To Know Christ - The Mission of Lighthouse

In your Bible, if you would join me in John chapter 17, John 17, I'm going to read verse one down to verse number three as we launch into a two-week focus on what is the mission of Lighthouse, what is the mission of our church. It says here in John 17, verse one, these words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come, glorify thy son that thy son also may glorify thee as thou has given him authority or power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou has given him. And this is life eternal. What a statement from God. What is eternal life?

Define that. This is life eternal that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent. There's not more than one God. There is a true God and Jesus Christ is one with the Father and He is the Savior of the world.

You believe that this morning? Amen. Father, we are humbled by the word. We are humbled by the glory of Christ and our hearts are so often distracted with the things of this life and I pray today that we would lay down the chaos that so often can define the world, the busyness, the Martha mentality, and I pray that we would be like Mary this morning, that we would sit at the feet of Christ and your word would be implanted into our hearts.

We want to know you more. We long to know Christ as Paul knew Him. We want to see Christ as Isaiah saw the glory of God. We want to see you in the magnificence of what John the Revelator saw in Revelation 1 that brought him to his face. I pray that you would grip us today, that we would leave surrendered, and that not one person today would leave unsaved. Only if we could see you, we would leave fully devoted and I will fail in my attempt to proclaim Christ as He is, but Lord help me today to speak of you as you really are. Open our eyes that we may behold wondrous things out of Thy law. We need you more than we need food and water and even breath. Grant us this grace that is Christ and we ask it in Jesus' name and God's people said Amen.

You may be seated. Purpose is a big deal, isn't it? I was talking to a precious family in our church right before the service and she was asking prayers to be traveling down south this week to see her mother who's at the end of her life and shared how they had spent 60 years in Mary 60 years in marriage her mother and her father had and he passed away about a year ago at about the same time and and oftentimes a spouse doesn't live further too much further past the other spouse when when those things happen because so much of their life and purpose can be wrapped up in their spouse which is awesome. God put you together as one flesh and it's a powerful thing and when people begin to lose some purpose in life they lose a drive to live and so many times that happens to people and and and so purpose is a big deal why we exist is a big deal and and I want to look today at what is the reason that we meet this morning why do we carry out the ministries why are we doing a eternal impact initiative and and the reason that we exist can be summarized in the simple statement we exist to know Christ and to make him known that's why we're doing this to focus on the eternal not the temporary and nothing is of more eternal worth and weight than knowing Christ and I want to look at the all surpassing value of knowing Christ you know truth is the most important thing we have on the earth sincerity is not the most important thing truth is the most important thing we know we can be sincerely wrong so truth is what shapes us it's what guides us and there is no greater truth than the truth of Christ how can you get right in life if we are wrong with God and how much can you get wrong in life when you're right with God the theologian J.I. Packer rightly said once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God most of life's problems fall into place of their own accord he goes on to say what we are made for is to know God what aim should we have in life it should be to know God what is the eternal life it's to know God what is the best thing in life he says is to know God in his classic work the knowledge of the holy A.W. Tozer rightly said the greatest and most important thing about you is what comes into your mind when you think about God what enters your mind when you think about him it is your knowledge of Christ that will shape your life and determine your eternity therefore an accurate knowledge of God is essential if you get it wrong with God you're going to get it wrong forever you're going to get life eternity and existence wrong societies the existential threat on our nation is not Elon Musk I don't know how annoying it has been over the last four years to hear about the existential threat anybody tired of that statement the existential threat is the the existential threat is not knowing God that's what destroys a nation the existential threat is Hosea 4 when it says my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge the knowledge of God he says there is no truth no mercy nor knowledge of God in the land and he goes on to say in Hosea 6 6 I desire mercy not sacrifice and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings he's like I don't want your burnt offerings I want you to know me I want you to know the truth how valuable have you made knowing Christ in your life what priority is knowing Christ in your daily and weekly schedule are you increasing in that and so many of you are you're growing you're learning and it's so edifying it's so encouraging to be around people who love Jesus and want to continue to grow and that isn't that why it's so wonderful to come here and sing praises to be around his word and his people it's such a joy you should be able to enter lighthouse and never hear Jesus Christ's name blasphemed amen you would not hear his name drug down through the mud exalted instead and lifted up rightfully so this morning I'm going to look at why knowing Christ is of such importance four ways we as a church can know Christ and conclude by asking