The Veil [STAR] (2)

Introduction

Greet and Endear - Thank Gersh and Kaz. Old friends. Privilege doing life together with them.

It’s been a pretty tough last couple of months for the world. Speaking completely from an A-political angle - I think it is more than safe to say that the Charlie Kirk assassination was a tragedy that betrays just how cruel and intolerant the world has become.

Seriously - was reading some of the tribute posts where people were actually laughing, mocking and joking about the death of this man.

My heart is genuinely grieved at the state of this world.

You know as I thought about this, I thought about this short speech that John Stott gave us just before he passed:

ILLUSTRATION: Where is the Church?

John Stott said - We all know what our own country is like. I know what Great Britain is like. I know something about the growing dishonesty, corruption, immorality, violence, pornography, the diminishing respect for human life, and the increase in abortion.

Whose fault is it? Let me put it like this: if the house is dark at night, there is no sense in blaming the house. That's what happens when the sun goes down. The question to ask is, "Where is the light?"

If meat goes bad, there is no sense in blaming the meat. That is what happens when the bacteria are allowed to breed unchecked. The question to ask is, "Where is the preservative?"

If society becomes corrupt like a dark night or stinking fish, there's no sense in blaming society. That's what happens when fallen human society is left to itself and human evil is unrestrained and unchecked. The question to ask is "Where is the church?"

Keeping the light of the church shining in this dark world is becoming more and more important - and I hope we can all see that.

But where my heart really breaks - is that nowadays it’s actually hard to sometimes even see the light shining WITHIN the church. The criticism that hurts the most for me to hear is when people talk about the church and christians as if their light no longer shines - not even in our own houses of worship.

Shouldn’t churches be places where the light of Christ shines brightest? It’s literally a gathering of people who are called to be Light to the world. And yet people walk in and out of our churches completely unchanged, without encountering God.

And you would be mistaken to think that I’m referring to unbelievers - no I’m very much, if anything perhaps more, talking about believers here.

Why is the light of Christ not shining as brilliantly as it should not just into society, but into our churches?

Can something diminish the light of Christ in our lives? I think the answer to that is - absolutely yes. So today I want to talk about the veil.

But before I start, let’s pray.

Not by Doing, by Being

Exodus 34:29–35 ESV

29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 30 Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. 32 Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34 Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, 35 the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

This is a pretty peculiar story but before I move on through it - I want to note something that I will point out as many times as I see it in the bible.

The glory of the Lord was literally radiating from the face of Moses - his face actually shone because of it. And remember we’re talking Old Covenant here, not New Covenant, we’re talking pre-Holy Spirit release.

From such an early time as this God makes it so abundantly clear that catching his light is a matter of communion with Him.

We catch the light by BEING with God, not by DOING anything.

The last time I spoke here, I talked about NOT forsaking timeless truths by only searching for fresh revelation - well this is about as timeless as you get. We receive God’s light through nothing but communion with Him.

There is no shortcut, there is no fancy trick, there is no magic, no hack - if you want the light of God to shine brightly in your life, then BE with God.

Habitually we make it about doing - because in this day and age we really do struggle to sit still and do nothing.

And I believe the enemy distracts us on purpose - to stop us from our ability to be at peace, to be still. He fills our world with all form of distractions and anxieties, we are unable to be still.

And yet what does the bible say? Psalm 46:10

Psalm 46:10 ESV

10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Never lose the ability to be still, never lose the ability to sit with God

I think perhaps this is the first place that we have lost our light.

The difference between God’s Holiness and Man’s sinfulness

But now let’s talk about the main issue at hand - The Veil.

The first thing we have to know about the veil in this passage is that it is a powerful symbol.

The first thing The Veil reveals to us is the VAST difference between God’s holiness and man’s sinfulness. So vast that even the INDIRECT radiance of His glory from Moses’ face was too terrifying for man to behold. His INDIRECT glory was so great that A Veil was required to separate that reflection from the people.

