What Jesus Is Speaking by Sr. Pete Norris

Today on power in the word Peter Simon Peter here hadn't even been born again, and he answered he said Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life in other words. You're the answer to all our issues You're what we trying to be listen. We're so interested in getting to heaven, but that's not what Jesus comes to do He didn't come to get us to heaven he come to bring heaven to us and give us eternal life in John 17 in 3 He said what he said, what is what is what is eternal life the ability to know God? Welcome to power in the word People often ask what is God saying to me? Maybe the greater question is what are we hearing well today? Dr. Norris gives examples in the Word of God of how God spoke to men and women of old And how we can learn from those examples and hear God clearly you stay with us and be encouraged And we're gonna talk about what's Jesus saying how many of you know what Jesus is saying to you You know it's amazing. You just don't say the same thing to everybody you know I Was at the dentist office today, and I was sitting in that chair and this lady comes in and she said Pastor ain't you on TV, and I said yes, ma'am And she began to talk and tell me what the Lord was saying. It's amazing. You know she didn't tell me Did you want some chicken pastry or something like that? It's let me tell you what the Lord is saying so tonight. I want you to tell me. What's the Lord saying to you? Hebrews chapter 1 verse 1 and 2 God who at various times in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets under the old covenant How did God speak to people he speak to people through prophets? Okay, does he speak to people through prophets today sure he does, but there's a comma here. Let's read verse 2 Has in these last days now, so he's talking about the last days here, right? Now this was written a long time ago So the last days have been going on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on And on and on and on and on when was this written? Almost 2,000 years ago guys it was last days then So when you get a visual picture in your mind of the capacity of the last days What do you think of what jumps in your mind if you ever been in church at all? What's the last days mean?

End of the world world's coming to end destructions coming Jesus coming back, and we're gonna be destroyed What's left here is gonna be destroyed and all you he's gonna come as a sleeper in the night He gonna snatch you out of here, and you're the ones that ain't been good enough. He's gonna leave your tail right Have that have we not heard that our whole lives And so what that does is that brings fear to us because immediately when I read last days I saw somebody's eyes light up But the Bible said in these last days spoken to us by how? So he said in the last days. He's gonna speak to us how? By his son, but now the the people that teach eschatology teach that he's not gonna talk to you in that time He go he gonna come and leave you Now stay with me listen Let's read the scripture for what it really says So in these last days spoken to us by his son whom he has appointed heir of all things Through whom also he made the one So we see here that in the last days. He's gonna speak to us how? By his son okay, but I want you to look at my Bible here in John chapter 5. It's all read Who said it? Is he the one gonna speak to us? So how's he gonna speak to us? He's gonna speak to us through this word and many of you know this word wasn't written Until the 1600s translated into English into the 1600s so what they read before So think about him in this King James that everybody talks about Wasn't even written till 1615 so how did he speak to people before 1615? Now I'm not trying to mess your theology up I'm trying to get you to understand that the Bible is not a storybook that you read. It's him speaking to your heart If you want to know what he's saying you got to read the book You know the Bible said that he's given us power To tread upon surfaces scorpions and nothing by any means shall harm us Luke 10 19 so that's in red so he told us that is it true

What part of the Bible isn't true? All of it's true. Let's go to John 6 and 66 From that time many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more now What is happening here in John chapter 6 look at 67 then Jesus said to the 12 Do you also want to go away now? I'm gonna stop right here The Jews had been to the disciples and said I want you to eat of my flesh and drink of my blood now the Jews Understood cannibalism they understood eating each other's flesh because it's hard all the time So they thought he was taking them to a deeper place But he was really trying to take them to a deeper place, but they immediately, 70 of them, rejected him and didn't follow him anymore. You know the story. And so Jesus comes to the 12 and he said, well, do you guys want to go too? And we read that and it seems like it's sarcasm, but it's really not, because look at 68. And Simon Peter answered him and said, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of heaven. He didn't say heaven, did he? You can't find anywhere in the scriptures that disciples wanted to go to heaven. You can't find anywhere in the New Testament that people was wanting to go to heaven. They were wanting eternal life. Remember the rich man that come to Jesus and said, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Peter, Simon Peter here hadn't even been born again

