Have You Seen the Lord?

Q: What does the Bible say about seeing the Lord?

Seeing the Lord involves a deep personal revelation of God beyond just hearing about Him. The Bible illustrates that seeing the Lord is more than mere awareness; it's experiencing His presence and glory. Job, in Job 42:5-6, famously stated, 'I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.' This indicates a transition from a superficial knowledge of God to a profound, personal revelation. Throughout Scripture, individuals like Thomas and Simeon also express this deep encounter, signifying that true understanding of God comes through faith and spiritual insight.

Q: How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

God's sovereignty is affirmed throughout Scripture as the ultimate authority over all creation. The sovereignty of God is a foundational aspect of Reformed theology, underscoring that He is in control of everything that transpires. Passages such as Job 42:2 and Daniel 4:35 emphasize that God can do all things and that His will prevails in heaven and on earth. God's sovereignty is central to our understanding of salvation, as seen in Ephesians 1:11, in which God's purpose is worked out according to His own will. Thus, we recognize that every event is under His sovereign reign, revealing His eternal plan.

Q: Why is repentance important for Christians?

Repentance is crucial as it signifies a person's recognition of their sin and need for God's grace. Repentance is an essential response to seeing the Lord and is highlighted by Job's reaction after his encounter with God. In Job 42:6, he expresses his repentance with 'I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.' This illustrates that true encounters with God's holiness lead to a humble acknowledgment of our unworthiness. Repentance brings restoration and is a necessary act for reconciliation with God, allowing believers to experience His grace and forgiveness profoundly. Moreover, it is part of the continuous Christian life as we learn to rely on God's mercy.

Q: How does God reveal Himself to us today?

God reveals Himself through creation, conscience, Scripture, and ultimately through His Son, Jesus Christ. The revelation of God is multi-faceted. He speaks through creation, making His existence known to all (Romans 1:19-20). The conscience also bears witness to God's law written on our hearts (Romans 2:14). Furthermore, God has sent prophets and ultimately revealed Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ, as outlined in Hebrews 1:1-2. Through His Word, we encounter the fullness of His character and plans for humanity. This progressive revelation allows believers to recognize and respond to God's nature through faith.

Q: Can ordinary people really see the Lord?

Yes, any believer who approaches God in faith can truly see Him in a spiritual sense. Seeing the Lord is not limited to a visionary experience but is accessible through faith. The New Testament emphasizes that everyone who believes in Christ will have eternal life (John 6:40) and signifies a spiritual 'seeing' of Him. Thieves, prophets, and ordinary saints throughout Scripture have seen the Lord by faith. Job's declaration reflects this universal possibility: those who seek Him with sincere hearts and humility will encounter God's presence and glory. This seeing is, therefore, deeply relational and intimate.

