The Personal Goal Of Discipleship Series

INTRODUCTION

• SLIDE #1

• Today we will wrap up our Discover Discipleship series.

• There are many reasons to be a disciple of Jesus. One of the last things Jesus commanded as He ascended into Heaven was for us to make disciples of all nations.

• We have a big job to do, many people in Sierra Vista are not disciples.

• Before any of that can happen, there is something we need to do, we need to make sure we take discipleship personally.

• We need to understand that being a disciple should be our number one priority in life.

• As a church, our number one focus should be on helping to make and build disciples.

• Jesus did not tell us to make churchgoers, He did not ask us to make a friendly social club, He told us to make disciples.

• We have learned that to be a disciple of Jesus, we have to give all that we have to Jesus, that we have to love Him more than anything. This is not easy, but it is worth it.

• Today as we conclude this series, we are going to examine the personal goal of discipleship.

• Open your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 3:18, as this will be our main text for the message today.

• SLIDE #2

• 2 Corinthians 3:18 (CSB) We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.

• SLIDE #3

SERMON

The personal goal of discipleship is that…

I. We should see the glory of the Lord in us.

• In the latter part of chapter 3, Paul takes the time to share some of the differences between the covenant of Moses versus the New Covenant.

• This is where the language of the unveiled face comes from. Paul combines the text of Exodus 34:29-35 with a commentary.

• During the time of Moses, only Moses could approach God, and when he did, his face glowed, and this glow scared the people.

• The people did not want to stand before God, they wanted Moses to do it for them.

• Moses was the only one who could stand in the presence of God with an unveiled face.

• The glow in the face of Moses scared the people so when Moses would speak with the Lord, he would remove the veil, when he went back to the people, he would put the veil back on, so the people would stay calm. Exodus 34:29-35

• When Moses stood before God, Moses would radiate the glory of God, the people would see this and knew that Moses had been in the presence of God.

• Over time, the glory would fade until Moses returned to the presence of God.

• Moses was the only one who could stand before God in this manner.

• A veil covers our hearts as long as we refuse to turn to the Lord

• SLIDE #4

• 2 Corinthians 3:15–16 (CSB) — 15 Yet still today, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts, 16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

• When we turn to the Lord, we live in His presence!

• Moses was in God’s presence for a limited time, but Christians have the promise of the Lord that he is always with them (Matt. 28:20).

• The veil of Moses represented Israel’s hardness of heart; the unveiled faces of Christians portray their confidence (see v. 12), for they have fellowship with the Father and the Son (1 John 1:4). Baker NTC: 2 Corinthians.

• Now here is the application for today in 2018!

• Moses wore the veil over his shining face until he went in to speak with the Lord; and

Paul asserts that all Christians can, like Moses, approach the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces and experience the same transformation.

• The emphatic “we all” refers to the experience of all Christians, not just that of apostles or Christian ministers, because Paul is not simply contrasting himself with Moses. It is “we” as opposed to the unbelieving Jews of the day.

• In contrast to the Israelites who had a veil covering their hearts, Christians have this veil taken away when we come to Jesus.

• Let’s look back at the first part of verse 18 again.

• We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord

• What this tells us is this. Moses reflected the glory of God to the people, and that glory would fade over time.

• In Christ, we are to let the glory of the Lord shine on all those we come into contact.