6/28/21-MEET JESUS…

Most of us think we know who Jesus is because of the Bible stories we heard in Sunday school. Most think they’ve met Jesus because they repeated a few words one day at church. Still others believe they’ve met Jesus because they read the Bible on occasion. But have we truly met Him? I can hear the wheels turning and see the furrowed brows. I can even hear some emphatic yeses. But have we met Him?

I’m not speaking of the gentle Jesus meek and mild Jesus. I’m not speaking of the baby Jesus. I’m not speaking of the suffering Jesus. I’m speaking of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah Jesus. The Jesus who Joshua saw with His sword drawn. The Jesus who came and did an inspection of Sodom and Gomorrah and declared judgement and left it looking like a pile of rubble. I’m speaking of the fourth Man in a blazing fiery furnace, heated hotter than normal. I’m speaking of Jesus who gave a den of lions lockjaw. I’m speaking of Jesus who walked on water and commanded the wind and waves to shut up! I’m talking about Jesus who makes demons tremble and scream at His presence. I’m speaking of Jesus who multiplies a sack lunch and a few loaves of bread. I’m speaking of Jesus who has power over death, hell and the grave. That Jesus. Have you met Him?

The Jesus that speaks, “Let there be!” And it is. The Jesus from whom virtue flows incessantly, if by faith you’ll get close enough to touch Him. Have you met this Jesus? The One God has highly exalted and given a Name above every name? Jesus to whom every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that He’s the only King and Lord worthy of our worship? Have you met this Jesus? Do you really know Him? Have you experienced this Jesus? I don’t think so. If we had then our lives and the world at large would be exploding with the manifestation of the things we read about in the scriptures. We’d be living a life of reverence and fear of Him, and we’d be walking in the same authority He did. How can I say that? The disciples did, the prophets of old did, the old saints before us did. So what’s our problem? We need to meet Jesus.

Were the prophets and apostles we read about humans like us? What made them operate in a higher level of power and authority? They met Jesus. The only thing missing for us, if I can say anything, is missing, Is the fact that they were eyewitnesses, except one. Paul. But we are without excuses because we have received everything Paul did by the Holy Spirit, except for being blinded and knocked off a horse. The problem we’re having is we are serving the gentle baby Jesus, the story book Jesus, and not the Lion, not the King of kings and Lord of lords. We want the grace and mercy Jesus. And He’s all that and more. But we’ve been lulled to sleep by the passivity of lazy preachers. We’ve developed dull itching ears.

Let’s meet the Jesus of the Bible. I’ve already given you a foretaste in the introduction. But the Jesus I’d like you to meet is the One that’s on His way back. If we keep seeing Him as the Lamb taken to the slaughterhouse who didn’t open His mouth, we won’t change the way we live. But if we meet the Jesus Joshua met, the Jesus Abraham met, the Jesus Azariah, Mishael and Hananiah met, the Jesus Daniel met, the Jesus Saul met, the Jesus John met. The Jesus who Balaam’s donkey met. The Jesus who Ananias and Sapphira met. Meeting and experiencing Him will change how we live our Christian life.

“I Am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I Am the One who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.” And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across His chest. His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And His eyes were like flames of fire. His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in His right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from His mouth. And His face was like the sun in all its brilliance. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if I were dead. But He laid His right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I Am the First and the Last. I Am the living One. I died, but look—I Am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭1:8, 13-18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and Someone sitting on it. The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled His throne like a rainbow. Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the One sitting on the throne (the One who lives forever and ever), the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the One sitting on the throne (the One who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For You created all things, and they exist because You created what You pleased.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭4:1-3, 9-11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Then everyone—the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person—all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive?”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭6:15-17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for He judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on His head were many crowns. A Name was written on Him that no one understood except Himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and His title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed Him on white horses. From His mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On His robe at His thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all Lords.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭19:11-16‬ ‭

“And I saw a great white throne and the One sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from His presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭20:11-15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Have you met this Jesus? Until we do, we will continue to live haphazard, powerless and ineffective lives. We have been given power and authority, but it certainly doesn’t look like it. Covid had the church running for cover, still is if you listen to and observe most Christians. There’s no way to meet this Jesus and not change. There’s no way to meet this Jesus and people can’t tell it. What are we about people of God? What is our message? We use religious jargon trying to sound spiritual, but to Jesus we’re nothing but a empty suit making unintelligible noises. The world is confused by us. It’s time to wake up! The Kingdom of God isn’t weak and full of excuses. We’re called to demonstrate who the real Jesus is. Are you ready to represent? I pray so. His return is nearer than we think.

Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for Me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed.” Revelation‬ ‭16:15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Go deeper: Acts 5; Acts 9

MEET JESUS….

Written by permission of the Holy Spirit

W. Tennant

June 28, 2021