Seeing Jesus Today
An all-creatures Bible Message

Seeing Jesus Today

A Sermon Delivered to
The Compassion Internet Church

19 April 2020

Frank L. Hoffman, Pastor

Scripture References

Psalm 16:1-11
Proverbs 12:10
Acts 2:14-24

Seeing Jesus today may seem strange to most of the people in the world because He was killed some 2,000 years ago, and even if they believe that He rose from the dead, He went up into heaven and is no longer here.

However, for us who are truly born again, He is alive in us and all the others who have this faith; thus, we are seeing Jesus today in the lives of these people.

Let’s think about this in terms of what we are told in Proverbs 12:10…

10. A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast,
But the compassion of the wicked is cruel.
NASB

The righteous man is among those who are seeing Jesus today, while those who are wicked are like most of the people today who don’t live in the heavenly will of God, and who are continuing to corrupt God’s creation, such as those who are raising and killing animals, and who are supported by those who are eating, wearing, and using the byproducts of these industries.

Psalm 16:1-11, as Matthew Henry writes, is entitled a Michtam, which some translate as a golden psalm, or a very precious one, more to be valued by us than gold, yea, than much fine gold, because it speaks so plainly of Christ and his resurrection, who is the true treasure hidden in the field of the Old Testament.

1. Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in Thee.

The psalmist was obviously troubled as Jesus was before His death, but both of them are putting their faith in God, but we can look at this verse in two ways for God can preserve our life here on earth, or He can preserve our life in heaven, but we get the impression that David was writing about preserving his life here on earth.

2. I said to the LORD, "Thou art my Lord;
I have no good besides Thee."

This was an affirmation of his faith in the Lord, and he saw all the violence and corruption around him and realized that there was no good in this world except for the Lord.

3. As for the saints who are in the earth,
They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.

But then the psalmist seemed to be amending his previous statement by acknowledging the fact that there were indeed some righteous people in the world who stand out in their faith and actions which were a delight to him.

We also need to have this kind of vision to help us recognize the difference between the corrupt ways of this world and those things that are in the heavenly will of God.

4. The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their libations of blood,
Nor shall I take their names upon my lips.

The term that is used for sorrow can also be used for idol for either word makes sense in this verse for the psalmist declares that he doesn’t want to have anything to do with idols and idol worshipers and their practices.

5. The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
Thou dost support my lot.

In other words, the psalmist gives routinely to the Lord and has set aside a portion of everything he owns for the Lord.

And because of this the psalmist sees that the Lord supports him, his family, and all that he has.

6. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.

The word used for “lines” is a surveying term indicating a surveyed parcel of Land, and the psalmist refers to all his lands being in pleasant places, so that he considers everything he owns to be beautiful.

And this reminded us of a piece of land that a friend owns and recently showed us, which has been made to look like a park that also has two feeder streams flowing into a creek where it makes a U-turn before flowing under a bridge, and he feels the same way that this psalmist expresses in this verse.

This is seeing the works of God and seeing Jesus today in the works of creation.

7. I will bless the LORD who has counseled me;
Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.

The psalmist feels the presence of the Lord and His instruction throughout the day and even in his sleep at night.

8. I have set the LORD continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

This shows the wonderful faith of the psalmist, for he has put the Lord before everything else in his life, as we all should do, and because of this he feels the Lord’s constant presence, and expresses the fact that he also will not be shaken; nevertheless, we need to keep in mind that even David was pulled away from the Lord by the corrupt ways of this world, which to us means that we need to be extra cautious in everything we do and say.

9. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will dwell securely.

The psalmist expresses that he rejoices in this relationship with the Lord, and that even his flesh will dwell securely with the Lord, which we know that David was unable to do, particularly when it came to his relationship with Bathsheba.

10. For Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Sheol;
Neither wilt Thou allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay.

From what we are told in the Bible, David didn’t go to hell, but his body did undergo decay after his death.

But the prophetic message here looks to Jesus, and He did not end up in hell, but went there as a witness against them, and His body did not undergo decay, for He rose from the dead on the third day and was translated into heaven on the 40th day.

11. Thou wilt make known to me the path of life;
In Thy presence is fulness of joy;
In Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.
NASB

The verse expresses the fact that having a personal relationship with the Lord fills us with peace, contentment and joy forever, but we need to be cautious that we don’t become complacent and fall into the traps of the devil which are so prevalent in the world around us.

When we live this way, it is a sign that we are seeing Jesus today.

In Acts 2:14-32, we see that Peter has matured into truly being an evangelist who can both speak out boldly about Jesus, but also live the life, and because of this people believed him, which we should also be able to do, and if we can, it is a sign that we are seeing Jesus today.

14. But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: "Men of Judea, and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give heed to my words.

This stand taken by Peter is proof that after Jesus’ resurrection He had confronted him about loving him and remaining as fishers of men or as an evangelist. Peter became a true evangelist and never returned to be a killer of fish.

This passage is the recording of the acts of this evangelist.

15. "For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day;

He is speaking about the men who had begun speaking in tongues following the Spirit coming upon them.

16. but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:

In other words, what you heard is nothing that unusual, because Joel had written about it.

17. 'And it shall be in the last days,' God says,
'That I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind;
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
And your young men shall see visions,
And your old men shall dream dreams;

The men Jesus was talking about were doing this.

18. Even upon My bondslaves, both men and women,
I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit
And they shall prophesy.

This sure sounds like a lot more people are going to be able to be just like those men, all of whom must be living in the heavenly will of God.

19. 'And I will grant wonders in the sky above,
And signs on the earth beneath,
Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.

20. 'The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come.

The great and glorious day of the Lord will be when He returns, a time which has not yet occurred.

21. 'And it shall be, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'

I struggle with this verse, because it is so easy to “call” upon the name of the Lord, and seemingly just as easy to slip back into the corrupt ways of this world, and there is no seeing Jesus today in them.

We only see the presence of Jesus in the lives of those who are living in the heavenly will of God day after day.

22. "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know —

From the way that the people called upon the name of the Lord at Jesus’ triumphful entry and then called for His death a few days later makes me believe that only a relatively few really understood what Jesus had done and where the power came from.

It appears that most of them were only there for the entertainment value, which we believe is the problem in the world today.

23. this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

It is obvious the Peter was seeing things the same way, for he lets them know that he knows what they did.

24. "And God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

We are seeing Jesus today only in the lives of those who have truly repented of their worldly ways and sincerely seek to live in His heavenly will.

And we can and should be like this.

Amen?

Amen.

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