When God Hides Himself (2)

Preliminary:

Invite to John 7.

Appreciated this Camp

God’s presence

God’s truth has rung from these rafters service after service.

God’s faithfulness - He has been faithful to call, to encourage, to challenge

God’s people - Oh there is just something about being among God’s people and just loving on them and having them love on you - I have felt loved on, and encouraged, and helped by my people. This is my people. I love the Bible Holiness Church -

I also love that so many from Wichita Bible Holiness Church are here. They are like family to me. They have put up with me for many years now - And they still come out to hear me preach at camp.

If some of my Bible school co-laborers are here...

I read recently about an older lady who went to church and heard a young minister preach. When she got out, someone asked her what she thought of the preaching.

She said, “Se spoke in truth apostolic style. He took a text and went all over preaching the gospel.”

I have heard some ministers do that - You didn’t know where you might end up - I trust the Lord will help us to stay on topic and on target this morning.

I again invite to John 7.

Jesus is going on tour around Galilee as the Judea or the Southern part of Palestine was becoming more and more hostile.

The groups destination is Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles (sometimes referred to as Booths - or Sukkot)

This Jewish feast is a significant backdrop to the passage. It was one of the three pilgrimage festivals where Jewish males were expected to appear before the Lord in Jerusalem. The feast commemorated the Israelites' wilderness wanderings and celebrated God's provision, and God’s presence

During this festival Israel gathered luxuriant boughs and built booths in which to live for the span of the festival. These acts were meant to remind them of the time spent wandering in the desert.

The Feast of Tabernacles is the last of the seven feasts described in the Pentateuch, starting four days after the Day of Atonement.

It begins after the completion of grain threshing and pressing grapes, on the fifteenth day of Tishri (the seventh lunar month, which falls in late September to late October). - Lexham Bible Dictionary

The Lexham Bible Dictionary New Testament

Jesus celebrates the feast of Tabernacles in John 7, and it is within this context that Jesus invites the thirsty to drink from Him and declares that He is the light of the world (Ulfgard, Story of Sukkot, 258–61). At the beginning of John 7, His brothers tell him to go show Himself to the world, since this feast was one of the biggest gatherings of Jews

I mentioned that the Feast of Tabernacles also became known as among several other things the Presence of God - this part of the celebration no doubt came about from:

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Josephus

Solomon brought the ark into the temple during the feast of Tabernacles (Antiquities 8.4.1, 5; 1 Kgs 8:2).

And the Glory - the Presence of God - filled the Temple so much they were not able to serve inside it for a while - and this was often remembered in feasts following as the presence of God at the Feast of Tabernacles .

Lets read the scripture: John 7:1-11

John 7:1–11 KJV 1900

1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. 2 Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand. 3 His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. 4 For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. 5 For neither did his brethren believe in him. 6 Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready. 7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. 8 Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come. 9 When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee. 10 But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. 11 Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he?

PRAYER:

Introduction:

If you have siblings, or more than one child, I’m sure you understand sibling conflict.

You know where one doesn’t always agree with the other.

My sister and I when we were still pretty young had a conflict on one occasion —my mother had her fill and made it clear that she was to hear no further arguing or bickering.

It was some years later Mom was going through some things and found inside the flyleaf of a children’s book “PIG” scribbled in a pretty angry and hostile way.

It was clearly in my sisters handwriting. My Mom asked her about it and was told that because she couldn’t say it out loud - she dared not call me it in any way Mom would hear about it— so she wrote it in a book.

It seems that even Jesus had his fair share of trouble with brothers. Our passage begins with a heated discussion between them.

These were the real brothers of Jesus - well technically half-brothers....

They obviously didn’t believe that Jesus was who he claimed to be, and made that clear. They wanted Jesus to go up to the feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem and show off all the miracles he was doing in Galilee.

You can hear the sarcasm just dripping off their voices in John 7:3-4.

John 7:3–4 Jesus why don’t you go into Judea and show all of your disciples there your great miraculous power -

You can almost here the inferred, “unless you’re too chicken”

Remember this is why Jesus is in more northern territories, they were seeking to kill him in the south.

And they continue, “Really Jesus, no one with the power you say you have would do these things in secret. If you can really do these things - show yourself to the world.”

I mean just dripping with sarcasm and sibling hostility.

Jesus ignores all of their taunting and sarcasm and says

John 7:8 “Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come.”

I want you to catch a very important phrase in this verse 8. If you miss this you will miss the rest of my sermon:

“I go not up yet unto this feast”

The Greek phrase used here is not an out and out refusal to go to the Feast but rather a deliberate delay.

So Jesus stays in Galilee and his brethren go on to the feast.

And sometime after his brothers had left - Jesus quietly grabs his suitcase and the Bible says, “as it were in secret” headed up to the feast.

While he was on his way and even had arrived - they did not see him -

Remember he went “as it were in secret” -

and John 7:11 “11 Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he?”

Where is he?

The people sought him, they were looking for him, but he wasn’t anywhere to be found.

That’s what I would like to talk to you about this morning - When God dissapears - when He goes incognito - when it seems as though he is going in secret.

Have ever felt like that? You were searching for HIm, but it seemed He couldn’t be found.

It was:

God incognito

God concealed

You were asking God, Where are you?

Mary and Martha understand this place - Lazarus,

sick at the point of death, and still Jesus doesn’t come.

The song the Hamiltons sang at the beginning of camp tells this story and there is a line in there - that perhaps you have felt or prayed - or thought before:

“And I wondered, ‘Where was HE? Is He still a friend of mine?”

God where are you? I don’t see you, I don’t feel you, so much wrong, so much at stake -

But it seems that God - the God I spent four mornings telling you about how much it is His nature and His practice to Reveal Himself to Humanity - has hidden himself

He is “as it were in secret”

Have you ever been there? OH I have several times.

I have even heard other people express it like this, “It seemed God a million miles away”

When God hides himself - and there are going to be times that occurs

You can be sure of three very important things:

FIRST: God doesn’t have to be seen to STILL be present!

You May not see Him - But He is STILL there.

THIS....

THIS is something that Mary and Martha and you and I often forget...

Incognito - is not the same thing as He is not present!!!

Sometimes we may feel abandoned - but remember you are never forsaken

Hebrews 12:5 …for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

The story of Job in the Bible is a profound example of a believer's faith being tested by God's hiddenness.

Job remained faithful despite immense suffering and the absence of any clear answers from God.

I think the worst part of his struggle was the silence of God.

Listen to his wail in Job 23:8-10

Job 23:8–10 KJV 1900

8 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; And backward, but I cannot perceive him: 9 On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: He hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: 10 But he knoweth the way that I take: When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

I’m reaching out to Him - but I don’t feel any response

God is silent - “as it were in secret”

School is about to start - and something that is often the case:

"The Teacher silent during a test."

Simone Weil writes that suffering makes God “appear to be absent.” She is right.

But in Psalm 34, David counters that thought

Psalm 34:17–18 KJV 1900

17 The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, And delivereth them out of all their troubles. 18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; And saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

God feels absent, it does not mean he actually is.

Looking back at a time when his life had been in grave danger and all seemed lost, David concludes,

Psalm 34:18 “18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; And saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”

A Bible Missionary Minister Bro. Brian Dowd whom I met several years ago wrote a beautiful song, and the Victory Trio recorded on I believe their last album, the chorus goes:

When God hides his face, that doesn't mean He isn't there Though my searching eye's can't see Him, That's no sign He doesn't care So with faith's arm reach up to heaven Embrace that Hand so fair Just because His face is hidden it doesn't mean He isn't there

Or the old standard: Standing somewhere in the shadows you'll find Jesus He's a Friend who always cares and understands Standing somewhere in the shadows you will find Him And you'll know Him by the nail prints in His hands [14]

Job obviously felt forsaken, forgotten, and lost.

I remember someone else feeling something like that.

A young man about the age of 33 who had been arrested, dragged off in the middle of the night to be tried, beaten whipped, scorned nailed to an old rugged cross and about the 9th hour of the day, he lifted up his voice and shouted,

"MY GOD MY GOD WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME."

One of the most interesting things in this incident is there is no answer. No booming voice from heaven, no Holy Spirit in the form of a dove No Angels coming to minister to him. Only Silence and darkness from the heavens.

But if we could have seen the other side of that picture.

Seen from the Father's perspective it would have been a different scene.

What was the scene in heaven that day? I don't know. But I have to think that if God grieved when he wiped mankind off the earth with a flood How much more it must have grieved the heart of God to hear his Son his Only Begotten Son crying out to Him.

If ever there was a day that God cried it was that day.

But God was there -

God doesn’t have to be seen to STILL be present!

God is present everywhere and everywhere present - whether you feel, or sense, or comprehend it or not.

I love what A. W. Tozer says, "The presence of God is the central fact of Christianity."

God is present.

Years ago as a young Christian - I wasn’t married yet - but I was going through a testing time where it felt God was silent. “as it were in secret” and my faith was being tested and tried.

I was going to work one morning and had just made it to the intersection of Highway Y and 79 there in Foley, MO - I had a tape on in my little Dodge Neon I don’t remember where the tape was from, other than it was a campmeeting from somewhere, I don’t remember who was on the tape, I don’t even remember what was being sung - but I do remember as I eased out onto 79 in the morning traffic - the God who is always present - but felt as though “he were in secret” slipped into that little Neon that morning and he rode to work with me

Oh we had quite a conversation, we had quite the fellowship - and that wasn’t the last time that has happened.

There have been other times when God seems so far away - and I have to remind myself - no I just don’t see Him but that doesn’t mean He isn’t present. I may not feel Him but He is here.

Every once in a while Bro. Carl Knight’s song comes flashing across my mind, “With me when I am discouraged, with me when I’m bending low...”

That is not just wishful thinking, that is not just a pie in the sky philosophy - that is the authority of God’s WORD!!!

Not only is it true that GOd doesn’t have to be seen in order to be present I would also like to point out...

