Listen to Jesus John 11 23, 24

Read the passage: John 11

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+11&version=ASV

(Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. ....)

1. It is not what you thought Jesus said that counts.
   
   
2. It is not what you hoped Jesus said that counts.
   
   
3. It is not your own understanding of what Jesus said that is con-sequential.
   
   
4. Listen to what Jesus said, plainly and understandably.
   What Jesus says is often received as too good to be true, thus, is not believed.
   
   
5. Attribute full integrity to what Jesus said.
   
   
6. Receive and act upon what Jesus said.
   
   
7. Spiritual victory comes through believing what Jesus said. 
   

The Blessing of the Fullness of God Ephesians 3: 16

Read the passage: Ephesians 3: 16

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ephesians+3&version=ASV

(That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man;)
Referenced here is the indwelling presence of Christ, what that means and how it is appropriated to the believer.

1.God stands ready through His Spirit to grant you superior conditioning that comes directly from Him to meet your obligations and challenges.

2.The enablement of the Holy Spirit is of adequate and generous portion and satisfaction for the need of the heart to respond to life’s issues.

3.What a believer really needs is to be equipped with heaven’s resources and answers for the challenges he faces; God stands ready to grant them.

4.The riches of Jesus are of endless supply and fitting to any and all applications of faith.

5.The believer is given the strength of the Holy Spirit to respond, to equip, to endure, sufficient for the need of that child of God.

6.The greater strength of the child of God is an inner peace and strength that is not of his own making, but is his own for keeping that child of God.

7.The revelation from that child of God is that on the inside he is full of Jesus; the child of God lives and operates out of the fulness of Jesus’ life. 

Preparing to Worship Psalms 99: 9

click to Read the passage: Psalms 99  (a new browser window will open)

(Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His holy hill; for the Lord our God is

  holy.)

1. There must be possession of the heart by God-ownership.

2. There must be possession of the heart by God- yieldedness.

3. There must be a clean heart of the believer.

4. There is to be a heart willing to encounter God on His terms.

Illustration- Luke 19: 11-26- parable of talents

5. There is to be a heart desiring to hear from God.

6. There is to be a heart yielded to Christ's glory.

7. There is to be a heart caught up in the timelessness of His presence.

8. There is to be a heart filled to overflowing with His grace.

9. There will be a clear witness of God's spirit presiding, exalting the work and

presence of the Lord Jesus Christ

Man will not be exalted at all.

10. There will be a sustaining holy reverence empowering the worship of God,

          capturing and holding the believer's heart to God.

The Joy That Follows Faith Matthew 2: 10-12

click to Read the passage: Matthew 2  (a new browser window will open)

( They rejoiced with exceedingly great joy .... ) 

1) The joy of obedience 

following the star 

2) The joy of faithfulness 

continuing over many miles, many days 

3) The joy of fellowship 

Joseph, Mary, Jesus 

4) The joy of reward 

Jesus - worshipping Jesus 

V 11 5) The joy of giving 

( they presented unto Him gifts, ... ) 

v 12 6) The joy of renewal 

( they departed ... ) 

v 12 7) The joy of continuing. 

The effect of being in Christ's presence never wears off. 

A Manger Luke 2: 7

click to Read the passage: Luke 2  (a new browser window will open)

(And she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped Him in swaddling 

clothes, and laid Him in a manger;)

1. Heaven's cradle for deity.

Isaiah 30: 15;    32: 17

2. Heaven's statement of humility.

contrasting with lost man’s great pride problem

contrasting with zealous or sincere believer’s attempts to right wrongs

3. Heaven's highlight for majesty.

Zechariah 9:9;  Isaiah 9: 7

4. Heaven's flexibility for man's insensitivity.

5. Heaven's adaptability to man's incompatibility.

6. Heaven's favor sheltered with God's integrity.

7. Heaven's hold on man's only hope and security.

Christ, the hope of glory

Everlasting life- the inclusion of forever in His presence

Jude 24, 25

The Christmas Gift Isaiah 9: 6

click to Read the passage: Isaiah 9  (a new browser window will open)                                                              

                                                 

1) A personal gift 

(For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given,) 

2) A personal ruler 

(and the government shall be upon His shoulder;) 

Lord 

3) A personal love 

(Wonderful,) 

4) A personal word 

(Counselor, ) 

5) A personal defender 

(The Mighty God,) 

6) A personal extender 

(The Everlasting Father,) 

7) A personal satisfier 

(The Prince of Peace.) 

The Certainty of God's Time Luke 1: 20

click to Read the passage: Luke 1  (a new browser window will open)

(And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that 

these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words,

which shall be performed in their season.) 

1. God does have a time for fulfilment of His will, else he wouldn't reveal it.

2. God requires faith of His servants.

3. The opportunity of faith is consequential.

4. God asks His servant only to believe and wait patiently, not to complete

God's will.

5. God is just and clearly reveals His will, his choice.

6. God's words are true from the beginning.

7. Fulfilment is but the arriving of God's time.