Title: Make God Smile
Contents
Bible Text: Numbers 6:22-27
make God smile
He said, “test what pleases the Lord” (Ephesians 5:10).
Dear members of the new year 2009! May it be a year that makes God smile. Verse 25 says, “May the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.” This means that God wants to smile at you.
People do things that are angry with God, and sometimes they make God suffer with their words (Mal. 2:17). What makes God happy and makes you smile? A baby needs to eat well, sleep well, and pack well to please her. And as she grows up, it makes her smile. How to make God smile?
It is to receive God's blessing.
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "This is how the priest Aaron and his sons were to bless the children of Israel.
“The Lord bless you and keep you” (verse 24). To receive God’s blessing and to keep me is to make God smile. You can see the field where you receive the blessings God has given you and smile.
“How good and beautiful it is for brothers to dwell together in unity, like the precious oil on the head, flowing down on Aaron’s beard, like the beard of Aaron, and like the dew of Hermon on the mountains of Zion. commanded, eternal life” (Psalm 133:1-3).
The evidence of God's blessing is that different people are “united”. It is not an artificial union, but a union of brotherly love united by one heart. God's blessings are flowing throughout the body as it flows from the head to the beard to the collar.
A true union is not a harmony formed by regulation and coercion. It is not an artificial and mechanical arrangement. The unity naturally formed through the unity of the Holy Spirit is the church blessed by God. Although many instruments differ in performance and sound, they serve one piece of music, creating the unifying music of a majestic orchestra.
The state in which all members are wet with the dew of Hermon from the head is the true church that has received God's blessing. The anointing of oil is a symbol of wealth and joy. A church that is rich and rejoicing with God's blessing makes God smile.
“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2) )
Those who receive the blessings of God enjoy the word of God. The word is sweetly received. Amen to every word. Meditate on those words. “The Bereans were more gentle than those in Thessalonica, so they received the word with all earnestness and searched the Scriptures daily to see if this was the case. Many of them believed, and there were not a few Greek women and men (Acts 17:11-12). is recorded. To meditate on the word and to ponder mean the same thing. This is the stage of digging into the Bible and studying it.
The living and active Word pierces and renews the soul, the joints, and the marrow. God's blessing is the giving of the Word. We are blessed to accept that word. I hope that you will receive the Word of God and make God smile. A community made new by the Word makes God smile.
It is by the grace of God.
“May the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you” (verse 25). God's joy is to watch his children side by side. .
There was a great persecution in Jerusalem, and when Stephen the deacon was stoned and martyred, people were scattered all over the place. The scattered people went down to Antioch to evangelize, and many people returned to the Lord. When the church in Jerusalem heard the news, they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
“When he came, he saw the grace of God, and rejoiced, and exhorted all to remain with the Lord with a strong heart” (Acts 11:23). To say that you saw God's grace in Antioch means that you saw God's presence there. Barnabas saw the grace of God there.
I saw God present and working. A spiritual awakening was taking place. Many people returned to church. Grace is “remaining with the Lord.” It is “that which clings to the Lord.” It is grace to remain in the presence of the Lord.
Many people love God with their own strength and struggle to do God's work. But it is not. When the Holy Spirit comes on you, you love God, and when God's grace comes on you, you work for God very naturally.
When the angel said, "You have been favored by Mary!", it means that God is with you and that the Holy Spirit overshadows you.
When you walk around the church, some people's faces are lifeless and some people's faces shine like the sun. Feel fresh, feel alive. Why? Because God's grace came upon him. Because God is present in his heart. Because God is present in his heart.
Jesus saw faith in Capernaum. Four men, carrying a paralyzed man, were unable to come to Jesus, so they had to run down through the roof.
When the Spirit of God dwells, it raises faith and enables us to evangelize. “…a living dog is better than a dead lion” (Ecclesiastes 9:4). “Oh, I don’t know why God’s grace redeems this useless one.” The same “why”, but some say, “Why do you suffer?” Some say, “Why redeem?” Grace is not a protest, but a thrill. “I am sure that the Lord, who knows all my circumstances, will always take care of me because I believe and depend on it.” This is the hymn of the one who has received grace. God smiles when you show it like this. Like a flower that blooms at night, I hope you make God smile even in the midst of suffering.
It is to enjoy the peace of God.
“May the LORD turn his face to me, and give him peace” (verse 26). God gives peace to his people. When you receive and enjoy the peace that God gives you, God smiles. To receive and enjoy the peace that God gives is a blessing to oneself and a joy to God. The peace that I do not have is with God. You must have peace. When you receive and enjoy the peace that God gives you, God smiles.
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). What you do is peace. It's not because there's nothing to be afraid of. It is said that with peace, fear and anxiety can be put to rest. It is said that fear melts the bone marrow and lowers immunity.
“It is better to have a piece of dry bread and be at peace than to have a house full of flesh and quarrel” (Proverbs 17:1). There was no meat on Daniel's table. But Daniel's vegetable-only table filled with love and mercy was more joy and delight than the delicacies of King Belshazzar, who lacked love and mercy. Daniel ate with God and enjoyed his peace.
Man does not live by bread alone. Ruth and Naomi went out to the fields to feed the gleanings that the harvesters had dropped, but they were happy. The Bible is not saying that everyone who eats vegetables is happy and everyone who eats meat is unhappy.
“Rejoice in the Lord always, I say again, rejoice, let your generosity be made known to all, for the Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding. will guard your hearts and your minds in this Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7).
Give your heart to Christ and let him rule. If the peace of Christ claims the peace of my face, the face of God is a smile.
“Great peace are with those who love your law, and no great obstacle will be with them” (Psalm 119:115). But there is a life without obstacles. It is the peace given to those who love and live the word of the Lord. May you enjoy great peace without obstacles through the Word and peace.
“I give this name to you so that you may find peace in me. In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
If you want to make God smile, turn around and be a child. Like a baby sucking her mother's milk, it longs for spiritual milk. You must receive God's grace.
I am with Christ. It is sticking to the Lord and remaining in the Lord. Whether Israel will become food for the Canaanites or whether they will swallow up the Canaanites depends on God being with them. Two of the twelve said, "If God is with us, they are our food!"
When you see God's peace and enjoy it, God smiles. To make God laugh, I must be happy. Let's live our lives aiming to bring a smile to God's lips. For that to happen, the soul must be well. May the peace of God be within you, and with that peace you may live years without obstacles and make God smile.