WEBVTT

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2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 7. This is the

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second letter that we have that Paul had written

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to the Corinthians. However, it is believed by

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some that he may have wrote as many as four letters.

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And it's possible he alludes to some of those,

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some of the writings, some of the things he says.

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It's not certain that they really line up with

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what he wrote in what we would call 1 Corinthians.

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It's very possible there's some missing letters,

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but nonetheless, we have enough in 1 and 2 Corinthians

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to kind of know a little bit about what's going

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on in Corinth and Paul's love for the people

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and his desire to see them grow in the Lord.

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And that's what we've seen really a lot in 1

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Corinthians. We see some discipline that Paul

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is taking and addressing some troubles that have

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arisen in the church and giving some instruction

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on the people to handle those situations. And

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he continued in 2 Corinthians with the same idea,

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talking about the discipline that had taken place

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and that there comes a point where... The discipline

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was successful, it appears, and there needs to

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be love for the one who is disciplined. We also

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see at the beginning of 2 Corinthians that Paul

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kind of was defending himself, it appeared, as

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though maybe some of the Corinthians were questioning

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Paul and some of the work that he was doing or

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maybe the fact that he hadn't come back. He addresses

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that, that they were expecting him. He had said

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he was going to come back, but he had not come

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back. And one of the reasons he gives for that

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is that He didn't want to come back because there

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were still some things that weren't right in

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Corinth, and he didn't want to come and treat

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the people harshly. He didn't want to come and

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just have to get on to them. And so he wants

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them to do right and to do better and to not

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question him but listen to him and not listen

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to other people or not doubt him and not be led

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astray, but to remember that he cared about the

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people and that he had really poured into the

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people and he had led many of these people to

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Jesus Christ. and they needed to stand firm on

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the truth of the gospel and not pay too much

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attention to what maybe some others who had come

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in and were saying, maybe questioning Paul and

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causing some of the people in Corinth to question

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Paul. So that's what we saw kind of in the first

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couple of chapters for those of you who may not

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have been here as we've gotten to this point.

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And then he kind of shifted gears in chapter

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3. He begins to shift gears to talk about...

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The law and the spirit. And that's what we're

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going to talk about tonight. We talked about

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that a little bit in the verses we read last

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week. That it's not about letters that are written

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on stone, but it's about... what is written on

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the heart. It's about having a heart change.

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It's about the work of the Spirit that is so

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much greater than the work of the law that we

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see in the Old Testament, both the Ten Commandments

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and plenty of other laws that God gave, other

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commandments that he gave. Over 600 of them he

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gave to his people. And so Paul is addressing

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that new glory, a better glory that comes through.

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the Spirit through Jesus Christ. So that's what

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we're going to see in the verses tonight. So

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let's pray and we'll get started. God, we come

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to you. We thank you for a good night. We thank

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you for these words. I pray that we would listen

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to them, that you would free us of the worries

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and the distractions and the thoughts of this

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world, dear Lord. We got a lot that went on in

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our lives today and a lot that's going to go

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on tomorrow and this week and next week. But

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I pray that in these few minutes, that you just

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would protect our minds, that we would listen

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to you, that your Holy Spirit would just give

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us something in here that we need to hear. God,

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you know where we are in life. You know whether

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we're struggling tonight or whether we need encouragement

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tonight or correction tonight or whatever it

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may be, dear Lord. You know what we need, and

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I pray. that your word would speak to us tonight.

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I pray that you would take away any fear or pride

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that I have, dear Lord. There's no good word

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that I can say if it does not come from you,

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so I pray that your spirit would lead me and

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help each one of us to hear from you for your

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glory. In Jesus' name I pray it. Amen. All right,

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2 Corinthians 3, verse 7. Now, if the ministry

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of death... chiseled in letters on stones, came

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with glory, so that the Israelites were not able

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to look directly at Moses' face because of the

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glory from his face, a fading glory, how will

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the ministry of the Spirit not be more... Glorious.

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All right. Now, he says something interesting

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here. Now, the ministry of death chiseled in

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letters on stone. What is he talking about there?

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What is the ministry of death? Well, he's talking

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about the law. He's talking about the wages of

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sin is death. And the law makes us aware of our

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sin. The law is God's perfect standard that God

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calls us to live by. And once we are aware of

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the law. it brings death upon us because it presents

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to us a standard that we are not able to live

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up to. It makes us aware of our sin. Now, we

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may be ignorant of our sin, but the moment we

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begin to read God's Word and God's commands,

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and in the case of the Israelites, the law of

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God, the Ten Commandments and other commandments,

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their eyes are open. Now, of course, they were

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sinners before the law ever came, but the law

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made them aware of their sin and aware of their

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state. And their state is the same of our state.

