Mike Bickle emphasizes the transformative power of knowing Jesus as the Son of Man, urging believers to pursue a deeper understanding of His magnificence beyond just His benefits. He highlights that true transformation comes from the knowledge of God, which can shift our emotions and dedication over time. Bickle encourages believers to seek the Holy Spirit's guidance to reveal the deeper truths about Jesus, as seen in Daniel 7 and Revelation 1, and to make Jesus the primary focus of their lives and ministries. He warns against superficial Christianity and calls for a fierce determination to pursue the hidden treasures of God's knowledge. Ultimately, Bickle's message is a call to obsession with the beauty and majesty of Christ.

For your glorious son, Holy Spirit, we ask you to do what you do best and what you enjoy most. Holy Spirit, take the things that belong to Jesus and give them to us. We thank you in Jesus name. Amen. Well, I'm beginning a new course for the next semester at IHOPU on Jesus, our magnificent obsession, part two. I want to just take a moment and just give a little review of some things we covered in the last course and then take it from there. First, the foundational spiritual principle that is important for us to really lay hold of is the idea that the knowledge of God transforms the human heart more than any other dimension of the grace of God. I'm going to say that again. It's a very important foundational principle that not all believers are locked into or focused on. That information about God, the knowledge of God, that when it touches the heart, it transforms us, meaning it's information that has power on it. And it will move us over time, though the rule of the kingdom is the Holy Spirit just gives us little increments, little installments, if you will, of this information. But over time, it accumulates and it changes us on the inside. Now, our life goal, my life goal, and I'm sure many of you here would have the same one, is I want to enter into the power and the privilege and the pleasure of being obsessed with the magnificence of Jesus. I want to enter into the power of that. And the pleasure of it. I want to be obsessed with the revelation of the magnificence of Jesus. I want it to grab me and lead me along as the primary influence of my life. Now, that's the privilege of every believer in the new covenant that wants it. So, paragraph A, there's no aspect in the grace of God that more powerfully transforms the human emotions than when God reveals God to the human spirit. When God reveals God to our spirit, when the knowledge of God touches us, information about God, it shifts our emotions, again, little by little, over months and years. But it makes a significant difference. I encourage people who are struggling with a bondage, as they're trying to get free and they're gritting their teeth to resist and try to break free from that bondage, I encourage them, instead of trying harder to resist the bondage, but to put their focus and their attention on going deeper, gaining new understanding about God. I urge them, go deeper, focus on that, instead of trying harder. Because you can't grit your teeth and just by resolve, free your emotions. But you can go after information about God, that when the Holy Spirit touches our heart with it, it liberates our emotions, again, little by little. Now, many people think about Jesus, and when they think about Him, they think about Him mostly in terms of being a Savior. He forgives us of our sin. He forgives. He rescues us from hell. I like that part of His ministry to us. They think about Him as one who heals, who directs, who provides, who blesses circumstances. And those, that's true. That's what He does for us. But there's so much more about Jesus than the benefits that He gives us, that He loves to give us, that we love to receive. There's so much more about Him than the fact of what He does for us to enrich our life. Now, the witness to this truth is found around the throne of God, in Revelation 4. The seraphim, the high-ranking angels, it says day and night, they're called living creatures. The four living creatures, they offer unending, unceasing adoration and worship, day and night, night and day. Not because they were forgiven. Not because they were given financial provision or prophetic direction. Not because the Lord healed them. None of those reasons. Because they saw the glory and the magnificence of God. And the glory of God, His magnificence, always provokes a response in those that see it. And this is the Jesus who forgives and saves and heals, directs, provides, protects. But He's so much more. And as we see Him, it provokes a response in us. It moves us on the inside, like it moves the seraphim around the throne. Paragraph B, Philippians chapter 3. Paul is the premier example of this truth, of how the knowledge of God changes a person's emotions and their emotional makeup and the way that they think and feel. Paul gave testimony of this. He said in Philippians chapter 3, verse 8, he goes, I count all things lost. He goes, I gladly give up everything. Now why? What would motivate Paul to give up everything? He said, I've had a glimpse of the excellence, or you could put the word the magnificence, of the man Christ Jesus. And as I grasp who He is, even a little bit, it moves my heart in the deepest way. Now there's two applications to this passage of what Paul's saying, two applications to his life. He's saying that when I saw the worth of this man