Sermon on Minneapolis 06.02.2011

Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We will begin our Sunday morning service with opening prayer and thanksgiving.

Holy and righteous God, our dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for all those temporal things that we can enjoy in this life. The winter that is now beginning to turn little by little toward spring and able to experience the lengthening of the days and more sunlight during the day. We can witness your wonderful work of creation. But above all, we wish to thank you for that gift of living faith and for your Son, Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, the light of the world. And by faith, his brightness and glory through the Holy Spirit and the preaching of the gospel is able to shine into our cold and dark, many times weary hearts.

We ask that you would be with us again this morning. Bless our services so that we could be comforted, uplifted, and refreshed in our begun faith and fed with your everlasting gospel message. So we ask for your presence and blessings through the name of your dear Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

The Old Testament text for this Sunday, a special Sunday, a special candle in the Sunday is from the book of Exodus, chapter 33, verses 18 through 23. And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee. And I will be gracious to whom? I will be gracious. And I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And he said, Thou cannot see my face, for there shall no man see me and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock, and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cliff of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by. And I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen. Amen.

As I mentioned, today is Candlemass Sunday, which is always 40 days after Christmas. Forty days after a firstborn child was born, the parents were to bring that firstborn child into the temple in Jerusalem to be given a blessing and offered that child unto the Lord as a sacrifice. And Mary and Joseph brought that child there into the temple, but they brought a sacrifice with them, which they would use to redeem that child, purchase that child back into their arms, and the sacrifice would be offered unto God.

But an old man, Simeon, was led also into the temple area by the Spirit of God, for it was told to him that he would not pass from this life until he saw the promised Messiah. So he was waiting and watching when Mary and Joseph brought the newborn child into the temple area. He was able to take the child into his arms, and he began to rejoice. And he said, My eyes have now seen your salvation. Let your servant go in peace. But then he also said about this child that this child shall be a light to the world and the glory unto the Jews.

So this is where we get the theme for this Sunday, Candlemas Sunday. The theme is God's, or Christ radiates God's glory.

The Old Testament text for today tells about events during the life of Moses. He was on the top of Mount Sinai, and he was receiving the law of the Ten Commandments from God. While he was up there for 40 days and 40 nights, then he returned. He was down from the summit of the mountain, and he saw that the people had made a graven image, a calf made out of gold, and the people were dancing around this golden image. Moses took the two tablets of stone and threw them on the ground and broke them into pieces. And then he said, Whoever will follow me, come to my side. The others will be destroyed by God.

Moses then ascended the mountain a second time, and the tabernacle that was built according to the instructions of God, the blueprint of God was made. And the glory was made. The glory of the Lord appeared at that tabernacle. Moses was able to converse face to face with God, the Heavenly Father. And he was able to see the glory of the Lord.

So the theme for today is about God's glory. This word glory in the Hebrew language has many connotations in the English language. It could mean brightness or brilliance, majesty or splendor. So Moses was able to converse with God. Earlier in the chapter it said, And the Lord spoke unto Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend.

So Moses had this unique opportunity that none of us have ever had. None of us have ever experienced. But when we read the books of Moses, we can see that Moses was no stranger to witnessing the glory of God.

When God called Moses there in the land of Midian, Moses saw a burning bush. And the voice said to Moses, Take the shoes off of your feet, for the land that you are now standing on is holy ground. Moses was instructed to go back to his people there in Egypt, for he would lead them out of the bondage of Egypt. Moses refused and resisted. I'm not a leader. I'm not a very eloquent speaker. God had no part of it. He wouldn't hear it. He said, Take your staff, throw it on the ground, and it turned into a snake. Put your hand to your chest, and it turned white as snow. It became leprous. Moses picked up the snake by the tail, and it turned back into a staff. He did the same thing before Pharaoh. And he said, Pharaoh, let us go. Pharaoh wouldn't let him go.