do you know him in these four ways so so why is Christ why is knowing Christ so important well first of all salvation comes through knowing him John 17 3 is this is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God in Jesus Christ whom thou has sent when Peter wrote second Peter he's just a few months away from his death he opens up his epistle in second Peter one two and says grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord according as his divine power has given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness where it's through the knowledge of him salvation grace and peace comes through him and everything that pertains to life and how he lives in how to live that godly life is found in the knowledge of him if you would flip over to Acts chapter 9 Acts chapter number 9 the knowledge of Christ has the power to change a person's life 2,000 years ago here in Acts 9 a Pharisee named Saul was heading to Damascus to stop Christianity you must understand Saul believed in the Old Testament he believed in the God of Moses the God of Joshua Elisha Elijah Jeremiah Isaiah he loved these men and though he thought he was serving God he was actually fighting against God Saul had rejected Jesus as Christ the messiah and savior he rejected Jesus and therefore he persecuted the followers of Jesus now Jesus made it clear you cannot accept the father and reject the son 1st John 2 23 says whoever denies the son the same hath not the father you you cannot be a Christian you cannot be a believer I should say you cannot be a child of God and reject Jesus now on the road to Damascus Saul is about to get the shock of his life here in Acts chapter 9 verse 3 it says this that as he journeyed he came near to Damascus and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven and he fell to the earth and heard a voice saying unto him Saul Saul why persecutest thou me now I want you to notice this statement from Christ that persecution of the church is in fact persecution against Jesus himself here we see the inseparable union between Christ and his church we have people today so I don't think church is that big of a deal well you have you have not understood Christ you have you have missed you have been sadly misguided and I don't know too many Christians that would say something like that here we see this because Jesus is the head of the church and the church is the body of Christ and so persecution of the church is persecution of Christ and just as Jesus said loving and serving the least in the kingdom is loving and serving Christ so the flip is true as well that if you persecute the church it is persecuting Christ now notice the question Saul asks in verse 5 he says who art thou Lord who art thou Lord and why does he ask that because Saul had been in his mind serving the Lord Lord here is Kurias it's it's a title for God Saul knows that whoever's speaking to him is God and he thought he knew God but now he's like how could I be serving God and persecuting God because whoever's talking to me is is deity and in acts 9 verse 5 and the Lord said I am Jesus whom thou persecutest I cannot put into human words this morning for you how much that would have devastated the apostle Saul at this time it would have shook him to the core of his very existence he was living on purpose he was living out what he thought God wanted him to do and he found out in this moment of time instead of serving God he's persecuting God he's not going in the right direction he's actually going in the absolute wrong direction he felt though he was a believer he thought he was right and going to be blessed eternally by God and he in fact was heading directly down the broad road not the narrow road I wonder if that's true of Saul how many people it's true of today Saul thought his life was on the right track but he was actually 100 completely wrong and why was he wrong why was he wrong it was because of one central thing he had an he had a wrong understanding of who Jesus Christ was he did not know Christ and because he did not know Christ his life was turned upside down to what reality really was friend you cannot be right in life and wrong with Christ impossible your life will be lived in opposition to reality you'll go down the wrong road while thinking you're on the right road Christ is ultimate reality he defines reality that's why Jesus said I am the way I am the truth I am the life until you come to know Christ you're not even really living you're just existing and notice what this knowledge and understanding of Christ what did it do to Paul like how did it affect him again Paul's just the Hebrew name Saul's the Greek name so what happens when you get a clearer understanding of who Christ is what impact does it have on a person's life look what it says in verse six and he trembling and astonished this is this is internal like the fireworks are going off this is brain melt this is this is overwhelming to him and in response he says this Lord what wilt thou have me to do in that one statement you have the fruit that is produced when someone really comes to know Christ for who he is that's the this this outcome in Saul's life his response is the desired effect that Jesus wanted to have on him this is how you're to respond when you really know him as he wants you to know him and the first thing is when somebody sees Christ for who he is they will confess he is Lord somebody sees Christ for who he is they will confess he is Lord salvation is confession confession of Christ is Lord this is Romans 10 9 isn't it that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus or better translated would be Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart God raised you from the dead you shall be saved confessing Jesus as Lord is what salvation is it's it's it's under whosoever shall call upon the Lord shall be saved you're confessing Christ to be Lord second the effect of coming to know Christ for who he is is the next statement he says Lord what wilt thou have me to do that is the