Has Jesus Been Revealed to You?

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Praise the Lord. Heavenly Father, thank you for the opportunity, Lord, to speak. I trust your words to your children. And I pray, God, for that precious anointing that would come upon us. Thank you, Lord, for the privilege of standing for your word and bringing it to your church. In Jesus' name. Amen. My subject this morning is this Has Jesus been revealed to you? Has Jesus been revealed to you? Jesus said in Matthew 11, verse 27, All things are delivered unto me of my Father. And no man knoweth the Son, but the Father. Neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son. Look at this part. And he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. The word reveal means to uncover and make manifest. It means to lay open what has been veiled or covered up. It means to disclose what before was unknown. Matthew 16 and 13, something happens here. When Jesus came to the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked the disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist, some Elias, some Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. And he said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Look what Jesus said to him in the 17th verse. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar Jonah. The word Barjona means Bar means son. He was the son of Jonah. Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. Peter had a revelation from the Father that this Jesus was the Christ. So the question is, how does God reveal himself to us? Well, Peter got up on Acts chapter 2, verse 37, and Peter's words pierced their hearts. And they said unto him and to the other apostles, Brothers, what should we do? Peter replied, Each of you must repent of your sins, turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ to show that you have received the forgiveness for your sins. Now, when it says be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, it means by the authority of Jesus. People get a lot of confusion about that. Jesus said the prescription for baptism is in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. All Peter was saying here, so don't turn this into some kind of theological dispute. He was saying, be baptized under the authority of Christ. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promises to you and to your children, and even to the Gentiles, all who have been called by the Lord our God. Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, save yourselves from this crooked generation. What does the word pierced mean? It means to prick. The word pierced, when Peter was preaching, the conviction was so great. The power of God had come down into his heart, into his spirit. And the word pierced means to pain the mind sharply. That's when we say ouch, when the word of God steps on our toes. To pain the mind sharply, to agitate it vehemently, especially the emotion of sorrow. To cut like a severe or deadly wound given to a person. Jesus said in John 16 and 8, and when he comes, who? When the Holy Spirit comes, he will convict the world of its sin and of God's righteousness and of the coming judgment. This word convict means to reprove, to rebuke. It means to convince and tell people their faults and their sins. It means with a suggestion of shame for that person who's in sin. It means to bring to light and to expose, to correct, to call to the account, demand an explanation, to chasten and to punish. We don't like that part of the gospel. We don't like it. But this is the way we come to Christ. The first, you met the Holy Spirit who revealed Jesus to you. And when you heard the preaching or you heard a sermon somewhere or whatever, someone witnessing to you, you were pierced and pricked in your heart. Why and whom does God want to reveal Himself to? Well, it tells us in Luke chapter 1, verse 79, verse 79, to give light to them that sit in darkness. We all used to sit in darkness. We all used to sit in darkness. And in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace. That's what the word says. What is darkness? Shade intercepted by the shade caused by the interception of light. You see, when people are in darkness and you try to give them light, it gets intercepted. They don't want it. Ignorance respecting divine things and human duties, and accompanying ungodliness and immorality together with their consent, consequent misery in hell. You see, when the light comes to people, and here's what the word says the Bible says in John 3 19, and this is the condemnation that light has come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. People like doing sinful things. They justify it, they stay in it, not realizing the consequences eventually could be hell, unless they allow the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to them. Jesus said in John 8 and 12, he said, Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Why would people want to walk in darkness? Because of sin. He says in John 12, 25, then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you. For he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whether he goeth. You see, some people have the light for a while. Then they decide they're going to walk in darkness, and the light goes away. John 12, 46 says, I am come, I am, I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. Why would someone want to abide in darkness? Because they love sin more than they love God. Because their way is right, and they justify it. But what's the consequence? What's the consequence of not knowing God? What's the consequence of not allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to us? Well, God spoke through Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 6 and verse 8. And he said, Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying to me, Who should I send? And who will go for us? And I said, Here I am, send me. Isaiah was ready. And he replied, Go, say to these people, Keep listening, but do not understand. Keep looking, but do not perceive. Dull minds of these people, deafen their ears and blind their eyes, otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their minds, and turn back and be healed. Then I said, Until when, Lord? And they replied, Until the cities lie in ruins without inhabitants. Houses are without people, the land is ruined and desolate, and the Lord drives the people far away, leaving great emptiness in the land. Can this happen to our country? We have gospel on television, gospel on radio. We have churches on every street corner, so to speak. And yet our country lives in darkness. Will it come to this? Will it come to the preacher's preaching? To people who have deaf ears and blind eyes. Some of the most terrible words found in the Bible for those that do not allow Christ to be revealed to them is found in Matthew 7, 21. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. And many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works, and then I will profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you work that iniquity. They did not allow the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus. Listen, I've been around long enough to watch ministries and ministers and to detect what's anointed and what's not for the most part. And I want to tell you, there's a lot of charlatans out there. They've been around for a long time. They look smooth, they know how to speak, they know how to seduce a congregation, they know how to get them in the palm of their hand. But Jesus is going to say one of these days, I don't even know you. You see, because we must be found in the Lamb's book of life. The Bible says in Revelation 20 and 15, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. We don't talk about that. We don't talk about hell. We don't want to talk about that. Revelation chapter 21 and verse 27 says this, and there shall in no wise enter into anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but that which are written in the Lamb's book of life. But they that are written in the Lamb's book of life. People take the word of God and they design it for their own satisfaction. And they can make it say whatever they want it to say. God is love. Yes, he is, but he's also a God of justice and judgment. And we don't want to hear that message in the church. We don't want to hear that sometimes we have to suffer, sometimes we have to go through trials and tribulations. We don't want to hear that. We want someone to anoint us with oil and pray the prayer of faith over us and say, God, bring comfort to them and bring healing instantaneously. When God says, I'm not going to do that, it's good sometimes to be afflicted, it's good to go through adversity. That's what David taught us in the Old Testament. And he ran for 13 years from a man that wanted to kill him, a man that turned on him. But yet he never did anything to her. He never did anything to the king. He could have killed him numerous times. He had such a respect for the ministry. So let me go to Luke chapter 10, verse 17. The 70 returned again with joy. Ministry. Jesus sent us out with the anointing. Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Now what's he saying here? He says, Fellas, you think I didn't know that the devils were going to be subject unto you? When I saw Satan be thrown out of heaven with one third of the heavens' angels, do you think that surprises me? I sent you out with the anointing. I sent you out with the unction. And I knew full well what was going to happen when you were sent out. And he says to them in verse 19 of Luke chapter 10, he says, Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. But look at verse number 20. Now with seeing me in this, rejoice not. What? Don't get such a big head about ministry. Rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you. But what shall we rejoice in? But rejoice because your names are written in heaven. What's he saying here? You see, too many are uh too many people are in love with their gift. I got this gift, I got the gift of healing, I got the gift of prophecy, I've got the gift of the word of wisdom and the word of you got a gift. And they're in love with the ministry. Not with Jesus. They like to be out there. They aren't like the accolades, they like the presentation, they like the graduation, they like the promotions. They like all that. And what happens? They're in love with the idea of ministry, but they really don't know Jesus the way he wants it to know. You see, these these guys came back. I gotta write a book. I gotta get this on video. I gotta share this with the world. Look what God is doing through me. Okay. So what does he say? He says in verse 21, he says, In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hid these things from the wise and the prudent and hast revealed them unto babes, even so, Father, for it seemed good in thy sight. You see, even these seven that he sent out who did these great things. He says, I'm so happy you revealed it unto babes. You know, I I've seen people, you know, I'm I'm called to the ministry. Okay, you better be careful when you say you're called to the ministry. Because you're gonna be in for a battle, you're gonna be in for opposition, you're gonna be in for a satanic invasion. You better know that you know that you know you're called or leave that or you're crazy. Hear what I'm saying? A lot of people think, hey, I'm the best thing since slice bread. You need me. None of you need me. None of you need me. Life will go on. All of us. In a hundred years, none of us will be here. We need Jesus, we need the revelation of Christ more than we've ever had it before. Listen to what God is trying to say in this word. He says, I did not give this to the wise and the prudent. Who are they? Oh, those that are skilled, those that can preach the word of God and know this book backwards and forwards, but don't know the author. The wise, what does he mean? Skilled in letters, the cultivated. Oh man, I've seen them get behind pulpits and I've heard them blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. What a great man of God this is, and blah blah blah, and we're so happy he's here with us, blah, blah, blah. But if you read what's going on in the man's life, are you aware of the sin? No. You're promoting something that God is not promoting. What a sham. It says to the prudent, who's the prudent? He says, I did not reveal this to the wise and prudent. The prudent are the intelligence ones, the legalistic ones. In a hostile sense, they're the combatants, those that want to argue and be oppositional. But I think the word says this, and I believe this, and grandma told me this, and this preacher told me that. Who cares? What does the word of God say? And they want to fight with you and argue with you. And this is what Jesus said. He says, Lord, Father, I thank you. That you revealed this to babes. And Jesus brought them down a few notches. I'm happy what my father has done through you guys, and you'll begin doing a lot more of that. But rejoice that your names are written in the Lamb's book of life. The Bible says in Luke chapter 10, verse 21, I want to read two versions. The NLT version says, At that same time Jesus was filled with joy of the Holy Spirit. And he said, Oh, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way. He says in the message version, at that Jesus rejoiced, exuberant in the Holy Spirit, and he said, I thank you, Father, Master of Heaven and Earth, that you hid these things from the no-olds and show them to these innocent newcomers. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way. He's talking about the 70. He said, Fellows, you haven't arrived yet. I gave you that special anointing from my father to prove to you that you should rejoice more than your name is in the Lamb's book of life, because many are gonna come before the Lord on judgment day and say, Father, we cast out devils, we prophesied, we did all these great things, and Jesus is gonna say, I don't even know who you are. Who are you? Who are you? You're not one of mine, you're not one of my children. You refuse the revelation of the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to you, and you learn how to play the game, you learn how to maneuver, you learn how to work the congregation, you learn how to work the people. Witchcraft. That's what it is, it's witchcraft. It's not the anointing of God. You see, here's how Jesus categorized these people to young Timothy. He said in 2 Timothy 3:7, ever learning, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Think about that friend. Have you met those kind of people? The know-it-alls, the combatants, the argumentative, the oppositional. They're gonna tell you that this word that Jesus spoke to us, this is what it really needs. Because they have received some special revelation from God, some special prophetic anointing that doesn't line up with his word. Man bringing attention to himself and not bringing attention to Jesus Christ, there's something wrong with the picture. See, the Holy Spirit came to reveal Jesus, He came to reveal Jesus to us so that nothing would be hidden from us. Listen, I wanted to slip this verse in because Luke chapter 12 and 21, this is for a lot of different people. He says, yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth. You know, sometimes that's intelligent knowledge. I know. I I know. Earthly wealth, but not have a rich relationship with God. You see what he's saying is you can know this book back and forth. You can have all the wealth in the world, you can have houses, land, whatever. But what does it say? You don't have nothing if you don't know him. If you've never seen the revelation of Jesus Christ, you don't know him, and your name is not written in the Lamb's Book of Life. I mean, that's the word. And people maneuver different religions. People are coming out and saying there's so many different paths to a man to salvation and to heaven. Universal salvation, everyone's going to heaven. No, and they're not. It's not true. Those are doing the will of my father, he said. But as soon as someone dies, oh, they're at peace with God. Really? I mean, there's been mob funerals in Brooklyn. High masses, nine priests. How many did this guy kill? How many? Fifty? And you think that smoke and that incense and all these people on the altar? That this guy is gonna go to heaven? Are you serious? I I have a hard time understanding that. But yeah, people fall for that every day on social media. Well, they're at peace with God. How do you know that? I only know that if someone has received the revelation of Jesus Christ in their life and they're living for God. You see, my friends, we're privileged. What does that mean? Luke 10, 22 says this all things are delivered to me of my Father, and no man knoweth who the Son is but the Father, and who the Father is but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. And he turned to his disciples and he said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see these things which you see and have not seen them, and to hear those things which you hear and have not heard them. How many times have you heard me say this? We are a privileged people. It's not about any great works that I've done. Yeah. I'm going to be asked one question. Did you know my son?

