This is a learning place. And I need to always repeat this, because people will come in with their traditions and they leave here upset because they didn't get what their traditions told them they should get at church. I'm telling you what my Bible declares you should get at church. First of all, the church is a people who belong to the Lord. They are the out-called-ones, ekklesia in the Greek, the out-called-ones. The church is the Lord's, kuriakon. Supposedly gathered together as a body to hear, to be built up, to edify all about God; everything where Christ has preeminence. So when people come into a church, I know what happens. There are certain expectancies that are set. I said to you come prepared to learn, because there is a fundamental principle that I am not wrong about, and that is you cannot learn, you cannot say you are a Christian and you expect to spend eternity with God the Father, but you never spend any time with Him in His word getting to know about Him. So, I don't care what any other church does or what other people tell you, I'm telling you as a responsible undershepherd of Jesus Christ that it is my responsibility to proclaim whether the message is unpopular, or whether people don't like it because it's not current, I don't care. My main concern is your eternal soul, your eternal destiny and that when you arrive in His presence, whether that's two hours from now or 25 years from now that you might be able to say where you were, at the place you worshiped, someone instructed you on God's ways that you might be able to be a son or daughter in His presence. So, so, you'll have to; you have to quasi-forgive me. You notice I qualified that. You'll have to quasi-forgive me, because I do not come into the church with baggage. Some of you came into the church 20 years ago and 30 years ago with some baggage, traditional baggage. For me it's very simple; if the word of God declares something then, and it is repeated, you make that doctrine; you say this is what God's word says and that's that. So, probably, oh, I would say a few years ago I did a Bible study with you, those that were around, and we looked at the concept of what commonly, in modern Christianity people talk about “confessing Jesus.” Now I'm curious to know, how many people here have been confronted by somebody who has tried to witness to you and win you into kingdom, because you couldn't be saved if you come to this church, and they've asked you if you have “confessed Jesus as your Lord and Savior?” Has anybody had that experience? So, here's the idea, the reason for the message today is to be clear about Scripture. That you will know what form of doctrine I preach. I'm not interested in how somebody did it for so many years. What triggered my curiosity a few years ago and it has not stopped on this very subject was I began reading in Romans. I covered this briefly last week on Festival. I began reading in Romans where Paul in the 9th, 10th, and 11th chapters is addressing his brethren, the Jews. He's addressing them and right in that 10th chapter, we are told Paul, now having; by the way, he's addressed salvation of all the other people. Let's go back a little bit. Romans 3:23, “All have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God,” that glory being Jesus Christ; all have sinned, not just one or a few; all. In Romans 3 and 4, we learn that salvation comes to man by faith alone. Not by works. This is why Abraham is highlighted in that passage, so we can understand how, even in the Old Testament before Christ, how a person was saved: by faith. By faith alone, I might add. As we move into the 5th chapter of Romans, we have justification, the justification, how we can understand and how we appropriate what God has given us. In Romans 6 begins the wrestling match between the sin that we commit, sins we are committing and grace that abounds. And we're asked the question, if there's so much grace, should we continue to sin all the more? God forbid. Romans 7 is the battle between the flesh and the Spirit, “And who shall deliver me, O wretched” person in my case; I can't say, “Man that I am.” And in Romans 8, we find for the general body of believers, there is “No more ultimate condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus.” We glean a little bit of the work of the Spirit through Romans 8, and then in chapter 9, 10, and 11 is dealing preeminently with Paul's brethren. He said he'd be even a cursed for them that they might be saved. Right nestled in there, in that 10th chapter of Romans, we have a quote from Isaiah. It's only half a quote, by the way. I feel this is very important, because some of you who are faithful in this church, you get attacked by other people out there, and some of you who are just coming in are coming in with some crazy ideas. So for all parties involved, I would like us to look at something. The 10th chapter as you can see; in fact, in your own time read chapter 9 of Romans and you'll see it's regarding the people of Israel. In chapter 10, Paul says, “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge”" And he goes on to describe in great detail about the Jew, regarding salvation. Let me just say as a sidebar, so no one will misinterpret me today, because there's plenty of that going on, I have plenty of Jewish friends. I have spent some time talking to them about my beliefs, and I've said if you're Jewish and you're of the Jewish faith, just like as a Christian, it's my responsibility to know what the Jews believe, the Jews should know what the Christians believe. And some of them do, but this is not the premise for hating people who do not share our identity in the faith. I'm simply a proclaimer of what God's word reveals. Paul