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God's Concern for the Individual

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God's Concern for the Individual

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God's Concern for the Individual

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God's love is upon all of us. He is a very personal God. We each become a work of God. How very special. Can we possible ask for anything more as a Christian.

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[Mr. Rick Beam]: …there’s David, Joseph, Peter, Paul, John, and many more that we could add. You could just keep on with a pretty good list, couldn’t you? And when you do, what’s it sound like – using names like that – Moses, and David, and Abraham, and Paul, and Peter, and John? Well, it sounds a lot like a leading lineup of God’s “Who’s Who?”

Let me ask you a question – let me ask us a question: Where are we on the list? Are we even on it? And if so, how far down at the bottom? Now, I mention this way for a reason – to make a point, because, again, we hear names like Abraham, and Moses, and David, and their exploits, and, again, if you were putting together a list of God’s “Who’s Who?,” obviously, they would be on it. But then, “where am I on it? Did I even make the list, so to speak?” And again, I mention this way – lead into this way because, I think, we realize that we’ll never be a Moses, we’ll never be a David – that magnitude. None of us will ever be a Moses. None of us will ever have God’s mighty power displayed through us in such dramatic fashion as Moses. I mean, think about just the way that God’s power was so dramatically utilized with and through Moses.

Now, there are two exceptions to that – the two witnesses. They will have tremendously dramatic power worked with them and through them. And I always find it interesting that you always… maybe I shouldn’t say it that way. I’ll just say, some of us run into, in God’s church, to those who claim to be one of the two witnesses every so often. And I just wonder how many there are. Now, it’s really sad when somebody comes forward and says, “I am the two witnesses.” Then, you know – dead give-away – you’ve got a problem, right? But with those two exceptions… and those are the ones that the age concludes with. We understand that.

But let’s just go back to God’s list of “Who’s Who?” so to speak. Since that’s basically the case – that we are not expecting to have that kind of dramatic use by God, in His hands, that kind of power – since that’s the case, are we left out somehow? Are we unnoticed of God? Or, are we somehow diminished or not of real value to Him? Are we kind of like, “Okay, I’m not on that list of magnitude and greatness and great exploits. Are we a nobody with God? Does God kind of view you and me as, “Well, They’re not a Moses, they’re not a David, they’re not a Joseph, so they’re expendable. They’re expendable.” Are we viewed as just a little pawn on the chessboard of life? In other words, does the individual – the individual – have God’s concern and attention and awareness? Will God take note of and care for and intervene for the individual? I guess another way to word is, does the individual count with God – no matter how big or how small you are, how great or how ungreat you are? Does the individual count with God, or does he get lost or obscured in the crowd? Does the individual, before God, get lost in the shuffle of the crowd – the sea of humanity?

I’ve often thought of those pictures of New York City – now this is pre-2020 – it’s not quite that way right now – but the picture I have of New York City and the streets is, the sidewalks so packed with people – just teeming with humanity. You know, you’ve seen these shots and these pictures of how crowded, and you think, “Well, boy! If somebody were to faint, they couldn’t fall because there’s such a press of the crowd around them, it wouldn’t kind of prop them up.” A sea of anonymity – kind of, look! Face, face, face, face, face, face – all these faces. And I think how that man – human beings – deal with the crowd. Humans deal with the crowd – they deal with the current that’s created by numbers – and the crowd does create a current. It creates a current that’s called peer pressure.

And you think about, and even in our nation and the way things are set up, and just the way it is with human beings, with a crowd approach, whether it’s man dealing with the majority, man dealing with popularity, man dealing with the vote… you hear in politics, “Do we have enough support to swing this? Is the vote there? Do we have enough votes?” You’ll hear that kind of talk. Because again, man measures by the numbers – by the numbers. That’s what’s involved. And by that kind of count in a manner of dealing, guess what? People become numbers in the system.

