside you or to be stirred up. I can pray for your healing, your deliverance. I can pray for a fresh fire to invade your life, but I cannot impart intimacy; just the desire for it. Intimacy is something that you have to do for yourself. It’s personal between you and God. You can receive or you can even steal by a revelation but you can’t steal or take by intimacy with the Lord. Nobody can do that for you. The Lord told me one time when I was stuck in a rut. He said this to me, “The revelation you walk in today will never replace the intimacy it took to bring you here.”
I need somebody to hear that today. He told me that the revelation that I walked in today will never replace the intimacy, the cost, or the price I paid to get that revelation. We’ve got to take the time to get to know him. I challenge you today. Get to know him today in ways you’ve never known him before. Get ready to experience life like you have never experienced before. I pray and hope this message ministered to you today. Be sure to tune in next week. Remember, your best days are still in front of you. God bless! See you next time.
JACQUES THOMAS: If you would like to know more, please visit us at bencerullo.com. While you’re there, leave us a prayer request. We would like to come into agreement of the needs and burdens of you and your loved ones. Thank you and God bless!