UNTO THIS MAN WILL I LOOK by J W LUMAN " Cause me to come to thy river, O Lord, Cause me to drink from thy river, O Lord, Cause me to live in thy river, O Lord, Cause me to come, cause me to drink, cause me to Live." I want you to consider some things now. The river. It is the mind of the Lord to deal in this way. In Ezekiel 47 he speaks of that river. He soon came to waters that were far over his head - waters that he had to swim in. He couldn't swim across it. He just had to swim in the waters. Now that same river is mentioned in the last chapter of the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It is a river that flows right out of the throne of God and right out of the person of the Lord. It is a river that will bring healing to all nations. This river is the comprehension of the Lord, the understanding of the Lord. That river is a river of knowledge, a river of understanding. It is flowing out of the Lord. It is a spiritual understanding, a spiritual comprehension. We could take you throughout all the Bible to all the rivers and I could show you that real easy. That where the river is spoken of it is speaking of a comprehension - something flowing out. A comprehension that began in the very garden of God, but man polluted the river. Man pollutes spiritual rivers and man pollutes natural rivers. It seems like man is always polluting something. That's true. Let man have it very long and he pollutes it. Well, there is that spiritual river, and it is a river of comprehension. Friends, there is a spiritual comprehension that will bring healing to the nations. Now it is that comprehension that we're going to be talking about. And I'm telling you now, WE ARE STARTING OUT OVER OUR HEADS! In our studies together, we're in that river to swim in. And unless you and I listen very closely to the Spirit of God, we'll miss what's being said. If we let pre-set ideas and all of that come into our way, we'll miss what the Spirit is trying to say. You have to agree with me that the present comprehension of the Church has not brought peace to the nations. I'm not telling you that the present comprehension is wrong, I'm telling you it's just not deep enough. You know I've gone wading in a lot of rivers and maybe you have too. And the first thing you notice when you're wading is that your feet stirs up mud on the bottom. You can still stir up mud while you're wading. But on through all those stages, when you finally begin to swim, there's nothing to be stirred up -you're just dependent upon the water itself! And it's much purer. You see the Bible uses these analogies. There is a knowledge of the Lord that you and I can finally begin to walk in where the mud of our natural birth, the mud of the natural man is not stirred up. Because dear friends, it is the mud of the natural man that confuses us! It is the mud of the natural man that keeps nations from having peace - one nation standing against another nation, in many cases just because they are different colors. And in some cases they're the same color but they are of different backgrounds, different ethnic origins. All over the world today, hundreds of thousands of people, while you and I sit here, are being killed. There's no world war going on, there's just a war going on all over the world. The world is still at war with itself. Nations killing themselves. And not only that - that has come right into the Church! The Church, by and large, is at war with itself. Every camp fighting another camp. One camp mad at this camp. That's not just so in one case, that's so every place I go. Every part of the Church that I travel in, I find those divisions there. And there's got to be something wrong with that because there's no division in Christ! Well then, what's wrong with us? There's got to be an answer. You'll have to agree with me that until the Church can find an answer, we really don't have must answer for the nations, do we? I mean there's not a great chance of you and I bringing peace to the nations when we can't accomplish that in our own house. But I'm telling you that there's an answer to that. The answer is in ONE MAN - and we're going to spend our time talking about One Man! ONE MAN - and our identity with that One Man, our relationship in that One Man, but it's the One Man I want to talk to you about. I'm going to bring that One Man right out of the scripture and set Him before you. But I'll tell you before we start - only the Holy Spirit can reveal This Man. You're not going to see This Man with your natural eye. You look with your natural eye and you see me and I look and I see you. And we're on the wrong foot to begin with. We're seeing a difference. I mean if it's not just the difference in what color clothes we have on - we're still seeing a difference. With our natural eye, all we see is the difference. With our natural ear, all we hear is the difference. That's the reason we don't hear much with the natural ear we agree with - it's all different. We don't see a whole lot we like because it's all different from me. That's the truth everywhere, but I'm telling you there's an answer in One Man. God has set forth His answer in One Man. When you and I come to see that One Man, we'll be able to show that One Man to all nations. Wrapped up in that One Man is the eternal plan of God; wrapped up in that One Man is Salvation, Redemption; wrapped up in that One Man is the total purpose of God. It's that One Man I want you and I to set our focus upon. So we'll begin in Matthew the 24 th chapter. We're going to look at some questions. The answer to these questions is found in this One Man. Matthew 24:1-5, " And Jesus went out and departed from the temple." Jesus went out and departed from the temple. We must understand that the Bible is first and foremost a spiritual book. So that everything that is written in the Bible says more than it seems to say. There's a spiritual reality being spoken of. Everything Jesus did had a spiritual reality behind it. For instance, He went to the well, He went to the wedding. He went to the well and here came a lady for water. Immediately the Lord began to talk to her about another kind of water, because He never went any place just to go there. He went to the wedding. They were out of wine so immediately, He made them a better wine that was full of spiritual significance. The Lord didn't just walk around from place to place, just to be going some place. Now wouldn't that be wonderful if you and I had such a comprehension of Him? That when we went to buy groceries, we really went for more than food? No - you'd be surprised who you would find in the grocery store to give bread to eat, if you and I went to get something more than natural bread. Because many times we just run in there, like all the other sinners, buy our natural bread and run out. We went to the grocery store to get bread. The Lord Jesus would never do that. He