says, “For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, that the man which doeth those things shall live by them.” By the way, he's quoting; Paul is quoting Leviticus 18 here. In fact, this whole chapter is laden with quotes from Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Joel. It's just loaded with Old Testament. And then he says, the righteousness, “But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, who shall decend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it?” He's actually quoting a portion of Deuteronomy here, “The word is nigh thee,” the word by the way, the rhema, not the logos. In the Greek there are two different words to distinguish between the “word”: logos, which is, can be the word, any word it can be Christ, even Christ is called the logos; and the rhemas which are called the sayings of God, the word of God repeated, the rhemas. So, I'm going to use that to be clear about what we're saying. “The rhema is nigh thee, it's in your mouth and in your heart: that is, the rhema of faith, which we preach.” Now I would ask you a question. If you were a heathen or a Gentile in Paul's time reading this, would you know what the rhema of God is? The answer is, no. That's abundantly clear. It's like somebody was here for the first time today who's really never heard the Bible, and if I begin quoting scripture, you wouldn't know if I was quoting it or not, but I am speaking a rhema. Only someone who stays in the word, who hears the word, who repeats the word begins to have that word engrafted that lives in you that then becomes the word that comes out of you, like when you claim a promise. This is a rhema of God. A Gentile wouldn't know that. Now although this letter is written to the Romans, a broad canopy, I'm telling you right here specifically the Jewish believers are in mind. Keep that in the background, because this Scripture is always used to tell new converts coming into the modern-day church that this is how salvation; this is how you're saved. I'm sorry. I disagree. You know what? It always appears like I'm always on the wrong side of the street, while the multitudes are going over here. And this is what I believe. I am not inclined to follow the multitudes. I look at the people of faith of the past, I look at people like a Wycliffe, like a Jan Hus, like a Martin Luther, who at some point, perhaps they might have been in the flow with the whole group called the majority, but at some point the light and revelation of God's truth comes and you say, “No. I cannot preach that. I do not believe that it's intended to be understood that way.” I feel as though God has done the same thing for me, and I won't be silent about it. I think we need to be intelligent and not be ignorant about how God's word is working erroneously in the people today. Now, if you would, if you would remember those words, “The rhema,” he says, “The rhema, it's even in your mouth,” how could that be a word for the Gentile? A Gentile would not know the words of God. Are you clear with what I'm saying? Okay. So, he says if you, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Now, hold that thought for a minute, I'm going to come back to that. “For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” Do you believe that? Confounded, ashamed that you've made a false declaration; whosoever faithes, whoever amens on God, His word, His fulfilled accomplishments shall never be ashamed. Do you believe that? Good. Because as the starting point of hanging your body on the Scriptures. “For there is no difference between Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.” Please put a mental note of that, because here is he's quoting Joel, “for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” now, he asks this question, “How shall they call on him whom they have not believed?” Obviously, we're speaking about Christ, and the Jews did not accept Christ. This is very important. “How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? how can they know, how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esais saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?” Now, let me stop right there. It's interesting that this is, the 16th verse is what I want to highlight, but I need to make something clear. The reason why Paul is saying to the Jews, “If you confess the Lord Jesus Christ with your mouth,” I've got to take you back to see the background of this and then I hope you'll do like I did. Lights came on for me. There's something incredible when a connectivity of Scriptures begins to crystallize and you recognize, “Wow, I thought it was this all the time, but actually it brings me to this place.” To understand what Paul is saying here, and I'm going to ask you to juggle the balls of holding all of this and parking it for a minute, not forgetting it. You must see what this meant to the Jew in Jesus' day. You must see what this meant when the prophet Isaiah uttered it. So, in John's Gospel, turn to John's Gospel. In the 12th chapter. And in the 12th chapter, you see beginning at verse 37; the Gospel of John, chapter 12, verse 37, “But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believe not on him.” "We're talking about the 12th chapter of John where so many things have already been recorded; miracles and healings and everything that Jesus did and said. And it says, “Yet they believed not on him: that the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report?” And this part Paul doesn't include, “and to whom the arm of the Lord hath been revealed?” To whom? “Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.” Now, this is what's mind-boggling, read these next verses with me, “Nevertheless, among the chief rulers also many believed on