Some time ago, a small east coast community was struggling financially, so they called an open town meeting to discuss the problem. A couple dozen people were there, including a stranger that no one seemed to know. Most assumed he was a tourist who had just dropped in on the meeting. He started to make a comment when various ideas were offered, but he was interrupted, so he just kept quiet for the rest of the meeting and ended up leaving early.
Just as the stranger left, a late arriving resident came in and asked with excitement, “What was HE doing here? Is he going to help us?”
The others said, “Who are you talking about? Who was that man?”
The latecomer replied, “You mean you don’t know? That was John D. Rockefeller. His yacht is in our harbor. Didn’t you get his help?”
Now, John D. Rockefeller happened to be one of the richest men in the world at the time. So someone cried out in despair, “No, we didn’t get his help, because we didn’t know who he was.” (Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, #4162)
My dear friends, God often shows up in our lives, and in our church meetings, desiring to help us and bless us richly. But so often, we ignore Him like some “ignorant tourist” and miss out on the blessing, because we don’t recognize who He is.
Oh, if only we had a way to recognize the presence of God. If only we knew what His face looked like, then we wouldn’t miss out on so much that He has to offer.
Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Genesis 33, Genesis 33, where our friend, Jacob, sees the face of God. He had been wrestling with God all night, but it was dark so Jacob couldn’t see very clearly. Then the sun rises, and Jacob sees God’s face in the full light of day. What does he see?
Genesis 33:1 – “Jacob looked up and there was Esau…” Jacob sees the face of God on his brother, Esau.
Genesis 33:1-3 Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two maidservants. He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother. (NIV)
Jacob is still not sure how his brother, Esau, is going to respond – in anger or with a warm welcome. So he lines his family up, in order of importance to him, from the least to the most important. He puts his beloved, Rachel, in the safest place – last, behind everybody else, and Jacob himself bows before his brother 7 times! 20 years previously, Jacob stole Esau’s right to be lord and master of the family through trickery and deceit. Now, Jacob behaves as if Esau IS his lord and master, hoping to appease his anger.
Genesis 33:4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. (NIV)
Esau was not angry. He was happy to see his brother, and together they weep tears of joy!
Genesis 33:5-7 Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked. Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.” Then the maidservants and their children approached and bowed down. Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down. (NIV)
Esau meets all of Jacob’s family and welcomes them with open arms.
When Jacob sees the face of God, he sees the face of his brother full of forgiveness and love. And that’s what we will see when we see the face of God. Dear friends, if you’re looking for the face of God…
LOOK FOR THE FACE OF FORGIVENESS in your brother.
Notice the countenance of mercy. See the face of pardon. For when God shows up, brothers and sisters forgive one another, because that is the nature of God Himself.
That is Jesus dying on a cross for our sins, saying, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” That is God removing our sins from us as far as the east is from the west.
Psalm 103 says, “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:10-12, NIV).
The face of God is the face of forgiveness, and when He comes into our lives, when He comes into our church, that’s exactly what we’ll see all over the place. We’ll see brothers and sisters embracing one another, because they have forgiven each other.
Bill White, of Paramount, California, talks about his friend, Greg, who recently put together a mini high school reunion when he went back home to Indiana to visit his parents. He hadn’t seen many of his classmates in over 17 years; but when they got together, they had a riot reliving their glory days and finding out what was currently going on in everyone’s life.
As the night was winding down, Greg noticed that his friend Debbie was getting teary-eyed, and he couldn’t help but ask what was going on. Through tears she said, “It’s sad that there are some things you just can’t forget.”
Certain that something spiritual was going on, Greg pressed Debbie about what she meant. Finally she told him. In the second grade – 27 years previously! – a girl named Karen had started the “Debbie Haters Club.” Debbie had never gotten over the pain of that, and she had never forgiven Karen.
Knowing that Karen was at the reunion that night, Greg told Debbie she should talk to her. Debbie refused, but Greg insisted. In fact, Greg ended up orchestrating the effort toward reconciliation! When Karen was collecting her coat to leave the party, Greg pulled her aside into a separate room, and asked her to wait for him to return. Then Greg went to get Debbie. When both women were together in the room, Greg stepped out of the room and stood guard outside the door. Greg couldn’t hear a word that passed between them, but he didn’t need to. As they both left, he could see the freedom on their faces – a freedom that only comes with reconciliation. (Bill White, Paramount, California; www.PreachingToday.com)
God was there, and Debbie almost missed it, because she was reluctant to deal with the hurts from her past.
How about you? Is there somebody you need to forgive? Or even harder, is there somebody to whom you need to admit your sin and RECEIVE forgiveness from that person?
Dear friends, don’t miss seeing the face of God, because you choose to hang on to the bitterness of the past. Let it go. Give it all to God, and with His help, make things right with each other.
If you’re looking for the face of God, look for the face of forgiveness. Then 2nd, if you’re looking for the face of God…
LOOK FOR THE FACE OF FAVOR.
