Knowing Jesus
About this sermon
Dean Odle teaches that knowing Jesus is more than possessing information, repeating doctrine, or trusting outward religious credentials; it is an obedient, Spirit-empowered relationship that produces Christlike fruit. He begins with childlike faith and the believer’s willing response to God, then points to Jesus’ dependence on the Father and anointing by the Holy Spirit as the pattern for ministry. Philippians 3 supplies Paul’s desire to know Christ, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, contrasting experiential knowledge of Jesus with confidence in the flesh.
Chronological teaching outline
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Odle begins with Jesus’ call to become like children and defines knowing Christ as simple trust expressed in obedience to Scripture and the Spirit. Jesus’ dependence on the Father and anointing by the Spirit is offered as the model for works that flow from communion rather than self-display.
He discusses human response and surrender, presenting genuine love as a willing choice to walk as Jesus walked. The congregation responds in prayer that it wants to walk as Jesus walked and participate in setting captives free.
Philippians is used to contrast confidence in religious flesh with experiential knowledge of Christ and the Spirit’s power. Paul’s statement that believers are the circumcision who worship in the Spirit leads to the distinction between inward relationship and outward religious credentials.
Odle explains Paul’s desire to know Jesus, including resurrection power and fellowship in suffering, as the pattern of mature discipleship. The Greek term for power is connected to the Holy Spirit’s supernatural enabling, not merely intellectual knowledge about resurrection.
James and Abraham illustrate that living faith acts on God’s word; works reveal relationship rather than purchasing salvation. Abraham’s obedience in offering Isaac follows the covenant sign and demonstrates a trust that became complete in action.
Personal testimony about employment and ministry decisions shows how obedience can require trusting guidance before circumstances confirm it. He says Spirit-led humility means obeying even when the instruction appears unusual, while ordinary prayer, Scripture, and worship remain basic tests.
Odle recounts evangelistic fruit and summarizes the gospel’s practical call: follow Jesus, receive the Spirit, and live under His direction. A mission account in which five people respond to the gospel is presented as fruit of dependence on the Spirit rather than a ministry formula.
He urges believers to pursue the baptism of the Holy Spirit and refuses to treat tongues, prophecy, dreams, or healing as embarrassments. Acts and 1 Corinthians provide the frame for seeking gifts that Odle believes much of the modern church has neglected.
Spiritual dryness and controversy are presented as tests that should drive believers back to prayer rather than away from Christ. He recalls intense prayer meetings before later controversies as evidence that genuine encounters do not remove the need for endurance and discernment.
The conclusion rejects distractions and asks God for a renewed year of authentic gifts and power that directs attention to Jesus. His repeated request is that conversation and ministry return to what Jesus has done and what the Holy Spirit is presently doing.
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- 0:04:35
What kept coming to me as we were singing that is Jesus took a little child one time and he brought that little child and said unless you become like little children You will not enter the kingdom of God Now think about that because the thing about a child's faith It's simple It's not complicated It's not about this striving about the law It's not all this nonsense It's all about Jesus now simple faith simple trust in him Simple drawing near to him simple wanting to know him for yourself To really know him Because the bottom line what is eternal life john 17? Three says jesus was praying. He said that they might know the this is eternal life that they might know the the only true god And jesus christ who now has sinned that's eternal life The question is do you know him? You know what? I was thinking about how All these people that want to go back up under the law old old covenant law And they talk about oh we want to do that because we want to be We want to walk like jesus walk. Let me tell you something Here's here's what you want to do. You want to walk like jesus walk. He healed the sick He cast out demons. He opened the eyes of the blind He walked in the gifts and power of the holy spirit and was always led by the holy spirit That's what is about walking like jesus walk not going back under the old testament That's about as foolish as it gets Aren't we to desire the spiritual gifts? See I want to be able to walk up to somebody And say go get your husband They say I don't have a husband I said you're telling the truth because you've had five husbands and the one you have now is not your husband You want to walk like jesus walked What must we do? He said we might work the works of god. What did jesus say? Believe me believe in me. That's the work of god See if you trust him a simple trust like a child has in their parents the simple trust simple faith And unless you go back to this he said you're not entering the kingdom of god. You want to get all religious and all complicated That's fine and dandy, but you better never lose The reality that your faith has to be that of a little child And that you've got to want to know jesus Intimately and personally in a powerful way on your own you you will not get to heaven through the pastor through the youtube teacher
- 0:07:36