statement of one who encounters Christ it is a surrendered will which is the result of beholding the glory of Jesus Saul goes on to become known as the apostle Paul writes 13 books of our new testament is the greatest missionary in the history of humanity but before Paul could serve Christ he had to see Christ I cannot live as God's called me to live until I behold him I can't get on with the life and purpose for which I was even created until I see Christ for who he is so let me ask this if someone does not confess Christ as Lord it is a result of being blinded to the truth the only way you can come to that truth and it's important to know this is if you humble yourself and God will reveal himself to you himself to you this is so essential you don't get saved because you read the Bible and figure it out you get saved because God has chosen to reveal himself to you what did John 17 say as many as the father has given me listen to what Matthew 16 7 when Jesus said who do men say that I the son of man am they say some say Elias some Jeremiah one of the prophets everybody got it wrong g's been ministering for a couple years everybody gets it wrong they don't even know who he is and he says who but who do you say that I am remember what Peter said we all know what he said he said thou art the Christ the son of the living God do you remember what Jesus said back he said blessed art thou Simon son of Jonah or bar Jonah that's what that simply means for flesh and blood hath not revealed this to you but my father which is in heaven you don't come to the conclusion because you're smart enough your IQ is high enough you're a good reader you're intelligent you do it because of divine enablement salvation is the work of God now listen to what now listen to what Matthew 11 25 says this is after Jesus has been rejected by the cities up in Galilee northern Israel around Capernaum Bethsaida some of these other villages and cities he says in verse 25 at that time Jesus answered and said I thank the O father Lord of heaven and earth because thou hast hid these things from who the wise and prudent the people that were proud and self-righteous God hid Christ from them anybody think God's going to hide Jesus from people knowing who he was he does that God will not let people who are proud and arrogant know who he is Richard Dawkins will never know Jesus if he comes proudly to him well I've read the Bible yeah you think he's going to show himself to you he will give you the blindness to your own arrogance you will be a Romans 1 22 forever you will profess yourself to be wise and you will be a fool you don't get the truth based on your being judge over God and he hides these things and look who he reveals himself to and has revealed them unto babes those are the humble the seeking verse 26 even so father so it seemed good in thy sight all things are delivered unto me of my father and no man knows the son but the father neither knoweth any man the father save the son and he to whomsoever the son will reveal him you only know him if I will show you him and you know what the next verse says come unto me come unto me and you know the only ones that respond it's the humble babes it's the people who say oh God be merciful to me a sinner it's not the ones who stand over God and say well prove to me that there's a God prove to me the Bible's true how do you know men didn't change it down through the years they don't want the answers they just ask the questions to keep themselves from the answer God will never show you ever but you're here today and you know the truth because somewhere in your life you were humbled maybe by pain maybe by life maybe by your own sinful brokenness but you turn to God and you came to him and he showed you Christ you're here you see him because he's shown you him how incredible is that it wasn't a pastor it wasn't all he preaches so well it was God showing God to you that's why my preaching is nothing unless God works I breathe into the air syllables and letters and language and meaningless nothingness unless God works it is his word that produces the work and fruit and and if you want to know Christ you have to humble yourself and come to him and that's why Jesus said in John 5 40 you will not come to me that you might have life now not only is the unsaved life the one that hasn't truly beheld the glory of Christ but the unsurrendered life seeing Christ produced a life surrendered to Christ what does it say when someone professes to know Christ and lives unsurrendered to him Paul said what would you have me to do Lord and literally if Jesus said I want you to go whatever there he is going to do it I would ask this question what area of your Christian life are you not surrendering to Christ maybe another way what does the level of surrender in your life say about your view of the majesty and glory of Jesus Christ oh I believe in Jesus Christ you've been baptized well you know I've been struggling with that you think you've seen him you think you've seen him you think you've seen him you can't even do the first thing I'm not trying to belittle anybody but I'm saying good night you think that's hard you think that's hard what about that Lord you take a cross from me but don't ask me to get uncomfortable for you really I just I just think most Christians and probably most pastors and churches aren't showing people Christ and if they are people are not seeing him for who he is a vehicle has one driver's seat and a heart has only one throne the unsurrendered life is the one who says Jesus you're the driver I'm the passenger not my will but thine be done why is it important to know Christ because salvation surrender all of it is determined upon knowing him an unsaved and an unsurrendered body of people are the result of not seeing Christ because one day every eye will see him and what's going to happen what's going to happen to every knee you think somebody will say hey now's a good time to like get on your knees and like humble yourself and confess Jesus is Lord no you