WEBVTT 00:00:00.620 --> 00:00:04.509 2 Corinthians chapter 3, I read this passage 00:00:04.509 --> 00:00:08.019 in our seniors gathering, and we didn't mention 00:00:08.019 --> 00:00:11.679 seniors in our small groups because seniors' 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:15.199 small group runs every week, not just for this 00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:17.920 six weeks, but we would love for as many of you 00:00:17.920 --> 00:00:20.940 to come if you've never been. We would love for 00:00:20.940 --> 00:00:23.260 you to come. God is doing a wonderful thing on 00:00:23.260 --> 00:00:27.559 Wednesdays at 1 o 'clock at the Cubettes' home. 00:00:28.390 --> 00:00:32.409 And any of you seniors are welcome to come to 00:00:32.409 --> 00:00:35.189 that. And if you're not a senior, but you consider 00:00:35.189 --> 00:00:38.329 yourself a senior for an hour or two, and you're 00:00:38.329 --> 00:00:41.729 free on Wednesday at one o 'clock, you can come 00:00:41.729 --> 00:00:47.859 too. Isn't that right? Oh, you said 55 and older? 00:00:48.259 --> 00:00:55.399 Well, I'm 53, so that might leave me out. Okay, 00:00:55.600 --> 00:01:00.320 50 plus, okay. But God is doing a unique thing 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:04.480 in that group. And every time we gather, his 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:08.079 presence is overwhelming and is touching people. 00:01:08.359 --> 00:01:11.700 And it is not just for us to experience the presence 00:01:11.700 --> 00:01:15.260 of the Lord, but for us to be used by God in 00:01:15.260 --> 00:01:18.480 intercession and prayer. And God is using our 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:21.859 seniors in intercession and prayer in a unique 00:01:21.859 --> 00:01:25.200 way every Wednesday afternoon at one o 'clock. 00:01:27.540 --> 00:01:30.340 I read this passage there, and I'm going to read 00:01:30.340 --> 00:01:33.780 it again here as we walk through what the Lord 00:01:33.780 --> 00:01:56.430 has for us this morning. Verse 7. how will the 00:01:56.430 --> 00:02:01.670 ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 00:02:02.609 --> 00:02:08.659 Well, this is phenomenal for Paul to write because 00:02:08.659 --> 00:02:12.280 before he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, 00:02:12.280 --> 00:02:18.039 Paul, who then went by his Hebrew name Saul, 00:02:18.300 --> 00:02:23.780 he later switched to his Roman name Paul. And 00:02:23.780 --> 00:02:27.719 Saul, on the road to Damascus, before he encountered 00:02:27.719 --> 00:02:35.030 Christ, was a master of the law. He was a Pharisee 00:02:35.030 --> 00:02:41.719 of Pharisees, as for zeal in his faith, persecuting 00:02:41.719 --> 00:02:46.300 the church, persecuting those walking in the 00:02:46.300 --> 00:02:50.259 new covenant, living in the old covenant himself. 00:02:51.289 --> 00:02:55.449 And now look what he called the ministry of the 00:02:55.449 --> 00:03:00.240 old covenant. Paul calls the ministry of the 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:06.479 old covenant, the ministry of death. That's pretty 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:13.009 strong, isn't it? For Saul, a master of all 640 00:03:13.009 --> 00:03:17.860 some laws of the Old Testament, a master of them 00:03:17.860 --> 00:03:21.659 to call it the ministry of death. He realized 00:03:21.659 --> 00:03:25.759 something. He realized that the ministry of the 00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:31.050 law would never save anybody. He realized that 00:03:31.050 --> 00:03:34.030 the ministry of the law could never transform 00:03:34.030 --> 00:03:39.879 anybody. That as much as people would conform 00:03:39.879 --> 00:03:44.439 their outward lives to try to follow the law, 00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:49.500 they never could. And they would end up needing 00:03:49.500 --> 00:03:53.319 another sacrifice and another sacrifice. and 00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:56.960 another sacrifice, and another sacrifice, and 00:03:56.960 --> 00:04:01.419 they would never get where they were going. And 00:04:01.419 --> 00:04:06.729 he called it a ministry of death. That's pretty 00:04:06.729 --> 00:04:11.180 strong, isn't it? Ministry of death. And he's 00:04:11.180 --> 00:04:17.240 saying this, the ministry of death came with 00:04:17.240 --> 00:04:22.939 glory. And that glory was pretty powerful. I 00:04:22.939 --> 00:04:26.149 won't take the time. to turn to all the scriptures 00:04:26.149 --> 00:04:30.569 that we walked through in the seniors meeting, 00:04:30.649 --> 00:04:34.110 but we looked at the life of Moses, and Moses' 00:04:34.350 --> 00:04:38.170 first encounter with glory was at the burning 00:04:38.170 --> 00:04:42.160 bush in Exodus chapter 3. And he saw this bush 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:44.819 that was on fire but not being consumed. It just 00:04:44.819 --> 00:04:47.040 kept burning and burning and burning. And he 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:50.040 walked up to it and God spoke to him out of that 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:52.939 burning bush and said, Moses, take off your sandals 00:04:52.939 --> 00:04:55.519 for the place where you are standing is holy 00:04:55.519 --> 00:04:57.819 ground. How many of you would say that was glory? 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:02.279 That was glory. Then later on, after the deliverance 00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:07.060 from Egypt, In Exodus chapter 24, the Bible says 00:05:07.060 --> 00:05:11.740 that Moses and the 70 elders and Aaron and Nadab 00:05:11.740 --> 00:05:16.980 and Abihu, they approached God and they saw the 00:05:16.980 --> 00:05:21.360 God of Israel and he looked like he had sapphire 00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:25.720 underneath him and God served them a meal and 00:05:25.720 --> 00:05:29.040 there before God, while they were looking at 00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:33.540 him, they ate and they drank. That's pretty powerful, 00:05:33.740 --> 00:05:37.720 isn't it? And then we read later in Exodus chapter 00:05:37.720 --> 00:05:41.199 34 that when Moses meets with God, something 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:46.399 unique begins to happen. His face begins to glow. 00:05:47.399 --> 00:05:51.639 And why? Why did his face glow? Because he had 00:05:51.639 --> 00:05:55.279 been with the Lord so many times that his own 00:05:55.279 --> 00:05:58.899 countenance was taking on the same countenance 00:05:58.899 --> 00:06:03.639 of God. And the glory that he experienced when 00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:08.120 he was with the Lord rubbed off on him and he 00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:12.420 began to glow. His skin began to glow. It scared 00:06:12.420 --> 00:06:15.779 the Israelites. And so he would take a veil and 00:06:15.779 --> 00:06:19.740 he would put it on his face. And that veil that 00:06:19.740 --> 00:06:23.019 he put on his face would make it so the Israelites 00:06:23.019 --> 00:06:27.379 could approach him without trembling. And wondering, 00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:29.819 it sounds like something straight out of sci 00:06:29.819 --> 00:06:33.180 -fi, doesn't it? But it was the glory of God 00:06:33.180 --> 00:06:37.279 resting on Moses. And when he would go into the 00:06:37.279 --> 00:06:40.600 Lord, he would take the veil off to meet with 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:43.680 God. And then when he would talk with the people, 00:06:43.779 --> 00:06:47.879 he would put the veil back on and cover his face. 