David Ash
On Wednesday, we prayed together as a church and one of the things that we were encouraged to do was to seek God's face. Actually, we spent most of our time together doing that, which wasn't entirely planned, but it felt like that was what God was calling us to do.

This morning I felt reminded of a passage in Genesis where Hagar's escaped Sarah and Abraham’s household (or she was sent away), and she's in the desert and she meets the Angel of the Lord. She later calls the Lord El Roi, which means the God Who Sees. Actually, what she was meaning is that God sees me, He's seeing me and that He has compassion on me.

Often what we need when we're in difficult situations, I mean, Hagar situation was awful and you might feel that you're in an awful situation, it might not be the same situation, but you need to know that God sees you! That's not just that he sees, he's with you and He has compassion on you! God wants to draw alongside you, He wants to show you that He has seen you and that he is with you.

As you see Him it changes your perspective, it helps you feel whole. It helps you feel peace, it helps you to trust him afresh, even amidst the things that you are going through.

So, if you're here and you are in the midst of something like that, then He wants to reveal Himself to you. He wants to remind you of who He is, He is the God that sees and that he is with you and He has compassion on you.

Tim Hardman
So good and thank you for sharing that, David. As the Lord sees, and Derek also came up at the same time to share something actually of his own story in this so actually if you if you feel like you are saying “Lord, are you seeing me?”, you're going to hear now some personal aspects of that as well.

Derek Freemantle
Thank you, for those who don't know me, my name is Derek, I'm married to Chrissy. Many years ago I met this wonderful lady that had such a heart for God. I was far from him, eventually I came to the point where I shared the verse “for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. And I thought it was eternal life I'm OK, I'm going to go to heaven, I'm cool.

Anyway, life went on and I just you'd go from one disappointment to the next disappointment to the next and that's a story of my life but about eight years ago. I've got this determination, I was going to read Scripture, I started reading the Bible and first took me two years to read, and since then I just read it continuously. What it’s done, is that it’s transformed my thinking. It's not about going to heaven, it's about experiencing the Kingdom of Heaven right here and all the power and authority in Jesus’ name that we have over these ‘uncircumcised philistines’ that come to torment us. They torment us and we allow it. What we need to do is do what David did is trusting God and not allowing those things to affect us in any way, to take a stand against these evil forces that come against us. We have the power in. His name, and I'm just thinking of people sitting in this room or online that need that assurance that we have this incredible relationship with an all-powerful God who will deliver us. Thank you.

Tim Hardman
Thank you Derek, let's pray now. You may be feeling, when David came up and shared and you may be thinking, I know God sees some people, but I’m not sure He really sees me and also, where you feel like you're on the back foot amongst the rest of the church, that all you see is Christians around who are saying “yeah, I believe this, I believe that and you're thinking, I think so... and this is what Derek was saying just now.

I'm going to pray if this feels like you and you want to know beyond all doubt that He is the Lord, then why don't you lift your hands out to receive from him? This is like saying look, I haven't got anything in my hands that I can offer you God, so I'm receiving from you.

I'm going to pray that now, O Lord, you see every person in this room, you see every person watching this online right now, and later on you see, each one and you know each one, and your desire is to come alongside and be with, to know and to live with each one of us. So, I ask you Holy Spirit that you would come and show us the Father that you would come and show us beyond all doubt, that that Jesus is Lord!

We're saying, I'm just saying “I'm not sure, I don't live like I'm sure.” Holy Spirit. I ask now that you would come and convince each one responding now that you would come and see every open hand Lord that you would come and see every open heart and that you would pour out the truth of your great love for us, your great love for my brother, your great love for my sister, your great love for the one who feels far off, your great love for the one who feels like they are hiding. Lord, would you convince them. We need to know you, we need to know you O Lord. So as we worship you now, Jesus, as we sing this this song, once more, Lord, we sing it with open hearts; longing to know you more. To know your presence with us as we declare the truth, let that truth sink deep into our hearts. Because, Lord, we are nothing without you, Lord, we don't want to be a holy club, we want to be the people of God! We want to be the people who you enjoy hanging out with!