Search the transcript 0:00 Well, I'm going to ask you what I asked so many times before, but how many came to be changed today? Man, I did. I'm telling you what I did. He's changing me. He's changing you. He's faithful to you. He's faithful to me. He's faithful to us. We will put our confidence and trust in Him. We will not come up short. We will give Him the time, exercise, whatever measure of faith that is within us. He will change us. 0:38 Provide for us, heal us, set us free, forgive us, position us, resurrect us even sometimes. He will do it, and He will do it every single time for those who will call upon the name of the Lord. I'm going to teach this morning on this, with this topic, the present Christ. Everybody say, the present Christ. The present Christ. 1:12 I have, over the years, the message that I'm going to teach today will not be a strange one or unusual one to the people that have been walking with me in this house, been a part of this house for any length of time. So the message will be maybe a different message. 1:30 presentation, but the principle, the truth within the message will not be a new revelation to most, and yet in the middle of it, I believe that there will be a reminder of what we are called to, and a reminder of what we need to be careful to avoid. So I want to talk about this present Christ this morning, and there are three points that I want to make, because they all are truth, and 2:02 The best way that I could identify these three particular points is this. The first point will be the truth. The second point will be the deeper truth. And the third point will be the deepest truth. So theology can and most often does lie against the truth. I'm going to start with that. Theology. Theology. 2:36 Religion, keep this in mind, religion is theology based. Religion is theology based. So I say again, theology can and most often does lie against the truth. I want to refer to something that came up in our 2:59 time before we pray, before we come out here every week, and I want to refer to something that Matt Hoffman said this morning. He was referencing what A.J. Phillips was teaching in growth tracks before service started, and I encourage all of you to be involved in growth tracks every Sunday morning at 9 o'clock. But Matt was referring to what A.J. was teaching, referencing Moses and his approach to the burning bush. 3:26 And a couple of things happened. One, when Moses approached the burning bush, he was told to take the shoes off his feet, which he had no problem doing. He did not say, when God asked Moses to take the shoes off his feet, he didn't ask why. He simply took the shoes off his feet. And then as Matt referenced, later though, there was a moment when the father said to him, 3:56 I want you to do something miraculous regarding a rock rather than strike the rock like you did the first time. I want you to speak to the rock. And Moses couldn't do it and he struck the rock. 4:12 And then there was another time when Moses was asked by the father to lead the people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. And he was going to go in and stand before Pharaoh. And when the father asked him to go and stand before Pharaoh to lead the people out of Egypt, rather than saying, yes, sir, and simply going on his way, he said, but I cannot, I'm paraphrasing, but I cannot speak well. 4:38 I cannot, I'm a stum, I'm a mumbler, I'm a stutterer. I cannot speak well, so I'm not the right person to do this. And unfortunately, it ended up falling to another one to be his mouthpiece because he refused to do what the Father asked him to do. As great as Moses was, he did not experience the fullness that the Father had prepared for him. He never even went into the promised land. 5:03 So he was supposed to be the vocal, the sound, the voice before the Pharaoh. He refused to do, there were things that were present. See, I want to say something today. Everything that you believe today, whether it's spiritual or not spiritual, is a theology. All a theology is, is how you wrap your mind around what you believe about God. What do you believe about God? If you were to write that on paper, that is your theology. Right? 5:36 It is your theology. I was saved in an assembly of God church. When I was in that assembly of God church, the assemblies of God have a written theology that is basically a code you must adhere to in order to be considered assembly of God. 5:51 If you ever want to hold a position of leadership in that denomination, in that religion, if you want to hold a position of leadership, and I'm not attacking the assemblies of God, I'm just speaking a truth this morning. If you want to hold a position, then you're going to adhere to these codes that we have, these written laws that we have, our theology. This is how we interpret the Bible. This is our theology. And I have said this to you time and time again, but 6:19 When I gave my heart to Christ on that particular night and then they asked me to sign my membership papers and there were a list of things on that paper that I would not do in order to be considered an Assembly of God member. Well, one of the things on that piece of paper was that I would not attend a movie house. 