THE LORD’S NAME IS OUR BLESSING (Outline)
June 7, 2009 --
PENTECOST 1 / TRINITY --
Numbers 6:22-27
INTRO: Biblical names had important meanings attached to them. At times the name fulfilled the meaning for that person’s life. Other times the person’s life fulfilled the meaning of their name. A name was important because of it’s meaning. It is no different with the name of our Lord. "I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols" (ISAIAH 42:8). Our Lord is a jealous God. He wants all glory and honor that belongs to his name be given to him. We learn today how the Lord puts his valuable name on believers. Believers share in the name of the Lord.
THE LORD’S NAME IS OUR BLESSING.
I. Our Father’s care,
II. Our Savior’s grace, and;
III. Holy Spirit’s peace.
I. OUR FATHER’S CARE
A. In verse 22 the Lord speaks directly to Moses. The Lord uses words that Moses understands.
1. Moses is to give these words of the Lord to Aaron and his sons, verse 23.
2. Aaron and his sons were God’s priests for God’s people. They would bless God’s people.
B. Verse 24. The Lord blesses with good things. Keep means to guard or watch over with care.
C. A father’s care is important for every child. Children learn what love is from loving parents. Our heavenly Father is the perfect example of perfect love. Our heavenly Father provides us with only those things that are needed for and in our lives. Earthly fathers make mistakes. The Lord God our heavenly Father never makes mistakes. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (JAMES 1:17). Shadows quickly shift and change often. Our heavenly Father never changes in our ever-changing world.
D. Our Father cares for us with loving concern. The Lord our God knows more about us than we know about ourselves. God knows the number of hairs on our head. None of us are that concerned about ourselves. But God is. The Lord knows when each sparrow falls to the ground. Our Father knows and cares about all these insignificant details. Just think how much more concerned the Lord is about the really important events in our lives. Our Father cares for us for a reason. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God"(2 CORINTHIANS 1:3,4). God our Father cares for us so that we may be a comfort to others.
THE LORD’S NAME IS OUR BLESSING.
Our heavenly Father perfectly cares for us with his love.
II. OUR SAVIOR’S GRACE
A. The Lord speaks to Moses. Moses hears and speaks to Aaron. Aaron and his sons hear and speak.
1. Verse 25. The Lord will now make his face to shine upon God’s people. This was a change.
2. God’s face had been connected with anger and with judgment. Now it would be blessing.
B. “Be gracious”. Israel saw God’s grace in the wilderness. They were given water and food, 40 years.
C. You and I experience God’s grace in his daily care. We also especially see the blessing of the Lord’s name in his Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. At Pentecost thousands of people became believers. Thou-sands more believed on the Lord a short time later. We may think that the church had it made. The early church faced great persecution. It scattered. The early disciples were put into prison for proclaiming the gospel message. They would never give up that message. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (ACTS 4:12). We are blessed.
D. The name of Jesus is our blessing. Many churches today preach about the Bible. Some exclude the name of Jesus as the focal point of all preaching. How does this happen? To use Jesus’ name is to take a stand. All too many do not want to see the church take a stand on anything. Jesus is Savior. This implies that we need saving. What do we need to be saved from? We need to be saved from sin. No too many want to hear about being a sinner. It is the Scripture that cannot be broken. "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins"(MATTHEW 1:21). Jesus means “to save”. Forgiveness reveals God’s grace. Our Savior’s name blesses us.
THE LORD’S NAME IS OUR BLESSING.
Our Savior’s grace has been given to forgive and save us.
III. HOLY SPIRIT’S PEACE
A. Verse 26 emphasizes the Lord’s face turning toward God’s people. This is important.
1. The Lord would look at God’s people. The Lord’s favor would be upon his people.
2. The Lord’s face (countenance) would bring peace. This is not the world’s peace.
B. Verse 27. The Lord would bless his people by putting his name on them.
1. This is the Lord who wants all the glory of his name for himself. Now the Lord shares glory.
2. The Lord will bless. Aaron and his sons would use the words. The Lord would bless.
C. The Lord’s name is our blessing. No one can bless (or curse) the Lord except by the Holy Spirit. The Lord God Almighty gives us his peace. This is the peace that is ours through the forgiveness of sins. To believe in forgiveness one needs faith. Faith is God’s gift to each of us through the working of the Holy Spirit. Our faith provides us with God’s peace. "Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father’"(GALATIANS 4:6). We can cry out at any time, in any situation, and at any place: “Father, Father!” Our Father invites us to call to him. Our Father promises to hear and to answer. We believe this because the Holy Spirit has worked faith in our hearts.
D. The Holy Spirit blesses us with faith. We do not come to the Lord Jesus on our own. We cannot. We are born into this world filled with sin. By nature we are God’s enemies. All that has changed by the power of the name of the Lord God Almighty. Read today’s gospel (JOHN 3:1-17) to better understand the gift of faith from God. With faith our lives have been changed – now and forever. "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace" (ROMANS 8:6). We now live a life of life. A life of life means eternal life. We live our earthly lives knowing, believing, and confessing in the fact that eternal life is also ours. The Lord’s name is our blessing. The Holy Spirit gives us peace.
CONC.: We have heard these words of blessing countless times in our lives. Today we remember that these words are the very words of the Lord himself. These words were given to Moses to give to Aaron and his sons. These words of the Lord have been preserved generation after generation for our blessing. THE LORD’S NAME IS OUR BLESSING. Our heavenly Father cares for us by watching over us. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, provides us his grace by forgiving our sins. The peace of God that surpasses human understanding is ours through faith – the gift of the Holy Spirit. Our Lord God Almighty is the one who does not slumber or sleep. "The LORD will keep you from all harm--he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore" (PSALM 121:7,8). (Check out all of PSALM 121.) The devil himself cannot snatch us out of the hand of the Lord God Almighty. We thank our Father for his divine, loving care. We praise our Savior for his sacrifice. We live in the peace from the faith that our Holy Spirit works in our hearts. THE LORD’S NAME IS OUR BLESSING. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
SERVICES: 1:00pm @ NCF Min.(Sat) / 12:00pm @ NCF Medium (Sun) / 9:30am @ Redeemer (Sun)
BIBLE STUDIES: TUES. -- 6:00pm (Min) + 7:30pm (Med) @ NCF / 10:55am @ Redeemer (Sun)
/ Sunday radio broadcast @ 9:05am on KQNK 106.7FM or 1530AM
PENTECOST 1 readings:
ISAIAH 6:1-8;
ROMANS 8:14-17;
JOHN 3:1-17;
(PSALM 150)
