Open Heavens 7 September 2018 Friday Daily Devotional by Pastor E A Adeboye
Topic: Do You Know Jesus?
Memorise: “And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.”– Matthew 26:72
Read: Matthew 16:13-16, Mark 10:35-40 (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.
Mark 10:35-40:
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.
Bible in One Year: Psalm 132-138, Mark 3:31-4:20
MESSAGE:
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 thought. 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 Savior, 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 might not be able to know Jesus to His fullness until we see Him in glory (1 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 make 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 realized 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. 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).
Prayer Point: Father, help me to know Jesus and His power of resurrection, and as I get to know Him, let me be conformed to his image.
Hymn 15: Nearer My God To Thee
1. 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 to Thee!
2. Though like the 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 to Thee!
3. There let me see the sight, an open Heaven;
All that Thou sendest me, in mercy given;
Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!
4. Then, with my waking 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 to Thee!
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