Through mom or dad to grandpa or grandma you're not getting to heaven But by jesus christ, that's it and you must know him Not know about him You must know him yourself You must be born again Through faith in his blood and his resurrection and his righteousness You must be willing not just to repent and turn from sin, but be willing to follow him And how do you follow him? You must be led by the holy spirit You say well pastor and you talk about this all the time. Yes, I do because this is our Christianity is what true christianity is supposed to be about knowing jesus christ And being led by the holy spirit And if you're led by the holy spirit Then you're going to be obedient to his word his written word and what the holy spirit is telling you to do And if you're obedient and in the will of god for your life, you will bear fruit And i'm not talking about the fruit of zit zit I'm talking about the fruit of souls saved lives changed I'm going to read you a testimony a minute that is going to explain this But I feel like we need to do this song one more time That we just need to spend another Eight or so minutes. I think this song is And worship the lord. Can you do that for eight more minutes? Because we're not in a hurry Just always remember this too Jesus does love you And he wants you to make it He's not against you. He's not wait. Look at just waiting for you to make a mistake so he can swatch you He wants you to make it in life Walking with him and he wants you to make it to heaven You know first timothy is very clear is that god? Wills or desires all men to come to the knowledge of the truth He wants if if If god hadn't decided to give us free will so we wouldn't be robots He just have all of us there, but he's like y'all going to choose You're going to choose who you walk with and where you end up for all eternity So you choose Let's worship him for a few more minutes and then we'll Get into this Go ahead. We want you jesus
- 0:19:04
your presence in our lives Your anointing the power of your spirit. We want to be full Of your holy spirit lord jesus And we want to walk like you walk doing the works you did to set the captives free to bring the sinner to repentance To see people born again Through faith simple faith And what you did on the cross in your resurrection We want to see people yes convicted of sin and brought to true repentance See eyes open lord and only you can give the revelation the understanding You must convict them. You must draw them. You must open their eyes to the simplicity That is in jesus christ where we thank you for that that it is simple that even a child can understand And lord you even set some Pharisees and Sadducees free they got saved too So lord bring them out bring us all out of darkness out of religion Out of a some list of rules. We think we have to keep That we may just walk with you in relationship and faith in a spirit led True christianity or we thank you for that. We pray it in jesus name Amen, you may be seated this morning. I want to read First we're going to read something. I I preached on it really a few weeks ago, but I need to read this again This is philippians chapter 3 I mean folks your walk with god is supposed to be supernatural That should be the experience of your life Not don't mean that god's going to do a miracle and get you out of every trial you you have to go through But what i'm saying is there should always be A witness of the holy spirit in your life. There should always be a two-way communication going on Not one way And I found that if you just will worship god and spirit in the truth with all your heart And you want what he wants And you'll read his word meditate on his word And spend time with him He's promised he will manifest himself to you Now people talk about the presence of god, but let me tell you right now Yes, god is everywhere all the time You know david said even if he made his bed in hell that the presence of the lord was there. He couldn't escape the lord He's everywhere That is true. But there is a difference between that presence of the lord everywhere and when he concentrates it and manifests it in one spot
- 0:22:07
and when he does That's when things happen You see I I have no desire to push you back under the old testament My desire is to push you into being led by the holy spirit. That's all I want you to be That's why I tell what nancy and I you know what most of our counseling ends up being pray about it Pray about it And let the lord speak to your heart Because we are not responsible to tell you everything to do You should be listening if you are born again christian following jesus loving jesus hating sin And you're full of the holy spirit and you want his will to be done in your life. You should be hearing his voice And if not if something's in the way He'll show you what's in the way And then you remove it If it's unforgiveness if it's bitterness towards somebody Deal with that unforgiveness If it's some habitual sin some besetting sin deal with that Repent of it get out of it. Stop doing it And if you need deliverance get deliverance from it cast the demon out and get free from it in jesus name But you should be moving forward you should be hearing his voice It's like anybody out there that thinks it's odd that a christian should hear The voice of god for themselves and be led by the holy spirit anybody that that kind of Diminishes that or dismisses that run away from them Or anybody that that makes you feel like you've got to hear from some from them and not from god for god for yourself You understand? We have people come to us all the time with big big issues big questions. Should I do this should I do that? I can tell you right now 99 times out of a hundred i'm not going to say one thing about it even if I know What they should do Most of the time i'll tell you the truth. I don't know But a lot of times even if I know i'm not going to say it because they need to hear the lord Jesus speak to them. They need the holy spirit to guide them. They need to know he's talking to them Amen that is christianity loving jesus with all your heart soul mind and strength And being led by the holy spirit being filled with the holy spirit and the gifts of the holy spirit Moving and working in your life I mean if if if I had to preach the last sermon and somebody would say define for me christianity, that is it know jesus christ know him personally Because you've believed in his atoning death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead and his spirit now dwells in you
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