don't have to tell you don't have to say Saul pray this prayer with me you don't have to say any of that every knee will bow every tongue confess Jesus is the Lord Philippians 2 9 through 11 right so a few years later Paul writes toward the end of his ministry Philippians 3 Paul grew up as a perfect Jewish boy he grew up living out the expectation of the culture he was zealous passionate fervent he became a Pharisee his father was a Pharisee and and in Philippians 3 he cataloged catalogs all that he once held dear and cherished and how he viewed it after he came to know Christ because when you come to know Christ your priorities change you what you value begins to change what matters to you begins to change as a Jew as a Jew Paul grew up pursuing his strict religious life devoted to God he believed in God but he rejected Jesus Christ and therefore rejected God as a result of rejecting Christ Paul put his faith in his own works and his own achievements and in Philippians 3 you're very familiar with these verses but in verse 4 he says though I might also have confidence in the flesh if any other man thinketh he hath where if he might trust in the flesh he says I more and he goes in and he begins to go through all the things he accomplished circumcised the eighth day the stock of Israel the tribe of Benjamin the Hebrew of the Hebrews is touching law of Pharisee concerning zeal persecuting the church touching the righteousness which is in the law blameless now now notice what he says here in verse number seven but what things were gained to me what things were gained to me those I counted loss for who for Christ he goes into verse 8 yea doubtless and I count all things but loss for the excellency it's a Greek word that means the most exalted glorious the excellency the highest thing you could achieve the excellency the pearl of great price the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord in fact when I came to know him I count everything I ever achieved as dung Greek word scubalon it's the only time it's used in the New Testament you could translate it literally as trash some translation I think even have it as excrement it human waste he says everything I ever achieved has no value anymore I didn't realize sincerity wasn't enough serving God with zeal was not enough well you know there's a lot of religions and they're very serious if they're not living according to Christ and the truth they're living a lie and it's it's it's total scubalon means nothing it meant nothing to him what happens when you find out that everything you've done in life was totally worthless meaningless trash he probably had some good relationships probably had some good friends he made sacrifices he did a lot of the Bible I mean the Old Testament he probably could have quoted a majority of the Old Testament I mean he he knew a lot but he got it wrong with Christ he did not know Christ and therefore life was turned upside down in your life your existence is defined by one thing knowing Christ if you don't know him and if you're not it and if it is defined by that shouldn't we do everything in our life to know him more shouldn't it be one long attempt as J.I. Packer says to know him I found my reason for existing and I want to call every person that I ever come in contact to with to know him because if you don't know him your life is is going in the wrong direction listen to the ex excerpt from David Roper and his devotional My Daily Bread he said I was rummaging around my son's garage and I found all the trophies he won in his years of athletic competition there they were in a box about to be thrown away he said I thought about the blood sweat and tears that had gone into gaining those awards yet now he was putting them in the trash they no longer had any value to him and then Roper shares the poem written by Shel Silverstein called some of you are familiar with Hector the Collector it describes Hector as one who collected all these worthless items of every sort it says how he loved them more than shining diamonds loved them more than glistening gold then it goes on to say how Hector called all his friends and said come and share my treasure trunk and all the people came and said it's just junk because it was it was meaningless strings and buttons and trash Roper concludes that's how a man's life will be at the end who has lived for the temporal and not the eternal what are you living for we are investing we're investors right now three weeks what is what is the date today 19 okay it takes about 21 days to build a routine doesn't it takes about three weeks what routines have you begin to build what are things that you say you know I'm laying down on my life as priorities that I want to define my life the rest of my life I want the knowledge of the truth to affect my will the driver where I'm going so that I live in a way that is fruitful meaningful has purpose a reason to live if you tell me you've come to Christ and leave with the same priorities values and pursuits in life what does it say about your knowledge of Christ nothing will transform your life more than knowing Christ if you can walk away unaffected unchanged unrattled undisturbed unsurrendered do you really think a person knows Christ knowing Christ changed everything for Saul his direction his priorities his pursuits what he valued that's why by Tozer's right he says what comes in your mind when you think about him is the most important thing knowing Christ will rip you from the temporary wastelands of this life to the eternal work of God it will jolt you it will affect you it will cause you to weep I've had I don't know how many people through the years come to my office saying I don't know what's wrong with me but I don't want to waste my life grown men with tears brokenness at somebody just a few weeks ago just broken and talking to me that way and I said I love it I love that I love the rattled discomfort that you feel you feel like nothing in life matters unless you get right with him right you feel like