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HEAVEN - SEEING THE UNSEEN
SEEING GOD
Sunday February 16, 2020
Scripture Reference: Revelation 21:3 & 22:4
Intro.
A. Today we are going to begin a part of this study on Heaven that I think you are really going to enjoy.
That is not to say you have not enjoyed what we have been learning so far, but today and next Sunday I want to speak to you about "Seeing God".
I sincerely hope that the very prospect of seeing God excites you, but I also know that for some that idea is frightening and that can be for several reasons that I will talk about in a few minutes.
Let's look at our scripture text for the next two Sundays.
"I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, God's home is now among his people!
He will live with them, and they will be his people.
God himself will be with them."
"And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads."
Revelation 21:3 & 22:4 (NLT)
1.
I have to add that the morning I first began typing this message out was the morning I met with the hospice worker who will be taking care of my mom.
Thankfully she was a Christ follower and so this discussion about my mom and what her physical condition will be like in the coming days was difficult and wonderful at the same time.
She was relating her experiences of people of faith who seem to get a glimpse of Heaven before they passed on.
It was sad thinking of moms' death, but wonderful to think (and more clearly now I might add) of where she is going to be in probably a short time.
B. We have been spending a lot of time the past six weeks talking about the Present Heaven and then more recently about the Future Heaven or our eternal home.
I have tried to emphasis the physical aspects of both our bodies and of the earth itself.
This is very important otherwise we will not be able to develop a true picture of the Heaven the Bible describes.
If we look at heaven and ourselves as merely non-physical entities, then our picture of Heaven will be more like those of Eastern Religions and that is not where we want to be.
I. WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE TO SEE GOD?
Talk about the "million-dollar question" this is it.
Here is what a man named John Donne said about this.
"I shall rise from the dead....
I shall see the Son of God, the Sun of Glory, and shine myself as that sun shines.
I shall be united to the Ancient of Days, to God Himself, who had no morning, never began. . .
No man ever saw God and lived.
And yet, I shall not live till I see God; and when I have seen him, I shall never die."
John Donn Psalm 63:1 says "O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water."
Psalm 63:1 (NLT) There are a lot of things we want although some of us who are bit older are finding that our want list seems to be shrinking.
We might want a promotion at our jobs.
We might wish for a home of our own instead of renting.
We might wish for a better car or TV or iPhone and we could go on and on, can't we?
I guess I should add a bigger boat to that list, right?
LOL.
Now I am not sure if we would be willing to admit this or not, but I think most of us know that all these things we want cannot really satisfy us or make us content.
I would love to own that bigger better boat, but I know it won't take more than a few months until I will be looking around at other boats thinking they might be better than what I now have.
That I could really be satisfied if I had that boat instead of the one I have now.
What we should truly long for, as the Psalmist said what our souls should thirst for is to see God.
Is to be in His Presence.
I honestly believe that this is where every human being is, but many do not realize it.
This is why they seek so many other ways to find contentment and satisfaction and yet it never comes to us.
A. We Need A New Vision
1. Early theologians used to talk of something they called "The Beatific Vision".
These three words in Latin mean "A Happy Making Sight".
If we were to go on reading in Psalm 63 we would see where the writer spoke of how seeing God provided him with what he really wanted.
Here is what David said "You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise you with songs of joy."
Psalm 63:5 (NLT) Certainly for us to see God will be a sight that will make us more than simply happy.
2. As we just read a moment ago in Rev.22 one day we will see God face to face, but for some people even those who are followers of Christ that idea might not be thrilling.
That prospect might be intimidating or even a little frightening.
Our hesitancy is not necessarily because of sin or shame it is more likely to be because we have trained ourselves to believe that seeing God is somewhat like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.
He is the great and powerful God and we are just lowly humans.
I know for me for most of my Christian life the idea of seeing God was not comforting it was frightening.
It was not something I was looking forward to, but we need to ask ourselves why this is so.
Here is what Paul told Timothy "He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him.
No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will.
All honor and power to him forever!
Amen." 1 Timothy 6:16 (NLT) Then we think about Moses when he said he wanted to see God's face and here was God's response, "18 Moses responded, "Then show me your glorious presence."
19 The LORD replied, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you...20 But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live."
Exodus 33:18-20 (NLT)
3.
So how can we look forward to this Beatific Vision?
Obviously since the Bible says we will see Him face to face something has to change in us, but certainly not in God to make that happen.
Well I think the answer is we need to spend more time in God's word and if we do this here is what we will discover.
The answer is found in Jesus and what He did for us.
It is because of the shed blood of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection that we can look forward to seeing God face to face.
Remember that we saw just the other week that if Jesus is not raised from the dead then we are without hope and we are still in our sins but Praise His Name He has risen, and we will rise with him in that last day.
It is our redemption through Christ that will enable us to see God.
Instead of wondering if we can see God and live we will be wondering how we ever lived without seeing Him.
We cannot now experience the fullness of God's Presence in this fallen world, but we are given a foretaste of what is to come.
Listen to these words, "And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus."
Hebrews 10:19 (NLT) I don't know if you have ever really grasped what these words mean, I know I hadn't.
Now don't misunderstand me here but I know we most often use this verse to talk about prayer, but it is not specifically addressing the issue of prayer, but let's say that it does.
Usually when we think of going to prayer we think of bowing as a symbol of our humility.
That is good and I am not discounting that, but can't I also enter God's presence with joy and full assurance of faith?
With my head held high, not in arrogance, but in joy and expectation of whose Presence I am entering?
The Psalmist said as we often quote, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name."
Psalm 100:4 (NLT) When I enter His gates and go into His courts where am I? I am in the Presence of God right!
How do I enter His presence?
With thanksgiving and praise.
So how do we see God? How do we approach the unapproachable?
Once again, we can turn to the bible for answers.
We are clearly told that we can see God in the face of His Son.
B. Seeing God In The Face Of Jesus.
1. God who is transcendent, who is beyond us became immanent with us.
The angel told Joseph that Jesus would be called Emanuel which means "God with us".
In John 14 we see where Phillip asked to see God and Jesus responded, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don't know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!
So why are you asking me to show him to you?" John 14:9 (NLT) Clearly, we get a picture of what God is like when we see Jesus, but does this mean we will not ever actually see the face of God?
That Jesus will have to serve as a substitute?
Well even if he did that ought to be enough for us but I don't believe we will only see God through Jesus.
Look at these verses.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." Matthew 5:8 (NIV) Again what we see saw earlier "And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads."
Revelation 22:4 (NLT)
Now how are we able to see the God who dwells in inapproachable light the God who told Moses you can't see my face and live?
The answer is found in our resurrection.
Once again, these bodies are not what they were once intended to be.
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