SERMON: SEEKING THE FACE OF GOD

25 April 2010

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Matthew 17

1. After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
2. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.
3. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4. Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters--one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."
5. While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
6. When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified.
7. But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid."
8. When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.


-- this morning, we are continuing in our series on the "how's" of revival by looking at the four criteria that God gave us in 2 Chronicles 7:14 -- as you remember, in this verse God told us that when we are confronted with trials and troubles -- when plagues and famines and hardships come upon us because we have turned away from Him -- that if we return to Him, that He will bring healing and restoration and revival on our land
-- this verse reads, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land"
-- last week we talked about what it takes to humble ourselves before God
-- this week, we are going to be talking about what God means and what we are to do when He tells us to "Seek His Face" -- we'll talk about this more, but in a real, general sense, seeking the face of God means that you see Him as He really is -- it means that we brush aside all of our perceptions and illusions and doubts and that affect our vision and that we see the real and true God standing before us
-- as the old song says, "I can see clearly now the rain is gone" -- that's the heart of seeking the face of God -- getting rid of everything that is blocking our vision so we can see the Son

-- you know, I've always had poor vision my whole life -- I got glasses when I was in the third grade and I wear contacts now, but I never really considered my vision a problem until lately -- wearing glasses or wearing contacts was just something I had to do -- and when I put them on, I could see as good as anyone else -- better, in fact, than some people who refused to admit they had a problem
-- wearing glasses never hampered me from playing sports or hunting or fishing or anything else -- I was able to participate in every activity my friends did -- it never slowed me down
-- but recently, especially over the last year, I have been having issues with my vision that I do call a problem -- all of you out there who are over 40 years old probably know exactly what I'm talking about -- I just cannot see things close up and it is about to drive me crazy
-- I was trying to thread a hook the other day and I couldn't see the eye of the hook to put the fishing line through it -- I was trying to read something and I had to keep pushing it farther and farther away from my face until it cleared up -- most recently, I have found I have a problem seeing the hymnal up here -- I have to hold it way down in order to read the words -- it is just frustrating to not be able to do something -- to not be able to see something -- that I used to be able to see without a second thought
-- I used to get upset when I'd go to Walmart and these little old ladies would park their buggies right in the middle of the aisle and block it and stand there looking at the shelves for what they were buying -- I'd complain to myself as I squeezed by them about them being the in the way and I'd think to myself, "Why won't they get closer to the shelf and make room for everybody else?" -- but I think I understand them a little better now, because I caught myself doing the same thing just yesterday -- I think they have to stand that far back in order to read the labels -- they are having a problem with their vision
-- vision problems are things that people start to experience as they get older -- I asked my eye doctor about my problem seeing close up -- he said the technical term for it is "presbyopia" -- the first part of that word, "presby" means "old man" or "elder" -- the second part, "opia" means "eye" -- so, he told me, presbyopia just means your eyes are getting older and you can't see as well as you did when you were younger
-- but just wait, he said, there's other problems you can look forward to as you get older that can cause degenerating eyesight -- cataracts, glaucoma, astigmatisms, or just increasing problems with near- or far-sightedness -- it just comes down to this, he said, when you get old, you just can't see as clearly as when you are young -- and that's very true
-- I've got a couple of nieces who have just recently reached the age where they are ready to get driver's licenses -- one of them is 17 and has been driving now for a couple of years and the other one just turned 15 and just went and took her tests so that she could get her learning permit
-- and, if you've had a license for a while, you might not remember how stressful it was to get your first license -- you had to study and study and study so you could pass the written test and then you had to take the driving test with that evaluator just sitting there watching your every move
-- but there's one part of that test that my nieces didn't worry about at all -- the vision test -- because they're young, they can see -- they have no problems seeing -- they have great vision
-- but the next time you go to renew your license, watch the older people in the room -- they're not worried if they get asked about their driving ability -- they're not worried if someone asks them what a particular rule of the road is -- they've got a lifetime of driving experience -- but when they face that vision machine, they get worried -- because they know that their eyes are older and they can't see as well as they used to be able to and if they can't pass the vision test, they will lose their right to drive
-- vision problems are, indeed, something to be concerned about -- but our concern shouldn't just be about our physical vision problems -- but also our spiritual vision