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:53.730 And then we went to Exodus chapter 40. When the 00:06:53.730 --> 00:06:58.750 tabernacle of Moses was being dedicated and the 00:06:58.750 --> 00:07:04.189 glory of God so filled the tabernacle that not 00:07:04.189 --> 00:07:09.089 even Moses could go into the tabernacle because 00:07:09.089 --> 00:07:14.910 the glory of God was so strong. Others mention 00:07:14.910 --> 00:07:17.829 different times in the Old Testament when the 00:07:17.829 --> 00:07:20.670 glory of God appeared. The dedication of Solomon's 00:07:20.670 --> 00:07:24.110 temple. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Daniel 00:07:24.110 --> 00:07:27.110 in the lion's den. You can probably think of 00:07:27.110 --> 00:07:31.050 a dozen other times where the glory of God was 00:07:31.050 --> 00:07:37.050 displayed under the ministry of the Old Testament. 00:07:39.490 --> 00:07:42.769 So Paul is writing here, he's saying this is 00:07:42.769 --> 00:07:45.689 the ministry of death, written and engraved on 00:07:45.689 --> 00:07:51.230 stones. It was glorious. And how many of you 00:07:51.230 --> 00:07:55.250 would agree that those things that I just described 00:07:55.250 --> 00:08:02.970 are fantastically glorious? Hallelujah. But then 00:08:02.970 --> 00:08:07.509 in verse 8, Paul says something amazing. How? 00:08:08.199 --> 00:08:15.439 will the ministry of the Spirit be more glorious? 00:08:18.550 --> 00:08:21.889 And I want to tell you this morning, because 00:08:21.889 --> 00:08:24.110 we can get used to, those of you that have been 00:08:24.110 --> 00:08:26.209 coming to church week after week after week, 00:08:26.350 --> 00:08:33.070 we can get used to and numb to what is happening. 00:08:34.610 --> 00:08:39.330 But what is happening when God ministers by His 00:08:39.330 --> 00:08:47.470 Spirit is more glorious happening in this room 00:08:47.470 --> 00:08:56.669 right now than what Moses experienced. Some of 00:08:56.669 --> 00:09:00.159 you think, well, how could that be? It's the 00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:06.049 power of the new covenant. Because the new covenant 00:09:06.049 --> 00:09:11.460 is not like the old covenant. Because Jesus fulfilled. 00:09:11.899 --> 00:09:15.259 He was the only one that ever did. He fulfilled 00:09:15.259 --> 00:09:20.929 the law. And when he was crucified, that old 00:09:20.929 --> 00:09:24.730 covenant came to an end. You say, well, why did 00:09:24.730 --> 00:09:29.710 he have to die? Why did Jesus have to die? It's 00:09:29.710 --> 00:09:33.750 like a marriage. You are in covenant with your 00:09:33.750 --> 00:09:37.889 spouse until there is a death. And then you are 00:09:37.889 --> 00:09:42.639 freed from that covenant. Well, Jesus spent the... 00:09:43.230 --> 00:09:47.509 The three years that he was ministering, establishing 00:09:47.509 --> 00:09:51.649 the new covenant. And when he shed his blood 00:09:51.649 --> 00:09:54.950 and he said it is finished on the cross, the 00:09:54.950 --> 00:09:59.429 power of the old covenant was done. Hallelujah. 00:10:00.389 --> 00:10:04.230 And the new covenant was put into effect, hallelujah, 00:10:04.250 --> 00:10:09.389 by the blood of the lamb that Jesus, Jesus was 00:10:09.389 --> 00:10:12.870 that lamb, by his perfect blood, hallelujah, 00:10:12.889 --> 00:10:16.710 the new covenant was brought into effect. And 00:10:16.710 --> 00:10:19.490 guess what now, friends? Jesus, because he's 00:10:19.490 --> 00:10:22.909 a perfect sacrifice, does not have to die over 00:10:22.909 --> 00:10:26.649 and over and over and over again, hallelujah. 00:10:28.470 --> 00:10:31.509 Somebody give God praise this morning. Somebody 00:10:31.509 --> 00:10:37.600 give God praise. It is more glorious. Let's keep 00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:41.840 reading verse 9. For if the ministry of condemnation 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:46.600 had glory. You're a failure. You're a failure. 00:10:46.860 --> 00:10:50.250 You're a failure. You're a failure. It came with 00:10:50.250 --> 00:10:54.639 glory. The ministry of righteousness. Because 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:58.360 one thing that happened on that cross. My sin. 00:10:59.659 --> 00:11:06.090 My sin was placed on Jesus. And guess what was 00:11:06.090 --> 00:11:14.639 placed on me? His righteousness. A divine exchange. 00:11:15.340 --> 00:11:21.419 If the ministry of condemnation had glory, the 00:11:21.419 --> 00:11:26.799 ministry of righteousness exceeds much more. 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:31.700 Everybody say much more in glory. Hallelujah. 00:11:32.940 --> 00:11:36.379 For even what was made glorious had no glory 00:11:36.379 --> 00:11:40.419 in this respect because of the glory that excels. 00:11:40.860 --> 00:11:47.360 For if what was passing away was glorious, what 00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:54.159 remains is much more glorious. Therefore, since 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:58.820 we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech. 00:11:59.820 --> 00:12:04.399 Unlike Moses, Who put a veil over his face so 00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:06.940 that the children of Israel could not look steadily 00:12:06.940 --> 00:12:11.779 at what was passing away. Their minds were blinded. 00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:16.039 For until this day, the same veil remains unlifted 00:12:16.039 --> 00:12:18.799 in the reading of the Old Testament. Because 00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:26.299 the veil is taken away in Christ. Paul even talking 00:12:26.299 --> 00:12:29.259 about this. Because on the road to Damascus, 00:12:29.320 --> 00:12:32.960 he had an encounter with the glory of God. And 00:12:32.960 --> 00:12:36.980 what happened to him? The veil was taken away. 00:12:37.059 --> 00:12:41.309 Hallelujah. He had heard of Jesus. He was persecuting 00:12:41.309 --> 00:12:44.529 Christians for following Jesus. But he had a 00:12:44.529 --> 00:12:48.389 veil over his mind. And every time he read the 00:12:48.389 --> 00:12:51.049 Old Testament, it did not make sense to him. 00:12:51.169 --> 00:12:55.190 But he had an encounter with the risen Savior 00:12:55.190 --> 00:12:59.490 whose name is Jesus. And the veil was removed 00:12:59.490 --> 00:13:05.169 and he could see. Hallelujah. The veil is taken 00:13:05.169 --> 00:13:10.659 away in Christ. But even to this day when Moses 00:13:10.659 --> 00:13:18.200 is read, a veil lies on their heart. A veil lies 00:13:18.200 --> 00:13:22.490 on their heart. I wasn't planning on doing this, 00:13:22.590 --> 00:13:26.190 but I feel moved by the Holy Spirit right now 00:13:26.190 --> 00:13:31.470 to pray for the nation Israel. Will you join 00:13:31.470 --> 00:13:35.929 with me for a moment? Lord, there are many people 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:40.679 of Israel, your chosen, that know you. They are 00:13:40.679 --> 00:13:45.850 Messianic Christians. And I thank you for that. 00:13:45.929 --> 00:13:50.500 But there are so many more that this is still 00:13:50.500 --> 00:13:56.870 true. There is a veil over their heart. And I 00:13:56.870 --> 00:14:01.909 ask in Jesus' name that you would remove the 00:14:01.909 --> 00:14:07.080 veil, that you would cause Israel to be saved. 