THE LORD LOOKING

J.Renton

John 1: 40-42; Mark 10: 20-27; Luke 22: 60-62

I would like first of all to give each one here some idea of God's purpose in the preaching. For nearly twenty centuries there has been the preaching of the word of God; it began at Pentecost with Peter nearly two thousand years ago and has gone on ever since. What is God's purpose in the preaching? What is God's purpose for us here as gathered? God has in mind to make us happy, satisfied, to give us a knowledge of Himself, to have us in communion and intimacy with Him, to be conscious of being loved by Him and to respond to His love. God has the very best in mind for each one of us. He would have us brought into His kingdom, forming part of His house where He dwells. He would have us satisfied individually and linked on with other satisfied persons serving Him. God proposes in the gospel that we should be committed to His will. God can do far better for us than we can do for ourselves. God's catering for our happiness is far beyond any catering we can do for our happiness. God has the very best in mind; the very best that God's heart could devise in His love and power and wisdom is available to us in the glad tidings now; even to form part of the first of all the families, the nearest to God eternally of all the families. This is some idea of what God has in mind in the preaching of the gospel.

The gospel is preached to sinners who are far from Him, but God has made provision for that matter to be settled immediately. The matter of your sins, of your guilt, stands in the way, but God does not begin by telling us we are sinners. When the Lord approached that woman at the well of Sychar He did not begin by asking for her husband; He did not begin by reminding her of what a sinner she was; He says "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that says to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water", John 4: 10. He secured her interest in the divine blessings that God has in mind, and when she asked for the living water, then He says "Go, call thy husband, and come here". The first thing He did was not to raise the moral question; the first thing He did was to attract her by the greatness of what God had in mind for her, and then He raised the moral question, and it is easily solved when we are attracted by the great blessings that God has in mind for us. We are sinners; it is a step in the right direction when we realise that we are lost, guilty, hell-deserving sinners; that is the first and most important step towards coming into the bounty and blessings that God has in mind for us. When we own our true state before God in repentance He points us to the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, and His finished work with which God has been so satisfied that for two thousand years He has been offering forgiveness to every repentant sinner no matter what a sinner he has been. Murder is one of the grossest sins we could think of, but persons who have committed murder have been converted, have been forgiven, have been justified as if they had never sinned. That is the gospel, that is what God has in mind for the guiltiest of sinners. What a wonderful message the preacher has to present! What wonderful blessings God has in mind for us! He would have us secured for His will and His pleasure. Just think of the blessedness of being here for God's pleasure, of being conscious of being here for God's pleasure; that is not beyond anyone here, that is what God proposes in the glad tidings.

It has cost much; it has not been without infinite cost to our Lord Jesus Christ; He undertook the work, the suffering, being forsaken of God, entering into death itself, pouring out His precious blood, going into the grave. Think of what that cost the Lord Jesus! It has not been without infinite cost that such glad tidings should be proclaimed, that God should make such blessed proposals in the gospel; it has not been without tremendous cost. To make light of what has cost God so much is an insult to God. When the message went out in the parable to persons invited when the king made a feast, it says "they made light of it" (Matt 22: 5); think of making light of what has cost so much; how offensive to God to make light of, not to regard seriously, what God is saying in the glad tidings. I am endeavouring to give some impression of what God has in mind to secure through the preaching of the gospel - to set us up for His will and to give us the Spirit to fulfil His will. God wants us for His will, and He gives us His Spirit that we might fulfil His will; not only fulfil His will under obligation but loving to do His will, to delight in the will of God; that is what God proposes to give us, a heart like that, to give us desires like that. God intends to reach our hearts by means of the glad tidings, not only our minds. He will reason, if reason is necessary, because the most reasonable proposition in this world is what is proposed in the glad tidings; "Come now, let us reason together, saith Jehovah", Isa 1: 18. Paul entered the synagogue at Thessalonica and reasoned with persons (see Acts 17: 2). There is nothing more reasonable than God's proposals in the glad tidings. I wonder if we are all sufficiently interested in God's proposals.

