Proximity That Makes me Pretty | Exodus 34:29

I want to solicit your prayers this morning. I have a very pastoral sermon this morning. It may be kind of, uh, instructional, but hopefully even through the instruction we can be inspired. And I pray that you are interested in hearing this morning what it is that God has to say to us. With that being said, there is an exegetical invitation I want to extend to you. I pray that you accept. You've been invited fellowship with me this morning, the book of Exodus, the book of Exodus chapter number 34.

Exodus chapter number 34.

In this obscure passage, I'mma do my best.

Exodus chapter 34, we want to begin reading down at verse number 29. The word of God reads, as Moses descended from Sinai with the two tablets of testimony in his hands, as he descended the mountain, he did not realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the Lord.

You may be seated.

After Moses and God had a meeting on Sinai, Moses came down with the two tablets. Moses, without even knowing it, because he had been talking to God, his face shone.

With God's glory.

For just a few moments this morning, I want to lift up the thought from the subject Proximity That Makes Me Pretty. Proximity That Makes Me Pretty. 2017, our former president by the name of Barack Hussein Obama exercise one of the presidential rights. It is the right and privilege— stay with me now— of every president to be able to bestow the highest civilian honor upon the citizen called the Presidential Medal of Honor. At this particular farewell address, he called up a man who had gone through such tragedy in his life. He lost his wife in 1972. He ascended to the ranks through Congress and different political offices. He lost his son, cancer, and he finds himself at this particular time as the Vice President of the United States. That same man later became the President of the United States. At this moment, when everyone thought that Obama was just going to give his valedictory remarks and just say farewell, he surprised Biden by giving him the highest civilian award in the country.

He placed the banner, the ribbon, the medal on Biden because Biden's life is a testimony of perseverance. I told you that Biden, though at that moment he was vice president and though later he became president, he did not start receiving the Presidential Medal of Honor.

But his story included tragedy. But since he persevered after rough points in his story, the highest man in office put his glory on him, which suggests that Biden received glory because he persevered after rough patches in his story.

Also, I don't know if you caught this, When the president chooses to bestow the Presidential Medal of Honor upon someone, he doesn't need anyone else's approval. But since he is in authority, he can bestow this glory upon anyone he chooses. Just because he can.

Child of God, speak with me this morning.

In Exodus chapter 34, Moses, this great liberator, had ascended to Mount Sinai. And you want to know today, why did he go to Sinai again? Well, after he went to Sinai the first time, God gave him the Ten Commandments, and he wrote the Ten Commandments on the stone. Moses came, gave the instruction to the people. However, after Moses went to another meeting with God, the children of Israel went crazy. They, they built a golden calf and said, since it's taking God too long, let's have us a god that we can see. Moses comes back down, sees what Aaron and the children of Israel have done, and Moses is hot. Moses is so mad that he throws those tablets and it burns everything up in the camp. Moses is mad because there is a big blemish in the story of the children of Israel. But here is the grace in the text: even though there was this moment in the story, Moses didn't let the story stop there.

He went back to Sinai.

God says, I'm not gonna go with y'all, but I'm gonna send an angel. Moses said, it ain't good enough, God. We can't go unless you go with us. And then Moses gets bold enough and says, God, will you show me your glory?

God tells him, Moses, I love you now, but no man can see my face and live. I tell you what I would do. I'll put you in the cleft of a rock and I'll pass by. And God did that for Moses.

And after that, again, God gave the instruction that he had for the children of Israel. Y'all missed the word I said. I said the word again. After Moses got mad and through what God did the first time, Moses went again to the same God. And I'm thankful to God that we serve a God who don't mind chewing his cabbage twice, that we serve a God who will repeat himself when we don't get it the first time. And here is when the story gets Moses stays up there for 40 days and 40 nights. Moses comes back down, but this time Moses come back down different.

Moses got something on his face that when he went up one way, he came down another way.

And what I came to tell you this morning is that the glory that was shown upon Moses is because even after this dark spot in the story, God still showed his glory. And child of God, that message is for you because there have been some rough patches in your story. But I want to challenge you today: don't you let that rough spot stop you from talking to God again.

