Episode Transcript
[00:00:11] I thought long and very hard about the title of today's message.
[00:00:16] And also how relevant it is in relation to the Jewish New year, the year 5782, which is the year of bet, meaning God's habitation. And we know from scripture that we are God's habitation. Ephesians two, verse 22 says, in whom you also are being pulled together for a dwelling place of God in the spirit.
[00:00:40] So we are not becoming, or we are not still being birthed into his habitation. It says that we are his habitation. We are God's habitation. That is an assurance that we are God's habitation. God has already laid the foundation of our faith. The chief cornerstone, which is the Lord Jesus Christ, the one that holds up the pillars, that we are his tabernacle and we are his dwelling place.
[00:01:14] And so for the session today, we really pray to bring understanding and revelation on a few things relating to the glory of God. Across in today's session number one, we will ask the question, what is the glory of God? And as we continue, I will then go into the second 3rd. Got about five points. The first one is, what is the glory of God? The second one talks of preparation, what it means as we prepare for the glory of God. The third one is people.
[00:01:48] How as the people, we position ourselves for the glory of God. The fourth one is presence. So when the glory of God fills his habitation. And the fifth one is purpose, what is the purpose of the glory of God in his habitation? God is a God of plan, is a God of purpose, and is a God of objectivity. Is completely consumed by love. And because of his love, he brings purpose, plan to our lives. Hallelujah. Let us pray.
[00:02:28] Lord Jesus, what a joy to know you. What an even greater joy to be known by you. Holy Spirit, we pray that you will come to illuminate the word today. You search the heart of men. You know exactly what we need in this hour. We pray that you will have your way. Let the word make Jesus real to us in ways that we have never experienced before. We are here because of you. Show us Jesus, and through your ministry, Holy spirit, you together with our obedience and submission, and our hearts yielded to you. We pray that you make us one with Jesus.
[00:03:11] The cry of our heart and our souls being poured out before you. This is the cry, make us one. Make us more like Jesus. Father, have your way. Call and draw us to yourself. As we draw nigh unto you, you draw nigh unto us. May everything today be done and said in accordance to your will. Fill this room, Lord. Fill our homes, our offices, wherever we find ourselves, Lord, we pray that you will fill it with your sweet presence. Be seated on the throne of our hearts as we look to you, the author and the finisher of our faith. Be glorified, be lifted up, be exalted in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. And amen. Hallelujah.
[00:04:09] So, beloved, as we go into this teaching, we will reference both the Old and the New Testament. And as you know, these speaks of different dispensations. And in the Old Testament, there's about seven dispensations written, but I think it's more as a guide than a concise. This is it. We will speak from the dispensation of the law, the prophets, and also of grace. And remember that when we read from the Old covenant or the Old Testament, we must always keep in mind that we read that which has already been fulfilled in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, even the law. He has come to fulfill the law. And so the reference of the Old Testament speaks of what Christ has accomplished for us through the cross of Jesus Christ. And we take our lessons from there as a shadow to appreciate where we are in him.
[00:05:09] So we don't throw out the old because of the new. We love and embrace the new exactly and precisely because it is built on the wisdom and knowledge of God throughout the ages.
[00:05:23] So the first question is, what is the glory of God?
[00:05:29] The short answer, and we will further expand onto this. The glory of God is the weight of God's presence. Let me clarify this by saying that glory in the Hebrew word is kabot, which essentially means the glory of God. And you know that Hebrew has got several different meanings. If I say, for example, the word love in the Greek as well, same with the Greek, it has many different meanings to the word. And so the word glory, which is kabot in Hebrew, also has different meanings. And these meanings include descriptions as wealth, reputation, quantity, or splendor. In fact, all of these words complement the root word, which means glory or dignity. Then also in the Nas NEw Testament greek lexicon, it's the word doxer. And same as in the HebrEw, there's no definitive description. So this word doxer in the Greek means approval, brightness, honor, majesties. But the one description that's used, and in the majority of the biblical texts is the word glory, glorious and glorious, which is the same as in the hebrew word kabot.
