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Our text in the book of Exodus records what must have been the greatest time of Moses' life. He has been upon the mountain of God receiving the commandments of God and is now coming down Mt. Sinai to relay the commandments of God to the people. As he descends from the mountain, holding the two tablets with the ten commandments upon them in his hand, the scripture says that the skin of his face shone brightly with great rays of light beaming from it. And the Bible says that Moses did not even know it until others brought it to his attention, but the illumination of his shining face much have been so bright that it was noticeable right away to those who saw him. And there was only one reason for the rays of light and the shining face: he had been with and in the very presence of Jehovah God.

Miracles need no explanation but I think the phenomenon of Moses' radiant shining is similar to the glow in the dark stickers that I used to have and like the phosphorous markings that are not on my watch. Held close to a strong light, my watch markings soak up the energy and in a dark place glow strongly for a time with such luminance. Such was the case of Moses. The Bible says that after he came down from the mountain that he relayed all the commandments of God to the people and then:

I want you to notice a few things from the teachings of scriptures that may be different than what people usually say about this story. Moses did not put the veil over his face until after he had finished speaking to the people the first time. And the people of Israel could see that Moses face was shining, even through the veil. But the Bible says that when Moses would return to the tabernacle to speak with God, he would take the veil off and then put it on to come back out which indicates that this was not a one time occurrence but something that happened often in the life of Moses. Every time that Moses went in before the presence of God, he became so illuminated by God's glory that his face radiated that light in a great way! Like my watch or a glow-in-the-dark sticker, the illumination was a strong one immediately after he had been exposed to God's presence.

The other point that I want you to note is that the Bible does not say that Moses put the veil over his face to shield the light from the people, because it was obvious to them that he glowed even with the veil. Rather in our text in 2 Corinthians, Paul wrote:

He put the veil over his head so that they could not see that the glow was gradually diminishing and coming to an end. In other words, as soon as Moses left the presence of God, and walked out before the people, his face shown brightly and then after a few hours or days or whatever, the glow would begin to fade and begin to shine less brightly until his face would no longer seem to shine and that would be when he would return to the presence of God and become renewed in his glow.

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I'm here to preach to you that this world today needs "shining faces" radiating God's glory! This world needs to see people who have freshly been in the presence of God and so close to His glory that their faces illuminate the darkness of this world! Moses' face was made of no special material that is not found in the faces of the people here tonight. And God's Spirit and glory has not changed in force or power one iota since the times of Exodus! Therefore it must still be a principle that if we have truly been in the presence of God Almighty, that there ought to be a manifestation on the outside. When you have been close to His glory, you ought to glow! And this world needs such a witness to tell them of the commandments and word of God!

Hear this preacher: it was not a one even for "back then" because the scriptures record several other proofs of flesh radiating God's glory. It was the flesh of Jesus, Himself, on the Mount of Transfiguration that like Moses' face, began to glow before Peter, James, and John and radiate the glory of God. And remember that we are to follow exactly in Christ's footsteps and obey His earthly example! It was when Stephen, a man full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, sat in the judgment seat before his accusers that the Bible records:

As the accusations reigned down, a glow came upon Stephen of the anointing of the Holy Ghost! It was of the other disciples that it is written that they Pharisees "could tell that they had been with Jesus." You cannot get close to the glory of God without emanating some evidence of having been there! Shining faces are the evidence of true Christianity!

Many of you have had such a shining face at sometimes or another. Many of you have ran into old friends after you received the Spirit of God and been asked "there's something different about you!" I've been stopped before in the grocery store and people ask "something's unique about you, you seem to glow all over." There were many of you who when you first came to God, people were amazed and thought that you had fallen in love -- you had! -- or won the lottery or something because your entire persona radiated a light a glow of God's power and glory. You could tell with one look that you had been in the presence of God! Gone were the bleary eyes and downcast expression. Gone was the blank face or the dark face. Gone was the worried look and the haggard expression of someone who was just trying to exist through life. Now there was a glow of confidence that came from being near Him and receiving His Spirit. Now there was a peace that went beyond understanding and a joy that permeated your life. You glowed and reflected His glory as the moon does the sun's light. You had a shining face!

And like Stephen, that shining face gave you boldness to witness in the face of persecution. Like Jesus that shining face removed the doubt and declared the truth that you had found. Like Moses, that shining face caused you to be able to witness of His truth to those that needed to hear it. Like Moses, that shining face helped you through some hard times and a wilderness experience. Like Stephen, that shining face helped you be willing to forgive those that hurt you even as the stones of their words rained down upon you. Even through the veil of every day life and every day duties, you had been in the presence of God and that touch had transformed and transfigured you into a new creature! The power of God was shining through you!