him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him.” Now in my Bible, “him” is italicized and there's a good reason for that, because when you read it, and I'll explain in a minute, “they did not confess, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.” Now, it would be almost better for our English speakers to say “admit” in this wise. See, in a Jewish frame, the anticipation of Messiah was so great. They wanted a Messiah, they; every mother in Israel thought her child was to be the Messiah. The anticipation of that was so great, the nervous energy and tension that a child could be born at any minute that could be the Messiah, and then you read this that because of the Pharisees, they didn't admit, although they believed on Him; here's the key word, that Jesus Christ to the Jews was their Messiah. If you understand that aright; and I'm sorry, some people say, “Well, but, but&” Well, go but, but, but yourself. You must understand in the Jewish framework before you can move forward into the New Testament. Why Romans 10 is always being taken out of context because the Jews, those may have believed, but they wouldn't open their mouth and say, “He is the Messiah we await for.” You see, to say that, you would be thrown out of the synagogue. Let me prove this to you. Turn back a few chapters more to John 9, with a man born blind. I'm going somewhere. I know I'm going backwards but I'm going somewhere and I'm going to take you with me. The man born blind: Chapter 9, and John's Gospel chapter 9, “And as Jesus passed by, he saw man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents that he was born blind?” It was commonly held that if you were born in this condition, somebody did something bad. I love what Jesus says, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Now, after he had spoken thus, he spat on the ground, made clay of the spittle, anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, washed, and came seeing,” he had his sight. “The neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Isn't this he who sat and begged? And some said, This is he: and others said, It's like him,” But he said, “It's me." You know, I think you could hardly miss it, but it's me. No, it's my stunt double.” “Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said unto me, Go, wash in the pool, and I went, I washed, and I received sight.” Now, I ask you a question. For the man to be healed, did he say any funny prayers? For the man to be healed, did he make any declaration thus far? No. It depends on with what eyes you're reading the Scriptures. You will see that God has a simple message for every man and woman today and He's not changed one quarter turn no matter what people say, “Well, you've got do this or that.” There's only one method with God, and it's God's way. It's God's way or no way. When we get to understand that, there's going to be great clarity. “They said unto him, Where is he? He said, I don't know. They brought, they brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. It was the sabbath day when Jesus made clay, and opened his eyes.” You know where this is going. “Again, the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. He said, He put clay on my eyes, I washed them, and now I see.” The second time, I think he's kind of described this episode. Maybe it's going to go on a third time, I'm not quite sure. “Therefore some said of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was division among them.” Do you remember the scripture that says Christ brings division among men? This is a demonstration of that. When people say, “Oh, Christ should bring peace only”" no. The same words will bring healing and illumination to some and to others the eyes will be closed and shut and death becomes a reality in the heart of man. Just remember, this is all being unfolded right here. “They said unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.” Okay, we're getting closer, “The Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind,” they didn't believe this guy was blind, “and that he received his sight, until they called his parents,” and you know, now they're going to ask the parents. “Is this your son, who says he was born blind? How doeth, how does he see now? how is this possible? is this your son? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son,” thank God! “We know this is our son, and that he was born blind: but by what means how now he seeth, we know not; or how did his eyes open, we don't know: he is of age; ask him: he'll speak for himself. These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews.” They feared the Jews, they didn't want; trust me, they knew who did the work and how it happened. They didn't want to open their mouth because they were afraid, “for the Jews had agreed already that if any man did confess that he was Christ”" and this is important; don't read this with Christian eyes. Read this with a Jewish frame that if any man claimed that this indeed was their Messiah; I'm referencing the Jewish people in the synagogue, if they were to admit this, they would be put out of the synagogue. Think of it more like thrown out and you're not welcome back, like excommunicated pretty much. “Therefore, his parents said, He is of age; ask him. Then again they called the man that was blind, and they said, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I don't know: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” Then said they to him again What did he do to you that he opened your eyes?” You know, if it was me, I would say, “Would you like a reenactment?” There was no Judean iPhone available, “Would you like the reenactment version, because I think I just told you already.” “He answered