it's just all worthless you know you don't care about how much is in your bank account how nice of a car you have you don't care about how who won the game you are disturbed something has affected you you must have got a glimpse of him somehow some way he just showed you a I think if God showed himself to us in the fullness we would die for unsettledness have you ever been so unsettled I don't know other words to use right now I was so disturbed and unsettled as a 17 year old 18 year old I felt God was calling me to ministry I didn't know how to define it I didn't know what it was I just thought I was dying I didn't cry hardly ever I would find myself going to the basement because I was embarrassed of my weeping I didn't know what was happening to me broken like poured out I didn't talk I didn't I've never talked to people about it I didn't talk to my pastor youth fast I didn't know how I was embarrassed why am I crying all that why am I feel I just need to get away with God like I was so rattled I felt such a desire to tell men of Christ shaken to the core of my existence and I don't know why God was so gracious to grip me I didn't deserve it I deserved him to cast me away I am not worthy of the least of his mercies but for some reason he was gracious enough to show himself to me a part of him to where it's changed me forever unperfect still in every failure I have is due to me taking my eyes off him every failure I don't see him for who he is I can tell you Paul Paul was never the same when he stood before Festus Felix didn't matter who he's like let me tell you about Christ let me tell you what happened to me on that road one day I can tell you I am not making this up these are not fables this is truth and these men said crucify us burn us at the stake do whatever you want once I've seen him I can't go back friends one day we're going to see him let us live now in the way that we would have lived in in and maybe God would be so gracious to show us himself this morning to show us truth about himself this was so powerful let me let me speak of the great apocalyptic book in that John wrote if you remember Revelation 1 Jesus Christ comes down he has a message to seven churches in Asia Minor seven local New Testament churches before John writes these letters that would become scripture the word of God to these seven churches John had to see Christ so John was very close to Jesus called the beloved disciple would rest his head on Jesus chest in the upper room I mean they were very very dear and and so he's in Revelation 1 verse 9 through 16 describes what the resurrected Christ looked like he said his his hair was was white like wool his his eyes were like a flame of fire could you imagine his voice sounded like rushing water like the oceans and and his feet were like burning brass and he goes into this description of him and he said when I saw him I fell at his feet is dead it's interesting seems like Jesus had the same effect on John the believer as he did on Saul the unbeliever everybody seems to fall down trembling and Jesus laid his hand on him and says fear not praise God he didn't say fear he says I want you to write these things that you have seen and what is and what is to come and so John trembling picks up the wouldn't have been a pen in that day but he begins to write down what Jesus wants him to say to the seven churches and and what's so fascinating is this those seven churches five of them have so many problems people they're like oh there's problems there's hypocrites in churches well Jesus is found standing in the midst of those churches he didn't miss them right and and and most churches have problems every church has problems because we're here and you got pastors like me right you know we're all sinners right so so so he writes the and but before he gets to the condemnation portion of it the places where he's like you need to get this right five of the seven churches he said I'm going to close down the church if you don't get these things right and repent before he told them what they needed to get right he said John I want you to tell them what I look like define me to them and he says his eyes thus saith the one whose eyes are like a flame of fire this is what he says to you church at Pergamos like the one whose feet are like brass on fire this is this is the one church at Smyrna who's suffering this is the one who is dead and is alive forevermore I know you're suffering but I want you to see the one who was dead and he was alive forever and he kept coming to them and he before the church could repent and see revival and transformation they needed to see Christ it is only when a church knows Christ for who he is they can be what they need to be what happened Isaiah he saw the Lord high and lifted up Isaiah 6 right falls down rattled to the core shaken forever he gets up God forgives him washes his sins away cleanses his mouth and and and you know he didn't get up saying you know what I'm unworthy to ever do anything for God when you're cleansed you get up willing he says Lord what would you have me to do he says go and preach and he says here am I send me I'll go preach for you but before Isaiah could preach he had to behold the glory of God before Saul could preach he had to behold the glory of God before John could write he had to behold the glory of God and I just wonder how ineffective our lives can be because we don't behold the glory of God John fell down dead before he could give the message and I wonder how many dead sermons are given by living preachers we don't tremble like we should I don't tremble like I should and it won't wear you out it'll give you purpose when you come to him it's like you'll feel rejuvenated like now I can live I know some of you feel that way because now your life is on purpose you look back and you're like man I had wasted years of life and meaningless here and all that there and and now you're like praise God I'm not where I used to be maybe I'm not where I need to always be but praise God I'm not where