may go there and buy bread, but I'll guarantee you He will always represent a greater bread! He'd find somebody that wanted bread that they couldn't buy in that grocery store! And your Bible is full of that. And if you and I lived in a true comprehension of the Lord - you'll never again go to the grocery store again just to buy bread. You'll go there to give bread! You'll never again go to the gas station just to fill up your car with petrol. There will be a fulness of the Spirit connected to it - somebody will need to be filled with the Spirit. So there's something significant about Him when the scripture records, " And Jesus went out and departed from the temple." What does the temple stand for? To Israel, the temple stood in the first place, for everything they knew of God. The temple was instituted of God through Moses, and although this is not the same building, it's the same institution. It still speaks to them of God. Everything they know of God, of salvation, is represented by the temple. Everything they know of themselves as a people is represented by the temple. Everything they know of ministry is represented by the temple. Everything they know of spiritual understanding, everything they know of the Word of God - the scrolls, is represented by the temple. And Jesus has just departed from that temple! He's gone out of it. He's left it. And the way this is written here in the Greek, the indication is He has separated Himself from it. He has not just gone out - He has departed, He has made His exodus out of the temple. That means He has made His exodus out of everything that the temple stands for. He has departed out from it. He is not there any more. Now, before He did that, He identified Himself with the temple. Do you remember Jesus going into the temple? What did He do? He threw over all the tables, chased out all of the people, He turned loose all of the sacrifices. What was He doing? He was bringing all of that to a fulfillment in Himself. All of it fulfilled in Himself! You don't need those things here - I'm here! You don't need these tables. You don't need these turtle doves. You don't need these animals. You don't need this or that. You don't even need this priesthood that is here offering these things, selling these things. You don't need this - I'M HERE! So He cleaned out the whole temple - and remained there Himself! And then He went from the temple, and the Pharisees came and said, "Tell us by what authority you do these things." He says, "A greater than the temple is here. A greater than the temple is in your midst." Then He says to them, " Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it again." And they didn't have the slightest idea what He was talking about. What were they looking at? The natural building. They said, " It took forty years to build this. How are you going to tear it down and build it again in three days?" But the scripture says - " BUT THIS HE SPAKE OF THE TEMPLE OF HIS BODY." What does all of that mean? It means that the Lord Jesus identified HIMSELF with their temple, their ministry, their sacrifices, their very nationality. He identified Himself with everything that the temple stood for. He identified it with His natural body - He identified it with the body of His flesh. They didn't understand. Then He said to them, and in the original Greek it's written this way, " You will destroy this body." And they did! But He said, " In three days I will raise it anew." I will raise it up - a new temple, a new priesthood, a new people. Nothing of the old can cross over, dear friends. So the picture we get here is Jesus departing out of everything that has pointed to Him. Because HE NOW IS THE REALITY OF IT! You and I today do not need a temple, because He is your temple, and you are the temple of the Holy Spirit, because you are in union with Christ! You don't need a temple to be a temple - You are a temple! You don't need a natural nationality to be a people - you are a people - born of one seed of God. You are not born of a white seed or a black seed, brown or yellow - you are born of the seed of God. You don't need a natural nationality to be a people, because you are a people - you are a generation - you are a chosen generation - in CHRIST JESUS! He brings all of that to an end and then He presents Himself in its place! The problem is, the scripture says, He came to His own, He presented Himself to His own, but His own, the ones whose temple pointed to Him, their priesthood pointed to Him, their nationality pointed to Him - but when He arrived - they received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power, which means authority, which means comprehension. To them gave He a spiritual comprehension - gave them the power to comprehend that they are sons of God. I said all of that because Jesus going out and departing from the temple represents all of that. Now they didn't understand it, but He understood it. He is about to bring to an end in Himself, in the cross, and bring forth something that all of that pointed to but none of it could achieve. But it's achieved in Him - a new temple, a new dwelling place, a new creation, a new seed, a new people, a new priesthood. All of it achieved in the Lord Jesus Christ! So that we need not look to that which He has departed from - " Why seek ye the living among the dead?" - but we look to who He is! There we find ourselves anew. I can look there until my spiritual eyes fall out and I can't find a white person or black or brown. I can't find a male or a female. I look there and I find the Lord Jesus! And I realize, it's not I, it's Christ who lives in me! What if we comprehended that, lived by that, went to the grocery store in that understanding, went among the nations with that understanding? Then it would cease to be a white man's religion or a black man's religion. No - all of those things are found in the temple. All of us in the natural, if we're not very careful, we've got a natural temple just like Israel does. We've got a natural temple. A lot of time it's just represented in a building. You'd be surprised to know how many people think this physical building is the temple of God - or their building is the temple of God. The system - all of it you see, all points to Him, but none of it is Him. I want you to see what is Him - and for us to find ourselves there! I can tie myself to a post in a building, but if I'm not in Christ, I'm still not in the temple of God! He went out from all of that - departed from it. But His disciples never did that. His disciples came to Him to show Him the buildings of the temple! Can you imagine this? There stands the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Almighty God. There He stands representing first of all the end, the fulfillment, the finish of everything that has pointed to Him. There He stands. The temple - all of the ceremonies, all of the offerings, all