Jesus, His Majesty, it was clear to me that He was worthy of my full allegiance. He was worthy of my full abandonment to do His will, to give myself to Him. It's application number one. He said, I saw the excellence. And I said, yes, no matter what it costs, you're worth my allegiance and my obedience. But there's a second application that as to what he saw, he knew that because of the pleasure and the power of what he saw and how it moved him, he said, I want to have more of it. I want to feel the glory of it. And I'll remove everything that gets in the way because I want more of the excellence. I want to position my heart to receive everything that God will give the human spirit in this age. And so he said, when I saw the grandness of this man, he was worth my allegiance, but I saw the power and the pleasure of seeing him. And I wanted to remove everything to get more that I could feel more of the weight of the glory of this. So we understand that the power of Paul's dedication was rooted in what he saw about Jesus. I want to say that again. The power of his dedication wasn't just that he's a zealous man. I've heard people say, well, Paul was so zealous. That's why he was so dedicated. He was so dedicated because of what he saw. His dedication was the fruit of how he perceived Jesus. I've prayed over the years, Lord, show me, let me see what Paul saw and I could live in the dedication he lived in. Let me see what he saw and I could respond like he did because dedication, it really is rooted to the measure of what we see. And so if you want more dedication, you want more transformation, focus on seeing more, not just resolve to do better and to try harder. Focus on getting more insight. And I tell you that insight will move you on the inside over time. John chapter 16, Jesus talks about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. This is a very, very important promise from Jesus that we need to really anchor our life into this promise. He describes the Holy Spirit's ministry in verse 13, John 16, verse 13. He says, the spirit will guide you. The spirit will be your personal escort and to the realm of the magnificence of who Jesus is the beauty of God. Jesus said, the spirit will guide you. He will take you by the hand. He will personally escort you. If you want to go into the deeper things about me, verse 14, he elaborates. He said, the spirit will take what is mine. He'll take the glory and the splendor that I possess and he will personally declare it to your heart. He will be your teacher. He will teach you in a way that you can understand. He will declare it to your mind and your heart in a way you can feel the power of it. I look at this promise that the spirit will declare Jesus to me. Beloved, he knows more about Jesus than we can imagine. And he's a very, very good teacher, but he will only teach us to the degree that we have hunger to go forward. So it's here in first Corinthians chapter two. Verse 10, the spirit searches the deep things of God. The spirit discerns the deep things of the father and the son in order to reveal it to us. So I want to take a stand in faith and not just use the faith principles to experience more of the benefits of God's leadership in provision and economics and healings, because faith is related to experiencing more of the benefits. But I want to take the word of God and exercise my faith to believe God that the spirit would declare more of Jesus to me. Even the deep things of Jesus's heart. The spirit's so willing and he knows so much. He has gone to the deep places of Jesus's heart and Jesus said he'll teach you, but only on the basis of your hunger. He won't force feed us. He won't make us go deep. We can love Jesus in the general sense and stay superficial in our knowledge of God for decades. I've been pastoring for over 30 years and I've watched many people go 10, 20, 30 years and they never go beyond just a superficial knowledge of God. They're 20, 30 years later where they were 20 years ago. They still love the Lord, but in terms of the knowledge of God in a specific way, they're just about the same. That's, that's not okay for me. I want to go as deep as God will take the human spirit in this age. And Jesus said he'll declare, he'll declare who I am to you more if you want to know. But again, he won't force feed us. Now here's the good news, that the spirit will teach you about Jesus. And again, he's talking to the apostles. The apostles could have said, we already know you. We've been with you three years. And Jesus could have said, oh, there's so much more you don't know about me. And you will need this escort into the deep things of who I am. I can imagine the 12 apostles kind of, well, no, we think we know you pretty well. And Jesus says, no, I'm about to depart. The truth is you don't know me hardly at all, but he will teach you. Now the good news is he will declare Jesus to us, not based on our intellectual abilities. And I've talked to people over the years and they go, you know, I'm not really a good student. I'm a little ADD. I don't stay focused. I don't remember what I read. And so they kind of think, well, maybe this isn't for me. I go, no, this promise is not based on people, you know, that are a, uh, you know, the top rate students and everybody else is just left out. No, it's not based on your intellectual abilities. Neither is it based on this promise. Neither is it based on your ministry assignment, your ministry assignment, maybe in the marketplace, maybe an