Grow together in the gaze of the Lord

I have good news and great news. Which one do you want to hear?

The good news is that when you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, you receive eternal life and become a child of Heavenly Father.

The great news is that this eternal life and sonship do not begin until you leave this world, but begin the moment you believe in the Lord. Therefore, during our lifetime, Heavenly Father will accompany us, renew us, and shape us until He fulfills His plan in our lives!

In this process of accompanying, renewing, and shaping, His “gaze” is consistent from beginning to end, just as Psalm 33:18 describes: “The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His lovingkindness. .     

Staring: When the Lord meets you and me

In John 1:41-42, Andrew first found his brother Simon and said to him, "We have met the Messiah." Then he led him to Jesus. Jesus saw him and said, "You are (you) "You shall be called Cephas, Simon son of John." "Cephas" means "Peter", both of which are big rocks, not small stones! "See him" is not just a general look (see), the original meaning is "looking at him", the old English is called behold, which means to focus on staring.

In my personal meditation and experience, it is a focused gaze that contains encouragement, expectation, and acceptance. The omniscient Lord, with the first glance of focused gaze, had already seen all the plots of Peter’s life in the next three years and even the second half of his life, as well as the shortcomings, weaknesses, blind spots, and even stains revealed in them.

Therefore, in the gaze of the Lord Jesus, in addition to encouragement and expectation, there must also be acceptance. Because of this, the Lord would say: Now you are just Simon, the son of John, but one day you will become Cephas, become Peter, and become the great rock that can be used as a solid foundation. When we respond to the call and serve the Lord with our families, words, and lives, what we receive is the Lord’s gaze.

Staring: When you and I are spiritually ups and downs

1. Be brave first, then have faith

Matthew Chapter 14 records that after a series of intensive services, Jesus immediately urged his disciples to get into the boat, cross to the other side first, dismissed the crowd, went up to the mountain to pray alone, and remained there until evening. The disciples sailed the boat far from the shore, encountered a headwind, and was tossed about in the waves. At dawn, Jesus walked toward his disciples on the lake. When the disciples saw it, they were so frightened that they cried out, "It's a ghost!" Jesus immediately said to them, "Don't worry, it's me. Don't be afraid!"

Peter said, "Lord, if it is You, tell me to walk on the water to come to You!" Jesus said, "Come!" Peter got out of the boat and walked toward Jesus on the water. There were 12 disciples on the boat, but he was the only one who had the courage to step out of the boat and put his feet on the rough water.

However, a few seconds later, when he saw the strong wind, he was frightened and began to sink. He shouted, "Lord, save me!" Jesus immediately reached out to hold him and said, "Your faith is too small. Why are you confused?"

2. Be wise first, then be foolish.

In Matthew 16, Jesus asked his disciples: "Some say I am John the Baptist, some say I am Elijah, some say I am Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Who do you say I am?" "

Peter gave a 100% correct answer on behalf of all the disciples: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Then the Lord Jesus praised him greatly and said, "Blessed are you, Simon, son of John; for this truth was not taught by man. It is given to you as revealed to you by my Father in heaven..."

But only a few minutes later, as Jesus began to clearly explain his journey of suffering, death, and resurrection, Peter took him aside and discouraged him to the point where Jesus rebuked him sternly and said, “Get away, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for your thoughts are not the thoughts of God, but the thoughts of men.”

3. First swear, then firmly deny

In Matthew 26, when the Lord Jesus predicted that all the disciples would abandon Him that night, Peter stepped forward and said, "Even if others abandon You, I will never abandon You!" And when the Lord Jesus said to Peter: " I tell you, tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” But Peter vowed: “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!”

Sure enough, when the high priest's men came to arrest Jesus, outnumbered and with no chance of victory, Peter bravely chopped off the right ear of the high priest's servant Malchus with a sword. Later, when all the disciples saw that the situation was not going well, they dispersed. Only Peter followed from a distance until he reached the courtyard of the high priest. He was very, very concerned about what happened to his teacher. Unexpectedly, just a short while later, when someone identified him, he denied to the death that he was a companion of Jesus.

However, what happened next was the scene described in Luke 22:61-62 - "The Lord turned and looked at Peter"! Once again, the Lord looked at Peter and said to him with his eyes: "Peter, I know you will be ashamed, you will hate yourself, and you will even despair of yourself. However, what has happened in the past three years, is happening now, and will happen in the future I understand everything, I accept it, and I forgive you. You are still a work in progress. I have not finished building you.”

After Peter denied the Lord three times, he went on a pilgrimage for more than 30 years. It was the Lord’s second gaze in the high priest’s court that restored, healed, and built him, making him, an ordinary fisherman, Simon, eventually truly become “Cephas”, become Peter, and become the living rock for building the church. Become a great fisher of people. Today, two thousand years later, even we are accustomed to calling him “Peter” instead of just “Simon”!

Two thousand years have passed, and the Roman Empire has long been wiped out. However, the Christian church established by Peter and the disciples for the Lord is still alive, changing lives, and bearing fruit all over the world. Today you and I are the fruits watered by the blood of these martyrs. And all of this happens in the Lord’s focused, encouraging, expectant, and accepting gaze.

When I look back on my journey following the Lord, I find that I am exactly the same as Peter. Our relationship with the Lord and our commitment to the Lord are up and down, hot and cold, and change constantly with the environment, feelings, moods, physical conditions, and the actions of our spouse, family, and co-workers. And you? Is this true too? I couldn't help but think of these three sentences that we emphasized over and over again in the writing camp: "Workers come before work, authors come before works, and sincerity is better than everything else!"

