Prayer Changes Me

Intro:

Exodus 33:11 NKJV

11 So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV

18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Today, the title of my message is, [Prayer Changes Me].

On your way in this morning you should have recieved a small pocket mirror. I would like everyone to grab theirs, open it up and look in the mirror.

What do we see?

We see ourselves! Some might think:

I have just seen the best looking person that ever lived

I did not realize my hair looked this great today

I had NO idea I looked like that

I am looking more like my parent

There is a question asked by some, “do you like what you see in the mirror?” If the answer is no, we live in a day when we can change how we look.

Image is an issue in our culture. People are often concerned about their image. But the interesting fact about image is, humans are unique in their ability to perceive their image.

According to scientist and psychologists, if we place a mirror in front a dog or cat, they do not see themselves, but another dog or cat. They cannot comprehend that they see a reflection of themselves.

However, human can see in a mirror or picture that the image looking back at them is a reflection of themselves. As I mentioned, some people LOVE their image, while others want their image to change.

If we really look at ourselves, we see beyond the external. The image staring back at us in the mirror is more than eyes, mouth, cheeks, or hair, our image tells a story.

Images tell a story. Looking at older pictures or home videos remind us of where we were and how much life has changed for us.

Now when it comes to our image, we must remember:

Genesis 1:27 NKJV

27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

At creation, God formed and fashioned humanity after His likeness. Therefore, Adam and Eve were innocent in their connection to life and their conversations with God.

But as we have looked, something changed the image of humanity. The moment Adam and Eve sinned, innocence took on corruption.

Therefore, every person born since Adam and Eve have had a flaw. Even though they were created in God’s image, their image has been negatively changed and impacted by sin.

However, God wants to change our image, to transform us to be more like Him. He wants to redeem our image so that we do not reflect sin, immorality, or evil. Instead, He wants us to reflect the love, purity, and power of God.

The moment we accept Christ, our image changes. No longer are we children of darkness, but we are children of the light. We can look in the mirror and see a child of God.

However, we must continuously return for a deeper look. The question I ask myself often is, do I reflect Jesus? Do I look, act, talk, and live like Jesus? Do people see Jesus in me?

Of course I am saved, but have I invited God to actively change my life and form Himself within me?

I am saved, but do I still:

think like I thought before I was saved

talk like I talked before I was saved

go where where I went before I was saved

live liked I lived before I was saved

We use the term “got saved” but Jesus used the phrase, born again. When we come to Christ, we have a spiritual rebirth. No matter our age, we have to enter into the growth process of maturing in Christ.

Furthermore, there is not a date of arrival. It is not as though we can say, I was born again eighteen years ago, now I am a spiritual adult, and I can coast until I go to heaven.

No, as long God gives us breath in our bodies, we have a responsibility to GROW in Him. Therefore, we need God’s help to change us.

How does the change occur?

We change as we pray. Conversations with God enable us to experience supernatural changes that would otherwise remain unattainable.

In our text we read of Moses’ conversation with God. He spoke to God as a friend, face to face. Moses’ experience with God began at the burning bush.

He saw something in God that made him want more. He wanted to see God again and again. After he lead the Israelites out of Egypt, they entered the wilderness.

Over and over, God and Moses would communicate. He would spend as much as forty days talking to God. Their conversations changed him and the nation of Israel.

This morning, I want to look at one of my favorite stories in Moses’ life that show us [Prayer Changes Me].

I have three promises on how prayer changes me, [God’s Grace Changes Me], [God’s Guarantee Changes Me], and [God’s Glory Changes Me].

Let’s begin

1. God’s Grace Changes Me

Exodus 33:1–4 NKJV

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ 2 And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” 4 And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments.

At this point God was livid with Israel. He willingly led them from slavery and bondage. Yet they never seemed satisfied or content. To help them see what He expected from them, God gave Moses instructions, also called the Law.

Moses received the Law of God as he spend forty days with God on the mountain. When Moses went to the mountain, he left his brother Aaron in charge.

