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Jesus Declares the Father By: Dr. Pete Norris

Harvest Fellowship Church

Apr 27, 2026 · 29 min5K

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Everything about God that you can't find in the person of Jesus, you have a right to question.

No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared Him. (John 1:18 NKJV)

Declare means "to unfold" or "to reveal." Declare means to unfold in teaching, to declare by making known.

I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, I have manifested Your name with the glory which I had with You before the world was. “to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. (John 17:4-8 NKJV)

Finished the work. Manifested your name. Give them your words.

Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. (John 5:19 NKJV)

Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.” And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. (Mark 10:46-52 NKJV)

This was all about a Father and son relationship. So many people with terrible father relationships, that the Idea of a Father frightens them.

When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.” But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children. (Matthew 14:13-21 NKJV)

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. (John 8:3-4 NKJV)

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.” (John 8:10-11 NKJV)

This is a perfect picture of a Father and daughter relationship. He is restoring His daughters. A sinner loved to be with Jesus. He released such an atmosphere of Grace that the people living under the law fled.

Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; (Luke 19:1-9 NKJV)

Zacchaeus was a sinner and he was looking for Jesus. He was a thief and he felt the grace of The Lord. He was not running from The Lord; he was running to Him. Zacchaeus means “pure innocent”.

The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by all her children.” Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” (Luke 7:34-39 NKJV)

You can prove mercy, Grace and kindness and not tolerate sin. The fear in church is if we love too much, we condone people's sin.

Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10 NKJV)

Our Father means He was developing a concept of family. Jesus came to reveal His Father. There is something inside us for a desire for a father.

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her. Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” (John 20:16-21 NKJV)

The first person to hold Jesus at birth was Mary the virgin. This stood for the finishing of the law. The first person to touch Jesus after the resurrection was Mary Magdalene. This stood for the season of Grace.

While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.” But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.” When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl. Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, “Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead. But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Little girl, arise.” Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened. (Luke 8:49-56 NKJV)

And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:22, 23 NKJV)

When you leave the concept of family, you have left the purpose of the Kingdom of God. When you leave the family mindset, you have left the heart of the Father. I have sent you to reveal the father.

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Today on Power In The World. But that's why the Bible said at the end he was crowned with glory that he had before. You and I have been crowned with that same glory and honored with that same glory. We're the glory of the Lord on the earth right now. You and me. But we don't understand because we don't know him as a father. A father has a son. A father don't have a servant. See the church is full of servanthood. I want to do. I want to do. I want to do. Nothing wrong with doing. But here's what I want you to understand. Sons don't serve their daddy. Jesus said I didn't come to be served. I come to serve. Welcome to Power In The World. Many Christians refer to our Lord as God rather than God the Father. There's a big difference. So today Dr. Norris teaches us from the word of God that our God is a loving father. And we're his children not his servants. It's a great message so you stay with us and be encouraged. Here's a big subject that a lot of people have a really hard time with. It's understanding that Jesus loves us. And the bottom line with that is that as individuals we've got to understand to love God as a father and not as a God. And I think that's where people don't have the personal relationship. And I'm not being, I'm not judging anybody's relationship. What I'm trying to get you to understand is that Jesus come to reveal the Father. And everything about God that you can't find in the person of Jesus, I think you can question it. Now if somebody comes to reveal something that means they're just like that person. So we know Jesus came to earth. John 14 and 6 said I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes unto the Father except through me.

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Now he didn't say God. Now all these other religions they know him as God. But to know him as a father. And I think that's very hard for people that did not have an earthly father and a good relationship with their earthly father. Because here's the thing that I want you to understand. And I believe over the last few months this is really big. As older you get in life the more you appreciate life. When you're young you really don't appreciate it. You just go through the motions. But the older you get the more you appreciate it. But here's what I want for you today. I want you to know him personally. Not as somebody that's just going to keep you out of hell. Not somebody that's just going to take you to heaven. That's all the church is looking to go to heaven. And I'm telling you today there's more to it than that. Our relationship on the earth is about an intimate relationship that we know him and we know that everything's going to turn out okay. That doesn't mean it's going to turn out the way you want it every time. But it's going to turn out what's best 99% of the time. Amen. Now think about it just a minute. I want to ask you a personal question. Did you have a good relationship with your daddy? If you did not have a personal relationship with your daddy that was good then it's going to be hard for you to understand. He said if you can't love people you can see how in the world are you ever going to love people who you can't see? So think about it just a minute. And it's not about you loving God.

