Encountering His face

Introduction

There’s something about God speaking FOR you. When God is pleased with you, He will speak
for you.

As soon as David enters the house, nobody says anything, not even David, he doesn’t give his
credentials.
God Speaks for him, tells Saul to anoint him. 1 Sam 16:11-12,

Same thing with Jesus,

God the father says, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matthew
17:5).

Main scripture : Numbers 12:4-8

At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the tent of meeting, all three
of you.” So the three of them went out. 5 Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he
stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them
stepped forward, 6 he said, “Listen to my words:
“When there is a prophet among you,
 I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions,
 I speak
to them in dreams.
7 But this is not true of my servant Moses;
 he is faithful in all my house.

8 With him I speak face to face, {in the tanach, it says “mouth to mouth”, which in their culture

meant “In person”
 clearly and not in riddles; 
 he sees the form of the Lord. 
Why then
were you not afraid
 to speak against my servant Moses?”

God loves everyone, and we also say that we love him, but very few “please” Him.

What Does It Mean to See the Face of God?

Moses was one of those who Pleased GOD. Which resulted in GOD speaking with him Face to
Face (Person to Person)

Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,
–
Deuteronomy 34:10

The quest for the face of God has two dimensions -

1. The quest for His presence
2. The quest for His favour.
In Psalm 27:4 David says,

“One thing I have desired of the Lord,

That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.”

David’s one request of God was to dwell in His presence and to know Him. If we move on to
verse 8 David continues,

“When You said, ‘Seek My face,’

My heart said to You, ‘Your face, Lord, I will seek.’”

The word for face and the word for presence are the same word in the Old Testament. So in
simplicity, “to seek the face of God is to seek the presence of God.”

God is omnipresent, so His presence is there wherever we are.

But just as you can be in the same room with someone and have absolutely no connection with
them, we can be in the same “room” with God (metaphorically speaking) and have no
communion with Him. It is not until the person that you are in the room with turns their face
toward you that you can connect with them and have relationship with them.

How many of you have been misunderstood through email or a Facebook post. It may have
been a joke that your reader didn’t pick up on. It may have been worded completely right but
was interpreted differently due to how the reader was feeling at the time. There is something
about being face to face that removes misinterpretations. The same is true with God.

There is a difference between God’s omnipresence and God’s manifest presence.

What I want to share with you today is about God’s manifest presence.

What is the Importance of Seeking the Face of God?

In the light of the Kings face is life; his favor is like a rain cloud in spring.
– Proverbs 16:15

Often in the Bible God seems to hide His face. This is typically an act of discipline or
judgment.
Deuteronomy 31:17, 18 - "Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will
forsake them and hide My face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and
troubles will come upon them; so that they will say in that day, 'Is it not because our God is not
among us that these evils have come upon us?' "But I will surely hide My face in that day
because of all the evil which they will do, for they will turn to other gods.”

Deuteronomy 32:20 - "Then He said, 'I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end
shall be; For they are a perverse generation, Sons in whom is no faithfulness.

Job 13:24 - Why do you hide your face and consider me your enemy?

Ezekiel 39:24 : ”According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I dealt
with them, and I hid My face from them."'"

Isaiah 57:17 : "Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him; I hid My
face and was angry, And he went on turning away, in the way of his heart.”

Isaiah 54:8 - "In an outburst of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, But with everlasting
lovingkindness I will have compassion on you," Says the LORD your Redeemer.

Isaiah 64:7 - There is no one who calls on Your name, Who arouses himself to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us And have delivered us into the power of our iniquities.

Psalm 13:1 - How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face
from me?

Psalm 44:24 - Why do You hide Your face And forget our affliction and our oppression?

Psalm 88:14 - O LORD, why do You reject my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me?

Psalm 69:17 - And do not hide Your face from Your servant, For I am in distress; answer me
quickly.

Psalm 102:2 - Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress; Incline Your ear to me;
In the day when I call answer me quickly.

Psalm 143:7 - Answer me quickly, O LORD, my spirit fails; Do not hide Your face from me, Or I
will become like those who go down to the pit.

There’s more

God hides His face for two reasons.

⁃ the most common reason is sin (both personal and communal).
⁃ is to bring about His purposes.
All these people knew the importance of the Face of GOD.
In His face there is life, there is favour, there is deliverance, healing, wholeness, purpose for
your life etc..
You don’t feel rejected, hopeless, oppressed and afflicted.

In seeking His face we find that HE is FOR us.

Numbers 6:24-26.
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

It is in the heart of God to bless us and be gracious towards us.

How Do We Seek the Face of God?

