What Does Jesus Think? (Part 4)

Remember this all Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so I wonder how many of you think this is perfectly great song they think is nothing wrong with that song if you think there's something just slightly not right. That's just raising my lovely quite right. I wasn't trying to trick you. It's a real genuine reason why I asked you that question because we all say it recited us_retarded children missing but in reality there is something just slightly not quite right about the song I'm going to tell you why Michelle you want by erratic I want all of you who have heard about the love of Christ for known about the love of Christ for the very first time in your life. I'm not talking about later on… For the very first time. As far as you can remember that you heard the love of Christ. From reading the Bible, raising now you know what I mean okay that those of you heard Jesus loves you from mommy or daddy or Sunday school teacher raising, say, see what I mean.

So you gonna write the song today is gonna read Jesus loves me this I know for my mommy told me so. Because that's how we are all taught the love of God. Somebody taught us that Jesus loves us and then the Scripture was open and we saw that Jesus loves us from the Bible.

The Bible verse tells us, but somebody else have told us that Jesus loves us. This is very important. It's very very important when explained to you why because all of us without exception, all of us have been impacted in our lives by somebody else. All of us without exception have been taught have been disciple had been instructed have been helped along our Christian journey by somebody else will all unindicted to other people for teaching us the word of God. We are indebted to other people, who played a major role in helping us grow up in Christ. If the person who impacted your life is biblically sound.

If the person who impacted your life, lives a godly life that is wonderful if the person who impacted your life has integrity to teach you only what the Bible says that is wonderful and that person who impacted your life does not impose his or her philosophies or ideas or concepts, but only what the Bible says that his will and good if the person who is impacted your life or impacting your life right now is genuine and true to the word of God that's willing to bet if someone came in your life and collect one verse from here in a verse from there and build a system.

A false belief system of false doctrine, and develop an idea of his or her own owner believes that close to him or her that is inconsistent with the totality of the word of God, then that person is dangerous for you in your life.

Somerset how how would I know then how would I know if somebody impacting my life with the word of God or somebody impacting my life the wrong way.

I'm glad you asked because I will answer that question. In fact, I want to enforce one word today.

One word only, only one word. If I succeed of convincing you that are most desperate need today and in the days to come. Particularly drinkable goal in this generation. If I convince you of that one word. I have succeeded, what is that word so we probably just authority. Discernment. That's what you need to remember today because if you do not have discernment if you are not exercising discernment. If you are not practicing discernment if you think that one teacher is as good as the other orders right as the other thing I would tell you this is dangerous. I want to talk to parents, grandparents, on the schoolteachers, youth leaders, I wanted to listen to me.

I think if I have to do it all over again as a father as a parent probably can tell you this in all honesty, if I have to do it all over again. I would've worked harder and how to train my children in the area of discernment.

Perhaps instead of landing hard on this order on that in the zoo confessed you I have with God's grace overruled my failure but if I have to do it all over again with my children. I would train them on how to develop their critical skills on how to develop a sense of discernment so that when they hear somebody when they read somebody there will be able to make distinctions thank God and the mother overruled my failure but listen to me parents Sunday school teachers, grandparents, youth leaders to small group leaders listen to me.

I can tell you right now as I'm standing here that the greatest legacy that you can leave those whom you lead. The greatest legacy is to show them how to be discerning is to show them how to discern truth from falsehood. Haddon Robinson is one of our fine theologians of our time tells a story that's absolutely the most incredible fascinating story of a young Chinese who wanted to learn all about J those of you do not know Jade is a Chinese precious stone and he wanted to know all about Jade. So he found that an older man who is an expert on Jade is an older wiser man but he was renowned in his knowledge of Jade so he went to see him in the first time the man said yes I would help you. So he thrust a piece of Jade that precious stone in his hand. He says keep on holding this as I talk to you, and then began to fail in philosophy and stories in history, and the young man sat quietly and he come back the next session he did the same thing. He gave him the piece of Jade Hildreth in his hand for a solid hour and then you start telling history and philosophy and all kinds of stories. And then he come back the next time and he did the same thing again and in a typical Chinese fashion is so polite he couldn't really contradict her. The ill, his elders and and but he was getting frustrated he was getting angry sunglasses. I know in that week after week lesson out the lesson only does he restless Jade into my hand and they just tells me all stories are set think I'm going to telling Philemon sick and tired of all the stories and philosophies and district so he goes in there and the day he made up his mind to speak up. The man thrust in his hand a piece of stone and before the boy could open his mouth.