Do you know how some classes are taught in big universities? Some classes – the way they’re taught – the professor may come in… he’s got a classroom of a hundred, two hundred – might be twenty – or, let’s say it may be more than two hundred – but he comes into his classroom…. I’m just saying this is the way it is done sometimes. And it illustrates the point. He comes in, he sets a recording – of course, there are different ways to play a recording now, but in the older days, a tape player with a cassette or whatever – puts on the lectern – or has his assistant do that – and the class listens to the lecture and the professor’s not even there sometimes. He’s gone doing something else. And then, either the assistant or himself comes back and picks it up. But so many times, in the universities, it’s not individuals. It’s not names. It’s numbers. And of course, they’ve got the names for recording for grades and all of that, but it is very dehumanized.

You know, erroneously, so many times we could find ourselves likening God – either consciously or unconsciously – to the way man does it. We can kind of liken God to how man does it in His approach, manner and concern, because man does tend to do it that way. They look at numbers. They look at the crowd. And we could actually be sinning because we assume God is the same way, because we forget God is not a man. He’s not a man. He’s God!

And I find it interesting – I’m not going to turn to these two scriptures – but in Isaiah 40:18, He says, “To whom will you liken God?” We have to be careful that we don’t see fallacious ways that humans operate and automatically transpose that onto God. Because we would be missing the mark, which is the most common definition of sin. We would be misjudging God. And that would be a sin. God is not like humans. And it also says in Psalms 145:3, “Great is the LORD and His greatness” – His magnitude – “is unsearchable.”

Feast of Tabernacles – in the old days – Saint Petersburg. I have stood up there on the stage and spoken to 12,000 people at one time. The front rows, you can recognize features. And, if there is somebody that you know back so many rows, you can pick out people that you know – that you recognize – if there are some sitting there that you know. But when you move back so many rows, all the features begin to blur and blur, and it becomes, basically, a faceless crowd, so to speak. And you have risers – you know, the auditorium that we were in – people way up in the back, and you can’t even see some way back up there. But you’re looking on a sea of faces – thousands and thousands.

But you know what? Whether it’s at the Feast – like in those days, looking upon a sea of faces – or a crowd anytime, that sea of faces is made up of individuals – individuals. And, if you’re looking at a crowd of a hundred, that is one hundred individuals. If you’re looking at a crowd of one million, that is one million individuals – each needing individual attention, concern and awareness. And just like, if we all did our fingerprints – everybody in here, we did our fingerprints – thumbprints, fingerprints – and had them compared under a microscope or whatever – magnifying glass – no two will match. No two will match. And that’s amazing. Everyone is as unique as fingerprints. Our DNA – each individual DNA is unique. Each is a separate entity. And when you talking about human beings, each is a separate being – a separate independent being – self-thinking individual, specific entity, creation, being – each of value to God – tremendous value to God.

Something we need to recognize – and always recognize and bear in mind – there is a difference between God’s love and God’s appointment of authority and power, office and responsibility. There is a difference between those two.

Some people read, “Oh, well, if God gives you this particular power and responsibility, it’s because He just loves more than anybody. And that’s why He gives it to you, because He loves you more than anybody, and, if you don’t get that same amount of power, opportunity, etcetera, etcetera, you’re not loved as much. God loves Moses more than anybody else, period. Or, God loves Joseph more than anybody else, period. He loved David more than anybody else, period, and that’s why He did what He did, and gave him the magnitude of power and authority. Well, He loves them – loves them dearly – but the ones He didn’t give it to…well, He doesn’t love them at all. You’ve got to have an appointment of authority and power, office, responsibility as proof that God loves you.” No. No, you don’t. You don’t.

God only places a few in authority in His church. Again, go back to the two witnesses. There will be two men – they’re probably alive today somewhere among God’s people – and those two – whoever they are – and God knows – I have no idea. I just know there will be two deeply, deeply converted men of God. But those two will be the only two that are utilized to call fire down from heaven to put plagues on the earth as often as they will – tremendous power. But they are only two of God’s people. Does that mean that God loves them and doesn’t love the rest? There can only be two. No, it doesn’t.