And I want to let somebody know today that you are ready to give up on God. You're ready to give up on yourself.

You believe that God has forgotten about you, but God says, I triple dog dare you on this 10th day of August in 2025, try me again. Come fellowship with me again. Come pray again. Come worship again and watch how you leave this time. Is there anybody in the house who know that just one visitation with God can make the difference in your life? I know there are plenty of rough patches in your story. I know there's sickness, I know there's pain, I know there's sin, I know there's suffering, but God is still there. And God says, come to me, all ye who are weary and and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Come in my presence.

Don't stop praying.

Don't stop seeking. Don't stop worshiping. Don't stop showing up. And watch how I give the glory of myself up in your life.

Y'all curious? Y'all curious?

Gavin, what did you come to preach today?

Here's what I came to preach.

This visitation came from the worst moment in the children of Israel's life up until this point.

They violated one of the major commands, but after that major commandment, which was the worst point in their life, Moses went up asked for God's glory, and God let his glory shine on Moses.

The glory would have never shined if Moses would have never returned to God after the worst moment. So y'all know what that teaches me this morning? That the worst point in your story could be the starting point for the greatest glory. I'ma preach it by myself this morning because I feel good.

The worst point in your story is not the end, but it could be the starting point of the greatest glory.

I want to survey the room.

Is there anybody who still believes that there can be glory after this? After the tears, there can be glory. After the surgery, there can be glory. After the diagnosis, there can be glory. After the funeral, there can be glory. After the heartbreak, there can be glory. And somebody needs to make up in their mind that I feel like going back to God. I feel like spending more time with him today than I felt like doing yesterday, because I ain't gave up on God, and I know God ain't gave up on me. So So I'm gonna keep on seeking him and let fellowship with him and just see what he does in my life.

Do y'all get the point?

If y'all got the point, there are some hermeneutical highlights I want to show with you. And once I show these hermeneutical highlights, I got a decision to make whether I'm gonna hit 167 North or South. Y'all stay tuned.

This text teaches to us that the glory of God can be displayed to you or on you if you treat your relationship with God—

here it is—

extra transactional.

Post-transactional.

Here it is, here it is.

What do you mean by that, Ham? Moses went to Sinai, and in chapter 33, I think around verse 18, I told you that Moses asked the question, God, will you show me your glory? Shortly after that, God honored Moses's request. After that, God gave the Ten Commandments again and established the covenant and wrote it again and gave it to Moses. But I dare you to go read verse 28, because it tells you that Moses stayed on Sinai talking to God 40 days and 40 nights. I want to convince you, I've never carved in stone, but I know that if God wrote it, it didn't take God 40 days.

40 nights to write nothing?

Are y'all gonna argue with me this morning? God had already honored Moses' request by showing him his glory.

Moses, what you and God doing up there for the extra 40 days and 40 nights? I want to suggest that true transformation can come in your life when you stick with God beyond the transaction.

Because something happened up there where Moses said, God, you done already did with the action. You done already gave me what you had for me to give. Well, let me just stay up here with you for a little while longer. And child of God, can I challenge you today? This is going to be one of those moments where y'all gonna think I'm throwing off, so fair warning to you now, okay? I promise you I'm not.

I'm applying the text. Don't think that your transactional worship is going to transform your life.

What do I mean by transaction?

Here it is.

We think that we should—

okay, I read my Bible, check. I said my prayers, check.

I came to church today, check. I ain't get there at 10:40 like the pastor asked, but I got there early and I prayed, and we sung Thank You Lord before we prayed. So now God—

check.

We gonna have a large supper today—

check.

We're gonna have Bible study Wednesday—

check. We had revival, we ain't been revived— check. But what will happen if we stay with God after we check our boxes?

Challenging spirit today, Gabby, because checking the box and having transactions is not going to really change you. But Moses teaches us that true transformation only comes when we fellowship with God beyond checking our boxes. After you read your verse for the day, are you gonna meditate on the word? After you do your daily devotional plan, are you just gonna let that word sit in you?

Are you going to go apply it throughout that day when you have hell throughout that day?