He said this is not Jade and the man said that's exactly why I have succeeded in training you all this time while he was telling them stories, telling history, telling about philosophy. This young man was feeling Jade in his hand and getting used to it and getting used to it so that the moment another fake stone came into his hand. He recognized that it wasn't J, but other things I want to tell you something. If that is a most desperate need of this generation to have it is to be able to distinguish truth from fiction is to be able to distinguish truth from lies. We have people in the political world and in the Christian world and the church world very tell a lie and they make it sound like the truth, and we need to be discerning.

We need to distinguish not only between right and wrong. We need to teach the younger generation to be able to distinguish between who was telling the truth and who is not. We need to have discernment to distinguish between what is primary and one secondary. What is essential and what is unnecessary.

What is permanent what is transient what is good and what is the best without the hard work of discernment. I can tell you on the authority of the words of Jesus will drift away from the truth and you cause yourself a great deal of pain in the great deal of suffering, but if you develop the spirit of discernment which God longs to give you. You will save yourself a lot of grief and a lot of pain because according to Jesus drifting away from the truth, has a price tag that is very costly now want you to attend with me please to the words of the risen Christ in the book of Revelation chapter 2 verse 18 Revelation chapter 2 beginning at verse 18 to the angel of the church of firepower right. These are the words of the son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your deeds, your love and faith in your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. Nevertheless I have this against you, you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet – by her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, which is unwilling so I will cast her on a bed of suffering. I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely unless they repent of her ways, and I will strike her children dead.

Then all the churches will know that I am the who searches the hearts and minds and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan's so-called deep secrets.

I will not impose any other burden on you, only to hold on to what you have until I come to him who overcomes and does my will to the end.

I will give authority over the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He will dash them to pieces like pottery. Just as I have received authority from my father. I will also give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Father, without the spirit we cannot discern what you Lord Jesus is saying to us today. I pray in the mighty name of Jesus a name that's above every name, the name was mentioned, every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the father that through the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, our eyes be open all years be open.

His name I pray those of you who have been following the previous three messages of the risen Christ of the churches in Asia minor will notice that this fourth one is really the longest of all messages.

A man by the name of Rh Charles said the longest message to the least important city fact out of the town was a small and insignificant town in comparison with all the other six cities of which we have looked and we will be looking at firepower was approximately 40 miles from Pergamum. If a mailman staking and delivery.

He would be going a circle making a full circle starting in Ephesus into Smyrna Dr. Pergamum identify… And then the next three messages will see him coming down to Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea and so this is the message of the risen Lord Jesus Christ to the believers in that city of thoughts are. It was founded by Alexander the great and its claim to fame was that it was the headquarters for the trade union, the trade unions have their head office there. The headquarters there. The main industry was the wool industry and the diet industry but more particularly, something called the purple dye.

The exported purple dye all over the world from that town and the primary God of that city was the Greek god Apollo's. The main pressure upon the believers in the church and receiving pressure coming up on the Christians and the other three churches so far that we looked at the pressure was coming from the Roman authority. Some other churches were suffering from Jews who were hatred of the Christians and were delivering to the Roman authority but not here hearing the pressure not necessarily coming from the Roman authority over the was some pressure not coming from the angry Jewish community, not enough here. The pressure was coming from the church. It was from the inside.

It was an inside job and unexplained up-to-the-minute deceit to hold a job and thought, you have to be a member of the trade union. You cannot have a job without being member of the trade union to be in the trade union you have to every trade union whether be the leather workers Union or the rule workers Union order dye workers Union H union had a patron called enter that patron god they had a festival and in those festivals not only offered food to those idols to those gods the patron gods of each union, but they also committed sexual immorality in these temples so if you want to keep your job.

You keep your mouth shut about Jesus or you can lose your job. We don't know whether that pressure was really great because the doesn't tell us here, but here's the problem is a problem. Some of the people in the church, particularly a woman by the name Jezebel here says look Christians you don't need to review jobs you don't need to suffer. You don't need to give pay a price for your faith.

You don't have to do that at all. All you need to do keep Jesus would go and practice sexual immorality.

You go into all the sexual immorality pagan festivals and then on Sunday just go to church is not easy, but there is something Christian compromise always takes the pressure off Christians compromise will always take the pressure out but I want to tell you something. The blessing comes when you stand firm on the pressure and so this kind of compromise began to be accepted in the church. Not everybody practiced it but at least they tolerated it. This one woman in particular who was pushing this kind of teaching called Jezebel.

I don't want to miss this fact that the pressure on the real believers was coming from the church and from church leaders don't miss that one not on the hostile Jewish community, not from the pagans, not us from the church and I wanted to see for things here. First I want to see the commendation of Jesus. Verse 19 of chapter 2. Secondly, the concern of Jesus versus 22, 23, shortly the command of Jesus versus 24, 25. Lastly and fourthly, the Council of Jesus versus 26 to 29 recommendation of Jesus.

