Is Jesus Visible?

Spiritual And Christ Centred

The kind of Christian events I mostly go to are very encouraging. The people there come because they are passionate about Jesus, His life, His gospel, and His Kingdom. I find these people to be like-minded (Romans 15:5). Even though we may be very different in background, temperament and lifestyle, we have a healthy kind of unity and this is something Jesus asks of us all (John 17:23, Ephesians 4:11).

I see Jesus clearly at these prayer meetings, discussion groups, house church meetings and other places; He is clearly in every part of the meetings regardless of their stated purpose; often the whole time is worship in different forms, and is very lovely. One can feel optimistic about our future when the "the Kingdom of God is at hand" (Matthew 10:6-8) in this way.

Perhaps it is just me, but these days I seem to hear a great many testimonies, both the kind where people relate the brilliant changes that knowing Jesus has brought to their lives, and also the testimonies of supernatural miracles people have seen or been blessed by.

Recently a fellow told of a desperate time in his life. His name is Colin. When he was only 4 years old he was placed in a Salvation Army foster home because there was so much trouble between his parents. He remembers sitting on the back steps of the house feeling very alone and thinking that he may never again have a dad. Suddenly Colin was aware that his Heavenly Father was there with him and was filling him with the certain knowledge that He would always be there for him, that regardless of his relationship with his earthly parents, God would be his Abba Father forever! Amazing. Colin has never forgotten that moment, or Father God's promise. What I found so compelling was his age at the time, just 4. I have no memories before age 5 and those are vague. Colin's memory of that time is still crystal clear and he has become a man who is sold out for Jesus; he aches for our country and the legacy our generation will leave to our children.

In the Old Testament Israel would often remember what God had done for their country's fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Today we don't have to look so far back; we can see Jesus and Abba Father at work all around us. We have been given the heart and the eyes to see (1 John 2:20,27, 2 Corinthians 1:21), we live under the New Covenant. Not only do we have Jesus dwelling within each one of us (John 14:16-17, Colossians 3:3), not only are we filled with His Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4, 4:31), we stand (present tense continuous) in the very grace of God (Romans 5:2)!

When Jesus was ministering on the earth many people could see Him, and many others wanted to see Him. At a Passover festival some Greeks came up to the disciple Philip and said "Sir, we would like to see Jesus" (John 12:21). At the same time the Pharisees, who were very important people in the Jewish faith, were angry and saying "We are getting nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after Him" (John 12:19). Clearly Jesus was very visible at that time.

These days, I believe, are different. I think that to vast rafts of people, Jesus is not visible. Today the population of our land seems to be little impacted by Christianity.

At Bible College we learned about "the visible church" and "the invisible church". These are terms I had not previously encountered but now find meaningful. The visible church is visible to the world, sometimes seen only as buildings we drive past. At other times we may see Christian people on the panels of TV shows, where they seem to share or agree with the views and values of the non-Christian panel members, (perhaps this is why they were chosen). The visible church often has more form than faith and can be religious, (Jesus got upset when He saw people being religious (Matthew 23:23, 23:25-33)). The visible church is hierarchical and corporate in structure and function, and very concerned with money and celebrity, it also tends to adopt, or at least accommodate, the world's trends and fashions. Happily we also often see strong Christians and moral values, and excellent social programs, in the visible church.

Only God can discern who is in the invisible church. It is purely spiritual and is Christ centred. It comprises God's children (Romans 8:14, 16), and demonstrates a certain unity; it was described by Paul as “we, though many, are one body” (Romans 12:5). Mostly, the people who are the invisible church are members of the visible church but are not its main influencers. They stay focused on Jesus, His Gospel and His work in the world, they are repentant, born again, in-filled with Jesus by His Spirit, and humble; their lives have been radically changed. Many Scriptures tell us what to expect:

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a person is born again they cannot see the Kingdom of God'" (John 3:3).

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he [or she] is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:17-18).

"For neither is circumcision of any importance, nor un-circumcision, but [only] a new creation [the result of a new birth and a new nature in Christ Jesus, the Messiah]" (Galatians 6:15 Amplified).

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3).

An example of visible and invisible church can be seen during the ascendancy of Adolph Hitler and Nazism in Germany in the 1930s. Hitler blamed the Jews for everything wrong in the world and set about ridding Germany of the whole Jewish population. In November of 1938 paramilitary forces and civilians were encouraged to round up Jewish men and attack Jewish synagogues, hospitals, schools, businesses and homes. This event is called Kristallnacht, (crystal night), because people all over Germany would remember the sound of breaking glass. Nearly 100 were killed during that night, more than 30,000 men were imprisoned, many never to be seen or heard from again. More than 1000 synagogues were trashed or destroyed.