You know something that's never—

and please pardon my expression, it's just the best word I can think of right now. You know something that's never irritated me until I read this passage? I ain't telling you to stop saying, all right, I ain't telling you stop saying, but I'm just saying it irritated me when I was studying for this, okay? It's my testimony. We sound so cute when we say— we even got t-shirts and bracelets now.

If you got one, don't get mad at it. Push! Pray until something happens. That's some of the worst advice anybody could give.

Please ask me why.

Because we need to pray even after it happens. Can I prove it in the text?

After God showed Moses his glory And after God gave Moses the Commandments, Moses didn't just say, all right God, let me leave now.

But Moses said, no, I know you done done what I asked, but let me stay with you for a little while longer, because if I leave too early, I'm gonna mess up again. But if I stay in your presence and don't treat you like a drive-through but treat you like a divine power, I can stay with you and see what more you got in store for me.

You better not pray until something happens. You better let something happen to keep on praying, because if you pray until something happens, something gonna happen with what happened. Can I tell you why it's so important? I know people in here who— I know, I ain't saying y'all can't, I know we all can. Well, there's some people here I— that I've served as co-workers with who I know can attest this. This is why it's important to fellowship with God, because after you do your morning devotional, if you just check that box and leave God, by the time 8 o'clock hit, some mess gonna get on you.

And God's saying today, if you stay with me throughout it, I won't let that mess get on you. And if it does try to get on you, I will let the glory that's in me outshine that mess.

Some of us need— I know you want to talk to your friend, they got some mess to tell you, but after you put that phone down, say, God, I gotta get this mess out of me, I gotta get this gossip out of me, because there is no eternal life in this mess I just had. I know I like the gossip, I know I like the story. I say, ooh child, that's a good story. But after that, hang up that phone, say, God, I need to find with you, I need to fellowship with you, because if I'm not careful, some mess will get on me.

I want to encourage somebody today, have extra transactional time with God.

And watch how your life transforms.

All I'm trying to tell you, just do a little bit more, spend a little bit more time.

Starting here today, that's good, but this ain't all God has for you. You gotta go beyond checking your box of reading the scripture, and you got to go beyond asking God for stuff. Sometimes just sit still and just talk to God and let God talk to you, and you will be surprised how God just changed it right there.

Can I, can I show it to you? Can I show it to you?

If you know me, if you know me, anybody who knows me well know I have one hobby that's very therapeutic.

And if I don't do it every morning, I feel so lazy, drowsy, and I feel like I'm just blocked.

I gotta get to some kind of gym every morning, and I think it's maybe superstitious But I, I feel like I can't preach worth nothing if I don't have me a pre-sermon workout. So I'm trying to tell you that before I got here today, I went and hit a little iron this morning. That's why I'm standing with my chest out, because I didn't pump some iron before I got here this morning. But here is what teaches me this morning.

After you work out. You have to be careful about what you feed your body after you work out, because after you work out, that's when real muscle growth happens. Stay with me now. You think Transformation happens in the training.

That's why everybody want to get in the gym and take pictures.

It's transformation season because you've been training. But really, scientifically, your muscles tear down while you're training.

But when you leave the gym and you feed your muscles the right thing those muscles that were torn down can grow back bigger. Who am I talking to here today? When you get through lifting weights in here, don't just go home and eat junk food. Don't go home and just eat some mess, but keep on feeding them muscles and watch how you grow wiser. Watch how you have more anointing. Watch how you really get a breakthrough, because the transaction just does one thing But transformation happens after this.

All I try to tell you is our fellowship has to be extra transaction.

But before I make my decision about what I'm going north or south, I got one more thing to show you.

The glory of God is always— here it is— exhibited tactically.

There's a mind your business tactic to how he exhibits his glory.

Notice this, I read it in the verse, verse 29, when Moses came down the mountain His face shine.

But guess what?

Moses didn't know it.

This is going to offend a high-heart spirit in the house. God, give me your glory.

Give me your glory, God. What do you want? God's glory.

Can I argue with you this morning about why perhaps God's glory was upon Moses and Moses didn't know it?

Read the next verse.

Because even though Moses didn't know it, the people did. And it was the people who defied God. So our glory is not for my bragging rights, but the glory in God upon my life is for other people to look and see what presence with God will do.