[00:06:59] Then there's the word shakina. Now, shakina is not found anywhere in the description of the word glory. But shakina is the sheikha, which means the abiding presence. And a point of reference is in JOHN OnE, verse 14. And the word became flesh, and we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the FaTher, full of grace and truth, we beheld his glory, that this glory is now in the flesh. We beheld his glory.
[00:07:41] It is the weight of God. But now, when Jesus came, it was the actual embodiment of God, the glory of God found in the body and in the person of Jesus Christ. And so in JOHN one, verse 14, this glory can be seen. This glory can be known. We have seen, we beheld, and we have known this glory.
[00:08:13] Hallelujah.
[00:08:16] And so when we talk of glory, there's quite a few Other references in the OlD TeSTamEnT, even before moses. But for the sake of understanding the glory, we're going to look at moses in the book of Exodus. So, firstly, the glory of God will seek you out. That's the first point. The glory of God will seek you out.
[00:08:44] And you remember, Moses experienced God on the foot of Mount Arab. He was just going about his normal day of a shepherd attending to the sheep. Almost 40 years went by. He ran away from the house of PhARAOH BecaUSE he slain one of the egyptian taskmasters.
[00:09:03] But in Exodus chapter three, he saw the burning bush that was burning but were not consumed. He also heard the voice from the bush, giving him instruction to take off his sandals, because the place where he was standing is holy ground.
[00:09:22] And this is where God met with Moses. The glory of God will seek you out. God met with him. God spoke to him. God declared his name to Moses, and God has given him the instruction on this day.
[00:09:42] Needless to say, in our human form, we always question and we stand in awe and wonder what is happening. And I think that's a natural response when it comes, when we meet up with the glory of God. And so the first point is, as I've said, is that the glory of God will seek you out, and that the glory of God will continue to desire to be with you. And what I mean by that is, he was at the foot of Herab when he first experienced God, but he loved on the top of Mount Sinai. And here he was in God's presence day and night, having been exposed to miracles, signs and wonders, having been exposed to smoke coming and thunder and the shaking of the mountain, having been exposed to speaking to God face to face.
[00:10:37] But yet, Moses desired more than anything else, to see the glory of God. I wonder sometimes if we had had all this experience would have been a good place just to tabernacle there and say, like Peter, Lord, we are here. Why don't we just build three tabernacles here? One for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. And let us just stay on this mount, which was the mount of transfiguration.
[00:11:06] But that was not Moses's desire.
[00:11:10] His desire was, after having experienced a lot, he wanted to see the glory of God. And so our text is from Exodus, chapter 33, verse twelve to 23.
[00:11:24] It says, then Moses said to the Lord, see, you say to me, bring up this people, but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, I know you by name, and you have found grace. The other translation says, favor in my sight. Now therefore, I pray, if I found grace or favor in your sight, show me now your way, that I may know you and that I may find grace in your sight, and consider that this nation is your people.
[00:12:10] And he said, my presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. Then he said to him, if your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that your people and I have found grace in your sight, except you go with us, so we shall be separate, your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth. So the Lord said to Moses, I will also do this thing that you have spoken, for you have found grace in my sight, and I know you by name.
[00:12:54] And he said, please show me your glory.
[00:12:58] Then he said, I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
[00:13:13] But he said, you cannot see my face, for no man shall see me and live. And the Lord said, here is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be while my glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand while I pass by.
[00:13:36] Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.
[00:13:48] Thank you, Jesus. And this is from the new king James version. So one of the first things we learn from this verse is that Moses, somehow, somewhere, has had a glimpse of what he asked from God. He must have, somewhere in his interactions with God, of his many encounters with God, has seen a glimpse of this very thing that he has asked. Show me your glory.
[00:14:16] These were intimate moments. Moses would be on the mountain for days without end.
[00:14:22] And he's been exposed to a lot.
[00:14:25] But he has somehow, during the intimacy, his eyes and his heart has caught a side of God that he has never seen.
[00:14:35] The second thing is that God knows you by name. And that we have been favored by God, and that God is with us.
[00:14:44] You know, we have been favored by God. God has given us his grace, that there is nothing within us that can allow us into the places of this kind of excess with God. We have to start by saying, it is all by the grace of God. It's God's unmerited favor.
