Jump Start # 2358

Revelation 22:4 “And they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.”

“Do you have a favorite verse?” That’s asked a lot. I’m asked that a lot. My choice changes, often. It’s easier to say what verses I do not like. I don’t like Eve talking to the serpent. I want to tell her, “run.” I don’t like David looking at Bathsheba. I want to scream, “run.” I don’t like Paul being left alone at his first defense. Where is everyone? I don’t like Peter denying the Lord. Those verses are important. It reminds us that we are not perfect. It shows that even among heroes, they had clay feet. They, as we do, are always in need of the Lord.

But favorites, our verse today is always among the top for me. “And they shall see His face.” Let’s think about that.

First, there is something about seeing a face you love. The child on the field or on the stage, looks through the audience and catches the eyes of his smiling parents. Nothing like that. Walking through the airport, finally home, and there you catch the eyes of your family, there to pick you up. Nothing like that. On the shelves of my office I have pictures of family and dear friends. I just counted. There are 31 framed pictures. I have surrounded myself with those who are dear to me. These bring memories. These put a smile on my face. And, the pictures are of their faces. I don’t have any pictures of toes, or just elbows, or backs of heads. Nope. Faces. Smiling faces. It’s more than just faces, it’s faces that I know and faces that I love. I’ve been to big crowds. Disney. Ballgames. Concerts. Airports. Lots and lots of faces, but most I don’t know. I don’t recognize them. There is something special about seeing the face of one you love. Church services are like that. The church is a family. We get to be with one another. One can enter the church building droopy and discouraged, but the moment he sees those he loves, the smiles, the hugs, his face changes. Life seems to come back into his eyes.

Second, there is a wonderful Biblical lesson here from our verse. No one could see the face of God and live. Moses wanted to see God’s glory and all the Lord would allow was Moses to see His backside. When Isaiah saw the Lord in the lofty vision, he felt doomed. He was unclean. He said that I am ruined. But here in our verse today, all of that changes. This is a promise. This is something to look forward to. We shall see His face. This is not a thought that would frighten us, but rather a thought to comfort us. Sometimes in a large gathering, all you have to do is connect with someone’s eyes and there’s a message, a warmth there. We preachers do that all the time. We connect our eyes with someone and that brings an assurance, a friendship and opens the doors for better communication.

Third, to see the face of God would be the greatest thing our eyes could ever see. We’ve seen many fascinating things. We’ve looked up in the night sky and beheld a full moon. We’ve seen beautiful mountains, and sunsets on the oceans. We’ve seen castles and rockets and children and kittens. We’ve seen kindness and gifts. We’ve seen apologizes and forgiveness. We’ve seen things that have changed through the years. We’ve seen our names on diplomas, plaques, in books, and on programs. Some have seen their names literally in the lights. We’ve seen hole-in-ones and grand slams and records broken. We’ve seen enemies sign peace treaties. We’ve looked into the eyes of our newborn. We’ve seen loved ones take their last breath. We’ve seen heartache, disappointments and the ugly side of life. But, nothing our eyes have ever beheld matches, “we shall see His face.” The God that we have followed and trusted. The God who has forgiven us so many times. The God that we have prayed to every day. The God that we have fallen in love with His word and have treasured that throughout our lives. The God that has blessed us. The God that has been there for us, even when we journeyed through those long, dark valleys. The God that changed us. The God that gave us a purpose. We have sung to Him. We have talked about Him. We have studied Him. We have thought about Him. And, now, our eyes will see Him.

Two thoughts come from this:

First, what will we do? Mercy Me has a multi-platinum song that asks that very question. “I can only imagine,” makes us ask that same question. Will I fall to my knees? Will I cry? Will I run and embrace? Will I stand at a distance? Will I be scared? Will I tremble? And, I believe the answer is yes, yes, yes, to all of those questions. In the presence of God. We will see His face. I tend to believe there will be a smile on His face. A smile that warms the heart. A smile that welcomes. A smile that makes all things right. And, I expect His arms will be opened wide. He is welcoming us.