Notice the smile of grace. See the countenance of undeserved kindness and love. That’s what Jacob saw when he saw the face of God. He saw the face of favor in his brother.
Genesis 33:8 Esau asked, “What do you mean by all these droves I met?” “To find favor in your eyes, my lord,” he said. (NIV)
Jacob is looking for “favor” from his brother. It’s the Old Testament word for grace, which means undeserved kindness and love. Jacob had tried to buy Esau’s favor by sending him droves and droves of animals – sheep, goats, cows, donkeys and camels – more than 580 of them in all! (Genesis 32:13-21).
Genesis 33:9-10 But Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.” “No, please!” said Jacob. “If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. (NIV)
Three times in these last three verses, some form of the word “favor” has been used, because when Jacob saw the face of God, he saw the face of favor in his brother, Esau. Esau accepted Jacob unconditionally, even though Jacob had cheated him out of his birthright and the family blessing. Now, Jacob no longer feels a need to buy Esau’s favor. Instead, he wants to give, because he already has Esau’s favor.
Genesis 33:11 Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it. (NIV)
Jacob said, “God has been gracious to me and I have ALL I need.” Esau just had “plenty” (verse 9), but Jacob had ALL. He had the whole. He was complete, because he had experienced God’s grace.
When Jacob saw the face of God, he saw the face of favor in his brother, and that’s where we will see it too. When God shows up, we will see brothers and sisters in his family accepting one another unconditionally. We will see brothers and sisters extending grace towards one another, even as God extended grace towards each of us.
Romans 5:8 says, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (NIV) Not WHILE we were good. Not AFTER we had earned his love. NO! While we were STILL SINNERS, Christ died for us.
We can’t buy God’s favor, but now that we have it through faith in Christ, we can’t help but give back to God, we can’t help but be generous, because we have ALL we need in Him. We are made complete. We are made whole because of His grace.
You see, that’s what grace does in our relationships. It makes us givers rather than takers, and it makes us whole. It heals those relationships that were once broken.
Richard Foster is a well known Christian author and leader in the church, having written some of the best stuff on the spiritual disciplines that I have ever seen. Recently, his son, Nathan, wrote a book in which he talks about a time when he was living what he called “a ragged attempt at discipleship.” At that time, Nathan was afraid to share his honest thoughts about God and his disillusionment with the church, especially with a father who had given his life to serve God and the church.
But one day as Nathan shared a ride with his dad on a ski lift, he blurted out, “I hate going to church. It’s nothing against God; I just don’t see the point.”
Richard Foster quietly said, “Sadly, many churches today are simply organized ways of keeping people from God.”
Surprised by his dad’s response, Nathan launched into “a well-rehearsed, cynical rant” about the church: “Okay, so since Jesus paid such great attention to the poor and disenfranchised, why isn’t the church the world’s epicenter for racial, social and economic justice? I’ve found more grace and love in worn-out folks at the local bar than those in the pew… And instead of allowing our pastors to be real human beings with real problems, we prefer some sort of overworked rock stars.”
His dad smiled and said, “Good questions, Nate. Overworked rock stars: that’s funny. You’ve obviously put some thought into this.”
Once again, Nathan was surprised that his “rant” didn’t faze his dad. “He didn’t blow me off or put me down,” Nathan said. So from that point on he actually looked forward to conversations with his dad.
It also proved to be a turning point in his spiritual life. By the end of the winter, Nathan was willing to admit, “Somewhere amid the wind and snow of the Continental Divide, I decided that if I’m not willing to be an agent of change [in the church], my critique is a waste… Regardless of how it is defined, I was learning that the church was simply a collection of broken people recklessly loved by God… Jesus said he came for the sick, not the healthy, and certainly our churches reflect that.”
Spurred on by his father’s acceptance and honesty and by his own spiritual growth, Nathan has continued to ask honest questions, but he has also started to love and work to change the church, rather than just criticize it. (Nathan Foster, Wisdom Chaser, IVP Books, 2010, pp. 85-89; www.PreachingToday.com)
That’s what grace does. That’s what God’s grace does for us, and that’s what our grace does for each other. When we respond graciously to those who criticize, they are surprised and often won over. Their anger is diffused, and they learn to love and give again.
That was Bill White’s experience. He writers, “It was one of those evenings when everything goes wrong. The kids were cranky while I was making dinner, so I gave them some hot chocolate to tide them over. Timothy, who is five, decided to throw his marshmallows at his little sister, knocking her hot chocolate all over her. As she began screaming, the phone rang (and I foolishly answered it) and the doorbell rang (and I foolishly answered it – with the phone on my ear and a screaming kid in the background). I then returned to the kitchen and hollered at Timothy, and promptly had two crying kids.
“As dinner began to burn and I deposited my daughter in the bath, I loudly announced that I was so angry I might do anything, so I declared I was putting myself in timeout. I closed the door, none too gently, and tried to get dinner to be the only thing simmering in the kitchen.
