Religion & Spirituality:Christianity
Hello, and welcome to the show today!
[Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are camping-- I don’t know how many of you like detective stories, but my wife and I thrive on them. And {not long ago I read a story telling of a time when} Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping. They pitched their tent under the stars and went to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said: “Watson, look up at the stars, and tell me what you see.”
Watson replied: “I see millions and millions of stars.”
Holmes said: “and what do you deduce from that?”
Watson replied: “Well, if there are millions of stars, and if even a few of those have planets, it’s quite likely there are some planets like earth out there. And if there are a few planets like earth out there, there might also be life.”
And Holmes said: “Watson, you idiot, it means that somebody stole our tent.”]
The Basics-- You know, when it comes to the Gospel, I think that it is often times the most basic truths that are the easiest to overlook. And something can be right in front of your face for decades before you really discover it. I find that often to be true in my own life when I study the scriptures and think about the Gospel. Even when it comes to the most basic doctrines; the obvious things in scripture; the absent tents, if you will. But it’s the basic things that often carry the most weight when it comes to our relationship with God in and through Jesus Christ. And one of the things God seems to be showing me in my own personal life is His amazing ability to reach into the depths of everything that you and I face and give us promise and hope for the future. And as I read through the scriptures, I keep coming across what I believe to be the central desire of God, and that is to have a people to Himself who are willing to enter into fellowship with Him and to share in His life. It is obvious, but we can still miss what it means for our own lives.
Face to Face-- What does that fellowship look like? If we look at scripture, we see that that fellowship involves sharing in a face to face relationship with God. That is what Adam and Eve had with God before they fell into sin; from the moment of their creation, they got to live before the face of God.
Kinlaw & Michelangelo-- Growing up, I remember in our house in Indiana my folks had a large picture hanging up on our living room wall. It was a reproduction of Michelangelo’s famous painting that he did on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel depicting […the famous scene of God creating man. {And one of my favorite authors (Dr. Dennis Kinlaw) pointed out that} Michelangelo was an absolute master of painting the human form, and in this painting Adam is strong, muscular, and vigorous, but he is also lifeless. God’s finger is extended, and the spark of life goes into Adam. {And what is so powerful in this painting is to observe that} Adam’s face is positioned so that when the spark of life comes into his being from the finger of God and consciousness breaks into his soul, his eyes open, and he sees his first sight. The first image Adam beholds with his eyes is the face of God. This is the way human creatures are to live, gaining life from the finger of God and gazing into his face.]
Eden-- Now everything changed in Eden. When Adam and Eve sinned by eating that forbidden fruit from the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil, they lost something. They lost the ability to share in that face to face relationship with God. And the reason that there is death in the world is because that sin has cut us off from the source of life itself: The FACE of God. And not only that, but (as we see later in scripture) the face of God becomes dangerous for man because of man’s unholiness. And that is why throughout the Old Testament you see this recurring fear in men and women who have encountered God in a special way, fearing that because they have seen God, their lives are in jeopardy. There was this understanding that because of how mankind had become unholy, exposure to the presence of God must mean death. And that is why throughout the Old Testament, no one sees the face of God.
Moses’ Request-- However, there is a remarkable passage in Exodus where Moses, perhaps the greatest man who ever lived outside of Jesus Christ gives to God a very unusual request. And it is perhaps this request that God is most pleased with. And it comes within the context of [the sorrowful story of the Israelites’ betrayal of Yahweh with the golden calf and Yahweh’s desire to bring destruction on them. Moses interceded for the people, and God relented. Then he instructed Moses where to lead the people next: “Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way” (Exod. 33:3).
{But} Moses was not about to continue the journey {to the promised land} without God’s presence. He knew the necessity, the value, the delight of God’s company, and he refused to move or to lead without his presence. “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here” (v. 15).
So God agreed, “My Presence will go with you.” The Hebrew actually says, “My face will go with you.”]
[THE "YES" FACE-- {Not long ago} I read a story about our 3rd president, Thomas Jefferson, him and his companions were traveling the countryside when they came upon a river that had overran its banks because of heavy rain. The bridge had been washed out and they had to cross the river on horseback fighting against the rapid currents. It was a dangerous situation.
