HOW TO ’FACE’ THE CHALLENGES OF LIFE
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OUTLINE
1. STRONG FACE
2. VICTORIOUS FACE
3. UNASHAMED FACE
4. RECEIVING FACE
5. HAPPY FACE
6. SHINING FACE
7. SEEING FACE
THE MESSAGE
HOW TO ’FACE’ THE CHALLENGES OF LIFE
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1. STRONG FACE
We must have a strong face when we face the challenges of life because we have the Lord who helps us and because we have the assurance that we will not be disgraced. We should not have a fearful face or a worried face or a confused face . We should set our face like a flint and face every challenge with confidence and assurance and the Lord will ensure our victory.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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ISAIAH 50:7-10
Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.
He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me!
It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me. Who is he that will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up.
Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.
EZEKIEL 3:8-9
But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are.
I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house."
1 CHRONICLES 12:8
Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert. They were brave warriors, ready for battle and able to handle the shield and spear. Their faces were the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles in the mountains.
2. VICTORIOUS FACE
We must have a victorious face when we face the challenges of life because the Lord will beat down our foes before our face and our eyes will look in triumph on our foes. We should not be sporting a defeated look or a look of failure because we have the God of victory with us who will crush all our enemies.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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PSALM 89:20-24
I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him,
With whom My hand shall be established; Also My arm shall strengthen him.
The enemy shall not outwit him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
I will beat down his foes before his face, And plague those who hate him.
“But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him, And in My name his horn shall be exalted.
PSALM 54:7
For he has delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.
PSALM 112:8
His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.
PSALM 118:7
The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.
DEUTERONOMY 28:7
“The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
DEUTERONOMY 33:27
The eternal God is your refuge,and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, ’Destroy him!’
LEVITICUS 26:6-7
" ’I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country.
You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you.
3. UNASHAMED FACE
We must have an unashamed face when we face the challenges of life because we have a God who will not put us to shame . Our God is the lifter of our head and causes us to go through life with our head held high. Those who trust in Him and wait for Him will not be ashamed.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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PSALM 34:5
Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
PSALM 3:1-3
O LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!
Many are saying of me, "God will not deliver him." Selah
But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
ISAIAH 49:23
Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed."
ISAIAH 54:4
"Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
ISAIAH 29:22
Therefore this is what the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, says to the house of Jacob: "No longer will Jacob be ashamed; no longer will their faces grow pale.
ISAIAH 45:17
But Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, to ages everlasting.
JOEL 2:25-26
"I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten— the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm — my great army that I sent among you.
You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed.
4. RECEIVERS FACE
We must have a receivers face when we face the challenges of life because we are receivers of the help that comes from the Lord . We should not look like people who are helpless and hopeless because we have the Lord who is the help of our countenance. As a receiver of the Lord’s help we should be praisers and worshippers in the times of challenge that we may face in life. The Lord has proved Himself as a faithful deliver in the lives of our forefathers and He will surely be faithful to us as well as He is an unchanging God.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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PSALM 42:11
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.
PSALM 43:5
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.
PSALM 20:1-9
May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion.
May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. Selah
May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests.
Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.
O LORD, save the king! Answer us when we call!
PSALM 22:4-5
In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.
They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
5. HAPPY FACE
We must have a happy face when we face the challenges of life because we have a God who wipes away all our tears. Hannah went to the presence of God in great sorrow but after she poured out her heart to God and received His promise she was no longer sad . When we have a happy heart we will have a cheerful face. But if we allow sorrow to fill our heart , it will crush our spirits . The joy of the Lord will make us strong and therefore we must live in the joy of the Lord.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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ISAIAH 25:8
he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.
1 SAMUEL 1:10-18
In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD.
And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."
As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth.
Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk
and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."
"Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD.
Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."
Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."
She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.
PROVERBS 15:13
A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.
NEHEMIAH 8:10
Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."
6. SHINING FACE
We must have a shining face when we face the challenges of life because we have a God who makes His face to shine upon us and brightens our life. The glory of the Lord rises upon us and draws people to His glory in our lives. Moses came down from the presence of God with a shining face. The Lord Jesus was transfigured before His disciples and His face shone like the sun. The face of Stephen shone like the face of an angel when he was facing his adversaries. As we draw closer and closer to the Lord our face will be changed from glory to glory . We should not lose the glory of the Lord in our lives by going away from Him and cause our faces to be filled with the darkness of sin .
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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NUMBERS 6:24-26
" ’ "The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." ’
ISAIH 60:1-3
"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.
Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
EXODUS 34:29-30, 35
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD.
When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.
they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.
MATTHEW 17:2
There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.
ACTS 6:15
All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
2 CORINTHIANS 3:18
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
7. SEEING FACE
We must have a seeing face when we face the challenges of life because we have a God who will speak face to face with us as man speaks with his friend. Moses had such a relationship wih God . Jacob had such a close encounter with God. When our hearts are pure we can have such a revelation of God . We must set our face toward the Lord to seek Him with prayer and fasting and pursue Him with all our heart. Then the Lord will respond to our diligent cry and reveal Himself to us.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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EXODUS 33:11
The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
DEUTERONOMY 34:10
Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,
GENESIS 32:30
So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared."
MATTHEW 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
DANIEL 9:3
Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
PSALM 42:1-2
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
HEBREWS 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
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