So Moses was able to witness the ten different plagues, or we could say miracles, that God allowed to come unto the people of Egypt. Finally, the Pharaoh chased Moses and the people of Egypt, Israel, out of Egypt. They came to the shore of the Red Sea, mountains on either side, Pharaoh's armies now pursuing hotly on their tail. Moses sighed to God, What do we do now? We will perish. God told Moses, Take your staff, stretch it out over the ocean, and it divided into two. And the people of Israel passed on dry land to the other side. When he stretched his staff out over the ocean the second time, the waters came together and drowned the armies of Pharaoh.

But now began the wilderness journey. And Moses and the people were able to witness the glory of God. During the daytime, a cloud appeared. The cloud was protecting them from the enemies. It protected them from the heat of the mid-east sun there in the desert. And the cloud was also leading them and guiding them. At night, as they were camped, or if they were still traveling, a pillar of fire appeared, showing the glory of God, giving them guidance during their travel.

So we can see that Moses was no stranger to witnessing God, and to seeing God's glory. And neither were some of the other Old Testament saints. We remember when Moses was receiving the law of the Ten Commandments there on Mount Sinai. The glory of God appeared as a burning fire. It was as if Mount Sinai was on fire.

When Ezekiel the prophet was called by God to be his prophet, God appeared unto Ezekiel in a whirlwind and in a fire. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews said that God is a consuming fire. So this glory of God appeared to many of those who were in the wilderness. It appeared to many of those in the Old Testament time, showing the presence of God. God was near them. God was with them. God was protecting them and guiding them.

But sad were the occasions when one left the presence of God, and the glory of God as if disappeared. We remember the tragic events in the life of Cain, after he killed his brother Abel. The Bible says of Cain, that Cain left from the presence of God and went into the land of Nod. Or we remember when Jonah was in disobedience to the call of God, to go and preach to the city of Nineveh. Jonah went the opposite direction. He was supposed to go east, but he went west, 180 degrees the wrong direction. He boarded a ship. A storm arose. He was cast overboard. A big fish swallowed him. And for three days and three nights, he was in the belly of the whale. And Jonah says himself, it was like tasting the foretaste of hell. He was not in the presence of God.

So now Moses ascended the summit of Mount Sinai the second time. And as I mentioned already, he was able to converse with God face to face. What face to face means, I'm not quite sure, because we'll see a contradiction in the verses before us. So he was able to be in the presence of God. And Moses then begins to ask in our text that he wants to see a little bit more. He wants a sure sign. And Moses said, I beseech thee, or I ask thee, God, show me your glory. If you show me your glory, even though I've been able to visit with you, if I'm able to witness it in a tangible way, it will give me certainty.

God had delivered the people of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt, had led them into the wilderness where he was feeding them with manna and with water that at times came from a rock. God had promised them a new homeland, but they were now homeless. They had originally had their roots in Egypt, but while they were in Egypt, they were slaves. Their needs, their temporal needs, were met with food and water there in the wilderness. But they were unsure about tomorrow. Would they have food for tomorrow? Or would they perish and die? God said he would eventually bring them to the Promised Land. But what is that Promised Land? Where is it? God said it would be a land that flowed with milk and honey. But they knew nothing about that new Promised Land that God had promised to deliver unto them.

So Moses wanted a sure sign. He wanted certainty in his life. There were just too many question marks, too many unanswered questions, too much uncertainty, as they were traveling in the wilderness. But Moses says to God, Show me your glory. And God said, I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

But then God said, You cannot see my face. You will not be able to see my face. So what does that mean? Earlier in verse 11 when Moses was able to visit with God face to face, and now God said you can't see my face, I don't know what this contradiction means. But now God said, You cannot see my face. Why? For no person will be able to see my face and live. If someone looks at God face to face, he will die instantly.

So Moses is wanting that he would be able to see God in all of his majesty, in all of his splendor, in all of his glory unveiled. He wanted to see God just as he is. But God said, No, it's not going to happen. I can't allow it to take place.