education, maybe in your home, your primary ministry, maybe your home, maybe in your neighborhood, maybe be at the university. Maybe it's in the pulpit. Maybe you're a, a call to lead a congregation. It doesn't matter what your ministry assignment is. This promise is for everybody who wants it, that loves Jesus. So don't write yourself off and say, well, you know, I don't learn that well and I'm not a preacher anyway. So I might as well just kind of go along with the flow and just, you know, wait till I see Jesus at the end. And then I'll just kind of catch up with lost time. No, you can go deep now, but we have to have a fierce determination. It won't happen automatic. It won't happen on the run. It's when we lock in and determine this is really where I want my life to go. And it takes time. You won't go deep on the run. Now, again, one person has an assignment from the Lord that they need to be faithful to. They don't have as much time as another person. And you don't need to compare how much time you have compared to this guy or that guy. Just go with all your might. But most of us, we do have time where we can choose to turn some things off and turn some things away. Some things that are maybe good and legitimate in themselves, but they're not helpful in this pursuit. Most of us have that X factor in our schedule where we really could still be faithful to our assignment before the Lord and yet pull away and turn some things off and turn some things away and still find more time to go after this. One of my favorite prayers, I have written here in paragraph C, I pray, Holy Spirit, let me see what you see when you look at Jesus. Let me feel what you feel. I talked to the Holy Spirit. By the way, he lives in your spirit, in your inner man. I turn my attention to him. I go, Holy Spirit. He's like the glory of God, like the burning bush, the Holy of Holies dwelling in your belly. I mean, the spirit of God is on the inside of you as a consuming fire. He's the great teacher. He's God himself. And I say, Holy Spirit, let me see what you see and feel what you feel about Jesus. And the Holy Spirit could say, I see much more than you can imagine. And I feel far deeper than you can ever understand. Your capacity is far too narrow, but I will give you much more than you have now. You'll never have all that I have, but I have so much to teach you. In Ephesians chapter 3, verse 8, Paul describes his ministry focus. And the reason I'm pointing this out is there was a time in my life earlier on, some years ago, where I used this verse, Philippians 3.8 and Ephesians 3.8, both of them together. And I determined that the premier focus of my life and my ministry would be Ephesians 3.8 and Philippians 3.8, those two together. And I would put those verses together and talk to the Lord. Paul said, to me, grace was given. You could put the word, the anointing of the Holy Spirit was given to me, that I could proclaim the unsearchable riches of the man Christ Jesus. Now that's not all that we proclaim, but that was the primary focus in Paul's thinking about his life and ministry. Today, the most neglected subject in the kingdom of God is God. I'm serious that we make reference to God. We make passing reference to Jesus. We talk about healing in the name of Jesus. We talk about provision, direction in the name of Jesus. We reference him, we claim his name, but I'm talking about focusing on him and talking about him, not just because that's a biblical truth. Most of the teaching in the kingdom of God is on relationship skills, leadership principles, economic principles, ministry skills, how to make life easier, how to make life better, that those are biblical principles. But I'm talking about God himself is the most neglected subject. Paul had this determination. I know why I'm anointed. I'm going to experience the excellency of this man, then I'm going to make it known everywhere I go. Jesus will be my primary subject, not just activity, not just ministry, not just relationship building, not just impact. All again, all those are very important biblical subjects. I'm going to make the man Jesus my primary focus for my life and for my ministry. There's a great crisis in America, but the great crisis of America, the greatest crisis of America is not Islam growing and increasing, and that is troublesome. It's not abortion. I can't think of anything worse. It's not same-sex marriage. It's not the financial crisis that's looming and increasing. I believe the greatest crisis in America is the lack of clarity in the pulpits about God himself to the church. Clear and anointed proclamation with insight that's specific about Jesus himself. It will set on fire the church and a thousand lesser evils can be cured when that first domino is pushed over. These other problems, they're real problems. They're troubling. But beloved, until several million believers are ignited by the glory of the man Christ Jesus, those problems aren't going away. I believe the greatest crisis is in the pulpits in the church, in our nation, and therefore the response or the lack of response of the body of Christ to the word of God. The reason we talk so little about Jesus in our ministries is because we think so little about him in specific ways in our private lives. The way I'm not trying to be negative or critical, I'm trying to stir you up so that you say, by the grace of God, I'm not going in that direction. I'm going to say again, the reason we talk so little about him in our ministries is because