How to Get a Glow on Your Face
Sermon
THE HAPPY HOUR
SERMONS FOR ADVENT, CHRISTMAS AND EPIPHANY (SUNDAYS 1-8 IN ORDINARY TIME)
Last week I read a book on tne religious life of William James, the author of The Varieties of Religious Experience. James was greatly influenced by his scholarly father, Henry, and agreed with him on everything except "that empirical truth is the only truth there is." William James contended that "experience" was the supreme knowledge and also the only unrefutable fact. We live in a world that has been profoundly influenced by James, making us aware of the endless possibilities of new knowledge by experience.
You can "prove" Christianity or the existence of God empirically. It can be done, no question about it. That's what we call "head faith." But your faith never really comes alive until you have experienced him, whose existence you have proven. Nothing takes the place of experience.
Every week, I have people come to me in the office and say, "If I could only have an experience like some of the people with whom I have talked. If I could only have a first-hand encounter with the ever-living Christ, then I could embrace him intellectually. It would change my life." Every week, I meet people who have believed in the Bible as infallible proof of God's Word and who recently have had an experience with Christ and suddenly now they are "turned on." They still believe the same things, but now it is real to them.
Until I studied this passage from Exodus, I believed that some people just "have an experience" with God and some people don't. I concluded the reason was that some people just have a different psychological makeup; they are just more inclined to an unexperiential kind of faith. That perhaps they are a little more emotional, or personal, or whatever. However, that's not what the Bible says. Paul wrote, "If you have not had an experience with Jesus Christ, it means you are among those perishing." Paul goes on to say, "the evil force of this world veils your eyes" like sunglasses, so that you do not see God face to face and, therefore you reason that kind of experience doesn't really exist. Paul says that the "god of this world" has blinded the minds of those who haven't had the experience, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, which is in the likeness of God.
The Gospel of Matthew records that Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration had the same kind of experiences as did Moses on Sinai. It says, "Jesus taking James, John, and Peter went up on Mount Hermon and there was transfigured." Once they had this experience with God, Jesus looked different. It was as if his clothes were of "shining raiment." Matthew explains why it is that some people have an experience and some don't. Notice, Jesus had twelve or more disciples, but only three of them, Peter, James and John, had the experience of seeing God transfigured in Jesus. The reason was that there were only three who had the veil of the eyes taken away, so that they could see. Note also that they became the main leaders of Christianity after the resurrection and the creating of the Church.
You can read about thousands of experiences. You can read all of them that William James records in The Varieties of Religious Experience. In every case, we identify them as illumination, meaning that it was a light that came. Paul described his as a light from heaven. Every religious experience is always defined as illumination. No two would be alike. Yours should not be like mine or Paul's, but James says that everyone will experience God face to face, whose eyes are not veiled by the veils of this world. If you haven't experienced, it isn't because you are not inclined that way, it is because your eyes have been veiled and you have not seen him face to face.
The light of the Shekinah was God's glory being communicated to Moses. This account is the antetype of the account of the Transfiguration of Jesus as recorded in the gospels. Moses' religious experience was obvious to Aaron and the people as valid and holy, because of the presence of light shining in his face. Priests in that period of Bible history always wore a veil over their face before going before God or being in his presence. It is noteworthy here that Moses was the first man recorded in the Bible to take off his veil in the presence of God. The verb translated "shone" occurs only twice in Hebrew literature, here and in Psalm 69:31. In the latter account, the verb is used as a bullock displaying horns. The word is derived from the noun "horn." The vulgate translates it "horned;" hence the representation of the old painters and Michelangelo of Moses with horns. In Job 3:4, "horns" denotes rays of light or lightening flashes. This explains the "light" or "shining faces" used throughout history to explain a person's real conversion or spiritual experience or encounter with the everliving God. Moses' mountaintop illumination affirms the two fundamentals of all religious experience:
I. Light and Illumination is Basic in all Religious Experience
Many of you have read Raymond Moody's best seller, Life After Life. Some claim that it will sell more than any other book printed in the twentieth century. He wrote most of it while he was teaching Sunday church school in the congregation I served for the past ten years. It was a collection of medical records from, and interviews with scientists and physicians around the world, clinically recorded, of people who died, were pronounced clinically dead, and who then came back to life. Moody has been on the "Today" show, and several other network shows and lectured on university campuses across our land. In this book he records the religious experiences of hundreds. A large portion of the people interviewed were previously non-believers.
