Hi there, welcome to NECF. We're excited to share today's message with you. Don't
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Here's today's sermon.
What we are doing is establishing the importance of our trusting in God, establishing the important
of our trusting in God and understanding our identity. Trusting in God, understanding our
identity because you cannot manifest what you don't know. Praise God. You cannot manifest
what you don't know. So we are going into understanding our identity, understanding that we have a union
with God. We sang about it. We have a union. We are one spirit with this God that we serve.
And what we're going to be, what we saw in the last time, we saw a bit of how Jesus Christ used
figures of speech, such as metaphors and metonyms, things to communicate this truth, spiritual truths.
He used that and we saw a couple of that in the last teaching that we had. Spiritual truths,
profound spiritual truth. So in this teaching, what we're going to be doing now is that we're
going to be going deeper into what or who we believe in and how our believing will translate
into exercising our faith, which will lead, which will cause a practical and a visible
manifestation of this kingdom that we are part of. Praise God. Because our union with Christ is the
foundation, is the basis by which we are able to manifest the kingdom. And hence our going back
at in the teaching that Pastor Emmanuel had walked us through also emphasized that is in our union,
that foundation. And in the midweek service on Wednesday, he talked about certain elements and
what faith was included. And I love the way he defined believing during the course of the service.
I don't know how many of us were around for the midweek service. Praise God. Looks like in the
meetings, very few of us that attend the midweek services. And I encourage you that you don't miss
out because everything builds up on itself. Every teaching that we have, this pastor teaches, the
next pastor builds up on itself. And what he said, believing, who can remember, who remembers what he
said believing is. Okay. There are a few people, so I don't expect anybody from this, but he said,
believing is exercising our faith. Believing is exercising our faith. I want to, that's very
important that we pen it down because this is going to be very, it's, this team will repeat itself in
the course of this teaching this morning or this afternoon. Exercising our faith, believing,
believing means exercising our faith. And the last time I taught, I explained to us that the,
the text we just read, that is in John 14, this, which is, which we have before us. Notice,
believe is used twice in the text. Believe in God, believe also in me, believe in God, believe also
in me. And I said the word, the Greek word there is pisto. And the word believe has several
words in Greek. In fact, it has eight words in Greek. So this one word believe in English
language. And that's why most times we go to the Greek to help us understand. Not that's just,
not because we just love calling out Greek words. The word it's in English, it's believe,
but in Greek you have eight words that points to the same. It can be believed. It can be not believe,
but we have eight words. And in Hebrew there are two of them. Even though the two words in Hebrew,
one is Aramaic, the other one is Hebrew, it's just two words in Hebrew. So if you're reading
your Old Testament and you see the word believe, I think it's in Daniel that the Aramaic is used.
The same word believe. In Daniel the Aramaic is used, but in every other part of scripture
it's just one. It's in the Greek that you have varied. And I said in the last teaching that
John uses the word a lot. Amongst all of the disciples, amongst all of the apostles, John
is one person that uses the word believe a lot. A lot. I think it's up to 90 something in his
letters. He uses the word. And I pointed out something very clearly. In the Gospels,
for those of us that are new to this church, you notice that when we teach, we emphasize that
in the Gospels, the four Gospels as against the Epistles, the mode of communication, if you pay
attention, you'll notice that even the word believe used in the way believe is used in the Gospels,
slightly different. You notice that when John writes, I think I read this to us, I read it again
in this particular text and also in John 20-31. I want us to go to John 20-31. We'll do that.