we think so little about him in specific ways. Again, I'm not talking about his benefits. I'm talking about the person of Jesus himself. When I talk about, when I reference talking about him in our ministry, I don't mean preaching on a microphone. I'm talking about the twos and threes that you're influencing. The discipleship commitments you have, whether it's formal or informal. We talk so little about Jesus in the church because we think so little about him. Our thoughts are too low. Our thoughts are too few and our thoughts are too vague. I mean, we have a general idea. We love you, Jesus. We picture a man at the throne and we love him, but the specific thinking is lacking with details about him. And I've said to the Lord, I don't want my life stuck by thinking too low, too few and too vague about him. I want to think deep and long and clearly about him. There's so much in the word about him. Roman numeral two. We're in this second semester on this Jesus, our magnificent obsession. We're going to focus on Jesus as the son of man. Now that Jesus is the son of man, this is his most comprehensive title as the Messiah. It's the title he used the most. It says the most about him and his role as the Messiah. He called himself 85 times in the four gospels. He's quoted using the phrase the son of man. That's the title he used far more than any other title. What does it mean? It means so much. Well first, when he calls himself the son of man, he's identifying with the human race. He's saying I'm one of you forever. I didn't just become human, die on the cross, raised from the dead, and then I kind of laid my humanities aside. I'm human forever. Yes, fully God, but I'm fully man forever. But not only is he identified with the human race, being human, he embraced the frailty of humanity during his time on the earth. I mean that the uncreated God, Jesus Christ, that he could be hungry and tired, thirsty, is just unthinkable. The creator hungry and thirsty. He embraced human frailty. But not just that, he's committed to human partnership. He says I'm the son of man, meaning my eternal companion is human, and I'm going to bring her, my bride, into everything I inherit as a man. Under the Father, I'm going to bring her at my side, and she will walk in it all with me. Yes, I will rule the nations, but she will rule them with me under my authority. There's so much in the statement, he's the son of man. But the point I want to focus on is that the son of man is a phrase that is only used once in the Old Testament, and the 85 times, I mean it's only used once related to Jesus, to the Messiah. The other times it's related to weak human beings. That's why it's such a, you know, shocking reality that the son of man is used in the Old Testament, but only to refer to weak human beings, frail humans. And when Jesus appeared as the Messiah, Daniel saw him, the son of man, are you sure that's the title? Are you sure that's who you are? Jesus, forgive me, but do you realize what the son of man is? How we understand that there's such frailty in humanity? He goes, I understand. And he puts together this combination of the glory beyond anything we could imagine in the midst of his humanity. And the great passage is Daniel chapter 7. Now you may not be familiar with Daniel 7, but I want to highlight this. It's a must read, must know passage. Daniel 7 is one of the premier descriptions, prophecies of the Messiah of Jesus in the Old Testament. If you only study a couple of them, make Daniel 7 one at the top of your list. Where Daniel had an open vision of the Messiah of Jesus ahead of time, he saw him before his incarnation. He saw his destiny as a man of where it was going. And so each time that Jesus referred to himself as the son of man, he was always pointing back to Daniel 7 because that's the only other reference. That's the only reference in the Old Testament. So when he said, I'm the son of man, people would raise their eyes and said, do you realize that you're referencing yourself as the Daniel 7 man? And of course, Jesus's point is that's the point. I am that man. Remarkable. Daniel 7, let's look at it just real brief, kind of quick snapshot of it. And we're going to look at it more in the weeks to come on Friday night. Daniel sees the vision, Daniel 7 verse 9. First, he sees the ancient of days, which is a name for the father depicting his eternal nature, the uncreated God from eternity past. Never was there a time where God, the father or the son or the spirit where God did not exist. And he goes by the title, the name, the ancient of days depicting his eternal nature. And then Daniel's looking on in the vision and notices that the father's garments and his hair are white, like snow. Now the garments always speak of the deeds that are done. The garments in the heavenly realm depict the deeds that are done as well. They're not just, they are symbolic, but they're actually a dynamic relationship between the garments worn and the deeds done. What Daniel understands, that God's garments are white as snow, totally pure and perfectly wise is the idea. Now the point that I'm going to, that I'm emphasizing here, is that in a moment we're going to look at Revelation 1, you say, John, I am an expression of the same purity and wisdom that my father possesses from eternity. I am the perfect expression of his glory and of his person. His throne was like a flame of fire. Verse 13, I was watching. This is Daniel speaking about 500 BC, 500 years before Jesus, before