If you look at verse 19 the love the faith service. The perseverance that the believers in the church were practicing was not lost on Jesus. Jesus said in the gospel is not a glass of cold water given in his name will be forgotten by him. In fact, this is the very first church that we have seen so far that we are told that they were practicing love that they love one another. They love the Lord Jesus fidelity to Jesus faithfulness to Jesus unashamedly identifying themselves with Jesus. All of these qualities earned him the praise in the commendation of Jesus is the one we thinking and talking to somebody who has done something wrong. We forget all the good things and we focus on that one wrong thing. Not so with Jesus, he first of all, points out all the good things of them.

He praised them for what the good things they've done.

He said you have demonstrated your love in action, probably best served in soup kitchens, and enough homeless shelters.

Probably they've given to help others.

Given generously, probably they worked hard and that was very practical in the service.

All of these were praiseworthy, but then you notice he moves very quickly after one verse, and goes on to say secondly he tells us about his biggest concern. Actually, the word concern is an understatement. Is his heart ache.

You can see in the words he can feel it in the pain with which he speaks to the congregation is that I have this against you, he said, what is it this is that you have been sorely lacking in discernment that you are accepting. For the truth. You have been sorely lacking in discernment that you cannot distinguish between two teachers of the word of God and falls one that you are so lacking in discernment that you have allowed wolves in sheep's clothing to become leaders in the church what's in document verse 20. You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads my bond servants astray, so they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. What was this woman this prophetess who claimed to be a prophetess Moshe teaching first because we don't know if that's her real name or she earned a description of Queen Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab in the Old Testament. You remember the name Jezebel became associated with treachery become associated with idolatry become associated with murder. Justice Queen Jezebel in the Old Testament brought bail into the very heart of Israel as she dignified the worship of bail into the very heart of God's people. So is this prophetess in the New Testament was doing the same thing in the church and flatiron. What is she doing well from history books.

We know that one major Greek philosophy, pagan philosophy was called dualism. This is before Christ. It was rampant in the Greek culture what is dualism. Dualism says basically that this all is good. This body is bad. In fact, many of the Greek philosophers also restarted philosophies.

Now that they felt over taught that the soul is imprisoned inside the body. The body is bad, but the soul is good and the soul longs to be set free. So what happens after the Christ died and rose again in the gospel being preached in Greek culture. Some of those people that pagan philosophy and they baptized it into the church of Jesus Christ. We put a nice dress on it and they said okay then this must be what concerns God the body is not, and therefore we can do to the body. Anything we want, and it doesn't bother God at all now wanted to think just a moment. It would take me hours to tell you how many pagan thoughts have invaded the church of Jesus Christ today they got baptized and look like Christian teaching, when in reality it's pagan you see that's what this woman was teaching she was teaching this dualism that what you do to the body doesn't matter to God. God doesn't care because only the spirit is what concerns God and so she came to the church and she started teaching the stuff and she said no. As long as you never announce Jesus Christ as long as you never deny your faith as long as you go to church on Sunday. As long as you do these things. It's okay you can do the other as well. And that's what she was teaching this false teaching in the church that was breaking the heart of Jesus and probably many people of the Bible tells us there were few who stood firm and would not compromise but there were tolerate all writing in the probably saying well you know she's entitled to her opinion and I leave it alone. She's making the church grow all physical fundraisers.

Things are going. Things are happening, crowds are coming leave alone. She's being seeker friendly, beloved, I wanted to listen to what Jesus said there is not a preacher of the word of God, not a Sunday school teacher, not a Bible teacher but should not write those words deep in our hearts. Matthew 1860s were Jesus said but if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and be drowned in the depth, beloved, listen to me lack of discernment is no excuse because it will lead many astray, and when you hear people say God does not care about human sexuality. God does not care about sexual purity, God doesn't care about medical fidelity.

Please tell them to read Jesus's message to the church a flat tire and that is why quickly. I want to come to the third part and that is the command of Jesus. Verse 23 the command of Jesus.

Jesus calls himself the searcher of the hearts and minds. He is the searcher of your heart in your heart, your mind, your secrets that nobody knows what you his eyes.

In fact, if the Bible is being written today would say like a laser beam going deep into your heart deep into the recesses of your mind deep into your secrets.

