Beholding Christ

What happens when we behold Christ?

Good morning. Good morning, everybody.
This is the day that the lord hath made, and we will rejoice and be exceedingly glad in it because god is good, and he is worthy to be praised.
Yes. Yes. Yes. He is worthy to be praised.
And we are grateful and thankful that this is another day that the lord has made, and we’re rejoicing, and we’re being exceedingly glad in it.
And, uh, yeah, man. And so we welcome you guys today.
And we thank you that, You know, today’s gonna be an awesome day in your life.
I hope you’re ready for it. I hope you’re ready for the day. Today’s gonna be an awesome day.
And, uh, it is, let’s see, Thursday. And, uh, on this Thursday, we are just believing god.
We’re believing god for some miraculous wonderful things that are gonna happen in your life today.
And we’re gonna talk about what happens when we behold Christ.
And, uh, I’m just thanking God that, uh, you know, you’re gonna get some things today.
That’s gonna be a blessing to you. And, uh, yeah, we’re just excited about it.
So we declare that you are blessed this morning.
We set our thermostat Uh, we’re praying for a son who’s having lung surgery.
And, uh, at about 11 today, we thank god that that’s gonna go well, and the god of mercy and grace will be with him throughout the whole procedure.
So we we add our faith with yours today. In the name of the lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.
I pray that all is well.
And we send blessings to those of you in uh, Angola, Joss, Nigeria, Massachusetts.
We say you’re blessed today. Set that thermostat to blessing today in the name of Jesus.
And, um, Nashville, Tennessee, we say you’re blessed today. Cape Town, South Africa, Toronto, Canada.
We say you’re blessed today in the name of Jesus Um, oh, I I’ve certainly appreciate that.
Thank you so much. Um, it’s good to be appreciated. You know?
Puerto Rico Man, we send blessings to you guys today, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Omaha, Nebraska, Raleigh, North Carolina, Long Beach, California, South Africa.
Uh, we pray for your daughter.
We rebuked that spirit of depression in Jesus’ name, Macon, Georgia, Dallas, Texas.
We say you guys are blessed in Saginaw, Greensboro, Austell, uh, in Oakland, California.
Uh, we say you guys are blessed today. Davidson, North Carolina, Abuja Nigeria, Birmingham, Alabama.
We declared the blessings, uh, in Jesus mighty name over in Germany.
We say you are blessed, uh, Pensacola, Winston Salem, North Carolina, in the UK, in Uganda, in Virginia.
We say you’re blessed today, Stockton, California. Good morning. Uh, Herman, Dubai, Tallahassee, Florida.
We say you are blessed today.
Uh, tell you what, we bless you in the name of the father, the son, the holy ghost, Michigan, New Orleans, Arizona, Marietta, Georgia, Toledo, Ohio, Columbia, over in Bulgaria, We say you are blessed New York City, world changes church, New York, world changes nation, all of our offices around the world, we declare you’re blessed.
Uh, over in Washington, uh, somewhere there in South Carolina and South Africa.
Lithonia, uh, Austin, Texas, Minnesota, Newnan, Georgia, Shreveport, Louisiana, Chicago, We say you’re blessed over in Jamaica, Loganville, Georgia, Delaware, we declare all of your all of you blessed in Jesus’ name.
Uh, we’ve say that god is with you today in Denver, Colorado and Las Vegas.
We pray for all those in Las Vegas, man, that you know, god be glorified and somehow and all of this craziness.
In Angola, we send blessings to you today.
And we shout on to god the victory that that god is well able to perform.
And we’re not gonna give up we’re not gonna quit.
We’re gonna we’re just gonna hang with god, man.
And and I tell you what, I am so blessed that today, Uh, we know our god and not just know about him.
Thank god. We know our god and not just know about him.
And I I think that’s gonna be big in the days to come.
Uh, it’s one thing to know about our god and you can enter into debates and you can challenge one another and you can have uh, intellectual, pontifications.
You can do all that kind of stuff.
But when you know your god, I ain’t even got old my mouth. Alright. I know him. I know him.