Second, connected to this, once we are standing there, looking into the face of God, everything will be right. It won’t matter how tough our journey was. It won’t matter how long it took. It won’t matter what we went through. We will be where we are supposed to be. There won’t be any other place that we need to be. Home, home with God. Safely home. We shall see His face. The untaught try to transform Heaven into a selfish paradise of go-carts, fishing, sleeping in, chocolate fountains, and doing whatever we feel like. And, what the untaught leave out, is seeing the face of God. Close enough to see Him. Close enough to be around Him.

What is Heaven? Seeing the face of God. This is why we journey on. This is why we keep doing what we are doing. This is why we will never stop worshipping Him. This is why we continually choose to follow Him. More than anything else, someday, we want to see His face.

And, there is something special about looking into the eyes of someone. As you see them, they are seeing you. We shall see His face, and just who do you think He is seeing? Us. He is seeing us. Us, who have often stumbled and disappointed Him. Us, who at our best, are still not very good. Us, who He gave His holy word to. Us, who He trusted His kingdom with. Us, who He expected to be His hands and feet. Us. He will see Us.

Indeed, I can only Imagine. But, it’s more than a dream. It’s more than a wish. It’s more than a song. It’s a promise.

We will see His Face…

Roger

Jump Start # 967

Revelation 22:4 “They will see His face and His name will be on their foreheads.”

John is writing about Heaven. The book of Revelation is much like a “picture book.” John has been shown many things. He has seen a door open in Heaven. He has seen angels holding the four corners. He has seen bowls of wrath being poured out. He has seen a multitude of righteous around the throne. He has seen the throne of God. But now, in the last chapter, he reveals that he is not the only one who is allowed a view into Heaven. Our verse states that “THEY,” the righteous in Heaven, will see His face. God’s face.

That is a bold statement. Throughout the Bible no one was allowed to see God’s face. Moses asked to see God and was told He could only see the back side. When Isaiah saw the vision of God he was terrified because “my eyes have seen the king.” That all changes with Heaven. The righteous will see God. They won’t just see God at a glimpse, from a distance. Years ago, I took a couple of my kids to see one of our Presidents give a speech. We could see him, but he was pretty far away. Seeing God’s face implies closeness. We will be next to God.

His name will be on our foreheads. That sounds odd. This implies ownership. We belong to God. It’s not a secret, it’s on our foreheads. Everyone can tell that we belong to God. There is a cost to that, and for those early Christians, it meant persecution and death. But that wasn’t their end, nor did it conquer the kingdom of God. There they are in the presence of God, seeing His face. Unlike Adam and Eve, they are not hiding from God. Unlike Jonah, they are not running from God. Standing with God. Standing before God. They are looking at God and to see His face, He is looking at them. They are not looking at the back of God’s head. They see His face.

Can you imagine? There are a few people that were allowed to see things with their own eyes that no one else has. Those few astronauts that got to walk on the moon, saw things that the rest of us never have. We’ve seen pictures of the moon, but those were only pictures. A few saw the sunken Titanic, lying on the ocean floor. Many have seen pictures of that, but only pictures. A heart surgeon may see a beating heart as he does surgery, many have seen sights such as the grand canyon or a sunset or a double rainbow, but the greatest of all has to be to see the face of God.

This week we have looked at the serious subject of death and grief. This is a painful subject that most of us must journey through sooner or later. It is something that cripples some and they never recover from. This subject is different for the Christian. There is a hope and even an expectation beyond death. Paul told the Philippians that he was torn between going to be with the Lord and staying to help them. To die, he said, is gain. He knew. He believed. He longed to pass through that door to get to the other room. He wanted to be with God.

To stand and see God’s face implies grace and forgiveness. It indicates rightness, approval and acceptance. It means Heaven. The journey can be long. There are many issues and battles along the way. Sometimes the fussing that people and churches go through are not worth it. Some things that seem so important at the moment, are not in the big picture of things. Heaven—that is where we belong. That is where God wants us to be.