It may seem strange to us, but the Christian church was virtually silent about this atrocity. Indeed a large portion of the church in Germany commended Hitler for his actions and set about removing Jewish people from their congregations and Jewish references from the canon of the Bible, they began by removing the whole of the Old Testament. These church people were keen to be visible to the world.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a true Christian during the Hitler years. However, moral opposition proved increasingly ineffective as avenues of public dissent were shut down by government authorities; Christian dissenters became virtually invisible to the world. Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and then executed a few days before WWII ended. He is now rightly regarded as a Christian hero.

I have been pondering what is happening to our Western style of culture and of our unique constitutional and legal freedoms, all of which can be shown to have come from our Christian heritage. As in Germany in 1938, the Christian church in Australia has been strangely silent during these times where the definition of "family" has been changed and freedoms of speech, religion and association are being attacked and reduced and may soon be removed altogether. Some Christian leaders and some congregations are even accommodating to the new social trends, many of which God sees as an "abomination" (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13, Deuteronomy 22:5, Romans 1:26). 

I ask myself, how can this be? The answer I get from Scripture and prayer is clear; there is a deceiver in our midst (John 10:10, 2 John 1:7, Revelation 12:9). The deceiver is Satan and he never stops working against Jesus' truth, he spreads darkness. In these days, as in other times in history, he seems to be particularly active and we feel the impact of his work. "The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4).

All this prompts me to remember what Jesus was so clear about. We are not to focus on sin; He has dealt with all sin and will help each of us to grow out of that sin which is in our hearts and our lives. Focusing on sin just makes us judgmental. 

Instead, we are to love God with everything we have "and to Love your neighbour as yourself" (Luke 10:27). Our "neighbour" is everyone around and about us.

Again, I am encouraged. When I gather with other Christians I’ve noticed a clear increase in our mutual desire to unite as one body, a readiness to repent of our own sins and those of our nation, and an increase in prayer life. These are three critical foundations for revival, and we know that revival can turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6), (really, "right side up").

The unity, fervour and glory of the very early church brought the downfall of Rome, the biggest, most powerful, and arguably the most cruel empire the world had ever known.

In the 1700s the church was moribund, (in decline, lacking vitality or vigour), and stiff; it had become religious, with tradition and form rather than the dynamic spiritual life and the light of Jesus flowing in rivers of living water. (Much of today's church is like this). John and Charles Wesley were Anglican ministers; they reached a point where they actively sought Christ and the new life promised in Scripture. 

Ultimately they did meet Jesus in an astonishing way; He came to them personally, and filled them with "a strange warmth" as they discovered His loving forgiveness. George Whitfield joined the Wesleys and they all began to preach the gospel as they had come to know it. All three were ostracised from their denomination, and then travelled far and wide preaching Jesus crucified and risen, Saviour of sinners, bringer of life in the Spirit. This was the beginning of the Methodist movement and one of the greatest times of spiritual and social revival in all of history.

Jesus became visible to millions. Now I, and others that I know, are praying that Jesus will raise up Christians of great stature and humility, and greater obedience, to bring His Word in our time and for the next generations.

I now believe that we are in a new time when God is keeping a remnant of His people for the Kingdom of God in the future. Throughout history He has preserved people:

•  Joseph was leader of a remnant during a famine (Genesis 45) 

•  King Hezekiah was assured that a remnant of God's people would grow during the attacks of the Assyrians (2 Kings 18 and 19) 

•  In a time of Baal worshipers, high places, Asherah poles and idols, King Josiah was able to bring God's Word and revitalise the remnant who had suffered two pagan kings (2 Chronicles 34) 

•  In the time of Haggai the remnant of the people began work to restore the house of the Lord (Haggai 1); 

•  Even in New Testament times Paul reported that "at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace" (Romans 11:5).

Am I part of a remnant today? (Or do I think too highly of myself?) I cannot know; it is enough for me to press on, to seek Jesus' face, and His will for me, and to follow Him. "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain" (Psalm 127:1).

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ" (Ephesians 5:15-21).

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14).

Hallelujah! Praise Jesus!

Permalink

https://www.psalmsofjohn.com/2018/11/is-jesus-visible.html

Praise Jesus.