and he answered and he said, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. In other words, you're the answer to all our issues. You're what we're trying to be. That's basically what he was saying to them. He wasn't, listen, we're so interested in getting to heaven and I'm not trying to come against your heaven theory, but that's not what Jesus come to do. He didn't come to get us to heaven. He come to bring heaven to us and give us eternal life. In John 17 and three, he said what? He said, what is eternal life? The ability to know God. So when we think about eternal life, in verse 68 of John six, Peter said, Simon Peter, Simon Peter, Simon means what? Weep and read, Peter means rock. Peter's name was changed from Simon to Peter because he wanted to understand he had gone from one level of life to a new level. Has he changed your name? He said, because you're gonna be known by a new name in heaven, right? But you're gonna be known in heaven as you're known on earth and everybody believes that in heaven, when I get to heaven, I'm gonna be Pete. That's not true. He's not saying that. What he's saying is you're gonna be known as he knew you. We're all gonna be like Christ.

You ain't gonna be able to tell us the difference. And I'm not trying to shake your theology there or shake your idea of what heaven's gonna be. Heaven's gonna be the most marvelous place you've ever existed. You're gonna see some folk you know. You're gonna know some folk you don't know. You're gonna know some folk that you didn't even know that you knew. And you're gonna see some folk that you already, it's gonna be like serendipity. You're gonna see some folks you knew along the way that you didn't even know you knew them. But when you get to heaven, you're gonna know them. It's gonna be a wonderful journey. But look at John 69. Also, we have come to believe and know that you're the Christ. We've come to believe and to know that you're the Christ. Now, think about this. This is Simon Peter saying, you have the words. Well, where do we go? You have the words of eternal life. But 70 of them went and didn't follow him anymore. Said they didn't ever say they came back. Why didn't they grab the revelation that he was eternal life? Why didn't they grab the revelation that he had the words of eternal life? Why can't the church folks today get hold of

that he's the words of eternal life than other just a fire extinguisher to keep us out of hell? Think about it a minute. We've come to believe. Peter said we didn't believe it at the beginning, but we've come to believe and know that you're the Christ, the son of the living God. What proved that to them? He ain't resurrected yet. He ain't died yet. What proved that to them? They didn't have the word of God to follow. How did they come to believe and to know that you're the Christ? Who revealed that to Peter? Scripture tells you. He said that wasn't revealed to you by a man, by a flesh and blood, but that was revealed to you by the spirit. And that's what I'm gonna build my church on, what's your revelation you just got. We don't know much about eternal life. We're just trying to live. When we're really living an eternal life and we're bigger in eternal life than we are in life, can never be separated from that. So the words that Jesus has spoken had an effect on these boys. But you get in a crisis. Let me ask you something.

When you get in a crisis, what do you do? Most of the time we pray those fearful prayers, those critical prayers. God, take it, take it, take it. But what really is going on internally? What's going on internally inside of us? What is Jesus really speaking? It ain't what I believe that's gonna help you in your crisis. It ain't what Ms. Starr believes that's gonna help you in your crisis. It's what you believe when you're in your crisis. And Peter was in a crisis here because he knew he was fixing to go through some turmoil and 70 had just walked away. Now think about it a minute. You're sitting there and you're Peter and 70 comes up to Jesus and he said, eat of my flesh and drink of my blood, get deeper into me. And all of a sudden 70 turns and walks away and say, you know what? We're not gonna follow you anymore. Now what gave Peter the courage to say, I ain't got nowhere to go because you have the words of eternal life. I ain't got nowhere to go. Let me tell you something. Have you eliminated? places to go. When you have other options, you're not going to rely on the one that you're

