18. What is the Glory of God?
It is the incredible God who loves us, revealing by experience and encounter, the awesome goodness of who He is.
Our response to this is like that of a bride who, when she knows that her groom loves her with an incredibly pure love in which she is totally safe.....she then realises that she can surrender totally to this person...because all He desires is what is best for her.
This is what Jesus came to let us know about our Father
John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. NKJV
John 1:18
18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. NKJV
John 17:3
3 And this is eternal life , that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. NKJV
We would have to admit that most Christians are not actively walking in the blessing of this great promise. Much of this comes from misconceptions about what God is really like and not understanding how much he wants us to know His heart. We need to look at a few aspects of how God describes Himself and let the Spirit of God draw us into a closer and more intimate ‘knowing’ relationship with our Father
21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. 22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people. NKJV
9 And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. 10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. 11 So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. NKJV
Ex 33:13-16
13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people."
14 And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
15 Then he said to Him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? NKJV
Spending time in the presence of God is what brings us to knowing Him. It is not head knowledge but a heart relationship...born out of encounters!
Moses then asks
Ex 33:18-19
18 And he said, "Please, show me Your glory."
Look at what God responds with
19 Then He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." NKJV
Ex 33:22
22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by
Ex 34:6-7
6 He passed in front of Moses and said, "I am the LORD, I am the LORD, the merciful and gracious God. I am slow to anger and rich in unfailing love and faithfulness. 7 I show this unfailing love to many thousands by forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. Even so I do not leave sin unpunished, NLT and NIV
Each of the above aspects reveals Gods heart to enable us to come to know of Him and to have a deeper relationship with Him
The goodness and the heart of God, the core of His nature is HIS GLORY…it is His incredible beauty
(I was worshipping God one day and said to Him...."Your glory has 7 loving characteristics and only your justice seems harsh'
I heard a response almost immediately....."My justice IS the greatest manifestation of my LOVE"
Brethren ...When we look at what it cost Him, how could we not see this! Rom 3:23-26)
In the New Testament the veil is torn!
Matt 27:50-51
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.
51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; NKJV
We can now boldly enter the Holiest because Jesus blood has made us clean
Heb 10:19-22
Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. NKJV
Why then are many christians not experiencing the intimate relationship which Jesus died for us to have?
2 Cor 3:14-15
For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. 15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. NKJV
When the LAW is preached to God's people, they stay back ...out of FEAR and GUILT ....instead of 'boldly entering'
2 Cor 3:16-17
16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. NKJV
We no longer need a priest to hear from God for us....that is Old Covenant
John 10:27-28
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. NKJV
The 'pastor' does not hear for us....and relay the message....that is Old Covenant
After my encounter with God on the road....after not having heard HIS audible voice for almost 30 years (because I sat in churches accepting the 'leadership' of others)... I now experience direct access.
In my prayer times ....and as I worshipped .. I found myself often weeping in his presence. I said to God 'How can I speak to people about your love for them if I am always weeping'.....He spoke a scripture and I knew immediately what He meant.
"You shall love the Lord with all your heart"....I knew then that GOD had got past my mind to my heart!
When I was considering doing a ministerial course, God spoke a word and gave me a picture one morning which is a key….
“Mary sat at Jesus feet”…I saw a picture of a woman sitting at Jesus feet. You do not get to KNOW God by going to a seminary
John 5:39-40
39 You search the Scriptures , for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. NKJV
Luke 10:39
39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.
2 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."
Mary got the good part because she made the choice….and as she sat there she:-
- was in His presence (Martha was in the kitchen)
- was very close to Him….at His feet
- saw into His eyes (from there we look up)
- saw the heart of God (Mat 6.22)
- as she heard His word
David saw this and his close relationship with God is clear in the Psalms..
Ps 1:2
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night. NKJV
Ps 42:1-2
As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. NKJV
The final and greatest revelation of the heart of God came in the life and teaching of Jesus…..God is our Father
Matt 6:9
9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name. NKJV
Rom 8:14-17
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs — heirs of God NKJV
This aspect is a book in itself which I can only touch on.......
At the Grace and Glory conference at Jubilee International Church in 2009 I experienced the difference between studying about God....and knowing Him as my Father.
Isi de Gersigny spoke about how to experience trances ....in worship times with God. The key she gave was gaze into the eyes of God....and not to turn away. As I gazed I experienced the hands of my Father holding my head and HE was gazing into my eyes. I was suddenly like a child who had been looking left and right...but then made eye contact.
I immediately had a picture of myself holding my daughter when she was first born. I too had to hold her head to get her to look at me....and I knew what I had been saying to her ...promises of my love and my commitment to cherish and protect her.
God then spoke and said 'If you being evil promised that to your child, how much more am I promising good things to you'
Now imagine how I respond when someone tries to tell me that I should 'fear' my Father God?
Have you experienced the Fathers love for you?
BUT how do we “experience" the manifestation of His glory in the church?
I believe that when we as Christians get together to worship God (rather than to sing songs about how good we are for what we do) ….for how GOOD He is and for what He has done for us in Christ Jesus….and as we linger in His presence ....then as we come to a place where we surrender to His incredible LOVE for us….It is here that God manifests and demonstrates His love with His tangible presence. It is here that we experience His Glory….the love He has for us….the healing and wholeness He desires for us.
The bible is not a manual on how to do things....but Jesus words are 'spirit and they are life'.....the following scriptures are a trail
1 John 4:10
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. NKJV
Matt 18:20
20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." NKJV
John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. NKJV
Eph 3:16-19
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height — 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. NKJV
Heb 11:5-6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. NKJV
2 Cor 3:18
18 But we all, with unveiled face (ie not seeing God through the Law but through grace), 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. NKJV
2 Cor 4:6
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. NKJV
It is in this environment where the presence of God is most manifest among His children...and where miracles happen effortlessly!
Matt 18:18-19
18 "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. NKJV