Focus: God's Glory

Text: Dt.5:24

"And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath SHEWED US HIS GLORY and his greatness, and we have HEARD his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have SEEN this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth."

Israel had the privilege of seeing the glory of God and hearing His voice, and contrary to old belief, they discovered that mere mortals could see God and survive death. Jacob said, "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved" (Gen.32:30). We need a face to face encounter with our God. It is the need of the moment. Moses saw God's glory and was changed by it. At a point in his life he cried out, "Lord, show me your glory." Isaiah saw the glory and was changed by it. Stephen passed on to glory, seeing the glory of God. Paul saw the glory and was blinded by it.

Jesus said to Martha, 'I have told you before and I am saying it again that if you believe, you would see the glory of God.' Faith provides the lens with which to behold God's glory.

John writes, "This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and MANIFESTED forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him" (Jh.2:11). By turning water into wine Jesus reveals His glory. All of God's actions are meant to manifest the glory of God. In all His works we see His wonders.

Paul tells us, "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" (2Cor.3:18). We are changed by the glory we see. By constantly seeing the glory of God worldliness and carnality give way. The church is purged of worldliness as we constantly look at God's glory. Harold Lindsell has said, "It is right for the Church to be in the world; it is wrong for the world to be in the Church. A boat in water is good; that is what boats are for. However, water inside the boat causes it to sink." The cure for worldliness is seeing the glory of God.

Again, Paul says, "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" (2Cor.4:6). Do you want to see the glory of God? Just look at the face of Jesus. When you read and study the Bible seek to see the face of Jesus. His face glows with light and glory.

A new wave of God's glory is coming upon the church just before the second coming of Christ. The church will carry and manifest God's glory to the world. Hallelujah! Amen!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter