Greater Faith, 3-29-09

Canaan Baptist, 5/2/10

Intro.

Praise

Scripture: John 14:9

Title: ‘U don’t know me,’ ‘Now I know’ “Stage 5”

Prayer

Song: I will trust in the Lord x3, until I die

Cultural text:

Describe Going to court and seeing someone that raped your child

Sometimes you are surprise to know that you don’t know, someone you thought you knew

Gone ape: Stamford lady with domestic partner, CHIMP
couple finds out that the one babysitting their 2yr old was raping the child. This wasn’t no stranger – he was the Godfather.
Secrets:

Down low (not only enjoys seeing u in a teddy, he wears one too)

Folk u thought u know u don’t know

Molester: find out your neighbor is the biggest molester in the state.

Folk u think you know, u don’t know

Domestic violence
Character: ex- attorney general/NY gov. Spitzer
Priest and preachers, you looked to, you find out they are shade characters.

In the chruch: folks call you all kinda names and accuse you of all kind of evil. But they don’t know you

There are times in life when you realize you have known someone for along time but you really didn’t know them. There are times in your life when you realize that the folks that’s been talking about you, don’t know really you.

Turn to the Saint next to you and say: U THINK U KNOW ME but YOU DON’T KNOW ME –

The rapper T.I says it like this,

You mighta seen me in the streets
But nigga (bro) you don't know me
When you holla when you speak
Remember you don't know me
Save all the hatin' and the poppin'
Nigga you don't know me
Quit tellin' folks you my partna
Nigga you don't know me
that was the sanitized version.

Part of the problem with folk not knowing you is you:

Your self-deception (looking good- fashion fair)

Not honest with who you are
Keeping secrets about yourself
Fear folk wont like you if they really knew you.
You let people think you have a whole lot of money, when you are broke as hell.

Double life

By day: public you
By nite: private you

Now, in our text we find Jesus having a heart to heart with his disciples. They are finding out stuff about him that they didn’t know. And he is finding out stuff about them that he thought he knew.

Background: preparing for his departure

Jesus tried to prepare them for his departure and they didn’t like the tone of the conversation. (jn 13:33 little children, I’m with you for just a little while longer and where I am going you cannot go.)

They had lots Questions.

Peter: where you going, and why cant I go with you.

JC: when hard times come you gonna deny me in a minute.

Jesus: you know where I’m Going and you know the way.

Thomas: joined the chorus, how can we know the way if We don’t know where you going. (you cant leave now, the party is just starting to jump off)

Jesus: I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me, if you knew me, then you will know the Father.

Philip: “show us the Father?” “and we will be satisfied” (maybe he wanted to experience what peter, James, and john experienced at the transfiguration of Jesus, with Moses and Elijah)

· Some folk can be in church all their lives and still not know Jesus…

· Too many still relying of the pastor and the church to have a relationship w/xp

· Illus. Me intro. A friend to someone I know, “fine” you would keep coming back to me after the intro. Talk to the person…

Jesus: (annoyed) “Have I been with you all this time, and you still don’t know me.”

Some folks need God to get extravagant with them for them to believe… but if you want to see the extravagance of God, look back over your life.

God is bigger than anything I can show you

This conversation had gotten personal. Jesus realized that these men really did not get him. Their relationship had not deepened to the place of intimacy, that he had hope.

Cant you hear Jesus saying, “Are you the same folk that witnessed me:?”

Free legion from his demons
Walk on water
Turn water into wine
Speak peace to a raging storm

How long will I be with u and u still…

Raise Lazarus from the dead
Heal all kinda sickness

How long will I be with you and u still don’t

How many times do I need to:

Deliver you before you believe
Heal your body, before you believe
Rescue you from your enemies
Open doors, when others shut doors…
Make a way, when your back is against the wall

You don’t know me.

I like what one song writes wrote:

We've all got our
Own funny moods
I've got mine,
Woman you've got yours too
Just trust in me like I trust in you
As long as we've been together
It should be so easy to do
Just get yourself together
Or we might as well say goodbye
What good is a love affair
When you can't see eye to eye

If you don't know me by now
You will never
Never never know me

My version is:

U-come to church every Sunday,

But you don’t know me

U-sing in the choir every week

But you don’t know me.

You get your praise on

But you don’t me

You dance and shout

But you don’t know me

You hear the Word,

But you don’t know me

You the same today as you was five years ago

You don’t know me

The statement Jesus makes, “you don’t know me” says something about his disciples relationship with him.

Can I just talk about Relationships for a minute?

