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Recognizing Jesus

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Isaiah 1:3 The ox [instinctively] knows his owner, and the donkey his master’s crib, but Israel does not know or recognize Me [as Lord], My people do not consider or understand.

There’s a true story about a well known Dallas, Texas pastor, W.A. Criswell who pastored the First Baptist Church of Dallas. Because of its proximity to the downtown area Sunday morning winters often brought the challenge of a large homeless population who often sought warmth amongst the affluent worshippers. Ushers were tasked with the unwanted job of thrusting them back out onto the cold, and dirty Dallas sidewalks. But one particularly eventful Sunday morning one of the homeless made their way through the foyer, slipping pass the ushers, making his way to W.A.’s famous pulpit. Catching up to their prey the embarrassed ushers began yanking and pulling his arms which were firmly inserted into the overcoat that wreaked of garbage, urine, and alcohol. Not to be outdone by their substitute preacher they resolved to extricate him from his hallowed perch. To their shock and surprise, this homeless man wriggled out of his overcoat, (leaving it as prize to the ushers), tossed off his hat, revealing to an equally shocked congregation none other than Pastor W.A. Criswell. Needless to say they heard a message that morning that outlived even Pastor Criswell. That Sunday morning W.A. Criswell, lived the message of His Lord echoing Israel of old, who missed the day of their visitation. It’s hard to believe, even astounding, that many of FBC’s attendants failed to recognize their Lord in and through their pastor’s sermon illustration in the flesh. How often have we missed recognizing Jesus for Who He really is?

Recently I was soaking in the Spirit at Jesus’ feet. (Incidentally, He is our Door waiting for us to open the door to His Presence; open the door to spiritual vision, hearing, and feeling). Soaking, involves waiting, and waiting takes time. Time is something we falsely believe belongs to us. Just as sand spills through the hourglass, as surely as it falls from the hands of those who tightly cling to it. As I was soaking the Lord revealed something very profound. He exists outside of time. He is not limited or constrained by its dimensions. This is why He IS! Not I was or will be – He simply is – outside of time. The Great I AM! Science tells us that time is a construct relative to our position in the universe. Since this is true, verified through the Word of God (Let there be..), then we must reach the conclusion that time was created by God for man. Time is His gift to us. If we believe time is a gift then we must also believe it’s not really our time. It’s His time, His gift. This has powerful ramifications for those who know and recognize Jesus as Lord. You see when we “open” the DOOR of Jesus we open the DOOR to Timelessness, and Eternity. When we open the DOOR, we are invited to come before His Feet, to enter into Timelessness. Since that is true it must be equally true that you and I aren’t seen from our past or even our future. You are seen as eternal as He is. In essence you become one with the Eternal One, and everything revolves around, and becomes centered in Him. Paul rightly said in Ephesians 2:6 that we are seated with Him in Heavenly Realms. In other words we are seated in the Eternal Realm and your past, with its sins, failures, mistakes and regrets no longer matter. But this reality is only made available to those who know and recognize Him as Lord. Those who recognize Him as Lord live out the exhortation of Hebrews 4:16 Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]. If I were not known to be a pastor surely there would be someone to admonish me for “wasting” my time soaking before the Lord. But if you know Jesus as Lord you know you are a sinner in need of Grace. Grace being the empowerment – the umph, the push, and desire – to become like Jesus in every way. Where do I find this Grace I am desperately in need of? At the feet of Jesus before His Throne. What physical posture would anyone take with a conscious awareness of being before His feet – before His throne? Quite simply you would figure out a way to go as low as you could humanly achieve, and you would not only take the time, you would make time to be where He sees you.

The Intercessor John Welsh

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Frank Di Pietro, The Fire That Once Was: John Welsh prayed. It was said of John Welsh that he thought a day “ill-used” if he did not spend seven to eight hours of it in prayer. At different times throughout the day he would stop what he was doing, retire to a secluded room or location, and boldly go before the throne of grace, that he might obtain mercy and find grace to help him in his time of need. (Heb. 4:16). It was his prayer life that sustained him. It was prayer that strengthened him in the trials and persecutions that were leveled against him. It was prayer that gave him the fortitude to continue preaching the Gospel in the face of adversity and peril. It was prayer that increased his intimacy with his Savior. It was prayer that not only changed the hearts of thousands but also an entire town to the things of God. It is said that the power in which a man walks in God is a reflection of the time he spends in prayer, and, oh, what power John Welsh walked in. You see, John Welsh prayed…. John Welsh, at the age of twenty, was on his way to his first ministry position. It was in the city of Selkirk, about thirty-eight miles south of Edinburgh (Scotland). His extraordinary character, intensity, and fervor for a moral and godly point of view, along with his unremitting and untiring zeal, soon led him to become an object of dislike and jealousy both to the clergy and the laymen of the organized church in the district where he was now living. The hatred with which he was persecuted by his peers, along with the realization of the lostness of the people, led him into a lifetime of intense prayer. It was here in Selkirk, a time of constant struggle, that he began his eight hours of daily prayer which he continued the rest of his life. Selkirk was a hard town. The people were poorly educated and, as Welsh says in his own words, “uncouth.” They refused to listen to him because they were content with the dead religion those in charge had been giving them. They resisted his ministry even to the point of violence. Welsh labored among the people of Selkirk for six years and it was a constant struggle. He would preach publicly once or twice each day, but to no avail. Praying unceasingly about the barbaric actions of the townsfolk, he would not let a night go by without the town witnessing his passionate and intense devotions before the Lord. Every night before going to bed, he would place a Scotch plaid (small blanket or shawl) on the side of the bed, that when he awoke in the cold of the night for his midnight prayers it would be handy to wrap around his shoulders. Agonizing with God in prayer he would ask that these hearts be changed, or that he be removed to a more suitable place for the Gospel. The answer would come soon.

The one good thing that came out of his sojourn in Selkirk was his marriage in 1594 to Elizabeth Knox, the youngest daughter of the mighty Scottish reformer John Knox. Knox is remembered for bringing a countrywide move of God that changed the whole of Scotland for a time. It was Knox that passionately cried out to God in prayer, “Give me Scotland, or I die.” So now another great man of prayer through marriage had been given the torch of revival for the land. Elizabeth was a positive influence on Welsh; being brought up from early years in the principles of Holy Scripture, she was a worthy helpmate in the trials and sufferings for the Gospel’s sake that would continue throughout their lives.