We'll go back there a couple of times. It says, but these things are written to you, that you may
believe that Jesus is Christ. Note that all the writings that we have, all the writings that
all of the writings that the writing that John writes, he says he's writing this, this text he's
writing or the book he's writing, he's writing that you may believe that Jesus is Christ, the Son of
the Living God and that believing you may have life in his name and that by believing and that
believing and that believing you may have life in his name. And notice the way when he writes
in the Epistles. Now this is the Gospel of John. When you go to the Epistle, 1 John 5-13,
1 John 5-13. I want you to, I want us to read it from the NLT because the King James adds a B
part which is not there in the original. It adds a B part which is not there in the original. That's
why in the NLT it doesn't include that part because it's not there in the original. It says,
I have written this to you who believe. Now it no longer talks to them as okay people who don't,
he's writing to people who have believed now. He's writing to them and the communication is very,
that's why when you read the Gospels you don't always jump into, you don't put yourself in
everything you see there. Don't always assume that okay this is making reference to me because you
can, you can be confused because you read the Epistles and it says this and then you go back
there and they're saying something else. It says, I'm writing this to you who believe in the name of
the Son of God so that you may know you have and that is the key word there so that you may know,
you may know because you have believed and you have received the life of Christ. What you now need to
do is to study, to know what you have received and that is why we take our time to teach, take our
time to open scriptures for us to understand what we have in this our union with God. What is our
current realities and many, many people turn up to, yes they would have believed in God but there's
no growth and what ensures a person grows is the feeding of themselves with the word of God. The
same way a physical feeding of your body ensures that you grow and grow effectively. The same way
spiritual feeding of yourself will ensure that you grow in your understanding. You are able to
exercise the authority because if you don't know you have something you don't exercise that thing
and what empowers you and ensures that you, you exercise the things that we have in God is the
knowledge that we draw from God's Word. Knowledge is very important in this Kingdom if you want to
make progress and taking your, your, your walk with God very seriously ensures that growth is seen in
every area of your life. When we say manifesting the Kingdom there's, there's, there's no manifesting
the Kingdom where you don't know what exactly it is that you're manifesting first and foremost and
then there are the things that you have to know to be able to know that this is my identity, this is
the authority I have in Christ Jesus, this is what I'm able to do. Praise God and we are going to take
time in subsequent teaching that's very shortly to, not in today's teaching to be able to look at the
different use of the different places the word used or the different use of the word or different
Greek renditions of those of the word believe. We're going to take time to do that but not today
but I want us to go back to a passage of Scripture that Pastor Manoban brought to our attention in
the Midweek service in Titus. Titus 1, 1 to 4 and the faith that we exercise is a common
faith, is a faith that we have in Christ and this is a letter that Apostle Paul writes to Titus
and it starts off in the first by saying, Paul a born servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ
according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgement of the truth which
which accords with godliness in hope of eternal life which God who cannot lie, very important
God who cannot lie, promised before time began. Three now which is where I want to see some things
is what has in due time manifested, that word manifested is another I think Pastor Emmanuel
taught us one word for manifest. The word manifest has 11 Greek words, the word manifest. When you
see, anytime you see the word manifest it can be it can be one of the 11 praise God, one of the 11
and it just has one in Hebrew, just have one word in Hebrew but in Greek has several and this
particular one is Fenero. This particular one is Fenero, is P-H-A-N-E-R-O-O P-H-A-N-E-R-O-O. This one
means, the Fenero means to make manifest, to make manifest, to make manifest and not what is tied to.
It says in due time manifested his word through preaching, manifested his word through preaching.
So note that there's a manifestation of God's word that happens that as a result of preaching,
is the preaching of God's word that results in a manifestation. We're going to take time to also
talk about the different or bring our attention to the different words so that we can see and pay
attention to how the nuances of his use and it goes down to say in the next, go to the next verse,
it says to tithe us a true, to tithe us a true son in our common faith. That there is
is not in the original, the hour there is not there, if it was it would be etalized. It says
common faith and you have a column there and it says grace, peace, even the and there
and then grace, mercy, peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. So the
source is clearly stated there. The source of this faith is anchored on God and what Christ has done.
The moment your faith is not anchored on Christ and what he has done, you are still a non-believer.
Praise God. You might turn up to church as many times as you can. The moment your faith is not
anchored on what Christ has done, the truth is this, you are still a non-believer and in fact
your work and experience is proof of it. But someone who has placed their faith and their
trust in God, they had heard the gospel, they had heard the gospel, brain preached and they had
accepted what Christ has done for them. They come into that union that we talk about.
