SHOW ME YOUR FACE, LORD

Exodus 33:17-23  - 2 Corinthians 3:12-18

SERMON STARTER

          There is so much in our culture that prevents us from seeing Jesus. We are so easily distracted by television, current events, politics, family drama, financial threats, vocational problems, under employment. . .The deepest longing of our heart is to see Him and to know Him.

The Lost is Found

          `I taught at the Youngstown Rescue Mission for a few years in the mid-eighties. One afternoon as I was finishing a study on John’s Gospel a young man asked me if God could love him. I told him a true story about a man at my church who had become an alcoholic. He didn’t believe that God could love him. His father was an alcoholic and he had never known a father’s love. I asked him to pray with me and ask for God to reveal Himself as love.

“Jesus, do you love me?”

          Then I asked him to expect God to reply and answer him.

The next day, the young man was working on some farm machinery on his job. The previous year he had plowed the small, 40-acre field before him and lost his wallet. It was somewhere in the field, probably buried as much as 8 to 10 inches below the surface.

          He remembered my suggestion that he ask God if he loved him. So as he hooked up the machinery behind his tractor and prepared to plow under the stalks from the summer's grain crop, he asked the Lord,

"Jesus, do you LOVE ME?"

He finished praying and looked up and saw only 12 feet in front of him the missing wallet.

I asked him as he related this incident to me later,

"Well, did He answer your prayer? Does He love you?"

"Preacher, I think He loves me more than I can say!"

He found out that Jesus did indeed love him. HE WAS that lost Wallet and Jesus' Love FOUND HIM!

 

 

SHOW ME YOUR FACE, LORD, cont., p.2

 

NEW EYES

          That same afternoon at the Rescue Mission after I finished speaking, the mission chaplain pastor Diggs asked a young man to give his testimony. Years of alcohol abuse injured his eyes. He came to the Youngstown Rescue Mission and gave his heart to Jesus.

BUT HE COULDN'T READ.

Only a Large Print Bible would work for him. He needed powerful lenses to correct the vision in one eye. The man was only ONE WEEK OLD in the Lord when something dramatic happened to his eyes.

HE COULD SEE CLEARLY WITHOUT GLASSES.

What do you think happened?

HE SAW JESUS!

HE EXPERIENCED JESUS' MARVELOUS LOVE!

HE FELT JESUS' LOVING COMPASSIONATE TOUCH. . .

TR.    Think of yourself as Jews from Greece that had come to Jerusalem for Passover and heard about Jesus. They wanted to see Him and talk to Him. Orthodox Jews of Jerusalem were contemptuous of anyone considered "impure" racially and ethnically. Today Jews have a derisive term, "Goyen." The word was uttered with a slight curl of the upper lip. The King James Bible's word for non-Jews was "Gentiles."

See yourself as one of the Greek Jews approaching Jesus. . .

 

John 12:21
²¹ The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, 'Sir, we would see Jesus.'

 

 

Pastor Phil  <><     <

May 20, 2017 - Sheepfold Ministries

Pastor Phil  <><<

 

SHOW ME YOUR FACE, LORD

Exodus 33:17-23  - 2 Corinthians 3:12-18

 

“It’s difficult to see Jesus through the televangelist’s lens or the stain-glass windows of the traditional church. We are distracted on every hand from seeing His beauty. Our hearts long to see Him as He is." Pastor Phil <><<

¹⁸ But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.    2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV)

 

John 1:14 (NKJV)
¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

Shekinah = Impied Presence - "He caused to Dwell. . ."

          Shekinah is sometimes thought of as "Glory," or, Greek, "Doxae"

 

Searching for His Face Many OT Patriarch's came Close

I. MANY PATRIARCH'S OF OLD SAW HIS PRESENCE

          A. Jacob / Israel wrestled a whole night with Him- Gen. 32:22

                    1. Demands the angel's same (Theophanies)

                    2. Gets a New Name instead, Israel - Prince with God / Man

          B. Moses on Sinai - Exodus 33: 18,19

          ¹⁸ And he said, "Please, show me Your glory." ¹⁹ Then He said, "I will make                    all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the                            LORD before you.