6:41 I would not go to a movie because they're vile and they're yada yada and all the devil, basically. And I said to the guy, I can do all the things on your list, but I won't sign your membership paper because Friday, Silverado, the movie Silverado is coming out and I'm going to see it. So whether the devil's in it or not, I'm going to see Silverado. 7:14 And you know what I didn't do? I never signed that membership paper. And you know what I did do? I went and saw Silverado. And do you know what? It wasn't hell. I never had a conversation with the devil. He never came to me and said, you're going to hell. You know why? Because eternity, listen to what I'm about to tell you. Eternity, your eternity is not determined by your theology. 7:58 Your eternity is determined by your relationship with a very real Jesus Christ. So as I said a moment ago, what we believe... 8:14 Whatever it is that you believe is a theology in your life. Moses' theology was, at the burning bush, I can take my shoes off. I have faith that this is right. But when he was asked to go and speak to Pharaoh, that did not line up with Moses' theology because his interpretation wasn't, I have faith in the God that's calling me. His interpretation was, my theology is, I'm unable to speak. 8:41 So somewhere in my theology, this one must do it for me. So we all have theologies. What we don't all have is Jesus Christ. I need you to understand that this morning. We all have theologies. We are all living by them. We live and die by them every single day. But what we all do not have is Jesus Christ. And we also live and die by that. So denominations and church movements are built by 9:24 On each one's specific interpretation of theology. And their interpreted theology becomes their basis for all their truth. They measure up. Denomination and religion or whatever organization that's called a church that God doesn't call the church. But we do. Man does. Whatever theology, their relationship, their theology determines whether or not it's the real Jesus Christ. Right? 10:00 Their theology determines whether or not I take my shoes off or leave them on. Their theology decides whether or not I go into the house of Pharaoh or I stand back and let someone else do it for me. See, the problem with that approach is the relationship with the Father does not nor has it ever come through theology. No one in this room knows God because of theology. 10:43 You've never met a single human being that has any knowledge of God whatsoever because of theology. You've never met them and you never will. It comes. Relationship comes. Because we are united and have become one with the person of God whose name is Jesus Christ. God... 11:14 Yahweh God, if you hear me say Yahweh, don't be disturbed. That's the Hebrew name that he gave himself when he said, I am that I am. What he really said was in the original text, I am Yahweh. Yahweh God, for the sake of your peace, I'll say God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit are not theology. Say it again with me. God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit are not theology. 11:58 They, you don't have to say this, are very real persons. The person of God. The person of Jesus Christ. The person of Holy Spirit. See, our theology, our belief believes that persons are those that are sitting beside us that have blood in their veins. Persons are those who can contemplate, who can think, who can add to, who have emotion, who feel, who get angry, who get happy, who get angry. 12:28 That is what a person is. God was angry. God was happy. God was pleased. God was dissatisfied. Jesus Christ felt emotion. He felt hurt. He felt disciplined. He felt all these things. Holy Spirit, the same thing. Holy Spirit grieves over those who do not receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. God is a person. Jesus Christ is a person. Holy Spirit is a person. They 12:56 not theology and if you try to find them through theology you will find a counterfeit of who they are but you will not find the person because theology has never led anyone to a relationship with a father the only way we come to the father is through his son the person of Jesus Christ can somebody say amen see theologies come and go theologies change 13:34 Even in the denomination I mentioned a moment ago, the church that I walked down the aisle and gave my heart to Christ for, to be changed completely. Even since that time, every single year they have a convention somewhere. It was in Orlando a couple years ago. And they rent out the entire convention center. Why? So that they can decide on what the new theology is. What's new? What's changed? What do we do now? Are women in leadership? Aren't they? 14:09 Do we allow divorced people to stand behind the pulpit or do we not? Even since July the 8th of 1985, 14:20 The theology has changed year upon year. And I'm not just going to say that about the assemblies of God. I'm going to say that about every single religion and denomination that