[00:15:05] There's so much in there. And for the sake of time, let me just go through some of the points.
[00:15:15] Finally, Moses having been on the mountain for several days, as mentioned, he was fasting without food. I mean, he will go on 40 days on the mountain. And these are recorded days. These are outside the days that's not recorded. And I believe there were many of those fasting without food or water. You would receive the commandments, the laws, instructions from the Lord.
[00:15:41] But somehow Moses understood that what he received from God, and let's admit it, was glorious, and it was a good place to just come down from that mountain and brag on God and tell people about God's holiness and his ways. But Moses knew somehow in his heart that what he received from God, whether by word or experience, it was not enough for the journey ahead if he was to stand on the forefront to lead God's people.
[00:16:16] Moses was not satisfied with what God spoke, what he seen. He wanted to know God.
[00:16:25] And so when we read in the previous chapter, verse 13, the first place that he ask God is he, ask God, show me your way. And that is in verse 13.
[00:16:42] And so, knowing the way of the Lord precedes the glory of the Lord. And let me qualify this.
[00:16:49] To know him is to love him, and to love him is to serve him. We cannot love whom we don't know, and we cannot serve whom we don't love. And here I'm speaking of the dimensions of our intimacy with the Lord. And so, as we consider our own life, where do I stand? Do I stand as knowing him?
[00:17:15] Do I stand as a loving him, or do I stand as serving him? Or do I have it all? Do I have that intimacy? To know him intimately, to love him passionately, and to serve him wholeheartedly?
[00:17:33] When we serve out of self and not out of the place of knowing and loving him, it really becomes religious and it becomes taxing. And toilsome.
[00:17:52] When the glory of God seeks you out at the foot of your Mount herop encounter, it will not sustain you for the journey ahead, because there is so much more in God that he wants us to experience.
[00:18:09] We have to ascend to the mountain of the Lord.
[00:18:15] I know God is found in both the mountain and the valley, but he lives on the mountain.
[00:18:23] And so Eden was a garden which God has set on the east. And that was God's first habitation. He would come and visit with men in the cool of the day. But God lived on Mount Zion, on the side of the north, the city of the great king. And so we have to ascend to the hill of the Lord. In the book of revelation four, verse one, it says, come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this in psalm 24, verse three and four.
[00:19:00] Who may ascend to the heel of the Lord, or who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol nor sworn deceitfully, may ascend to the heel of the Lord.
[00:19:20] I can almost hear the cry of the spirit, come up here, my beloved.
[00:19:26] Come up here.
[00:19:28] Mount Herab was good, but I have so much more than the encounter and the experience of Mount Herab.
[00:19:37] I want you to come up here. I want to live in you. You are my habitation.
[00:19:48] Experience in itself is not wrong, but it will be dangerous to take an experience and settle for this experience as the glory of God. And so, let me rather put it this way. In an experience, our body and senses are heightened, our sight, our feel, touch, discernment, our ability to year, and so on. But our body and senses does not have the capacity when the glory of God resides in that. What I simply mean is that your flesh is not able to stand in the glory of God.
[00:20:27] The glory of God literally brings the body, the flesh with all its senses into a position to that as of a dead person.
[00:20:36] Exodus 40, verse 35.
[00:20:39] When the glory filled the tabernacle, Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation because the cloud abode thereon and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Side note, dead men ain't walking.
[00:21:01] Two chronicles five, verse 14.
[00:21:04] And here we find in the temple of Solomon, so that the priest could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord had filled the house.
[00:21:15] Side note, dead men ain't standing.
[00:21:20] Revelation one, verse 17. And here we see John being caught up in the vision, and he says, in verse 17. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, fear not.
[00:21:37] I am the first and the last.
[00:21:42] No flesh will stand in the glory of God.
[00:21:53] Hallelujah.
[00:21:58] Preparation. What does it mean as we prepare for the glory of God? What does it mean as we prepare for this weight of God's glory in his habitation?