“Everything changed about ten minutes later when I caught sight of a yellow piece of construction paper sliding under the door. In the unsteady hand of a kindergartener was scrawled a message of grace that pierced my heart and turned me around: ‘From Timothy. To Dad. I still love you even when you’re angry.’ (Bill White, Paramount, California; www.PreachingToday.com)
That’s what grace is all about – loving people even when they’re angry. Try it in your relationships. Grace makes all the difference in the world. It pierces the heart and turns people around.
If you’re looking for the face of God in your life, 1st, look for the face of forgiveness; 2nd, look for the face of favor; and finally…
LOOK FOR THE FACE OF FELLOWSHIP.
See the face of God in the face of a brother wanting to walk with you. Notice God’s face in the face of a sister wanting to share her life with you. That’s what Jacob saw when he saw the face of God. He saw Esau, his brother, wanting to walk with him.
Genesis 33:12-16 Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.” But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the droves before me and that of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.” Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.” “But why do that?” Jacob asked. “Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.” So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir (NIV) – that’s about 100 miles south.
Genesis 33:17 Jacob, however, went to Succoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Succoth (NIV) – that’s north.
Esau wants to renew the relationship with Jacob; but sadly, Jacob has no intention of renewing his relationship with Esau. He goes in the exact opposite direction and builds a house for himself and shelters for his livestock. These are no temporary dwellings; they are permanent. Jacob plans on staying in Succoth for a while. He has no intention of meeting his brother in Seir, not soon anyway and maybe never.
It’s sad, because Jacob not only misses out on an opportunity for fellowship with his brother, he misses out on an opportunity for fellowship with God Himself. God had invited Jacob to go back home, but Jacob goes to another place, and it leads to a world of hurt in his family, as we shall see in the next chapter. His daughter is raped. His sons become murderers, and Jacob is disgraced.
Jacob saw the face of God in his brother wanting to have fellowship with him, but he turned away from that relationship and suffered as a result.
Dear friends, don’t you do the same. If you’re looking for the face of God in your life, see it in the face of your brothers and sisters in Christ wanting fellowship with you. See it in the face of your fellow Christians wanting to walk with you through life’s journey. Please, don’t turn away from them away like Jacob did.
Hebrews 10:25 says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (NIV)
My dear friends, we desperately need each other on life’s journey, especially in these last days before Jesus comes. Please, don’t hurt yourself by walking away from that fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Instead, in the fellowship of believers, see the face of God Himself and enjoy fellowship with Him.
Keith Ferrazzi, in his new book, Who’s Got Your Back, tells the story of Jean Nidetch, who was overweight as a child. She was overweight in high school, and despite endless diet regimens, her waistline kept expanding throughout her twenties and thirties… Jean tried diets and pills that promised to take off the pounds, but she always gained back the weight she lost.
In 1961, at age 38, Jean started a diet sponsored by the New York City Department of Health. After 10 weeks she was 20 pounds lighter, but starting to lose motivation. She realized that what she needed was someone to talk to for some support…
Since she couldn’t get her friends to make the trek with her to Manhattan for the official health department regimen, she brought the “science” of the program to their living rooms in Queens. Jean and her friends would all lose weight together. Out of those first meetings grew Weight Watchers, widely recognized as one of the most effective weight-loss programs in the world. Nidetch’s idea was simple: Losing weight requires a combination of dieting and peer support. She held weekly meetings with weight check-ins and goal setting to promote accountability, coupled with honest, supportive conversation about the struggles, setbacks, and victories over losing weight.
Eventually, Nidetch, who’d lost seventy-two pounds, rented office space and started leading groups all across New York City. In 1963 she incorporated, and by the year 2007, Weight Watchers International had retail sales of over $4 billion from licenses, franchisees, membership fees, exercise programs, cookbooks, portion-controlled food products, and a magazine. Nidetch retired in 1984, and the company’s current CEO, Dave Kirchhoff says, “Though the science of weight loss has evolved over the years, the core of Jean’s program – support and accountability – has remained constant.” (Keith Ferrazzi, Who’s Got Your Back? Broadway Business, 2009, pp. 9-10, www.PreachingToday.com)
It’s a simple fact of life: We need each other even though at times we needle each other. We need the support and accountability. We need the fellowship especially on our journey with Christ. None of us can go it alone and do well. So please, don’t ever walk away like Jacob did. Stay close to the fellowship of believers, and there you WILL see the face of God.
If you’re looking for the face of God in your life, look for it in the face of forgiveness on your brother; look for it in the face of favor on your sister; and look for it in the face of fellowship with your brothers in sisters in Christ.
I am loved, I am loved, I can risk loving you
For the One who knows me best loves me most.
I am loved, you are loved – Won’t you please take my hand?
We are free to love each other – we are loved. (William J. and Gloria Gaither)
The face of God is the face of love in each other. Please, don’t miss seeing it today.
