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Knowing me Knowing YOU—The Truth of All Truths
No matter how much older we get, we can remember how uplifted we felt when someone saw our potential—perhaps for the first time. To a large extent, knowing ourselves is shaped, and impacted by, how people know and see us. That is why knowing who knows us is so very important for our growth. God goes by different names including Yahweh. But only one name–El Roi – “the God who sees me” is given by a human—an enslaved Egyptian woman named Hagar whom God saw and knew her at her lowest point.
The Spring ESSC gave me a big dose of knowing myself by first knowing Him. The intense sermons, fellowships, hymnals and testimonial gave me a lot to reflect on myself. How can I be more Christ-like? As a corporate citizen for many decades with access to millions of professional assessments, I know what it takes to deliver success. There are the traits that God gifted us, and the competencies we need to develop in a shifting environment all at once. In between is learning and knowing God.
Authenticity, Believing and Connecting in THE Truth
The Truth is, God is perfect. He made man in His own image and thus we do have a chance to be close to perfect. How? Obey His commands. When Jesus came to this world in the form of flesh, He had every emotion that humans have except fear. If we want to walk on water, then we need to get out of the boat. We need to have the authenticity to take the risk to show who we really are and not fear. We need to believe in Him. Believing sets the stage for succeeding. Then we need to Connect and have fellowship with others on a human level to create a community of brethren. This is what we need—then, now and in the future. When we are all connected in the Lord, we become part of something bigger than ourselves. Being present at the ESSC had all these opportunities to knowing me and knowing Him—the Authenticity, the Believing and the Connecting. And we did all that with a sense of urgency as the Kingdom of Heaven has come.
The Prodigal Son
In one of the sermons, the parable of the prodigal son hit me hard. We can remember those specific moments in our lives such as what we were doing during September 11, 2001 and March and April of 2020 because of their emotional intensity. The more traumatic the experience, the more clearly, we recall it. Out of the most traumatic events such as lockdown during the pandemic, can come the most tremendous gifts such as the importance of others, not self. By knowing the Truth about God, I realized how much I needed others—which may seem counterintuitive as I am a hard-core introvert—by being alone. Having fellowship only with God is not enough. We also need fellowship with God’s people as written in 1 John. God has shown me over the years what true unconditional love is and He took me back even though I felt unworthy. I am deeply humbled like the prodigal son.
Then there was the hymnal evangelism, another form of worship through songs of praise to God. And during one of the prayer sessions, one of my dear fellow brothers received the Holy Spirit!
Let us actively practice His words for we know whom we have believed. So, if you are interested or thinking of joining the next ESSC, wait no more. You can start the journey now by joining our Sabbath services. (Watch Live Sabbath)
Please find our church location below:
4N550 Church Road
Bensenville, IL 60106
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Email us at ilovejesus@tjc-chicago.org