SPEAKER_00 22:04

Come on.

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Did you know Jesus? That's what it's going to amount to. And he's going to look up my name in the Lamb's book of life and he's going to say, Okay, you're here. Come on in. Think about that for a minute. Sounds so simple. He calls us friends. And in John 15 and 14, he says, You are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you. Ooh boy. Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what the Lord doeth, but I have called you friends, for all things that I've heard of my Father I made known unto you. What is that saying? Not only does he want to reveal Jesus to us through the power of the Holy Spirit, he wants to reveal his wisdom and knowledge to us. He actually wants to make life smoother for us. You tell people, just read the book of Proverbs. Get an easy translation. And it's like going to Bible school. Raise up your boys and your girls to read the book of Proverbs. And it's like going to Bible school. They'll learn all about life in Proverbs. He calls us friends. What a privilege that Jesus has revealed himself to us. We must continually listen to the word now, constrain him lest we fall privy to the things of this world and our relationship becomes blurry. Philippians 3.15 says this. So let's keep focused on that goal. Those of us who want everything God has for us, if any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision. You'll see it yet. God wants to take the veil off people's eyes. You could tell about a lot about a person in about two minutes when they start talking. You could tell where they're coming spiritually. It's going to take long. Because out of the heart, the mouth speaks. What is Jesus saying here? We got to constrain him. We got to stop him. We have to say, Lord, I want to know you. I want to know you more. I want more of your wisdom. I want your knowledge. I want you to know-how. Let me tell you about two disciples who momentarily miss Jesus being revealed to them. Crucifixion takes place. And a lot of people that were following Jesus are really dismayed and discouraged. Because they thought things were going to change. You know? They thought that the golden era was coming, the golden age. It didn't quite happen that way. And they're coming back from the crucifixion, and Luke 24, 13 says, and behold, two of them that went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem, about three score furlings, about seven miles. They're walking back from the crucifixion, seven miles back home. And they were dejected, they were discouraged. Because things didn't turn out the way they expected. They had many things to process as we do in the in the in the day that we're living in. We have a lot of discussion. We have a lot of reasons among us. What's going on? Are we going to survive? The price of gas, the price of food. And all those things are worthy to have a conversation over. But these men were disturbed. They were disturbed. And rightfully so. I'm sure I would have joined them. Not trying, not understanding what's going on. He's my king and my lord and my guide and my shepherd, and now he's dead. I saw him die. The Bible says in the verse 14, Luke 24, and they they talked together about all these things which had happened. What were they talking about? What were they talking about? How meaningful and spiritual is our conversation? What are we talking about? What are we talking about? What they're gonna do to us. What they have planned for us. Not what God is gonna do for us, or what God has planned for us, and so that spirit of fear, that seductive spirit of fear, boom, grabs a hold of us and says, We're doomed. There's more of them than us. There's 8.3 billion people in the world, and most of them don't know Jesus. We say, where does that leave us? And all we can talk about is what they're gonna do to us. And we have to ask ourselves a question: what is the content of our talking to one another? Does it reveal Jesus in the conversation? Do we even mention his name? Do we even mention the name of Jesus in our conversation? Do we even say the Lord spoke to my heart? Or the Lord drew me to a scripture? You hardly ever hear that kind of content. You hardly ever hear anything personal about the revelation of Jesus Christ coming out of Christians' mouths. And it came to pass while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. Can you imagine? Here's these two guys walking home seven miles, and Jesus appears. Wouldn't that startle you? It's like, where did this guy come from? They communed and reasoned together. This was deep conversation and inquiry from the heart, which is okay. What does it mean to reason? It means to seek or examine together. Let's talk about what happened. You saw it, I did. You saw him crucified, I did. You heard him say it is finished, he gave up the ghost? Yes, we did. They want to discuss, they wanted to dispute, they wanted to question it. In order to find out, they they they started thinking and meditating and and and and cross-reasoning. They were looking for answers concerning the day's events, trying to make sense out of life. Aren't we also doing the same thing? We're trying to make sense out of life. How do I raise my kid? What do I say to a 13 or 14-year-old man? Remember when we were 13 and 14? Did we listen? Nah. Listen to your father! Like I did. Listen to your mother, like I did. Come on now. It's difficult economically, shopping, trying to maneuver children, praying for them. Because each one of them has an eternity, each one of them needs the revelation of Jesus Christ in their life, and I don't mean just coming to church. Coming to church isn't savior. You come to church for the next 50 years and still go to hell. I'm talking about praying that the Holy Spirit get a hold of their heart and convict them and show them the need for Jesus Christ even when they're young. Oh, I hear people say, Oh, you can't live for God now as a young person. Timothy did. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did, Daniel did. There were some kids that were only nine to ten years old. You know why kids can't live for God nowadays? Because of lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and pride of life. That's why. Listen, the Bible says in Corinthians there's many instructors, but not many fathers. Many instructors. See, children need a father. I heard yesterday that one state overseer and one state, there was hundreds and hundreds of churches. He says every 12 to 18 months, he says, ministers come to me and they want to change their church. See, that's how you go up and run. You build a bigger church, you have more people. And this overseer said, I have 200 ministers that want to move. 200. They want different churches. You see, if you look statistically, the longevity of a church is dependent on the longevity of a pastor. You see, what the man was trying to say is these churches have many instructors, but every two years or 12 to 18 months, they get a different leader. It's a broken home, it's a dysfunctional church. It's not gonna work. They're gonna go somewhere else in the next 12 to 18 months, they're gonna get tired of that church. They're only gonna be instructors and they're gonna want another church. Instead of digging one out, no matter how big or small it might be, no matter how great the opposition might be, and say, This is where God planted me until he moves me, this is where I live. See, we have a lot of instructors in our homes, but not many fathers. And it's a shame that that's happening in America. You see, they reasoned, they wanted in, they wanted to know about today's events, but they didn't recognize Jesus. It was just, it's kind of like in Matthew 14, 24, and if you read through the verse 27, when Jesus was walking on the water, they said, It's a ghost. It's a ghost. They didn't even recognize Jesus. It's not a ghost, it's Christ. And many are no different today by not recognizing Jesus in their hour of trial and tribulation. Listen, I expect opposition. I expect I don't expect the enemy to lay down when I said those things this morning. Let the rivers of living water flow through me greater than it's ever have. You think the enemy doesn't know my cry? Those demonic forces are already set up for destruction of my life and yours. If you heed to the words, I know our position will be there. But you know what? I'm a hostile combatant against Satan and the dark world of his kingdom. I'm a hostile combatant. And I don't want to use the word that I've been seasoned, but I tell you what, I've been in the fire more than once. And I've seen him pull me out of that fire. When it hurt, when it was burning, when I thought there was no way out, the form of the fourth showed up. Come on now. You see, they didn't recognize Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Not recognized, he said in Luke 24, 16, but their eyes were holding that they should not know him. They didn't recognize him. That's what the word holding means. They did not know him, they weren't acquainted with the one that was walking home with them. They did not know him accurately and well, and that's the church world. A lot of people really don't know. They talk about God, people come to church, but do we know? Do we know? It's an intimacy between two people. It's like the conjugal relationship in the physical between a man and a woman. It's an intercourse, right? It's an intimacy that's sacred. Two kingdoms coming together, a man and a woman. It's sacred, it's holy. And this is what Jesus was trying to show them. I'm here to be intimate with you spiritually. But there was a problem. Days, events, distractions, cares, concerns, questions, lack of faith, lack of focus, roadblocks that prevent us from knowing Jesus and what he can do in our lives under severe conditions. I don't think God can get me out of this one. This one's too big for God. What pride we have to think that God, who created the heavens and the earth and spoke them into existence, can't fix our situation. So many have been deceived into believing this is even too big for God. Really? When was the last time that you took dust and mud and formed it into a body and breathed it into their nostrils in your backyard and a living being came forth? When was the last time you did that? When was the last time that you put a woman to sleep and took a rib out of her side and made a woman out of the rib, out of the rib, out of Adam's body? When was the last time that you spoke the SARS into existence? Oh, but my problem, Pastor? God can't solve this one. Man, I've had this one so long that, yeah, that's the problem. You've owned it, you've possessed it, you've allowed those demonic forces to come into your life, and you're making an agreement or a contract with the devil instead of saying, Holy Spirit, come into my life and break the chains in the name of Jesus Christ. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. Lord, raise me up out of this tomb, raise me up out of this grave. Come on. He said unto them, What manner of communications are are these that have one to another as you walk and are sad? We don't like when Jesus questions us, do we? What's up, brother? What's up, son? What's the big problem here? What? The Lord speaking. What's the big issue? This is what Jesus is saying. He said, Well, man of communications, you're sad, you're gloomy, depressed. Why are your two disciples sad? What are you sad about? I have a question for you. What are we sad about? We didn't get our burger in time. Gas prices are four and a half bucks. End of the world! End of the world, gas prices are really consuming us.

