Sermon Central
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Man In The Mirror
Contributed by Rich Mcgahan on Mar 13, 2006 (message contributor)
Summary: Most people look at themselves and see all their faults and this verse tells us to look at the Glory of the Lord in us; and it will change our life!!!!
Man in The Mirror 2 Cor. 3:18
After being away on business, a man thought it would be nice to bring his wife a little gift. “How about some perfume?” he asked the cosmetics clerk.
She showed him a bottle costing $50.00. “That’s a bit much,” he said, so she returned with a smaller bottle for $30.00. “That’s still quite a bit,” he complained. Growing annoyed, the clerk brought out a tiny $15.00 bottle. “You know,” he said, “What I mean is that I’d like to see something really cheap.” The clerk handed him a mirror.
Today I want us to really see who we are in reality. Take a long hard look in the mirror of Gods word and realize “who we are”. Not who we act like, not who others perceive us to be, not what we have been in the past, but “who we are” according to Gods word.
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord.
According to a news report, a certain private school in Victoria recently was faced with a unique problem. A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put an their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror, leaving dozens of little lip prints.
Every night, the maintenance man would remove them and the next day, the girls would put them back. Finally the principal decided that something
had to be done.
She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night.
To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required.
He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.
There are teachers, and then there are educators...
Today I want to educate you. I want you to really get it. I want you to really understand what Gods word says about you and for you to agree with me today that you have been looking at yourself thinking and believing wrong teaching about “who you are”. You have heard it said that we are just sinners saved by grace / while the fact is that I am a sinner saved by grace / I have BEEN saved and no longer am a sinner in my core, my nature, my spirit. Do I have the capacity to sin – yes in my brain or my soulish realm and in my body I have the capacity to sin and more often than I would like to admit my flesh wins. But I do live a more holy life now than ever before and I am renewing my mind to walk in the Spirit and not by the flesh and it is verses like this one that will continue to change me from now till Christ comes or I die.
Lets get to educating:
V 13 Paul is now referring to the veil that Moses over his face as described in Exodus 34:29-35. The veil kept the Israelites from gazing upon the glory of God reflected upon Moses’ face just as the Old Testament law kept them from beholding the fullness of God’s glorious. In contrast to what Moses did, Jesus gave us a full look at the glory of God through showing us perfect love (1 Jn. 4:8).
14: "Blindness" is used metaphorically in the scriptures to portray spiritual insensitivity. The Greek word "poroo" used here is translated "hardened," i.e. a hardened heart-3 times (Mk. 6:52; 8:17; Jn. 12:40) and "blinded," i.e. spiritual blindness-2 times (Rom. 11:7; 2 Cor. 3:14). "Poroo" carries the idea not only of losing the power to perceive and understand, but also the idea of hardening as by a callus. Trying to relate to the Lord on the basis of law blinds us or hardens our hearts to the true revelation of God’s grace.
Just as a physical veil was upon Moses’ face, Paul is saying that a spiritual veil is over Israel’s minds and hearts until this day (Isa. 53:1-3; Rom. 3:1-3; 11:7, 25). This veil blinded Israel to the true meaning of many Old Testament scriptures that spoke of the grace and mercy of the new covenant.
Jesus said to His unbelieving disciples, "These are the words which...must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures" (Lk. 24:44-45). Jesus removed the veil from their understanding.
