Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Exodus 34: 29-35
Pastor: Pastor Schlicht
Sermon Date:  March 3, 2019

It’s easier than we might think for people to know where we’ve been or what we’ve been doing. When the kid with chocolate smeared all across his face says he doesn’t know who ate the last piece of cake, he isn’t fooling anyone. We know what he’s been up to. Maybe it’s crumbs on your collar, the ticket-stub that falls out of your pocket, maybe it’s your encyclopedic knowledge of a certain sport, or the words “Eastside Lutheran” printed on your shirt, but there are clues that tell others what we’ve been up to. In fact, over time people perceive deeper things as well. Because the truth is, whether we are aware of it or not, what and who we spend our time with changes us. Whatever you spend your time looking at, meditating on, and thinking about is what you will slowly, but surely, become. And people pick up on it.

So permit me to ask the question this morning, “What have you been doing? Who or what has left a mark on you? What do you reflect in your character?” And more specifically, if it is easier than we might think for people to tell where we’ve been, would anyone think you’ve been with God? Do you show signs of having been in contact with him and his Word? Are you being conforming to his image or another’s? I have been thinking about this all week. At times I felt good and at other times quite convicted. You probably know those feelings as well. Thankfully, today’s lesson reminds us that despite our sin and struggles, we are always invited to spend time with God, and when we do we will reflect his glory in our lives.

Our lesson this morning is taken from Exodus chapter 34 and is centered on the prophet Moses. Moses is one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament. He’s the one who led the Israelites out of Egypt and crossed the Red Sea. He’s the one who led them through the land of Rephidim and across the desert all the way up to the foot of Mount Sinai. When God’s presence came over it as a cloud, and the very mountain trembled with fire and smoke it was Moses who told the people not to be afraid. And when the people were too scared to go near, it was Moses who climbed the mountain by himself to speak with God on their behalf. It was Moses who asked God, “Show me your glory” and received a passing glimpse of God’s back as he hid in the cleft of a rock. It was Moses who received the Ten Commandments and it was Moses who shattered them in anger when he saw the Israelites worshipping the Golden Calf. It was also Moses who then went back up Mount Sinai to intercede on behalf of the people. He pleaded with God to have mercy on the Israelites. And it was Moses, after now a total of 80 days with God, whose face glowed with light as he descended Mount Sinai carrying the second set of commandments.

“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. (Ex 34:29) This isn’t just figurative language. The Hebrew says that the very “skin” of Moses’ face was radiant when he came down the mountain. Why? Because he had been with the Lord. Moses’ direct time with God on that mountain had caused his face to glow with light. But as we heard, when he came down from the mountain with such radiance in his face, the Israelites would not come near him! When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.” (Ex 34:30) They were afraid! They weren’t afraid of Moses himself, but of the evidence of God’s glory in Moses’ face. They were afraid of being close to God. They had just fallen into idolatry, left alone without a leader for just forty days, their superstition got the best of them. They fashioned a golden calf and fell into sin. So even now as they see Moses coming in radiance, their intercessor, the one who had pleaded on their behalf, their guilt and shame still told them that they needed to stay away. Even though they were forgiven, they were afraid of God’s glory.

Now before we laugh those Israelites, it is it so hard to understand why guilt can walk hand in hand with fear? Sometimes we dread God’s presence too and we even know how the story ends. The sins of the past can interrupt a close relationship with God in the present. Like those Israelites, we know what we’ve done and it can make coming near to God something fearful. Isn’t it backward? Only in coming close to God do we receive forgiveness and get rid of our fear, but shame holds us back. Our sinful nature manages to twist the very thing that can release our guilt into more guilt! For example, the reason that the Bible may collect dust on the shelf isn’t primarily because we don’t have enough time to read it. It’s because the thought of reading it brings with it the guilt that we haven’t read it. Praying to God after we’ve fallen into sin is the best way to let go of guilt and remember that we are forgiven, but often prayer is the last thing we want to do because we feel ashamed just thinking about it and so we just roll over and fall asleep. If we could only understand that God doesn’t want us to feel ashamed. He doesn’t want us to feel guilty. He wants to free us from fear. But being close to God is the only way to see that.

The truth is that Moses’ shining face didn’t just mean that the Lord showed him favor; it also meant good things for the people. And if they could’ve understood it they wouldn’t have been afraid. In effect, God said to them, by the radiant face of Moses, “I have mercy on you because I have accepted your intercessor. Moses has been pleading for your lives and as proof that I have accepted you and will be with you, I have written your pardon in shining light across his face.” They should have seen Moses coming down with the new stone tablets and a radiant face and said “Yes, thank the Lord! He has forgiven us!” That radiance in Moses meant forgiveness and peace for the people.

