Acknowledging Christ

I greet you in the name of Jesus this morning. It is good to be here. It seems like a long time since we were here in this building.

Even as young children trust us for their parents.

Except ye become as one of these. Well, this morning we'll somewhat be addressing some of this.

It fits very well. But the message this morning is some different.

Anyway, I'm going to start in 2 Peter chapter 1. We've been here not long ago. And I want to start here. Maybe look at it in just a slightly different light.

And go a different direction. And probably the title this morning would be Acknowledging Christ. And that will make more sense to you as we continue on.

2 Peter chapter 1. We'll read probably the first five verses. First four verses.

Simon Peter. Simon Peter. A servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ. To them that have obtained like precious faith with us.

Through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you.

Through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. According as his divine power has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.

Through the knowledge of him that has called us to glory and virtue. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises.

That by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature. Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Christ. Now.

As we read these few verses. And verse 2 he says. Grace and peace be multiplied to you.

Through the knowledge of God. And of Jesus our Lord. And then in the next verse he says. That he gives us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.

Through the knowledge of him that has called us to glory and virtue. And you know. Without looking at it deeper.

That word knowledge. You know we all. Most of us have probably. We've heard the scriptures. We've heard Bible stories from. Our childhood on up.

And we've read the Bible. And so our knowledge. We might think. Our knowledge is. There's a difference.

You know. Do we. Do we really know. Do we have head knowledge. Or is it in our heart. And.

So as I was. Studying this. In the strong. This. It brings out this word knowledge.

That in the Greek. It would mean to acknowledge. How do we acknowledge. How do we acknowledge.

God. How do we acknowledge. Jesus Christ. Our Lord. And that is what we want to look at this morning. I believe that.

Acknowledging Christ. Is something that we do. In word. And in deed. You know we can.

We can say many words. But then we need to back it up. With our life. But if we.

If we. If we. If we can trust God. With a childlike faith. And if we can. Walk with him.

In full assurance. The blessings. The blessings. We cannot comprehend them. The blessings.

That are ours. Because look at this. What it says here. It says grace and peace. So. So. The way to enter into.

Grace and peace. Is to. Come to him. And to acknowledge. Jesus. Yes. Jesus. As the son of God. Jesus. As our savior.

Jesus. As lord of our life. Romans. Says we. We. We enter into this. Grace. By faith.

And we. Enter into it. By faith. In what? In our lord. Jesus Christ. And in. His shed blood. And the provisions. That he has.

Made for us. It says. God has given to us. According to his. Divine power.

He's given to us. All things. That pertain. Into life. And godliness. And these things. We. Enter into. By acknowledging.

Our lord. Jesus. Says all things. That pertain. Into life. And godliness. Through the knowledge.

Of him. Of Jesus. Who has called us. To glory. And virtue. And then. The great. Exceeding. Great. And precious. Promises.

The promises. Of God. Are the doorway. Into the provisions. Of God. And how. Do we enter. Into his. Provisions.

Is it not. As we. Acknowledge. Who Jesus is. And what he has done. For us. And the. Provisions. That he has.

Made. For us. Knowledge. Let me just read this.

Definition. Out of the. Strong's. Concordance. Recognition. Full. Discernment. Or. Recogn.

You know. It says. The. The bible says. Through the knowledge. Of God. And through the knowledge. Of him. And.

And. The. The description. For this word. Is recognition. So. Do we. Recognize. Really. Who. Jesus. Is.

Do we. Recognize. That he is. The son. Of God. That he is. The son. Of the almighty. God. The only. True.

God. Full. Discernment. Is our discernment. Are we. Discerning. This. Or. Or. Are we. Is it foggy.

In our mind. In our. In our belief. In our experience. Acknowledgement. Acknowledging.

Who. God is. Acknowledging. Who. Jesus. Is. And. Acknowledging. The promises. Of God. That they are.

For us. Today. Acknowledging. God. Eternal. The all-knowing. God. Everywhere. Present. Believing.

And. Acknowledging. Jesus. Is our. Redeemer. Our. Savior. Our. Lord. Our. Healer. Our. Provider. Says. He will. He will. Give us. All. Things.

That pertain. Under life. And. Godliness. You know. Many times. Many times. We're not.

Like. That little. Girl. That. That. Had to learn. To. To walk up. The hill. But we. We cry out. And we just. Give up. With God.

Will always. Be there. But. What does I say? I say. To say. That wait upon the Lord. Shall renew their strength. Are we trusting God.

