“My Face Will Walk With You.”
by Pastor Edwin Lehmann on February 23, 2024 in Exodus 33:13-23
Second Sunday in Lent: Reminiscere (God’s Face) February 25, 2024
Text: Exodus 33:14(13-23) Historic Series 24:2430
Theme: My Face Will Walk With You.
It was well past midnight. The sky was pitch black; the moon overcast by clouds. A boy lay sleeping in the darkness. Suddenly he awoke in the midst of a nightmare. Not knowing if he were alone in the dark house, he whispered: “Dad, are you there?” From across the hall came the reassuring voice, “Yes, son, Dad is here.” For a moment the boy lay silent. Had the nightmare been real? Once more he whispered: “And is your face toward me?” “Yes,” his father replied, “my face is toward your bed.” With that assurance the little fellow closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep. His father was with him, and his father’s face was toward him, watching over him.
What a picture for us of the child of God in relationship to our heavenly Father! In the darkness of our night, His Face is toward us…
I. …giving us rest.
Moses, the great leader of Israel, needed to hear that. These were uncertain times, dark times. While Moses was on top of Mt. Sinai with God, the Children of Israel fell in worship to an idol, a Golden Calf, proclaiming it as the god who led them out of Egypt. As the Lord beheld their wickedness, He stood ready to destroy them. But Moses intervened, and God relented. Yet, God sent a plague among them that killed many. Then He told Moses, “Now go. Lead the people….I will send an angel before you….But I myself will not go up with you, because (they) are a stiff-necked people,” (Ex.33:1ff). Dark times in Israel, very dark times, filled with uncertainty caused by sin.
Uncertainty is an awful thing. And the uncertainty of what sin brings upon us is devastating. Isaiah writes, “Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you so that He will not hear, for your hands are stained with blood” (59:2f).
Look at your hands. Go ahead, look at them. Do you see the blood of your transgressions against God staining them? Our world treats sin so lightly. We are tempted to do the same. But it stains us. What does that mean in our relationship with God? Look what it did to Israel. It separated them from Him and hid His face from them so that He said He would go with them no longer. Then where would they be?
In the darkness of such uncertainty, Moses pleaded with God for the people were repentant. Still, what was Moses to do if God would not go with them and support him as their leader? So He appealed to God not to turn away for they were the people through whom He promised the Savior would come. If God abandoned them now, the world would not believe in Him. Moses prayed, “Consider that this nation is Your people…If Your Presence does not go with me, do not send us up from here.” Moses the great and courageous man of God was in distress, overcome with fear and the anxiety of life.
Often in the darkness of our night, life becomes entangled, and our minds weighed down with worries, fears, and the nightmare of sin that darken our world. Nerves become so rattled that we are afraid to face another day without God. In such moments of dire uncertainty we cry out with the Psalmist, “Remember me, O Lord….Turn toward me and be gracious for I am lonely and afflicted. The distress of my heart increases. Bring me out of my distress” (25:6,16f). That is true for all God’s people as they look to Him. It was true for Moses also.
In order to calm His heart and give him new courage to carry on, the Lord relented and promised, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Literally, He said in the Hebrew language, “My Face(s) Will Walk with You.”
My Face Will Walk with You. That’s quite a picture, isn’t it? Picture God’s face walking with you. Sometimes the face is turned forward, watching for dangers that lie ahead. Sometimes it’s turned backward, making sure where you are. At times it’s turning from side to side, looking to see what’s happening all around. But the face is there, walking with you. The reason? God told Moses, “to give you rest.” It gave Moses the assurance he needed to confidently move forward as the leader of God’s people, walking through dark times.
The psalmist writes, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are attentive to their cry” (34:15).
God’s face is always with those who are His. His eyes are upon them. His love watches over them. He doesn’t really need to hear their cries, telling Him what they need and when they need it. The omniscient God already knows. But He encourages us to come to Him by telling them that His ears are always open to hear their prayers. The point is that He’s there; He sees you; He knows the concerns and troubles that bother you. He hears, and He goes to battle for you.