Let that be a powerful reminder of the God that we deal with. We worship a God who’s glory is so vast, who’s majesty is so briliant that merely a reflection of it was enough to terrify people. Remember - they’re not looking at God, they are looking at someone who spent time with God, even God’s REFLECTED glory was enough to cause terror.

But the second thing that we should know about the veil is that it very much is a symbol for the OLD COVENANT. The veil is a symbol of the temporary Old Covenant system that actually allowed people to approach God. It was almost like how shielding Moses’ face allowed the Israelites to approach him without fear, so the Old Covenant systems with all its works based sacrifices and rituals allowed the Israelites to approach God.

The issue with the veil - however - was that it provided limited revelation. You weren’t really encountering God face to face, there was still a tangible difference, there was still a tangible DISTANCE between man and God. Approachable, but yet somewhat Impersonal.

And it’s weird - this incident is isolated, after that there is no mention of Moses’ veil anymore in the entirety of the Old Testament UNTIL Paul raises the issue All the way in 2 Corinthians 3:12-15 let’s see what he says.

2 Corinthians 3:12–15 ESV

12 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 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. 14 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. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.

At first it sounds like Paul is having a go at moses for not being bold - but this isn’t the case. Paul is just saying that we can be bold, unlike Moses, because we live in the New Covenant - because when Christ died, the veil was taken away, it was made redundant - Christ was the one sacrifice through which we can now approach God unveiled!

The Old Covenant is no longer required for us to approach God, there is no longer any need for separation between God and man because of the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross. We sinners can approach God through the mediator Jesus Christ.

That’s why v13 says they were gazing at something being brought to an end - the Old Covenant is what was being brought to an end.

BUT the part of this passage that I want to draw our attention to is actually v14. Now Paul is talking about the Jews specifically here - but the point remains that even after the passing of the Old Covenant, there are still people who have the veil unlifted from their eyes and hearts.

There still remains a veil of separation that prevents the light of Christ shining fully into their hearts, there is a veil of separation that prevents a full unencumbered encounter with God. The light of Christ is diminished in their life.

His light becomes hidden from us

And Paul is very specific about why the veil remains unlifted in some people’s lives. Because only through Christ is it taken away.

The veil remains when we live a Christless faith.

When we take Christ out of our faith, we artificially introduce the veil back into our hearts.

ILLUSTRATION: Marriage and the veil

You know when you get married right - I’m not sure about now but back when I got married, brides would wear a veil to cover their face. A white veil is a symbol of purity and innocence, and so brides would almost come to their husbands covered in this veil to represent this sort of thing.

But the thing is - at least traditionally - when the ceremony is over, “you may now kiss the bride” you lift the veil to engage in a kiss. Because it would be really weird to kiss someone through a veil - and it would be even more weird if a husband insisted on his bride keeping the veil on her face. Can you imagine?

“You may now kiss the bride” - “oh no, sweetheart, leave that on - I’ll kiss you through it” like what? Or imagine during the photos, everyone’s lined up for the big group photo and the husband’s like “hold up, hold up! Sorry love, you could just cover your face with the veil? there we go that’s better.” “Babe, I love the way you look with your face covered.”

It’s so strange when you put it that way isn’t it? The veil prevents intimacy, it hides natural beauty, it diminishes a glow. I haven’t met a single husband who would prefer their wife with the veil on, and if you do then I’ve got the number of a good marriage counsellor, let me know after service.

But here’s the thing - we can do this with our faith, the moment we remove Christ as the centre of it. And the LIGHT diminishes from our faith, the beauty, the sweetness diminishes, it’s artificially hidden behind a veil. Our faith is no longer as radiant, no longer as beautiful, no longer as sweet.

Legalism - the Drift back into performance

Now you may be thinking - How do we remove Christ from our faith, that doesn’t even make sense? You can’t be a Christian without Christ can you?

