Know Jesus Christ and His Crucifixion as Center

It's amazing when god takes a simple word of a preacher or of a brother and sister in Christ who lets people know about Jesus and illuminate it in in his heart. I remember a time I was in my basement and had a little youth group meeting. I was really pondering what the word was, and I remember praying and asking Jesus, and he said, just just take out this scripture. Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden. I'll give you rest. I thought, well, that's gonna be an easy message to to these young people. It's and he says, you don't have to do much more than that, Glenn. [00:34:26] (41 seconds)  #SimpleWordOfGod

I got a flip chart, and I I put the words come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. I said, isn't that amazing that Jesus doesn't wanna give you a lecture? He wants to give you rest. One of the guys, Adam, who was on the edge fell over and started weeping. He wept and he wept and he wept and he wept. He was so tired. So tired. Family was falling apart. His life was falling apart, his future. Anxiety just ripped his soul. And Jesus took his word and brought him to faith. [00:35:16] (52 seconds)  #ComeToJesusRest

And and the only way Paul would know Jesus Christ is that Jesus Christ made himself known to Paul, that Jesus took the initiative to show Paul that his way rooted in works religion and him trying to destroy the gospel, it wasn't the way. And so he hears from on the road to Damascus, Christ breaks in and says, Paul, Paul, why are you persecuting me? We're told that he got blinded, and then he he went away, and, and the ice came to him and began to minister to him and heal him, and and Paul began to know Jesus. [00:28:58] (51 seconds)  #ChristRevealsHimself

He's saying, listen. The life I live now, like I've learned that I have my way about doing things, but I've learned that the more I set my way aside and listen for Christ, the more I'm crucified to my way and I'm living for his way, something I die, but something else happens. He lives in me. It's like it's like there's this cross that I have. I take it, and it's it's a burden that I bear, but then there's something of new life that happens. This resurrection, I become a new creation. [00:38:13] (49 seconds)  #DieToSelfLiveInChrist

It it's like the Costco in Hamilton. Remember, it was a smaller Costco and and the problem was there was just too much demand. I mean, I came there too often. I spent too much money at Costco and so did all the rest of you. And so they had to destroy the old Costco in order to put the new Costco. But when you get to make Christ the focus of your life, when you get to know him, well, the old Jesus gets broken and a new one emerges, and yet it's not just one time, it's all the time. [00:43:31] (37 seconds)  #RemakeMeInChrist

If we would make that the main thing of our lives, the main purpose, and allow everything else to revolve around that. And, Lord, for that to happen, there's lots of idols in our life that need to be dealt with, all the things that keep us away from you, the world, the flesh, the lies that have been sown into us. We ask that you would help those things to be strangely dim, that you would somehow by your power, by your grace and mercy, just awaken us like you did Paul. [00:50:45] (59 seconds)  #ChristTheMainThing

Simple gospel language. It it wasn't persuasive words. It wasn't oratory. It wasn't a TED talk. And and and some would mock him and some would belittle him, but others, when they heard the word, the simple gospel, something happened within them. Something resonated deep within their soul. Somehow, they knew it was truth. Paul would say in in this letter to the Corinthians that although he preached simply, god had power. [00:33:36] (50 seconds)  #SimpleGospelPower

Like like and he says, I didn't come to you with this, like, wisdom of the world. I came with you in humility, like like, I wasn't a great speaker, but I told you the message of God. And and so I've learned this one thing in all of my ministry that that what I need to be about as a leader is to focus on knowing Jesus Christ and him crucified. Like, making that the main thing about my life. [00:26:51] (36 seconds)  #KnowChristCrucified