Unveil The Glory, Part 2

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. What happens to the biggest reason we often don't and we got good enough affirmation in the horizontal plane to say okay that sounds was because not much for joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now is once again he shows us how God's word.

Our world about us.

One thing to do.

That is exclusively on unveil his glory.

That's all we have to do unveil his glory. Christ enters the hope of glory. We don't need to draw people in. We don't need to figure out how can we be more attractive to people we don't need to woo anyone we need to allow Jesus Christ to shine in our individual lives you do that I do that will be fine.

You see I if I do that my individual life and you do and usually fine when I see right now just how fine you could possibly be as we go along with this, but right now we live in a day and age were churches all about this. There's there's just way too much walling going on. I mean over the years, a kind of things that I have seen the websites and advertisements in paper and newspapers up is mind-boggling to me when you see someone like me. As I turned to hey come come visit us were cool were cool.

You could have a latte in our lobby ha ha all I latte yeah I mean you are your musicians you get is it going for you will not be able to contain yourself music music music. I mean working to do it. I have promised eight minute sermon. It will be boring.

You can just simply suffer through the eight minutes and get on with it.

In the worst I'd ever seen. Free door prizes. The first hundred people in the building and here's what so said that's going on. Let me tell you something a satyr works it works. You get a crowd, but you don't get glory. There is no glory in that all the churches for Christ. The church is about Christ.

The church is through Christ. The church is for the glory of Christ, and unfortunately that's getting lost and that's dangerous. Look at chapter 5 of John chapter 5 in verse 44, John Wright says the Lord. Speaking. How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God see that's what we do we seek glory from one another. That's the way it works seeking glory from one another collectively as a church or individually as individuals we seek that glory to take glory belongs to God is sinful. He said I will not share my glory. You see, that's the whole point in the way the glory works as it starts with God's presence in our life and then through that presence that radiates out of us. God doing it all and then he gets the glory. It's a perfect circle is the glory of God is the only way we can operate. And sadly, we found other ways to operate me ask you could've. They got out of Egypt on their own. They can only God could do right for me ask you this.

Could you get saved on your own and can you do anything to contribute to that. No, no. Could you be a righteous servant of God on your own now on your own. Could you have a marriage that God intended you to have Justin around. No, can a church be what God intends it to be on its own. See, we say no but you know what other people to think they're saying that they did it on her own.

Yes yes there are people you think are sick other people to think they've done ministry for God on their own. Yes. Remember what Jesus said. He said not everyone who says Lord Laura run of the kingdom of heaven.

He said in that day that we people to come up to me and say hey Jesus, have we done great things in your name we cast out demons in your name we work miracles in your name. How about that he said get away from me you sons of iniquity. I don't know your you see the glory on your own. The horizontal glory it doesn't work is impressive. We like it but it doesn't work that's what he saying to do it on your own. Every circumstance of our life is an opportunity to reveal the glory of God turn to chapter 9 of John chapter 9 verse one, a famous miracle. John writes, and he passed by, and he saw a man blind from birth very unusual.

And his disciples asked him, said Rabbi who send this man or his parents that he would be born blind. That's the prevailing truth of the day. That's what the culture believed if you were born with an infirmity that men either. God did on the basis of sin you're going to commit or, more likely, he did it because your parents or grandparents in really bad and you get punished for and they asked the question who did it was his his sin, or the person Jesus said it's neither that man who sang Norse parents. He said it was so that the works of God might be displayed. I was a member mine for the glory of God is born, but for the glory of God see others works.

Whatever it is that it owes you. Whatever your psyche is bruised by whatever's wanting your self-esteem can be to the glory of God. You see your you for the glory of God, and him me for the glory of God and where us for the glory of God. You see, is for the glory of God.

That's what he is trying to tell us she would say this is a terrible thing but it wasn't a terrible thing now. By the way, to those who have faith glory, to those who live on the horizontal plane. Verse 13 they brought to the Pharisees the man was formally buying now was a Sabbath on the day that when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes and then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his site and he said to them book he applied the clay to my eyes. I watch that I see.

Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying this man is not from God because he does not keep the Sabbath say that because that's what people have their own glory to the religious and we set it up on the horizontal plane. How you get on her and you can do this stuff when you break the rules. We have rules about the Sabbath, you can bet blind people see on the Sabbath Lane people walk deaf people here, you can't do that. Why, as though they were about was one thing horizontal glory, the glory of one man given it to another man. That's what they're doing and boy it is infectious.

