THE KNOW, BE, DO PARADIGM OF TRUE WORSHIPPERS - Part 1

THE SUNDAY SERMON

Hello dear friends,

If you have read the Bible very much or have listened to very many preachers speak about the topic of salvation, I am sure you have heard that getting saved, becoming a Christian, is very easy. It is true that Jesus made the way of salvation easy for us to receive because he has already paid the debt of sin that we owed to God the Father. All we must do to become a Christian is to ask for forgiveness of our sins and then do not continue to commit sin (John 8:11 KJV). The easy part of salvation is asking for forgiveness of our sins and believing God has forgiven us (John 3:16).

Too often after a person is saved, he/she does not push forward to become the active Christian that God desires of us. I am not saying a person needs to become a minister, missionary, teacher in the church, etc. However, I am saying that there should be a zeal that goes along with becoming and living as a Christian. The unsaved world will tell you that Christians have a boring lifestyle. I am here to tell you that I am not bored living as a Christian and neither do I desire the things that the unsaved community calls fun and exciting. God took away the desire for sinful attractions.

Christian people need to take an active role in their lives. It is not enough to receive forgiveness of our sins and then sit back and say, “Okay God, now the rest is up to you.” Even a cursory reading of the four Gospels will demonstrate that Jesus immediately put the disciples to work learning about the way of Christianity and doing activities associated with the change in their lives. As the disciples were busy modeling the changes that occurred in their lives as a result of salvation, and sharing the gospel message with people, in which they came in contact, they did not have time to think about being bored with their new way of life or desiring the sinful things of the world. What Jesus implemented in the lives of the disciples is the Know, Be, Do paradigm.

The Know, Be, Do Paradigm of True Worshippers is a vital aspect of our Christian lives that enables us to effectively reach the world with the gospel message. Each of us have a place in the world God has placed us to work for Him.

When Christians begin to live the Know, Be, Do Paradigm, they begin to experience the power of God in their lives. Also, the desire for the things of this world begins to fade away. Have you ever heard of the Know, Be, Do, Paradigm? Let me explain it.                                 

What Is the Know, Be Do Paradigm?

PART A: KNOWING JESUS

If we are going to work at telling people about Jesus, we must KNOW him. This is the starting point for all of us. We need to KNOW Jesus on a personal level by allowing Jesus to forgive us of our sins. We develop this relationship by asking for forgiveness of sins. First John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

After we are saved and have started our Christian lives, we need to invest our time learning about Jesus; what He has done for us; and how to become the people of God spoken of in the Bible. Here are three scriptures that inform us that we need to KNOW about Jesus.

Philippians 3:10 states, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;” Also, John 17:3 says, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Finally, Ephesians 4:13 makes it clear that we need to gain more knowledge about Jesus to fully understand how to live for him as it states, “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”

Having head knowledge about Jesus is not nearly enough. There are many people that have studied biblical scriptures and know far more about the message of the bible than probably many of us. However, their head knowledge of Jesus does not bring a change to the sin-sick soul. It is only recognizing that we are a sinner and asking Jesus for forgiveness of our sins that brings about the miraculous change that occurs when our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ and we are changed into a new person free from sin. Second Corinthians 5:17 tell us, “Therefore if any man/woman be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (The addition of the word “woman” is mine. The word “man” in this passage means humankind, which includes women).

Before we can ever start partaking in the Know, Be, Do Paradigm, we must begin by coming to Jesus and asking for forgiveness of our sins. At this point, our new relationship with Jesus commences along with our journey into this new life.

Part 2 of this sermon will discuss the topic of Being like Jesus. I look forward to our next meeting.

Pastor Ron Barker, M.Div

Victorious Life Ministries

(www.victoriouslifeministries.net)