Competing To Know Jesus

 

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

1 John 4: 1 NKJV 

The other day a friend mentioned to me that I unconsciously thought that I was somehow separated from Jesus.  Of course, this was simply his untrained and biased opinion, but it got me thinking along the lines of how and why we know Christ Jesus in our lives.  What has brought us to that point where we can definitively say, 'Aha, that's when I first met you!'  For most Christians, the time and date of such things really isn't important, only that we come to the point of knowing Christ and who He truly is.  Then we have those believers who get stuck on the details.  Who take everything concerning Jesus as gospel.  Therefore, if anyone should stray from these boundaries then, well, they just don't know Christ.  That's not for me.  I believe that the apostle John (I need to tread lightly here, as some might ask, 'was John really a apostle?'), said it correctly when he warned believers to 'test the spirits' { 1 John 4:1}.  I believe that when we test the spirits, we get rid of some of the junk out there that is simply not true.  Are we really separate from God?  No, that's a lie spawned by Satan in the garden.  That question is but one of the early ones which I put to the test.  My belief in Christ centers around the reality that He lives in me, as the apostle Paul tells us in Galatians {Galatians 2:20}.  I believe this to be the truth of Christ Jesus in us.  Yet, there is always someone who comes along to challenge what we know to be true.  I listen a lot to a local Christian radio station on my drive to work in the morning.  Many of the sermons I hear are clearly institutional church slanted theology, but does that mean that I adhere to them?  No.  What it means is that I'd much rather listen to someone speaking about God than a news broadcast or rot gut music.  I do find these sermons useful, however, as I often find more than a few topics to write about on my page.  Yet, another believer could listen to the very same sermon and feel that they need to follow that pastors lead lock, stock and barrel.  Yes, I'll admit that I once counted myself as one of these new believer zealots.  I listened to every word coming from the pulpit thinking that a personal relationship with God was just around the corner.  Needless to say, I was more often than not left wanting more than the padre was offering.  

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.  And no wonder!  For even Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 

2 Corinthians 11: 13 - 14 NKJV 

I'll never forget that day.  The last time I entered a church on a Sunday morning.  It was Easter morning, and I was ready for the traditional sermon on redemption which the resurrection of Christ offers to all believers.  Well, I got what I came for, and then some.  For after his sermon, the pastor opened up the front of the sanctuary for anyone seeking prayer for any sins unconfessed.  To me, you could have heard a pin drop in that room.  I had gone from feeling forgiven moments earlier to once again feeling stained and guilty.  I was done with the merry go round of chasing God.  To be clear, I was not done with God, just tired of chasing Him and never finding Him.  For all intents and purposes, this was my own come to Jesus moment.  This was the same moment endured by the apostle Paul on the road to Damascus.  All his life Saul had been taught the prevailing story of the God of the Jewish people.  If you had asked him, Saul would have told you that he was doing the Lords work by persecuting those who followed that street preacher Jesus.  Then, Jesus came along and upset the apple cart of Saul's beliefs.  In that moment, Saul saw Jesus for who He really was.  God, in His timing, had revealed His Son in Paul {Galatians 1:15-16}.  This is the Jesus I know today.  Knowing Jesus isn't about following some program, but knowing who He is in you.  

"God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.  Nor is He worshipped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath and all things."

Acts 17: 24 - 25 NKJV 

~Scott~