9.00am and 10.30am Bible Sunday 20 July 2003
Rev Des Botting
Readings: Exodus 24:15-18; 34:29-35; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; Romans 3:21-31
The theme for this years Bible Sunday is Changed by the Word of God. The testimonys shown in the brief presentation prior to the service demonstrate how true this is, and confirm Pauls words to Timothy when he said, the Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise enough to have faith in Jesus Christ and be saved.[1] Gods Word spoke to each of these people and made them aware of their need to know the One who alone could save them. Without that exposure to Gods truth, they would not have put their faith in Jesus Christ and, as a result, had been changed. You have heard the expression, If all else fails, look at the makers instructions. There is nothing truer when it comes to knowing how this life is meant to be lived. This is why everyone needs to know Gods truth as it is revealed in His Word, because it is this truth that sets us free to be all that God created us to be.
Recently I was loaned a tape in which the speaker was sharing about the glory of God. As I listened, I was reminded of the verse in the Bible that says, All of us have sinned and fallen short of Gods glory.[2] Most people, even if they are not familiar with this verse, are at least familiar with the reality of what it says. They know that theyre sinners, that they arent all they could be. However, what is usually highlighted when we hear these words is the fact, of which we are only too well aware, that were all sinners, that weve all missed the mark, and that we desperately need help. But there is another way of approaching this verse. That is to ask these questions:
1. What does the Bible mean by the glory of God? What is Gods glory?
2. What does it mean to fall short of that glory? What is it that we have fallen short of?
3. How does the Bible help us to change, so that we bring glory to God? Why is this so important?
These questions are relevant because when weve been changed to become what God created us to be, we begin to reflect something of Gods glory in our lives.
This morning I want to unpack something of the meaning of what this well-known verse says, and to do this by looking at these three questions:
1. What does the Bible mean by the glory of God? To begin to understand this question we need to look at what the prophet Ezekiel had to say about this matter. The book of Ezekiel is a good place to start as it has almost twice the number of references to the glory of God as has any other book in the Bible. Right in the very first chapter Ezekiel shares a vision of this glory that the Lord showed him while he was living near the Chebar River. Listen to what he saw.
I then saw what looked like a throne made of sapphire, and sitting on the throne was a figure in the shape of a human. From the waist up, it was glowing like metal in a hot furnace, and from the waist down it looked like the flames of a fire. The figure was surrounded by a bright light, as colourful as a rainbow that appears after a storm. I realised I was seeing the brightness of the Lords glory! So I bowed down with my face to the ground, and just then I heard a voice speaking to me.[3]
Seven days later Ezekiel says, The Lord took control of me and said, Stand up! Go into the valley, and I will talk with you there. I immediately went to the valley, where I saw the brightness of the Lords glory, just as I had seen it near the Chebar River, and I bowed with my face to the ground.[4]
In chapters 8-11 he tells of the Lords glory leaving sinful Jerusalem. He speaks of the brightness of the Lords glory. He says, The entire temple was filled with his glory, and the courtyard was dazzling bright.[5] And then in the next chapter Gods glory departs from Jerusalem. It is not until we get to near the end of the book that the promise of His glory returning to Jerusalem is given. Ezekiel says, The man took me back to the east gate of the temple, where I saw the brightness of the glory of Israels God coming from the east. The sound I heard was as loud as ocean waves, and everything around was shining with the dazzling brightness of his gloryI immediately bowed with my face to the ground, and the Lords glory came through the east gate and into the temple.[6] Again in the next chapter he has a similar vision and again he says, I immediately bowed with my face to the ground.[7]
There are a number of times in the Bible where Gods servants are given a vision of his glory, and, on every occasion, what they see is so awesome that their automatic response is to bow down and worship. This was the experience of Daniel. This faithful and humble servant of God was privileged to receive a number of visions. Listen to his account of one of these. (verse 6)
For three weeks I was in sorrow. I ate no fancy food or meat, I drank no wine, and I put no olive oil on my face or hair. Then on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I was standing on the banks of the great Tigris River, when I looked up and saw someone dressed in linen and wearing a solid gold belt. His body was like a precious stone, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming fires, his arms and legs like polished bronze, and his voice liked the roar of a crowd. Although the people who were with me didnt see the vision, they became so frightened that they scattered and hid. Only I saw this great vision. I became weak and pale, and at the sound of his voice, I fell face down in a deep sleep.[8]
Daniel at other times speaks of his strength leaving him.
