The Priority of the Holy Spirit – Jesus Part 2

Graham Watts introducing today's living in the light of the death of a loved one, maybe a diagnosis of the disease. I don't know what the hard place is a message to me.

God may have allowed you to be in a hard place because he's wanting to show you a fresh vision of who he is. Glad you joined us for living in the light with Bible teacher and grandma God through self-portrait and his name is Jesus. Jesus is the incarnation of God's greatness and he is the incarnation of God's gospel and will reveal two more aspects of the incarnation of God in today's message the priority of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is taken from the Gospel of John. Let's join in and out to discover more.

Something is not politically correct in every other religion in the world is a Tower of Babel, all trying to reach God through their own philosophy of their own religion your own works and you cannot possibly reach God that way the separation between man and God is too great.

That's why God sent Jesus, we can't climb our way to him to any religious system, God sent Jesus down, not to invite us into religion not to invite us into the nomination not to invite us into an organization to invite us into tradition, but to invite us into personal relationship with himself through Jesus Christ, amen. He's the true light for every man. That's why we send out missionaries. That's probably preach the gospel. That's probably share our faith.

And if you have, as I do. I've got a new neighbor next to me and people of all sorts of backgrounds have moved and been doing my best to befriend them, just as I walk in talking. No, I don't know what will come of it, but I know as I walk. I pray for those homes and because I know God loves them. Maybe that's why he brought them into my neighborhood and you know so don't be shy just because someone is of a different race different background, different religion, there all created by God for God for personal relationship with him through Jesus. He is the true light and that light penetrates through our testimony and through the truth so don't be so intimidated by our politically correct culture that we had our light under a bushel, which are bushel might be. Maybe the opinions of others maybe want to be popular may want to be accepted.

Maybe just don't want to rock the boat maybe don't want to draw attention to yourself may be afraid that will ask your question you can answer you now just turn on the lights let the chips fall. See what God can do, just with a little spark so Jesus is the incarnation of God's greatness, the greatness of his person and his power and his purpose is also the incarnation of God's gospel.

Jesus is the gospel and she presents us with the choice to reject them in verse 10, they rejected him due to ignorance. He was in the world and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize, and that is not speaking of creation. I don't think because the wind obeyed him and the waves abated and then you and even demons obey them, but the world of men and he came into the world was created by him and for him and through him and it's heartbreaking to me that they didn't recognize the creator and I don't know how many people you know that don't know they been created by Jesus. For Jesus, just about everybody right and it's heartbreaking and they reject him through ignorance and is one thing to reject them because they know them and they choose they just don't want them but but it's another thing to not know who he is not know that there is a God who so love the whole world that he gave his only begotten son, that they could believe in him and not perish but have everlasting life, and they don't know that. And so to did not receive him to reject incentive because you're ignorant that still rejecting him and that's a tragedy that's you not do what you can do tell people they can reject like they don't have to receive your witness. They don't have to respond in a positive way. But at least we want them to make an informed choice and people rejecting through ignorance. Some rejected into intolerance. They just didn't want him in verse 11 he came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive them, and that would be in John's day speaking of the Jews and the Jews who had the ceremonies and the sacrifices and they had the prophecies and they knew all about the Messiah, they were looking for and they long for him and when he came they recognize them, but they just didn't want him.

The leaders wanted somebody who would throw out the Romans and put them in positions of world power. The common person just wanted him to give them bread from heaven to make life easier and he wasn't the kind of Messiah they wanted, they knew he was and they rejected our day. I think those who would be his own would be professing Christians and they sit in churches and in all across our country and he came into his own and their self filled with their denominational whatever and their traditions and their rituals that somehow they never enter into that personal relationship. When I was little my granddaddy was a doctor and he gave me a smallpox vaccine and he scratch my arm and he rubbed the vaccine, which was some of the smallpox into my arm, and none took Sir bubbled up in a blistered and I got a little bit of the real disease just to keep me from getting the full dose of it of the disease was inoculated against it. Think people in churches today. We have just enough religion to inoculate us against the real relationship with God that he offers us through Jesus Christ came to his own and his own received him not. That's a tragedy that I think one of the things I felt God impressed on me years ago was to get his own into the word and when I started my Bible class back in Raleigh. We had hundreds of women come through their most of let's say 95% of the church members may be 99% of children I can't tell you how many women we saw year after year born again.

