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THE CHARACTER-OF-GOD PRINCIPLE:
As we know our God, we shall be strong and do great things. [Dan. 11:32]

THE CHARACTER-OF-GOD PRINCIPLE

As we know our God, we shall be strong and do great things. [Dan. 11:32]

Seeing the Lord transforms a man's life. To see God in all of His holiness helps us to see ourselves for what we really are.

The Common Experience

• ISAIAH - In Isaiah's day at the time of the death of King Azariah (Uzziah) , the prophet had a revelation of the holiness of God. He saw what God was really like. At that time he exclaimed, "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." (Isa. 6:5) His primary concern was his mouth and what came out of it. The mouth is the great revealer as to what is going on in the heart.

• JOB- Job had been through tremendous losses even though he was a man of integrity. Finally he encounters God Himself. God spoke to him and told him , "Just trust me. When he hears God speak, this is the way he responds. "Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." (Job. 42:6) Perhaps Job was repenting for the attitudes he felt during his time of trial.

• PETER - On one occasion Peter, the expert fisherman, had fished all night and caught nothing. Then Jesus told him and his partners to put their nets on the other side and when they were obedient they filled their nets and boats. This incident led Peter to declare, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" (Luke 5:8)

• JOHN, THE APOSTLE - John the Apostle had been banished to the island called Patmos. In that solitary place he had a marvelous vision of the Lord and of the future. His testified of this experience, "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead." (Rev 1:17)

When each of these saw the Lord, and His holiness, he recognized his own sin and inadequacy.

Is this emphasis upon abhorring ourselves damaging to our "self esteem"?

What is the difference between the right way and the wrong way of abhorring ourselves?

The Common Result

The Lord wants us to see ourselves in the light of his glorious character, so that we might see what he can do in and for us.

Each was transformed by this encounter to become all that he could be. Isaiah's mouth was purged so that he could become God's messenger. Job entered into a new season of blessing in his life, where he was able to receive abundantly from the Lord. Peter became a fisherman, not of fish, but of men. John was able to see God's plan for the world and to communicate it to the church.

Our great desire should be to really see the Lord, then we will be changed.

How would those struggling with the issues of your group be changed by really seeing the Lord?

Remember:

When we see the Lord, we will be changed.