them, I have told you already,” he did not hear, “ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples? And they reviled him, and they said, Thou art his disciple; we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spoke unto Moses: but as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. And the man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvelous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened my eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners,” whoa! “but if any man be a worshiper of God, and doeth his will, he heareth him. Since the world began it was not heard any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.” At least the man born blind had the ability to know this that if He was not of God, none of this could happen. “They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sin, and you're teaching us? And they cast him out.” They threw them out. That's it. “Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him,” now listen carefully, “Dost thou believe on the son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe in him? Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe.” I want you to see that while so much of traditional Christianity makes these; you've got to jump through a hoop, and you've got to be perfect, you've got to change your clothes, and you've got to look like a Christian, you've got to recite a certain prayer; this is what the man said, “Lord, I believe.” Now, I'm not even going to try and explain “believe” right now lest I lose some of the newer people in trying to translate something, which to me, packs the biggest punch. You see, Jesus does not ask us to do what I call the silliness of what's done in today's church. Somehow, “Before you can be baptized, young man over there, you've got to do a catechism for six months, prove that you're worthy as a candidate, tell the whole congregation you won't ever sin again, and then we'll dunk you under water. Want to come to the table of the Lord? You've got to get perfect and right with God”" All of these things are contrary to what Christ has told us. Now why I think this is such an important message; I told you I was taking you backwards. At the beginning of John's Gospel, right at the opening about 1; chapter 1 and verses 41, or thereabouts, it is the two disciples that say, “We believe, we found the messiah.” That's a staggering declaration for any Jew to make in Christ's day. Now, let me travel back some more, because I took you through Romans; why Paul was saying; we'll end up back there; why Paul used this particular verse. And I took you to John to show you how dangerous it was for a Jew to make that declaration, “Christ is Messiah” not, “Jesus Christ, the messiah,” but Christ; one more correction here. Turn to the opening chapter here; John 1; so I may show you; so that you may see what I'm saying is in your Bible. John 1 and verse 41, where it says the two disciples came “and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted the Christ. This is how important this is, that we understand when we are reading the New Testament, there was no New Testament concepts. There was only a Jewish frame of reference being unfolded to a community of Jewish people; some Gentiles, but primarily and predominantly Jews, so to make a declaration with one's mouth to; using the King James; “to confess,” which I've told you already that “confess, profess, give thanks, proclaim, admit, acknowledge,” and “praise” are all the same Greek word, but the King James used at least seven words to translate that one Greek word. It tells you there's something that we're not reading that's exactly the truest translation. Now, I see something phenomenal. I see the very simplistic idea that behind all of the New Testament preaching the Jewish people would not; very few would receive the message. Very few would receive it as was proclaimed by Isaiah. Oh, you know where I'm going now, right? Isaiah 53, and I took the liberty of putting Isaiah 53 at least in part on the board. “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” Do you know how important this is, because once you understand the frame work of what is underneath the New Testament, it's like building a scaffolding. Unless everything at the bottom is in place you cannot build upwards. If the foundation or your structure is faulty, once you get up it's not only going to be rickety, it's going to collapse. “Who hath amened,” the Hebrew, which reads in this direction; me, “who,” ha-amen , “has,” your King James says, “believed.” “Who has amened,” we did this last week. We put amen'd, because I'm not sure you're supposed to do -ed. “Who has amen'd to the hearing,” leshemuatanu, “the hearing of us.” And ho-zerowa, and “the arm,” this is a construct, “the arm of” Yahweh, “the arm of the Lord, to whom,” el-me, “to who”" it should be, “she is revealed”" I'm going to put “it” here, “it is revealed.” I put the Greek here because this is the Greek being quoted the exact parallel in John's Gospel, John 12:38, and one part of Romans 10. We may get to this later; at the bottom. So I thought it's noteworthy for us to look at what was so controversial about this scripture that not only in the time that was declared, but all the way forward it has been the point of contention between Jew and Gentile. It has been the point of contention for those that will grab hold of the report, versus those who cannot receive the report. So, first “who,” secondly; we'll put this in numerical order, “who,” secondly as your King James translates, “who has believed,” “who has amen'd” and this is being translated, “the report.” And I don't mind that, the “report” or “the hearing of us”" what we have declared. If you read this, something