ever has been or ever will be. Theology will change. It will change. But this is what I know. I know this to be true. That God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit. They were, they are, and they always will be exactly the way they always were. 14:48 and will be always the same never changing there is no convention that can decide if God is omnipotent there is no convention that can decide whether Jesus Christ is the son of God there is no convention that will decide whether Holy Spirit came was sent to you and me to direct us to teach us and to grow us up no convention can decide that so I want to speak to a few truths this morning three of them the truth the deeper truth the deepest truth 15:21 That was just the starting point. Let's jump into the truth. This is the truth. Jesus Christ was sent by his father, dwelt in the earth as a man, performed signs and wonders and miracles, suffered at the hands of religion, died on a cross, was buried in a tomb, was resurrected from the dead, ascended to the right hand of God. 15:51 And he will one day return in bodily form to be united with his bride, which is the church, which is you and me. That is a truth. 16:02 Revelation chapter 1 verse 7 says, Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye it will see him, even those who pierced him. Even those who denied him will see him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him, even so, amen. All the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Why? Because they will recognize what we thought was a theology was actually a person, and the person was real. 16:34 And while we can meet every year to change our theology, we can't meet and change the person. Then John 14, verse 3 says, And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and I will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also. I know, get out of your mind that some... Stop, Steve. Just don't go there. Let me just read it as it is. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and I will take you to Myself. 17:10 That where I am, you may be also. The question is, where is he? I'll tell you where he is in most people's minds. Maybe even some in this house this morning. But the truth is that Jesus Christ, he is coming again in bodily form. Say this with me. The truth is, the person, Jesus Christ, is coming again in bodily form. Does that mean he hasn't come already? Let's talk about the deeper truth. This is the deeper truth. The church... 18:02 Speaking broadly of that, shouts loudly and proudly to anyone who will listen, Jesus is coming soon. In fact, there's churches singing about it right now. Jesus is coming soon, morning or night or noon. All of the dead in Christ shall rise one of these days. I mean, there's churches singing about it right now because their theology requires them to accept that so that they can deny the fact that he's requiring something of them right now. See, the Jews said very similarly that 18:44 Listen to me. This is the deeper truth. Remember, it was the Jewish people. When Jesus came on the scene, the Jewish people would say to one another, the Messiah is coming soon, and it's not you. Remember, they were looking for something that was in the sweet, sweet by and by. Can I make it plain? The Jews standing around. 19:17 The Messiah is coming. The Messiah is coming. I was driving down the road the other day and I pulled up next to Publix and God bless them. I looked out there and there were about five guys out there and a couple ladies and they're all with these massive signs. The sign's bigger than my truck and they're holding these signs out. Jesus is coming soon. Jesus is coming soon. They're holding that sign up right there and I thought to myself, I thought, you know what, I couldn't do that so kudos to you for doing it like that. There's truth in your sign. 19:46 But I wonder if you have interpreted the right truth about that. So in the same way, we have the Jews who wandered around. Jesus is right in front of them and they are shouting and saying to one another, Messiah is coming soon. Everybody say, they said, the Messiah, the Deliverer, is coming soon. But they looked at Christ, say it, and said, you're not it. They'd been waiting on Him for centuries. But when He stood right in front of them, 20:34 was present with them, they did not recognize him. Instead, they beat him. They put a crown of thorns on his head. They ripped his clothes off, made him carry a cross. Then they nailed him to it, thrust a spear in his side, forced vinegar down his throat, and mocked him all while shouting, the Messiah is coming soon, and you are not him. See, they knew the Messiah was coming, but they couldn't recognize him when he stood right there. 21:23 Jeremiah chapter 23 verses 5 and 6 says this, 22:03 The Lord is our righteousness. Let me read that first part again. Verse 5. Behold the days are coming declares the Lord. When I will raise up for David a righteous branch. And he shall reign as king and deal wisely. They were stuck on that theology. 