you to take your Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Numbers. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy,
Numbers. Numbers chapter 6. Numbers chapter 6. If there's anything that a believer
desires, a believer, a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, it's
to hear from the Lord. To hear from the Lord of the
Lord's blessing. For a man to tell another man
that he's blessed means nothing if you can't back
up what one says is the Lord's blessing. If you can't back that up with
scripture, you have nothing. And you think, what are you basing
that on? What does the Lord have to say? David said in Psalm 28 1, unto thee will I cry, O Lord,
capital L-O-R-D, O Jehovah, my rock. Be not silent to me, lest
if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the
pit. Lord, if you don't speak. Now this is serious here. This is serious. I need to hear
from God. I need to hear from the Lord. And I know He speaks. Because
He said, my sheep, hear my voice. And I know He's not mocking us. A believer can't rest unless
he hears in his heart, scripturally speaking, with new ears, ears
to hear. Unless he hears from heaven,
and he dreads the silence of God more than God's rebuke, because
the Lord's rebuke is a token of his love, whom the Lord loveth,
he chasteneth. But if God doesn't speak, when
scripture sets forth when Shulamite, the bride of the Lord, She said
this in Song of Solomon 3, 1 to 4. She said, by night on my bed,
I sought him whom my soul loveth. Now, you that know him, you know
what this is talking about. You've experienced that. You've
awakened, I guess. I don't know. I think I was awake. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if it was a dream.
I know the Lord spoken through dreams. I know that. I don't
know. But anyway, it's at night. And there's communion. There's communion with the Lord.
By night on my bed, I sought him whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but I found him
not. And then she said, I will arise
now and go about the city and the streets and in the broad
ways. I'll seek him whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but I found
him not. The watchmen, preachers, God's
preachers, that go about the city found me to whom I said,
saw ye him whom my soul loveth. It was but a little that I passed
from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth. Now listen, if
you know him, you're gonna understand something of what Shulamite's
about to say. Because, and I go back to what
Maurice, the Lord been pleased to take him home. But I think,
when I think of Maurice Montgomery, this is the statement that comes
back to me. He said, God will at times put
his people out on a limb and make them think that he's going
to leave them there. And there's no place that's lonelier. No
place. There's no comfort. There's nothing
that anyone can say to you. Just, well, just listen. Just
relax. It was but a little that I passed
from them But I found him whom my soul loved. I held him. I
would not let him go, like Jacob. And when Jacob wrestled with
the man, wrestled with the Lord, and the Lord said, let me go.
Jacob said, not unless you bless me. I'm going to tell you something.
A believer, he wants to hear from God. Lord, if you speak, I'm okay. If you speak, I hailed him, I
would not let him go till I brought him into my mother's house, into
the chamber of her that conceived me. Let me tell you what he was
talking about in that last statement right there. This is where I'm
going to hear from him. In the place where the bride
meets, in the house where my mother, that heavenly Jerusalem,
the church, the bride, Where God has been pleased to assemble,
this is where the Lord is going to speak. By and large, where
two or three are gathered together, God's people come together in
fellowship, love one another, meet together. And God raises
up a preacher. And God speaks as that preacher
faithfully proclaims what the Lord has to say. Well this morning
I want us to consider a passage of scripture that speaks of God's
blessing. Blessing to His people. A passage,
Numbers chapter 6, that we need to hear. We want to hear. We
must hear. We must hear again. Numbers chapter
6 and verse 22, and the Lord Again, I want to reiterate, look,
when we go through this passage of scripture, 22 to 27, look
who speaks. Capital L, capital O, capital
R, capital D, that is Jehovah. Always speaking of the Father,
the Son, and the Spirit. One God manifested in three persons. One God. And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and
unto his sons, saying, On this wise, in this manner, this is
the way you shall bless the children of Israel, saying, unto them. We'll look at the rest of it
in just a second. Jehovah and the Lord spake to Moses. You know I got up this morning
and got to looking at this passage of scripture. And this question
It came to my mind as I read that, and the Lord spake unto
Moses, saying, You speak to Aaron and to his sons, and you tell
them to say. Why would God say to Moses to
speak to Aaron and to his sons? God's getting ready to speak
peace and comfort and blessing. Why would God say to Moses, Moses
is a picture of the law. And the law cannot speak any
blessing, any comfort to God's people. By the law is the knowledge
of sin. Jehovah says to Moses, says to
the law, You speak to Aaron and his sons. Who were Aaron? Who
was Aaron and his sons? They were priests. They're priests and they're pictures
and types of the Lord Jesus Christ. You speak to my priest. You tell my priest to say to
my people. So the law must have him who
has satisfied the law. The law says unto him who has
fulfilled all the demands of the law. Law is satisfied for
all of God's sheep. And you speak to the vessels
of my mercy on this wise. I want you to speak to them. How does the Lord, how does the
priest, the great high priest himself speak God's blessing
to God's Israel? Now listen, the Lord spake unto
Moses saying, you speak unto Aaron and to his sons saying,
on this wise you shall bless the children of Israel. Do you remember who Israel is? Who was named Israel? Well, his
first name was Jacob. You say to the sons of Jacob,
those that I've loved, Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. When Jacob wrestled with the
man, the Lord himself, Jacob said, The Lord said, let me go. Jacob said, unless you bless
me. What did the Lord say to him?