The Israelites become restless, assuming Moses abandoned them. So they ask Aaron if they can make a god to worship, one they can see. Aaron tells them to take their jewelry and they melt them down to make a golden calf.

Pandemonium takes over as people begin to sing and dance around the calf. God speaks to Moses and instructs him to return for the Israelites have corrupted themselves.

God decided to wipe out the entire nation, but Moses intercedes for them. Even though some of the idol worshippers died, God relents and extends His grace.

But notice what He told Moses, you need to go and take the people to the Promised Land. God never forgot His commitment to Israel.

Notice what He committed,

they will go the land

He will drive out their enemies

there is a land that flows with milk and honey reserved for them

On the surface, that should have been enough. Many other leaders would have accepted God’s decision. But God explained, I WILL NOT travel with you, I will not go with you.

Why did God determine to send them without Him?

In their sin and rebellion, they opened themselves up to further judgment. God’s decision to send them on their own was not a punishment, but an act of grace. He sought to save them from themselves.

He would send an angel to accompany them, but He would not travel with them. Moses needed help from God. He sought God’s grace and direction.

Moses went away from the camp and set up the tent of meeting. It was God’s track record to meet with people in the tent. So Moses enters the structure and the presence of God comes.

Exodus 33:11 NKJV

11 So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

I love this verse, because it shows us the nature of prayer. God wants to speak to us face to face. He wants to hear from us so we can hear from Him.

Moses knew the problems Israel faced, but he trusted God would listen to him as he prayed.

Moses’ prayer helps us see God’s grace changes us. Moses had been changed by encounters with God’s grace, and now he would have another conversation with God that would change his life.

2. God’s Guarantee Changes Me

Exodus 33:12–13 NKJV

12 Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.”

Moses heard from God. God extended His grace by distancing Himself from them, for the wages of their sin is death. But Moses wanted to talk to God.

Pay attention to his honesty and notice how God responds. Moses poured out his heart, God you’ve told me over and over that I am to take these people to the Promised Land.

But I do not know who will come with me. Now you tell me that you are not going to travel with us. You’ve told me I have favor in your sight and you know me by name.

So if you really do look favorably on me, show me your way, help me know more about you. And do not forget your promises to your people.

In Moses’ conversation, he reminded God of His word and promises. He desperately asked God to change His mind. Moses knew Israel could not experience all of God’s plan had they not had God with them.

Exodus 33:14–17 NKJV

14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.” 17 So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”

God guarantees to send His presence with Israel. Notice, God changed His mind as a result of Moses’ commitment to pray. God promised to go with them, but Moses wanted further assurance.

He told God, IF YOU PRESENCE does NOT go with us, we will not leave this mountain. Our journey will stop and we will stay right here.

At first glance, that may seem too bold to talk to God that way. But I view it different, I do not believe the Lord was offended by Moses. Instead, He loved hearing Moses’ need for His presence.

God WANTS to know that we need Him. He longs to spend time with us. Imagine how it makes Him feel when we let Him know, I will wait on you as long as it takes.

Why did Moses long for God’s presence?

Without God’s presence Israel would be like any other nation. It was God’s help they needed. It was His guidance that set them apart. It was His nearness that gave them confidence.

God heard Moses’ heart and affirmed His promise, I will do what you’ve asked, you have found grace in my sight, I know you by name!

God grace changes me. But through His grace, I have an opportunity to draw closer to Him. Therefore, through prayer, He continues to guarantee His nearness to me!

3. God’s Glory Changes Me

Exodus 33:18 NKJV

18 And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”

Think about this for a moment. God has extended His grace and guaranteed His presence. What does Moses do? He wants more! He asks God to SHOW His glory.

Why did Moses want the glory of God when he was already guaranteed God’s presence?

The presence of God and the Glory of God are similar but distinctly different. We feel God’s presence. We sense His presence.

The presence is felt, but the glory is seen. It is the tangible or manifest presence of God. The word glory comes from the Hebrew word that literally means “heaviness” or “weightiness” or “gravity.”

