Who Is Jesus? The God Who Sees and Hears

Sep 19, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When Dungeon Doubts Meet Divine Answers

John the Baptist sat in a Herod’s prison, wrestling with the gap between his expectations of a revolutionary Messiah and the quiet, healing work of Jesus. His raw question—“Are you the one?”—echoes in every heart that has ever felt trapped by unmet spiritual or circumstantial hopes. Jesus responds not with rebuke but with evidence: the blind see, the lame walk, the poor hear good news. Even in doubt’s tightest cage, Jesus invites us to look at what He’s already doing. [45:38]

When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:2-3, NIV)

Reflection: What unmet expectation of God’s activity in your life feels like a “prison” today? How might Jesus’ response to John shift your focus from what’s missing to what He’s already doing?

Day 2: Naming the God Who Sees Your Silent Tears

Leah, unloved and overlooked, named her son Reuben—“See, a son!”—as a monument to being seen by El Roi. Her story mirrors nights spent crying into pillows, wondering if God notices hidden pain. Jesus, the ultimate expression of El Roi, sees every unspoken grief, every quiet shame. His vision pierces darkness, turning forgotten places into altars of divine attention. [57:34]

When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive. (Genesis 29:31, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you stopped naming your pain because you feel invisible? How might declaring “El Roi” over that space change your posture toward God today?

Day 3: Yahweh’s Timetable in a TikTok World

John the Baptist knew Yahweh’s covenant promises but struggled when God’s timeline didn’t match his prison-cell urgency. Yahweh—the “I AM” who bound Himself to Israel across generations—works in lifetimes, not 24-hour news cycles. His covenant-keeping redefines delay as divine craftsmanship, weaving individual stories into His eternal narrative. [52:30]

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6, NIV)

Reflection: What promise feels delayed in your life? How might Yahweh’s covenant-keeping nature reframe your understanding of His timing?

Day 4: El Shaddai in the “Not Enough” Moments

Jacob worked 14 years for Rachel, Leah bore child after child seeking love, and Abraham waited decades—all encountering El Shaddai, the God who is enough. When our strivings leave us empty, Jesus as El Shaddai meets us not with more tasks but with sufficiency. His “enoughness” turns our barren places into spaces for divine provision. [54:43]

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty [El Shaddai]; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.” (Genesis 17:1, NIV)

Reflection: Where are you striving to “make enough” instead of resting in El Shaddai? What would it look like to exchange your efforts for His sufficiency today?

Day 5: Speaking Jesus’ Name Over Unseen Battles

The sermon’s altar call became a battlefield—voices declaring “Jesus” over anxiety, sickness, and despair. Like Leah naming her pain and John sending messengers to Christ, speaking Jesus’ name shifts focus from our prisons to His presence. Every “I speak Jesus” becomes a war cry against the lie that our struggles define us. [01:05:21]

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:1-2, NIV)

Reflection: What situation needs you to physically move (stand, kneel, raise hands) while speaking Jesus’ name? How does embodied declaration reinforce spiritual truth in your battles?

Sermon Summary

Matthew 11 puts the biggest question right in the middle of a prison cell: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” John the Baptist had already pointed at Jesus and said, “That’s him.” John had seen the heavens open, heard the Father’s voice, and known Jesus from before birth. Yet John’s dark cell became the place where expectation and reality collided.

The expectation gap appears when the version of Jesus created in the mind does not match the situation being lived. Culture tells people to hustle, curate, manifest, and control until life works out. That same mindset can slip into faith: pray enough, give enough, trust enough, and everything should go well. Jesus refuses to be reduced to a formula for a pain-free life.

John’s doubt did not mean John stopped loving Jesus or walked away from Jesus. John took the question straight to the only one who could answer it. Jesus answered by pointing to what had been seen and heard: blind eyes opening, lame people walking, lepers cleansed, deaf ears hearing, dead people raised, and good news preached to the poor. Christ met John’s crisis not by fitting John’s political expectations, but by revealing the kingdom already breaking in.

The names of God anchor faith when feelings start spiralling. Elohim is the Creator who speaks into nothingness and brings something forth. Yahweh is the covenant-keeping God who works on a generational timeline, not a twenty-four-hour news cycle. Adonai is Lord and Master, confronting the lie that people are masters of their own destiny. El Shaddai is all-sufficient, even in a decades-long “not yet.”

