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The Message of Numbers (Part Three) on Tue 14 Jul 2009, 12:52 am
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Age: 58
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Number of posts: 364
Age: 58
Location: United Kingdom
Profession: Church of Scotland Minister
Marital Status: Married
Registration date: 2007-10-22
Points: 3951
Reputation: 1
Country:
Warning:
Why
is it that so many people, upon whom God’s hand has been laid
early in life, never attain their true spiritual stature? Is it not
because they have been distracted, allowing ‘self’ to
intrude where only God should be? This was the problem with the people
of Israel in the wilderness. Instead of God-centred blessing, they
chose self-centred rebellion.
God
wants to bless us. He wants us to enjoy the blessing, described in
6:24-26 – ‘The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make
His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up
His countenance upon you, and give you peace’. This blessing is
given to us in the Name of the Lord (v. 27). Notice the
threefold repetition of the Name of the Lord – ‘The Lord
…’ (v. 24), ‘The Lord …’ (v. 25),
‘The Lord …’ (v.26). Scripture teaches us to think
of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Reading this blessing in terms
of our faith in God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we read it thus:
‘May the Father bless …’ (v. 24), ‘May the
Lord Jesus make …’ (v. 25), ‘May the Holy Spirit
lift …’ (v. 26). There is no greater blessing than the
blessing of the Lord. There is no greater Person to give the blessing
than the Lord. What is the blessing the Lord wants to give to us? Three
short words sum up the Lord’s blessing – keep (v. 24), shine (v. 25) and peace (v. 26).
* The Lord keeps
us. What is it that keeps us going in the way of faith? Is it our own
will-power? – ‘I will keep going. I will never give
up.’ God’s Word tells us that there is something else.
There is something much more important. It is the power of God. We are
‘kept by the power of God’ (1 Peter 1:5).
* The Lord makes His face to shine
upon us. ‘The Lord will smile on you and be kind to you’.
The Lord is a smiling God. He smiles upon us. He smiles upon us because
He loves us. His smile is an expression of His love. The Lord gives us
His joy – ‘unutterable and exalted joy’ (1 Peter
1:8). Look to the Lord. He will keep you believing. He will keep you
rejoicing.
* The Lord gives us His peace.
From ‘the God of peace’, we receive ‘the peace of
God’. You may be having a tough time. You may not understand
what’s going on in your life. You can, however, receive
‘the peace of God that passes all understanding’
(Philippians 4:7). We look at what’s happening to us. It causes
us deep distress. We look beyond all of that. We catch a glimpse of
something very much more wonderful. God is at work. He is working in
our lives. He is doing a work which will bring ‘praise, glory and
honour’ to Him. God is fulfilling His purpose – ‘the
salvation of our souls’ (1 Peter 1:6-7, 9).
‘The
Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and
give you peace’ (6:24-26). The people of Israel had heard these
wonderful words. This was God’s Word to them in the wilderness.
This was His promise of blessing. Sadly, they soon forgot the Word of
the Lord. In 11:4, God’s people are described as ‘the
rabble’. We read of their longing to go back to Egypt. Here, we
are challenged concerning our own consecration. Do we long to go on
with God? Do we long to go back to the world? The sad story of
‘the rabble’ is contained in the Word of God so that we
might learn to avoid the dangers of going back to the world. We are to
learn from their mistakes. We are to learn to go on with God.
-----
This is the third part of an article which was published in Evangel.
is it that so many people, upon whom God’s hand has been laid
early in life, never attain their true spiritual stature? Is it not
because they have been distracted, allowing ‘self’ to
intrude where only God should be? This was the problem with the people
of Israel in the wilderness. Instead of God-centred blessing, they
chose self-centred rebellion.
God
wants to bless us. He wants us to enjoy the blessing, described in
6:24-26 – ‘The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make
His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up
His countenance upon you, and give you peace’. This blessing is
given to us in the Name of the Lord (v. 27). Notice the
threefold repetition of the Name of the Lord – ‘The Lord
…’ (v. 24), ‘The Lord …’ (v. 25),
‘The Lord …’ (v.26). Scripture teaches us to think
of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Reading this blessing in terms
of our faith in God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we read it thus:
‘May the Father bless …’ (v. 24), ‘May the
Lord Jesus make …’ (v. 25), ‘May the Holy Spirit
lift …’ (v. 26). There is no greater blessing than the
blessing of the Lord. There is no greater Person to give the blessing
than the Lord. What is the blessing the Lord wants to give to us? Three
short words sum up the Lord’s blessing – keep (v. 24), shine (v. 25) and peace (v. 26).
* The Lord keeps
us. What is it that keeps us going in the way of faith? Is it our own
will-power? – ‘I will keep going. I will never give
up.’ God’s Word tells us that there is something else.
There is something much more important. It is the power of God. We are
‘kept by the power of God’ (1 Peter 1:5).
* The Lord makes His face to shine
upon us. ‘The Lord will smile on you and be kind to you’.
The Lord is a smiling God. He smiles upon us. He smiles upon us because
He loves us. His smile is an expression of His love. The Lord gives us
His joy – ‘unutterable and exalted joy’ (1 Peter
1:8). Look to the Lord. He will keep you believing. He will keep you
rejoicing.
* The Lord gives us His peace.
From ‘the God of peace’, we receive ‘the peace of
God’. You may be having a tough time. You may not understand
what’s going on in your life. You can, however, receive
‘the peace of God that passes all understanding’
(Philippians 4:7). We look at what’s happening to us. It causes
us deep distress. We look beyond all of that. We catch a glimpse of
something very much more wonderful. God is at work. He is working in
our lives. He is doing a work which will bring ‘praise, glory and
honour’ to Him. God is fulfilling His purpose – ‘the
salvation of our souls’ (1 Peter 1:6-7, 9).
‘The
Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and
give you peace’ (6:24-26). The people of Israel had heard these
wonderful words. This was God’s Word to them in the wilderness.
This was His promise of blessing. Sadly, they soon forgot the Word of
the Lord. In 11:4, God’s people are described as ‘the
rabble’. We read of their longing to go back to Egypt. Here, we
are challenged concerning our own consecration. Do we long to go on
with God? Do we long to go back to the world? The sad story of
‘the rabble’ is contained in the Word of God so that we
might learn to avoid the dangers of going back to the world. We are to
learn from their mistakes. We are to learn to go on with God.
-----
This is the third part of an article which was published in Evangel.
_________________
