Jesus’ Presence

Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20

Video Link: https://youtu.be/x5NbZl6EPjU

Structure:

• Introduction
• Jesus’ presence calms fear
• Jesus’ presence is close
• Jesus’ presence can be felt
• Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Today we conclude our Renew Together mini-series in support of Arotahi.

our New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society.

Renew Together is about remembering God’s mission of gospel renewal and our part in that mission. Over the three weeks of this year’s Renew Together campaign we have used the sermon time to focus on Matthew 28, verses 16-20, also known as the Great Commission.

Two weeks ago we heard about Jesus’ great authority. And last week we unpacked Jesus’ great commission to make disciples. Today our message concentrates on Jesus’ great presence. Let’s remind ourselves of what Jesus says in Matthew 28…

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey all I have commanded you. And surely I am with you all the time, to the very end of the age.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

There are many things we can say about Jesus’ presence. Today’s message focuses on just three ideas. Jesus’ presence calms fear. Jesus’ presence is close and Jesus’ presence can be felt. First, let’s consider how Jesus’ presence calms fear.  

Jesus’ presence calms fear

Human beings survive by forming attachments with other people. The first thing a new born baby does is cry, partly to get some oxygen into its lungs but also to get its mother’s attention and form an attachment.

Previously, experts thought that successful attachment was created by food but John Bowlby discovered there was more to it than that. Babies need caregivers who are responsive to them, who smile at them, talk to them and spend time interacting with them in a warm and positive way. 

The central idea of attachment theory is that primary caregivers who are present and responsive to a baby’s needs allow the child to develop a sense of security. When the baby knows that the parent is dependable, they are less anxious and this creates a secure base for the child to explore the world. The caregiver’s presence calms fear.

Over a period of three years the disciples had formed a significant attachment to Jesus. They had experienced Jesus’ love and faithfulness. They had learned to depend on Jesus and this had given them a secure base for their faith.

Soon Jesus would ascend to heaven so they would not be able to see him or hang out with him in the same way they had before. Things were about to change and change is scary.

What’s more, Jesus was asking his followers to do something really big. ‘Go and make disciples of all nations’; that’s massive, it’s huge, overwhelming even. Particularly when we remember the establishment was against them.

Perhaps the biggest trap for the disciples was their fear. The fear of abandonment. The fear of opposition. The fear of rejection. The fear of failure.  

The antidote to fear is presence; having someone with you who loves you. Someone you can trust. Someone who is greater than your fears. Jesus does not want his followers to be anxious or insecure so he says, “I am with you”.  Jesus’ presence calms the disciples’ fear. 

Jesus’ words echo the words of Yahweh, the Lord Almighty. A number of times in the Old Testament, God says to his people, “I am with you.” For example, in Joshua 1, as the people of Israel stand poised to enter the Promised land, we read…

⁹ …Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Then in Isaiah 41, the Lord says to the people in exile…

‘Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Famously, in Psalm 23, David says of the Lord…  

⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

And, in the New Testament letter to the Hebrews chapter 13, we read…

⁵ Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
⁶ So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid…”

We could go on quoting Scripture but you get the point. Jesus’ presence calms our fear. As the followers of Jesus we do not need to be afraid of poverty or evil or opposition or anything else because the Lord is with us.

The important thing is to maintain our attachment to Jesus. Because we can only make disciples if we remain attached to Jesus.  

It’s like the Lord said in John 15: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

We maintain our attachment to Jesus in a variety of ways. For example, by meditating on Scripture, keeping right relationships, practicing hospitality, observing times of sacred rest and singing praise to God, alongside other rhythms that support our whole life.

Prayer is perhaps the most important rhythm for maintaining our attachment to Jesus. Prayer is an open ended conversation with God, one that never really ends, even though it may be punctuated with long pauses and silences.

Whether we are talking to God or listening to him, prayer keeps us open to God’s presence. When we pray, we put ourselves in the hands of God and we stay attached to Christ.

Jesus’ presence calms fear and Jesus’ presence is close.

Jesus’ presence is close

Some of you may have noticed the way Jesus repeats the word all four times in three verses. All authority, all nations, all I have commanded and all the time.

Jesus is giving his disciples confidence. He’s saying, “I am present with you everywhere and always. Nothing can separate you from my love”.

Jesus’ presence is close. No one, who belongs to Jesus, slips through the cracks. No one is beyond the reach of Jesus’ presence. We are reminded of Psalm 139, which reads…

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? ⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. ⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, ¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 

It’s important to note what Jesus promises and what he doesn’t. The Lord does not promise that nothing bad will ever happen to us. To the contrary, Jesus was quite clear that people would hate his followers on account of him.

What Jesus does promise is to be present with his disciples, every day and in all situations. So Jesus is present when everything is going smoothly and when everything is turning to custard.

In the book of Acts, chapter 7, we are given a picture of the closeness of Jesus’ presence with Stephen. From verse 54 we read…

⁵⁴ As the members of the Council listened to Stephen, they became furious and ground their teeth at him in anger. ⁵⁵ But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw God’s glory and Jesus standing at the right side of God. ⁵⁶ “Look!” he said. “I see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right side of God!”

⁵⁷ With a loud cry the Council members covered their ears with their hands. Then they all rushed at him at once, ⁵⁸ threw him out of the city, and stoned him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. 

⁵⁹ While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he died.

Jesus did not stop the Council members from killing Stephen. Nevertheless, Jesus was close with Stephen in his suffering and Jesus’ presence made all the difference, enabling Stephen to forgive his killers as a sign of God’s grace.