God’s love is upon all of us, but there are extremely few with dramatic power. But He loves each one of us very deeply and very dearly. And each one of us does get very focused attention. Because of that love, He is a very personal God – concerned and aware. And He can be moved to action by the highest in power right down to the lowest in power.

It is an interesting thing that the stars out don’t shine with the same power and brightness. They all shine with power and brightness. But they don’t all shine with the same power and brightness. Yet God cares enough for every one to sustain them. And it is interesting in Isaiah 40:26, this statement… Isaiah 40: 26, he says:

Isaiah 40:26 – “Lift up your eyes on high and, behold, who has created these things, who brings out their host by number” – talking about the stars. “He calls them all by name by the greatness of His might” – He has them named. We can’t even count them all. He has them named! – “by the greatness of His might. For that He is strong in power, not one fails.” Not one fails. He’s concerned even for the physical creation. Yes, our individual needs, our individual situations move God. They stir God. They have an impact on Him. They have an impact on His actions with us, because of the way He feels about us. And, I think, one of the best ways that we can illustrate that is with our children.

Erma Bombeck has been dead for quite a few years now, but she was a humorist – a writer and a humorist. Erma Bombeck. She wrote this years ago, and she titled it… she just signed off on it “-A Mother,” Erma Bombeck. Let me read this to you. I said the way we can stir God and the way He can be moved to action…I said, “I think the best way to illustrate it is with our children,” and in particular, through a mother’s eyes. Now listen – and she wrote this to her children:

“Dear Firstborn, I’ve loved you best.” Now I just want you to kind of lock in that phrase. “I’ve loved you best, because you were our first miracle.  You were the genesis of a marriage” – the beginning of a marriage – “and the fulfillment of young love. You sustained us through the hamburger years, the first apartment furnished in early poverty, our first mode of transportation – 1955 Fiat – the 7-inch TV we paid on for thirty-six months. You were new and had unused grandparents and enough clothes for a set of triplets. You were the original model for a mom and dad who were trying to work the bugs out. You got the strained lamb, the open safety pins and three-hour naps. You were the beginning. I loved you best.”

“Dear Middle Child, I’ve always loved you best.” Hmmm… Wait a minute… ”I’ve loved you best,” you said to the first one? And now, you’re saying to the middle child, “I’ve always loved you best?” “I’ve always loved you best because you drew a tough spot in the family and it made you stronger for it. You cried less, had more patience, wore faded hand-me-downs, and never in your life did anything ‘first,’ but it only made you more special. You were the one we relaxed with and realized a dog could kiss you and you wouldn’t get sick. You could cross the street by yourself long before you were old enough to get married. And you helped us understand the world wouldn’t collapse if you went to bed with dirty feet. You were the child of our busy, ambitious years. Without you, we never could have survived the job changes and the tedium and routine that is marriage. I’ve always loved you best.”

“To the Baby:” And of course, anybody always knows that, if you’re the baby of the family, you’re always going to be the baby of the family. Even if you’re a guy who towers 6’6” over Mom, you’re still the baby. “To the Baby: I’ve always loved you best.” Now wait a minute. You just said that to the first two. Some of you are smiling, and I know why you’re smiling, because Angela and I have three and I understand exactly what Erma Bombeck is saying. I’ll come back to that. “I’ve always loved you best because while endings are generally sad, you are such a joy. You readily accepted the milk-stained bibs, the lower bunk, the cracked baseball bat, the baby book that had nothing written in it except a recipe for graham cracker pie crust that someone had jammed between the pages. You were the one we held on to so tightly. You’re the link with our past, the reason for tomorrow. You quicken our steps, square our shoulders, restore our vision, give us a sense of humor that security, maturity and durability can’t provide. When your hairline takes on the shape of Lake Erie, and your children tower over you, you will still be our baby. -A mother, Erma Bombeck.”

To each one – first, middle and youngest – “I’ve loved you best. I’ve always loved you best. I’ve always loved you best.” It speaks to what a mother knows and a father knows. Each child carves his or her own special place in the hearts and the minds of their parents. It’s the same with God. We each have our own special place in God’s heart and mind.

