I. Introduction

A. Did you know that someone famous is here at our church this morning? Who do you think that famous person is? The special guest here at our church this morning, who will be with us as long as we want Him here, is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

B. Okay, maybe that was a bit of a trick question, but then again, maybe not. If you’ve attended church for any length of time, you should be able to say that it’s obvious that He’s here. But how do we know? After all, we’ve never seen Him here physically, have we? Maybe that’s a good thing. Revelation 1:17 tells us that, when John saw the risen Christ standing among the golden lampstands that represented the seven churches, he “fell at his feet as though dead.” That’s a powerful presence!

C. But maybe it’s unfortunate that we can’t see Jesus. Our society has talked us into believing that nothing is real if we can’t see it. So when I say that Jesus is in our church this morning, you hear what I say as truth, but as more or less “pretend” truth. Is pretend too strong a word? Well, let me put it this way: it’s far-removed truth. (NEW SLIDE) Far-removed truth is truth that doesn’t profoundly affect the way people live. Let me explain.

D. Let’s say that Jesus actually physically attended our church for the next several weeks. He wouldn’t have to preach or lead worship or teach Sunday School; He’d just be here bodily with us. And let’s say that He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt every Sunday that He was physically here with us. As a congregation, would we make any changes in the way we do thing? What if He came without fanfare or advanced publicity just like other visitors come? Only word of mouth would get the news out. As He visited our Sunday School classes, heard us sing, and listened to me preach, would His presence make any significant difference in how we usually worship? Seeing Jesus as He truly was made a huge difference to three of His disciples. Let’s read about it in Matthew 17:1-13, and I’m reading from the New Living.

II. Scripture Passage

A. Matthew 17:1-13 (from the New Living) – (NEW SLIDE) Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and let them up a high mountain. 2 As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance changed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothing became dazzling white. (NEW SLIDE) 3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. 4 Peter blurted out, “Lord, this is wonderful! If you want me to, I’ll make three shrines, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. (NEW SLIDE) 5 But even as he said it, a bright cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him. Listen to him.” (NEW SLIDE) 6 The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground. 7 Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said, “don’t be afraid.” 8 And when they looked, they saw only Jesus with them. (NEW SLIDE) 9 As they descended the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until I, the Son of Man, have been raised from the dead.” 10 His disciples asked, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?” (NEW SLIDE) 11 Jesus replied, “Elijah is indeed coming first to set everything in order. 12 But I tell you, he has already come, but he wasn’t recognized, and he was badly mistreated. And soon the Son of Man will also suffer at their hands.” (NEW SLIDE) 13 Then the disciples realized he had been speaking of John the Baptist.

III. Worship the Christ Who Is always with Us

A. I believe that Jesus’ bodily presence with us for the next several Sundays, seeing Him physically in all His glory, would make as much a difference for us as it did for the disciples. Let’s think for a minute about what would probably change. We’d all be in the sanctuary for the start of service eagerly singing the opening song as focused worship instead of singing it as an invitation to worship. There would be a spiritual electricity in the air even before we started. As we worked through the announcements, we would all consider how Jesus would have us be involved in each activity instead of trying to come up with excuses not to be involved. That may sound harsh, but we all do it, even last one of us. Our singing would be heartfelt and emotional, because the One we sing to would be here with us. The time of prayer and Scripture reading would be filled with incredible meaning, as we recognized the presence of the Author of the Bible with us. The sermon would take on enormous significance for all of us, as I sought to honor Him by what I say and as you sought to apply His truth to your hearts and lives. The offering bags would be filled to overflowing as we stopped trying to justify why we can’t give to God’s work and start trusting the One who watched us give. You get the idea of how things would change. What would bring all this to life? (NEW SLIDE) What would make things so much different? Simply the awareness of the presence of Christ among us.

B. Of course, we realize that having Jesus physically here at Sodaville would cause problems for all the other churches around the world. All the excitement we experienced would be missed by everyone else unless there was a way that Jesus could be freed from physical limitations and be present by His Spirit in all churches. Isn’t that what He had in mind when He said something like, “It’s to your advantage that I go away; otherwise, the Spirit, my Spirit, wouldn’t be free to come and do His work.” And we all have got to recognize the fact that Jesus is here right now with us and with every other congregation that honors His name. In fact, if He were to reveal Himself in His resurrected body, He wouldn’t be any more with us than He is right now by His Spirit! And that’s an awesome truth!