And, uh, I will open my mouth because I wanna give glory to him.
I wanna give glory to the one that I know And, uh, so, yeah, uh, it’s Thursday, and I’m telling you we are going to, you know, give some some things to the devil that he’s gonna regret.
I have taken the last couple of weeks, and I’ve been diving into a conversation with god and a study in the word on the issue of meekness.
And I just believe that, um, there’s something so amazing about meekness And, uh, I I don’t know if we talk about it enough, but I’m gonna begin talking about it.
Uh, soon because every time I see meekness in people or read about meekness of somebody in the word they’re surrounded by the supernatural.
And I am telling you, ladies and gentlemen, it is time for us to walk in the supernatural.
And I’m gonna keep pressing this point until we recognize that you know, we’re not going to live these next several years in just the natural, depending on, you know, depending on, you know, what the world decides to do.
We’re not gonna do it based on the norms and the values of society.
Let god arise, and the enemies be scattered. And it’s time to let god arise in your life.
It’s time to let god arise in your house. It’s time to let god arise in your ministry.
It’s time to let god arise in your business.
There are lots of people who are suspending god out of their lives.
I mean, people that used to love god, and they’re mad and and mean and upset and and, you know, continuing trying to find reason to walk away from god.
You can just walk away. But I’m just saying, dude, don’t do that because, you know, it’s a mistake because you’re gonna need god, like never before, don’t let the hurts of the past stop you from pursuing the glory of the future.
Oh my god. I gotta say that again.
Don’t let the hurts of the past stop you from pursuing the glory of the future.
And, you know, this is, um, an exciting time to be alive.
And I’m glad that you’re here with us this morning.
I’m glad that you are alive and a well this and well this morning.
And, yeah, man, we’re gonna we’re gonna we’re gonna have a great day today.
And we’re gonna do this thing. So let’s go ahead and and finish getting equipped here.
Let’s do our Psalms 91 equipping here this morning. Repeat after me.
I will dwell in the shelter of the most high god. I will find rest.
In the shadow of the almighty. God is my refuge and my fortress.
You are my god and whom I trust and with great confidence and whom I will rely.
God will rescue me from every trap and protect me from every disease.
I am covered and protected by his outstretched arms.
God’s faithful promises are my armor, and my protection.
I will not be afraid of the terrors of the night nor of the arrows that fly in the day.
Will not dread any disease that stalks in the darkness or any disaster that strikes at midday.
Because god is my refuge, and the almighty god of my home, no evil can befall me, No player can come near my dwelling.
God has ordered his angels to guard, defend, and protect me and my house.
God’s armies of heaven will keep me from falling.
I will walk unharmed and kick anything that is evil from my path.
Because of god’s love for me, I will call upon him.
He will set me above all my troubles. He will deliver me from all my fears.
And he will honor me with his presence and power.
He will reward me with long life, and he will show me his salvation.
I declare that all is well With me and my house, in Jesus’ name, a man, you are Psalms 91 equipped in Jesus’ name and all is well.
Well, let’s talk about this.
Beholding Christ And, um, if you have your bibles, I wanna start off with this scripture.
2nd Corinthians chapter 3, and verse 18. 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 18.
This is a pretty significant scripture. Now here’s what he says.
But we all with open face be holding as in a glass the glory of the lord.
He says we are changed into the same image from glory to glory.
We’re changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the lord.
Okay. Uh, let me see if I got a a NLT over here. Uh, yeah.
Let me read that to you in NLT.
2nd Corinthians chapter 3 and 18 because I I I want us to, um, you know, what does this look like?
You know, we’re reading this and and it sounds really deep and impressive. What does it look like?
In the, uh, 2nd Corinthians, tapped to 3 verse 18.
He says, so all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the lord.
And the lord who is the spirit makes us more and more like him as we are changed into the glorious image of Christ.
Now Let’s let’s milk this just a little bit. Now I’ll go back to the King James.
Most of you familiar with that. With open face, we behold as on a glass, the glory of the lord.
We we we behold the glory of the lord.
