UNVEILING FOR THE GLORY (5)

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8:16-17 NKJV).

Our sharing in God’s glory is only to the extent we identify with Christ. We are glorified only in association with Him, for besides Him, we can never have any claim to glory. Identity with Christ involves identifying with Him through suffering.  The popular chorus that says, “me I no go suffer” may not be completely right if that includes not suffering for the sake of Christ. Paul in our text affirmed strongly that we can only be glorified with Christ if we indeed suffer with Him. He taught Timothy, “This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.  If we deny Him; He also will deny us” (2 Timothy 2:11-12 NKJV). Paul was communicating to Timothy an objective position of God in relation to our identification with Christ. We died with Him to sin; we now live with Him for righteousness. In living with Him thus, difficulties and challenges come from time to time demanding endurance. If we endure with Him, then we will reign with Him in glory both now and in the world to come.  But if for whatever reason, we deny Him by compromising our commitment to Him because of the allurements of this world, then He will deny us.

Our Lord warned, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7: 21 NKJV). Doing the will of the Father sometimes if not always involves going contrary to our will. It is at the point where your will crosses with the will of the Father that the cross Jesus asked you to carry and follow Him is created. When you insist on doing your will instead of God’s for whatever reason, you drop the cross. Whenever you drop the cross, you deny Jesus and turn your back against His glory. But when in obedience, you faithfully lay down your desires in preference to God’s; you create a platform for experiencing His glory.

As believers in Christ, we should not see suffering for the sake of Christ a distasteful experience, but rather as a prelude to glory.  The Apostle Peter explained, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy” (1 Peter 4:12-13 NKJV). There is nothing that is done for Christ that will not be rewarded both in this life and in the life to come. God makes demands from people He trusts. If He is not making any demand on you, it may be because He has not seen you as a serious person. Get serious with God this year and let Him know that you are all out for Him. Stand for your faith and let the world know you are for Christ.

Some people because of what it would take do not undertake big things for God. They always opt for the very minimum that is required in any task. When you call for fasting, they will do just the minimum that will enable them to be counted among those who are fasting. When you ask for financial contribution, they will opt for the least, even though they have what it takes to do better. This year will be different. You must attempt big things for God and see Him work wonders for you in glory. Resist the demon that belittles you and set out boldly for God in every way.

Let us pray with these inspired words of Apostle Peter, “...May the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter5:10-11 NKJV)

UNVEILING FOR THE GLORY (4)

“For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 4:15 NKJV).

As the suffering of Christ caused the rejoicing of the world, especially those who have by faith in Him have become children of God, so our suffering with Christ and for Him generates joyful praise among those who are being saved by our ministries. There is a redemptive purpose in the godly suffering because they are like sacrifices of good smelling savour to God as sinners hear the gospel and turn to Christ through our sacrifices. While we don’t go around looking for suffering, we don’t shy away from it when it becomes necessary to proof our commitment to Christ.  The more people that are saved through our labours, the more thanksgiving is going up to God and that brings Him much glory. Therefore, Peter encouraged:

¹⁴If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. ¹⁵But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. ¹⁶Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. (1 Peter 4:14-16 NKJV)

Suffering ridicule and insults, or any other form of persecution because you are a christian attracts upon you “the Spirit of glory and of God.”  Hence, afflictions work in us the eternal weight of glory. “Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. (2 Corinthians 4:11 NLT). Therefore, Paul enjoins us to glorify God –give thankful praise in the midst of our suffering for Him. In this way, we unveil His glory for the world to see. 

The mystery of thanksgiving lies in its ability to take what the enemy designed for our harm and places it in the hand of our Father who makes all things to work for our benefit unto His glory. The experience of Paul and Silas in the Philippians dungeon attests to this truth. Paul commanded a demon of divination out of a girl and the mob was aroused against them. The two ministers ended up in jail where they released the glory of God through thankful praise.

²⁵But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. ²⁷And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. ²⁸But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”²⁹Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:25-30 NKJV)

Because Paul and Silas had the right christian attitude toward suffering, God released the Spirit of glory upon them, which not only freed them supernaturally but also led to the salvation of the keeper of the prison. Thanksgiving in the midst of trails unveils the glory of God. On the other hand, complaining and murmuring when one is met with difficulties, hardship and suffering, veil the glory of God. Thanksgiving in face of suffering is a strong testimony of faith in God.  Peter and the rest of the early Apostles , after being beaten and ordered never to preach in the name of Christ again went out of the court  “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41).  No wonder they experienced so much of God’s glory.

This will be our testimony this year. You must live your faith in the full glare of the public ready to be ridiculed and laughed at if and when necessary. People around you must hear about Jesus from your mouth and see His glory in your life cost what it may. There is no other way to live in the year of glory to Glory!

UNVEILING FOR THE GLORY (3)

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18 NKJV).