He asked him a question. He said, what is your name? And
Jacob said, my name is Jacob, supplanter, trickster, liar,
conniver. That's what my name is. And the
Lord said, no more, no more. Your name is Israel. because you're a prince with
God. What did Jacob do to become a prince with God? Nothing. Almighty God was pleased
to show mercy and compassion to this Jacob. And so now, the
Lord Jehovah speaks to the law, to Moses and said, you say to
the priest, to His sons, all that will be
like Him. Pastors, according to my heart,
that our sin that's going to feed you with knowledge and understanding
is going to be honest with you and tell you what I have to say.
Pastors, after God's own heart, commissioned to declare salvation
is of the Lord. That's what every pastor's sin
of God says. Every pastor's sin of God preaches
this message. Salvation is by the grace of
God, not by works of righteousness that we've done. But according
to His mercy, He saved us. That's what every God-called
pastor preaches. Salvation's of the Lord. Here's the commission, Isaiah
chapter 40. I saw something in this passage
of scripture, chapter 40 verses 1 and 2 that I've never seen
before. I've always wondered about it.
I've always tried to see what it was saying. I knew what I was saying was
so, but let me just read it and I'll tell you. Quit beating around
the bush. Isaiah chapter 40, verse 1 and 2. Comfort ye, comfort
ye my people, sayeth your God. Speak ye comfortably. Speak to
their heart. Speak comfortably to Jerusalem,
heavenly Jerusalem, and cry unto her. What do we tell her? Let me tell you what I want to
say to heavenly Jerusalem. Let me tell you what I want to
say to God's people. Her warfare's accomplished. The battle's over. It's finished
at Calvary. Eternally purposed, God Almighty,
Jehovah, who eternally saw the Lamb slain from before the foundation
of the world. And when Christ in time came,
that which God Almighty had eternally seen, and his purpose and will
was done and he said, it's finished. Listen, your warfare is finished. Her iniquity is pardoned. Why is her iniquity? We're sinners. We're sinners by birth, we're
sinners by choice, we're sinners by practice, but that sin the
debt of that sin had been put away by the blood of Christ.
And the blood shed, that blood that the Father Jehovah God said,
when I see that blood, I'm going to pass over you. Why? Because I didn't pass over Him.
I dealt with the lamb. I dealt with the substitute.
Injustice and judgment and wrath. And I forsook Him to never forsake
you. You tell her that her iniquity
is pardoned, forgiven. Why? Because the debt's paid.
We're sinning right now against God. We cannot but sin, that's
all we, we're sinners. Paul said, of whom I'm chief,
Christ Jesus came to this world to save sinners, sinners. There's
a bunch of sinners right here. But there's some that God has
pardoned their iniquity, because the debt's been paid. For she
hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Now that's the part right there.
That word, Double has always been a mystery to me. Double, double, double. She's
received double. That word, I found, occurs three
times in scripture. Three times. Three times only.