very clear, to me anyway, very few people in the time that Isaiah spoke, inspired to write, having seen the Lord in Isaiah 6, “high and lifted up,” he, he saw the Lord. Something tells me that very few people in Isaiah's day had amen'd the hearing. This is the hearing, Isaiah 53, it is a beautiful picture foretelling of Christ, everything in this chapter; “For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, as a root out of dry ground: he hath no form or comeliness.” He was not like some; he didn't look like a rock star. He didn't look like something desirable, speaking of Christ; the Christ to come. What; five hundred, six hundred years before the birth of Christ. “He hath no form or comeliness; and,” when he shall; when they shall see him, “when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.” I'm just reading King James. You begin to read some of the most embedded messages of Christianity right here foretold before the incarnation, “Surely hath borne our griefs, carried our sorrows,” our sicknesses and diseases. Every single thing for the believer that you carry in your body, whether it's the bondage to alcohol, drugs, the bondage to a bad temper, to bad people, to any form of illness come upon you. It's says He carried them all away. Oh, but you'd have to amen that. You'd have to actually come into an agreement that God's word declared is such a thing. That's why I taught on “amen” last week. Don't be so quick to toss around ideas that are so powerful with God and yet we treat them like some cheap trinket. If you read this whole passage, “He was wounded for our transgressions.” That means every sin, every act we committed, “bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his strips we are healed.” If I just said no more than that I would almost say forget about Isaiah a prophet, and call it the Gospel of Isaiah declaring Christ. Now, here comes Isaiah making this declaration of a coming Messiah. Some amen'd the hearing of it, others did not. We know this, because; let me go to the second half and this may be the most important part, “To whom the arm of the LORD is revealed.” You know, “the arm of the Lord” in scripture beginning at Exodus 6:6 through Deuteronomy; just make the scripture notes. If I say them, you can't check them out later, but Exodus 6:6 tells of how God redeemed Israel. It always says the same thing, either with a high and mighty arm, but they were redeemed with His arm, and the arm through scripture; mighty arm; powerful arm. These are people who were in bondage. The Lord said He would deliver them in Exodus 6:6, and they were indeed delivered by His mighty arm. If you follow the mighty arm through scripture you see the mighty arm represents God's power, but it's not His power alone. It's that a thing declared that he spoke and said that He would; He would deliver them, He would deliver them out of Egypt's bondage; He did. It's not only His power to do, it's the power in declaring and then carrying out with strength and might that only He possesses. If you follow the arm of the Lord, in fact, through the Old Testament you find some pretty astonishing things, like in the last chapters of Job, Job 40 it is, where God's talking to Job, and He says “Do you have an arm like God?” While Job is lamenting and complaining about all these things God says, “Do you have an arm like God? Do you have My power? Do you possess My capacity, My holy arm, My redemptive arm?” In other words He put Job in his place: of course not. As you get into Isaiah, “the arm of the Lord” becomes a concept that is crystallized and becomes very clear. Between Isaiah 51 and Isaiah 53 there'll be at least three references to the arm of the Lord. And the most staggering one is that the Lord laid bare His arm to the Gentiles. I find that is so riveting that God would declare something; it's staggering. Isaiah 52:10; “The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” You know how you might see this that the arm of the Lord, “to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed” requires that you be able to see and you have sight. And sight does not come except the Spirit of God abideth in a man or woman and then suddenly eyes are open, because just like those in the Old Testament, many believed but they wouldn't open their mouth and say, “This is Messiah.” Fear gripped them. I look back at Isaiah and I think this really is the gospel, “To whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?” Well, we know that Jesus Christ came to His own, and His own received Him not. And if I look at “to whom the arm of the LORD is revealed,” I get a clear picture that not every person; because of John 12; not every person could see. They saw all of His miracles, yet they could not believe and they could not have it revealed to them. Do you know; I'm sorry to use the word lucky, forgive me. I; luck is like dice. But you know how lucky we are as a people that we're able to hear these words and receive them to our heart and they become a quickening force. That there'll be some today that are sitting church pews, maybe some; I pray not in this sanctuary, who are just bored out of their skull right now thinking, “Wow, I came here to listen to this? When's it going to be over?” I want you to hear me out. Do you know how we think it's so easy for people, because of the evangelist, for people to come and be saved, but only God can send the Spirit to open up the heart, to open up the eyes, to open up the ears to be able to receive the message that then in turn you turn around, you say, “I've amen'd the report.” And what, in Isaiah's day was the report? What was the hearing? Messiah, Messiah, the coming of Messiah. The report, by the way, is very interesting, because