The Lord has given me a word for everyone that I, personally, have never heard before. But it is a word that I believe to be a word that needs to be heard. How many people do you know who say they are saved? How many people have you heard say they are saved, delivered and sanctified by the grace and mercies of God? Think about all of those people who say this about themselves, then ask yourself this question; "Are they really?" Are they really saved, redeemed, forgiven, and sanctified by the standards God's Word sets for us?
I have seen and heard many people over the years who claim to be a "Born Again Christian" and engage in some of the vilest of sins. I have seen men and women who say they are saved and have received Jesus as Lord and Savior say and do the most outrageous abominations! I have seen and heard people who have embraced the homosexual lifestyle claim to be saved by grace. I have seen and heard people who live in adulterous relationships, relationships of fornication, and even polygamy say that they are saved and redeemed by the grace of God.
This should be an outrage in the church! The church should be appalled at what is happening in the pulpits today! Churches are ordaining homosexuals and lesbians into priesthoods and pastorship. What is happening in the church today?! Churches all over the world have forsaken the Gospel! They have stopped preaching on the Blood of Jesus! They have stopped preaching about the wages of sin! They have stopped warning sinners about Hell! You don't even hear preachers preach about how the devil will say and do everything in his power to keep you from God! You don't hear that anymore! What do you hear instead? Speeches that should be reserved for those who have lost a loved one, those who are struggling with addiction wanting to break free, those who are depressed.
Churches nowadays, all they do is talk like they're giving a lecture at a university somewhere! The altars have been shut down keeping people from coming to the throne room of grace to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior! Altar calls have ceased to exist in most churches today! Nowadays, churches are so afraid of "offending" someone! Churches have allowed fear of people leaving, tithes and offerings dropping, and bad press to keep them from doing what Jesus commanded us to do in Matthew 28:19-20, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”!
We have allowed public opinion and what not to keep us from doing what the Lord commissioned us to do! Why? Yes, it's important to reach the world and bring people to Jesus, but you can't do that if you forsake His Word and His Gospel! You can't reach people for Jesus if you won't even tell them Who Jesus is! You can't save people from the wages of sin if you won't even tell them they have sin in their life, and they need to repent, ask God for forgiveness and deliverance!
I love what Paul wrote in Romans 10:14, "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" How can anyone ever know Jesus if we don't even tell people about Him? How can you lead a person to the Lord if you don't tell them about Him? And why wouldn't you tell people about Him? Look at what all He did for us! He healed people when He was on this Earth. He healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, opened deaf ears, restored withered hands, raised the dead, cleansed the lepers, fed thousands of people with just a box lunch you'd take to school! Why wouldn't you tell people about Him? He saved you, didn't He?! He redeemed you, didn't He? He pulled you out of that pit of despair you were wallowing in, didn't He? Didn't He take the stripes on His back for you?! Didn't He take the beating He took for you?! Didn't He take the humiliation He suffered for you?! Didn't He take a crown of thorns that pierced His head through flesh and bone for you?! Didn't He allow Himself to be crucified for you?! Did He not take the nails in His hands for you?! Did He not take the nails in His feet for you?! Did He not take the thrust of the spear in His side for you?! Did He not die in your place?! Did He not hang on that cross that was meant for you?! Did He not die for you?! So, why would you not tell others about Him?
That's why I come to you today with this question, "Is Jesus Real To You?" Matthew 16:13-20 is where I want to focus this message today. "When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? So, they said, Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He said to them, But who do you say that I am?
Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it! And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth will be loosed in Heaven. Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ."
Father God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Bless the reading of Your Word and the teaching thereof, in Jesus Holy Name! Let all who read this message today receive revelation knowledge from the very throne room of the Living God. In Jesus Name we pray and ask this in faith believing and expecting! Let all God's people shout AMEN!!!
