Ahhh, yea … it’s another of those hypnotic evenings with the sun having settled down to a rosey glow at the horizon and the clouds are parceled out across the sky, looking like the porches at the entrance to Heaven’s gate … This evening the lilacs from down the road a piece are so fragrant, i can smell them all the way over here at the deck, overlooking the Ockluhwahhah River.

The view from here reminds me of part of a poem by Francis Duggan that goes: “A beautiful evening the birds chirp and sing, The wonders of Nature is a magical thing. The sun going down red in the western sky, And the roost bound starlings wheel and turn as they fly.”

The idea of our dialogue here is to speak to our issues about three inches beneath the surface of where we really live, waking up reality and perseverance, encouraging us to stop being compelled by panic and fear, to trust God – to stop and think … think before you act as best you know how. i mean, take a moment and play the entire movie out before you jump off that high place.

i knew a man, many years ago, who, when he was very young and wild (meaning he didn’t think much), was out carousing with some other young buddies late one evening. They stopped at a high bridge and decided to do some bungy jumping … but they didn’t have any bungy cords. Off to the side of the bridge they found an old rope, and being young and foolish they really didn’t realize there is absolutely no bounce or give in a large diameter rope. Without considering the outcome of his actions, the unthinking young man tied the rope to his ankle and jumped … yea, you guessed it, he lost his foot that evening. If he and his pals had simply thought about it, taking a moment to think ahead just a little bit, he would still have his foot today. That certainly was a humiliating and permanent lesson of “look before you leap”, or “play the whole movie” before taking action.

Luke 14:28-30, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.‘”

A few weeks ago our program topic was “Foresight, Insight, Hindsight”, and tonight’s topic is sort of about those three elements of understanding, but more from another angle maybe. i think most people think of “foresight” in the context of a prophetic gift, by the Power of the Holy Spirit predicting a future outcome, or confirming the Word of the Lord that is already operating in someone’s heart …  but tonight’s focus is more on the practicality and employment of foresight, insight, and hindsight. When we have understanding, putting into motion the wisdom of “look before you leap”, that means we are taking a circumspect view of things to gain insight when the Lord gives it to us.

Dr. Henry Cloud wrote a book in 2004, “Nine Things You simply Must Do” in which he probes the mystery of why some lives really work and others don’t. One of the chapters is labeled, “Play The Movie”. A moment ago, i gave a quote of Luke14:28-30. In the idea presented in that scripture, “… sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it”, that means to “play the movie”, pencil things out to see where they go, find the hidden costs if any, see and perceive, asking ourselves the question, “Is this really what i imagined? Does it look like what i believe the Lord showed me?”

How often do you make a “knee jerk reaction” about something without considering the consequences? i mean, c’mon, we’ve all done crazy stuff in life at some point or another without considering the consequences of our actions; bought a car, spoken rashly, voted without weighing reality, drinking and driving, running with a crowd we know better than to hang with, etc.

A friend of mine and i were at coffee this morning and we were recounting past decisions that we made in a moment of haste without any thought as to the possible outcome … we also remembered the miracles in that we weren’t killed and how the Lord, in His everlasting mercy, protected us from ourselves. The Lord brought to my remembrance the time i needed to load a bull in a trailer, a really big bull, but he didn’t want to get in, of course. i had him corralled in a very small space and he just wouldn’t get in. In my frustration and anger, i grabbed a big stick and just jumped in the pen with the bull and whacked him round and round the little space until he got in the trailer. Only afterwards, only !afterwards! did it dawn on me the complete and utter foolishness of my actions. i didn’t play the movie, i didn’t look before i leapt … it never occurred to me that i was in close quarters with an aggressive animal weighing in excess of 2000Lbs who, at any moment, could have effortlessly crushed me. i think the Lord delivers us from ourselves more often than we comprehend. Ha! Ya’ think? Thank you, Jesus, for your mercy and kindness. Amen?

           Luke 14:31-32, “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.”

Within that scripture are the ear marks of someone who is looking ahead some, using a sharp pencil to find out the actual cost of performing their idea, has understood the potential outcome, and even made an alternate plan.

The word “circumspect” is an interesting word for us to get a good solid grasp on when employing the idea of “look before you leap”. Webster’s Dictionary simply says, basically, to take all things into account, but the word used for “circumspect” in Exodus 23:13, means so much more than that. The word says, “And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect.” The Lord means for us to not only take all things into account, but to look at the noted details narrowly, scrutinize the information, and above all, do what the Lord says. We weren’t born being circumspect, so, let me add that if we know Jesus, God !will! teach us to be circumspect.

God’s idea of being circumspect comes into play in other scenarios. How about “think before you speak”. How many times have you spoken quickly, and, OH, didn’t you wish you could just get those words back? It’s sort of like sending someone an unkind remark by email … once you hit “Send”, it is gone baby, gone, and you can’t unring that bell. There is no “unsend” for email, nor is there an “unsay” for words that have hastily come out of our mouths.

The concept of being “circumspectful” is what is meant when i say “play the whole movie”.

Take Judas as an example, who acted so dishonorably by betraying Jesus. i believe he wished so bad he could take back his words and actions. But, in arrogance and blindness, he acted rashly and spoke unwisely. Look at his words, and actions in Matthew 27:3-4, “When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied in a sneering tone looking down their long judgmental noses at him. “That’s your responsibility.” They got what they wanted, and their attitude towards Judas was like saying, “Too bad, too sad for you buddy!”

i’m not sure, but it appears to me Judas … possibly … thought if he gave the money back and confessed his wrong to the Pharisee’s, that maybe he could somehow undo what he had done. A paraphrase of Psalm32 is that confession is good for the soul, unless, it is confession to the wrong person or group. Judas not only didn’t play the whole movie concerning his actions but he also confessed his error to the wrong people. Need it be said, Judas did not take into account the life and miracles of Jesus, he did not carefully consider the details of what he had witnessed for the years he walked as one of the disciples … Judas was not a very circumspect man, he failed to play the movie beyond the part where he saw himself as having saved the day. There was no “unsend” button, nor was there any “unsay”, or “undo” option. And if anything, the Pharisee’s used his confession against him, were delighted at his brutal mistake, and i believe they were pleased he took his own life. i believe the Pharisee’s found it delicious to close the trap and watch him squirm. He couldn’t un-ring that bell.