If a soldier is confronted by an enemy and must do battle with him, how does a soldier approach? He faces his enemies. He won’t get very far if he is looking backward. No, he sets his face forward, eyes upon every move that his enemy makes against him, and he doesn’t back away. God assured Moses that whatever came at him in the days ahead, God was walking with him, face looking all around. If an enemy should arise, the Lord would advance like a warrior ready for battle, walking at Moses’ side.
If the Almighty does battle for you, you can go forward in confidence for who can stand against Him? If God is for you, who can be against you (Ro.8:31)? He will not let anything separate you from the love that He has for you in Christ Jesus. That puts you at ease. It did for Moses. My Face Will Walk with You, giving you rest.
II. …showing us His goodness.
Moses was comforted with the promise. But as the leader of God’s people, he needed more. He made a second request: “Show me Your glory.” The Lord replied, “I will make all my goodness pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD in your presence…. But you cannot see my face, for no human may see me and live.”
“I want to see You, Lord.” It’s not such a strange request. I wouldn’t doubt that many of us have desired a similar thing.
Wouldn’t it be good to see God, to see His Face Walking with Us? Then there would be no uncertainty, no fears, no darkness. Then we would be confident that things would come out okay.
Why is it that we think such a sight would bring us closer to Him and give us greater benefits? Israel had things they could see about God that gave them absolute proof of Him walking with them – the parting of the Red Sea, manna falling daily from heaven, water pouring out of a rock, the awesome sight of Mt. Sinai. Yet, in the midst of it all they bowed their knees to the golden calf, not to God.
Seeing is not necessarily believing. So it is that the Apostle Paul wrote, “We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Co.5:7). What’s more important, sight or faith? With God – faith!
Still, Moses needed help. Moses wanted to see God’s glory. God would show him His goodness, His kindness, His graciousness, His merciful, and forgiving Presence. These are God’s attributes, His characteristics that mean everything to us in our relationship with Him. In that God revealed much more to Moses than giving Him sight of a physical presence, for God reveals more to us in His character than He does in His physical appearance. Think of it this way.
Which would you rather know – what a person looks like, or how a person is within and how he acts towards you? Would you rather see His facial features which don’t really tell you anything about the person inside, or would you rather see how he acts in love, mercy, and kindness towards people? It’s more important that we know what a person is like than to see what he looks like. Looks can deceive; character doesn’t. So, God showed Moses His goodness.
Even then God condescended to Moses’ request in a small way. He hid Moses in a cleft in a rock, covered Moses as He passed by, and allowed Moses to view his back. I wonder what that looked like. Moses never tells us. But Moses doesn’t want us to miss God’s character and how He acts towards us. So, he tells us in the verses just after our text: He is “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate…(Ex.34:5f).
You and I know what that character is like in an even greater way than Moses did. For you and I have seen and know the account of God’s Son, Christ Jesus. He shows us God’s goodness, for in the darkness of our sin and disobedience, God loved and sent His Son to win forgiveness from sin and eternal salvation for us.
We may live without a visual display of God’s glory. But we could not live without the fulfillment of His precious promises that flow to us through His Son, our Savior. Therein is found the height of God’s goodness. Now “we live by faith not by sight.” But one day when all this ends here, we will see Him face to face with our own eyes (Jb.19:27) when our perfected state is able to endure it.