I say this and I'll say it again, the faith we have in Christ was done, is brought about through
our union with him and you have to have been communicated to about what he has done and then
you receive and believe in what he has done for yourself and then you now start a walk and that
is where you now come to be referred to as a believer. I want us to see something else in
Hebrews. Hebrews 4, which is another place that beautifully communicates this. Hebrews 4.1,
it says, Therefore since a promise remains of entering his rest, entering his rest, let us
fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. I want you to notice the rest that is used
there. That rest is not the verb, it's a noun. That rest there is not a verb, it's a noun.
Then two, for indeed the gospel was preached. Remember what I said about preaching? The gospel
was preached to us when he says us there is referring to the auto and the people is communicating to
us as well as to them. For context, note that the reference will be of the children of Israel,
to the children of Israel as at a time when they were in the wilderness. I'll explain that further.
But the word which they heard did not profit them. Why is that? Not being knew by the people,
but not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. So note that the preaching of God's word was
done even to the people in the wilderness, even to the children of Israel in the wilderness.
Preaching was done to them. Moses had spoken to them, but not being mixed with faith, meaning that
these individuals heard and still went ahead to disobey. They heard and still went ahead to disobey.
Three, for we who have believed, we who have believed, remember what I said? In the gospels,
you'll notice that the word believed is used in the past tense, not in the present because the
individual is communicating to people who have believed. Praise God. He says, for we who have
believed do enter that rest. Speaks of the rest. Remember I said, if I said I rest or I rested,
that will be a verb because it's an action. But when somebody tells you enter rest, and I said
it's a noun, the word there rest, it's a noun. And it's almost speaks of a place, right? Speaks of
a place, not met. And that's, that's the way I'm going to now. The Greek word there is cataposis.
It's catap- k-a-t-a-p-a-u-s-i-s. K-a-t-a-p-a-u-s-i-s. That word is a noun. The verb version or the verb
of that same word, you just change it to, instead of p-u-s-i-s, you just make it, it's p-u-o.
That's p-a-u-o, sorry. The kata. And then it ends with the a-u-o, instead of the s-i-s.
The same exact word. You're just changing the end of it. That's the verb of the word.
The verb of the word is used in the same, the verb of the verb rest is used in this same chapter.
It's used in four. We'll see it in the next verse. It's used in four. And in four, if you're very
familiar with your Bible, you know that this is a quote from Genesis. Genesis 2 verse 2.
There's a quote from Genesis 2 verse 2. It says, for he has spoken of a certain place, in a certain
place in the seventh day in this way. God rested on the seventh day from all this work. This,
and you notice the quote there, that he rested from, and I say this quote is from Genesis 2 verse 2.
And the Hebrew word there, which is a verb in that sense, and that's why I said the word,
the words you want to be able to know when it's referring to a verb, when it's referring to,
just so to properly understand and not misunderstand what is being said. And I want us to go back.
When he speaks of entering rest, the rest, the now, the rest that speaks of in verse 3, it's used
twice in verse 3. The rest that it speaks of is, it talks about a resting place, that the now.
It speaks of a resting place and speaks of that same union with God. It's where the individual
that is in, the individual that comes into union with God finds rest. And you see that scattered
through the gospel. You see that in Matthew 11, where it says, come unto me, and the verb is what
is used, and you will find the rest for your soul. Praise God. So, this individual refused,
and it says in the line there, which is a quote, this is a quote from Psalms. And I want to,
when I put the quotes, I want you to know that all of scriptures, all of scriptures are very
connected. You can, we're reading Hebrews and we're finding ourselves, we're finding it quote,
Psalm. And we know that Psalms, that this particular Psalm, Psalm 95 is 11, which is a
Psalm, yeah, because even it mentions it in verse 7 of this particular passage of David, even though
in the Psalm, you don't see it there, but here, the writer of Hebrews says, is of David, is of David.
And I want us to go to the Psalm, just to see Psalms 95 verse 11. We'll go there and then we go to
what actually David was quoting, what exactly was he quoting or talking about. Psalms 95 verse 11.
