You can see God

Intro: You didn’t see me

I dated a girl who couldn’t “see” me.

Egg hunt prep- we spent all day doing this egg hunt

I’m tired and then I gave her a call to see how she was doing

Then we broke up, and she didn’t even know we broke up

Tension

I think just like my ex couldn’t “see” me that we can’t see God.

What do I mean when I say we “see” Jesus wrong?

Examples:

(Religion/ formal)- When we pray or think about Jesus we don’t consider him a friend. Can i talk with like a normal person? No it’s a very formal relationship.

(Parent/ shame)- When I wonder what he thinks about me, it’s probably that he’s disappointed in me because I’m not doing enough or because I messed up. Yeah I know that he died for me or whatever but that doesn’t matter. I see him like this. I think we’re seeing hime wrong.

(Rule keeper) Jesus just wants me to follow the rules, sell all of my stuff and be homeless out in Africa.

(Irrelevant)- He wouldn’t get my issues or struggles. His answer would just be to pray harder or read my Bible.

Scripture

You can see God.

Give hope- a relationship with God can be one of the most powerful things ever.

Colossians 1:15 “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.”

Application- What am I missing when I look at God?

In a nut shell: I look at Jesus but I live with the Holy Spirit

Jesus- I see my example of what a real relationship with God looks like.

Jesus walked, ate, and did every day life things with his disciples.

He showed up when people were mistreated.

When people were cast aside in society, Jesus showed up to stand up for them

When his own disciples rejected him and felt shame, he came back, gave them food, and told them their purpose again

Holy Spirit- I live with the Holy Spirit

The Bible tells us that God expresses himself in 3 persons, father, son and Holy Spirit. Jesus backs this up in John 16:7 “But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.”

Here’s the real disconnect. Do you see God right now in the room? You might not. This isn’t a trick question. But to answer why is because God did something better. Jesus tagged out and sent the Holy Spirit which is God to be able to be even more present and produce.

When we look at Jesus and live with the Holy Spirit things start to change. When my ex couldn’t see me correctly it made life confusing. Notice how when we live with the Holy Spirit it makes life better. Things just naturally start to come out of it, we call if the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Just like when you text someone you like and naturally start to feel something, when you get around the Holy Spirit you start to produce something: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control

Gospel inclusion:

Our missing perspective is actually what brought sin into the world. In the very beginning human beings thought God was trying to trap them and hold them back from understand. When in reality, God has a deep level of respect and kindness towards his creation- that’s why he died. And now that he is alive he has restored this relationship between humanity and us so we can see God rightly again.