2 Corinthians 4:3-6

“but even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing whose minds the god of this age has blinded who do no believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them”

The glory of God is Jesus

Countenance – Expression of the face

What is God’s expression towards you?

Countenance communicates more than words

The word “face” in the Bible refers to the way God looked at His people, If God faced was to people the was no judgment, however if his face was away from the people it meant that judgment was upon them. Sin causes the face of god to turn away from us.

Isaiah 53:4-6

“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him and by His striped we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

Isaiah 54:7-10

“For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you, Says the Lord, your Redeemer. For this is like the waters of Noah to me; For as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant  of peace be removed, Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.”

Matthew 27:45-46

“Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land, and about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli Eli lama sabachtani, that is My God My God why have You forsaken Me?”

Jesus became sin as in Isaiah 54:7-10, all the anger would be poured out on Jesus, he didn’t only take all our sin, he became sin. God turned His face on His own son so that He can turn His face to you.

What matters is because of what Jesus did was justified and we find favor in God.

“Even when I sin God is still pleased with me”

Romans 6:1-2

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly no! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it!”

2 Corinthians 3:12-18

“Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech – unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old testament, because the vei.l is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when moses is read a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Be we all, with unveil 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.”

(Paul is refering to the Old testament Story in read Exodus 34)

Unveiled Faces…

Because of what Jesus did, we no longer have to cover our face, we no longer have to stand at a distance, we can stand in the presence of God There is no excuse not to know Jesus!

Daily transformation in the life of Jesus is…

Less of me, more of Jesus.

We can have all the cool stuff in KAIO, the live band, the seats, the huge gym, fancy lighting, but with out Jesus, we cannot be transformed, with out Jesus can don’t allow Him to transform us.

“Body of believers, being transformed, and reflecting His glory with our actions, and words, is our purpose to be transformed.”

What do you want to be known for?

What marks are you wanting to leave behind?

KAIO need to be know for this…

 Acts 4:13

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and john, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”

Have you been recognized as being with Jesus?

People should look at your life and see Jesus, it does not matter what talents you have, what you have accomplished. They should see Jesus by the way we act, speak, and live our lives.

“I hate my life when I am not reflecting Jesus” — Shawn Smith

Here is a need for us to be transformed. there is no specific formula to do so. All we can do is open our hearts to Jesus, and ask Him to transform us, to train us, to mold us, into the man and woman of God we are called to be.

“It’s more than a prayer we say, it’s the lifestyle we life after we say the prayers, it’s how our heart line up with God.”

2 Timothy 3:5

“Having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”

It’s more than a religion or religious ritual, it’s about our relationship with Christ. We may not know what to say or how to act, you may not have it all together, but YOU ARE TRANSFORMED.

The relational aspect of sexuality has been lost to many in our culture and replaced by self-indulgence

To help us with intimacy in our relationships we:

• must take the risk of disclosing emotions with others who are noteworthy.
• must be willing to be honest and upfront in communicating
• must listen and be non-judgmental in communication.
• must value and cherish those we love.
• The issue of intimacy is comprehensive to all significant relationships.
• The impact of intimacy is much broader in scope than sexuality.
• Being spiritually and psychologically committed constitutes intimacy.
• Trust and respect are cornerstones of intimacy.
• Accepting one with all of his/her flaws is a quality of intimacy.
• Navigating difficult life events in a relationship is a characteristic of intimacy.

We had another great night at Kaio with our second week of Revolutionaries. We covered the thought of being consistent with our relationship with Christ. (When eyes are on us and when they are off of us) Short follow up here, but the bottom line is: “can we be just as passionate about the cause of Christ when we stand alone?” Col. 3:23 (we work as unto the Lord and not men)

1 John 5:13 (The Message)

This could be considered part 2 of yesterdays post on “Abracadabra”. Not all illusions fascinate me; some are dumb. (just saying) I must also say that I like the one in the picture above. Anyways, in 1 John 5 our author is talking about the power of our faith in Jesus. (vs.4) When I read down to verse 13 in The Message; I was challenged with not only the way I look at the gift Jesus has given, but the way in which I now live out that gift of eternal life. I have to be honest; there are a lot of times that I walk through the day and approach people, creating an illusion. The illusion of a redeemed, conquering, overcoming life! I put on the face instead of realizing the reality of the gift that God has given to me and that it is available to all. Lets face it; everyone will stop and check out an illusion for a moment because it looks cool. People cling to reality though! And the reality is that God gives the gift of forgiveness of sins and eternal life through his Son Jesus. May I walk in that reality everyday so that it gives others Jesus to cling to and not some illusion to simply stare at!

1 John 3:16-17 (The Message)
This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.

Switching gears, many of us have asked the question of “why does God allow evil things to happen?” I have always given the patent answer of – “we are a people who have been given free will and have been born into a sinful nature at the same time.” There for we chose to do good or do evil. (and some chose evil) Now, I must admit that there are questions left in my mind with an answer like that, but after reading 1 John 3:16-17 I have a different question to ask. The question is; why do I allow evil to continue? (Especially if God has given me the means to help in a situation) I don’t know about you, but I want to leave the magic acts to David Blaine and keep the very real love of our God in the open for all to see!

Jeremiah 25:5-7

Do you remember your first attempt at pottery in Jr. High school? I do and it was horrible. I made an orange bowl/jar/ashtray thingy. It sits in my office as I write this, and let me just say that it is something that only my mother would say she is proud of. (I hope that she has repented of that lie) Anyways; that piece of pottery sat on a shelf to be adorned by my mom for many years. I was even proud of my accomplishment. Why? Because I had made something with my own hands. Though very innocent in those Jr. High days it can be very devastating for me today. Things I do today in ministry and family can be appreciated, but should not be worshiped. Jeremiah is warning the people on behalf of God to turn from worshiping idols that they have made with their hands and worship Him. The reality is that I am capable of constructing idols with my own hands. (worshiping the accomplished work) This takes praise from God and is applied to my life. 1 Corinthians 10:31 advises us in this way: “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Worship God in all that you do; not worship what you do or have done.