It says, so I swore in my rot they will not enter my rest. So I swore in my rot that they will not
enter my rest. If you read the whole of the passage, you discover that he was talking about
the journey of the children of Israel in the wilderness. And you'll be thinking to yourself,
is it fair? How will you just stop people from entering? Think like why, what's happening?
I just want to walk us through why that is. Walk us through the effect of a promise given to you
and then you deciding to go against it. A promise, something is offered to you and you turn it down.
That is basically what happens. Know that it's your decision to turn it down that brings the
consequence of you not experiencing what you would have experienced if you had accepted it.
Praise God. Because some of us are quick to say, oh, that's not fair. Oh, why, why, why, why, why
would they not enter? Know that they will not enter because they chose not to enter. Praise God.
They chose not to enter. So let's look at Numbers 14. We'll just read from 20 to 24 Numbers 14,
so that we can see for ourselves Numbers 14. It says, then the Lord said, I have pardoned
according to your word. And this is for context, this is Moses having pleaded for the children of
Israel. And then God now makes a statement, I have pardoned, but truly as I leave, all the earth
shall be filled with the glory of God. Let's mark the use of the word, just mark glory of God. All
the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. Next. Because all this men who have seen my
glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness and have put me to test now this
10 times, this 10 times. So put me to test this 10 times and have not heeded my voice. So let me
make it practical. You know, you have a friend, you invite them over to your house. This friend,
you know that they are in need. You know, there's some people that are in need and they just,
they want you to force them to receive help. I know some of us have that or some of us are
that friend that will want to be helped to be shut down before they accept. So you know this
person needs help. This person is going to probably die of starvation if they don't come
to receive the invitation that you're giving to them. You invite them first time, they said no.
Second time, they said no. Third time, they said no. Fifth, sixth, I'm counting seven, eight, nine,
up to the 10th time. You know, will you bother? Will you go with like, you just say, okay, let me
do one more. Because you did the first time, it's almost like an, you know, you're going to die of
starvation. It's not like the first time it's almost like, and they are aware. It's not like I called
you and then you missed my call and then you didn't know what I was going to talk about or I called
you second time, you missed my call. You didn't know what I was going to talk about, but all of
the times I kept on reaching out to you and you still kept on denying or denying yourself the
opportunity that you have to experience what I have to offer. Praise God. So the same thing,
now there's 10 times. Go back, go back a bit. Go back, just go back. They didn't heed his voice.
Praise God. 23 and says, they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers,
nor shall any of this who reject me see it. 24. But my servant Caleb, because he has a different
spirit in him and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land which he went and his descendants
shall inherit it. Notice that here he speaks of a physical location, but in this church, I think we
have communicated this several times. Yes, it's a physical location, but it's pointing to something,
it's called someone and something that is not necessarily a physical location and we'll
establish that very shortly. All of this has built its context in the previous verse, which is 13.
So we'll just go to 13 verse 23. I want you to follow me as we explain this. Everything will
become a bit clearer when we go back. So 13, 23. I want us to see the story which most of us are
familiar with. It says, then they came to the valley of Eshkol. The word Eshkol means cluster,
you see down. And they had cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes. So they went to a land
and then the land had grapes. They cut down the cluster. You know when you have a whole bunch,
or like clusters, what was referred to, but let's just refer to it as a bunch. They carried it
between two of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs. So this land
had fruits. This land had fruits. Then 24, it says, the place was called the valley of Eshkol because
of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there. Next, so they named it. And they returned
from spying out the land after 40 days. 26. Now they departed and they came back to Moses and Aaron,
all the congregation of the children of Israel in the wilderness of Peran at Kairdash. They brought
back the word to them and all the congregation and they saw them and they showed them the foot
of the land. So note that there's evidence. They shown them the foot of the land. 27. Then they
told them, they told them and said, we went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk
and honey and this is its fruits. So it says milk and honey. Was it milk and honey that they got?