You see what happens in this whole thing with Gloria's even though we have it in us. We never get a really out because somehow we buy into the horizontal plan. How about a week or so ago pastor Brett and I were talking about marriage counseling and up we sort had to subject in my without even knowing it and what we said was that it's interesting when people come to us. It ends up often being reduced in the methodology of pragmatism. In other words, you want to give them something to do you know so that it might be better and so you know, one of the things you do, we do commonly is you know what you really need is to set up a weekly date night with your husband or wife wanted.

Now there's nothing wrong with this idea.

So don't say hey I don't have to take out Pastor Bill said the point is though we say you need to go on a date okay and that meant we got stuck other tools very pragmatic, like the languages of love, which are language what your love language and we say you need to figure out what her love language is your love languages and then you got me good leveling to be her love language and the point of it is we keep trying. Methodology and pragmatism try to give you some insights and we tell you there's a conference if you go to back crucial conference get going. But you know the reality of it is. If you are believers in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ have a marriage. Jesus Christ let Jesus Christ emanate from that marriage.

Let the glory show you will have a marriage. Women dream of. If you let Jesus Christ proceed so often on the horizontal plane. We kind of think now know he can't really do that we need is a little bit of help from us.

Our methodologies are pragmatism. That's what will carry the day. And now that's even affected the churches we say how can we do this if the Lord didn't exist and still get a crowd and of course that's exactly what we do.

You see, let me show you a verse that is really convicting to me and I hope it's convicting you turn to Ephesians chapter 3 Ephesians chapter 3.

A prayer of Paul verse 14. Also, for this reason I bow my knees before the father is the number pray right now, he says, from whom every family in heaven on earth derives its name that he would grant you now think about what you think of you personally, he would grant you, yes you, according to the riches of his glory now see how is God going to grant something. According to the riches of his what is glory to glory is the essence of God is the presence of God radiating from you that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory.

Now here's what he wants to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner man. He said I want you to be so much stronger than you are and I want to give you the power that's available to you in a limit of the power is the spirit of God is spirit how much power does the spirit of God have infinite power. Resurrection power, he says, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts, and now here comes the key phrase for us through faith you have faith you really don't get to have much of glory.

You see, without the faith.

There's not much glory.

Usually, God will not do through us what we will not allow God to do in us, he says, through faith and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breath and the length and height and the depth and to know the love of Christ is and what you really get a hold of this insistent flow from your full of grace and truth. He says, which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up with the fullness of God, that you may be controlled by the fullness of God.

In other words, you're going to burn you set yourself on fire in these verses and you just burn and people love to watch people burn now, here's the verse I think that you may not ever really thought about now to him who was able to do exceedingly abundantly exceeding abundantly. How do you exceed abundantly. He said God is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus, and all generations, forever and ever. Amen. You simply say if you live the kind of life that you allow God. The glory of God to just emanate from you. What will end up happening in your life you live a life that is beyond anything you ask or could possibly think now let me ask you is that your experience you see is that your experience do you say look, I kind of even kind of even ask or dreamed, or thought any of this.

You see, I have by the way, when we pray that we have pretty specific prayer request and basically what God is the only saying it's a there's a fine I'll do what I can, but there too little. See, I want to give you what is way beyond what you even ask. I want to give you and I want a place in your life something you would even think about sleep because that's what he says. That's what the glory of God does to the glory of God is way beyond anything that seems rational. I mean you really think a bunch of slaves are going to leave the Egyptian Empire, no you really think that want to go through the Red Sea that the Egyptian army is going to be drowned in the seat.

No see what was his point look all the way beyond this, I will be on anything, let me ask you what is God done in your life beyond what you could've ever thought brass and I think for most of us if you want us to save. Not much, not much reason is our faith. It's not in the power of the spirit of God. It's not in the glory glory has everything possible to could be there.

There's no doubt about it. That's what he says with a glory. The only thing that can limit the glory of God emanate from this church and from us as people with us and I think what happens to the biggest reason we often don't emanate the glory of God is simply this.

We make our own plans and we got good enough affirmation on the horizontal plane to say okay that sounds really sounded good going do it and we reap what we sow. But there's not much glory. One more thing. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 16 Matthew chapter 16 famous passage. Verse 16 and Matthew 16 Jesus asked his disciples, who do men say that I am they gave it a lot of shots, John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, some profit. Peter was listening to it all and finally come up with something.