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What are we saying? What are you saying about?

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That's a really great question. He's asking them a question. And one of them, whose name was Cleopus, answered and said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem? You see, they don't know him. A lot of people don't know him. A lot of people have never received the revelation of Jesus Christ in the way that they should have. They said, Are you a stranger and has known not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? You know, I love words. Cleopas. What kind of name is that? I wouldn't personally name my son Cleopas. I don't think you would. I'm glad I didn't name you, we didn't name you Cleopus. That would have been what would be the nickname? Cleo, I don't know, but listen to what it says. Listen, listen to this. This man has stature here. Cleopas means of a renowned father. Well, dad was somebody. Now look, dad probably passed. One who stands in a father's place and looks after another in a paternal way. This is no dummy here. This is a man of substance. It's a title of honor. Those to whom pupils trace back the knowledge and training they have received from their father. One who has infused his own spirit into others, who actuates and governs their minds, who's an inspiration and a motivation to other people. This man was no dummy. Some say he was possibly a senior, an older person. And Luke 24, 19, and and Jesus said unto them, What things? Tell me. Now he's getting a conversation going. And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet, mighty indeed and word, before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and have crucified him. People are no different today by questioning God. Don't you know what's going on in our country, Lord? Lord, don't you know what's going on in my home? Don't you know what's going on in my body? We do the same thing. We question. Are you sleeping? Have you gone on vacation?

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Oh, he knows every hair that fell into the sink this morning out of my head. If our son asks for a bread, does the father give him a stone? Or does he give him a fish?

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How much more does our heavenly father want to give to us? The bread of life, the fish, the blessings. Listen. What does it say? In Luke 24, 21, but we trusted that it that it had been in he which should have redeemed Israel. And beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done. We trusted, we hoped. God, you haven't changed my husband yet. You haven't changed my wife yet. We're still doking it out. One trying to change the other. We trusted that Lord, you know, I prayed for him.

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Pray for yourself. Get yourself straightened out first.

SPEAKER_01 43:20

This was our expectation. They're talking to Jesus. We thought things were gonna be different. We talked in dream of the day that things would change. We thought he would redeem Israel. We thought that he would liberate us from these demons and devils, this Roman government, that he would set up his own government. You know what the problem is? We have people who are preaching and prophesying of the golden era. And I'm wondering what book you're reading from. When the Bible says that things will wax worse and worse. But I'm confident to be part of the remnant church that'll take care of me. Because he's done that for all these years. So what's going to change? People are preoccupied with this is what God should do. Lord, this is what you should do. And I'll say, hey, wait a minute. The last time I checked, I was sitting at the right hand of the Father. And you're telling me what I should be doing. See, that's how we construct our prayers. Lord, you need to do this. You don't need to do anything. All we need to do is pray. All we need to do is cry out to Him. All we need to do is pray for God's will and God's mercy and grace, and He'll deliver. So in Luke chapter 24 and verse 22, and I'm not going to go through the whole thing, he gave them a Bible lesson all the way back to the days of Moses. He brought them all back to the Word of God, and that's where we have to go back to the Word of God. How much time do people really study the Word? Take a pencil and a paper and hit up how much you scroll in your phone each week. And then take another piece of paper and pray and write down how much time did I give to God in His Word? You see, I'm more I'm interested in what's going on in the world, in the in the friendship world, and social media world, which is fine. But we get distracted. And it takes away us from God. And everybody's got, you know, you got carpal tunnel. I think we're gonna come up with a new disease, carpal neck. Everybody's looking down. I try to tell them I already picked up all the coins off the floor, so there's no money on the floor. Everybody's looking down everywhere you go. Used to go to a medical appointment, sit in the medical office, and talk to the person next to you. There's no talking. Go to a restaurant, and this kid's got this iPad. He's five years old, he's watching cartoons. When I went to a restaurant, my dad taught me manners.