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That is that we are sinners, that God has a standard

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that he calls us to live by, commands that he

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calls us to live by, and we fail to live by those

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commands. Now, we come to church, or we read

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our Bible, or we listen to our favorite preachers

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and teachers online, whatever it may be, and

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we hopefully are seeking to try to grow in the

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Lord and trying to live by His commands, but

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the truth is that sometimes we fail. And the

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law is a constant reminder, what are we going

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to do? We've failed. The wages of sin is death.

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We've sinned. We've failed to live by God's law.

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And that's how it's referred to in the New Testament.

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Here we see an example of that. That the ministry

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of death, he's talking about the law. How do

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we know that? Well, we see it in context. That

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is chiseled in letters on stone. But what does

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he say? He's making a contrast here about the

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glory of God. This is what he's trying to present

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to his listeners, both then and both now. He

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says the law has a purpose. It was chiseled in

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stone. Moses brought those stone tablets down

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the mountain and they had the commandments that

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God had given him. They were chiseled in stone.

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And it was good. It had a purpose. The law had

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a purpose. It was to guide God's people. We see

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that in the book of Galatians. It says that the

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law was meant to kind of guide the people along

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until Jesus Christ. And so the law had a purpose.

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It wasn't pointless. It's what God's people needed

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at that time. It made them aware of who God was,

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of what God commanded. Even in the law, it shows

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us who God is when he says to do things like

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not murder and not steal. These are things that

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God does not do. God is saying that we are to

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be like him, that we are to strive to live like

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him. That's our goal, but we fail at that goal.

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And so he gives the law through Moses, and the

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law is good. It serves a purpose, and even in

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the law, there is glory. Even in the giving of

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the law, we see the glory of God. We see that

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reference. So the Israelites were not able to

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look directly at Moses' face because of the glory

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from his face. Now, this is a reference. You

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can go back and study this this week. Go back

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to Exodus 33 and 34. And you'll see this story

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where Moses is up on the mountain with God. And

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you may recall it. Some of you may have heard

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it. And Moses says, God, I want to see your glory.

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God, I want to see you in all your glory. I want

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to see you, God. Now, Moses had certainly had

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some interaction with God. And we see other people

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have interactions with God in some way, shape,

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or form in Scripture. But nobody had ever seen

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God in his fullness. And for good reason. We

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could not take it. As human beings, we could

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not take it. As sinful human beings, we are not

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prepared for the full glory of God. And Moses

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says, God, I want to see your glory. And God

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says, Moses, nobody can see my face and live.

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Nobody can see me in all of my glory. But I'll

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hide you in this rock and I'll pass by and I'll

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let you see me from behind. Just a glimpse of

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my glory. And so God does just that, and Moses

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catches just a glimpse of God's glory. And when

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Moses comes back down the mountain before the

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people, the scripture says that his face is glowing.

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Just a little exposure to the glory of God, and

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that has come upon Moses, and the glory of God

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is being reflected from the face of Moses. And

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it says that when the Israelites saw Moses' face,

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that they were afraid. And so Moses put a veil

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over his face because the people weren't prepared

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for the glory of God. And that's the story that's

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being referenced here by Paul. He says, look,

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there's glory in the giving of the law because

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when God gave the law to Moses, when Moses came

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back down from the mountain, the glory of God

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was there on Moses for everybody to see, and

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it was a scary thing to the people. But what

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does he say of that glory? Fading glory. Now

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this is important. This is the example he's using

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for the point that he's trying to make. He's

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trying to help his audience understand that the

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law had a purpose for a little while, but the

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law's purpose had been fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

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That Jesus Christ has fulfilled all things. Now

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we see similar language to this in the book of

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Hebrews. The audience in the book of Hebrews

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are being tempted to go back to the law. We see

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this repeatedly in Paul's writings. We see it

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here. We see it in Galatians. We see it in Hebrews,

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whoever wrote Hebrews. this pulling away of the

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Israelites who grew up, who knew the law. Probably

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many of them could recite it and knew it very

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well and had lived under it. And then Jesus has

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come onto the scene and has freed us from the

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law, a law that was fading away, a glory that

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was fading away. Jesus has brought about a better

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glory. So Paul says, don't go back to the ministry

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of death. That is the law that's chiseled in

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stone. It had a purpose. It had glory. It was

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good. But now God has given us something better.

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The law was fading away. But he's making a point.

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He's setting up his point here. That God has

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now given us an unfading glory in Jesus Christ.