I have a question for you today,
and that question is, have you seen the Lord? Have you seen
the Lord? Now, Jacob, describing his experience
at Bethel, he said this, I've seen the Lord. This is indeed
the house of God. I have seen the Lord. The hymn writer put it this way,
I've been to Calvary. I can say, I've seen the Lord. I've been to Calvary, and then
he describes how he has seen the Lord through the witness
of his word. But I've seen the Lord. Now listen
to Job. Here's my text. This text is
found in Job 42, verses 5 and 6. And Job said, Lord, I've heard
of you. I've heard of you. by the hearing
of the ear, but now, but now mine eye seeth thee, mine eye
seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and
I repent in dust and ashes." Now, I'm especially interested
in what Job had to say here, and I want us to examine his
words, these two verses, very carefully, each phrase, each
statement. Now, the first thing he said
was this, Job was a religious man, God said, a righteous man
who hated sin, avoided evil, and he commended him even to
Satan. But something happened here in chapter 42 of the book
of Job. Something different, something
exceptional, something outstanding happened to this man. And I want
us to look at what he said. Now, I don't know what it was.
I can't explain. You want me to tell you when
Job was saved? I'm not going to do it. But I'm
going to tell you something that happened to him here according
to his own testimony. Now, here's what he said first.
He said, I've heard of thee. Lord, I've heard of thee. I've
heard of thee by the hearing of the ear. Now, there are very
few people on the face of this earth who've not heard of God.
That's right. You can travel anywhere you want
to and ask anybody you want to, have you ever heard of God? Yeah,
yeah, yeah, I've heard of God. I've heard of God. Even in Russia,
they've heard of God. In Yugoslavia, they've heard
of God. In Australia, they've heard of
God. In Africa, they've heard of God. Everybody's heard of
God because God speaks to us about Himself in creation. That's right. One of the Psalms
says there's not a tongue, not a language, in which God's voice
is not heard. Talking about the things God's
made. There's not a language on earth in which God's voice
is not heard. And it says in Romans 119, "...because
that which may be known of God is manifest even to the heathen. For God hath shown it to them.
For the things of God are clearly revealed, clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made." So Job said, I've
heard of you, Lord. He heard the voice of creation
just like you've heard the voice of creation. heard the voice
of creation. I've heard of God. There's not
a language in which His voice is not heard. And then God speaks
to us by His law. When He thundered that law at
Sinai, it echoed throughout the whole earth, throughout the whole
earth. We've heard God speak in His
law. What the law saith, it saith
to everyone born under the law. But the law is not only written
on stone, and the voice of God was not only heard from the mountain,
but Almighty God's law is written on men's hearts. Did you know
that? And on their consciences. All of our lives, we've heard
about the conscience. Well, you know what the conscience
is? It's simply the written law, written on the heart. That's
exactly right. Romans 2.14 says, When the heathen,
which have not the written law, do by nature the things contained
in the law. In other words, when they respond
and when they do by nature what the law commands them to do or
not to do, this shows the law of God written on their hearts,
their conscience bearing witness. Now, you can't deny that. I just
read it to you out of God's Word. The law is written on the heart.
God, I've heard of you. My conscience has told me about
you, God. My conscience has told me about
you, about your law. I don't know a whole lot about
you, but I do know I've heard that voice. They call it that
still, small voice. The conscience, all right? God has spoken to us by the prophets,
by the prophets. From the beginning, God has not
left himself without a witness. God has been pleased to send
prophets, prophet after prophet after prophet after prophet.
God has sent into this world. Hebrews 1.1 says, God, who at
sundry times and in diverse manners spake to our fathers, how did
He speak to them? By the prophets. By the prophets. God has spoken to us. When Job
said, I've heard of you, he had heard of Him. And you've heard
of Him too. And I've heard of Him. And every
son of Adam almost has heard of God. And I say almost because
I want to leave room for some margin of error there. Most every
man has heard of God. Not only that, but God has spoken
to us by son. By son. Jesus Christ came into
this world. Only a fool or a man with no
mind at all could deny that fact. He came into this world. Hebrews
1 says, God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake to
our fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken
to us by son. I've heard of you, Lord. I've
heard of you through Jesus Christ the Word In the beginning was
the Word and the Word was with God and where it was God and
the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and God said from heaven. This is my beloved son hear him
and we've heard him Me and despised him and rejected him and spit
upon him and nailed him to a cross Would not have this man reign
over them, but they heard him And I'll tell you this, it's
a little jewel for you to remember all the days of your life. God
not only holds you responsible for what you heard, but for what
you could have heard and wouldn't hear. Now, don't ever forget
that. What you could have heard and
wouldn't hear, what you could have read and wouldn't read,
God will hold you responsible. So many other ways we've heard
of God. At the birth of Christ, the angel spake. and said, Under