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It's about understanding how much he loves you. Now most of us in our lives wanted our father's approval. But the reality at the end of the day we realize our fathers weren't perfect. And we realize that even though they tried to be they weren't. But this man named Jesus come to reveal a perfect father. John 1.18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten son who is in the bosom of the father he has declared him. Now the word declared means to unfold or to reveal. Now declare means to unfold in reaching to declare by making known. In other words Jesus come to make God known. Not known as God but known as a father. Now under the old covenant they didn't have fathers. They had a God. Muslims have a God Allah. People have gods. The church still has gods. But do we really know him as a father? Galatians says that he put his spirit inside of us as crying out Abba father. So knowing him as a personal intimacy is a whole different dimension. See I believe that the more you learn about him the more you will have a day to day walk with him. He wants to be involved in every part of your life. Not just the part that keeps you out of hell. Not the part that just takes you to heaven. But every day of your life he wants to have an intimate relationship with you. He wants you to spend time with him.

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See that doesn't mean we're going to be perfect. We're saved by grace. Through faith. By grace you've been saved Ephesians 2 and 8. How many of you know that Jesus just come to reveal the father? That's all he came for. Let me ask you a question. Do you know the father? We read a book. And we read that book. And we read and understand what we read. But just because I read and understand it doesn't mean I have revelation knowledge of it. Doesn't mean I know him. Doesn't mean I'm spending time with him. Doesn't mean I'm intimate with Him. It just means I know Him. How do I know Him? I want you to go to John 17 and 4. I've glorified you on the earth. I've finished the work which you've given me to do. Now this is Jesus speaking in red. Verse 5, and now, O Father, glorify me together with yourself, with the glory which I had with you, when? Before the world began. Before the world began. He said, give me the glory that I had with you before the world began. How many of you know that Jesus was with the Father before the world began? And He had glory with Him. He knew Him personally. He was intimate with Him. He was just like Him. They were all one. The Bible said Jesus left the remnants of heaven and came down to earth and took on flesh, dwelt among men full of truth and grace. You and I did the same thing. So He knew Him before the world began. Now the word world there is the word cosmos in the actual Greek. So what He's saying is that before the world was even created,

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I was with you and I had your glory. But the Bible said He left the realm of glory and came down to earth and took on flesh. But that's why the Bible said at the end He was crowned with glory that He had before. You and I have been crowned with that same glory and honored with that same glory. We're the glory of the Lord on the earth right now. You and me. But we don't understand because we don't know Him as a father. A father has a son. A father don't have a servant. See the church is full of servanthood. I want to do, I want to do, I want to do. Nothing wrong with doing. But here's what I want you to understand. Sons don't serve their daddy. Jesus said I didn't come to be served, I come to serve. Think about it a minute. Verse 6. I've manifested your name to the men whom you've given me out of the world. They were yours. You gave them to me and they have kept your word. Now look at verse 7. Now they have known that all things which you have given me are from you. Look at verse 8. For I have given to them the words which you've given me and they have received them and have known surely that I came from you and they have believed that you sent me. Now the word finished the work manifested your name and give them your word. Now I want you to think about that a minute. He's done what? He's finished the work. He's manifested your name and he's given them your words. Now think about it just a minute. He come for one reason. Now go to John 5 and 19. And Jesus answered and said to them, most assuredly I say to you, the Son can do nothing of himself. How many of you know Jesus never done a miracle? The Father did it through him. But what he sees the Father do, Father, Father, Father. Do you remember when Jesus was on the cross?