I used to be and Christ is growing me praise God for that and you're moving in that direction and you're here at 8 30 in the morning it's cold outside praise God think about it if you weren't here this morning we couldn't fit everybody in that second service thank you for being here thank you for your diligence your desire to know him that's point number one but as we come to the end of the day I want to thank you for being here but as we come to the conclusion of point one and I ask the question what could be more important to a church than knowing Christ could you think of anything more important is there anything more important so when you ask why do we exist we exist to know him because if I know him right everything else falls into place does that make sense so what should be the chief end of man it should be to know him to glorify him and to live for him and enjoy him forever I am it saddens me that so often people who confess Christ have fallen so in love with the world that they treat him with such small desire do they really even know him if they don't want him how can how can we know Christ let me give you four ways and this is actually laid out in in our booklets we've put together and purpose our purpose statement I think it's on page maybe 14 or 15 but how can we know Christ four ways first of all through salvation you must be saved we exist to proclaim Christ that people might come into what I would call a genuine living faith in Jesus Christ our passionate lighthouse is to see people know him and and salvation needs to be genuine not everyone who thinks they're saved are saved Matthew 7 21 not everyone who saith unto me lord lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven he said many will say to me in that day lord lord have we not prophesied in your name we've preached we cast out devils did many wonderful works then will I profess unto them I he didn't say I once knew you and I lost you you can't lose your salvation he says I never knew you depart from me you that work iniquity and knowing you meant knowing you in a relationship in a salvation relationship so our salvation needs to be living if someone is saved their faith is alive life produces life right ecosystems all of that's like that how do you know a tree is alive produces a leaf it produces a fruit it produces something living how do you know a plant is alive and how do you know a Christian is alive there has to be some level of fruit Jesus taught true faith is evidenced by fruitful works Matthew 7 17 even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit it bringeth his present tense there in the Greek it's they continually bring it forth one of the things I love about our King James Bible though I'm not a King James only guy but I love the King James Bible is the bringeth there eth lets you know that's a present continual verb in the Greek people say all that ifs and stuff I get it like sometimes it's hard to pronounce it right like but it's not by they didn't do that because they talked like that back then they did that because they were trying to be as accurate as they could so you understand that like this in the English you wouldn't be able to pick that up but you understand by adding that this is a continual action that is carried on so Matthew 7 20 wherefore by their fruits you shall know them so so we live in a world with many who profess to know Christ but who do not truly know him let me give you a few marks of someone who does not truly have genuine living faith in Christ let me give you just a maybe 10 or something first of all false believers give lip service to God true believers give life service to God false believers exchange words of righteousness for works of righteousness they say the right things but they just don't do the right things notice Matthew 7 21 not everyone that sayeth unto me Lord Lord that's present tense that means it's the pattern of their life they live their life saying they know him not everyone who sayeth unto me Lord Lord shall enter in the kingdom of heaven but he that what so what's more important what you say or what you do what speaks louder than words you guys are good preachers so what you do with the will of my father which is in heaven Phillips writes it is not everyone who keeps saying to me Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but the man who actually does my heavenly father's will now where's the father's will found it's in the bible isn't it you you read the bible it's like oh that's what he wants me to do tozer said the bible recognizes no faith it does not lead to obedience people with dead faith always substitute words for deeds that's why titus 1 16 says they profess that they know God but in works they deny him I mean probably a lot of us were that way at one point right oh I'm a believer in Jesus I believe in God secondly false believers will trust in a past decision true believers trust in a present reality the believer never the bible never says to look back at a time you got saved rather it says examine yourself if you're in the faith now because if it was real 20 years ago it's still real today it doesn't help people when you say I know they were serious 20 years ago but they've been out of God's will they don't even believe in really God anymore and you're going to tell me they're a Christian show me a verse in the bible that that's true why believe in eternal security yeah I believe in eternal security too but the bible also says you have to match scripture with scripture the analogy of scripture is what the reformers would say it's matching scripture with scripture and the bible tells us that if it was true back then it's still true today and that you'll know them present tense by what's going on in their life second a third way false believers trust in a feeling of assurance over the truth of God's word they always speak of a feeling they will I feel like I'm saved I feel like I'll go to heaven just because a person feels like they're saved doesn't mean they're saved if feeling like