you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, Christ the
Lord. The angels came from heaven, brought that message to me. And
then at his baptism, God spake from heaven and said, This is
my son in whom I'm well pleased. At the glorification of Christ
on the mountain, God spake again. He said, This is my son. God,
I've heard of you. I've heard of you. At his resurrection,
the angels stood outside the empty tomb and they said, He's
not here. He's not here. He's risen. And then at His ascension,
these same angels stood and said this, said, The same Jesus which
is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manners
you've seen Him go. We've heard of Him. And then
God has spoken to us by His Word. There's scarcely a home in America,
scarcely a motel room, scarcely a prison cell or a hospital room
in which there's not a Bible. The Bible has been translated
in over 900 languages. His Word is preached. Now, I
know it's not preached very well. I know that. And it's preached
out of contention and competition and every other way. It's preached
by some who love it and some who don't love it, and some who
are trying to prosper through it, and some who want the glory
of God to prosper through it, but it's preached. It's preached. The Word is preached. It's read.
So we're without excuse, and we'll have to say with Job, Lord,
I've heard of you. There's not one of you out there
now, not a single person listening to my voice that can't say with
Job, Lord, I've heard of thee by the hearing of the ear. And
I tell you this, I might add, as was added in each of those
scriptures I read, talking about the creation, God speaking through
creation, and God speaking through conscience, and God speaking
through laws, so then, So then, they are without excuse. I've heard of you. But now Job
speaks of a different revelation other than the hearing of the
ear. He speaks of a whole new experience. Here this man, he
must have been up in years. He had 10 grown children. He
was a wealthy man of influence and power and prestige. He is
a man of whom God said that he's a righteous man. But here this
man speaks of a new experience, a different revelation. He said,
but now, but now, mine eye seeth thee, seeth thee. I've heard
of you. And most religious people, that's
about all we can say. I've heard of the Lord. Yeah,
I've heard of Him. I've heard of Him. Know Him,
but I've heard of Him. Seen Him, but I've heard of Him. Most everyone's heard of God.
Does thou believe that there's one God? James says, Does thou
believe in one God? Thou doest well. The devil, he's
got that much sense. He's got that much revelation.
The devil believes and trembles in fear. He believes there's
one God. But there's some, there's some
who have seen the Lord with anointed eyes of faith. Listen to this
scripture, John 6, 40. And our Lord Jesus Christ, prior
to this in verse 37, He said, All that my Father giveth me
shall come to me. And him that cometh to me I'll
in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven not
to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this
is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he
hath given me I'll lose nothing, but raise it up again at the
last day. Now watch this next verse. And this is the will of
Him that sent me, that everyone that seeth the Son..." This is
what I'm talking about. This is what I'm preaching about.
I'm not preaching about divine purpose. I'm not preaching about
divine election. I'm not preaching about divine
providence right now. I'm not preaching about God's
divine choice. Christ has already spoke about
that. But then He says, "...and these same people that the Father
gave Me, for whom I came, to redeem, and they will come."
But he said, they're going to see me. They're going to see
me. This is the will of Him that
sent me. Same will, speaking to the same people, that everyone
that seeth the Son and believeth on Him, and I say this, you can't
believe on Him unless you've seen Him, may have everlasting
life. Simeon saw Him. This old man
who ministered about the temple to whom the Holy Spirit revealed
that he would not see death till he'd seen the Lord's Christ.
And they brought the baby Jesus into that temple. That old man
took him up in his arms and he lifted his eyes to heaven. He
said, Now, Lord, let thy servant depart in peace according to
thy word. Mine eyes have seen thy salvation.
And he wasn't looking at a vision or some kind of dream or revelation.
He wasn't even looking at a cross. He wasn't even looking at a dying
figure on a Roman tree. He was looking at a small baby
just handed him by a young Jewish maiden. And he said, I've seen
the Lord. I've seen the Lord. Thy salvation. Thomas saw him. You remember
Thomas' words when they told him, the Lord's risen. The Lord's
risen. He said, I don't believe it. I won't believe it unless
I can touch the nail prints in his hand and put my hand in his
side. And then our Lord appeared to
them and Thomas was present then. The Lord said, Thomas, reach
hither thy hand, and behold my hands and my side, and be not
faithless, but believe. And Thomas fell on his face.
I don't believe he even reached out. I don't believe he even
touched those scars. He fell down on his face and
looked up at Christ and said, My Lord and my God, I've seen
the Lord. I'm conquered. I'm broken. I've seen the Lord. Peter saw
him. Our Lord said, Whom do you say
that I am? He said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God. I believe. I believe. I'm sure you're the Son of the
living God. The thief saw it. Yeah, he did.
The thief on the cross. He was cursing and swearing and
speaking harshly against Christ just like that other fellow.
But he changed his tune. He changed his tune. Right in
the middle of that, he stopped and looked at that other thief
and he said, Don't you fear God? Seeing we're in the same condemnation,