They just had never entered into that personal relationship with God through Jesus rejecting him through ignorance or intolerance that some receive him. In verse 12, to all who received him, to those who believe in his name he gives the right to become children of God and to those who receive him.

You receive him into your being a member somebody actually was an interpreter. I was giving a message in the middle of the message I was hitting this point she said and she said that's a Baptist thing and I said no as a biblical thing. Jesus said you must receive him and couple weeks ago I had a neighbor who came by to see me and he's lived there as long as we lived there. He came to the door and he just want to know how is doing in you had not been well and people were asking him. Have you seen Anna and she okay and he said I just want to check on his cell, you were and I stood at the door at the door open, but I was busy. I didn't want to invite a man. I felt uncomfortable inviting them in any way since I was there by myself and so we just talked at the door. He asked questions answered. I thanked him for coming by and then he left.

I never received him into my home and I think their people did they know we can talk to Jesus in prayer. We can hear what he says through his word, we can fellowship with other believers in church, but we never open the door of our hearts and receive them from the outside in so as to somebody here like that.

Somebody born and raised in the church call yourself a Christian, you talk to the Lord in prayer.

You read the Bible, but have you ever received him in your heart open up its humbling isn't it to open up your heart and receive him into your life believing on his name, and you believe on his name. Not that you just agree that is Jesus of Nazareth. Would you believe on his name that he is the Lord that means the Old Testament Jehovah Yahweh, but it also means boss. He is your Lord and Jesus. That means your Savior, the only Savior only way you can be forgiven of your sin only will your sin can be atoned for only way you can get right with God is through faith in Jesus. He's the only Savior there's another one God would've found that Heidi would have sent Jesus to the cross. But Jesus is the only way and he's Christ as the New Testament word for the Old Testament word Messiah and Messiah was someone who would bring peace and prosperity but also the one that one day is going to come back and receive us to himself. So you receive him as Lord of your life. That means when you receive in your understanding as much as you can.

At that point bit you are inviting them into your life to take control he's going to be your boss and he's your Savior. He died on the cross be if nobody else needed the Savior. You did answer you claim them as your Savior and he's your Christ. Someone who will give you peace and blessing after blessing, and when they take you to heaven to be with him you believe in him and his name, the Lord Jesus Christ, when it is done can you remember a specific point in time when invited to come in ends take over your life be your Savior be your Christ. So don't keep them waiting in a screen door relationship. There's a huge difference between having him on the outside and you can be here and you sense his presence because a person next to has them and so you feel like you're really close to them, but you leave the cove and you leave his presence that was there in the person next to you and there's a difference. So make sure before you leave, you have received him believing that he is the Lord Jesus Christ's makes all the difference. And then you become a child of God. People did they say were all children of God, all the Bible says no or not you know were all created by God but were not all children of God, you're only a child of God when you receive him believing that he is the Lord Jesus Christ and the Bible makes it clear it's not a generation verse 13 children born not of natural physical dissent.

That means you cannot inherit a relationship with God.

God has no grandchildren.

If anybody could inherit being a child of God. Maybe I could wear both of my parents were Christians. My grandparents on both sides were Christians going on up the ladder. I married a Christian. His parents are Christians. Both of their parents are Christians going out the ladder, but you can't inherit it. It's not of generation just because you're born in the garage does mean your car just because you're born in a church born in a Christian family raised in whatever doesn't mean your Christian can I just get that across to you. Don't make a false assumption you trust like a Christian you talk like a Christian you mingle with Christians you go to church like a Christian but have you received him in your heart and believed on him as the Lord Jesus Christ. Then you become a child of God is not a generation on a determination. Verse 13 is not a human decision you can't say from now on I'm going to be a Christian.