of the feasts, all of that are types and shadows of Him. And there He stands, and His disciples want to show Him those things, and wants Him to get excited about those things that He has just made of no effect! What good is something that points to Jesus when Jesus is come? You answer me this - John the Baptist, the greatest prophet to come upon the face of the earth, Jesus said. The end of the Old Covenant prophets was John. He kind of stood between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant - John stands there bridging the gap. Jesus says there's not any greater among those prophets than John. John was saying "There's One coming. There's One coming." But what if after the Lord came... He came to be baptized and the Spirit of God said, This is Him. John saw - Behold the Lamb of God. The heavens opened and the Father said, 'This is my Son.' What if the next day John was out there saying, "There's One coming." Then what would you think about him? The day before the Lord came, John was telling the truth. But the day after - now, John's lying! What makes the difference? THE LORD CAME!! What makes the difference between those things that point to Him and Him? He is the difference! If you and I are not careful, most of us have a religion, have a comprehension that still is pointing to Him - it's not declaring the reality of it. We're still 'going to be' this or 'going to be' that - rather than the reality that HE IS IN ME, AND I'M IN HIM. And God is 'going to be' my Father. No - He is my Father. These 'tents' (our physical bodies) get in the way. We look at these 'tents' and we never see the true tabernacle of God. You'll only see the true tabernacle of God when the Lord Jesus is truly revealed in you by the Holy Spirit. What I want you to see is Jesus has departed and His disciples are still trying to get Him involved in the very thing that He's the fulfillment of. There's a lot to be said there. But I think there are many Christians trying to get the Lord involved in something that He Himself is the fulfillment of. And we're tying to get Him involved in it and He's saying, "I'm the fulfillment of that - that's no longer necessary! I've gone out of that. That understanding no longer represents me - it just hinders me in my people." There's a lot of spiritual traditions in us that still do that! I want you to think about this, because until Jesus actually came, that temple stood for something that was real. But when He came, fulfilled it and went out of it, that temple may as well have fallen down to the ground right then, because it stood for nothing - the Lord fulfilled it! That's why when His disciples tried to get Him involved in it, He said, 'I'm going to tell you what's going to happen to this. It's going to be torn down, and NOT ONE stone is going to be left standing on top of another." That's exactly what the Lord would like to have happen to the things in our life, spiritual things, that we are still substituting for the reality of Him; that they would be torn down and not one stone of it would be left stacked upon another; that the LORD JESUS IN HIS REALITY WOULD STAND IN THE PLACE. So that you and I would find ourselves no where but IN CHRIST! - that everything else in our heart, would suffer a catastrophe - our nationality, our dwelling place, our religion - everything - and that we'd find it all anew - IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST! That I would find my being there, my nationality there, my spiritual life there, my tabernacle there, my temple there, that there I would find my Father - in reality. That there I would find my reality, find myself there; that I would find myself in the living person of the Lord Jesus Christ and that I would substitute nothing for Him! You see, it's spiritual things we substitute for Him. But you see that's the problem - it's still a substitute for Him. Mt. Sinai was a substitute for Mt. Zion. Mt. Zion is a people - you are come to Mt. Zion. This is all necessary because we're going to talk about you and I coming into a comprehension of the living reality of the Living Christ, and giving Him manifestation, giving Him expression in the earth. I pray the Lord will just deal with our hearts to see the reality. They couldn't see Him because they were too busy looking at their traditions. They couldn't see Him because they were too busy looking at the buildings of their temple, and all those things did was just speak of Him. And if you and I are too busy looking at things that speak of Him, we'll fail to see Him in reality and truth. Most of the songs in most people's songbooks are just that way - they are a substitute for the reality of Christ. We sing about a time 'when' rather than comprehending the reality now. So, Jesus said, " See ye not all these things? I say to you there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down." I must bring this warning in. Friends, if you and I place our hope, our comprehension, our salvation, our understanding in things that represent Jesus, things that point to Jesus rather than in the reality of Christ, there's a time coming when it's all going to be torn down, levelled to the ground. Then, where will our security be? I remember what happened in China. The communist regime took over there in 1948 or 1949, and immediately they set themselves against what they thought was the Church. They closed all of the church buildings, they confiscated all the furnishings. Everything was totally closed. They made warehouses, granaries - they defaced them as much as they could and used them for the exact opposite as much as they could. But they couldn't find THE CHURCH. And it was mainly because of the ministry of one man, his name was Watchman Nee. He had ministered that the Church was not a building, but a people in Christ! And that you are not Chinese, you are sons of God, and some had gotten hold of that. So when all that they looked at was torn down and there wasn't a stone left upon another stone; everything that was pointing to Him and wasn't really Him, when all of the religious stuff was gone, cleaned out - that Church remained in the knowledge of the Lord! It simply went underground, but it continued to meet. I have personally sat down with elders of that Church. It was one of the greatest blessings in my life to sit in a little attic in hiding with elders of that Church. And I've often wondered what would happen if everything that was religious was done away - every prayer session, every church building, every cross, everything that had any semblance of religion was completely done away, wiped out? Would the Church in America continue? What would happen to most Christians? Most Christians would probably commit suicide! Most Christians would say the 'end of time' has come. They wouldn't know what to do. Why? Because they've substituted buildings, they've substituted traditions, things - for the real person of Jesus and the reality of Him! We've put all that stuff so far out in the future, that it's not even real to us any more. 