Getting Lost in God

Intro:

2 Corinthians 12:1-4

The title of my message is, [Getting Lost in God].

Webster’s Universal College Dictionary defines lost a number of ways:

No longer possessed

No longer to be found

Having gone astray

Preoccupied

Distracted

No one really enjoys feeling lost.

Bekah’s grandma lives ten miles from an amusement called Holiday World, in Santa Claus, Indiana. As kids they would get summer passes and go there a few times a week.

Her cousin Athea, who is ten years younger than Bekah, went with her Grandma to Holiday World. When they forgot where they parked. After searching and searching, three-year-old Athea determined they were lost.

She began to weep and declared, “I will never see my mother again.”

No one enjoys feeling lost. When someone is far from God, we say they are lost. When we get saved, we say, I once was lost, but now I’m found.

However, feeling lost can sometimes be a good thing.

People can get lost in a book

Lost in a conversation

Lost in an good time

So what do I mean when I say, Getting Lost in God? Let’s look at our text in 2 Corinthians 12.

Paul shared an experience he had with the Lord. However, he kept this encounter a secret for over a decade. Yet, as he wrote to the Corinthians, the Holy Spirit prompted him to share what God did.

The experience was so private he did not even write in the first person. He spoke of “someone he knew.” More often than not “someone” is the person speaking to us.

So he testified of a time when "someone” experienced supernatural visions and revelation. He was caught up to the third heaven. What is the third heaven?

Scripture divides life into two categories, an phsyical realm and a spiritual realm.

The physical realm is what we see:

The first heaven are the clouds and the atmosphere

The spiritual realm is what we cannot see:

The second heavens are the place where supernatural beings are

The third heaven is where God dwells

For fourteen years Paul kept his encounter private. At some point, he was praying and something took place. He got lost in God. He was so overwhelmed by the Lord, he did not know whether he was in or out of his body.

He was distracted to what happened around him as he lost control and was caught up to the third heaven!

While He was there he had an ecstatic experience where he heard wondrous and inexpressible secrets from the throne of God. I think it is safe to say, Paul was lost in God.

We may read that and think, well, that is nice for the Apostle Paul. How neat that he got to have that experience. But I want us to notice TWO words from 2 Corinthians 12:1:

VisionS and RevelationS

Those words are plural, meaning they are not one-time occurences. It is not as though God have Paul A vision or revelation. No, he had MANY visions and revelations.

He had supernatural times where he was lost in God. However, Paul was not alone in getting lost in God. All throughout history, there have been moments in time where people:

got lost in God

consumed by HIs presence

when they encountered His glory

After these life-changing encounters they would have a testimony that shaped their futures. I want us to see, Paul’s story is not an isolated event.

I want to look at three other people, Moses, David, and John, and see how we can get lost in God, [In Times of Turmoil], [In Times of Triumph], and [In Times of Tribulations].

Let’s begin

1. In Times of Turmoil

Exodus 33:11

The first person I want to discuss is Moses. Moses got lost in God many times. If we were in charge of the Israelites, we too would want to get lost in God.

They were constantly in turmoil. Nothing ever satisfied them. And their rebellion against God reached a fever pitch when Moses came down from the mountain in Exodus 32.

Under the direction of Aaron, the Israelites built a golden calf and worshipped it through singing and dancing. Moses was livid. He burned the statue, ground it into powder, and mixed it in their drinking water.

But the worst part happened when he met with God. Moses went to the tent and met with God and the Lord spoke to him as a friend speaks to a friend.

The Lord had bad news. Because of the turmoil in the camp, God decided He would not go with the Israelites into the Promised Land. Their rebellious attitude would cause God to kill them.

Upon hearing these words, Moses was now in turmoil. He asked God, how can we go without you? Then he begged for God to extend His grace.

The Lord relented and agreed to go with them by sending His presence. For most people, this would have satisfied their hunger. But by this point, Moses was getting lost in God and he wanted to go deeper.

He made a bold request.