I'm just going to try harder. I'm going to really be good. The day I'm going to turn over new leaf is not a determination. Verse 13 is not a tradition is not of a husband's will or the will of man, a pastor, nobody can pressure you into it. You can't walk the aisle of a church and sign a card and say now am a Christian, you are somebody can't force you to like convert to Christianity like you would convert to another religion and force you to do it in.

That doesn't make you a child of God. It is every generation. Your born of God and such a supernatural miracle. How can we describe & use this illustration probably in each message because I think it's a good one. But when the Virgin Mary to remember when the angel came to her and he said Mary you going to conceive a baby, and she said how can that be because I've never known a man I haven't had sexual intercourse and he said the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and that which is conceived within you will be the life of the son of God, and Mary said, be it unto me according to your will and she conceived within her the physical life of Jesus and in the same way the Holy Spirit hovers over your heart, and he quickens you and comes upon you, and you hear a message like this or something in your church or reading a book or reading about Verano when that moment of time came for you but it's he came to you and you received him believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.

And when you came confessing that you're a sinner telling him you're sorry willing to turn away from you believe he died for you.

He rose up from the grave to give you life you open up your heart and invite them to come in. He comes in. You conceive within yourself. The spiritual life of Jesus asked the life of the Holy Spirit within you is Jesus and you so make sure that you have a point in time that you can remember, and you know you may not remember the day I can't remember the I remember the day it was a good Friday and that was in response to a movie I'd seen on TV about the life of Jesus. I can't remember the year was seven, eight, nine years of age but on the I became a child of God, because I told God I was sorry for my sin and asked him to forgive me and come into my heart and he did so don't assume anything if you can't remember point in time. Generally speaking, you know, how do you know you've ever received them in your life.

Just make sure God knows God understands. Jesus is the incarnation of the greatness of God.

The gospel of God and the glory of God. In verse 14 the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, which seen his glory, the glory of the one and only, who came from the father full of grace and truth. And John says I've seen his glory, and seen Jesus you know in the Old Testament the glory of God was on Mount Sinai. Goldie below in the fire and the thunder and then it when Moses went up he came back the glory shown on his face had put a veil over his face to the people Wednesday when the glory departed in the tabernacle. He sacrificed the glory came down.

It was so intense, the priest could go into the tabernacle and the glory of God led the children of Israel in the wilderness. The fiery pillar at night and a cloudy pillar by day and John says the glory of God.

I have seen with my own eyes, and have seen him when he was tired and when he was arrested and when he was sleeping and when he was awake and when he was preaching and when he was praying and when he was being blasphemed, and when he is being praised and I see him in every conceivable situation and I've seen the glory of God, full of grace and truth. The glory of God is not just the Golden shining cloud the glory of God is his character. The glory of God is his goodness. His faithfulness, his mercy, his lovingkindness and I want to tell you something. I've seen the glory of God to explain it this way. Moses in Exodus chapter 34 said God show me your glory and God said all right he saw show you my glory to put you in the cleft of the rock, I'm going to put my hand over you. Many semi take my hand away and when a passerby you can't see my face, but you can see the backside of my glory and still see my goodness my faithfulness and you know and so he did. He put Moses in the cleft of rock listen. That's putting him in a hard place when he put his hand over himself. Moses would know God was near him and God was there and that he removed his hand.

Moses must've felt abandoned and alone.

Then he looked and he could see the backside of the glory. And I want to tell you when I've seen the glory of God. Place the past years the hard places were have been and there times when I felt God's hand on my life and I knew he was very near and there were times when I felt abandoned and I felt very alone and I'll look back and maybe not at the moment but I can look back and see is his goodness and his kindness in his favor is one of the reasons I love writing this new book Jesus in the because in that book, I was able to look back, not just the last year's book, often on the whole life and you see you have eyes to see in retrospect, the glory of God.

