5/18/25
Message; “Stories of Transformation.”
Scriptures: Exodus 34:29-35 and 2 Corinthians 3:12- 4:2
Exodus 34:29-35
The Radiant Face of Moses
(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 .
2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
(12) Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.
(13) We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away.
(14) But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.
(15) Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.
(16) But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
(17) Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
(18) And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
(4:1) Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.
(2) Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
This is the word of God, for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
Is there anyone, reading or listening to this message, who worries about your
appearance? Most of us, right?
Well you may remember the time-honored story of the woman who was working in her front yard when a moving van pulled up next door. Her new neighbors drove up behind the moving van.
While the movers were unloading the van, the new neighbors walked over and greeted the woman. She was a bit self-conscious because she had dirt on her hands and face and was wearing dirty, old clothes.
A few days later the new neighbors invited the woman and her husband to an open house. This was the woman’s opportunity to make a better impression. She colored her hair, put on a girdle, glossed her lips, applied eye shadow and false eyelashes, polished her fingernails, and popped in her colored contact lenses. She stepped to the mirror and admiringly told her husband, “Now the new neighbors will get to see the real me.”
Our Old Testament reading today, is that scene where Moses comes down from Mt. Sinai with the tablets of stone, The Ten Commandments, one in each arm. He comes down to the people at the foot of the mountain. But the people don’t notice the tablets. All they can see is Moses’ face. They stare at his face.
They know something has happened to Moses up there on the mountain. They can see it in his face. He is a different man now. Moses wasn’t like the
woman in my opening story. He was focused on his mission and didn’t realize the change in his outward appearance.
Our text begins by saying: “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 .”
We all learn at some point in our lives, that the experiences you have will shape your appearance and how the people you associate with every day react when you encounter them.
The people knew that Moses had been with God. They could see it on his face. Their reaction must have surprised him, and made him take a look at his own appearance.
We know this because the text goes on to say that Moses had to wear a veil over his face because the people, were looking at the glory of God shining in the face of Moses. They were afraid to look at Moses because you were not supposed to look upon God. The “glory” is all you can see of God.
“Glory” is biblical shorthand for, “the presence of God.” God is light, like the brightness of the sun. When you look at the sun, all you can see is light. You can’t see the sun itself. You can’t even look at the light for very long. That is the way they believed God was. When you see His “glory,” you are seeing the presence of God.
Let me help you in your understanding of the people‘s reaction and Moses’ reaction by telling you my experience. As many of you know, before I was called into full time ministry, I worked as a truck mechanic, and the garage I worked in, was not unlike so many other. The men I worked with, their
language, to say the least was crude. You know what I mean. Every other word out of their mouth’s was a curse word. But that all changed in the last few years of my employment there as I started my journey into the ministry as a lay pastor. They started to see God at work in me, as my appearance, my vocabulary and mannerisms changed. A lot of the times when these
changes happened I didn’t even realize it. At first many of the other mechanics avoided me and when they did talk to me their language was more of a genteel nature. Apologizing to me whenever they would slip in their conversation by saying something profane. Whenever I would enter the break room all of a sudden things would get quiet. Conversations between them
would stop, or the subject matter would change to sound more like church talk rather than shop talk. I now realize that they could see the “Glory of God”, “The presence of God”, in me.
Although there were times when I wish I could have been like Moses and wore a veil to cover my face when my action and speech faded from being in God’s presence.
As we look to the epistle lesson today, from 2 Corinthians. Paul takes this Old Testament story about the veil of Moses, and he uses it as an example to talk about the Christian life. He points out, at first Moses came down from the mountain with two tablets of stone. The Law was written on stone, but we Christians, he says, have the Law “written on our hearts.”
Secondly, he points out, Moses had a veil over his face. But we don’t have veils. We are not veiled from the glory of God. It is a painful lesson, and an unfortunate one in many ways. He writes this: “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”(3:18)
He is saying, just as the Hebrews looking at Moses’ face knew that he had been talking to God, so people ought to see in you the evidence that you have been with Jesus. You and I should be changing into his likeness, from one degree of glory to another.
In the same passage he says that you are, for lack of a better term, “a letter of recommendation” from God. People looking at you ought to be able to see that you have been with Jesus, and see some quality in your life that makes you attractive and makes them want to find out, what is it about you? What has happened to you?
Let me ask you this. When you have your picture taken, are you nervous about the results? They say “the camera doesn’t lie,” but you and I know better. A woman said to the photographer, “I hope your camera will do me justice.” He said, “Ma’am, you don’t need justice, you need mercy.”
That photographer told the woman the same thing that God tells and
offers to each and everyone of us. We all need mercy not justice from him.
Do you have a story of transformation? Has God transformed you? By the “Grace of God”, he sent his son to die on the cross and was resurrected for you so that you can experience a transformed into his likeness.
Will you be able to share your “Stories of Transformation”. I pray you will.
In His service,
Pastor Joe
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