How often have we made, on the spur of the moment, spiritually impacting decisions without considering the outcome? A man and his wife bought a car on the premise that if the loan was approved, it must be God. Well, of course the loan was approved. A bankrupt felon could have gotten approval. Six months later they went bust and wondered why God would do this to them. Was it really God who did this to them? Had they played the movie, and scrutinized the details, they would have never suffered the catastrophic outcome.

i knew a man who had a dream that went like this: in his dream he went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. He only saw the nose and mouth of someone who sort of looked like him, but it wasn’t him. He woke up the next morning sure God gave had given him a vision of his future wife. He went about his day as usual, and that evening he went to a Bible study. There at the Bible study was an attractive young woman whose lower half of her face appeared exactly like the face he saw in the dream in the mirror. Immediately he had the idea he was supposed to marry that woman. Afterall, he was in the market for a wife, she was pretty, and she seemed to like him. He set himself on marrying her. He told her his dream and his intentions of marrying her, she bought into it, and two weeks later they were married. It turned out, after years of misery and struggle, he had done a knee jerk reaction, failing to play the rest of the movie, failing miserably at being circumspect.

When we take what we see in our foresight and give ourselves time to consider the details of what we have observed, getting insight, we’re typically not so quick to readily jump on popular trends and don’t tend to accept common advice as necessarily God’s wisdom. Proverbs 19:21, “There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless it is the LORD’S counsel–that will stand.”

This is not about being cautious but about being wise – and understanding the ramifications of a proposed course of action. While others are ready to quickly decide an issue, looking before we leap often causes us to wait for a period of time, evaluating all sides of the issue, being neither proponents or opponents but simply keeping an open mind so that when a decision is made it is a wise decision. Playing the movie allows us to evaluate with objectivity rather than taking a position. i have a three day rule for buying a car, and what that means is that i figure Jesus rose from the dead in three days, and so in three days i can make a decision to buy or not. So far, it has worked out well. In those following three days, there is time to consider carefully and get a circumspect view.

How about the man and woman who were friends and went to a conference? While at the conference the speaker called them out of the crowd and prophesied that they should be married. They didn’t take into account the myriad of details that should have been carefully weighed before marriage, they didn’t count the cost … they failed to play the movie. They didn’t use a sharp pencil, scrutinizing the details, instead they took the conference speaker at his word, and got married straight away. It was a disaster which grew to super-volcano proportions quickly. How much different was that type of irresponsible behavior than the unthinking young man who went bungee jumping from a bridge with an unyielding rope tied to his foot?

          In a foreign country a priest, a lawyer and an engineer were about to be guillotined. The priest puts his head on the block, they pull the rope and nothing happens. He declared that he’d been saved by divine intervention, so they let him go. The lawyer was put on the block, and again the rope didn’t release the blade. He claimed he couldn’t be executed twice for the same crime and he was set free also. They grabbed the engineer and shoved his head into the guillotine. He looked up at the release mechanism and said, “Wait a minute, I see your problem … ”

Oh, gosh, he just had to open his mouth. Obviously, the engineer didn’t weigh and consider carefully before he spoke, and once his words were out there, he couldn’t unring that bell.

My mother used to tell me that it was better for me to be quiet and only be thought foolish, than it was for me to open my mouth and be known foolish. For much of my life … i didn’t listen.

Ephesians 5:14-17 “Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

Mark 4:23-24 “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. Consider carefully what you hear.” God’s meaning of “consider carefully” means to take in all the details, scrutinize them, leaving nothing out. And as to the use of the word “consider” in Greek … it means to “ponder to conclusion”, play the whole movie, or “look before you leap”, and we should do it carefully. To summarize that scripture it reads, “after you have taken in the details and, so to speak, penciled it out and perceived, after you’ve been to the Lord about what is in your mind, come to a conclusion and take action.” That is considering your hindsight, getting insight from the Lord, taking note of your foresight, draw it all into a conclusion, and then setting out to accomplish your task.

That method is the way the Lord does things. He is our example of “play the movie”, or being circumspect.

Isaiah 46:9-10 9 “I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning.” Our God is circumspect. He knows the end from the beginning, and takes all facts and intents of the heart into account.

Imitating the Lord, we are called to be wise and to take into account the ramifications of our possible actions ! before ! we jump and run. i’ll ask again, How often do you make a “knee jerk reaction” about something without considering the consequences? Think about that, and after you’ve thought, then think about it all some more.

When we take God seriously and practice the conclusion of our foresight and insight, life gets radically better. We may not be too good at it now, but the more we practice “looking before we leap”, counting the cost before we go to war, the better we get at it. To “play the movie” is one of the things alcoholics learn to do in order to succeed. Like Dr. Henry Cloud said, “Going to the movies can save your life by preventing bad things from happening, and it also enables us to see the good things that can happen also.”

i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts, a beautiful evening on the deck overlooking the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over and every evening is pleasant.

Pick up your cross this week, afterall, no one can bear it but you. Look before you leap, see your options before hand and be circumspect about what you perceive. As you go your way, take the time to pray for someone with words that make a difference. Be strong and courageous, and i’ll talk to you next time.

We’ve GOT to stand up. Stand up church, get to your feet and let the goodness of God loose in the world around you. Rare-back and let it fly! C’mon people, stand up church, stand up in life, stand up in your businesses and let your Godly character shine; stand up in your conference meetings and BE the people the Lord has called you to be; stand up in court, stand up in school, stand up and live His Name out loud; stand up in your secret places and do the right thing ‘cause it is always the right time to do the right thing. We’ve GOT to get up off our pews, get up out of our indifferent places, get up from our leisure…put that fishin’ pole down and let’s get down to business with the Lord. Get up and move out! Put on our “git ‘er done” clothes, and move out. Stand up church, get to your feet and let the righteousness of God loose in the world around you. Let’s stop talking about the wonder working power and go out from your safe places and do the wonder working power.

There is a dark cloud on the horizon, impending darkness moving in the direction of the world and in the direction of the church. It looks like a dark sand storm engulfing everything around it. The days of trial are near to our hand, Stand up church, The night is far spent and the day is at hand, stand up church, get to your feet and walk the walk as never before. BE the people of God! Open your mouth in truth, honesty, reconciliation. Augustine said “Truth is like a lion , you don’t have to defend it; let it loose and it will defend itself.” Stand up Church, you’ve GOT to stand up! We can no longer allow ourselves to be complacent and indifferent to what’s going on within us and around us. Polish your armor, sharpen your word skills. Quit complaining about Jezebel being in your midst and simply quit holding hands with the her.

Tell the world about the justice of God, about the grace of God, testify of what you see and hear. Testify, testify, yes, testify of His goodness. Stand UP church, get to your feet, position yourselves before the Living God and be determined to dance the dance or righteousness. Get up! C’mon! Get up! Wake up, we’ve GOT to stand up!

It’s high time to wake up! Get up from you beds, stand up Church, stand up. Get to your feet and move out.

We’re make a clarion call to the people of God…. Stand Up Church! i say no more white noise living, no more non-response to encroaching evil. We MUST stand up, the Lord is with you… you can do this church. Wake up and catch His rhythm….

Nehemiah 9:5 “Stand up and bless the LORD your God Forever and ever! “Blessed be Your glorious name, Which is exalted above all blessing and praise!”

Let your true colors show…..fly your colors, wear your colors, let the world know by your love and character to whom your allegiance lays.

In Psalm 94:14-17 the word says, “ “For the LORD will not cast off His people, Nor will He forsake His inheritance. 15  But judgment will return to righteousness, And all the upright in heart will follow it. 16  Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? 17  Unless the LORD had been my help, My soul would soon have settled in silence.” ”

“Silence is golden” is a shortened proverbial saying with an obscured origin. The first example of it is from the poet Thomas Carlyle, who translated the phrase from German 1831. His translation was, more accurately, “Speech is silver, but silence is golden”, maybe romantically stated, but it is NOT always true…. there are times, like the day we live in, where silence is NOT golden….in fact….our silence, our lack of response, our “white noise” is often taken as our being complicit with darkness and that just will not do.

In Isaiah 48:12-13i believe the Lord is speaking to us, “Listen to Me, O Jacob, And Israel, My called, I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last. Indeed My hand that has laid the foundation of the earth, And My right hand has spread out the heavens above; When I call to them, They stand up together.”

How closely is your ear to the ground at the Lord’s feet? Is your ear even on the ground to hear His going forth? Can you hear the sizzle of the cymbals which have been struck in His presence? Can you hear the cadence of Heaven’s drum beat, or are you sitting in a pew somewhere hoping all the world’s badness will miraculously pass you by?How many of us just go home having done our due diligence of going to church and giving our tithe….we hang up our shirt in the closet, make ourselves a sandwich and sit back in our chair believing someone else will do the work? To whom do we hold an allegiance? Are we allied to the world, committed to our own comfort and money? Do we have an attitude that refuses to be inconvenienced by getting involved with what God is doing?  ….or are we committed to the values of God Himself? Stand up Church! Get to your feet and find out where God is working. Find out where the Lord is working and join Him there.

The word for “standing up” and “standing” was used extensively in the O.T., in  over 1000 times this expression is used in one capacity or another…. many times the entire nation of Israel was called to “stand before the Lord” in solemn assemblies…. the phrase “stand before Him” is an expression of dedication, allegiance, and service. Joseph stood before Pharoah, David before Saul, etc, etc and so the believer stands before the Lord in a position of obedience, respect, and readiness to serve. When at church and the music starts, do most of us even know why we stand? Is it because someone told you to? Is it blind habit, something we do because… well… it’s what we always do? Maybe it’s that we see others stand and we don’t want to be the odd one out… and if no one told you to – would you stand anyway? Why would you do that? The wise take the time to carefully consider their motivations….do you stand for righteous reasons?…..what are your reasons for standing, or not?

The whole idea of “standing up” has vision and choosing in it.To stand up means to confront fearlessly, oppose boldly, to take a stand for or against; to hold one’s ground or principles in the face of a challenge. With two eyes which connect to one brain we “see” and we choose our actions. We have the choice to sit in silence and conceal the truth of God, or we choose to stand up and reveal the truth of God –God concealed/God revealed, Deus Abscontitus/Deus Revelatus. In the action of our “standing up” there comes an enabling of the underlying power of the spiritual which is brought into the physical life. To “stand up”, from the Lord’s perspective isn’t in arrogance, but in humility, for the whole idea is to stand for something…..i’m sure you’ve heard the saying that if we don’t stand for something we’ll certainly fall for anything. Can you hear me?

Count the cost and don’t be afraid. The Lord has the cost covered….we have everything to gain in Christ, and nothing to lose. The word of the Lord in Isaiah 40:8, where it says, “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever,” that scripture gives us a picture that His Word is not sitting in repose or idle…. it is standing and will forever stand, it is active and ready. If His word stands, then we should also. ….and having done all, to stand, Stand therefore… Stand up Church! Get your feet underneath you and stand up

We might say to ourselves that we can be equally effective when we sit, which is quite possibly true, but standing up is a physical action, it implies a mental and spiritual action with a posture of readiness.

Look at the N.T. hero’s of faith. Were they idle, where they casual in their faith, did they lead a life of repose because “standing up” and being firm about the gospel was too scary or too inconvenient?

In Acts 2, Peter stood up with the eleven….he lifted up his voice and testified… it would also appear that the eleven were already standing…they were ready, feet planted, committed and determined.

Acts 4:14, the healed man was standing with the others.By his standing up he was making a declaration…. he took action, testifying of God’s wonder-working power and grace.

In Acts 5 the apostles were seized and thrown into common prison, but then an angel came and rocked that place….prison doors thrown open and they were brought out….then the angel delivered the word of the Lord to them saying, “”Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.”

“GO STAND” is significant. It was a posture of readiness, a position of declaration, they arose and took action. “GO STAND” was a command not to be at leisure nor to be silent or complacent, but to rise up in the power of their testimony.

Now we come to Stephen. Great day what a testimony. In Acts 6 Stephen is revealed as a man of God, full of grace, having done many signs and wonders among the people. The Pharisee’s secretly got some people to lie saying Stephen had used the Name of the Lord tritely with cursing and they stirred up the people and elders against him; they grabbed him and took him to the council for judgment. There….Stephen stood up, do you see that? He stood up, held his ground and testified. As he was standing, all witnessed a physical change in his demeanor. Acts 6:15 says they observed him to have the face of an angel – i take it that he was radiant. Acts 7 reveals that he stood up, radiant in the power of the Holy Spirit and preached quite a piercing sermon….so much so that they were all cut to the heart. Acts 7:55-56, “But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56  and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

The Lord was standing, ready…..He was not sitting at rest and it is significant that the Lord was standing. In anger and rage they grabbed Stephen and stoned him, meaning they hit him with rocks breaking skin and bones until someone came with what is called “the headstone” which was the stone used to crush the head of the stoning victim.