I'm saved makes me saved then no one could be deceived does that make sense it's just a logical deduction false believers trust in religious activity over true righteous living they always love systems unbelievers always get ritualistic they get focused on external things pastor has jeans on today I don't know if I can even listen to him it's carnality right there he ain't got a tie on it's disturbing at the highest level I get it I get it it's they are warm and comfortable though but but what happens is and that's a small thing but there are people who can get so caught up in external systems they love you know they love to go through things they love to do things they don't always know why they do it they just feel good about doing them some of you have maybe grown up in in churches where there was just focused on external systems and I can tell you that is a dangerous sign of an unbeliever false believers can tell you everything they've done for God and elevate themselves true believers tell you all that God has done for them and elevate Christ false believers talk about a general belief in God true believers always talk about the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ false believers will accept Christ's sacrifice for them all I accept his death for me but true believers will be willing to sacrifice for Christ false believers have an intellectual faith true believers have a faith that has caused their will to be surrendered to Christ false believers can give you the information I believe Jesus died rose again I believe three I believe John 3 16 they quote they they give you all the information a true believer surrenders to that false believers have a horizontal motive true believers have a vertical motive at the center of our existence is to help people come to know Jesus Christ in a real genuine relationship that's why we preach like this that's why that's why we have a foundations class that's why I sit at table one and talk to every new person that comes through because I want them to know Christ it's a big deal to us one way we can know Christ is in salvation secondly through sanctification I'm going to have to speed this up sanctification just means set apart Hagiazzo is a Greek word means set apart into God the Bible tells us God has from the foundation of the world desired us to be set apart unto him as according to Ephesians 1 4 according as he has chosen us in him before from the foundation of the world before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him and love he he's called us to this first Thessalonians 4 3 and 4 says this is the will of God even your sanctification sanctification is to be personally and practically what you are positionally you are justified before God you're made righteous now live like that that's sanctification it's to be conformed to the image of Christ this is Romans 8 29 we are a church that's not okay with living in open sin we love people too much to not tell them the truth we're not going to change to fit our message to mold into what the world wants I don't care what the people in the view think about homosexuality I don't care what they think about abortion I don't care what people in our society that doesn't that doesn't affect what we say we preach Christ we preach the word of God we preach on sin I don't care if everybody I care about it but it's not going to affect us if everybody in Xenia were living together out of wedlock I would still preach living in fornication is sin it must be repented of we're going to keep preaching that we're going to preach against lying and stealing and gluttony and everything else that can get a hold of our life to know Christ we must line our lives up with his standard no one in the new and so this is this is important number three we need that we know him the third way we can help people know Christ through knowing Christ in salvation through living a sanctified life and then thirdly through scripture through personal study of the word of God and the church is designed to bring people into a relationship with Christ to be sanctified to to to give accountability to give guidance to give structure but also to help them grow in the word of God that's why that's why Ephesians 4 says after Jesus Christ rose again he gave some apostles some prophets some evangelists some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints he gave people to the church that would teach and preach the word of God so that they might grow up into Christ God has chosen to reveal himself through his word Jesus said in John 8 31 if you continue in my word you're my disciple John 17 17 sanctify them through thy truth you want to prosper Joshua 1 8 Psalms chapter 1 verse 2 you continue in his word that's why Paul commended the church at Colossae he says let the word of Christ dwell in you richly on and on I could talk about that you know why we are saturating people every week with the scriptures is not by accident there is there is only one divine book there is only one book that was Theon Nustass which is the word of God God breathed it's the only book like that and you need to know his word that's why you need to be in a life group like ah preacher would you stop hounding us about life groups I will say it again get in a life group learn about the parables learn about ecclesiastes learn about the seven churches of revelation that are being studied on get into these classes you need I'm telling you it's important our 242 groups are so I'm so pumped right now about them we got 40 groups right now in our two isn't that awesome we started with 27 last year we bumped up to 40 this year we have we have a we have a seniors group meeting on Tuesdays now in the daytime if you can't come at night that's a it's an opportunity for you if your schedule is crazy to wear sunny nights you're working or you got to get to bed because you got to work on Thurships and things we can figure that out if you have you can do a home group there's things you can do but but make that a priority and then