where did he get that information? He saw the Lord. He saw Christ
in his true glory and character. He saw a king on that cross.
Everybody else saw a criminal. Everybody else saw a defeated
reformer. Everybody else saw a religious
martyr. But this thief saw, he saw the
Lord. He saw the king hanging there
on that cross. He said, Lord, you're not going
to stay dead. You're coming into a kingdom
because you're a king. You remember me." He saw something. Have you seen the Lord? I'm not
talking about a vision. I don't have any use for these
folks that are always talking about seeing a vision, seeing
a dream, and waking in the middle of the night, and lights flashing
in the room, and some physical revelation of Christ. That's
too much watermelon before bedtime or pizza or something, you know.
because our Lord speaks through His Word and reveals Himself
through His Word. And don't you ever, don't you
ever think, because you haven't had one of those kind of visions,
that you haven't had a spiritual experience, you see Christ in
the Word. And we'll show you that in a
moment. The Lord Jesus is revealed in the Word and is seen by faith,
by faith. How is this by faith to see Christ?
How can we How did Job see the Lord? How do we see the Lord?
Well, first of all, when you say, I've seen the Lord, and
I believe I can say to you today that I've seen the Lord. I believe
I can say that. I've seen the Lord. First of
all, this is to see Him in His deity, in His eternal glory. You know, when he prayed in John
17, he said, Father, glorify me with the glory. which I had
with thee before the world was." Our Lord Jesus Christ is... He's
not an ambassador or a messenger only. He is God. I wish I could make that as clear
as I'd like to make it. I feel so unworthy to speak of
this great union of God and men. God and men. God in human flesh.
The Word was made flesh. God became a man. God condescended
to come down here and take upon Himself bone of our bone, flesh
of our flesh. You say, how can God become a
man? I don't know. I can't answer
that. I don't know how God can make a world out of nothing,
but I believe it. I see it. I'm standing on it. I don't know
how God can make the sun come up every morning exactly on time,
go down exactly on time, and each star keep from running into
each other all the time up there with all these millions and billions
of stars and make all these people and every one of them look different.
It's not even a snowflake alike. I don't understand that. And
great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in human flesh.
How do you expect me to explain that? I just believe it. I've
seen Him in His eternal glory and eternal deity. And I've seen
Him in His sovereignty. There's nothing He cannot do.
I believe that he can do all things. Job said, I know that
you can do all things. Old Nebuchadnezzar said, he rules
in heaven and upon the earth and giveth it to whomsoever he
will. Christ said, all authority is given unto me in heaven and
earth. All. I've seen him in his sovereignty,
in his power, in his glory, in his deity, in his greatness,
in his eternal stewardship. I've seen him. I've seen Him
in the Scriptures. Every time I open the Scriptures,
I see Christ. I see Him yonder in the wilderness,
the rock that followed them. I see Him there in the wilderness,
the brazen serpent lifted up. I see Him as the blood is splattered
on the door in Egypt. I see Him, I see Him as the bread
falls from heaven. I see Him as the rock gives forth
the water. I see Him when the Old Testament
priest went under the veil. I see Him when the blood flows
over that mercy seat and drips down over the broken law. I see
Him. I see Him as the incense ascends
to heaven. I see Him as the Shekinah glory
between the cherubim. I see Him in the table of showbread
and the lamp, the candlestick. I see Him in the altar. I see
Him in the baptismal waters. I see Him as the bread is broken
at the table. I see Him in the Scriptures. And I see Him in His incarnation.
This is what Simeon saw. God became a baby. Ha! He who made woman was made of
a woman. He who made the streams of water
cried, I thirst. He who grew that tree from which
they made that cross was nailed to that cross. He who put the
ore, the iron ore in the ground from which they made those nails
that they drove in His hand He hung on that cross, pinned to
that tree which He grew by nails which He made, dying for a people
He chose, shedding a blood that He assumed, bearing sins He didn't
commit. Ha! I tell you, I've seen Him. I've seen Him. I've seen Him
in His active obedience. He went about doing good. Tempted
in all points, He knew no sin. I've seen Him. I see Him walking
out there on that Judean hillside. I see Him when men hated Him.
He didn't hate them back. I've seen when men cursed Him.
He didn't curse them back. When the Father put the load
upon Him, He bore it willingly. I see Him when He was the greatest,
greatest presence in the universe and yet humbled Himself and became
His a servant. I've seen Him. Perfect humility. I see him as he loves his enemies,
loves them enough to die for them. Oh, what holiness, what
active holiness, what unspeakable holiness, what unsearchable righteousness. My Lord and my God, I see him.
I see him in his redemptive work. Isaiah saw him. He was wounded
for our transgression and bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement
of our peace was upon him. My stripes were healed. Abraham
saw him. That far back, that far back. Abraham saw my day, Christ said,
and he was glad. Moses saw him. Moses sat down
and wrote about him, what he saw. Wrote about him. Paul saw
him. He who knew no sin was made sin
for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
I've seen him on the cross. I've seen him take his body and
lay it in the tomb like they'll lay mine someday. But that Sunday