22:18 I have said in this house many times over and over again, there are three truths that are inarguable. That God is the Father, Jesus Christ is the Son, and Holy Spirit is that part of Him that He sent, that person in Him that He sent to lead us, to guide us, to teach us, to direct us, to convict us, to change us, to renew our minds, to help us get through the truths that are going to come down. 22:41 Sometimes very difficult for us. But he helps us get through them. Those three things, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, those are inarguable. Every other thing, every other thing is simply a theology that can be argued. 22:57 That's why on this very exact verse in Jeremiah 23, 5 and 6, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, if you go through any of these, this is why multiple people can read the exact same book in the Bible, the exact same scriptures, and they can come up with alternate theologies throughout. I don't know how many religions there are. 23:18 But within every single one of them, they have a distinct belief or a distinct theology about Scripture. I can tell you theology can be argued, but the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost cannot be argued. Amen. 23:38 But see, the Jewish people did what so many in the church do today, so many in this room might be doing right now or watching online or in churches all around us. They did exactly what so many do every single day, and that is this. When you look back at chapter 23, and they're saying this is, the Scripture says that he will raise up for David a righteous branch, and he will reign as king and deal wisely. What the Jews interpreted that as is he's coming, and when he comes, he's going to take everything over for us, and the world will be ours again, and all of these things. 24:06 They had no idea that the king wasn't one who sat on an earthly throne. Because their theology didn't fit that. Their interpretation of that did not fit. So they could not. 24:22 Wrap their mind around. If you're not going to sit on an earthly throne, something made out of gold and nice pretty crimson colors with velour or felt or whatever it is they use. If you can't sit on that, then you cannot possibly be the Messiah that's coming to us. Because Jeremiah said that he's going to come as a king and he's going to be the ruler. 24:44 But what they could not see is through that and what the person of Holy Spirit was trying to tell them. He is more than a king sitting on a natural throne. He is more than simply a ruler. He is the Son of God. And He's standing in front of you. Can you not see it? 25:12 The Jews were looking for a king who would lead them into freedom over the oppressors and restore the kingdom of the Jewish people. They could not accept that Jesus Christ was he of whom Jeremiah was speaking. Jesus was all of that. And he was so much more. But they could not accept him because he was not what they expected and he did not fit into their theology. So while Jesus Christ walked among them, because they could not accept that the Messiah was present, they did not receive the promises of the miraculous Messiah. 25:48 That could only be found in him. How tragic. Matt, would you join me for a moment, please? This is my spiritual son. How tragic would it be? Look right, look, okay. I had garlic last night. I apologize. I'm looking right into the face of a man I trust with everything. There is nothing that I have or ever will have that I do not trust him with. Nothing. How tragic. How tragic. 26:27 Would it be for me to look at this man knowing that within him is the miraculous? Within him exist the answers that I've been waiting on. Within him, I can touch him, I can feel him. Within him is everything that would cause my life to go from this glory to the next glory. How tragic would it be for me to look at him and say, but you're not the one. And reject what was there right in front of me. 27:07 Thank you. Let's talk about the deepest truth. And I'm going to start with a question. Are we, the current body of Christ, any different than the Jews who missed what was right in front of them? I mean, listen, preachers get up and preach. I've done it in the past. I don't do it anymore. But preachers get up and preach every week. You talk about it. People talk about it. Round tables, kitchen tables, they talk about it all the time that Jesus is coming soon, Jesus is coming soon, Jesus is coming soon. They make every discussion about Jesus is coming soon and never mention the fact that 27:51 Jesus is sitting right in front of you while we're having coffee because He's in me. He came already. See, already that disrupts people because in their mind, people that are listening to this right now or at least in the days to come, I might even get some emails and letters. I don't care. You can go to hell if you want to. I'm not. And I say that nicely. But if you miss the Christ in front of you, I want to tell you, you're never going to see the Christ that comes after the moment you're in right now. 28:38 See, there are people already in their will, in their mind. Well, that's messing with my theology. Man, I hope so, because your theology didn't save you. It's never saved anybody. No one ever went to heaven because of good theology. They went to heaven because they had faith. They had faith in the person, the person of Jesus Christ. 