Calvary Full Gospel A.G. (Mirror, Mirror...)
Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall…..
(For Calvary Full Gospel Assembly of God)
Pastor Paul Russo
97 Country Road, Yaphank, NY 11980
Contact Info: 631 618-5118
Sunday, 11/25/06 10:30am service
2 Corinthians 3:18- 4:6
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
As you got ready for church this morning, how many times did you look into the mirror? Or it may be easier to answer, how long did you spend in the mirror? And if I wanted to make it even more interesting and divide this question among gender…
As you looked into the mirror, what did you see? What did you want to see? There is no doubt that for a Sunday morning, most of us want to look our very best, but I’ve gotten to the place in life where I realize that for some life has gotten to the point to where what you feel permeates through your very clothing. And it doesn’t even matter how much you accessorize, how much make up you put on, or even how many people tell you how lovely you look, your countenance reflects what you feel deep down on the inside. It’s in the way you walk, it’s in the way you talk, and everything you do now has a hint of sarcasm. Dreams have turned into disappointment, disappointment into disillusionment, disillusionment into bitterness, and bitterness into anger. So if you’d allow me to this morning Calvary, let me ask the question a different way, a way that goes straight to the heart. When you looked into the mirror, how did you feel? If what you see and what you want to see are dramatically different, and you are reminded of it every time you look in that bedroom or bathroom mirror, and you want to resolve this issue, you have two choices.
1) You can either take down every mirror in your house and never look into another mirror again (and I don’t suggest that), or
2) You can look into a different type of mirror
But let me warn you, in this type of mirror, you can’t use Covergirl or Mabeline to hide blemishes. Avon or Mary Kay products won’t do you any good. You see because this mirror does not lie (Some mirrors lie…) .
In this type of mirror, it isn’t your reflection that is important, but rather the image of another. The mirrors in our bedrooms and bathrooms give a reflection, the mirror in 2 Cor. 3:18 gives an image. What’s the difference? A reflection is what you see, it is surface, an image is who you become, it is ongoing, just as long as you are still breathing, there is an image to be developed. In our mirrors, the reflection is you and I, in the mirror of the Word, the image is of one who is much more glorious than you and I and He able to reconcile the difference between what we see and how we feel, why, because he transforms us into His own image. Furthermore, our natural mirrors give the kind of reflection that the world promotes. One that says mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all. One that says that I have to look better than you, or we can’t have on the same dress at a function. Or that you have to be a certain size in order to like yourself. The world promotes glamour, the Lord promotes glory. So what’s it gonna be, a reflection of glamour or an image of glory?
Glamour is about you, glory is in spite of you
Glamour works on the outside, glory works from the inside out
Glamour fades away with the passing of time, glory increases with the passing of time
I don’t know about you, but I’m working on an image of glory. As I look at this text, I see one major thing that will ensure that I can be transformed into the image that I’m beholding in this type of mirror… (Give Him some time)
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord…
In order to fully understand Paul’s point in v.18, we need to go back to verse 7…
…so let me ask you a question, when was the last time you spent as much time preparing your spiritual man as you did your natural man. When was the last time you worked on glory as well as glamour? Or let’s say if we even put half of the time that we use on our physical man on the spiritual man, I wonder where would we be?
In the presence of God, there is fullness of joy, and at His right hand, there are pleasures forevermore.
If you are willing to spend time in His presence, if you are willing to spend time in His word, He is able to change your mourning into laughter, He’s able to change your sorrow into joy, He’s able to change bitter into better, He can change a reject into the object of your affection, He can change your husband, he can save your children, He can change your wife, He can change glamour into glory if you’re honest before Him. (Give illustration about using mirror in the Bronx to blind people with the sun) So that’s where we want to be, we want to get to the point where when they look at us there is such a brightness of His reflection, that they don’t see us, they see the Jesus that is in us. That is the point of transformation, when they can see the Son of God in all that you do, when they see it in your attitude, when they see it in your walk, when they hear it in your talk, when they see it in your driving…….
When that kind of transformation take place, you can walk up to any mirror in your house and exclaim…
“ “ loveliest Help me to reflect your love
“ “ most majestic Help me to reflect your majesty
“ “ greatest Help me to reflect your greatness
“ “ most gracious Help me to reflect your grace
“ “ wealthiest Help me to reflect the riches of your
“ “ most glamorous Help me to reflect your glory
“ “ fairest of them all Oh Lord, you’re the fairest of….Help me to reflect the beauty of Holiness
are being transformed into the same image
The Meaning –
(metamorphoo) to change into another form, to transform, to transfigure
So then, change begins with having no reputation of our own, it is a willingness not to hide anything. As soon as I realize that it’s not me but it’s Him that I want to promote, its His glory that I want to reflect, it leads not only to transformation, but transformation that goes from one level to the next.
Even when you don’t feel adequate, if we have a spirit of faith (4:11-13), we can have a change that is evident to all.
And so I, this morning, have the same spirit of faith, and I speak to you mother………
I speak to you Mr. ………..
I speak to you young person………..
Don’t ever despair of life again; we are living in the most opportunistic time in the Kingdom of God because God wants to prove Himself to a decaying society, and the only way He chooses to do that is through you and me.