00:14:08.009 --> 00:14:11.029 Lord, even as there is so much in the news about 00:14:11.029 --> 00:14:14.600 Israel, about... Benjamin Netanyahu's speech 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:18.460 and what is happening on the Gaza Strip and opinions 00:14:18.460 --> 00:14:24.190 are so varied and all over the map. God, they 00:14:24.190 --> 00:14:28.509 are still your chosen people. And we are asking, 00:14:28.529 --> 00:14:32.720 Lord, for the peace of Jerusalem. We're asking 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:36.480 God for the veil that is on Israel to be removed 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:39.879 and lifted in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. 00:14:41.090 --> 00:14:44.730 Hallelujah. Lord, it was the Jewish people that 00:14:44.730 --> 00:14:49.529 brought forth our Messiah, Jesus, who is forever 00:14:49.529 --> 00:14:54.309 Jewish. And Lord, we bless the nation of Israel, 00:14:54.370 --> 00:14:56.730 not because they are perfect and everything they 00:14:56.730 --> 00:14:59.269 do is right, but because they are your people. 00:14:59.990 --> 00:15:04.190 And we bless the nation of Israel right now in 00:15:04.190 --> 00:15:10.419 Jesus' name. Hallelujah. Even to this day when 00:15:10.419 --> 00:15:14.279 Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Verse 00:15:14.279 --> 00:15:17.539 16, nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, 00:15:17.700 --> 00:15:22.740 the veil is taken away. Now you might not have 00:15:22.740 --> 00:15:25.879 grown up knowing the law. You might have grown 00:15:25.879 --> 00:15:29.100 up in a very secular place. You might have grown 00:15:29.100 --> 00:15:32.700 up... in a place that didn't even care about 00:15:32.700 --> 00:15:36.000 religion, or didn't go to church, or maybe you 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:39.100 went to church, but you went to a religious church 00:15:39.100 --> 00:15:42.240 that didn't talk about Jesus, didn't talk about 00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:45.159 having a relationship with him, and though you 00:15:45.159 --> 00:15:50.000 did not have the veil like Paul had it, or like 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:52.960 the Jewish people had it, you still had a veil 00:15:52.960 --> 00:15:55.960 over your life because you were in the dark. 00:15:56.549 --> 00:15:59.590 But when you came to Christ, hallelujah, you 00:15:59.590 --> 00:16:03.549 became, 2 Corinthians 5, 17, a new creation, 00:16:03.889 --> 00:16:07.950 hallelujah. The old is past, and the new has 00:16:07.950 --> 00:16:12.710 come. When one turns to the Lord, the veil is 00:16:12.710 --> 00:16:16.230 taken away, hallelujah. The Lord is the Spirit, 00:16:16.389 --> 00:16:20.149 and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is 00:16:20.149 --> 00:16:23.889 liberty. Somebody give God praise this morning. 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:30.009 Hallelujah. And then we get to my text. So that 00:16:30.009 --> 00:16:36.870 was my 20 -minute introduction. But we all, with 00:16:36.899 --> 00:16:42.370 unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory 00:16:42.370 --> 00:16:46.830 of the Lord, are being transformed into the same 00:16:46.830 --> 00:16:52.929 image from glory to glory just as by the Spirit 00:16:52.929 --> 00:16:59.389 of the Lord. Hallelujah. This is a verse. That 00:16:59.389 --> 00:17:02.269 as my wife has been saying lately, I have been 00:17:02.269 --> 00:17:11.109 chewing the cud on. I have been just living in 00:17:11.109 --> 00:17:20.920 it. Making it my aim to daily take time to behold 00:17:20.920 --> 00:17:28.920 Him. To behold Him. My goal for this message 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:37.380 is to put salt on your tongue. To cause you to 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:41.480 hunger and thirst for the living presence of 00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:49.259 God. For the glory of God. To learn the art of 00:17:49.259 --> 00:17:58.190 beholding Him. To learn the discipline of looking 00:17:58.190 --> 00:18:05.390 upon Him. The glory of God. We saw Moses go from 00:18:05.390 --> 00:18:08.230 glory to glory till the glory was so strong that 00:18:08.230 --> 00:18:15.579 he could not even enter in. Glory. The Old Testament 00:18:15.579 --> 00:18:21.990 word for glory is kabod. It means weightiness. 00:18:22.630 --> 00:18:34.289 The weight of God. It means that where his presence 00:18:34.289 --> 00:18:41.380 is, there his glory is. And I have to... differentiate 00:18:41.380 --> 00:18:44.079 between two different kinds of presence of the 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:47.380 Lord. There is his omnipresence. God is everywhere. 00:18:47.500 --> 00:18:50.220 There is nowhere you can't go that God is not. 00:18:50.339 --> 00:18:53.200 He is there. He has the ability. He's the only 00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:55.920 one. Now, let me tell you something. Satan is 00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:59.140 not omnipresent. Satan can only be in one place 00:18:59.140 --> 00:19:04.049 at one time. God is omnipresent. He can be everywhere 00:19:04.049 --> 00:19:08.269 at the same time. But his manifest presence is 00:19:08.269 --> 00:19:13.019 not like that. His manifest presence is where 00:19:13.019 --> 00:19:18.589 he displays his glory. Hallelujah. Now, we read 00:19:18.589 --> 00:19:20.849 in the Old Testament about times where his glory 00:19:20.849 --> 00:19:23.130 came and there was a cloud and there was fire. 00:19:23.369 --> 00:19:25.769 And we see some of that in the New Testament. 00:19:25.809 --> 00:19:28.369 In Acts chapter 2, when they were baptized with 00:19:28.369 --> 00:19:31.849 the Holy Spirit, the fire of God came into the 00:19:31.849 --> 00:19:35.269 ceiling of the room, separated, and a tongue 00:19:35.269 --> 00:19:38.589 came to rest. A tongue of fire came to rest on 00:19:38.589 --> 00:19:41.450 each person. That is a physical manifestation 00:19:41.450 --> 00:19:45.750 of the glory of God. We saw that on the road 00:19:45.750 --> 00:19:49.410 to Damascus. There was a voice from heaven and 00:19:49.410 --> 00:19:53.369 it thundered and that's a physical manifestation 00:19:53.369 --> 00:19:58.410 of the glory of God. I have never personally 00:19:58.410 --> 00:20:02.670 seen a glory cloud, but I have heard of services 00:20:02.670 --> 00:20:05.569 where people are gathering and they are worshiping 00:20:05.569 --> 00:20:08.809 and the presence of God comes so strong that 00:20:08.809 --> 00:20:12.849 a mist appears in the room that everybody can 00:20:12.849 --> 00:20:16.059 see. Anybody ever heard any testimonies like 00:20:16.059 --> 00:20:20.480 that before? That's the glory of God. But can 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:24.720 I tell you that God manifests his glory in other 00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:31.250 ways as well? In John chapter 2, in John chapter 00:20:31.250 --> 00:20:38.730 2, Jesus turns the water into wine. The Bible 00:20:38.730 --> 00:20:42.849 says, at the end of that story, I believe around 00:20:42.849 --> 00:20:48.269 verse 11, the book of John says this, and so 00:20:48.269 --> 00:20:56.470 Jesus manifested his glory. Now, there was no 00:20:56.470 --> 00:21:02.130 glory cloud. There was nothing that people could 00:21:02.130 --> 00:21:07.759 see, but it was a miracle. It was a miracle. 00:21:08.779 --> 00:21:12.599 And when Jesus performed the miracle, the Bible 00:21:12.599 --> 00:21:20.849 says he displayed his glory. Hallelujah. It doesn't 00:21:20.849 --> 00:21:24.650 just have to be a cloud or fire or something 00:21:24.650 --> 00:21:29.069 strange and mystical that can be seen with the 00:21:29.069 --> 00:21:33.509 eyes. But sometimes God manifests his glory in 00:21:33.509 --> 00:21:37.890 very small ways and also in very big ways. Can 00:21:37.890 --> 00:21:41.910 I tell you this? Answered prayer is a manifestation 00:21:41.910 --> 00:21:48.559 of the glory of God. When God shows up and does 00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:51.299 something in your life, that's a manifestation 00:21:51.299 --> 00:21:55.240 of the glory of God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. 00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:59.480 Can I tell you one time I was at my office, and 00:21:59.480 --> 00:22:03.259 this was in Galesburg when I was assistant pastor, 00:22:03.480 --> 00:22:07.880 and the Lord gave me a scripture verse. Cammie 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:10.180 and I had been praying about direction for our 00:22:10.180 --> 00:22:13.859 lives. And the Lord gave me a scripture verse 00:22:13.859 --> 00:22:17.539 out of the life of David. And I thought that 00:22:17.539 --> 00:22:20.000 when I went home, it was going to disappoint 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:23.220 my wife because it was not the word that I wanted 00:22:23.220 --> 00:22:28.259 to hear in the moment for our family. And so 00:22:28.259 --> 00:22:34.319 I'm carrying this word and I go home and I am 00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:38.940 speaking to my wife. I say, the Lord spoke to 00:22:38.940 --> 00:22:43.099 me today. We've been asking for direction. And 00:22:43.099 --> 00:22:46.380 she said, that's interesting. She said, before 00:22:46.380 --> 00:22:50.160 you tell me what God spoke to you today, I want 00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:54.690 to tell you what God spoke to me today. And she 00:22:54.690 --> 00:22:59.109 opened up her Bible to the exact same verse. 00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:07.259 And she read to me the exact same verse. And 00:23:07.259 --> 00:23:10.500 she said, I don't know if you're going to like 00:23:10.500 --> 00:23:14.519 this, Darren, or not. But this is what God spoke 00:23:14.519 --> 00:23:20.059 to me about the direction for our family. Can 00:23:20.059 --> 00:23:22.400 I tell you something in that moment what I was 00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:28.630 experiencing? The glory of God who went before 00:23:28.630 --> 00:23:33.920 me, prepared my wife's heart. In fact, spoke 00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:38.140 to her the exact same thing that he had spoken 00:23:38.140 --> 00:23:42.519 to me that day. That's the glory of God. Can 00:23:42.519 --> 00:23:45.079 I tell you about another time? I was in Bible 00:23:45.079 --> 00:23:49.380 college, and I liked Bible college because my 00:23:49.380 --> 00:23:51.819 wife used to make cookies back then and mail 00:23:51.819 --> 00:23:55.440 them to me. And now she's learned how bad cookies 00:23:55.440 --> 00:24:03.420 are for you. And that just, that has nothing 00:24:03.420 --> 00:24:05.500 to do with my message. It's just a memory that 00:24:05.500 --> 00:24:10.450 came to my mind. When I first went to Bible college, 00:24:10.470 --> 00:24:13.710 I had a broken foot. I came to Bible college 00:24:13.710 --> 00:24:19.109 with a cast. on my foot. And I hobbled around 00:24:19.109 --> 00:24:22.309 on crutches for four weeks. And then I went to 00:24:22.309 --> 00:24:24.750 the doctor, and the doctor removed the cast. 00:24:26.190 --> 00:24:31.109 And I had had a stress fracture in my foot. And 00:24:31.109 --> 00:24:33.769 when the doctor removed the cast, he said, now 00:24:33.769 --> 00:24:35.930 listen, you need to take it easy for the next 00:24:35.930 --> 00:24:42.960 three to four weeks. And I went back to the school 00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:51.410 that night, and I took a basketball into the 00:24:51.410 --> 00:24:56.279 gym, and I ran up and down the gym floor for 00:24:56.279 --> 00:24:59.619 three hours playing basketball with my friends. 00:25:01.420 --> 00:25:05.000 And I would have played longer, except at the 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:08.140 end of the third hour, I think I could hear it 00:25:08.140 --> 00:25:15.000 with my ears. My foot went snap. I had rebroken 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:21.410 my foot. It swelled up. And I said, Darren, What 00:25:21.410 --> 00:25:27.640 an idiot you are. I was dreading calling my mom 00:25:27.640 --> 00:25:34.170 and dad who paid for the first cast. I could 00:25:34.170 --> 00:25:40.490 not think about even talking with them because 00:25:42.180 --> 00:25:44.839 I was going to have to go through another five 00:25:44.839 --> 00:25:49.410 weeks of a cast. And guess who was probably going 00:25:49.410 --> 00:25:53.769 to have to pay for it? And I didn't call them 00:25:53.769 --> 00:25:59.900 and I went to bed that night. And I was frustrated. 00:26:00.059 --> 00:26:04.970 I was feeling... condemnation and shame, perhaps 00:26:05.349 --> 00:26:12.869 rightly so. And about two in the morning, I woke 00:26:12.869 --> 00:26:21.880 up startled because God was in my room. And I 00:26:21.880 --> 00:26:30.420 woke up because my foot was on fire. And I went 00:26:30.420 --> 00:26:34.480 from a dead sleep to fully 100 % awake in about 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:39.369 five seconds. And I realized immediately what 00:26:39.369 --> 00:26:45.029 was happening. God was in my room. God was healing 00:26:45.029 --> 00:26:50.670 my foot. And all I could do was get out of my 00:26:50.670 --> 00:26:54.130 bed and bow down before the Lord and worship 00:26:54.130 --> 00:27:00.180 him. His glory had come into my dorm room and 00:27:01.269 --> 00:27:08.250 my foot was fully 100 % healed. The swelling 00:27:08.250 --> 00:27:11.609 went down, and I have never had another issue 00:27:11.609 --> 00:27:15.660 with my foot since that day. It was the glory 00:27:15.660 --> 00:27:21.539 of God that visited me. I'm just talking freely 00:27:21.539 --> 00:27:27.039 about moments after we were married and had moved 00:27:27.039 --> 00:27:30.940 to Galesburg, and we had a family living above 00:27:30.940 --> 00:27:36.170 us in that house. a duplex upstairs, downstairs. 00:27:37.450 --> 00:27:40.109 And it was always noisy. And so I went down in 00:27:40.109 --> 00:27:43.369 the basement and I built, I actually built a 00:27:43.369 --> 00:27:46.759 kneeling altar down in the basement. And I used 00:27:46.759 --> 00:27:50.559 to go down there and I used to meet with God 00:27:50.559 --> 00:27:56.210 down there. And the glory of God would fill that 00:27:56.430 --> 00:27:59.789 basement, nasty basement, spider webs everywhere. 00:28:01.710 --> 00:28:07.240 But the glory of God would come. and meet with 00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:13.240 me. And I would just sit in that place, just 00:28:13.970 --> 00:28:20.549 worshiping. It became my spot. And I would go 00:28:20.549 --> 00:28:24.160 there daily, and I would experience the glory 00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:34.460 of God. The glory of God. The first thing that 00:28:34.460 --> 00:28:40.069 we see in this passage, in verse 18, it says, 00:28:40.130 --> 00:28:47.519 but we all. Those three words change everything. 00:28:49.069 --> 00:28:51.789 This is the entire difference between the old 00:28:51.789 --> 00:28:58.390 covenant and the new covenant. But we all. The 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:07.839 old covenant was for the Moseses. It was for 00:29:07.839 --> 00:29:12.809 the Abrahams. It was for the Davids, the Elijahs. 00:29:13.970 --> 00:29:17.289 Really, the ones that God met with in the old 00:29:17.289 --> 00:29:20.009 covenant were the prophets, the priests, and 00:29:20.009 --> 00:29:30.119 the kings. Everybody else was left in the dark. 00:29:30.539 --> 00:29:36.970 They were on the outside looking in. But the 00:29:36.970 --> 00:29:42.940 new covenant changes everything. But we all, 00:29:43.380 --> 00:29:54.420 we all, there is nobody in this room that cannot 00:29:54.420 --> 00:30:04.119 experience the presence of God. He does not favor 00:30:04.119 --> 00:30:09.390 the pastor. over anybody else. And I do believe 00:30:09.390 --> 00:30:11.950 in the functions and the gifts of the Holy Spirit 00:30:11.950 --> 00:30:15.710 that make us different in function in the body. 00:30:15.809 --> 00:30:20.829 I do believe in them. But every single one of 00:30:20.829 --> 00:30:24.970 us can experience the glory and the presence 00:30:24.970 --> 00:30:33.799 of the living God. Hallelujah. We all, but we 00:30:33.799 --> 00:30:40.710 all, oh, glory to Jesus. And so Jesus became 00:30:40.710 --> 00:30:45.490 a rabbi when he turned 30. And he began to select 00:30:45.490 --> 00:30:49.390 his disciples. And all the other rabbis that 00:30:49.390 --> 00:30:54.289 were leaders in the nation of Israel, when they 00:30:54.289 --> 00:30:57.150 selected the people that they would call their 00:30:57.150 --> 00:31:00.789 disciples, they went to the education system 00:31:00.789 --> 00:31:04.190 and they selected the ones that were chosen for 00:31:04.190 --> 00:31:07.650 further education and further education. And 00:31:07.650 --> 00:31:11.710 they chose the cream of the crop to be their 00:31:11.710 --> 00:31:15.440 disciples. But I want you to hear what Jesus 00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:19.859 does when he chooses his disciples. And Jesus, 00:31:20.019 --> 00:31:24.460 walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers. 00:31:25.200 --> 00:31:30.039 Simon called Peter and Andrew, his brother, casting 00:31:30.039 --> 00:31:35.119 a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 00:31:36.359 --> 00:31:40.660 Jesus does not choose disciples like everybody 00:31:40.660 --> 00:31:45.630 else chooses disciples. These are men that only 00:31:45.630 --> 00:31:48.670 had the first level of education, and because 00:31:48.670 --> 00:31:51.049 they were not the cream of the crop, they could 00:31:51.049 --> 00:31:54.430 not move forward, and so they were assigned the 00:31:54.430 --> 00:31:58.299 profession of their father. Now, the world needs 00:31:58.299 --> 00:32:04.819 fishermen, and so it was not like they were people 00:32:04.819 --> 00:32:08.480 that were unproductive in society, but they were 00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:13.029 not the high people of society. And Jesus looks 00:32:13.029 --> 00:32:16.450 at them and says, follow me, I will make you 00:32:16.450 --> 00:32:19.690 fishers of men. And they immediately left their 00:32:19.690 --> 00:32:23.690 nets and followed him. And going on from there, 00:32:23.730 --> 00:32:27.309 he saw two other brothers, James, son of Zebedee, 00:32:27.309 --> 00:32:30.589 and John, his brother, in the boat with Zebedee, 00:32:30.609 --> 00:32:33.849 their father, mending their nets, two other fishermen. 00:32:34.880 --> 00:32:40.029 And he called them. And immediately they left 00:32:40.029 --> 00:32:44.349 the boat and their father and followed Jesus. 00:32:45.109 --> 00:32:53.279 But we all, the 12 that eventually established 00:32:53.279 --> 00:32:58.059 the church. And you think of Simon here, Andrew's 00:32:58.059 --> 00:33:01.440 brother, who was later called Peter. And how 00:33:01.440 --> 00:33:05.170 Peter in Acts chapter 5. Would walk down the 00:33:05.170 --> 00:33:09.630 road. And his shadow would touch the sick. And 00:33:09.630 --> 00:33:13.390 his shadow would raise the sick. Up off of their 00:33:13.390 --> 00:33:17.750 sick bed. Hallelujah. Why was that? Because of 00:33:17.750 --> 00:33:21.880 this. But we all. Hallelujah. This fisherman 00:33:21.880 --> 00:33:26.160 that left his nets was transformed over three 00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:29.299 years of time. He was transformed when he was 00:33:29.299 --> 00:33:32.380 baptized in the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2. 00:33:32.480 --> 00:33:36.319 He was transformed from glory to glory to the 00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:39.819 point where he walked down the road and the sick 00:33:39.819 --> 00:33:43.099 were healed in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. 00:33:44.190 --> 00:33:46.250 Can I tell you that was not the glory of Peter. 00:33:46.369 --> 00:33:48.710 That was the glory of God that was on Peter. 00:33:49.069 --> 00:33:53.069 And Peter reflecting that glory. And Moses, his 00:33:53.069 --> 00:33:57.109 face shown. But Peter, his shadow healed people. 00:33:57.289 --> 00:34:00.970 Hallelujah. It's the glory of God that got on 00:34:00.970 --> 00:34:05.829 him. Hallelujah. I'm believing for a church that 00:34:05.829 --> 00:34:09.849 will rise up with the glory of God on them. The 00:34:09.849 --> 00:34:14.559 glory of God on the house. Hallelujah. Jesus! 00:34:15.579 --> 00:34:24.590 I feel God in the place. And so these disciples, 00:34:24.789 --> 00:34:27.409 they were chosen. They were hanging out with 00:34:27.409 --> 00:34:32.550 Jesus. And Matthew 17 says, after six days, Jesus 00:34:32.550 --> 00:34:36.820 took Peter, James, and John, his brother, led 00:34:36.820 --> 00:34:39.059 them up on a mountain by themselves, and he was 00:34:39.059 --> 00:34:47.230 transfigured before them. Following John's journey 00:34:47.230 --> 00:34:53.760 for a moment, Jesus' face shone. like the sun. 00:34:56.980 --> 00:35:01.679 And his clothes became as white as the light. 00:35:02.559 --> 00:35:06.579 How many of you think that this is glory? This 00:35:06.579 --> 00:35:10.380 is the glory of God. Do you know the end of the 00:35:10.380 --> 00:35:12.539 book of Revelation when there is a new heavens 00:35:12.539 --> 00:35:17.559 and a new earth? That there will be no sun? That 00:35:17.559 --> 00:35:19.920 we will not have a sun that the new earth revolves 00:35:19.920 --> 00:35:24.460 around because The glory that is on the face 00:35:24.460 --> 00:35:29.420 of Jesus will light up the whole world. It's 00:35:29.420 --> 00:35:34.269 the glory of God. And for a moment, Peter and 00:35:34.269 --> 00:35:38.110 James and John, as Jesus is transfigured, and 00:35:38.110 --> 00:35:40.809 Moses and Elijah meets them on the mountain, 00:35:40.949 --> 00:35:54.980 they experience the glory of Jesus. And then 00:35:54.980 --> 00:35:57.500 John. We could follow John. We could talk a lot 00:35:57.500 --> 00:36:02.510 about John. But one more, John on the island 00:36:02.510 --> 00:36:09.769 of Patmos, in Revelation chapter 1, he heard 00:36:09.769 --> 00:36:14.190 a voice. In verse 12 says, I turned to see the 00:36:14.190 --> 00:36:19.119 voice that spoke with me. And having turned, 00:36:19.159 --> 00:36:21.739 I saw seven golden lampstands in the midst of 00:36:21.739 --> 00:36:23.960 the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man, 00:36:24.039 --> 00:36:26.400 clothed with the garment down to the feet, and 00:36:26.400 --> 00:36:29.300 girded about the chest with a golden band. His 00:36:29.300 --> 00:36:32.000 head and hair were white like wool, eyes like 00:36:32.000 --> 00:36:35.440 snow, his eyes like a flame of fire, his feet 00:36:35.440 --> 00:36:38.179 were like fine brass as if refined in a furnace, 00:36:38.320 --> 00:36:41.340 and his voice as the sound of many waters. He 00:36:41.340 --> 00:36:44.260 had in his right hand seven stars, and out of 00:36:44.260 --> 00:36:47.019 his mouth went a sharp two -edged sword, and 00:36:47.019 --> 00:36:50.239 his countenance was like the sun shining in its 00:36:50.239 --> 00:36:55.369 strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet 00:36:55.369 --> 00:37:09.590 as though dead. From glory to glory. Ordinary 00:37:09.590 --> 00:37:19.449 fishermen going from glory to glory. But we all, 00:37:23.949 --> 00:37:28.630 there are levels of the glory of God. That's 00:37:28.630 --> 00:37:34.250 why we go from glory to glory. Did you know that 00:37:34.250 --> 00:37:39.019 your destiny, Is tied in with the glory of God. 00:37:40.550 --> 00:37:45.869 Your destiny. Because it is in the glory of God. 00:37:46.849 --> 00:37:49.750 Whether it is in the quietness of your own home. 00:37:50.329 --> 00:37:54.269 Where you are encountering Jesus. And maybe even 00:37:54.269 --> 00:37:56.449 nothing dramatic happened. We're talking about 00:37:56.449 --> 00:38:00.409 dramatic moments here. And I've had some dramatic 00:38:00.409 --> 00:38:03.349 moments in my life. But it is the day in day 00:38:03.349 --> 00:38:06.590 out pursuit of God. And wanting to be with him. 00:38:08.619 --> 00:38:11.840 where most of the transformation in my life happens. 00:38:12.929 --> 00:38:17.780 But it is in the glory of God that transformation 00:38:17.780 --> 00:38:26.570 happens. Isn't that what the verse says? We behold 00:38:26.570 --> 00:38:29.550 as in a mirror the glory of the Lord and are 00:38:29.550 --> 00:38:38.059 transformed into His image. Transformed into 00:38:38.219 --> 00:38:44.820 His image. The glory of God, His presence, is 00:38:44.820 --> 00:38:47.860 not given to you simply to make you feel better. 00:38:49.369 --> 00:38:52.650 Have you ever experienced goosebumps in the presence 00:38:52.650 --> 00:38:57.190 of God? All the time, I feel, I sense His presence, 00:38:57.230 --> 00:39:00.849 and I go, wow, and my body responds to that, 00:39:00.929 --> 00:39:04.070 but it is not for the purpose of you feeling 00:39:04.070 --> 00:39:08.469 something necessarily that God displays His presence. 00:39:09.389 --> 00:39:17.019 It is for you to be transformed Into his image. 00:39:18.070 --> 00:39:23.070 And that is your destiny. To become like Christ. 00:39:23.489 --> 00:39:25.989 Now this doesn't mean you don't retain your own 00:39:25.989 --> 00:39:29.190 individual personality. But God is working with 00:39:29.190 --> 00:39:33.389 you as an individual to make you more and more 00:39:33.389 --> 00:39:39.929 like Jesus. Amen? And Romans chapter 8 says, 00:39:40.110 --> 00:39:45.909 verse 29. For whom God foreknew, he predestined 00:39:45.909 --> 00:39:50.570 to be conformed to the image of his Son, that 00:39:51.239 --> 00:39:53.760 he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 00:39:54.519 --> 00:39:58.980 And so he has chosen you to become like Christ. 00:39:59.760 --> 00:40:03.539 Hallelujah. Just like he chose Peter and James 00:40:03.539 --> 00:40:08.360 and Andrew and Simon and John. Just like he chose 00:40:08.360 --> 00:40:11.929 them, he's chosen you. To become like Christ. 00:40:12.070 --> 00:40:16.949 Hallelujah. Now there is. Something that happens 00:40:16.949 --> 00:40:18.849 in the presence of the Lord, and one of the most 00:40:18.849 --> 00:40:23.929 dramatic illustrations is in Isaiah chapter 6. 00:40:24.170 --> 00:40:27.690 And Isaiah, I'm wanting to wind this down in 00:40:27.690 --> 00:40:29.869 the next five minutes, and so I'm not going to 00:40:29.869 --> 00:40:32.369 take the time to read it. But Isaiah, in Isaiah 00:40:32.369 --> 00:40:35.570 6 verse 1, in the year that King Uzziah died, 00:40:35.809 --> 00:40:38.969 I saw the Lord high and lifted up, and the train 00:40:38.969 --> 00:40:43.239 of his robe filled the temple. And Isaiah saw 00:40:43.239 --> 00:40:46.519 the glory of God. And if you read down a few 00:40:46.519 --> 00:40:49.500 verses, you'll find that something happens. That 00:40:49.500 --> 00:40:53.000 Isaiah, when he's in the presence of God, he 00:40:53.000 --> 00:40:58.559 makes a statement. He says, Woe is me, for I 00:40:58.559 --> 00:41:02.599 am a man of unclean lips. I come from a people 00:41:02.599 --> 00:41:06.300 of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, 00:41:06.599 --> 00:41:11.110 the Lord Almighty. And God does something interesting 00:41:11.110 --> 00:41:14.230 because he could have squashed Isaiah right then 00:41:14.230 --> 00:41:16.570 and said, you're right. You're not worthy to 00:41:16.570 --> 00:41:19.650 be in my presence. But that's not what God does. 00:41:19.829 --> 00:41:22.730 What God does is he sends an angel to take a 00:41:22.730 --> 00:41:26.650 tongue and dip it into the fire and get a coal 00:41:26.650 --> 00:41:28.769 out of that fire. And you know what that represents? 00:41:29.030 --> 00:41:32.230 That represents the blood of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. 00:41:32.349 --> 00:41:37.050 And he touches Isaiah. He touches his lips and 00:41:37.050 --> 00:41:41.409 burns his lips. God says, see, I have taken away 00:41:41.409 --> 00:41:46.489 your sin. Glory to God. And so that's a dramatic 00:41:46.489 --> 00:41:49.369 expression. And then God calls Isaiah and he 00:41:49.369 --> 00:41:52.969 says, here am I, send me. And so it's an awesome, 00:41:53.050 --> 00:41:56.610 awesome moment. Okay, but this is what happens 00:41:56.610 --> 00:41:58.510 in the presence of the Lord. In the presence 00:41:58.510 --> 00:42:01.750 of the Lord, when God shows up, you see two things. 00:42:02.349 --> 00:42:06.670 One, you see his greatness. And the other thing 00:42:06.670 --> 00:42:14.039 you see, is your own frailty. It might be a sin 00:42:14.039 --> 00:42:18.699 that God puts his finger on. God has been putting 00:42:18.699 --> 00:42:25.849 his finger in my life on selfish ambition, doing 00:42:27.099 --> 00:42:33.139 things to be seen by men. And I have been repenting 00:42:33.139 --> 00:42:38.199 because it's a false motivation. It's a pharisaical 00:42:38.199 --> 00:42:43.860 motivation to do things to be seen by men. Jesus 00:42:43.860 --> 00:42:46.159 says, if that's your motivation, then you've 00:42:46.159 --> 00:42:50.800 already received your reward. And I've been confessing 00:42:50.800 --> 00:42:55.420 to God because it crops up. I want to be seen 00:42:55.420 --> 00:42:58.840 by men. I want men to tell me how good I am at 00:42:58.840 --> 00:43:03.130 this or that. And God says, you've already received 00:43:03.130 --> 00:43:05.150 your reward. But you know what happens when I'm 00:43:05.150 --> 00:43:08.230 in the presence of God? I see his beauty and 00:43:08.230 --> 00:43:11.630 I see how he laid his life down for me. And then 00:43:11.630 --> 00:43:16.119 I see my own sin. And it's there in his presence 00:43:16.119 --> 00:43:19.260 that I confess that. And it's there in his presence 00:43:19.260 --> 00:43:22.079 that he does not reject me. He did not reject 00:43:22.079 --> 00:43:28.170 Isaiah. He's not going to reject you. And he 00:43:28.170 --> 00:43:32.230 cleanses you. And he takes that thing out of 00:43:32.230 --> 00:43:38.539 your life so that you are more like Jesus. From 00:43:38.539 --> 00:43:43.300 glory to glory, being transformed into his image. 00:43:45.059 --> 00:43:47.659 And it seems like I go through seasons where 00:43:47.659 --> 00:43:50.820 God deals with this area of my life. And then 00:43:50.820 --> 00:43:53.320 He deals with this area of my life. And then 00:43:53.320 --> 00:43:56.500 He deals with this area of my life. But He is 00:43:56.500 --> 00:44:00.760 transforming me into the image of God. When I 00:44:00.760 --> 00:44:07.760 am with Jesus, I become like Jesus. That's the 00:44:07.760 --> 00:44:12.840 whole deal right there. I'm in His presence. 00:44:13.719 --> 00:44:19.500 I become like him. Jesus said, how many of you 00:44:19.500 --> 00:44:24.199 know John 3 .16? How many of you know the verses 00:44:24.199 --> 00:44:29.170 after John 3 .16? After John 3 .16, the Bible 00:44:29.170 --> 00:44:33.210 says that men love darkness rather than light. 00:44:34.119 --> 00:44:37.159 And because their deeds were evil, they avoid 00:44:37.159 --> 00:44:43.119 coming into the light. And there have been times 00:44:43.119 --> 00:44:47.820 where there has been stuff in my life that I 00:44:47.820 --> 00:44:53.000 have avoided. the presence of God because I want 00:44:53.000 --> 00:44:59.739 to hang on to my stuff. When your deeds are evil, 00:44:59.900 --> 00:45:02.719 you avoid the presence of God because it will 00:45:02.719 --> 00:45:09.409 shine a light on it. But if you love the presence 00:45:09.409 --> 00:45:15.030 of God, you will crave the light of his presence, 00:45:15.210 --> 00:45:22.429 the glory of his presence. Hallelujah. How do 00:45:22.429 --> 00:45:28.210 I know this is what I'm destined to be? I've 00:45:28.210 --> 00:45:30.769 got a lot more to preach, but I'm going to wind 00:45:30.769 --> 00:45:36.650 this down with this verse. 1 John 3 .2. This 00:45:36.650 --> 00:45:47.539 is John writing his first letter. Beloved, now 00:45:48.150 --> 00:45:54.570 we are the children of God. It has not yet been 00:45:54.570 --> 00:46:00.730 revealed what we shall be, but we know that when 00:46:00.730 --> 00:46:10.510 He is revealed, We shall be like him, for we 00:46:10.510 --> 00:46:18.880 shall see him as he is. When the trumpet sounds, 00:46:19.179 --> 00:46:25.019 and Jesus returns, and you are caught up in the 00:46:25.019 --> 00:46:30.559 air together with him, and you see him, because 00:46:30.559 --> 00:46:35.349 you see him. You behold him not as in a mirror 00:46:35.349 --> 00:46:37.809 anymore. I didn't get to that part. We see now 00:46:37.809 --> 00:46:41.489 dimly as in a mirror, but then we see face to 00:46:41.489 --> 00:46:44.469 face. You see him face to face. Guess what's 00:46:44.469 --> 00:46:46.750 going to happen? Your transformation. You've 00:46:46.750 --> 00:46:50.090 been journeying this whole life, but your transformation 00:46:50.090 --> 00:46:54.949 into the image of Christ will be complete. We 00:46:54.949 --> 00:46:59.010 shall see him and we shall be like him. Glory 00:46:59.010 --> 00:47:02.670 to God. I am looking forward to heaven for a 00:47:02.670 --> 00:47:05.630 lot of reasons, but this struggle, this struggle 00:47:05.630 --> 00:47:09.489 called discipleship, it will be over. I will 00:47:09.489 --> 00:47:16.869 be like Christ. Remember raising children, and 00:47:19.010 --> 00:47:26.739 when they had done something wrong, you know 00:47:26.739 --> 00:47:31.139 what they didn't like doing? Looking me in the 00:47:31.139 --> 00:47:46.019 eye, and I would say, look at me, and they didn't 00:47:46.019 --> 00:47:54.780 like looking at me. What happened when they Finally, 00:47:54.780 --> 00:48:01.039 locked eyes with me. And I could see into their 00:48:01.039 --> 00:48:09.099 heart. And I would say, tell me. In that moment, 00:48:09.239 --> 00:48:19.139 they would share the truth. That's oftentimes 00:48:19.139 --> 00:48:26.960 why we avoid God. We hang out. We watch others 00:48:26.960 --> 00:48:36.039 worship. We watch others enter in. Because our 00:48:36.039 --> 00:48:42.019 own eyes can't lock with God. But God is saying 00:48:42.019 --> 00:48:48.670 this morning. Look at me. Look at me. I want 00:48:48.670 --> 00:48:57.539 you to experience my presence. It is in my presence 00:48:57.539 --> 00:49:06.389 that transformation comes from glory to glory. 00:49:07.539 --> 00:49:11.099 His presence is a place of rest. His presence 00:49:11.099 --> 00:49:14.219 is a place of trust. His presence is a place 00:49:14.219 --> 00:49:19.659 of refuge. three of those things also serve to 00:49:19.659 --> 00:49:24.630 bring transformation, not just conviction. How 00:49:24.630 --> 00:49:27.170 many of you would join me and say, I want to 00:49:27.170 --> 00:49:31.690 be like Christ? When we pray and we say, God, 00:49:31.809 --> 00:49:35.469 give us more of your glory on this house. It 00:49:35.469 --> 00:49:39.050 isn't just because we want the fantastical, like 00:49:39.050 --> 00:49:42.130 we like reading some book that gives us chills. 00:49:44.139 --> 00:49:48.739 It's because It's in His presence that the church 00:49:48.739 --> 00:49:52.860 is transformed into what it is called to be. 00:49:52.980 --> 00:49:55.340 It's in His presence that new believers come 00:49:55.340 --> 00:49:59.769 in and they're touched by His presence. We're 00:49:59.769 --> 00:50:03.670 not here entertaining people. We're here entertaining 00:50:03.670 --> 00:50:07.739 God. That's it. And His glory and His presence 00:50:07.739 --> 00:50:16.400 comes. And lives are changed because of His glory. 00:50:18.130 --> 00:50:22.030 We go from glory to glory, being transformed 00:50:22.030 --> 00:50:30.500 into the image of the same. Jesus, have your 00:50:30.500 --> 00:50:37.050 way. Jesus, have your way. I went longer than 00:50:37.050 --> 00:50:40.710 I intended to today. I've preached for 52 minutes. 00:50:42.210 --> 00:50:46.960 But can we pause for a moment? And can we say, 00:50:47.000 --> 00:50:52.440 God, give us more of your glory. Cause your presence 00:50:52.440 --> 00:50:57.760 to be ours, our portion. Lord, we don't want 00:50:57.760 --> 00:51:03.940 to stay stagnant. God, we don't want to just 00:51:06.849 --> 00:51:13.309 drift through our Christianity. Jesus, we want 00:51:13.309 --> 00:51:19.070 to move from glory to glory. God, I'm not expecting 00:51:19.070 --> 00:51:25.579 a Moses -type encounter every time I pray. Lord, 00:51:25.719 --> 00:51:30.989 I'm hungry for you. In that song that Brianna 00:51:30.989 --> 00:51:34.010 taught this morning, God, we need a move of God. 00:51:37.690 --> 00:51:42.960 We're hungry for your presence. We're hungry 00:51:42.960 --> 00:51:52.119 for your presence. Lord, have your way. Have 00:51:52.119 --> 00:51:59.670 your way. Have your way. And I will make room 00:51:59.670 --> 00:52:10.690 for you to do whatever you want to. Do whatever 00:52:10.690 --> 00:52:22.579 you want to. And I will make room for you. To 00:52:22.579 --> 00:52:30.010 do whatever you want to Do whatever you want 00:52:30.010 --> 00:52:38.969 to One more time. I will make room for you To 00:52:39.769 --> 00:52:46.800 do whatever you want to Do whatever you want 00:52:46.800 --> 00:52:54.019 to Shake up the ground Of all my tradition. Break 00:52:54.019 --> 00:52:59.059 down the walls. Of all my religion. Your way 00:52:59.059 --> 00:53:07.679 is better. Your way is better. And I will make 00:53:07.679 --> 00:53:16.849 room for you. To do whatever you want to. Do 00:53:17.650 --> 00:53:26.099 whatever you want to. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. 00:53:27.630 --> 00:53:31.699 If you're here today and you just simply join 00:53:31.699 --> 00:53:36.940 me in the prayer, the prayer that Moses prayed, 00:53:37.239 --> 00:53:44.469 God, show me your glory. Jesus, make me more 00:53:44.469 --> 00:53:49.250 like you. If that's your prayer, I just want 00:53:49.250 --> 00:53:51.469 you to raise your hand or stand to your feet 00:53:51.469 --> 00:53:54.550 or just make some kind of response right now 00:53:54.550 --> 00:53:59.789 to the Lord and say, God, here I am. Here I am. 00:54:00.599 --> 00:54:04.300 Here I am. Come on. Come on, just respond to 00:54:04.300 --> 00:54:07.460 him. Because Lord, this is true, not just for 00:54:07.460 --> 00:54:09.920 us as individuals, but for the church. Lord, 00:54:09.960 --> 00:54:14.300 see your church hungry for you. See your church 00:54:14.300 --> 00:54:18.760 hungry for you, God. Take us from glory to glory 00:54:18.760 --> 00:54:24.130 in Jesus' name. And let's sing it together. We 00:54:24.130 --> 00:54:32.050 will make room for you to do whatever you want 00:54:32.050 --> 00:54:39.960 to. Do whatever you want to. And we will make 00:54:39.960 --> 00:54:50.650 room for you to do whatever you want to. Do whatever 00:54:50.650 --> 00:55:00.000 you want to. Hallelujah. We make room for you, 00:55:00.079 --> 00:55:05.769 God, to have your way, to reveal your glory, 00:55:06.050 --> 00:55:15.010 to show us your presence. Oh God, passion for 00:55:15.010 --> 00:55:21.210 your presence is one of our pillars here. We 00:55:21.210 --> 00:55:31.050 need you. We need you. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. 00:55:32.980 --> 00:55:38.469 Hallelujah. Lord, I pray that you would cause 00:55:38.469 --> 00:55:44.800 us to put action to our standing or lifting up 00:55:44.800 --> 00:55:50.300 of our hands in the way that we pursue you, in 00:55:51.199 --> 00:55:55.079 the way that we pray. Can we for a moment just 00:55:55.079 --> 00:55:57.880 lift up your voice and say, God, let your glory 00:55:57.880 --> 00:56:02.780 be on this house. Let your glory be on this church. 00:56:02.880 --> 00:56:05.460 Can we all over this room just lead out in prayer 00:56:05.460 --> 00:56:08.619 right now? Just lift up your voice right now. 00:56:08.739 --> 00:56:11.739 Lift up your voice to the Lord. Father, we're 00:56:11.739 --> 00:56:14.920 hungry for you. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid 00:56:14.920 --> 00:56:17.480 of what people around you will think, but just 00:56:17.480 --> 00:56:20.760 call on the name of the Lord. God, reveal your 00:56:20.760 --> 00:56:24.000 glory in this place. I pray that this house would 00:56:24.000 --> 00:56:26.500 be a house not where men get glory, but where 00:56:26.500 --> 00:56:30.460 God reveals his glory, where God gets all the 00:56:30.460 --> 00:56:35.159 glory. Hallelujah. It is the glory of Jesus resting 00:56:35.159 --> 00:56:38.820 upon us. Hallelujah. Oh, we thank you, Father. 00:56:38.980 --> 00:56:42.840 We thank you, Father. We ask, God, that you would 00:56:42.840 --> 00:56:46.780 manifest your presence in this place every time 00:56:46.780 --> 00:56:50.360 we gather, every time we gather. Every time we 00:56:50.360 --> 00:56:53.760 gather in Jesus' name. I pray, Lord, that we 00:56:53.760 --> 00:56:57.460 would be a people hungry for you. Hungry for 00:56:57.460 --> 00:57:00.940 your presence in Jesus' name. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. 00:57:01.480 --> 00:57:05.360 Hallelujah. Oh, we give you glory, God. Oh, we 00:57:05.360 --> 00:57:09.280 give you glory, God. Oh, we give you praise in 00:57:09.280 --> 00:57:13.079 Jesus' mighty name. In Jesus' mighty name. If 00:57:13.079 --> 00:57:16.530 you agree with that, just... say amen. Amen. 00:57:16.750 --> 00:57:21.090 In Jesus' name. Give him praise. Yes, Lord. Yes, 00:57:21.130 --> 00:57:27.449 Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. In Jesus' name. Thank 00:57:27.449 --> 00:57:32.610 you, Father. Thank you, Father. Glory to God. 00:57:33.429 --> 00:57:38.489 Glory to God. Hallelujah. The Lord has recently 00:57:38.489 --> 00:57:43.429 spoken to my heart, and he has said, that he 00:57:43.429 --> 00:57:45.690 just spoken to me and he said, Darren, will you 00:57:45.690 --> 00:57:51.269 let me use you to rebuild altars? And it's just 00:57:51.269 --> 00:57:54.610 been an interesting experience with the Lord. 00:57:54.650 --> 00:57:56.829 I've been reading about altars being rebuilt 00:57:56.829 --> 00:58:00.159 in the Old Testament. And one of the things that's 00:58:00.159 --> 00:58:03.579 happening on Wednesday nights is there is a rebuilding 00:58:03.579 --> 00:58:09.989 of the altar of prayer. And it is a unique thing. 00:58:10.989 --> 00:58:13.630 I want to encourage as many of you ladies this 00:58:13.630 --> 00:58:16.849 week as a ladies prayer meeting in here. Come. 00:58:17.469 --> 00:58:19.650 The men are going to meet in the fellowship hall. 00:58:20.130 --> 00:58:22.929 Come. Ladies in here, ladies, you have to eat 00:58:22.929 --> 00:58:26.230 before you come. But the men are going to eat 00:58:26.230 --> 00:58:29.329 in the fellowship hall. We do have ministry for 00:58:29.329 --> 00:58:33.949 the children. And so all of us can come. I know 00:58:33.949 --> 00:58:37.769 it might mean not laying down when you get home 00:58:37.769 --> 00:58:42.030 on Wednesday night to rest. But it is going to 00:58:42.030 --> 00:58:48.250 be good. And so we are rebuilding altars. And 00:58:48.250 --> 00:58:51.449 I want to encourage you to come and help us rebuild 00:58:51.449 --> 00:58:54.949 the altar. God bless you. Have a great rest of 00:58:54.949 --> 00:58:59.329 your Monday. Or Sunday. It's Sunday. Your Sunday. 00:59:00.280 --> 00:59:00.840 Amen.