Then God said, Behold, there is a place right here by me, and you shall stand upon a rock, and it shall come to pass, when my glory passes by, I will put you in a cliff of a rock. There will be like a crevice in the rock. You can hide yourself in that crevice, in that split in the rock. And I will put my hand over you to hide as I am passing by. And then once I pass by, then you will be able to see me from my backside. You'll be able to see my back as I'm slowly moving away.

So what does this mean? Well, first of all, it means that God was with him. Even though Moses wasn't able to see God, God was still there leading and guiding them.

How many times have we been at a funeral? An occasion of mourning, when a dear one and a near one has been taken from our midst. I'm sure for the close ones and the relatives, who have lost their near one, it seems like life is like a dead end road. There is no tomorrow. Life is like gloom and doom. Oh, how the friends and the minister in a sermon try to comfort and console those that God wishes to see. They still comfort you, console you. God is with you.

Or how about during these difficult economic times? Perhaps someone has become unemployed. There is now no paycheck coming in. How can I support my family? What will happen tomorrow? We can be rest assured that God is listening, and God will respond. He will not leave us helpless and hopeless.

How about the events that we have been hearing during the past week or so? Egypt is in turmoil. The entire Middle East is in turmoil. What is going to happen? Is there going to be a great world war or a major upheaval? We can be rest assured that in spite of everything that is happening, God is still in charge.

Oh, how many people in this life try to find shelter and security in inappropriate ways. Many people in the world have turned to the bottle. Others began using illicit drugs. Some people may even practice immoral behavior with improper relationships. Other people, maybe even believers alike, may try to drown their worries with overwork. Work, work, work. Maybe that will drown the cares of this life. Or some people may take refuge and shelter in the material things of this life.

So Moses was able to see the back of God. But even though it was only his back, it still demonstrated God was present. God was ahead of them. God was leading. And God was guiding.

But what else may this tell to us when Moses was able to see the backside of God? I'm sure sometimes we have been riding in a motorboat. And as the speedboat is racing along over the lake, we look back over the stern, we can see our trail and the wake that is left behind. Or how about now during the winter months when we perhaps go walking across the field where snow has recently fallen. Maybe go up a small hill and we look behind us. We can see how far we have come. We can see our footprints in the snow.

So when Moses was able to look at the backside of God there on Mount Sinai, it was also as if God was showing Moses, look behind yourself. You can see the footprints that God has left in his trail.

What does this mean for us? We remember when Lars Levi Lestadius was, after his conversion, preaching as a believing pastor there in Lapland. The people in Lapland were about to fall into destruction because of thievery and drunkenness and immoral behavior. When Lestadius began to preach that sermon, powerful sermon of a two-edged sword through the Spirit of God, a change took place. It was as if the snow banks in the tundra of Lapland began to burn like a forest fire. People made repentance. Their former life changed and they began to now live and travel as a child of God. Drunkenness was no longer. Stolen reindeer were returned. Relationships that were previously broken were now repaired.

Or how about in the last ten years? Could we have imagined ten years ago what would have happened in the land of Togo and in the land of Ecuador? Amazing. The work in the hand of God.

Or how about in our own lives? I'm sure if we peek back over our shoulder, the many things that we have gone through, the many things that we have experienced in our life, we would have to say, as Samuel in the Old Testament, at one point when he erected a memorial unto God, he had to say, unto this point, it is God who has led us and guided us.

When Yohaniratham, near the point of his death, gave his final testimony to those around him, he said, when I look back at this Christianity here in the Lapland parts of Finland and Sweden, I just have to marvel. Because this Christianity began just like a small mustard seed, and it has now grown into a huge tree. And the branches are so big and large that they reach all the way over the ocean, all the way to America. Emmanuel, how great are your mercies.

And if we think about the history of Christianity, many have been the battles. Often there have been schisms and heresies. But God has still led us and guided us and protected us unto this moment and unto this day.

But still, when we think about Moses there on Mount Sinai, he was able to see the backside of God. God said, you cannot see my face, for if you see my face, you will die.