29:01 So are we ignoring the present Christ while preaching the message and singing the song over and over again? Jesus is coming soon, morning or night or noon. All of the dead in Christ will rise one of these days, one of these days. So are we missing the present Christ because that song moves us? It's emotional. It gives us hope for a better future while all the while missing the moment right in front of us that gives us hope for a better right now. I hope you're hearing what I'm teaching today. 29:38 It is for a lack of vision that people die, a lack of faith that people die and miss what's right in front of them. So much, too much of the body of Christ today has their vision blinded because they are looking for something on the horizon that is standing right in front of their face. 29:59 Jesus said himself in Matthew chapter 28 verses 19 and 20, something very familiar to everybody in this house, go therefore and make disciples of all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, those three persons, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And then he goes on and he says this, this is the words of Jesus Christ. He says, and behold, I am with you always. I am with you always. I'm not sitting somewhere waiting for you to get here. 30:29 I'm not going somewhere to watch the NFL while I wait for you to arrive. Behold, I am with you always and I will be with you always to the end of time. And all time doesn't include soon, later. All time includes that, but it includes the present. It includes yesterday. I've always been with you and I will always be with you. Stop saying you're waiting on me because I'm present. I'm present. 31:04 Jesus Christ differs from so many because he is exactly that. He is always, always, always of a present mind. And most of the body of Christ is always, always, always of a future mind. And we need our minds renewed. We need our minds changed. 31:25 Hebrews chapter 13 verse 5 says, keep your life free from love of money. This isn't about money. I know people make it about money. It's not about money. It's the love of money. It's in other words, anything that you get in the way of your relationship with Jesus Christ. I'm not going into that today. But keep your life free from love of money and be content with what you have for he has said, I will, what? What? What? 31:48 Never leave you or forsake you. But while we're singing that song, he's coming soon. At the same time, we're saying, you have left me and forsake me. I wish you'd come back right now. When are you coming, Lord Jesus? I'm dying away. This is the deepest truth. He said, I will never. Everybody say never. Everybody say he has never. See, his body did. But the anointing of Jesus Christ... 32:32 The part that makes him Christ. His body did not make him Christ. That was added after he was sent. He was Christ before the Father put a body on him so that he could be the sacrificial lamb for you and me. Are you getting what I'm telling you this morning? We think in terms of, we talked about it before, but we're linear. He's not. He's layered. And they all blend. Both of these scriptures firmly state 33:12 Declare this, that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Deliverer, the Healer, the Restorer of what is broken. He is not a future event. If you can get that this morning, your entire life will change. But He is indeed present with you and me right this moment. Amen. 33:54 So the deepest truth is not that Jesus Christ is here right now. Or the deepest truth is that Jesus Christ is here right now. Coming soon. This theology. 34:09 It changes from time to time. First, it was 1985 he was coming. Then he was coming, and we have to change our theology. So you don't have to change who Christ is, but you have to change your theology because he says, I'm going to do something different just so that you, hopefully, you'll come to the place where you realize your theology is not your salvation. So I'm going to change it. I think even the return in bodily form, he may have delayed numerous times just so he could shake up. 34:37 religion and say you never knew i told you you would not know the day nor the hour just because you think you do i'm going to show you that you don't and you don't because you don't know me and i've been standing right in front of you and you've looked over my shoulders into the future and you've missed what's standing in front of your face he's the restorer of what is broken he is not a future event but is present with you and me the deepest truth is that jesus christ he's here right now so will you will you i'm asking a question 35:14 Like the Jews, like the religious who put Christ on the cross, will you ignore his current presence and in doing so, miss everything that he came to bring to you right now? It's a question. All of heaven was present in Christ standing right in front of the Jews. It's the same story written with different names. 