the incarnation. He said, he's like a human, but I'm not sure he's more than a man, surely, but he's at least a man, but there's a supernatural dimension about him. I mean, Daniel was perplexed. He was awestruck and perplexed. He goes, I don't really get how this works because Moses claimed that God taught him. God said to Moses, Moses, no man can see God and live. He'll die. But Daniel says, but this man is a man, but he's living and he's so near to God. He's in the heavenly realm. He must be a supernatural being of some sort, but he's so human. I don't get what I'm looking at. I mean, it was very perplexing, no doubt. This one, like the son of man, he came on clouds. It's interesting that when Jesus, these 85 times, he references himself as the son of man. When he talks about coming back to the earth, he throws in the dimension of clouds. He says, hey, the clouds, Daniel seven, that's one of my favorite parts of my return. I'm coming back on the clouds. He came up to the ancient of days, verse 14, and to him, to a man is given the dominion of over all the nations of the earth. Now this is surprising because Daniel surely understands he's seeing the Messiah, but the Messiah would be the king of Israel. But this man is the king of every nation. It's like, wow, this is bigger than I was expecting. He might've thought, but then a surprising dimension in verse 27, in this vast vision of a son of man, the son of man wants to share his government with his people, with his eternal companion, which in the new Testament we understand is his bride forever. He says, when I rule, she will rule at my side with me. He cried out in John 17, 24, father, I desire my people that they would be with me where I am forever together, together forever. She will be with me. So Daniel is surely perplexed by this top of page two. Well, we take the Daniel seven foundational truth of the son of man. Again, the only description of the son of man in the old Testament. So every time Jesus referenced it, he's only referencing one passage. He's going, go look, read Daniel seven and fill in the gaps. Again, it raised a lot of eyebrows in Jesus's day. Because then when he claimed that the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees and Sadducees, the leadership of Israel, they go, how dare you claim to be the Daniel seven man? He goes, the very thing I claim. Yes, I am him. And they called it blasphemy. It was impossible that a man from Nazareth, a carpenter could be the Daniel seven man, not possible. They called it blasphemy. Well, there's two primary chapters in the Bible that, that, uh, uh, describe Jesus as the son of man, Daniel seven, we just looked at and revelation one, which we're going to focus our course on not only revelation one, but that will be kind of the, the, the, the outline and where we're going. Now, the reason I identify these two chapters, because only when they're read together, do we understand them in their fullness. When we read Daniel seven, together with revelation one, an old Testament, a new Testament revelation of the son of man. One is that Daniel saw it. And the other one, Jesus himself visits John on the island of Patmos when he's about 90 years old. And he says, John, I am the son of man. I am the Daniel seven man. And I'm going to show you more implications about it. Let's see what John recorded. Now, John undoubtedly saw much more than he wrote down. He gives us the briefest statements, the briefest statements, and each one of these statements that he makes about Jesus has much, many, many implications. Verse 10, John, again, he's about 90 years old. It's about 60 years after Jesus's death and resurrection. John's on the island of Patmos as a prisoner because of preaching Jesus. The Roman empire has cast him onto that prison island. He said in verse 10, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet. And so John turns around and there's a man, he's fully God, fully man. He said, I am the alpha and omega. I'm the first and the last. Verse 12, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. In the midst of him, there he is. He's the man I know, but there's more about him I've never seen before. He is the Daniel seven son of man looking at me eye to eye. He's clothed with garment, reaching to the feet. He's coming as the sympathetic high priest. He comes girded about the chest with a golden band. Every one of these phrases are filled with meaning when compared to what the Bible says about these different truths. Verse 14, his hair, his head, his, his head and his hair were white like wool. That's like the father back in Daniel seven. He has the same purity and wisdom that his father possesses from eternity. His eyes are like fire. Everything he does, he does for love. His feet were like brass, which speak of judgment. He will remove everything that hinders love in his hand are seven stars. Just a moment later, Jesus says, those seven stars, they're the leaders that I carry that are so near and dear to me. I don't just give them an assignment and send them on their way. I carry them near to me in my own hand. I'm among them out of his mouth. What a sharp two-edged sword. His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And John said in verse nine, 17, when I saw this man, my familiar friend, the three years, three and a half years, I walked with him. I saw him with a new dimension of glory, and I felt like a dead man before him. The passage goes on to describe that Jesus puts his hand, he kneels down and