I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. – Psalm
119:58

God wants to be sought out, He is eager to reveal Himself to those who seek Him.

As we draw near to God, He will draw near to us (James 4:8)

Moses continually stepped Into an encounter with GOD, He understood that His purpose was
to behold the glory of GOD.

Moses prays in
Exodus 33:13
13
Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace (Favour) in Your sight, show me
now Your ways, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And
consider that this nation is Your people.”

Psalm 103:7 is the answer to his prayer.

7 He (GOD) made known His ways to Moses,
His acts (actions, signs and wonders, miracles) to

the children of Israel.

Let’s go a little deeper.

Exodus 3:2-6

And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he
looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then
Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”
4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the

bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”

And he said, “Here I am.”
5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place

where you stand is holy ground.” 6 Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to
look upon God.

Exodus 24:17-18 17 To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of
the mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed
on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Exodus 33:7-11

Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the
tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the
tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp. 8 So it was, whenever Moses went out to
the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched
Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. 9 And it came to pass, when Moses entered the
tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the
Lord talked with Moses. 10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door,
and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. 11 So the Lord spoke to Moses
face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant
Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

It was Moses’ obedience that pleased GOD.

Exodus 40 - Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded him. After which even Moses
couldn’t enter the Tent of meeting because of God’s glory.

Moses who was in the very presence of GOD for 40 days and 40 nights, at the end even he
couldn’t enter.
The fruit of obedience is - God will always show up bigger the next time you meet him after
obeying his commands.
Every time he had this encounter he realised there is more

Exodus 34:29
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his
hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.
30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to

come near him.

33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.

Moses’ ONE ENCOUNTER with GOD changed the course of an entire nation. ONE MAN who
was hungry for more of GOD.

In Conclusion

Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with
glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory,
though it was passing glory, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?
– 2
Corinthians 3: 7-8

Psalm 34:5
Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.

JESUS is the Face of GOD.

If you have seen me, you have seen the father.

The experience of Moses is not the high mark of the Christian faith, but instead it is the
baseline of what we are expected to experience. We can boldly enter the throne room of God
(Hebrews 4:16). We can fix our eyes on Jesus. (Hebrews 12:1-2). Seeing the face of God is an
experience available to every believer.

As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing
your likeness. – Psalm 17:15
THINGS I DIDN’T Share cause of time.

Deut 4:10-12 ,15

Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when he said to me,
“Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long
as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.” 11 You came near and stood at
the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and
deep darkness. 12 Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but
saw no form; there was only a voice.

15 Yousaw no form of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore
watch yourselves very carefully, 16 so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves
an idol.

God Spoke to moses but didn't let Israel see any form is because God knew they were
Idolators.. He only heard a voice but saw no form.. He spoke out of the fire but no shape.

Deut 5:4
4 The Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire.

He changes the imagery.. Face to Face but out of the fire..

Earthly Throne of GOD was in the Tabernacle of Moses,

To appreciate what Jesus has done for us, we need to take a look at the tabernacle of Moses.
We have to understand the old to understand the new.

Outer courts
1. There is the gates - Introduction
2. Brazen altar - Cross (reconciliation)
3. Brazen laver - Sanctification

Inner courts
4. Table of showbread - Satisfaction
5. Golden lamp stand - illumination
6. Altar of incense - Intercession

Holy of Holies
7. THE ARK OF THE COVENANT (Manifest presence of GOD)

The High Priest had to go through 6 steps just to get to the manifest presence of GOD. To be
face to face with GOD
EZE 39:29 - I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people
of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD."

I will not hide my face.. will POUR out My Spirit.. Out Pouring

Israel had a Cloud by day and Fire by night

Joel 2 ACTS 2 Prophetically says the same..

Out Pouring of the Spirit.. like the Rain
His face is Still in the Cloud

From God’s perspective He Spoke to Israel face to face. It is possible for you to have a face to
face encounter with God and not know it.

The result of encounter His face is experiencing His favour which is in the light of His face.

Numbers 6:24-26.
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Proverbs 16:15 - In the light of the Kings face is life, His favour is like a cloud of the latter rain.

Hosea 6:3 - Let us know,

Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.

He is the cloud.

When you reject the move of God you reject the face of God.
Jesus in many ways was the face of God.

“Seek the Lord and his strength;

seek his presence continually!”

We've become all too familiar with a God we hardly know- bobby conner

In Psalm 105:4, God’s faithful ones were called to “seek his face always.” Even if we have not
abandoned God, there are times when we neglect to pursue Him. God’s face, His holy
character, is often obscured by our human condition and fleshly desires.