I See You | Jessamy Kinghorn

This week Jessamy tells how the incomparable God knows each person by name. Isaiah Ch 40

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Good morning! I want to start this morning by showing you a picture and giving you a little activity. So here's the picture. Now where's Wally? On the screen is a picture of a traditional Where's Wally puzzle. Somewhere in that image is a character called Wally, and several of his friends are there too. Who can find him first? He's difficult to spot when there's so much else going on. The word God has put on my heart for this morning is I see you. God doesn't have to go cross-eyed looking, zoom in, or systematically search for ages. He doesn't muddle us up with another character in the story. He sees us right where and as we are, no matter what's going on around us. And I believe that God is preparing to move in this nation and is looking for a people who are ready to partner with him. The enemy wants to chain us up and hold us back. And one of the greatest ways he does that is by attacking our identity and making us doubt whether we are truly seen, known, and loved by God. Playing into our insecurities and doubts. And if that's you, God wants to set you free this morning. God has many names in the Bible. Each tells us a bit more about his character. One of those names is El Ri, the God who sees me. We find this name in the story of Hagar. The backstory is that God had promised Abraham and Sarah a son, but they were both very old. And as the years passed and Sarah remained childless, they decided to take matters into their own hands. They tried to fulfill God's promise their own way. That usually doesn't work out so well for us. And it didn't hear either. Sarah gave her servant Hagar to Abraham so that Hagar could bear a child on Sarah's behalf. Hagar conceived, but things quickly unraveled. Tensions grew between the two women. Hagar began to look upon Sarah with contempt. And Sarah responded by treating Hagar so harshly that she fled into the wilderness. Hagar found herself pregnant, vulnerable, utterly alone, and convinced that no one was looking for her. Then God met her. At the end of their encounter in Genesis 16, verses 13 to 14, we read, She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her. That is why the well was called Beer La Hairoi, well of the living one who sees me. From being alone, helpless, and in despair, Hagar felt fully and completely seen and understood. I see you. That's what God showed Hagar, and that's what he wants to show us today. So to unpack this some more, I want to look at the three individual components: I, see, you. So starting zoomed out, the I, it would be completely impossible to do this justice in the time we have. So I'm gonna focus on some of the verses in just one chapter of the Bible in Isaiah 40. So starting at verse 12. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord, or instruct the Lord as his counsellor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him? And who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding? Jumping down to verse 21. Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. Verse 25. Or who is my equal, says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. When we encounter something new, we like a reference point. Especially for things that are big or difficult to understand. We've just read about the heavens. Who watched the eclipse the other week? I did. Here's a picture of me standing in front of the moon, which is standing in front of the sun. You can't see the moon very well, but it is there. Now, if the sun were this beach ball, and this is a giant beach ball, not a normal beach bull, our whole planet would be about the size of this little bead. And the moon would be this tiny peppercorn. In fact, it would actually be a bit smaller. A new hospital ship is being built by the charity Mercy Ships to provide free healthcare for people in Africa. I've seen photos, but I've not been to either of the existing ships. So I need a reference point to understand its scale. It's roughly the size of four premiership football pictures. I've been to premiership matches, so I can picture that. It has 12 decks, the height of eight and a half double decker buses. It has 191 beds, which is similar to when St. Auburn City was first built, or a third the size of the uh LD hospital. Suddenly, instead of a two-dimensional picture, I'm walking through corridors and wards in my mind, opening doors into operating theaters, and getting a feel for the size and scale of the ship because I have something to compare it to. But the Bible says, with whom will you compare God? To what image will you liken him? God is incomparable. We don't have a reference point. He is unlimited. He is the beginning and the end. He is the first and the last. Nothing comes close. In Ephesians 1.21, we read, He is far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come. Our God is a great big God, doesn't even begin to cut it. He isn't bigger, he isn't X times bigger, He isn't just X to the power of N bigger. He is infinite. He is immeasurable. He is beyond scale. And when we come to our Heavenly Father, we aren't approaching some supersized human being in the sky. We are coming before the infinite God, the one who was before all things, who created all things and holds all things together. And it's this God who sees you and me. So hold on to that thought while we think about what it means to be seen. If we go back to Hagar's description of Elroy, Roy comes from the Hebrew verb Ra, which means to see, to notice, to perceive, to inspect, to experience, and sometimes to provide. So Jehovah, as uh so Jira, as in Jehovah Jirah, God who provides, comes from the same root word. But if I was to say to you, I see you, I'd probably mean I can visually see you, I've noticed you. Like I was playing a game hide and seek. Oh, I see you. But that's all I would mean. But the Hebrew word means so much more. In the Hebrew, seeing often leads to action. And the Bible repeatedly uses see in this way. So when God spoke to Moses in the burning bush in Exodus 3:7, he says, I have seen the misery of my people. It's the same word, see. And verse 8 continues, so I have come down to rescue them. Seeing is covenant language, it isn't surveillance, he doesn't merely observe, he turns towards. And when Hagar declared God to be El Rui, she was saying, God turned his attention towards me. Unending, incomparable God notices, understands, attends, and responds to you. This isn't a catching sight of, it's a deep attention to and knowledge of you that started long before you were born. In workplaces, it can feel like the more removed you are from the top, the more invisible you are, the less influence you have, the less you're seen. And before I moved to Harpenden, I worked for an NHS trust and I reported to the chief executive. I could easily get time with him, I could have his attention, I could ask him questions, I could get to know him and understand how he worked. In fact, it got to the point where I could write articles and speeches in his name and no one could tell whether he had written them or I had. When things get bigger, often we get smaller and less significant. In an aeroplane, the higher you fly, the smaller things look on the earth. And it can feel like that in churches as well. But Jesus flips son of God, hangs out with people who've been disregarded by society. He eats with tax collectors, he touches lepers, he stops for beggars, he welcomes children, he talks to people others avoid, and he notices the people everybody else walks past. He shows that no matter how big God is, we are completely visible to him. And the more we understand how majestic and powerful God is, the more that should blow our minds. As David says, What is man that you are mindful of him? So what does God see? Hagar called him the God who sees me. El Rory is personal. And sometimes when we hear people say that God knows us, it can feel a bit generic, or it can feel like we're hearing somebody else's story. This morning, God wants to make it personal. God sees you right where you are in your loneliness, in your struggle, your pain, your anxiety, your shame, as well as your celebration and your courage and your success. So to help us, we're going to delve into everyone's favorite part of the Bible. Very excited about this: the genealogies. I used to find genealogies really boring and would skip them. Turns out books like Kings and Chronicles are a treasure trove. I recommend them. There is nothing unintentional about the Bible. 2 Timothy 3.16 says all scripture is God-breathed. So the first nine chapters of One Chronicles consist of a series of genealogies, beginning with Adam, up to the Jews who returned from Babylon after the exile. And chapter 7 is mainly a list of men and their sons. But in the middle is a single verse about a woman named Shera. Verse 24 says, His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Betharon, as well as Uz and Sheerah. That's all. Verse 25 continues, Repha with his son, Reshef his son, and so on. We know that Sheerah was a real person. This isn't a fictional story or a myth. Her name isn't preserved in legend, but in the official genealogies of Israel. And that is a surprising honour in a patriarchal culture where property usually passed through sons and family identity was traced through fathers. Official genealogies almost always followed the male line, and the names and achievements of women were seldom recorded. And Sheera isn't mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, but here in a handful of words, we find her name, her family heritage, and what she's accomplished. She lived more than 3,000 years ago, most likely between 1800 and 1500 BC. And it's really hard to imagine the position of women then. Even in the UK, women have had fully equal voting rights for over 18s for less than 100 years. And royal succession only stopped favoring sons over daughters in 2015. If Princess Anne had been born a boy, she'd be eighth in line to the throne instead of nineteenth. But Shearer's name isn't even tucked away in a side note or an appendix. It's woven into the genealogies that established who belonged to God's covenant people. In a document where almost every name is male, we stop for Sheera. Shera built three towns. We don't know whether that means she funded them, she designed them, she organized their construction, or she governed them, but she gets the credit. The Bible doesn't tell us that she was some great spiritual powerhouse, extraordinary, or a near blameless life. In fact, it tells us almost nothing else about her. What it does tell us is her name. At New Day this year, New Day is a youth festival that some of us go to. She wasn't responding to the time of ministry, she wasn't praying for others, but neither was she disconnected. She was just there, standing with her friends. There was nothing that stood out about her other than God made me stop. And God asked me to tell her that she was called and chosen, and like those two words, that her name began with a C. In fact, I had the sense that it was something like Catherine, but I knew it wasn't quite right. It was something a bit more modern than that, like Catherine, but more modern. But instead of pressing for more, I decided that I was far enough out of my comfort zone. Thank you very much, with just the first letter. So I wrote it in a notebook so that she could see that I had it. Um and I went over and asked if I could um pray with her. I asked her her name. Caitlin. With a C. I did check. Um, and it turns out Caitlin is the Irish form of Catherine. Uh so God knows us by name. God, who is incomparable and indescribable and unlimited, knows your name and sees you. When you feel unseen, he sees you. He knows everything about you. The good and the not so good. It isn't through how visible you are or what you do that you receive God's grace, but through faith in Jesus. And that thing that you feel shame about that nobody knows, God knows all about it. And still, he says, Come, still, he says, I love you no more or less today than the day you were born. If you got into heaven and stepped through the gates and someone asked, What are you doing here? What would your answer be? I don't know. I've lived a good life. I devoted myself to Jesus. If the answer starts with I, then you need to know something. It's not about you, it's all about Jesus. Jesus invited me, Jesus called me by my name. Our past is irrelevant. Jesus sees you, he knows you, he says, Come. So do you feel forgotten, overlooked, maybe worthless? Do you feel that your contribution is disregarded or someone else gets the credit? Or you weren't asked to contribute. You were the last one picked in teams at school. In fact, you weren't picked, you were left over and kind of absorbed in a team at the end. That was me. A job you'd wanted goes to someone else less qualified, and you feel unseen. God sees you, He values you, He has His attention turned towards you. Or maybe you have imposter syndrome. You don't feel qualified or deserving to do what you're doing, whether at home, in the church, in the community, or in the workplace. And in that hospital trust I worked in, um I was a non-voting member of the board. We had four hospitals, it was a big population of over half a million, and a massive building program. And I was the youngest member by a long way. And I battled with imposter syndrome daily. My office was on the exec corridor opposite the water cooler and the kitchen, which was great for keeping an eye on what was going on. And it was next to the chief nurse. And the chief nurse was a force of nature. She had transformed inpatient care, she had transformed nursing morale, quality, and patient experience. And I was just a little bit in awe of her. That someone would really be there. Do you know? I was gobsmacked when she looked me in the eye and told me she felt like that too. Folks, it's a lie. Just like Sheera, God sees you and says you are significant. Not because of what you do, but because of what he is and who he is, and that he chooses to call you his son and his daughter. God didn't have to include Shearer. She's not critical to the family tree being described or the way genealogies were described at the time. The official record could have happily ignored her, but God stopped for her. So who are today's Shearers? Well, not just women, you and me. People who faithfully build, people who create homes, raise children, care for old parents, serve quietly, volunteer, give, pray. You know, nobody applauds, but God records. So whose approval are you living for? God's or someone else's? God sees. God turns his attention towards you, and God does not forget you. And there's another short story and another list of names about a man not mentioned anywhere else. So perhaps you feel more like Jabez, unheard, misunderstood, or carrying pain you feel no one else sees. 1 Chronicles 4, verses 9 to 10, we read, There was a man named Jabez who was more honourable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful. He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory. Please be with me in all that I do and keep me from all trouble and pain. And God Granted him his request. Jabez cried out to God, asking for favor, success, and protection, and God answered his prayer. Again, we know very little about Jabez, yet God stops the genealogy again. Jabez's mother named him Payne. Rather than look to her child's future, she names him out of her current suffering. Imagine having to introduce yourself. Hello, my name's Payne Kinghorn. Hello, my name's Failure. Hello, my name's Shame. Do you feel the victim of your circumstances or a label you've been given? Jobez's story encourages us not to allow the label spoken over us to define us or our future. You might be sitting under a label of disappointment, being told you're not good enough or you won't amount to much. It might be a label that you've been given by others or one that you've given yourself, or it might be one born out of comparison to others. And you know, even labels that sound positive can be problematic. Back in Birmingham, once someone once called me super mum. It was meant to be a compliment. I was a single mum with four kids and a full-time job. But that label became a curse. When I was doing well, it fed my pride. And when I wasn't, it told me I was failing. I felt I had to be the super mum who had everything sorted. So every time things went wrong or life fell apart, I blamed myself. I felt helpless and completely worthless. And I carried the shame deep inside. I'd let a flattering label become my identity, and I listened to what it said about me instead of what God said about me. The result was I never felt good enough. And busyness is another label that, as John said last week, can be worn like a badge of honour, and I have. But even a positive label can become a prison when we allow it and not God to define who we are. And Jabez was given a name that reflected the pain surrounding his birth. And I wonder how easy it would have been for that name and that label to become his identity. I did something a bit different with my children. I gave each of them a name with a prophetic meaning. Not necessarily my favorite names, but names that reflected something that I felt God was speaking over them. Amelia's middle name is Joy. And for many years, through sleepless nights, meltdowns, trouble at school, and worse, I questioned God about that name. Things didn't feel very joyful. She wasn't very joyful. But I held on to that promise. And once she found Jesus, everything changed. She is joyful and she leaks joy around her. And people correctly guess her middle name because it's so obvious. And it could have been different. Once at work I had to read the file of a teenager who'd struggled from a very young age. And reading the notes felt like going back in time. This could have been