Remember Lot’s Wife – Part 2 - Audio Only

Remember Lot’s Wife – Part 2

By Pastor Gary Wayne

Text: Philippians 2:5-8, John 14:12, John 5:19 Lu 17:32 "Remember Lot's wife.

Jn.14:12 the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do
Why would Jesus say this if He didn’t mean it for you and me?

Lu 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
How is this possible when He was God, and knew everything already?

In Acts 1 when the disciples asked Jesus when He was going to come back, He basically said, “I don’t know, only the Father knows.” (1:7)
How can Jesus who is God not know something?

The answer is He emptied Himself, and faced life as a man, not as God.

Phi.2:5-8
6 -7 "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage" rather, he made himself nothing (or emptied himself) by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. NIV

Jesus chose not to hold onto the privilege of who He was as God.
In choosing to serve, He set aside His God status and took on human limitations.

When Jeus was baptized, Lk.4:1 Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Why did Jesus need the Holy Spirit?
To minister. To give Jesus power to do what He was called to do.

Up to this point, we don’t see Jesus doing any miracles.
Then as soon as Lk.4 happens, Jesus comes out doing God things.

Without the filling and power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus would not have been able to do any of His ministry – not able to do the will of the Father. Not able to fulfill Isa.61 – Lk.4:18.

Jesus only did what the Father told Him to do, and He only did it by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus never operated out His own divine power – EVER.
Most of us have this wrong thinking in the back of our mind – “I can never do the “greater than Jesus,” because He was God in the flesh - He had access to something I don’t have access to.” WRONG!

How did Jesus do supernatural power miracles, while not tapping into His God status? He operated in the Holy Spirit. He operated with the gifts of the Spirit.
He used the same Holy Spirit gifts we have access to.

When Jesus knew what the people were thinking, He operated in the Holy Spirit’s
gift of words of knowledge. When He healed someone, He operated in the gift of healing. Discernment, miracles, etc.

This is why Jesus can say: “the works that I do You will do also; and greater…”

Think about this – Frequently Jesus got alone by Himself for prayer? Why? Because He didn’t know what was going to happen next. So, He would spend time in the Father’s presence, and out of that intimacy, He would know what to do.
He only did what the Father would tell Him to do, and so He went into Father’s presence to know what to do next.

Let me try and wrap this into “Remember Lot’s Wife.”
Last week I began the message with: I feel there is a current theme God is wanting to have us focus on. The importance of paying attention to and following the Holy Spirit in our every-day living.

Four weeks ago – God’s Delicate Whisper
When God spoke to Elijah in the cave, God’s communication to him was not in the mighty wind, not in the earthquake, not in the fire, but a still small voice – a delicate whisper. 1Ki.19:12
God is wanting to train me to listen and hear His delicate whisper as the Holy Spirit comminates what I need to hear. Not a bit and bridle, but a delicate whisper.
This learning process takes time – more than just a Sunday morning 2-hour session a week.

Two weeks ago in Luk.4:18, when Jesus read Isaiah 61 "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to: preach the good news, heal the broken hearted, proclaim liberty, give sight to the blind, free the oppressed, to proclaim you have favor with God.
Jesus’ ministry has been handed to us.
For us to pay attention for people God is going to bring into our lives for us to walk this out. I physically anointed us for this.

Last week Lk.17:32 “Remember Lot’s wife.”
She was so focused on staying in her comfort zone, she missed that God was bringing her into a new season – a season that would change history.

You and I carry the same Holy Spirit Jesus was given to minister.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon us, God has anointed us to – Minister.
For me to know what the Father wants me to do, I need to spend time with Him.
If the whole of my interaction with God is on Sunday morning, my question is why?