We're looking at these so-called
benedictions. They're actually declarations,
I'll say again, because a lot of the churches and people
will stand up after the service and raise their hands. Like they're
doing something for the people. No, these are declarations by
God through His servant Moses. But they're not could be, would
be. They are. They're declarations. They're
the truth. They are things that are done
and shall be done for His people, for His church. And we're looking
at verse 25, the first section, the Lord make His face to shine
upon thee. That's what we're going to be
looking at this morning. Numbers 6 and verse 25. Now the usage of the word to
shine has the connotation of as in the break of day. The first
rising of the sun or literally The word is luminous. The Lord make His face to be
luminous upon you, the day breaking. And we know that there are several
scriptures about the Son of Righteousness breaking forth upon us. I want
to look a little deeper into this undeserved favor from God
through Christ our Lord in the text. The Lord make His face
shine, shine upon thee. We ask for our God to do this
to us, though He says He will, but we still ask, Lord, make
Your face shine upon me. I'm going through a difficult
time. And all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. It is
profitable for anything you're going through. I don't care what
it is. I remember Tommy Robbins and
I talking about it. We sat there for a little while
and thought, what could we possibly go through that you couldn't
find comfort or direction, there's nothing. And I know in our society,
science, falsely so-called, and all these different things, well,
this is his problem, and that's his problem, and you need to
see this person about it, and that person. And I'm not saying
they're not useful, and I'm not saying they're not helpful. If
you want to buy a car, You go to a car dealer, or if you're
smarter, and if you're this, probably our kids' generation,
I know our daughter tried it, you go through Carvana. You don't
even talk to anybody. Well, it was a flop, so they
took the car back. They came and got it. They had
to leave the house. Came and got it, took it back,
because there's like a 30-day warranty on it. It doesn't matter. 2023 may give way to 2024, if
the Lord will. Spurgeon, 1859, finally gave
way to 1850 to 1860. And the same, you listen to his
messages, you read his books, you read Ryle, you read Philpott,
and it's all, there's nothing new. New names, we have new diagnoses,
we have new theories, we have new concepts. But it all comes
back, there's nothing new under the sun. Man is fully depraved,
he's rotten to the core, we're rotten to the core, we stink,
we're as leprous, open wounds. This is what the Bible says about
us. So there is nothing that you're going through. I may not have gone through it,
but I know one who has. He is tempted in all points.
What all points is there not to be tempted? And yet he didn't
sin. struggles that we have, psychologically,
physically, mentally, financially, economically, any title you want
to put on it. That's why the Gospel is relevant. And it's called the everlasting
Gospel. It's relevant in any situation, any circumstance. And you show me, I challenge
you to show me a place or something you're going through that's not
in the Scripture or you can't find any comfort. If you're a
child of God, I don't believe you. I don't believe you. So this text is really a declaration
of what God is going to do to enforce people. We desire to
see His face and that His face towards us would be favorable,
to look cheerfully and appear as smiling upon us. And this all has to be in Christ.
For without Christ Jesus, God's face is judgment, it's terror,
and our life is emptiness. But oh, with Christ! God the
Son, sent by God the Father, convinced by God the Holy Spirit,
our night is as day. Make your face shine upon me.
If you will be merciful to us and blot out like a thick cloud
our sins and iniquities, like Isaiah 44, 22 says, It'll be happy. It'll be well.
And as Scripture says, say to the righteous, the ones he's
speaking to. Moses spake, the Lord spake to
Moses that speak to Aaron unto his son saying on this while
you shall bless the children of Israel, a picture of the church,
the type of the remnant. But our sins must be dealt with
by him and felt by us. Our sins must be dealt with by
Him in a righteous manner and they must be felt by us. I go
to this passage all the time. Turn to Zechariah chapter 12. Zechariah chapter 12. The day that the Lord makes His
face to shine upon us. God's method of grace through
the preaching of the Gospel. Verse 9, "...and it shall come
to pass in that day..." And that day is the day of redemption
which the Bible is always talking about. "...shall come to pass
in that day. I will seek to destroy all the
nations that come against Jerusalem. I will pour upon the house of
David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace
and of supplications. And what's going to happen? They
shall look upon Me, whom they have pierced, and they shall
mourn for Him, as one that mourneth for His only Son, and shall be
in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for His
firstborn. And in that day there shall be
a great mourning in Jerusalem, as a mourning of Hadad-Rimon
and on the valley of Midegon. And the land shall mourn every
family apart." Every individual person. This is not a national
salvation. This He deals with us individually
as each individual elect. every family apart, the house
of David, their wives apart, their families, the house of
Nathan apart, wives apart, the house of Levi, wives apart, Shimei
apart, their wives apart, all the families that remain, every
family apart, and their wives apart. And then chapter 13 verse
1, what happens? And in that day, this is the
same day, the day of salvation, that we pray would come to those
who know Him not, There shall be a fountain open to these same
people for sin and uncleanness. Sin's got to be dealt with. There's
never anybody that's ever gone to heaven that is not made aware
of their sin, their self-righteousness, their selfishness, their iniquities,
plural. Sin must be dealt with. But back
to our text. The Lord make His face to shine
upon thee. And if that's what it takes for
our children, then it will. And if that's what it takes for
our grandchildren, then it will. To make them miserable, make
them bitter, make them see sin. That's what we want. That's what
we want. Because He has enlightened us
face to face. indulging us with visits of love
and kindness, restoring, as David says, the joy of this free gift
of salvation, Isaiah 51. I'll re-read the text. The Lord
make His face to shine upon us. Now turn with me to 2 Corinthians
chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. How, my
question is, the second point, how will this luminous, day-breaking
light come to His church particularly? The Lord make His face to shine
upon us. How is this to be done? 2 Corinthians
4 and verse 6. Verse 3, But if our gospel be
hid, it is hid to them that are lost. The God of this world hath
blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of
the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them." That's two things. When we see Christ, when
His face illuminates us, we see the glorious gospel of Christ
and God's glory. God's glory keep reading for
we preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves
your service for Jesus sake for God who commanded the light to
shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts to give the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face Lord make
his face to shine upon us the face of Jesus Christ you see
when God does a work in any center. We're darkness. He shines that
light into our hearts and into our minds, the knowledge, but
it deals with God's glory. This preaching today does not
deal with God's glory whatsoever. It's man-centered, man-based.