As we go through this process of life. And sometimes. Things do not look right. Sometimes. Sometimes.

Our faith is. Is in a hard trial. And we're being tried. But can we trust? Do we trust God? Through the process.

Yes. You know. There's a reason. For that verse. That says. Be still. And know. That I am God. Be still.

And know. That I am God. Jesus.

Is the answer. For every need. Of humanity. Jesus. Is the head of the church. Jesus. Is our Lord.

He's our master. He's our savior. Do we acknowledge him. In that way. Do we trust him. In that way. Do we walk.

In that. Do we acknowledge. The promises of God. You know. Do we.

Believe this word. When we read it. Do we believe this word. When we hear it. Or do we. Do we think. It's outdated. Do we think. Well that.

You know. The word of God. It worked in the book of Acts. But we're in the modern age. We're still living. In the New Testament time. And this word.

Is. Ours. Today. It is. It is. The word of God. It will not change. Is our.

Knowledge. Of the word. Is it. Head knowledge. Only. Or do we have it. In our heart. Is it. Changing us. Are we. Allowing.

Are we. Allowing. God. To change us. To sanctify us. And to purify us. And to make us into. The people that he.

Wants us. To be. Now let's. We'll. Get a couple verses. In second.

Timothy. Second. Timothy. 2. 25. And here's a verse.

Talking about. Someone that. Walked away. That. Is living in sin. And then. He.

He instructs us. To instruct those. That oppose. Themselves. People that have. Left the faith.

Or are. Living in sin. If God. Peradventure. Will give them. Repentance. To the. Acknowledging. Of the truth. You know.

That word. Acknowledging. Again. You know. If. If. We are found. In error. If we are found. In. In a failure.

We. We need to. Acknowledge. The truth. But as we. Acknowledge. The truth. He will. Keep us. And he will. Guide us. But I just. Wanted to bring. That out.

It. That very. Word. Acknowledging. Now in. Chapter. Three. Verse. Seven. He's. Talking about. The people.

Says. Ever. Learning. And never. Able. To come. To the knowledge. Of the truth. Head. Knowledge. Only. Ever. Learning.

And learning. And studying. And learning. But never. Coming. To the knowledge. Of the truth. You know. As we learn. And as we read. This word.

As we hear. The gospel. Preached. And we. Acknowledge. It. As truth. That is how. That truth. Can become.

A part. Of our life. And take. Rid. In our heart. And bring. Forth. Fruit. People. That he's. Describing. Here. Ever. Learning.

And never. Coming. To the knowledge. Of the truth. In verse. Five. It says. Having. A form. Of godliness. But denying. The power. Thereof. From such.

Turn. Away. You know. There's. There's. Many. People. That. That. They. They. Know. They. Know. The bible. They have. You know. They. They. Have. A lot.

Of. Of. Knowledge. We might. Say. But it's. Not. A part. Of their. Life. It has. Not. Changed. Them. You know. My mind. Went. To the pharisees.

In Jesus. Day. You know. Jesus. Called. Them. Out. For who. They. Were. And he. Said. You. You. You. Can. You. You.

Should. Do. As. They. Say. But. Don't. Do. As. They. Do. Why. Because. These. Men. They. Knew. They. Knew. The. Scripture. But.

They. Did. Not. Walk. In. It. They. Did. Not. Allow. The. Spirit. Of. God. To. To. Work. In. Them. And. To. Work. Righteousness. In. Them. A.

Form. Of. Godliness. Denying. The. Power. Ever. Learning. Never. Coming. To. The. Knowledge. Of. The. Truth. How. Do. We. How.

Do. We. Enter. In. Well. In. Romans. 10. In. Romans. 10. He. Tells. Us. Talking.

About. The. Righteousness. Of. God. And. And. The. Righteousness. For. Christ. Is. The. End. Of. The. Law. For. Righteousness. But. Then. I.

Just. Want. To. Read. A. Couple. Verses. Here. I. Think. We'll. Start. In. Verse. Eight. What. Sayeth. It. The. Word. Is. Nigh. The. Even. In. Thy.

Mouth. And. In. Thy. Heart. That. Is. A. Word. Of. Faith. Which. Is. Which. We. Preach. That. If. Thou. Shalt. Confess. With. Thy. Mouth. The. Lord.

Jesus. And. Shalt. Believe. In. Thine. Heart. That. God. Has. Raised. Him. From. The. Dead. Thou. Shalt. Be. Saved. For. With. The.

