WE DO NOT SEE JESUS
By Neal Pollard
INTRODUCTION
A. 1 Pt 1:3-9-Blessed be
the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, & undefiled, & that fadeth not
away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through
faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 Wherein ye greatly
rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through
manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious
than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto
praise & honour & glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8 Whom having not
seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice
with joy unspeakable & full of glory: 9 Receiving the end of your faith, even
the salvation of your souls.
1. The remarkable thing about the Christians in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia & Bithynia, accord. to Peter, is that they had placed their hope on a Savior they had never laid eyes on
a. Maybe, sometimes we assume that all
the 1st-C. Christians were eyewitnesses to the life of Christ
b. But these folks were converted to one "whom having not seen" they loved,
believed in, & rejoiced in
B. Of Course, For
Over 1.9K Yrs, People Have Believed & Obeyed One Whose Existence They Know About
Only Thru A Book Which Has Survived For That Same Period Of Time
C. Jesus Must Have Been A Sight To See–
1. We are led to believe that He was
probably not physically attractive (Is 53:2-He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
2. But to watch Him in motion must’ve been overwhelming (the compassion, the
teaching, the debating, the healing, walking on water, disappearing in crowds,
holding little children)
D. His Enemies
Watched His Every Move (Lk 20:20)
E. The Needy Crowds Saw Him & Ran Up To Be Near Him (Mk 9:15)
F. The Chief Priests & Officers Saw His Beaten Body & Cried Out For His
Crucifixion (Jn 19:6)
G. The Soldiers Saw Him On The Cross & Watched Him There (Mt 27:36)
H. The Centurion Saw The Way He Died & Confessed Him (Mk 15:39)
I. The Disciples Looked Steadfastly Into Heaven As He Ascended (Ac 1:10)
J. Saul Was Blinded By Jesus On The Road To Damascus (Ac 9:8)
K. John Saw Him In A Vision (Rv 1:17), & Never Again Have Men Laid Eyes Upon The
Son Of Man
L. Jesus Does Not Appear To Us Physically Today, But We Can See Him In His Word
1. That word tells us about His body
(the church) & His head (or authority)
2. We read what He is & what He wants us to be--& He tells us to imitate Him (1
Pt 2:21)
M. Thru It We
Can, Like Paul, Know Him Better Than Most Did When They Lit. Saw Him (2 Co 5)
N. If We Can Look At Jesus & See How Things Ought To Be, We Know Much Of What We
See Isn’t
O. There Are Some Directions In Which We Can Look & We’ll Never See Jesus–
I. WE DON’T
SEE JESUS IN HUMANISM
A. It’s Fair To Say That
The Prevailing School Of Thot In America Is Secular Humanism
1. There are religious groups, like
the Unitarian Universalists & New Agers, who are essentially humanists
2. But mostly humanism is the philosophy of those who have rejected the reality
of God
B. Ankerberg &
Weldon–Secular humanism of course is committed to complete faith in the power of
man & his reason & logically denies all power to God.
C. Humanism Has No Answers To The Great Questions Of Life, Only Hunches
1.Humanist Thomas Owen-Towle-I have no set creed, no God, no sure salvation, no ultimate answer, but I have plenty of hunches about the reality of things & am betting my life upon those hunches
a. What a gamble that is, when one
man’s hunch is as good as another’s
b. What a gamble when the Bible speaks of eternity & judgment (Pr 14:12)
D. Humanism Is Destructive Because It Puts Too Much Faith In Man
1. In humanism, man is the ultimate authority in deciding right & wrong
a. Rutgers professor David Ehrenfeld, in The Arrogance Of Humanism: Humanism is destroying everything upon which human survival & happiness depend, including the family & small communities, our best agriculture, control over energy, the meaning of language, & much more, all because of a misguided faith in the supremacy of human reason power. In fact, some of humanism’s religious assumptions are among the most destructive ideas in common currency
2. Trusting selfish people to do what’s right & good, rather than putting our trust in the Lord, can’t be logically defended
a. Many examples could be given, but
just consider the issue of war
b. Human beings seem to relish it. The Stockton Herald ‘s survey: Since 3600 BC
the world has only known 292 yrs of peace. In 55 centuries, there’ve been 14,531
wars in which over 3.6 billion people have been killed. On any given day in the
world there’s an estimated 30-100 conflicts somewhere
E. Folks, The Point Is That Replacing God W/Talk Of Atheism & Evolution Has Consequences
1. Is 2:22-Stop trusting in man, who
has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?
2. Jer 17:5-Thus says the Lord, "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And
makes flesh his strength,& whose heart turns away from the Lord
F. There Is No Place For Christ In Humanism, For It Has Its Own Wrong Definitions Of Sin & Salvation
II. WE DON’T
SEE JESUS IN DENOMINATIONALISM
A. There Have Been Several
Developments In The Last Week Or Two That Are Very Telling:
1. In N.O., LA, the SBC concluded on
6/13/01. They expressed some wonderful convictions, condemning network TV’s
"making a mockery of Christians" & their promotion of HOMO & ABORT. They also
are encouraging a tuffer stand on divorce. As a body, they made a resolution
asking congregations to voluntarily impose limits on their ability to divorce.
Also at the convention was a contingency vying for gay rites. The delegates at
these conventions vote on what will & won’t be taught, & these delegates report
these decisions in their individual congregations. These conventions carry a
certain AMT of weight & authority. Almost TEN yrs. ago there was nearly a split
in the SBC over gay issues. Whoever carries the vote carries the influence
2. At the same time, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church ended 6/16.
The central issue was the attempt to repeal the 1997 ban on openly gay priests
serving this denomination. A 17-member task force was appt. to get the pulse of
the denomination on issues like the diety of Christ, Bible authority, Bible
interpretation, & church organization & report back to the convention. The
denomination is in favor of abortion rights.
B. Denominationalism, By Definition, Means To Be Fragmented & Divided
1. What divides the religious world is people following the doctrines of men rather than the teaching of Christ (Mt 15:9; 1 Cor 1:10,13-Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
C. Where Christ Has Spoken, We Don’t Have A Rite To Take Votes & Pass Resolutions
1. We don’t have a right to form
bodies or delegations to vote on doctrinal matters
2. Our sole authority for all religious matters is Christ (Jn 12:48; 1 Co 3:11)
D. Division & Confusion In Religion Is Not The Fruit You Get When You Plant The Seed (Lk 8:11
III. WE DON’T
SEE JESUS IN RADICALISM & LIBERALISM
A. In Other Words, We Don’t
See Jesus In Extremism
B. Jesus Wants His Disciples To Stray Neither To The Left Or To The Right
1. Josh 1:7-Only be thou strong and
very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which
Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the
left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
2. Dt 4:2-Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye
diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God
which I command you.
3. Pr 30:6-Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found
a liar.
C. Extremism Is Extremely Harmful To The People Of God, Wherever & However It Exists
1. The 2 extremes harming the body of
Christ today are the forces of liberalism & extremism
2. They both have their voices in prominent periodicals, web sites, preachers &
schools
3. Both exhibit brash arrogance, ridiculing & belittling those who question them
a. Is this the attitude of Christ? (Mt 10:16)
4. Both are sidetracked w/their issues to the neglect of winning souls
a. Liberalism takes an "I’m allright/you’re
all right" attitude to evangelism
b. Radicalism is too busy fighting false teachers & false doctrine to win the
lost
5. Both tend to neglect great
doctrines & Bible basics while pushing change or attacking FD
6. Both instigate trouble & cause strife where they are given a voice
a. Balanced, biblical teaching is
going to upset hardened sinners (Ac 17:6)
b. But w/extremists there’s (1 Ti 6:4-A morbid interest in controversial
questions & disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive
language & suspicions
7. Both "major in the minors",
straining at spiritual gnats & omitting the weightier matters (Mt 23:23)
8. Both threaten & even destroy the unity Jesus prayed for & the apostles
preached about
a. Ep 4:1-3-
b. Jn 17:20-23-
D. To Avoid The Problem Of Extremism Or To Heal The Wounds It Will Leave, We Must:
1. Keep issues the issue & not the
personalities involved
2. Make sure that we have the facts of the situation & not rumors or hearsay (2
Co 12:20)
3. Be disciples of Christ & not followers of men–avoid schoolitis, preacheritis,
& paperitis
a. We should inspect the fruit of
every teacher (Mt 7:16-20-Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather
grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth
good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot
bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the
fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
b. David Powell–If I teach error, gently correct me. I’m a soul to be won, not a
hobby horse to be ridden
4. Be guided by light instead of heat (Ps 119:105)It’s because of biblical ignorance that extremism has hurt us so
a. The Lord’s church needs to be filled again w/folks who are people of the book
E. Often, Biblical Teaching Will Seem Extreme To The World
1. But our task is to avoid the extremes of liberalism & radicalism (Scientists tell us...)
IV. WE DON’T
SEE JESUS IN APATHETIC CHRISTIANS
A. Lukewarmness Is So Bad
To Christ That It Makes Him Figuratively Spit (Re 3:16)
B. It Is Easy To Grow Comfortable In Our Religion
1. We can become content w/merely attending worship services & limited Christianity to that
C. W/Spiritual Lethargy, There Is:
1. A lack of concern about lost souls
because we’re too absorbed in our own lives
2. A lack of commitment to the work & programs of the church
3. A lack of communion w/brethren who prefer the company of the world & family
instead
4. A lack of consistency in attendance, giving, & participation if something
more important comes up
5. A lack of charisma for personal devotion or doing spiritual things, tho
there’s ample zeal for secular activity
D. Spiritual Numbness That Says, "I Could Care Less", Looks Nothing Like Christ
1. He had compassion for lost souls (Lk
19:10)
2. He was committed to doing the work of the Father (Jn 9:4-I must work the
works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can
work.
3. His primary companions were either His disciples or lost folks He sought to
win
4. He was perfectly consistent, lacking nothing in His spiritual life (1 Pt
2:21; 2 Co 5:21)
5. He craved only what was right, spending His life on earth to accomplish
spiritual goals
E. Ralph
Chaplin–Mourn not the dead that in the cool earth lie, but rather mourn the
apathetic throng, the cowed & the meek, who see the world’s great anguish & its
wrong & dare not speak
F. We Need The Motto Of The MO Church Which Read: Wake up, sing up, preach up,
pray up & pay up, but never give up, let up, back up or shut up until the cause
of Christ & His church in the world is built up
G. A Church Just Concerned W/Keeping House & Keeping To Herself Is Either Dying
Or Dead
1. Someone has written:
a. A growing church has parking
problems; a dying church doesn’t
b. A growing church has lots of busy, noisy children; a dying church is rather
quiet
c. A growing church often asks for more program & mission money; a dying church,
having a sizeable bank account, has plenty of money for what it does.
d. A growing church uses her facilities to serve people; a dying church uses
people to preserve her facilities
e. A growing church believes the future is w/God & takes risks; a dying church
believes in the past & stresses "holding on" to it
f. A growing church is filled w/committed givers; a dying church is filled
w/tippers
g. A growing church dares to dream big for God’s kingdom; a dying church has
nitemares
CONCLUSION
A. Jesus Is Not To Be Found
In Humanism Or Denominationalism Or Extremism
1. Man needs a guide & that’s Christ
2. Christ must be the exclusive guide & any guide that leads us from Him must be
rejected
3. Any extreme among us that leads us away from our mission of evangelism,
edification & benevolence must also be refused
B. & Folks, Jesus Will Never Be Found In The Midst Of Unconcerned Indifference
1. Jesus cares, & so must we!
C. When The People You Know See You, Do They See Jesus?
1. In your speech, habits, hobbies, passions, actions, interests, attitude?
D. If People Do Not See Jesus In You Here & Now, Jesus Won’t Recognize You @ The Jdgmnt