INSIDE THIS CONNECTING POINT
- It’s Time To Take Off The Veil
- EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE Begins On September 13
- Two New Elders Confirmed On August 30
Have you ever tried to hide from others how you really felt or what you really thought, or what was really going on in your life? We’ve all done that at some time in our lives. And so did Moses, the great Old Testament hero and leader. Paul wrote,
“That old system of law etched in stone led to death, yet it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shown with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory when the Holy Spirit is giving life? . . . We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory fading away. . . . All of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more.” (2 Corinthians 3:7-18 NLT)
In that passage Paul is writing about the superiority of the New Covenant (a relationship with God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit) over the Old Testament Covenant (where people experienced God’s presence on an irregular basis). He begins with Moses’ encounter with the Lord on Mount Sinai. The first time Moses came down from Sinai with the Ten Commandments, he smashed them and punished the people because of their rebellion against the Lord (Exodus 32). After the people had repented, Moses went back up on Mount Sinai to meet with the Lord again, and to receive again the Ten Commandments (Exodus 33-34). At that time Moses pleaded for the Lord to show him His glory. The Lord then had Moses cover his face as He passed by, and Moses was only able to peek at the “backside” of God’s glory. But that was such a supernatural encounter for Moses, when he came down from the mountain, his face still glowed, and actually shown so brightly he had to wear a veil over his face for some time.
So let me ask you, “When can you remember having such a supernatural encounter with the Lord that your face and being ‘glowed’ with the glory of God?” I’m talking about a time in your life where the Lord so impacted your life that you and others could obviously tell you had had a supernatural encounter with God. Most Christians have had such encounters with the Lord, and those encounters are “high water marks” or “spiritual markers” in their lives that they can look back to and still rejoice in.
After some time, however, the visible glory of God left Moses’ face. Perhaps he just got focused on other things, or perhaps it was just natural for the visible glory of God to fade away in those days. What Paul is pointing out in 2 Corinthians 3 is that long after the glory of God had vanished from his face, Moses still wore a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory fading away.
That brings to mind the question, “Have you ever sought to hide, in some way to some degree, the fact that God’s glory in some way had diminished in your life, and that you weren’t as close to the Lord as you had been in times past?” Most of us Christians are prone to tell people about the “glorious times” in our relationship with the Lord, but we try to hide from others those “dry times” in our relationship with the Lord. We may still be attending church, still reading our Bible, still praying (to some degree), still inviting others to come to church with us, etc., but in our hearts we know that we’re not as close to the Lord as we have been in times past. When people ask us how we are doing, we answer “I’m doing fine” although we know deep down in our hearts that we have fallen away to some degree from the passion and power we once experienced with the Lord. Is that where you are now, trying to hide to some degree (maybe even trying to hide from yourself) that things aren’t where they used to be in your relationship with the Lord?
In the final portion of our text, Paul reminds us that we don’t have to go through or stay in those “dry times” of life because now, in the New Covenant, we have the Holy Spirit of God continually indwelling our lives. We can now have supernatural encounters with the Lord daily, and as the Spirit of God works within us we can become more and more like Jesus, and reflect His glory even more.
That’s what we’re going to be focusing on in our annual Spiritual Growth Emphasis on September 13. In our EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE study in our Worship Services and Life Groups we’re going to be learning how to focus our thoughts and minds on the Lord and on good and godly things so that we’re no longer burdened by negative and ungodly thoughts and emotions. And in the process we’ll be learning how to live in God’s presence on a daily basis so that we continually live in and demonstrate His glory and power in our lives.
Here are some things that you need to know about EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE. For 5 weeks, in our Worship services and Life Groups, we’ll explore how to tame and transform our minds - an essential step given how deeply our thoughts shape our emotions, actions, relationships, and spiritual journey. To benefit the most from this 5 week Spiritual Growth Emphasis, I encourage you to:
- Join us this Sunday (September 6) as we learn how to prepare to experience all God wants us to experience during our EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE emphasis.
- Join a Life Group for 5 weeks, so that you can learn from God’s people as well as from God’s Word and Spirit how to apply these life-changing principles we’ll be learning about. To connect with a Life Group, contact one of our Celebration Staff members, or go to www.celebrationchurch.org/lifegroups.
- Acquire a copy of the Every Thought Captive Book (written by Kyle Idleman) from Amazon or some other book source. A free copy of the book can also be rented from Hoopla through your Public Library System.
To experience positive life changes we have to change what we think about - because the way we think determines the way we feel, which determines what we do and also determines the relationships of our lives. We’re going to help you learn how to focus your mind on good and godly thoughts and desires in EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE. And as you learn how to do that, you will continually live in and demonstrate God’s glory and power in your life.
This past Sunday our Celebration Family overwhelmingly confirmed the selection of two new Elders in our ministry. Those men are Steven Burford (who along with his wife Kelly is a part of our Kenner Congregation) and Ty Harrell (who along with his wife Yolanda is a part of our Westbank Congregation). Our Elders play an important role in the ministry of our Church because they serve as an Accountability Team for me as the Lead Pastor, for our Lead Team (Manley Miller, John Frady and Allison Konur) and for our Campus Pastors. They also, along with our Administrative Team that oversees our finances and facilities, serve on Celebration’s Board of Directors. Thanks for your support of Steven and Ty, and for your support of our Church family with your attendance, service, giving, etc.
We love and appreciate you at Celebration. If you want to Learn more about Celebration’s ministries, share a Prayer Request with us, or Give to support God’s work, you can do so by going to www.celebrationchurch.org. Lives are being changed, marriages and families are being restored, and people are experiencing the transforming power of Jesus here through the ministry of Celebration Church.
Gratefully yours,
Pastor Dennis Watson
Lead Pastor, Celebration Church
dennisw@celebrationchurch.org
dennis.watson.96
