Show Me Your Glory

Glory

Show Me Your Glory

Dr. Marty Baker / Exodus 33:12-19 /December 1, 2019

Good morning. Merry Christmas and welcome to Stevens Creek Church. I hope that you have had a good week. The fact that you are here means that you made it through Black Friday.

How many of you went shopping on Black Friday?

Let me ask you a question: Have you ever been tempted to buy something for yourself when you are out shopping for someone else?

(JOKE) The other day Patty came home from Christmas shopping with a beautiful dress and it just happened to be her size. I said, “Patty, I thought that you went out shopping to buy presents for other people, why do you have this dress?” She said, “Marty, I know that I shouldn’t have bought it, but when I tried it on and looked in the mirror, it was like Satan himself said, “Buy this dress…it looks good on you.”

I said, “Patty, you are a pastor’s wife. You know what to do. You should have said, “Satan, get thee behind me.” She said, “Marty, I did. I promise. I did.” Then Satan said, “Oh, it looks good from back here too.”

Today we are starting our new Christmas series called “GLORY.” Glory is a word we see over and over in the Christmas story. It’s also a word that we sing in many of our favorite Christmas carols, but what do really mean when we talk about God's glory? During this series we will see how God shows his glory to us, and how we, in return, can give glory to God. So let’s get started.

Have you ever felt weak, inadequate or in over your head? Have you ever been asked to do something that you felt like it was impossible? For some of you, it was when you took calculus for the first time or maybe when your boss left the company and you were asked to take over her responsibilities. Or maybe it was when you were asked to be quiet when you had words that you wanted to say or maybe be nice when you would rather get even.

All of us at times have been placed in situations where we felt like it was impossible to move forward because we were in “over our heads.”

If you know that feeling, then maybe you can relate to the Bible story that we are going to talk about today.

In Exodus 33, we see Moses in a very difficult situation where he was called to lead a group of people who stiff-necked, arrogant and haughty.

Here’s the backdrop of the story. God raised Moses up to lead the children of Israel out of Egyptian slavery to the Promised Land. The story was filled with miracle events like the parting of the Red Sea, manna from Heaven, water from a rock, led by a pillar of fire at night and a cloud during the day.

In chapter 32, they are camped near Mt. Sinai where God summoned Moses to the top of the mountain to receive the 10 Commandments.

While Moses was on Mt Sinai in the presence of the Lord, the people started to drift. They drifted back into their old habits. They fell right back into their old way of living. At this time, the Lord told Moses to go down because the people had become corrupt.

Moses made his way down the mountain. When he approached the camp, he saw that people had created a golden calf to worship. While they were dancing around it, his anger burned within him. Moses threw the tablets to the ground where they broke into pieces at the foot of the mountain.

Moses was furious. He went to his brother Aaron and said, “How could you allow this to happen?” Aaron quickly made excuses for the people and implied that it just happened.

Exodus 32:30

30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”

Moses went back to the Lord and asked for forgiveness. Then, the Lord said to Moses.

Exodus 32:34

34 Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”

Have you ever been asked to do something that you felt like it was impossible? Moses felt like this was one of those times. How could he lead this group of people?

Practically speaking, he was tired and worn out. He had just come off of the mountain. He was hungry. He had not eaten in 40 days. He was frustrated with his brother Aaron for allowing things to get out of hand. He was disappointed with the people that he loved. Moses was overwhelmed by the task that he was given to him.