the report suggests, if you read it aright, Isaiah 53 unfolded; that it pleased the Lord to bruise him; to carry your sins, your sickness, your diseases; it pleased the Lord to do this to redeem His people to reconcile them to Himself. And then I think to myself, why is the report not being preached? Why is the report not being proclaimed? Why are people not telling the report? Do you realize this report, “the hearing of us,” this report that Isaiah declares, that John heralds up; you're going to like this; in the opening chapters of Matthew is speaks of Jesus' fame while He was healing people with diverse sicknesses and diseases, Jesus' fame went abroad. Do you know what that word is in the proper translation for “fame”? It's this word akua, which is representing this word. When Herod the tetrarch heard of Jesus, while he's hearing of this through John the Baptist; the same report. In other words, we have this very cloaked idea, but God forbid we should grab hold of the report. Well, doesn't it take God to open up our eyes first? And the answer is yes. This puts silence on the evangelist telling people you must do in order to be saved. The fact of the matter is God has a method with man. And as I've unfolded all this it becomes clear to me not everybody has the capacity to receive and see the arm of the Lord. We will have many people join us today, and they'll say, “Well, I heard you talk about the suffering servant and about the report,” and the immediate response for some in their hearts will be, “This thing's got to be real.” I'm giving you a colloquial of “I believe.” “This thing's got to be real, otherwise this woman's a lunatic and all these people gathered here are crazy. This thing's got to be real.” We've given the proofs of what happened to even Jesus' disciples. While they were with Him they were the same man that went around and made crazy comments thinking that somehow if Jesus was the Messiah; remember Peter made a declaration. He said, “Thou art the Messiah.” But immediately was in error in his thinking because the Jews believed when Messiah came, He would set up His kingdom on earth. He would establish a kingdom. Somewhere else in the gospels it's said that they saw Jesus and they wanted to take Him and make Him king. And He understood they wanted to make Him king of their land and not of their hearts, and it said, “He departed.” Elsewhere they come to John the Baptist and say, “Are you; are you this Messiah?” And He tells them, “No, but one that comes after me.” So, I'm looking at all this and I'm thinking today the message is still the same. There'll be some people to whom the arm of the Lord, the power; that is the power of the gospel unto salvation is revealed. You see it, you hear it, you say, “My heart bears witness: I need deliverance, I need salvation. My eyes are opened now. I may not understand all the mysteries of God,” and they're not mysteries once you begin to study His word, but I may not understand them all right now, but you keep hearing this word and you keep reading this word, and suddenly scales will fall off your eyes. No, I don't have to go through some event like those people who understood the word of God. They were custodians of the word, but they refused to make the declaration as Jews, “He is our Messiah, Christ, Jesus Christ, He is our messiah.” I tell you today there's no error in telling people if somebody says, “Well, what must I do to be saved?” I think I've referenced this for three weeks in a row. What did they tell the Philippian jailor, who watched as they were incarcerated there? And when the earthquake came and the doors opened and they said, “We're not leaving.” And this Philippian jailor, he believed on what he had heard within those prison walls. He said, “What must I do to be saved?” They simply said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Now, “belief” is not just some mental idea that sounds good. It is taking your whole entire being, like putting your coat on a rack and leaving it there so it may be suspended and hang and not fall to the ground. This word “belief” is really the word “amen.” It's the highest form of grabbing hold of something that has been declared and with power to come to pass. So when people say, “Were you going to recite a prayer for salvation?” There is only one after reading the gospel. There's only one after hearing that God, He was revealing Himself to us before He came in the flesh through the prophets. And thank God we have the capacity through these 66 books combined; not just the Old or not just the New, but meshed together to see how God reveals Himself. That is to whom reads these words and says, “Yes, I believe in my heart, I amen this.” This is to whom the arm of the Lord is revealed. Those who have the capacity to hear, to respond, it is to those people, and to those alone. Make no mistake, many people saw the great ministry of Jesus miracles. Do you know how many people today say to me, “Well, I'd believe if I could see a miracle”? No, you wouldn't. You'd be just like those people that say, “Yeah, but how'd He do that? That was magic. There must be some trick to that.” The same spirit resides today. The same ideas remain. Now, when somebody asks you out there in church-land or out in the world, and they say, “Well, what does Pastor Scott believe about salvation?” I believe that salvation is a free gift from God for the price of His Son Jesus Christ going to Calvary and dying for me. That there's no way that I could ever say, “I, Lord, I accept You.” While He was hanging on the cross, He accepted me in the beloved before I was even born into this universe; likewise you. The only capacity that we have is to recognize what He did as a finished