Doesn't it tell us that still the future for us in all is like a mystery. But when Jesus was here on this earth, we could see as if the footprints of where Jesus had been. When the Pharisees came and tried to entangle Jesus in his own words and cause him to fall into their snare, in the end, the Pharisees were left befuddled and speechless and walked away.

And how many of the miracles Jesus performed. A person who was formerly a leper was now cleansed. A person who was formerly lame, could not walk, was now jumping about like a deer and praising God, the Heavenly Father. Those who were formerly lost, were now found again. Those who were formerly outcasts, like that sinful woman who came into the house of the Pharisee, they were now loved and welcomed by Jesus. And how unto the poor was preached the Gospel.

So, why then was Moses not allowed to see the face of God? You will not be able to see the face of God, for whoever sees the face of God will surely die.

Doesn't this tell to us that there is a barrier between God and humanity? But yet, God gave the promise after the fall of Adam and Eve into sin there in Paradise, of the coming Messiah, His own Son. And God said about His own Son that His name will be Emmanuel. The word Emmanuel means God is with us.

So when Jesus was hanging on the cross, there outside of the city walls of Jerusalem, and finally He died, He gave up the ghost, a miracle took place. There in the temple, about a mile away, there was the innermost room called the Holy of Holies, which was separated, it was hid from all humanity. Only the high priest once a year could go into that Holy of Holies sanctuary, that room. And that was on the Day of Atonement, with the blood of the sacrifice.

But when Jesus died on the cross, that curtain that was separating the holy from the most holy sanctuary, that curtain was rent in two, was torn from top to bottom. And now that innermost sanctuary was open for all to see. There was now this possibility to have direct presence with God. And we are able to experience this direct presence with God.

Jesus already said, when He was here on this earth, when He was visiting with His disciples, whoever sees me, sees God. So in the face of God, we are able to see, in the face of Jesus, we are able to see the face of God, just as He is, face to face.

Paul writes to the Corinthians that the glory of God shines from the face of God in the Gospel, in our hearts. And so, even this morning, we are able to experience and witness this glory of God in that Gospel message.

We can see that King who is crowned with thorns, who is trodding before us, and His vestures are dipped in blood. He is paving that way before us and asking that we would only follow in His footsteps, His bloody footsteps, which will lead us one day to the glory of heaven.

But Moses, when he was there on the mountain, was asked by God to sit on a rock. There are many times we are feeling and experiencing insecurities, perhaps tragedies and turmoil of many kinds in this life. And we wonder, are we like on a ship that will capsize in the stormy ocean? Will we ever make it there to the glory of heaven? Will we ever be able to get to the calm shores there of paradise in heaven?

Jesus once gave that assurance as God is now telling Moses, place Moses upon a rock. Jesus said that you are like those who have built their house upon a sure foundation upon a rock. Even though the waves beat against it, even though the winds blow strongly and try to topple it, even though there may be earthquakes, that house will not fall, for it is built upon a rock. Jesus is that security. He is that rock. There is no other foundation which has been placed, and it is Christ Jesus.

So, even this morning we can be comforted and uplifted. We have no reason to fear, even though we experience and make feel the raging winds of distress and turmoil and tragedy around us. We are on a sure foundation. Even though this ship of ours may seem to be going across a stormy sea, Jesus is at the helm. He will safely guide it past all of the barriers, all of the submerged rocks, and bring it one day to that peaceful shore in the glory of heaven one day.

So, be of good cheer. Lift up your hearts and believe. Sin is forgiven in his name and precious atonement blood. He will lift, he will carry, and he will bring us one day to heaven's home. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Let us thank and pray. Lord Jesus Christ, thou who has called us to this holy supper, we thank thee that thou has nourished us with thy body and blood, and that thou has refreshed us with thy grace and goodness. Lord Jesus, into your hands we commit ourselves and wish to be thine own forever. Amen.

Humble your hearts before the Lord and receive the benediction. The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.