And what the Scripture says, we're darkness. Blessed be God,
for God who hath commanded the light commanded, commanded. It wasn't sought for, solicited,
asked for. He commanded the light to shine
out of the darkness, shine in our hearts, and give the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. He says we have this treasure
in earthen vessels. We have this treasure in trash.
We sure do. We sure do. Now, this alluding
to the Son of Righteousness in Malachi 4.2. You don't have to
turn there. It says, the Son of Righteousness shall come with
healing or salvation in His wings. This is what He means when He's
speaking, the Lord make His face to shine upon thee like in the
morning. It's been a while since I've
gotten up that early, but I used to get up and watch the sunrise. It is a beautiful thing. I watch
more sunsets because it's more my time. But this light, In this
text, in our text in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, this light, this shining
luminous face, it comes freely. Freely, without money, without
price, Isaiah 55. You can't earn it, you can't
dial it in, you can't pray through to it, you can't do anything. It comes freely. Secondly, it
comes sovereignly. He it is that sends it. It says commanded. It's unsolicited
by us, but it's for us. Look at Romans 9 and verse 15.
Romans 9 and verse 15. unsolicited by us, but it's for
us, his bride. Chapter 9, verse 15, For he said
unto Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and
I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion, and in
whom I will shine my light, I will shine my light. It is not determined
by you, it is determined solely by me. Well, that's New Testament. I just think if it's not in the
Old Testament, well, if we want to, you don't have to. We can
turn to Exodus 33, 19, it says the same thing. You know, the
New Testament is just the Old Testament expounded, if you were. And thirdly, about this illuminating
grace, it never misses the mark of the ones intended. It's 100%. It's 100%. It's Robin Hood plus. Talking about splitting the arrow.
God never misses His mark. He never misses the mark or the
ones that He is determined to save. It never fails to accomplish
its purpose of sovereign grace. Ezekiel 24. Ezekiel 24. And verse 14, God says, I the
Lord have spoken it. It shall come to pass and I will
do it. I will not go back, neither will
I spare, neither will I repent according to Thy ways and according
to Thy doings shall they judge Thee, saith the Lord God. Isaiah 14. That was in Ezekiel
24 and verse 14. Now let's look at Isaiah 14 and verse 24. Isaiah 14 and verse
24. The Lord of hosts has sworn,
saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass. and
as I have purposed, so shall it stand." We're speaking of
a sovereign, free, undisputable, unalterable grace, or face shining
upon us. Face shining upon us. As He spoke,
light, and the worlds were, so He speaks by way of His gospel
declared and calls out His people from sin and darkness, as He
says in our text in 2 Corinthians, to give light, the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Everything's got to be in Christ.
The Father, the Triune God, they work in unison for His honor,
His glory. Thirdly, because if God's face
has shined upon us in time past, and it's shining upon us now,
we may not be able to see it. There may be clouds in the sky.
I came in this morning, it was cloudy, and then just for ten
seconds, the sun popped out, and I noticed it. It was very
noticeable. I looked towards it. May we not take such blessings
for granted. The Lord make His face shine
upon thee, if it has shined upon thee. And if it hasn't, be a
beggar. Go to Him as a beggar, imploring
for mercy. But if we have seen His face,
maybe not today, we'll see it again. Maybe not take it for
granted. Ask as our brother David did. Psalms 31. Psalms 31, verses 15 and 16. I preached this, not just this
first part of this. I've got it underlined in my Bible anyway.
David says, my times are in your hands. Deliver me from the hand
of mine enemies and from them that persecute me. Thy face to
shine upon Thy servant. Save me for Thy mercy's sake."
He said, no. Make your face to shine upon
your servant. Psalm 67. Psalm 67 and verse 1. God be merciful unto us and bless
us and cause His face to shine upon us. This is a prayer for
the church. A prayer for you and for me. In Psalms chapter
80, this goes over three times, three more times. Psalms chapter
80, verse 3, 7 and 19. Turn us again. Turn us to You
and cause Your face to shine and we shall be saved. Verse
7, Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause Thy face to shine and
we shall be saved. In verse 19, the last verse,
turn us again. We need to be turned. You have
not turned, we have turned. And whether it's affliction or
chastisement, we need to be turned. Oh Lord, God of hosts, cause
your face to shine. Cause it to shine. David, he's
supremely concerned that he would take God for granted. He knows
himself and asks to be kept. on verse 119 and verse 135. Make thy face to shine upon my
servant and teach me thy statutes. Why would you say such a thing?
Because anything we go through can be found in the statutes
in the book. Our problem is we're too caught up in the world and
Satan hinders us. and the flesh is contrary to
the grace of God. Humble us, teach us, be near
to us. May we be as David was. Nay, as all the saints of God
are, expressing the same thing because we have the same heart.
He's given us a heart to trust Him, to love Him, and to worship
Him. Well, Daniel chapter 9. Daniel
said the same thing. Daniel chapter 9 and verse 17. Daniel 9, 17. Now therefore,
O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant and his supplications,
and cause your face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate
for the Lord's sake. I'm not going to say this sanctuary
is desolate. I would love to see sinners saved.
I would love to see us grow in grace, which He'll promise we
will. But I'd love to see them just
continually be glorified as long as I'm here. That's the only
responsibility I have. I can't do anything. We talked
about this back there. I can't do anything for the next
and next and next generation. It's not my responsibility. Right
here, right now. What a prayer. Hear the prayer
of your servant. Cause your face to shine upon
church. And glorify yourself. Let us
pray as David did. Do not take this for granted.
Let us pray as Daniel did. This sanctuary, this place, this
small building up on a hill as Bruce likes to say. Let us invite
people. As we can, if we can, I said,
take the cards and hand them out, you know. We'll do anything. Basically, may we be as fervent,
and this is my step on my own toes, may we be as fervent in
telling others about the truth of the Gospel or just coming
as we are about our jobs, as we are about our activities,
as we are about all these things. The things we talk about. And Melinda said, I was really
bad about talking about work all the time. Well, now I don't
have to talk about work. So I talk about something else.
But I hear what you all talk about. And I know what you like
and I know what you enjoy. But if we would take that same
energy, He's still going to shine His face upon this place. Not if we are faithful, but there
is faithfulness involved. There is faithfulness involved.
And as I said, I think it's Romans, it's your reasonable service.
It's your reasonable service to be here, to participate. This is not a one-man show. It's
not a one-man show. We're all in this together. One mind, one accord, one baptism,
one faith. We're all one. Well, and my last
point is, when He does shine His face upon us, But, when I am happy in Him,
in Christ, when He's shined His face upon us, and you don't have
to look back, maybe a day, maybe two days, maybe twenty minutes,
you don't have to look back, the believer doesn't have to
look back far, and I'm not talking about physical blessings, I'm
talking about salvation, justification, righteousness, all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That's the main
blessings. And He does bless us with material
and temporal things. But when He shines His face upon
us, and you know when those times are, Decembers, as pleasant as May, December,
is as pleasant as May. His name yields the richest perfume
and sweeter than music His voice. His presence disperses my gloom."
What's bothering you? Christ will disperse that. Go
to Him. Go to this one verse. If there's
no other verse, Lord, make Your face shine upon me. "...and makes all within me rejoice."
I should, were He always thus nigh, have nothing to wish or
to fear, no mortal so happy as I, my summer would last all the
year." Do we really believe that? Do we really believe that? Then I say, walk by faith. Abraham didn't, he saw it. He didn't experience it, but
he believed it. Hope against hope is what will
be next week in Romans. By faith. It doesn't matter.
It's always been by faith. Not faith plus something. Not
faith minus something. It's always been the believer
walks by faith. And look at this verse and say,
this verse is for me. I trust in Him. Day or night, Spring or winter,
know this, dear ones, His face will and does shine upon us for
good and for His ultimate glory." And what is every human being,
whether they want to admit it or not, looking for every day? Peace. This knowing His face shines
upon us by faith will bring peace. It says, "...peace that passes
all understanding, In any situation, in any circumstance, or any time
in our life, come what may, all is well when He shines or looks
upon the sheep of His own pasture and fold. So I beseech you, implore
you, let us right now, let us today, let us tomorrow, if God
gives grace, gaze into His luminous face only and always. May God get the glory and praise. Bruce, would you close this please?