'One day I'm going to go be with Jesus.' You'd better be with Jesus now! What makes us so good that it could happen in China, but it could never happen here? How are we any better than the Christians there? Or the ones in Russia or around the world in millions of places? We aren't any different, we're probably just more carnal. We're not any different as far as God is concerned. You say why would the Lord let that happen? Because nothing real was destroyed! We think God is as interested in our buildings as we are, and He's not. I'm not telling you not to have buildings. But these things come and they go. When are we going to comprehend - there's just one temple God cares anything about, and that's the one He lives in! But we wonder why would the Lord let that happen? Because nothing real happened. Why would the Lord let that temple in Jerusalem be torn down? Because it wasn't real any more. It didn't stand for anything any more. I believe the Lord would just as soon have a building filled with baskets of corn as He would with ignorant Christians, because carnal Christians simply worship the building or worship traditions, and I'm telling you the Lord will do whatever it takes to get people to come to a comprehension of Himself! God is after ONE MAN, not a bunch of people. ONE MAN who will express His salvation, who will express His glory, who will express His truth in the earth among all the nations. That's what God is after, and I'm telling you He'll let everything be destroyed to get that One Man, because you and I fall in love with everything God gives us - except the Lord Himself! And I'm not teaching you against things, but when those things become a substitute for the reality of Christ, as far as I'm concerned they need to be done away with, they need to fall apart, need to cease to exist. WE NEED TO GET OUR EYES ON JESUS! And that's exactly what He's telling them. This story is 2,000 years old and the Lord is telling the same thing to His disciples - you need to get your eyes on me! The Lord's own disciples were still looking at the temple and its buildings. The Lord's own disciples! And He's saying it's all going to perish - LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! That we would come to that. Then it doesn't make any difference. If we have the building, we'll use it for the Lord. If we don't have a building we'll use what we have for the Lord. It doesn't make any difference then. Verse 3, " As he sat upon the Mount of Olives his disciples came to him and they said, tell us when shall all these things be." When - that's the first question. What things? The temple being destroyed and everything that it represents. Tell us when will all these things be? Here's the real question - when will everything that points to Christ, but is not itself Christ, when will that be destroyed? When will this be? That's the question we're going to deal with. When will everything in my life, your life, the Church's life, the Christian world, this world - when will everything that points to Him but is not Him, when will it be destroyed? I'm not talking about bad things. I'm talking about religious things, I'm talking about the temple. When will the nationality in me be destroyed? When will the nationality in you be destroyed? It seems like the closer this time comes in the heavens, the worse things get on earth. I've never seen a time, and I've travelled around the world since 1969, that nations are becoming as nationalistic minded as they are now. Nationalistic. Why don't we just build a big wall around ourselves? That's what China did. Keep everybody out, but what that does is keep all the ignorance in! But you don't have to build a wall with bricks. Nationalistic - another name for that is self-centered. The Churches are getting that way. Yes, clarifying the boundaries, clarifying the divisions. Instead of getting rid of them, they are clarifying them. When will that be torn down? Well it won't be torn down in the world until it's torn down in the Church. When will that be torn down in me? When will that which points toward Christ be destroyed? That's what the disciples asked - When shall all these things be? He's only talked to them about one thing, and that was the temple. But the temple represented a whole lot of things to them. It represented being a Jew, God's chosen people, the whole priesthood - a host of things. And all of them were religious, spiritual things. And they are saying, 'My God, when is this going to happen?' When will these things be destroyed? Look at what else they asked. " And what..." And let me just say that in the original translation, the word here is WHO. I don't know why it's "what" in the King James, but I'm telling you the truth. Because the question is when, who and where. Those three questions we'll deal with and we'll bring them all to connect to This Man. " And 'who' shall be the sign of thy coming?" Somehow or another in something that the Lord had said to them, they linked all of this destruction with His coming, and they should have, because that's when it takes place - IN HIS COMING! And that's the reason it's a who and not a what. People today are still looking for a "what" - things that are the sign of His coming. You've all read Matthew 24 and 25. It goes right through all of those things - wars, rumours of wars, this and that, and He says, but that's not it. You'll see all these things, but that's not it, not the end. And the word 'end' there means the finish, the completion. That's not it. So it's not what, it's who. The question is WHO? Who is the sign of your coming? And I'll tell you something else you can ponder. That word 'coming' right there means presence. Who is the sign of your presence? Isn't it a shame that Christians today, maybe me and you among them - let's go back to my little story. We go right into a grocery store, turn right around and go out, and there's been no sign of His presence there at all. Nobody in there would ever be aware of the presence of the Lord. In that particular verse, that word 'coming' means 'presence' - the Greek word 'parousia'. " Who is the sign of your presence and of the end of the world?" And the term 'world' here is 'anos' and it means 'age'. The end of an age. The Lord was speaking of the end of an age, an Old Testament age, an old covenant age, and old mankind age. He was speaking of the end of an age. Some translations make that difference where world means 'age' and other places where world means 'cosmos', which is what you can look out here and see. But here the word 'world' means 'age'. You can't see an age, an age is reflected by the people who occupy it. The Dark Ages - and you've got people whose minds are dark. And they are asking when is the end of this age? What