We Would See Jesus - Preface

I've just been worshipping and interceding to the words of a beautiful worship song:
"O my God, You've won my heart by giving me Yours forevermore;
Here I pledge in life or death, I am Yours forevermore..."

I believe with all my heart that we humans are created with a desire to give our all to something or someone, and I believe that the empowerment to do that comes from having been captivated by something or someone outside of ourselves.

As Christians we know this "something or someone" to be the Lord Jesus Christ. I fear that our watered down version of what being a Christian means has deceived us into believing that theological correctness means we have given our all to Him. If that were the case, the evangelical Church would be filled with burning hearts that can't be contained for very lovesickness for the Lamb who will come as a Lion soon to establish His earthly throne in the city of Jerusalem.

And so I have picked the book We Would See Jesus (by Roy and Revel Hession) to review next, simply because I believe that without really "seeing" (beholding) the real Jesus and how He has given His heart to His Bride, there's no hope of my pledging that I am His in life or death.

In the preface of this book, Roy and Revel Hession focus on the bedrock reality that, as important as it is to deal with the various aspects of the Christian walk, when you boil it all down to one simple reality, “it is enough to see Jesus. Seeing Him we are convicted of sin, broken, cleansed, filled with the Spirit, set free from bondage, and revived…He is both the Blessing we all seek and the easily accessible Way to that blessing.”

The theme of this book (seeing Jesus) has been and continues to be foundational for my life and ministry in God. I believe that all of the schemes and strategies of the evil one are ultimately aimed at hindering humans (whether believers in Jesus or not) from seeing Jesus for who He really is.

The authors explain two words that are used many times throughout the book:
1. Grace: in the New Testament “grace is not a blessing or an influence from God which we receive, but rather an attribute of God which governs His attitude toward man, and can be defined as the undeserved love and favor of God….The whole essence of grace is that it is undeserved (Rom. 11:6)...This means that when at last we are content to find no merit nor procuring cause in ourselves, and are willing to admit the full extent of our sinfulness, then there is no limit to what God will do for the poor who look to Him in their nothingness…The struggle, of course, is to believe it and to be willing to be but empty sinners to the end of our days, that grace may continue to match our needs.”
2. Revival: the author points out that his use of this word in this book refers to the possibility of a person living in vital union with Christ as a lifestyle, recognizing his/her need for continual renewal and awakening. He is not downplaying corporate revival, and I want to note here that at the end of this age, the focus will be on our corporate life in God (while not neglecting the private walk with Him), so I'll underscore this all along the way so that we don't miss what God is after as we approach the end.

I won't go any further with the book but want to stress this week how critical it is that we make seeing (beholding) Jesus the priority in our life if we want to stand under the end-times pressures that are coming; and so I encourage you to pray as you read this book so that it's not mere facts and information being passed on but rather impartation of life and light and power in the Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit, come and strengthen in us desire for Jesus, the One You love unashamedly. Breathe on us, Lord, or we have no life-giving breath in us. Show us the real God-Man...we love You and thank You for how faithful and true You are in our lives...

Next week we'll cover chapter one: Seeing God - the Purpose of Life. Blessings on you this week!