" PRESENT - JESUS IS PRESENT - HE INDWELLS"
Look Up: John
14:17-20; Colossians 1:27
Sermon preached by Dr. Wayne
Poplin, Senior Pastor of
Carmel Baptist Church, Matthews, NC
INTRODUCTION: I play golf [probably more truthfully—I play at
golf]. Let’s suppose that we all had to play golf to get into heaven.
More than that, we had to shoot par or less every time in order to go to heaven
[that is without mulligans, moving the ball, playing the leaf rule, etc].
Well, we certainly would “come short” with that requirement. But, if
that were really the case, I would be looking at tapes, taking lessons,
practicing and doing everything I could to play well. But it would be to
no avail. I would still fall short if I had to shoot par or less every
time to get into heaven. Suppose someone walked up to me on the practice
range one day and told me that a new serum had been developed and it was the
result of years of research—it contained the best conditioning for golf, the
best mechanics of golf and that it allowed a person to play like Nicklaus,
Woods, Jones, Snead and Palmer combining all of the strengths that they
brought/bring to the game into one. All I had to do was just give up on
myself of ever being a consistent par golfer on my own and take this injection,
and all of these golfers [with all of their strengths in a unit] would play
through me. That would be my “hope of par.”
[The Key to Triumphant Living, Jack Taylor, pp.
47ff.].
Well, there is another hope that I really want. It is called the “hope
of glory.” Glory means for me to reflect what God is like [the heavens
declare the glory of God], for me to see His glory, for me to experience the
completion of salvation [glorification], and for me to become what I was made to
become. That’s my real hope. But how can sub-par me realize that
hope? It only happens when I realize that by myself it isn’t going to
happen. I need to do my best, but this hope happens only by the remarkable
miracle of a person inside of me making it happen. Look at what the Bible
says tells me:
Christ in us [me] is the hope of glory [Colossians
Christ in me [by His Spirit] is my hope of glory—for me to
reflect God and what God is like, for me to see His glory, for me to experience
glorification, for me to become what I was made to become. For me to ever
realize that hope Jesus must be PRESENT in me.
Jesus, Who has always been PRESENT, Who is the PRESENT [gift
of salvation], Who is PRESENT with me is also PRESENT in me. He is the Indweller.
I am talking about the miracle of His Presence—in me. Jesus promised it.
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long,
the world will not see Me anymore, but you will see Me. Because I live,
you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father,
and you are in Me, and I am in you” [John
I do not understand this miracle. I am not worthy of this miracle.
But it is truth that enables me to have the hope of glory.
Because Jesus is PRESENT in me:
1.
I have assurance of my salvation. I will see the glory of God. I
will experience glorification.
Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the
promised Holy Spirit, Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the
redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory
[Ephesians 1:13-14].
His presence is a seal. It is a guarantee that I am His
and will be fully saved. It is a mark of ownership. It is my
security. Jesus PRESENT in me is my hope of this glory.
2.
I am being changed to reflect His glory.
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s
glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which
comes from the Lord, Who is the Spirit [2 Corinthians 3:18].
He is changing me from the inside out. Day by day He is
changing me to reflect the glory of God. He is leading me ever in
conformity to Himself. It is Jesus in me expressing Himself. He is
my hope of glory. I can reflect what God is like.
What
is Christianity? It is Jesus PRESENT in us minding His own business.
If Christianity were just a person accepting Jesus as Savior, deciding to
worship Him and doing His best to imitate Him, then there would be no hope of
consistently reflecting God’s glory. But if Christianity is Jesus
PRESENT in me acting like Himself, then there is the hope of glory.
3.
Jesus can be present in this world through me. Jesus continues His work in
this world through me. Wow! What a momentous truth. Jesus
PRESENT in me is my hope of glory—becoming what I was made to become. We
live in our bodies. But Jesus is PRESENT within us to use us to do what He
would do. It is the vine operating through the branch. The branch
does not do the work of fruit-bearing but allows the vine to naturally bear
fruit after its kind.
Look around. What does Jesus want to do through you? Where is it in
your world not like it is up there in heaven and you say, “Lord, your kingdom
come on earth [right here] as it is in heaven.” Where does He need to be
PRESENT? Where does the kingdom need to break in? Where can He be
present in you? What need do you see? Was it with the inner city
children through the angel tree? Was it helping Katrina victims?
When you compiled shoeboxes at Operation Christmas Child? When you made
blankets for Project Linus—ill children? Giving gifts to the children of
the incarcerated? Distributing Beanie Babies to children in
Ask, “Where do I want to see God’s presence and power break into my world?
Where would I like God to use me to make things down here run the way they do up
there?” Where do you want to see God make “up there” come down
here?” Is it when you include a lonely person? Is it when you
encourage someone struggling? Is it when you challenge someone going
astray? Is it when you serve someone who is not able to do it themselves?
Is it when you are ready to strike back and you offer forgiveness instead?
The Kingdom is breaking in. Jesus PRESENT in us the hope of glory.
When we leave here, let’s be conscious of Jesus PRESENT in us, the hope of
glory. Take note of the place or the person where the presence of Jesus
would make a difference? Do you think that Jesus PRESENT would want to use
us to bring someone to the Christmas Eve service so that they could hear about
Jesus the PRESENT?
Can you imagine if all of us let the Jesus PRESENT in us out into our world,
what it would look like? That is abundant living. That is exciting
stuff.
As I thought about Jesus PRESENT in me, I realized that there is no need for
Jesus to be present in me in heaven or the new heaven and earth. If my
salvation has been completed, if I am beholding His glory then, if I am like Him
and have become all that He has promised and if He is no longer seeking to reach
a world through me, the purpose of His indwelling is over. Commentaries
are strangely silent on this matter, but it seems right to me. If that is
true, then it underscores the need now to understand that right now Jesus
PRESENT in me is my hope of glory.