Was it milk and honey they got? No. What they got was fruits. So going back to what I said,
what we said in the last teaching that when certain words are used, you shouldn't take that
literal. You shouldn't take that literal because we read from the passage that what they got was
fruits and grapes. The grapes, the grape, pomegranate and then figs. So if you're thinking
of milk and honey now, where did you get that from? Because it was said doesn't mean that that's what
you see there. So the next verse which is 27, right? It says, no, go back. It's 26.
Go back. It's 26. Or 27. Okay. Then he told him and said, we went to the land. Okay, it's 27.
Next 28. Nevertheless, the people who dwelled in the land are strong. Not that they have admitted
that the land is fruitful, right? And by the way, this land was the land promised to, was what was
promised to them. So one key thing I want us to take away from here is that you have promised
something. There is your responsibility, right? Which is to claim that which has been promised
to you. I've done all this. There's certain things you can purchase something and then they give you
like a voucher for something that you should claim. Note that if you're given that voucher,
if you just say, I know, I just, there's a tendency that you might miss the voucher or something will
happen and then you will lose it. But you have to add an extra effort. Yes, you did something to get
it or something was given to you, but you need to put an weight. It means that you want to exercise,
which is the word I want us to remember. You want to exercise your faith in what has been given to
you so that you can be able to lay claims of what is yours. Because the land given to them is theirs,
but you need to go and fight and lay claims to the land. And now what they say now is that
nevertheless, the people that dwelled in the land are strong. The cities are fortified and very large.
Moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there, 29. It says the Amalekites dwell in the land
of the south. They now list all the people that are around. The land itself is not,
they now start talking about the surrounding cities. Go to 13. Then Caleb quieted the people
before Moses and said, let us go up at once and take possession for we are able to overcome it.
Does that sound like faith to you? That sounds like somebody that knows that regardless of what
they saw, they're able to surmount, they're able to conquer. But these other people had seen fruits,
they had seen evidence from that land. They said, okay, this land is fruitful. This land will
benefit us. But look at how they shut down what exactly it is that is theirs. They shut it down
by saying, there are people there that we just not, just, just, let's not. And we do this all the time
or we do this some of the times in our work where we have promises that are ours and then we feel it
doesn't apply here. It doesn't apply there. It only applies, we take the part of least resistance. We
don't want to do too much. And that in itself doesn't allow us lay hold of what is ours.
It doesn't allow us lay hold of what is ours. I want us to read down to 33, 31 says, but the men who
had gone with him said, we are not able to go up against the people for they are stronger than we.
It gets even more, they keep on and they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land,
which they had spied out saying, the land through which we had gone to spy is a land that divorces
inhabitants and all whom we saw in it are men of great stature. They were, they were, there we saw
the giants, the descendants of Anak come from the giants and we were like grasshoppers in our,
in our own sight. And so we were in their sight. Note that now it shifts to where they now see
themselves as something else in front of these individuals. Yes, they were giants, but we are
familiar with the story of David. We know that there's nothing, there's nothing too big that can
come down when there's a promise, when there's, when the, when the individual has God at their
back, they are bigger than what they look like. When you stand in front of a challenge, stand in
front of a situation, what should be before you is, is the understanding knowledge that you have,
that you have, that you serve a God that is far and beyond what stands before you.
And that gives you confidence to move ahead. Same thing. We talk about the different things
that we have in, once you are faced with whatever situation, you know that you have this in God,
you apply it to the situation. You don't give excuses of reasons why it will not work.
Praise God. Reasons why you cannot open your mouth and speak to the situation. Reason why
you cannot open your mouth and talk and exercise your authority on that particular matter, on that
particular matter, on that particular situation. I want to challenge you and I know that God is
bringing this to you at this point in time to bring you to a point where you don't allow doubt.
You don't allow the things you see limit what you have, what you have received, what you are,
who you are. Praise God. You want to exercise the power that you have in God by the Spirit of God.
You want to be able to exercise it and see to it that you are able to make manifest that which you
have on your inside to the world around you. Because you yourself, it has to influence you.
