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The episodes are the weekly sermons from 922 Ministries (St. Peter and The CORE) of Appleton, Wisconsin.
#Blessed
Week 2 - St Peter
Pastor Tim Glende
Welcome back to week number two, of our sermon series, 3 week series entitled #blessed, discovering the Blessed best blessings that God is giving unpacking words that Christians have heard for 3,000 plus years that remind us of our amazing God and how blessed we are. Oh, that face. Like if you're a parent or if you're like me now, a parent and a grandparent you probably under those words, when you get a text that has a picture of that face.
Like that face. Like this is one of most recent pictures of my granddaughter who is now two and a half plus and the first time she met my grandson Jalen in the hospital. Like just look at that face. Like I don't know if she was looking at a specific way to convey a message about how proud she was of herself to be a big sister or if she wanted Jalen to see this someday and understand what it meant to have a second mom. Like the one who was going to make sure he fell into line and all the ways mom, didn't necessarily always follow up on. Like, how could you love that face? Like parents and grandparents, you understand? And know the blessing that can be seen in the face of the blessings that kids are.
And we all can relate to the fact that a face conveys, a whole lot of blessings at different times and in different ways. Like, there's some who've already celebrated over the last few days, and I know there are many of you who are in here today, who will be walking across a stage In just a few days or in the next few weeks. And I want you to know when you look at your parents are going to see that face. A face filled with pride. Like, there's a lot of blessings in seeing that kind of face. Like just yesterday I was here in church at a wedding and the Bride made me turn the groom around and face that way. So that as she started walking down the aisle and I turned him around so his face would see her for the first time in that dress. And the smile from ear to ear. And a lot of times the groom with tears in his eyes, there are a whole lot of blessings. And in that face, or maybe some of you have experienced this, you have someone in your family that you love who's been deployed and sent overseas. And when you haven't seen them for a long time, the first time you see the face.
Like the blessing that one finds and seeing someone face-to-face that they haven't seen in a long time. There are a whole lot of blessings that one can receive in a face. But here's the thing, my grandkids never experienced it in my face but my kids sure had. They’ve seen the look of pride in my face but they've also seen on several occasions the look of disappointment in that face. Like when a line is crossed, when something happens when a rule is disobeyed, you know that face too, right?
That kind of face can send them a different kind of message or how about the face filled with grief when you get the news that someone that you love has passed away, like there's a whole lot of significance, both blessings and otherwise messages that are sent from one's face.
And that's really what we're going to dig into today. But before we get into the phase two of the blessings and unpack that concept, I want you to think about God and you and the look on God's face when he sees you.
Like when you visualize God looking at you, do you visualize him like that proud parent? But that parent who sees your accomplishment in his Is swelling up with pride and smiling on the outside. Maybe crying as well. So, how you see God? When he looks at you with his face.
Or maybe if you're like me at certain times, because you know your life you doubt if that's even humanly possible. Like much like a parent looks at their child with a look of disappointment, like
sometimes I wonder, could God ever smile on me, or is he frowning?
And if that's the wrestling match that you've ever had in your life or maybe what you're feeling right now, if you're going through something so big and so bad, you wonder if God would ever look at you with joy and a smile on his face. I'm glad you're here. If you've ever thought is it possible that that God could feel that way about me? I'm glad you're here. That's what blessing part 2 is all about. Here it is literally, if you were here. Let's last week, we talked about the Lord bless you and keep you today, we're going to see phrases from Numbers Chapter 6, which are these words. The Lord make his face shine on you, and be gracious to you.
In order to truly appreciate this part of the blessing, we need to understand the significance of coming face-to-face with God. We have to truly understand. How huge this blessing is? Why it's possible to be ours and the significance of it for us in our relationship with God, due to the fact of What Adam and Eve brought into the world. Like everyone was like before the fall into sin. You know what? Adam and Eve got to do. Be in the presence of God.
See, God's face.
You know what God did after they send. After they head in shame, after they blamed the others, and anyone and everyone, but owning it themselves, God cast them out of the garden. Out of his presence.
To no longer see his face.
