Text:
Exo 34:27 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.
28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.
31 And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them.
32 And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai.
33 And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.
34 But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded.
35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Title:
“Forget the show and keep the glow!”
Introduction:
(Prov 12:22) Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.
In my morning devotion television program I came across this verse. God wants his children to be "real." So much of what is happening in our Churches and in the lives of God’s people becomes "fake." It is more "show" than "glow."
Seven things for us to consider together:
Number 1.
The gospel was exciting for a while...
(Exo 19:17) And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.
20 And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.
Who would not have been impressed with shaking mountains and fire! The day we came to Christ, we came knowing of Hell fire and judgment. The day we got saved was exciting!
Number 2.
Things got boring...
(Exo 32:1) And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Moses had been gone for forty days. The people got "bored" with their trembling mountain.
Number 3.
Aaron had a show...
32:2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
Exo 32:25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)
Many Churches can put on a good show. Aaron put on a good religious show for the people. How exciting!
Number 4.
Moses had a glow...
30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.
Where Moses got his glow from?
Exo 34:27 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.
28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
Aaron had a show, but Moses had a glow. Moses glowed because he was having communion with God. He was hearing and receiving God’s Word.
Bring this thought into your marriage... If you and the wife do not have a devotional life together, your marriagve will become a show without a glow!
I am not against having a great "show" in the Church house, but I am against it if our show has corrupted the gospel and lost its "glow."
I applaud great music and drama. But it is Bible preaching that brings the glow to our Church!
Number 5.
The example of Christ
(Mat 4:1) Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered.
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
When the Devil encouraged Christ to add some excitement to his "wilderness" experience, Christ choose the glow over the show! He choose to live by every word that proceeded from the mouth of God.
Number 6.
The prayer of Christ
(Mat 6:11) Give us this day our daily bread.
This is the great secret to successful Christian living, "Daily bread!"
Are you real, or just a "show?" Only the Word of God can make you "glow."
Number 7.
Don’t wait for something “bad” to happen...
(Rom 2:4 ) Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
You should not take a shaking mountain falling on you before you learn to the truth of today’s lesson. We need to have a daily walk with Christ. Do you?