is the sign? So they've asked when will this happen? And who is the sign? And what is the first thing Jesus says to them? " Take heed that no man deceive you." Immediately he said take care - deception concerning these questions. And what is the deception? What is He warning them against? " Many shall come in my name saying, 'I am Christ' and shall deceive many." Not two or three - many. Many shall come in my name and many shall be deceived. And not only that, you'll hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you be not troubled. All these things have got to come to pass, but the end is not yet. Nation shall rise up against nation... And He goes on saying what will happen. But still it's not the end. But that's not what I'm talking about, He says. Be careful that you don't miss it. Be careful that you are not deceived. The Church started getting deceived before the first 100 years was over. That's the reason John was commissioned of the Holy Spirit to write the book of the revelation of Jesus Christ. It was written to a Church that had already been deceived, was hiding out in caves, had already been dispersed all over the known world, and John himself was in exile, a prisoner, and the Lord began to appear to him. And what did He say? SEND THIS MESSAGE TO THE CHURCH. The Lord has something He wants the Church to know. WHEN, WHO, AND WHERE (that's actually in John's gospel the 14 th chapter). All three of these questions are concerning one thing - the coming of the SON OF MAN. All three are tied up in the Son of Man and His coming. When, who, where? Jesus says be careful that you're not deceived. Be careful! Let's go to Matthew 16:13. Jesus has asked something, and all that we've just looked at related to this question. Everything said in Matthew 24 is related to this question. " When Jesus came to the coast of Caeserea Philippi he asked his disciples (again He's dealing with His disciples) saying, who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" Well, they give Him an answer, but then He says, " WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?" That's the whole heartbeat of our search together. Who do you say that I, the Son of Man, am? Because He goes on to say that upon this rock, upon this comprehension that has to be given of my Father, I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not be able to withstand my Church. The word 'prevail' means to 'keep back' or 'withstand'. The gates of hell shall not be able to keep back those who understand, who have this comprehension given of my Father, of who I, the Son of Man, am. This question, this answer, this comprehension is the foundation upon which He builds His True Church. Thank God that Church in China was built upon that foundation or it wouldn't be there today. It certainly wasn't built on a natural foundation, it was built on a comprehension of a relationship with the Lord Jesus. And it continues today; in fact it's stronger today than in 1949 when it was supposed to be destroyed. It doesn't have any buildings because it is a building! There is a comprehension relating to the Son of Man and to His coming. There are questions about it - WHAT, WHEN, WHO, WHERE? I want us to see what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church with regard to relation, to the Person of the Lord. We trust the Lord to deal with us and bring us to that understanding. So we come down to this point - WHO IS THIS SON OF MAN? We first have to look at Him from the Father's viewpoint. We'll see that in Isaiah 66:1 and 2. " UNTO THIS MAN WILL I LOOK." And then I trust you and I will begin to find our identity with Him in a reality of the Spirit. The Church should give Him expression in the earth. We ought to express more than a religion - we should express the Living Person, not only when we gather, but when we disperse. The Lord help us to do that. Who do you say? Then we need to get our answer from the Lord. 'Peter, only my Father can reveal this to you.' Everything hinges upon that revealing of the Son. You and I do not have a real comprehension of who we are until God reveals His Son. We don't have a real comprehension of where we are until God reveals His Son. We don't have a real comprehension of when we are, what time it is - we all think it's Tuesday - until God reveals His Son. It all depends upon the Father revealing His Son and bringing everything to a reality in Him. I trust that we will abound in that comprehension. If we don't the nations haven't got a chance. If we don't the world hasn't got a chance. If we don't the Church hasn't got a chance. Upon this comprehension I'll build my Church - not upon a bunch of stuff - upon this comprehension given by the Father concerning His Son. It's that comprehension to which you must come. And I'll tell you the Spirit of God will bring you there if you'll give Him your heart. These questions concern the end of all things not Christ. Hebrews 12:25- 29 speaks of those things that can be shaken and will be shaken. And it is the voice of Him that does that. The voice is the covenant - what I mean is the covenant is an understanding given of God. The voice is not like a voice that you are hearing - you are hearing my voice. When you hear His voice you get understanding. His voice comes within you. It is an understanding that comes with the Lord, when He is revealed. There is an understanding that comes with the vision of the Lord. The vision of the Lord is always accompanied by a voice, whether it's in the Old Testament or the New Testament. John said, " I turned to see the voice..." And virtually the rest of that book is a result of that voice - of John seeing the voice. And throughout that book he is saying, 'I was made to understand, I was made to see. And he said, Look. And he said, Behold. And he brought me up and caused me to see.' All of that has to do with getting a comprehension. What was happening to John was that the New Covenant, the new understanding was being opened in him volume by volume, written in him. That's what the revelation of Christ is. God revealing His Living Word in you, that Living Son, and you getting a comprehension - you hearing His voice. So there is a comprehension coming then, that will remove former things. In the natural, we have a lot of superstitions. What removes those from a people? A better understanding, a greater knowledge - shakes them and removes them and takes their place. So that those superstitions may continue in some, but they do not remain in you. There they are taken away and replaced by a knowledge. That's what we're talking about. We're talking about things that are not Christ, things that once pointed to Him, but must be replaced by Him. Christ bringing in a greater understanding. You call the building such as was in Israel, the temple, the place you went to worship God. And then all of a sudden you came to a greater understanding