A Sight Few Men See

I invite your attention to the
book of Job, chapter 42, verse 5 and 6. I want to speak to you
this morning on the subject, a sight that few men see. A sight that few men see. In
Job 42, verse 5 and 6, Job heard the Lord speak, saw the Lord
in the whirlwind, and this is what he said. I have heard of
thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee,
wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes." Now
Job, first of all, said, I've heard of thee. Lord, I've heard
of thee by the hearing of the ear. There are few men who have
not heard of God. God speaks in creation. The heavens
declare the glory of God. and the firmament showeth his
handiwork." There's no language or speech where their voice is
not heard. God speaks in creation, and men
have seen God's power, and they have seen God's wisdom, and they
have seen God in creation. So we can say with Job, I've
heard of thee. And then God speaks in his law,
not only written and declared on Mount Sinai, but more than
that, the law of God is written in every heart. That's right,
in every heart. God's name is written on every
man's heart, his conscience bearing witness, and his thoughts, the
meanwhile, accusing or excusing him. God speaks through his law,
and men have heard that law. Thou shall have no other God
before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any grave an image.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt
not commit adultery. Thou shalt not covet. Men have
heard God speak, not only in creation, but they have heard
him speak in his law. And then God has spoken through
his prophets. Paul wrote in Hebrews 1, God
who at sundry times and in divers manners spake to our fathers
by the prophets. To him, give all the prophets
witness. God has spoken. He has not left
himself without a witness. He has sent his message. He has
sent his law. And we all can say with Job,
Lord, I've heard of thee by the hearing of the ear. And then
God has spoken through his son. In that same scripture in Hebrews,
where Paul said, God, who at sundry times and in divers manners
spake to our fathers by the prophets, added this, hath in these last
days spoken unto us through his son. The Lord Jesus Christ said,
he that has seen me has seen my father. The works that I do
bear witness of me. I speak the words of God. I do
the works of God. I come to fulfill the will of
God. So God has spoken through his son. And then God has spoken
even to the angel. At the birth of Christ, the angel
said, we bring you good tidings of great joy. Which shall be
to all people unto you is born this day in the city of David
a Savior who is Christ the Lord They spoke at the resurrection
of our Lord when the women came to the tomb They said why do
you seek the living among the dead? He's not here He's risen
at the ascension of our Lord the angel said this same Jesus
Which is taken up from you in the heaven shall so come in like
manner as ye have seen him go God has spoken and we can say
with Job every one of us Lord I've heard of thee I've heard
of thee. This is what Job said when God
appeared to him. He said, Lord, I've heard of
you. I've heard of you by the hearing of the ear. God has spoken,
and we can certainly say we've heard of him. But notice the
next thing that he says. He said, Lord, I've heard of
you by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. I've heard of the Lord, but now
mine eye seeth the Lord. Nearly everyone listening to
this program today can say I've heard of the Lord, but how many
of us can say with Job, I've seen the Lord. I've seen the
Lord. Simeon could say it. Simeon,
who held the child Jesus in his arms and said, Lord, now let
thy servant depart in peace. Mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Yes, Simeon could say with Job,
I've seen the Lord. Isaiah could. Isaiah said, in
the year the king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. High and lifted
up, his train filled the temple. And the cherubims and seraphims
cried, holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. Isaiah could say
with Job, I've seen the Lord. Paul could say with Job, I've
seen the Lord. In Acts chapter 22, verse 14,
Ananias came to him and said, the God of our fathers has chosen
thee that thou shouldest know his will, and that thou shouldest
see the just one." That thou shouldest see the just one. He saw the Lord. He could say
with Job, I've seen the Lord. John could say it. He said, that
which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you. And then
every believer, every true believer can say, I've seen the Lord.
For our Lord promised John 5 24 is this he that seeth the Son
and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life Can
you say with Job I've seen the Lord now we've heard of him There's
nobody listening to me that hasn't heard of God. You've either heard
of him in the creation You've heard of him in the law. You've
heard of him through a prophet. You've heard of him through his
son and You've heard of God some way. You've heard of God. You
know there's a God. Only the fool has said in his
heart, no God. But have we seen the Lord? And
I'm not talking about with the natural eye. Plenty of people
saw him when he was here on this earth who did not really see
him. Christ said they have eyes, but they cannot see. They have
hearts, but they cannot understand. Some said, why, we know who this
is. This is the carpenter. Well, he was more than the carpenter.
We know who this is. This is Mary and Joseph's son.
He was more than Mary and Joseph's son. He said to his disciples,
whom do men say that I, the son of man, am? And the disciples
said, well, some people say Elijah or one of the prophets or John
the Baptist, but whom do you say that I am? And Peter said,
thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. And our Lord
said, blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonas, flesh and blood did
not reveal that to you, but my Father, which is in heaven. Blessed
are your eyes, they see, and your ears, they hear. Yes, to
the disciples, our Lord said, blessed are your eyes. They saw
him and they knew him. And this seeing the Lord, Job
said, I've heard of you. I'm aware of you. I've heard
of you, but now I see you. Have you seen the Lord? Have
you seen the Lord? What is it to see Christ? It
is to see him with eyes of faith. It is to see him in his deity. Thomas saw him that way. Thomas
fell at his feet and cried, My Lord and my God. It's to see
Christ in his deity, who he is. I and my Father are one. He that
hath seen me hath seen the Father. And then Peter said, Thou art
the Christ, the Son of the living God, and the thief on the cross.
He said, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
You're not going to stay dead. You're coming into a kingdom.
Remember me. He saw the Lord in his deity. He talked about a kingdom. He
talked about Christ living eternally. You're not going to stay dead.
When you come into your kingdom, remember me. So seeing Christ
is to see him in his deity. Now watch this. It is to see
him in his redemptive work. Now here the disciples had a
difficult time. They saw him as God. They saw
him as the Son of God. They saw him as the Christ. But
they could not understand, and did not understand for a long
time, his death. His death on the cross. They
could not understand that. In fact, they tried their best
to keep him from going to the cross. You remember Peter said,
Lord, don't go. Don't go to Jerusalem. You'll
just be killed. Don't go." And our Lord said,
Peter, Satan, get thee behind me. Thou savest not the things
of God. But these men were concerned,
and they were sincere in their objections. They saw him as God. They saw him as Christ. They
saw him as a king. They saw him setting up a kingdom,
but they could not see his redemptive work. They could not see his
substitutionary work. They could not see him as the
lamb bearing our sin. They tried to talk him out of
Calvary. They did not understand his resurrection. After he arose, then he took
them back through the scriptures. And he told them how that he
fulfilled the Lamb, the sacrifice, the atonement, the offering,
the sin offering, the priesthood, and all of these things. And
then they understood. They understood Isaiah's writings.
He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes
we're healed. So to see the Lord is to see
him in his deity. And not only in his deity, but
to see him in his redemptive work. Son of God, Son of Man. God in the flesh. The Word was
made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the
Redeemer. And to see him, and I'm not talking
about with natural eyes, it's not to look at a picture, it's
not to look at a vision, it's not to, in a dream, see the form
of a man, but it's with the heart and with eyes of faith and with
the mind and with the understanding to see him in his deity, in his
redemptive work, and something else. It is to see him in his
sovereignty, that he is the Lord of glory, that salvation is in
his hands. that salvation is not in the
hands of men, salvation is in the hands of this Christ. You
know, the leper came to him when he came down off the mountain
and fell down and worshipped him and cried, Lord, if you will,
you can make me whole. If you will, you can make me
whole. And then one day a centurion
came to him and told him, he said, Lord, my servant is there
sick at home. And the Lord said, well, I'll
go to your home. out heal your servant and the
centurion objected he said now Lord I'm not worthy for you to
go under my roof or in my home I'm not worthy I'm a sinful man
but Lord I'm a man having authority I know what authority is and
I say to this servant go and he goes and I thought say to
another servant come and he comes me and do my bidding now you
are a man of authority you don't have to go to my home all you
have to do is say the word And my servant will be made whole.
And our Lord Jesus Christ exclaimed, I've not seen faith like that. No, not in Israel. Go thy way,
thy servant liveth. So to see Christ, Job said, I've
heard of you. And most people listening to
my voice have heard of God. They're not strangers to religion
and God and heaven and hell and the Bible and these things. They've
heard of God. But Job said, now I see the Lord. I see the Lord. I see him in his deity. I see
him in his redemptive work, in his redemptive character, the
God-man, the substitute, the sin offering, the sacrifice.
Yes, he has a kingdom, but before he reigns in that kingdom or
sits upon that kingdom of redeemed people, he's got to redeem them.
He's got to come down here and pay the price and suffer the
death and die the death and Redeemed them from sin from bonding the
bondage of the law and the justice of God and then to see the Lord
Forthly now get this It is to see him in his deity in his redemptive
work in his Sovereignty that salvation is a gift of God is
to see him forthly as the mediator No man cometh to the father,
but by me. That's what he said. They said
Lord. We don't know where you're going how can we know the way
he told him I'm going to prepare a place for you and I'm going
to come back after you if I prepare a place I'll come again receive
you unto myself that's where I am there you may be and they
said we don't know where you're going how can we know the way
and he said I am the way no man cometh to the father but by me
there's one mediator between me and in God and that's the
man Christ Jesus and Paul taught this throughout the whole book
of Hebrews Throughout the whole book of Hebrews, he told us,
like the Israelites of old, that we have a priest. We have a priest. We have a great high priest.
