Can you imagine finding another gift under the tree well after Christmas is over? It's not likely we miss any presents under the tree is it, especially with young children around.

We don't leave presents under the tree, we unwrap them, read instruction manuals, put in batteries, and enjoy them. We need to do the same with Jesus.

We need to find out what Jesus is all about, not leaving Him on the shelf, not relying on a Sunday faith, but going on to a daily life of knowing Him through His Word and through prayer.

Jesus is for life, not just for Christmas. Jesus is for everyday life. He comes each day to give us an everyday faith for everyday life. But in order to receive that faith, we need to be in His Word and fellowshipping with His Holy Spirit.

That’s where the Holy Spirit and the Word come in to work together.

John 16:13-14 NKJV

[13] However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; And He will tell you things to come. [14] He will glorify Me, For He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.

Holy Spirit will teach the Word.

To unwrap Jesus we need to understand prayer. Prayer is simply a conversation with our Creator. We need to learn how to hear His voice and know how He speaks to us. God will always speak to us from His Word, for He and the Word are one (see John 1 ).

When we read the Word, it is His Spirit that bears witness with our Spirit and speaks to us, for our Spirit is one with His Spirit.

To unwrap Jesus we need an everyday faith that comes from an everyday life in the Word and the Spirit.

When you get a present you want to unwrap it to see what's inside. Jesus is a gift that has been given to us so we can know God. For the unbeliever it is like there is wrapping paper around God. We need to turn to Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to unveil God to us.

Matthew 4:16 NKJV

[16] The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.

The light of the glorious gospel has shone in our heart.

II Corinthians 4:6 NKJV

[6] For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

We find out who God is through Jesus, and we know Jesus through His Word and by His Spirit.

John 1:1-2, 14 NKJV

[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was in the beginning with God.

[14] And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 16:7 NKJV

[7] Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.

John 16:13 NKJV

[13] However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak;

Knowing God is to be a power-packed love affair with the King of kings. Our identity is only found in this relationship. May we truly find ourselves in Him through living a life in the Word and a life in the Spirit.

Colossians 3:11
In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

It doesn’t matter if you are a republican or a democrat, a lawyer or a thief, a beggar or a rich man, Christ is all that matters and Christ is King.

In this episode, we take a look at Pontius Pilate and his desire to know who Christ claimed to be. Was He a king?

Who do you say that Christ is? Christ did indeed claim to be a king, but not just any king, The King of kings and The Lord of Lords.

Jesus doesn't stop here, He then makes claims about us, who He claims we are, and what He says our position is in Him now that He has ascended to heaven.

What will we believe about it? Is Christ who He says He is, and are we who He says we are? And if we are, what are we supposed to do to rule and reign like Him.

We have not just been saved from sin, not just saved from the dominion of darkness, but saved to reign as a king in this life. Let us believe together, enter into His rest, and establish His Kingdom.

Are you a person of faith? Do you trust Jesus? Do you trust Him with your pain, your joy, your success, your heart? Do you trust Him with your life? leave outside His throne room, He cant touch, bless, anoint.

Do we trust Him to feed us like the sparrow that neither sows nor reaps but never goes without. Do we trust Him to clothe us like He does the poppy, like the bluebell, that is clothed more beautifully than the finest clothes for the richest King that ever lived?

Will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

It is right we declare the truth that we trust Him. But what do we do with the gap? Between what we say and what we see in the natural. What do we do when we are feeling worried, feeling fearful?

That’s where faith comes in. Romans 1:17 says to go from faith to faith. We started in faith and we are to continue on in faith.

2 Timothy 3:14 says we must continue in the things which we have learned and been assured of. Do we need assuring of some things? Bring it to Jesus.

Colossians 2:7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

Our Spirit man trusts Jesus wholeheartedly 100% of the time. In our spirit there is no fear, no doubt, no unbelief. The soul is where we worry, where we fear.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The Word of God is the only thing sharp enough to divide between our soul and spirit.

The Word of God is stability for our soul.

Jesus wants to restore our soul, but He can only restore what we bring to Him in prayer. What we don’t bring to Him we will continue to worry about. What we worry about He can’t help. What we hold onto is ours to deal with, provide for, clean up.

Jesus sits at the door and knocks. He is not going to barge in and take it from us.

So how do we steward our soul to be a person of faith that truly trusts Him. What do we do to partner with Him to restore our soul. To keep ourselves in the love of God.

Mark 4:20 NKJV

[20] But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

1. Hear the word: listen. There is a difference between a child hearing your voice and listening.
2. Accept the word: receive, acknowledge. Properly, to receive openly, welcoming with personal interest. Are you receiving God’s Word openly. Hearing and receiving is the only way we can do the third part
3. Bear fruit: to bring forth fruit takes time, we need to stick with it.

Anything we leave outside the prayer room we can't hear and receive His Word for and will bear no fruit.

3 keys to being free of our worries through prayer

1. Bring your whole self to Him in prayer: those parts that need restoring you’ve got to bring into the prayer room.
2. Hear and receive what He speaks over you: listen closely, allow Holy Spirit to speak God's Word to you.
3. Stick with it: when you have heard and received His Word, stick with it. Keep it before your eyes and in your mouth, bearing fruit in due season.

What He has promised, what He has spoken, He is able to perform in and through your life. This is the gospel.
But what you leave outside the prayer room He can’t speak to, He cant perform for you. Romans 4:21 like Abraham we will be fully convinced that what He has promised He is also able to perform.

