Transcript
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Welcome to Gospel Truth with Andrew Wommack, a teaching ministry that focuses on God's unconditional love and grace.
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We have a better covenant upon better promises, and we have a better relationship with God. All these things we strive for, and work for, and hope for, and pray for, we already have those things because Jesus gave it all to us.
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And now, here's Andrew.
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Welcome to our Thursday's broadcast of the Gospel Truth. Today I'm drawing to the end of a series that I started last week. This is just a two week series and I'm talking about are you satisfied with Jesus? I've got this little pamphlet that I wrote in one day. I've spent a little bit more time than that editing it, but I just sat down and wrote this because the Lord ministered to me so strongly through John chapter 14, where Jesus said, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. And then Philip says, lord, show us the Father and it'll satisfy us. And the Lord spoke to me through that and said, you know, Philip wasn't satisfied with me. He thought he needed to see the Father. And I guarantee you Jesus is enough to satisfy anybody. The love, the power, the real person of Jesus should be enough to satisfy every longing that you have. You ought to have nothing that is left out if you have Jesus. If you've got Jesus, you've got everything. You should be satisfied. And yet Philip says we aren't satisfied. Show us the Father and then we'll be satisfied. And I've spent a lot of time showing that the reason he wasn't satisfied with Jesus is because he was looking on the physical body. He only knew Jesus after the flesh. That's what the apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:16. They only knew him after the flesh. And I've used this example, to me it's just an awesome example. But our flesh is like our vehicle that we get around in. People knew the vehicle that Jesus was in, but they didn't see who was really inside. If they had seen the true glory and power and awesomeness of God, they would have been satisfied with Jesus. But Jesus physical body was a hindrance to them. Likewise, we stumble over our physical body and just living in the physical realm and wanting to relate to God only on the basis of some physical emotion, feeling. We want to hear an audible voice. We want to see an angel or something like that. And did you know that that will actually hinder you from having a relationship with God? Jesus said he told the woman at the well in John chapter Four. He says, God is a spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. You have to connect with the Lord by the spirit and not through these physical, tangible ways. Now, that's not to say that God can't touch us, that we can't hear an audible voice. We can't see things. Those things do happen, but that's not what you should be seeking. Let me use two stories here and contrast them to show you what I'm talking about over here. In Matthew, chapter eight, there was a centurion that came to Jesus and asked him if he would come and pray for one of his servants because he was dying. And Jesus said, I will come and heal him. And look at what the centurion said to Jesus. This is Matthew, chapter 8, verse 8. The centurion answered and said, lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this man, go. And he goeth, and to another come, and he cometh. And to my servant do this. And he doeth it. Look at this. This is awesome. In verse 10, when Jesus heard it, he marvelled and said to them that followed him, verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith. No, not in Israel. There's only two times recorded in Scripture that Jesus marveled once is right here at this man's great faith. And then it says that he marveled at his own disciples unbelief, how they could spend so much time with him, hear him teach, see his miracles, and still be so full of unbelief. He marveled at how dumb people could get and still breathe. And then he marveled at this man's faith. Now, a faith that makes Jesus marvel is worth analyzing and looking at. And what made it so great? He said, it's because I recognize the power and the authority that your word has. I'm a man under authority. I would have soldiers under me. I tell one person, go do this. And he had best do it. He says, I recognize the authority, the power of words. And he says, you speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. I believe that the reason that Jesus marveled at the centurion's faith was because he had faith in words. He understood authority. And he says, you just speak the word. I don't need to see you come into my house. I don't need to see you wave the hand over the spot. I don't need to hear an audible voice. I don't have to have your physical presence. Just give me a word and that's enough. Did you know that that's the highest form of faith? Now contrast that with John chapter 20. And this is after Jesus was resurrected from the dead and he appeared unto the disciples on the resurrection day. But Thomas, one of the 12 apostles wasn't there. And so the other disciples told him that we've seen the Lord, he's alive. We put, you know, we were able to touch him. And Thomas said this, look at this. In John chapter 20, in verse 24 it says, But Thomas, one of the 12 called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, we have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails and thrust my hand into his side. I will not believe. Did you know not believing is a choice. I will not believe. Some people think I just can't overcome unbelief. It's a choice. You may not sit down and say, alright, I just want to disbelieve. But you chose not to be focused on the word of God, not to dominate, but you chose to allow these other inroads into your thought, life, into your heart that cause unbelief. You know, the Bible says in Romans 10:17, so then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And I believe I'm accurate to say that unbelief also comes by hearing anything that is contrary to the word of God. Unbelief doesn't just come upon you like a seizure. You don't catch it by being close to somebody else who's an unbeliever. It comes because of what you're focused on. Faith comes because you are hearing and being dominated by the word of God. Unbelief comes because you are being dominated by things that are contrary to the word of God. So you may not have just chosen, I want to be full of unbelief. But you chose to be plugged into this world, to allow the sewage of this world, their, their thinking, their attitudes, their values, their worldview. You chose to allow that to just flow through you unchecked and unhindered. And that's what produces this unbelief. It's a choice. And you can choose to get over unbelief. You can choose to keep your mind stayed upon the Lord. Isaiah 26:3 the Lord will keep you in perfect Peace, if your mind is stayed upon him. So Thomas said, unless I can see, unless I can touch, unless I can put my finger into the print of the nails, I will not believe. And in verse 26. And after eight days, again his disciples were within and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said, peace be unto you. Then said he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger and behold my hands. And reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side. And be not faithless, but believing. Did you know Jesus wasn't present when the other disciples told Thomas about seeing him? And he wasn't present when Thomas said, I'm not going to believe unless I can see and put my finger into the print of the nails. And yet when he came this time with Thomas present, he knew everything that he had said, again revealing that this indeed was Jesus. He hadn't physically heard it, but as God, he knew everything that was going on. And so he said these things to Thomas. And Thomas fell down in verse 28. And it says, then Thomas answered and said, my Lord and my God. He did it, didn't record it, that he had to touch. He just knowing that Jesus was there, seeing him, hearing what he had to say, he fell down and confessed that Jesus was resurrected from the dead.