The Deeper Christian Life # 15

The Deeper Christian Life # 15

3. Then comes the third thought - the presence of Christ revealed. Bless God! When Christ heard how they cried, He spoke the words of the text, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." Ah, what gladness those words brought to those hearts! There is Jesus, that dark object appears, that dreaded form. It is our blessed Lord Himself. And, dear friends, the Master's object, whether it be by affliction or otherwise, is to prepare for receiving the presence of Christ, and through it all Jesus speaks, "It is I; be not afraid." The presence of Christ revealed! I want to tell you that the Son of God, oh believer, is longing to reveal Himself to you. Listen! Listen! Is there any longing heart? Jesus says, "Be of good cheer, it is I; be not afraid.

Oh, beloved, God has given us Christ. And does God want me to have Christ every moment? Without doubt. God wants the presence of Christ to be the joy of every hour of my life; and, if there is one thing sure, Christ can reveal Himself to me every moment. Are you willing to come and claim this privilege? He can reveal Himself. I cannot reveal Him to you; you cannot grasp Him; but He can shine into your heart. How can I see the sunlight tomorrow morning, if I am spared? The sunlight will reveal itself. How can I know Christ? Christ can reveal Himself. And I pray you to set your heart upon this, and to offer the humble prayer, "Lord, now reveal Thyself to me, so, that I may never lose the sight of Thee. Give me to understand that through the thick darkness Thou comest to make Thyself known." Let not one heart doubt, however dark it may be - Christ can reveal Himself. Ah, thank God often after a life of ten, and twenty years of dawn, after a life of ten and twenty years of struggling, now in the light, and now in the dark, there comes a time when Jesus is willing just to give Himself to us,k nevermore to part. God grant us that presence of Jesus! 

4. And now comes the fourth thought - the presence of Jesus lost, was the first; the presence of Jesus dreaded, was the second, the presence of Jesus revealed, was the third; the presence of Jesus desired, is the fourth. What happened? Peter heard the Lord,k and he was content. He was in the boat, and yonder was Jesus, some 30, 40, 50 yards distant, and He made as though He would have passed them; and Peter, in a preceding chapter I spoke about Peter, shewing what terrible failure and carnality there was in him, but bless the Lord Peter's heart was right with Christ, and he wanted to claim His presence, and he said, "Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come upon the water to Thee." Yes, Peter could not rest; he wanted to be as near to Christ as possible. He saw Christ walking on the water, he remembered Christ had said, "Follow Me," he remembered how Christ, with the miraculous draught of fishes, had proved that He was Master of the sea, and of the waters, and he remembered how Christ had stilled the storm; and, without argument or reflection, all at once he said, "There is my Lord manifesting Himself in a new way; there is my Lord exercising a new and supernatural power, and I can go to my Lord. He is able to make me walk where He walks." He wanted to walk like Christ, he wanted to walk near Christ. He didn't say, "Lord, let me walk around the sea here," but he said, "Lord, let me come to Thee."

Friends, would you not like to have the presence of Christ in this way? Not that Christ should come down, - that is what many Christians want; they want to continue in their sinful walk, they want to continue in their worldly walk,k they want to continue in their old life, and they want Christ to come down to them with His comfort, His presence, and His love; but that cannot be. If I am to have the presence of Christ, I must walk as He walked. His walk was a supernatural one. He walked in the power and in the love of God. Most people walk according to the circumstances in which they are, and most people say, "I am depending upon circumstances for my religion." A hundred times over you hear people say, "My circumstances prevent my enjoying fellowship with Jesus." What were the circumstances that were around about Christ? The wind and the waves, - and Christ walked triumphant over circumstances; and Peter said, "Like my Lord I can triumph overt all circumstances: anything around me is nothing, if I have Jesus." He longed for the presence of Christ. Would God that, as we look at the life of Christ upon earth, as we look how Christ walked and conquered the waves, every one of us could say, "i want to walk like Jesus." If that is your heart's desire, you can expect the presence of Jesus; but as long as you want to walk on a lower level than Christ, as long as you want to have a little of the world, and a little of self-will, do not expect to have the presence of Christ. Near Christ, and like Christ, - the two things go together. Have you taken that in? Peter wanted to walk like Christ that he might get near Christ; and it is this I want to offer every one of you. I want to say to the weakest believer, "With God's presence you can have the presence a and fellowship of Christ all the day long, your whole life through. I want to bring you that promise, but I must give God's condition, - walk like Christ, and you shall always abide near Christ. The presence of Christ invites you to come and have unbroken fellowship with Him.

~Andrew Murray~

(continued with # 16)