When You Finally See Jesus

0:01 I've been praying for you guys this morning. because I want something to happen that is impossible for a human being to create. Like, I know I can teach a lesson, get some thoughts across, but there's like, the Bible talks about there's this moment when God takes a veil off of your eyes. you know? So like, let's say, uh, this is me. Okay. And I can kind of see, you know, I can see a little bit of light or this or that. And I feel like a lot of people, for a lot of people, this is, this is how you see Jesus. Like you can kind of see, you kind of go, okay, I can see a little bit of light. Like, but the Bible talks about a moment when God takes the veil off and you're like, oh my gosh, that's who Jesus is?

1:07 where it's not just, well, I've been singing about him. I've been believing in him. I've been talking about him. I kind of believe that he's a son of God. But it's like this veil that's there. And it doesn't matter how much I speak. It's like if you were literally blind. You know, let's say Dalali was literally blind, and I'm just like screaming at her, trust me it is so fun to see it is so beautiful look at me i'm a good-looking man look at me you know it's like that's pointless she's blind you don't talk a blind person into seeing you and the bible says that there are those who are blinded to the glory of christ so I can get up here and scream at you.

2:02 Go, no, you don't understand how beautiful he is. But it's like a miracle, just like the best thing I could do for Dalali if she was blind, would just say, God, you're the only one that can do anything right now. You're the only one who can open her eyes. So would you do that? and some of you, maybe you've been going to church your whole life. And so you just kind of assume, oh yeah, I get it. Jesus, God so loved the world. Yeah. And it's like, do you get how glorious he is? Like, does he bring you so much pleasure? Like, this is all I want to talk about. Yesterday, Lisa and I were speaking at a marriage conference. I don't think I said a single word about marriage. I really didn't because I don't really want to talk about marriage. Marriage is fine. You know, it's, no, no, our marriage is awesome, but compared to Jesus, compared to the glory of Christ, and I was telling the people yesterday, you know why our marriage is so good?

3:17 is because just about every morning, I go into my little prayer room over there, and I'm by myself, and I think about some of the words that Jesus spoke when he says, if you love me, you'll obey my commands, and my Father and I will love you and make our home with you. And so I literally think about God the Father, the Creator, God the Son who made me, the Holy Spirit whom Jesus said, he goes, he's with you and he will be in you. And I sit in a room and I think, I'm alone right now with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. and they made me and I can be one with him. And like Psalm 23, when he says, the Lord's my shepherd, I shall not want. And he talks about how he makes me lie down in green pastures.

4:24 It sits me beside still waters. And he says, my cup overflows. I said, so every morning I get alone with the Lord. By the time I get out of that room, I'm overflowing. Okay. Picture a cup and someone's pouring wine into it and it's just overflowing. It's like, I come out of that room, like, honey, honey, get some of this. It's just, it's spilling over me. I don't come out of there going, I'm a mess. I'm needy. Honey, meet all my needs. It's about Jesus. if you're not fulfilled today, there's nothing I can do for you other than point you to Jesus.

5:16 Other than tell you, look, you know, like Rob has said before, we're like the receptionist at the ER. There's not a whole lot we can do for you other than get you in a room with the great physician. And that's all this is about. We're not a self-help group. I'm not a motivational speaker, although I'm pretty good. But none of that does anything, right? It's just, oh, until you taste and see that the Lord is good, until you can get a room, get in a room and just go, Thank you. God is amazing.

6:03 And he loves me. And he wants to be with me. And he satisfies my soul. Nothing else is going to satisfy you. It's him. That's why I see, for me, no matter what happens in life, I know I can just get alone with God and everything will be fine. Like Psalm 23 says, he restores my soul. He restores my soul. And so I hope that today, if you've never had that experience where it's not a pastor, It's not a friend. It's not a small group. It's just he himself restores your soul. I so want that for you today.

7:02 And again, it's nothing I can do. God has to remove that veil to where you see the glory of Christ and go, wow, he's that great. This is not about just a belief system. It is not about doing moral things and becoming a good person. It's about understanding how beautiful Jesus is. I want to share a passage that I've been memorizing. I encourage you to memorize it too. It's just so, so beautiful. It's Colossians chapter one, starting verse 15. He's talking about Jesus. And it says that he is the image of the invisible God.

7:55 Such an important phrase. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. why this is so important is because for a lot of my life, I didn't understand this. Like I would think about God and all of his glory and all of his holiness. And then I would think about the life of Jesus and the way he lived on the earth, but I kind of separate, I did separate the two. I would think about his majesty, glory, and power. And then when I look at Jesus, I go, wow, that's beautiful, that's wonderful. But I didn't get that if you want to understand him, you need to stare at the person of Jesus, the way he loved.

