From Glory to Glory

The Lord desires to manifest Himself among His children. Jesus said, "...he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." (John 14:21) To manifest is to show, to make appear, to place before the eyes so that an object may be seen. Again, Jesus desires to manifest Himself among His people, to show himself to them that they should see and know that he is their Lord and Savior. He continues, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him." (John 14:23) God will manifest himself to believers as a Father and again, Jesus will manifest himself as Lord and Savior. To make their home in believers is a figurative expression implying that the Father and Jesus would manifest themselves in no temporary way, but that believers are to enjoy their presence continually.

The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul reveals, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16); "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you..." (1 Corinthians 6:19); "...For you are the temple of the living God..." (2 Corinthians 6:16) As we see, believers can enjoy God's presence continuously because He has set up residence in us. But this goes even further. Jesus reveals to us in His prayer to the Father in John gospel chapter seventeen, a very exciting things for all who would believe in Him  through the preaching of the gospel. He prays, "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one...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 very glory that the Father gave Jesus would also be given to every believer. What does this mean to the believer? "Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light." (Matthew 17:1-2) This is the glory of the Father in Christ being reflected on the outside of Jesus that these three disciples got to see in which all future disciples would come to participate in. Jesus says it this way, "that they may behold My glory which You have given Me." The word behold means, to be a spectator; look at; to view attentively; to see; to perceive with the eyes; to enjoy the presence of. The very glory that the three disciples saw, is the very same glory that Jesus said believers could view attentively, perceive with the eyes and or enjoy the presence of.

For many this may be difficult to believe, that believers can enjoy the very presence of God beyond Him living inside, but to physically see His glory, His presence, manifest among us. This is a part of the tremendous redemption that the Father restored to man through Christ, that Adam had forfeited. It is not difficult to believe if believers will accept the truth without doctrinal prejudices and then learn how to create and atmosphere where God can manifest His glory. In other words, God does not manifest Himself where people tend to carry out an agenda, a predetermined program, or where He is simply tolerated due to poor attitudes during a church service. He will always manifest Himself where people have an insatiable desire to reverence, celebrated and honored Him with their whole heart.

You might ask, "Is it possible for us to be in the same place where the glory of God is present and not realize it? Look at the situation the Jacob encountered, "Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” (Genesis 28:16) As we can see, yes it is possible for believers to be in the same place where the glory of God is present and not realize it. There are many reasons for this, such as a lack of knowledge of such things, teaching that opposes this or not being willing to accept change from the same old order of a church service that we have grown use to. However, most often, it is sin. It could be bitterness, resentment, a lack of forgiveness, poor attitudes, or it may be that we are totally absorbed in our own problems, so that our spiritual perception is completely turned off.  If any of these things are the case, they must be dealt with so that we can be sensitive to how the Spirit of God is moving. 

Although we may be creating an atmosphere for God's glory to manifest, we need to keep in mind, that God alone takes the initiative, to manifest Himself among us. We must learn not to rush or be in a hurry, but to rest in His sovereignty, follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and permit Him to have His way in our midst. Our priority should always be to a1low His glory to manifest. Sure, it may be difficult to break free from the same old way of doing a church service, change usually is. It simply comes down to whether we desire continuing in religious rituals or desire the presence of God which is able to transform lives in an instance. In our day, I believe that God is raising up a new generation of people of all ages who will know how to respond to His presence. This generation will thirst for His glory to manifest not only in our church services, but also over the entire earth. 

Although darkness in the world seems denser each day, and wickedness seems to be multiplying, the manifestation of God on earth will also become more powerful with each passing moment. I believe that this new generation of people who hunger for God's presence will impact the world and gather the greatest harvest of souls ever seen. Entire cities and nations will be shaken by His glory and will recognize Jesus as Lord and Savior. I believe that we will see the most remarkable manifestations of His presence through miracles, signs, and wonders that will take place around the world. So, let us be this new generation being assured that God will take care of everything because He does not want us to waste our time following religious norms. He wants us to enjoy the highest dimension of His glory. As Jesus said, "...that they may behold (to perceive with the eyes; to enjoy the presence of) My glory which You have given Me..."