If you would, turn to 2 Corinthians, chapter 3, and we will read through this passage. First, would you pray with me. Father, as we come to Your Word, we simply ask that You would open it to us. We ask that we might see Christ, that we might behold Him as He is, and we ask that as we walk through Your Word, You would change us. This is our prayer. Hear us, we pray, O Lord. In Christ’s name. Amen.
2 Corinthians, chapter 3.
“Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of the covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
“Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters of stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. If what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.”
“Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
May the Lord bless the reading of His Word.
Well, two weeks ago, on Sunday evening, this was Palm Sunday evening, Kevin peached on Exodus chapter 34. Several months ago, when I picked this passage in 2 Corinthians, I was not thinking about how much he might pull from this passage, and when I heard his sermon, well, I saw a couple a weeks ago, I said “oh, we’re gonna, we’re gonna talk about the same stuff,” and then I heard his sermon and I thought “yep, he’s got this. I need to change.” [laughter]
It was convicting, it was insightful. It was a great sermon. You should go listen to it.
However, after talking with Kevin and looking at this passage, and as you know the Living Word always, always has more for us. It can be applied in a myriad of ways. Kevin pointed out that just like Moses’ face showed that he had been with God, so it is with us. If you spend all your time gazing at cars, just guess what you will enjoy talking about. If you spend hours a day meditating on pop culture, guess what you will enjoy and be like. It’s a natural progression.
I could not think of this little ditty when he was preaching, “Oh, be careful little eyes what you see, oh, be careful little eyes what you see…” You remember this. Well, the scriptural principal is decidedly, however, not monkey-see, monkey-do. If right thinking would also come by right acting,
