God's Glory..

It is true that we are in a time of increasing darkness on the earth. However, at the same time there is an increase in God’s glory being revealed through His servants.

Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. (Isaiah 60:1–2)

Because of increasing darkness and increasing revelations of God’s glory it is critical to have spiritual discernment to avoid deception. If we remain in Jesus and keep the eyes of our heart focused on Him the Holy Spirit will give us the discernment we need. It is important not to judge manifestations of God’s love as being from Satan. Such deception is rooted in unholy fear, which is actually faith in the power of evil. Faith in God means to trust Him.

When supernatural manifestations of God’s presence happen there are two types of fear that a person can have, depending upon what is in the heart of the person. Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was. (Exodus 20:18 – 21)

Unholy fear causes you to distance yourself from God, holy fear causes you to purify yourself and come near to God. Those who know God, through experiencing His love, will press in past their fear into the glory of God’s presence. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. (1stJohn 4:18)

God’s love is a consuming fire. The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. (Exodus 24:17) There is something else that happens when we behold God’s glory; transformation. Transformation can be both painful and wonderful. There are things in us that are consumed as we behold God’s glory. The things that remain are refined and purified. People will sometimes turn away from the glory of God because they are afraid to let go of things that can not survive the glory. People are also sometimes afraid of letting go of their identity and becoming a new creation. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. (2ndCorinthians 4:16) To be transformed by God’s glory is sacrifice.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies (compassion) of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1–2)

The word transformed is the Greek word metamorphoō it is where we get the word metamorphosis from. This is the word we use to describe a caterpillar being changed into a butterfly. It means to be changed into something new. It is the same word which is used to describe what happened to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration in Mark chapter 9.

When we are focused on Jesus the veil of our heart is removed so that we can behold the transforming glory of God. 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. But we all, with unveiled 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. Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy (compassion), we do not lose heart. (2nd Corinthians 3:16-4:1) We are transformed from glory to glory, from one manifestation and revelation of God’s love to the next.

Notice that we behold the glory of God through a mirror. That is because the glory we see is what is reflected from our own heart. That is why man can look into the heavens, which declare the glory of God, and only see “dark matter and dark energy” controlling the universe. The moon is like a mirror. One night I stepped out of my house and looked at the horizon the moon was very large and I could see the whole outline but only a tiny slice of the moon was reflecting the glory of the sun’s light. The Lord instantly spoke to my heart and said that is how much of my glory you reflect. I understood that I had only tasted a tiny amount of God’s glory but there was so much more He wanted to reveal to me.

The moon reflects the light of the sun; however, when the earth is blocking the suns light from shinning on the moon there is a shadow instead of light. The things of the physical world can block our perspective of God’s glory. Only when we focus on Jesus can we look at the glory with an unveiled face. 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. (2nd Corinthians 4:6)

We are called God’s vessels of compassion who were created to receive revelation of His glory. That He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy (compassion), which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles (Romans 9:23–24)

Jesus has given us the same glory, the same love, which the Father gave Him.

And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:22-24)

The glory of God and the Father’s love is now within us because of the New Covenant. This glory unifies Christ body of believers and sanctifies us to be God’s holy habitation.

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14–19)

In the passage above we can see that it is according to the wealth of God’s glory that we are strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit, receive Christ living in our heart by faith, and we become joined to the source of true love. We then go on to attain what all the saints have attained, that is knowing God through experiencing His love, so that we may be may be filled with all the fullness of God.

The glory of God is the manifestation and revelation of His love, in so many ways.