▲Pastor Su Wen’an’s wife, Mrs. Lin Lishan, looks at her husband with the eyes of the Lord. Her gift of discerning heroes, seeing clearly, believing and stimulating people’s potential is a very special gift from the Lord to Pastor Su.

Staring: When your and my lives are like ruins

Next, let us invite the prophet Jeremiah from the Old Testament to confirm what kind of eyes the Heavenly Father looks at His children.

Jeremiah 32:6-15 describes that the Jeremiahs were in a dangerous country, in a dangerous city, and imprisoned, but they solemnly put a bond on the land deed of their hometown Anathoth, which was already in the occupied area, The price was sealed and the price was paid in front of the notary. Why did you come?

It should be noted that the Babylonian army marched by with iron hooves, completely burning and destroying everything, leaving only desolate smoke and vines! Why did he buy this piece of land that was already devastated and had no future in anyone's eyes? Just because God wanted him to show it with practical actions: sealing the land deed in an earthen vessel that could be preserved for many years was because the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, promised that one day the land would be restored to life and the residents would live and work in peace and contentment again.

This is the mercy shown by the righteous Jehovah. While He is about to impose the most severe discipline that will destroy the nation and destroy the family, He has also shown that He will invest in the rebellious people of Israel and invest in Israel, which seems to have no hope. On the land, because in eternity He can see the restoration in the future.

▲Simon, an ordinary fisherman who was healed and built up under the gaze of the Lord, eventually truly became “Cephas” and became Peter, the living rock for the Lord to build the church.

God does not use perfect people, God does not use people who think they are perfect, God does not use people who pretend to be perfect, He only uses people who are willing to trust and obey. So we can take off our disguises, take off our masks, be naked and come to the throne of grace without fear. Past experiences may shape your present, but they don’t have to determine your future!

Listen: "Everyone says that this land will be desolate, without people or animals; that it will be given into the hands of the Babylonians. But I say, they will buy new fields in this place. They will put it in the land of Benjamin. In all the districts, in the towns around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the towns of the mountains, in the villages of the foothills, and in all the districts of the south of Judah, I will buy and sell fields, sign deeds, and seal the deeds, and I will make my people in this land a witness. Restore the land, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 32:43-44)

Looking back on my own life, life, and ministry, isn’t it the same way that Heavenly Father has stared at and invested in me, a person who is not at all lovable, unqualified, and disobedient? And the battlefield we are engaged in today, whether it is contemporary culture, whether it is literary work, whether it is gospel ministry, although it is like the situation of "Anathoth" under the iron heel of the enemy, but shouldn't you and I use the eyes of our heavenly Father? Do you invest, manage, and pay the price with Him according to His promises and love? Are you and I ready to make the best investments that no one in the world is optimistic about, but that actually have unlimited prospects under the gaze of God the Father?

On November 10, 1982, I had just immigrated to the United States from Taiwan. I prayed to the Lord in the airplane cabin at an altitude of tens of thousands of feet: "Lord! I am 28 years old. I am young and have many problems. I am alone and penniless. The future is like a fog. But this is just who I am now. What do you want me to be? Please show me. If you allow me, please give me a wise eye to recognize heroes and help me realize my dreams step by step. My soul mate; give me the ability to raise children and support my family; and please give me the funds and opportunities to be equipped so that I can become an influential minister in the kingdom of heaven..."

The next 36 years were a journey from "I am" to "I shall be", with stumbling and ups and downs under the Lord's encouragement, expectation, and acceptance gaze, but still moving forward. During this period, my wife Lishan was the one who could look at me with the eyes of the Lord. Her gift of discerning heroes, seeing clearly, believing and stimulating people's potential is a very special gift from the Lord. During my 35 years of marriage and ministry, I have received a series of miraculous graces that exceeded all I could ask for and imagine. I watched how the Lord rebuilt my “Anathoth” that was riddled with holes, and how He never took back His love and grace. The accepting gaze.

▲Two thousand years have passed, and the Roman Empire has long been wiped out. However, the Christian church established by Peter and the disciples for the Lord is still alive, changing lives, and bearing fruit all over the world.

Staring: When you and I continue our journey to heaven

The Lord’s gaze on you and me definitely does not mean that we can definitely change from “we are” to “we shall be”. The key is whether we are willing to surrender our sovereignty without reservation and to be completely reshaped by the Lord. Mark 10:21-22 records that when Jesus was talking to the rich young ruler, "Looking at him, he loved him and said to him, "You still lack one thing..." "Looking at him", the original meaning It is "looking at him intently", which is also a gaze of encouragement, expectation and acceptance. It is a pity that although he received the gaze of the Lord, he still clung to the sovereignty of his life and was unwilling to remove the last obstacle to letting the Lord take the first place in his life. In the end, he could only "walk away sadly"!

You may ask: The Lord’s body is no longer in this world today, how does He look at us? ─Of course! He gazes at us through our spiritual practice and meditation; He gazes at us through our worship and praise together with His children; He gazes at us through the messages we hear, the courses and camps we attend; He gazes at us through care We, teachers, counselors, pastors, co-workers, family members, and church members who love us come to gaze upon us.

Therefore, how can you and I not take the heart of the Heavenly Father as our heart, and according to His promises and love, look at ourselves with the eyes of the Lord in our families, churches, workplaces, mission fields, and print media services...?