I Want to See You Again
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Intro:
6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!
9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
Today, as we celebrate Pentecost Sunday, I want to speak on the subject of, [I Want to See You Again].
As a child, I always wanted to see God. I always wondered how He looked. We would sing about Him in our services, and I was always curious what it would be like to see God.
Quickly my dreams were stifled as I was informed that no one could see God and live. So, I realized that I couldn’t see God, but I thought maybe I can see Jesus. From my earliest memories in Sunday School, there was always some picture of Jesus in our lesson.
But it confused me because every picture of Jesus looked different. So I was still convinced that I hadn’t seen God. Until one day mom came home and told us that she received an email.
In the email was a picture, at first glance if was a big black inkblot that didn’t look like much of anything. But there were three dots in the center of the picture.
If we looked at the three dots for thirty seconds, and looked away, we would be able to “see” Jesus. I tried and it really did work. It wasn’t a picture, but in front of me, I saw an image of Jesus.
I was so excited, that I went to the bathroom and took the picture with me. I filled the bathtub up with six inches of water and I looked at the picture for thirty seconds. Once I saw the face of Jesus, I stepped in the bathtub fully expecting to walk on water.
Guess what? I sunk. I am just glad it was six inches and not six feet of water!
After a while, it hit me, I may not see Jesus on earth right now, but there will come a day when Jesus will return and we will see Him face to face!
The New Testament church had this expectation. They longed for the day when they would see Jesus again. Their longing, while similar to ours, was somewhat different.
As Luke begins to tell the story of the early church through the book of Acts, he shares just how confident they were in His second coming.
After Jesus spent forty days with them, speaking of things pertaining to the Kingdom, His assignment on earth was complete for the time being and He ascended to heaven.
We know the rest of the story, but for those who watched Him disappear out of sight, they stood staring into heaven. They believed that He would return, so they waited.
They waited so long, staring into the sky that God sent two angels to speak to them. They explained that Jesus would return just as He said, but for the time being, they had work to do.
The desire to see Jesus again fueled the church to turn the then known world upside down. My prayer for this morning is that we look at see how the New Testament church kept the desire to see Jesus again and how He answered their prayers.
All they knew is Jesus promised to come again. If going to Jerusalem to wait for the Promise of the Father meant they might see Jesus again, it was worth the wait.
The desire to see Jesus again fueled the church to turn the then known world upside down. My prayer for this morning is that we look at see how the New Testament church kept the desire to see Jesus again and how He answered their prayers.
Here is the progression I notice, as they wanted to see Him again face-to-face, they began to see Him working through them. As they kept their eyes on the eternal, Jesus worked through them in the temporal.
I want to look at how the desire to see Him again was pivotal in the first year or two of the church’s growth in the book of Acts!
I want to see you again! I have three points, [See You Again in Power], [See You Again in Persecution], and [See You Again in Purity].
Let’s begin
1. See You Again in Power
1. See You Again in Power
1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Unsure of the future, the followers of Christ returned to Jerusalem where they waited in the Upper Room. They knew they were to wait, but they did not know what would happen when they waited.
Unsure of the future, the followers of Christ returned to Jerusalem where they waited in the Upper Room. They knew they were to wait, but they did not know what would happen when they waited.
All they knew is Jesus promised to come again. If going to Jerusalem to wait for the Promise of the Father meant they might see Jesus again, it was worth the wait.
I love the faith of those who wanted to see Him again. In this group was Mary the Mother of Jesus, His brothers, His disciples, and those He effected on earth.
They were diligent. They waited on the unknown. They did know know what would accompany the coming of the Spirit, it was something they had to experience.
Finally after ten days of waiting, they gathered together to pray and at 9:00 am they began to hear a noise. The noise grew into the sound of a rushing wind.
They looked around at the other people gathered and saw fire on top of each of their heads. When they opened their mouths to speak, their native language turned into a language of heaven!
They felt the same power they felt when Jesus walked the earth. Except now this power was IN them. I imagine at that point things began to make sense.
They received the necessary power to witness. Perhaps they remembered the words of Jesus in
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
Because of their intense desire to see Jesus again, they were obedient to Jesus’ instructions. Peter stood, faced the people outside and preached to them about Jesus’ coming and His grace!
3,000 people accepted Him, were baptized in water, and filled with His power. From there the church went forward with a singular focus, we want to see Him again, and when we do, we want Him to find us working!
A few days later, Peter and John went to the Temple to worship. As they arrived, they saw a man who lame, he had not walked his entire life.
Knowing they had power from heaven, Peter and John prayed with authority, trusting God to heal the man who begged for money.
6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God.
:
Suddenly, they began to notice a progression. Because we want to see Him again, He is showing Himself real through us! They saw the things Jesus did while He was on earth, but it happened through them!
They began to see Jesus through the power He gave them. This power led to...
2. See You Again through Persecution
2. See You Again through Persecution
1 Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
Because God’s people preached the name of Jesus and His resurrection, it bothered the religious leaders. They worked for three-and-a-half years to silence Jesus.
They thought they stopped Him, but now His followers and declaring His name with power. They preached, He died, He rose from the dead, and very soon, we will see Him again!
With intense fervor the religious leaders arrested Peter and John. they only problem? The number of believers had grown to 5,000 people.
In
Furthermore, they did not have legal basis to charge them. They made them wait overnight and the next morning, Peter and John stood in the same place Jesus stood when He was questioned by the High Priest.
The intimidation tactic did not work. It only prompted Peter and John to declare the death, burial, and resurrection. They went as far to declare that there is salvation in NO other name than the name of Jesus!
The persecution should have scared Jesus’ followers. But nothing scared them, not imprisonment, not threats, and not even death.
As one eloquent speaker explained, ‘you can’t kill a dead man.’ They had died to the things of this world, their hope and confidence was in Christ. If they took their lives, no problem, they would get to see Jesus sooner than later.
If they took their lives, no problem, they would get to see Jesus sooner than later.
Knowing they could not stop Peter and John, they threatened them, commanding them to NEVER speak in the name of Jesus. What was their response?
19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
Acts 4:
I can almost hear it in my mind, Peter let them know, “You don’t understand, what we are seeing happen through us is what we saw Jesus do on earth.
Sure He is not here physically, but we saw the sick healed through Him, now we are seeing it again through us.
We saw supernatural power through Him, now are seeing it again through us.
He was with us in person then, now we see Him again in the Spirit with us!
Seeing their threats did not work, they released Peter and John. Where did they go? They joined the church in prayer. As they prayed, they learned a valuable lesson, their ardent belief that they would see Jesus again would sustain them.
As they prayed for more power in the face of persecution, God answered:
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
As they longed to see Him again, they saw Him work through them. Not just once on the day of Pentecost. But they saw Jesus work through them again and again, in power, in persecution, and...
3. See You Again in Purity
3. See You Again in Purity
Acts
11 So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. 12 And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch.
Up until chapter five, the church experienced Heaven on Earth, supernatural power, protection, unity, and peace. Then Satan reared his ugly head through two willing participants.
A husband and wife, Ananias and Sapphira, lied to the Holy Spirit. They were dishonest about an offering they gave to the Lord. They were not required to give the offering. But they wanted the credit for being extra generous.
In all they did, their motive were impure and as a result the judgment of God came upon them. It is interesting when good things happen, they don’t always get told. But when something bad happens, we can guarantee people will tell other people.
But they did and then lied about th
It didn’t take long for people to hear about how Ananias and Sapphira both died for lying to the Holy Spirit. Something like this could have stopped or hindered the church.
Instead, it rallied the church to a new level of purity. They realized the need fo live a righteous and holy life. If they were going to see Him again, they could not flirt with the world and get consumed in sin.
They had to get serious about their commitment to the Lord. Guess what happened when people rededicated their resolve to be faithful to the Lord? He they saw His power again!
14 And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. 16 Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
Acts 5:
The church leaders began to see Jesus work through them AGAIN! Notice the progression, they experienced Jesus on the Day of Pentecost. God displayed His power and the church grew.
Following the church growth came persecution. But the church kept trusting they would see Jesus again. They survived the persecution and God sent His power again!
Now, sin entered the church, God led them back to purity. Then God sent His power again! The driving force behind the church was the singular focus: Jesus, I want to see you again!
Close:
I can’t speak for you, but I can say for me, within the depths of my heart there is a desire, God I want to see you again! If we will get hungry to see Him again, He will surprise us by the power of His Spirit!
Within the first year or so of the New Testament Church, we see, as they longed to see Jesus again, He showed Himself through them again and again.
But they never lost their desire for Him to return. They believed they would see Him again, but they committed to stay faithful, to work for Him, and to do all they could to tell others about Him until He came.
Paul summarized the New Testament trust in His coming :
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Jude, the brother of Jesus had faith:
Jude 24
24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
Paul believed that:
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
They believed they would see Him again, but they committed to stay faithful, to work for Him, and to do all they could to tell others about Him until He came.
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
They believed they would see Him again, but they committed to stay faithful, to work for Him, and to do all they could to tell others about Him until He came.
They knew the progression, their might be good and bad times, but they would SEE HIM AGAIN!
But I have noticed, too often in the church there are two categories of people: there are those who are so ready for His coming in the future, they do very little for Him now!
Then there are those who are so focused on today, praying to make it each day or seeking His presence just for today, that they rarely look for His coming.
And today, I stand with the New Testament Church, I want so:
So I want to stand with the New Testament Church, I want so:
See Him again in the clouds
To hear the sound of the trumpet
To see the dead in Christ rise first
To ascend to be with the Lord forevermore!
I am ready to see Jesus again! But until He comes physically, I want to see Him again spiritually. I want to see Him:
In this church
In my family
In my marriage
On my job
and In my country.
I pray, Come Lord, Like a rushing wind, we are desperate for your presence! I know God has been good to this church, and I believe that time is short, things are wrapping up quickly, but I believe in the depths of my heart, We can see Him again just one more time!
Until we see Him again in the clouds of glory, He can send a cloud of glory in this place. He wants to give us an eternal focus while he helps us day by day.
How is this possible? Let’s do like they did it in the book of Acts. Jesus wants to come down again and baptize every believer in this sanctuary in the Holy Spirit.
He can do for us what He did for them. He can take our english, turn it into a new tongue and we can have the same power Jesus had and the same power the New Testament church had.
Then, we will be equipped with His power. Because the stage is set for an end time outpouring! Persecution is increasing against the body of Christ. Impurity is not the norm in our nation.
When hard times come, when we are persecuted or face difficult seasons, He can send His power and help us make it through.
When hard times come, when we are persecuted or face difficult seasons, He can send His power and help us make it through.
While these should be indicators of hard times to come. Deep within the heart of His people is a cry that says, God you were faithful in the past, so we want to see you again!
He will hear our prayer, open up the heavens, send down His power, and we will see His works and wonders operating in us once again.
Then when we do see Him again at His coming, He will see us working for Him, doing all we can to tell and show others, WE WILL SEE JESUS AGAIN!