Sermon in LLC Winter Services 2017, Phoenix 24.02.2017

Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. We will continue our services reading an Old Testament text. It's familiar, very familiar words that we hear, I'm thinking, every week. For some of us we hear every day.

But before I read these words from the book of Numbers, I wish to bring greetings of love and God's peace from the Holy Spirit. Children of God in Saskatchewan, Canada, especially my home congregation of Saskatoon. Those that knew we were coming, also knowing that I was asked to serve here, sent me and my family with many prayers of God's blessings and also many greetings to you, dear brothers and sisters gathered here.

And so from the sixth chapter of Numbers, reading from the 22nd verse. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them. Amen.

So here we have a portion. Already many years have gone by since creation. And the priesthood of Aaron has been established. The children of Israel are on the journey to the promised land. And God teaches Moses, who then told Aaron how he is to bless the children of Israel.

So we may wonder then, if many years have passed, that has there not been a blessing? We would not have to look far into the scriptures to see the blessing that God promised. We can remember Abraham was called from the Lord from his father's home and said that, I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you. And in thee shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

And this blessing was then passed to Isaac, when Abraham blessed Isaac and Isaac blessed Jacob. And this is the blessing of God. This blessing is, of course, in two parts. We are blessed here in time, in our temporal lives. God gives blessings which make our life, we could say, more enjoyable, easier to live. And these blessings He has given to all people in His measure and His wisdom.

We live a time of plenty, certainly, where God has given much. He has given so much, in fact, that many times we forget to thank Him for those which He has given. I think when we have less, then it's easier, maybe, to remember to give thanks. But God has seen good in this time to bless, and certainly He has blessed temporarily.

But this blessing also, more importantly, includes the blessing that is included in the Gospel, in God's Word, the blessing, the spiritual blessing. And the Lord told Moses to tell Aaron, that in this way you shall bless the children of Israel. To say, the Lord bless thee and keep thee.

That this blessing, that God would give, this blessing of the name of a child of God. That not only would this blessing come to us once, but that it would continue throughout our entire lives.

And if we think of Isaac blessing his son, Jacob. Isaac was an old man. And he called his son, actually Esau, to come and receive the blessing. But Esau, who had been the firstborn, and was by birth supposed to receive the blessing, had already, through his life, through his words, denied his child-given faith. And this blessing then belonged to Jacob.

And his mother, Rebecca, saw that, and instructed Jacob to receive the blessing. And when Isaac had blessed Jacob, Esau came also to receive a blessing. And he cried to his father, that, Father, do you only have one blessing? May I also? Why can I not also receive that blessing?

But is it any different today? How many blessings do we hear when we come to services, wherever we're gathered? Whether we're in Finland, Ecuador, Africa, Canada, United States, wherever God's children are gathered together in fellowship, and where the blessing is offered. Is there more than one blessing? There is only one. And it's that we are blessed. And that's why we are blessed.

And it's that same message from the heart of the Heavenly Father onto his own, to his created people, that you, I loved you, and I gave my son to die for you. And you have permission to believe all sins forgiven, in Jesus' name, in the name of the Father, and in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Holy Spirit. And you have the blessing of the precious blood.

This is the blessing of the kingdom. And Jesus warns, and scriptures tell that there will be others that come. Beware of false prophets, Jesus said. For they come in sheep's clothing, but they come in the flesh. And they will destroy the flock.

But when we, as we heard in this previous sermon, have tender ears to hear the message that comes from the heart of the Heavenly Father, that message is that one message that answers to our spirit that has been given as a gift, the Holy Spirit in our heart. There is only one blessing. And the Lord bless thee and keep thee.

Jacob was blessed and received the blessing. He then went to his uncle's place. And there he worked for many years and received many blessings of God. And God blessed his cattle, and his riches grew. He received two wives. And then it was time for him to return back to this area he had left, to where his father had lived.

And during this time, because of, or maybe due to God's blessings, we don't know. But Jacob began to see these blessings of God as his own goodness. That he had earned some merit in God's eyes and began to receive blessings.

So here, this blessing that he had received, we also pray that God would keep us in this blessing. He would keep us. He would protect us. He would give us as children of God.

Jacob began to grow in himself and God needed to come to Jacob. He came to him one night when Jacob was alone. And there, Jacob wrestled with God all night. And as the morning was coming, then God touched Jacob's thigh and put it out of joint.

And Jacob then was awakened and he found himself needing the blessing. He was humbled. God was able, in this, I would say, almost a difficult way, to humble Jacob to wish to receive the blessing. And he clung to him and said that I will not let you go except you bless me.

And there, Jacob was blessed. There he was able to receive and believe in the Savior that was to come, that he could believe his sins forgiven. And there, Jacob, as he walked, he limped and he was able to see the Lord. And he was able to see the Son of God.