35:56 You need to hear me today because we will say in the body, I would never, I would not be, I would know Jesus if he stood right in front of me. Meanwhile, he's standing there and you're saying, he's coming soon. And he is in physical form, but he is always present by the spirit at all times. And if you miss his presence by the spirit, you will miss him when he comes back in the body. I've said before, this is nothing new. Well, some of you might be, 36:47 But people argue, even in theology, regarding the rapture of the church. They get so worked up about it because it's theology. The rapture of the church is a theology, by the way. And it has evolved over time. Might I say that. It wasn't God that made the air when they first came into that theology in the early 1900s. Prior to that, there was no such thing as the rapture of the church. It was first heard of in 1911. And since then... 37:21 It has evolved over time, this whole idea of the rapture of the church. It has changed, it has changed, it has changed. And people will build everything on that and they will say, do you believe in the rapture? And my response to them is always the same. I could care less if there is one or not. What do you mean? It doesn't matter to you. I mean, it doesn't matter to me because this is what I know. My faith in Christ isn't theology based. It isn't determined on whether or not there is or isn't a rapture. 37:55 My faith in Jesus Christ is determined on this thing. My faith in Jesus Christ. That he is the person, the son of the living God. And whether he comes in riding on a white horse or driving a Volkswagen bug, I don't care. However he decides to do it, I'm going to be a part of that. However he decides to do it, I'm going to be a part of that. 38:23 But my relationship is not based on whether there is this or isn't that or this exists or that doesn't exist. My relationship is based on these inarguable truths. One, God is the Father. Two, Jesus Christ is the person of his Son. And three, Holy Spirit is that person that comes to guide us into all truth. And I want you to know the person of the Holy Ghost is present today to guide you. 38:50 You and me into all truth. Not theological truths. Not denominational truths. Not movement truths. Not dispensational truths. But to guide us into this truth. That the Messiah that you are looking for is not one that is in some distant future. But the Messiah you've been looking for. The Messiah you've been hungering for. The Messiah you've been searching for. The Messiah you believe for. Yes. 39:21 This is the truth. That Messiah, the person of the Holy Spirit would say to you, is present. Not just tomorrow and not just the next day and not just the next after that. But he is present right now to do the miraculous in you because he is possessing all of heaven for you right now. Which part do you need? Which part do you need right now? Which part of heaven do you need right now? 39:54 What part of heaven do you need right now? He's not looking for us to do as the Jews did. Well, you can't possibly be the Messiah because. I mean, you were born in a stinking manger. What king would our father send and put him in a stinky spot? You can't possibly be now. Yet he stood right before them, Matt. Stood right before them, AJ. Here's all of heaven. Everything that the father has ever had. Everything that the father has right now. 41:02 And everything that will ever represent who he is is standing right in front of you. Can you receive that? Not soon, not later, but the present Christ. Can you receive the present Christ? Would you stand with me, please? So I'm going to do what I know in my heart to do. I feel I do not feel like I do not have any inclination that Holy Spirit wants me to give opportunity for people to come today. 41:52 What I'm feeling is he's giving you opportunity to decide for yourself. Is he a Christ who is coming soon? Or is he a Christ standing right in front of you with all of heaven available to you that you can receive right now and have relationship with right now? Inarguable. God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Inarguable. Everything else gets in the way. 42:27 Even the Bible, it's a roadmap to lead us to Him, not back to itself. The Bible and our faith in what Scripture says is not circular. Everything in it leads us to those three inarguable persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Now, I know that there are things that I possibly said today. 43:00 that might shake up whatever your theology is, all I ask is this, if that be true, ask yourself, is your faith in your theology or is your faith in the Son of the living God? And if you will ask yourself that, I promise you He will have Holy Spirit convict you of what is truth and what is not so that your whole mind can be renewed. Amen? 43:33 Father, I'm thankful for these men. Raise your hands in here if you would, please. These women, these sons, these daughters, each one. Transcript generated automatically from the audio, so a few words may be off.
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