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with Brother Andy Montoro Elder, Sovereign Grace Family Church SGFCJAX.org
So if we can and if you will go back to Psalm 119 and we're going to look at verse 135. Psalm 119 and verse 135 and the psalmist says this he says make your face shine upon your servant and teach me your statutes.
Make your face shine upon your servant and teach me your statutes. As I began to think about what I wanted to say or what I ought to say on this verse the first thing that struck my mind and the first thing I would want to say is I wanted to mention before anything else the posture of the way this is worded.
In other words as we read this make your face to shine upon your servant and teach me statutes in no way is the psalmist coming and and petitioning speaking with God as if it's a conversation between two equals.
As if it's it's a conversation between peers those that are on the same footing. In no ways is that his attitude and I wanted to us to think about that because I really believe that many of our issues that we have in our lives in our study in our prayer and in the things that take place has to do a lot with posture and I don't just mean physical posture I mean spiritual posture.
In other words if we I will say to you this way if we come to God with the attitude of equals or peers I think we'll find the doors closed. The posture of the of the psalmist right in this one verse alone if you consider it is make your face shine upon your servant that's one characteristic and then he says teach me your statutes and there's another characteristic.
He comes he approaches God as both servant and student. I think one of the things that we we sometimes stumble when we come to the Word of God or even when we come in prayers we don't come in that posture we don't come as a servant we don't come as a student.
Many times we come to we open the scriptures and we almost come as if we're the teacher or as if we're we understand all that needs to be understood and so I think that's important for us brothers and sisters friends that you and I would spend much time considering our own posture as we approach God because certainly as we have said and will continue to say one of the things that God hates and God says it not me but it's true God hates a proud look it's not just a proud look of our face it's a proud look of our heart and so again as he as he approaches God and and petitions God and brings himself before God just something for us to think about our attitude our posture is essential and if you if you think that's not the case then I would challenge you to work on your posture and then think it again and I think you will find that a a servant's heart and a pupil's mind will gain much better quicker and deeper access with God than someone who comes with a haughty spirit.
Remember what the Apostle said he said we ought not to think of ourselves how more highly than we ought to but we ought to think soberly. Certainly that should be our our position in all that we do think about what the Lord Jesus Christ remember the disciples came and he said Lord teach us to pray our Father who art in where heaven right there it is creature creator finite to infinite servant to master insufficient to all sufficient again I wonder sometimes if we even consider that in our own lives but I would say to you that that is something that that you and I need to truly work on.
Okay so he says that he says make your face to shine upon your servant and teach me statutes. And just very quickly I want to keep things within time frame tonight but I want to mention two things with just two different thoughts and and and they're broken out fairly clearly.
One is he says make your face shine upon your servant. And then he says teach me statutes. And and I began to think about that thought of make your face to shine upon your servant and my mind and my thought immediately went to Moses when he said make.
When the psalmist says make your face to shine upon your servant immediately my mind went to Moses. And if you remember if you remember the account when Moses went up on the Mount and he's receiving God's commands and God's laws and God judgments on behalf of the children of Israel.
And then Moses made that request to God he said that he might see God's glory. And if you remember what God said to him in response was I will show you my back parts but you cannot see my face you cannot see my front.
And what did God do. He took him and he hit him in the rock and it says that God covered him with his hand and God let him his back pass by Moses. And if you remember what was the result of that his hair turned white and not only did his hair turn white but when he came down to see the children of Israel what his face was so bright from having seen what the glory of God that he had to wear a veil because the children of Israel couldn't look straight straight upon him.
Just exactly so you know and again I don't want to I want to try to stay on track but there's that that scripture in the book of Job where after Job describes all the great things that God does and then he sums it up and he says you know what these are but the mere fringes of his way.
So when you think about that and God hides him in the rock God covers him with his hand God shows him his glory. Moses face shines and Moses listen this is this I think is important once God reveals his glory to Moses Moses is never the same.
And I will say to you this once someone comes and beholds the face of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ they too can never be the same. Now it doesn't mean our face will shine unless we sit out in the Sun at the beach.
But the point is the point is that when the psalmist says make your face to shine upon your servant I believe what he's asking is not so much that God will reveal his works to him but that God would reveal his being to.
I thought about this I thought about Moses goes up on the Mount and and God reveals his glory and just a glimpse. And Moses face is never the same. He shines because God had really shown him his glory.
And I thought about when Moses did all those miracles before Pharaoh great and wondrous miracles that you and I just ponder in our mind of how it took place and yet for all that Moses face never shined when he did that he goes up on the Mount God reveals his glory.
God in that sense makes his face to shine upon Moses reveals his being to Moses. And Moses face shines and Moses is never the same. And so I guess what I'm trying to get us to think about is when he says make your face to shine upon your servant he's really asking God for God to reveal himself to the psalmist.