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And he says in verse 8, how will the ministry

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of the Spirit not be more glorious? This is his

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point. Okay, you know the law. You know that

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it was good. You know the story of Moses. You

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know the glory that the Lord is and that was

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upon Moses when he received the law. And if there

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was glory in that, that law that was fading away,

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how much more glorious is the glory of the Spirit?

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The Holy Spirit that now indwells in us that

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through Jesus Christ we have a relationship with

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God and we experience the glory of God in a different

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way. And that's the point that he's making here.

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He's trying to get them not to focus on the law

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that leads to death, but he's trying to get them

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to focus on Jesus Christ who leads to life. Verse

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9. For if the ministry of condemnation had glory,

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the ministry of righteousness overflows with

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even more glory. Okay? We see the same kind of

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language here. The ministry of death. The ministry

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of condemnation. Okay? These are not glowing

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terms that he's using for the law. Don't live

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by the law, he says. The law is not going to

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save you. The law is going to leave you lost.

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Leave you lost. What about Jesus Christ? Well,

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through the Spirit, he says that there's a ministry

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of righteousness. Okay, so there was a little

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glory, and it was good in the law. But he says,

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I want to tell you there's a greater glory. There's

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righteousness, not condemnation, but righteousness

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that comes through Jesus Christ. And that brings

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with it much more glory than anything that we've

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ever seen before Jesus Christ. Verse 10. In fact,

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what had been glorious is not glorious now by

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comparison because of the glory that surpasses

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it. For if what was fading away was glorious

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what endures will be even more glorious. So what

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he says is you saw a glimpse of light but the

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source of light The glory in its fullness you

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have not experienced if you've not experienced

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Jesus Christ. Is anybody, I know you have, some

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of you probably got them, these little solar

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lights, like you can stick them along your sidewalk,

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and boy, they sit out in the sun all day, they

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got a little solar panel on them, and the sun

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goes down, and they produce some light, a little

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bit of light. But as the night goes on, the little

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battery in them don't last long, and they begin

00:14:28.029 --> 00:14:31.710
to fade out. Now, what little light they produce

00:14:31.710 --> 00:14:35.029
is good. They produce some light. It's a fading

00:14:35.029 --> 00:14:38.169
light. But the real source of their power and

00:14:38.169 --> 00:14:41.259
the real source of their light is the sun. Now,

00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:43.440
if you never saw the sun, you'd probably be glad

00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:45.100
to have one of those little solar lights. It'd

00:14:45.100 --> 00:14:47.159
be very helpful at night. Help kind of guide

00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:50.080
your way a little bit. But once you see the sun

00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:53.259
in its fullness shining in the sky, you can't

00:14:53.259 --> 00:14:55.120
even bear to look at it. It's so bright, you'll

00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:57.100
go blind if you stare at it for long enough.

00:14:57.399 --> 00:15:01.000
Once you've seen the fullness of light, that

00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:03.679
light of the solar lamp pales in comparison.

00:15:04.500 --> 00:15:08.039
And that's what Paul says. You saw the law, and

00:15:08.039 --> 00:15:11.139
it seemed like it was good. It was good. But

00:15:11.139 --> 00:15:13.240
the amount of glory that you saw in the law,

00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:16.159
even that was too much for you. You couldn't

00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:18.700
even bear to look at Moses' face. Even that was

00:15:18.700 --> 00:15:21.340
too much glory. But now he says there's even

00:15:21.340 --> 00:15:24.179
more glory that's been revealed. That Jesus Christ,

00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:26.659
the Son of God, has come and he's died on the

00:15:26.659 --> 00:15:29.539
cross and he's given his life so our sins could

00:15:29.539 --> 00:15:32.759
be forgiven. And that is the glory of God in

00:15:32.759 --> 00:15:36.759
its fullness. So why would you use something

00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:40.019
that pales in comparison? why would you turn

00:15:40.019 --> 00:15:44.980
to the little flickering bulb of the law, the

00:15:44.980 --> 00:15:47.860
little bit of glory that comes with it? Jesus

00:15:47.860 --> 00:15:50.759
Christ has come in the fullness of God's glory.

00:15:52.200 --> 00:15:57.259
Verse 12. Therefore, having such a hope, we use

00:15:57.259 --> 00:16:00.960
great boldness. We are not like Moses, who used

00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:03.759
to put a veil over his face so that the Israelites

00:16:03.759 --> 00:16:06.179
could not stare at the end of what was fading

00:16:06.179 --> 00:16:10.539
away. But their minds were closed. For to this

00:16:10.539 --> 00:16:13.879
day, after the reading of the old covenant, the

00:16:13.879 --> 00:16:18.799
same veil remains. It is not lifted because it

00:16:18.799 --> 00:16:22.980
is set aside only in Christ. Even to this day,

00:16:23.019 --> 00:16:27.379
whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their

00:16:27.379 --> 00:16:30.879
hearts. But whenever a person turns to the Lord,

00:16:31.139 --> 00:16:35.840
the veil is removed. What is he saying here?