What Moses wanted was to experience the majesty and power of God as revealed through His glory.

How did God respond?

Did He view Moses’ request for EVEN more of God as selfish?

Exodus 33:19–23 NKJV

19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. 23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”

It is almost as though God responded, I thought you would never ask. I will make my goodness pass before you, I will show you my mercy, and I will have compassion on you.

But here is the key, you cannot see my face, for no one can see my face and live. But there is a rock, I will hide you in the cleft or the crevice of the rock.

When I pass by, I will remove my hand from you and let you see me from behind. Think of that for a moment. Moses was able to experience God’s glory.

Now when He said face or backside, He was putting His glory into human terms for us to understand. God Himself is a mystery, we box Him into our understand as humans.

Instead, God told Moses, I will give you a taste of my glory, but you cannot experience the fullness for it would overpower and overtake you!

How was Moses’ life changed by His encounter with God’s glory?

Exodus 34:29–30 NKJV

29 Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.

Exodus 34:33–35 NKJV

33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. 34 But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. 35 And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.

After God concluded their conversation, He sent Moses back to see the Israelites. However, the closer they got to Him, the noticed something. His face looked different. His image was not the same.

The difference?

His face shined with the glory of God. In fact, his face shined so much that whenever Moses met with God, the glory of God would come upon Him.

When He went before the Lord, he would remove the veil, but when he spoke to the Israelites, he would return the veil because of the radiance of God’s glory.

Close:

Think of how this felt to Moses. He had a front row seat to God’s grace, guaranteed presence, and glory. Moses was a changed man.

Here is what I want us to see, as God changed Moses through their conversation, He wants to change us as we pray. When we call on God He:

Extends His grace

Responds with His presence

but there is a depth in Him we can go, we can experience His glory.

God desires that we WANT to spend time with Him and remain close to Him. But here is the part of Moses’ story I love so much. Moses was one of at least a million Israelites. He was one of a handful that experienced God personally.

While Moses’ story encourages me, it also excites me. For Moses’ experience was a taste of what God has for all people.

The veil Moses wore over his face was SYMBOLIC of the separation between God and humanity. Remember, the wages of sin is ALWAYS death, but the gift of God is eternal life.

Everyone has an image corrupted by sin. Our sin separated us from God. However, to remove the separation, God sent His Son Jesus.

Notice what happened when Jesus died on the cross:

Mark 15:37–38 NKJV

37 And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. 38 Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

What happened? the VEIL of the temple was torn. What did the veil conceal and separate from humanity? The glory of God.

Now, when we come to Jesus and invite Him into our lives as Savior, something happens.

2 Corinthians 3:16–18 NKJV

16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Why? Because the Spirit comes into their lives and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Now there is no separation from God and us, the veil is removed. But why did God remove the veil?

2 Corinthians 3:18 is a good verse to underline and memorize. The veil is removed, and we can reflect Jesus. We can behold His image as in a mirror.

If I were to have a spiritual mirror, a supernatural mirror, I should look into the mirror and see myself reflecting the image of Jesus. But what happens when I fail at reflecting His image?

What happens when I fall short?

I pray and ask for God’s grace— it changes me

I wait on Him and spend time in God’s presence— it changes me

Then there is a realm I can go, the glory of God— it changes me.

Every time we encounter the glory of God, He transforms us and makes us more like Him!

Why?

Because the veil is gone. Jesus breaks the separation and reunites us with the Father by the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, we must endeavor as followers of Christ, what is my spiritual image? Do I reflect Jesus in my actions and thoughts?

If not, I need to enter into His presence and seek Him until He reveals His glory, for when the King of Glory comes, He transforms me.

Moses’ transformation occured so that His face shined and was radiant.

Our transformation occurs so that we might shine our light and reflect the radiance of salvation to this world!

When we look in the mirror, do we reflect Jesus?

If the answer is NO, prayer will change us.

If the answer is YES, prayer will change us even further.