the divine presence: how we can experience the glory of god · web viewthe glory of god . it...

THE DIVINE PRESENCE(Some adapted content from various sources)

(Inc: Portion of 364)

I’m talking of The Divine Presence… THE GLORY OF GOD

It speaks of… His GREATNESS His POWER His MAJESTY His MIGHT…

Through the pages of scripture we see GOD’S GLORY displayed…

The glory of God is right through the Book, from page 1.

It begins at the first verse in the Bible:

Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

He said let there be light…

How profound. How powerful.How glorious!

In the beginning ...

God ... created ... the Heaven and the earth!

The heavens declare God’s glory. The vast expanse of the stars shouts it out…

Glory be to God!Glory to God!

Psalm 19:1The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

God revealed himself in a cloud of brilliant, dazzling light.

Moses said, show me thy Glory! (Exodus 33:18).

The Lord led people out of Egypt with a radiant cloud of light by day, and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 16:10).

The prophet Ezekiel saw this glory-cloud - The glory of the LORD…

It filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the LORD (Ezekiel 10:4).

The glory of God was the outward brilliance of God's inward essence.

How can we you express this concept – or define it? It is hard to describe it…

A woman was trying to do just that – to help a group of natives translate the Bible into their own tribal language.

“After struggling through six pages of explanations and references for the Greek word ‘doxa,’ commonly translated ‘glory,’ she took a walk to ponder the problem.

“Suddenly she saw the brilliant red sky of the setting sun. It was a perfect illustration of the meaning of “Glory” she had tried so hard to convey: ‘A brilliant light in the sky’ and ‘something beautiful and wonderful’.”

That glorious sunset enabled the tribesmen to identify the best words for “glory” in their own language.

Once they had learned the right vocabulary, they were able to give God the glory.

To give God glory is simply to give him the honour, and the praise, and the worship that He deserves.

There is no way we can make God any more glorious than He already is. But what we can do is to hold him in the highest regard, giving him the praise of which he alone is worthy.

I want you to catch a glimpse. To get some of that glory today…

2 Corinthians 4:6-7 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts,

to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

(7) But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Notice here, WHERE the glory lodges…

God does a real work, a heart deep work…

Where do we find the glory today?

The amazing discovery we make here is that the awesome Glory of God shines in…

KNOW IT IN YOUR HEART


God’s glory lightens up our once sin-darkened soul.

God shines His awesome, divine, glorious LIGHT into HUMAN HEARTS.

Our heart, though deceitful and desperately wicked, has been purified by faith.

God makes our human heart into His holy dwelling place, by faith.

And God’s very glory... Is deposited there It resides, there Within your heart.

1 Corinthians 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Glorify Him… In your inner life… In your bodies…

God has designed you to display His glory…

He intends that HIS GLORY shines in YOUR WORKS… in YOUR DAILY LIFE—

Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

The Glory of God is designed to shine in your works.

The Glory shines, even in YOUR SUFFERING…

1 Peter 4:16

Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

The glory of God can fill your heart and life…

Johann Sebastian Bach was committed to giving glory of God…

He claimed that “the aim and final reason… of all music… should be none else but the Glory of God and the recreation of the mind.”

Bach became known for his remarkable musical talent, but he never ceased to credit his Creator as the one who was responsible for his ability.

The pages of his musical compositions could well have been used to satisfy a personal pride as his name appeared on them.

But Bach was determined to give glory to God in his work.

So he always concluded his original compositions with the three letters INS.

They stood for the Latin words meaning "In the name of Christ."

At other times Bach began his score with the letters JJ, meaning "Jesus help," and then ended his composition with the letters SDG for the Latin Solo Deo Gloria, meaning "To God be the glory."

To God be the glory.

Catch a glimpse of the glory today…

Notice here in our text where the glory is found… It is found in…

SEE IT IN HIS FACE

…to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Have we this sense?Do we sense the glory of God?This God consciousness?

If you want to see the glory of God, all you have to do is look to Jesus.

Looking to Jesus, in faith, also means receiving His forgiveness of your sins.

