We Will See Him

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 31st of May, 2026.  If all went well, a recording of the service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams for the older services or https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch3115/streams for later services.]

Back on the first Sunday of the month, we looked at the opening verses of the 14th chapter of the Apostle John’s Gospel account.  In that passage, Jesus proclaimed that He is the Way and the Truth and the Life.  No one can get to the Father in heaven except through Him.  By His sacrifice on the cross, the way has been made ready for us.  Jesus took our sin upon Himself.  By our belief, we are forgiven and redeemed.

Today I’d like to continue with that scripture and the way Jesus made ready.  That previous passage ended and today’s begins with the same verse, with Jesus saying, “If you love Me, obey My commands.”  And that’s a question each of us must seriously ask ourselves: do I truly love Jesus?

Please listen and follow along as I finish reading the 14th chapter of the Apostle John’s Gospel account, verses 15 through 31, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible this morning…

15 “If you love Me, obey My commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it isn’t looking for Him and doesn’t recognize Him. But you know Him, because He lives with you now and later will be in you. 18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans — I will come to you. 19 Soon the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me. Since I live, you also will live. 20 When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you. 21 Those who accept My commandments and obey them are the ones who love Me. And because they love Me, My Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal Myself to each of them.”

22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to Him, “Lord, why are You going to reveal Yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”

23 Jesus replied, “All who love Me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and We will come and make Our home with each of them. 24 Anyone who doesn’t love Me will not obey Me. And remember, My words are not My own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent Me. 25 I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as My representative — that is, the Holy Spirit — He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

27 “I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. 28 Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really loved Me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am. 29 I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do happen, you will believe.

30 “I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the ruler of this world approaches. He has no power over Me, 31 but I will do what the Father requires of Me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let’s be going.”

--John 14:15-31 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for agreeing to Your Son’s request and sending Your Holy Spirit to live within us and be our Advocate and Guide.  Father, we know we are not worthy of so wonderful a gift.  And we know we are not always very obedient.  So we thank You all the more for loving us even when we displease You.  Please help us more faithfully obey You.  Remind us of how little Jesus expects of us.  Help us be more like Your Son in all areas of our life.  This we pray in the beautiful name of our Lord Jesus.   Amen.

Charles Spurgeon once claimed that 98 percent of the people he met - including the criminals he visited in England's prisons - told him that they believed the Bible to be true.  Ninety-eight percent.  But the vast majority had never made a personal, life-changing commitment to Jesus Christ.  For them, "believe" was not an active verb.

The Apostle James says, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds?  I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”  (James 2:18c (NLT))  There’s more to “believing” than just a thought process.  To believe in Jesus is to follow Him.  To believe the Bible is true is to live as it directs.

The content of belief - what we believe and how we believe it - is important.  Jonathan Whitfield was preaching to coal miners in England.  He asked one man, “What do you believe?”  “Well, I believe the same as the church.”  “And what does the church believe?”  “Well, they believe the same as me.”  Seeing he was getting nowhere, Whitfield said, “And what is it that you both believe?”  “Well, I suppose the same thing.”

Sounds like a politician’s response to me.  But it does highlight the fact that some people do not truly know exactly what it is they believe in.  When confronted about their belief, they hem and haw and stumble around for a answer.  How strong is our conviction?  Do we believe the Bible is true, in all of its content?  Do we believe that we will indeed see Jesus some day?

Our reading this morning packed a lot in those 17 verses, beginning with Jesus noting that we will obey Him if we truly love Him.  Now it’s not like Jesus placed a heavy burden on us, like the Pharisees did to the Jews.  All Jesus commands is that we love each other, and that we go into the world sharing the Gospel and making disciples for Him.  To make this even more simple, if we love Jesus we will follow Him, follow the example He set.  And if we do, He will have our Father God send His Holy Spirit to live within us and be our Advocate.  We also know the Holy Spirit as our Helper, our Guide, our Comforter, our Encourager, our Counselor, and our constant Companion.  This is our gift from God for simply loving His Son.

A little earlier in his Gospel account, John recorded a conversation between Jesus and a certain Pharisee.  Please hear what John saved for is in the first 8 verses of the 3rd chapter of his account…

1 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent You to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with You.”

3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

4 “What do You mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

--John 3:1-8 (NLT)

When Pharisee Nicodemus came at night to speak with Jesus, Jesus compared the work of the Holy Spirit to the wind.  We can't see the wind - we can only see its effects.  We can't see the Holy Spirit, but we can see His effect on a person.  We can feel His effect on us.  We can’t see Him with our eyes, but we can see Him with our spirit, with our heart.

Returning to our morning reading, Jesus promises not to abandon us, even though He is leaving us.  At that point in time, anybody and everybody could physically see Jesus, if they had sight.  But soon the world, the unbelieving world, would no longer be able to see Him, meaning He would no longer be physically there among them.

He assured His followers, though, that they would still be able to see Him, because He will still live.  And because He lives, we, too, will live.  Because He will be raised to new life, we, too, will be raised to new life.  This is our promise of everlasting life with Jesus.

Jesus left us and returned to heaven.  But He also left us with two amazing gifts: the Holy Spirit and peace.  This is not a peace like the world can give.  Any peace that the world offers is very short-lived, easily shattered and broken.  And this is not a physical peace from hostilities or harm.  It is just as Jesus says – a peace of mind and heart.  It allows us to be at peace spiritually, internally, no matter what storms and wars may rage around us.  It is the peace of knowing that some day we will see Jesus.

Earlier this month, in the reading of the first part of our morning’s scripture, we heard Philip exclaim, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”  Jesus, sounding exasperated, replied, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father!”  (John 14:8,9b (NLT))

We today can only see Jesus through the eyes of those who walked with Him, saw Him up close, heard Him.  We see Him through the accounts saved in our bible.  In the same way, we can also see the Holy Spirit, and we can see the effect He has on ourselves and others.

But some sweet day, we will see the beautiful face of our Lord Jesus, with our own eyes.  And we will fall down at His feet and worship Him.  For now let us continue to worship our Lord Jesus and our Father God in spirit and in truth.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for all the blessing You pour out over us, all the wonderful gifts we don’t deserve.  You sent Your Son to save us.  You forgive our sin when we follow Him.  You gave You own Spirit to live within us.  And then there are all the blessings we receive daily.  Thank You, Father, for loving us this much!  Sadly, Father, we too often disappoint and displease You.  We act in ways we know we shouldn’t, and we don’t do things we know we should.  Please help us do better.  Help us be more merciful in our dealings with others.  Remind us of what is truly important.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment so that each of us can speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your and our Lord’s commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, thank You for promising not to abandon us.  Thank You for assuring us that we will see you some day.  Thank You for the promise of new life with You.  And thank You for peace of heart and of mind.  But Lord, we realize that we too often fail to follow Your commands.  Sometimes we don’t show our love of You by not loving others as we should.  Please help us remember that Your burden is light, Your commands few and simple.  Please help us love as You love: selflessly, unconditionally, sacrificially.  Help us show Your love and God’s love as we reach out to others, sharing Your words and Your works, telling them all about You.  Help us carry out the mission You gave us, seeking the lost sheep and leading them to You.

Holy Spirit, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.