00:16:36.409 --> 00:16:39.870
He's saying of the Jews that they still didn't

00:16:39.870 --> 00:16:43.590
get it when he wrote these words. And they still

00:16:43.590 --> 00:16:46.629
don't get it today. Because the Jewish people

00:16:46.629 --> 00:16:50.590
are not followers of Jesus Christ. They are followers

00:16:50.590 --> 00:16:53.269
of Moses. And they will tell you that they are

00:16:53.269 --> 00:16:55.649
followers of Moses. They are followers of the

00:16:55.649 --> 00:16:59.409
law. That's the same problem that Paul was dealing

00:16:59.409 --> 00:17:03.269
with. And 2 ,000 years later, it's still the

00:17:03.269 --> 00:17:09.390
problem. is covering up Jesus Christ. They need

00:17:09.390 --> 00:17:12.369
to remove that veil to see the glory of God,

00:17:12.509 --> 00:17:15.170
but they don't remove that veil. When they hear

00:17:15.170 --> 00:17:17.349
the word of Moses, they still follow the word

00:17:17.349 --> 00:17:20.109
of Moses. They still are trying to grab a hold

00:17:20.109 --> 00:17:23.710
of what little glory that is in the law. But

00:17:23.710 --> 00:17:27.009
there is no more glory in the law because Jesus

00:17:27.009 --> 00:17:32.109
Christ has come. And so long as the Jews, in

00:17:32.109 --> 00:17:35.319
the context, and anybody else for that matter,

00:17:35.420 --> 00:17:38.460
who tries to seek the law and tries to live by

00:17:38.460 --> 00:17:41.839
the law and tries to be redeemed and sanctified

00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:45.940
by the law, they are in trouble because the law

00:17:45.940 --> 00:17:49.839
will never save them. The veil is only pulled

00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:52.980
up. The veil is only set aside through Jesus

00:17:52.980 --> 00:17:56.420
Christ. And that's why when Jesus Christ died

00:17:56.420 --> 00:17:59.299
on the cross, different type of veil here, but

00:17:59.299 --> 00:18:01.500
when Jesus Christ died on the cross, the veil

00:18:01.500 --> 00:18:03.579
that was in the temple, that curtain in the temple

00:18:03.579 --> 00:18:06.500
that separated the temple from the most holy

00:18:06.500 --> 00:18:09.880
place, that's why when Jesus died, that veil

00:18:09.880 --> 00:18:12.940
was torn in two from top to bottom. Why? Because

00:18:12.940 --> 00:18:16.319
the old system was done. The law was done away

00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:18.900
with because Jesus Christ has fulfilled everything

00:18:18.900 --> 00:18:22.519
in the law. The old sacrificial system was done

00:18:22.519 --> 00:18:25.140
away with because Jesus has been the perfect

00:18:25.140 --> 00:18:29.759
sacrifice once and for all. And the blood of

00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:32.859
goats and bulls was not sufficient to cover people's

00:18:32.859 --> 00:18:37.039
sins. And so when Jesus came, it's pretty clear

00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:39.759
through the text that Jesus has done away with

00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:42.680
these things. But yet when Paul is writing and

00:18:42.680 --> 00:18:45.180
the author of Hebrews is writing, it was still

00:18:45.180 --> 00:18:48.220
a struggle for the Jewish people they still wanted

00:18:48.220 --> 00:18:50.740
to go back to the sacrificial system Hebrews

00:18:50.740 --> 00:18:53.920
deals with this in great detail the veil was

00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:56.279
torn when Jesus died they must have sewed it

00:18:56.279 --> 00:18:58.799
back up because they were still living in the

00:18:58.799 --> 00:19:01.400
sacrificial system and they desire to today,

00:19:01.559 --> 00:19:04.640
sadly. The Jews today still long to rebuild the

00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:07.720
temple because they have rejected Jesus Christ.

