Shining Faces (part 2)

Recap of Previous Week

Old Covenant and New Covenant (2 Cor 3:6-11)

Ex 34.29-35 - The law delivered with glory

Expectations of life and blessing

great blessings if obedient

great hardship if disobedient

Disappointment of the law

Did not provide power for obedience.

brought about death and condemnation

fading glory

Comparison of Covenants

see chart

Ministry of Much More Glory

2 Cor 3:7

Old Covenant was a ministry of death

New Covenant is the ministry of the Spirit

2 Cor 3:8

This ministry is “MORE GLORIOUS.”

2 Cor 3:9

Old is condemnation

Spirit is righteousness

“exceeds much more in glory.”

2 Cor 3:10

“glory that excels/surpasses.”

2 Cor 3:11

The temporal came with glory

The permanent comes with “much more” glory.

Why Can’t People See It?

2 Cor 3:14-16

Minds are hardened

Veil covers their hearts

“only through Christ is it taken away.”

“when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.”

Some people are waiting for their hearts to be ready.

Others are waiting to understand better.

If you are wondering why your friends or loved ones seem to love the Lord and serve the Lord with such joy and passion while you don’t . . . it’s because you’re not looking at Jesus.

Why do some people get more out of the Word than others? . . . Because they are looking for Jesus in the Word. But you are looking at rules or laws or principles.

Why do some people get more out of prayer than others? . . . Because they are meeting with Jesus and looking at Jesus and talking with Jesus while others are performing religious obligations.

Shine through the Spirit

2 Cor 3:17

When we turn to Jesus, it opens the way to the Holy Spirit.

We cannot know Jesus without the Holy Spirit.

Freedom implies that spiritual blindness is a form of bondage.

Spiritual blindness is demonic

2 Cor 4:4

2 Cor 3:18

Through the Spirit, we see clearly the glory of the Lord.

As we behold, we are transformed.

Transformation is gradual. ESV says, “from one degree of glory to another.” NKJV says, “from glory to glory.”

Ps 34:5

Testimonies

Stephen

And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at [Stephen], saw his face as the face of an angel.—Acts 6:15

Mr. Glory-Face

Adoniram Judson went as a missionary to Burma. He so burned with the desire to preach the gospel before he had learned the language that he walked up to a Burman and embraced him. The man went home and reported that he had seen an angel. The living Christ was so radiant in Mr. Judson’s countenance that men called him “Mr. Glory-Face.”

What Impressed Moody

Rev. William Pennefather was a prominent British clergyman. D. L. Moody said:

I well remember sitting in yonder seat looking up at this platform and seeing the beloved Mr. Pennefather’s face illuminated as it were with heaven’s light. I don’t think I can recall a word that he said, but the whole atmosphere of the man breathed holiness, and I got then a lift and impetus in the Christian life that I have never lost. I thank God that I saw and spoke with that holy man; no one could see him without the consciousness that he lived in the presence of God.

A Radiant Face

Alexander Maclaren (1826–1910), looking out over his congregation one Sunday, was shocked to see a well-known skeptic in the audience. As they chatted after the service, Maclaren persuaded the man to attend church for four more Sundays, for the sermons were on the main doctrines of the Christian faith. On the fourth Sunday, the man told Maclaren he had decided to become a Christian. The preacher asked which message had brought the man to that decision. The former skeptic replied:

Your sermons, sir, were helpful, but they were not what finally persuaded me to become a Christian. A few weeks ago, as I was leaving church, I noticed an elderly lady with a radiant face. Because she was making her way with difficulty along the icy street, I offered to help her. As we walked along together, she looked up at me and said, “I wonder if you know my Savior, Jesus Christ? He is everything in the world to me. I want you to love Him, too.” Those few words touched my heart, and when I got home, I knelt down and received the Savior.…