Before he died, incredibly, he asked the Lord to not lay this sin to their charge. Stephen was no victim i’ll tell you that! How many of us would have simply been silent from the start, hoping that these accusations would just pass over us, being silent little sheep trembling in fear?

Stephen was committed to God’s values…. he stood up, firm in faith and delivered the words the Lord gave him.

Continuing on of course there was Paul who stood firm to the end. Peter and John stood up in the power of the Holy Spirit. All the apostles stood up in the Name of Jesus and are among the thousands of martyrs across history who stood firm for their faith in Christ. As they did, we must do also…. stand up church. Albert Einstein said, “The world as we know it will not be destroyed by evil,  but by those who watch without doing anything about it. ”Revelation 12:11 11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” Get to your feet and be strong, testify of God’s goodness. Be silent no longer and stand….. up!

Imagine with me for a moment …. imagine in one large picture a vision of the United States; now imagine all the churches in all the cities, towns, and communities, some large, some small, some in homes, some in huge buildings….see all the people who come in and go out again, some walking, some riding, some rich, some poor. Imagine what it would be like if the churchstood up and began to seriously stand for God’s values and the testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

How different would our nation be if we, the church stood up, spoke out, and took action….. no longer being scared little sheep who feared they might not have their comfortable life or might not be liked by others if we lived out righteous character

2 Thess2:, “ So then, brethren, be constantly standing firm and holding fast to the teachings which were delivered to you….”

The Lord establishes us, meaning He causes His ways to stand up in us, His appointments “stand up”, they are made known and declared, they endure and persist. Church…. stand up….declare your colors, whose side are you on?…. be determined to endure and persist, make His values and appointments clear to the world around you…..it is righteous.

Friends – stand up from among the dead! We are not called to pander to the world, nor are we called to live passive lives. He asked us to stand up for righteousness, truth, honor and honesty; He asked us to be lights to the world and no light is ever passive in the dark – it shines where it shines in every place it can illuminate, not in brutal attacks but in grace and love….persistent, enduring, firm,  and unwavering.

Daniel 2:44, “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”

The Lord establishes all that His Kingdom represents and it will endure and persist forever…. as will the people who occupy the Kingdom with Him. Standing up gives evidence to the validity of our testimony.. He gives us our substance that He would establish us in the face of the world and darkness

Stand up from among the dead and get to your feet. It’s time to wake up from your slumber, from your passivity, from you indifference, from your laziness that says it’s too much trouble to be involved with God. Let your hands be strong those who have been hearing and stand up in these days. Our Redeemer will “Stand Up” for His people, Zechariah8 says, “So I will save you, and you s hall be a blessing. Do not fear, Let your hands be strong.’” Amen.

The Lord says in Psalm that His throne endures forever, His throne as the days of Heaven, His Name to all generations will stand up and persist. Psalm 104:31, “May the glory of the LORD stand up forever; May the LORD rejoice in His works.”

He has put His words in our mouths and has covered us with the shadow of His hand that He would plant Heaven in us as fragrant flowers in His Name. He will call us His People!

This has been Outposts, broadcast live from the late evening banks of the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees lean over the rivers edge and every evening in pleasant. This production has been brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, and Trinity Bakers, where there’s always something good in the oven.

We’ve GOT to stand up. Stand up church, get to your feet and let the goodness of God loose in the world around you. Rear-back and let it fly! Stand up church, stand up in life, stand up in your businesses and let your Godly character shine; stand up in your conference meetings and BE the people the Lord has called you to be; stand up at court in truth, stand up at school in honesty, stand up and live His Name out loud; stand up in your secret places and do the right thing ‘cause it is always the right time to do the right thing. We’ve GOT to get up from our pews, get up from our indifferent places, get up from our leisure…put that fishin’ pole down and let’s get down to business with the God. Put on our “git ‘er done” clothes, and step up. Stand up church, get to your feet and let the righteousness of God loose in the world around you.

The days are upon us friends, take this seriously, please, think about it. Amen.

The Lord is offering us His Face to gaze into like a Father looks into the eyes of His children that we would see Him and He would see us.

Kelly Koshatka of Denton, Texas wrote that, “God’s heart is crying out through the scriptures that we would see Him. This is not about “imagining or visualizing the face of Jesus”; rather it relates to a heart searching to know God, “face to face” by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Only God Himself, by His Spirit, can open the eyes of our understanding to see the Lord in this way. What is something if it does not have a face? Anything that is faceless is without identity. What is our relationship with the Lord like if it is with a faceless God? What kind of walk do we have if we relate to God below eye level?” Who or what is your focal point and where is your horizon? Do you see the Lord through a veil which hides your face from the very One who desires with all His heart to live everyday life face-to-face with us?

Many years ago i was involved with a street level ministry. It was a real hands on thing, as with any street level ministry….there were many who seemed unwilling to be anywhere else doing anything different …. some had physical problems, many had mental issues….a lot of folks just seemed wedged in a crack and couldn’t seem to climb out….it was a great opportunity to practice compassion, grace, and often a real exercise in keeping good boundaries. Over time i had gained an attitude that “i” was “in ministry”, that “i” was the “helper” and “they”, yes….. the infamous “they”, were the ones being helped….“I” (with a captial “I”) was stooping down to help the “little ones”. Mind you, i didn’t consciously see it that way, but being where i am now and looking back at myself, my attitude, and past actions i can see my secret posture. Not only do i see what was in my underlayment, i also remember the significant moment when the Lord challenged me and my attitude, and how, in that one moment, the Lord struck and cracked my outer shell. One day i met an old black fellow, skinny, nearly toothless, cataract in one eye, he was homeless and liked it that way….. yet there was something real about him. He went by the name Tabb Roberts…who knows if it was his real name…. either way, once a week i’d buy a couple cups of coffee and go by Tabb’s place (which consisted of a tarp with some blankets) and we’d talk about Jesus, laugh and carry on for a while till he would usually announce he had some stuff to do. One day he was telling me about another guy who was so lazy that if the man had a job tasting pies at a pie factory he wouldn’t show up. It was a pretty good laugh, but then he got all serious, turned to me and said, “You know Capt’n (his nick name for me was Capt’n), we need to be careful what we say and how we act because we never know out from under who’s eyelids God is lookin’ at us from.”