C. (NEW SLIDE) This marvelous truth that Jesus Christ is in the midst of His body, the Church, has to be the focus of our worship, because when we see the unseen Christ our lives are transformed. I pray that God would give us a vision of Jesus even as Peter and James and John saw Him. That He would help all of us do our part in the work of the church with diligence and care because of His presence with us. That all of our meetings would be marked by love and a passion for the lost because of His presence with us. That our words would be His words. Is this just a pipe dream? If we had proof that Jesus had bodily returned and was going to be in our church next Sunday, that’s exactly how we would act. So is it really unrealistic for me to expect the same when Christ comes in Spirit this Sunday and every Sunday and every time we meet together in between? Since Jesus is present in our church services and meetings by His Spirit, is it wrong for me to suggest that we see this as a very unique privilege not to be taken lightly? I’m challenging all of us to focus our minds on the amazing truth that Jesus is in the midst of His church.

D. During the next several weeks, we want to engrave on our hearts and minds the reality of Jesus’ marvelous presence in His church. Our worship has to be a reflection of that reality. (NEW SLIDE) Worship means to attribute worth to God. If Christ were to make Himself bodily visible, our first response would probably be to bow down, to fall down on our faces before Him. That’s what Peter and James and John did. They were so overwhelmed by the glory of Jesus, Whom they were really seeing for the first time, that they fell on their faces before Him. Falling on our faces, bowing, and kneeling are all worshipful actions. To worship is to adore, laud, applaud, and magnify the name of our Lord.

E. Peter and James and John worshipped Him on the mountain. It’d be easy for us to say, “Well, they were with Him all the time and saw all His miracles, so of course they worshipped Him!” We too quickly forget that familiarity breeds contempt. By the time we get to Matthew 17, the disciples had become very familiar with Jesus. Yes, He did miracles and that made Him different. But in many ways He seemed very human to them. Why? Because He was human. So think about how intimidating it must have been for them when Jesus was transformed right before their eyes! Listen to verses two and three: As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance changed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothing became dazzling white. 3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. Their best friend suddenly takes on a breathtaking brilliance, and the two biggest heroes from their nation’s past come on the scene, and you can imagine how overwhelmed they would feel. Then God Himself speaks to them, and they’re down on their faces in terror. Their actions were saying, “We’re not worthy to be here. You are Someone Who causes us to be filled with awe. We’re scared!” Jesus touched them reassuringly and told them not to be afraid.

F. Maybe we’ve grown too accustomed to Him. Maybe we need to be overwhelmed once again by the wonder of Who He is. (NEW SLIDE) We all have the need to see Christ in our midst and to be constantly aware of His presence in our daily lives. Worship has got to be our response, just like it was the response of Peter and James and John. One of the ways the church worships is through music. It’s easy for us to get so hung up on the forms of music that we use that we forget about the focus of the music. But whether we sing hymns or choruses or both, worship can be expressed corporately when we meet together as a body, or individually throughout the week. Form doesn’t matter. (NEW SLIDE) That we worship each and every day of our lives, both together and apart, is the most important thing. We must declare the worth of God. One way we can do that is by preparing our hearts for meaningful worship every Sunday. How do we do that? One suggestion is to (NEW SLIDE) get rid of anything in your personal life that might keep you from focusing on the unseen Christ during the worship service. Doing this will help all of us to come to church with a sense of anticipation of encountering our Lord and of what He’s going to do among us.

G. During this series of sermons, I’m going to be focusing on how seeing the unseen Christ in our midst transforms our lives. For example, next Sunday we’ll focus on the fact that, when we practice the presence of Christ, we are led to lavish His love on others. God will insist on it, because it’s consistent with what His Word teaches. This truth will help us remember to show His love through secret acts of kindness. And when we practice the presence of Christ, we’ll desire to live righteously. Why? Because with His presence always with us, we’ll be aware of sin and embarrassed when we give in to temptation. We’ll deal with that more later on. When we see the unseen Christ, our lives will be transformed!

