Getting A Glimpse Of God

Getting a Glimpse of the Lord

John 1:43-51; Mark 10:17-25; Luke 13:10-17;

John 21:15-19; Luke 18:9-14

Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567

There are so many things happening in this chaotic merry-go-round called life that to keep from succumbing to its chaos we tend to treat most of what we see as mere noise. You would think that having brains capable of calculating the equivalent of up to “a billion billion calculations per second” would mean plenty of time to take in and process everything happening around us, but even the best of multitaskers finds taking in the chaos of this interconnected world impossible. While some people become consumed and enslaved by chaotic living others choose to slow down and enjoy the beauty that is all around them. O how nice it is to walk by the still waters and listen to the bubbling brooks. To stair into the eyes of one’s newborn child is a moment in time that one will always cherish. To look up at the magnificent paintings on the Sistine Ceiling one can’t help but stand in awe of the work of Michelangelo. The intricacy and detail of one who was suspended so high up is truly breath taking! And as the evening sun casts long shadows over the horizons of the mighty mountaintops how difficult it truly is to dismiss the truth that all creation testifies to God’s existence (Romans 1:20)!

Though there is much pleasure to be obtained through money, fame, and power; would not a mere glimpse of the Lord make temporal things seem at best mere trinkets and toys of fleeting pleasure and at worst snares of sinful folly? If promised but a mere glimpse of the Lord whom of us would not trade our treasures and pearls (Matthew 13:44-46) and be like Simeon who stared deeply into the eyes of Jesus, our Lord (Luke 2:25-32)? While transporting ourselves back in time to see the Christ child lying in a manger (Luke 2:1-21) is beyond our abilities, surely the image-bearers and redeemed masterpieces of God’s grace (John 3:16) can see His Spirit living inside of themselves (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and rejoice in the Good Shepherd’s divine care and ever-loving presence (Psalms 139)! Did He not promise if we come nearer to Him, He will come nearer to us (James 4:8) and did He not say if we seek Him with all our heart, we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13)? A glimpse of God is not an impossibility but a divine gift the Creator has given to those He created in His image. The fact that so few Christians are seeing glimpses of His love, justice, peace, power, knowledge, and holiness is not due to Him hiding Himself from us but due to us having an earthly rather than heavenly focus (Colossians 3:2-4)! The following sermon is going to review five people from the Bible who got a glimpse of the Lord. As I describe the glimpse of each person please reflect upon your own relationship with the Lord and how by seeking Him with all your heart you might also see Him indivisibly present in your own lives; Him holding, loving, and caring for you as your Good Shepherd!

A Glimpse of what Christ Sees in Me - Nathaniel (John 1:43-51)

The first person that I would like to mention who got a glimpse of the Lord was Nathaniel. When Phillip told Nathaniel that he had “found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about who the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (45), Nathaniel initially responded with great skepticism! Nathaniel asked Phillip, “Can anything good come from Nazareth” (46)? Nathaniel likely reasoned, why would God’s own Son and Savior of humanity choose to take up residence at an “uncultured place, full of evil, corrupt, and sinful people,” like Nazareth (46)? When Jesus saw Nathaniel approaching Him the Lord investigated his heart and said, “here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit” (47). Even though Nathanael was tainted by prejudice and sin, Jesus saw into his heart and found there to be no hypocrisy but only a genuine love to see the Messiah. Nathaniel then asked Jesus how He knew him, and the Lord responded, “I saw you while you were under the fig tree before Phillip called you” (48). Jesus’ intimate knowledge of what was likely Nathaniel’s time of prayer, meditation or study was all it took to break his skepticism and cure his spiritual blindness as can be seen in Nathaniel’s profound Christological statement “Rabbi, you are the Son of God and king of Israel” (John 1:49; Psalms 2:6-7)! From Nathaniel we learn that the Good Shepherd watches us when we read the scripture, pray and worship Him! Jesus has an intimate knowledge of our hearts and yet despite our skepticism the Spirit of truth is always willing to lovingly correct our false beliefs concerning Him. With just one glance Nathaniel was corrected about nothing good coming from Nazareth and with just one glance may the Lord reveal false teachings in our hearts, correct, and train us to be like Apostle Paul and see “everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord” (Philippians 3:8)!