It was a defining moment….i thought i was getting “Eye Level” with those who were “street level”, but really i was more hovering over them, forcing them to be in something less than a “face-to-face” relationship.

“Eye level” means getting next to people where your eyes and their eyes are on the same level, physically, metaphorically, and spiritually…. just like the Lord did with mankind through Jesus Christ…He got eye level with us. Up until the advent of Jesus Christ, the Lord was not “eye level” with us, but when Jesus came to town, God got right where He could look straight in the eyes of mankind. God gave us His face.

Some would simplify the whole concept down to saying it is “meetingpeople where they are”, which truly is a good idea, but i believe the Lord has something more in-depth in mind. The idea of “eye level” has everything to do with where your horizon is and what exactly is your focal point…..being able to see our horizons helps us put objects, both near and far, in proper scale and perspective in relation to where we are.

As in all good art, having no clear view of the horizon or focal point tends to skew and distort everything….little things are too big, distant objects are too near, irrelevant positions and postures seem too detailed, and the important things are set at a distance and made too small and insignificant. It seems that everything is just…..”too” something. Too big, too little, too far, too near……just “too” something.

Can you see the twisted world view that can happen when something as simple as having an obscured horizon and confused focal point occurs? The world around us is no longer “eye level”. The value of things change as our “eye level” changes.

When Jesus came to town, our potential relationship with God was miraculously changed. John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” God came to us as Jesus Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, crucified under Pontius Pilate, died and was buried yet rose from the dead and sits at the right hand of the Father Almighty. He is Emanuel, God with us.

God got “eye level” with those who were “street level”. He looked them eye-to-eye, walked and talked with people face-to-face; He heard their voices and they heard His, ear-to-ear; He touched people, skin-to-skin; and He felt with them, heart-to-heart. When Jesus came to town, His very presence changed their horizon and focal point, drew the universe into right perspective and sharpened the focus on all things relative to the Kingdom of God.

In the world we live in today, there is such a fight going on for what is on the landscape of our lives…..the more walls and obstructions we allow to block ourframe of reference, the easier it is to have a confused horizon and difficult to keep a righteous perspective. Leonardo di Vinci said, ‘Perspective is to painting what the bridle is to the horse, the rudder to a ship‘. Jesus, Messiah, the Christ of God became our horizon and focal point, He is our frame of reference, the righteous bridle for our perspective. The closer He gets to all things, the more all things become like Him.

John 1:16-17, “And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17  For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

Jesus had some guys He hung out with….early on in Matthew 5 they are referred to as disciples and by Matthew 10 they are called apostles. God didn’t stand over them and hold Himself aloof and untouchable….He was there, “eye level” with the world and anyone who was willing to hold His gaze.

Jesus and the guys went places together, sat and ate together, and had conversations late into the night. They were more than just at “hand level”, meaning they didn’t hang out with Him for what they could get from Him. They were more than just “mouth level”, meaning they didn’t hang out with Him for the cool stuff He said; instead it was a day-to-day “eye level” life, meaning they hung out with God because of who He is. They went on camping trips, like in Luke 9 when they went out to a desert place, or in John 6 when it says they went up on a mountain, and “there He sat with His disciples”.

They even went on some short term mission trips, like in John 4 when they went to Samaria and an entire town heard the gospel. God, Jesus Christ, was “eye level” with the stumbling, the floor sweepings of society, the distraught, wounded, sick and dying. He even….are you ready?…. He even touched the diseased. It was against the rules for anyone to put their hand on a leper, but God touched a leper in Mark 1:40. Jesus broke the rules and actually touched the ones who were, according to society, below “eye level”, or even below “street level”…maybe just “gutter level”.

i find that the Lord addresses the motivations of our hearts, our attitudes and posture far more than our actions, and getting “eye level” with the Lord is about the motivations of our hearts. i figure if we really want to know someone we look into their eyes, hoping for a glimpse of character and intent. When Jesus got “eye level” with this world He was pressing past all our external junk, all our agenda’s, all our props and poses to meet with us, eye-to-eye, that we would encounter His face, that we would look into the eyes of God and see His true heart, and get lost in the star systems and galaxies of who He is. i really believe something amazing happens when we have an encounter with God’s Presence….the Hebrew for “presence” literally means “to encounter The Face”….it is a life changing encounter, a world and destiny changing event. Our faces identify us and reflect our attitudes, passions and opinions, and i believe the Lord wants to be known by us, for we are the object of His affection.

The Lord chose to come and be “with us” that we would know Him. So much of the world chooses to live below “eye level” with God, a place where there is always a short supply of passion, truth, and honesty.

Less than “eye-to-eye” with the Lord, relationships seem to eventually lack persistence and solid content, but when He is the focal point of our horizon and we take Him up on His offer of living at “eye level” with Him, it is amazing how life simply seems to roll smoothly together.

In Mark 8 Jesus healed a blind man. Verse 25 says, “Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.” In the man’s “looking up” he looked into the face of Jesus, he got “eye-level” with God, and in the moment things changed forever; when He looked into the face of the Lord, in the instant …..he was restored and, i like this phrase, he “saw everyone clearly”. Now wouldn’t you really really like to have a big dose of seeing things clearly?

Ephesians 1:17-18, “…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18  the eyes of your understanding would be opened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,”

When the Lord is our horizon and focal point it draws all things into right perspective. Job 42:5, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.” How many of us are only on “ear level” with God, hearing but never seeing?

Don’t get me wrong, being able to hear Him is both wonderful and imperative, but according to Job’s statement, there is more of God to be had by going beyond “ear level” to beholding His face at “eye level”. It seems that Job’s circumstances were very perplexing to him. What’s worse, he had some friends who tried to clarify it all for him, but truth be told, they made even less sense in the end. In fact, and this is just what i think, Job and his buddies suffered from their faces being veiled. But at the end Job has a radical change of heart  from “ear level” to “eye level”.

2 Corinthians 3:12-18, “Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. 13  We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. 14  But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. 15  Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. 16  But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17  For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18  So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” Some of the key words there are “see” and “reflect”. With our eyes on the Lord and being “eye level” with Him, we are changed.

2 Corinthians 4:3, “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,”

People who’s eyes are veiled seem to easily slip into bitterness, and confusion…..their forward momentum only runs just so far. They know God, they hear Him, and there is a relationship, but there is often something missing for lack of a face-to-face relationship….. they aren’t “eye level”. When we rest our eyes on the face of the Lord, old things pass away.

