FROM GOODNESS TO GLORY

FROM GOODNESS TO GLORY

Rev. Harold Mauldin

Exodus 33: 11, 18-23

11) And the Lord spoke unto Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend.
18) And he said, "Show me thy glory." 19) And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20) And he said, Thou cannot see my face, for there shall no man see me and live. 21) And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shall stand upon a rock. 22) And it shall come to pass, while my glory passes by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by 23) And I will take away my hand and thou shall see my back parts but my face shall not be seen.

God's goodness always leads to his glory. The word goodness means kindness, good purpose or result. Glory means high honor, having great features. God is good to his people. He wants to do good things for us. The Bible even says in Romans 2:4 that the goodness of God leads to repentance. God will show a sinner goodness, kindness and mercy so that he can reveal his glory to them.

The Lord spoke to Moses face to face. God considered Moses a friend. He could trust Moses. He had a relationship with him. Moses had seen the plagues. He had seen the smoke on the mountain where the presence of God was. He had seen the burning bush, the Red Sea part, manna rain down from heaven and water flow from a rock. The goodness of God was all around them.

God's people want more than goodness from God. In fact, God wants to give his people more than goodness. What God really wants to do is reveal his glory. A man after God's own heart wants the glory not just goodness. If God has been good to you, then get ready, the glory is coming!

Moses said to God, "Show me your glory." God said, "I will make my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee and I will be gracious to those I will be gracious and show mercy to those whom I will show mercy."

The Lord went on to tell Moses that he could not see his face. No man can see God and live. Moses was to stand on a rock and when God passed by in his glory then Moses would be in the cleft of the rock. As God passed by, he would put his hand over Moses' eye and remove his hand as he passed by.

Why doesn't God allow Moses to see his glory? The reason is simple. Flesh and blood cannot see or handle the glory. Before any fleshly man can see the glory of God he must first see and know his goodness. Once a man sees how good God has been then God can reveal his glory. A man repents of his sins because he sees that his only hope is in God. God always goes beyond our expectations. He loves showering us with his goodness but what he really wants is to show us the glory. Our walk with God is from goodness to glory.

In Acts 10, we find a man named Cornelius. God had been good to him. He had been good to God. He was:

1) A devout man
2) Feared God
3) Gave to the needy
4) Prayed to God

God wanted to take Cornelius from goodness to glory.

Acts 10: 34-38

1) God is no respector of persons.
2) He shows goodness to those who accept him.
3) Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost and power. He went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. God was with him.
4) The goodness of Jesus died for us on the cross.

Acts 10: 44 While Peter yet spoke these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

Luke 9: 28-36

1) Jesus took Peter, James and John up to a mountain top to pray.
2) As he prayed, his face shined and his raiment was white.
3) Moses and Elijah appreared ...they spoke of his death.
4) The three disciples saw the glory of Jesus and Moses and Elijah.
5) Peter said, "It is good for us to be here."
6) Moses and Elijah left ...Jesus was left alone.

Why did Moses and Elijah want to talk about the death of Jesus? The glory of the cross is the salvation of all mankind. Moses saw the glory he desired to see. From goodness to glory.