Our county and city needs to see shining faces of the people who are gathered here tonight! They need to know that the light of God's truth and goodness still shines brightly. They need to know that God still meets with people regularly. They need to know that His power still transforms lives. But they don't need to just be told such things, they need to be shown. We ought to have been so close to God that we radiate His light and power even unknowingly. God is looking for a people that even with the veil of everyday life upon them, the power of God will emanate through and touch the lives of others by radiating to them. This world needs to see shining faces. They don't need another preacher telling them of dry ritualism and dry religion. They need saints of God and men and women of God who before a word is said, have the power of God and spark of God in their life. When we leave this place and go into the world, we need to glow with God's glory!

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But I ask you tonight what is your glow level at? If we were to have a spiritual "glow meter" and place it on your life could we even detect a spark? Has it been too long since you have been close to His glory and truly in His presence? Are you glowing with the rapidly fading glory of last week's or last month's touch? Or is it a fresh radiant even shining through the veil of flesh and life? Will the people that you come in contact with this week seek a vibrant face full of the power and manifestation of God, or will they see the dark face of depression, stress, and worry? Will they see the glorious rays of a true joy, or will they see the blackness of sin on your countenance? God is wanting shining faces to beam forth, what is your glow doing?

Perhaps there are some here who are glowing strongly from this morning, I am still preaching to you because God wants the glow to last! And perhaps there are some here for whom the glow has faded or is even gone. The newness of the things of God has worn off. You need a fresh touch. You need a new anointing and a fresh encounter with His glory. I'm preaching to you too. Because the very things that Moses did to get the glow in the first place is still what it takes to get the glow today! Let me preach to you from the story of Moses what we should do to have shining faces today. The first thing that Moses did in getting the glow of glory is that:

1. He climbed the mountain of God.

He went up to where God was rather than expecting God to come down to his level. He took the first step toward God. He was willing to put some effort into getting close to the things of God. He was willing to climb if he had too, to endure, to get past some things in order to get up to where God could touch him.

Some people come to God with the attitude that God needs to do all of the work. God has already done the work on Calvary and now it is your duty to come to Him. God is not going to bless you unless you make the effort to get to where His word is being given. God is not going to bless you unless you make the effort to climb into His presence. We do that by coming to church. We do that by praise and worship. Like Moses, you may have to push some things aside or get over some things and past some obstacles to get into God's presence and receive His Word. But if you want the glow of His glory, you must be willing to climb!

I know that it gets weary sometimes! I know that your flesh gets tired, but keep climbing! Keep moving up! Keep coming up! And notice that if you read the book of Exodus by the time you get to our text, this is not Moses' first time up the mountain. This is his sixth time up the same mountain and his second forty day fast! He had already been up to the glory of God and heard the words and received the commandments. This was his second time hearing them again. But if you were to ask Moses if it was worth it, he would tell you "absolutely!" Because this last time is when I got the glow!

Maybe you've been in the presence of God before, and maybe you've heard all of this before, but God wants someone to know that you need to climb the mountain one more time! "Well, I praised this morning and didn't get everything that I needed, preacher." Praise Him one more time! Go up that mountain again tonight! Don't quit; don't give up. The glow is awaiting! God's glory waits for you to climb the mountain one more time! It's worth the effort and sacrifice!

2. He was willing to climb for heights greater than others that were with him.

Aaron went with him once, but Aaron only went so far. Joshua went with him on this trip in our text, but Joshua only went so far. Some of the elders of Israel went to a certain level, but Moses pushed beyond all of that. I understand that it was a principle of leadership that the man of God has got to be willing to go beyond everybody else. But I also think that there is a principle here of that if you want the glory you've got to be willing to go beyond the levels of those around you. Aaron climbed part of the mountain, and so did Joshua, but only Moses got close enough to have a shining face!

The natural human response is to only do what those around us are doing. We want to fit in and not stand out. We are victims of the herd mentality -- just going along with whatever status quo is. And if someone prods us to go further, we immediately point to someone else's level and say "well, they have only climbed this far," and "they have only sacrificed so much." If you want the glory of God to emanate from your life, you will have to stop looking at others and get your eyes on Him! Not everybody is going to sacrifice everything! Not everybody is going to push themselves to be more, but look around you -- not everybody glows with God's glory either! If you want to get close as you can to God, you've got to leave the crowd and the people around you and be willing to stop worrying about what they are or are not doing and just make up in your mind that even if you've got to do it alone, you are going to end up as close to God as you can be! No matter what your family does, no matter what you best friend does! No matter what pastor or saints do. I'm going to have a shining face from being in His presence!