All of them experienced a bright light. That was the most significant thing - a bright light. All of these persons said they went through a dark tunnel where they could see a dim light at the end and, the closer they got to it, the brighter it became. They all described it as a light beyond comprehension, brighter than any light they had ever before seen, and yet it didn't hurt their eyes. It was wonderful, and it was comforting. They all said it was not exactly a definite beam, but it was a definite personality, like the glory of someone's countenance. They all said that the presence of that person's thoughts were transferred to their mind automatically, as if they knew what he knew and he knew what they knew, and nothing was hidden anymore. It was total illumination.
Now I hope you don't make the mistake of thinking that, because there is darkness in the world, that is reason to be depressed or pessimistic. When the Bible describes how the world is filled with darkness, that is the basis for hope. The light is not light if there is no darkness. Light cannot even be distinguishable if there is no darkness. The worshiping of the Golden Calf demonstrates the darkness in which the children of Israel walked - hence the need for the light. Life after death would mean nothing if there was no death. Light wouldn't mean anything unless there was darkness. And that is our hope.
In 1910 the ship Republic was in the process of sinking. Another ship, the Baltic, was dispatched to try and rescue the people from the Republic. All day long the Baltic circled the Republic but could not see it. In the fog, they could not see the ship. But as the sun set, the people on the wounded Republic knew that their chances of survival were now gone, and they could never be saved because darkness had come. But, in the darkness the Baltic was able to see the lights of the sinking ship and to rescue all the passengers. It could not be seen in the daytime, but the light was visible only at night. This is hope. In spite of the fact that the world is filled with millions of miles of darkness into outer space, even that cannot snuff out the light that comes in the transfigured face of Jesus.
II. Light Transfiguration
Light always transfigures. That is why we call the experience of seeing God face to face on Mount Hermon "the Transfiguration." Matthew says that Jesus' whole countenance was altered, his raiment was "dazzling white". I looked up the word "transfigure" and Webster says it means "to recognize in an object or a person or an event a reality of another order, of a different kind. The familiar is changed. The appearance of the familiar is changed so the reality and meaning heretofore unsuspected is revealed." That which you have seen, the common, suddenly takes on a new meaning.
Moses explains transfiguration as the light shining to reveal the glory of God. Moses was still the same Moses who had walked among them, but now he was transfigured. They saw the glory of God in him.
When I was a boy, I remember some of the country people talking about their religious experiences. They would say, "I've got glory, glory" meaning they had seen him, who, before in their experience had been the historical Jesus, but who now became God, omnipotent. The change takes place. It is not mere illumination as you and I mean illumination. By illumination you and I mean "shining a spotlight on something so that it better reveals it," like a spotlight shining on your desk. No, the Bible talks about the kind of illumination that comes from within, not outside. The inner skin of Moses shone. The light is that which comes from within to the outside. You can see it. It is not that which is from outside.
The movie "E.T." is the story of a friendship between E.T., who is a ten-million-year-old extra-terrestrial creature and a ten-year-old boy named Elliot. E.T. is hardly a candidate for a hero in most movies. In our world we put so much importance on appearance, on people looking like us and being glamorous. E.T.'s appearance is a cross between a wrinkled bullfrog and a mushroom. He decides to inhabit a house which is certainly not a model Christian home. The mother has just been separated from the father, the children stay up as late as they want to and talk about whatever they want to and swear and curse. It seems to be nothing but confusion in this house, yet E.T., the creature from outer space, comes in and touches something very basic in the human spirit. Suddenly, that which before had been ordinary becomes illuminated. In an age of violence, gratuitous sex and confusion, E.T. brings a message of love, risky caring and communication. When E.T. falls ill and the American government decides they have to do away with this creature, nobody could see him as Elliot could. E.T. was dying. What was it that brought him back to life again? It was that unconditional love that the children felt for this strange, weird-looking creature. And suddenly that love, like a light inside of him, began to glow. A healing power flowed through his whole body and he was healed by this glow.