I know a lady who has four boys. She’s aged now. She has grandkids and, probably, great-grandkids. But she was asked one time, “Mary, you have four boys. Which one do you love most?” Do you know what she answered? She said, “The one that needs me.” She loves them all, but the one she will run to and help is the one that needs her. She’s happy when three don’t need her, so to speak, one does need her – that’s the one she helps. Then, when that one’s okay, and another one needs her, that one. But it’s an interesting way of putting it. “Which one do you love most?” The one that needs me. Or, in other words, the one in need. Because again, as a parent – and what is God the Father if He’s not a parent – how your heart goes out to the one in need. God is the same way! He doesn’t look and say, “Oh, that mother supersedes Me and her love for her child than My love for My children.” “That father has greater love for his children than I have for Mine.” That would be ridiculous and would not be accurate anyway. God’s the same – how His heart goes out to the one in need.

If you’d like a title, simply title the sermon “God’s Concern for the Individual.” God’s concern for the individual. Because it doesn’t matter if it’s a little flock, a huge flock, a tiny flock, barely a flock. It’s still made up – comprised – of individuals. God has a congregation that is made up of individual members – building a spiritual temple comprised of individual building blocks. And each building block is very valuable, very important to God.

I want to go to Job 14:15. Job calls attention to something here. He says in verse 15 – Job 14:15 – he says:

Job 14:15 – “You shall call and I will answer you.” He’s talking about the resurrection he knows will come. He says: “You will have” - what? You God, You will have what? “You will have a desire” You will have a desire – that’s a personal desire – “to the work of Your hands.” Job was a work of God’s hands and he knew it. And he knew that God would have a desire to resurrect that work and make it eternal, that God would be motivated for that work that had been done in Job. Job himself became a work of God. That’s what each of us become – a work of God. And just like with Job, as a work of God, God has a desire for it – wants to be with it, wants it to be with Him for eternity – the same with each of us that He’s doing that work with.

In Ephesians 2:10 – Ephesians 2:10 – “You’ll have a desire to the work of Your hands” – in Ephesians 2:10,

Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are His workmanship” – His workmanship. He is working on us. He’s working with us. It doesn’t matter the magnitude of your authority, or power, or responsibility. That has nothing to do with whether or not He will do with us, and work with us as a work, wherever we are, that He has called and put His name on. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained” – or appointed – “that we should walk in them.”

If we flip back to 2 Corinthians 5:17 – 2 Corinthians 5:17 – it says:

2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if any man be in Christ” – remember, His workmanship created in Christ Jesus? Job said, “The work of Your hands.” “Therefore, if any man” – or woman – “be in Christ, he is a new creation.” He’s a new work. There’s a new workmanship going on. “Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new.” And then, here on the same page – the way my Bible is laid out – here in chapter 6, and verse 18 – this is a quote – this is a quote of God the Father, and He had Paul to pen it.

2 Corinthians 6:18 – “‘I will be a Father” – a parent, a father – “to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

A father feels very protective of his children. A loving father feels very protective of them. God feels very protective, and very warm, and very concerned. And the wonderful and the great attributes of the true female and of the true male – the wonderful attributes of a mother and a father, those are magnified in God, because that’s where they came from. He put certain things of His makeup in the female makeup and certain things of His makeup in the male. And just like a mother with new life growing in her – and she feels so protective of that – the new life that we are during our spiritual gestation time, God feels so protective and warm and concerned.

See, when these things are realized deeply, then we don’t wonder why God would say what He did in Matthew 10:31. Matthew 10 – again, a very familiar example of God’s care for us – Matthew 10:31 – and we know the example. I’ll just read verse 31. He says:

Matthew 10:31 – “Fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows.” And I guess I should read, maybe, the first part. Verse 29:

V-29 – “Are not two sparrows sold for a” - let’s say, a penny? – “And one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father…”

What Christ is saying is, a bird does not get killed in your grill, as you’re driving down the highway… And when I was on the high plains in Texas, and was cruising at 90 – when I had a 400-mile circuit on the Sabbath – birds had to learn to judge my speed was different than some of the other speeds of the other vehicles going by. When a bird flies into your grill and dies, there’s no loss to humanity per se. There’s nothing that changes the nature of the world, but a bird does not die, a tree does not fall without God being aware of the happening. That’s how tuned in He is to this planet. That’s hard for some people to grasp. But He’s created stars, and maintains them, in an immense universe that is so huge, we can’t even begin… it blows your mind to see the comparisons, and even the reaches of the universe and the things.

But again, it says in Isaiah, “His greatness cannot be searched.” And Christ is pointing out, “Look, He is so attuned to what’s going on that even a little sparrow, which is not really worth anything per se – maybe on a monetary basis, a penny or so – but He’s aware of even the death of a sparrow. That’s how tuned in He is!” And then He tells them, “Why do you fear? You are of more value than many sparrows!”

And then, the admonishment – Peter – in 1 Peter 5… I like to think of the context of Peter, who had gone through so much. We don’t know… we don’t have a record, fully, of what Peter went through from the time of Pentecost to his martyrdom. We know some of it, because it’s recorded in Acts. But there’s a big, huge segment of time and events that we have no historical record. But Peter, with what all and whatever it was he went through, as he was approaching the time when he knew his life was about to be terminated in martyrdom – a martyrdom death – he says in 1 Peter 5:7… Now, you could tell me what he says here. I mean, you could say the same thing to me, and I would believe you, because I know it’s true. But I want you to think about the authority of the credibility that Peter had in saying it. He says:

1 Peter 5:7 – “…casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” You see your child hurting, you know they’re hurting – you know your child, you can tell by the look on their face – they’re hurting – something is really bothering them. And you’re thinking, “I hope they didn’t notice that I was looking at them, because they’ll then know that I know that they’re hurting, and I don’t want to be bothered with them. Maybe I’ll just ignore it and they’ll quit hurting.” What kind of parent would you be? If you’re child’s hurting, you’re hurting. And what you want to know is, “What’s wrong? What’s wrong, son? What’s wrong, dear? Do you want to talk about it? What’s happened?” Your kid can come in from school, and you can look at their face, and you know if they’ve had a good day or a bad day. You know if something has happened or not. You’re a good parent.

And God isn’t a good parent? God doesn’t know and notice and is concerned? And Peter says, “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” You go to God. You just talk with God. Call it prayer, call it… you put what name on it you want. Because some people think that prayer is just a certain position at a certain time and a certain place. Well, there are certain criteria that is nice to meet. As one man said, “I prayed the most effective prayer I’ve ever prayed when I was hanging upside down in a well, hung by the rope, and hoping it didn’t break and I could get out.” Of course, in a case like that, a person wouldn’t say, “Well, God I’ll pray to you once I get out and can go to a prayer closet.” “Help!”

No, God cares. When we hurt, He hurts. And you know, we speak of God – the Father and Jesus Christ – we speak of Him as being the great Shepherd. We talk about Christ as the great Shepherd, and He is the great Shepherd. And He calls Himself that. But in a true, bonafide sheepfold – the way that it really should be and the way that a real, bonafide, authentic one is set up, when the sheep are gathered in, and they’re being put in for the night – or just being corralled for the time being, for whatever reason – when that is happening, the entrance to the sheepfold is narrow, so that the sheep can only come in one by one single file. And the shepherd stands up on the right rails – the correct rails – for the height – where the sheep can come between his knees and go in. Now it can be done another way – standing on the side – but he’s in a position where he can check the body, the wool. He can look for cuts, for abrasions, for problems. He checks each sheep individually. And the flock that he has – be it 5, 50, whatever the number – each one gets careful, loving, personal scrutiny for the sheep’s welfare.

That’s not the way of this world. This world is the way of the crowd. And too many times, the individual has been lost in insignificance. But the individual can count with God and move Him when the crowd can’t.

