God Sees You (Kenya 12 - 2023)
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
Paul was reminding the readers of his letter of something the prophet Isaiah said in his book in chapter 64:4.
The truth he is writing is that we cannot understand the things of God through only our human understanding. Verse 10 tells us that we must rely on the Spirit of God who was graciously given to believers by God Himself.
The trouble that we can get into is when we rely on our own understanding instead of allowing the Spirit of God guide us. We can lose sight of purpose when things don’t seem to make sense. We can even question whether or not God sees us and cares for our situation.
We cannot lean on our own understanding. We must trust in the unseen. We must rely on the Spirit of God to lead us when we can’t see or understand.
I want to spend our time together in a very special portion of scripture in the old testament. Genesis 16 tells a story of a frightened woman who was sure the God had forsaken her. We will see that God knew exactly who she was, He knew where she was, and He had a plan to help her.
We are no different that this woman. I believe that God knows each of us individually, He knows the situations we face, and He knows how best to provide the help we need.
Let me tell you a story:
July 4, 1952 was a densely foggy morning. A woman named Florence Chadwick waded into the water off Catalina Island. She intended to swim the channel from the island to the California coast. Long-distance swimming was not new to her; she had been the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions.
The water was numbing cold that day. The fog was so thick she could hardly see the boats that held her trainer and supporters.
As she swam, sharks had to be driven away with rifle fire.
She swam more than fifteen hours before she asked to be taken out of the water. Her trainer tried to encourage her to swim on since they were so close to land, but when Florence looked, all she saw was fog. So she quit … only one-half mile from her goal.
Later she said, “I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen the land, I might have made it.” It wasn’t the cold or fear or exhaustion that caused Florence Chadwick to fail. It was the fog.
I think we can fail in the same way in our spiritual journey when we can’t SEE God working. Instead of trusting in Him and in His love for us, we can be tempted to “get out” early and miss what God was intending for our lives.
Two months after her failure, Florence Chadwick walked off the same beach into the same channel and swam the distance, setting a new speed record, because she could see the land.
My hope is that when we study this scripture you will be able to see the land. God knows exactly who you are, where you are, and how to help you. He sees it all!
It may be Satan or others who have been telling you that God is not seeing what you are going through. Satan is a liar. God sees and God cares.
Let’s read the scripture:
Genesis 16:1–14 (NLT)
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar.
2 So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal.
3 So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.)
4 So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt.
5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “This is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with contempt. The Lord will show who’s wrong—you or me!”
6 Abram replied, “Look, she is your servant, so deal with her as you see fit.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away.
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur.
8 The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied.
9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.”
10 Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.”
11 And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress.
12 This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.”
13 Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”
14 So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.
We have all asked the question “why” at times in our lives. I cannot tell you the answer to that question, but I can tell you about the God who sees.
When God showed up in the middle of Hagar’s nightmare, she stood amazed in the profound truth that God Almighty had His eye on her. She was amazed that God cared about her. She was so amazed that she called His name “El Roi” - “The God who sees me”. She called the well Beer-lahai-roi which means the well of the living on who sees me.
I want every person in this room to know that the same God Who saw Hagar has His eye on you. He knows where you are. He sees what you are going through. I would like to preach around the phrase found in verse 13 that says, “You are the God who sees me”.
I have three thoughts about the God who sees.
God Sees Who
God Sees Who
13 Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”
Hagar is the only person in the old testament who had the honor to name God. She called Him El Roi which is translated as “God of seeing”. It refers to God’s ability to see everything. She was right! God can see everything.
God is omniscient. He knows absolutely everything and everyone there is to know. That includes each one of US!
Sometimes it can feel as though we are too insignificant for God to know us personally. This is contrary to what the Bible teaches. Hagar recognized that God knew exactly who she was, and it shocked her.
We can take comfort that God knows who we are better than we know ourselves.
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!
God sees you as if there were not another creature in His universe. Can you get your mind around that?
If I try to see each of you, I am forced to look at one person at a time. God can see all things at the same time and still give each person His full attention!
Now, imagine that every star and heavenly body was gone from sight. Imagine that all the earth was void of the features that catch the eye. Now, imagine in that environment that the piercing eyes of God were focused solely on you. That is just how it is! You are the focus of His undivided attention.
You might never have the angel of the Lord (Jesus Himself) appear to you in person like Hagar did that day, but you can experience the presence of the Lord in the spirit as you seek Him in worship, prayer, and meditation.
He knows who you are. Do we know who He is?
That’s the real question because God will never change. He knows each person individually. The problem is that we don’t really know Him.
Hagar was in a bad place. She was on the run because she was being treated unfairly. I can’t think of a worse situation for a woman living in her time. She was pregnant, had no resources, and had nowhere to go. This was a desperate situation.
In the midst of her trial, she has a conversation with God. We call this prayer.
I am glad God hears us when we pray, aren’t you? That is His promise:
24 I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!
3 Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.
7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?
10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not!
11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
We need to pray!
But, there are times when we cannot put our prayers into words. What then?
The God Who sees all things sees even the thoughts of our heart that cannot be expressed. He hears the prayer that remains unspoken. He interprets the message of our tears. He reads the unspoken message of the burdened heart!
He does not need for us to frame our prayers in words; He can comprehend the depth of our petition, because He knows us intimately.
26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.
27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.