Well to start - let’s look at this passage contextually and figure out who Paul was actually writing to because clearly Paul was saying that they had removed Christ from their faith.

See, Paul was writing to Jews who failed to perceive that the Old Covenant was just transitory. He says just like back in the day of Moses - the same veil still remains over their eyes and their hearts; they still believe in Old Covenenant methodology - they still perceive that it is what we DO, that it is our WORKS that save us.

And this is the first significant way that we can remove Christ from our faith: Legalism. We dive back into performance-based faith.

We replace the requirement for Christ’s sacrifice and make works the measure of our faith. We quite literally diminish the work of the cross, and replace it with a works-based, performance-oriented faith. We remove Christ.

Paul actually addresses this in Galatians 3:3 “3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

This is easier to do than most Christians think - how often do we measure faith by what we DO and not by who we do it FOR? How often does going to church on a Sunday and doing your devotion or being generous become the primary markers of whether or not we live a good Christian life? Far more often than we think.

Many Christians nowadays are lulled into very disarming rhythm of faith that seeks measured routine. Sunday church, quiet time every night, don’t swear, don’t lie, don’t cheat, be nice.

Don’t get me wrong, all those things are good - but the moment they become the measure of your faith, we begin to move into the realm of legalistic faith. I am justified by WHAT I DO, not WHO I KNOW.

ILLUSTRATION: Dan talking to me about humility

Can I share with you something - that I genuinely believe God is wanting us as a church to remember?

You know just the other day, it was after Fight Club (our church’s monthly prayer meeting), Pastor Dan pulled me aside and told me he wanted to have a chat about something. Usually when Dan does this, it’s like “check out this video of a rat fighting a lizard” but this time it was a more serious chat. We stood right outside the church building and he just shared with me, “I think God’s trying to tell me to warn me to keep myself humble.” and man can I tell you guys, the moment he said that something in my spirit shifted.

He talked to me about how fast this church was growing, and how good things have been for us. And how he felt warned by God that maybe sometimes success could be a greater enemy than failure. That pride can so insidiously creep in at even the best of times, ESPECIALLY in the best of times. I played it off cool, but in my heart God was already beginning to stir.

And I went back home and I followed his example - I went into my study, and I got on my knees and I repented of any pride in my life, and got flat on my face and rededicated any success that we’ve had back to His finished work on the cross.

I’m saying this because when we think of legalism, we tend to think of a legalist as a mean-spirited conservative who condemns others for issues like using the NIV translation, and all that stuff.

But I’m telling you that legalism is any time our faith becomes rule focused/works-based, any time we remove Christ and replace the finished work of the cross with our own works and rules. Any time we begin to count our success as a form of righteousness. Any time we make it about WHAT WE DO, and not WHO we do it for. And for myself - maybe I was starting to count success as a form of validation, a form of earning righteousness.

We need to look out for the signs of this form of legalism: Ministry without prayer, worship without surrender, performance over the presence.

When we think that our church attendance, our giving amounts, our service in ministry, the frequency of our devotions, the goodness of our actions, when these things even remotely begin to edge out the power of the cross, and the presence of Christ - may we remember Ephesians 2:8

Ephesians 2:8 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

This legalism is like a veil - it may keep us in control, but also separates us from His glory.

Shame and Guilt

But there is one more key way that we can remove Christ from our faith, and it’s one that we often don’t really think about. One of the greatest weapons the enemy uses against Christians: Shame and Guilt.

When we are so filled with Shame and Guilt from things that we have done, or from things that we are doing - that the weight of guilt and shame outweighs the power of the cross in our lives.

When we deem ourselves unworthy of approaching Christ, when we speak into ourselves that God would not want us near Him anyway, when we judge that God would not forgive us of our sins.

When we do this - we devalue the power of the cross. We deem that the greatness of our sin is too much for the cross to pay.