I have read these scriptures which speak of the Lord looking, looking on persons; that is the Lord's attitude tonight. As we are met here let us be conscious that we are under the Lord's look; He is looking upon each one of us. There is something about a gospel preaching, where God is speaking and the Spirit is active, that would give us to be conscious of the Lord not only looking upon us but looking into our hearts. He knows the very secrets of our motives and our thoughts; the Lord is looking upon each one of us now. We began with Peter. It says "Jesus looking at him": that was a look of interest, of special interest in Peter. The Lord would look with a look of interest on each person here. He is interested in you. He looked at Peter as a potential for God's pleasure and for God's service, because it says "Jesus looking at him said, Thou art Simon, the son of Jonas; thou shalt be called Cephas (which interpreted is stone)". There is no indication of Peter being committed here, of Peter saying anything, he is just under the Lord's interested gaze as a likely person, as potential for what God has in mind. 'Stone' would refer not only to what is individual, for Peter himself speaks later about being built up a spiritual house to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ (see 1 Pet 2: 5). This is what the Lord had in mind, and what He has in mind for every one of us here, consciously to form part of His house, His dwelling place where He is known and served. The Lord looked with intense interest at Peter - the note indicates 'looking carefully'. The Lord looked carefully at Peter with intense interest as He would look with intense interest on each one here as potential for what He has in mind in regard to God's house, God's will, God's pleasure, God's service. Peter makes no response here although he must have been conscious of being under the Lord's interested gaze. We would have to go elsewhere to find any response on the part of Peter. In Luke 5 the Lord went into the synagogue, I suppose the local synagogue, and Peter was apparently unaffected, and then He went into Peter's house where his mother-in-law lay in a fever; the Lord healed her and still Peter does not seem to be affected; but when the Lord came nearer still and into his boat, as near as He could to him, Peter was affected; he said "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord" (v 5). He owned he was a sinner and became a follower of the Lord Jesus; he began to answer to the Lord's looking on him interestedly as potential. The Lord would view each one here as potential in view of being for God's will and pleasure and having part in His service, and being part of His house. Men do not make stones, it is God's work; it is a question of what God is doing. Peter became a follower of the Lord Jesus, he became a learner in view of filling his part in the spiritual house of which Peter himself tells us later in his first epistle. He speaks of the "living stone", Christ, and of "living stones", believers, being built up into a spiritual house. That is God's mind for us in the glad tidings. I would like each one of us to be conscious of the Lord looking on us, looking at you, dear friend, looking at me, in view of potential, for all that God has in mind.

In the gospel of Mark we find the Lord looking on a man who is self-righteous. He seemed interested; he asked: "what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" (v 17). He was outwardly upright but had his own ideas. It says: "Jesus looking upon him loved him". This was a look not only of interest but a look of love. I would say to each one here that not only is the Lord looking upon you with interest but He is looking upon you with affection. "Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, One thing lackest thou". There was one thing which prevented this man from coming into the blessing of serving God, of having part in a spiritual house to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Think of the blessedness of having part in response that is acceptable to God! One thing hindered this man: "One thing lackest thou". How very solemn if this man was not blessed because of one thing! Would one thing hinder anyone here I wonder? If there is one thing, friend, the Lord knows what it is, and you would know what it is; the preacher would not know but you would know. Is there one thing preventing you from coming into the fulness of what God has in mind for you? "Jesus looking upon him loved him"; this man turned away from that look of love: how solemn! Divine love was towards that man, divine appeal was there: "looking upon him loved him", and he turned away from it. He went away sorrowful. He might have followed Jesus joyfully. Many in the gospels glorified God, "But he, sad at the word, went away grieved", because he did not face the one thing that the Lord knew about and that he knew about. How solemn that one thing hindered this man! Then "Jesus looking around says to his disciples, How difficultly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!" With this man there was this one thing; would there be any other things that hindered others? Dear friend, the one thing that hinders you might not be the one thing that hinders me, or the one thing that hinders anybody else. The one thing might be peculiar to you as it was with this man here: "One thing lackest thou"; but "Jesus looking around says to his disciples"; would another thing hinder another one? Then He says "Children, how difficult it is that those who trust in riches"; how difficult it is for persons who trust in anything else but the Lord Jesus, who trust in any other one but God. How difficult it is! But how simple, how blessed, to trust in God! "Blessed are all who have their trust in him", Ps 2: 12. That psalm says "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way". That refers to the world to come, when the nations will come and own allegiance to the Son, but the psalm ends; "Blessed are all who have their trust in him". That applies now, all who have their trust in the Lord Jesus, the One who will publicly reign, the One to whom all the nations will own their allegiance; they will have to, it will be compulsory, but now there is the appeal of love: "Jesus looking on him loved him". Jesus is looking on you, dear friend, loves you, that one thing may not hinder you, that you may trust in Him and come into the fulness of the blessing of the glad tidings. It says "they were exceedingly astonished, saying to one another, And who can be saved? But Jesus looking on them says, With men it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God". That one thing may be impossible as far as you are concerned; that one thing may be so part of you that it appears impossible, but it is not impossible with God; it is not impossible with His help; it is not impossible with the grace of the Lord Jesus; it is not impossible with the power of the Holy Spirit, "for all things are possible with God". It says "Jesus looking on them says". He would look on us, this company here, and He would say it is not impossible. It might seem insurmountable, dear friend, to you, but it is not with God; there is power with Him, there is grace with Him. Remember He is looking upon you, loving you in view of His appeal having effect, and that you might be committed to Him as these disciples were.

