I FELL AT HIS FEET
A day is coming when Jesus will reveal Himself fully to wicked mankind. When that happens people will cry out for rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from His awesome presence. “[They] hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne” (Revelation 6:15-16).
At Times Square Church we often preach against sin, and many can say, “I’ve laid down everything the Spirit has exposed in me that’s unlike Jesus.” Yet I realize we have not arrived; we still fall short of His glory. Preaching alone will not bring the hatred for sin that so many need in these last days. It’s going to take deep, piercing manifestations of God’s holy presence because only in His presence will we learn to hate sin and walk in His fear.
I hear Christians boast, “On that Day of Judgment I won’t have to fall on my face. I will stand boldly, warts and all, because I am trusting in His salvation, not in my works!” It is true that we are not saved by works. But if we do not obey Christ’s commandments, then we never really loved Him and He was not manifested in us (John 14:21).
The apostle John, our “brother, and companion in tribulation” (Revelation 1:9), the one who once leaned on Jesus’ breast, saw Christ in His glorified holiness. John testified, “I turned . . . I saw . . . one like unto the Son of man . . . his eyes were as a flame of fire . . . his voice as the sound of many waters . . . and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not” (Revelation 1:12-19).
You may be as John, a righteous brother or sister in the Lord—a servant who has endured much tribulation—but can any of us stand before a Presence that shines as the sun in all its strength? We will no more be able to look upon that holiness than we can now look into the sun without tinted glasses. He will have to enable us in that day, to touch us and reassure us not to be afraid.
“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy . . . be glory and majesty, dominion and power” (Jude 24).
At Times Square Church we often preach against sin, and many can say, “I’ve laid down everything the Spirit has exposed in me that’s unlike Jesus.” Yet I realize we have not arrived; we still fall short of His glory. Preaching alone will not bring the hatred for sin that so many need in these last days. It’s going to take deep, piercing manifestations of God’s holy presence because only in His presence will we learn to hate sin and walk in His fear.
I hear Christians boast, “On that Day of Judgment I won’t have to fall on my face. I will stand boldly, warts and all, because I am trusting in His salvation, not in my works!” It is true that we are not saved by works. But if we do not obey Christ’s commandments, then we never really loved Him and He was not manifested in us (John 14:21).
The apostle John, our “brother, and companion in tribulation” (Revelation 1:9), the one who once leaned on Jesus’ breast, saw Christ in His glorified holiness. John testified, “I turned . . . I saw . . . one like unto the Son of man . . . his eyes were as a flame of fire . . . his voice as the sound of many waters . . . and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not” (Revelation 1:12-19).
You may be as John, a righteous brother or sister in the Lord—a servant who has endured much tribulation—but can any of us stand before a Presence that shines as the sun in all its strength? We will no more be able to look upon that holiness than we can now look into the sun without tinted glasses. He will have to enable us in that day, to touch us and reassure us not to be afraid.
“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy . . . be glory and majesty, dominion and power” (Jude 24).