[00:22:12] And when we move away from the experiences of that glory into becoming the habitation of God's glory, to become the Shakina glory, the ever abiding presence of God's glory in our lives, what does that mean? Because surely there's a preparation that takes place for us to prepare for that glory. Even in the template of the tabernacle, it was clear that the instructions came from God as to how they must build and erect the tabernacle of God. God had clear instructions. This was not going to be done according to men's ways. It was to be done according to God's pattern and plan. And so we read, even in our revelatory reading in the book of Exodus, of how God has given the blueprint for how the tabernacle must be erected from the outer court to the holy place, to the holies of holies. We're talking of the preparation. We are his habitation. But there is a preparation that takes place preparing the bride for the coming of the Lord.
[00:23:31] We have to be in a place of preparation.
[00:23:35] There was a number of things that stood out as we read through the book of Exodus, understanding God's blueprint and instruction on the tabernacle, which in fact, was God's habitation in that time of the law.
[00:23:53] That God has given instruction to Moses from the place of the mount Sinai, from the place of intimacy. And it was for men to come into obedience to that which the Lord has instructed.
[00:24:08] We're talking of the preparation. How do we prepare for the glory of God?
[00:24:14] When Moses was on Mount Sinai, God has given him the tablets written with his own hands upon the tablets, the ten Commandments. And Moses comes down on the foot of the mountain, and he hears this noise.
[00:24:30] And Joshua was sitting at the foot of the mountain for all those days. He didn't move away. The servant was on the mountain. Joshua would wait on the mountain, says that this sounds like the sound of war.
[00:24:48] But Moses knew, because God has revealed. You see, there's a revelation when you're in God's presence, when you're in God's glory. Moses knew what was happening on the mount. Even being on the mount. He couldn't hear anything. God revealed to Moses what has taken place at the foot of the mount. The places of God's glory is the place of revelation.
[00:25:11] God has revealed it to him that the people are making an idol.
[00:25:20] And so as he came down, Moses knew already what was happening in the camp. Even not having seen, God has revealed to him what has happened. And as he came down from the Mount Sinai, holding the tablets of God in his hand, when he saw the people worshipping this golden calf, he broke the tablets on the foot of the mount. And it clearly was a sign that men does not have the capacity or the capability to hold the laws of God in their hands, let alone in their heart, that men would not be able to hold the laws of God. And he breaks the tablets. And we know the first commandment is, thou will have no other God beside me. You will have no graven image. And already here, the Israelites were breaking the very first commandment, having built the scarf.
[00:26:18] But this came from a place of not being patient.
[00:26:23] The glory of God is cultivated in patience. They turned to Aaron and they said, where is this man Moses? He's brought us out of Egypt. And he just disappeared, went into the mountain and then saying to Aaron, make us a God. Because now Moses is not here. The response of people is to bring into the place of God an idol to whom they can bow down.
[00:26:56] So the Israelites were impatient with Moses. Meanwhile, God was downloading his heart. His strategy. He was downloading to Moses the ways in which his people, who are called by his name, should live and conduct themselves so that he can come and live amongst them.
[00:27:19] But impatience brings up idols. The place of being impatient will create the golden calf. The place of not yearing from God, will bring the golden calf.
[00:27:34] Even Aaron, being almost second in charge of the know, being the brother of Moses, being left with the people as the next person in Moses'absence, heeded to the cry of the people that he himself has formed this golden calf for them.
[00:27:58] How important it is to labor in patience in the glory of God. How important it is to incline your ear to the heart and the word of God.
[00:28:12] He himself, Aaron could not answer the people.
[00:28:17] But he responded to their need and to their ask. Build us an idol.
[00:28:25] We're talking of preparation. How do we prepare for the glory of God?
[00:28:32] And when Moses came down, he saw this. He confronted Aaron, he spoke to the leaders and they had to kill. On that day, 3000 people. He said, moses stood up and he said, those that are for the Lord, come and stand with there surely is a time, as we prepare for the glory of God, that you make a decision on whose side you are. Where will you stand? That even those that were in the midst of all this chaos, in the midst of all this that has happened, that even those people are given the opportunity to stand with God.
[00:29:14] That there's a redemption in that through just obedience.