Heart. Man. Believeth. Under. Righteousness. With. The. Mouth. Confession. Is. Made. Unto. Salvation. For. The. Scripture. Saith. Whosoever. Believeth.

On. Him. Shall. Not. Be. Ashamed. If. We. If. We. Hear. The. Word. You know. We. Can. Hear. This. Word. All. Day. Long.

And. It. Will. Not. Do. Anything. For. Us. But. If. We. Receive. It. Into. Our. Heart. And. We. Confess. Like. It. Says. Here. We. We. Speak.

It. With. Our. Mouth. That. Yes. I. Believe. This. Word. And. I. Accept. This. Word. And. After. A. While. We. Want. To. If. We. Have. Time. We. We. Go.

To. The. Book. Of. James. And. And. We. Read. There. Where. It. Says. That. Faith. Without. Works. Is. Dead. So. We. Acknowledge. We. Acknowledge.

The. Word. Of. God. And. Who. Jesus. Is. By. Word. And. By. Deed. If. We. Truly. Believe. This. Word.

We. Will. Speak. It. Forth. And. We. Will. Say. Yes. Yes. Lord. I. Believe. This. Yes. Brothers. I. Believe. This. But. Then. Our. Life. Will. Also. Show.

The. Works. Our. Works. That. Yes. We. Do. Believe. The. Word. Of. God. Confess.

With. Thy. Mouth. To. Acknowledge. Jesus. As. The. Son. Of. God. And. To. Acknowledge. Him. As. A. Savior. Of.

The. World. And. To. Acknowledge. Him. As. My. Personal. Lord. And. Savior. Now. I'm. To. Look. At. The. Other. Side. Of. This. We. Go. To. Mark. Chapter.

Six. Here.

We. Have. A. People. That. Rejected. The. Lord. Jesus. And. I. Want. To. Read. Here. In. Mark. Six. About.

One. Through. Six. And. Went. Out. From. Thence. And. Came. Into. His. Own. Country. And. His. Disciples. Follow. Him. And. When. The.

Sabbath. Day. Was. Come. He. Began. To. Teach. In. The. Synagogue. And. Many. Hearing. Him. Were. Astonished. Saying. From. Whence. Come. From.

Whence. Hath. This. Man. These. Things. And. What. Wisdom. Is. This. Which. Is. Given. Unto. Him. That. Even. Such. Mighty.

Works. Are. Wrought. By. His. Hands. Is. Not. This. The. Carpenter. The. Son. Of. Mary. The. Brother. Of. James.

And. Joses. And. Of. Judah. And. Simon. And. Not. His. Sisters. Here. With. Us. And. They. Were. Offended. At. Him. But. Jesus. Said.

Unto. Them. A. Prophet. Is. Not. Without. Honor. But. In. His. House. And. He.

Could. There. Do. No. Mighty. Work. Save. That. He. Laid. His. Hands. Upon. A. Few. Sick. Folk. And. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He. He.

He. He. He. He. He. He. So. Growing.

Up. And. And. They. So. He. He. He. He. from, or they thought they did. And we see here in verse 2, Jesus began to teach in the synagogue.

And the people were astonished. And they started, they listened to him, and then they started reasoning. They said, from whence hath this man these things?

What wisdom is this which is given him? And even the mighty works that he does. Where does this man get this stuff?

I mean, this is, we know this man. His family is right over here. He used to live right over here. And we know this guy.

And they reasoned it away. Today, they rejected Jesus. And today, let me just say, I believe human reasoning, our own carnal mind trying to figure things out, is the biggest enemy.

It's the biggest enemy against the work of God. So they reasoned away the words that Jesus was speaking, the teachings that he was teaching, and the mighty works that he was doing.

They just reasoned it away. They questioned it. And what was the result of it? Jesus, here in verse 5, it says, he could do no mighty work.

Why? Because of their unbelief. Because they rejected him. Because they did not believe. And so he could not do many mighty works.

He healed a couple sick people. But that was all. It says he marveled because of their unbelief. You know, as Jesus looks upon us, is he blessed by our faith, or does he marvel at our unbelief?

Why? What happened here? They did not acknowledge who Jesus was. They thought he was Mary's son.

They didn't see that he was the son of God. They didn't acknowledge that Jesus was the son of God. They didn't acknowledge that he was even a prophet of God.

And that the power that he had and the wisdom that he had came from God. But they rejected him. They did not acknowledge who Jesus is.