                    1. Moses told emphatically, you cannot see My Face - Ex.33:20

                    ²⁰ But He said, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me,                                  and live."
                    2. Moses was shielded from the brightness of His Glory

                                        ²¹ And the LORD said, "Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on

                          the rock. ²² So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put

                          you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I

                          pass by. ²³ Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My

                          back; but My face shall not be seen." Ex. 33:21-23

                    3. Moses and Israel's Children saw evidence of His glory - 

                    ²⁰ So they took their journey from Succoth and camped in Etham at                                the edge of the wilderness. ²¹ And the LORD went before them by

                          day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of                                    fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. ²² He did not

                          take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night

                          from before the people. Exodus 13:20-22 (NKJV)

                    4. After Sinai Moses' face shone w/reflected glory of the Lord

SHOW ME YOUR FACE, LORD, cont. p.2

                   

                    ¹² Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of                                    speech-- ¹³ unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the

                          children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was

              passing away. 2 Corinthians 3:12,13
            5. He wore the veil to keep from frightening people

          6. The Shekinah (reflected glory) gradually faded away

          7. Moses kept wearing the veil afterwards for fear of the people

          8. All G-d encounters have a temporal, faded-glory quality

Searching for God to Show His Face

II. A PRIVILEDGED FEW HAVE SEEN HIM IN HUMAN FORM

          A. Some have seen Him in Dreams and Visions over the Ages past

          B. Joseph and Mary were the first to see Jesus: God and Man

                    ²³ "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call

               His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." Matthew 1:23

                    1. His disciples saw Him in His Glory - John 14:9b

                                             He who has seen Me has seen the Father;. . .  

                    2. His followers saw Him in Human Flesh - 1 Cor. 15:

                      ³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that                                   Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He

                          was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the

                          Scriptures, ⁵ and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.

                          ⁶ After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of

                          whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen

                          asleep. ⁷ After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.

                ⁸ Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

                    3. All that God is was seen by these eye witnesses - Col. 2:9

                                     ⁹ For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

 

Longing for God to Show His Face

III. MANY HAVE FELT HIS PRESENCE  - Exodus 33:14

¹⁴ And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

          A. Patriarch's since Jesus have Felt His Presence - Jeremiah 29:13

        ¹³ And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

          B. Today we feel His Presence thru His Great Promise - Matt. 18:20

                    ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in

              the midst of them."

                    1. John and Charles Wesley, "I felt my heart strangely moved"

                    2. Augustine in the 4th century Reads a Codex of Romans

                        He hears a voice, "Take up and read" - Reads Rom. 13:13-14

                    3. St. Anthony in the 2nd century was moved by Jesus' Words

                        in Mark 10:21 to the rich young ruler, "One thing you lack: Go

                            your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you

                            will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and

                            follow Me."

          C. America's Great Revivalists relied heavily on a "Felt Gospel"

                    1. Jonathan Edwards in 1734-43

                    2. George Whitfield in 1739 - Colonial Billy Graham

SHOW ME YOUR FACE, LORD, cont. p.3

                   

                    3. James McGready and Barton Stone 1800-1840

                        Leaders of the Great Stone Ridge Ky. Revival

                    4. Charles Finney led over 1/2 million to Christ

                    5. Charles Lanphier - Businessman's Revival 1867

                        Over One Million people came to Christ

                    6. Dwight L. Moody Chicago Revival spread across U.S.- Briton

                        Over Two and a half Million people came to Christ

                    7. All renewals / revivals strongly felt the Presence of Christ

 

Longing for God to Show His Face

IV. A RARE FEW HAVE EXPERIENCED HIM  (His Love)

          A. Charles' Finney's conversion was prefaced by a rigorous time of                  soul-searching, weeping and seeking the Lord          

Charles Finney:

I must have continued in this state for a good while; but my mind was too much absorbed with the (lawyer's) interview to recollect anything that I said. But I know, as soon as my mind became calm enough to break off from the interview, I returned to the front office, and found that the fire that I had made of large wood was nearly burned out. But as I turned and was about to take a seat by the fire, I received a mighty baptism of the Holy Ghost. Without any expectation of it, without ever having the thought in my mind that there was any such thing for me, without any recollection that I had ever heard the thing mentioned by any person in the world, the Holy Spirit descended upon me in as manner that seemed to go through me, body and soul. I could feel the impression, like a wave of electricity, going through and through me. Indeed it seemed to come in waves and waves of liquid love; for I could not express it in any other way. It seemed like the very breath of God. I can recollect distinctly that it seemed to fan me, like immense wings.