But till then it is enough to know that in the darkness of our night
– when our lives become entangled, and our minds weighed down with worries and fears that so often annoy;
– when we are afraid to face another day;
– when we can’t even fall asleep on our pillows, trembling lest something more lies in the darkness,
in such moments it is good to know that our heavenly Father says: “My Face is towards you and Walks with You in Christ, giving you rest and showing you My goodness. God grant it to us in our lives of faith for Jesus’ sake. Amen
Zion Lutheran Church of Springfield
(A member congregation of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod)
4717 S Farm Rd 135 (Golden Avenue)
Church phone: 417.887.0886 Pastor’s cell phone: 417.693.3244
www.zionluthchurch.com email: revelehmann@gmail.com
You can also find us on Facebook
The Second Sunday in Lent – Reminiscere February 25, 2024
“Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David….Lord, help me!” Matthew 15:22,25
Welcome: The family of Zion welcomes you as we worship the Lord today. We encourage children to worship with us. However, if you need to leave with your child, there is a nursery room to the right as you exit the sanctuary. The rest rooms are located in the hallway between the sanctuary and the fellowship hall. Visitors, please sign our guest book to the right, just outside the sanctuary. We’re glad that you are here and pray that through our worship the Lord grants you peace.
U p o n E n t e r i n g G o d’ s H o u s e
“Remember, O LORD, Your compassion and mercy, for they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways. According to Your mercy remember me. To You I will lift up my soul. In You have I trusted. Redeem us, O God, from all our distress” (Psalm 25).
W h a t T h i s S u n d a y i s A b o u t
Lord, Remember and Help Us. In the past the words above, from the Introit (the psalm of the day), gave rise to this Sunday’s name: Reminiscere. It is the Latin word for “Remember.” In His mercy God has remembered us and sent His mercy to us in the person of Christ Jesus.
In Jesus the Lord has vanquished Satan forever so that all who turn to Him in faith shall be saved. The “remembrance” of His victories is the foundation of our faith and source of all hope. So it is that in desperate times, we shall find a God of mercy and comfort. He may test us, but He does so only to strengthen and perfect our trust in Him. In every need we call upon Christ to remember and help us.
To that end we pray: Almighty God, You see that we have no power to defend ourselves. Guard and keep us both outwardly and inwardly from all adversities that may happen to the body and all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul, for Jesus’ sake we pray. Amen.
– T h e W o r d o f G o d f o r T o d a y –
(The Lessons of the Day are from the Historic Pericope Series of the Christian Church.)
The Old Testament Lesson: Exodus 33:13-23
After Israel fell into idolatry and worshipped the Golden Calf, God punished the impenitent. Moses interceded, asking the Lord to remember the people’s needs and help them. He prayed that God’s presence would not leave them but go with them in their journey.
The Epistle Lesson: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
Bought with the blood of Christ, believers are freed from the guilt and condemnation of sin. As the Lord remembered us in our need, so we rejoice and gratefully remember the Lord by living to please Him every day. Paul instructs in a life that avoids the prevalent sins of the day.
The Gospel Lesson: Matthew 15:21-28
A Gentile woman whose daughter was demon-possessed comes to Jesus for help. Recognizing Him as the Christ, which many of His own people did not do, she cries out to Him for mercy. In faith’s confidence and humility, she persists in her prayer, even when it appears He would not hear her, for God cannot forget those who come to Him for help.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Organist: Jane Rips The Preacher: Pastor Edwin Lehmann
Point to Ponder: “‘The devil is let loose!’ So it appears to us when we see how things are going in the world. Satan is indeed active. He is the old Evil Foe who is shrewd and powerful. He gets his hands into all kinds of things and wreaks such havoc. He fans the flames of wickedness and threatens to consume all. And so, we are afraid.
“But remember, although the devil is the prince of the world, he is not the Lord. God still rules and ever remains the devil’s master. The Lord rules and governs all things for the welfare of His Church.
“In the wilderness’ temptation, Jesus proved His superior power. On the cross He clinched the victory. The Son of God fought with Satan for the soul of humanity and triumphed.
“‘The devil is loose!’ Yes, but he can harm us none; he’s judged the deed is done. Faith is the victory the overcomes the world…and overcomes the devil. Therefore, remember God’s mercies and be quick to call upon Him for His aid and comfort when attacked.”
