The Lord’s Personal Visits
Posted by jerrywhite on Jun 3, 2010
“Believe me, there are such things as personal visits from Jesus to His people. He has not utterly left us. Though He may not be seen with our natural eyes near a bush or a running stream, nor on the mountain or by the sea, He still does come and go, observed only by our spirits, felt only by our hearts. He still stands behind our walls and shows Himself through the lattices (Song 2:9).
How can I describe these manifestations of the Lord? It is difficult for me to give you a good idea of them if you do not already know them for yourselves. If you had never tasted sweetness, no one could give you an idea of honey by describing it to you. Yet, if the honey is right in front of you, you can ‘taste and see’ (Ps. 34:8). To a man born blind, sight must be a thing beyond his imagination; and to one who has never known the Lord, His visits are quite as much beyond what that person can conceive of.
For our Lord to visit us is something more than for us to have the assurance of our salvation, although that is very delightful, and none of us would be satisfied unless we possessed it. To know that Jesus loves me is one thing, but to be visited by Him in love is much more.
Nor is it simply a close contemplation of Christ, for we can picture Him as exceedingly fair and majestic and yet not have Him consciously near us. As delightful and instructive as it is to behold the likeness of Christ by meditation, the enjoyment of His actual presence is something more. I may wear my friend’s picture around my neck, and yet I may not be able to say, ‘Thou hast visited me.’ ”
Charles Spurgeon
Joy In Christ’s Presence, 12-13
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You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night.
Psalm 17:3 (ESV)
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“It will be a great moment for some of us when we begin to believe that God’s promise of self-revelation is literally true: that He promised much, but promised no more than He intends to fulfill.”
A. W. Tozer
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Jesus Christ Revealed
Posted by jerrywhite on Jan 11, 2010
“David Hazard wrote, ‘Theresa (of Avila, 1515-1582) agonized all her life, and found it impossible with human language to explain the ‘appearances’ of Jesus. She ‘saw’ Him with the eyes of her heart. She caught sight of a new type of beauty that came from of old and extended to everlasting—and a holiness that walked among sinful men, lofty in its intense humility.’ [Majestic Is Your Name, Bethany House Publishers, 1993, 13]
Because the Spirit is just like Jesus, He can reveal any facet of Christ’s character at any time He chooses. He may unveil for a moment the brightness of Christ’s holiness. He may softly speak whispers of compassion. He may have the uncontainable river of Jesus’ love wash over you, or He may lead you to a secret sanctuary of His peace. He may startle you with a display of His awesome power. These special visitations of Christ through the means of the Holy Spirit will increase and deepen your love for your Savior and will remind you profoundly of His great sacrifice for you. When your relationship with Christ deepens and grows, it is because He has drawn near and touched you soul. John Piper said it well when he wrote, ‘There is no reality more breathtaking than Jesus Christ. He is not safe, but He is stunning.’ [The Dangerous Duty of Delight, Multnomah Publishers, 2001, 8]”
Author
The Spirit and Presence of Christ, 156
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I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
John 14:18 (ESV)
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The Means of Jesus’ Nearness
Posted by jerrywhite on Jan 7, 2010
“The only difference between the presence of Jesus with His disciples when He lived bodily on earth and His presence with them after Pentecost was the means by which He made His presence known. With Jesus’ bodily presence on earth, they could touch and see and hear God incarnate. After Pentecost, this same Jesus was present with them, not in His body but by His Spirit. The presence of Jesus would be just as real. They would not be able to touch His flesh, but they would sense His spiritual presence. They would not hear His human voice, but they would know His voice in their inner beings. They would not see His human form, but with the eyes of their hearts they would see His glory. By His Spirit, He would be present with them in larger dimension than He was when He walked with them in the flesh.
When the first church met, they fully expected the Spirit of Jesus to be present in their midst. And He was, as the book of Acts reveals. We can and should anticipate this same experience of Jesus’ presence in our individual lives and churches today. When we encounter the shining brightness of Jesus through the presence of the Holy Spirit, all earthly things pale.”
Author
The Spirit and Presence of Christ, 155-156
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A couple of years ago I wrote in my journal,
“I AM WEARY OF:
1. Church form without God’s presence
2. Commercialized Christianity.
3. Self-exalting, self-promoting ‘ministries’.
4. Praise music without humble worship.
5. Fleshly efforts to build churches according to man’s plans.
I LONG FOR:
1. Christ’s sovereign, humble presence and power.
2. Only that which He authors and which glorifies Him.”
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Oh Lord, please stir, awaken, and revive your people.
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The Supreme Mystery
Posted by jerrywhite on Dec 21, 2009
“It [the supreme mystery] lies, not in the Good Friday message of atonement, nor in the Easter message of resurrection, but in the Christmas message of incarnation. The really staggering Christian claim is that Jesus of Nazareth was God made man—that the second person of the Godhead became the ‘second man’ (1 Cor. 15:47), determining human destiny, the second representative head of the race, and that He took humanity without loss of deity, so that Jesus of Nazareth was as truly and fully divine as He was human. Here are two mysteries for the price of one—the plurality of persons within the unity of God, and the union of Godhead and manhood in the person of Jesus. It is here, in the thing that happened at the first Christmas, that the profoundest and most unfathomable depths of the Christian revelation lie. ‘The Word was made flesh’ (John 1:14); God became man; the divine Son became a Jew; the Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, unable to do more than lie and stare and wriggle and make noises, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. And there was no illusion or deception in this: the babyhood of the Son of God was a reality. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as is this truth of the incarnation.”
J. I. Packer
Knowing God, pp. 45-46
InterVarsity Press (September, 1974)
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And the Word [Christ] became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled—fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile—among us.
John 1:14 (Amplified Bible)
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Jesus, the very thought of Thee with sweetness fills my breast;
But sweeter far Thy face to see, and in Thy presence rest.
Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame, nor can memory find
A sweeter sound than Thy blest Name, O Savior of mankind!
Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
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A Lonesome Spiritual State
Posted by jerrywhite on Oct 18, 2009
On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not. I will rise now and go about the city, in the streets and in the squares; I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not.
Song Of Solomon 4:1-2 (ESV)
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“Our glorious husband, the Lord Jesus, sometimes withdraws himself from our spiritual experience, so that we have no refreshing sense of his love, no fresh communications of his consoling grace. Those who never feel his absence likely have never enjoyed his presence. But those whom he has visited with his love, whom he has refreshed, relieved, and comforted—they know what it is to be left by him even for a moment. They are distressed when they look for him but can’t find him.
If you find yourself in this lonesome spiritual state, turn back to the Song of Songs and learn from the beloved. Don’t give up your hunt for Christ in prayer, meditation, and mourning; in reading and hearing the Word; in public and private worship; in diligent obedience—until you find him or he returns to you. And when you find him, never let him go.”
Kris Lundgaard
Through The Looking Glass, 41
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Thirsty souls yearn for His nearness. Nothing else satisfies. All else seems meaningless without the Lord’s presence with them. This is not a “let’s pretend” presence. It is real and living and comforting and invigorating. Lord, please give us foretastes of heaven now — on earth — and by this cause us to thirst more for You.
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You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13 (NASB)
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