And in doing so we begin to live a form of Christless faith as we edge Him out. Without realising it we are introducing a veil into our relationship with Christ. Just like when Moses had to put on the veil as a symbol of the vast differential between God’s holiness and man’s sinfulness - the same veil that Christ took away, we reintroduce that very same veil into our faith.

It diminishes the light of Christ in our lives, we can no longer experience the fulness of His light, His grace, His mercy, His love.

The veil is almost like a self-protection mechanism, we don’t want God to see us for who we truly are, we begin to believe the lie that God wouldn’t be able to love us; and so we introduce a veil to separate ourselves from Him.

What does the veil of guilt and shame look like practically in the real world?

Avoidance of God - the inability to fully surrender to Him in response to worship or messages

Maybe even withdrawal or isolation from the church, because you’re afraid of what people will judge you for without even giving them a chance to love on you. That fear of rejection.

You know what? It might even look like striving. You’re serving everywhere, at every event, more ministries, more volunteering but it’s not obedience out of love, it’s striving to earn what Christ has already freely given.

I know it can sound harsh - and I don’t mean it as a judgment but the fact is that when we let Shame and Guilt drive our faith, we begin to remove Christ and live a Christless faith. We discredit the work of the cross in our life.

ILLUSTRATION: Abortion and Communion

Before the whole Roe vs Wade abortion discussion went viral a couple of years ago, you could say it was probably more widely accepted in conservative circles that abortion was a sin and opposed by the church.

I remember I was overseeing a Christian education class on “convtroversial hot topics” in the faith. And abortion was one of these topics. The speaker, a guest we had called in, decided just to stand and proclaim her view that abortion was a blatant sin unapologetically. She stood on the pulpit and shouted and referenced bible verses and the whole lot. Now before I go on - I think I should probably disclaim that I also have a conservative view of abortion, and am probably what you would call “pro-life”. But even to me, this lady really was going hard at it.

As she was going on, I spotted one of my former youth, maybe in her late teens by now - sitting in the congregation. And the more and more this lady went on - the more she seemed to shrink into her seat. When you’ve been a pastor for a while, you do learn to read specific body languages in the room - and guilt/shame are about two of the most obvious ones to read. This girl had it written all over her. The downcast eyes, the shrinking profile, the not daring to move a muscle, all of it.

At the end of the class - the speaker felt prompted to get everyone to take communion together. I watched as the girl took the bowl of elements, held onto it for a second, and then passed it on. She looked defeated.

As people were leaving the hall - I pulled her aside and led her into the kitchen where the leftover communion elements were. I asked her if she’d take communion with me, she just nodded without saying anything to me. I read scripture off my phone, prayed and we took communion together. I gave her a hug and she went home. She later sent me a text message that just read “thank you pastor Jon”.

You know something - we may assume because of her reaction to the message that she may have had an abortion. But the truth is I never asked her, and I never even felt the need to. Because no sin has the power to invalidate Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. And no sin should ever stop us from running, walking or even crawling to the foot of the cross to seek His love and mercy Lam 3:22-23-

Lamentations 3:22–23 ESV

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Altar Call/Removing the Veil

Maybe there are some people here today, who know that there is a veil over their hearts. Diminishing the light of Christ in their lives, maybe it’s pride and self-righteouessness, maybe it’s guilt or shame - irregardless, the veil remains.

It’s time to lift the veil today. And Paul gives us very simple, specific instructions on how to do this. 2 Corinthians 3:16 “16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.”

All we need to do is turn to the Lord - face Him. Turn back to the cross, make Christ the centre once again. Repent from our pride, release the guilt and shame - and turn and face Christ, and as soon as we do - the veil gets lifted.

You know the moment that Jesus died - it says in Matthew 27:51 “51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.” the curtain - the veil that separated the holy of holies from the people, was torn in two - the veil was removed. We can approach Him with confidence through the price that Jesus paid on the cross.

This is the way we bring the light of Christ back into our churches.