— adapted from Pastor George Koenig on The Importance of a Great Faith
Outline of Our Worship
Lord, Hear Us
Opening Thoughts on the Service
The Entrance Hymn: #510
The Order of Service Morning Prayer: Hymnal pg.207
Lord, Feed Us
Psalm of the Day: #25
Exodus 33:13-23
1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
Hymn Response: #513
Matthew 15:21-28
Sermon Hymn: #533
Sermon Text: Exodus 33:13-23 “My Face Will Go with You.”
Lord, Accept Our Response
The Te Deum Laudamus Hymnal page 210
The Offering
Hymnal pg.213-214 “Lord, Have Mercy”
Prayers, Lord’s Prayer
Lord, Bless Us
The Benediction Hymnal page 214
Closing Hymn: #800 st.4&5
Silent Prayer
WELS Connection:
Lent 2 – Reminiscere (“Remember Your Mercy”) – Historic Series
Old Testament Lesson: Exodus 33:13-23 Moses Asks to See God’s Glory
13 So now if I have found favor in your sight, please show me your ways, so that I may know you, so that I may find favor in your sight. Consider that this nation is your people.”
14 The Lord said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”15 Moses said to him, “If your Presence is not going to go with me, do not send us up from here. 16 After all, how would people know that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Isn’t it in this way: that you go with us, so that we are distinguished, I and your people, from all the people who are on the face of the earth?”
17 The Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have said, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.”
18 Then Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 The Lord said, “I will make all my goodness pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord in your presence. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.” 20 He said, “You cannot see my face, for no human may see me and live.” 21 The Lord also said, “Look, there is a place next to me, where you shall stand on the rock. 22 It will happen that, while my glory passes by, I will put you in a crevice in the rock. I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back. But my face will not be seen.”
Epistle Lesson: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 God Calls to Walk in a Holy Life
1Therefore, beyond this, brothers, just as you received instruction from us about how you are to walk so as to please God (as indeed you are doing), we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that you do so even more. 2 To be sure, you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 Indeed, this is God’s will: that you be sanctified, namely, that you keep yourselves away from sexual immorality. 4 He wants each of you to learn to obtain a wife for yourself in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in lustful passion like the heathen, who do not know God. 6 No one is to overstep and take advantage of his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we said previously and solemnly testified to it. 7 For God did not call us for uncleanness, but in sanctification. 8 Consequently, whoever rejects this is not rejecting a man, but the God who gives you his Holy Spirit.
Gospel Lesson: Matthew 15:21-28 Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed
21 Jesus left that place and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 There a Canaanite woman from that territory came and kept crying out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! A demon is severely tormenting my daughter!” 23 But he did not answer her a word. His disciples came and pleaded, “Send her away, because she keeps crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25 But she came and knelt in front of him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 He answered her, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to their little dogs.” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she said, “yet their little dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, your faith is great! It will be done for you, just as you desire.” And her daughter was healed at that very hour.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version® (EHV®) copyright © 2019
Calendar & Announcements for Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
| Today
Feb.25 |
Monday
Feb.26 |
Tuesday
Feb.27 |
Wednesday
Feb.28 |
Thursday
Feb.29 |
Friday
March 1 |
Saturday
March 2 |
Next Sun.
March 3 |
| 9:00 am
Divine Worship Service online -Facebook 10:15 am Fellowship & Bible Study
Lent 2 – Reminiscere |
Midweek Supper and Service at Peace
6 & 7 pm
|
11 am
Midweek Bible Class
5:45 pm Supper 6:30 pm Midweek Lent 3 |
|
9:00 am
Divine Worship Service Guest Preacher online – Facebook 10:15 am Fellowship & Bible Study
Lent 3 – Occuli |
A Brief Bible Study on God’s Word for Today
Jesus commissioned His Church on earth to teach the Gospel to all nations, for God would have no one to be lost. Although it is true that Jesus was sent to the lost sheep of Israel, that did not mean the Gentiles were left out. He did do work among them, but the majority of that work would be done after He completed His work of redemption. Still, we have an example in our lesson today of His desire to include people of every nation in His Kingdom.