8:43 I think about in John 13, when Jesus talks about the disciples and it's saying he loved them and he loved them till the end. And Jesus is there at that last supper saying, oh, I so long to be with you. I mean, picture Jesus looking at the disciples that he has spent the last three and a half years with and going, oh, I've been so looking forward to this.

9:16 And it says, having loved them, he loved them till the end. You just see this intimate group And then God says, well, he's the image of the invisible God. So that means when I'm in that room with the Lord, he longs for me the way Jesus was longing for his disciples. And the way he loved them and loved them till the end. It's like, wow, that's God? Yeah, he's the image of the invisible God.

9:49 He's the firstborn of all creation. being the firstborn talks about his priority over everything else as the only begotten son of God. And for by him, all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, or the thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him. I want you to think about something. It says he created everything in heaven and on earth through Jesus. Okay, this is why I don't want to talk about anyone else. I just want to talk about, so if Jesus is here, he spoke everything into existence. In heaven?

10:43 Like we don't even know what's in heaven. We get a few little glimpses, but these beings, the gap for us, we don't even know what these beings look like really. And Jesus created them. Everything, so everything you see here is created by one person, Jesus.

11:08 So why would we talk about anyone else today? Why would we think about the presence of anyone else today? If he made all of this, not just the things we see, but the invisible. Okay, think about this. God made your invisible soul. Jesus made your invisible soul. that part of you, the real part of you that lives on after your body dies, like we're all going to die any day, could be today. Our physical body will die, and then the true us lives on.

12:04 Our souls live on. are invisible. I remember when my dad died, I was 12. Okay, so my mom was already dead, my stepmom was dead, and now my dad's dying, and then we do his funeral. I'm 12 years old, and I just remember thinking, I wonder where he is right now. I remember thinking about death as a 12-year-old and going, so do I just end? I can't just end. I know I don't end.

12:46 Like, what is that about us that knows we don't just end? The Bible says that God created us and he put eternity in our hearts. so something in us knows that we live on, like our soul keeps going. I mean, the thought that God says that he created the invisible things. Think about the mind and the power and the glory to be a being who can create your invisible soul. Just get alone in a room With Jesus Who made your invisible soul It's fascinating. he created things visible and visible, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities.

13:46 We don't even get this stuff. The Bible says it's not about flesh and blood, but it's about this spiritual war and these spiritual beings, these cosmic powers over this present darkness. That's why when I said there's a veil, it's like there's something more going on here. It's not one human being trying to convince another human being. It's like this warfare, the temptations in your life, all those things that just kind of fall right in front of your face. That's not coincidence. There's an enemy that's trying to keep you from seeing the glory of Christ. to blame things on other people rather than recognizing that you could be one with God today and he could fulfill everything.

14:40 and God says, I spoke those dominions, rulers, authorities into existence, and he says, everything, all things were created through him and for him. That word for is so huge to me.

15:02 That means God didn't make me, so I just live on my earth and go, oh, I'm not happy. I want this. God, fix this. Take this away. He goes, no, you were made for me. All things, you were created for him, for Jesus. That's why I don't get up here and talk about me, because I wasn't made for me. I say, hey, let me tell you about Jesus, because the whole reason why I exist is just to tell you about Jesus and how he's the image of the invisible God, how he's the firstborn of all creation. how all things were made through him.

15:53 He created everything. visible and visible, heaven, earth, everything, and we're all made for him. Just dwell on that for a little bit. have you been living for him?

16:21 Did you wake up this morning going, Jesus, I am living for you? He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. in him all things hold together when i thought about that phrase i thought back to biology class high school and i remember them teaching us about the the atoms and how the neutrons and the protons i'm gonna butcher this will king's looking like okay francis is trying to go into biology uh but i'm just going to say the simple things correct me if i'm wrong but uh but i remember as a kid they were talking about how those neutrons and the protons like they they they're like magnet you know when you put those magnets the wrong end together and they just they separate that that's the way those protons and neutrons are right kind of sort of okay just okay just correct me if i'm really wrong okay and uh but the idea was at least when i was a kid no one knew why what held those things together because they should separate and so i actually checked with chat gbt so there and because i wanted to find out now, I go, I wonder what they teach now. Because what I learn in biology and what you guys learn in biology are two different things. It's just science keeps changing and they go, oh no, now it's this, now it's this, now it's this. And 50 years from now, your kids or grandkids will learn something different because it's just, we keep trying to figure stuff out.