touches him. John, John, it's just me. Your friend, you put your head on my chest at the last supper. You're the one I love. Remember, you wrote it. You're the disciple that the Lord loves. I love you. John's trembling, shaking and under the weight of the glory. I hardly know who you are. Jesus might have said or could have said back in Matthew 16 when he said, who do men say that I am? And the different apostles gave their answers. He could have said to John, John, you didn't really know who I am. You didn't know then and you really don't know now. There's so much more you don't know about me. Well, we see the principle here again. It's the knowledge of God that moves John. Now, this is an extreme example, but the principle is still true. It's he sees the knowledge of God in a dramatic way. It has a dramatic response, but the knowledge of God still moves us even in the lesser measures of it. Even the simple ways when we read the word of the spirit just gently stirs or warms our heart. It's little by little, but it builds, it accumulates over time and it shifts us on the inside, meaning it changes the way we think and feel. Paragraph C, in Revelation 1-3, I tell you this is a gold mine, Revelation 1-3. We need to mine this gold. I mean, the rest of our lives, we need to be locked in Revelation 1-3. I don't mean for a summer or semester. I mean, we'll never exhaust these three chapters. John shares the vision because he was told to share the vision. In verse 11, Jesus said, write it, make these things known. It's important that my people know what you have seen and what I've said. John notes 30 different descriptions of Jesus and 18 different eternal rewards in these three chapters. I want to highlight that. John gives 30 distinct descriptions of Jesus, 18 specific eternal rewards. Now, each one of these 30 descriptions and each one of these eternal rewards, they communicate a very specific truth about the nature and the ministry and the majesty of who Jesus is. We want to lock into them because what Jesus was telling John when he revealed this to him, he said, make sure you write it and share this with the churches. Really, what he was saying is, if they understand these things about me, it will equip them to resist temptation, to not draw back in persecution, and I will equip them to participate with me when I transition this earth to the age to come and that generation that I return when the events of the book of Revelation unfold. I want to say that again. What Jesus was saying is, John, these 30 descriptions of me, they're valid all through church history, but in that generation when I return, when sin escalates beyond any other time in history, if they know these things about me, they will withstand the temptations because I will touch them and their spirit will be fascinated and exhilarated and moved by me. It will be stronger than the sins that assault them, the temptations. Not only that, they will be equipped to stand without yielding to fear under persecution because there's going to be great persecution in that hour. There is persecution now all over the world, but it's increased the closer we get to his return, but even more than resisting temptation, enduring persecution. Jesus was all but saying in here, if they know these 30 things about me and the 18 rewards, they will be equipped to participate with me in my plan to transition the earth to the age to come. Beloved, that's a serious, serious mandate for the church of that generation, but we won't be equipped just kind of on the run. We will be equipped by going deep in these 30 truths about him. Not that we will master them all, that we'll get them all, but we're going to be pursuing the Holy Spirit teaching us about these things. Paragraph D reminds you again that these are only abbreviated statements. His eyes are like fire. It's abbreviated statements. Feet like brass. His hair white like snow. His face like the sun. He's called the faithful witness, the ruler of the kings of the earth, the firstborn from the dead. These are little phrases, but the point is John saw much more than he wrote, undoubtedly. Each phrase is like the title of a book in the library of heaven. Each phrase is like a hint, and the spirit is saying there's much in the word from Genesis to Revelation on the truth represented by this phrase. Come after me and I will teach you about it if you want to know. The Holy Spirit won't force feed us, and the Holy Spirit will only teach us these subjects if we want to know them. But when Jesus appears to John, he says make sure the church knows these things, the meaning of that, the implication. They will need this to to overcome temptation, endure persecution, and be prepared to partner with me in that hour of history as well as all through 2,000 years of church history. Beloved, I believe these 30 descriptions Revelation 1, 2, and 3, they are the diet. They are the menu the Holy Spirit is going to feed the end-time church on. But not only do I want to be fed by them, I want to do Ephesians 3, 8. I want to be anointed to make known Jesus, the riches of Jesus. I don't want to just experience the excellency, I want to share it with others. I don't mean by just saying he's awesome, he's awesome, he's awesome. I want to give details with specific thoughts, with practical ideas and phrases that people could lock into and picture it and feel the weight of it. Beloved, I believe all of us can take hold of this Philippians 3, 8. I want to see the excellencies of