The angels gave glory to God because there was something glorious about God sending his Son, Jesus Christ, into the world.

The Bible says of Christ,

Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things

by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Where do we see the Glory of God fully expressed?

In this one who is the express image of His person.

Behold Him…

…the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

He is the very radiance of God’s glory…

The exact representation of his being.

Look at Jesus in the manger. God the very Son became a real human being of flesh and blood. Join in with the angels in giving “glory to God in the highest” for the gift of his beloved Son.

Look at Jesus on the cross. There—on the cross—you see He has offered His life as a perfect sacrifice for sin, in the place of sinners.

Look to Jesus on the throne. There He is, ruling from God's throne...

The glory of God in essence is "all that God is!"

Everything about God is glorious!

His LOVE is glorious! ---it's glorious to be loved by God.His FORGIVENESS is glorious --- to be washed clean from our sins by the blood of Jesus.His GRACE is glorious - - While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)His RIGHTEOUSNESS is glorious.His TRUTH is glorious.His PURITY is glorious.His KINDNESS is glorious.His UNIVERSE is glorious.

His HEAVEN is glorious.

His WAY is glorious.His CREATION is glorious.His word is glorious.

Look into His face… It is in His face that we see God’s glory Reflected in His face Perfected in His face.

His face… Take a fresh look at Jesus… Look at His face… Look into His face… See His face… His eyes, His smile…

See His face… aching, in His compassion, as He stretches out His hand and touches the leper… the lost…

His face… caring, with His love as He reaches out to the wayward…

As He heals the broken-hearted ones…

As He brings forgiveness to the repenting…

See His face… glowing, and radiant, at the Mount of Transfiguration…

As he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, his raiment was white and glistening.

And they saw his glory (Luke 9: 29, 32).

See His face, His emotion, His intensity…

As He beholds the city and weeps over it (Luke 19:41).

See His face, at the darkest hour… knowing the cross was before Him…

Yet He turned not away… He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51).

See His face… Bearing sinful man’s hate and mocking…

Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,

and when they had blindfolded Him they struck Him on the face, saying, Prophesy… who is it that smote Thee? (Matthew 26:67; Luke 22:64).

See His face… wounded, injured by man, contorted with the agony, as He lifted the weight of our shame, our guilt…

Behold Him.

O come let us adore Him.

See the softness of His face, in the Bethlehem manger.

And now, behold this face…

His face...

His face has weathered life’s storms with us, borne life’s trials and tears with us, as he was beaten, spit upon, adorned with a crown of thorns, injured and torn for you…

Lift up your eyes and see His face.

Dripping with His blood for you, more marred than any man for you.

See His Blessed FACE...

We see His glory; and those holy eyes that saw, and wept.

Those holy ears that heard; those lips that spoke... "Never a man spake like this."

That face... In that face... we see the glory of God!

But ... look again… Look upon that face ..Our Lord Jesus, alive and living!

Victorious over death, hell and the grave; standing outside the open tomb, smiling, loving, full of grace and truth...

That face --- the face of Jesus.

Mary said: I've seen the Lord (John 20:18).

The disciples were glad when they saw the Lord (John 20:19).

And Jesus said, Blessed are they that have not seen, yet have believed. (John 20:29).

At his departing from the earth…

…while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. Yet this same Jesus, which is

taken up from you into heaven, shall come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into Heaven. (Acts 1:9,11).

So… get ready!

WE shall see His face...

We know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is... face to face. (1 John 3:2; 1 Corinthians 13:12).

At the close of the days, we shall see His face… And won’t that be glory!

Revelation 1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire…

Glory, glory, glory.

The glory is found in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord! (Note: credit to Arthur Blessit for some parts/concepts.)

It’s in His face we can get the Glory…

Get the glory… catch a glimpse, get a hold of Jesus and Who He is…

Right through the Book… The presence was with them.The holy presence.His presence.

The glory.The glory of God.

Seasons of refreshing still come from His presence. The presence of the Lord.



When there was a temple, it says that His glory filled the temple.