The Gospel Lesson: Matthew 15:21-28 (answers are found below)
- Why did Jesus appear to treat this foreign woman so harshly?
- How does her faith help the woman to see past Jesus’ seeming rejection?
- What blessing is there for her faith?
Those We Remember In Our Prayers: Greg Miller; William & Laurie Moon; Pauline Jaeger; Kirsten Jaster (Laurie Moon’s sister); Greg Pierson (Long’s son-in-law); Libya, (Jodi Milam’s granddaughter); Barbara Long; Kathy Workentine; Robbie Woessner; Liz & Roger Lisenby; Kay Schmidt at Quail Creek Rehab after tumor removal; Liz Lisenby looking ahead next month to treatment for her blood disease; Norine Richardson; Loise Wiese; Vanessa and Mark Baker on the birth of a healthy son.
Looking at the Lenten Season During our mid-week Lenten observance, our suppers and services at Zion are held on Thursday evenings, 5:45 and 6:30 pm, at Peace in Marshfield, on Wednesday evenings, 6 and 7 pm. The Lenten theme this year is People of the Passion. Each service in our midweek Lenten series centers on a key person or people and a characteristic of them that played into their roles in Jesus’ death and resurrection. This week’s focus will be The Silent Believer.
Our Next Call Meeting is set for Thursday, March 7. This third meeting will be held at Zion. On the 7th we will sponsor a joint mid-week Lenten service for Peace and Zion at Zion along with a supper before the service. During the supper time, we will look at another list of candidates that the district president will send us and elect one candidate to whom we will send a call to serve as our next pastor. We will change the time of supper and service on this occasion. The supper will be held at 6 pm with the Lenten joint service following at 7 pm. Following the worship service today, we will explain a little better the tentative plan for this next call meeting.
Upcoming Services and Events
Thursday, February 29 – Second Midweek Lent Supper – Italian, 5:45 pm; Worship, 6:30 pm
Thursday, March 7 – Joint Lenten Supper, Service, and Call Meeting – supper at 6 pm, service at 7 pm
Friday-Saturday, March 15-16 – Youth Retreat at Christ Alone LC, Dardenne Prairie, MO – “Preparing to Give an Answer”
Next Sunday’s Lessons:
Lent 3 – Oculi: Jeremiah 26:1-15; Ephesians 5:1-9; Luke 11:14-28 (Historic Pericope Series)
Answers to Today’s Gospel Lesson Brief Study:
- At times the Lord works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform, and always for the good of His people who come to Him in faith. Despite His seemingly harsh tone, Jesus, in love, is testing her faith in light of these apparent obstacles.
- Her eyes of faith allow her to see still the possibility of help and an answer to her request.
- The immediate blessing is the Savior revealing His victory over Satan in the healing of her daughter. The ultimate blessing is Jesus’ statement regarding her great faith and life in him.
This week I am praying for……
People Of The Passion
The Passion of Jesus Christ was all about people. Jesus suffered and died for all people. People were there. People took part. People stood by and watched. What do we know about these people? Each service in our midweek Lenten series centers on a key person or people and their roles in Jesus’ death and resurrection—from Judas, to Pontius Pilate, to the women who first saw the resurrected Jesus. Through our observance of their place in the Passion, may God help us gain insights into our lives in Him and strengthen our faith to follow Him more dearly.
People Of The Passion
# 1: Judas, the Opportunist – Luke 22:1-6; John 12:4-6
# 2: Caiaphas, the Schemer – John 11:47-53; February 21,2024
# 3: Nicodemus, the Silent Believer – John 3:1,2
# 4: Peter, the Born Leader – Luke 22:31,32,61,62; John 21:17
# 5: Pontius Pilate, the Thinker – John 19:12
# 6: One of the Mob, the Follower – Matthew 27:20-23