in Christ Jesus. He represents the temple of God and you are the lively stones in Him. Now all of a sudden that greater understanding would replace the lesser understanding and you would no longer worship the temple. That thing is shaken. What we're talking about is the shaking of things, the removing of things, things coming to an end. The disciples asked when shall these things be? These are all spiritual things. Things of sin should have already come to an end in you. Things of the world should have already come to an end for you. But when will these spiritual things find their fulfillment in Christ? When will they be removed to be replaced by a greater one? See the things of the world are not removed to be replaced by Christ - they are just done away. But these spiritual things that associate themselves with a temple, the offerings, sacrifices - all of the old order of things. I want to be very clear on this, because these things that are done away, are done away in that they are fulfilled! They are done away in that they are accomplished in the Lord Jesus. So that we no longer look to the types, to the shadows, to that which points to Him, but rather we simply and only look to Him. And in Him we find our being. In Him we find our definition, our life, our dwelling, our fulness - WE FIND IT ALL IN HIM! The questions - when, who, where - all related to a coming of someone. That someone is called THE SON OF MAN. I want us to begin to look at That Man from God's point of view because it is to God's viewpoint that we all must come with regard to salvation, our relationship to Christ, not man's viewpoint, not religion's viewpoint, not the viewpoint of the old order. We must come to God's viewpoint. How does God see things? That's the purpose for which He has given the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Truth is the only way we can come to God's viewpoint about things. The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. And the Spirit brings us to see as God sees; to God's point of view. Many times we will be found out of God's point of view. When that is so it is very difficult to understand the dealings of God in your life, because all of His dealings are to bring you and I to His viewpoint. I'm going to substitute that word 'viewpoint' for the word 'vision' - bring us to His vision. Well then, what does the scripture say concerning God's vision of This Man that we want to deal with, who finds his answer in the Son of Man? EVERYTHING FINALLY COMES TO FIND IT'S ANSWER IN CHRIST! You and I must finally come to find our answer in Christ - our answer concerning everything, but most importantly our answer concerning ourself. WHO are we? WHAT are we? WHY are we? WHEN are we? Those are questions that plague nations, governments and all people - trying to find themselves, find their roots, their inheritance. We come up with a lot of descriptions, but how does God see us? That's what we're dealing with. It's all answered here in the PERSON OF THE LORD. Who is then, This Man - SON OF MAN - who is This Man? Look at Isaiah 66:1, " Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house... (the dwelling place, the tabernacle, the temple, the household. Jesus speaks about the Father's house.) ... ye build unto me? Where is the place of my rest?" The Lord is asking a question. He's asking where is it that I can dwell? 'Why, the heaven is my throne, the earth is my footstool. I've created all of these things. What is it that you are going to build for me? What will you do wherein I can find rest? (It means completion, satisfaction.) All of these things that you would use I have created. What is it you would use that I have not created? What would you give to me that I haven't already given unto you? What is it that you can do for me - show me these great things.' See this is what they were trying to do to the Lord Jesus. They were showing Him the temple. They were showing the Temple of God Himself all of these things. The Lord challenged the prophet here in Isaiah. " BUT UNTO THIS MAN WILL I LOOK. Even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, who trembleth at my word." He goes on to describe A Man all the way through verse 9 and 10. We have to understand it is not a natural man, but it is Man as God sees him; Man as God desired him; Man as God has purposed him to be. God looked to This Man - the vision of God, the view of God is A MAN, yes, but more importantly THIS MAN - no other Man. We're going to bring This Man right into Christ. We have to understand that This Man starts in the heart and mind, desire and purpose of God. God has purposed Himself a dwelling place. God having purposed Him a dwelling place, what will we build Him that would deter Him or cause Him to change His mind? Unto This Man will I look! I want to give emphasis to the word 'THIS' Man - not to some Man, or any Man, but to THIS MAN. The word 'look' is a tremendous word in the scripture because the word means 'to gaze upon with purpose and intention.' This Man is not God's glance. He is God's gaze. 'Look' means 'to fasten your attention.' See, you can not even look with your natural eyes - you have to look with your heart. There's too many things that distract the natural eye - just the least movement would distract you. You do not see This Man with your natural eye, nor will you ever. This Man does not, will not, nor shall He ever appear to natural eyes. So, if you're looking for This Man in the natural - Quit, now! If you're looking for Him in that natural way, quit doing so now or you will be deceived. Because many will come in that natural way and say, 'I am He. This is He'. We read that. That's the deception - trying to see This Man in the flesh, trying to comprehend This Man in the flesh, in the natural - you can not. You and I cannot comprehend our relationship with Jesus in the natural. When you try to do that, your salvation has to be defined in the natural. So to you, salvation will be something you can see. It will be not sinning, not going to a place, not eating a food, not drinking a drink. It will be all that because you'll bring it into a natural comprehension, and it will never get beyond that. You'll always define salvation by something you can see. But you can't see true salvation. True salvation is revealed by the Spirit of God. True salvation is worked in you! I'm not telling you it will not affect your life. I'm simply telling you that you can't see salvation. You can't see this Man. You can not comprehend with your natural mind oneness with Christ. You'll end up calling yourself God. With your natural mind you can not comprehend The Man that is being described in the scripture. I hesitate sometimes to describe Him because of the danger of some trying to see Him in the natural and making themselves something other than He is. The danger is trying to comprehend This Man in the flesh. UNTO