The glory of God still fills His holy temples. His own people.

The glory speaks to us of the purity of the church.

We capture that sense of the glory of God, as we… Exalt His name Know His perfect peace

And we see that something sacred is going on.

We have seen the Glory – it resides in human hearts.And, that the Glory is expressed in the face of Jesus Christ. Here in His face we see the Glory of God and we come to know Him…

The Glory of God…Know it in your heartSee it in His face…

And, thirdly, we note that the purpose of it all, is… that we…

SHOW IT IN YOUR LIFE

GIVE HIM GLORY

Verse 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

This tells us of an amazing, great treasure, that is carried about in humble vessels made of clay.

Why? THAT the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us…

We can enter in… Within the veil And know God’s presence is with us,

indwelling us...

And the glory changes every dimension – of who we are, and what we are to do…

1 Corinthians 10:31Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

As it’s been wisely said, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

Determine to do just that: Glorify God. Actively... On purpose…

Our ultimate purpose is to bring glory to God, and joy to ourselves, in Him forever… In all things…

WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO GLORIFY GOD, in all that we do—not just in the “spiritual” activities of life.

As a teenager, Richard Foster, spent a summer among the Eskimo people... It impressed Richard that the Eskimo Christians have "a deep sense of the wholeness of life, with no break between their prayer and their work."

Richard went to Alaska on the adventure of helping to "build the first high school above the Arctic Circle." The work, however, was far from an adventure. It was hard, often backbreaking. One day he was trying to dig a trench for a sewer line, which was no easy task in the frozen tundra.

An Eskimo man, whose face and hands displayed the leathery toughness of many winters, came by and watched him for a while.

After some time passed the man spoke simply and profoundly. "You are digging a ditch to the glory of God," he said.

The words stuck with Richard. Beyond his Eskimo friend, no human being ever

knew or cared whether he dug that ditch well or poorly.

In time that ditch would be covered up and forgotten. But because of that man's words, Richard says, "I dug with all my might, for every shovelful of dirt was a prayer to God."

Richard made the discovery that everything we do, whether great or small, we do for the glory of God.

All of our lives belong to God. Every task we do is for His glory. It’s not as if there are neat little compartments in life marked "secular" and "sacred."

It all belongs to Him. If we would be changed on the inside, we will not conform to the spirit of this age. We will offer our entire lives. (Richard J. Foster, PRAYER)

Let our whole life, like Christ’s, be moved by this ruling principle, ALL, ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD.

We are designed to give Him glory. And not just on a Sunday

In… The day by day, the ordinary moments, whatever we do…

All to His glory…

Consider this concept – the Glory of God.

What a privilege to know that we have that same glory. In us.

We have the glory – we have the treasure – this treasure – in earthen vessels, and nothing can diminish that…

If your business fails - the glory is there.Even if friends forsake you - the glory is there.When you are all alone,and feel you are in a vacuumyou are not alone –you are not in a vacuum –The glory is there.

When the crisis of lifeAlmost overwhelms you –When the unexpected disappointmentsseem beyond explanation --- The glory is there.Beyond reason, circumstances,

Fear or pain --- the glory is there.in abundance --- the glory is there.Oh Praise Him.

And God is changing us from glory to glory…

When we know the glory, the glory changes us…

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord,

are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

It is the work of the everlasting spirit.He is never failing.

We are changed into the same image, from "glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord"…

Changed by the Spirit to look like God --- to live like Jesus!

So when people meet you, they meet Christ living in you!

Matthew 5:14-16. You are the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.

Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.

You are become a reflection of the glory of God.

You are the Light of the World.

The glory of God is revealed in you.

You become a light

People may see your good works, and glorify the Father.

Why? That the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us…

The people who are filled with God's glory do the works of God.

They preach the good news of Jesus! They witness. They do good! They are living a glorious life.

As you live in the way of Jesus, the world sees your good works and glorifies your Father in Heaven!

The excellency of the power is of God and not of us.

We give Him the glory.

All the glory!