trying to believe in. But Peter said, we've come to believe and to know that you're the Christ. You're the son of the living God. We've come to believe that. We didn't believe that to start with. So there was a process there that got Peter to that point, right? Now watch this. Let's go to Romans 10, 17. Now you all know this scripture. So then faith comes by what? And hearing comes by what? So faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the word of God. And how many of you know the word of God is not the word Theos, it's the word Christos, which means Christ. So faith comes not by reading the Old Testament. Faith comes by reading the New Testament. Now, most people that get saved, when you got born again, where's the first place you went? No, seriously, where's the first book you started reading? Now a preacher probably told you to read John. But most of us want to go to the book of Revelation. Because there's something about that that infatuates us. And if you read the beginning of the book of Revelation, it says, this is the book of the revelation of what? You can't find any worse than this is the revelation of the end days and eschatology. But yet we've made it that. And now it brings fear to everybody that reads it, right? So faith comes by how? What are you hearing? What are you hearing? What are you hearing? What are you hearing? How many of you can remember something your daddy said to you or your mama said to you over and over and over and over and over and over? How many of you? Mm hmm. I can remember some things my dad said. Think about it. And those things stick in you. I remember my mommy said all the time, son, Lord's watching you. And so every time she said it so much that every time I got away from her, I was hoping he ain't watching me right now. You know what I mean? But he was watching me. He was watching you. He's watching you. He's watching you. But how many of you believe he's real? Okay, let me ask you a question. You say that. Then you have me, have you believed that he's right there with you and what sees everything you done is doing it with you. Then he ain't leaving inside of you if he ain't doing it with you. See, we really don't believe he's right there watching it because there was some things I'd done if I don't know my mama was there. I wouldn't have did them. Now I'd have probably did them if my daddy was there. If I really believe the Lord was right there, there's some things I wouldn't do. So I really don't believe he's right there. Now I say I do and it sounds good, but do I really believe? Peter said, Lord, I've come to believe and to know that you are the Christ. I didn't believe

this at the beginning, but I've come to believe that. What made Peter believe? Go with me to John 7, 42. Has not the scripture said that Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem where David was? 43. So there was a division among the people because of him. He never brought peace, guys. He shook the cage. 44. So some of them wanted to take him, but no one laid hands on him. Some of them wanted to take him, but no one laid hands on him. Look at 45. Then the officers came to the chief priests and the Pharisees who said to them, why have you not brought him? 46. The officers answered, man, you don't understand. Ain't no man ever spoke like this man. What was different about his speaking? You ever been around people that talked about Jesus and they talked about what they'd heard from Jesus and how Jesus really had done some great things and they'd seen the signs of those great things. So you can read all about what Jesus has done and not knowing. I spent hours and hours and hours reading the backs of baseball cards when I was growing up. I could tell you who had a birthday the same day. I mean, I can still tell you. I can see the back of some of those cards even today. I knew all about those guys, but I didn't know them. Never spent a moment with them. Never ate a supper with them. Never sat down with them. But I can tell you all about them. There's a whole lot of people in the church can tell you all about Jesus, but they don't know him. They never sat down with him. They're hoping and praying they're going to make it to heaven. But that ain't something I'm worried about because here's what I want you to understand. There's some people heard about him. This one with the issue of blood had heard about Jesus, but she didn't know him. But when she had an encounter with him on that road, she knew him. There was a man named Paul. Paul that was riding whatever he was riding and a light shined down from heaven and he was out to destroy this man because he thought he was blaspheming and Paul really thought he was doing the right thing. There's a lot of people preaching messages today that they think are the right thing, me included at one time. God's merciful and gracious.

But as I began to know him, I began to know how much he loved us. I began to realize how he wasn't mad at me. And so on that road that night, old Paul had an encounter. He was Saul at the time. And he got knocked off of whatever he was riding and he couldn't see anything for three days. And he met a man named Grace, named Ananias. And all of a sudden that man laid hands on Paul and he received his sight and began to know that he could do what he could do. You think about it now. Think about it. He could do what he could do. I want you to ask yourself a question today. And I really want you to ask yourself a question. Have you met him? Now, I know we're all saved here, but do you know him? Do you know him? If he'd walk up to you, would you know him? If he'd come in the church and mess it up, would it be so unorthodox to us that we would say, oh man, that guy had a devil? Because I don't think he would do what we do. I think he'd shake our cages. And so we see here, he said, I ain't never met anybody spoke like this man. Oh, we've heard this religious thing in the scribes and the Pharisees are talking about.