THIS MAN WILL I LOOK. This Man is the supernatural, spiritual gaze of God's own heart. God refuses to look at any other man. He refuses to consider any other man. Consequently, when the Lord Jesus came and said, " I come to do the work of my Father", it is to bring forth This Man and no other man because the Son would not work against the will of God. Nor would He do other than the will of God. For Him or for us to do other than the will of God is to be against the will of God. You can't have it somewhere in the middle. We are either seeing This Man or you're not seeing - you're not seeing some of Him - you're either seeing Him or you're not seeing Him. Of course all of this is going to bring us finally to see Him face- to-face. Because you'll never know Him until you've seen His face. You only know This Man when you see His face, not His foot, not His hand, not His works. You don't know Him when you see me, you know Him when you see HIS FACE. THIS IS THE ONLY MAN THAT CAN SEE GOD FACE-TO-FACE AND NOT DIE, because natural man can not do it. This Man is the full faced view of God. He is in full view. GOD LOOKS AT THIS MAN AND THIS MAN LOOKS AT GOD! This is tremendous! The Holy Spirit is trying to bring you and I into that look, that gaze - to behold as in a glass. Hebrews says, " To them that look for him, he shall appear... unto full salvation." It's the same look. There's only One Man in view. And that's The Man God started out to have, and it's The Man God does have in His Son. And God wants you and I to see That Man. He wants us to hear the voice, that is, come to the understanding of That Man. And He wants you and I to give expression as His Body to That Man in the earth. God looks at only One Man. So now, because God looks at One Man, He is determined to have That Man. So, all of the work and movement of the Holy Spirit consequently, is toward That Man. I mean that every dealing of God in our life is to bring you and I into full view of This Man, to bring you and I into a comprehension. All of the labor of the Holy Spirit is toward that, from His very first dealings with you in your heart concerning sin, to His very greatest dealings with you in the revealing of the Only Begotten Son of God. All of the movement of the Holy Spirit is to bring about This Man and to bring This Man into full view. Consequently, because of that, all of the prophets prophesied concerning This Man. Look at Isaiah. How does Isaiah end? With A MAN! Isaiah 66 is the last chapter. In Isaiah 66:18, " For I know their works and their thoughts; it shall come, that I shall gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations..." Verse 21, " And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the Lord. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain." All of that is said concerning This Man. This Man that God has called HIS SEED and HIS GLORY. In Isaiah 6 is where it all begins, " In the year that King Uzziah died..." What does Uzziah represent? He represents former things, that which is not Christ though it points to Christ. Uzziah was that King that went into the temple uninvited and he died a leper. Uzziah is a type of the man that fell short of the glory of God. Uzziah is a type of the first man, the natural man. We've called him Adam, flesh, he's you and me. He is that which is born of the flesh. Romans 3 says that " all have sinned and come short of the glory of God," has come short of This Man. God says, where is the house you're going to build me? Where's the rest you're going to give me? It's all come short of my glory. " But unto THIS MAN ..." A Man of full stature, of full glory. The Bible says until we all come in the unity of the faith, the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man - one who is measured in the fulness of the measure of the stature of Christ. One who has not fallen short, one who is of full stature. Isaiah ends with That Man because That Man is the end of all prophecy. Prophecy doesn't go beyond This Man. All prophecy points toward Him. How did Isaiah begin? He began with the death of Uzziah! And we have to begin our journey here as well - the end of one, and that represents what can be shaken, what can be seen. If it can be seen, heard, touched, tasted or smelled, it can be shaken. If it is natural it will not remain. All of that finally with you and I must come to an end. And the end of it is AT THE CROSS. The book of Isaiah really begins with the end of Uzziah and I'm just going to ask you this - when will that which falls short come to an end with us? The temple fell short of the glory of God. Moses received the pattern for the tabernacle on Sinai. Sinai is the mountain where God could not fully manifest His glory, could not be fully seen. 'I can not show you my face, but my hinder parts.' When will all of that really come to an end? Who is the sign of that? What is it that shall replace all of that in our hearts? The vision begins with the end of Uzziah, but who is the beginning of the vision? Not Uzziah! The greatest view of the cross is not a dead Adam. The greatest view of the cross is a LIVING CHRIST! You and I are not brought to the cross to simply see that we are dead. We are brought to the cross that we may see This Man, and find our life and our being only in Him! But I'm telling you now, the vision will cost the other. The one comprehension will cost the other. The one new order will cost the other. This temple, place of worship, This Man, will cost you the other. So, who is the beginning of the vision of This Man? Isaiah 6, "...I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims; each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him..." Who did Isaiah see here? He saw the temple of God. He saw the temple of God filled with the glory of God. He saw the temple of God filled with the majesty of God. He saw the New Creation there depicted by the seraphim. And a voice accompanied this vision - a voice always accompanies this vision. And the voice literally shook the house of God. Certainly anything else will be shaken and not remain! That voice literally tries the pillars of God's house. There's a comprehension coming forth in This Man that will literally try the strongest of us. What will be the test? It will be to whether you can turn loose of the old, whether you will stand in a comprehension of Him, or be carried away with that which can not remain, can not abide that presence, that face, that appearing. And the test is just that - whether you shall remain. And what is bringing about all of this? THE LORD IS APPEARING!! The Lord is appearing here! Isaiah doesn't first see the temple - no - "I SAW THE LORD". Until you see the Lord, you can not see This Man, you can not see this creation. You can not see this abiding until you see the Lord. Because THIS MAN IS THE LORD! This temple is the Lord! It's not the Lord and me, or the Lord and you - here it's just the Lord in His temple, His temple in Him. Here it is just the Lord! No one is seen here, but the Lord! And His voice, His comprehension fills it. Isaiah, as strong a prophet, as chosen a man, could not bear it, could not look upon it, could not speak it. He fell upon his face and said it's too great for me to say. There is a salvation that is too great to say. And you can't say it with your natural tongue, else you would make yourself something you are not. If the Spirit does not reveal Him then you'll never be able to communicate this gospel, because you can not say it with the natural tongue. You see the Lord gives the comprehension of Himself - yes, it comes in a people, but it's a comprehension of Himself and it replaces all other comprehensions. You are coming to this if you continue to the end, because this is God's end. Matthew 24 uses that word three times. " This is not the end. " But THIS MAN is the end. This Man is the end of the age, the completion. This is where God has brought and is bringing you and I in His Son - to This Man, to this salvation, to this redemption. God's salvation is a whole Man, a whole creation. God's redemption is a whole creation! God's house is a Man, a people, God's resting place. " I will tabernacle in the midst of them. That's where I'll write my word revealed in them. They will hear a voice, a comprehension they can not in any language speak." Except God reveal This Man He can not be seen. He will not be seen except God reveal Him. He's not going to give us sermons about This Man. He's going to reveal This Man and bring Him forth as an expression of Himself! UNTO THIS MAN WILL I LOOK. God's heart is set upon such a mankind. This Man is a mankind - a kind of Man. The term "SON OF MAN' is just that - mankind - Son of Mankind. The Son of Man is actually THE SON in This Man. The Son in His Own Body! You see the Lord Jesus took upon Him the body that fell short. You have read that - He had to be made a little lower, He had to make Himself of no reputation, He had to come in the form of a servant. He took upon Himself the body of the first man. His body represented all of mankind, but His body did not come from mankind. " A body hast thou prepared for me." Hebrews 10. For what? TO DIE! " I didn't come to offer sacrifices. I didn't come to offer bulls and goats. A body thou hast prepared for me." And the body that God prepared for Him was the body of the first man, of mankind. And in this body is represented all colors, all creeds, Jews, Gentiles, males, females, bond, free, Barbarian, Scynthians. It's all there in this body that He took. This is the first coming of the Son of Man, the Son of Man coming as the first man. And as the first man, He died. But as the second, the Son of Man coming as the second man, He comes in This Body (This Man), but He doesn't come to die, He comes to live, unto the full expression of Himself. THIS MAN IS THE BODY OF HIS RESURRECTION! He says I am the Resurrection! This is His Body, so it is the Body that He raises up - the Body of His Resurrection. You can't see that Body. You can see the 'tent' that Body lives in, but you can't see that Body. I can see a bunch of tents but I can't see that Body. And yet I know that Body is there because I have seen that Body by the Spirit. And it is that Body that He associates Himself with. There is a body that I have. There is a Body that I am. The Bible says so there is a spiritual body, there is a natural body, and the less must serve the greater. The body that I have must come to serve the Body that I am. The Body that I am is given of Christ! It's His Body - it's a spiritual Body, but it's a real Body. It's more real than the natural body that changes every day - HIS BODY CHANGES NOT! Everything with This Man is spiritual, is eternal in the heavens - to be made manifest in the earth, yes, but He's not an earth man. The order of This Man is Christ first, then those that are His at His coming, or His appearing. When He is revealed in you, they that are found to be in union with Him shall appear. That's the true order. You can preach This Man, you can preach This Man in all the scriptures, but until Christ is revealed in you, you can not know This Man. You must know This Man in His face. This Man was shown to all the prophets and they all prophesied of Him. But This Man comes to be fulfilled and completed in Christ Jesus! What we are speaking of is the coming of the Son of Man - in reality, not in some futuristic, dispensational way - but in the reality of Christ. Such A Man! To Isaiah and Ezekiel This Man was in the future. To you and I This Man is in the present. HE IS COME! It's a shame that most of the Church still sets Him in the future. And most of the Church miss Him in His reality. They substitute temples for THE TEMPLE. They substitute themselves. Why? Because they refuse to allow all of that to come to the cross and be done away with, and find their present being - not future, in This Man NOW! The prophets were right to do that. But we in doing it simply pervert the gospel. John was right to say 'He's coming', but when He came, that's the end of that. Now we have to deal with Him at hand. He came a first to do away with one mankind. The second man is the Lord from heaven. He comes a second to find full manifestation in a people and here His coming is ever more! It is there in That Man, in that relationship that we've got to find ourselves, because that's where true salvation is. This Man that was prophesied in the scripture was fulfilled in Christ Jesus and He is fulfilled now! The Holy Spirit has come to bring you and I who are in Christ to view - Shew the House to the House - come to view the face of the Man with whom, in whom we have our being, our dealings, our very substance. See, most believers are not the man they think they are. They think they are the first man because they look in a natural mirror and they see a natural face. But when you look in God's mirror, you will see the face of another. The light of the knowledge of the glory of God shining in the face of JESUS CHRIST! You will see the face of This Man. And all of a sudden you and I will realize it is not I, it is CHRIST WHO LIVETH IN ME! The Lord give us understanding of salvation, of redemption, of relationship. The Lord reveal His Son, because all of this is in the Son, and revealed in the Son. But where is the Son revealed? HE IS REVEALED IN YOU! Not in a rock, not in a board, not in the air - in YOU! All of this is to be revealed in you, and as an individual and as a humanity, we will not be able to stand! The Lord will have His Man. He will have His expression, not His reflection, but His appearing! "Father thank you for such a great salvation. Lord by your Spirit capture our hearts and bring us into this same view that has filled your heart from eternity past and shall fill eternities to come. AMEN."