him. And Ephesians 3, 8. I want to make known the riches of this excellent man. Again, your ministry may be one-on-one. Your ministry may be in the social networking where you're making truths known. You don't need a pulpit and a microphone to commit to Ephesians 3, 8. This is my life focus, to make these riches known about this man. Top of page 3, paragraph G. There's a progression, and I'll let you read this on your own, just for time's sake. But I'm just, I'm gonna make the progression, just say it to you, and then you can read it later if you want. There's a progression of revelation, meaning more revelation unfolds as time goes by. It starts in Daniel chapter 7, the foundational revelation of the Son of Man. 500 BC, about. Then 500 years later, Jesus, three and a half years, four gospels. He takes that revelation of Daniel 7, the Son of Man, and expands it and elaborates it significantly. But it's not over then. Then he anoints the apostles, and they write the epistles, the various letters, and they give insights into what the Old Testament and the gospels were making known. And then finally, at the very end, Jesus himself appears. He doesn't entrust this to any other, to a name. He comes himself, and he says, John, let me put the capstone. Let me give you the finale. This is what I want you to see. And he reveals the Son of Man and brings it another step beyond the gospels and the epistles. But it's only in reading them all together do we get the whole picture. Beloved, it doesn't get any better than Jesus preaching Jesus. And in John 1, it's Jesus preaching Jesus. He says, let me tell you what you saw in the gospels. Let me show more of what I was hiding that you did not see, John. When I told you I loved you, look at me. My eyes are burning with fire. You never saw that before, did you? When I went and cleansed the temple, I have feet like brass. I'm going to cleanse the whole earth. When I was with you in the boat, and I calmed the storm, when the storm hits the whole earth at the end times, I will be with my people. I will be in the boat, calming the storm. I walk amongst the candlesticks. I will be with you, holding you near to me. So John is saying, oh, he's putting it all together. Here's the point. Some people take the gospels and they put it in contrast to the book of Revelation and to the Old Testament prophets. Beloved, it's one complete story with all the components necessary to give the complete picture. There is no contradiction. The Revelation just builds. It gets more clear and it expands as the Lord visits more through history. Again, starting with Daniel and the Old Testament prophets, then the gospels, then the epistles, and then the book of Revelation. The grand finale, the whole book is called the unveiling of the glory of Jesus. Let's look at Roman numeral three at the bottom of page three. Let's bring this to an end, to a conclusion. We have to search for this with all our heart. Beloved, salvation is a free gift. God pursued you for salvation. We didn't pursue God. He pursued us. He boxed us in a corner. He ambushed us, trapped us, took away the options. Then years later we said, I sought the Lord and I found him. The Lord says, that's not exactly how it goes. I sought you and trapped you and I gave you the free gift. You did have to say yes, but I really pressed you. But it's different on the deep things of God. He says, I'm not going to make you go there, but if you're hungry, you can have it. Proverbs chapter two, verse four to five, the Lord uses passage in my life years ago, and it's been an anchor verse. The Lord promises about the knowledge of God. He says, if you seek for it, search it like hidden treasures. If you search for it, verse five, you'll find it. But only if you search for it. I'm not going to trap you and him you in an ambush. You would make you if you're hungry. I have these treasures to give you beloved their treasures, but they're hidden. They're not automatically ours to enjoy unless we pursue them. The Lord says, I pursued you to give you free salvation. Now I've awakened you. Now I beckon you come pursue me, search after me. I have much treasure to give you, but it's hidden. You're going to have to go after it. But if you want it, you can have it. Colossians chapter two, Paul says the same thing. He says, the treasures, the riches of this man, they have been hidden by the Lord that only the hungry can enjoy them and receive them. Beloved, you can love Jesus and kind of live business as usual Christianity and go to heaven. This is spiritually superficial, which is the lot that so many choose, or you can go after those treasures. They are hidden. They will take effort to go after. They will take a determination and a focus, not for a summer or semester. I'm talking about for decades going after locking in. I'm not backing away. Proverbs 25 verse two, it's the glory of God to hide a matter, to conceal it. God says, it's my glory to hide things are dear to me. I hide them, but a kingly spirit will search them out and will refuse to be denied. The Lord say, I have treasures I've hidden. Do you want them? Have a kingly spirit refused to be denied. There is a deep correlation, a very strong connection between the amount of time we spend studying, praying, and searching out what these descriptions mean in our ability to understand them. If you give more time to it and over the next months and years, you will get more. There is a direct correlation. You say, well, I don't have the same