And then he says, just by beholding the glory of the lord, we are changed. Wow.
We are change into what we’ve been beholding.
We are change into what we’ve been beholding.
And he says here was if we behold his image through the word, and if we behold his image, He says, we’re gonna be changed into that same image.
From one glorious manifestation to another glorious manifestation, and he says, and the spirit of the of the lord is gonna do this.
3 things now. By beholding number 1, by beholding him, we’re gonna be changed into that image of what we’ll behold.
And then the spirit of the lord has accepted the responsibility for this transformation.
Now be careful in verse 18 this does not refer to that transformation which shall take place as believers behold Christ when he appears to receive uh, us onto itself.
So he’s not talking about when the rapture comes, then we see Jesus, and then we’re gonna be changing to our glorified body.
No. It it refers to a possibility that in this present life that we’re living right now, even in anticipation of that great event that we can be transformed now.
To be occupied with self, to to be occupied with one’s own interest. Think about that.
People who occupy with self, and there are plenty. People who occupy with self.
People who are occupied with their own self interests.
With endless questionings, always doubting god through questionings.
If god love me, then why did this happen if that you you you’re really saying I don’t trust him.
So they’re endless questionings as to what may and may not be done. You know that?
You know, when you do that, when you’re full of self, when you’re full of self interest, when you occupy with self, when you occupy with self interest, when you’re when you’re when you’re when you got endless questions about what may or may not be done, this will bring distress and it will enslave your soul.
This will bring distress and it will enslave your soul.
So to behold Christ and to be occupied with him, and occupied with his beauty and occupied with grace that produces liberty occupied with grace that produces conforming to you, to his image.
I’m occupied with that. My I’m not occupied with myself. I’m not occupied with my self interest.
I’m occupied with him. I’m occupied with the beauty of his grace and the liberty that is produced in my life because I’m so occupied with him.
And this is what I’m talking about. Here’s the question.
Are you occupied with self, or are you occupied with Christ?
Because if you occupy it with self, that’s gonna produce despair.
But if you’re occupied with Christ, that’s going to produce his glory.
Man. So when I talk about beholding him, I’m occupied.
I’m talking about being occupied. By him, occupied in my thinking, occupied in my faith, occupied with beholding his grace and his goodness, I’m occupied, beholding him, his love.
I the the closest illustration I can give you is Paul said to live is Christ.
And then he said to die is gain.
Paul was so occupied with Christ, um, it just became the uh, the main attention in his life.
The main focus in his life was Christ.
He said, Paul said for me to live, it’s Christ.
So he said his whole life was about Christ. Wow.
I wonder how many of us can be confident in saying that, you know what, to live is Christ.
And he says, even when I die, it’s game. That’s a total occupation with Christ.
You have made him the preeminent one.
You have put him on a level that no one else is is on.
You’ve put him in a place that surpasses all others. He’s towering towering above everybody else.
Wow. And I kinda wonder about that.
I kinda wonder as as Christians and and and you guys are my family friend, but I kinda wonder Are we more into getting to know about him, which is very important, getting to know about him?
I can’t get to know him until I know about him.
But I’m am I just satisfied with the, um, intelligence of my knowledge about Christ or my intimate developing relationship with him to the point where I’m I’m he he’s my preeminent one.
I’m occupied with him. I think of him. I speak of him. I pray to him.
I I I I I talk to him. I I listen to him.
I’m led by him. I follow him. Wow.
Wow. Yeah, man. That’s that’s that’s what I’m talking about.
And so I had to come to a point of saying What am I occupied with?
What’s occupying my thinking? What’s what’s what’s occupying my attention?
The thing you give your attention to the most will be the thing that will overwhelm and be a part of your life the most.
Um, I don’t want just Sunday to be the day that I’m occupied with Christ.
Uh, I don’t want it to be just when I’m going through something that I’m occupied with Christ.
I want it to be an automatic every day.
Uh, you don’t understand what I’m saying.
Natural, if you would, flow that every day to live is Christ.
That’s such a strong statement, and I don’t know if we’re there yet.
To every day to live is Christ.