And that's what God is about. And we are so thankful for this. I feel so grateful that from this day we have the opportunity to be with you. And we are so grateful that the Son rose, that glorious Son of Grace that comes from the face of the Lord.

Despite our poorness and our sinfulness. And also when we fall, as we heard last night, when we fall into sin, the Holy Spirit does not depart from us. But if we continue in sin and reject the gospel call from His kingdom and do not believe our sins forgiven, then at some point the Holy Spirit will leave that heart, our heart, and we will be in darkness. And we will maybe not even see this face of the Lord.

But the Lord make His face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. That God's gracious face would shine on us.

Once on a mission trip, after services, one of the listeners came to ask me what is God like? And I said, in some way, that God is a gracious God, a loving God, who wishes that all would believe on Him.

And he said, but, no, no, I mean, what does God look like? And I was maybe a little short with him. I said that no one has seen God face to face.

And he said, no, no, I mean, what does God look like? Even though we do pray here that the Lord would make His face shine upon us or be upon thee.

And then he said, well, no, actually, I just wanted to visit with you. I wanted to connect with you.

But we talked then more how Moses here, who gave this blessing to Aaron, which was given by God, he once asked also that he could see the face of God. And God told him that you cannot see me. You cannot see my face. That it is too glorious for you. It is too wondrous.

But when I pass by, I will show you my back parts. I will put you in a cleft in the rock. And I will hold my hand that you cannot see. But when I go by, I will then reveal my backside. That no man can see my face and live.

The glory of God is great. And other examples in the scripture tell this. If we think of Christmas night, Jesus was born. And the angels came to tell the shepherds. And it says that the glory of the Lord shone round about them. And what were the shepherds feeling? It says they were sore afraid.

Another time on the Mount of Transfiguration, when Jesus was there and his face shone white with glory. And there came a loud voice from heaven. The disciples that were with Jesus, they fell on the ground as if dead and hid their face.

That's the glory of God. It is so great that we, well, if we were to see it as God told us, it meant that we were going to want to hear a gift that Jesus is giving us, which is the favor of our prayers.

Praise God and praise the Most High. Many times we read about this. The great king, not withstand it. Where have you seen the shining face of God? Maybe you have an easy answer to that. Or maybe you wonder that where has God's face shone in my life?

Well, when you are here in the midst of God's children, haven't you seen the face of God as if reflected in the face of your brothers and sisters? It has been a shining face of love shown towards you and me as sinners.

Such a shining face that it is a light that when we sit in the services or visit with brothers and sisters in faith, it shows us, it reveals to us our sins. It is a light that there is no shadow. It shows us. It reveals who we are. We cannot hide anything in it.

But it doesn't need to be a face that causes us fear when we are under the grace of God. That the Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee.

Without this grace, that shining face would be a face that would feel to us as an angry or demanding face. And I'm sure you have experienced as with me when we have discussed with someone who does not want to believe.

I remember especially one time meeting in our home congregation where we met with one who was struggling with a matter in her life. She was engaged to get married to an unbelieving man.

And we spoke, how the scriptures teach this is wrong that God and even here we refer to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Abraham also in his old age sent Isaac to go to his homeland to take a wife from the people, from his people, from God's children.

And this same instruction has and continues throughout time. That when we seek a partner for our life to share in marriage, that this person would be one that shares the same faith, that we believe in the same God and the same blessing of God.

And as we had this discussion with her, somehow it was as if she noted that I feel some, as if pressure, we could maybe say, to do what is right. But yet her heart did not desire it. We could say it felt like a demanding law. Not a law of love and grace, but one of rules and do's and don'ts.

And once I was visiting with a brother about this, wondering that had we spoken in the right way, had we been too demanding. He spoke to me in this way. He said, I'm sure you have read and heard and understood that when we speak about God and we speak about His grace and the truth of His word, to those who believe, the sermon is a sermon of grace and love.

And to those who do not believe, it is a sermon of truth and law. That's how God works. No matter how carefully we try to speak, that message of God comes as He wishes. And if He opens the heart, that word will be a word of grace and love.

If He does not open the heart, many times that word is received as the demanding law. And this could happen in our congregation. It could happen in our homes. It may be between husband and wife, between parents and children, either children speaking to parents and reminding them of the gracious face of our Heavenly Father, which is found here in His kingdom, or parents speaking to the children.

But in these cases, we wish to speak what God gives. We speak His word in grace and truth. And we let God give the increase as He desires.

The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee and give thee peace. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

God's countenance, His face, to those who believe, is a loving face of peace. As Jesus says, that peace I leave with you. Not as the world give it, I give.

Paul wrote, that the peace of God which passes understanding, we cannot fully comprehend, nor can we explain to those around us who do not share this same faith of what this true peace is.

That when God blesses us and keeps us as his children in his kingdom, when he allows his face, his holy face to shine in our midst, and is gracious unto us, and when he lifts his countenance to us, as if a father would lift a child close to his face, then we can certainly feel the peace of God.

And isn't this where we want to be? In the kingdom of God. In the kingdom of God.

And this peace, that no matter what is facing us in our temporal lives, no matter what we struggle with in our own family, in our congregation, what doubts beset us, what sins we fall into again and again, that do we not want? We want to come again to this gracious face of our Heavenly Father, where to the poor the gospel is preached, to the sinner sins are washed away, to the doubting one the sermon of trust and faith comes strong, and to all the gospel is preached.

Believe, dear brother and sister. Uplift your heart to believe. All sins and doubts of the journey forgiven. In Jesus' name and precious blood.

Allow this blessing of God to protect you, to keep you. This blessing does not come to you because you have earned it, because you are good, and have done many good things.

But as God told the children of Israel that, I did not choose you because you were a great nation, but I chose you because you were the weakest, you were the smallest. He chose you also for that reason.

With your trembling heart, you can come boldly, to see the face of God here in His congregation, and boldly come to the throne of grace, and believe sins forgiven in Jesus' name and blood.

And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them. Here God promises to bless them, to bless them, to bless them, to bless them, to bless them, to bless them, to bless them, to bless them, to bless them, to bless them, to bless them, to bless us, and to put His name upon the children of Israel, a picture of us today, His children.

The songwriter writes, in somehow that, the child that bears within his bosom, as he travels in this foreign land, is blessed and happy, as he journeys to heaven across this foreign land.

And then he continues that, in some way that the name of a child of God is the most precious name that can ever be owned here in this life. That may we always cling and carry this name of a child of God.

I remember years ago when I graduated from university, and one of the dear mothers in the United States, was a woman who was a mother of a child. And the congregation gave me a card. And in that card were those words that, the child who bears within his bosom the peace of God here in this land, is blessed and happy as he journeys toward heaven.

That as God blesses in us, in our lives, that we would never allow any temporal blessings that he would give to us become more important than this spiritual blessing that he has promised.

And isn't it the same way when we bring a child into the covenant of baptism? And there in the end of the baptism, the speaker will bless the child with the Lord's benediction, the Lord's blessing. The greatest blessing there is that this child could remain as a child of God, his or her entire life.

Same when we are joined by God's word as husband and wife in marriage. Again, at the very end of that ceremony, the speaker will raise his hand and give, as spoken by God here over 3,000 years ago, that this is how we would bless that couple.

That God would keep them as his children all the days of their life. And that he would give them a home, a home where peace and unity dwells. And where they could create, with God's help and the help of the believers, a home where God's word would be spoken.

Where the cares of this world could be as if pushed away from that shelter in that home. And isn't that also our prayer, that we could keep our home, a believing home. And that God's blessings, most importantly, his spiritual blessings, would be found in our home.

Where parents, where the couple can bless each other with the forgiveness of sins. Where children also, when quarrels come, can quickly turn to the gospel. And that's where we would be. And preach and believe sins forgiven in Jesus' name and blood.

And then, the final sacrament that we would perform when someone passes from this life, the final blessing is given. It is again the same Lord's blessing. That we would bless, as we bless them into this earth, and give our final farewells, that God would bless.

Of course, when time is over, when they have left this life, their soul condition is cemented, it is set. A believer goes to the rest, to the righteous. And an unbeliever will then go to the final judgment, the damnation of hell.

But in some ways, we still wish to bless that one. And maybe in our own way, we are asking for that blessing for us who are here. That may God keep us as his own. May he keep us as his own. As his children. May he give us strength even in times of difficulty.

When one has left, it is not an easy time. We are left here in time to continue the journey. And we need God's help. That he would give us, even in a temporal sense, a small reprieve. But above all, that he would bless us and give us strength.

When we do not understand, to be obedient and to believe. Give us accepting hearts. When we cannot understand. One day in heaven, we will understand. We will see him in complete glory that he is.

We will be rid of this temporal body. And there, we will be able to see him face to face. We will not be afraid. We will not doubt. But we will shine. We will, as if, bask in that shining face of God. And we will be perfect.

Because we have believed in the merit work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And there in heaven, there will be, as they say, no natural sun. But God will be our light. And there, we can be forever praising him.

That he has taken me, the most wretched, the most sinful, and the most poor. And brought me to the destination. Brought me through the love, his love, the love of Christ, and the love of his congregation.

So may the Lord bless thee and keep thee. May his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace. In Jesus' name, Amen.