Isaiah is another who had a vision of the Lord sitting on his throne. When He saw the Lord and heard the flaming creatures that surrounded him shouting out, Holy, holy, holy, Lord All-Powerful! The earth is filled with your glory, he cried out. Im doomed! Everything I say is sinful, and so are the words of everyone around me. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord All-Powerful.[9] It was an awesome occasion.
The Apostle John was another. When he saw the Lord he writes, When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead person. But he put his right hand on me and said:, Dont be afraid! [10] And the Lord went on to share the message he wanted him to write for our benefit.
All these had been privileged to see something of Gods glory, and the experience was quite overwhelming on every occasion. Their response included worship, a sense of weakness, a very deep consciousness of their unworthiness and sinfulness in the presence of a holy and righteous God. Words could not adequately describe what they saw. All they could say that it was like metal in a hot furnace, like lightning, like flaming fires, like polished bronze, like the roar of a crowd. They tried to find something that was familiar to people in attempting to describe what they saw, inadequate though that may be. The brightness of the vision was too wonderful for words. Its brilliance was such that all who encountered it were never the same again. Remember what we read about Moses who when he came down from Mount Sinai carrying the Ten Commandments, his face was shining to such an extent that the people couldnt look at him.[11]
As was not this the same glory that shone through Jesus as he prayed on the mountain with Peter James and John. Matthew describes what happens like this: There in front of the disciples, Jesus was completely changed. His face was shining like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.[12] Mark says in his account that his clothes became much whiter than any bleach on earth could make them.[13]
It was a vision of this glory that stopped Paul in his tracks as he went to Damascus to arrest Christians. The brightness of the light that flashed about him blinded him, but from the moment of that encounter with Jesus he was a changed man. This led him to write later, The Scriptures say, God cammanded light to shine in the dark. Now God is shining in our hearts to let you know that his glory is seen in Jesus Christ.[14]
I share these references to give you an idea of what Gods glory is like. It is like nothing else on earth, brighter than lightning or the sun, more brilliant than the purest white we can imagine.
This leads to the next question,
2. What does it mean to fall short of that glory? The subordinate standards of our church state that our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. The Bible says that we were created to bring honour to God,[15] that it was Gods plan for us to do good things and live as he has always wanted us to live. And thats why he sent Christ to make us what we are.[16] We were made in the image and likeness of God himself, and we bring glory to him by being all that he created us to be. To fall short of that, dishonours God.
We fall short of his glory - when we do not give him his rightful place in our lives as individuals and as a congregation, and as a nation;
- when we do not put first the concerns of his kingdom in our lives;
We fall short of his glory when we do not trust His promises, obey his Word and fulfill his commands;
- when we do not love him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength;
- when we do not love our neighbour as much as we love ourselves;
- when we do not love one another as much as Jesus loved us.
We fall short of his glory when we do not discover, develop and use the gifts he has given us to build up his church here on earth;
- when we do not accomplish the good works he planned for us to do;
- when do not demonstrate the same unity that is experienced within the Trinity;
We fall short of his glory when we do not worship him in the power of his Spirit as he really is.
There is not one single human being, apart from Jesus himself, who has lived as God intended life to be lived. This is why the Scripture from Romans 3:23 is so true, for all of us have sinned and fallen short of Gods glory. All these grieve the heart of God and make his Spirit sad. It is only Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit who can enable us to live a life that pleases God, and brings glory to him.
The reverse of all these is true.
We bring glory to God when we put him first in our lives.
We bring glory to God when we love others, even those we consider our enemies and who make life difficult for us.
We bring glory to God when we when use the gifts God has given us in the service of others.
We bring glory to God when we give generously and cheerfully to the work of his kingdom.
We bring glory to God when we become more and more like Jesus in how we speak and act and live.
