“I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” -The verb to know indicates: – personal knowledge. -Not intellectual knowledge. -Not facts and theories. -Not principles.
-It is the personal experience of another person. -The verb indicates the closest and most intimate. -It is not Paul’s aim to know about Jesus – but to know Jesus. -The knowledge in question not knowledge of facts, theory and philosophies. -To know Christ means certain things.
THERE ARE VARIOUS WAYS OF KNOWING CHRIST
“Ten lepers– As sympathetic miracle worker.
“Rich Ruler– A great teacher.
“Multitude– Great provider .
“Nicodemus– None like him.
“Witness at Calvary – A martyr to his high vision.
“Martha-You are the Christ son of God.
THREE FACTS TO EMBRACE
-POWER OF RESURRECTION:
A guarantee that death is not the end. A guarantee of immorality and life to come.
-FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERING:
To suffer for the faith is not a penalty. It is a privilege sharing the work and task of Jesus.
-TO BE UNITED WITH CHRIST
We share the way He walked, the cross He died, the life He lived.
4 THINGS THAT OUGHT TO BE EVIDENCE DURING LENT PERIOD “DETACHMENT”
-Withdrawals in order to be develop power for Gethsemane.
-For Christian Lent should be a time to withdrawal from normal to develop power.
-Our Lord prepared for the Calvary in those periods of quiet meditations.
-If He needed detachment yet He was God how much more do we need?
DECISION”
-The detachment comes as result of making decision.
-Lenten seasons will have been unprofitable for us if it does not result in decision:
-To follow Christ more openly, patiently, fruitfully call for decision making.
-Fuller knowledge of Crucified Christ helps us to make decision.
-The church has message for all during this festival.
“DISCIPLINE”
-Discipline must precede victory CF Athletes.
-Discipline must be a positive addition to our character.
-Christians must live in the world, but they must not be filled with it. CF ship
-Discipline is not legalistic virtues it is means to an end.
-Lent often associated with fasting which implies discipline.
“DEVOTION”
-Devotion is the reason for detachment
-It is the background of decisions
-It is roots of our discipline
“No greater love than this ,that someone lays down his life for another”
John15:13
LENT
-Lent is a period of 40 days before EASTER in Christian calendar.
-Observed by Christian as period of fasting and prayers.
-The aim is not so much to emphasize a period of days as to stress the importance of every day.
-It is not so much to get people outside the church inside.
-It is rather to get those inside so fitted with the Spirit of Christ.
INCIDENTS OF PASSION WEEK
-Triumphal entry
-Jesus curses the fig tree.
-Jesus’ teaching and his authority challenged.
-Jesus’ anointed. -Gethsemane incident. -Crucifixion.
-Jesus in graveyard.
-Resurrection.
In Cor.2:2, Paul explains why he preached as he did:
“For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”
-The word translated “I determined” means Paul made a conscious choice to do things a certain way. He didn’t fall into it by chance or by force of habit.
-Paul preached as he did because he chose to do it that way.
-It’s so easy to be sidetracked by good and worthwhile things.
- We can preach about social issues, the political debates of our day, the crisis in the country, or the decline of the family, and miss the point.