November 2001

Part Thirty-seven

Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory (B)

        In our last sharing, we spoke of when Jesus was passing through Jericho where a wealthy tax collector wanted to see what He was all about; but as he saw the press of the crowd awaiting the Coming of the Lord, he knew his small stature would obstruct his view so he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree [“A fig tree reaching a very large size often planted by roadsides to afford a favorable view for sightseers.” Unger’s Bible Dict.] In this sober hour the whole earth (whether they know it or not) is waiting for the Coming of the Lord, and that great event is about to take place in a company of sons! Outwardly these are not a people some folks might expect to see; and some “religious ones” might even call us the flotsam and jetsam of this world. But Paul said, “Consider your own calling, brethren, and how not many wise- according to the flesh- nor many might or noble are called! God deliberately chose that which this world would call foolish so as to confound the wise (in their own eyes)! He also chose the weak things of this world to confound the mighty (in human terms); and He chose the lowly, despised things- even the things which are not- to bring to nothing and nullify the things that are! He has done this that NO FLESH SHOULD GLORY IN HIS PRESENCE! It is only because of God’s grace and love that you and I are in Christ Jesus- Who is made for us God’s wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption! Therefore as it is written, ‘Let him that glories (boasts) glory (boast) in the Lord!” (1 Co 1:26-31)
         When Jesus saw Zacchaeus in the tree He called to him, “Come down quickly from there! Today I must stay at your house!!’ (Lk 19:1-10) The resoluteness in the Lord’s choice of words would suggest that a Messianic Visitation is taking place! This supposition is further supported by His next statement, “This day Salvation is come to your house, because indeed a (true, spiritual) son of Abraham lives there and the Son of man is come to seek and save all that which was lost!”
        Now the crowd gathered at that place heard Jesus’ Words and “murmured” against them- just as their unbelieving forefathers in the wilderness which cost them their Promised Land]! These envious dissenters accused Zacchaeus before the Lord according to his outward appearance saying, “(Jesus) has gone to be the guest of a SINNER!’ But let us remember God always sees the heart of a man! He looks past the “under-construction stage” at the “finished product”! He discerns what “shall be” when the Beauty of His Holiness transforms our sinful lives into His Own Sinless Life! Christ also knew that Zacchaeus, [Heb 2140] means: “To be transparent, made clean and pure!” How glorious! With Omniscient Vision, Christ saw the transparency about to manifest in this man just as soon as Salvation, bespeaking of Himself, came into his “house” which typifies his heart! [Note the Lord’s precious urgency to see Salvation transform this little man- telling him to hurry! Did you ever realize how eager our blessed Father is to save His world? We think He is slow in this great work, but consider the limitlessness of infinity, then ask yourself if a few millenniums are that long to accomplish it all! We are awestruck when we read of ONE Miracle like: the parting of the Red Sea; the raining down of manna; the withholding of rain from the earth; the sun standing still in the sky; or the Resurrection of Christ from the dead!! Yet we become impatient with the idea that it takes a few thousand years to bring BILLIONS of people’s hearts through the process of Sonship! Medieval knighthood took years of arduous rigor; Olympic training takes years of hard labor; the canonization of saints in the Catholic church can take centuries to accomplish [although Php 4:21 refers to ALL true believers in Jesus Christ as SAINTS]!
        We yearn for the day all man desire to “see the coming of the Lord”. But like Zacchaeus, they will have to leave the crowds of religious onlookers and climb the fruit-bearing Tree of Life in order to view that blessed sight! Then Jesus will call them down [for no man’s head can be higher than His] and He will tell them, “Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up!” Yes, “Humble yourselves under the Mighty Hand of God so that He can exalt you in due time!” (Jas 4:10; 1 Pet 5:6) True humility makes the repentant heart approach God like the centurion who sought Jesus for his “grievously tormented, palsied servant” (who was more a son to him) saying, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; just speak the Word and my servant will be healed!” (Mt 8:8) Hearing this man’s request, Jesus turned and told His disciples, “I have not found such great faith in all Israel!” (v. 10) All believers need faith like this! God will have sons who will go to any length to “SEE” His coming; but yet they believe in, and trust, His Promises “WITHOUT HAVING TO SEE” their fulfillment!
Through “eyes” of Perfect Faith, God sees transparency and purity of Christ in our hearts! God gives believers “eyes” of Perfect Faith to behold the transparency and purity in His heart! So “We walk by Faith (spiritual sight), not by (natural) sight” since, “Without Faith, it is impossible to please God!” (2 Co 5:7; Heb 11:6) And “God has given every man his own measure of Faith!” (Ro 12:3) How wonderful to know our Father is so eager to have us return to our spiritual estate with Him, He has opened The Way [Jesus Christ- His Saving Anointing] so we can get there!

[TO BE CONTINUED]

Notice: this ministry will be in LONDON, ENGLAND the week of Dec 9-16

[except 2 one-day trips to Dublin, Ireland and Paris, France]. Any Kingdom group interested in hosting a meeting must please contact us as soon as possible by email: Sonrise1@aol.com, or telephone: 702-647-2131. Our itinerary is filling up quickly.

[We are not in need of lodgings, as all our accommodations have been prearranged.]