To say that every day to live with Christ, you’re saying I’m occupied with him every day.
I’m talking to him every day. I’m listening to him every day. I’m yielding to him every day.
I’m I’m I’m walking with him every day.
It’s a daily walk and and not just, uh, oh, look what I learned this morning, uh, and the confessions.
Thank god for what you learned, but how do we translate what we have gained intellectually into an intimate relationship.
You know, when you get to know somebody new, just in the natural, you talk, you learn things about folks, you find out how much you have in common, you find out what favorite color is you find out all that other kind of stuff.
And eventually, all of that translates into an intimate relationship because somebody let you in to see into into me and see.
They let you in to see something that you didn’t know.
And I am finding out that the more and more I hunger and thirst and occupy myself with Christ, Do you know he the intimacy grows and he starts showing me things about him?
He starts saying things to me that goes way above my intellect about him.
And then that intimate relationship begins to grow Wow. Yeah, man. That’s what I’m talking about.
This is what I’m talking about, dude.
I’m talking about you know, if if you have and develop this kind of relationship with Christ, you ain’t got to worry about messing up and and screwing up and you gotta worry about none of that.
That that that just leaves because you’re not occupied with that.
You’re not you’re not occupied with trying to get the validation of the world.
You’re not occupied with, you know, uh, trying to get the approval of people and your, uh, an approval at it.
You’re not occupied by any of those things anymore because you have made Christ your occupation.
You’re you’re you’re yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Really an occupation. I mean, I’m I’m every day.
That that’s what my occupation is him. I Y’all know what I’m trying to say. Wow.
So it it is god’s purpose concerning his son that in all things he might have preeminence.
That’s what god wants. He wants his son to have preeminence and all things.
He wants his son in your life to be on a level that’s way above anything or anybody else.
Does Jesus have preeminence in your life? Where he’s the strongest. He’s the most important.
He’s the most powerful. He surpasses all other things and all other people. Wow.
Wow. Thank you, Jesus. Let let’s let’s look at a couple of scriptures here.
Um, colossians. Let’s go to book of colossians.
That’s that’s a good book that really opens up this this deal of preeminence.
Colossians 1 and 18 Uh, he says, and he is the head of the body, the church who is the beginning, He’s the first born from the dead that in all things that in all things he might have preeminence.
Did you see that? So I’m not making this up.
He’s he wants him in all things to have preeminence.
The Amplify says he also is the head of his body, the church, saying he is the beginning.
He’s the 1st born from among the dead so that he alone is in everything and in every respect.
My occupy the chief place that he might stand first and be preeminent.
Does he occupy 1st place in your life?
Does he have, or is he preeminent? Stand 1st. Priority.
In your life. That’s powerful. Let me give us another description.
Romans chapter 11 because I don’t want y’all to think, well, you just kinda get deep, but ain’t no scripture for what he said.
It is all over the Bible. That’s what started this.
You know, getting in the word verse 36 said, for of him and through him and to him, are all things to whom be glory to the father forever and ever.
See, he’s preeminent. Is it’s it’s it’s gotta it’s for it is it is of him.
It is through him. It is to him are all things. He’s preeminent. Oh my god.
Can he be the preeminent one in your life?
Yeah, to live is Christ, even to die’s game, to live is Christ.
You you see what he’s saying there? He is saying, you know, my life is occupied with him.
And even when I die, I get to be with him.
So he’s like, dude, you whether I live or die, I’ve already made him the preeminent one in my life.
And I I think this is what’s missing in Christian’s lives.
We wanna debate about scripture and debate about doctrine and debate about what the Greek and Hebrew said and debate about who said it would and how they said this.
And I always knew that dude, I’m I’m I had dismissed myself from the debate.
I just wanna know Jesus, and I wanna practice every day what I heard Paul say to live is Christ.
That today in my life, I wanna be occupied with him.
And and I and as I behold him, and I am occupied with him, I’m gonna be changed by the Holy Spirit, into that same image, into that same image.
I don’t need to get, like, 12 laws and then try to discipline myself to make I make sure I do that.