-- I have been pondering the meaning of God's command to "seek His face" in 2 Chronicles 7:14 over the last several weeks -- and, you know, I never really understood it -- it seems like that phrase "Seeking My Face" is nothing more than a general term for all that we do in the church
-- I mean, when I read that verse, doesn't that one command, "Seek My Face," seem a little redundant? -- isn't that what we're already doing? -- God tells us in this verse that if we want revival -- if we want healing and restoration -- then we are to humble ourselves and pray and turn from our wicked ways -- wouldn't those three things really just mean that we are seeking His face?
-- but God must mean something more here -- He must mean something different -- just like His call to us to humble ourselves and pray and turn from our wicked ways meant that we had to change something that we had been doing to get right with Him -- seeking His face must also mean that we have to change something that we have been doing -- the question is "what?"
-- and here's where I think the spiritual vision part comes in -- just like with our physical vision, as we get older, our spiritual vision starts to degenerate -- it starts to get a little worse -- we just can't see as clearly as we once did because we have let years and years of life and experience and religion cloud our vision
-- remember when you were first saved? -- you didn't care so much about denominations -- you didn't care so much about conservative vs. liberal theology -- you didn't care so much about what type of music we sang or what version of the Bible we used or anything else that is so important now -- all you cared about was Jesus -- He was the most important thing -- He was your all in all -- He was all that you saw
-- but, over the years, we let religion and life and experience cloud the way we see Jesus -- instead of seeing the real Jesus clearly like we used to, we have revisioned Jesus in our own fashion -- liberal churches see Jesus as liberal -- conservative churches see Jesus as conservative -- contemporary worshipers see Jesus as breaking the mold -- traditional worshipers see the traditional Jesus that was in our Sunday School pictures -- everybody in the church sees Jesus in a different way -- we all claim the name of Jesus -- we all speak the name of Jesus -- but, when we do, we're all talking about somebody different -- somebody that only we see because He has been filtered through our clouded vision
-- but God doesn't want us to see Him through our filters -- God doesn't want us to see Him as we have made Him out to be -- God wants us to see Him as He is -- and, so, when God tells us to seek His face, He is commanding us to clear our vision -- to remove the layers of film left by years of religion and experience and life and to see Him as He truly is -- to see His real face -- to see the real God

II. Scripture Lesson (Matthew 17:1-8)
-- in this passage in Matthew 17, we read of an experience that three of Jesus' disciples had when they saw Jesus as He truly was for the first time in their lives
-- don't fall into the trap of thinking that when the disciples first saw Jesus -- that when Jesus first called them to follow Him -- that they looked up and saw a blinding light and a halo around Jesus and they immediately knew He was God and they jumped to their feet and followed Him
-- Isaiah 53:2 says that Jesus had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. -- in other words, when Jesus' disciples looked at Him, they didn't see God in physical form -- they just saw a man like themselves -- someone that they lived with and followed and listened to because He had insights into God's teachings that were new and had life
-- it wasn't until later that they began to realize that there was more to Jesus than just another gifted rabbi -- it wasn't until later that they began to see Jesus for who He was
-- the only time Jesus let them see Him as He truly was was during the transfiguration that Matthew tells us about here in this passage -- let's look back at this again and think about it in terms of seeking God's face

-- look back at verse 1 in this passage

1. After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.


-- Jesus had 12 disciples, but He only took three of them with Him to this mountain -- there's a lesson there for us -- we can all be in the presence of Jesus, but only those who come to Him with eyes wide open -- only those who come to Him without preconceived notions -- will see Jesus as He truly is
-- the call to seek God's face is to go with Jesus to the mountain -- to put aside the filter and the cloud of life and religion and experience -- and to see Him in His glory

-- verse 2

2. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.


-- Matthew tells us here that Jesus was "transfigured" -- the Greek word that is translated here literally means "metamorphosis" -- a change in form -- while we read that Jesus' face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light, there's obviously a lot more going on here than Jesus just changing His clothes
-- what happened on this mountain was that Jesus was transformed -- He took on another form -- He changed from being just a man to appearing in His glorified form -- Peter, James, and John witnessed this man that they knew becoming something else -- for the first time in their lives, they saw Him as He truly was
-- at that moment, all that they thought they knew about Jesus was stripped bare -- no longer was this just the Galilean carpenter and rabbi that they knew -- no longer was this just a fellow first century Jew -- no longer was this just the man who shared their fire
-- everything about Him was changed -- His clothes -- His features -- His appearance -- His very being -- they no longer looked at Jesus the man -- they looked at Jesus the God
-- their vision had been cleared and they would never look at Him the same way again

-- verse 3

3. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4. Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters--one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."