Glory does not walk naked on the streets of humanity. It often comes under the cloak of suffering –sacrifice, hardship, difficulties, and trials. A man from Congo was handed a sack of diamond ore valued several thousands of dollars.  The man looked at the sack and wondered what he was going to do with a sack of dirt, not realising what it was, he dumped the sack at the corner of his house.  Several months passed and a neighbour visited him; on sighting the sack, he inquired what was inside it. The man who owns the sack answered with a sigh, “nothing but a pack of dirt.” The inquisitive visitor decided to look closely at the dirt in the sack and recognised it was unprocessed diamonds. He asked for some water in a basin and began washing a little of the dirt, and some colourful stones emerged, which both of them confirmed to be diamonds.

As the diamonds were wrapped in dirt, so is glory often wrapped in sacrifice.  Paul therefore encourages us never to lose heart in the face of difficulties. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:16-17 NKJV). Anything we acclaim as glorious comes at a price. Take education for example. It takes arduous efforts and determined sacrifice spanning over several years to acquire sound education. However, once acquired, it opens the doors to myriad of life-enhancing opportunities most of which would not have been possible without it. The glory of God, while it cannot be earned by the best of human efforts, requires disciplined sacrifices to experience it.  Some lousy habits may have to be relinquished and godly ones cultivated to replace them.  Certainly one must be willing to die to self if one is serious about experiencing glory.

¹Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ²looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV)

We must lay aside sins and weights that so easily entrap  us and run the race that is set before us, by following the examples of Christ  who endured the cross to access glory.  The Cross is our bridge to glory. Hence, Paul exhorts us never to compromise the coming glory because of whatever present suffering we might be going through. God is about to reveal His glory in us so we can radiate it to the world. While the world is overcome with gross darkness, “the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you” (Isaiah 60:2 NKJV).

The overarching purpose of God in revealing His glory upon you is so that “the Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising” (Isaiah 60:3 NKJV) and by so doing encounter Christ who is the Lord of glory. Reaching the unreached with the gospel and bringing the unchurched into the house of God remains the consuming passion of God and undying expectation of creation.  “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19 NKJV). The creation will witness the manifestation of the sons of God as we soak in His Presence and receive deposits of His glory. The world needs to the see the glory of God upon His children if they must come to Him and no sacrifice should be too much for us to make in order to facilitate the glorious ingathering.

May the Lord see in you the genuine hunger and longing for His glory. He will surely satisfy your desire and cause His glory to alight upon you. Keep your eyes on His as the Holy Spirit transforms you from glory to GLORY in Jesus’ Name.

UNVEILING FOR THE GLORY (2)

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth;  the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 40:3-5 NKJV)

Whenever the president is scheduled to visit a state, the state government takes time to prepare for his reception. Part of that preparation is to do some road repairs to enable the president to ride smoothly to the different places he is scheduled to go. Potholes are filled and every noticeable obstacle is removed so the president would not have to go on bumpy roads. The roads are made as straight and as smooth as possible and even decorated to create pleasant scenery for the august visitor. It is usually considered a mark of disrespect for the visiting dignitary if adequate preparations are not made to ensure that he has easy access to the places of interest. Even in situations where the host governor does not like the president, such preparations are mandatory. Besides the host governor must be at the airport or at any other appropriate place to personally welcome the visiting president.

What if the visiting dignitary is the King of Glory, even God, who made the heaven and the earth, what level of preparation is required? The first time God revealed His manifest Presence before the entire company of the children of Israel was on Mount Sinai.  In that instance, God revealed how to prepare for the coming of His glory.

¹⁰Then the LORD told Moses, “Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing. ¹¹Be sure they are ready on the third day, for on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch. ¹²Mark off a boundary all around the mountain. Warn the people, ‘Be careful! Do not go up on the mountain or even touch its boundaries. Anyone who touches the mountain will certainly be put to death. (Exodus 19:10-12 NLT)

God commanded Moses to prepare the people for His arrival. The glory of God does not come without preparation.  The children of Israel were to prepare by separating themselves to God. This involved bodily purifications in which the people scrub themselves clean of any dirt no matter how small. They would also wash their clothes until they sparkle. Two full days are set aside for such purification, after which they can confidently expect the visitation of God on the third day. The washing with water is symbolic of the cleansing the Blood of Christ had accomplished for us. Hence, the Bible exhorts, “Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22 NLT). The Blood of Jesus had secured for us once and for all an eternal cleansing that makes us always ready to welcome His Presence. All that we are required to do is to confess all our sins and bring them under the cover of the Blood of Christ. Do it now!

The other aspect of preparation involves setting boundary around Mount Sinai, beyond which no body or animal must be allowed to cross. Any person or animal that crosses the boundary must be killed.  If somebody who had undergone all the purifications ignores the decree of God and goes beyond the boundary He had set to approach the mountain, the person must die. Hence, having our consciences cleansed by the Blood of Christ and ready to welcome the glory, does not absolve us from the demand of obedience. Whatever boundaries God has set for us as individuals or through our leaders must be respected if you must see the glory. Obedience is an inviolable condition for seeing the glory of God.

