Keeping our Eyes on the Christ Crucified

Brothers and Sisters

Today I want to remind you again of our first point from the New Years Message, a ...

                                   Gospel Request

The Greeks came to Jesus with what is arguably the wisest, greatest of all requests … 

John 12:21

“we would like to see Jesus.”

To see Jesus - that is really all of our need. 

Consider these questions and the testimony of the church through the ages song ...

Are you facing temptation?

I need The every hour

Stay thou nearby

Temptations lose their power

When Thou art nigh

Do you struggle to worship?

‘When I see Thee as Thou art 

I’ll praise Thee as I ought

Are you in a spiritual battle?

We rest on Thee, our shield and our defender

We go not fourth, alone against the foe

Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender

We rest on Thee and in Thy name we go.

We rest on thee, our shield and our defender

Thine is the battle, Thine shall be the praise

When passing through, the gates of pearly splendour

Victors we rest, with Thee through endless days.

Are you in need, emotionally, materially, spiritually or in any other way?

Fear not that thy need shall exhaust His provision

Our God ever yearns His resources to share

Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing

The Father, both thee and thy load will upbear

Much more can be said to speak of the all-sufficiency of Jesus. The Beetles were not far off the mark when they sang, “All you need is love”. Better though, All you need is Jesus - for in Him are all the riches of wisdom and grace!” 

That really is no exaggeration. In Christ are all things, grace, justice, wisdom. power, strength, the church … 

Whatever our need, there is nothing more powerful or transforming than to see Jesus Himself.

Consider his great verse from 1 John 3:2

But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

To just see Him as He is, is all that is needed for our final, full and complete transformation. When we see Him as He is - we will never be the same again, we will be utterly changed.

But … 

1 Corinthians 13

12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror darkly; then we shall see face to face.

Right now we all struggle to see Him - but we do see Him - admittedly dimly - as in the faint reflection of a Roman mirror - not clear like ours. But we can see, we do see something of Him - and He reveals all we need for now.

This is why the writer to the Hebrews exhorts us … 

Hebrews 12:2

2 Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus … ,

King David knew a good thing when He saw it …

Psalm 27

4 

One thing I ask from the Lord,

    this only do I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

    all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the Lord

    and to seek him in his temple.