That's what sin does by Nature. Like that's what sin causes. And seven hundred years after the blessing was given to Moses to be spoken by Aaron and God's people at heard it. For all those hundreds of years, a man who knew it by heart. Understood the significance of God's face and coming face-to-face with him as a sinful human being Like, if you want to truly appreciate the blessing, understand the reality that Isaiah new, it's found in Isaiah chapter 6, God's Prophet 700 years before Jesus was even born, God brings him into his throne room. Isaiah sees seraphim flaming winged. Angels six wings hovering around the Throne of God singing. Holy holy holy is the Lord God Almighty reflecting, the Trinity, the whole earth is full of your glory. And in that moment, Isaiah seen this amazing scene.
Who wouldn't want to be in the presence of God, right? Amen. Who wouldn't want to see Angels flying all around singing, a beautiful song to God. Amen. And in the moment Isaiah's response was this woe to me like Isaiah wasn't like. This is the most amazing thing I say I was like, oh no. I am ruined. I am a man of unclean lips. I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the king, the Lord Almighty. In other words, woe is me because I have come face-to-face with God. You see, Isaiah God. He knew that human beings. Sinful human beings should not, could not stand in the presence of God without being destroyed. Utterly wiped out like when Moses asked, “Lord I want to pass in front of your presence.” God told Moses, you can't see my face.
I guess it's not good. It'll be bad. Like, I say it, got it. It was bad. Like he understood that spiritually. He was a mess. He understood that he lived among a people. That was a mess. How many times did they disobeyed God? The northern 10 tribes had already been taken off into captivity? Never to be seen again like spiritually. They were a mess.
And it wasn't just that Isaiah God at that, he was doing that. He was in trouble. God got it. Read Isaiah 6 later today and see what God does. God, doesn't just say to you. I say it's okay. Like, you're not as bad as down, like, no big deal, like, you messed up a little bit. You weren't a perfect kid and, and you're not always the perfect Prophet, but you're better than most. Nope, that's not what God did. Instead God took gold from the altar. In the throne room of God. A seraphim, one of those took it, flew over to Isaiah and touched this lips with it. And God said, Isaiah, it's okay, because your sin has been covered. Like God got it, too. There was an issue. A mess that needed to be addressed for Isaiah to to walk out of that moment in survive. Like here's truth number one that I want you to hold onto. And remember when you hear this blessing, what does God conveying? What blessing is got offering while he's offering a blessing to address something sin. See your sin and my sin, Isaiah sin. Sin is a mess.
That we need to be addressed.
You know, the Bible says about Sin. Instead of being blessed because of your sin, you are deserving of being cursed. The cursed is everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law. Like, if you have not checked the Box, only one time of what God has said, cursed
And either be addressed for Isaiah to stand in the presence of God and be face-to-face with him. And it needs to be addressed for you and for me.
That's why this blessing is one of God's greatest because it addresses the mess. It reminds us of the how and the Heart of God. So maybe with that in mind of the fact that we needed to send to be addressed so that we would have any hope of being blessed here again the words that remind us of the blessing of Jesus. That we find in these words the odd inspired to be written the Lord. Make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
That first raised make his face shine on us was an Old Testament concept, an Old Testament truth that the Israelites heard over and over again in their worship life. Like if you look in the Old Testament, especially in the Book of Psalms that concept comes up over and over again God inspired to be written. A lot of time so that as people understood the significance of the blessing.
But also can understand what the blessing meant and why it was so needed the time and time. Again, when you hear that phrase in the Old Testament, it's always attached to another concept. It's only attached to God in his doing and it's almost always attached to another request by God's people. To save to deliver here are just two examples of that. Same phrase in different places, not the blessing, Psalm 31 King David. He said, I trust in you, Lord You are my God. My times are in your hands, deliver me from my enemies. David was going through something. His life was dealing with a mess that he couldn't overcome. I got people pursuing me and his request. His prayer is to speak the words that God offered in his Blessing. 500 years earlier, let your face shine on your servant, save me,
Like a Prayer. His face shines on us. Because I'm in need of delivering. I'm in a mess. That needs to be addressed.