18:20 But when I checked with chat GBT, I was like, what holds those, you know, neutrons and protons together. Is that even what it is? Yeah. Okay. And electrons are flying around. Thank you. Thank you. You thought I didn't know. Um, I said, what holds them together? And it says a residing force. what does that mean? There's just some force that holds it together, that resides there. That's it. So it's still the same answer. We don't know. Like what? Why do these things? And yet when you see the splitting of an atom, you see this explosion happening. But what is that force that holds them together? Well, Scripture tells us. He holds all things together. That means, okay And so an average human being Has 7 octillion atoms Okay, so that's 7 billion, billion, billion atoms Okay, that's what I'm made up of That's a lot Of atoms and every one of those atoms is held together.

19:43 If one atom splits, a nuclear bomb goes off. An atomic bomb goes off. So if one of my atoms splits, we're all dead. This whole area is dead. And you're not made of 7 billion, billion, billion of these atoms held together by one person. that's why I don't want to talk about anyone else. Jesus right now is holding all things together. That sun and we feel the warmth as it's 93 million miles away. Who keeps it exactly 93 million miles away? Doesn't let it creep into 92 million miles away because then we would all melt. Who keeps it from going 94 million miles away Otherwise, we'd all freeze.

20:36 There's one person. This is the person I get alone with every day. This is why I'm not needy. Because I go, that person who created my invisible soul, the Bible says he jealously yearns for the spirit that he placed in me. So not only did he make my invisible soul But he's saying, for instance, I want your invisible soul And I want your invisible soul to be one with me That's what he wants The creator of all of this Who holds all things together and he is the head of the body, the church.

21:37 another thing I learned in biology is that it is vital for every human being to have a head is that true? it is, see I know my biology it'll mock me he says that he is the head of the body Jesus is the head of the body, the church. So we come together. as a body, and we say, Jesus, you are the head.

22:26 Lead us. Tell us what to do. You're the head of the body. He's the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. he's the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.

22:53 He was the one who says, I will die and I will rise again. He's the only one that pulled that off to say, I'm going to die and I will rise again. Why? So in everything, he'd be preeminent. first want to do that I'm going to do that I'm going to die I'm going to rise again Jesus showed me the way. He is the way. That in everything he might be preeminent. It is important to God that he is first in everything. That we never make church about you or me or anyone else. But that he is always preeminent. That he is always first. That's why we always take communion.

23:48 because we don't want to neglect him. And it's very easy. Like if you're going through tough things to address this issue or that issue, rather than just pointing you to Jesus, then all things he might be preeminent. For in him, all the fullness of God can never think of Jesus as less than God. He says, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in him And through him to reconcile to himself all things Whether on earth or in heaven Making peace by the blood of his cross Such a beautiful phrase Through him to reconcile See, because of our rebellion against God we needed reconciliation and he says that he reconciled us reconciled us through the blood of his cross for you who were once alienated.

25:01 Okay, so we were all, picture yourself alienated from God. Okay, here's God, the source of all this life, and then here's you, completely rejected, completely apart, alienated, hostile in mind.

25:23 Now, some of you in your heads, you're thinking, Wait, I was never hostile towards God. I was never... Whenever you sin, There's this, I know what you want, but I'm going to do the opposite. and how many people on earth right now are saying he has no right to tell me I can't please myself sorry if acorns drop on you it's been going crazy here but this whole idea that the world teaches like he can't tell you you can't do this you can't tell me this is sinful it's this hostile attitude toward the God who made these commands He says you were alienated Hostile in mind Doing evil deeds But God reconciled you Through his body of flesh By his death In order to present you Holy and blameless And above reproach before him So I was alienated from God, hostile in my mind, doing evil deeds, and then through his body of flesh, he reconciled me to God by his death.

27:13 so that right now, before God, okay, look at me. With all the sin and all the things I've done wrong, God looks at me right now as holy, blameless, and above reproach. So I was alienated. in fact, Ephesians says, I was by nature an object of wrath.

27:49 Like he should pour out all of his wrath upon me because of my evil deeds. And yet that act of Jesus dying in the flesh presented me holy and blameless. That's how powerful his blood is. he could take me, alienated, hostile in mind, an object of wrath, and make me holy and blameless before him. this is why we really don't want to talk about anyone else.