In Mark 11 the Lord looked round on all things: "he entered into Jerusalem and into the temple; and having looked round on all things" (v 11). The Lord is taking account of all that is going on, especially in Christendom, the Lord is looking and surveying all; this is a look of scrutiny; nothing escapes His scrutiny. There is a look of interest in Peter in John 1; there is a look of affection for this man in Mark 10; there is also this scrutiny, you cannot keep anything from Him.

Then in the scripture in Luke the Lord, turning round, looked at Peter. He had been a follower who really loved the Lord Jesus but he got himself into a difficult situation which he was not able for, into company that he was not able for; he was warming himself at the fire where the soldiers were; he was among them and he sinned, he denied the. Lord. "Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he was yet speaking, the cock crew. And the Lord, turning round, looked at Peter". The Lord is able to make things coincide. There was Peter active in this departure from the Lord, and there was a cock crowing and the Lord looked at him at the same time. He is able to make circumstances coincide in order that there may be a result for Him. It says 'the Lord', that was Peter's Lord, the One whom the believer owns as Lord. Very often the gospel writers record what Jesus did but here the Lord is spoken of: "And the Lord, turning round, looked at Peter". I wonder what kind of look that was? It would certainly be a look of interest; it would certainly be a look of affection sufficient to be a rebuke. Peter remembered the word of the Lord; He was deeply affected. It may be that the Lord is looking at some one here. "The Lord turning round", it says, "looked at Peter". There certainly was love there because the Lord had previously prayed for him, the Lord knew what was going to happen. "The Lord said Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to have you, to sift you as wheat" - that was the whole company - "but I have besought for thee that thy faith fail not" (vv 31,32). Simon Peter who was about to fail was the subject of the intercession, the personal intercession of the Lord Himself. Dear fellow believer, you are the subject of the personal intercession of the Lord Jesus; He is Priest on high and He is Patron or Advocate, taking account of you. He knew beforehand what Peter was going to do; Peter did not believe it in his thinking of self. He failed miserably, but "the Lord, turning round looked at Peter". What that look conveyed to Peter! The poetess speaks of the look that melted Peter; it melted him; the cock crowing and the Lord's look coincided just at the very moment of Peter's greatest need. The Lord is perhaps looking at some one here who has departed; we can all depart but the Lord never takes His eye off us. He looked at Peter; again the word means looked carefully; He looked intently, purposefully, interestedly and affectionately; "and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he said to him, Before the cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice”. The cock crowing was circumstantial, but the Lord's look was not circumstantial, it was direct and purposeful, and there was a result. It says "And Peter; going forth without, wept bitterly". He had failed the Lord, and we have all failed the Lord at some time, but the Lord has not failed us and never will fail us. Each believer is the subject of the personal intercession of the Lord Jesus; He will never fail us even if we have failed Him, but He would look carefully, even now, that we might be recovered, that we might repent. The Lord is looking in order that there may be repentance, a change of mind, a change of heart, that He may have His full place with us, and that the potential that the Lord saw in Peter in John 1 might be fully realised in each one of us. It was fully realised with Peter for He served in the power of the Holy Spirit for God's will and pleasure. Peter was recovered and speaks later of a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, of which he was part and he encourages others to come into it. I trust each one of us will be encouraged to come into the fulness of what God has in mind. I would like to be assured that no one here misses. what God has in mind. It is my responsibility at least to endeavour to give some impression of what .God has in mind for each of us. May each one answer to it for His Name's sake.

 

CHRISTCHURCH NZ

27 May 1984