work to redeem us. And from that point forward, see even, just as those disciples who were radically changed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God is still radically and cataclysmically changing disciples; that is just a learner; today. He's still doing the same work for those who can hear the words and in their heart. It's not enough to say, you know, people will say, “Well, don't you have to recite a special prayer?” Who has amen'd the hearing of us? Who has amen'd this report? Now, the church world; I've said this, I'll say it again, is so far off the mark in what is being preached. The only way we have any hope at all; you may say, “Well, this is pretty staggering.” The only way we have any hope at all is to be hearers of the report. And I can't make some of you hear. This is why; I told you I'd end up back, we're going to go backwards, now. We're going to go back to where we were in Romans. If you keep reading you recognize now to who Paul was talking. You say, “Well, the principles are the same.” They can't be the same. You, who are just coming into the church, you don't know what the sayings of God are. You don't know what the rhemas of God are. And the principle can be the same at this premise: faith does come by hearing. And what is fascinating is that “report” and “hearing,” by the way, are the same word and “hearing the rhemas of God”" That means you've got to be in a place where someone is making those declarations and preaching the word of God and feeding you that word. That at some point that word will be in your spirit and in your nature, and you will be transformed, you will be metamorphosed, you will be healed, you will be changed; you will be exactly what God's word says. But there are some who would not hear. He says in verse 18, “But I say, Have they not heard? Yes, verily, their sound went into all the earth, and all their words,” their rhemas “UNTO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD. But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealously by them that are no people, but by a foolish nation I will anger you. But Isaiah is very bold and saith, I was found of them that sought me not,” there is your revelation, “I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hand to a disobedient and gainsaying people.” Now, if you read on, it gives hope for the Jewish people, because it says, “Hath God cast away His people forever? God forbid,” and proceeds to tell them even more so with an admonition that some who won't hear their hearts will be hardened and they will never be able to hear. But the lesson today, for us, is very simple. I wanted to make sure we're clear about these passages that people are not coming to you and saying, “Well, you know what this Scripture; and you need to do thus and so.” There's only one criteria for you to enter into the kingdom of God, and that is that you faithe, that you amen; nothing more and nothing less. You begin by an act of faith, by hearing that activates; hearing, by the way, the word of God that activates. It is God's Spirit working in you that begins to grow, and it is by the cultivation of that and that alone, because you have faithed; not by works, that you're saved. Now, I'm curious, because some of you came like me a little bit late in life into the church, having been manipulated with all kinds of crazy ideas. How many of you thought , “There's got to be something more. It can't just be that I just, I just merely faith on what God's word has said”; how many thought, “There's got to be something more”? Well, at least I'm not alone, because when I came and I thought, “Well, it sure sounds good, but surely there's something else I've got to do, because if I started doing something and feeling good about what I'm doing, and I'm doing something good and therefore, and&” No. Then it can't be of God. Now, I will say this. Once you start faithing, good works will come out of you; not because you make them, but because it's God's Spirit working in you and through you. I've said this before. The message for us is very, very clear, specifically this concept, “Who has amen'd the hearing of us?” As I said, there'll be some listening to me right now who say, “Gosh, what the hell did she say? And who is she talking to? I don't understand a word of it and I'm not even interested.” Now to those people, all I can tell you is, the arm of the Lord is not revealed to you. The Spirit of God has not quickened you. You're probably none of His. You're searching for something, but if not God's word and it's not God. And actively, those who have the capacity to receive, I just say thank God, because I once sat with some Jewish friends, and I really believed in my heart, because they were not practicing, they were just kind of, they were born Jewish people and I know that they're not really practicing; I thought in my heart, “Maybe I could, like Philip, I could illuminate some of the Scripture that they read and they would understand what I understand.” But, unless God is doing that work of preparing the hearts of people, you do it in vain. We can have a tenacious spirit, but unless the arm of the Lord; this is really the gist of the message: don't let anybody deceive you. Why; I know, bless Dr. Scott. He really, really early on, very early on in his ministry, it's on tape somewhere, he said, “I'm going to write a book one day, 'Soul Winning Ain't Easy.'” Remember that? But later on, he came to that point of understanding who wants a church full of people, although I say to you bring people in as guests, invite people. Tell your friends, “You want to come learn about God? Come here.” We don't have a fancy fanfare. I don't have special effects, but I've got God's word. But folks, I'm