3. He let God talk to him.

The ESV says that Moses' face shown because he had been talking to God. Actually the Hebrew literally reads "he had been talking to him." The translations have to decide which he was talking to which and so they just guess one way or the other. It could mean that he (Moses) had been talking to Him (God). But it could just as well be He (God) talking to him (Moses). As I began to study this verse out this week, I found that there are many Bible scholars that believe the correct translations is the latter, that it was God talking to Moses and that is why Moses' face shown because the Bible records a lot of what God said and not a whole lot of what Moses said during this time.

If you want the glory of God to shine throughout your life, you are going to have to like Moses be willing to leave your normal routine and your normal lifestyle and spend time talking and most importantly letting God talk to you. There is no substitute for it. If you want the glow, you will have to spend time in prayer and fasting and seeking the face of God in a place separated from the rat race of life. "Well, preacher, I cannot take off forty days from my work and I don't think that I can fast four days let alone forty!" God's probably not expecting you to do such a forty day thing. But you must every day spend some time alone with God. You need a prayer closet. A place away from media and the telephone and the family and whatever where you can spend time with God. You've got to let God talk to you to impart the glow!

Notice what a difference the time spent on the mountain made in Moses' situation. Moses would go back to the same bunch of rebels that he had left. He would go back to the same set of problems and same issues, but this time he had the glow of God's glory with Him! If we would spend time with God everyday and bask in His glory, we would go out and face the issues of our life with a much different face! Our circumstances need to see a shining face coming to them!

4. He rebuilt the broken Word of God in His life.

He had been coming down the mountain the first time with the tablets of God's commandments in his hands when he had come upon the sight of the people dancing naked around the golden calf formed by Aaron. In his anger and aggravation, the Bible says that Moses threw down the tablets breaking the tables of stones into pieces.

That's how it is with us. Too often when we see others breaking the commandments of God, we also go along and break the commandments ourselves. We had been holding and keeping them but we find ourselves in a place where we have let the things of God slip and fall apart in our hands.

Notice the difference between the first time and the second time Moses got the ten commandments written in stone. The first time, God carved the tablets out of the rock and did the work for Moses. The second time, after they had been broken, God said,

This time, Moses had to carve out the tablets of stone! Once broken, it is always harder to restore the Word of God to your life. Once you have broken them, it is harder to raise them back up and put them back into your hands. Once you cross certain lines, it is hard to go back and say "no" and draw boundaries again. Such is the end result of breaking God's commandments. But despite the great work involved and despite the sacrifice, Moses was determined that "whatever effort that it takes to do things God's way, I am going to rebuild the broken word of God in my life!" Such an attitude was what ushered him into the presence of God and to the shining face.

If you have broken the Word of God since you have come to Him, you know that there are things and issues in your life as result of your rebellion that make living for God more work and effort! But remember to have the shining face of His glory emanate from you, you must rebuild the broken Word of God in your life no matter what the cost! It is worth all effort to do things God's way!

5. He desired to see a greater revelation of God surpassing anything that he had ever seen.

If anybody could have been satisfied with his experiences in God, it was Moses. This is the one who threw down the rod in the court of Pharaoh and saw it turn into a snake that devoured the other magician's. This is the man who turned the Nile river into blood and saw great miracle after great miracle. Moses has already seen the Red Sea parted and the Egyptian army drowned. He has already seen manna from heaven and water flow from a rock.

But Moses wasn't satisfied with such things. But He asked God "to show me more of your glory!" "God, I want to see more of you than I ever had before." And so the Bible says that God placed him in a cleft in a rock and placing His hand upon Moses' eyes passed before Him and then when He was past him, God removed His hand and showed Moses His "back." (Exodus 33:22-23) And Moses received a greater revelation of God and a fresh touch of His glory.

Thank God that you've left Egypt and thank God for the past blessings, but what will you do now? Will you be satisfied with all the wonderful testimonies that you have now, or are you still longing for more of God? And most importantly, are you willing to go through a time where you can't see God and a time where you just have to blindly trust Him, in order to receive a great glory in Him? But Moses' time of having to trust God blindly was immediately before the revelation that caused His face to shine with God's glory! If we are to have shining faces, we must press toward a greater revelation of God even if means time spent in the cleft of the rock!

