OPEN HEAVEN 7 SEPTEMBER 2018 – DO YOU KNOW JESUS?
OPEN HEAVEN 7 SEPTEMBER 2018 – DO YOU KNOW JESUS?
Open Heaven 7 September 2018 Memorise: And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. Mathew 26:72
Open Heaven 7 September 2018 Bible Reading: Matthew 16:13-16 (KJV)
13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Read: Mark 10:35-40 (KJV)
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.
36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?
37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.
38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
39 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:
40 But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.
Open Heaven 7 September 2018 Bible in one year: Psalm 132-138, Mark 3:31-4:20, Hymnal: sing hymn 15
As a believer in Christ who has obtained the saving knowledge of the Lord, you might consider the question we are reflecting on today to be elementary or irrelevant, but I encourage you to wisely give it some though.
This becomes even more necessary when you consider the fact that after months of being with Jesus day and night, He still turned around to His disciples and asked them in Matthew 16:15b:
“But whom say ye that I am”
In spite of their closeness to Him, the Lord did not assume that his disciples really knew Him. knowing Jesus is more than knowing Him as Saviour, Master or even Lord. After years of walking with the Lord, Paul still wrote in Philippians 3:10:
“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
As I was growing up in faith, I wondered what else Paul wanted to know about Jesus that he had not known already. Now I know better that we may not be able to know Jesus to His fullness until we see Him in glory (1st Corinthians 13:12).
My prayer is that the measure of knowledge that will enable you to be with Him eternally will be given to you today in Jesus’ Name. Beloved, how much of the power of Jesus’ resurrection do you know?
To what extent do you think the power that resurrected Jesus Christ can work for, in and through you? How much of His suffering can you share and endure? Are you ready to be conformable to his death?
If Peter really knew Jesus he would not have argued with Him when He told him that he would deny Him thrice (Matthew 26:34-35). Do you now see the wisdom of Paul’s longing and prayer to know the Lord? It was their lack of a deep knowledge of Jesus that made two of His closest disciples makes the demand that they made in today’s Bible reading. No wonder Jesus said to them in Mark 10:38b:
“Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? And be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
When Peter came face to face with the reality of what Jesus Christ told him, he realised how little he knew the Master (Matthew 26:75). I pray for you today that the grace to know Jesus the way you should know Him will be bestowed upon you today. Click to read – Open Heaven 6 September 2018
To know Christ is to know victory, and it is to know the resurrection, the truth and the life. Come to Him in humility today if you really want to know Him, as He invites you to come and learn of Him (Matthew 11:28-30).
Open Heaven 7 September 2018 Prayer Point
Father, help me to know Jesus and His power of resurrection, and as I get to know Him, let me be confronted to His image.
Open Heaven 7 September 2018 Hymn 15
NEARER MY GOD TO THEE
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee;
E’ en though it be a cross
That raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee.
Though, like a wanderer
The sun gone down,
Darkness comes over me,
My rest a stone;
Yet in my dreams I’d be
Nearer, my God, to Thee
Nearer, my God, to Thee
Nearer to Thee.
There let me see the sight,
An open heaven;
All that thou sendest me,
In mercy given;
Angles to beckon me
Nearer, my God, to Thee
Nearer, my God, to Thee
Nearer to Thee
Then, with my walking thoughts
Bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs
Bethel I’ll raise,
So by my woes to be
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee
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