So it was in Jesus' day. The government of his day never saw Jesus as he really was. They saw him as one who was "different" and, because he was different, they had to put him to death. But others who had the vision who had had the experience, the transfiguration, now saw him entirely differently. They saw him as the Savior, as the Messiah.
Yes, light transfigures. God's glow and light transfigured Moses and it can put the same glow on your face.
You can "prove" Christianity or the existence of God empirically. It can be done, no question about it. That's what we call "head faith." But your faith never really comes alive until you have experienced him, whose existence you have proven. Nothing takes the place of experience.
Every week, I have people come to me in the office and say, "If I could only have an experience like some of the people with whom I have talked. If I could only have a first-hand encounter with the ever-living Christ, then I could embrace him intellectually. It would change my life." Every week, I meet people who have believed in the Bible as infallible proof of God's Word and who recently have had an experience with Christ and suddenly now they are "turned on." They still believe the same things, but now it is real to them.
Until I studied this passage from Exodus, I believed that some people just "have an experience" with God and some people don't. I concluded the reason was that some people just have a different psychological makeup; they are just more inclined to an unexperiential kind of faith. That perhaps they are a little more emotional, or personal, or whatever. However, that's not what the Bible says. Paul wrote, "If you have not had an experience with Jesus Christ, it means you are among those perishing." Paul goes on to say, "the evil force of this world veils your eyes" like sunglasses, so that you do not see God face to face and, therefore you reason that kind of experience doesn't really exist. Paul says that the "god of this world" has blinded the minds of those who haven't had the experience, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, which is in the likeness of God.
The Gospel of Matthew records that Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration had the same kind of experiences as did Moses on Sinai. It says, "Jesus taking James, John, and Peter went up on Mount Hermon and there was transfigured." Once they had this experience with God, Jesus looked different. It was as if his clothes were of "shining raiment." Matthew explains why it is that some people have an experience and some don't. Notice, Jesus had twelve or more disciples, but only three of them, Peter, James and John, had the experience of seeing God transfigured in Jesus. The reason was that there were only three who had the veil of the eyes taken away, so that they could see. Note also that they became the main leaders of Christianity after the resurrection and the creating of the Church.
You can read about thousands of experiences. You can read all of them that William James records in The Varieties of Religious Experience. In every case, we identify them as illumination, meaning that it was a light that came. Paul described his as a light from heaven. Every religious experience is always defined as illumination. No two would be alike. Yours should not be like mine or Paul's, but James says that everyone will experience God face to face, whose eyes are not veiled by the veils of this world. If you haven't experienced, it isn't because you are not inclined that way, it is because your eyes have been veiled and you have not seen him face to face.
The light of the Shekinah was God's glory being communicated to Moses. This account is the antetype of the account of the Transfiguration of Jesus as recorded in the gospels. Moses' religious experience was obvious to Aaron and the people as valid and holy, because of the presence of light shining in his face. Priests in that period of Bible history always wore a veil over their face before going before God or being in his presence. It is noteworthy here that Moses was the first man recorded in the Bible to take off his veil in the presence of God. The verb translated "shone" occurs only twice in Hebrew literature, here and in Psalm 69:31. In the latter account, the verb is used as a bullock displaying horns. The word is derived from the noun "horn." The vulgate translates it "horned;" hence the representation of the old painters and Michelangelo of Moses with horns. In Job 3:4, "horns" denotes rays of light or lightening flashes. This explains the "light" or "shining faces" used throughout history to explain a person's real conversion or spiritual experience or encounter with the everliving God. Moses' mountaintop illumination affirms the two fundamentals of all religious experience:
I. Light and Illumination is Basic in all Religious Experience
Many of you have read Raymond Moody's best seller, Life After Life. Some claim that it will sell more than any other book printed in the twentieth century. He wrote most of it while he was teaching Sunday church school in the congregation I served for the past ten years. It was a collection of medical records from, and interviews with scientists and physicians around the world, clinically recorded, of people who died, were pronounced clinically dead, and who then came back to life. Moody has been on the "Today" show, and several other network shows and lectured on university campuses across our land. In this book he records the religious experiences of hundreds. A large portion of the people interviewed were previously non-believers.