With an unveiled face we are consistently pursuing the things above where Christ is seated on the right hand of God Almighty, we are steadily setting our minds on the things above, which is “God level”, not the things on the earth, which is “earth level”; for we died, and our life has been hidden with Christ in God.

If we’ve got an “eye level” relationship with Jesus, He is being made visible and we are being made like Him.1 John 3:2, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

The words of my mouth have long been, “Jesus is the answer, He is always the answer, and there is never a time when He is NOT the answer. ”If Jesus is our answer, then we will seek His face, becoming “eye level” with God, that we might reflect His image in all our bearings and postures. Psalm 32:8, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. ”Who or what IS your horizon, your focal point that influences your perspective on everything? Think about it.

Secrets build fences, confession builds bridges. Early in lifei didn’t know the Lord, i lived with a veiled face below “street level”…..as a resulti had to learn to live within my own fences. When i was younger, there were things…. secret things in my life that i was so ashamed of i simply couldn’t look some people in the eye.It may have appeared i was looking at them at times, but honestly their gaze was just too penetrating for me.  Not until i got “eye level” with Jesus, and learned to behold His gaze were any bridges built across my fences. My veiled face changed because i did more than hear, i beheld his face. Ahh….to behold His gaze has more in it than just glancing at Him when we think He isn’t exactly looking at us. To behold Him, meaning to consider, to contemplate and discern…. it is not only a looking upon, but clear discerning. Living “eye level” with God is more than just a momentary seeing but is a way of having and keeping our communication and affiliation steady; it is more than just a passive thing, it is alive and active…… the more we look at Him, the more we want to look at Him, and the more we see Him, the more we want to see Him. Paul had a burning desire above all things and that was “To know Christ”. He was “eye level” with God…..and you?

When Jesus walked among the crowds of people in Matthew9, He was at “eye level” where they could look straight into His face. He wasn’t sitting somewhere way over yonder beyond the blue, unseeableand untouchable….God was amongst men, they could see Him and He could see them….He lived this life as we live this life in all it’s goods and bads. There is no affliction in the realm of men which our High Priest cannot sympathize with, for in all points He was tempted as we are, but yet He is without sin….. When the disciples were in a boat in a storm and Jesus was resting in the bow, He was “eye level” with them, they lived and breathed in the gaze of God. In Matthew26:6, when Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, he was “eye level” with who was considered in that day as the “scum of the earth”…. the leper didn’t get on Jesus, Jesus got on the leper, darkness didn’t get on Him, He got on darkness. He was “eye level” with the floor sweepings of the world. As Andy Squyres writes in his song “Not In My Strength”, “Has He not called the disqualified, the poor and the prodigal sons; scum of the earth, the bankrupt and blind, the lost and unfortunate ones.You know me well, i’m all of these things, yet He still calls me His own. He’s washed me in blood, under the cross, so i boldly come to His throne.”

What or who stands at your horizon? What or who is your focal point which causes all things to come into rightperspective? Are you “eye level” with God? Eyes that are shut and hearts that are turned in the wrong direction will not be aware that God is in the house. Let us get “eye level” with Jesus and let Him take us up to get “eye level” above the world, up to the mountain tops and down into the ditches, compelling all we meet to come home.

A face, be it human, or otherwise, tells us a story, short or long. What is it about faces which seem to get in our hearts so quickly?

Numbers 6:25-26 , “The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”

There’s the face of a building, face of a corporation, the face of a book cover, a new product, movies, musical endeavors, the face of love, evil, battle, even our character presents a face to others. There is the face of a nation with many pictures representing a time frame in history. There are even false faces called facades, like a building or house has a facade, or the smile of betrayal.

To me, the sight of a face offers my mind something special, it identifies the person and reflects their attitudes, and passions. It is more than just features …  it conveys emotions, intent, and identity of the whole individual… our faces even reflect how we lean in our heart towards God. That’s pretty incredible considering the whole of a person can, most of the time, be summed up in their face. i don’t think the same thing is true for our body though. Body language, or “cues” such as posture do indeed convey some social information, but the image of a body does not substitute for a face. God has built something very important into the face of everything with a face.

The face is also used to refer to the character of God, especially his favor towards his people. For God to turn his face to his people was to offer them his grace and help; for God to turn his face away from his people was to withhold his favor and blessing. And to seek the face of God is to seek his favor and blessing..

In Genesis 32:30, Jacob said, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” … because Jacob saw God face-to-face, he named the place Penuel (pen-oo-ale’ ), literally meaning, “the Face of God” which was a place not far from Succoth (soo-kohth’ ) the place of huts made with entwined branches, east of the Jordan River and north of the river Jabbok (yah-boke’ ) which means “to pour forth”.

To be in God’s presence, literally in Hebrew means, “an encounter with The Face”. What is it God has built into a face which communicates so, so much of ourselves to other people?

i’m adventuring to discuss what’s in a face, our own “face value”, and the face of God which changes our lives. As the eye is the port to the soul, the face, considered to be extraordinarily revealing, reflects the contents of the heart.

Our physical body, though absolutely important, helps us make sense of the face. Body posture supports facial expression. But our faces … ahhh, it’s such a big deal advertising companies are always looking for the “new face” to represent their product. And taking someone at their “face value” is more like believing what they say without needing proof. But then, the world is filled with dazzling visions, so much so, everyone seems so easily “lost in the dazzle”. Well … there it is, to be “lost in the dazzle”.

So much of everything in the media influences people to take things at their “face value”, meaning the superficial appearance or implication of something, especially when it’s less than the actual value. i’ve said this before but i felt it good to say again: We are constantly asked by the news media and our government to take everything we see as probably real, and we all seem to often be repetitively shocked to find out things were not as they were posed. Taking someone at their “face value” is more like believing what they say without needing proof, yet increasingly, more and more people are requiring proof of what is portrayed or declared.

At some point, we will see Jesus “face to face”, and for some that will be the greatest day ever, and for some, well … not so much.

1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

If we say we’re going to see someone “face to face,” we may mean we’re going to have a meeting with that person, or it could also mean to have a confrontation with them. We might say we’re going to say something “to their face,” we would have spoken openly in that person’s presence.