[00:29:19] But the people didn't. And then only the Levites came and they stood behind Moses and the instruction was, go and slain. Go and kill those in the camp that are not for us. You can imagine what a painful thing it is to kill your brother, your friend, those that are near and close to you, those that you walked out of Egypt with, those that you worked in Egypt with, those that were your close companions and friends having to put a sword to their throat and to kill them. And on that day, 3000 souls, 3000 people were killed in the camp of the Israelites. There's definitely a separation when it comes to preparation. There's definitely a patience when it comes to preparation. There's definitely the word of God. Even when you don't see, you still read and you believe the word of God.
[00:30:16] On a side note that killing of 3000 people in the book of Exodus, with the first downpouring of the Holy Spirit, Peter stands up and he preaches the gospel. And 3000 souls came to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. We can see the redemption work of what has happened there. And so the people then had to make a decision in preparation. There is a repentance. There's a place in which Moses would not just accept that those that are for him, those that are for God stood with him are now okay. He turns to them and says, now I will go to God and I will make sacrifices, I will make atonement. I will ask him for your forgiveness. And so even standing with God, there's a place of repentance. There's a place where you have to come and lay yourself before the Lord. There's places of accountability and honesty which I believe opens up the heart of God. It was in the life of David where he would just pour himself out to God and say, this is who I am. This is what I have done. But please don't take your holy spirit from me. Cast me not away from your presence. And that what I believe is one of the things that made him a man after God's heart was having to be a repentant person. And I'm not talking of a repentance of the mouth.
[00:31:54] True repentance speaks of the mouth. Confession, the believing in the heart.
[00:32:02] But it also speaks of the turning away from sin.
[00:32:09] You have to walk away from sin. And I think sometimes we've maybe taught through repentance too much from the place of just say you're sorry, even to the extent where you feel you're sorry.
[00:32:26] But what about the repentance where you make a 360 degree change, a 180 degree that I will not walk in that way again?
[00:32:38] Dead people cannot walk. Dead people cannot stand. Dead people cannot live in what is taking place in the now. And so true repentance is that.
[00:32:49] That is the preparation that we come before the Lord in true repentance.
[00:32:56] Lord, I'm sorry you feel the remorse. But through the Holy Spirit and through obedience and the heart that is yielded to the Lord, you're able, by his grace, to turn away and walk back into your original plan with God through repentance, is going back to the original place where God has called you to repent. The word pent means. Refers to almost like the penthouse, the highest place of being, of living, the penthouse. You are literally turning away from sin to go back to your original place where God has called you to. And may that be the word repentance to us is that when we confess, when we feel remorse, and when we almost said lay down, when we kill the work of the flesh in our bodies, through the help of the Holy Spirit, that we are able to walk straight right back in the direction which God has called us into preparation for the glory of God.
[00:34:10] Hallelujah. And so God had to deal with the people first. He had the plan. He had the outline of the tabernacle. He had the commandments.
[00:34:19] He gave Moses a download of all the people that will help him. He gave him a download of what furniture and how it must be done. He gave him a download of the process. But God had to first deal with the people before he had to give them what he wanted to, to make sure that our hearts are right before the Lord and inherently in us. We cannot do that ourselves. The Holy Spirit leads us into those places of obedience, and we have to be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and do what he says.
[00:35:04] We have to be prepared people. We have to be a people that are waiting in patience, a people that hears God, a people that is dead to self, and a people that has a repentant heart.
[00:35:24] The preparation starts with the people.
[00:35:30] Then there's the preparation of the actual tabernacle. And as God has given him the download of how this tabernacle is built, I mean, every single thing within this tabernacle was a reflection and a foreshadow, pointing towards the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:35:52] The tabernacle was speaking of a greater to come.
[00:35:59] Was pointing towards the Lord Jesus Christ, that he wants to live inside of us. We are his habitation, we are his tabernacle, we are his people, called by his name to do his work, the preparation for the glory of God.
[00:36:23] God deal with the people first.
[00:36:26] Then he can start with the process in us.
[00:36:31] I think the hardest thing for me, maybe for you too, is to deal with self, is to deal with the desires of the flesh. The lust of the eye is to deal with self. The plan and the process and the ways of the Lord are easy. Psalm says that his commandments are easy. It is like honey. The ways of the Lord are pure. It satisfies the soul. The ways of the Lord to me are the easiest. That most difficult thing that I find is the people, is my life.