All of them experienced a bright light. That was the most significant thing - a bright light. All of these persons said they went through a dark tunnel where they could see a dim light at the end and, the closer they got to it, the brighter it became. They all described it as a light beyond comprehension, brighter than any light they had ever before seen, and yet it didn't hurt their eyes. It was wonderful, and it was comforting. They all said it was not exactly a definite beam, but it was a definite personality, like the glory of someone's countenance. They all said that the presence of that person's thoughts were transferred to their mind automatically, as if they knew what he knew and he knew what they knew, and nothing was hidden anymore. It was total illumination.
Now I hope you don't make the mistake of thinking that, because there is darkness in the world, that is reason to be depressed or pessimistic. When the Bible describes how the world is filled with darkness, that is the basis for hope. The light is not light if there is no darkness. Light cannot even be distinguishable if there is no darkness. The worshiping of the Golden Calf demonstrates the darkness in which the children of Israel walked - hence the need for the light. Life after death would mean nothing if there was no death. Light wouldn't mean anything unless there was darkness. And that is our hope.
In 1910 the ship Republic was in the process of sinking. Another ship, the Baltic, was dispatched to try and rescue the people from the Republic. All day long the Baltic circled the Republic but could not see it. In the fog, they could not see the ship. But as the sun set, the people on the wounded Republic knew that their chances of survival were now gone, and they could never be saved because darkness had come. But, in the darkness the Baltic was able to see the lights of the sinking ship and to rescue all the passengers. It could not be seen in the daytime, but the light was visible only at night. This is hope. In spite of the fact that the world is filled with millions of miles of darkness into outer space, even that cannot snuff out the light that comes in the transfigured face of Jesus.
II. Light Transfiguration
Light always transfigures. That is why we call the experience of seeing God face to face on Mount Hermon "the Transfiguration." Matthew says that Jesus' whole countenance was altered, his raiment was "dazzling white". I looked up the word "transfigure" and Webster says it means "to recognize in an object or a person or an event a reality of another order, of a different kind. The familiar is changed. The appearance of the familiar is changed so the reality and meaning heretofore unsuspected is revealed." That which you have seen, the common, suddenly takes on a new meaning.
Moses explains transfiguration as the light shining to reveal the glory of God. Moses was still the same Moses who had walked among them, but now he was transfigured. They saw the glory of God in him.
When I was a boy, I remember some of the country people talking about their religious experiences. They would say, "I've got glory, glory" meaning they had seen him, who, before in their experience had been the historical Jesus, but who now became God, omnipotent. The change takes place. It is not mere illumination as you and I mean illumination. By illumination you and I mean "shining a spotlight on something so that it better reveals it," like a spotlight shining on your desk. No, the Bible talks about the kind of illumination that comes from within, not outside. The inner skin of Moses shone. The light is that which comes from within to the outside. You can see it. It is not that which is from outside.
The movie "E.T." is the story of a friendship between E.T., who is a ten-million-year-old extra-terrestrial creature and a ten-year-old boy named Elliot. E.T. is hardly a candidate for a hero in most movies. In our world we put so much importance on appearance, on people looking like us and being glamorous. E.T.'s appearance is a cross between a wrinkled bullfrog and a mushroom. He decides to inhabit a house which is certainly not a model Christian home. The mother has just been separated from the father, the children stay up as late as they want to and talk about whatever they want to and swear and curse. It seems to be nothing but confusion in this house, yet E.T., the creature from outer space, comes in and touches something very basic in the human spirit. Suddenly, that which before had been ordinary becomes illuminated. In an age of violence, gratuitous sex and confusion, E.T. brings a message of love, risky caring and communication. When E.T. falls ill and the American government decides they have to do away with this creature, nobody could see him as Elliot could. E.T. was dying. What was it that brought him back to life again? It was that unconditional love that the children felt for this strange, weird-looking creature. And suddenly that love, like a light inside of him, began to glow. A healing power flowed through his whole body and he was healed by this glow.
So it was in Jesus' day. The government of his day never saw Jesus as he really was. They saw him as one who was "different" and, because he was different, they had to put him to death. But others who had the vision who had had the experience, the transfiguration, now saw him entirely differently. They saw him as the Savior, as the Messiah.
Yes, light transfigures. God's glow and light transfigured Moses and it can put the same glow on your face.