But, by the way did come up with in his own. Even Jesus did make sure that Peter could take credit for the men he said who do you say I am a Simon Peter said in verse 16 near the Christ the son of the living God.

Jesus said to him, Blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah because flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but my father is in heaven this thing come from your keen insight escape my father and then he says this. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock your statement. I am the Christ, the son of the living God upon that statement I will build my church I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overpower. There is a categorical statement I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it will not overpower it is almost like we have the potential in first grade. See, we have all the kids together, who's saying this, who said this, Jesus what they say to build his church who said Jesus what you say you'll build his church tell me that Jesus said to build his church. Jesus said to build his church and why we tried so hard to build what Solomon said you try to build a house in your own is if you try to build a house. Your house on your own.

Your labor in vain. See what Jesus is saying is even seen upon the statement I want you to get out there and build me a church that's the last thing in the world. He said I will build the church is what Jesus Christ said. That's what he's going to do every single month. It seems like to me. I get bombarded with mailings of the new sensational conference just for pastors so I can learn how to build a church. They have them every single time come to Chicago come to Dallas come to LA and learn how to actually build the church. I mean, will bring any expert socially how to raise money from your people. It won't matter how white knuckle. They are how hard they hold onto it. You squeeze that money out of them will show you how to get things done politically, that you get the land you want, even if they didn't want to give you the land will show you how one surveys once only servicing your pillar every possible demographic that exist, and will show you how to do this in the scary thing about it always works is the scariest thing. All it works. You get the crowd you get the crop. There's no glory there's just a crowd. She that's a problem.

The reason we never really get to be part of the glory of God is because we somehow believe on our own we can do this and we feel and what he is saying like there is I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will not fail. Jesus is basically saying to us as a church I will build my church with Chris Churchill about this church, but I will build my church.

One other thing when was it in the history of the church.

We actually believe in Jesus that I will build my church. It was numerical when we get that idea. I can tell you what about the last 30 years in North America look at the history of the church in the time of Christ until the present time.

And boy, the true church of Jesus Christ is been a small remnant of believers all over the earth all those centuries he was building. You see he was building it somehow. We have turn it into something else. You see, that's what the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, and he said we preach Christ, not ourselves because it's so easy to preach yourselves proclaim yourselves in. I mean it was founded, but I mean I see the slogans.

We are the friendly church.

I'm all for you, being friendly someone who you don't know me friendly. I'm all for you, being friendly, but this is in churches and about you being friendly.

This church is about Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior of all, that's what it's about.

It's about Christ.

I like to be run from a group of people basically be the alternative. I don't have a problem with that. That's not what church is to be about. You see, the glory is not in the giftedness of the pastor, the glory is not in the magnificence of the building.

The glory is not in the variance of the programs. The glory is not in the competence of the music, the glorious only in Jesus Christ. You see, it's the only product we have we have one product in this church, one Jesus Christ, that's all were so and when it's on anything else. Apart from him. We can do nothing. She that's why said I am the vine, who the branches abide in me. After the glory you see stay close to me. My yoke is light show the glory you stay close to me and then let me do the work that's true of us collectively is true of you individually. Our strategy should be simple in our lives unveil the glory of Jesus Christ, I challenge you to change your prayer life change it this way just for a week every prayer. Show me your glory, Lord, show me the glory I want to see the glory my life. I want to see the glory my church. I want to see the glory in my marriage. I want to see the glory.

I believe you be changed whenever you see that glory. It is full of grace and truth is not only for a good, but it's always back to God's glory.

See Wesley was right.

He was exactly right.

Whenever you set yourself on fire people come from everywhere to what you burn in the best of all, God is with us. To God be the glory spring. Father, I fear that the subject of glory is too abstract for us. I fear that the ideas we can't really get our thoughts around it, but father, we need to we need understand that there's nothing we can do in and of ourselves we couldn't save ourselves, we can keep ourselves. We don't do righteous acts on our own, we are dependent on you for every good thing in life. Every lasting thing for eternity comes for you.

So father I pray that each of us understand that, and we collectively understand as a church.

We simply want you to reveal your glory. We want you to emanate from us.

Your people in such a way that others see your are good works and glorify our fathers and have father, I thank you for the glory of God. I thank you for the dependency of the apostle Paul, I thank you for the insight of the great Moses. I think you most about for your son, our Savior's name pastor broke your heart on the radio ministry of fellowship in the world.

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