I wanna know him and in knowing him I’m transformed.
And and knowing him and beholding him and being occupied with him, I I’m transformed.
My my my my my thinking’s transformed. My life is trans form. My behavior is transformed.
My relationships are transformed. I’m transformed.
Just by beholding him. I’m changed. I’m I’m being transformed.
Every time we get together, dude, and we’re sharing the word and we’re sharing testimonies and and and and you’re occupied with Christ, you’re being transformed.
I’m not talking about waiting until he breaks through the sky and then and being transformed in our glorified body.
I’m talking about being changed right now from the inside out because he is the preeminent one, and we’re occupied with him.
And and we and our thinking’s changing and and the way we view things are changing and and how we love changes and and and the things that we made a big deal out of, it’s just not big anymore.
Paul said, I cut all those things worthless. And and, uh, he said, no,
he said, I cut them all garbage. Dung. My god.
I’m changing, man. And I know you are too. Look at colossians again.
Oh, I feel the holy ghost y’all. Look at colossians again. Thank you, Jesus.
Colashians chapter 1 and, uh, verse 1617, he says for by him where all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, things that are visible, invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or disciplities or powers.
All things were created by him and for him, and he is before all things.
And by him, our thing, all things can uh, all things consist by him.
I mean, he’s he’s preeminent and haven’t. He’s preeminent with everything else. How is he preeminent in these scriptures?
But not in our lives.
Not in our lives.
Oh, when you make him the preeminent one in your life, you’re gonna be transformed.
You’re gonna be transformed. And I’m not bringing you, you know, a 100 more laws to keep.
I am saying, become occupied with him behold him.
And just by beholding him, you’ll be changed into that same image by the Holy Spirit.
Are y’all listening to me, man?
I tell you I feel an anointing going through this this this technology, man.
Look at look at this, Colashians 23.
He says, uh, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Wow.
All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid on the inside of him the preeminent one, and I tap into all of that when I become occupied with him.
Colossus chapter 2, And, uh, verse 9 says for in him dwell is all the fullness of the godhead bodily.
All my goodness y’all, all my goodness in him, in him, in him we move, in him we breathe, in him we have our very, very bent, that’s that’s making him the the preeminent one in your life because you’re not doing anything without him.
You’re considering him and every move you take and everything that happens, you’re considering him. He’s the preeminent one.
He’s the main one in your life. You dare not do nothing without him.
You don’t wanna go nowhere without him. Don’t wanna do nothing with Adam.
You wanna you wanna get up in the morning and say, lord, help me. Show me what to do here.
Show me what to do there. You get you’re going out to the stores.
You’re not afraid that somebody’s gonna come in and shoot up the store because he’s preeminent.
He’s above any demon possessed person that’s been told to do something, and you are occupied with him and to live is Christ.
1st 21. He is far above principalities. See there? Far above powers.
And might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in the world, but also in that which is to come.
He’s far above. He’s preeminent. He’s preeminent. Yeah.
And then Daniel chapter 11 verse 32, The people that know their god will do exploits.
The people that know their god will do exploits.
The word exploit means to show great promise or to or skills, excuse me, to show great skill or ex expertise to perform illustrious.
In battle.
Illustrious deeds performed in battle. Illustrious deeds performed in battle.
My god. I’m telling y’all, man, this is amazing.
And I am simply saying if you will make god your life.
To live is Christ. To die is gain. To live is Christ.
To die is gain. Then I promise you, all be well with you. I love y’all.
Have an amazing day today. Everything gonna be alright. Everything gonna be alright.
Make him your life. Make him your preeminent one.
Watch what happens, and just by beholding him.
You’ll be changed into that same image you’re beholding, into that same image that you’re occupied with.
You’ll be changed. I didn’t mean to preach at y’all the whole time, but I guess I did. I loved you so much.
Have an amazing day today. Tomorrow’s Friday. Uh, I catch up with you tomorrow.
And, you know, all is well, ladies and gentlemen. God bless you.
Have an amazing, magnificent day in Jesus’ name. Bye bye.