Do you ever feel like you live in a big world, and you are so small and insignificant that sometimes you wonder if even God knows you are here?
Sometimes it seems like there are two kinds of people who live here, the SIGNIFICANT and the INSIGNIFICANT!
Illus: For example, when Princess Diana died, all we could see on our televisions and read in our newspapers was about her tragic death. And it was a very tragic death!
But as tragic as her death was, there were 300 people that were gunned down in Algeria almost at the same time, and we did not hear a thing about them in the news media.
The difference in these two tragedies is this, one tragedy happened to a SIGNIFICANT PERSON and the other tragedy happened to the INSIGNIFICANT.
As far as the news media was concerned, these three hundred lives did not add up to the one life of Princess Diana.
In all areas of society, we have the SIGNIFICANT and the INSIGNIFICANT.
Even in the world of journalism they have the “Elite” group of journalists that meet with the President of the United States once a year.
Now all journalists are not invited, only the ELITE!
Illus: For example, 3000 journalists met with the former President, Bill Clinton, at a formal dinner.
At this coat and black-tie event, the President of the United States addressed this group of journalists.
The last year that President Bill Clinton was in office, he told the 3,000 journalists (jokingly) that if they gave $10,000 to his campaign, they would have the privilege of meeting personally with Vice President Al Gore to discuss reinventing government.
Then he said (Jokingly) if they donated $20,000, they did not have to go.
It was a time of laughter, but it was a time again in our society that only the SIGNIFICANT were invited, and the INSIGNIFICANT were overlooked as always.
The point I want to make is this, in all areas of our life we have those who seem to be SIGNIFICANT and those who seem to be INSIGNIFICANT. Even in the world of Journalism.
While mankind places us in these two categories, I am happy to tell you that in the sight of God everyone here is SIGNIFICANT!
• While we know that the Lord Jesus died for ALL mankind, we know that if we were the only sinner on this earth, He would have died for us
• We are so significant to God, that He numbers the hairs on our head
• We are so significant to God, that in Matthew 6:30 we read, “Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you…”
• We are so significant to God, that in Matthew 6:26 we read, “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”
One of the things that Satan does to discourage us as Christians, is to make us think that WE ARE NOT SIGNIFICANT IN THE SIGHT OF MEN OR GOD!
But the Lord has done everything that can be done to show us that we are SIGNIFICANT in His sight.
While the Lord lived here on earth, he knew how it felt to be INSIGNIFICANT.
John said of Jesus, in John 1:10, "HE WAS IN THE WORLD, and the world was made by him, AND THE WORLD KNEW HIM NOT."
Just think of that, the greatest individual to ever walk on this earth, and the Bible says mankind “KNEW HIM NOT”.
Illus: Cary Grant once told how he was walking along a street and met a fellow whose eyes locked onto him with excitement.
The man said, "Wait a minute, you're ... you're--I know who you are; don't tell me--uh, Rock Hudson--no, you're ..."
Grant thought he'd help him, so he finished the man's sentence: "Cary Grant." And the fellow said, "No, that's not it! You're ..."
• There was Cary Grant identifying himself with his own name, but the fellow still would not recognize him.
• The Lord told people who He was, and still, they would not believe Him. While mankind may not recognize us with any SIGNIFICANCE, this is not the way God sees us
But we can all be thankful there is a God in heaven who is named El-Roi who SEES US AND KNOWS OUR EVERY NEED.
Remember means "God who Sees me" or the "God of Vision".
Illus: Remember when your teacher would tell you that they had eyes on the back of their heads? Now we know that they never did have eyes on the back of their heads.
They just had enough life experience to predict something.
God, however, does have an all-seeing eye.
God can see in the dark as well He can see in the light.
God is OMNIPRESENT!!!
Illus: Makes me think of a student in his first year in a local junior college and of course one of his first classes was Psychology.
He was nervous his first day and the tension continued to build as all students sat waiting for the professor to arrive. It was deathly silent, and he watched the clock in front of the room a little disappointed that the professor was already 5 minutes late.
Then one brave student spoke up, commenting that because the teacher was only an associate professor they could leave after waiting for only 15 minutes. This sounded good to everyone.
It seemed that this broke the tension, and a conversation took off from there.
Another student asked if anyone knew anything about the teacher and there were numerous answers.
• One student said he was a hard grader,
• Another commented that he was strict,
• One girl said that she heard he gave an overabundance of homework.
There were numerous comments after that, and most were not very complimentary. There were a lot of jokes at the teacher's expense.
Finally, the student at the beginning who seemed to know the rules, stood up and said, "Well, it has been 15 minutes but I'm not going to leave. In fact, I think I will stay and begin today's class."