Stages of Relationship

pre-relationship : know of , but not personally

I know Obama, in that I know of him- we aint friends

introduction stage: meet the person (very shallow)
Acquaintance: no longer a stranger – they know ur name – they recognize ur face

I know some things about the person, but no secrets are revealed
I can approach the person w/o fear of reject

Friendship: regular fellowship ( access to his circle)

U look forward to be around the person
Some secrets,
Deeper conversation
Some investment
love

Intimate stage: (friendship cord is strengthen, understand values and dreams and goals, fears and insecurities)

This is not necessarily sexual and often is not
Intimacy has to do with the level of trust
With transparency
w/o fear of Judgment
protect our friend
great investment
willing to die for the other person

Jesus realized that his disciples, the church folk, were stuck in between acquaintance and friendship.

( we sing “what a friend we have in Jesus”, “There’s not a friend like the lonely Jesus”, “I am a friend of God,”)

(friends, how many have them, let’s be friends, one’s we can depend on lets be friends)

Jesus knows that there is a relationship between your faith, your ability to trust God and your relationship with others

Your relationship is like the roots of a oak tree, b/c the roots runs so deep, it has the ability to survive droughts.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose trust is the LORD. 8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit."

You must understand that when you really know him, He will strengthen you in your droughts.

Illus. look @ the disciples reaction in the storm.

Panic, fear
With Jesus in the boat
When your relationship deepens, you can recognize there is a storm and not panic

Your relationship aught to be built on more than:

· what u can get out of the relationship – stop trying to PIMP God.

· God is not your Toys-R-Us.

Some where in your relationship with God, you should move beyond what you are getting to what you are giving.

Move from the expectation of things and move to the anticipation of his Glory

Too many of us are building relationships on superficial grounds, and then we wonder why the relationship is not satisfying.

Theo: your relationship should not be built on the sands of “things”[i]but on the Rock

Wise and foolish builder
This principle is vertical and horizontal, with God and with others

That if you don’t get what you want, and when your material wealth decreases, your faith and your relationship with God doesnt fall apart.

· Folks that marry just for the $ have adulterous affairs.

Now you have to ask yourself the question How healthy is my relationship with Christ?

There are different ways to know God.

You can know God: with just your mind or with whole being

know him with your mind:

know the rituals
know the songs
know how to shout

It’s possible to know him with your mind, and hear him say, YOU don’t know me

you can be a religious saint, and not know Christ.

Some will say Lord, Lord didn’t we, prophecy, heal, deliver in your name… I don’t know you.

This lets me know that churching it is not enough

You have got to get to know this Jesus.

You have to get from being an acquaintance to experiencing the glory that awaits you, in Intimacy with Christ.

He said if you know me;

· u can speak to mountains…

o u can speak to your circumstances and something has to happen

· u can lay hands on the sick…

· u will do greater things than he did

God doesn’t want us to be ignorant about spiritual things,

If you don’t know,----- there are something u aught to know

If u don’t know the enemy:

· is trying to keep you satisfied with just being an acquaintance

· is trying to steal your joy

· is trying to make you lose your hope and your faith

· it’s his job to depress you

· he comes to steal, kill and destroy

instead of having Jesus say you “you don’t know me”

you aught to use the words of the Lord on your behalf,

Tell the devil, Satan you don’t me:

wall-street crashed and you expected me freak
MRI – u expected me to cry till I die
Got layed off – u expected to loose my mind,
My marriage is in trouble, u expect me give up
b/c u have stolen everything from …

summarize:

when you know him:

you will know he has resurrection power.
You will know what a friend you have
You know that there is no mtn high enough…
You know He will never leave you or forsake you

You don’t know me, I am not going to be satisfied until I reached intimacy with Christ

You don’t know me ,b/c I am determine to grow in my relationship with God.

If you have never been loved, remember God loved you:

And sent his son to die for your foolishness

If you have never been hugged, remember God hugs you:

Every morning with his Grace

Michael Jackson, “you’ve got a friend

When your down and troubled
And you need a helping hand
And nothing, whoa nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest nights.
You just call out my name,
And you know whereever I am
I'll come running, oh yeah baby
To see you again.
Winter, spring , summer, or fall,
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You've got a friend.

Dionne Warwick

Keep smilin', keep shinin'
Knowin' you can always count on me, for sure
That's what friends are for
For good times and bad times
I'll be on your side forever more
That's what friends are for

----

[i] Matthew 7:24-27 ¶ Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

U Dont know me II

Cultural text:

Dionne Warwick