Like I said earlier, many people both in and outside the church today say they are saved, they say they are born again, and yet they live sinful, unbiblical lives today. Churches are ordaining homosexuals and lesbians into the ministry. "What's wrong with that?", you may ask. The Bible makes it crystal clear in Leviticus 18:22 that you are not to mate with someone of the same sex. The Bible says it is an abomination to God. Which the Holy Spirit showed me is an open act of defiance in the very face of God. Homosexuality and lesbianism are abominations to God and anyone who practices such evil will answer to the Lord for that unless they repent and turn to Jesus for redemption that can only come from His Blood that was shed on the cross. The Bible says in Hebrews 9:22, “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins”.
And I believe that's the key to telling the redeemed from the wolves in sheeps clothing. Ask them about the Blood. Have they been washed in the Blood, redeemed by the Blood, saved by the Blood? If the person reacts negatively to the topic of the Blood, chances are Jesus is not real to them and they have not accepted His gift of salvation. People who have genuinely received Jesus as Lord and sincerely repented of their sins will testify of the Blood. So, with that being said, let me ask you this, have you been washed in the Blood of the Lamb?
Have you been immersed in the Blood? Have you been cleansed by the Blood? Have you RECEIVED the Blood?! If you have, then give God praise where you are! For the Blood has redeemed you. The Blood has washed you white as snow. The Blood has cleansed you of all unrighteousness! Somebody praise the Lord for the Blood today!
The Blood will always be a subject that sinners and demons avoid like a plague. The Blood is so pure and so holy, no demon, no sinner, no heathen can stand the mention of the Blood! And yet, pulpits have been emptied of sermons and messages on the Blood of Jesus. Why? Because the enemy has infiltrated the sanctuary through the unsaved and is whispering in the ears of the saints who for some reason, still live in fear today. The enemy is whispering in the ears of those who were so bad off, they never thought God would give them the time of day, let alone a chance at redemption. There are people in the church today who still feel the guilt and shame of there past! There are people in the church today who still indulge themselves in sinful lusts and ways. There are people in the church today who are still fragile and no one has taken the time to encourage them in the Word!
No one has taken the time to reach out to them since they got saved and guided them through God's Word about how to live a Godly lifestyle! And we need that in the church today! Because these people who have come to Christ after a lifetime of sin are still vulnerable to those sins because most of them, that's all they know! That's all they have ever known!
Case in point, look at John 8:1-12, "But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So, when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again, He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life.”
What most people don't realize is that this woman they caught in adultery was most likely a person who didn't know any other way to be. For all intents and purposes, chances are, she didn't know any other way. But then she met THE way! Can I get a shout in here? Chances are being a harlot or an adulterous was all she knew about how to be. We don't know what kind of childhood she had. We don't know what kind of parents she had. For all we know, she could have had a mother who lived the same way. How many people do you know who turned out so bad that had parents just as bad? So, I would think about that before you get the urge to look down on someone. Amen? You don't know that person. You don't know what they've been through in life. You don't know where they learned to be like that. For all you know, that person is a good person who either fell in with the wrong crowd or had parents who didn't raise them any better. Again, no one truly knows.... except God.
And what the Scribes and Pharisees said was true. And that's just what happened in the Old Testament. You catch a man or a woman in the act of adultery or if you can prove they have acted in adultery, outside the city gate you go and get stoned to death! That was the law! That's what God told Moses about those situations. So, it's not like the Scribes and Pharisees were wrong, or making it up. They told the truth. But Jesus came to show mercy.
Now, the Scribes and Pharisees only asked Him His opinion hoping they would catch Him saying something they could condemn Him for. They weren't really interested in what He had to say about the woman. They were interested in what He would say in response. They wanted to trip Him up in His words. They wanted a 2 for 1 special. They wanted both the woman AND HIM! But, He knew what they were after. He knew what they were thinking. That's why He was writing in the ground. They were telling Him what Moses said, right? What they didn't know was HE was the One Who told Him that. Remember, Jesus said, "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father. Because the Father and I are ONE!
They were telling Him what Moses said, He was writing what He told Moses to say at that time! Wish I had a shout in here! Jesus was showing them, you may know the word, but I WROTE that word! Hallelujah!!! You may know the Scriptures, but Jesus wrote the Scriptures. John chapter 1 says it plainly, "In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God. And the Word was God. And the Word BECAME flesh... and dwelt among us." Can I get a shout in here?
It's like when God spoke to Job in the whirlwind, "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the world?" The Scribes and Pharisees knew the law of Moses, they knew the Scriptures, what they didn't know was Jesus IS the law of Moses! Jesus IS the Holy Scriptures! They knew the written word, but Jesus IS the LIVING Word!
But Jesus did something so awesome here. See, in the Old Testament, that girl would be dead in the street. But in the NEW Testament, she is shown mercy. Mercy she never deserved. Mercy she never earned. Mercy she did absolutely nothing to merit. And yet.... she got it. Why? Because God is merciful. God is faithful. God....... is love itself. I love what Benny Hinn says, "God's love is as perfect as His wrath. And His wrath is as perfect as His love." What does that mean? That means God is perfectly balanced. Whereas you and I are always at an imbalance. We're like those teeter totters you see in the park. We always go all the way to one side, then all the way to the other side. We're either boiling mad, or we're totally at peace. We're never in the middle. But God is.
Is Jesus real to you? He wasn't real to the Scribes and Pharisees. They didn't believe He was the Messiah. He wasn't real to most of the people He preached to and taught. Most of them wanted to stone Him! He wasn't even real to His disciples. "How can you say that, Pastor?" Because, they, like the teeter totters I was just talking about, they were either all the way on one side or the other. And when they crucified Him, they lost all hope. They lost all faith. While He was with them, they believed He was the One. But when He died, they doubted. Even when He rose from the dead, they doubted. They told the women who told them about it that they were crazy.
But when they saw His hands and His feet.... all doubt vanished! When they saw the holes in His hands, His feet and His side, they knew for sure He was the Messiah! They knew He was the One! Their faith was renewed and restored! Thomas refused to believe at first. And because of that, we have hated on that brother. And we need to stop that. Because I'll bet none of you thought about this, the reason Thomas wouldn't believe is found in his own words in John 20:25, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
It wasn't that he was being "reasonable" as some people of the world would say. It wasn't that he was being difficult about it. It wasn't even that he refused to believe. He said, "Unless I see the holes........ unless I see the holes in His hands, His feet, and His side, I will not believe." Believe what? Not that Jesus is risen, but Thomas would not believe what others were telling him, even though it was the truth. Why? I submit that Thomas remembered what the Lord told Him and the disciples in Matthew 24:23-25, “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false Christ's and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand."
It wasn't that Thomas refused to believe of his own accord. He remembered the words of Jesus. He remembered that. That's why he said he wouldn't believe unless he saw the holes in Christ's hands, feet and side. He wanted to see the evidence no other faker could show him! Thomas wanted to see the receipt for the wages of sin that Jesus paid in His own Blood. Can I get a praise shout to God in here?
Is Jesus real to you? Jesus said when Thomas saw Him in John 20:29, "because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen Me and yet believe.” Do you believe today? Is Jesus real to you? And what I mean by that is, do you know Jesus? Do you know Him as you know your spouse or your best friend? Or do you just know ABOUT Him? You have to make it personal with Jesus in order to make it. You can't fake this thing. Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity! I never knew you"
Is Jesus real to you? Do you know Him personally? You can. It is possible. Or do you just know about Him? You can't expect to go to Heaven if you just know ABOUT Him. You have to make it personal with Him. Then He will make it personal with you. With the world being in the shape it's in, time is certainly running out. Soon, the Lord will come for His Church and those who have rejected Him will be left behind to face the horror that's coming. 2 Chronicles 7:12-18, "Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up Heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. For now, I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.’
If you humble yourselves, if you pray and seek the face of God, ask Him to wash you in the Blood of Jesus, then AND ONLY THEN will He hear you from Heaven, forgive your sins and heal our land. Without the shedding of the Blood, there can be no remission of sins! To know the Lord is to first be washed in His Blood. The Blood washes you and cleanses you from all sin and unrighteousness. The Blood is your purification to enter the Gate called "Beautiful". Jesus is that Gate. And when you come to Him, you must receive His Blood over your life. Then the Gate called, "Beautiful" will be opened to you. Is Jesus real to you? If not, make Him real to you today!