We are changed from glory to glory by the Spirit…

David Brainerd said this to Jonathan Edwards: "I do not go to heaven to be advanced but to give honour to God.

“It is no matter where I shall be stationed in heaven, whether I have a high or low seat there, but to live and please and glorify God…

“My heaven is to please God and glorify Him, and give all to Him, and to be wholly devoted to His glory."

David Brainerd had the treasure in his earthen vessel.

We read that we also have this treasure…

Do we stop and consider the great treasure that we have? This pearl of great price.

This amazing gift…

The Bible in several places refers to THE RICHES OF HIS GLORY (Romans 9:23) or RICHES IN GLORY. (Philemon 4:19).

RICHES ... we think of value, quality, quantity... lacking nothing.

Oh yes, our Lord is the true value.

What He has is pure riches --- lacking nothing --- and it's all for us!

Whatever our need, His riches cover it.

His riches! His glory!

Think of how rich you are…

Rich in LOVE: "Oh how He loves you and me"Rich in BEAUTY: "The lily of the valley"Rich in TRUTH: "The way, the truth, the life"

Rich in GRACE: "For by grace are ye saved"Rich in UNDERSTANDING: "He became flesh"Rich in JOY: "That my joy may be full in you"Rich in EVERYTHING: "And everything that He made was good"Rich FOREVER: "The same yesterday, today and forever."

Consider all His great riches…

We were made in God's image (Genesis 1:27), prepared from the beginning, for the glory we are to share with Him… we can know His Glory.

It’s as if with some people they already wear a crown of glory…

They have the 'light of the knowledge of the glory of God' in their heart; and the 'countenance of the Lord' is upon them.

It’s a joy to meet people like that.

And you know that they are truly living saints of God.

You sense that God is with them.

They are not in the world for anything else. They are Godly. Godly minded.

They talk about the Lord, they think about the Lord, they love the Lord.

They are friends of God, and they love people, not things.

They are not carnal, they are spiritually minded.

Do you want the glory of God in your life?

Let’s not get STUCK IN THE MIRE… And become DEFILED in conscience, in body, in mind…

Sin is rampant… all about us… We are… in the midst of darkness… In the crisis

In the critical hour for our world.

All around us we see an indifference to spiritual things

Now more than ever we need a tenderness for truth.

We need the glory of God.

We can know… Grace abounding, Romans 5:20. Glory abounding.

We can know… Floods on dry ground Floodtides of glory A divine tidal wave The Holy Ghost from Heaven His refreshing rain.

We can know the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ.

We can come to know, and show, a conscience void of offence.

We can know a soul deep cleansing, deep within.

This is God’s will for His people…He’s planned this for His church.

Ephesians 3:21… Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

His glory resides within us…

Really and truly, we can come to know the glory of God at work within us, within His church.

The Spirit of God is at work, working His holiness within us…

Someone has said that “Holiness is the losing of self and being clothed with the spirit and likeness of Jesus.”

He has come to make men holy.He will strengthen His people.

This is the heart deep, sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit of God.

He calls us to follow on… to know the Lord… to not settle for the shallow, the superficial… the substitute…

We won’t stay in immaturity… We want to know and show God’s Glory.

To witness this… In our human hearts In the face of Jesus Christ And we will give Him the glory.

Though the enemy come in like a flood…May God turn the tide… As the Spirit lifts up a standard against the evil one.

As God shows up, in His Holy Power.As God’s glory once again fills His temple.

Let us not lose this dimension.The dimension of His glory.Of eternity.

Let us lay hold on eternal life.

1 Timothy 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

Let us determine to promote the interests of the kingdom of God.

Let us commit To impart truth To shine

To be, as John the Baptist, a burning, blazing, shining light…

Our Lord promises He will change us, from glory to glory…

When God’s glory is truly at work within us we will receive the wounded – receive those who are emotionally, spiritually wounded. And provide them nurture.

May men see our light shine. The glory… And all the glory will be to God…How can we shine?



(7) But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

the divine presence: how we can experience the glory of god · web viewthe glory of god . it...

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