Take the veil off

However, when we find ourselves in a different setting, and we find ourselves surrounded by those who still live in the world, or who do not share our faith, we tend to act differently. When we find ourselves among those who live in the world, or who don’t share our faith, we tend not to measure our words, and we definitely don’t attempt to let our faith shine. This is one of the main reasons that when I pray for people during the altar call, in almost every occasion I say: "Father strengthen this servant so that Jesus’ image is always reflected in everything that he/she does". Why do I pray this way? I pray this way because the reality is that the double personality syndrome is something that affects almost everyone. Now we must ask: why do we suffer from double personality? And perhaps more importantly, what should we do to eliminate this dangerous syndrome out of our life? These are the two questions that we’ll be exploring today. Let’s now turn to the Word of God.

Exodus 34:29-35 - Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. 30So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them. 32Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them as commandments all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 33And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. 34But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. 35And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.

Like I always say, in order to have a better understanding of the message that God has for us today, we’ll need to conduct a brief history review. The verses we are exploring today are part of the renewed covenant that God made with his people[1]. They are part of the renewed covenant because as you all know, the first time Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive God's covenant, the people rebelled against God, they made a golden calf, offered a holocaust to it and said, “…This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!...[2]” Well, so much for the history review.

Some of you may be asking yourselves, why did he say these things? The reason I have presented these brief details is because the reality is that the people of that time, demonstrated the split personality syndrome. In other words, while Moses was with them, they behaved a certain way, but when they lost sight of Moses for a few days, they behaved completely different. What is the main point that I’m attempting to make with this? The main point is that if this happened to these people, a people who had witnessed God’s mighty signs, then how can it be possible that some people think this can’t happen, or is not happening to them right now? So keeping these few things in mind, let’s now continue with our study for today.

Let’s now examine the first question that we posed today; why do we suffer from double personality? The answer to this question is found well reflected here when we read: “…Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. 30So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him…” Why do I say that this answers our question? I say that it answers our question because here we see that Aaron and the people of Israel: “…were afraid to come near him…” In other words, in a certain way Moses was rejected by all of them. Why did they reject Moses? They rejected Moses because he looked very, but very different. Tell the person sitting next to you: “…the skin of his face shone…” Brethren, the truth of it all is that when we make a genuine commitment to God, we are completely transformed. This is something that is better expressed by the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:17 when we read: “…Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new…” Tell the person sitting next to you, Christ transforms you. But the reality is that even though we are completely transformed by our Lord and the Word of God, if the result is not visible by others, especially by those living in the world and those who don’t share our faith, then the change that occurred in us has no meaning. And that’s why in James 2:17 we find that we are told: “…Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead…” Tell the person sitting next to you: allow your faith to shine.

Something that I found very intriguing in these verses is that: “…that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him…” I find this extremely intriguing and interesting, because I believe that this same thing happens to the vast majority of God’s people today. The vast majority of God’s people haven’t realized that their spirit shines in this world of darkness. It’s as the Lord tells us in Matthew 5:14 when we read: “…You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden…” Tell the person sitting next to you: your spirit shines. But by demonstrating a split personality what we are in fact doing is that we are hiding the light that now shines in us; we are hiding the light of His glory, mercy, and love. We have to realize and be completely convinced of the fact that our spirit shines. Knowing the Word of God and not acting on it, is the biggest mistake we can make. Why do I say this? I say this because knowing the Word of God and not acting on it makes us a rebellious people, and this is something we can’t, nor should we allow it to happen in our life. Brothers’, allowing the Lord to shine brightly at all times is the most important area of our life. Why? The answer is simple; this is the area where God uses us to change others. This all leads us to the second question for today. What should we do to eliminate the split personality syndrome from our life? The answer to this question is found here when we read: “…And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. 34But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. 35And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him…” What should we do to eliminate the split personality syndrome from our life? To eliminate the split personality syndrome from our life we have to take off the veil. Tell the person sitting next to you: take off the veil. Here we see that we are told: “…But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out…” So that you better understand the point that I’m trying to make with all of this, we have to make a brief pause to examine the definition and metaphoric significance of the word “veil”. The simplest definition of the word veil is: “a length of cloth worn by women as a covering for the head and shoulders and often especially in Eastern countries for the face; a concealing curtain or cover of cloth.[3]”

So for all intent and purposes, as defined, we can see that Moses covered his face when he was among the people, but uncovered his face upon entering into God’s presence. I know most of you are intrigued, and probably wondering, why did Moses cover his face when he was among the people? The reality is that although in the verses we are using today, we can clearly see that when people initially saw Moses' face shinning they were afraid to approach him, the exact reason as to why Moses continued covering his face is unknown. A good portion of theologians state that the reason was because the brightness of Moses’ face decreased over time, and this was something that the people did not want to see; and that the brightness increased when he entered into communion with God. This is primarily based on the fact that when Moses went in to speak with God, once we see that upon exiting we are told: “…and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. 35And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him…” There are other theological speculations that state that this was a reflection that the law would be replaced by Jesus Christ, but as I said, all this is pure speculation. The exact reason why Moses covered his face is unknown, in other words we can’t find it in the bible. Now let’s look at the veil metaphorically. What does the veil represent for us? For us the veil is how we behave outside the church doors. The veil is everything we do that partially conceals (veil), or completely covers (curtain) our faith. I have no doubt that everyone here identifies himself/herself as a Christian. I have no doubt that everyone that knows us know that we proclaim to be Christians. But the question that we should ask now is: what do they see when they look at us? Can they see our face (faith) without obstruction, or are they seeing a distorted faith behind a layer of sin? Can they clearly see the glow of love, mercy, and grace of Jesus Christ, or are they seeing hypocrisy, religion, and rebellion? I know that when we come to the Father’s house, that is the church or congregation, we enter completely unveiled. Everyone enters the Father’s house with a heart ready to praise and bless His name. Everyone enters the Father’s house with a heart willing to have fellowship with our God, and our brothers. I also know that we receive, and we are fully blessed by God. I know that we leave with a renewed spirit, strengthened and shinning bright. But the question that I now have to ask is: what veil do you wear outside those doors? This is a question that only you can answer. What should we do to eliminate the split personality syndrome from our life? We have to take off the veil! Tell the person sitting next to you: take off the veil.

In conclusion; why do we suffer from split personality? The main reason why we suffer from double personality is because we fear being rejected. We fear being identified or labeled as closed minded people, fanatical fools, or as the world wants us to look, crazy. We fear the hardship and difficulty that our faith can produce at times. When God’s people initially saw that Moses’ face shone they feared him, and did not approach him, but this was temporary. It was temporary because the radiance of Moses' face was the glow of the spirit of God in his life; brothers and the spirit of God in our life is what overcomes the world. Look at how this is something that it is best expressed by the Lord in John 16:33 when we read: “…These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will[a] have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world…”

What should we do to eliminate split personality syndrome from our life? We have to take off the veil. We must allow God’s glory, love, and mercy to be reflected in all that we are. We must allow God’s glory, mercy and love to be reflected in everything that we do. The veil that separated humanity from God’s presence “…was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split…[4]” Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross tore the veil (curtain) that didn’t allow man to have direct access to God, and He can and will tear the veil that separates you from God's presence. Stop making excuses, stop pretending. The split personality syndrome is not pleasing to God[5], and it definitely does not lead you into His presence.

[1] Exodus 34:1-10 [2] Exodus 32 [3] Merriam Webster Dictionary [4] Matthew 27:50-51 [5] Matthew 6:24; 1 Corinthians 10:21

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