Do we acknowledge who Jesus is? In Matthew chapter 10. Here Jesus was sending out his disciples.

And he gave them power. He gave them power as he sent them out. And he instructed them. In verse 8, he says, Heal the sick.

Cleanse the lepers. Raise the dead. Cast out devils. Freely ye have received. Freely give. And he continues on. And then toward the end of this chapter, I'm going to look at a couple verses here.

Verse 38. He that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it.

He that loses his life for my sake shall find it. He that receiveth you receiveth me. He that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Notice what he's saying here. As he sent the disciples out. You know, he gave them power so they could do, they could heal the sick and those things just like Jesus did.

But he said, He that receiveth you receiveth me. And then he said, He that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

So do we, I believe this is still ours today. Do we receive the word of God? Do we receive others that are servants of God?

And if we receive them, we receive him. And if we have Christ, then yes, we also have God the Father. And we'll be looking at more of that.

But he that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward. He that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.

And remember, those people that rejected Christ, they did not receive the reward of the gifts of the mighty works that Jesus was doing in other places because they rejected him.

Verse 42, And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

Jesus, acknowledging him. You know, and then later, at the end of chapter 11, these verses that we all know so well, Jesus said, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

How do we come to him? Again, is it not as we acknowledge that he can meet our need, as we acknowledge that as we come to him with our heavy burden, that he can take that burden and he will take that burden.

And carry us through. He says, come to me, all ye that are, that labor are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me.

Take my yoke, walk with Jesus, walk with him, learn of him, learn, learn how to walk. You know, we don't have to go up this hill by ourselves, but we can be yoked with Christ and walk with him and learn how to overcome.

Learn how to overcome the obstacles. Learn how to walk in faith. Learn how to walk effectively in the kingdom of God when we are yoked with him.

It says, for I am meek and lowly and hard, and ye shall find rest for your souls. My yoke is easy and my burden is light. But it is as we are yoked with him is when that yoke is easy and our burden is light.

Why? Because we can cast our cares upon him and he cares for us. Communing with him, yoked with him, he will give us rest.

Let's turn to Romans chapter 4.

I want to look a little bit at Abraham. But in John 7, 17, Jesus said, if any will do his will, he will know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or of man.

And as we do the will of God, as we are yoked with him and as we walk with him and we do his will, we will know his will.

Now in Romans chapter 4, you know, this whole chapter talks about Abraham, the father of faith and the father of the faithful and how he was tempted and tried and it says, Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

And, but we will skip on down. So toward, in the, about verse 18, 19, 20.

It's what I'm after here this morning. But in verse 17, he says, God, who quickeneth the dead and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

You know, notice that simple little phrase, but it is so powerful. It is so powerful.

Our God, he calleth the things that be not as though they were. You know, it doesn't matter. Our creator God, he can create things.

He created everything we see. He created it out of nothing. Just by the word of his mouth. Now, verse 18.

Who against hope believed in hope that he might become the father of many nations according to that which was spoken, so shall thy seed be.

And being not weak in faith, he considered not. Abraham, he considered not his own body, now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb.

You know, they were, she was way past childbearing age. But yet it says, Abraham considered that not, but he kept his eyes upon God and he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but he was strong in faith, giving glory to God and being fully persuaded that what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

You know, can we be like Abraham? Can we be like Abraham? That we can take this word and we can stand upon it and believe it.

That we can believe this word and consider not the impossibilities. Consider not the obstacles that stand in the way.

But know that the will of God will be accomplished. The prophecies in this book, they will be accomplished. They will be fulfilled. Our Lord Jesus will again come someday.

Yes, he will. But can we, can we, like Abraham, not stagger, not, not waver at the promises of God?

Are we fully persuaded that what God has promised, he will fulfill? Abraham believed God.

He believed God. He counted, he counted him. He counted, he trusted God.

God. And he did not waver. Okay, 2 Timothy.

Okay. Let me look at, another promise of God.

2 Timothy 3, verse 16 and 17. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

That the man of God might be perfect and throughly furnished unto all good works. You know, as we, as we are in this walk of faith, I believe it's up to us that we, that we trust in him and that we learn to walk with him, yoked with Christ, full of the Holy Ghost and yoked with him and allow him to work in us and through us to fulfill his will and his purpose in life.

Our obedience, our obedience activates the promises of God in our life. In 2 Corinthians chapter 7.