SPEAKER_00 46:22

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 46:22

He told me where to put my knack in. He told me how to speak to the waiter or the waitress. What's happened to me? We're more in love with social media than we are with the Word of God. That's why we're a Bible-ignoring country. And how can Jesus possibly be revealed to us if we don't even know who the Holy Spirit is? And Luke 24, verse 28. I want to close soon. And they drew near unto the village whither they went, and he made as though he would have gone further. He was going to leave. And he came, and it appears that Jesus would have continued walking and not stay with them to be refreshed, which was a custom in those days in that world. What's he saying? We must keep the door open to hear his voice. What does it say in Revelation 3.20? Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and will sup with him, and he with me. People don't want the Holy Spirit in the church. We'd rather talk about committee meetings in churches about gender. About a boy taking hormones to become a woman. And vice versa, a girl. And we want to fight about that. And justify that. Because we say God loves everybody. We want to exclude the verses in Genesis that He made male and female. We don't want to talk about that more. And churches are splitting, denominations are splitting. Because we're taking the word of God and we're twisting it. And who becomes the victims? The children. The children. Listen, I love everybody. God hates sin, and we should. And I'm a sinner saved by grace. Our job is through the power of the Holy Spirit to pray that Jesus be revealed to people so they can be free. But they constrain him. They said, no, don't go, abide with us, for it is toward evening and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. What does it mean to constrain? It means to use or apply force. Say, hey, don't go. They still don't know who he is. They're compelling him to constrain him. They're appealing to him. This is our custom. You can't just walk away from us. This is a custom in the East. We have to wash your feet. Your feet, you need to be refreshed. You need to have a drink, you need to have bread. You see, what we're not doing in the church world is we're not constraining Jesus. You see, he's been walking around here all morning spiritually. And what are we thinking about? Distractions? Unfocused. When is the preacher going to shut up and go home? And it came to pass he sat down at meet with them and he took the bread. Oh, I love this. And he blessed it and broke it and gave it to them. He blessed it. He celebrated with praise. He's invoking his blessings upon this home. He's invoking the blessings of his father. And the Bible says he gave them bread. How much does he want to give us today? It means to give of one's own accord for their advantage. Jesus didn't need the bread. He is the bread of life. But you know what this word gave means? To bestow a gift. That's where we get John 3.16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. He's given us a gift. And what do people do with the gift? They hide it. Or reject it.

SPEAKER_00 51:03

Or say they don't need it. When we actually need it. And their eyes were opened. Oh God, open our eyes.

SPEAKER_01 51:17

And they knew him. All of a sudden, can you imagine? Their eyes were open and they knew him and he vanished.

unknown 51:31

He vanished.

SPEAKER_00 51:34

What manner of man is this? That speaks with such authority. That could be here and then be here.

SPEAKER_01 51:46

Same holds true in our life. He wants to be here. He wants to be near. He wants to be present. And they said to one another, did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us by the way? And while he opened to us the scriptures, now they're saying, you know why? That's why my heart was burning inside. That's why I was pierced. That's why I was preached. Because I heard him speak and preach to us. What is the Vanadi Church doing conviction? For the most part, they don't let it behind the pulpit to preach. And if it did, the walls go up.

SPEAKER_00 52:33

I don't need that. I'm good. I'm okay.

SPEAKER_01 52:40

I'm a good person. I don't hurt nobody. I don't bother nobody. I don't talk about nobody. But yet says the word, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It doesn't say about being good. Because Jesus said none are good. He said, Your goodness and righteousness is as filthy rags. That's what we need the Holy Spirit. And that third person of the Trinity is the one person the church doesn't want to come in. I don't need that. I don't need that. Yes, we do. If you want Jesus to be revealed to you in a greater way, and who doesn't want Jesus to be known by us in a greater way? Let me close. They rose up the same hour. They walked back seven miles to Jerusalem and found the eleven together, and then that were with them saying, The Lord is risen indeed and has appeared to Simon. They walk back to Jerusalem seven miles to tell the disciples that Jesus rose from the dead. We have seen him. We broke bread with him. Man, people get freaked out. When you tell them you've been with Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 53:58

Well, come on.