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The father and son relationship was broken and he said, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? The father-son relationship was broken and then he become a God to him because it was a separation. He had to die and resurrect to bring back that you and I would become a son. Sons are not servants. I hear people say all the time, I get letters all the time, oh well, it's just, I just love serving the Lord. You're not serving the Lord. You're a son of the Lord. You've walked into sonship with him. You have a father and he's a son. Listen, there's nothing I wouldn't do for my children. Nothing I wouldn't do for my son. What would, and God loves my children and me more than I love them. Luke 11, 13. If an earth natural man knows how to give good gifts to his children, look how much more the Holy Spirit knows how to give unto us. Think about it a minute. You and I have a father that's absolutely crazy about us, but most people never get to know how much he loves them. Because they fall into a religious system. If I'll do this, then God's happy. If I'll do this, God's happy. If I'll act like this, God's happy. If I'll do this, God's happy. God's happy with you whether you do any of that or not. What he did made him happy with you. And as we walk through life and have that personal intimate relationship with him, it's not, we don't get up every day with fear in our eyes. We get up knowing that he's got us. And that every part of our life he's got. Go with me to Mark chapter 10. Mark chapter 10, verse 46. Now they came to Jericho, and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great multitude, blind Barnabas, the son of Thomas, sat by the road begging. Now we understand that old blind Barnabas here

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was sitting by the road begging. Now he was blind. How many of you know that he was blind? And he was in Jericho. Now how many of you know Jericho means a place of emptiness? It means a place you've got to walk through alone. If you notice, Jesus went through four places in his life. Jericho and then he went to Jordan, which is a place of plenty and prosperity. So we see here that as he came to Jericho, look at verse 47. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me, man. Have mercy on me. Now here's a blind man by the road. heard about Jesus. Isn't it amazing in Mark chapter 5 that the one with the issue of blood heard about Jesus too. So he must have been doing some pretty cool stuff, right? Has anybody heard about you? So somebody heard about him and they're crying out, Son of David have mercy on me. Son of David have mercy on me. Here's this guy by the road, blind, can't see anything, but he heard that Jesus of Nazareth, when he began to cry out, he said, have mercy on me. Now look at verse 48. Then many warned him to be quiet. Church folk will tell you to get quiet. He's crying out for Jesus and he's blind. See, there's a whole lot of other people crying out for Jesus because they're blind, not physically, but spiritually. And they're looking for answers and the church don't have them because nobody don't know him well enough to tell them about him. But we need to have a relationship with this man named Jesus that is more than just going to church and it's more than just paying my tithes and giving my offerings and sacrificing and knowing him and I just love Jesus. Everybody says, I believe him. Do you really? Do we really believe? Because when we get in crunches and crisis in our life, it's not a matter if it's going to happen, it's going to happen. That's when it becomes real. When you get in a crisis in your life and you ain't got anywhere else to turn, he becomes real, real. I want to look at verse 49. So here's a blind Barnabas and Jesus still commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man saying to him, be of good cheer, rise, he's calling you, man. But if you'll notice who called who first? Verse 50. And throwing aside his garment, he arose and came to Jesus. Now I want you to watch this. During those times, you wore a garment that let everybody know

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you were blind. So here's old blind Barnabas, he pulls off his garment and threw it on the ground because he said, I'm fixing to not be blind no more. If I can just get to this man here, I'm going to exercise my faith and I'm going to take off that garment that I'm blind and I'm going to walk up to you. Now look at verse 51. And Jesus answered and said to him, what do you want me to do for you? If he'd have had his garment on, Jesus would have known he was blind. But he had done it, took his garment off because he didn't see himself blind anymore. See, you got to use your faith that he's given you sometimes in your life. And now watch what happened. And the blind man said to him, teacher or rabbi, that I may receive my sight. Verse 52. Then Jesus said to him, go your way, your faith has made you well. And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. Now look at this. Jesus didn't pray for him, didn't touch him, didn't do anything for him. Once he threw his garment off, that was his faith that he was going to be well. And Jesus said now just go your way and your faith has made you whole. Well the man didn't have any faith because he wasn't born again because Jesus hadn't died yet. Nineteen miracles in the four Gospels. Thirteen of them he said by your faith you've been made whole. Think about it a minute. Go your way, your faith has made you well, and immediately he received his sight. Now I want you to think about this. Doesn't this kind of sound like a father-son relationship? See, people that had a bad relationship with their father, a father-son relationship frightens them a little bit. But if we ever understand that your father was doing all he knew to do, the next generation is going to be better. The next generation is supposed to be better. The next generation is going to be better. The next generation is going to be better. Why? Because Jesus always is the intimate thing in our lives. You know I heard a man tell me one time, an older pastor that married me and Anita, and he was a wonderful man, preacher Martin, and he said this to me all the time. He said, son, find somebody that loves Jesus more than you and hang out with them. But I'm going to say it this way. Find somebody that knows God loves them and hang out with them. Because it's about knowing him. Knowing that when you're in a crisis, it's going to be alright. And you can't tell me that this isn't true. He'll give you peace in any situation you're in and you'll be okay. You know, the road to get to this point, to where we're at right now, was not easy. It's been 30 years since we started this place. There's been some knocks and stuff through

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the years. But the relationship has gotten stronger. Because I never depended on me, I depended on him. I was not looking for a relationship. I was not looking for a relationship. Looking just to go to heaven, I was looking at a relationship. I wanted to know him. I wanted to know what moved him. I wanted to know what stirred his heart. I wanted to know what he felt when he walked by somebody that was hurting and you could sense that pain because you knew him well enough to know what was moving him ought to move us. But here's the thing I want to know. I want to know regardless of what I'm feeling in my life, what would he do? How would he respond? How would he look at that situation? That when I go to him, I haven't gotten to go to him because I'm concerned that he's mad at me or concerned that he's going to do something to me. I want to know him. So blind Barnabas come up to him and he took that garment off and the Bible said that your faith has made you whole, blind Barnabas. Your faith has made you whole. And he said, now go your way and his faith made him whole and immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. Now I want you to go with me to Matthew 14 verse 13. When Jesus heard it, he departed from there by boat to a deserted place by himself. And when the multitude heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities. Verse 14. And when Jesus went out and he saw the great multitude, he was moved with compassion for them and he healed the sick. He was moved with what? So if he was moved with compassion, that means he was moved in his spirit. A lot of people are moved with sympathy. Sympathy doesn't change situations. Compassion fixes situations. Now I want to go somewhere with you. I want to go to verse 15. When it was evening, his disciples came to him saying, this is a deserted place

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and the hour is already late. Send the multitude away that they may come into the villages and buy themselves food. So they've been ministering all day and Jesus has been ministering to people all day and healing the sick. And the Bible said that it was already late and disciples came to him. Let's go to verse 16. And Jesus said to them, they do not need to go away, you give them something to eat. Verse 17. And they said to him, we only have five loaves and two fishes. Now think about it a minute. You only got five loaves and two fishes and you're going to feed a multitude of people. Now think about it just a minute. They said, we need to go into town and get something. He said, no, you take care of it. They didn't understand what he was saying. Look at verse 18. And he said, bring them here to me, I'll do it myself. Verse 19. Then he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass and he took the five loaves and the two fishes and he looked up to heaven, he blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples and the disciples gave to the multitude. Now look at verse 20. And they all ate and they were all filled and they took up the twelve baskets full of fragments that remained. Now how many disciples did he have? How many baskets were left over at the end? What he was trying to reveal to them is you got the power inside of you to create everything you need in your life. Now think about it just a minute. I want you to see this. This is a multiplication here. If you notice something, he took the fish and the loaves and he blessed it. But it didn't multiply until it got into their hands. And as they began to get away, and I guarantee you a lot of those guys said, now don't get a bunch, just get a little bit. We ain't got much here. Just get a little bit. Just get a little bit. Just get a little bit. Let's get a little bit.

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We've seen it here when we're feeding people. Food goes a lot longer than it ought to go. Why? Because I'm telling you, it never multiplies until it gets into your hands. Your faith makes it multiply. When you give finances or situations, it makes it multiply. Why? Because God's blessed everything you've got your hands on. He said everything you put your hands to, I'll bless it. Deuteronomy 28, did he not? So what's he saying here? So he said, all of a sudden, if you notice, let's read 21. And those who had eaten were about 5,000 men besides the women and children. So let's say everybody had one child and everybody had a wife. So we're looking at what? 15,000 people he fed with seven items. He fed 15,000 people. Now you can't understand that in your head. That's why people have a problem with giving, understanding the relationship with the Lord, because it's all supernatural. That word, by the way, is not even in the Bible. But you're a natural person with supernatural living on the inside of you. And everything you put your hand to is going to multiply. Everything you put your hands to is going to multiply. Look around, guys. Even the world understands giving. Big corporations give all the time. All the time. At the end of the year, they'll give money away. Why? Because they know it comes back to them. What are we saying here? He fed 5,000 people, they were seated everywhere, and he was giving it away. They were walking out, they were pouring out, they were pouring out, they were pouring out. Why? They said, we need to go to town to get it. He said, no, you got it inside of you. Bless what you got and watch it multiply. What you see is not what you got. What you got is what you can't see. Because everything that's not seeable is eternal and everything that you can see is temporary and subject to change. That's the difference in faith and walking without faith. That's why Jesus come to earth to reveal the Father. Remember on the boat? And Peter had fished all night and he didn't catch anything?

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Think about it a minute. He fished all night and Jesus pushed the boat out a little bit, taught a little bit, come back and said, catch it, it's right over here. Why? He'd give him a message on what you were called to do and how to operate the kingdom of God on the earth. All he was doing is manifesting what the kingdom of God was about. And he said, now catch it, net's right over here and you'll catch fish. Why? Because in Genesis 1 he said you're over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, you're over everything. This is how the kingdom works. Now I know people say, well pastor you really believe that? Absolutely I do. You can't tell me that giving finances does not bring increase in your life. You're too late. Because I've been doing it for 40 years. And I'm not trying to be boastful when I'm fixing to say it, but I've never missed a tide check in 40 years. Yeah, I've never missed one. Why? Because I don't give it because I got to now, I probably started out that way. Because I was scared of God. But at this point in my life I'm not scared of God. I know he's passionately in love with me. And I know he's all about me and what's going on in my life. And he cares about me. And he loves me. And he's not mad with me. And he's not uptight with me. And he's going to look after me. I'm never going to be out with a food of 4 million people, man. We got to understand in the mind and the concept of how God thinks. You and I have the mind of Christ, 1 Corinthians 2 and 16. But we've got to believe that word to be the truth. Not, listen, if you can't believe it for truth on the earth, how in the world is it going to get you to heaven? Go to John 8 and 3. Then his disciples and the Pharisees brought him a woman called in adultery. And when they set her in his midst, now look at verse 4. And they said to him, Teacher, this woman was called in adultery. She was caught in a very act. Now watch this, guys. Here's a woman that the church folks have called the scribes and the Pharisees. And they brought her to Jesus and said, You know, under the old covenant, she's supposed to be stoned.

