To See God
Luke 5:1-11 Isaiah 6:1-8 February 8, 2004
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. [2] Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. [3] And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."
[4] At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
[5] "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
[6] Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. [7] With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
[8] Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
Luke:
One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, [2] he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. [3] He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
[4] When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."
[5] Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."
[6] When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. [7] So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
[8] When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" [9] For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, [10] and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." [11] So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
CCI: When we encounter God we will be convicted and commissioned.
The internet is full of people who either have seen, of want to tell you how to see God. Some see god in every blade of grass and every wisp of cloud. Some have had interviews with God and in at least one case God dictated to him and a team of scribes a Third Testament, and the good part of this Testament is mother god, called Zion, could not interfere with the dictation process as she did in the other two Testaments.
Rabbi Neil Gilman, titles an article about the Mosaic blessing, “Longing to See God’s Face.” To have a personal encounter with God in direct relationship is a blessing that people desire. In the Mosaic blessing we are promised that God will look at us, will relate to us and deal favorably with us; that God will grant us peace, harmony, contentment, wholeness. It is easy to understand why we recite this passage as frequently as we do. Seeing God’s face expresses God's ultimate blessing.
We long to see and know God. I believe we have been created with a need for relationship with God. From the earliest records of human history, both biblical history and archeological history, there is a constant theme that points to human beings seeking something beyond ourselves. There is a belief that we have a purpose, there is a belief that God is involved in our lives.
And the good news is this: God is eager to reveal himself to us. In both passages we read this morning, we find God’s servants encountering God.
For Isaiah, it was at a time of distress in his life. King Uzziah had been a righteous king. His death raised many questions about the future, especially for Isaiah and the other priests. Then one day, as Isaiah was in the place of worship, he encountered God. He saw “the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.” He saw glory, he saw holiness, he saw purity, he saw heavenly worship, he saw God.
Have you ever longed for that kind of worship experience? I imagine the disciples did. But Peter’s encounter with God was very different. The day he saw God came after a very long night. He and his friends had been working the nets all night, fishing. As they came to dock in the morning, Jesus had asked them to take him out from shore far enough that he could teach without being touched because the crowd had been quite pushy. After a time of teaching, Jesus sent them out to fish again. They were tired, it had been a long night and a long morning, and fish aren’t caught at noon. But Peter, whether out of deep obedience or out of tired frustration did it simply because Jesus told him to do it. In fact, he said, “Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” And when he did, he saw God as the nets were filled with fish.
These two servants experienced God in very different ways. One was involved in serious worship at the time. The other was involved in his daily activities. One saw the glory of God overpowering him. The other experienced the power of God surrounding him. One was overcome by the splendor. The other was awed by the plenty. Two servants who could not have been more different: a priest and a fisherman. Two experiences, which could not have been more different: high worship and fishing. Yet each of these servants responded in the same way.
When Isaiah and Peter saw God, they immediately cried out in repentance. Isaiah said, “Woe is me, I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips.” And Peter cried, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" You see, when they encountered God, they were made starkly aware of their own sin. And then, God gave them a mission. Isaiah was invited to go for God. He was instructed to preach even though he would not be heard, to proclaim, even though the message would fall on deaf ears. Peter was invited to become a fisher of men. To put aside the sport and the business and learn to catch men and women for God. When they encountered God, they repented and when they repented they were sent.
But do you realize that Isaiah and Peter encountered God as a result of worship? We often think of worship as what we do on Sunday mornings. It is the singing of songs, joining in prayer and hearing to the Word. But if that is all that happens, we have not worshiped? Gerrit Gustafson says, “Worship is the act and attitude of wholeheartedly giving ourselves to God, spirit, soul and body. Worship is simply the expression of our love for God, which Jesus said, should involve our heart, mind and physical strength.” For Peter, obeying Jesus’ word and going fishing was an act of worship. For Isaiah entering the most holy place to pray for the people was an act of worship. And in that worship, they encountered God.
And that is the goal of worship, that we would meet God. We do not meet God by following a program or a pattern, we do not meet God by singing the right hymns or playing the right instruments. Rather worship occurs as we give ourselves to God individually and as a community. In this giving, we encounter the living God. Unfortunately, Sally Morganthaller, author of Worship Evangelism reports that the Barna Research Insttitute, in surveying regular church attenders, found only 39% of those surveyed experienced the presence of God in corporate worship services on a regular basis, and even worse 34% said they never do. The tragedy of this statistic is in the fact that worship is why we were created. Before sin entered the world, the book of Genesis tells us that Adam and God would walk together in the cool of the evening. That regular meeting was the heart and soul of Adam’s existence. When he disobeyed God, that worship time was interrupted. Instead of walking with God, Adam hid from God. From that time on, the story of redemption is the story of God’s desire to restore that relationship. The goal of God’s saving work is to provide the opportunity to encounter God as Adam did before the Fall; to have that relationship restored.
And so God has revealed himself to us. He has revealed himself through his mighty acts of creation, through the Exodus, and through the Exile and Return. He had revealed himself through the Bible as it records the truth of God and of human beings. And ultimately, God has revealed himself through Jesus. We see the depth of God’s love in the incarnation when God became a human being. We see the breadth of God’s love through Jesus’ ministry as he reaches out to all who come to him, regardless of their position or power. We see the length of God’s love in the cross as Jesus gave his life for the sins of the world. And we see the power of God’s love in the resurrection where Jesus conquered death, the final enemy. And now it is up to us to respond.
Worship, “the act and attitude of wholeheartedly giving ourselves to God” is the proper response to God’s self revelation and sacrificial love. We do that each day as we step away from the activities of life and focus our attention on God as he reveals himself to us. It is these time of private worship that prepare us to encounter God in our daily activities the way Peter did. As we pull away from the busyness of the world to find quietness before God, we will experience conviction and commissioning just as Peter did. Private times of prayer and scripture study, meditation and song prepare us to hear God.
Yet private worship is not enough. We also are called to gather for corporate worship. When we gather here at New Hope as a body on Sundays or Tuesdays we come to open our hearts that we might experience the convicting and commissioning work of God. We prepare for this time by coming with expectation. If we do not expect God to move, it is very rare that we will experience his moving. We come with expectation, and we also come with willing obedience. While Peter did not expect to encounter God that morning on the lake, he was willing to obey simply because Jesus asked. There have been many times in my life that I have encountered God because I was willing to take a step that I did not understand.
In closing this morning, I want to invite you to share a worship experience with me that I was a part of on Friday. Find a partner, any other person will do. Look at them and take their hands. Look them in the eye, and offer the following words of scripture in prayer for them as I read it.
Colossians 3:12-17 (MSG) (copied from www.biblegateway.com)
You have been chosen by God for this new life of love, therefore, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. 13Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. 14And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
15Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. 16Let the Word of Christ--the Message--have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! 17Let every detail in your lives--words, actions, whatever--be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.