Influence you so mightily that anybody that stands around you will be affected or be affected by what
it is that you carry. Praise God. It's very powerful to know that this is the reason why
these people were not able to and that's why when he says Joshua and Caleb were the ones to,
it's just a decision of where, how do you see yourself as against what it's through of you.
Don't allow physical things or the things around you deter you. We sang, we are spiritual. So the
source of our energy is beyond physical. The source of our energy is from God and He by His Spirit
inside us empowers us to do whatever it is that He has called us to do because He is the one that
has called us to do these things and He is the one that powers us. So one key point I want you to note
is that because our confidence doesn't come from our abilities. Our confidence never comes from
our abilities. Our confidence is in the God that gives us or has given us all the abilities that
we have and some of the abilities we have we don't even know. We find out. You know some people,
they never believe that they can pray for this amount of, they feel like what do I pray for?
After five minutes it's gone. But once you insist and you desire, you see that your capacity increases
and you are amazed. You know, Nigel you say you are shocked at what extent but you have to insist
that this is mine and I lay claims to it. And when I say lay claims to it, you know sometimes
because I'm thinking of lay claims to, your identity is spiritual and what you're laying claims to
is, should be because we said the spiritual influences the physical. So what you are laying
claims to is those things that will yield or cause the Kingdom of God to be manifested. We're not
saying you should lay claims to car, lay claims to this. Those things are good because they are needed
physically, right? They are needed here on this plane. But what is more important to God is the
things that he has given you that is spiritual. That's what he wants to see manifested. Every other
thing you want to see manifested is probably what you desire to see manifested and that will not be
or that might not be at any given point in time in line with his will. But one thing that is the will
of God is for us to grow in our knowledge of him. When you exercise yourself in that direction you
will see, you will see growth praise God. But you just need to yield yourself to the activities or
to the things that warrants or that results in that. Praise God. As I said earlier, I said there's a
slide you want to see how Jesus communicates, how the disciples even word and write down the things
that they are writing to communicate clearly to us what is our reality or what is our identity. And
I say pay attention to the difference in the gospels as against the epistles. Just pay attention
to those differences and you will be amazed at the things that you will see or the things you will
learn if you're looking at it from there. I want us to see also how Jesus communicates in John 2.
John 2 18. John 2 18. He says we're going to read to 22. It says, So the Jews answered and said to
him, What sign do you show us since you do these things? And this particular incident happened
after he had cleansed the temple. John's a rendition of it. It says, Jesus answered and said to them,
destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. And note that when somebody says destroy
this temple and three years you raise it up, you'll be thinking. Then you see that they said,
then the Jews said it has taken 46 years to build this temple and you will raise it up in three days.
It was like what's going on here? 21 it says and he was talking. Now you see that makes it clear.
It said, but he was talking about the temple of his body. He was talking about the temple of his
body. Going back to what we have always emphasized about you understanding that when something
doesn't make sense, it's likely not what you think it is. Praise God. It's most likely not what you
think it is. So when he was talking there, he was actually pointing to the temple of his body and
note that there's this what should happen to get us to that point. Right? He said, therefore,
when he had risen from the dead, when he had risen from the dead, his disciples remembered.
I'm going to first remember when I think Pastor Victor was teaching us. It says when they remembered
that he had said this to them and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said.
Note that when it had happened, note that what had happened is on him being resurrected, on him
being resurrected, that was the fulfillment of what it says. Destroy this temple and in three days,
I will raise it up. Speaking of him dying and him being resurrected and remember what we said or
remember what we've been pointing out that it's in his resurrection that we experience that union
with him, that we have the Spirit of God residing in us and that is very important that we note
that Christ when he was on earth, yes, he was preaching, he was teaching, he was doing all of
those things but the Spirit of God was still not in man but at his resurrection that is when that
happened. He said destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. There was a physical
temple which he used to point to the spiritual, the one that we are now because we say this in
this house that we are the temple of the Lord. It's not just the physical, it's not the physical
building. We are where God dwells and it's important that you remind yourself that
when you go anywhere you go, you go with him. When he says I will be with you until that is what he
meant by making himself a place where you and going back to the text that we read it says in my father's
family there are many dwellings, many places. In my father's dwelling there are many places just
establishing that and we said that that word remember. You know that you can remember something
and still not understand what you're, you can remember something and still not understand or
you there's a lot of things we remember but we don't understand how it connects.