James – right here close by – James 5 – the individual can count with God and move Him when the crowd can’t. Notice verse 16 – James 5:16,

James 5:16 – “Confess your faults” – your problems, your troubles – “one to another. Pray one for another that you may be healed.” Now notice this statement: “The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man” – or a righteous woman – effectual, fervent of a righteous man or woman, a righteous person – “avails much.”

God wants to deal with us on a personal individual basis, as well as a congregational basis. Here we are. We’re a congregation. We’re the congregation of God in Rome. And we could have 30 people here, we could have 50 people here. We’re a congregation. And God can – and He does – things for us as a congregation – like this hall. He’s blessed us with this hall, because the congregation needed a hall – needed a place to meet. Yet, within that blessing, each one of us, as members of the congregation, also are blessed, because each of, as individuals, are able to be here with the congregation in this hall. Now, we won’t meet in this hall again until next Sabbath, will we? And we’ve got this evening, and tomorrow, and the days in between till the next Sabbath. And we will scatter. But we’ve got individual needs. We’ve got individual needs today. But we’ve got individual needs, we’ve got individual situations we will deal with, and God focuses on us as far as certain congregational needs – yes – but He with very focused attention focuses on us as individuals with the needs we have. And He wants to deal with us on a personal individual basis, as well as a congregational basis.

In Matthew 6 – and I believe it is verse 6 – Matthew 6:6,

Matthew 6:6 – “But you, when you pray” – and He’s speaking to the individual individually, as He teaches His disciples here – “when you pray, enter into your closet” – it’s you. You go to a private place. It’s doesn’t literally have to be a closet. It could be a room. It could be the basement. It could be out in the woods by yourself alone. Christ went up on a mountain here and there – went to a solitary place – a desert place – to be alone and pray. The point being individual and private. Of course, we’re not talking about opening and closing prayers at services. We’re not talking about asking God’s blessing on the food – giving thanks for it. We’re not talking about prayers like that. We’re talking about individual, private prayer that Christ is admonishing. But the point being, it’s individual. It’s private. It’s individual. It’s individual connection between you and God. “And when you shut the door, pray to your Father, which is in secret, and your Father which sees in secret shall reward you openly.” But you’re praying privately. It’s on an individual basis and there are some things you could say about yourself to God privately that you might not want to say about yourself to God in a crowd.

And then notice John 16:26-27 – Jesus said:

John 16:26-27 – “At that day, You shall ask in My name, and I say not to you that I will pray the Father for you…” - He’s saying, “Look, it’s not that I have to say to the Father, ‘Father, would you please pay attention to his prayer? He’s got a request. He’s praying to You, and Father, would You have a warm enough heart – and soft enough heart – that You will listen to him?” Now, we go to the Father through Christ. We understand that. We’re cleansed in Him – under His covering – but we go to the Father through Christ. That’s plain. We understand that. But we pray to the Father, and the Father, who loves us – because we come to Him through Christ – He’s able to truly, fully exercise His warm heart and listen to us. “I say not to you that I will pray the Father for you, for the Father Himself loves you.” You know, I watch the sun rising into the sky – and it’s not rising; the earth is spinning, but it’s the way we look – and I think, “The sun is rising in the sky. The movement of the earth makes it look like it’s rising. But this power that, from my view, is the sun rising – traveling through the zenith of the sky and setting… which I love the sunshine. I love those blue skies. I love the growing things. All of that is powered by the power of God that has created that and maintains it. And that Being – and He’s done it through Christ, the Word, who became Christ later – that Being – Christ says, “That Being loves me.” And He loves me enough to correct me when I need correcting, because He wants me to be in eternity with Him. He wants us in eternity. “Because the Father Himself loves you because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came out from God.” He loves you. That’s a wonderful statement. God and Christ could be – and can be – stirred by the individual.

Notice in John 11 – and we go to what is the shortest verse in the Bible – at the tomb of Lazarus, and the crowd that is there. And it says in verse 35 – John 11:35,

John 11:35 – “Jesus wept.”  