You see, Jesus is not aloof or unaffected. Jesus’ presence is not that of a cool or neutral observer. No. Jesus is deeply moved by what happens to his followers. Jesus’ presence with his people is close, intimate, emotionally invested.

We notice the closeness of Jesus’ presence in Acts 9 when the risen Christ appears to Saul on the road to Damascus. From verse 3 we read…  

³ As Saul neared Damascus… suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 

Jesus is so closely present with his people, that when we suffer he feels it. The church is the body of Christ in a very real way. Whether any member is hurt or helped, Jesus is affected by that. Even if we are not aware of Jesus’ presence, Jesus is still very aware of what we are going through.

Jesus’ presence can be felt

The point we need to get hold of here is that Jesus’ presence is not one dimensional. Jesus’ presence is not thin, like a cardboard cut-out. Jesus’ presence has real substance and depth so it can be felt by us.  

We might not always feel like Jesus is present but there will be times when we do sense Jesus’ closeness. The Holy Spirit facilitates Jesus’ presence. The Spirit of God makes Jesus’ presence real and tangible and personal.

In John 20 we read how the risen Christ breathed on his disciples and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’. And in Luke’s gospel, the risen Jesus tells his disciples to stay in the city of Jerusalem until they have been clothed with power from on high. That power is the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit enabled the disciples to carry out the great commission by preaching with boldness, healing the sick, speaking in foreign languages and many other remarkable things besides. People accepted Jesus as Saviour and Lord because the Holy Spirit made the presence of the risen Jesus felt. 

We need to remember though, that the Holy Spirit is involved in our lives in less spectacular ways too. Jesus isn’t just present in supernatural events. Jesus is present all the time, including the ordinary, the routine and the natural.

Let me offer you three real life examples of how Jesus’ presence can be felt. Maybe my experience of Jesus’ presence connects with yours.

Firstly, Jesus’ presence can be felt through people, particularly the people of God.

When one of our daughters was young she caught rota virus and had to go to hospital. While we were in hospital, Greg, the pastor of the church we attended, came to visit us. I was about 29 at the time and had never been visited by a pastor before.

I don’t remember what Greg said but I remember he prayed for us and I remember feeling touched that he would take time out of his Saturday afternoon to come to the hospital so we wouldn’t feel alone.

Jesus communicated his presence with us through a person, through Greg. Whenever one of God’s people visits someone, Jesus is present and the body of Christ (the church) is present also. 

Not only is Jesus’ presence felt through people, we can also sense the Lord’s presence in the perfect timing of certain situations.

A day or two after Robyn & I had relocated from Tauranga to Auckland, to train for ministry, we went for a walk in Cornwall Park and got a bit lost. I didn’t really like Auckland and was feeling the weight of our decision to uproot our young family. I needed reassurance.

As we wandered around in a general state of disorientation, I noticed an elderly man in the distance. He looked familiar. As I drew closer, I realised it was Walter Lang. Walter was the senior pastor of Hamilton Central Baptist when I was there in the 1980’s. I hadn’t seen Walter in over ten years.

There are more than one million people in Auckland so the chances of me randomly bumping into Walter at the very moment I needed assurance were very slim. The timing was too perfect for it to be a coincidence. I knew God’s Spirit was making a connection.  

Seeing Walter that day was a very real and tangible sign that Jesus was with us and we were on the right path. Walter became my mentor for the three years of our training.

Jesus’ presence can be felt through people and through perfect timing. Jesus’ presence is also felt in our gathered worship.

Last Sunday, Pat led the intercessory prayer. Pat didn’t know what I was going to say in my sermon and I didn’t know what she was going to say in her prayer. And yet there were very real connections between what Pat prayed and what I preached, particularly in relation to being sensitive to where others are at.

The Holy Spirit makes connections like that every Sunday. The connections might come through the sermon or the prayer but not always. Sometimes they come through a conversation over tea and coffee after the service. Other times through the songs we sing or in some other way.

Whatever form they come in, we recognise the connections as a sign of Jesus’ presence, because they resonate with something in our spirit.

The connections are often personal to you, because of what God is doing in your life, so other people may not see the connection. But even though the connection is personal, you still need other believers to make a connection.

Jesus’ presence is felt when we come together. As the Lord said, where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them.

Conclusion

This morning we have heard how Jesus’ presence calms our fear. We can’t be effective in making disciples if we are afraid. We need to maintain our attachment to Jesus in order to be fruitful. 

We’ve also heard how Jesus’ presence is close, in good times and bad. Jesus is not an aloof observer. The Lord is deeply affected by what happens to his people.

What’s more, Jesus’ presence can be felt by us at times too. We may sense the Lord’s presence in any number of ways including through people, through perfect timing and through our coming together for worship.

The overarching purpose of Jesus’ presence though, is to empower us to be disciples and to make disciples.

May the Spirit of God give us eyes to see Jesus at work in the world, hearts to feel his presence and willingness to obey his call. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

• Why does Jesus promise to be with his disciples always?

• On a scale of 1-10 (1 being poor and 10 being perfect) how would you rate your attachment to Jesus? Why do you give this rating? Does anything need to change? If so, what needs to change?

• Discuss / reflect on Jesus’ words in Acts 9, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” What does this show us about Jesus’ ongoing presence with his disciples?

• What role does the Holy Spirit have in facilitating Jesus’ presence?

• When are you most aware of Jesus’ presence in your life? Think of / share examples from your own experience when you sensed Jesus was near.

• How might we communicate Jesus’ presence to those around us?