That's why God does not disassociate us from people who've offended us.

Anybody wish some people you don't have to talk to no more? Y'all got beef with somebody right now, and you doing everything to avoid them right now. You're plotting and scheming how you are going to avoid looking at them right now because they done made you mad.

But God says, that's not what my glory is for.

What I want to do in your life is to bless you so much that those same people can see what my hand will do.

He will prepare a table before you in the presence of your enemy. So I don't have to run from my enemy, I can run to my enemy and eat in their face.

Because the glory ain't for me, it's for somebody else. Here it is. Text says that Moses' face radiating, which literally means he had beams shining from his his face.

Here it is.

I came for a churchy spirit here today who trying to figure out what more I need to do to get the glory. Here it is. And somebody, you done, you done planned all these stuff, all these things and rituals that you got to do, but Moses gave, gives us a secret in verse 29.

His face was shining from him just talking to God. Moses didn't schedule no more meetings.

He didn't try to go and post on Facebook how he been giving to the poor and how he the one who preached to somebody and they got saved and everybody liked and say stay encouraged.

Moses ain't do that.

To get the glory. All Moses did was talk to the God who says that if you just talk to me, I will do something to exhibit your countenance in your life. Can I encourage somebody today who thinks they are not enough? I tell you this all the time: you may not be enough But you serve a God who can give you more than enough. Is there a living witness in the house who knows that you are a living testimony?

You ain't got the highest credit score, but all you did was just fellowship with God, and God did exceeding abundantly above all you can ask or think. And even though you still look at yourself the same, God said, I put something on you where you can't be stuck in how you see yourself.

You know the good news in this, man? You don't always have to change the way you see yourself to be viewed in a different way. Say it again, Gab.

Say it again.

How many of you today God has used, and you know the truth about yourself. And I think that God is strategic in that way, because if Moses would have looked in that mirror first, Moses probably would have stayed up there with Sinai and said, God, put some more pretty on me.

But God said, I'm not even gonna tell you what you're doing. But just go and let the light that I put on you just keep on shining. And while you're waiting for more confidence, while you're waiting for more boldness, God says, I'm waiting on you to just go and let the world see what I've done in your life.

Here it is, here it is, here it is. It's the children of Israel and their actions that drove Moses up to Mount Sinai.

God let the glory shine on Moses after he stayed with him, and, and he sent them back to the children of Israel to show them that what they did didn't hinder Moses. Y'all missed that, or either I ain't explaining well. The same people that sent Moses up there is the same people that God let his glory be shown and let them see it.

That explains why God ain't put you in a new location yet, because God perhaps wants them to see that my power can supersede any attack that you have in my life.

And you ain't even got to be aware of it, just walk in it. And I want somebody today that when you leave here, make up in your mind, even though I don't know it, I believe that if I have time with God, I'm gonna go to that job and show up anyway.

I'm gonna give an honest day's work, and even if they don't say nothing, they They gonna have to recognize I got the presence of God on my life.

Can I help you today erase your post that you're about to post to throw a subliminal shot at somebody else? Can I help you erase it? Can I help you erase that text message that you got in your drafts right now about to give somebody a quote-unquote piece of your mind? Because you gonna let them know that you ain't the one. And you don't know who they thought they was talking to, but you gonna—

they gonna find out today who they talking to.

Can I help you erase that mess?

When Moses went down the mountain, he didn't know, but his brother Aaron and those who had built the golden calf, they moved away from it. What you saying, Gavin? When God's glory shows up in your life, you ain't gotta move.

They'll start moving different.

And the reason that you're not in the same circles that you used to be And the reason they talking behind your back and not talking to you is perhaps maybe they see some glory in their life that perhaps you don't even know what it is, but God already moved them out the way. So let them move different, let them act funny, let them act strange, and just keep on letting the glory of God shine in your life.

I got one more blessing for you, one more blessing. Here's, here's what shocks me. The text says after this, after this moment, since that Paul says that this was a fading glory, and this explains it. After this moment, uh, uh, the, the glory will start fading, the visible glory starts fading.

And so Moses then would put a veil over his face.

I misinterpreted that at first, so I had to keep on studying.

