Have you ever lost something? You have searched everywhere to no avail. In the midst of your frustrating search, someone asks, "Is this what you are looking for?"

"Where did you find that?" you ask with an accusing tone, as if that person was deliberately hiding it from you.

"It was right here," comes a response.

"I looked there and I didn’t find it," you say.

"If it had teeth it would have bit you."

If Jesus was standing right in front of you, would you recognize Him? How would you know it is him?

Would you be like Thomas who, upon hearing about Jesus resurrection said, "Unless I see the holes in His hands and feet. Unless I put my hand into his side, I will not believe."

Would you be like John and James, who while tending to their families fishing business, dropped everything, because Jesus said to them, "Come, follow me, I will make you fishers of men."

We would like to think we would be able to recognize Jesus, but I wonder.

I wonder how many people know what the Bible says about Jesus coming again. Will he come again as an infant, born to an engaged woman, in a tiny town, in a strangers garage? Will Jesus appear descending out of the heavens, accompanied by legions of angels, like something we would see in a movie?

Believe it or not it will be the latter and that is a whole other sermon.

My concern this morning is, How do you recognize the presence of Jesus, now. Jesus said,

"I will be with you always, even to the end of this age."

Where do you find Him?

In spite of everything that the prophet Isaiah said about the coming of Jesus. Jesus was not well recognized by the general public.

Why was it difficult for the Jewish people to embrace Jesus? Was it because He was born in a manger and not in a palace? Was it because His blood was that of a common person and not from royalty? Was it because they didn’t believe that God would choose to save the world through a humble suffering servant rather than a glorious king? Was it because there was nothing attractive in the physical appearance of Jesus?

"He had no form or majesty....nothing in His appearance that we should desire."

"He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity."

This man of sorrows, this servant of God, Jesus, God’s only begotten Son was rejected by those around Him, rejected by Israel because He did not fit their expectations. Isaiah likened them to wandering sheep. Yet God sent Jesus,

"to bear our infirmities, to carry our diseases, to be wounded for our transgressions, to be oppressed and afflicted, to die for our transgressions."

We have the hindsight to see and know the identity of the promised Messiah, who has come and died for our sins. The sad truth is, Jesus is still rejected by many today. Some reject Him by standing against Him, others ignore Him and His gift of grace, forgiveness, and salvation. We fail to recognize the presence of Jesus in our life.

In the book God’s Vitamin "C" for the Spirit, Cheri Fuller recounts her son Justin's fourth Christmas. Hospitalized in Oklahoma because of a severe asthma attack. He sat on the edge of the bed, instead of on Santa’s lap. In place of a Christmas stocking hung an IV bottle. Instead of a TV screen, there was a monitor screen with bleeping lines.

So much for the traditional family Christmas at home. Fully expecting to put Christmas off, they were surprised when a man brightly dressed as Santa Claus came bounding down the hall and delivered a cowboy hat to Justin that was just the right size.

Shortly after, 2 campfire girls brought in a handmade white felt mitten ornament decorated with holly. Hardly had their words faded when carolers arrived. Next a University of Oklahoma football player in his varsity jersey strolled in and began to chat with Justin. An avid football fan Justin couldn’t believe that a real live football player had come to visit him.

The next day, Christmas morning, a tall, thin, shabbily dressed man quietly entered the room and sat on the edge of Justin’s bed. Like a character from a Dicken’s novel, without a word, took out an old flute and began to play a Christmas medley. Finishing his serenade he handed Justin a small cupful of tiny red candies. Then with a smile slipped out the door.

I realize that none of the people who had shared their love and gifts knew us or had even told us their names. We had done nothing to deserve their gifts. While my hurts from the past had created a cold barrier around my heart, these simple acts of kindness had caused the walls of neglected feeling to come tumbling down.

That lonely hospital, with its drab walls had become a place of God’s healing and reconciliation. Away from family, friends and my other son, without trees or traditions, God delivered to us His special Christmas gift. The loneliest and darkest place had been filled with the presence of angels and brightest of lights.

Who knows who God will choose to reveal Himself to you. Who knows what situation God will use to reveal Himself to you. God will and does reveal Himself. The question which needs answering is, Are you looking for Him?

He can be found in a new born child, in the friendly embrace of a neighbor, in the compassionate hands of a physician, in a comforting touch, an encouraging word. You might be surprised by how and whom God chooses to reveal Himself to you.

"He had no form or majesty...nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity."

Don’t be like the Israelites who rejected Jesus,
because He didn’t fit their expectations.

"Seek and you shall find."

Amen

Past Sermons