How about having a “long face” implying a sense of gloom, while a “shining face” speaks of a sense of happiness or contentment, like Solomon who pointed out that “a joyful heart makes a face cheerful”. If someone “puts on a bold face,” he attempts to appear confident and courageous. And having a “false face,” would be an attempt to hide our feelings or opinions. When i was little, my mother would reprimand me because i “made a face” at my sister, which would indicate my contempt.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, an “idiom” an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its words, and we use many idioms in our communications every day. Like to “face up” to a problem is to say we confront the problem in an effort to resolve the conflict. To “fly in the face” of some one’s opinion suggests we’ve taken action contrary to an accepted policy, or belief. And to “set our face against” someone would be an open defiance in opposition to that person, or like in Luke9:51, Jesus “set His face” to go to Jerusalem, like saying He was determined with all power to go there, doggedly determined, regardless of any opposition. Isaiah 50:7 speaks of Christ, who was to come, that He would “set His face like flint”, meaning when He was struck, sparks would fly, and the fire of restoration would be at hand.

Someone may not want to “show their face” somewhere, meaning they don’t want to allow themselves to be seen, lest they either “lose face” or “save face”, which are idioms meaning to take shame to themselves or to keep what honor they possess. Covering our face may indicate grief or shame, or as Elijah covered his face in the presence of the Lord in 1 King 19:13. In Ezekiel 38:18, the Lord says when Gog comes against Israel His, “fury will show” in His face.

Our faces are powerful and express attitudes or emotions behind our actions. Even the earth and moon are said to have a face like when Cain was forced out and complained that God was “driving him from the “face of the land,”, or the “man in the moon” who’s face on the moon can be seen with a little imagination.

Again, our faces are powerful to righteousness and truth, or deceit and lies. Our faces can tell our stories if seen with discerning and wise eyes.

           The world is filled with dazzling visions, so much so, many are easily “lost in the dazzle”. It seems, underneath the “face value” of the world around us, many things are blatantly self-promoting, promoting their own values, their own satisfaction, their own passions where, in the end, their opinion becomes the rule, with the hope of financial gain and self-advancement are hidden in a subtle undercurrent.

But then, what if we couldn’t see someone’s face? We would be far less inclined to be swayed by what our eyes take in. Through our eye comes what we see, and part of the dilemma is how we interpret that vision … what we think we see, imagine we see, wish we see, what we perceive we see, hope to see, conjure to see, or even psychotically see … maybe we even project ourselves into what we see.

Advertising has become such incredible psychology: we are led to believe we have the attention of what we are looking at, but that is an illusion, what we are looking at has us and we just buy into the face value of it all. Pornography for example. Viewers believe the person they are looking at is giving them their full, individual attention. We read that attention into movies, photographs, advertisements, etc. Why? Even when we know what we are looking at isn’t real, and the person in the picture/video doesn’t know us from anyone … and isn’t interested in knowing us … why do we project like that? Is it because, underneath it all we are looking for favor, recognition, validation, to somehow feel included? Maybe so. i believe many people generally feel somewhat excluded. Maybe it’s a point of having imagined power.

We are called to live as God’s sons and daughters able to see not only with our natural eyes but in the spiritual realm.

Maria Vadia, in her book “Victory In The Eye Gate”, wrote, “As a prophetic people, we are to walk by revelation so that we can be “light” in the midst of darkness, our faces bright with His presence. We have been empowered to carry on the works of Jesus and we are not alone in this; we partner with the Holy Spirit!”

Being “in God’s presence” means … what to you? When i imagine “being in God’s presence”, i see myself in a dark room with a flashlight. The light that came out of the flash light not only shone on the floor but actually lit up the room. The light went all over the room, not just on the floor, and i thought, “… is this what Your Presence is like Lord?” Noticing the light from the flashlight and my being in it was more than just a casual observation, it was a purposeful looking.

A Hebrew perspective of “God’s presence” means “an encounter with The Face”, and the face reveals the person. Jesus said if we have seen Him, then we have seen the Father. There is even a “Philosophy of The Face”, or “Theology of The Face”.

The “face of things” is a big deal, but above all big deals is the Face Of God. With Him the precedent is set, and in His face is all the abundance of life. He is self-evident, self-revelational, self-inspirational, self-sustaining, self-disclosing, He is ever-living and ever-lasting, the only person who is self-aware, totally self-assertive, and totally moral, The One who causes everything to be because He Is, and He calls Himself “I AM.” In His face the precedent was set for redemption from the beginning and He no longer hides His face from us.

Job 26:9, “He covers the face of His throne, And spreads His cloud over it.” If God hides the “face” of His Throne, it cannot be known and is not open and disclosed. Jesus came and gave us His face, for the first time, if we have looked Jesus in the eyes we have looked God in the eyes for the Lord is not hidden from us but has gotten eye level and face to face.

God threatened Israel in Deuteronomy 31:17, 18 and again in 32:20 that He would hide His face from them if they didn’t straighten up, in other words He would make Himself unfindable and unknowable. When Jesus came, everyone had then, and has now, the opportunity to know the Lord, and by looking into the eyes of the Son we are transformed from glory to glory.

           2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

When we open our face to others, we are being open, disclosing, and receptive to change. Sadly, people have gotten good at hiding their wounds and secrets from being seen in their faces, but if we’ll take the time to just visit, the pain of life will become evident in the faces over time. i believe many, many people are in pain, on one level or another, and the only hope for relief is Jesus who lives the hearts of those who believe on His Name. We are those with a heart draped in the love of God which has a gentle, modest, faithful character, giving a light to our faces that can’t be duplicated by the best cosmetics and jewelry in the world, for a carefully groomed and well-decorated exterior is artificial and cold unless inner beauty is present. A garland is a decoration or a crown, often surrounding a window with a view. Our faces are like a window with a view, particularly our eyes, revealing the garland of grace on our hearts.

Speaking of having an open face and possessing depth of soul in our eyes, Hiram Powers, an American sculptor said, “The eye is the window of the soul, the mouth is the door. The intellect, the will, are seen in the eye; the emotions, sensibilities, and affections, in the mouth. The animals look for man’s intentions right into his eyes. Even a rat, when you hunt him and bring him to bay, looks you in the eye.” To look in the face of God is to be changed forever, transformed, and beautiful again, as we were in the beginning.