SPEAKER_01 54:04

Yeah. Like I'm talking to you. And he does answer. Really? Really? Closing. Here's what Jesus said. John 14 and 7. If you had known me, he said, you should have known my Father also. And from henceforth you know him and have seen him. John 14, 17. Even the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but you know him, for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you. This is opportunity through the Holy Spirit to enter into an intimate relationship with Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes to reveal Jesus to us, and there's no ending. Listen to this. There is no ending to the revelation. You can't contain Jesus. You can't measure him. He's omniscient, he's omnipotent, he's all-knowing. What does all this depend on? Our desire and passion for a relationship with Jesus. You see, we have to ask ourselves a question. Is he our Savior? I prayed the prayer. God forgive me of my sins. Or is he the Lord of my life? There is a difference. Is he my shepherd? Do I trust him? What my future, my family? The Apostle Paul said that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death. What does it mean to know him? Paul's old now. Why did he have this longing to know Jesus even better? Didn't he know God? Absolutely. He wrote two-thirds of the New Testament. It's an indication that there's no ending to God. Paul had passion and desire to know Jesus more. Well, what's more important in life right now? I know it's summer and I love summer. I wake up in the morning and I make my coffee. I like to sit outside and read. Be with the Lord early.

SPEAKER_00 56:35

That's important.

SPEAKER_01 56:39

To know him more. To hear him. To bring hope to others. To pray. Lord, we need you. We need help. I need help. And you're going to pray that prayer when you get older, too. You're going to need more help. Not as young as you used to be. Some of you are finding that out in your 40s and 50s. I hope you can do what I'm doing at 78. And I'm not bragging about me. Just recently I rotored, rotor tilled two gardens, dug 70 holes, and cut grass for two hours. I'm 78 years old. I didn't have to deal with a flood in my basement with my wife for hours. You say, Lord, I'm tired. And you know I'm old. And he says, I'm not.

SPEAKER_00 57:45

I'll give you the strength. Just keep doing what you're doing. Keep doing what you do. I said I'm gonna close, but I have to close with this.

SPEAKER_01 58:01

What's the proof that we know him? If someone asks you a question, how do I know you know Jesus? How do I know that you know Jesus? I go to 1 John chapter 2, verse 3. Listen to what it says. I didn't write it. And hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word in him, verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk, even as he walked. Now, what does all that mean? In a different translation, it says this and we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims I know God, but doesn't obey God's commandments, that person is a liar is not living in the truth. But those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. This means this is a knowledge grounded on personal experience. This is the condition of knowing him. This is a continual condition, this is a daily condition and decision to walk with the king. We must abide with him and continue with Jesus every day until he comes, unless we're going to be like the two disciples coming home from the crucifixion and momentarily lose the revelation of Jesus. Do you get that? We can't make up our own religion. This is the one true God. 1 John 5 and 20, reading two verses in closing. We know that the Son of God has come. We know that. And has given us an understanding that we may know that he is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. Listen to what this says. NLT version. And we know that the Son of God has come, we know that, and He has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his son Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, not Buddha, not Confucius, not Muhammad. And he is eternal life. Listen to verse 21. Dear children, keep away from anything. In the King James Version, it said idols. That's anything we put before God. Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:17

That's a heavy verse. Keep away from anything that might take God's place in your heart.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:30

Man, if that isn't food for thought, I don't know what is. You see, those things, anything, are idols. Person, place, or things can take us away from God and the revelation of his son Jesus. That's why Paul said to the church in Galatians, how did you get so soon removed from the gospel? How did you get tripped? You're so soon removed from the revelation of Jesus Christ. And you think the enemy's not going to make a bit from that to happen in our lives in the last day? Didn't he tell Peter? You're going to be sifted like wheat. But not only was it to Peter, it was to the church. I really believe the Lord wants us to know him in a greater way. And we have to constrain him. And our Christianity has to take a turn in a different direction in America. We have to truly be in love with Christ. As a bride who loves the husband, and he's the husband coming, that we need to be ready for his appearing. Father, I pray you help us to be ready for your appearing. I appreciate the word this morning. Has Jesus been revealed to us? Yes. But I want more. I want to know you more. I want to be like Paul, that I may know him. I want to know you better. Help us in this church to know you better. And those that might be listening to this sermon somewhere, I pray God for them that they would come to know you better. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. Would you stand with us?