Last weekend, we had a wonderful guest speaker (Tommy Peeler) who presented a powerful lesson on: “Do you know that God wants you in Heaven?” Many don’t know that. Their view of God is like the cop with the radar gun pointed at them. They  see God as the parent that is never pleased. They can never do enough to make God happy. Some live as if they believe God doesn’t want them, especially in Heaven. Not so. That’s not what the Bible teaches. The sending of Jesus showed that God would stop at nothing to get us to Heaven. He sent the best.

How does a person deal with a life threatening illness? God. What hope do you tell someone who is dying? God. What comfort is there when it seems all comfort is gone? God. For the righteous, they will see the face of God. Their pain will be gone. Their tiredness will be gone. There will be no pills to take. No medical tests to endure. No needles. No IV’s. Those things will all be over. They will be with God. Amazing.

Don’t you want that? Doesn’t that help you see what is really important? It makes us realize that we spend too much time worrying about stuff and stuff won’t be in Heaven. We will be.

Face to face with God. The passage doesn’t say this, and I wouldn’t hang my hat on this for sure, but I tend to expect that when our eyes connect with God’s eyes, He will be smiling. That’s how I see the prodigal’s father. Tears coming down his face and smiling. God smiling. God smiling at YOU. Amazing!

Roger

Jump Start # 445 

Revelation 22:4 “They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.”

  There are many layers of comfort for the Christian. Knowing that you have a loving God who remains on the throne is comfort. Knowing that God knows what you are going through is comfort. Having an amazing church family that supports and loves you is comfort. The Scriptures comfort—especially through the promises of God. Hope comforts. Most of us though are comforted the most by thoughts of Heaven. “How beautiful Heaven must be.”

  When I write about Heaven, I always use a capital “H”. My spell check doesn’t like that—too bad! Heaven is a real place—it’s a proper noun. More than that, it’s our home! It’s where we want to be.

 Our world has two sides to it. One side is beautiful. Weddings, babies, mountains, rolling hills, sunsets, water falls—these are all amazing and wonderful. God’s beauty is seen through this wonderful world. Great friends, an incredible family, good food, clean laughter, dogs that wag their tails, cats that purr, beautiful music, sweet smells make up some of our greatest memories. This world can be great.

  There is another side to our world that we don’t like to talk about, and that’s the evil and wicked side. The news tells of murders and rapes. Pollution, cheating, foul mouths, sorry attitudes, stinkin’ thinkin, big business that rips people off, politicians that are out of touch and clueless to what is going on, closed bridges, surgeries, crime, mean dogs, food poisoning, dishonest deals, wicked talk and wicked thinking—these all taint and keep our world from being perfect. It will never be perfect. I think some try to make it, but they will fail. We have sin in the land and in our hearts. There will always be bad news, death and funerals to attend. That’s our world.

  Heaven is different. It has only one side to it—and it is beautiful. It is amazing. God has designed it with the best. It is His home and we are invited there—not just to walk through as tourists, but to make it our home. Heaven is about God.

  So many things that race through our minds and hearts will not matter once we are in Heaven. Finding every dime to pay the bills, staying up nights with a sick child—all gone once where in Heaven. Heaven is that perfect world. It’s perfect because God’s there.

  Heaven motivates us to keep on. The road gets long sometimes. We get discouraged at times. But thinking of Heaven keeps us going. Just a little bit more. Just around the corner. You’re almost there.

  Heaven challenges us to be righteous. Heaven is not our world, it’s God’s. Heaven won’t be filled with fishing, shopping, or golfing—those things are a part of our world. Heaven is a spiritual realm that reflects God. Praise, worship, godly things will fill Heaven. Some ask, “won’t we get tired of that?” Are you kidding? Never. “What if I get bored?” You won’t. Trust God. Trust the Scriptures.

  The perfect place—the perfect world…it’s yours if you walk with the Lord. “Sing to me of Heaven…” is such a wonderful hymn. It helps us when we are faced with the dark side of this world.

Roger