Exodus 33:18

He wanted the manifest presence of God to overtake and overwhelm him. God was not offended by His request, instead, He devised a plan where Moses could experience the glory and still live.

He told Moses to hide in the crevice of a rock and the Lord will cover Moses’s face until the Lord passed by. Once He passed by He would remove His hand so Moses could see Him from behind for no one can see God’s face and live.

Think of it, being so close to God that he saw God’s glory. Moses was lost in God. In a time of turmoil, Moses went deeper in God and he possessed a strong testimony.

Exodus 34:29

Imagine being so lost in God that when we finish our time of prayer that our face is shining with the glory of God? It happened to Moses. He got lost in God in times of turmoil.

Now let’s see how David got lost...

2. In Times of Triumph

2 Samuel 6:12-15

Unlike Moses who got lost in God in a difficult time, David got lost in God after a great triumph.

Another difference between Moses and David was where they got lost in God. Moses met with God in private. It was just he and God by the cleft of that rock.

David on the other hand got lost in God and thousands of people witnessed what happened. This event occured early in his reign as king.

The Ark of the Covenant, which housed the presence and glory of God, had been in the enemy’s hands for a long time. One of David’s first acts as king was to retrieve the Ark, thereby returning God’s presence to Israel.

To make a long story short, the Ark’s journey into Jerusalem was a great triumph. King Saul had ignored God’s presence. David wanted to retrieve the Ark, but he made a mistake the first time.

Now, he moved the Ark God’s way. It was a holy experience. At first, it was solemn and somewhat reserved. They were unsure what would happen.

They moved the Ark six paces, stopped and made a sacrifice. They repeated this until they reached Jerusalem.

At first, David watched. But the closer they got to Jerusalem David started getting lost in God.

It probably started with David raising His hands

He might have started clapping His hands

He might have stomped his foot a little

But something overtook him and he started dancing. He laid down his royal robes and wore a simply linen ephod. He danced, shouted, and rejoiced in the Lord.

By the time they arrived in Jerusalem, everyone joined as they shouted with the sound of the trumpet. That is everybody but David’s wife, Michal.

When David returned home, she was waiting, looking extremely annoyed. She questioned David’s motives and showed her contempt.

She wanted to know, why did you embarrass us this way? Why did you have to shout and dance? It is not like you were in the privacy of your home. You looked foolish an ALL Israel saw what you did.

Listen to David’s response.

2 Samuel 6:21-22

In other words, my actions might have disgusted you. You dad would not have done what I did. But God appointed me as king over Israel.

And the Ark is home. The presence of God is here. And I cannot help but sing and play music. And if you did not like that, I will become even more undignified than this!

Because something happens when I praise the Lord. Heaven invades earth and suddenly I am caught between the two. And in His presence, I am lost. I am undone.

Sometimes I might cry

Other times I might raise my hands to the God of the universe

I might raise my voice and shout unto God with the voice of triumph

I will even dance before the Lord

Because in His presence I am lost for there is fullness of joy. I do not care who sees or who questions it, because I am not lost in them, I am lost in God!

Moses got lost in God in times of turmoil.

But David got lost in God in times of triumph.

Let’s see how John got lost...

3. In Times of Tribulation

Revelation 1:9-11

Long after Moses or David, there was a man named John. He was one of the original twelve disciples. He was sentenced to a life of hard labor after being boiled in hot oil at the age of 90.

His crime? He was a follower of Christ. He endured serious tribulation, grievous trouble, a severe trial of intense suffering.

Many people would have bemoaned their situation. They would have complained about their tribulation. But John knew what to do.

It was a Sunday, the Lord’s Day, and he got in the Spirit. He began to praise the Lord and a spirit of prayer overtook him. At some point, He got lost in God.

Then he heard a voice. The voice was loud, like the sound of a trumpet. The voice announced, I am the Alpha and the Omega, which means, I am the beginning and the end. I am the one who was, who is, and who is the to come.

