O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever ~ Deuteronomy 5:29!
Preamble:
Our God is truly glorious in majesty, and Hisend-time Church is designed and crafted for His glory. Prophet Haggai spoke so enthusiastically about this when he said, “the glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former ….” (Haggai 2:9). From glory to glory: that’s God’s primordial passion forHis new creation entities upon the earth.
We are God’s house of glory, and we’re outfitted to glow with His overwhelming glory(Isaiah 43:6-7; 60:7). Meanwhile, it’s very essential that we understand what it actually entails to access and to enjoy this divine glory.
The glory of God is not just a feeling, or a mereexperience. It’s a spiritual expression of everything contained in His character, manifest beauty and incredible goodness. More than just a presence, God’s glory also depicts Hisultimate power that resurrects, delivers, overcomes and transforms lives and destinies(Exodus 24:17; Habakkuk 3:4).
Happily, the days of the fullness of this glory and its fulfillment are here with us (Isaiah2:1-3). The glory is majestic, illuminating, progressive, expressive, declarative, attractive and magnetic, and it all belongs to us (Isaiah 60:1-3)!
Undoubtedly, you were created for God’s glory, not for shame, failure, humiliation or backwardness. Moreover, this glory is no respecter of persons. In every nation, tribe, color, gender, generation, age or background, anyone that fears God and accesses the glory through faith in Christ is admitted by it.
When the glory of God shows up in your life, all your needs are supernaturally supplied according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). “Aluta” surrenders, all your past failures become a story, and you begin to experience an incredibly higher dimension of divine assistance, supernatural protection and ever increasing blessings from the Lord (Isaiah 4:5).
Some people feel that the glory of God is absolutely inaccessible, untouchable andunreachable. Don’t forget that it’s freely available to His children every time and everywhere. In fact, that glory resides inside every child of God right now (Colossians 1:27).
Moses sought to see this glory (Exodus 33:17-23). Thereafter, he received the gracious touch of God’s mercy, which repositioned him from “miry clay” experiences to a solid-rock. The everlasting Arm covered him, and he began to enjoy the immensity of God’s goodness. With this glory, you’re ever going forward in life(Proverbs 4:18).
We must at this point examine what it takes to access the Lord’s glory and continually enjoy its overwhelming goodness.
Accessing and Experiencing the Lord’s Glory
Prophet Isaiah counseled that any believer who would enter the pavilion of the Lord’s glorymust, of a necessity, “arise” (Isaiah 60:1). To arise means, to "get up” and “come on thescene”. We must arise and do whatever will reposition us to see the Lord’s glory.
The fundamental step in this process is to ensure a genuine encounter with JesusChrist. God is the glory of His people (Psalms 3:3; Zechariah 2:5). Notwithstanding, Jesus Christ is the brightness and the manifestation of that glory (Hebrews 1:2-3; John 2:11). The divine gloryis most fully displayed in His face(2Corinthians 4:6).
God said to Moses, “stand upon the Rock” and you will experience the glory. Jesus Christ is that Rock today (1Corinthians 10:4). Therefore, turning to Him for salvation and maintaining our stand with Him work the miracle (2Corinthians 3:16). In Him is the guaranteed access to the divine glory (John 17:22).
Furthermore, it takes faith to see the manifestation of God’s glory (John 11:40). If we don’t believe we’ll see it, we probably won’t.David looked up in faith, and God’s glorious help showed up for him (Psalm 121:1). Stephentoo gazed into heaven, and he saw the Lord’s glory (Acts 7:55). If you too will look well enoughby faith, you will also see the manifestations of God’s glory!
Moreover, we must pray for the Lord’s glory if we desire to fully tap into it. Prayer shines the spotlight on God’s attributes of goodness, omnipresence and omnipotence. The Lord Himself encouraged us to pray to experience His glory (John 14:13). We must diligently ask and seek for it to be revealed (Psalm 50:15).
Moses saw the glory of God when he prayed.Esther too. Each believer has the capacity to experience God’s glory here on earth, but we must pray for it in faith (Jeremiah 33:3). When we pray the glory into the earth, signs and wonders will occur in the Church and in our personal lives.
Nevertheless, the place of the Holy Spirit in ourexperiences of God’s glory cannot be overlooked. The real focus of the Holy Spirit is to liberate us from our past attachments and bring us to our desired change (1Samuel 10:6). We must, therefore, fully cooperate with Him in all ramifications if we’re to see His adorableglory in our rising.
When we yield to the Holy Spirit, we become transformed by Him from glory to glory(2Corinthians 3:17-18). Nevertheless, change is paramount to progress. Where change is resisted, progress is denied its motion. Progress is not traditional, it’s transitional. This is why Job said he would do anything in favour of change(Job 14:14).
The believers who will enjoy the transformational touch of the Holy Ghost must reject the resources of the flesh and become enabled to seek God "with unveiled face". That is, without any veil of pretense or self-justification, but relying solely on Christfor everything. Coming to the Lord in this manner brings for us an ever increasing blessing of His glory (2Corinthians 3:5).
Friends and brethren, if you wish to continually experience the Lord’s glory, please take heed to truly imbibe the “Christ-inside consciousness”. That’s the surest way to be happy and to stay so.
Troubles and shame multiply for those who make a practice of those things that would make God frown and hide His face away from them (Psalms 104:28-30). We should rather make our daily living an attractive atmosphere for the Holy Spirit. We should make it ourstudied delight to do regularly as the Lord God commands.
We must be godly, holy and obedient to the Lord (Isaiah 3:10). With such a heart, we will see the Lord’s glory and it shall be well with us (Deuteronomy 5:29). Happily, God can bestow such a heart whenever we ask Him in prayer (Ezekiel 36:26). It’s your turn to start enjoying the overwhelming glow of God’s glory. You won’t miss it, in Jesus name. Amen. Happy Sunday!
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Archbishop Taiwo Akinola,
Rhema Christian Church,
Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.
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