This is a progressive work. So wherever we are we need to progress. What can we do today? Can we make it a little bit easier to come into His presence tomorrow. Bring a little bit more of ourself to Jesus.

Or will you dive right in, and bring your whole self to Jesus? He cares so deeply for us. But He can only heal, restore, and speak His Word to what we bring to Him.

What captivates you? Is it the beauty of your spouse? Maybe the morning sunrise or the crashing waves of the ocean.

To be captivated is to be influenced and dominated by some special charm, or trait with an irresistible appeal. What has captivated you lately? Maybe it was your latest summer holiday, but now you are back to reality?

We are to live our whole life in Him (Col 3:3). It says in James 1.2 to count it all joy - the good, the bad, and everything in between.

Happiness is based upon what is happening, it is based on the external, what you can see, taste touch or feel. True joy is spiritual, based on things unseen.

Joy of the occasions wane, but joy in Him sustains.

Pleasure is from the Lord, but rather than being captivated by pleasure, we are to be captivated by Him who delights to give us pleasure.

Fleeting pleasure of sin

Heb 11:25 (Moses chose­) rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

James 1:15 … sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

God doesn’t want to take our pleasure, God is pleasure.

Ps 16:11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Rom 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

1 Tim 6:17 ... who gives us richly all things to enjoy.

Psalm 35:27 “Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”

Rather than be captivated by sin we are to be captivated by Him. We are to take pleasure in Him - in the good, the bad and everything in between.

Psalm 34:1-3 I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.

8 Oh taste and see that the Lord is good, come magnify the Lord with me.

How will we be captivated by Him?

When a man and wife get married, there is often a 'price' that the groom 'pays' to marry his bride. There is beauty in that sacrifice and beauty in the groom.

We will be captivated by the sacrifice but also by the person.

The sacrifice

There is something about knowing the depth of our need without Him and also the depth of His power, love and grace.

Romans 3:10 “There is none righteous, no, not one

Romans 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

How did Christ show His love for His bride?

2 cor 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

We are to be captivated by the sacrifice but also by the person.

Have you seen the depth of His beauty? There is nothing more beautiful than Him, nothing worth pursuing, nothing worth being captivated by than by Him.

If you truly believe in your heart He is who He says He is you will be captivated by Him.

What is captivating you? Are you captivated by sin or captivated by Him.

In this episode, we take a look at the Book of Jude together. There is so much we can learn from this letter.

We focused mainly on verse 3 and verses 20 and 21. We are to contend earnestly for the faith by keeping ourselves in the love of God. If we are to keep ourselves in the love of God that means we can come out of His love, yet God says nothing can separate us from His love.

Nothing can separate us from His love but we can keep ourselves outside that love. To keep ourselves in the love of God we need to keep looking at Him, considering His love for us through His Son Jesus. To contend for the faith is to build yourself up in His love for you, praying in the Holy Spirit.

To contend for the faith we need to continue in prayer, stay in the Word, keep speaking God's Word, and keep fellowshipping with believers.

The most important thing that came out from our time together was to not look away from His face. Look for the mercy of His face in the person of Jesus.

Lamentations 3:21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 22 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

We finished up by looking at Song of Songs and Revelation 19

Song of Songs 2:1 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. This is who we are to Him, his beautiful bride.

Revelation 19

5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both[c] small and great!”

6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the[d] Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

Do we see ourselves as the bride He has made us to be?

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

This is who we are. To this we have been called and this is the reason for our hope. Hallelujah!

Faith speaks, and faith has a voice. Faith calls those things that do not exist as though they do.

Faith comes from hearing the word about Christ. His Word causes us to see what is possible. In order for us to have the faith to say what He says we need to see what He sees. His Word brings us into His vision for our life.

1 Cor 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

God has given us spiritual eyes to see what He sees.

II Corinthians 4:13 NKJV And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak.

Our words give away what we believe: about ourselves, about God, about the world around us and our circumstances.

James 1:21 ... receive with meekness the implanted/engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

For good or for bad we believe and therefore speak. If we do not speak the Word of God we believe then we are not a doer of the Word and are actually deceiving ourselves. This is how we sell ourselves short of the promised land, through the words of our mouth.

II Corinthians 4:13 NKJV since we have the same spirit of faith... we also believe and therefore speak. Rom 10: 6&8 ... the righteousness of faith speaks in this way... “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach)

Your mental assent is not the same as your confession of faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, faith calls those things do not exist as though they already do, (it’s not denial, it’s faith). Faith speaks, faith has a voice, go to the Word and then say what He says and see His promises come to pass in your life.

What do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you see your mistakes? Do you see your successes?

What do you see when you look at your neighbour, your children, your enemy?

Do you see sin, or do you see redemption?

Do you see the Father's love looking back at you? Do you see the Father looking back at you?

We may not see it, we may not feel it, but the just live by faith. Faith calls those things that be not as though they are.

Rom 4:17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations” ) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;

Abram (exalted Father) was called Abraham (Father of many nations) before he was. Before he was, God saw him who he would be and called that thing that be not as though it was. From that day Abram no longer called himself Abram for he had a new vision of himself, He was Abraham!

What do you see? Before we were in Adam, but now we are in the new Adam, the old has passed away, behold, all things have become new.

We need to see what He sees, so we can say what He says and then have what he says is ours.

Mark 11:23 Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Believe you receive when you pray and you will have it. You need to know that when you ask you already have it. 1 John 5:14-15

And then keep it. Keep the vision before your eyes and in your heart. Abraham introduced himself from that day as the Father of many nations. He already had it because he saw it and spoke it. He received it because he kept it.

Prov 4:20-22