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We welcome Rick Verkerk as guest to Wilderness Wanderings.

Today we will start looking that what is known as the Priestly Blessing (words often ending our worship services) and its different applications to our lives.

We start by reading From Numbers 6:22-27

The Lord said to Moses, \u201cTell Aaron and his sons, \u2018This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: \u201cThe Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.\u201d So, they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.\u201d

While wandering in the desert, to give them hope, the Lord instructed the Israelites to gather in the evening to hear the Lord\u2019s blessing. (that\u2019s right, folks \u2014 a Church service every evening!) This was a daily reminder with a threefold expression of Yahweh \u2014 The Lord \u2014 for emphasis. These three blessings represent the Godhead:

1. The Father, to \u201cbless and keep us\u201d
2. 2. The Son, to be \u201cgracious to us\u201d
3. The Holy Spirit, to \u201cgive us peace\u201d

These communicated the Lord\u2019s desire to invest His people with His name. This is not a grammatical error, by the way. What does that mean \u2014 investing His people with His name? Having the name of the Lord rest on you, so to speak, is another way of saying, \u201cMay the Lord live among His people and meet all their needs.\u201d It is God\u2019s promise to be with us and His call for us to be a blessing wherever we go. We are to carry His name with us. We are blessed to be a blessing!

In a very simple sense, the Lord\u2019s blessing is His way of showing us that He wants nothing but the best for us. He commanded Aaron to give this blessing every evening, because He wanted it to be clear by repetition that God gives His blessing for our good. The word \u201cbless\u201d is not a wish or a prayer. It is a declaration of what the Lord imparts. It is binding and, once said officially, it cannot be taken back.

It is essential for us to know that God is with us all the time. You are invested with His name. There is no greater blessing. So, what is holding you back from blessing others to impact the world for Him?

Key Thought: You are invested with His name.