Seeing the Invisible OR Learning to See in the Dark!
Sabbath School Class
November 24, 2007
Larry R Evans
Questions for Reflection
1. Faith is seeing something that is not there. [Heb 11:27] True or False?
2. Faith comes into action when what we know is right coincides with what God’s Word says. [Rom 8:28-39; 2 Cor 12:9] True or False?
3. Asking “anything in My [Jesus’] name” means closing each prayer with the words, “In the name of Jesus we ask these things.” [John 14:14; Matt 28:19] True or False?
4. Casting our problems upon the Lord is the easy part—leaving them there is the hard part. [1 Pet 5:7; Matt 6:25-27] True or False?
Introduction
Ever been afraid of the dark? Was it the darkness or the fear that there was something “out there” that you could not see! Have you ever been alone in a dark place and heard the floor creak and then felt the goose bumps crawl all over your body because you could not explain what you had just heard? Our imaginations can get the better of us. Today’s lesson, however, suggests that there is indeed something “out there” that you and I cannot see—and it’s both good news and bad news! How we relate to the “invisible” is important. Paradoxically, part of the problem today is getting some to believe that there is indeed “Someone” out there! In fact there is a whole world out there that is invisible and that can be frightening if we don’t understand the nature of the invisible.
Thoughts for Reflection
1. Faith is seeing something that is not there. [Heb 11:27] False
One age-long question is not so much if there is a God but where is God? Has He somehow put our world together and abandoned us for another world. Some would conclude that faith is really seeing something that isn’t there, just like when our imagination senses all sorts of things when we are in the dark.
In the past we have referred to an observation made by a French philosopher, Simone Weil, who said, “We see either the dust on the window or the view beyond the window, but never the window itself.” She suggests that there is a part of our world that we do not see. In the past we have likened that to what we refer to as the “great controversy.” Today, I’d like to suggest that part of the window that we do not see is God. Can we see God? Are you sure?
It has been said, “We see God best in the same way we see a solar eclipse: not by staring at the sun, which could cause blindness, but through something on which the sun is projected.” (Philip Yancey, Rumors of Another World, p.26)
A foundational text for our study today is found in Hebrews 11:1-3
Heb 11:1-3
11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.(New International Version)
Heb 11:1 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see.
Heb 11:2 The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.
Heb 11:3 By faith, we see the world called into existence by God's word, what we see created by what we don't see. (The Message)
2. Faith comes into action when what we know is right coincides with what God’s Word says. [Rom 8:28-39; 2 Cor 12:9] False
This is often a contemporary approach to understanding the invisible world of God. We believe only if it makes sense from the perspective of our visible world. Such an approach makes God and His Word subject to our wisdom and judgment rather than His.
I find my limited visible perspective challenged by intentional actions of Jesus designed to present a deeper dimension to life. N.T.Wright alluded to this when he wrote: “Jesus reaches out and touches the leper. Somehow, instead of the infection being passed to him, his wholeness, his ‘cleanness,’ is transmitted to the leper instead. Jesus allows himself to be touched by the woman with the issue of blood, whose every touch would render someone else unclean; but power flows instead from him to her, and she is healed. He touches the corpse of the widow’s son at Nain, and instead of Jesus contracting uncleanness, the corpse comes back to life.
The Gospel writers intend us, I believe, to see the same phenomenon at work all the way to the cross. There Jesus at last identifies himself with the Jewish revolutionaries in their failing cause, to bring the kingdom for which they had longed but in the way they had refused.” (N.T. Wright, Evil and the Justice of God, p.84)
What limitations do we place upon the kingdom of God (and ourselves) when our faith is based on only what we see or understand?
Rom 8:27 He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God.
Rom 8:28 That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
Rom 8:29 God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him.
Rom 8:30 After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.
Rom 8:31 So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose?
3. Asking “anything in My [Jesus’] name” means closing each prayer with the words, “In the name of Jesus we ask these things.” [John 14:14; Matt 28:19] True and False
John 14:8-14
8 Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
9 Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (New International Version)
As yet the disciples were unacquainted with the Saviour's unlimited resources and power. He said to them, "Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name." John 16:24. He explained that the secret of their success would be in asking for strength and grace in His name. He would be present before the Father to make request for them. The prayer of the humble suppliant He presents as His own desire in that soul's behalf. Every sincere prayer is heard in heaven. It may not be fluently expressed; but if the heart is in it, it will ascend to the sanctuary where Jesus ministers, and He will present it to the Father without one awkward, stammering word, beautiful and fragrant with the incense of His own perfection. {Desire of Ages, 667}
But to pray in Christ's name means much. It means that we are to accept His character, manifest His spirit, and work His works. The Saviour's promise is given on condition. "If ye love Me," He says, "keep My commandments." He saves men, not in sin, but from sin; and those who love Him will show their love by obedience. {Desire of Ages, 668)
4. Casting our problems upon the Lord is the easy part—leaving them there is the hard part. [1 Pet 5:7; Matt 6:25-27] True
Nov. 21, 2007, 8:28AM
Poll: Most voters happy, but worry about stress, nation's future
By ALAN FRAM and TREVOR TOMPSON
Associated Press WASHINGTON — Julie Murray says life is good. Yet gasoline prices are crimping her grocery budget, she can't afford a larger house, and she says President Bush is not focused enough on people's problems at home.
"My husband and I are happy," said Murray, 46, a homemaker from Montpelier, Miss. "We just wish we could buy more into the American dream."
Like Murray, most in the U.S. say they are personally happy and feel in control of their lives and finances, according to an extensive Associated Press-Yahoo News survey on the mood of voters. Scrape beneath the surface, though, and a wellspring of personal and political discontent is bubbling.
At the 1988 Grammy Awards, "Don't Worry Be Happy" won 'Best Song of the Year',
Sung By Bobby Mcferin
Here's a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don't worry, be happy
In every life we have some trouble
But when you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy now
Don't worry, be happy Don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy Don't worry, be happy
Ain't got no place to lay your head
Somebody came and took your bed
Don't worry, be happy
The landlord say your rent is late
He may have to litigate
Don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy, Don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy, Don't worry, be happy
Are we contributing to our own unhappiness? What is there about the song that makes sense? That doesn’t make sense? What is there about 1 Peter 5:6,7 that adds an important component to the “Don’t worry, be happy” strategy for facing life’s really dark days?
1 Peter 5:6-7
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (New International Version)
Matt 6:25-34
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
(New International Version)
“Jesus looked upon the distressed and heart-burdened, those whose hopes were blighted, and who with earthly joys were seeking to quiet the longing of the soul, and He invited all to find rest in Him. (EGW, The Ministry of Healing, p.71)
"Ye Shall Find Rest."
Tenderly He bade the toiling people, "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Matthew 11:29. {Ministry of Healing, p.71}
In these words, Christ was speaking to every human being. Whether they know it or not, all are weary and heavy-laden. All are weighed down with burdens that only Christ can remove. The heaviest burden that we bear is the burden of sin. If we were left to bear this burden, it would crush us. But the Sinless One has taken our place. "The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6.
He has borne the burden of our guilt. He will take the load from our weary shoulders. He will give us rest. The burden of care and sorrow also He will bear. He invites us to cast all our care upon Him; for He carries us upon His heart. {E.G. White Ministry of Healing, p.71}
5. The love of God can be seen by how much pain and suffering He allows to occur. [Jn 3:16] True
It seems strange to answer such a question with “True.” What we see of the visible world baffles us. We are accustomed to seeing political conflicts end with the use of force be it military or a manipulation of some kind. Such resolve is at best temporary. The “war” which began in heaven (Rev.12:7) has challenged the very character of God’s kingdom. To resolve the issues raised about God demand an approach that reveals God in ways that are often only understood by faith. The length of time it is taking to end the controversy when One already has both authority and might to do so in an instant suggests that we may not fully understand the questions being raised.
Joh 3:16 "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.
Joh 3:17 God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. (The Message)
“The moment when the sinfulness of humankind grieved God to his heart, the moment when the Servant was despised and rejected, the moment when Job asked God why it had to be that way, came together when the Son of Man knelt, lonely and afraid, before going to face the might of the beasts that had at last come up out of the sea. The Story of Gethsemane and of the crucifixion of Jesus on Nazareth present themselves in the New Testament as the strange, dark conclusion to the story of what God does about evil, of what happens to God’s justice when it takes human flexh, when it gets its feet muddy in the garden and its hand bloody on the cross. The multiple ambiguities of God’s actions in the world come together in the story of Jesus. . . (N.T. Wright, p.74)
Concluding Thought
To what end will all of this lead?
"And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." Revelation 5:13.
The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.” (EGW, The Great Controversy, p. 678)
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