THE GLORY OF GOD!
Jesus chose to lay down His Life so God’s Love could be poured forth from Him to us.
* “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His Life for the sheep…No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative.” John 10:11, 18
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE GLORY OF GOD!
*Glory: The manifestation of God’s Presence in the believer.(Splendor, brightness, excellence, pre-eminence).
*The Glory of God is beyond definition.
One human way to try define it is: “The Glory of God, as encompassing ALL of the Attributes of God” (His Characteristics, Holiness, Love, Grace, …..).
John 17:4 I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.
*Person Goal : wouldn’t we all like to work towards that stage in our lives where we can go to the Lord’s throne fearlessly, confidently and boldly declare that we aspired and succeeded in bringing Glory to the Lord on this earth by the humble and holy followers we chose to be, through making a change in our lives and the lives of others with the grace of our living God.
Luke 2:9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them.
*The only way other people are going to experience the reality of our Christianity is by our love.
*Not everyone sees our devotion to God, but the Love we Show Others is the visible evidence of our faith.
A Pastor Job Description
Colossians 2:1 I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally. 2 I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. 3 In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4 I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments. 5 For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you. And I rejoice that you are living as you should and that your faith in Christ is strong.
***This seems to be an echo of Jesus’ ministry where he wanted to show the love of the Father.
“But whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?”
1 John 3:17
“And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert [shelter] from storm and from rain” (Isaiah 4:6).
*The glory of God’s presence will be our shelter from the heat.
*The Hebrew word for heat means “drought, desolation, barrenness” and here it is used as a type of God’s judgment on an evil society.
In Revelation 16, the fourth angel of judgment is given power “. . . to scorch
men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God” (Revelation 16:8-9).
*The Spirit of God is real, He is alive and has all of the authority and power.
*God has the power to bless you, bless your house, bless your marriage.
*Jesus died for our sins.
*Keep the message of the gospel.
*He so loved me, God gave his only son so I would not parish.
*The glory of God is our defense, our covering—”. . . a place of refuge . . .from storm and from rain”— and we will rest in the cool shadow of Jesus’ wings.
*Already we are seeing the rain of Holy Spirit outpourings as well as
God’s judgments.
*The storm clouds are gathering but, thank God, there will be a
covering over His holy remnant church.
You may say, “I have no glory church I can attend. All I can find are man-centered churches. Where is my covering from the heat and storm?”
*Your dwelling place is the glory of God in your own heart.
* If Jesus is present in you, manifesting Himself to you, then you are covered in full.
* If you turn your heart and eyes toward Him, allowing His Word to reprove, convict and correct you, He will reveal Himself to you. He has promised it!
“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21).
God says, “I will be there with you. It doesn’t matter how bad it gets, I will
see you through. I will never leave you nor forsake you!”
Revelation 21:23 And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light.
2 Corinthians 3:18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image.
*To receive wisdom, we must allow God to remove our “veils“. These are the things we hide behind and use to try to give ourselves a sense of security or value apart from God. They include controlling behavior, pride, perfectionism, and a desire to glorify our kids or ourselves.
What are your “veils”? Have you arranged your life so you have become too comfortable with these blind spots? Has your parenting suffered as a result? It takes courage to ask the Holy Spirit to lift the veil that covers areas we need to change.
But to experience new life and Christ-like growth, we must be willing to let God remove the veils and let our sinful habits die.
*Allow God to remove your “veils” and invite Him to contend with your heart.
“Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
Thank you Lord for your Holy Spirit who comforts us always.
” For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.(Colossians 1:26).
May those who see the gospel of Jesus Christ as a mystery today have their minds and hearts opened to experience the presence and saving power of Christ!
Lord , a special Thank you for my wife and soul-mate, Laura this day, her Birthday! Bless her and show her more of Your love! Thank you for the years we have had together in sharing Your Love and Truth with others. It is such a blessing to be blessed to grow together IN You-JESUS! Amen
*If your not experiencing a growing life and awe in Christ, go pray and pray and weep to God until Jesus Christ is the greatest thing you have heard, and know, and ever will know! YOU ARE HIS MASTERPIECE! (Eph. 2:10)
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