You might be facing a desperate situation. I want you to know that God sees you. He knows you. In verse 11 it says that the Lord heard her cry of distress.
The same God that knew Hagar knows you. You’re not alone. What seems dark can be turned to light. Trust that God loves you. He has not abandoned you. Just because you can’t see Him does not mean He can’t see you.
Open your heart to Him and speak to Him. He is listening.
God Sees Where
God Sees Where
There was once a little boy who was having a hard time seeing where the action was. The circus had come to his town, and the parade was passing him by. He could hear the instruments playing. He could hear the oohs and aahs from the crowd as the circus passed by. All he could see was a sea of legs.
He was in the a bad position.
Fortunately, the little boy’s father saw him struggling to see from WHERE he was and picked him up to place him high above the crowd on his shoulders.
The boy was so happy because he could see what he hadn’t been able to see. It was all so close, but impossible to see.
His father COULD see. He knew exactly what needed to happen.
It took the father to see his struggle and to change the boys position.
Position can change how we see everything.
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur.
8 The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied.
9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.”
Our nature can have the tendency to run from difficulty. Hagar was running from hardship. She was running from Pain, Rejection, and Hurt. The problem with that was that she was not where God wanted her. He told her to return to the place she didn’t want to be!
What we can pull from this part of the story is that God not only sees us as people but He knows WHERE we are and where we should be. He knows the circumstances we face.
In these verses, Hagar is suffering. She has been rejected, abused and hated. She is all alone and on the run. Her heart is broken and she does not know what to do. In her pain, she encounters the God Who sees.
No person sees it all! All around us today, there are people who suffer. They have pain and heartache that they keep well hidden from those around them.
People around you may not see or understand, but there is a God in Heaven Who knows all about the path you walk.
I think of the words of Job who was tested to the extreme:
10 “But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.
He knows where you are today and He knows what is around the next bend in the road.
Since He knows, He is able to help you as no other!
He knows your pain:
15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.
He cares about you:
7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
He knows where you are in the valley of fear. He is able to give you peace in your valley:
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
These promises are promises we can stand on when God tells us to go to a place that might be uncomfortable. I’d imagine that Hagar wanted to hear anything from God other than to GO BACK to a place of hardship.
Sometimes because we are like the little boy behind all the people straining to see what was going on we can miss that fact that God is working things out for our good. “Where we are” is always going to be alright as long as where we are is where God wants us to be.
God allows us to endure struggles sometimes. He allows us to experience pain. But we can know that those times are temporary and they are for a purpose - even if we don’t see the purpose yet!
We might not be able to see it, but God sees. He see us. He knows where we are.
Just like Hagar, when she heard the command to go back where she didn’t want to go, we must obey the Lord.
3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
Sometimes God allows situations so that we can grow. He knows exactly where you are right now.
Don’t lose faith. Trust in Him. Pray. Ask Him to lead and guide. Then submit to Him even when it’s not exactly what you want.
This brings me to the last point in the message. God Knows you. He knows where you are.
God Sees How
God Sees How
There is a plan. One of my favorite things about our God is that He has plans for each person in this room. You have a purpose. Even when we can’t see it, God sees it and He knows HOW to accomplish His purpose in your life.
In other words, God has a promise to fulfill in your life.
He gave Hagar a promise. Here it is:
10 Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.”
What’s interesting is that by rights, Hagar didn’t deserve this promise.
By birth, she was an Egyptian. She was a heathen, a pagan, a sinner. Yet, God himself appeared to her and made a great promise to her.
She certainly had hardship in life. But she wasn’t perfect. She was far from perfect by the standard of God’s perfection.
Yet, the eye of God was upon her.
What can we call this? We call this grace.
God sees us, knows us for who we truly are, he finds us where we are, and despite what He finds, He loves us!
This IS amazing grace.
Your physical situation now will never be worse than your spiritual situation was before you found Christ.
Before Christ we find ourselves dead in our transgressions.
13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.
God made a way for us to be saved through Christ, by His grace alone! Such amazing love is hard to imagine. It’s certainly hard to understand. But I can tell you it’s true!
If you are lost and haven’t trusted Christ as your Lord, you may think God doesn’t think about you.
The truth is, He sees all you do.
He is there when the thought of sin in conceived.
He is there when the deed of sin is carried out.
He will be watching when the sentence of sin is carried out. There will be a Judgement to sin that has not been washed clean.
The best and only thing you can do right now is to turn to Jesus for salvation.
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
Now, if you have believed - made Jesus the Lord of your life - you are saved.
Let me ask you something…If we can trust God for spiritual salvation, can we trust Him with the physical life we are living?
The answer should be, yes. EVEN when we can’t see the HOW.
Hagar couldn’t see how God was going to fulfill His promise to her, but she believed and she obeyed the command of the Lord. And history proves that His promised what fulfilled.
You know what I think the key to this story is and the key to our life’s story is? It’s right where we started the sermon tonight:
13 Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”
She recognized that God Sees. He sees who we are. He sees where we are. He sees how He is going to use our life for His purposes.
Thank God that He sees all! Don’t listen to Satan or others telling you that God is not seeing what you are going through.
Satan is a liar. God sees and God cares. He knows where you are. He knows how to accomplish more than we can imagine.
Hold on! Don’t be afraid. Don’t give up!
Remember that swimmer who was so close to the land, but gave up because she couldn’t see because of the fog? It may be foggy in your life right now, but keep on swimming - you’re almost there!