through serving the a fourth way that you can know Christ is through serving this is obedience to Christ's words it's important that we don't have just an intellectual faith but we must have an obedient faith a life that is learning of Christ will be serving Christ Paul said in Philippians 3 10 that I may know him in the power of his resurrection in the fellowship of sufferings Paul was saying here in Philippians 3 that I will know Christ more intimately when I'm resurrected and I will know him more intimately when I suffer for him in the same way we will know him more by serving him serving Christ will bring us closer to understanding and knowing Christ who served us Henry Drummond said this is how men get to know God by doing his will and and you need to serve him one of the key ways to do that is through this vehicle called the local church you need to plug in there's four things that you're going to see put up on the wall here in the next coming weeks it's come and connect we want people to come to lighthouse get connected which means come to service get connected into a class after you've come and you feel like this is where God would have you you need to join and commit you need to join and commit to a church say well I believe I'm a universal church kind of guy I'm an invisible invisible church kind of guy okay I get that I believe there's an invisible church a universal church but you know that a universal church involves past saints from Jesus's day all the way till today it's not just living saints it's the dead saints too how are you going to serve them right I'm a universal church kind of guy where are they at where are they assembling they're in the ground the ones you still see are the living ones the church is is the church hole is the church hole in theology they call that and let me say this also the word ekklesia is used 118 times in the new testament it's a misguided view to to think well I just don't feel like joining a church listen it's it's it's the the the word ekklesia is used of a local body of local believers assembled together the word ekklesia is a compound of ek and kalesis which is a form of kaleo and it just means the called out ones they assemble together it's sometimes translated as assembly we don't assemble with dead saints we don't assemble with everybody in the world the church as a whole on the earth can assemble together it's what theologians call the church in prospect it's eschatological in nature one day the church will be gathered together in heaven isn't that going to be glorious this is first thessalonians 4 13 through 18 but right now practically the church is local churches that's why he wrote seven letters to seven local new testament churches when they started a church he set up a pastor over that church i'm not the pastor of the church of zinnia i'm the pastor of lighthouse baptist church does that make sense i could talk about this for a long time we don't have time to go through all of these things but but you need to understand it's important you can't you have to you need to plug into a local church join and commit and be faithful to that local body as you find true through the new testament to some kind of veiled idea that i'm just a universal type of guy well 85 percent of the usages of ekklesia is local new testament churches in the new testament there is a church hole but that's in prospect so so you need to plug in you need to join and commit and then the third thing that we're going to focus on is is growing and serving you need to grow and serve you need to get involved you need you need to plug in you got to go from a attending to participating right i don't want to just watch what's going on i want to get involved with what's going on do something right the body is the church the church is the body of christ and all of its members serve in some capacity god's called me to preach that's just one small part of the church and and so there's hands there's fingers there's bodies there's ears there's all these things that serve and you need to plug in and do that i'm telling you you're going to give an account of your life one day it's important to do that and we have a church that's filled with servant-hearted people and lighthouse could never be what it is there's there's hundreds of people every month serving in different capacities incredible and then the last one is reach and disciple the fourth point that we're going to be looking at it's in in your book there on on our one of our pages but but it's to to go out see other people saved disciple them and then help them come and connect join and commit grow serve and then they go reach and disciple and you just continue that process until the day we see christ we live for him we live for an eternal motive it's to exalt him in everything we say and do so i i come to the conclusion i have one final point it's like just a couple sentences do you know christ knowing christ is the most important thing these are four ways you can know him do you know him in salvation you exist to know him in salvation if you're not safe come to foundations today i'll i'll show you what the bible says about that you have questions i'm glad to answer it seek him come to him come to him come to him secondly are you living a sanctified life it is god that will sanctify you it's not perfection but direction jesus says sanctify them through the truth thy word is truth are you living a clean life are you growing in the word each year you should be further along than you were the year before and are you serving it is the body of christ the church it's the primary vehicle god's used to carry out his mission on this earth paul said i count all things but loss that i may know christ what today do you need to surrender to christ what do you need to give up to know him more and how can you be part of this eternal impact initiative how can you invest your life in 2025 into the eternal examine yourself and obey what you know god would have you to do today let's all stand this morning