Jesus is the incarnation of God's glory and Isaiah said when he was in a Hard Pl. in King Uzziah died, he looked up and he saw the glory of Jesus in John St. John. Revelation one weighs on Patmos for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ in exile and in a hard place and he turned around and he saw the glory of God in the face of Jesus. So, if God is allowed you to be in a hard place and I don't know what it is. Maybe the death of a loved one. Maybe the diagnosis of the disease may be a divorce or rebellious child or you let go from your job. Maybe your pension is not enough. I don't know what the hard place is. But listen to me. God may have allowed you to be in that hard place because he's wanting to show a fresh vision of who he is, who we can be to you in that hard place near some things will never know about God until rent a hard place least some depths of who he is. The richness of who he is directing the depth and the height and the lengthy, no surrender and a hard place that we can look back and we see all my goodness he's been with me all the way never forsook me for a moment, even when I didn't feel his hand on me, sees the incarnation of God's glory opener when you're in that hard place in is the incarnation of God's grace. Verse 16 from the fullness of his grace would all receive one blessing after another blessing after blessing after blessing, then over 30 years ago. I guess we came back to the house and we had been robbed and the thieves took everything of value in the house that night was going to bed and I was just lying there and I felt myself going the shot because I thought what do I have that can't be taken away and I was terrified to come back and get my children and know we can lose our spouse if they leave us in divorce or death.

We can lose our children when they move away or sometimes they come back we can lose our health, we can lose our youth. We can lose our education because it gets outdated we can know God forbid our house would burn but subpoena and I was thinking put the rock and I was just getting stiffer and stiffer from shock and then I just been studying Ephesians and is like the lights went on, I thought I'll wait a minute. I know things that I have that can never be taken from me and I began to count my blessings and there were so many of them not just based on Ephesians chapters 1 and two up with them to the alphabet so I could remember them in this past week I had a difficult night and I lay there in bed just going through my alphabetized list of blessings that were accepted by God were blessed by God were chosen by God were delivered from this empty, meaningless way of life were enlightened by God to think his thoughts were forgiven by God.

We have his grace we have the hope of heaven, we have an inheritance in the saints were justified just as if I'd never sinned. We have knowledge of God.

We have his love and his mercy and his nearness were made one with God we have peace and power where we can by the Holy Spirit, quickened in the new life we redeemed resealed by the Holy Spirit we have truth were his treasure were united with other believers in the body of Christ were validated as being authentic child of God we have wisdom XYZ one day will be exalted to live with him in heavenly places. Praise God, that's a blessing after blessing after blessing.

I can remember my blessings. I have a hard time remembering the alpha that so count your blessings to me for my list make you make your list of things one after another things that nobody can take from you thieves can break in and steal.

Malls can corrupt you know Russ doesn't corrupt ends, count your blessings. Verse 17 for the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. The law thinking of it is the 10 Commandments was never given to make us a good couldn't it was given to show us how bad we are is the plumb line posits our schoolmaster to teach us what sinful sinners, we are and why we need a Savior to the law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus because he fulfilled the law and that in itself he gives us the weight of our sin so that we can be right with God and his righteousness were right with something the law could never do in verse 18 no one has ever seen God, but God the only begotten son who is at the father's side is made and known Jesus is the incarnation of God little boy was drawing a picture and the grandfather asked him what are you drawing the little boy so I'm drawing a picture of God in the grandfather said.

Nobody knows what God looks like the little boy said they will when I finish my picture. And God drew a self-portrait in his name is Jesus. He is the incarnation of God.

God made visible his greatness, his gospel's glory and his grace. He is the priority of the Holy Spirit and some I challenged you as an act of worship. Would you make him your number one priority. So he deserves nothing less. And then, would you tell somebody else who Jesus is to help and encourage you in your work for the Lord, we invite you to a engram lots.org. It's a great opportunity to further read, study, live by and love God's word. You'll find Anne's daily blog. Her messages, Bible studies, books, audio and video that will enhance your study you're going forward that and spoke of today and plan to join us again for living in the line