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You Will See Me

“Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.” John 14:19

Do you see Jesus, beloved? According to Jesus’ own words, you ought to. That’s one of the rights and privileges of being His disciple. While the world cannot see Him, His followers can.

Perhaps that statement has raised your eyebrows in disbelief. After all, seeing Jesus was a blessing reserved for those who lived in His day, right? How can you and I see Jesus?

Yet before He left them, Jesus told His Disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.” John 14:18-19

Dear one, followers of Jesus aren’t just supposed to hear about Him at church. We’re supposed to see Him at work.

I’ll admit that for many years I didn’t see Jesus. I went to church. I had memorized Scripture. I had followed someone through the recital of the “sinner’s prayer” and asked Jesus to be my Savior. But I couldn’t see any evidence of Jesus at work in my life, and that left me floundering in my Christianity, doubting my salvation, and wondering if He was even real.

Can you relate? Do you see Jesus at work in and around you? Or are you left trusting that Jesus exists only because you’ve heard stories of how others have experienced Him? Are you secretly longing to have your own story to share?

You, dear one, are meant to witness Jesus revealed in your life. That blessing is available to you by the power of the Holy Spirit. Consider Jesus’ words from Luke 4:18.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed.”

Jesus came to set the oppressed free and restore sight to the blind. He didn’t claim that promise merely for those suffering the limitations of physical blindness. Jesus speaks that promise to you and me. The gift of the Spirit He sent us after His death and resurrection restores our spiritual sight.

So how can you experience the revelation of Jesus in your life? Let’s see what Jesus had to say about it.

“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” John 14:21

Did you see His promise, dear one? Jesus claims He will love and reveal Himself to a very distinct group. He will show Himself to those who love Him.

Seeing Jesus isn’t about how often we go to church or how much Scripture we know. Seeing Jesus at work relates directly to the condition of our hearts.

Do you want to see Jesus reveal Himself? He asks one thing: offer Him your heart. Fully. Completely. Unashamedly. Jesus simply requires that you love Him.

That was the part I missed all those years. All the rituals of religion couldn’t open my eyes to see what I desperately needed. I had to open my heart to Him. I had to love Him. And I had to demonstrate that love by walking in obedience to His commands. I had to be willing to follow where He was leading me. 

Here’s the great news. Ezekiel 36:26-27 teaches,

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”

The ability to love and obey Jesus has been given to you by the Spirit Jesus sent. You need only ask Him to empower you to love Jesus as He deserves. The Spirit within you will “circumcise your heart” to love Him (Deuteronomy 30:6). And as you draw on His strength and submit to His authority, He will “move you to follow” His commands. As you follow Jesus through loving obedience, you will see Him revealed in your life.

Don’t settle for someone else’s experience of Jesus, beloved. He longs to give you your own.

 

Out on the Water

"Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. Matthew 14:29

I love Peter. He wasn’t one who played it safe, except, of course, for that fateful night when he heard the rooster crow. 

With the exception of denying our Lord at His arrest, Peter is probably most known for his brief trek upon the surface of the water. He alone held the privilege of experiencing that miracle. But then again, no one else got out of the boat.

Peter’s stroll on the lake has ignited many faith-filled believers into action over the centuries. Citing his example, eager disciples leap from their safe circumstances and plunge into the water to trust God for their miracle just like Peter did. Sometimes they get it. Sometimes they don’t.

Have you ever taken a leap of faith that didn’t result in the outcome you expected? Has it left you doubting God’s faithfulness?

We often miss a vital part of Peter’s story, an action he took that we commonly overlook. Before Peter took one step out on that water, he asked Jesus to command him to.

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” Matthew 14:28

Jesus responded with one word, “Come,” signaling to Peter that his journey upon the water was within His will.

Peter didn’t just leap in faith hoping Christ would catch him. He first sought the Lord’s permission. Then he stepped out in faith in direct obedience to Jesus’ command.

We would be wise to follow Peter’s example. Many times, we just jump out on the water without ever bothering to ask God if He’d like us to. Instead of witnessing God’s miraculous provision, we end up in over our heads.

God’s promises flow into our lives when we position ourselves within His will. We express true faith when we walk in obedience to His direction, not when we author our own plans and assume He’ll join us in them.

