There Stands One Among You

There Stands One Among You

Jn. 1:10-12 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him,to them gave he power [the right] to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

Jn. 1:26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water:but there standeth one among you whom ye know not:

The night that I first received Jesus as my Savior and Redeemer, I realized and felt that He had been with me all through my life; but, until that moment, I hadn't known it as a fact. I had hoped that God had some interest in me, but I didn't know for sure. When the gospel cut through the darkness of my mind and spirit, I then knew that Jesus had died for me, as my substitute, and I accepted his free gift of eternal life.

I have since learned that, as Christians, we are required to walk by faith and not by sight. I don't always feel the presence of God, but in my heart I know that He will never leave me or forsake me. That knowledge has brought me through many dark and dismal days!

Just as Jesus dwells in the heart of the individual believer through the agency of his Holy Spirit, so also, Jesus dwells in the church corporately. The body of Christ is His dwelling place here on earth. He walks among us and in us, and is all around us. "In him we live, and move and have our being."(Acts 7:28)

Matt.18:20 "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

The problem that the 'modern' church faces, is not the absence of God's presence, but our unbelief and our failure to acknowledge him among us. Most churches think that if they do all the right things, then God will join them for a couple of hours in the sanctuary, and maybe give them a good feeling about what they have done that Sunday. Most churches that I have visited, have great form, but little substance. Great music will not coerce the Holy Spirit to move among us, neither do impressive prayers or spiffy bulletins where the order of service is precisely outlined for the faithful. We walk by faith, not by sight!

We talk about what we have accomplished, should accomplish, or are going to accomplish, but there is not a lot of focus on what Jesus has accomplished for us at Calvary, and on what he is doing in us right now.

If we have gathered in his name, why do I hear well-meaning church goers ask God to 'grace' them with his presence or to 'manifest his presence' at the start of nearly every church service? why keep asking God for that which you already have? Aren't those kind of prayers an expression of your unbelief, rather than affirmations of faith?

We have one standing among us who we 'know not'!

Zephaniah 3:17 "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save,he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing."

Isaiah 12:6 "Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee."

If you are in Christ, you are a member of his body, and you are one of the stones that make up the temple which he inhabits. He walks among you, do you know him? Do you know what spirit you are of? Do you thank Him for walking with you in all situations, or do you beg him to show up when you have a crisis? We walk by faith.

There is great peace of mind to be had for the believer who knows that God will never leave or forsake him or her. He knows all our failures, our sins, and our unfaithfulness, and yet he still loves us all with an eternal love. God is every where, how can he not be with you wherever life takes you?

Can you go so far from him, that he can't reach you with his grace? of course not! Don't let anyone tell you that his presence comes and goes as a result of your actions or your thoughts. He is not that fickle! He gave you eternal life, not eternal probation! We are not under the old Mosaic covenant, we are partakers of the New Covenant which has been ratified by the blood of Jesus. The sin problem has been settled forever.

Jer. 31:34b "...they shall all know me from the least of them, to the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

There stands one among you!

God Bless you as you rest in his grace!

©2012 Rev. Charles J. Loubert