The word double is found multiple times, but that word double It's
found three times, and it's found, first of all, in Job 11. Turn
here, I want you to see this. Job chapter 11. It's always good,
go back to the first place that a word's ever used in the scripture,
and you're gonna get a good idea of what that word means. Job
chapter 11, verse four to six. Job 11, four to six. Now Job is being spoken to by
one of his so-called friends. And this is what one of the so-called
friends says to him. For thou hast said, my doctrine
is pure, and I'm clean in thine eyes. But oh, that God would
speak and open his lips against thee, that he would show thee. Now listen to what he's about
to say. that he would show thee the secrets
of wisdom, that they are double to that which is. That word double
right there was just, we were given an explanation of the meaning
of that word double. That he would show thee the secrets
of wisdom. Those secrets are doubled. Now when you look up that word
in Isaiah chapter 40, if you look up that word double right
there, you know what it's going to tell you? You know this. It means a folding over. Look
it up. It means folded. Folded. But in that folding, there's
something hidden. There's a secret there. Thou
hast received double. What it is, it means that which
has been received of God. You tell God's people. You tell Jerusalem. You tell
heavenly. You tell the people of God. You
comfort her. Her warfare is accomplished,
her iniquity is pardoned, and she's received double. That means that which has been
received of God to His Israel through the preaching of the
gospel is unexplainable. It's double. It's a secret. It's a secret. It's a marvel. It's a secret to human understanding. I can tell you that Almighty
God's been pleased to choose a people before the foundation
of the world and put them in Christ. Explain that to me. That we've
always been with Him. When He went to Calvary, Paul
said, I was crucified with Him. Explain that to me. We were buried
with Him, rose with Him, and we're seated together with Him
right now because we're in Him. You explain that to me. You tell
her that her iniquity is pardoned, warfare is over, and she's received
the secret things of God, things that are unexplainable. God's
blessing to His people is a mystery to our understanding. We truly
see through a glass darkly. But we see. But you tell me again. You tell me the truth again. Tell me what God has been pleased
to reveal. Okay. I'm going to tell you this
just in a few minutes. I'll be done with this message.
Back to Numbers chapter 6. You speak unto Aaron, unto his
sons, and you say unto them, this wise, you shall bless the
children of Israel, saying unto them, verse 24 to 26, the Lord,
look how it's spelled, 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." Three times Jehovah
told Moses to tell Aaron and his sons, you tell Jerusalem
that I have blessed them. You remind her, you rehearse
it three times. Jehovah is said to bless. Jehovah, Father, Son, Spirit. 24. The Lord, the Father, bless thee
and keep thee. The Father has been pleased to
bless us. Ephesians chapter 1 verses 3
to 6, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings. I'm glad
we've got that. these temporal blessings. I'm
just so thankful. I'm so thankful to have a vehicle
to drive. I'm thankful to have a house
to get into, and I wasn't cold last night. I turned the heater
up. It felt good. I'm thankful I
had something to eat, had some fresh water. Man, I'm telling
you, I've been in a country where those of you that's traveled
outside of the United States, man, there's people that If they
had what we had, that would be a Taj Mahal to them, wouldn't
it? And we gripe and complain about
everything. We've got so much. I'm so thankful
for these spiritual blessings. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places, in Christ. spiritual blessings
as the Father. That's who did it. God the Father. According to verse 4, He has
chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world. What a blessing! What a blessing! Why? Why would He do that? Well, verse 7 says, at the conclusion
of this, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His
grace, because it pleased Him. It pleased Him to do so. That's
the only reason. He's chosen us in Him before
the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without
blame before Him in love. He chose that we would be holy
and without blame. Didn't leave it to us, aren't
you glad? What else did he do? These spiritual blessings. Having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to
the good pleasure of his will. He made us sons. Sons of God. Now listen to this
blessing. Heirs of God and joint heirs
with Christ. What a blessing! To the praise of the glory of
His grace wherein He hath, now listen to this, made us accepted
in the Beloved. You tell my people that I've
blessed them. The Lord bless thee. The Lord
bless thee. And you tell them, and I keep
you. That's what he said, the Lord
bless thee and keep thee. The Lord Jesus Christ, I read
this last week, but he said in his high priestly prayer in John
17 and verse 11, Now I'm no more in the world, but these are in
the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine
own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one
as we are. And do you know that prayer right
there is effectual? You know who's keeping us? The
Father. That's what He said. Keep through
thine own name. Numbers 6 verse 25. The Lord, the Lord, the Son,
make His face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. God
the Son, God the Father blesses us. He chose us, predestinated
us to the adoption of children, accepts us into beloved. And
the Son blesses. The Father who chose and adopted
and accepted us. Why? Because the Son redeemed
us. Call His name Jesus. for he shall save his people
from their sins. I lay down my life for the sheep,
for God's sheep. Christ loved the church and gave
himself for it. The Lord make his face to shine
upon thee He's the Son of Righteousness, and He grants His gracious presence
and manifests Himself through His Word. Listen, the Lord Himself
makes His face to shine upon us right now. He's speaking right
now. These are not my words. I'm just
repeating this. That's all a preacher does. That's
all he's called to do. I want to tell you what God said. Moses, you said, you tell Aaron
to say to the people, you tell them exactly what I say. And
don't you add to it, and don't you take away from it. And don't
you try to embellish it with your thoughts. You tell them
what I say. The Lord make His face, His countenance. You tell them that I caused my
character to be known to them, shining in their heart. And I'm
going to do it in the assemblies. That's how I'm going to do it.
