Our last official night at youth ministry was this past Friday. In the leaders meeting one of the youth leaders who recently came into a relationship with Jesus was talking about her struggles of reading the book of Numbers. I laughed recalling the first time I read through the Bible only to be stumbled and if I remember correctly slowed down in my progress because of how dull Leviticus and Numbers were to me back then. Well today, I actually found myself in the Book of Numbers enjoying God's word thoroughly. Check out this study.
I. God's smile and favor towards us- Lets look at Numbers 6:22-27
A. Numbers 6:22-27
:22 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, :23 "Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, 'Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: :24 The LORD bless you, and keep you; :25 The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; :26 The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.' :27 "So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I {then} will bless them."
1. Does God want to speak to you today?
a. :22 I shared on this a few weeks ago at CCOC (I'll attempt to attach some of our previous & current teachings). God desires to speak Rhema words day by day into our lives. Reminder: A rhema word is a specific word from the scriptures that is intended specifically for you in your any given situation that God speaks to you during prayer, bible study or teachings you may be listening to or other ways. This is where our vitally as believers comes from. You see, Moses may have been angry at times but the Bible certainly does not depict his later years of life as being tired, worn out, or without spiritual life. WHY? He heard from the Lord
b. Well, what did God tell him to do here?
2. Does God want to bless your life?
a. :23 God told Moses to bless the sons of Israel.
b. I love it. Sometimes we think our blessing and declarations over someones life make no difference but they certainly do. The bible says, 'as a man thinks in his heart so is he.(Proverbs 23:7) You see, the blessings we speak over our kids, wife, husband or maybe the young man or woman we are discipling does not make a difference... wrong.
c. What it does is it helps them see and believe in their mind the truths of what God has already established for them. The words we speak create a framework in the minds of those we communicate with as to who God is and what He has in store for their lives.
d. God's desire is to invest His name into His people. He desires that through you He can show the world who He is as you yield to Him and let Him get His hands on you.
e. We also see here that it's not God's will for his minister's to blast people, but to bless people.
3. :24 The Lord bless you, and keep you;
a. bless- hbw.- barak- to congratulate abundantly- to transfer prosperity primarily in the realm of the financial, physical and material(Read Matthew 7:11 for what Jesus has to say about this.)
b. keep- to hedge about as with thorns
c. Why do we ask Him to keep us after we ask for His blessing?
d. Often we can slow in our study of His word or fail in our prayer lives when He blesses us. We lose our focus on the Lord and grow distracted by His blessings and forget the blesser.
4. On fire for Jesus
a. :25 "make His face shine upon you"
b. shine- Hbw. owr- set on fire- God wants you to recognize that His face is turned towards you and that the fire of His face can set you ablaze with His love, power and life.
c. Anything you want to learn about Jesus you'll learn by turning your attention upon Jesus.
5. Grace, Grace and more Grace
a. gracious- Hbw. chaman- to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior- God is God and we are not, 'we are but dust.' Do we understand Who it is that turns His attention towards us? Do we know what it means that God's anger lasts for a moment(Hb. rega- a wink), but His favor lasts for a lifetime(Psalm 30:5)."
6. Is God smiling at you...at us? When He smiles and we receive His smile what happens in our lives?
a. :26 to "lift up His countenance on you" simply means that He is smiling on you
b. :26b when God's smile towards you is recognized and received His will is accomplished in that He "gives you peace."
c. peace- Hbw. shalom- completion- this is the sum of all the blessings God has given us- God's smiling because He knows the Garden of Gethsemane is behind Him, the cross of Calvary has been endured, death was miraculously conquered by the resurrection, and His return is so soon and we'll be home before we know it.
d. When we let this smile and all that's behind it fill our minds and our hearts the "peace of God" will abundany rule and reign in our hearts.
Prayer: Lord, open my eyes and my heart to the grand smile You have as You look narrowly upon my life. Fill me with the peave and fullness of GOd and may my hope rest in You and Your promises.
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