“That’s good for the Israelites, Pastor, but what does that mean for me?” Well, quite a lot. Stick with me here and I’d like to draw out a few connecting threads between this lesson and Jesus’ Transfiguration and you’ll soon see why it applies. Jesus went up on what we call the Mount of Transfiguration. Moses went up on Mount Sinai. God spoke to Moses in a cloud on the mountain and his face glowed with light. In his Transfiguration Jesus’ face shone like the sun and God again spoke from a cloud. Do you see what was happening? God authenticated Jesus, not as just another prophet, but as his beloved Son, the intercessor greater than Moses, our very Savior. You see after Moses came down from Sinai he and the Israelites continued to atone for sin with the blood of bulls and goats. But after his Transfiguration Jesus would lay his life down as the Lamb of God who was crucified to atone for sin, once and for all! My friends, if radiance in Moses’ face meant mercy for Israel then the light of Jesus which must have lit up the sky above the Mount of Transfiguration means that God has forgiven our sins in a more complete and satisfactory way. We have a greater assurance of God’s forgiveness through Jesus’ blood! If your face has been darkened in shame, lift it up and look and at your Savior. The beams of light that are coming from his face are proof that your God loves you and desires to spend time with you. Look to him and he will make your face radiant. You can glow just like Moses, not physically, but in Spirit!

At this point, you may be tempted to think, “Okay, pastor. I want to spend time with the Lord, but I’m not Moses. I don’t get to go up on Mt. Sinai. I don’t get the lightbulb face. I don’t get to talk with Jesus in transfigured glory! How am I supposed to shine like Moses did?” But the truth is that if you know Jesus, you have witnessed glory than Moses never saw. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3: “Now if the ministry…carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory…will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?” (2 Corinthians 3:7-8) It may be hard to believe, but you and I are in a more privileged position than Moses. Moses gave Israel laws carved in stone which they could never keep, and his face needed to be veiled because the glory he had seen. But we who have been freed from that law through Christ, now live in “the ministry of the Spirit” which has even more glory! Check out how Paul continues: “Since we have such a hope [in Jesus], we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face…we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” (2 Corinthians 3:12-18). My friends, we don’t need a veil, because we are being transformed by the Spirit, our radiance is something much more substantial than physical light. Continuing this thought into chapter four Paul says, “For God…made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” As New Testament Christians, those living in the ministry of the Spirit, we are blessed with access to God’s glory in a completely different way than Moses. Moses glimpsed God’s back, but we have seen his heart. Moses saw God’s glory in fear and trembling on Mount Sinai, but we have seen his greatest glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Don’t think it a small thing to read the Bible or say a prayer to God. This access to the Almighty is something the Old Testament people could only dream about. We get to speak to our Savior. We get to read his very Words in Scripture. We have been given the ministry of the Holy Spirit! Some may long for a miracle, a mountain-top moment, but Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” Believe in the Holy Spirit and his almighty power to change your heart through faith! If you spend time looking at Jesus’ face as revealed in God’s Word you can not help but be changed. People will notice where you have been because you will shine in the Spirit! Each and every one of us can display the radiance of God’s glory through faith in Christ!

I’d like to highlight one phrase from verse 29 on this point here, “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.” As brightly as he shone, Moses didn’t realize it. Just the same, the light of faith is often an unconscious reflection. You might not see it in yourself. You may not think of yourself as a great light for Christ, but guess what? You aren’t necessarily a good judge of that. Moses didn’t know that his face was shining. You may not know how you’ve been transformed over the last number of years. Be encouraged that 2 Corinthians 3:18 says that we are transformed from one degree of glory to another. Often people want to be transformed all at once but it usually doesn’t happen like that. It’s one degree at a time. We spend time with God in worship and prayer and slowly, we begin to reflect his character, a little more selfless love of Christ this month, a little more growth in the Spirit this year, a little more like Jesus this decade. It isn’t a light switch, it is a natural consequence of time spent with God. Just as, in some ways, it is natural to imitate those we spend time with. I know that I’m a gentler and more thoughtful person than I was 7 years ago because I spend time with my wife. In a much more powerful way, the same applies to faith. Give it time, but if you spend time with the Lord, he will change you in significant ways. And people will notice.

My friends, there are many good places to spend your time, and we all know how difficult it is to make time for even worthwhile pursuits. But if people can tell where you’ve been, where do want to lead them? May you spend time with Jesus and lead them to him. May your character and conduct, your words and influence testify to his love and I pray that all people may realize the greatest glory of God in the face of Christ. Amen.