H. Did you know that the presence of Christ is the foremost characteristic of all times of authentic revival? It’s like a veil is pulled back, and people see Him more fully than they’ve been used to. They feel extremely privileged. I’m hoping and praying that we will experience this kind of revival over the next several weeks. (NEW SLIDE) If we surrender our hearts and minds to Christ as He calls us to because we’ve begun to see Him in our midst, and as we follow Him in renouncing sin and rebellion, and as we pour out our hearts in corporate prayer, we will experience revival. We will truly worship Him.

I. Worship has consistently marked past times of revival in the church. Listen to what C. L. Culpepper writes in his book The Shantung Revival, which took place in China in 1932-33. Another result of the revival was a continual singing of the people. They put songs and other Scriptures to music. Old people who could not read or write memorized the songs and sang with their eyes closed, their bodies swaying to the rhythm of the melody and tears of joy running down their cheeks. God had taken away their sorrow and given them a new song. I saw that many old women who could not carry a tune were filled with the Spirit, singing a melody that seemed to come from an angel of heaven. One of the greatest personal blessings which I received from the revival was the wonderful spirit in the worship services. Entire congregations bowed in silent meditation for several minutes, and the atmosphere became charged with spiritual power. Suddenly someone would begin to pray and praise God. As long as an hour would pass before the speaker would speak. Conviction became so evident that the preacher would simply give an opportunity for anyone who wished to accept Christ to come forward, and there was always some response, often in large groups. I knew it was the natural result of a spirit of worship and adoration which followed revival. The ordinances also became more meaningful. One missionary commented, “I was never so blessed in my life as when taking the Lord’s Supper with Spirit-filled Chinese brothers and sisters in Christ.” It was not unusual to see people in tears during the observance. As one young widow told a missionary, “My eyes were streaming tears all the time. It wasn’t that I was sad or glad; it was simply that I was broken before the Lord.” Baptism took on new meaning. Unbelievers, witnessing the baptisms, often came under deep conviction. Invitations were frequently given and conversions resulted. I realized that I had never fully understood the meaning of worship until I saw the Spirit of God renewing the hearts of His people (as cited by Dr. David Mains).

J. That’s what my heart cries out for. That’s what we need more than anything. And if we can see the presence of the unseen Christ in everything we do, we will experience revival and we will worship Him with genuine enthusiasm. May God grant this prayer among us and revive us now!

K. Illustration – William Temple wrote, WORSHIP IS THE SUBMISSION of all our nature to God; it is the quickening of conscience by His holiness; the nourishment of mind with His truth; the purifying of imagination by His beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; (NEW SLIDE) the surrender of will of His purpose . . . and all of this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable and therefore the chief remedy for that self-centeredness which is our original sin and the source of all actual sin. (WILLIAM TEMPLE, READINGS IN ST. JOHN’S GOSPEL, RIDGEFIELD, CT: MOREHOUSE, 1985, P. 119.) May we all submit and surrender our whole selves to Him in worship as we see Him every day of our lives!

IV. Conclusion

A. Please bow your heads and close your eyes out of respect for God and for each other’s privacy. I want to read to you a quote from pastor Ben Patterson in his book, The Grand Essentials. He writes, I FIND NOTHING MORE IRRITATING than talk among Christians regarding the “real world.” I usually hear it after a particularly captivating service of worship. Meaning to pay me a compliment, someone will say, “That was a terrific service! It’s too bad we have to go back to the ‘real world’ now.” The assumption is that what happened in worship was a pleasant and therapeutic diversion. But the real thing is out there in the rough and tumble of the world. Not so! (NEW SLIDE) What we saw and felt in worship is the “real thing”! The trick is to remember what we saw and felt when we go back into the world. It is in the light of this reality that we are to return to the world of lies and live the truth. (BEN PATTERSON, THE GRAND ESSENTIALS, WACO, TX: WORD, 1987, PP. 83–84.) What God has been doing among us here today is real. How He has been speaking to our hearts and lives and moving us to make choices for Him is real. Our experience of Him this morning is real, because He is really here among us, always and forever.

B. If you have sensed the call of the unseen Christ on your heart to surrender some part of your heart or life to Him, now is the time to answer the call. If you want to answer Christ’s call on you and surrender to Him, I invite you to either come forward and pray at the altars, or to raise your hand so I can pray for you. Please respond now.