time as another guy. You don't have to compare yourself to the other guy. Do your assignment in the Lord faithfully, turn some things off, turn some things away, even legitimate things. And the Lord says, I will meet you according to the time you have in the hunger you have while you're faithful to the responsibility I gave you. And you don't have to be a good student. You can stare at the same passage for a month, say, Holy Spirit, teach me. Let's look at top of page four. How do you apply these? It's very, very simple, but I want to just give it to you. One, two, three, either self-explanatory, say, I'll be very brief here. See, I use the acronym ARK, A-R-K. Paragraph C. A stands for agreement. We simply agree with these 30 descriptions. We tell Jesus, you are the faithful witness. We agree with them. R, we ask for revelation. K, we keep the prophecy. That's a phrase that Jesus used twice. In the book of Revelation, he said, blessed are you if you keep the prophecy, meaning if you will respond in obedience in your personal life to the revelation I give of myself, he calls that keeping the prophecy. Paragraph D, for instance, number one, we just a simple declaration. You are the faithful witness. You are the ruler of the kings of the earth. You have eyes like fire. You have a face like the sun. The simplicity of saying that to him with affection and gratitude. It's surprising because that's what it takes. As simple as it is, it's so simple. Anyone could do it, but it's so simple. So few do. I think many Christians have never said to Jesus, you are the faithful witness. Thank you. He declared that about himself. We simply say it back to him. Now, when you do that, I encourage you to journal the things that you say, not everything, but the key phrases because the Holy Spirit will give you little phrases and you will hear them out of your own mouth. I've learned to journal because journal is to capture the little phrases because the power of this is in the little phrases, the little pieces of information. You capture them and that's what ends up transforming you. It's so simple that many people just missed. They miss it because of its simplicity. Like for instance, I'll say, Lord, it says that your eyes like the flame of fire. Now, just focus my mind on him. Your eyes are like a flame of fire. I love that about you. Thank you. And then, you know, a little while later, I would add the phrase and your eyes of fire. You're so filled with love and passion and desire for your people. And I went, Oh, okay. I wrote that down filled with passion and desire for your people. And I said, Oh Lord, your eyes are like fire. You have so much desire and passion for your people and what we do moves you. Oh, I wrote that out. What we do moves you. Those little phrases, as you say that the Holy spirit will actually give them to you. And it'll be the first time you ever thought that phrase, write it down and say it often to them. And it will expand and expand. I have a, a, uh, a folder in my laptop for a different folder for each one of these 30 descriptions. And I have a folder for each one of the 18 eternal rewards. And I thank the Lord for him, for them, ask them for, uh, for more information about them. And I talked to him about him and little phrases come. And whenever I get a phrase, I write it down and add it to my folder. One reason we talk so little about Jesus is because we saw it. We talk so little to Jesus. If we talk more to him, we will talk more about him. So we start paragraph D just agreeing. We say what it says. You are, you have your face is like, and then maybe you don't say anything. Lots of times I just say it and I don't have nothing else comes, but I say, I love you because of that. I love this about you. And every now and then another phrase comes and my understanding just keeps growing because it's the spirit actually inspiring you in the most simple way. Then the next thing you do are you ask for a revelation? Holy spirit teach me about Jesus as a faithful witness. The Holy spirit would say, might say something like, I was only waiting for you to ask. I have much to say. You've never asked. And I won't start the conversation. I will wait until you start it. Many believers have never asked the Holy spirit to teach them about these 30 descriptions. Many, but they've never done it once in their life. They've never declared them to Jesus and they've never asked the spirit to declare them back to their heart. We declare them to Jesus and the spirit declares them to us. And it just unfolds little by little inch by inch, month by month, a little here, a little there. It keeps growing and your chain, your emotions change in the process. Then paragraph chief, keep the prophecy. We make a personal response. You are the king of kings. That's the a, the agreement are asked for revelation. Show me the revelation of your kingship. So simple. Okay. Keep the prophecy. I will bring my life under your leadership as the king, my money, my schedule, my time, my resources, my enemies. I will bring them all under your kingship. It's so simple. Anybody could do this. You don't need to be a scholar, but when you do it often little phrases, you start selling them and write them all down. And what's happening. The spirit is declaring to you these truths about this man and beloved. It is our passion to be obsessed with the, with the magnificence of Christ Jesus. Amen. And amen, let's stand. So in this course, we're, we're locked in to these 30 descriptions.