And having a priest over the house of God, let us come boldly. I have no right to come into
the presence of a holy God except through a great high priest,
Jesus Christ. I have no right to come before
God without a sacrifice. I have no right to come to God
without a sin offering. I have no right to come to God
without my sins being cleansed and forgiven, and all this is
in Christ. He is the tabernacle where God
meets me. He is the great high priest to
offer acceptable, suitable, effectual sacrifices and sin offerings.
He is the atonement Apostle Peter says we are redeemed not with
corruptible things such as silver and gold from the vain conversation
received by tradition from our fathers But with the precious
blood of Christ as a lamb without spot or blemish. He is the mercy
seat Like the publican of old who prayed Lord let thy blood
be propitiation for me on the mercy seat and Christ is our
mercy seat I've heard of thee Lord. I've heard of thee. I hear
the name of God all around me Even here, men use it as a byword
or a curse word. But we've heard of God in creation,
in the law, in the prophets, in the preaching, in the gospel.
We've heard of God. But can we say, Lord, I've seen
you. I've seen you, Lord, in your
deity. I've seen you in your redemptive work. I've seen you
in your great and grand sovereignty. And I've seen you, Lord, as the
only mediator between God and me. Now, here's another question.
When did Job see the Lord? When did Job see the Lord? You
notice my text is taken from chapter 42, verse 5 and 6. That's right, chapter 42. It's
in the last chapter of Job that he says, Lord, I've heard of
you, now mine eye see you. When did Job see the Lord? Well,
like Saul of Tarsus. Now, don't be offended. But like
Saul of Tarsus, Job was a very religious man and a very righteous
man. That's right. He was an upright
man. He was a man who knew about God. He was a man who knew and
approved of the laws of God. He was a man who professed a
knowledge of God. But he finally, just like Saul
of Tarsus, really saw the Lord. He really saw the Lord. The Lord
became more than a doctrine. He became more than a law. He
became more than a religion. He saw the Lord. When did he
see the Lord? Well, first of all, he saw the
Lord in the midst of affliction. Every oxen, every sheep, every
cow, every cow had been taken away. And Job cried, naked I
came out of my mother's womb and naked I shall return. He
saw the Lord when God had been pleased using me to take everything
he had away. That's when he saw the Lord.
You know, it's difficult to explain to some people that the best
light by which a man can see God is the light of affliction. I know we don't want that, and
many of us won't have that, but sometimes God has to remove,
God has to remove the things that our eyes delight to look
upon in order for us to look upon Him. That's right. Sometimes
God has to remove from us the things that our eyes delight
in and delight to look upon in order that we might turn our
eyes to him. And when Job saw the Lord, it
was in the midst of affliction when everything he had and everything
he owned and everything he held dear had been swept away. In
Proverbs, the wise man said, O Lord, give me neither poverty
nor riches. Lest, having plenty, I forget
thee, and lest, being in poverty, I steal." When did Job see the
Lord? He saw the Lord in the midst
of affliction. Secondly, he saw the Lord in the valley of loneliness. In the valley of loneliness.
He said in Job 19, verse 14, my kinfolk have failed me, my
familiar friends have forgotten me, they whom I love have turned
against me. Some well-meaning friends keep
us from seeing the Lord. Some well-meaning friends and
kinfolks and families sometimes keep us from seeing the Lord.