Amelia's story. The early years were eerily similar. But what struck me was how early this young girl seemed to have been labelled and given up on. And I realized how easily I could have done that too. Allowed what I saw in one difficult season to define Amelia's future. Exchange what I believe God had spoken over her for a label. Amelia's just married a lovely young man. Their wedding was full of joy with Jesus at the center. You know, she serves in her church, she leads young women and has a life I could not have imagined in those hardest years. What I could see then was only a moment in her story. God could see the whole of her. And that's true of Jabez too. His mother saw pain and named him from that place, but God didn't see a man called pain. He saw an honorable man who sought him. And when Jabez cried out, God heard him. So be careful what you're believing about your life, what label you're wearing. God sees you. He chooses you. He designed and created you for purpose. He sees what you are going through and he cares. Whatever you're carrying, he sees your hidden burdens and hears the prayers you can't find words for. And I'm not going to pretend I know why some prayers don't seem to be answered, others take years. Some happen right away. But I do know God hears every single one. That He is faithful and that He will answer, even if not in the way we expect. So don't let your circumstances define you. Wear the label God gives you. Look into His Word and see what He says about you. Loved, precious, known, Victorious, brave, blessed, beautiful, forgiven, free, treasured, accepted. There are loads more, too. I want to really quickly just look at one more group of people. Numbers 26 is a census. A bit like a genealogy, it lists all the clans and who they were descended from. And then at the start of chapter 7, we're introduced to five women: Mala, Noah, Hogla, Milka, and Terza, the daughters of a man called Zalefahad. So from verse 2, they came forward and stood before Moses, Eliazah the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting, and said, Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among Korah's followers who banded together against the Lord, but he died for his own sin and left no sons. Why should our father's name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father's relatives. So Moses brought the case before the Lord, and the Lord said to him, What Zalephahad's daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father's relatives, and give their father's inheritance to them. These five women were bravely asking, Do we count? God doesn't say they should accept tradition, or oh, they don't understand the way things are. He says they are right. They count. And if today you're feeling mistreated, like you don't count, or you're living with the consequences of something that simply wasn't fair, I want you to know that God sees you too, and he has his attention turned towards you. I went for many years carrying feelings of injustice and shame, feeling stuck and powerless and unseen. I questioned God why he'd allowed things to happen and how on earth he could be working things for my good. I felt guilty for not trusting God, and if I'm honest, angry with him, which led to more guilt and shame. And shame is really good at stopping you from getting the support you need, keeping you locked in your prison. It wasn't fair, and God never said it was. Like with Zalefad's daughters, God could see the injustice and his attention never left me. He carried me through and ultimately he set me free and bought restoration. He told me I count. And if any of those feelings resonate for you, he can do the same for you too. God knew Shera's name, he knew Jabez's name, he knew Marla, Noah, Hogler, Milka, and Terza. He knew Hagar. He knew Caitlin in the big top. And when Jesus calls Mary outside the empty tomb, or Zacchaeus from the Sycamore tree, or Simon after the resurrection, we can see that the incomparable God doesn't merely know humanity in the abstract. He knows people by name. He knows you by name. Isaiah 49, 16 says, I have engraved you on the palm of my hands. Our names not just not written on his hands with Biro. The same word that's used for engraved here is used for establishing important laws or carving into rock. Something permanent. God sees Hagar in the wilderness. He remembers Shera among generations of names. He hears Jabez in his pain. He upholds Zalefahad's daughters when they seek justice. The incomparable, unlimited, never-ending God comes close, looks you in the eyes, and says, I see you. If you are carrying shame or loneliness or depression, anxiety, if you're suffering grief, yeah, anything really that we've touched on today, God sees you. He sees what you are going through and he wants to meet with you. Yeah, Father, you are incomparable, Father. You are amazing, God, and yet you have your attention turned towards us. You have your attention turned towards me. Lord Jesus, you aren't remote, you are personal, Father. You see us in our suffering, you see us in our success. And God, you love us. And Jesus, I just want to lift up everyone here this morning. God, everyone who is going through anything, anyone who is carrying anything, even from way in the past, that just every now and again just tries like chains to pull back. God, I just pray that you come and break those chains this morning. God, that you just bring a sledgehammer through them. Um, God, yeah, we just want to lift up people, God, that you will set them free this morning. That we, when we go from this place, we go into our workplaces, into our schools, into our communities, Lord Jesus, that we go in freedom knowing that you see us, that we are your sons and your daughters, and that the incomparable, never ending, limitless God sees little old us. And so, Father, I just want to thank you for that, God. I just want to pray that you will meet with everyone this morning who needs a touch from you in Jesus' name.

unknown 33:38

Amen.