We know about being an officer and a chief officer and a priest, but nobody ever spoke like this man. This big M spoke a little bit different than everybody else. Well, how did he speak? Well, go to John chapter seven, verse 37, and we're gonna lead up to what he says here. On this last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out saying, if any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. Now think about it. If anybody here is thirsty, now come and drink. If I told you that tonight, what would it mean? I got a bucket of water up here for you? Think about it a minute. Look at 38. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. Living waters will flow out of him if he just believes in me. Just believes in me. Rivers are gonna flow out of you if you just believe in me. Rivers are gonna flow out of you. And then he just told them a scripture before, if you drink of me, you won't ever thirst again. But now he's telling them, if you just believe in me, rivers will flow out of you. What was he wanting them to believe? What was he wanting to show them? What was this man speaking that nobody else said? What made him so real?

I can say all the things he said tonight and you not know anything else when you left here. But look at 39. But this he spoke concerning the spirit, whom those believing in him would receive, for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified. Now you gotta understand something. The Holy Spirit wasn't given out yet because Jesus hadn't descended yet. Jesus hadn't got a glorified body yet. But just look at John chapter eight, verse 10. When Jesus had raised himself up, he saw no one but the woman. And he said to her, woman, where are your accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? Think about it a minute. Has no one condemned you? Here's a woman caught in adultery. And he said, where's your accusers, honey? She said, I don't have any. He said, well, so no one condemns you? Look at 10, 11. And she said, no one, Lord. And Jesus said to her, neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. In other words, I didn't come into the world to condemn the world, but that through me, the world might be saved. Anytime you hear condemning, it ain't Jesus.

He didn't talk about her, what she had done, or why did she do it, or do you need to get delivered? Are we gonna cast the devil out? He said, where's your condemners? She said, I don't have any. He said, well, I don't condemn you either. Go, and you don't have the sin nature anymore. Go and be free. Go and be free. No one ever spoke like this man. They lowered the guy down through the roof, and all of a sudden, Jesus said, your sins are forgiven. The man hadn't even asked for sins to be given. He couldn't get through the roof by himself. And Jesus looked down and said, your sins are forgiven. And the Christ of his faith said, he's blaspheming, man. He's telling people their sins are forgiven. He said, I just wanted to tell you that. The son of man has the authority to forgive sins on earth. Man, we're walking way under the revelation of who he is because we don't understand we're eternal beings. Listen, an external man can forgive nobody for anything. An internal man can forgive people of everything. Verse 12, then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, I'm the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. He said, there ain't gonna be no darkness in you, brother. I'm the light of the world. I'm the light of the world.

Turn to somebody and say, I'm the light of the world. Let's go to John chapter four. You need to read John. You need to do chapter four. to rate yourself with John. Now Jacob's whale was there, Jesus therefore being wearied from his journey sat thus by the whale. It was about the sixth hour. Now what time is the sixth hour guys? It's around lunchtime. Look at verse 7. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, give me a drink sweetie. She said, I can't do that man. I'm a Samaritan. You ain't supposed to be talking to us. She wasn't really supposed to be talking to him. He went out of his way to go to Jacob's whale. Because the translation of that text is, if you know anything about the place that Jacob's whale was at, that's where Joseph was buried. Jesus had to show up there because he was a patriarch of what had been. Joseph was buried there because Jesus was coming there. It was destiny. The woman didn't even know why she was going to the whale to look for another husband. Watch what he said, verse 8. For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Verse 9. The woman of Samaria said to him, how is it that you being a Jew asked to drink from me, a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Why are you asking me for water? You don't have any dealings with me. Jesus said, I'm going to step across the line. I'm going to break the barriers. I'm going to tear your religion up. Because I come to bring life to everybody, not just to the Jew. I come that everyone might have life. And what did he do? He come to give us life. Now look at verse 10. Jesus answered and said to her, if you knew the gift of God and who is