[00:37:11] But a surrendered life, a life that is yielded to Holy Spirit, a life that is completely laid down on the altar, revelate. Romans, chapter twelve.
[00:37:24] A life that is laid down as a sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service.
[00:37:36] Romans twelve, verse one. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies, your tabernacle, God's habitation, as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
[00:37:59] And the body has got many components, the heart, the soul, the mind, the spirit. It says in verse two. Romans twelve, verse two. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That is a very difficult part, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. So we present our bodies, which is our reasonable service.
[00:38:29] And then we must not be conformed to this world, but we must be transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
[00:38:42] The preparation, the process of the person, of the people before the process of God.
[00:38:51] That God is interested on our hearts, what flows out of our hearts.
[00:38:59] For out of the heart flows the issues of life.
[00:39:04] The heart is critical to God when it comes to us being his habitation.
[00:39:13] How do we firstly deal with us?
[00:39:18] And how do we position ourselves as the tabernacle, God's habitation for the glory of God.
[00:39:30] After the people has been dealt with, after the people had to make that decision. It all starts in the mind, through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, that you must make a decision to stand for and with the Lord to be found in him.
[00:39:51] And so, as the people must be prepared, God is able now to give the blueprint of the tabernacle.
[00:39:59] And there's about two or three across the chapters. There are about two or three portions where we read how God instructs it must be built this way. It must be positioned there. The outer court, the brazen altar, the labor. Everything pertaining to the tabernacle was given to Moses. And Moses had to give it to the people, and the people had to come in obedience of the heart, but also in the generosity of their finances and of their giving, in the generosity of supplying that which must bolt the tabernacle of the Lord.
[00:40:42] The parable of the lost coin.
[00:40:46] Everything that was needed was in the house. That coin was not lost outside of the house. God has made provision in his house for the building of his tabernacle. God has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness, so that we are the habitation of God, where his glory will dwell. That coin was lost in the house. God will give you everything you need. He has given everything we need pertaining to life and godliness.
[00:41:25] And so obedience comes with the yes, Lord we receive, but it also comes with the yes, Lord we give. And that is the same as Jesus as God is. God loves the world, but he gave his only begotten son.
[00:41:45] When love becomes sacrificial, I think it's a reflection more of who God is than what we give. It's a reflection of the father heart of God than saying that I was obedient and I gave. It becomes less and less about us, and it becomes more and more like him. In my prayer, I said, holy spirit, please make us more like Jesus. Make us one with him. As a bride prepares herself for the bridegroom.
[00:42:23] But this comes through preparation to make ourselves ready for the bridegroom.
[00:42:34] Hallelujah.
[00:42:37] Thank you, Jesus.
[00:42:42] You know, God's love for us would not allow us to stay where we are. He's calling us further and deeper in him.
[00:42:52] We are his beloved, and he is ours. He is drawing us into himself, into the places of intimacy.
[00:43:03] The glory of God, the weight, the kabot, the doxer of God, the shakina presence of God, found in the person of Jesus Christ, embodied in him, is what God wants for us.
[00:43:17] It's not just an experience in the tabernacle and in the temple where he appears with a cloud and with the fire, but it is so that ye shakina glory, the ever abiding glory, presence of God is in our life. That is the goal is that the habitation of God is inside of us. I read from Ephesians, chapter two, verse 22, that we are being both together for a dwelling place of God in the spirit.
[00:43:46] Being prepared for the glory of God comes with the people submitted to God. Obedient, generous, giving of ourselves sacrificially.
[00:44:01] Lord, more of you and less of me.
[00:44:04] Every sacrifice on the altar had a stench. You know, flesh. Flesh stinks. Like, if you can imagine, if they cut this sacrifice and they just put it on the fire, the flesh would smell. And that stench to God was a sweet smelling savor. To us it was the flesh, but to God it was a sacrifice. To us it hurts and it pains, but to God it's a sweet smelling savor. To him.
[00:44:40] I didn't even go in when the Lord declared his name to Moses, because he knows our name. But even at the foot of Mount Harab, even in Mount Sinai, when he asked the Lord, show me your glory. The Lord. I think it's in Exodus, chapter 34, where it says, where the Lord proclaimed his name, hallelujah. And it says in verse six. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord. And you know, when the Lord speaks the same thing twice, you don't just pay attention with your ear, but your spirit connects to him. It says, the Lord, the Lord God.