I thought that the veil was so that the glory of God couldn't hurt the other people. That's what I thought.

That's what I thought.

That's what I thought. But I argued with myself and said, Moses, it ain't hurt you, so how come it's gonna hurt the people?

Stay with me now.

Paul, in his systematic theology, says that that was a fading glory because this is first covenant, and so therefore it was pre-Christ. That even though it was a glory on him, since Moses wasn't perfect, the glory was subject to fade because Moses was born in sin. Therefore, even though the glory was on him, the glory was subject to fade. And so Moses put the veil over.

That way the people couldn't see when the glory would fade. And every now and then, Moses would only remove that veil when he would go into the tent and talk to God.

And Moses would leave that tent with the veil off and tell the people what God said But once that, that glory starts fading again, Moses put the veil on. Can I retract that?

Because y'all ain't got it yet. Moses spent time with God repeatedly. Every time he talked to God, the glory was on his face.

Moses would then go talk to the people, and after he would tell the people what God says, the glory will start to fade.

But before the glory—

heh, Lord— would start to fade, God allowed Moses to be covered. And the reason today that people don't know your dirt is because God allowed the veil to be put over your face. That way everybody don't know how junky and trashy you really are, and people can't see you when your glory fades. I'm not gonna make you raise your hand, but let anybody who's thankful that God gave you a veil And in those moments when your glory fade, people don't really see it.

I close, I close. So in other words, here it is, here it is, here it is, here it is.

Belton and I worked hard on this all week, man, and I hope that if nobody else like it, you will like it, my man.

Here it is. The people caused Moses pain and sent him to Sinai to God.

And when Moses came back, the people didn't see the pain, they saw the glory.

Hand up, hand up, hand up.

Thank God that you don't look like what you've been through because of who you've been to.

Why y'all don't like that?

Thank God that you don't look like what you've been through because of who you've been to.

And all Moses did was just go to the presence of God. I'mma leave y'all now.

Close your ears on this right here.

Don't hear this part.

But the year is around 2005. Me and my best friend We used to have this hobby. We didn't have no money.

We had—

we, we had no money, but we had a hobby. We would try to go down to either— we, you know, in Winfield, we went to Alexandria Mall because that was close. And so me and my best friend— I ain't gonna call his name— we would go down to the mall, and our plan was to go look at some girls. We ain't going to shop, so we ain't got no money.

We're in high school.

One day, me and my best friend, we go down to the mall and we about to hit the food court up. So that's where they be at, at the food court. You said, Unit, that's what they call me, they call me G-Unit, they call me Unit. Say, Unit, you ready to go to the food court? And you know, that's what I came for. Let's go.

He says, all right, let me stop by Dillard's.

I said, all right, go do your thing. I know you ain't got no money, so you ain't gonna be in there long.

My best friend comes out smelling like YSL.

I say, man, where you get all this money from?

For some YSL.

I know you ain't got no money unless you've been hiding some from me.

If you got some YSL, give me some too.

He said, you're not—

I've been holding something back on you.

Every now and then, before we go talk to the girls, I go and deal it.

And ask the woman to spray me with the tester. That way when I go out there, I smell good. Can I tell y'all why that shouts me? My homeboy smell like something that he didn't pay for. Can I tell somebody today, just go in there with him. And you'll come out smelling like something that you didn't pay for. And I'll tell you who paid for it. One Friday on the hill called Calvary, my Jesus paid it all. And now I just go in his presence, and when you see me, I smell like I've been with If you go to the right source, you'll smell like something that you didn't pay for.

He didn't spray it, the woman sprayed it for him, but when he came out, I thought it was his.

We all for Jesus today. I want to tell these young fellas back there, y'all try that sometime.

You ain't gotta have it, but you can show smell like it.

In our truest form, we ain't nothing, but God will make you pretty. He'll make you look like more than what you've been through because of who you've been to. Come to him right now. Baptism, let a Christian experience. And the glory that he shows in your life, sometimes you're not even gonna know it, but just go like he called you to go, and the right people will believe in the God in you. And you can say, God, I know I don't deserve this. I know I don't deserve this, God.

But I sure thank you for it.

Anybody a living witness this morning? Let's give God praise for his word today.