Sermon #7 @ St. Paris UMC (8.9.09)

Pastor Dave Kepple

Text: Exodus 33:12-23

Title: “Glory Days”

Date: Aug. 9, 2009 (10th Sunday after Pentecost)

Internet Link for primary scripture text used in this sermon:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/index.php?search=Exodus%2033:12-23&version=31&interface=print


"Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power and love,
our God is an awesome God."

I’m sure many of you are familiar with those words, which are the chorus of Rich Mullins' great praise hymn, Awesome God.
"Awesome" is, indeed, a very appropriate word to use in reference to God.
But in some ways, awesome is a word that began to lose its meaning a few years back. It has long since become an easy and over-used catchword for anything that people find exciting or amazing, or just plain cool.
Such as:
“That was an awesome home run Joey Votto hit the other day!”
Or:
“I saw this really awesome show at the county fair! Can you believe Elvis Presley came to Urbana?!”
Or:
“That ice cream sundae was awesome!”
Or maybe even:
“Man, the pastor had a really awesome message last Sunday! . . .”

Of course, "awesome" is derived from the word awe, and awe is a word with a very specific meaning. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, "awe" is an emotion variously combining dread, veneration and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime. So, if you keep that understanding in mind, "awesome" probably is not the best description for something that -- while maybe terrific in a lot of ways -- may not be a big deal in the overall scheme of things.
God, however, IS a big deal in the overall scheme of things. Rich Mullins had it right, in using "awesome" to refer to God. And our Old Testament lesson today, taken from Exodus, presents a vivid declaration of the truly awesome nature of God.
Now, I like the Old Testament a lot. It is a treasure chest of God's truth and wisdom, great stories, wonderful poetry, all recorded by our older brothers in the faith -- the ancient Hebrews. There is no question that the persona of God IS awesome in the Old Testament. Of course, God is awesome in the New Testament, too, and especially in the Person and Presence of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But for the most part, God operates with a different style in the pages of the New Testament. You might say He is more subtle!
There's nothing subtle about God in the Old Testament. And nobody knew that better than Moses.

Today's lesson from Exodus 33 makes it clear that God is awesome -- that God's greatness, God's splendor and God's power are beyond anything we can imagine. To set this in context, we need to drop back to Exodus 32, where the Israelites had betrayed God. You probably remember the story.
Moses was up on the mountain with God, when the people grew impatient and began badgering Aaron, until finally they all sinned by building an idol -- a golden calf -- which they worshipped as their God, instead of the LORD.
God was ready to destroy these foolish people of His, but Moses talked him out of it, and they were spared. Still, the episode ends with a terrible strain between God and the people of Israel.
So it is that in Exodus 33 their leader, Moses, goes again to the LORD in prayer. He is struggling with the weight of his leadership burden, and he needs some reassurance. Remember, Moses was very unsure of himself from the get-go, from the time God first tapped him on the shoulder at the burning bush. And now Moses surely feels a strong sense of discouragement, after the debacle with the golden calf.
So he asks God, "If I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight." And the LORD reassures Moses, saying, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
Moses is reassured that in this struggle of leading the people, he does not go alone, but can continue to rely upon the presence of the LORD. But Moses doesn't stop there. Like some of his great Hebrew ancestors, men such as Abraham and Jacob, Moses is adept in the art of bargaining with God.
So Moses continues his prayer, saying to the LORD: "Show me your glory."
God responds by offering to pass by Moses in some fashion, and proclaim before Moses the mysterious name -- YHWH -- 'I am that I am' . . . as he had previously revealed at the burning bush.
God also goes on to say something that I find very intriguing, when he says: "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy." This statement is a powerful reminder that God is God -- and that we are not God! I don't know about you, but I need that reminder, from time to time -- that it is God who sits in the seat of judgment -- not yours truly -- and that He will show grace and mercy as He sees fit.
Anyway, the Lord continues with Moses, warning him -- "You cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live." So the Lord arranges a place for Moses to stand near Him, a cleft in the rock where Moses will be safe while the glory of the Lord passes by.
"I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by," the LORD tells Moses, in what sounds like a very loving, protective manner. Only after I have passed by, the LORD says, will I take my hand away, and then you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen."
And so it is that God (at least partially) grants this last request of Moses, to show Moses the glory of the LORD.

Is there any word for this demonstration of God's glory, other than awesome?
Of course, this is only one of many, many scriptural examples of God's awesome power and glory, starting with the beginning itself -- the Creation -- in Genesis 1.

Now do you want to hear something really awesome?
Your very being is stamped with His divine image!
That's right -- when you get up to start your day, and you have "morning mouth" and your hair is all messed up, and you take that first bleary-eyed glimpse in the bathroom mirror, you are looking at a creature who was made in the image of God! At that moment, you may not feel like you could possibly reflect the glory of God, but that is exactly what you and I are called to do.
It's stated quite clearly, again in the first chapter of Genesis, where it is written:

"So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them." (Gen. 1:27)

Would you agree that is awesome?
But listen, I've got something even more awesome to tell you.
This same God, our Creator, became a human creature himself and dwelt among us as flesh and blood for 33 years, surrendering his godly powers -- and ultimately his life -- so that he might save us. He did all this through his Son, Jesus, in whom the human race was finally given what was denied Moses -- the opportunity to see the face of God.
And isn't it interesting that throughout the four Gospels, and all of the New Testament, there is not one word of description about the face of Jesus? God has kind of left it open to our imagination, hasn't he? . . . at least for now.
But there's one more thing I need to tell you, and in some ways, it's the most awesome part of all!
This same God who created the universe and everything in it . . .
This same God who led the Israelites through the wilderness to the promised land, and who revealed a portion of his glory unto Moses . . .
This same God who became one of us and who died for us, to cover our endless sins in the cleansing blood of the Lamb . . .
This very same God lives within us today, when we place our faith in Christ, and trust in the power of the Holy Spirit.
And not only that, but this same God is counting on all of us -- weak, earthen vessels that we are -- to reveal His glory to the world. We are created in His image, we have been saved by His love, and God wants us to bear that image in all our mundane existence.
Because the truth is there is no part of our existence that should ever be mundane or routine, when we remember that we are bearing the image of God wherever we go, whether it's across the street or around the world. As Christians, we are in a very special way called to reveal His glory to the world.
Christ has chosen you and you and me – ALL OF US -- to make His glory known to others.
And THAT is truly awesome.

Friends, I don't care whether you are 8 years old or 88, these are our glory days -- today, and everyday. This is our turn, in the great mystery of life, to reflect His glory, His hope, and above all His love to a world that yearns for freedom from slavery . . . a world that yearns for God's truth.

"Our God is an awesome God.
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power and love,
our God is an awesome God."

May we embrace that great reality, and make it part of who we are every day of our lives.
Let us never forget that our God is an awesome God.
Amen.