I guess Christ looked around, and He probably was thinking, “You know, I need to put on a little bit of an act here. I’m supposed to be feeling for others. I’m supposed to have this love and concern and feelings. I guess I better do a little crying or something.” Not that you’ve got to cry to show that you love. I don’t mean it that way. But it says, “Jesus wept.” And it wasn’t an act. I want you to think about something. Jesus standing there…who was standing there? God was standing there. Now, it was God, the Son, who was no longer composed of spirit – not for the time being – He was composed of flesh – flesh and blood – flesh, blood and bone – for the time being. But He was still God! Still the same Being – just of a different composition for a time. And He cries. He’s moved. Why? Verse 33:

V-33 – “When Jesus, therefore, saw her weeping” – Mary (“If you had been here, my brother would not have died.”) – Mary was crying, Martha was crying, the others were crying. “When Jesus, therefore, saw her weeping” – she was hurting, they were hurting – “and the Jews also weeping which came with her, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled” – or, as it can be rendered, “He groaned in the spirit and He troubled Himself.” He was bothered, just like when your child cries out in pain, you are moving. You’re getting to them as fast as you can. If I hadn’t had three kids, I might have lived to be 120, I don’t know. But my life has been shortened. When your kids cry out, you are moving. You are moved. Jesus wept because He felt.

And I love this verse in Isaiah 66:2. He talks about, in verse 1, the heavens and the earth, and then He says in verse 2:

Isaiah 66:2 – “For all those things has My hand made, and all those things exist, says the LORD. But to this” – and man, here, is in italics, which means it is not in the original – “but to this” (and it would be best to put in person) – “to this person will I look, even to him” – or her – “that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at My word.” To this person, I will look.

Luke writes of a widow of Sidon – in Luke 4:26 – I’m not going there. But he writes of a widow of Sidon. And I want to go to that in 1 Kings 17 – to that account – 1 Kings 17 – to the widow of Sidon – very important point that I want to bring out here that’s right in the account. There’s more that can be brought out than I’m going to address necessarily, but in 1 Kings 17, beginning in verse 8 – verses 8 through 16:

1 Kings 17:8-16 – “And the word of Lord came to him” – to Elijah – “saying, ‘Get up and get to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there.’” - Uh, listen, look, - “‘behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain you.’ So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, ‘Fetch me, I pray you, a little water in a vessel that I may drink.’ And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her and said, ‘Bring me, I pray you, a morsel of bread in your hand.’ And she said, ‘As the LORD your God lives, I have not a cake, but simply a handful of meal in a barrel” – that’s all – “and a little oil and a cruse. And look, I’m gathering two sticks that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat.’” – it was so little that two sticks was going to be enough to generate enough fire to cook what little it was. “And Elijah said to her, ‘Don’t fear. Go and do as you have said, but make me thereof a little cake first.’” And she could have been thinking, “I’ve got real con-man here. Mhm, sure. There won’t be any left for us.” And she’s mentioned in the account in Luke – her faith. “‘…a little cake first. Bring it to me, and after, make for you and your son. For thus says the LORD God of Israel, “The barrel of meal shall not waste” – it won’t run out – “neither will the cruse of oil fail until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth”’” – and that’s going to be a long time yet. “And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah, And she and he and her house did eat many days And the barrel of meal wasted not” – didn’t run out – “neither did the cruse of oil fail” – there was always oil in it, there was always meal – “according to the word of the LORD, which He spoke by Elijah.”

Isn’t it wonderful how God’s prophet – who’s on God’s list of “Who’s Who?” – Elijah… remember in the transfiguration – in the vision – in Matthew 17 – the vision. Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ in vision. So Elijah’s on that big list. Isn’t wonderful how God took care of him for a while? Well, guess what? Who else did He take care of? The widow. See, the oil and the meal that took care of Elijah, also took care of the widow. She also, like Elijah, was a person of faith.

