I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!
Phi 3:10-11
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:6-7
Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. . .
Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
Phil 4:9, 11-13
It seems what I have shared with you over recent Gems has been too theoretical. The continuums that I have pulled out of the text have confused some of you. While at the level of Greek words in text it is plain to see, it is perhaps still too theoretical for some to grasp. The string of Greek words in series are full of meaning and significance to us on a personal level. That is still true. But as some have told me it is still too abstract.
Know Christ -> Know His Resurrection Power -> Suffer with Him -> Experience the Resurrection from the Dead (Phil 3:10-11) Gems 1968 to 1971
Don’t Worry -> Prayer [ProseuchÄ“] -> Supplication [DeÄ“sis] -> Thanksgiving [Eucharistia] -> Requests [AitÄ“ma] -> Experience Peace (Phil 4:6-7) Gems 1995 to 2000
Learn [emathon] -> Know the Concept [oida] -> Know the Reality [gnonai] -> Experience the Peace & Contentment of God [Phil 4:9, 11-13) Gems 2004 2005
How do you go from:these Greek words in a series to the point of gaining Peace and Contentment for yourself and ultimately Eternal Life (ZoÄ“ – the Life of the Age to Come)?
Readers’ Questions
“Ian, it’s all very well looking at these Greek words in depth but how do I put it into practice?”
“I really like what you have said about Peace and Contentment but how do I experience it?”
“What’s the difference between the Epicureans and the Stoics using the words Contentment and Peace?” and me for that matter?
“The fancy words are one thing but how do you experience the reality?”
They are good practical questions. You can tell me all the theory and concepts you like but unless I can appropriate it and make it work for myself then it is of no use. The hurdle or obstacle in all of this is seeing it not as a concept or even:
Four Steps to Appropriating the Life of the Age to come.
Six Steps to Gaining God’s Peace in My Life.
Four Steps to Being Content.
I have been encouraged over the years multiple times to turn the Gems into short book series on Steps to _______ .
But if we are honest, isn’t that the heart of our problem? We try to turn Jesus into a Four, Six or Ten Step Programme. The secret of turning this into reality is not any of the above, it is finding Intimacy with Jesus Christ. Your reaction may well be, “Ian, that is complete nonsense, Jesus died 2021 years ago. I am not falling for that rubbish.” I understand your reaction completely; I once identified with you. That was me before the 19th of August, 1973. So, how then have I got to the point where I am now, knowing God intimately, hearing His words to my heart, living in peace and contentment and assured that I am heading for the Life of the Age to Come?
I am not going to offer you Six Easy Steps to Knowing Jesus. Nor am I going to give you Four Simple Steps to Faith or Ten Easy Ways to Hear God’s Voice. I could, easily and have been encouraged to do so as I have written above. But I will always resist that approach with every atom of my being. Giving people formulas don’t work because surprise, surprise; they focus on the formula and the steps and not on God. I will simply point you to Jesus Christ and introduce you to Him. He is the One Who changed my life and turned me from a bitter angry young man who let his anger loose on the tennis court after pounding balls for hours against the volley board imagining my father’s face on the ball. God took all that was in my heart and changed me into the man I am today. The best thing I can do for you is to share my testimony with you. So this Gem will be a rather different Gem. I will be what God wants me to be for you in this Gem. I will share my testimony of what God has done via the Ian Stories. I have taken my testimony from the Gems and Nuggets where I have shared some of the moments where God did pretty spectacular things and labelled them to make them more accessible. Many have said to me over the years, “Ian, I just love it when you share the real life things that God has done for you.
Read as many of these are you dare but realise peace, contentment and eternal life come from a relationship with Jesus Christ not a numbered stepped programme. Dare to get to know Him and your life will never be the same.
- The stories / testimony listed below are excerpts from the Gems or Nuggets mentioned.
- You have to find them in the midst of the Gem or Nugget.
My First Steps
- I was Brought Face to Face with the Truth in Gem 1371
- I learned to Stop Resisting God in Gem 1858
- I Learned to stop going through a religious thing and Connect with God in Gem 1712
- God started speaking to me in ways that caught my attention – Gem 542
God Became Personal and Called Us
- You will be healed in three days – Gem 1644
- Our Call to Missions and Wycliffe – Gems 197, 198, 1383, 1430
Provided for Us
Cared For Us and Answered Prayer
The Timing of God’s Intervention
The Perfect Gift at the Perfect Moment – Nugget HGV 14
There have been many more times when God has led us clearly, answered prayers both before we asked and as a response to our asking. Times when He has done things for us which we never asked for but which were always perfectly timing. The more you walk through life in a relationship with Jesus Christ the more real He becomes. These are just some of the things that God has done for us since we put our lives in His hands. Believing Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God, is not a cerebral thing. It is not believing that He existed, that He is God. It is a matter of learning to trust His leading and His voice to your heart by His Holy Spirit which lives inside you. There is much more I could tell you but I think this will suffice. “Putting your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the waters” is a very real life experience which becomes an adventure with the God of creation guiding you along the way. Peace and Contentment along with Eternal Life are gained or appropriated via a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
John wrote his Gospel for one reason:
But these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing in him you may have Life (Eternal Life).
John 20:31
God wastes nothing. In His hands even your worst experience can be a great testimony.
Jeffrey Rachmat
Many people are good in starting a relationship, very few are great in maintaining it.
Alvi Radjagukguk
If you want to build people, give them an example to follow.
Rick Warren
Man’s way leads to a hopeless end; God’s way leads to an endless hope.
Doug Bolton