Have you ever wondered why the Pharisees, scribes and priests in Jesus’ days rejected God’s visitation through His son Jesus? How is it possible that Bible-abiding believers, who firmly held onto the laws of God and obeyed God in the smallest details, never recognized the Messiah who was announced in their Bible thousands of years before?
The following story really opened my eyes and made me ponder: Is it possible that we may also miss God’s visitation today? Read the following with me:
Matt 21:7-11 “They (the disciples) brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Hosanna in the highest!"
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?"
The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."
Can you imagine the tumult in Jerusalem? People were excited because Jesus had come into their town. God was visiting them! What a privilege! Wouldn’t you want to welcome God into your own town?
But, where were the priests? Weren’t they faithfully performing the sacrifices in the temple, “worshipping” God? Weren’t they the ones who were obeying God as He had commanded them? Assuredly they should be welcoming the Son in God in their city. But instead, they were wondering who dared to interrupt their services in the temple. After all, shouldn’t people be excited about God in the temple? There is no better place to worship Him, is there? They became indignant by God’s visitation in Jerusalem!
Matt 21:15 “But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant.” NIV
They were worshipping God, but did not recognize God when He came to visit them! How sad! Which group would you like to be identified with? The simple worshippers who recognized when God was visiting them and who took the time to get palm branches and put their priced cloaks on the road to smoothen Jesus’ way? Or the priests who would only try to limit God’s presence to certain places according certain laws. Would you like to meet God where He is do you wish to put God in a box?
Is it possible that we could worship God, hold onto His law, and still not recognize Him when He comes to our door? This is exactly what happened to the Pharisees. It seems that keeping God’s law is not a 100%, fool- proof guarantee that we will recognize God in the street. (I am not saying here that God’s law has no place in our life.)
Are you experiencing an emptiness when you go to church? Are you thirsting to know Him more, but you don’t know how? Is there a way that can assure you of recognizing God when you meet Him in the streets?
I was raised as a Roman Catholic believer. I was satisfied. I did my daily prayers and went to mass faithfully. However, when I met with Seventh-day Adventists, they brought into my life something I had never had the privilege of knowing before: God’s Word. I was so excited and so thankful, and I embraced the beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist church openly. After all, were they not the ones who took their time to introduce me to God’s Word? Assuredly, they must have the truth.
For 27 years I worshipped God in that church. I was quite involved with the church and never dreamed of leaving it. I was an elder who preached regularly in several of our surrounding churches, I was the Sabbath School Superintendent, as well as the Vacation Bible School Director and chairman of our local SDA school board. I was satisfied with all these activities. But one thing was bothering me: Why did I feel so empty inside? Why didn’t I feel God’s presence at church? Why was I struggling with certain addictions that I was unable to set aside, although I was begging God to help me with these?
Then one day I prayed a prayer that revolutionized my life: “Lord, lead me to Your truth.” I was shocked by my prayer. Wasn’t I in God’s church that had God’s truth? Why would I utter these kinds of words?
You can read more about it in my testimonial, but basically God put me in a situation where I felt His presence and where it was revealed to me that God’s truth is not a set of doctrines. God’s truth is a person: the person of Jesus Christ! John 14:6-7 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” NIV
I couldn’t come to God through a church. I couldn’t reach Him by faithfully obeying a set of doctrines and rules. I could come to the Father only through Jesus Christ, who is “the way and the truth and the life”.
That day of revelation, my life was changed and I experienced what Jesus promised to all His followers: John 14:16-17 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever- the Spirit of truth. The world (including Pharisees, Sadducees and other “religious” people) cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” NIV God’s Holy Spirit came to live with me, and on that day, all of my addictions disappeared! I had struggled for more than 30 years with these addictions, and in a blink of a moment, God gave me victory! In addition, since that day, I have never felt alone. God visited me that day, and I clung to Him to help me get to know Him more!
Are you hungering to get to know God? Are you thirsting for His presence in your life? If you are, then you, too, can experience the life-changing events that I have experienced. But only if you are willing to sincerely and humbly pray: Lord, Lead me to Your truth”! Are you willing to pray this prayer today?
Click here to go to: b. Do you really know God?