I'm going to do it through my Word. And He graciously grants
us increased knowledge of Himself. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing
by the Word of God, through the Gospel. And then verse 26, the Holy Spirit lift up his countenance
upon thee and give thee peace. God the Holy Spirit blesses. How? In regenerating grace. Remember what the Lord said to
Nicodemus in John chapter 3? How can a man, a grown man, Nicodemus
said, how can he be born again? Can he enter back into his mother's
womb and be Born again, the Lord said in John 3 verse 5 to 8,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water
and of the Spirit, the water of the Word, blessed by the Spirit
of God to him, he cannot, he cannot enter into the kingdom
of God. That which is born of flesh is
flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel
not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. The wind
bloweth where it listeth. Thou hearest the sound thereof,
but canst not tell whence it cometh, whither it goeth. So
is every one that is born of God's Spirit. This is how the
Lord blesses by His Spirit. blesses the Word. And they don't
hear it with just the natural ear. It doesn't come in word
only, but it comes in power and much assurance. His countenance. The Lord lift
up His countenance upon thee. He shows us God's favor through
the Word. How does He do it? He brings
back to our memory and our understanding what the Lord has said. Do you
know why you understand what's being said right now? Because
the Spirit of God is telling you that right now. If He didn't
remind us, do you think that we have the ability to just remember
these things? Every time these things are brought
back to our memory, the Spirit of God teaches again. How do
I know that? The Lord said, without me, you
can do nothing. Oh, I can remember. No, I think that's probably,
you know, included in nothing. No, no. Lord, teach me afresh. Teach me today. Cause me to remember
today that you were made sin for us. You who knew no sin. Remind me, Lord, today that it's
your righteousness that robes us. Remind me today that peace
has been established by your blood on our behalf. Remind me
again. Lord, and bless that cause your
countenance to shine upon me. And then lastly, and they shall
put, that is Aaron and his sons, they shall put my name upon the
children of Israel. They shall give, they shall proclaim
my name. You tell them, you tell them,
you tell my people again, you're an everlastingly loved people.
You tell my people that. You tell them that they're called
by my name. You tell them that they're my
children. You tell them that again. You tell them again that I've
everlastingly loved them. You tell them again that I'll
never leave them, I'll never forsake them. You ever get tired
of hearing that? I'll never leave you. You know when my wife tells me
that she loves me, do you know I never think, now you've already
told me that once. You've already said that. No, I want to hear that over
and over. You tell me one more time that
I have everlastingly loved them and I deal with them as children.
I treat them as children. You tell them that I am the Lord,
Father, Son, and Spirit, and I change not. And therefore,
you sons of Jacob, those of us that know what we are, and we
do, there's not a believer in here that doesn't admit in himself,
I am a son of Jacob. Every one of us do. But according
to his word, He said, I've made you sons that are called Israel. You're a prince with God. You
tell my children, I'm going to bless you. I'm going to keep
you. I'm going to receive you unto
myself, that where I am there, you're going to be too. Come
quickly, Lord Jesus. For Christ's sake, amen. Let's
take a break.