When the appropriate preparations are made, the word of God assures that “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”  Let us make haste to prepare for the coming glory. God will show Himself powerfully on our behalf. No sacrifice is not small to make in order to welcome into our lives, families and the church, the transforming glory of Divine Presence.

From glory to GLORY

“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 by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV).

The phrase “from glory to glory” describes the progressive nature of Christian life on earth.  It is a life of ever-increasing glory. Our conversion is the dawning of glory in our lives, which experience “is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18 NKJV). The Bible affirms that the overarching purpose of God in the coming and suffering of Christ was to bring many children to glory. “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings’ (Hebrews 2:10 NKJV). Therefore, our conversion to Christianity is our inauguration to glory.  The glory experience of the believer, unlike that of the Old Covenant that fades away, is continuously increasing in every way.  No wonder the Apostle Paul affirms that believers in Christ are God’s children, “and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8:17 NKJV).  We are joint heirs with Christ of the glory of God.  Hence, Christ in us is our “hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

Christ is our hope of glory because only Him can removed the veil that prevents us from seeing and experiencing the glory of God. “Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ” (3 Corinthians 3:12-14 NKJV) . Until one comes to Christ, one is veiled from the glory of God.  The Word of God will not make sense to you until Christ removes the veil over your mind.  In the Old Covenant the glory of God dwelt in the Holy of Holies, which was veiled out of sight, and out of reach from all except the high priest (Hebrews 9:1-10).  When Christ died on the Cross, that veil tore supernaturally from top to bottom signifying that the way to glory has now been opened (Mark.15:38)

Christ is our hope of glory because His blood gives us boldness to enter the Holiest and encounter His glory.  “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:19-22 NLT). The Presence of God is the whirlpool of His glory.  We have unhindered access and unparallel opportunity to dive into and drench in that whirlpool of glory this year.

Do not let anything stop you from bathing daily in His Glory because only in that way will you advance from “faith to faith” (Romans 1:17) and go “from strength to strength” (Psalm 84:7), having received “grace for grace” to experience “glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18). God will grant glory moments from time to time to reinforce your experience of His glory in Jesus’ name. Welcome to our year of Glory!

UNVEILING FOR THE GLORY (1)

³But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, ⁴whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. ⁵For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.   ⁶For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (Corinthians 4:3-4,6 NKJV)

The goal of the gospel is the revelation of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. The gospel is veiled to the extent its presentation fails to reveal the glory of Christ. This explains why Paul chose to know nothing else except Christ and Him crucified. Jesus is the brightness of God’s glory and the express image of His Person (Hebrew 1:3 NKJV). The gospel is the good news about the glory of Christ, who is “the Lord of glory “(1 Corinthian 2:8). After listening to a good gospel message, people ought to affirm, “we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 NKJV). “The glory of the only begotten of the Father,” underscores the uniqueness of Christ as an embodiment of the heavenly glory.  He has glory as only Him being the only begotten son of God can have it and none other. The greatest achievement of the devil is to undermine the glory of Christ. Hence, he veils the minds of people to keep them from understanding the glory of Christ.  Where he cannot stop people from receiving the revelation of God’s glory, he tries to diffuse it by making people feel they need something else in addition to Christ to please God. However, the testimony declares that Christ in us is our only hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).

The devil wants to rubbish the glory of Christ by turning our attention away from Him as our central and only focus.  To this end Paul warned, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3 NKJV).  God is revealing the knowledge of His glory only in the face of Jesus.  Complicating the simplicity that is in Christ is satan’s way of veiling the gospel to people.  He does so by corrupting our wholehearted, sincere and pure devotion to Christ as the eternal Bridegroom in whom the Bride finds fullest satisfaction.  “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him who is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians 2:9-10 NKJV). Christ supplies all we need to please God and live for Him on earth. Abiding in Him and focusing on Him are all that God demands from us.   “And now just as you trusted Christ to save you, trust him, too, for each day’s problems; live in vital union with him. Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him. See that you go on growing in the Lord, and become strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with joy and thanksgiving for all he has done. Don’t let others spoil your faith and joy with their philosophies, their wrong and shallow answers built on men’s thoughts and ideas, instead of on what Christ has said” (Colossians 2:6-8 LB).

The Lamb has all the glory and only through Him shall we experience glory.  He will remove the veil the enemy has blinded us with and grant us full vision of the splendours of His heavenly kingdom.   Jesus is waiting to tear this ugly veil from your eyes if you will let Him. “But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:16 NLT). He will bring you into revelations and visions of His kingdom and empower you to draw from the riches of His glory.