How Well Do You See Jesus?
by Dr. John Barnett

What can keep us from seeing Jesus in daily life?

"Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing' - and do not know that you are ... blind, and naked - I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments ... that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see" (Revelation 3:17-18, emphasis added).

Danger 1 - Beware of the sins of old age. These sins (which can occur at any age) can erase Christ's "Well done!" Remember Solomon: he began by sacrificing thousands of animals and building the most beautiful worship place for the Lord, but he failed to finish well. He got to heaven yet so as by fire. (In today's language, we'd say that Solomon got into heaven "by the skin of his teeth.") What are these sins of old age?

- The Lust for Comfort and Convenience: This sin is epidemic. We continually lust for comfort. A life consumed with a lust for comfort and convenience like that won't finish well.

- Greed for Recognition: Older people usually want to receive recognition of some sort. In fact, it seems that almost everyone lusts for the applause of others. We must beware of seeking approval from people and instead seek approval only from God.

- Covetousness for Security: Our whole country has become security-obsessed. People want to know how to best secure retirement funds, how to secure college education funds, how to get job security, and how to secure their homes and other possessions. We are caught up in the pursuit of security, and are wasting valuable time and energy to protect things we cannot keep.

These sins of old age - the lust for comfort, greed for recognition, and covetousness for security - can erase Christ's "Well done!"

Danger 2 - Beware of the problem of exceptionism. What is exceptionism? It is thinking that your life is an exception to God's Word. Thus you excuse yourself from doing anything for heaven because of things like your past, pain, poverty, or poor self-image.

- Think carefully on this: you will never be in the future what you are not becoming today.

- If you are not responding to and obeying God's Word now, and you feel like you're always an exception, that attitude will stay with you till the end.

Danger 3 - Beware of unmortified pockets of pride. "Unmortified pockets of pride" means allowing pride to grow can make you secretly, inwardly proud of your intellect (thinking you are smarter than others), or proud of your achievements, or proud of your goodness ("I'm not as bad as they are").

- Sin, in the light of sin, never does look bad, but sin in the light of God's holiness always looks bad.

- Pockets of pride in your life can erase Christ's "Well done!"

Helen H. Lemmel (1864-1961), the blind hymn writer, gave us this beautiful song. I invite you to turn your eyes fully upon your precious Jesus as you sing the words to this great song. Its chorus packs a powerful message for today's church!

Thursday, November 01, 2007