WORD IN SEASON!!!!!

[Dr Benard Etta]

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; (Phi 3:10)

The above scripture to me is the best resolution one can made in contemplation of the whole meaning of this season. Celebrating the result of Christ sacrifice for us without a corresponding response to that sacrifice is nothing but a lack of appreciation. Let’s tap into the passion which ran through the veins of the Apostle Paul by considering the serious matters in our scriptural text. To ease the assimilation of these divine matters, we are going to carryout a Biblical chemistry of the entire verse, breaking it into sub-components of truths needed for such a time as this.

Thus, the structure of this message would be as follows;

i) That I may know him

ii) That I may know the power of his resurrection

iii) That I may know the fellowship of his sufferings

If this would become our heart desire as well, we would then rediscover the secret of the Apostolic era. Remember, what you eat would determine your strength; some of us admire the Apostolic era of the early Church but we fail to seek to uncover the secret of that era of the Church. Everything needed to pick up the present Church from her depth of spiritual declension is found in the words of Paul as written in our scriptural text. Let’s take a look at each sub-component to better appreciate the worth in that single verse.

That I may know him!

Wow! Take a minute and ponder on this statement; “that I may know him”, is this the same desire driving our present day Christianity? Are we passionate today to know the Lord as we are passionate to have Him meet our heart desires? Isn’t it true that, our desire to know the Lord has been replaced by strange desires? How many of those who sit on the pews of our Churches are really there because of a desire to know Him (The Lord)? Can we truly say, the messages preached today all over the world on different channels and platforms are taking us closer to knowing Him (The Lord)? Each one of us would have to answer these questions in our own closets.

There is no greater wisdom as to know Christ; this is different from being familiar with scriptures and knowing what to quote when in need or being absorbed in Church activities. It’s unfortunate that, some have mistaken these things for knowing Christ and some even think, belonging to the Pentecostal movement it’s already a sign of knowing Christ. What a fallacy?

Christ is not like a subject or an academic course you study for some few months/ years and you then graduate with Honors. To know Christ requires eternity; it is an infinite journey which demands for continuous thirst and hunger for God. Paul placed greater value in knowing Christ to the point that, He counted the things which were gain to him as dung.

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things [but] loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them [but] dung, that I may win Christ, (Phi 3:7-8)

To move the Church of Jesus Christ out of her present quagmire, we need to seek the Lord to restore in our hearts once more the desire to know Him and not just to get His gifts and blessings. Remember, blessings we receive without a corresponding knowledge of Christ can’t be sustained and might eventually turn into a curse by our own very ignorance. Thus, sustained blessings are those we enter into as we grow progressively in our knowledge of Christ.  Heaven can’t do any serious business with us if our passion is not that of knowing Christ.

How can Christ trust us with serious matters if He doubts our knowledge of Him? To know Christ is better than to receive from Him. The multitudes received from Him, miracles, healings and provision of bread, etc, but they didn’t know Him and thus, He too did not commit any serious project in their hands.

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast [day], many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all [men], And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man. (Jn 2:23-25)

Could this explain why most believers in our churches are simply normal individuals whose lives are not really impacting anyone, neither do they have anything worthwhile to present to someone outside the Church as a proof of Christ in their lives? It could be so because, who really cares today about teachings which can lead one into knowing Christ? Is it not true that, most of today’s meetings where thousands of believers attend are simply programs where miracles, prophetic declarations, special anointing, communion and feet washing services are offered to release breakthroughs into the lives of people?

Don’t misquote me; I am not saying miracles, prophesy, anointing, communion and feet washing services are completely wrong, if actually the Lord directs that in a particular season but to reduce the message of the kingdom to these things, it’s more of a crime. If miracles alone could get people to know God, then the generation of Israelites who came out of Egypt, would have been the greatest generation with the knowledge of God but instead, the reverse was true. Most of them died in the wilderness because the Lord was not pleased with them, for they did not know his ways.

The consequence of our continuous focus on warfare ministration is that, we have finally produced a generation of believers who can’t endure sound teachings. Once serious divine matters are being taught, they actually fall asleep or get bored; to get their attention, you simply have to  pull out a bottle of oil, water, handkerchief, candle, wine, bread, etc, and start releasing breakthroughs and there it goes. Thus, God has departed from so many of our Churches and ministries and has left us in the shadows of Idolatry. God is angry about this modern day idolatry and He is calling us back to the word. When we know Him, our lives will be completely metamorphosed and upgraded.

It’s time for us just like Paul, to change our focus from just receiving from God to seeking to know Him. By seeking to know Him, we would be guaranteeing for ourselves an enduring relationship with Christ which will impact both time and eternity. Stay connected for the continuation of this message;

-That I may know the power of his resurrection

-That I may know the fellowship of his sufferings

Happy Easter! God bless you

Dr Etta

Join believers and ministers from around the world in Douala, Cameroon for the Global Faith Coalition 2012 world congress on the 21st century Church. Don't be told, be there!!!!