-- Matthew tells us that Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus on the mountain and that Peter, James, and John saw them standing there talking with Him -- the question is, "Why?" -- Isn't the real issue the fact that Jesus was now standing before them in His transfigured, glorified form -- who cares about Moses and Elijah?
-- they're there for a reason -- Moses represents the law and Elijah represents the prophets
-- for Peter, James, and John, their former vision of God was based on these two things -- their idea of who God was and what God was supposed to do and how God was supposed to act was based on the law of Moses and the revelations revealed to God's prophets
-- over the years, the true image of God revealed in the law and the prophets had gotten blurred as life and experience and religion changed who the people saw -- why do you think the Pharisees missed seeing Jesus as Messiah when He was on earth?
-- because the Jesus they saw was not the Messiah they were looking for -- they had made up in their minds who the Messiah was and how He would look and what He would do, and when Jesus showed up, He didn't fit their image -- He wasn't who the Pharisees were looking for, and so they rejected Him
-- the significance of Moses and Elijah appearing with Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration is to demonstrate to the disciples that who they are seeing now -- this Jesus who is standing before them glorified as King of Kings and Lord of Lords -- is the real Messiah -- the real Jesus -- the real God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

-- verse 5

5. While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
6. When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified.


-- as if to punctuate the lesson here for the disciples, God the Father descends upon the mountain, enveloping it in a cloud like familiar passages in the Old Testament, as He pronounces to the three terrified disciples -- "This is My Son"
-- in other words, the Father was making sure Peter, James, and John got the message -- this Jesus who was standing before them was the real Jesus -- the true Jesus -- the Jesus stripped of all worldly affectations
-- this was the Jesus that they were supposed to follow -- this was the Jesus they were supposed to preach -- this was the Jesus that they were supposed to worship
-- this was Jesus, not the man they thought they knew -- not the image of the Messiah they had been taught to look for -- this was the real deal -- and this was who they were to see when they looked on the face of Jesus from now on

-- verse 7

7. But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid."
8. When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

-- for us, this morning, the heart of this passage comes at the end of verse 8 -- "they saw no one except Jesus"
-- all the layers of life and religion and experience that had clouded their vision had been removed -- their eyesight had been restored -- and they saw no one and nothing other than the real Jesus
-- this is the heart of the commandment that God gives us in 2 Chronicles 7:14 when He tells us to seek His face -- we are to see nothing but Jesus -- we are to look past the things that blur our vision -- the trappings of our man-made religion -- the experiences of life that have jaded us to the truth of God in our midst -- the cynicism and doubt that comes with age -- we are to clear our vision and see nothing but Jesus
-- that is what God means when He tell us to "Seek His Face"

III. Closing
-- since 1541, from the moment he completed his painting, "The Last Judgment," the name Michelangelo has been synonymous with The Sistine Chapel
-- for the past 450 years, travelers from around the world have gone to Rome and visited the Vatican just to see this remarkable painting by Michelangelo on the ceiling of this chapel just north of St. Peter's Basilica
-- but until recently, no one really knew what a masterpiece it was -- you see, in the intervening 450 years, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel has been coated with the grime of life -- wax and soot from candles burned over the years -- crystalline accretions of salt that had leaked through the roof and outer walls -- dust and dirt -- oils and animal fats and old cleaning solutions from years gone by -- all of this obscured from vision the true picture that Michelangelo had painted
-- you could see it -- you could make it out -- but it wasn't as clear or as vivid or as sharp as when Michelangelo first painted it
-- beginning in 1980, the Vatican took steps to restore the painting to its former glory -- using modern, professional techniques, experts took decades to painstakingly restore and renew the original painting -- in the process, they revealed colors and details -- angels and other spiritual beings -- that had been covered for years by grime
-- now, for the first time in 450 years, visitors to the Sistine Chapel can truly see what Michelangelo painted

-- when God commands us to "seek His face," He is commanding us to undergo a spiritual restoration in our hearts and in our vision -- He wants us to remove the grime of religion -- the soot of life -- the crud of experience -- so that we can see Him as He truly is
-- we do this through His word -- we do this through His Spirit -- we do this by spending time with Him alone
-- just as Jesus had to carry His disciples up on the mountain, away from the crowds, in order for them to see Him in His glory, we need to remove ourselves from the trappings of this world and spend time with God if we are see Him as He truly is
-- a god of our making will never bring revival -- a god of our making cannot heal or forgive or restore -- it is only when we seek out the true God of the Bible that we will see healing and restoration and revival in our land and in our homes and in our churches
-- as we close today, I want to encourage you to commit yourself to spending some time alone with God this week -- just you and His word and no one else -- no commentaries where others tell you what they think it means -- no religious texts that explain the passages in light of denominational understandings -- just you and God, alone on the mountain -- with open eyes and an open heart and a willingness to put aside your preconceived notions of who God is so that you can experience the real God in your life
-- let's pray