[00:45:22] Merciful and gracious, long suffering and abounding in goodness and truth.
[00:45:30] Verse seven. Keeping mercy for thousands. Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. By no means clearing the guilty. Visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children and the children's children. To the third and the fourth generation. Hallelujah. Is that he declares himself, he knows us. And his desire is so that we will know him as well.
[00:45:57] We want to also use this as an opportunity. I'm going to give over to Terry. But before I do, I want to read one portion of scripture and then hand over to Terry. It says in Romans, chapter three, verse 23.
[00:46:16] It says, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. For all absent and fall short of the glory of God. For all absent and fall short of the glory of God.
[00:46:38] This is really an invitation to those in this room that doesn't know the Lord Jesus Christ. As their personal lord and savior. We're talking of the glory of God. And do you know that the thing that we desire most as christians. Is the very same thing that we fell away from the same glory we desire because of our sin. We have fallen short of the glory of the Lord. The good news is that God didn't leave it there. He sent forth his son into the world to redeem us back unto God, that we don't have to live in the life of sin and of fallenness, but that we can be elevated into the place of knowing God, to be known by him and to know him as our personal Lord and savior.
[00:47:34] It would really be unfair to close this room off and not give someone the opportunity to come back into the place of fellowship and communion with God. And so if you in this room and you say, know you've never accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, all over this room people are praying. There's absolutely no distance in prayer. The Holy Spirit is here. He's with you. It's him that calls you to God. And so we want to extend an invitation if that's you in this place. And you know, I've never accepted the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:48:19] I need him in my life.
[00:48:21] I want to be reconciled back unto God. I cannot do anything. And that's the truth. It is the free gift of God. We don't do anything.
[00:48:32] The only condition for coming to the Lord Jesus Christ is repentance, is that no perfect people are allowed. It's those that know that they need the doctor that can come to the Lord Jesus Christ. And if that's you in this room and you're saying, I want to come and know Jesus, I want to accept him as my personal Lord and savior, we want to give an opportunity in this room.
[00:49:02] Let's not push this moment. The Holy Spirit is in this room. While prayers are going up, I would love everyone that's in this room that knows the Lord Jesus Christ to just pray that the Lord will draw people, that people will make a decision for the Lord.
[00:49:27] Thank you, Jesus. Romans chapter six, verse 23 says, we were talking of sin and how that has. We have fallen short of the glory of God.
[00:49:37] It says in Romans chapter six, verse 23, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
[00:49:51] The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. God wants to come in and change us. God wants to come and bring newness into your life. The old things pass away and everything will become new. Today is your day to receive and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and as savior. If that's you in this room, prayers of incense are going up, and you say that you would love to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior. We want to ask if you will lift up your hand wherever you are. Just use your raise hand function and we will be delighted to pray with you, pray for you and show you in God's word how you can grow in your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:50:47] Hallelujah.
[00:50:50] Thank you Jesus.
[00:50:52] You want to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and savior.
[00:50:56] This is your opportunity. You can raise your hand and we'll be too happy to pray with you and for you.
[00:51:05] Thank you Jesus.
[00:51:10] Or even if you've tasted and seen the goodness of the Lord and you've gone astray, the Father walks out looking out for you to come back. If that's you, you've gone cold. You've gone away from the Father's house. And you say that you want to rededicate and recommit your life to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Father wants to welcome you back home. Put a robe on you, put a ring on your finger, sandals on your feet and prepare a feast for you.
[00:51:48] There's a rejoicing in heaven for a sinner that returns.
[00:51:53] And as your fellow brother and sister, if you come back in rededicating and committing your life to the Lord, we want to embrace and welcome you into that place.
[00:52:04] That's you as well. You're welcome to just lift up your hand. Just use the raise function. We want to pray with you. If you want to rededicate your life to the Lord or if you want to get born again today, you are most welcome to do that. We will wait for a few more minutes, one or two minutes as we allow holy spirit to minister in this room.