this to you, give me a drink. Look, read this guys. He answered and said, if you knew the gift of God, in other words, I'm a gift of God. If you knew who I was, you'd tell me to give you a drink. And you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. So if you knew who you were talking to, if you knew who I was, then why didn't you know him? Why didn't you recognize him? Why don't we know him? Why don't we recognize him? What's he speaking? What's he saying? Until we understand and learn Jesus' language, until we understand and learn Jesus' language, you're not going to be able to communicate with him. And I'm afraid that so many people are so religious that they can't see what eternal life really is. Come to John 4 and 14. But whoever drinks the water that I give him will never thirst. But the water that I give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. Now think about that a minute. He's going to give us something on the inside of us that's going to spring us up into everlasting life. Now what's everlasting life? Eternity. So what's he going to put inside of me? He wasn't talking about water literally springing up out of my mouth. He was talking about eternal life springing up out of me and changing everybody around me. So what he was saying is the fountain that's going to be on the inside of me because the word fountain in the ancient Greek is the eyes. What's he saying in Psalms? In the latter days he's going to lead us with his eyes. He ain't even going to have to say anything. We're going to be so close and intimate with him. How many of you knew growing up your mama could make eyes and you knew something was going down? Do we know his eyes? Do we know his heart?

Do we know his voice? Do we know that still small voice in the dark, dreary times of life? Do we know that voice? Is that spring of everlasting life rising up in us? Go to 2 Corinthians 5. So what's Jesus speaking? 2 Corinthians 5, 17. Therefore if anyone is a cross he's a what? And all things have passed away and behold all things have become new. And everybody knows that one. I don't know if we fully understand it but we all know it. What does a new creation mean? You can't be the old one. And old things have passed away and all things have become new. All things have become new. But look at 18. Now all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. But look at verse 19. That is God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. Guys, you need to do a word study on himself. What did he say when Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac? And Isaac said, Lord, where's the sacrifice? And he said he'll supply himself, himself a sacrifice. H-I-M-S-E-L-F. What's he really saying? Reconciling the world that Christ was, God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation." So what was he really saying to us? He was reconciling himself.

Right? Reconciling us to himself. Reconciling us to himself. Reconciling us to himself. What does that look like? If you can learn to accept himself, you lose sight of yourself. And you become himself. Now I want you to get this. When God created Adam in the perfect example of perfection, Adam lost sight of himself. Of who he was. Because Jesus asked him, where you at? And he said, I went and hid myself. Because why did you go hide yourself? Because I was naked. Who told you that? Why didn't God know who told him that? Because God can't talk that way. So he knew it wasn't him. So he wanted to hear Adam say, who told you that? But you got to understand something. Jesus lost sight of himself and become ourself, so that we could become himself. So whatever he is in himself, you and I are in himself. There's no separation, because it was himself that reconciled us to himself. It was Christ reconciling us back to God. God in Christ reconciling us to himself. You get that? God was in Christ reconciling himself. What does that mean?

When Christ came to earth, God was inside of him reconciling me and you. Through himself. Jesus became himself, which is himself as God. That's a perfect revelation. Of the superiority and the sovereignty of who God is in us. If God is sovereign in himself, he's sovereign in you and me. Think about it a minute. Let's go to John 6 and 63. It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing, but the words that I'm speaking to you, they're spirit and they're life. So why would you not want to read what he said? Because his words are spirit and they're life. They're spirit and they're life. If I want to learn about life, where am I going to get it? I'm the way, the truth, and the life. There's no other way to the father except through me, John 14, 6. So if he's the way, truth, and the life, and the words that I speak are spirit and they're life, what's he saying to us? If I'll get his word so embedded in me, the things of this world will go strangely dim, and we will become just like him on the earth. And we will become invincible to what the adversary wants to do because we'll be so full of truth. He come and shook them to the cores of their being. He was not afraid of nothing they could do to him because he knew what could be done to him because he knew where he stood and who he was and what he was about. He knew what his purpose was. Let me tell you something. If Jesus knew his purpose, you can know yours.

And I'll tell you what your purpose is. You want me to tell you? I'll tell every one of you tonight. Your purpose is to give your life for the brethren. Thank you 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.