So know that that remember there will imply that something had happened for them to understand
what he had said because why didn't you understand it as when it was said there was something that
didn't like hadn't connected. Praise God. So when he says when it's when Jesus teaching in Luke 24
verse 45 says and he opened their understanding right to comprehend and if you are reading it in
the New King James or yeah in the Old King James it would be understanding to understand and those
two words are not the same word. This is open the understanding to understand meaning that when you
come to this you will see that what had happened was that when being taught they understood what
had been communicated previously with greater clarity and that is what happens to us when you
keep coming and keep coming and certain things will make sense certain things will make sense
you keep coming at it and in John still the same John John 7 verse 37 to 39 John 7 verse 37 to 39
so says on the last day that great day of the feast Jesus stood and cried out saying if anyone
tests let him come unto me and drink that it now says he who believes in me he who believes in me
as the scripture said out of his heart will flow rivers of living water 39 now says but this he
speck concerning or spoke concerning the spirit whom those believing in him would receive
for the Holy Spirit has not yet been given because Jesus has not yet been has not been glorified
praise God going back to just connecting he was speaking referring to something that will happen
referring to something that will happen and the individuals in this place that's the promise of
the spirit and it refers to it as the living water living water refers to it as the living water
and a similar incident happened in John 4 if you notice all of this were just in John
all of this were just in John John 4 verse 7 John 4 verse 7 it says a woman of Samaria came
to draw water Jesus said to her give me a drink eight for the disciples had gone away into the
city to buy food nine then the woman of Samaria said to him how is it that you you being a Jew
ask a drink from me a Samaritan woman for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans Jesus answered
and said to her if you know the gift of God and who is it who says to you give me a drink you would
have asked him and he will give you a living water not that word living water 12 oh sorry 11
and he said to her and he and she the woman said to him sir you have nothing to draw it and the
you have nothing to draw it and the well is deep where then do you get that living water note that
as I said earlier when it doesn't make sense there's a high likelihood that you don't understand
what has been said so what you need to do is to ask questions which what smart woman did he says
and where then do you want to get the water then the stroke says are you greater than our father
Jacob who gave us this well and drank from it himself as well as the water that he drank from
it and drank from it himself as well as his son and his livestock now she goes deep with it
Jesus answered and said to her whoever drinks of this water will test again 14 but whoever drinks
of the water that I shall give him will never thirst but the water shall that the water that
I shall give him will be coming him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life springing
up into everlasting life the promise of the spirit referred to the living water and that will spring
up once the person believes accepts note that he's not in any way speaking of a physical water
when he says living water you already know that he's talking about something that is beyond
physical and he says that if you drink of it you will test again praise God and I want you to also
move to 14 John 14 that's it our text John 14 John 14 verse 7 John 14 verse 7 it says that if you know
if you had known me you would have not at this in response to Thomas's you would have known my
father also and from now on you know him and him see and and have seen him eight Philip said to him
Lord show us the father and it is sufficient for us so these people are accessing this
he Philip still actuals the father here oh it's almost like all he has been saying fell on deaf
ears and Jesus said to him have I been with you so long and yet you have not known me Philip he who
has seen me has seen the father so how can you say show us the father Jesus Christ is amused
at the question that they are accents show us the father he says if you have seen me you've seen it
he has been communicating that from the beginning but it seems like they were not understanding
it seems like they were not understanding they were not understanding and I want you to see
something very interesting let's move from here and Moses says something similar to what he says
in Exodus 33 verse 18 Exodus 33 verse 18 Moses says please show me your glory show me your glory
and the glory there in the Hebrew is cardboard the glory there in Hebrew in Hebrew is cardboard
and it's used for different things possessions for things is used for that and in the Greek
is doxa and the Greek is doxa but I want us to see the narrative going down 19 says we're going to
stop at 21 he then said I will make all of my goodness this is God speaking I'll make all of