Or how about some 80? Like a lot of times in the Bible, there's these repetition parts. Like three times. So usually when God says something three times, but tweaks are just subtle. There's a whole lot in it. Look at the words of Psalm 80, restore us o God. Make your face shine on us so that we may be saved. We need deliverance, we are in trouble. Restore us the subtle difference God Almighty, his power name, make your face shine on us. That we may be saved same freeze, same request, same need restore us. Lord, God Almighty Make your face shine on us so that we may be saved.
We are in a mess. That only you can address.
And we need you to address it so that we can be blessed. Our prayer is that you bless us, Lord, make your face shine on us.
It's really a visual concept.
Like, oftentimes when you hear a phrase like that, I want you to think of this, like, when a parent beams from ear to ear, your time out there, their face is shining on you because they're smiling. Like what is God promising in? This blessing is that he's smiling on you. He's smiling at you. The way in which he's looking at you is like a proud. Parent swelling up on the inside, expressing it on the outside.
I can you know that face, don't you? Like, you've seen it in your parents before I pray that you have.
And maybe there's also the visual of the face of God shining on us. When we think of what that word literally comes from, it's the break of day when the Sun Burst forth with its beams, Like come on, you live in Wisconsin. You know how amazing the sight of the sun shining is I can I get an amen? I'm just thankful. You're in church today because a lot of people like to skip on bright sunny days because it's that amazing.
Like sunshine equals life like the sun brings life the Sun. And all that it does is is such a blessing. And the Lord make his face shine, like the sun on us smiling from ear-to-ear on us as what God wants you to hear. And every time those words are uttered is attached to the Deliverance that we can only get from God. The need that we have to be addressed and and why this blessing is one of the greatest is because God had rested in Jesus Christ. You know what makes this blessing possible? It's literally this fact that the face of God was seen on planet Earth. That God himself, came down to earth, and Immanuel became, one of us. Lived and walked talk and breathe healed and perform miracles. The amazing love of God that came down to earth to address our sin, so that you and I can be blessed with Grace. Like for 1,500 years that the Levites spoke this prayer and God had delivered on keeping his people, right? Get preserve the line of the Savior but Jesus and his literal rival was the visible grace of God.
So that you and I may be blessed for eternity. Look at these words from John chapter 1. The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, we've seen his glory, the glory of the one, and only son who came from the father, full of grace and truth out of his fullness, we have all received Grace in place of Grace already, given like the grace of God, the blessing of God for 1500 years was good. God, got and made the promise to Adam and Eve. He wasn't going to change his promise to them. He was going to be wishy-washy on it. But Jesus coming was now the Fulfillment of it, the literal grace of God on planet Earth. And that my friends is the significance of this blessing. Like when God, Speaks Over You. The Lord. Make his face shine on you. And be gracious unto you. He wants you to hear and remember the work of Jesus Christ. The grace of God, is addressed your needs. The mess that you made with his perfect life and death and Resurrection. If you're filling in your blanks, Jesus became flesh. Like literally. Had a face. So that you and I might be blessed. So that you and I might know love.
And so I want you to go back to that idea of how does God, and his face. Look when he sees you.
Like when you royally messed it up,
Like, with the stupid words that you spoke to your spouse, that caused a whole lot of hurt and made a big mess.
Like the thing, you and your friends decided to do. That now has consequences.
Embarrassed. Like the shame over that choice. You made 20 years ago.
Like it's so easy for the devil to work on your heart to convince you that that God would never smile on you. That God could not forgive that. That God. Is looking on you with disappointment but that's not God. And that's not a blessing. It would be that way, if not for Jesus, but because Jesus Took on human flesh because Jesus came to Earth and was face-to-face with people. He was the very presence of God's truth and Grace because he became flesh. We are blessed when God looks at you, he does not see you, he does not see your sin, he does not see the guilt of it or the shame of it because Jesus Christ paid for it in full Through his life, death and Resurrection. You are forgiven by God by grace and so celebrate that face of God, that sees you and smiles upon you and shines upon you. Because when God sees you, he sees Jesus Every day, every time.