El Roi, the God who sees, meets Leah in rejection and meets every hidden tear cried in the night. El Shamma, the God who hears, remembers Rachel’s cry and hears the cries of His children. Jesus is not the small image people curate for Him. Jesus is Creator, covenant keeper, Lord, provider, healer, shepherd, and the friend closer than a brother.

Doubt matters, but the place taken for answers matters even more. Worship turns the eyes from the prison cell back to Jesus. Praise does not deny anxiety, depression, pain, rejection, or delay. Praise declares that even before breakthrough appears, the child of God is seen, heard, loved, and held by the name of Jesus.

Key Takeaways

1. Bring doubt directly to Jesus [01:01:44] John the Baptist did not pretend that prison felt easy. John sent his question to Jesus rather than feeding it with speculation or despair. Doubt becomes dangerous when it is allowed to choose its own authority. Christ is able to receive honest questions without abandoning those who ask them. [61:44]
2. Jesus exceeds curated expectations [49:32] The expectation gap grows when faith becomes a transaction for control. Jesus is not obligated to fit the image formed by personal plans, pain, or timelines. Christ remains Lord even when circumstances do not make sense. His identity is steadier than every disappointed expectation. [49:32]
3. God sees hidden pain clearly [57:34] El Roi sees the tears that remain invisible in public worship and private rooms. Leah’s rejection did not escape God’s attention, even when human love failed her. Hidden pain is not proof of divine absence. The God who sees enters the places that shame tries to keep concealed. [57:34]
4. God’s timing is covenantal, not hurried [52:30] Yahweh keeps promises across generations and refuses to be rushed by human panic. Delay can feel like abandonment, especially when a promised future remains unseen. Yet God’s word does not return empty. Faith holds onto God’s character when the timetable remains unclear. [52:30]
5. Praise redirects the eyes to Christ [01:04:38] Worship does not make problems imaginary or remove every hard circumstance immediately. Praise shifts attention from what is surrounding a person to the One who sees, hears, and sustains them. The name of Jesus becomes a declaration against fear’s claim to final authority. Breakthrough may still be coming, but Christ is already present.

## [64:38]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[37:23] - Who Is Jesus?
[38:39] - When Expectations Fall Short
[40:31] - Four Questions That Shape Life
[42:15] - The Expectation Gap
[43:16] - John the Baptist’s Question
[46:24] - Faith in a Prison Cell
[50:08] - The Names of God
[55:28] - El Roi, the God Who Sees
[61:17] - Where Doubt Finds Answers
[63:51] - Jesus, Creator and Covenant Keeper
[64:38] - Worship Through the Darkness
[72:35] - Prayer for Freedom and Healing

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Matthew 11:1–6
“After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’ Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.’” [43:16] [45:57]

Genesis 29:31
“When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless.” [57:16] [57:34]

Genesis 30:22
“Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive.” [58:24] [58:54]

John 1:29
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” [46:24] [46:29]

Observation questions

What is the contrast between John’s confident declaration that Jesus is “the Lamb of God” in John 1:29 and his question from prison in Matthew 11:3? [46:24]
In Matthew 11, what specific things does Jesus tell John’s disciples to report back to him, and why might those reports have mattered to someone facing disappointment or confusion?
According to Genesis 29:31 and Genesis 30:22, what two different struggles did Leah and Rachel carry, and what does each passage say God did in response? [57:34]
What kinds of expectations can form when someone believes that praying, trusting, giving, or attending church should always make life go smoothly? [42:15]

Interpretation questions

John did not deny Jesus publicly or walk away from Him; he brought his question directly to Jesus. What does this suggest about the difference between honest doubt and choosing doubt as the final authority? [01:01:44]
Jesus answered John by pointing to what was being seen and heard—the blind receiving sight, the lame walking, and good news reaching the poor. Why might Jesus have answered with evidence of God’s kingdom rather than immediately changing John’s prison circumstances? [01:02:21]
Leah was unseen by Jacob, yet Genesis says the LORD saw that she was not loved. How does this shape the meaning of God being El Roi, “the God who sees,” especially for a person carrying hidden rejection or grief? [57:39]
If Yahweh is the covenant-keeping God who works beyond a twenty-four-hour news cycle, how can a believer hold onto God’s character when an answer or promise feels delayed? [52:30]

