I feel the need...the need to be SEEN!!!

Messages On-line...

• 1st Service
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E55vaVWqvdQ&list=PLapnQlqbrLuJhPsDYnDxpr89ly2c27aAX&index=2
• 2nd Service
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJGSQurWhQw&list=PLapnQlqbrLuJhPsDYnDxpr89ly2c27aAX&t=6s

Message Notes: 

Welcome…I’m Nate Smith, one of the pastors here at Faith Fellowship. 

Have you ever heard the beginning of the phrase… “I feel the need…”?

• According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, to feel the need is… “to have a strong feeling that one must have or do something.” 
• For you movie buffs, finish this phrase for me… I feel the need, the need for ___________!

• Tom Cruise (Maverick) in Top Gun. “I feel the need, the need for speed.” High five with Goose. https://www.usatoday.com/videos/life/movies/2016/05/10/84203120/ 
• https://www.mikebetancourt.com/mikenouncements/2020/8/10/the-top-gun-high-five 

• The Collins Dictionary defines the need for speed as, “An incessant need to go fast, especially to drive your car fast, usually much faster than the speed limit.” 
• Can anyone relate to this need? 
  • Anyone that’s moved to a small town from Chicago or Denver is nodding their heads right now. Big City folk feel the need to drive fast…going the speed limit in big cities is more dangerous than keeping up with the flow of traffic. 

• How about Roller coasters? Every year amusement parks are competing for the bigger, faster, scariest roller coaster, why? The need for speed and the adrenaline rush that comes with it. There’s just something about experiencing our innards temporarily relocating to areas they’ve never been before. 
• There’s just something within us that is fascinated with and enjoys going fast. 
• There’s just something within us that feels the need for someone or something. What is it for you? What is it that you feel the need for in your life right now? I’m not just talking to those who have put their faith in the Lord. I’m talking to believers and unbelievers. What is it, or who is it that you have a strong feeling to need right now? I’ll let you answer that for yourself in your own head. 

 

• But maybe it’s...
  • A new vehicle.
  • A relationship. 
  • A vacation that you can’t afford.
  • A new job. 
  • A new wardrobe. 
  • A new body. 

There are two ladies mentioned in today’s passage that we’ll be focusing on. I want to help draw our attention to what each felt they needed.
So please turn with me to Genesis chapter 16…page 7 in the Bible under the seat in front of you. 

While you’re turning there…
Just quickly…a little backdrop. 
In the previous chapter, Genesis 15…God had just told childless Abram that his offspring would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and Abram believed Him. 

Now, Genesis 16, please follow along as I read aloud…

Genesis 16 (CSB) Hagar and Ishmael
16 Abram’s wife, Sarai, had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. 2 Sarai said to Abram, “Since the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps through her I can build a family.” And Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So Abram’s wife, Sarai, took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband, Abram, as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she saw that she was pregnant, her mistress became contemptible to her. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for my suffering! I put my slave in your arms, and when she saw that she was pregnant, I became contemptible to her. May the Lord judge between me and you.”
6 Abram replied to Sarai, “Here, your slave is in your power; do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai mistreated her so much that she ran away from her.
7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.
8 He said, “Hagar,      slave of Sarai,       where have you come from and where are you going?”
She replied, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.”
9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her authority.”
10 The angel of the Lord said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count.”
11 The angel of the Lord said to her, “You have conceived and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your cry of affliction. 12 This man will be like a wild donkey. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; he will settle near all his relatives.”
13 So she named the Lord who spoke to her: “You are El-roi,” for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me?” 14 That is why the well is called Beer-lahai-roi. It is between Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, and Abram named his son (whom Hagar bore) Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.


So, two ladies are mentioned, to begin with…

What was it that Sarai felt the need for? She thought she needed…

• Someone to fix her situation…to solve the problem…to manipulate the situation…taking matters into my own hands. 
  • Look at what she says in verse 2… 
    • The word “Perhaps” (VanGemeren, 4:1029) is positioned between two major elements. 
      • “Since the Lord has prevented me from bearing children…”
      • “I can build a family.” 
        • In other words…If God can’t or won’t, then I’ll do something about it. 
  • Sarai’s response to God’s plan was negative. 
    • Yes, God promised Abram and her multiple children, yet God withheld her womb from conception. 
    • Little did she know that her condition wasn’t permanent.
      You’ll have to read chapter 17 sometime…don’t want to spoil it for you. 
  • Who was Hagar to Sarai? 
    • Hagar to her was just a piece of property…low in status…a nobody to her. 
    • Probably someone who didn’t even worship the same God as her and her husband, Abram. 
    • Reading carefully you’ll notice that…Not once does she address Hagar by name.