          B. My Testimony - In July of 1971 - At Arrowbear high in the San                         Bernardino Mountains at a Baptist Youth Camp. . .

I had a Charles Finney experience when I was 31 years of age. It was July of 1971. I became by default the director of a Summer Baptist youth Camp. My problem was I was deeply depressed, vocationally burned-out and in great physical pain. I didn't feel any love for the 110 children at the camp. In fact, I didn't even love myself. I was physically and emotionally exhausted.

          The second night I was there I confessed to God how emotionally and spiritually bankrupt was as I drifted off to a fitful sleep. Prayed a honest and sincere prayer,

          "God, I honestly don't know how to love these camp kids. I don't           even love myself. I don't know what Your Love is.

          Do You love me? Will you show me?"

          I was awakened at 4 am to the sound of someone sobbing. I was in a darkened room filled with bunk beds. I was on a top bunk. The sobbing stopped as I sat up and felt my face; it was wet with tears. My father died tragically in a plane crash when I was 14. I had not wept from my gut for 17 years. Tears were foreign to me. As I touched my face I remembered a dream which generated such emotion. My two very young pre-school daughters were in the dream and I was telling them my final goodbyes. Hit men were out to destroy me and I would soon die. I told my girls to never forget their daddy and how much he loved them.

          I awakened and in my mind I heard a voice that was not my own. "Just as you love your daughters in such an extremity as this. That's just a sample of how much I love everyone of these camp kids." I fell back into my bunk as those immense waves of liquid love became to sweep over and through me. I had never experienced such a purging as all my prejudice, pride, bigotry, depression and negativity was expunged from my heart.

          Wave after wave God's love came over me until I gasped for air and asked God to lift it off. When I got off my bunk at dawn, I was changed. A little rowdy 10-year old boy ran past me. I grabbed him and hugged him. As I hugged the boy I felt that incredible love pouring out of me. I had never felt that before. I was transformed. When I met Lois for breakfast the next morning she noticed my countenance was completely renewed. After breakfast I took her away from the crowds and told her what happened. I explained i was going to be a better husband and better dad now that I had experienced God's Love for me personally. That was 46 years ago and the love is still there.

 

¹⁸ But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.    2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV)

 

CONCLUSION:

SHOW ME YOUR FACE, LORD!             

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=put1U0eqSrc

 

 

 

 

 

SHOW ME YOUR FACE, LORD

2 Corinthians 3:12-18 (NKJV)
¹² Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech--
¹³ unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away.
¹⁴ But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.
¹⁵ But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.
¹⁶ Nevertheless when one 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 liberty.
¹⁸ But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SONG: We Shall Behold Him

Sandi Patti

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ3H3lg9NZM

 

SONG: We Shall Behold Him, Video w/Lyrics (6 Min.)

Sandi Patti

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVza89G8Sbw

 

1 John 3:2 (NKJV)
² Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

 

Job 19:23-27 (NKJV)
²³ "Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!
²⁴ That they were engraved on a rock With an iron pen and lead, forever!
²⁵ For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth;
²⁶ And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God,
²⁷ Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

 

1 John 4:12 (NKJV)
¹² No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.

 

 

2 Corinthians 3:12-18 (NKJV)
¹² Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech--
¹³ unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away.
¹⁴ But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.
¹⁵ But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.
¹⁶ Nevertheless when one 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 liberty.
¹⁸ But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

 

 

John 12:20-33 (NKJV)
²⁰ Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.
²¹ Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."
²² Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
²³ But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.
²⁴ Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
²⁵ He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
²⁶ If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.
²⁷ "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour.
²⁸ Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."
²⁹ Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."
³⁰ Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.
³¹ Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
³² And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."
³³ This He said, signifying by what death He would die.

 

Exodus 33:17-23 (NKJV)
¹⁷ So the LORD said to Moses, "I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name."
¹⁸ And he said, "Please, show me Your glory." ¹⁹ Then He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."
²⁰ But He said, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live."
²¹ And the LORD said, "Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. ²² So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by.
²³ Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen."