Living in His Glory

The moment we purpose to be firm in God, we shall experience and enjoy God’s glory.

Joshua 24:14-24

"Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! ¹⁵ "And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

¹⁶ So the people answered and said: "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; ¹⁷ "for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed. ¹⁸ "And the LORD drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God."

¹⁹ But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. ²⁰ "If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good."

 ²¹ And the people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the LORD!"

 ²² So Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him." And they said, "We are witnesses!" ²³ "Now therefore," he said, "put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel."

²⁴ And the people said to Joshua, "The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!"

Whom have you purposed to serve?

People are quick to seek the glory of God, but have not committed to put God as the only priority. Everything that is above God will come down, it’s just a matter of when.

Jesus said in Psalms 23 that He is the good shepherd. God has no problem clothing us with His glory. Therefore we should purpose to seek the Lord and dwell in His glory.

Revelation 3:15-16

So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. ¹⁷ "Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing' --and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked--

 

Jesus knows the character of the hot and the cold, therefore we should not be in between. Purposing to serve the Lord like Joshua is a great ignition. If we live the right way the Lord shall guide us in the way He has prepared for us, for He never lies. Your decision to serve Him is what attracts the manifestation of the glory of God in one’s life.

John 13:31-32

So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of man is glorified in Him. ³² If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately.

Jesus is glorified above all things after all the shame and pain on the cross and in Mathew 28:18 He says that  authority was given to Him. Without firmness in God there will be no manifestation of God's glory. If one is not determined to live a God-pleasing life irrespective of what happens, experiencing God's glory will be a mirage. God's Word tells us in 1 Peter 5:10-11 that it is after bearing the suffering and persecution that the God of all grace who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus shall perfect, establish and strengthen us. For example:

 

• Moses experienced God's glory after leading the difficult Israelites in their journey from Egypt. (Matthew 17:3)
• Abraham was glorified to be a father of many nations, after losing kinsmen to the foreign land. (Galatians 3:19)

• Joseph became second in command after suffering much affliction in Egypt. (Genesis 41:39-52)

• Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were promoted after passing through the fiery furnace. (Daniel 3:9-10)

• Daniel was glorified and he lived a prosperous life in reign of Darius and Cyrus the Persian, after being delivered from the power of the lions. (Daniel 6:26-28)

What is the glory of God?

It is the beauty, majesty, and presence of God. This is His fullness. Exodus 33:12-23 implies that every successful assignment of God requires His glory (His presence, beauty and majesty). Every new step needs new wisdom and anointing, but above all we need Gods glory [fullness] to carry on the assignment; therefore, we should purpose to ask God to help us remain in His glory.

Cases of God's glory being revealed include:

• In Matthew 17:1, Jesus led Peter, James and John up a high mountain, where He experienced God's glory, which transfigured Him before them. After this, Jesus cast a demon out of an epileptic child, which the disciples could not cure (Matthew 17:14-19).

• In Luke 2:9-12, And glory of the Lord appeared to the shepherds. Since God is not a respecter of people and no one is too small for God, He revealed to them His purpose. Tuning oneself to God's doing will always position us to hear His message.

• In Exodus 24:17, 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.

• In Exodus 40:34-35, the cloud covered the tabernacle and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. May God find a dwelling in us as His temple, and our moving be at the leading of His glory.

• In Haggai 2:9, the glory of the latter church will be greater than the former. It is our time to manifest greater glory.

• In Colossians 1:27, to us God will to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in us, the hope of glory.

How to experience Gods glory

1. Prayer 

 

In John 17:5-24, Jesus asked the Father for glory upon Himself and upon us. 

2. Believe God 

John 11:40

Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”

If you believe in Jesus, you see the glory of God.

3. Holiness

Live a life that is pleasing to God. If one sins and lives in sin, they will fall short the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

4. Arise

Arise from frowning, for the light has come, which the darkness cannot comprehend. Isaiah 60:1 details us to arise from sin, discouragement, prayerlessness, fear, wrong company, depression and so on, and rise to a new life which makes God glory be seen in our lives.

Conclusion

Let us open the ancient gates that the king of glory may come and destroy the traditions.

Psalm 24:7-10
 Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah

Without Gods glory, we live a confused life. That is why David pleaded that the presence of God should not to be taken away from him (Psalm 51:11).

Blessings. 

-- Pastor Mary Mugo. 

(11/01/2015 Sunday Service Sermon, Teaching Transformation Ministry)


Pastor Mary is a pastor at Teaching Transformation Ministry. We are located along the Thika-Ruai Flyover Junction (at the Thika Rd./ Bypass intersection), next to Eastgate Restaurant.