00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:11.740
They long today to restart the priesthood because

00:19:11.740 --> 00:19:14.500
they have rejected the high priest who is Jesus

00:19:14.500 --> 00:19:17.640
Christ. They long today to restart the sacrificial

00:19:17.640 --> 00:19:20.599
system because they have rejected Jesus Christ,

00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:24.059
the perfect sacrifice. And as such, Paul says,

00:19:24.299 --> 00:19:28.640
a veil remains. They don't see, they don't understand,

00:19:28.700 --> 00:19:33.400
they don't fully grasp the glory of God because

00:19:33.400 --> 00:19:39.059
it only comes through Jesus Christ. And Paul

00:19:39.059 --> 00:19:41.980
is making a good illustration here with the example

00:19:41.980 --> 00:19:45.140
he gives in Moses. He's making a good point here.

00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:50.019
Don't go back to the old ways because the hope

00:19:50.019 --> 00:19:53.420
that we seek, the hope that we need only comes

00:19:53.420 --> 00:19:56.819
through Jesus Christ. And the same is true for

00:19:56.819 --> 00:20:00.299
us today. Now, we may not be people in here seeking

00:20:00.299 --> 00:20:03.519
to rebuild a temple. We may not want to sacrifice

00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:06.960
goats and bulls. We may not have those desires.

00:20:07.160 --> 00:20:10.039
We may not seek to live by every letter of the

00:20:10.039 --> 00:20:13.339
law. But perhaps there are other things in our

00:20:13.339 --> 00:20:16.619
life that sometimes draw us away from Jesus.

00:20:17.339 --> 00:20:19.460
Maybe there are other things in our life that

00:20:19.460 --> 00:20:22.599
we try to find glory in, that we try to find

00:20:22.599 --> 00:20:26.089
deliverance in. But our deliverance will only

00:20:26.089 --> 00:20:29.970
come through Jesus Christ. And once we put our

00:20:29.970 --> 00:20:32.250
faith and trust in Jesus Christ and we begin

00:20:32.250 --> 00:20:35.650
to live for Him, we begin to experience the glory

00:20:35.650 --> 00:20:40.369
of God in a whole new way. We begin to experience

00:20:40.369 --> 00:20:44.130
the glory of God just a little bit. Just a little

00:20:44.130 --> 00:20:48.089
bit. But whatever glory we have seen of God in

00:20:48.089 --> 00:20:51.529
our life pales in comparison to what it will

00:20:51.529 --> 00:20:54.930
be like on the day that we... Stand before God

00:20:54.930 --> 00:20:58.150
on the day that we are in God's presence for

00:20:58.150 --> 00:21:01.569
all of eternity. When we see God in the fullness

00:21:01.569 --> 00:21:05.529
of His glory, we are not even prepared for what

00:21:05.529 --> 00:21:08.710
that will look like. And the only way we see

00:21:08.710 --> 00:21:12.009
that is through Jesus Christ. So let us be those

00:21:12.009 --> 00:21:16.029
today who don't seek our own glory, who don't

00:21:16.029 --> 00:21:18.349
seek glory for ourselves and things of the world,

00:21:18.410 --> 00:21:21.990
but only seek the glory of God. through Jesus

00:21:21.990 --> 00:21:24.930
Christ. Let's pray. God, we thank you for these

00:21:24.930 --> 00:21:27.750
good words, and I pray that you would help us,

00:21:27.789 --> 00:21:30.029
dear Lord, to listen to them, to think about

00:21:30.029 --> 00:21:33.029
them, to, God, that your Holy Spirit would just

00:21:33.029 --> 00:21:36.250
work with them in our lives, dear Lord, that

00:21:36.250 --> 00:21:39.049
we would be those who would seek Jesus Christ,

00:21:39.250 --> 00:21:41.069
that we would seek your glory, dear Lord, that

00:21:41.069 --> 00:21:43.589
we would not seek things of this world that are

00:21:43.589 --> 00:21:46.890
fading away, that we would not seek to be made

00:21:46.890 --> 00:21:49.930
righteous by the law, because it's not going

00:21:49.930 --> 00:21:52.599
to work, dear Lord. We are only made righteous

00:21:52.599 --> 00:21:54.880
through Jesus Christ because he has fulfilled

00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:57.599
the law in all the ways that we have failed.

00:21:57.700 --> 00:22:00.559
So we thank you, dear Lord, for who Jesus is.

00:22:00.680 --> 00:22:03.000
We thank you for sending him. We thank you for

00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:04.940
loving us. We thank you for your grace. We thank

00:22:04.940 --> 00:22:07.599
you for your mercy. And I pray, dear Lord, that

00:22:07.599 --> 00:22:10.279
you would help us to all seek Jesus Christ and

00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:12.980
experience your glory through him. And I ask

00:22:12.980 --> 00:22:15.319
these things in Jesus' name. Amen.