And that I want to encourage us in in our life in in whether we're studying we were praying we were working through the issues of life that not only do we want God to work on our behalf we want God to show us his being in our lives and as our lives unfold.
And it is in the Psalms it says the path of the righteous is as the shining light that shines brighter and brighter every day. That's what I believe he is asking God to do. Moses is overcome by by just a mere glimpse as of what he sees as God shines his face.
Remember what Aaron and I know brother Keaton we all mentioned it many times that the blessing that Aaron the Lord bless you he said to Israel the Lord bless you and keep you the Lord. What make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
In Psalm 105 it says this it says seek the Lord and his strength. Seek his face forevermore. I could mention many many scriptures to you of how it is worded. It's worded this way God hid his face from this person.
God hid his face from that nation. God hid his face from this group in that group. And you know what when God hides his face there's nothing but darkness. Think about it. How is the moon lit up at night.
I don't know if you saw the moon I get up so early. You all know that the moon this morning it looked like you could almost grab it. It was so bright and so beautiful. And you could. And I thought about where did he get all its light.
It doesn't have like does it. It's merely a reflection of the Sun. And if you think about that if if if the light of this if the brightness of the Sun doesn't shine upon the darkness of the moon the moon remains dark.
So when the psalmist says make your face to shine upon me. And when you and I begin to think about there's much more in it than might first appear. And God many times hides his face. And I will say to you this if God hides his face from someone they will they will die in darkness.
And certainly the lightening of darkness is a continual theme throughout the scriptures particularly as you come into the Gospels particularly as the Lord Jesus Christ teaches. And let me just think. Ask anything.
But remember the Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus will go on the Mount and he took the disciples with him and he was changed. And if you remember what it says his face shown like the brightness of the Sun again what is it that we want.
Brothers and sisters what is it that you want. Do we just want God to do things for us. Or do we want God to shine his face upon. Do we want to know God. Do we want our face to shine in the glory of his grace in 2nd Corinthians 3.
And I'm just going to read it to you. Because it's certainly too much to comment. But just remember what the what we've just been talking about. Listen to what the Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 3 as he talks about this whole idea of the veil and the light and the shining he says.
For until this day the same veil speaking of Israel the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament because the veil is taken away in Christ who is the glorious image of the invisible God.
Right. But even to this day when Moses read a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is that spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.
But we all would unveiled face beholding as in the mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory just as by the Spirit of the Lord. Why is there no Sun in heaven.
What does it say in Revelation. There's no need of Sun whose God is the light thereof. Again we will shine. Anyone that thinks that that heaven is a place of darkness doesn't really understand much of anything.
It's the complete opposite. Hell is the place of darkness. I just a word about the second part and I hope you I hope that we as we continue to do this with Psalm 119 and whatever else we do you know in a small kind of devotional thought way that it would help us to again I'll say it as you read the scriptures don't run sometimes don't even walk.
Sit still just enjoy. I think sometimes we're so busy talking to God that we don't have any time for God to talk to us. We're so busy trying to read and understand that we don't have time or don't give time for God to explain.
But anyway he says that the other half of that verse says make your face to shine upon your servant. He says teach me statutes. And again as we've been saying the psalmist not only has a request that a desire has a proper he has a right posture he has a godly desire and he has an end in view.
And that is that God would teach him his statutes. And and the reality is you can't separate the being of God from the Word of God. Can you. You can't. God's revelation is is a reflection of God's being.
So he says teach me your statutes. He realizes his need for God's Word. You know I've met people who profess to be Christians and I'm sure you have. And they'll say things like this. They'll say well you know what I love God.
Or they'll say something in more general terms like me and God are all right. And you know what. Well I don't really read the Bible that much. I just don't think I need to read the Bible that much. Like you people let me say this.
Anyone who thinks that way I'm gonna say at best they're a fool and at worst they're insane. How could we not read God's Word if we say we know God. How can we grow in grace if we do not know his statutes.
If God himself doesn't shine upon us by the Spirit of God and teach us let me end it this way. Do you remember Psalm 19. And Psalm 19 is that great song that speaks about the heavens declare the glory of God in the firmament shows forth his handiwork and day on today and others speech at night on tonight.
It shows knowledge. And there is no place where it's speech or or or language is not heard. And and it goes out to the ends of the earth. And and then it says what says the law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul.
You remember what Paul says. He said you look at the universe all you want. You'll have something to think about. You'll not get to where you ought to be. You can only get to where you ought to be. How.
Through the revelation of the person and work the Son of God who so loved us that he gave himself for us. So may God shine upon us. May we grow in grace. May we may we see more of his glory. May we desire to shine in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.
Not. Not just for our own good but ultimately ultimately for God's glory.