Application questions

Is there an area of life where expectations of Jesus have collided with present reality—such as health, relationships, work, anxiety, unanswered prayer, or a delayed hope? What honest question would it look like to bring directly to Jesus instead of carrying it alone? [01:01:47]
When disappointment comes, where is the first place you usually go for answers: fear, social media, self-reliance, other people’s opinions, or Jesus? What could it look like this week to take that question to Christ first? [01:02:00]
Which name of God speaks most clearly to your current situation: Elohim the Creator, Yahweh the covenant keeper, Adonai the Lord and Master, El Shaddai the all-sufficient One, El Roi the God who sees, or the God who hears? Why? [01:03:51]
Leah’s pain was visible to God even when it was hidden from others. Is there a hurt, rejection, or tear that you have been tempted to treat as proof that God has forgotten you? What would change if you began to name that pain before the God who sees? [01:01:17]
In what area are you trying to control the outcome or treat faith like a formula—“If I do enough, then life will work out”? What might surrender to Jesus as Adonai, Lord and Master, look like in that area? [53:41]
Praise does not deny pain, but it redirects the eyes toward Jesus. What simple practice of worship, Scripture, gratitude, or speaking God’s truth could help you turn your attention from the “prison cell” around you to Christ this week? [01:04:38]
Who in this group or in the church community could stand with you in prayer for a situation where breakthrough has not yet come? What would you be comfortable asking them to pray for specifically? [01:09:21]

Sermon Clips

28s

#GodSeesYou

“Our God is Elroy. He's the God who sees. He sees the tears that you cry in your room. He sees what you're going through in the private. You might come to church, raise your hands, and worship and praise, but yet you go in your room and you cry yourself to sleep. And you say, God, I'm here to tell you that he sees you. He is a he's El Roy. He is a God who sees.”

42s

#NewCreation

“this is the end. I've come to you tonight. I've come to say to you tonight. He sees you. He hears you. It is not the end. Your past doesn't define who you are. Jesus says those who are in behold those who are in Christ are a new creation. Your past doesn't define you. When that when those voices rise up, you go, no, no, no, no. I am a child of God. He sees me. He hears me. He's my shepherd. He walks beside the still waters with me. You need to start declaring those over your life tonight.”

51s

#NamesOfGod

“I don't know what image of him you have created in your mind, But I've come to remind you tonight that he's Elohim, the creator. I will invite the band up. He's Elohim, the creator. He's Yahweh, the covenant keeping God. He's Adonai, the the Lord and master. He's El Shaddai, the all sufficient God. That's who he is. Who is Jesus? He's Elroy. He's the God who sees you. Who is Jesus? He's he's El Shamma. He's the God who hears your cry in the middle of the night. He's the God who sees the rejection, the pain that you're going through. He is he's a he's a friend who is closer than the brother. That's who he is.”

45s

#FaithInDoubt

“Whatever you're going through, whatever freezing of life you find yourself tonight. You see, I'm not here to say that doubt is wrong. Doubting is not wrong. Doubting is not wrong. But where you go to find the answers to your doubt matters. Where you go to find the answers to your doubt, you you know, you saw what John the Baptist, when he was in the prison, what did he do? Instead of going to some wise people, what did he do? He sent a message to the one who has the answer. He didn't go around talking, and he this is this is what Jesus Jesus said to them.”

39s

#WhoIsJesus

“You see, you were asking the question, who is Jesus? Well, he is the bright and morning star. Who is Jesus? He's the one who is worthy to to to to open the scroll. Who is Jesus? He's the lamb that was slain. Who is Jesus? He's the savior who takes away the sin of the world. Who is Jesus? He's the shepherd who leads me through valleys. Who is Jesus? He is the one who is there when no one else is. Who is Jesus? He's not the image that I have created him to be. He is so much more than that.”

47s

#JesusCares

“You know, Jesus is asking each and every one of us ask that question, who do you say I am? And sometimes that we have an expectation gap. You see, the agonizing distance between the version of Jesus you thought you were following and the reality of the situation you were currently stuck in. And it's right there in that gap where the algorithm of our minds start to spiral. Is Jesus real? And if he is and if he is real, does he even care about me? If Jesus is real, does he even care about me?”

32s

#SurrenderControl

“You see, we live in a in a culture that is obsessed with manifestation, curation, and control. We are told that if we just hustle enough, if we cure curate our lives well enough and think positively enough, things will work out fine. Only to you only for you to find out later that it is not true. And if we are to be honest, we take that same mindset to Jesus.”

31s

#ElShaddai

“You see, when Abraham was 99 stuck in a decades loop of a not yet promise being fulfilled, God showed up and said, I am El Shaddai. I am El Shaddai. I am El Shaddai. So it's it's one thing to know these things, but it's hard to live it out. Why is that? Why is that?”

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