my goodness pass before you and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you and I and I will be
gracious to whom I am gracious and I will have compassion to whom I will have compassion 20 but
he said you cannot see my face for no man shall see me and leave 21 and the Lord said here is a
place for me and you shall stand on the rock I want you to live it here he says show me your glory
and then God now starts talking about his face he's talking about his face and then you'll be
thinking to yourself like okay glory face okay and this is a man Moses if you're familiar with
the way Moses Moses was someone that he had done a lot of things in fact he had had times when he
has seen a man what will happen is that you will just see smoke and we've had all those instances
where he had not necessarily seen him in person right he has not seen God in person and you'll be
and when he says no man has ever seen me and you're very if you if you go to John 1 I just
leave it just leave it there let me just read John 1 verse 14 to us it's 18 John 1 verse 18 it says
no one has seen God at any time no one has seen God at any time not that if Moses
sees God he would have been someone has seen God Moses had seen God and then others have not
would have that would have been the narrative but see something beautiful that happens in this text
where the Lord said there is a place for me and it's very interesting and I said this when I was
talking earlier I said all the things we see in the Old Testament they are when Jesus Christ steps
in when he's teaching he puts everything together I think we've said in this church that the things
in the Old Testament are silent but when Jesus Christ comes he makes it loud and note that I'm
going to show us two texts of scripture the one we had discussed previously that ties what just
happened here or what's happening here in the New Testament note that it says here is a place if you
remember the text of scripture what we're looking at it says in my father's house there are many
mansions if it were not so I would have told you I go to prepare a place I go to prepare a place
the place there and the place here is the same is place and that place is only what God is able to
prepare we can't prepare that place praise God we cannot prepare that place it's only God that is
able to do and then he says and you shall stand on the rock you shall stand on the rock when we come
to the old the New Testament we remember in Matthew 16 some people have connected already I saw
somebody who spoke in Matthew 16 he says on this rock I will build my church says on this rock I
will build my church and we know that he's not talking about a physical building he's talking
about what spirit praise God he's talking about man now being the dwelling place of God and all
of that is tied in here and you know when he says no man has sinned no man has sinned I said no man
has sinned you know John 1 says the word became 1 verse 14 says the word became flesh and it
dwelt amongst us and we beheld the glory we beheld the glory John speaking we beheld the glory means
that he saw Jesus in the flesh and seeing Jesus in the flesh remember what Jesus was telling
disciples says if you have seen me you have seen him and as believers have we beheld the glory
have we beheld the glory it looks like some of us are not here have we beheld the glory
we know you know that we beheld we behold the glory in the person and it's not and we say that
this thing is not physical it's not it's not by knowing the person it's a spirit weakness right
is something that is better than you by the spirit of God is someone that is something that is better
than you by the spirit of God Moses pleaded show me show me show me your glory show me your glory
show me your glory and and John says we have beheld that glory in a person and for us seated here the
glory is not just in space the glory is in us glory to God the glory is in us and that in itself
should excite anyone that knows this for a fact you know some of us we have just head knowledge
of the fact that of this fact I want that head knowledge to translate to your heart and translate
to your hands and get you to rise up and get you to believe that what you have is not ordinary
what you have is supernatural what you have is beyond you you might look small in stature you
might be big in stature but you so the what resides in you is bigger than yourself so you don't want
to limit that the glory of God is in us the moment we believe and have received we have seen the glory
of this God that we serve and we have no choice but to manifest this to the world around us
so when we speak when we preach I love the songs that we sang this morning if there's if you are
in church and then you don't you don't you don't you know there's there's there's songs that you
listen to you can't sit down your leg will just be moving by itself you will just have to stand up
and exercise stand up and move the same way the spirit of God on your inside is quickening you
equipping you empowering you to do the things that you can do by yourself praise God
thank you for listening to today's sermon your journey matters to us let's keep walking together
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