Do you recall Jesus words from John 10:27?

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me."

Peter knew Jesus would meet him on the water because He gave him His consent to proceed. Supernatural power flows at the Word of the Lord, not just because we desire it to. We must seek our Lord’s direction and follow Him into His will if we want to experience His power.

Perhaps that raises an unsettling question for you. If you have sought God’s will and stepped out in faith but didn’t get the outcome you expected, does that mean your actions were not within His will?

Consider Jesus’ words to the disciples of John the Baptist in Matthew 11:6,

“Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”

Jesus’ words came in response to a question John posed from a prison cell, “Are you the one who was to come or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:3)

These are surprising words considering John was the one who announced Jesus to be the Messiah.

. . . John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

I guess prison walls have a way of obstructing our view. He had been so certain God had spoken (John 1:32-34) and had freely yielded himself to His service, yet he found himself in circumstances he couldn’t explain. They didn’t make sense if Jesus was really all He claimed to be, and so his certainty faded to doubt. And Jesus responded,

Blessed is the one who does not fall away when I don’t act in the way he expects.

When you have sought God’s will and stepped out full of faith in obedience to His call, you needn’t fear. Even if, for a time, things don’t look like you expected them to, He is still exactly who He claims to be. One day, all will be revealed. Until then, your job is to trust. And according to Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:6, that trust will find its way to a blessing.

Don’t allow fear to keep you watching from the sidelines. Choose to live like Peter. Seek the Lord’s direction and step out of the boat in obedience to His call. But if the outcome of your faith falls short of your expectations, heed Jesus’ words and don’t fall away. Eventually, your faith will result in blessing.

You Will See Me

“Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.” John 14:19

Do you see Jesus, beloved? According to Jesus’ own words, that’s one of the rights and privileges of being His disciple. While the world cannot see Him, His followers can.

Perhaps that statement causes your eyebrows to rise in disbelief. Seeing Jesus was a blessing reserved for those who lived in His day, before He returned to the Father, right? How can we see Jesus? Yet before He left, He told His Disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.” John 14:18-19

I will admit to you that for many years I didn’t see Jesus. I went to church. I had memorized Scripture. I had followed someone through the recital of the “sinner’s prayer” and had asked Jesus to be my Savior, but I couldn’t see any evidence of Jesus at work in my life. It left me doubting my salvation and wondering if He was even real.

Can you relate to my experience? Do you see Jesus at work in and around you? Or are you left trusting that Jesus exists only because you’ve heard stories of how others have experienced Him? Are you secretly longing to have your own stories to share?

You, dear one, are meant to witness Jesus revealed in your life. That blessing is available to you by the power of the Holy Spirit Jesus sent. Consider Jesus’ words from Luke 4:18.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed.”

Jesus came to set the oppressed free and restore sight to the blind. His promise wasn’t only for those suffering the limitations of physical blindness. Jesus speaks that promise to you and me. The gift of the Spirit He sent us after His death and resurrection restores our spiritual sight.

How can you experience the revelation of Jesus in your life? Let’s see what Jesus had to say about it.

“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” John 14:21

Did you see His promise, dear one? Jesus claims He will love and reveal Himself to a very distinct group. He will show Himself to those who love Him.

Seeing Jesus isn’t about how often we go to church or how much Scripture we know. Seeing Jesus at work relates directly to the condition of our hearts.

If you want to see Jesus, He simply requires that you love Him. That was the part I missed all those years. All the ritual of religion couldn’t open my eyes to see what I desperately needed. I had to open my heart to Him. I had to love Him. And I had to demonstrate that love by walking in obedience to His commands as He led me.

Here’s the great news. Ezekiel 36:26-27 teaches,

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”

The ability to love and obey Jesus has been given to you by the Spirit Jesus sent. You need only ask Him to empower you to love Jesus as He deserves. The Spirit within you will “circumcise your heart” to love Him (Deuteronomy 30:6). And as you draw on His strength and submit to His authority, He will “move you to follow” His commands. As you follow Jesus through loving obedience, you will see Him revealed in your life.

Don’t settle for someone else’s experience of Jesus. Perhaps it’s time you had your own.