It’s interesting. That example shows not just God’s concern for Elijah, but it shows God’s concern for the widow – concern for the little no-name nobodies. James 1:27 – think about this:

James 1:27 – “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this:” It lists two things. The first thing it lists is: “to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction…” Would God tell us to have pure religion, and the pure religion involves visiting the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and He’s not got a heart for the fatherless and not got a heart for the widows? He had a heart for that little widow of Sidon. He provided for Elijah in a way that He provided for her too. There are scriptures in the Bible, like Zechariah 7:9-10. I’m not going to turn there, but Zechariah 7:9-10, about not oppressing what the world considers the little nobodies – the widows, the poor, the others. When we think about a little nobody – no one to fight for a little nobody. Right…. No, wrong – just God. Abraham said, “Don’t get upset with me. I’ll just ask one more question. If there are 10 righteous people in Sodom, will You still destroy it? Will You spare it?” And God said – and I want you to think about it in the context of Sodom and Gomorrah – the two smaller sister cities – that were just filled with corruption that God was literally going to burn them out. He said, “No, if there are 10” – just 10 individuals that could be considered righteous, He said, “I won’t destroy it.” God takes note of all inhabitants. And when God looks at a crowd, He doesn’t see a crowd. He knows it’s a crowd, but when God looks at a crowd, He sees individuals.

Notice Psalms 33 – Psalms 33:13-15. This is the age of the firstfruits. This is the age when God is carrying a relationship with a very few. But that carrying of a relationship with a very few does not exclude God from being aware of everyone. David wrote – verses 13 through 15, chapter 33:

Psalms 33:13-15 – “The LORD looks from heaven. He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His habitation, He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashions their hearts alike. He considers all their works.”

Job said this, in Job 34:21, Job 34:21-

Job 34:21 – “For His eyes” – here in the book of Job, Elihu says – “for His eyes are upon the ways of man” – His eyes are upon the ways of man – “and He sees all his doings.”

And then Hebrews 4:13, Hebrews 4:13-

Hebrews 4:13 – “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest” – open, obvious – “in His sight, but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

See, when we see… I’ll just tie it to me. When I see a face in the crowd of humanity, and I don’t know them – which the few people that I know on this planet is such a miniscule fraction of the roughly 7.7 billion – which is 7,700 million people on earth – when I see a face in the crowd of humanity, it’s just a face. It’s not a personality. But to God, it’s a personality. He knows everything regarding the person.

Let me ask you this question. Have you ever stopped to think, “How does God know when it’s best to call someone – whether to call them now, or wait till a future time – if He doesn’t keep up with them?” He knows every inhabitant. He doesn’t carry a relationship with everyone right now – no – but He’s aware of them. He knows them. They’re not just a face in the crowd. And because of God’s nature, because of the way that He is, because of the way that He is motivated, because He is God, the individual can move Him. He can have an impact on Him – can stir Him to action.

A couple of verses in closing: One is 1 Peter 3:12:

1 Peter 3:12 – “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous”you want to know, in regards to you and God, where His eyes are pointed? They’re pointed at you, just like our eyes are upon those we love. “…and His ears are open to their prayers.”

Hebrews 4 – final verse – Hebrews 4:15-16. Hebrews 4:15-16,

Hebrews 4:15-16 – “For we have not a High Priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet” – the difference being, of course – “without sin. The One who sits at the right hand of God right now has full identity with you and me – with our tiredness, with our weariness, with our flesh when it’s torn. He knows what it’s like to be human and to have to deal with human issues. It’s just that He was able to do it without sin. And with what He went through – the pain and the suffering, the aches, the heartaches, the headaches – He identifies. “Let us, therefore”Paul says here – “let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” – in time of need.

The individual can count with God even though the crowd, per se, doesn’t. And that kind of realization can have a tremendous impact in our lives, if we really see what I’m talking about. It has a tremendous impact on our relationship with God. And it’s extremely encouraging and it’s extremely heartening, and it’s extremely uplifting.