Clouds Of His Glory

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted.  The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah. Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has wrought desolations in the earth. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire. “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.  Psalms 46:1-11 NASB

Psalm 46 describes the uproar and chaos of the world then, over the past two thousand years, and even now. And yet when we seek Holy Spirit, He will lead us to a place of calm, of understanding, of preparedness, a place of knowing that God is still and will always be God. Mighty. Holy. Everlasting. To accept Jesus Christ now is to experience a foretaste of His peace in these days that He has created each one of us for. 

Knowing that this is not our forever home God’s people can look through the darkness bravely, without fear, discouragement, or despondency - into whatever seasons the future holds, it’s moments of turmoil and hope, peace and loss.

Because my Brothers and sisters, God Hears Us. Yes! Keep that prayer conversation with Him as regular as your breathing. We are to pray in times of adversity, to prevent becoming faithless and unbelieving. We are to pray in times of prosperity, to avoid becoming boastful and proud. We are to pray in times of danger, lest we become fearful and doubting. We need to pray in times of security, so we will not rely on our own merit and becoming self-sufficient fall away from God’s Will for us. 

A voice is calling, Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.  Isaiah 40:3-5 NASB

The glory of God is more than just a presence, it is His power. The kind of power that resurrects, delivers, overcomes and transforms. His glory is greater and stronger than any other power in existence and Holy Spirit places a longing in us to be with Jesus, to see the power of God throughout His creation.

Yet, maybe you feel like the glory of God is unreachable, as if the manifestation of His presence is something reserved for special church services or an extraordinary circumstance, but that is not His truth! the word of the Lord teaches that the glory of God surrounds His people 24/7.

It is time for God’s glory to be revealed, Jesus Christ is returning as the King of kings, The glory of God isn’t just an event or an Old Testament experience—it’s a spiritual tsunami of everything contained in the character of God. 

In the Old Testament, nations knew of God’s glory by hearsay. The Israelites knew of God’s glory by observation.

Praying through this weeks message Holy Spirit reminded us Jesus is calling God’s people to repent, to follow Him, and so the desire for God’s glory is growing.  Seek the Lord while there is still time!  be rooted in reading the Bible every day, take everything to God in prayer, trust Jesus by faith, look for His Glory as Stephen did in Acts 7 even in the terror of persecution and physical suffering. 

Acts 7:54-56 NASB ”Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. But being full of  Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

My friend, If we aren’t expecting to see the glory of God, we won’t. Just like anything in the kingdom of God, it takes surrender and faith to see His manifestation. In the Old Testament, the glory and power of God appeared as a cloud, smoke or fire. This visible power is the presence of God dwelling on the earth.

The nation of Israel saw His glory when God came  to meet them on Mount Sinai: 

Exodus 24:15-18 NASB ”Then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top. Moses entered the midst of the cloud as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.“

The prophet Habakkuk got a glimpse of that fiery glory, too. He described it as like the sun, blazing in the sky: 

Habakkuk 3:2-4 NASB ”Lord, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy. God comes from Teman, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise. His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power.“

The same glory that resurrected Jesus Christ was manifested as fire by night and a cloud by day in the wilderness:

Exodus 13:21 NASB The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.“

Can we see those same physical manifestations of God’s glory today? Yes! Repent, turn away from and renounce the sin that has you entangled. Surrender to God and receive Jesus Christ as your personal saviour, He alone is worthy of all risk, counting our life as loss in order to stand beside the Lord in eternal victory. 

There are countless testimonies of individuals and groups of believers having seen visible evidence of God’s  presence.  Hallelujah!it is tangible and it is powerful! So, let us be God’s people who pray for Holy Spirit’s presence, and start expecting to see the glory of the Lord!

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.  Romans 8:16-19 NASB

Jesus told Martha that if she would believe, she would see the glory of God (John 11:40).

How do you pray for the glory of God? First, pray that the glory will be revealed to you and in you. We can see and experience the glory of God, but we must diligently ask and seek for it to be revealed. 

When Moses saw the glory of God, he prayed, saying, “Please, show me Your glory” (Exodus 33:18, NKJV). When believers gathered together in a spirit of unity, seeking the Lord, His glory appeared in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost, and sat on the head of each person there (Acts 2:1-4).

We can pray Ephesians 1:15-20 NASB1995 ”For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,“

God instructed Ezekiel to go to the valley, to meet and talk with Him there (Ezekiel 3:22). When Ezekiel arrived at the place of appointment, he was confronted with the glory of the Lord.  God’s glory stood in that place.

The power of that glory was such that Ezekiel fell on his face—and then, he wrote, ‘the Spirit entered me’.

Glory is not an impersonal Heavenly substance. The ‘glory’ of God is the presence of Holy Spirit.

In the Old Testament, prophets had a unique relationship with God But now, because of the death and resurrection of Christ, there is no barrier between God’s people and His glory. This is our inheritance!  You do not have to look from a distance to encounter the glory of God. You have Holy Spirit in and with you, be a vessel of God’s glory, clothed with His glory (Luke 24:49).  Know it, believe it by faith. Don’t let discouragement, insecurity, or condemnation tell you otherwise.  Where you walk, God’s glory walks.

And by His mercy we will be Transformed into His Likeness:

Hebrews 1:1-3 NASB1995

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,“

Peter, James and John glimpsed the radiance of Jesus’ Heavenly glory on the mountain, and it was written of that moment:

Matthew 17:1-5 NASB1995 Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!

John saw the resurrected Christ in the fullness of His glory. He wrote:

Revelation 1:13-15 NASB and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.“

God’s glory is the extension of His Person, as sunshine is an extension of the sun:

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 NASB 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 from the Lord, the Spirit.“

A transformed life does not come from behaving; it comes from beholding.  For the One you seek is Holy. Behold our God, seated on His throne…. We are to pursue encounters with Jesus,  His glory released upon us and conveyed through us to others can only return one place—to God Himself, in praise, in renown, and in worship.

The Bible teaches the glory of God dwelled in the tabernacle. But under the New Covenant, Holy Spirit builds a temple in every believer. First Corinthians 3:16 says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (NKJV).  We are God’s dwelling place—His temple. Only, this temple is no longer in a fixed location. His church house can walk and talk, sin and repent, be forgiven and go forth to preach the Gospel!

When the believers experienced the glory of God at Pentecost, they didn’t just go back to living normal lives. They emerged from that place as separate from the rest of the world and as light in the midst of darkness. They went out and started turning the world right side up down for Jesus Christ. They preached the gospel; and in the name of Jesus worked miracles, signs and wonders; and the Lord added to the Church daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:47). That’s the glory we need to be operating in!

The early Christians were no different than Christians today. Those first believers received Holy  Spirit as we do when we walk with Jesus Christ.   Christians in every generation are carriers of God’s glory just as surely as they were thousand's of years ago!

To live in God’s glory is our eternal destiny, a place that shines with the glory of God described in:

Revelation 21:10-11 NASB ”And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper.“

A place to reside with Jesus that needs no light other than God Himself taught of in:

 Revelation 22:5 NASB And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.“

This is why we experience a deep and compelling desire to know Jesus Christ in His glory. This is why we want others who don’t yet know Jesus to have a place in God’s kingdom.

Jesus Christ’s glory is appearing to the world.  And not just ‘here a little and there a little’, but like the rush of an incoming tide, Like the rising of the sun, that cannot be held back, there is a cloud of glory in the horizon, it is time to stand with God.