Dr Reverend Sandra Moses

May the Lord Lift His Countenance Upon You..

Posted: July 14, 2015

May the Lord lift His countenance upon you

Lifting up the countenance is literally lifting up the face. It is the lifting of the face to catch your eye.
Do you remember when Joseph was looking at his brothers trying to find Benjamin?
‘Lift up the countenance.’ I did it tonight when Joan came in through the door. We were singing, and I saw her and I did this – that is, I lifted up my countenance. I caught her eye, which meant ‘I see you.’ It meant not only that ‘I see you,’ but also, ‘I know you – I’m glad you came. I’m delighted that you are here. You’re special to me…’ Do you know what I mean?
You are in a crowded room and someone across the room catches your eye with intention. You know there were looking at you, and you finally looked at them, and ‘click!’ That’s what the Old Testament expression means ‘to lift up the countenance.’ It means to search for someone and see them. This expression was used when Joseph’s brothers came back and brought Benjamin with them, and Benjamin was Joseph’s baby brother. He was very concerned as to what had happened. He sets up that whole scenario just to get Benjamin to visit with him. It says that he ‘lifted up his countenance,’ and when all the brothers and their servants were coming in, ‘Where’s Benjamin? Where’s Benjamin?’ And, he lifted up his countenance and ‘click’ he saw Benjamin, and that was it! That’s the reason that entire scenario was put together.
In the crowded mass of this world, ‘The Lord lift up His countenance upon you.’ God catches your eye and says, “I know you! You’re special. You’re my delight. You’re my unique one. You’re not just one in a crowd! You are the special one in the crowd. I caught your eye!” Do you see what it is saying?
Considering that this is your blessing, this day as you go about your business remember that the eye of God’s delight is upon you. He’s nuts about you and His eye is on you. Have you ever felt that you are a nobody and lost in a crowd too big to count. At such a time, remember that God knows you intimately and personally. That’s what it is saying. Thus, you are blessed!
Just the locking of eyes sends a message I KNOW YOU. In the deepest sense of that word, I know you. What is implied there is “I accept you.” It means that you are in my inner circle, it is not the whole place, it is you, you. It is you are accepted.

