Show Me Your Glory - Aug. 1st, 2010

Date: August 1st, 2010

Speaker: Pastor Kevin Snyder

Title: Show Me Your Glory

Text: Exodus 33,34

Introduction

Nearly every church mission statement begins with these words: “We exist to glorify God….”

Often on the outside of every church building is a sign that reads “dedicated to the glory of God.”

What does that mean and how do we do that?

A. What is Glory?

Exodus 33:7

Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

21 Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

Moses asks to see God’s glory ?

What is that?

Glory = the visible expression of God’s character & attributes; the manifestation of his potency

A. God’s Glory is encountered when experience God directly

Picture: a high tension electrical wire when it makes contact with earth. It is the flash of light when this awesome, holy, majestic, all-powerful God makes contact with us.

In Scripture this divine contact point is often associated with light, smoke, thunder and fire.

Mt Sinai – 10 commandments & the Law

Exodus 24:16, 17

When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it,… 17 To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.

Tent of Meeting

Exodus 40:34

34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

Temple

Ezekiel 1:27, 28

Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire,?f? and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. 27 I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. 28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.

This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

Jesus birth

Luke 2:8

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ?a? the Lord.

The Transfiguration

Luke : 9:28

28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, 31 appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” 36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.

Heaven

Rev 21: 22

22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.

Summary:

God is so-powerful, so holy, so magnificent , so wholly other that when we encounter it directly it is so beyond us that all it can be likened to is this blinding , powerful light…..like the flash of that high tension wire when it makes contact.

B. Now God “tames” down his glory and expresses it in 2 other main vehicles

1. His Creation –

Psalm 19:1

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2 Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display knowledge.

Romans 1

20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

God displays his nature, his attributes, his potency through his creation.

2. Jesus Christ

The Immortal God has also displayed his glory through Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 1:3

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

Jesus is the perfect expression of God’s character and attributes.

In John 17:4 – Jesus prays, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.”

B. What is the impact?

What happens when we encounter the glory of God?

Story of Moses see 2 things:

1. It Can Overwhelm & Destroy

In order to spare Moses God puts him in the cleft of the rock and lets him see his back. There is a Scripture that one cannot see his face and live..

Exodus 33

Now there are several ideas about this expression seeing “God’s back”

One says – we see God’s glory from watching where he has been. We can trace his steps
The word “back” (33:23) carries the idea of “what remains,” that is, the afterglow of the glory of God—what was “left over” after God passed by.
This passage demonstrates that while people truly can know God, they can never know Him exhaustively.

John 1:18 - No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only,?e? ?f? who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.

2. It Irradiates Us

In the case of Moses coming into the glorious presence of God irradiated him.

It seems every time Moses comes into contact with the glory of God he comes out glowing. His face is radiant.

Exodus 34

29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony 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. 31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.

Nuclear Power

If we brought a pound of enriched uranium in here today. We would go home probably all irradiated by the radiation. You might be able to do home x-rays by turning off the lights and standing in front of the mirror.

God’s glory is like that. It irradiates you when you connect with it.

And that’s what the New Testament says happens to us

2 Cor 3:18

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect?a? the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Solar Light – absorbs this glory from the presence of God and then in the darkness of this world glows with this light it has absorbed.

C. Application:

So given all this, what does it mean to us?

The Bible says

a. We, as humans, are expressions of God’s glory. We are made in his image to reflect God’s character.

Ephesians says we were made for the “praise of his glory” (Eph 1:14)
And we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works (Eph 2:10)

We find our highest significance in realizing we are expressions of God’s glory…not just cosmic accidents, insignificant pawns….but all people have value as expressions of God’s glory.

And we find our highest purpose in seeking to reflect his glory.

i.e. Object Lesson

Mirror – reflect back the image

God made us to reflect back his character that he put in us. This love, grace, goodness, kindness, joy, peace…We were made for this.

How do we reflect back this glory?

Worship

The global term is worship

Worship is essentially acknowledging , attributing, and reflecting the glory of God. In words and deeds. Not just something we say on Sunday but our whole lives. In fact, it is our eternal calling and purpose.
It is the one activity we will continue to do in heaven. …reflect back the glory of God….in word and deeds.
Evangelism is not our sole purpose…Evangelism /Mission exists because worship doesn’t.

Our ultimate purpose is to be a mirror that reflects the image of Christ.

Specifics:

How can we worship or glorify God?

a. Words

Psalms 96

Ascribe to the Lord, O families of nations,

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

bring an offering and come into his courts.

9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his?a? holiness;

tremble before him, all the earth.

We become worshippers when we recognize and attribute back to God who he is and what he has done.

On a Sunday morning for instance we come to God …

- having walked through his creation that displays his handiwork,

- having experienced the glory of his infinite grace in our lives,

- having been the recipients of his gifts of life and breath

…. and we hold the mirror and say,

“Unto you O lord do I lift up my hands….For you are worthy of all the honour, power and glory.”

b. Our lives

1 Cor 10:31 - So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

We bring glory to God when our lives increasingly reflect the character and attributes of God.

16 But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

Eph 4: 23,24 – “…to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

2 Cor 8 says we bring glory to God by our generosity and giving to the poor. People see the generous, compassionate heart of God through us.
People see the glory of God in our weaknesses and how we deal with adversity.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

a. We reflect God’s glory in how we act in conflict.

There is nothing that clouds the glory of God more in the eyes of our world than how we treat one another and behave in conflict. When we follow the biblical pattern of talking to our brother first instead of about him

Of not making premature judgements
Of taking the log out of our eye first
Of speaking the truth in love
Of seeking the others interests
Of seeking reconciliation then our world takes notice.

They see God’s presence in our midst.

One meaning of glory is to increase the reputation of God in the community.

As Christians our aim in conflict is not to win….our aim is to glorify God….to reflect his character. When we do that regardless of what happens to us God wins, his reputation wins.

Nothing is sadder than a group of Christians who in conflict reflect the attitudes and behavior of the world rather than Christ.

Our purpose, in everthing, whether you eat or drink, is to do it for the glory of God. To be the best mirror you can be.

How?

So, how do we be the best mirror? How do we glorify God?

Work harder. Try harder? Do more?

1. Move into Presence of God

No, let’s go back to Moses. What was it that caused him to glow in the dark? To radiate the glory of God?

It was his connecting to the presence of God. It was his time in the Tent of Meeting.

Do you remember Acts 4: 13 – “they took note these men had been with Jesus.”

The key is God’s glory rubs off on us. We are changed as we move into his presence. His Word changes our thoughts.

His Spirit cleanses our hearts.

i.e.

dogs & their owners

How some over time bear a resemblance to each other…..well God’s character rubs off on us.

So the Cn life is not about doing more, trying harder, ….it is about moving into the glorious presence of God.

The more you live in his presence the more will exude out of your life.

2. Deal with Sin as God Reveals it

Sin is like a dulling of the finish on the mirror. The more we allow to creep in our lives the more we obscure the character & reflection of God. Jesus life was unobscured by sin….exact radiance of Father’s character.

Sin mars the image of God. It reduces our lives to reflect lower life….It becomes tainted, hidden, ….we increasingly do not bear the image of our creator, nor reflect his glory. We create a life that God never had in mind for mankind. Our world becomes filled with envy, hatred, murder, lying, pride,….all the things God isn’t.

Romans 3:23 - 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

And that’s the tragedy expressed in Romans 1:20

20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

The practice of confession is like cleaning a mirror. It removes all the scum that mars the reflection of God. And the more the image is unobscured, the more we increase the reputation of God in the community….the more we display God’s transforming grace in our lives. They see more of Jesus in us.

c. Give Credit where credit is due.

One of the things that obscures the mirror is when we supplant God. When attribute our character and success to us not God.

Spotlight

Our lives are to spotlight God – his character and attributes. By virtue of creation and his redeeming us we owe everything to him.

Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That’s why we have the saying, “If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.”

But our temptation is to grab the spotlight and put it on us. To try and steal the glory for ourselves.

The Bible calls this pride.

Pride where we steal the glory that rightfully belongs to God.

i.e. Nebucchednezzer

Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”

31 The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. 32 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.”

33 Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.

Nebuched. Attributed his achievements, his success to who? – himself rather than God.

Contrast Moses:

Moses is refered to as the most humble man ever.

What does that humility look like?

Means that his mind wasn’t on himself. He pointed to God.

False humility = say bad things about ourselves with hopes of getting attention. Spotlight is still on us.

Pride = draw attention to ourselves. We attribute goodness and success to ourselves.

But humility is that we put the spotlight on God. We forget about ourselves. We credit him.

i.e.

Andrae Crouch – “To God be the glory – “all that I am and ever hope to be….I owe it all to thee.”

Conclusion

Friends, like Moses I desire to see the glory of God.

I desire to see his attributes more fully…..in his creation, in Christ, yes in these visions and epiphanies.

But I, and all of us, long to see his glory more in our lives, and in the church. We long to see his character more manifest.

God’s reputation be increased. That’s our purpose.

Lead you into a private conversation with God this morning.

1. God’s glory irradiates us as connect into his presence in body and spirit.

When we connect with that high tension wire our lives take on a glow.

Express to God that you want to connect with him.
You want to see his glory.
You want to connect this morning and go out glowing from being in his presence this morning.

2. God’s glory shines out as we confess and deal with the sin in our lives that mar and obscure his reflection.

Today, what has God pointed out that dulls his reflection in your life? Confess that.

Perhaps words….actions….behaviors….how you have acted in conflict. More in it to win than seeing your goal to glorify God.

3. Give Credit and praise to God.

Put the spotlight on him this morning.

Acknowledge him as the source of the goodness and success in your life.

Thank him for something specific he has done

Praise him for some quality of his you have seen in his creation – in a flower, the weather, ….

What can you thank him for this morning?
What do you feel you owe to him this morning?
What in your life can you attribute to him?

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The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ex 33:18-23

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ex 24:15-17

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ex 40:34-35

f Or lapis lazuli

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Eze 1:26-28

a Or Messiah. “The Christ” (Greek) and “the Messiah” (Hebrew) both mean “the Anointed One”; also in verse 26.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Lk 2:8-11

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Lk 9:28-36

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Re 21:22-25

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ps 19:1-2

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Heb 1:3

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ex 33:21-23

Wiersbe, Warren W.: Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament. Wheaton, IL : Victor Books, 1993, S. Ex 32:1

Walvoord, John F. ; Zuck, Roy B. ; Dallas Theological Seminary: The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL : Victor Books, 1983-c1985, S. 1:157

e Or the Only Begotten

f Some manuscripts but the only (or only begotten) Son

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Jn 1:18

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ex 34:29-35

a Or contemplate

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. 2 Co 3:18

a Or Lord with the splendor of

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ps 96:7-9

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. 1 Co 10:31

Tyndale House Publishers: Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 2nd ed. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale House Publishers, 2004, S. 2 Co 3:16-18

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ro 3:23

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ro 1:20-25

Peterson, Eugene H.: The Message : The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, Colo. : NavPress, 2002, S. 1 Co 1:26-31

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Da 4:29-33