God's Special Blessings
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In the Biblical record, we find examples of certain individuals receiving the privilege of extraordinary things, such as special encounters with God, special revelation of truth, and special supernatural power. Some of these examples are:
Moses seeing God’s glory
And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.
And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.
Elijah taken up into Heaven
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
Peter, James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration
And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
Paul’s Heavenly vision
It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.
And there are others. This morning, we’ll look at some saints that were given a special blessing from God that they undoubtedly cherished the rest of their lives.
These blessings were by God’s grace, they weren’t “earned”
These blessed saints weren’t “super Christians” or alone in their service to God
These blessed saints were unlikely or unexpected individuals to receive such blessings
These saints received these blessings in response to their actions and their heart choices
It’s my desire that we be encouraged this morning to consider the rare blessing that God gave these saints. You may think you’re not unusual or special, but God has special blessings for you, provided you will make these same personal choices!
PRAYER
Matt. 28:1-10
I. God Blesses Those Who Are Faithful
I. God Blesses Those Who Are Faithful
Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
It wasn’t an easy time to be a follower of Christ, or even to display regard for Him. We castigate Peter for denying the Lord, but he was afraid for his life in those moments! If the chief priests had finally summoned up the boldness to kill Jesus, would they hesitate to kill His followers?
But while many of Christ’s disciples were likely in hiding, these ladies were faithful, being busy in caring for the body of Jesus.
A. Faithfulness is dedication
A. Faithfulness is dedication
Mark 16:1-9
Christ had died on Wednesday evening. He spent the next three days and nights in the tomb—“Good Friday” doesn’t allow for enough time!—and rose sometime Saturday night. These women came to the tomb “very early in the morning,” and found Christ already risen and gone.
They were dedicated to caring for the dead
They were dedicated to caring for the body of Jesus
Possible danger (from the Jews or soldiers?) or difficulty (Mark 16:3) did not keep them from being faithful!
I’m reminded of Solomon’s words in Proverbs 31:15, describing the virtuous woman:
She riseth also while it is yet night,
And giveth meat to her household,
And a portion to her maidens.
These women were similarly dedicated! They were faithful, and God rewarded them with a special blessing. Faithfulness is dedication: doing what God requires, no matter the obstacles.
B. Faithfulness is diligence
B. Faithfulness is diligence
Luke 23:50-24:11
Especially when the Romans would execute Jews by crucifixion, there was a clash of customs that would occur. The Romans preferred to leave the body on the cross, and let the wild beasts take care of corpse. This would add shame and disgrace to the deceased person.
The Jews, on the other hand, were required by Mosaic law to take the body down at the end of the day. Deuteronomy tells us this.
And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
Because Jesus was executed under the accusation of high treason, the removal of his body had to be approved by the prefect of the province…Pilate, in this case. Joseph of Arimathea stepped forward for this task, identifying himself as one who was at least sympathetic with Jesus Christ. (John 19:38-42 tells us this.)
And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.
Marking the tomb
On Wednesday night, when Jesus’ body was taken down from the cross and laid in Joseph’s tomb, these women followed to see where the tomb was. After what had probably been the most distressing and tumultuous day of their lives, these women were occupied in faithfully ministering to Christ in His death as they had done during His life!
Preparing the spices
The women spent Thursday observing the Passover as the special sabbath. They likely spent Friday preparing spices, and preparing for the weekly sabbath on Saturday. When the Saturday sabbath began, they were ready to go to the tomb early on Sunday.
Going to the tomb
Early in the morning on Sunday, at their first opportunity, these women met to go to Christ’s tomb to do what they believed was their last task in serving Him. They were prepared to do it! They hadn’t neglected anything. They were diligent.
It is fitting that Christ entrusted women with the blessing of telling the apostles that He was risen! This shows us two things:
God is no respecter of persons
Women were considered “second-class” in many ways, and the veracity of their observation and opinions was held in much doubt by their listeners. (Luke 23:10-11)
And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.
God loves to reveal truth using “ babes and sucklings” and His truth often appears as “foolishness.” (Ps. 8:2; 1 Cor. 1:21)
Don’t think that God holds the same opinion of you that the world holds! If you are humble and obedient before God, He WILL use you in His service, and the world will disregard you.
In the darkest hours in the lives of these followers of Christ, a few faithful women were given the priceless blessing of being the first to see the empty tomb, the only saints to speak with the angels, and the ones given the blessed task of telling the Resurrection news to the other disciples. This privilege was a direct result of their dedicated and diligent faithfulness!
There is one more special blessing that we’ll look at this morning. This one wasn’t given to all the women…just one woman in particular: Mary Magdalene.
John 20:1-18
II. God Blesses Those Who Are Fervent
II. God Blesses Those Who Are Fervent
Fervent: exhibiting or marked by great intensity of feeling.
Specifically, I’m talking about fervent love. It’s a love that is beyond mere commitment. It’s more than loyalty. It is an intense, passionate love, full of ardor. “Boiling” is one word that’s used to define “fervent.” In this passage, Mary Magdalene demonstrates a deep, fervent love. This came out in deep sorrow—in weeping. Christ shows us similar emotion!
John 11:32-35
Mary Magdalene was weeping; she probably didn’t know what to do next. She was confused why Christ’s body was missing, and she assumed someone had stolen it. Christ rewarded her demonstration of deep love for Him, and she had a very personal conversation with Him that was very special.
These women were not the only people that Christ met after He rose again. He was seen by hundreds before He ascended back to Heaven for the last time! But these women were given the great privilege of being the first ones to see the empty tomb. They were the blessed saints to spread the good tidings that Christ is a risen Saviour!
And Mary was given the distinct blessing of being the first human to see Christ after His resurrection.
Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
Why was she given this blessing? Why did she love Him so much? Could it have been because she had been rescued from so much? Did she love Christ more than others did, because she had seen the depths from which Christ had delivered her? We see a woman in a similar situation in Luke 7.
And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
God doesn’t promise to reveal Himself for our eyes to see. He doesn’t set up “spiritual incentives” if we are good Christians. But He does promise that if we will seek Him, we will find Him. He promises that we may know Him.
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Thus saith the Lord,
Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Neither let the mighty man glory in his might,
Let not the rich man glory in his riches:
But let him that glorieth glory in this,
That he understandeth and knoweth me,
That I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth:
For in these things I delight, saith the Lord.
Christian, you may feel insignificant. You may be overlooked. But God sees you and knows you. He knows your heart. And if you are faithful, in dedication and diligence, He notices. If you are fervent in love and devotion for Him, He knows. These women received a special blessing from God as they were busy in their faithful and fervent service. And we serve the same God. What special blessings might He give to you and me? There’s only one way to find out.
May we serve God faithfully and fervently!