I've used this before, but let me say this again: Moses was never closer to God than the time when God's hands were over his eyes. When he could see God clearly was actually when God was further away. So it is with us. If you are going through something and it seems that God is nowhere around, then know that actually He is closer then than He was when you could clearly see Him working. We don't like such times, but if you are to get close enough to His glory to have a shining and radiant face, then we must endure such things! Keep the faith and keep trusting in God: He has you in His arms!

6. He took a selfless burden for others to God.

Moses did not go before God on this trip with a selfish wish list that he wanted fulfilled like some of us do. Some people come to God like a kid in the line to see Santa at the mall. Actually Moses came with a selfless burden for the people of Israel. It was right before this "shining face" episode that God had wanted to destroy all of Israel for their making the golden calf but we find Moses telling God:

God corrected his theology in the next verse and told Moses that he would not destroy anyone whose name was written in the book of life, but still Moses' request is one of the most selfless prayers in the Bible. God had told Moses, "I will destroy them and start over with you!" But Moses so loved the people of Israel -- despite their faults and sins -- that he brought a burden to God and interceded to God for their behalf!

When is the last time that you prayed and were so consumed with other's needs and other's salvation that you didn't even get around to your own personal needs? For that matter, when is the last time, you spent time away from church in prayer for anybody else's life than your own family? If the answer is never, then you probably aren't glowing! To get a shining face, we must become touched and concerned with the dilemmas of others! We must have a burden to intercede for the salvation of other people!

7. He worshipped God.

The Bible says this:

This is the leader of God's people, the mighty man Moses, and yet He worshipped. This is the one who had been here many times before and yet He worshipped. This is the one who had worked miracles and seen the very presence of God and yet He worshipped! We must never outgrow worship! We must never get beyond worship! The day we get "too good" to lay out before God and surrender ourselves in worship is the day that we are "too good" for God to use us and to get into His presence! Like David who laid down the kingly robes to dance and like the wise men who laid out before the baby in the arms of Mary, we must recognize His greatness and never move beyond the level of worship!

If Moses had done all of these other things and not worshipped, then he would not have been inundated with the glow of glory! All of these other steps simply got him to a place where he could truly and with everything worship God! If you make great effort to get to church and don't truly worship God, then I'm afraid your sacrifice was in vain! If you've fasted and prayed and pushed beyond the sacrifice levels of everybody else and yet don't find a place of worship, then your sacrifice was for naught! Moses had seen a greater revelation of God before he worshipped, but it was not until after he worshipped that his face began to shine. In other words, it was the worship that caused the revelation of God's glory to be grasped! It was worship that caused him to go beyond just seeing a greater power of God, but for him to be able to grasp it and have inundate him! Worship!

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These same steps that Moses took are the steps that you and I must take to have shining faces today, and, oh, how the world needs to see such shining faces! But there is one great difference between us and Moses and according to our text in 2 Corinthians, we must take a final step beyond Moses and that is that:

8. We must remove the veil.

The Apostle Paul wrote this after referring back to Moses' shining face:

We, "with an unveiled face" are also beholding the glory of the Lord. But ours has no need to be veiled because ours is not to fade! Moses placed the veil upon his head to hide the fact that his shining face was slowly growing dimmer, but Paul says that we "are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another." In other words, rather than being in the presence of the light source and then slowly fading again until we get back into His presence, we have the Spirit of God living within us so that we ought to continually grow brighter and brighter the longer we live for God! Therefore there is no need for a veil, because the glory is not fading!

We are not coming to the power source every once in a while, but the power source, the Light of the World, has come to live within us! And so there is a great difference between the glory of the shining face of Moses, and the glory of God that we should emanate today. And so I close with this:

When Moses was transfigured, he came down from the mountain with a fading glory and the people fled away from him so that he had to beckon to them to come to him and hear the Word of God. But when Jesus was transfigured on the mountain, he shown with a non-fading glory and notice what happened when He came down from the mountain:

The crowds were attracted to His glory! They were amazed and ran to Him! Such is the glory that God wants radiating from us! Not a glory that pushes people away and scares them but that draws them to hear the teaching of God's great words and acts! The Bible teaches that no one comes to God unless the Spirit draws them, but how does the Spirit draw them? By radiating through the face of a believer! You did not literally see Jesus when you were drawn out of a life of sin, but you saw Him reflected off of somebody here. You did not see the Light of the World shining down as Paul did going to Damascus, but you saw the light of God shining from the faces of those who had been in His presence. It was what drew you to God -- the glory of God emanating from those who had been with Him!

Our world needs to see shining faces of God's glory. Come today and let Him restore the glow!