We bring glory to God when we cultivate an eternal perspective on life and hold lightly to the material things of this earth.
We bring glory to God when we have a passionate desire to see people come to faith in Christ.
We bring glory to God when we respect one another, and show care, concern and compassion in our relationships.
Our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. We do this by being all he created us to be.
3. How does the Bible help us to change and be all that God created us to be? We read in 2 Timothy, Everything in the Scriptures is Gods Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. The Scriptures train Gods servants to do all kinds of good deeds.[17] Let me suggest three ways.
a. By putting our faith in Christ. When the people asked Jesus, What exactly does God want us to do? Jesus answered, God wants you to have faith in the one he sent.[18] When Jesus stood by the grave of his friend Lazarus, and Martha had protested about him asking that the stone be rolled from the entrance, saying, Lord, you know that Lazarus has been dead for four days, and there will be a bad smell, he said to Martha, Didnt I tell you that if you had faith, you would see the glory of God.[19] Faith is what God is looking for. Without faith we cannot please God.[20] We cannot be saved apart from faith in what Christ has done for us when he died on the cross. It is by faith that we are made acceptable to God and live at peace with him, and it is faith that enables us to look forward to sharing in the glory of God.[21] And we must live the Christian life by faith, too. It is a faith-walk from start to finish.
The Bible says, No one who believes in him will be put to shame.[22] This was true of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. When he was on trial before the Jewish Council in Jerusalem, we read that Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked up to heaven, where he saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at his right side.[23] Jesus appeared to him at the critical moment. This is Gods promise as we walk with him, trust in him, obey him. So our faces are not covered. They show the bright glory of the Lord, as the Lords Spirit makes us more and more like our glorious Lord.[24]
b. By doing everything to the glory of God. That is, by doing everything well. This was what people said of Jesus. He has done everything well.[25] One of the highest commendations Jesus ever made was of the woman who poured perfume on Jesus head. He said to her, Shes done all she could[26] Have we done all we could, to the best of our ability. This is why we have included excellence as one of the things we value as a congregation. The Apostle Paul wrote, When you eat or drink, or do anything else, always do it to honour God.[27] This means doing everything for the glory of God and being the very best we can possibly be.
c. By sharing the message of the gospel. What is Gods ultimate vision for his world? We find it in two places in the Old Testament, but it is implied in many others. It is this, that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God, as the waters cover the sea.[28] We have a part in helping see the fulfillment of that vision by sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. This is why Jesus final words in all of the Gospels include a command to share the message with everyone, because Godwants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost.[29] He wants everyone to be saved and to know the whole truth.[30] We have a responsibility to fulfill. As Paul says, All of this has been done for you, so that more and more people will know how kind God is and will praise and honour him.[31]
Cf Rev 21:11 The glory of God made the city bright. It was dazzling and crystal clear like a precious stone.
Vs 23 And the city nidnt need the sun or moon. The glory of God was shining on it, and the Lamb was its light.
[1] 1 Timothy 3:15 (All Bible references are from the Contemporary English Version unless otherwise stated.)
[2] Romans 3:23
[3] Ezekiel 1:25-28
[4] Ezekiel 3:23
[5] Ezekiel 10:4
[6] Ezekiel 43:1-4
[7] Ezekiel 44:4
[8] Daniel 10:2-9
[9] Isaiah 6: 3-5
[10] Revelation 1:17
[11] Exodus 34:29-35
[12] Matthew 17:2
[13] Mark 9:3
[14] 2 Corinthians 4:6
[15] cf Ephesians 1:11-12, 14
[16] Ephesians 2:10
[17] 2 Timothy 3:16-17
[18] John 6:28-29
[19] John 11:38-40
[20] Hebrews 11:6
[21] Romans 5:1
[22] Romans 10:11 NRSV
[23] Acts 7:55
[24] 2 Corinthians 3:18
[25] Mark 7:37 NRSV
[26] Mark 14:8a
[27] 1 Corinthians 10:31
[28] Habakkuk 2:14; cf Isaiah 119
[29] 2 Peter 3:9b
[30] 1 Timothy 2:4
[31] 2 Corinthians 4:15