He knows everything he knows your thoughts before you think he knows you're more whatever nobody else knows it. He knows everything. He is the searcher of the heart and the mind, the very eyes of Jesus. The Bible said are going to protect the believers are protective on guide you with my those same lies are going to judge the unfaithful believers and that is why Jesus is so gracious, so gracious and is giving this false prophetess and her followers who blindly following her saying I'm going to give you one more opportunity. I'm going to give you one more opportunity to repent him to give you one more opportunity to turn from your rationalizing of selfishness and immorality is allowing to give you one more chance to turn away from sin. But if you don't repent and we saw in the last message the Jesus is long-suffering. His patient and because he doesn't react in the first 60 days of doesn't mean that he has his eyes winking at you for no sin if you don't repent going to face pain and suffering. But for those who refused to defile themselves with these false teachers. Jesus is saying hold my burden is light on my yoke is easy, he is saying, hold fast until I come. You know the truth. Your spirit knows the truth because of you are born again.

Your spirit is already healed of your spirit is already connecting with the Holy Spirit you are main hall.

Just hold on to the truth in my word, stand firm and don't compromise until I come. Jesus is commendation. Jesus is concerned, Jesus is command forcefully Jesus's counsel. Look at verse 26 with me please. It is probably one of the most incredible verses in the whole Bible for me. I could spend several messages on verse 26. It is incredible as the kids would say it is awesome and is also is all I wanted to hit me right in this one. Listen, if you forget everything I said so far. Please up leaving them for your military okay but just don't forget I'm going to tell you because I know that we all and including your pastor constantly pulled down with the rubbish of this world and we tend to forget the goal that's awaiting us. We tend to get bogged down in the mud of this world because we forget that also power that is in store for us. That's why this verse is incredible what is it saying it saying that for the faithful believers for the faithful stewards very are going to rain on rule over nations can imagine that we generate them rule over the whole universe. We don't have the part of Jesus we don't have the strength of Jesus.

We don't have the authority of Jesus. We tend to forget destiny and we get bogged down in our circumstances and see what Jesus is saying here Jesus is saying. Faithful believers are going to execute authorities over nations and are probably some of your asking why are only the faithful believers why not all the believers listen to me. I'm going to tell you why because we are going to enforce Jesus's righteousness. We got enforce Jesus's holiness. We are going to enforce Jesus's delegated authority to us.

So pray to only how can he entrust unfaithful believers to run the universe and that is why Jesus gave us one parable after another one paragraph to another. And he said it over and over and over again in the Gospels use faithful was going to be faithful and much how can you if you not faithful with the beloved giving up even be faithful with things of the kingdom of God. How how how it's all over the Bible and is now millions Jesus only the faithful believers will exercise authority in the life to come. Only the stewards. Those who know how to manage the resources that God has placed in their hands in this life will be able to manage for Jesus and the life to come. Not only that there were rained with Jesus. Secondly, he said he will give them his faithful children. The MorningStar what is the MorningStar Jesus Jesus himself. In other words, we are going to share in the glory of Jesus I mean can you imagine that can even fathom that.

Anemic. Take a moment and think about that that would only share in the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who turn them back on the darkness of this world are going to be able to remain with the light of the world. Listen to what John Stott said this is those who will turn their backs on the darkness of sin will see the light of Christ, glory, and so, my beloved friends. Two things I'm going to leave with you two things. First of all, discernment, discernment will keep you from false teaching and false teachers, and when you stay away from false teaching fosters when you uphold the truth when you faithfully stand firm and not compromise you arraignment rule with him you will share in his glory. Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus confessing how often do we get bogged down in and the blessings that you've given us. We get so consumed with the blessings the little blessings that you give us the magazines tell us how many billionaires we have in America now. Oh father, without you there are poppers, Lord Jesus, we know that your promises are true, but for those who are faithful you will give the MorningStar and rule over nations and Alaska from home and just take take time.

Take a moment right now that the Holy Spirit has spoken to you. I know the devil in the flesh want you to absolutely ignore that voice you got plenty of time you got plenty of things to do. Not now, but didn't plead with you in my Holy Spirit it pleases you to use my week words to penetrate deep into every heart, including mine wake up and look up and anticipate sharing in the glory of Jesus. If you are being unfaithful through the years that all God help me did I want to be faithful God I want to be a faithful steward of your boundaries.

I want to be a faithful steward of my time out of your faithful steward of my family. I want to be a faithful steward of my Spasso to be a faithful steward of my church I want to be faithful stewards of all that you have given precious Lord Jesus, precious Lord Jesus.

It is you promise that for those who are faithful to the end will rule the nations and will receive the MorningStar father I pray in the name mighty name of Jesus that you will empower us that you strengthen us in the times when the devil tried to make us think that this world is all there is.

Help us to speak a word of victory against that father when the enemy comes in and try to bog us down with all of our problems and difficulties give us a word of victory over that and so father that we might truly keep the promise of being faithful until the end. In Jesus name.

Thanks for listening to this message from Dr. Michael use that recently featured on leading the way.

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