04/09/2017
Have you seen Jesus? I am not talking about the feeling that comes over us when we first believe in faith, but in a one on one encounter with the risen Lord. When it occurred did it change your life forever; greater even than even the moment you first believed?
Oswald Chambers wrote of seeing Jesus sometime after being saved. He understood what even a glimpse of Jesus does to one's life.
"Being saved and seeing Jesus are not the same thing. Many are partakers of God's grace who have never seen Jesus, you can do the same, other things do not appeal as they used to do." - Oswald Chambers
How do we come to believe without seeing? We do so by faith. Paul spoke to the Hebrews concerning this as he recounted to them the story of Moses leaving Egypt...
“By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.”
Hebrews 11:27 ESV
And yet we can see Jesus today, on His own terms and at His own time. When He reveals Himself to us in our lives, that encounter will change us again in a manner that no one else can understand, but one that expands our faith mightily as Thomas' faith was increased by placing his hand in the side of Jesus. Paul also spoke of seeing Jesus...
“But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”
Hebrews 2:9 ESV
I am blessed in having more than one meeting with our Lord, but one in particular was when I felt the hands of angels on me and knew that my daughter was going to be healed of addiction. I can't describe that moment to you in its entirety; I couldn't describe it to the two men who were praying for her through me at that moment. It took me time to understand what had occurred, but It changed me as I watched Him heal my daughter, and I will never be the same again. Even before we see Him, He is busy changing our lives... preparing us for a close encounter with Him that will transport us to a place of faith that might have taken us years to reach otherwise... if at all.
“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
1 Peter 1:8-9 ESV
Jesus can appear to us in many ways, I spoke in a previous devotion of refusing a beggar in front of a jewelry store on a cold December day. That day changed me forever but it wasn't until He was gone that I realized I had just turned away Jesus; I had failed Him much as Peter had. On another occasion I was instantly propelled from drowning in a lake to the shore, and then there was the time I heard His voice say "The last time!" Concerning my mother in law's final communion in church. Jesus will allow us to see Him, but it is never when we expect it... but always when we need Him.
“After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.”
Mark 16:12-13 ESV
When our encounter occurs it is personal beyond our ability to convey. If He were going to reveal Himself to a crowd, He would have done so, but when He touches you... it is just for the two of you. Sure, you might be able to describe in summary what transpired, but the real crux of the meeting remains hidden within you and only manifests itself in your faith, and in your life, for others to see.
I would like to close this morning with some words written by Oswald Chambers. He tells us of seeing Jesus and the effect it has on our lives...
"Always distinguish between what you see Jesus to be, and what He has done for you. If you only know what He has done for you, you have not a big enough God; but if you have had a vision of Jesus as He is, experiences can come and go, you will endure "as seeing Him Who is invisible."" - Oswald Chambers
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the encounters I have had with your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you Father for the change those moments have had on my life and faith. I have believed in You and Jesus since childhood, but when I come face to face with your Son, I find a mature and personal faith that I cannot describe outside the spirit. Lord, reveal your presence to other believers as they seek you. Let them know your Son Jesus personally in their lives and let it change them for all time. Open their eyes Father so that when Jesus walks with them, they will know Him. Let their hearts burn within them, just as mine has, as He reveals scripture to them in a way that is without equal. You are a God of immense proportion and yet you deal with each of us personally.. thank you Father... Praised be your name, now and through eternity.
Rich Forbes
“They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?"”
Luke 24:32 ESV