28:31 This is why this is the answer to all of your problems. He is the answer to all of your problems. and we don't want to get sidetracked by anything else. That's why the early church devoted themselves to the Lord's Supper. is because they always wanted this first in their lives, to remember the body and blood of Jesus. but then in that last verse, in verse 23, he says, If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

29:26 He says, If indeed you continue in the faith. Now, you probably know people who called themselves believers at some point in their lives. And then for one reason or another, they just started shifting.

29:51 Maybe it was a temptation, maybe it was a relationship, but something became more beautiful than Jesus. and they didn't continue in the faith. That's a scary thought because the Bible says he can present you holy and blameless without reproach if indeed you continue in the faith.

30:22 Steadfast, steady, not shifting from the hope of the gospel. The hope of the good news. There have been a lot of times where I'll speak one Sunday and and then a few days later someone in the gathering does something so mind-blowing so evil so dark and i go whoa what happened i should have said something last sunday uh and now it's too late I mean I've been at this a long time so I've seen some crazy crazy things and I don't want to gross you out by it I'm just saying that there's a real battle going on and you never know what's really going on in someone's heart and see for me at my age you know I fell in love with Jesus when I was around 14 or 15 so I've been walking with him for 45 years and it keeps getting better and every morning this morning I was in my prayer room on my knees just going this is so good I'm with you holy God the Trinity it just keeps getting better so it's hard for me to even imagine straying from him but maybe there's some of you today who you've believed in him but maybe

32:27 there's been a veil over your eyes because you're like I don't see what's that what's so great about this I mean, I want to believe in him because I don't want to go to hell. I want to be forgiven, but I don't like long to be in a room with him. I don't really enjoy like a deep relationship with him. and maybe this week other things are looking more beautiful to you because you don't see the glory of Christ, that he's enough.

33:05 And your life isn't overflowing with the presence of Christ. before we take communion, I just want to pray again that God would open your eyes. In fact, it's interesting. I just thought of this. in, I think it's Luke 24, when Jesus is walking with those strangers on the road to Emmaus. he's talking to them and they don't get it. They don't understand that they're walking with Jesus. And then after they beg him to stay and have dinner with them, Jesus takes a piece of bread and he breaks it. and it says when he broke it, their eyes were opened and they realized, that's Jesus.

34:16 But then he vanishes. Where'd he go? There are some scholars who believe he actually entered into the bread. and the cup. I'm not saying that is what happened. I'm just saying, well, it's an interesting theory. And that's why when we take of the bread and the cup, that that was a picture of somehow Christ being in the bread and in the cup. That's why Paul says, when you eat of this bread, you're actually going to fellowship with the body of Christ. When you drink of this cup, you actually fellowship with the blood of Christ.

35:09 something in the word says, for those of you who don't believe in Jesus, please do not take the bread and the cup. This is such a dangerous thing. For those of you who maybe still hold bitterness against someone else in the body of Christ, please don't take the bread and cup today. It's very dangerous. Because Paul says, if you don't recognize the body of Christ, You could eat and drink judgment upon yourself. And he tells the Corinthians, that's why some of you are weak and sick, and some of you died because you ate and drank in an unworthy manner. And so that's why before we take a communion week, okay, Lord, is there any part of your body that I'm not recognizing, that I've not forgiven? and we just go, okay, am I worthy to partake?

36:13 Well, what did we just learn? That he makes us holy, blameless, above reproach. How? By his death. It was by his body of flesh, through his death, we become wholly blameless. So only if you believe in this, take of it. But the Bible also says that this is how we proclaim his death until he comes. So somehow it's not just me standing up here and telling you, look, the son of God came down, took the form of a man and he became the image of the invisible God and that through his death,

37:02 By the blood of his cross, he took, God took him who knew no sin. He became sin on our behalf. And he died on that cross so that we could become righteous, holy and blameless, like that passage says. So I proclaim that. But the Bible says there's something that happens. Okay, for those who have not given your life to Jesus just yet, there's some way, and I don't completely get it, that by you watching us take of the body and blood of Christ, somehow that proclaims to you his death until he returns.

37:43 And so I've got to believe it all goes together, that somehow, just like on that road to Emmaus, the bread is broken, and suddenly those guys go, oh, I get it. that today, as we partake, those of us who believe, as we take of the body and blood of Jesus, I believe something mysterious happens. That somehow, in some unexplainable way, we get to fellowship with the body and blood of Jesus.

38:24 And somehow, in some mysterious way, those of you who've never believed in Jesus, you could possibly have your eyes open today where you go. I get it. I want him. I want to be one with him.