Job 41 speaks of dealings with Leviathan, what i believe to be some sort of terrifying sea creature possibly. No one seems to know precisely what “leviathan” was. Although its identity is shrouded in obscurity, we can possibly conclude it was some sort of aquatic creature of the ancient world. i found verse 14 most interesting where it says, “Who can open the doors of his face?” For years i didn’t understand what that could possibly mean, i even wrote myself a note to investigate and stuck it on the bulletin board as a reminder to not miss God’s wisdom in that … and i did search to understand from time to time, but came to no further explanation until the last six months or so.

To “open the doors of his face”. i think it means to open the person of Leviathan that he would be known, that we would see him as he is, that his intents and purposes are disclosed. To “hide my face” would mean to not allow myself to be known, to be closed and non-disclosing, and to “open my face” would be to let others in, being open and willing to disclose myself. We’ve all met people who have, what some would call, a closed face, meaning they are unreadable or they have a “poker face”, just like there are others who’s face often reveals their thoughts and feelings.

Being in God’s presence is an “encounter with The Face”, and by Jesus Christ, the Lord has opened His face to us. He is not hidden … He is findable and knowable. God “opened the doors of His face” to us so we would know the glorious, and abundant life and love He has given to us.

In Gen31:21 Jacob fled from Laban, his father-in-law, he “headed for (‘set his face toward’) the hill country of Gilead. The key phrase is “he set his face”, meaning with all power he was determined to go to Gilead. In John 4, my paraphrase here, Jesus “set His face” to go to Samaria, He was determined to do what was in front of Him to do. In 2Kings12:17, king Hazael “turned to attack (‘or set his face toward’) Jerusalem”. Num24:1, When Balaam “saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as at other times, but “set his face toward the wilderness”. In Dan9:3, the prophet Daniel, reports, “I turned my face to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and sackcloth and ashes”, meaning he went before the Lord with all his breathing, thinking, and feeling to plead the case of his people.

The following may be a bit adventurous to bring into this forum, because the concept may simply be too large to do it justice, but i’m going to present it anyway for the reason of giving us all an idea that the face of God comes with more than looking into the eyes of God Himself.

Here goes: In the New Testament, “Presence of God,” as used in 1Cor1:29 is a Greek word, “enōpion”, which is made up of two words, “en” and a derivative of the Greek word “optanomai”.

Now, the second word is where it gets interesting. ‘Optanomai’, which is from the primary word “optomai” (where we get our word English word optometry and it’s variations from) implies a “seeing” and alternates with the word ‘horao’ – which is “to stare at or discern clearly.” And then there is an easily followed trail, that leads through degrees of “seeing” and “visionary” type experiences which i think to be quite a revelation. There is a passive seeing like knowing the floor is under your feet, nothing of special note but we are aware it is there; there is an active “seeing” like purposefully looking at something; and then there is the idea of “looking at something with eyes wide open in amazement”. Do the foot work, don’t take my word for it … go look for yourself. In fact, let me encourage you to try and not take someone’s doctrinal views at face value, even if they are a valuable, reliable resource … you do the work, and you go look for yourself to see what scripture says. It’s not like we don’t have a plethora of information to draw from. God is knowable and findable if we’ll go look for Him.

If the Hebrew perspective of “the presence of God” is an “encounter with the Face”, and the New Testament, “Presence of God,” reveals a visionary experience when we encounter His face, then i think we can add the two together to show that with an encounter with the face of God, there also comes a “seeing” where we see Him, He sees us, and we get a spiritual seeing imparted to us by being brave to look into God’s face. This is like saying if His Presence is always with me, then i am also having His “seeing” playing in me like a video. The problem is i’ve also got a mix of worldly vision playing in me, and as a result of a life of being “lost in the dazzle”. What God-vision i’ve got in my head and heart is often mingled with the world vision, so i, all too often, tend to throw the baby out with the bath water, discarding my spiritual vision in an attempt to dislodge the worldly images. Rather than set a path to divest myself of the dazzling world view constantly presented to me, i simply disregard it all.

Let us abandon our input of worldly vision to sanctify our God-vision that we would walk more circumspectly in the world we live in. i can’t help but think understanding this a little is another key to prophetic “seeing”.

Jesus carried the promise of Isaiah 50:6, “I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.” Jesus “opened His face” to us that we could open our face to the world.

As i awoke the other morning, i was thinking of all the refugee’s coming to this country. In the gray place between awake and asleep, the Lord spoke to me saying, “Let them in.” At first i thought to stop resisting the influx of people this country, but as the days followed, His meaning was not about them but about me. “Let them in” meaning that i should stop hiding my face from the world … let them see my fallibleness, and they will also see all the restoration and redemption in me too. It’s not to fear others will see my failures, but for glory of the Love of God in my heart.

The Lord promised us in Ezekiel 39:29, that from now on, He would no longer hide his face from us making Himself unfindable and unknowable, the He would make Himself open and disclosing …  then the Son of God came and gave man the face of God for the first time in history. He is not hidden any longer and we should not hide our faces from the world either.

Friends, and i do mean friends, brothers and sisters of the cloth, let us be brave to deal with our hidden, secret things. Bring them into submission and obedience of the word of God, resolving those scary things of ourselves and let our light shine. Psalm 34:5, “Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.” God gave us His presence, His face, and it has changed us forever. Think about it.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” The closer God gets to all things, the more all things become like Him.

Just like Jesus did in Luke 9:51, we must “set our faces” with all power and determination to step into God’s appointments and provision which He has given to us. It does not have to be an unhappy thing either. Franz Delitzsch was so right when he wrote, “To behold the face of God is in itself impossible to mortals without dying. But when God reveals Himself in love, then He makes His countenance bearable to the creature. And to enjoy this vision of God softened by love is the highest honor God in His mercy can confer on a man; it is the blessedness itself that is reserved for the upright.”

Breathe on me, Breath of God, Fill me with life anew, That I may love what Thou dost love, And do what Thou wouldst do. Breathe on me, Breath of God, Till I am wholly Thine, Till all this earthly part of me, Glows with Thy fire divine.

Seek His face continually, for God has come to speak with us face-to-face that we would behold His face with rejoicing, gladness with a shout in the middle. He is the risen One, and the sorrowful crucified face of Jesus now gives way to the glorious resurrected face of Jesus. The face reveals and conceals the nature of a person, and as a result the face of Jesus, is the Face of God toward all humanity for redemption and healing from the wounds of sin, death, and the grave. For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten son, that whom so ever believes in Him, shall not perish but have everlasting life. Amen!