A lot of folks are going to be surprised when they stand before the Lord and discovered He was there when they never realize He was there why they lived their life here on earth.
HOW DOES HE SEE US EACH DAY?
I. HE SEES US IN OUR SORROWS
We see that so clearly in the story of Hagar the handmaiden.
Look at Genesis 16:4-13, “And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. And Sarai said unto Abram, my wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee. But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face. And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?”
This is the story of Abraham and Sarah's handmaiden, Hagar.
You recall the story, Sarah did not have children, and she said to her husband, “Abraham, you take my handmaid, and you have a child with her.”
Surrogate mothers are something we hear about today, and it is something very controversial.
A surrogate mother is a woman who lends her body to another couple so that they can have a baby.
Some have chosen to have a child this way for one of several reasons, such as:
• The commonest reason is a woman who has no uterus. This may be absent from birth or may have been removed surgically (hysterectomy).
• Other women may choose to use a surrogate because they have had multiple miscarriages.
But being a surrogate mother is very controversial for a number of reasons.
WHY WOULD A WOMAN BE WILLING TO BECOME A SURROGATE MOTHER?
Generally, for one of two reasons:
• Women who agree to become surrogates may do so for compassionate reasons. These include a sister, mother or close friend of the couple.
• They may also do so for financial reasons - and this could be a woman, with or without children, known or unknown to the couple, who rents her womb for a fee.
We do not know all the details of why Sarah could not bear a child, we just simply know she could not.
But we do know this, Sarah could not produce a baby, but she sure could produce some ideas!
Listen, most of the time it is good for a man to listen to his wife, but sometimes it may get him in some serious trouble.
Especially when it comes to finances.
• One man got himself deep in debt because his wife was always spending money on his credit card. Someone stole all his credit cards, but he would not report it. Someone asked him why he didn’t report his credit cards had been stolen; he said “The thief spends less than my wife spends.”
• Another man who realized his wife did not know how to spend money said, “All my wife does is shop - once she was sick for a month, and three stores went out of business.”
• Another man said his wife had this thing about buying anything on sale. He said, “She has an electric blender, electric toaster, electric bread maker. Then she said that there were too many gadgets, and no place to sit down! So, what did I do? I bought her an electric chair.”
• One man kept listening to his wife and it kept causing problems in the home. He told a friend one day, “My wife and I have the secret to making a marriage last. We go to a nice restaurant once a week...She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays.”
Abraham and Sarah had the problem of not being able to bear children, so Mrs. Abraham comes up with the idea that he goes and lie with her handmaiden, Hagar, and have a child by her.
Hagar must have been a beautiful handmaiden because in all fairness to this dumb idea that Sarah had, we do not see where Abraham put up any argument to oppose her suggestion.
It is kind of nice having a wife, because you can always say like Adam did in the garden of Eden, “IT WAS THAT WOMAN THAT YOU GAVE ME THAT MADE ME DO IT!”
After Hagar found out she had conceived, she despised Hagar.
Look at Gen. 16:4, “And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.”
Sarah approached Abraham and told him about how she felt and told him to make a choice between them. He was to decide which woman he wanted.
Abraham told her to do what she wanted with Hagar as she was her handmaid.
Sarah treated her harshly, so Hagar fled to the wilderness. God saw her problem.
Look at verses 9-13, we read, “And the angel of the LORD said unto her, return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael, because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?”
God (All SEEING GOD - El-Roi) saw what was done to her and God promised he would take care of her.
WHEN WE DO SOMETHING OUT OF THE WILL OF GOD, WE NEVER KNOW HOW IT WILL AFFECT OTHERS!
For example, the reason we are having this problem with the Jews and the Arabs (Muslims) today, is because of what Abraham and Sarah did.
The child that Hagar gave birth to was Ishmael, from whom the Arabs came.
And notice, God said in verse 12, “And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
But God saw how Hagar was treated!
This is the first time in scripture that El-Roi is mentioned, it is mentioned by this handmaid, in verse 13, “And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God (El-Roi) seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?”
We read in Psalm 34:15 “The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.”
El-Roi means that He sees us in our sorrows, but also -
II. HE SEES US IN OUR SITUATIONS
Look at 1 Peter 3:12, in the later part of verse 12 it says, "… the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
This means El-Roi sees us in all situations, He sees us:
• In times of trouble
• In times of righteousness
• In times of sin
God is the SEEING GOD!
Many have heard someone say, “Can you see that?” And we might look at it more closely, and we might say, “No, I cannot see it!” But God sees all!
Illus: Most crimes are committed at nighttime because the thieves know that no one can see them if they steal at night, and they stand a better chance of stealing and getting away with it.