John turned to look and he saw a man:

Who wore a full length robe

Had a golden sash over his chest

His head and hair were white like wool

His eyes were like flames of fire

His feet were gleaming like bright metal

And his voice roared like the sound of rushing water.

By this point, John was really lost. He fell out before the Man. But the Man reached down and instructed Him not to fear. He had some things He wanted to show Him.

From there, John had an encounter with Jesus, and it started when he heard an invitation:

Revelation 4:1

Jesus opened a door into a supernatural realm and John walked through it where he had a series of visionS and revelationS.

God showed Him what will take place on earth and in heave in the last days. Here are a few of the sights John experienced when he was lost in God:

Heard the angels singing a new song: Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, blessing honor, glory, and power be to Him who sits on the throne.

Heard the great multitudes cry out Alleluia the Lord God omnipotent reigns

He saw a new heaven and a new earth. He saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven as a bride adorned for her husband.

He was carried away in the Spirit where He saw a city with gates of pearl

A sea made of crystal

The glory of God so strong that no temple was needed. He went to the place where there is no sun, nor moon, not stars, for the Lamb of God is its light

And all of this happened because in a time of personal tribulation, when he was left for dead in an isolated place, he determined to get in the Spirit.

And in the Spirit, he got lost in God. The encounter was so real and wonderful, he wanted every Christian to experience so he cried out:

Revelation 22:20 NKJV

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Close:

Getting lost in God. Whether it is in times of turmoil, triumph, or tribulation, God wants His people to draw near to Him. And when we do, we can go to a place in Him we have not yet been.

We see we can get lost in God, but why? What is the purpose?

So that we might have a testimony.

For Moses people could see God’s glory emanating from His face

For David people joined in his expressions of joy in the Spirit

For John it was a revelation of future events

For Paul it was an experience so private he only shared once the Lord prompted Him.

When we get lost in God we will have a testimony. And I want to declare to everyone this morning, God wants us to get lost in HIM. He wants us to go deeper in Him then we have ever been.

Our nation has faced turmoil this year.

Some of us have experienced triumphs and others have endured tribulations.

But let me say, there is a place in God where we can go. Whether in or out of the body, it does not matter.

Whether we are caught up to the third heaven or if heaven comes down into this room, it does not matter.

What matters is we will get patient enough to get lost in Him. People do not notice they are lost with just one wrong turn. Normally it happens after some time where the terrain looks unfamiliar and the road signs don’t seem right.

Likewise, we will not get lost in God with a little prayer that says, God take me deeper. No, we have to learn to wait on Him. To press in deeper through intercession and worship.

And let me follow up with one more explanation, DO NOT LISTEN TO PEOPLE DO SAY WHAT WE READ IN SCRIPTURE IS NOT FOR TODAY.

If God loved Moses enough to show Him His glory

If God loved David enough to allow Him to get even more undignified

If God love Paul enough to take Him to the third heaven and let him come back to earth

If God loved John enough to open a door and tell him, come up here, there are some things I want to show you

and If God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, then we can get lost in God.

I know it for I have been lost in Him before.

I can remember praying in my room as a teenager, thinking I would pray for five minutes before bed. Five minutes turned into sixty minutes of praying in tongues and feeling the presence of God.

I can remember being the last one to leave the altar on a Sunday night where I could not stop crying as the presence of God overwhelmed me.

I can remember being a teenager and sitting in my pew unable to move as the glory of God captivated me and I wept before God.

I can remember dancing in the Spirit eight weeks after I cracked my ankle and tore a ligament, not caring who watched or who was there.

I can remember many times waking in the middle of the night to go to the living room to pray and spend time with the Lord.

And as recently as two months ago. I wrote it in my prayer journal. It was August 17. I was watching a service from a church out of state. I joined in with their worship and the glory of God filled our living room.

I wept, barely able to pray in tongues. It went on for over thirty minutes. I was so lost, Bekah came home and all I could say was, would you pray with me for our church? I want what I feel to fill our sanctuary!

There is so much more, let’s not get lost in the shuffle of life. But let’s get lost in God!