Face to Face

Good morning!

"Face to face with Christ, my Savior!
Face to face, how can it be?
When in rapture I behold Him,
Jesus Christ, who died for me."

This is a portion of an old gospel song, which expresses the writer's longing to one day, finally, see Jesus face-to-face.

The prophet Isaiah got this opportunity, and he records the experience at the beginning of the sixth chapter of his book.

However, Isaiah was not "enraptured" when he saw the Divine Presence seated on His throne in the heavenly temple, in the Holy of Holies.  No, he was mortified.  Look at verse 5:  (The Message)

"Doom!  It's Doomsday!

I'm as good as dead.

Every word I've ever spoken is tainted - - -

blasphemous even!

And the people I live with talk the same way,

using words that corrupt and desecrate.

And here I've looked God in the face!

The King!  God of the Angel Armies!"

Frankly, I cannot even.

Isaiah tells us that several thoughts ran through his head:

1.  I'm doomed.  In the older versions, he said, "Woe is me, for I am undone."

He was convinced that "This is it.  The end is here."  He did not know how he could possibly survive this experience.

2.  He became acutely aware of his own inadequacy.  This man had already felt the calling of God upon his life and had already been obediently prophesying in Jehovah's name.  Yet, in the presence of The God of Angel Armies (elsewhere translated as "The Lord of Hosts"), he exclaimed, "My lips are filthy."  Or, "every word I've ever spoken is tainted."

3.  He became acutely aware of the sin in the earth, all around him.  Basically, the huge chasm that exists between us and God, between our sinfulness and His perfect holiness, became astonishingly evident.

In Daniel 10, the prophet Daniel has a similar overwhelming vision.  In verses 8 and 9, he declares that the vision caused him to be facedown on the ground, in a trance-like state.

In Acts 9:1-6, when the writer, Luke, was describing Saul's vision on the road to Damascus, Saul was thrown to the ground by a blinding flash of light.  In this case, and also in the case of Daniel's vision (of Daniel 10), there were companions with each of these men.  But, they either ran away or were "struck dumb", able to hear the voice but see nothing.  Apparently, Saul's companions received only a partial revelation, enough to do what God intended for them to do.

The Book of Revelation is an account of a series of visions John received at the end of his life, while exiled on the island of Patmos.  In the first vision, recorded in Revelation 1, John was praying and Jesus, the resurrected Jesus, appeared to him.  Again, John's response was similar to the others - - he fainted dead-away at His feet.  (I've got to stop myself here and rein in the temptation to go off-topic!)

In each of these cases, the men came face-to-face with Jesus.  You may wonder how I "got that" in regards to the Isaiah passage.  In John 1:18, the apostle clearly states that no one has ever actually come face-to-face with God the Father.  The only one who came close was Moses, when God was giving to Him the 10 commandments.  And, even then, Moses had to be hidden in a "cleft of a rock" while the presence of God Almighty the Father passed by.  Otherwise, it would have killed him. (See Exodus 33:20.)  Also, the apostle John, in John 12:41, says that Isaiah saw Jesus, not God the Father, Jesus. Here's the verse:

"Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about Him."

I wonder, are you like me?  Is there a little hint of wistfulness or jealousy as you read about the experiences of these men?  Do you wish that you could get more of a glimpse of Jesus?

In each case, in conjunction with the vision, each man was given a charge, a commission, a big job to do.  In three of the four cases, the men were already serving God obediently, and in a couple of the cases, praying diligently.  (Saul was the exception.  He was zealously threatening to kill every disciple of Jesus he could find.  But, even so, he was a Jew passionate for the Jewish faith.  He was being ardent and faithful to his current revelation.....until He got a NEW one!)

Here is the take-away for this morning.

God reveals Himself to us, based on two factors:

1.  Our faithfulness to past revelation.  The first way He reveals Himself to us is through the Bible and the workings of the Holy Spirit.  Our immediate response should be to react in faith to the revelation(s) we have received.  The first act should be to embrace Jesus (and His Way) as our Savior (as our way of life) when the Holy Spirit calls us to salvation in Christ.  Once we do that He will continue to reveal Himself to us.  It is up to us to obediently embrace the revelation(s) we are given, as we walk as His resplendent children.

2.  His plan for us.  Sometimes, like Saul, we are absolutely headed in the wrong direction.  According to what God wants us to do, He sends a revelation of Himself that is commensurate with that.  In other words, the bigger the task, the greater the revelation.

Is God calling you to something bigger than you see yourself doing?  Are you resisting that call?  Are you walking in faithful obedience to the revelation you have been given?

Loving, Holy Father!  Thank you for showing Your face to us, through Your Son, Jesus.  Please, oh please, forgive us for those times that You reveal Yourself to us, call us out for Your own dedicated, consecrated use, and we resist, refuse, turn and run in the opposite direction.  Please keep calling us, drawing us to Yourself, so that we may serve you "mo' better" and see even more of Your glory...as we seek to walk close by Your side....resplendent!