morning, the stone was rolled away. And those angels said,
what are you looking for the living among the dead for? He's
not here. I see him risen. And I see him
at the right hand of God. And seeing, seeing, listen, that
we have such a great high priest. Do what? Seeing we have such
a great high priest. Let us come boldly before the
throne of grace that we may find mercy and grace to help. in time of need. Job, I know
what you're talking about. I know exactly what you're talking
about. I've heard of him. I heard of him from my little,
from my parents when I was a little boy. I heard of him from my Sunday
school teachers. They didn't do much good, but
I heard. I heard of him in the songs.
I heard him in the scriptures. I heard him in the winds. I heard
him in the waves when I was in the Navy. I heard him His majesty,
His greatness, His power. But one day in the gospel, I
saw the Lord. I saw Him in His redemptive character
and His redemptive grace and His redemptive work. I've seen
the Lord. Well, when Job saw the Lord,
what else did he see? What else did he see? Well, let's
see what he said. He said, I've heard of you by
the hearing of the ear, but now, Ooh, something happened. But
now, mine eye seeth thee. Thee. Mine eye seeth thee. I don't see your preacher. I
see you. I see the Lord. Wherefore, I
hate myself. I hate myself. And something
else, I repent. When Isaiah saw the Lord, Isaiah
said, I saw the Lord high and lifted up his train filled the
temple. Cherubims and seraphims cried,
holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. And I cried,
then I cried, woe is me, I'm undone, I'm cut off, mine eyes
have seen the Lord. Everybody who's ever seen the
Lord. Now, I can give you some evidence by which you can determine
if you've really seen the Lord, besides the Scripture and these
other things. If you've ever seen the Lord in His glory and
majesty and might and holiness, you've been made to see your
guilt and shame and sin as never before. You've been stripped
and broken and slain and humbled at His feet, or you've never
seen the Lord. I don't care who you are. That's
right. I'm okay, you're okay. Stuff
doesn't go with those people who've seen the Lord. My positive
mental attitude will get me through every trial of life, not when
you've seen the Lord. Well, I'm just as good as anybody
else, not when you see the Lord. Well, I'll have you know I'm
not a bad fella, then you haven't seen the Lord. Everybody who
sees the Lord cries, I abhor myself. Now, I know that's contrary
to some of what these little sissified preachers are preaching
about positive mental attitude and all this other stuff you
know, but I'm reading from the Word of God. Job said, I've seen
the Lord, wherefore I hate myself. You see, now listen to me. God
himself is the only true measure of holiness. All have sinned
and come short of what? Of the church standard? Of the
written law? Of our constitution? Of our confession
of faith? No, sir, of the glory of God. That's the measure of holiness
and sin too. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Job said, I've seen the Lord.
Before that, before he saw the Lord, he was boasting a whole
lot of his righteousness. He was boasting a whole lot of
what he'd done, had done, and what he hadn't done. But once
he saw the Lord, he said, I put my hand on my mouth. I've spoken
things too wonderful for me. I'm not going to speak anymore.
I hate myself. I repent. You see, God's perfect
glory reveals our shame. God's perfect love reveals our
selfishness. You can't see perfect love without
seeing your imperfect in love. God's perfect humility reveals
my pride. Now, I can compare myself with
others, with some of you or you with me, and we come off looking
pretty good. because all of us are proud worms. But when we see God's true humility
and true mercy, it shows us in our true light. Proud, arrogant,
self-righteous people. His holiness, His immaculate
holiness before which even the cherubims and seraphims cover
their faces. Even Moses couldn't look on Him.
His holiness reveals our sins. You don't know what holiness
is, and I don't either. And so many people that call
themselves holiness are talking about an outward form and not
an inward godliness. His submission reveals our rebellion. His grace reveals our malice.
To see God in His holiness is to see myself in my sin. Now
watch this verse, Job 33. He looked upon men, and if any
can say, I have sinned, and perverted that which is right, And if profiteth
me not, he will deliver his soul from going down to the pit, and
his life shall see the light." You ever said that? I have seen.
I have seen. God be merciful to me, a sinner. And He will. He may reveal Christ
to you. That's my prayer, is that He
will reveal Christ. And you'll be able to say, I've
seen the Lord. I've seen the Lord. Now, we have
these messages on a cassette tape. One's called, Eternal Questions. The other, entitled, Have You
Seen the Lord? Write to me. The address will
be given to you by the announcer. Send $2. That's what it cost
us to get the tape, make it, send it to you, pay the postage
and all that. Until next week, God bless you, everyone.

Have You Seen the Lord?

What does the Bible say about seeing the Lord?

How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

Why is repentance important for Christians?

How does God reveal Himself to us today?

Can ordinary people really see the Lord?

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Have You Seen the Lord?

What does the Bible say about seeing the Lord?

How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

Why is repentance important for Christians?

How does God reveal Himself to us today?

Can ordinary people really see the Lord?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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