SECOND: God doesn’t have to be seen, felt, or heard to still be working.

Perhaps your situation isn’t sickness, maybe it’s loss, or tough decisions, or depression, feelings of abandonment, whatever your current situation

Remember this great truth--

God incognito - does not mean God incapacitated

It was a time marked by heavy oppression, darkness, a time when an old man was seeking and praying for God to show himself.

It was a time marked by silence from the heavens - for over 400 years there was no recorded prophetic utterance from a man of God, a time of silence, but an aged woman was seeking God, was searching for Him. Where is He? Where is the one to come? Where is the Deliverer? Where is the Day-spring form on High promise to come?

It was then that God disguised if you will, Himself in human flesh - God went incognito - “as it were in secret”

Ben Withereington put it to verse like this:

He came in incognito,

A thinly veiled disguise

The not so subtle son of man,

A human with God’s eyes.

A couple of years ago we had a young lady brought to our church. She was Muslim and was here as an exchange student.

That Sunday morning - Bro. Philip Davolt and his daughter Stephanie were up singing and they were singing the song, “I Know A Man who Can.”

While the song was beautiful, I don’t remember anything extra ordinary taking place that morning as far as - I don’t remember anyone standing up, or moving out, or demonstrating at all that God was there

Later the story came back to me, that young lady leaned over to her exchange family and whispered, “I feel like crying is that ok?”

Well - we think its just a regular service, just going through the motions -

Oh I know our tradition is loud and sometimes includes running the aisle and shouting and all that is fine as long as you don’t get the notion that that is the only way God shows up

That morning in just a regular, ordinary service in Wichita - GOD showed up - He really doesn’t show up though - HE IS THERE

JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN’T SEE OR FEEL HIM DOESN’T MEAN HE ISN’T PRESENT

JUST BECAUSE YOU DON’T FEEL HIM DOESN’T MEAN HE ISN’T WORKING.

THIRD: When God Goes incognito - YOU CAN BE SURE HE’S GOING TO SHOW UP AT JUST HE RIGHT TIME

The right time - that is a hard concept for us mere mortals -

Remember our scripture reading?

Look back at verse 6

John 7:6 “6 Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come...

Oh that is a powerful statement: it refers to the appropriate or appointed time, highlighting Jesus' awareness of God's timing in His mission.

Oh God’s timing is so different from our timing.

It was at this feast the last day - it was a great day - a day celebrated that celebrated and prayed for God sending the rain and giving them plenty of water for their crops to grow.

It was at that celebration and I won’t go into all they did at this celebration but part of it was they would bring in gallons of water and pour them out before the Lord and offer prayers and praise to God for water

It was during this day that God who had went “as it were in secret” suddenly appears at the celebration and gets everyone’s attention and cried - that means he spoke real loud - HE YELLED

John 7:37–39 KJV 1900

37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

They may not have understood the significance that just happened - but oh if they only knew -

They were looking for Him all the while He was there and he had something to offer them that was much better than the water for their crops

That is what Mary and Martha and we sometimes forget God doesn’t have to be seen, felt, or heard to be working.

Lazarus was sick, he died, and they put him in a grave - when God showed up at just the right time

The song I mentioned earlier that the Hamiltons sang at the beginning of Camp tells the story this way:

They sent for Jesus, your friends about to die But tarried He still on behind So they laid Lazarus in a tomb And said their last good by but coming down The road was Jesus right on time

Job lost all he had, sick and hurting, felt like he was abandoned by God - but then at just the right time God showed up!!!

How about you - are you facing a dark time?

Does it seem that God is no where to be found?

Are you desperately feeling in front and behind - all around and just silence from heaven?

I want to encourage you to hold on to your faith - God has not left, abandoned, forsaken you, God has not quit working, God will SHOW HIMSELF in a powerful way.

One of my favorite examples of this is the story of the two disciples as they were leaving Jerusalem after the crucifixion - all hope was gone- they were confused, discouraged - feeling abandoned, lost, hopeless,

Thinking they had left their everything locked in a tomb back in the city -

little did they know that above all the darkness - gloom, confusion, abandoned feelings -

God the Father spoke however he Speaks to the Son and said, “Son there are a couple of men on their way to Emmaus who need to see you, they are in a dark lonely place”

In their darkest time - God still had his eye on them, God even though in a tomb, was not out of comission, God was able to come through and show himself in a powerful way. They bowed their heads at the dinner table and suddenly their eyes were opeend. Like flipping on a lightswicht all of their darkenss fled from the Light of HIM - HE CAME - HE SHOWED HIIMSELF IN A POWERFUL WAY -

Just a couple of years ago - right here at camp - I was playing the piano and the song leader chose “Pass Me Not” I thought that is an interesting song for congregational singing at camp meeting - but ok and we began singing it - me the whole time thinking - this is different - this is odd - when all of a sudden the one who had been here as it was in secret showed himself - HE HAD BEEN WORKING THE WHOLE TIME

Remember - He may be incognito - He may be as it were in secret - but...

1. He is still present

2. He is still working

3. He will show up!!!

YO