The Father’s Heart

05 - Tools for Sharing the Good News

Church on the Park | Sunday, 30 May 2021| Glen Gerhauser

[See How to Walk in the Spirit Part III; The Way to a Relationship with God; His Way, His Word & His Wisdom; and The Joy of Being Born Again for 01-04 in this short series, Tools to Sharing the Good News]

Text: “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’ “So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.” (Num. 6:22–27, NASB).

ס

24 יְבָרֶכְךָ֥ יְהוָ֖ה וְיִשְׁמְרֶֽךָ׃ ס

25 יָאֵ֨ר יְהוָ֧ה׀ פָּנָ֛יו אֵלֶ֖יךָ וִֽיחֻנֶּֽךָּ׃ ס

26 יִשָּׂ֨א יְהוָ֤ה׀ פָּנָיו֙ אֵלֶ֔יךָ וְיָשֵׂ֥ם לְךָ֖ שָׁלֽוֹם׃ ס

27 וְשָׂמ֥וּ אֶת־שְׁמִ֖י עַל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַאֲנִ֖י אֲבָרֲכֵֽם׃ פ

(Nu 6:23–27, LHB)

Theme: The Blessing reveals the Father’s heart for you.

Intro: What is the Father’s heart toward you? Today, we will discover the Father’s heart toward you by diving deep into the Blessing (the Birkat Kohanim). It’s also referred to as the Priestly Blessing or the Aaronic Blessing. In Hebrew, the Blessing is precisely sixty letters (the value of the Hebrew letter ‘Samekh’ ס, which surrounds the passage). These sixty letters give us a three-hundred-sixty view of the Father’s kind intention and will for his holy people. The Good News is that through Jesus – Abraham’s seed – you are included in this blessing (Gal. 3:6-9, 13-14). By Jesus’ work, the curse of sin and death has been lifted off you, and the blessing of his obedience and eternal life has been gifted to you. In this message, we will focus on the first line of the Blessing. It’s made up of three words in Hebrew and seven in English, and each Hebrew word is a deep ocean revealing our identity and purpose. I’ll also be drawing from the latest infographic I designed for you: You are Blessed.

1) Appropriate the Blessing (Ephesians 1:3; 6:16-17).

The armour is not originally our armour––it’s God’s armour.

And yet, God gives us his own armour by grace. It’s a gift.

You have to appropriate his gift––to take a hold of it.

Jesus is the one who purchased the armour for you––he paid the price for it on the cross––so you better take hold of it and wear it.

Imagine someone who has a wardrobe that is costly and classy.

They let you look in their closet and take whatever you like for free. They only ask one thing: that you would honour the clothes and use them for good. That’s what God’s armour is like

Anytime a blessing is given take a hold of it.

Receive it by faith and grace.

And constantly put yourself and your family in the environment of blessing––where God’s people are.

Never think that any blessing (which is according to Scripture) is merely a religious routine or the end of a service.

It’s actually imparting grace, life and success to you.

2) Consider the Blessing (Numbers 6:24).

Here’s the infographic I recently designed: You are Blessed.

We are going to learn and meditate on the first three Hebrew words of the blessing in their root form.

Here’s how it sounds: Y’varekhe’KHA AdoNAI V’yishmeREkha

It’s made up of three Hebrew words: 1) BARAK, 2) YHWH, and 3) SHAMAR

Most Christians have a general and vague idea of what blessing (barakhah) means.

But it’s important that you have a clear and considered understanding of the word ‘bless’ because it’s a major them of Scripture, especially the opening book of the Bible, Genesis.

It’s so important that Jacob wrestles with God all night so that God would bless him (Gen. 32:24-32)

The blessing he receives from God is so powerful it changes his name and nature.

Instead of dishonour and disrespect, he receives honour and respect from God.

His physical body is broken (to some extent), but his life is blessed.

From Jacob’s story we see that when God blesses us it changes us permanently and for good.

It’s a gift that is passed on from generation to generation.

The Jews today are still blessed because of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The whole world is also blessed by them.

God’s blessing is opposite to the curse.

Something cursed dies and withers. It doesn’t last or give life. It’s barren and forsaken.

But we are not those who are cursed; we are those who are blessed.

Wherever you find something in your life that seems to be cursed, appropriate God’s blessing.

Of course, God cannot bless sin and rebellion––so I don’t mean asking God to bless what he has cursed.

Let’s look at the first two places where the word ‘bless’ (barak) is used in Scripture.

This will help give us a clearer picture of God’s blessing. Genesis 1:22 & 28

God’s blessing means he is giving you a gift of his grace and power so that you can carry out his will.

So God’s blessing is all about his grace and gift; it’s about his power and prosperity, his success and life. It’s about fruitfulness. God’s blessing is himself: JESUS CHRIST.

He himself is the blessing. He is eternal life. And this is what John the Apostle emphasised.

It’s not that eternal life is a thing; rather, it’s the Lord himself––it’s his abundant life.

God’s blessing means fruitfulness.

We see this in John 15:5-6, 8, 16 When you are fruitful in the Kingdom you catch souls for Jesus and make disciples.

You leave an impact of life, love and joy in this world.

3) Exude the Blessing (John 15:16).

There’s a purpose for God’s blessing and that is that you would be a blessing.

One of the reasons we come to church is to exude the blessing to the rest of the community.

Yes, we come to receive, but we also come to give.

And the Bible teaches it’s more blessed to give than receive.

Church is a mutual exchange of blessing––we share our blessings with one another, and we seek that our blessing overflow in the world around us.

YHWH is the second word in the blessing––it’s God’s personal name.

When you are blessed you reflect his name and person.

Yahweh is God’s personal name which reveals that he is compassionate, caring, covenantal, connected and close to his people.

He does not leave us to ourselves and direct us from a distance.

Instead, he comes to us and lives inside of us––and causes every good thing in our lives to be.

And so the name Yahweh teaches us that we can trust him––put our faith in him––and depend on him. He is our God and we are his people.

The last word we are exploring today is SHAMAR.

We don’t have as much time to took about, but it’s all about God’s keeping and protecting power.

He keeps us so that we can live a life that honours him.

Conclusion: The Father’s heart is seen in his nature to bless and keep us, his people.

[Let’s now pray for Daniel and Diane]