telling you this. He came to the point of understanding at some point, it's not good to have; if you have a building full of people and half the people sitting in the building are indifferent to the report, don't even care about the report, couldn't care about anything except “I made my once a week appearance,” have no more relationship with God. I'll take half. I'd like there to be a full building, but I'll take the half who are interested in hearing the report week in and week out, who are interested in how the Lord Jesus Christ will transform you. This isn't some automatic genie-in-a-bottle. This is a report, this record right here says to me that the men and women who followed the Lord Jesus were changed for a purpose. And the men and women that followed afterwards were changed for a purpose; all for the better. None of these people that follow Him at the beginning were perfect. In fact, if I look at some other people that follow Jesus, especially Peter; failure, denier; you hear all the things that Peter failed at miserably. And someone will tell you, “Well, you can't come in the church unless you pass muster with the brethren.” Oh, I know, listen. I've also been to other churches where, and it's very popular, it's still popular today; testimony service. You know, where people get up and they tell how they got delivered from something. Do you know I tell people? It's probably better that I don't know. Let me say that again. It's probably better that I don't know. You all know that I go to the prisons, right? I go in the prisons and I work in those institutions. I used to tell you all the places I would go here and there, some of those big maximum-security places. I developed a policy; I don't want ask why they're there. It's better that I don't know. Now, there'd be one or two come up to me and say, “I'd like to tell you why I'm here.” Now first of all, let's get one thing straight. They're in there, and it's not for good behavior. That's probably enough for me to know, because if I really knew I may change my frame of reference. I went for, probably years to Tehachapi, to the prison here at Tehachapi to one unit. Nobody told me what that unit was. Nobody said a word to me of why that unit, why did I get to go to that unit? That unit was a sex offender unit. I found that out just, what? Two months from our last visit that we went there. Now, I'm telling you I really believe this is a great concept for Christianity. You confess your sins to God. You talk to Him. He knows all about them. He's not going to go, “Ooh, boy, that's too much for Me.” Okay. There's nothing you tell Him that He doesn't already know, and He's not going to fall off His rocker by finding out. But to me, I just as soon look at everybody the same way. Romans 3:23, “All have sinned,” and all are in need if you can receive, and if you can hear of the report our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the method beyond that is simple. Through the New Testament is declared simply that those who desire to follow after Christ, they uttered one thing. They came to a conviction perhaps inside, but they uttered one thing, “I believe. I amen. I faithe. I actively have heard, have seen,” and it's not because, by the way, it's not because Jesus fed the multitudes. Can you see today's church? People come for the free food, if it was today and Jesus was feeding the multitudes, the multitudes are coming, “Man, give me the free food.” But let's talk about the cross; who's there? That's why when people say, “Well, it's not a popular ministry.” That's okay. That's probably why Jesus said that the way into the kingdom is quite narrow. Now, He pointed the way: being the way, He pointed the way. And He said that there is a broad, broad way, an expanse for the mass multitudes to go in, and very few people will find the opening into the kingdom. That suggests to me that there're also very few people who can hear, to whom the arm of the Lord is revealed. Folks, if you're listening to me today and you've heard what I said, be grateful that God has quickened your hearts and your minds through His Spirit, that you want to receive His word, instruction in His word, that you know you have been saved because the act that He declared that it is finished, that He is risen. He rose up to prove the verity of every claim He made of Himself while He lived, before He died and rose again. And we who believe will not be; or we who faithe or amen will not be ashamed. Nor will I be subjected to legalistic perverts who would like to twist and caricature a simple fact that occurs for every man or woman who will listen to the report and receive it, “I believe. I amen. I amen the hearing of the report,” nothing beyond that. I don't need to have fancy ideas about how we need to create something special for you to be saved. It's something that inside the Spirit of God opens up and you say, “That's it.” Like Dr. Scott studying for the proofs of the resurrection, when he closed that last book and he said, “That's it,” and he knew, and that ended a period of questioning and debate as to whether this was completely true, or whether there were grey dots he didn't understand. And I'm telling you, as a believer, at some point, you have to close the book on doubt and say, “I believe. I amen. I have received the report.” It is to me and to you the arm of the Lord is revealed. That's His message. You have been watching me, Pastor Melissa Scott, live from Glendale, California at Faith Center. If you would like to attend the service with us, Sunday morning at 11am, simply call 1-800-338-3030 to receive your pass. If you'd like more teaching and you would like to go straight to our website, the address is www.PastorMelissaScott.com