We walk the direction that they walk, we seek to please them,
we seek their favor, we seek their approval, we seek their
honor, rather than seeking God's approval and God's favor and
God's honor. Our Lord said that in the book
of John. He said, you seek not the honor that comes from God,
but the honor that comes from me. And sometimes folks that
are nearest to us and dearest to us in seeking to please them,
in seeking to win their favor, in seeking not to offend them,
we care more for them and for their welfare and for their benefit
than we do for God's glory. Isaiah said in the year that
King Uzziah died I saw the Lord God had to move Uzziah before
Isaiah saw the Lord I don't know who Uzziah was or what he was
to Isaiah, but that's what he said when he died I saw the Lord
When did he see the Lord when did Job see the Lord in the pain
of suffering? He saw the Lord. He said in Job
19 20 my bone cleaveth to my skin my flesh and I am escaped
with the skin of my teeth Have pity upon me my friends the hand
of God had touched me and he has stripped me of my glory He
saw the Lord when God had stripped him of his glory And I'm saying
this a man will never see God until he is stripped of his own
glory whether it be his beauty his strength his wealth his or
his integrity. God has to take away these things
sometimes before we see the Lord. Jeremiah said in chapter 9, let
not the wise man glory in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man
glory in his might. Let not the rich man glory in
his riches. Let him glory in this, that he
understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord. When did
Job see the Lord? Now, Job was a religious man,
and Job was a man of integrity. I'm not questioning that. Job
was an upright man. Job was a religious man. Job
was a man who knew about God, who claimed a relationship with
God. But here in chapter 42, verse
5, he said, Lord, I've heard of you, but now mine eye seeth
thee. And he saw the Lord in the day
of affliction, in the day of loneliness, And the day when
God Almighty had stripped him of all of his wealth and power
and strength, when he was brought down, when he was brought low
in the pain of suffering, he saw the Lord. And I'll tell you
something else that's important. He saw the Lord in the day of
special revelation. That's when he saw the Lord.
In Job 38.1, you remember at the first of the message, I said
he saw God in the whirlwind. God spoke to him out of the whirlwind. The Lord answered Job out of
the whirlwind. God spoke to Job in a special
revelation. That's when he saw the Lord,
when God was pleased to reveal himself to Job. When God was
pleased in a special manner, on a special occasion, in a special
way, to reveal himself to Job, and he does that for all who
believe on him. In 1 Thessalonians 1.4, Paul
said, knowing brethren beloved, your election of God. For our
gospel came not to you in word only, but in power in the Holy
Ghost, and in much assurance." Paul said, it pleased God who
separated me from my mother's womb to reveal his Son in me. It takes a special revelation.
God is pleased to reveal himself to us in times of affliction,
in times of loneliness, in times of pain and suffering. In times
when he has stripped us of all of our human fleshly glory and
works and righteousness and then in a special revelation He comes
through his word And makes known himself to us his will of redemption
his way of redemption Now, what was the results of job seeing
the lord? There was some results. Did you
read the rest of that job 5 job 42 5 and 6? He said lord i've
heard of you But now mine eyes see it means Wherefore? I hate myself I repent in sackcloth
and ashes. I hate myself. When Isaiah saw
the Lord, chapter 6, he said, woe is me. I am undone. I'm a man of unclean lips. When
Daniel saw the Lord, he said, McCombliness melted into corruption. When Peter saw the Lord in his
power, when he caught that great net full of fish, he said, Lord,
leave me. I'm a sinful man. My friends,
God himself is the only measure of true holiness. That's right.
Now listen to me. God himself is the only measure
of true holiness. We will never know sin as long
as we compare ourselves with ourselves. Well, I'm better now
than I was yesterday, or I'm better now than I was ten years
ago. You'll never know sin while you compare yourself with yourself.
You'll never know sin while you compare yourself with others.
Well, I'm better than so-and-so. Yes, you may be. But when we
see God in his holiness, in his immaculate holiness, we realize
we have sinned and come short of God's glory. For his perfect
law makes us ashamed of our rebellion. His perfect love makes us ashamed
of our selfishness. His perfect humility makes us
ashamed of our pride. His perfect faith makes us ashamed
of our unbelief. His perfect praise makes us ashamed
of our murmuring. His perfect peace makes us ashamed
of our covetousness. His perfect holiness makes us
ashamed of our sins. I've heard of you, Lord. Now,
man, I see it, see. I hate myself. I hate myself. I know what I am. I know what
I think. I know how I feel. I know the
imaginations that run through my mind and heart. I hate myself.
And a sight of God leads to a true sight of self, a true understanding
of self, and that leads to repentance and a call for mercy. I repent
in sackcloth and ashes. You know what repentance does?
It puts man where he belongs, in sackcloth and ashes. It puts
God where he belongs, on the throne. And repentance puts Christ
where he belongs. Job said, I know that my Redeemer
lives. I need a Savior. I need a Redeemer. You go all the way through the
Bible, and you'll find the great Moses. Our Lord said, he wrote
of me. You take Abraham, the friend
of God. He saw my day and was glad. You take Job here, the
upright man, so-called, but he said, I rejoice in my Redeemer. You take Mary, who gave birth
to Christ. She said, my soul rejoices in
God my Savior. And the dying thief rejoiced
to see that fountain in his day. And there may I, though vile
as he, wash all my sins away. What does the sight of God do?
It gives us a sight of ourselves. And a sight of ourselves leads
to repentance. And repentance puts us in the destination of
God on the throne and Christ in the Redeemer's place.

A Sight Few Men See

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A Sight Few Men See

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