There has been times where I have been called to and it seems much, much bigger that what I can handle and I know some of the people that have prayed for me and I know that they are with me. Just looking and locking eyes, they send me strength. There is just that look that means I can do this. We are with you. No words have been said, but out through your eyes, your soul has reached. An embrace has happened; love in imparted and strength is given. Eyes have let your soul out and your soul has embraced.
The Lord locks eyes with you and says, I know you. I totally accept you. I delight in you. Once I say Lift up the face-lift up the countenance, it means that the person you have locked eyes with has been separated out from the crowd. This is what distinguishes you, you are not someone in a massive crowd. God lifting up of the countenance and the locking of eyes with a person you are actually gifting the person. You are bestowing upon them specialness, importance, worth, and value. God is saying, You are not just a person here. I lift up my face, I search the crowd and see you and lock eyes and am bestowing upon you worth. This is what God determines for His covenant people. You will be my pocket money.
Do you get this? This is a tremendous word. God says, “This is what I will, this is what I determine for My covenant people – to lift up My eyes and catch their eye.”
He said the same thing to them at the beginning of the covenant when this motley crowd turns up at Mount Sinai, and the covenant begins. This is how it begins. God says, “You will be to me a peculiar people.” Now, that means, “You will be My pocket money.” A more modern translation would be, “You will be My special treasure.” And then, it goes on, “For all the peoples of the earth are Mine.” God says, “I own every human being, but you! You are My special treasure, or My pocket money.”
That is, all the money in my billfold is mine, but I’ll pay bills with it, I’ll do this with it and I’ll do that with it. But pocket money? That’s mine! I can do what I want with that! I own all my money, but pocket money is mine to enjoy, to play with, etc. It’s mine, in a unique sense.
The covenant that God made with this people at Mount Sinai begins with those words. Read it in Exodus 19. He said, “I brought you on eagles wings out of Egypt that you might be to Me My special treasure.” Literally translated, ‘My pocket money.” You will literally be Mine – Mine! It was so much so, that they were given the extreme privilege of calling Him, “My God.” I mean think about that! You are so special; you are so unique among all the peoples of the earth. The people of the earth call Him God, but only you can say, “my God.”
And, He said, “All the peoples of the earth are Mine, but you are My people.” Those two words become the mark of the Covenant. God says, “You are My people; I will be your God.” All the way through the covenants of the Old Testament, that rings like a tolling bell right into the New Testament. That is the mark of the Covenant People. God is not simply ‘God!’ He is My God. There is a possessiveness. And, in the New Testament, He introduces the word ‘gift.’ I give you the gift of life. I gave My son. The gift of the Holy Spirit.
If I gave you this Bible, from that moment on it is your Bible! If I give it to you, a gift is that which you receive to enjoy for yourself. And, it works both ways. God says, “You are My people.” That is, God says, “I delight in you. Out of all the peoples of the earth, you’re my pocket money. You are My people in a unique way – a special way! You have the significance upon you as you walk among all other peoples of the earth. You’re mine! And, you can turn to Me and say, “You’re mine!”
You own God, and God owns you! This is true riches – TRUE RICHES! I’m not being a ranter, now.
Matthew caught hold of this. He was the pariah dog of society. He was a tax collector, hated by everybody and despised by his own employers – the Romans, because he is a Jew that sold himself out to the Romans. The Jews hate him, too. He is loved by no one. So, they called him a dog; the dogs that prowled around the rubbish heaps. That’s what they said to him when they saw him. They spat at him as they paid their taxes: You filthy dog! And, then he heard the voice of Jesus saying, “Follow Me.” Then, he wrote the Gospel of Matthew. Do you remember how he describes his own account? It’s not what Mark wrote about it, or Luke wrote about it. This is Matthew saying what happened! He said Jesus came by the customhouse and saw A MAN named Matthew. Everybody else saw a ‘dog.’ Matthew said, “I remember those eyes. He saw me – a man! And, He said to me, ‘follow me.’”
It’s interesting that it doesn’t say, ‘you lift up your eyes and try to catch God’s eye!’ It doesn’t begin with us; it begins with God. He lifts up! Jesus is the lifting up of His eyes. The Holy Spirit is the eye of God coming to you. All you can do is accept His looking at you.
It hurts, because He shows what a mess you’ve made of life. Don’t run to the darkness! Run to God with the mess, and discover that you are caught up into the Cross of Jesus and into His resurrection. You are made the New Man – the New Creature.
The Lord lift…
And, for this we are made! You know, there is another expression for this. The Hebrews were big on this! Okay, what do we have? Face, countenance, and presence – all mean the same thing. But then, you must have read this one:
I have found favor in Your eyes…
When you read the Old Testament, this saying is everywhere: I have found favor in Your eyes. It means the same thing! I lift up my countenance, I look at you, and you can tell by the way I look at you that you found favor in my eyes. I like you! You know?
I delight in you. There’s that connection.
Do you remember Ruth, the Moabitess (which meant she came from across the border, couldn’t even speak proper Hebrew, she was the wrong color being far too dark for the Hebrews, and had an atrocious accent)? She turns up with her mother-in-law, Naomi, who is a basket case of depression, and they’ve got no money, no work, and they are about to lose everything and so Ruth joins the unemployment line. She goes on welfare ala Hebrew fashion, which was to go and collect all the wheat and barley that the reapers left behind. She was deeply resented for that because there was hardly enough for Hebrew welfare folk, let alone to have a Moabite come in here!
Do you remember Boaz who owned all that you could see for miles around? He comes in and he falls head-over-heels in love with Ruth, and tells the reapers in front of her to deliberately fumble and drop everything so that she just picks up enough to feed the whole house. When he starts talking to her, and giving her favor, she’s wiped out! She said, “How did I find favor in your eyes that you should notice me?” Meaning, ‘Not me! I don’t even come from Bethlehem. I’m the wrong color, the wrong accent, and the kid from across the border. I’ve found favor in your eyes. You lifted up your countenance on me? You noticed me?
When you understand what I am talking about, that can be your only reaction: This is what fear of the Lord means. It means the ‘Wow! I have found favor in the eyes of God. God has lifted up His countenance on me! He caught my eye and said, Sandy Yes! He delights in me! He says, “I know you! You’re in My inner circle, for you in My Son, who is the delight of my eyes!”
What is man that You are mindful of him, or the Son of Man that You should consider him?
I have found favor in Your eyes that You should notice me! I am the Beloved of God.
I AM LOVED BY MY CREATOR. He bestows on me worth just be looking at me and smiling! When I know this, my meaning is fulfilled.
In Your presence, (or in Your face0 is fullness of joy, and pleasures forevermore.” Or, Psalms 21: “You make him most blessed forever. You make him joyful with the gladness of Your presence (Your face).”
This is not limited to interior feelings, or to spiritual things. I don’t have time to go here, but you know Matthew 6: “What shall we eat; what shall we put on; I shall make it through when I do the teaching, but not for now. After all these things do the Gentiles seek.” The word, ‘Gentile’ means those who were outside of the covenant, or outside of Jesus Christ. “But you,” said Jesus, “your Heavenly Father knows what things you have need of.”
That word ‘know,’ means to have a complete and informed knowledge, meaning He has looked in your close cupboard. He knows how many shoes your kids have, and He knows it is September/October and you need some more. He knows. He sees you. Love looks. And, that was enough for Jesus. He said, “Your Heavenly Father knows…” meaning that, if Love knows what you have need of, then Love provides. To KNOW is to PROVIDE; that is, the Father is not a disinterested observer. If He sees and knows, He provides. He is the answer.
He has… He is… He does… lift up His countenance upon you. He does. So, what do I do? I lift up my eye and catch His eye. His eye started this, so now I lift up my eye and dare to catch His eye, because you see, when someone looks across the room and catches your eye, for you to respond and let your eye be caught, is to accept their evaluation of you.
I say this very reverently, catch His eye. Accept your belovedness. Accept His evaluation of you for if he said you are worth the blood of Jesus Christ being shed, if you by His determination are purchased with the blood of God, then accept His evaluation and go and dance with God.