God wants you to know that in here to not be overwhelmed with guilt or fear about going face-to-face with God. One day, he wants you to be confident that you could stand before God and his throne because of his grace.
Because Jesus addressed our Mess by coming into the mess. And never making one.
There are two fantastic passages in the Bible that remind us of this blessing. The blessing that God is speaking. The concept of God being gracious and God's grace Psalm 103. If you ever want to know a place to go to the to celebrate the blessings of a gracious God but Jesus brings to you and to me how God sees us, the Lord is compassionate and gracious slow to anger abounding in love. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. When you wonder God you must be disappointed. With me. No God took out his disappointment on Jesus Christ on the cross. He does not treat you as your sins deserve you. And I don't get what we deserve. That's Mercy.
Instead we get what we don't as far as the heavens are above the Earth. So great is his love for those who fear as far as the East is from the West so far. Has he removed our transgressions from us? You can't measure how far the East is from you right now. And the West is from you right now. That's how far God is removed. Your sins from you. Right now in the presence with showing you here. The blessing remember that God has done the addressing of your sin
And removed it as far away as possible. God does not see it. Instead, he sees Jesus and you know, it is how God feels about Jesus. This is my beloved Son whom I love, with him I am well pleased, he spoke several times during his ministry. So when God sees you, when the Bible says God looks over you and rejoices over you don't question it. Don't wonder if it's possible believe it because of Jesus Christ, the grace of God in person.
The one who had a face.
And it's so important to remember that.
Because we live in a world that is a mess.
And we're going to need to, to know that the face of God. Smiles on us, even in the midst of it.
Like, when there's loss and pain and grief. Remember got smiles over you, he loves you. Or the next time, probably later today. When you make a big mess,
Like nowhere to run to. Fall into Grace. Like, we just sang about a few minutes ago.
Like we will make a mess. But God wants you to remember. He came to bless
And then hold on to that blessing because God wants you to remember that as He blesses you as his face Shines on you. It's not just a right now thing. It's an eternity thing. He says that in the words of Ephesians chapter 2, some of the most famous verses in all scripture about Grace. Did you know the word grace is only in the Bible 124 times sounds really small for something so huge and so important, right? Only 10 in the Old Testament, only 4, in the gospels, 110 in the Epistles. And is probably a reason for that, because Jesus had been promised, the gospels tell us. Jesus has come. The victory has been won. The Epistles are about all about our new life in Christ over and over again. Paul came back to grace, and grace, and grace, and grace, our sin has been addressed. We've been blessed It's by Grace you've been saved the Apostle Paul said through faith, not from yourselves. He did this for us. In order that in the coming ages, he might show the incomparable Riches of his grace, like, right now, you've received Grace in place of Grace, but one day, To celebrate and you will experience. The incomparable Riches of his grace.
Like my family and friends know this, I don't beam from ear-to-ear. Very much. My wife tells me that all the time.
Those faces. Cause a smile. To be upon my face.
But I won't even compare to seeing that face.
Like the face of God. Again, that's the blessing of Grace. That's what God wants you to hear over and over again. When he hears this blessed when he gives this blessing. That one day, you will see his Face.
See, we will see Jesus face these words God told Moses to give to Aaron to speak over God's people. These words that the Lutheran Church has held onto for 500 years and at head of the end of every service. These words are so important. So significant because they tell us right now. God Smiles, upon you right now. God loves you right now that it's yours because of Grace you've been blessed by Grace, your mess has been addressed. And your future is secure. We'll see Jesus face because we've been blessed by God's grace. Brother and sisters, the Lord.
Makes his face shine on you.
He did it in Jesus. He does it on a day-to-day basis.
And one day it will shine on you brighter than the sun.
Because he's gracious.
Let me leave you that.
Final words in all the Bible, it tells us that we will see Jesus’ face. Revelation 22, the Throne of God, and of the Lamb will be in the city. Heaven is where Jesus Lives. Heaven is where the Throne of God. God God is and his servants will serve him and they will see his face.
You will see his face. Because you've been blessed by grace. Amen