In Contrast…
What was it that Hagar felt the need for? She thought she needed…

• Flight (her stress response)…Escape…Run away. She also had the need…
• To be seen…does anyone see me? I know I’m just a pregnant slave woman, but does anyone care? 
• What do you think? 
• Was there anyone who saw her or cared about her? 
• Was there anyone who even knew her name? 
• In Verse 8 we read that, “He [the Lord] said, ‘Hagar, slave of Sarai.’ 
• He knew exactly who she was and He called her by name. HAGAR (meaning…flight, forsaken).
• Someone does care. Someone does see me. I am noticed. I do have someone’s attention. I have been running to someone…to something…I just couldn’t put my finger on it till now. I’ve been needing, whether I knew it or not, and running to El-Roi, The One Who Sees Me!!!
• He sees me now, and He’ll see me and be with me when I return to Sarai…He will never leave me or forsake me…the “forsaken.”
• Reminds me of the woman with the issue of bleeding in Mark 5. 
  • She had tried everything by every doctor. 
  • She had spent all she had to help her get better. 
  • The result…her situation got worse. Still bleeding, still broke…
    Can anyone help? Does anyone care? 
  • BUT, what happened when she met Jesus and by faith touched His clothes? She was healed by Him. 
• So many people feel the need to be seen today. 
  • One author states that “Feeling seen [and acknowledged] by others is a basic human need.” https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/beyond-the-doubt/202009/the-need-to-feel-seen
  • People who have been in the hospital often state that they can’t remember much about their stay there, other than who visited them. 
  • People long to be seen. God installed that in us, so we’d one day acknowledge that we’d need to be seen, and that we are seen by Him. 
  • Have you ever seen a camera zero in on someone and put them on the megatron…response? Smiles and dancing…love to be seen. 
  • If someone makes a great play in a sport, you tell them, “I see you.”
  • This may be why many people are acting out today. 
  • Many people are looking for attention…looking for an audience, and sadly enough they’re looking for it from all the wrong places and people…
  • All might look good on the outside, but on the inside their life situation is getting worse. They might be running from something…our prayer should be that they find themselves running to God, even if He is their last resort. 
• Want to be seen? Feel the need to be seen by Jesus…learn from the lady in Mark 5 and run to Him. 
• He sees you…question is…are you looking for Him? Are you running to Him? What will change once that need is met…when you are reminded that He sees you at all times?
• God has an amazing way of directing people to Himself. 
• The Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans chapter 1 that God created this beautiful world. The point isn’t to worship the creation, but creation is a means to direct our eyes to the One Who created all things…to then worship Him. 
• In Genesis 16, God found a way to direct Hagar’s eyes to Him. He’d seen her all along, and that’s something she’ll never forget…and because of what she experienced, we too can know and understand that He sees each of us at all times as well. 

Every life situation reveals how we view God and His attributes. Oftentimes it becomes habitual for us to challenge and or question His character. I’m sure many of you have heard comments and questions similar to these…

• God, do you even care? 
• God, if you were loving, then ________ (you fill in the blank). 
• God, can I trust You?
• Where are you God?  Why have you left me?  

Difficult and challenging life situations allow us the opportunity to mature in our spiritual walk with the Lord. In each scenario, we learn more about Him to a point where we state it as a fact about who He is, rather than challenging or questioning who He really is. 
Today, it is my goal to shift our thinking from asking the question, “Does God see me?” to a factual statement…“God sees me.” It’s who He is…He can’t be anything other than El Roi (THE God Who sees, notices, cares about me). Maybe you’ll continue to question whether or not He truly sees you, but hopefully this name of God will be a reminder to you about who He truly is. 

• It’s amazing how schools accommodate students these days. When I was in school, if a student failed a test, then that was it. Today, if a student fails a test, then retakes become available until it’s evident that the information is sinking in. 
• In our lives we’re going to sin, we’re going to question God, but in each test He wants to see if we’ll pass it or not. If not, then the retake is right around the corner. Praise God for retakes, but the point is that we somewhere along the line begin to absorb the information and see it for what it really is. To begin to see God for Who He really is. 
• Retakes become available when the following questions enter our minds…
  • Does God see me when I’m depressed? 
  • Does God see me when I’m experiencing anxiety? 
  • Does God see me when I’m physically in pain? When I’m about to go into surgery? 
  • Does God see me when I’m struggling financially? 
  • Does God see me when I’m struggling in my relationships with co-workers, boss, children, spouse? 
  • Does God see me when I flirt with the idea of sinning?…when I sin? 
  • Does God see me when I dread going to my job? My school? 
  • Does God see me living in the regret of some of the things I did in the past? 
  • Does God see me when I can’t hardly stand who I am anymore…who I’ve become in my own eyes? 
• The answer is YES to all of it and beyond. He is El Roi…He sees you. Question is…do you see Him? Do you recognize or notice Him in whatever it is you’re experiencing? What will it take in order for you to pass the test? What will it take for you to get to a point where you state factually that…
  • God, I know You see me in my depression, anxiety, pain, financial struggles, relationship struggles. I know You see me in my sin and my regrets. I know You’re aware of my feelings about my job, my school, my life.  
  • And Lord, Your seeing, leads to my needing. I need You more than ever. 

Seeing and meeting the need of those who need to be seen is why our Ministry Teams and Small Groups exist.

• The goal of any one of our Greeters, Welcome Table workers, Connections Team workers, Ushers, many other groups, and Small Groups is to reassure you that…
  • You are seen. You are noticed. You are recognized. 
  • Our desire is that not only do you leave feeling seen by any of our volunteers, but that you’ll leave feeling seen by God. 
  • So I pray for our ministry teams…that each week they’ll ask the Lord to give them His eyes for just one second. 

Songs:

•  Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath
  • Give me Your eyes for just one second

Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missin'
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms
for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see

• OR how about, Does Anybody Hear Her by Casting Crowns
  • Does anybody hear her?

Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she's going down today?
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her?
Can anybody see?

I’d like to close this morning by reading a good portion of Psalm 139.
If you want to turn there and follow along it’s on page 349.

Psalm 139:1-18, 23-24 (CSB) Maybe this is a chapter you go back and study this week…But I’d like to read it to you at this time. 

The All-Knowing, Ever-Present God..For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 Lord, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up;
you understand my thoughts from far away.
3 You observe my travels and my rest;
you are aware of all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue,
you know all about it, Lord.
5 You have encircled me;
you have placed your hand on me.
6 This wondrous knowledge is beyond me.
It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.

7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I fly on the wings of the dawn
and settle down on the western horizon,
10 even there your hand will lead me;
your right hand will hold on to me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me,
and the light around me will be night”--
12 even the darkness is not dark to you.
The night shines like the day;
darkness and light are alike to you.

13 For it was you who created my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise you
because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.
Your works are wondrous,
and I know this very well.
15 My bones were not hidden from you
when I was made in secret,
when I was formed in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless;
all my days were written in your book and planned
before a single one of them began.

17 God, how precious your thoughts are to me;
how vast their sum is!
18 If I counted them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand;
when I wake up, I am still with you…

23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my concerns.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me;
lead me in the everlasting way.


I feel the need, the need to be SEEN!

What’s the name for God that means “He sees me”?

El-Roi…God Sees Me!!!

Let’s Pray…(step off to the right)

Additional Notes: 

• A woman of faith?
  • Sarai…One of God’s chosen people. What was her faith like?
  • Hagar…Up to this point she most likely followed Egyptian Practices and Religions. What was her faith like when she met God? 
• Who is the only person in the bible to name God?
  • Hagar…she named Him El-Roi.
• How was it going to be possible for Hagar to return to Sarai after knowing how she treated her? 
  • By faith, Hagar knew that God would never leave her nor forsake her. She knew that He would always be with her. His power was far greater than Sarai’s. 
    • Deuteronomy 31:6 (CSB) Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the LORD your God is the one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.”
    • Hebrews 13:5 (CSB) Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.
    • I will never desert you. Desert is synonymous with forgotten. Unsee. Unacknowledge. 
    • Matthew 1: 23 (CSB) See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”
    • Matthew 28:20 (CSB) teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
  • By faith, Hagar knew instantly what it meant to love and forgive now that she understood His presence in her life. So why is it that some veteran followers of Christ struggle in loving and forgiving others? 
• What are some other possible “God, do you see me?” moments in people’s lives? 
  • Consider mother’s and or father’s who stay home with their children all day. Consider those having to navigate through single parenting. 

• The loss of a loved one. 
• See me in my miscarriage?
• Serving in the military. 
• FD and PD…never knowing what their day holds and if they’ll return home at the end of their shift. 
• James 1:6 (NLT) But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.
  • I trust You, God, but Why ________? 
  • I know you can, so Why aren’t You _______? 
  • Do you trust Me? Do you believe I’ve already been there, that I will never leave you nor forsake you?