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Now, notice what he says here. This verse says, Having therefore these promises. What is he referring to? Well, the last verses in chapter 6.

In verse 16, he says, For ye are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people.

Wherefore, come out from among them and be separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you and will be a father unto you and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Those are the precious promises that he is referring to and that God has given us, that God has given to us.

We are the temple of the living God. God himself said he will live in us.

He will walk with us. Yes, by the power of the Holy Ghost, by the presence of the Holy Ghost in us. He will dwell in us. He will walk in us.

He will walk with us. He will direct our path. He will be our God and we, his people. Are we, are we walking?

Are we walking worthy of these things? Like Paul wrote in the epistles, walking worthy. Are we walking worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called?

But here in chapter 7, verse 1, he says, because of these promises, you know, because we are the temple of God, because God dwells in us, because God walks with us and dwells in us and wants to use us in his kingdom.

He wants to be our God, the almighty God. That's who. Because of this, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirits, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

You know, let us not allow things in our life that hinder the spirit of God. Let us not grieve the spirit of God. Let's not quench the spirit of God.

But let's allow him to cleanse us and to purify us that we can be, like Ephesians says, a spotless, a spotless bride for Christ.

Cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness. you know, God will not walk with us.

He will not dwell in us in a defiled temple. and we'll just briefly look at the book of James here.

in James chapter 1, he talks about the trial of our faith. He says, let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith nothing wavering.

For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. Then he talks about temptation and he says in verse 12, blessed is the man that endureth temptation.

When he is tried, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him. Now, in verse 21, 22, wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness.

Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

You know, when we hear this word, do we receive it? Do we allow it to come into our heart and to change us?

Or do we look the other way and ignore this word? Now, let's go. Faith without works is dead.

So when we, earlier I mentioned, we acknowledge the word, we acknowledge Jesus by word and deed.

You know, we can say with our mouth, but does our life back up the words that we say? In chapter 2, you know, here he's talking about a man that, he's talking about faith and works.

And, verse 14, what does it profit my brethren? Though a man say he hath faith and have not works, can faith save him?

You know, when we say Jesus is Lord, but we live, but we're living our life for ourselves, it's vanity, is it not? But let's look at what he says here.

If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be you warmed and filled, notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doeth it profit?

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead being alone. You know, and we could go into Hebrews 11 and look at all those heroes of faith and what it says about them and how they stood steadfast in the midst of trial, in the midst of tribulation, in the midst of the hardest tests.

They did not only say with their mouth, but they stood with their life. Yea, a man may say, thou hast faith, I have works.

Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. You know, I think it's impossible to show that we have faith if there's no works to prove it.

thou believest that there is one God thou doest well, the devils also believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

You know, I believe he's proved his point. if our life does not back up what our lips say, it's all vanity.

It's vanity. He says, Abraham was justified by works when he offered Isaac. Seest thou how faith wrought with his works and by works was faith made perfect.

You know, that's how God sees it. Because remember when Abraham, he was there with the sword up ready to slay his son and then God said, now I know.

Now I know that you love me more than your son. Now I know. God wanted to see it. God wanted to see it.

And he wants to see our faith proven by our works, proven by our walk of life, proven that in the hard times of life that we trust him, that we continue trusting him and we don't turn away in despair and turn to some other avenue, but we trust him and we walk with him and we are faithful in our walk with him.

you see then how that by works a man is justified and not by faith only.

Why? Because faith without works is dead. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Very simple. Very simple. So as we acknowledge Christ, as we acknowledge him and what he has done and the promises of God, it is by our mouth but by our works both, by word and deed, we acknowledge our Lord Jesus.

Back again where we started in 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 3. According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that has called us glory and virtue whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature.

you know by these promises and we enter into these promises by trusting our Lord Jesus acknowledging who he is and acknowledging his provisions for us acknowledging that yes he is the son of God yes he is our Lord and Savior yes he is the son of the almighty God he is yes is he that to you do we trust him do we trust him as a little child Jesus said we must come to him as these children these children trust their parents do we trust Jesus even as a child trust her parents his parents do we let's pray heavenly father thank you

Lord we thank you for your promises we thank you for Jesus we thank you that you provided all things that we need for life and godliness you provided all things that we need to live a victorious life in this present evil world Lord thank you Lord help us help us to to acknowledge you by our by our life by word and deed to acknowledge you as Lord and master of our life and to allow you to live in us and through us yes Lord strengthen us and be with us today we pray in Jesus name amen

Thank you.