There was a traveler who was not a member of the group watching it all take place. After several had plunged in and made it to the other side, the stranger asked president Jefferson if he could hitch hike a ride with him and so the two crossed safely to the other side. After he had gotten off, one of the president's companions asked the man why he had asked the president of the United States for this favor. The man was shocked, he had no idea it was the president who had helped him. Then he said, "All I know is that on some of your faces was written the word 'No' and on some of them was the answer 'yes.' His was a 'Yes' face.”]
God’s Yes— Isn’t it wonderful that whenever we ask for the presence of God to come into our life and help us, the answer is always yes. Now He may not always answer or help us in the way we want Him to or think He should. But He will always respond to our cry for help and will always be faithful to carry us through whatever it is you and I are facing. His face is a YES FACE; and especially when the cry of our hearts mirrors the desire of Moses in that we want to know God more. It says in…
Exodus 33:17-18 (NIV)-- 17 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” {(But Moses doesn’t stop there.)}18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
His presence, not His signs-- Now Moses at this point had already seen God perform miracle after miracle after miracle; and many people might be satisfied with just seeing the signs. But interestingly, Moses was not. He didn’t want God’s miracles alone. In fact, what we see instead is this thirst; this desire; this craving in the heart of Moses to see God Himself. “God, the signs are great. But I want to see you! Show me your glory.” And what is amazing is that God says “Okay. What you can handle, I will show you.” And He shows Moses His back. Now what is interesting is that while Moses never does see the face of God, the Bible says that God spoke with Moses face to face. But we see in context that [In this instance, the phrase “face to face” is {simply} a figure of speech indicating they were in very close communion {having heart to heart communication}. God and Moses were speaking to each other as if they were two human beings having a close conversation.]
Jesus, The Face of God-- But that real face to face relationship where we could once again behold God in ALL of His glory was always what God wanted, and was always the aim of God’s plan of salvation; to restore that relationship. And therefore God revealed His face to us in a way that nobody could have ever have imagined; in our very flesh, in the face of Jesus Christ, who Himself (through His atoning death) mended the gap created between us and God by our sin. And we cannot miss the wonder of this. In Jesus, we get to experience intimidate, close, and glorious fellowship with God again. In Jesus, we get to behold the face of God. Listen to the language of…
2 Corinthians 4:6 (NIV)-- 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
His Presence Within Us-- You see, Jesus made way for that restoration. In Jesus, we can once again know God face to face through the Holy Spirit and not only appear before His holiness, but can have His Holy presence within us. And instead of consuming us, it purifies us. It makes us like Him.
Soldier Reunions-- One of the most enjoyable things to watch on TV is when a soldier comes home from military service and surprises his family. I was blessed to watch a number of videos in which some soldiers did this during Christmas. One lady took the lid off a large box and out popped her son. Another woman, surrounded by family, was wondering who it was who was dressed in the Santa costume. Pulling the beard down, she saw the face of her son. And the reactions were overwhelming. There was screaming for joy; there were tears the moment their child’s face was recognized. And there was an unbridled overflow of joy in that wonderful reunion. And you know, the same kind of reunion happens in your life and in my life when we come to Christ. And it happens in an even more tangible way when we enter into heaven.
Revelation 22:3-5 (NIV) Eden Restored-- 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
The Bookends of History— You see, history begins in fellowship with God and for those who are in Christ, it will end in fellowship with Him, as in Jesus we become new. Has God made all things new in your life today? Do you know His life-giving presence; His very face in your life? If not, then you have missed the very heart of the Gospel. The Gospel is not about signs or legalism or all that other religious stuff; it is about coming again into the glory of the presence of God and experiencing His face once again in the face of Jesus Christ, in whom we have the hope of everlasting salvation. And you can have that kind of relationship with God right here and right now in and through Jesus Christ. If you ask Him to come into your life, He will make all things new in you; He will restore your life by (in and through Him) bringing you back into a face to face relationship with God. If you want that today, all you have to do is ask. Don’t miss out today on the opportunity to come to know God face to face. Receive Him; and you WILL have life. Amen.
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