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Let's see what Jesus did. Go to verse 10. And Jesus had raised himself up and he saw no one but the woman. He said to her, Where are your accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? Where's all your condemners gone? Where's all the ones that accuse you? Where are they at? I told them they could cast the first stone. Isn't it amazing how we like to talk about people as mystics? People don't fall away from grace, they fall right into grace. So here's Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees said, Now this woman's supposed to be stoned. But isn't it amazing under the old covenant they didn't bring the man. They just brought the woman. I could tell you all about that, but that'd be a long sermon. But he said, Where's your condemners? She said, I don't have none. Look at verse 11. And she said, No one, Lord. Now watch this, the word Lord changed everything. And he said to her, Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. Now I want you to read that last five words. Go and sin no more. Now everybody reads that as she's not supposed to go out and do that again. That's not what he's saying. Here's what he's saying. I don't condemn you. John 3, 17. I didn't come into the world to condemn the world, but through me the world might be saved. He didn't throw rocks at that girl. He didn't stone that girl. He said go because she had called him Lord. That meant she was born again. The Bible said in the book of Acts, This man, Jesus, shall be called Lord and Christ. And she said, Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin. Now this word sin is not a verb, so it's not an action word. Now listen to me very carefully. We've got to understand that he said, You no longer have a sin nature. You're not going to do it anymore. Because he's given us his nature and not a sin nature. Remember the woman that was called at the well, and he was talking to her at the well, and he said, You drink of me, you'll never thirst again. And he said, I'm just coming here to get water. She was coming in the middle of the day.

24:21

He went out of his way to meet her at the well, but he meets this woman, and she was… Here's what we call it in Josca, she was shacked up. Living with a man, right? But you notice he didn't tell her to leave that man. He said that one you're living with ain't your husband either. You've had five of them, honey, and the one you're living with now ain't your husband. She said, You must be the Messiah. And then he didn't tell her, Go home and kick him out, throw him to the curb, and go on with your life. Did he? Read the book. See, this is the part people don't want to preach. Because we don't want to kick him to the curb. Jesus never kicked anybody to the curb. If he had, he'd have kicked me and you to the curb. But that woman, she left and she was running around screaming and here's what she said, guys. Stay with me pretty much. Stay with me. What did she say? She said, I met the Messiah. She ran telling everybody she had met the Messiah. She wasn't going home and getting rid of that guy. She had been transformed. See if you'll fix the inside, the outside will straighten up. If you have an encounter with the Lord, that's why people write me letters all the time and you're preaching that greasy grace and you're just giving people lives as a sin. Here's the deal. If you have an intimate relationship with the Lord, your outside life is going to change. Your attitude is going to change. Your personality is going to change. Who you are is going to change. You're going to know him. You're going to spend time with him. It's going to affect everything around you.

25:51

This is a perfect picture of a father and a daughter relationship. He loves you. He's restoring his daughter. The sinners love to be with Jesus, man. Most sinners don't want to be with a church father. He released such an atmosphere of grace that people living under the law fled. So these guys come to him and said, man, you're supposed to take her out. He said, gee, without sin, cast her first off. They lived. Think about it, guys. There are some people who have been through some stuff and I don't believe God's sitting up there on the throne. He's pointing to everybody and saying, you're just going to bust hell wide open. I don't care how you grew up. I don't care what went through. Let me tell you something. I believe his loving arm was reaching out saying, I got you, baby. I'll hold you up when you can't carry yourself. I'll hold you up when you can't make it. I'll hold you up. Listen, he held me up for a long time. He held probably most of y'all up. And I'm not condoning sin and saying it's okay and it's perfect. But let me tell you something, love doesn't stop loving because the person's in sin. It just keeps on loving. Jesus demonstrated his love for me when I was yet a sinner, Romans 5. But I just think we're too quick to throw people under the bus and not love people where they are. Now, do I agree with that? No, I do not.

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But I think you can love people without accepting what they're doing. I think you can love people and show them love and show them that you care without justifying what they're doing. I'm very upfront about what I believe, but I also believe that love doesn't get to make its own rules. I don't believe love gets to pick who they pick to love. I want you to go with me to Matthew chapter 6, verse 10, your kingdom come, your will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I want you to understand something. God is trying to restore back the family concept. Jesus came to reveal his Father. There is something inside of us for desire for the Father. Thank you so much for joining us today at Power in the Word. All of us here at Harvest Fellowship Church want you to know that God is not mad with you, but he loves you so very much and he has a plan for your life. Please feel free to contact us here at Harvest Fellowship Church at our website HarvestFellowshipChurch.net. So until next week, please remember, there's power in the word.

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