God sees as well in the dark as He does during the day.
Illus: A dad was with his son stealing watermelons in a watermelon patch. He waited for it to get dark so no one would see him. He looked to the north, south, east and west and saw no one looking. He reached down to pick one up, and the boy said, “Dad, you forgot to look up!”
• Listen, children would not do the wrong things they do, if their parents were always there to see them.
• And many folks would not do what they do, if they recognized that God the Father is watching them!
El-Roi (God) can see what no one else can see. HE SEES US IN ALL SITUATIONS!
He not only sees us from the OUTSIDE, but He also sees us from WITHIN.
I do not have the slightest idea what you are thinking or what is in your heart. BUT GOD KNOWS WHAT IS ON THE OUTSIDE OF MAN AND ALSO ON THE INSIDE OF MAN!
Illus: When Israel wanted kings like other nations, God allowed them to have one. They selected Saul, who was head and shoulders above other men. They thought this fellow would look great on the throne, but they did not know what was in his heart.
He made a terrible king, and many lost their lives because of him. They made their decisions based on his looks!
Illus: So many times, people are put into office because they are nice looking on the outside, but they make terrible public servants.
Illus: When Samuel was sent to the house of Jesse to select a king, each of his sons paraded in front of him. But as each one passed by, Samuel knew from God that they were not the right one.
Finally, Samuel wanted to know if this was all the sons Jesse had. Jesse then told him about this runt called David, who was no more then a shepherd boy. But when Samuel saw him, he knew that he was the man God wanted on the throne.
For example, in 1 Sam 16:7, we read, “But the LORD said unto Samuel, look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”
The way we look at others and ourselves is amazing.
Illus: I am convinced that when some people look in the mirror, they do not see what I see, because they would never leave the house if they could see what I see!
Illus: A young woman went to her pastor and said, "Pastor, I have a besetting sin, and I want your help. I come to church on Sunday and can't help thinking I'm the prettiest girl in the congregation. I know I ought not think that, but I can't help it. I want you to help me with it."
The pastor replied, "Mary, don't worry about it. In your case it's not a sin. It's just a horrible mistake." (Haddon Robinson, "Good Guys, Bad Guys, and Us Guys," Preaching Today, Tape No. 80.)
God knows about our physical appearance, but He looks far beyond that and sees our heart. Man looks on the outward and
God…
I. HE SEES US IN ALL OUR SORROWS
II. HE SEES US IN ALL OUR SITUATIONS
But El-Roi sees...
III. HE SEES US IN OUR SINS
Let me ask you a question, in your witnessing have you ever ask anyone if they were a Christian and they told you they were, but you knew by the fruit they bear you had some serious doubts about their salvation.
We are not to judge people about salvation, but the Bible does teach we can judge people by the fruit they bear.
Matthew 7:17-20 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Then you thought about the next two verses,
Matthew 7:21-23, which says, not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
I love the people who attend this church. I am thankful the Lord has allowed me to stay in this church since I was a young minister. It would break my heart to leave this congregation.
But as I study the scriptures it concerns me greatly; I am not sure some who says they are save really have been BORN AGAIN.
They think they are, but I am afraid they are going to part of that crowd we find in Matthew 7:20-23 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Even though I am concern for some who profess to be saved it is not in my hands to determine if you are saved.
El-Roi the GOD WHO SEES ALL knows 100% who is saved and who is not saved!!!
Illus: You see, I cannot live my life watching you every day, but El-Roi SEES YOUR LIFE EVERYDAY OF THE WEEK and HE KNOWS BECAUSE HE SEES ALL!!!
It is important that El-Roi sees all, because He could not judge us accurately if He did not see us twenty-four hours a day.
He sees us:
• When we make excuses to miss church.
• When we make excuses to steal His tithes and spend it on ourselves.
• When we read things, we should not be reading.
• When we watch things, we should not watch on television.
• When we say unkind things about people.
• When we drink things, we should not drink.
• When we use curse.
El-Roi is a GOD WHO SEES ALL!
And when we stand before Him on the judgement day, we will remember that He is El-Roi!!!
Conclusion:
He sees us in our…
I. HE SEES US IN OUR SORROWS
II. HE SEES US IN OUR SITUATIONS
III. HE SEES US IN OUR SINS
There is one way every lost person can stand before Christ and He will not see us IN OUR SINS.
If a lost person will come to Him for salvation the Blood, He shed on that old, rugged cross will wash away every sin we ever committed.
What Can Wash Away My Sins? (Nothing But The Blood of Jesus)
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Parkside Evangelical Church
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Oct 13, 2020
