Recap of previous message
The last time I spoke to you we tried to understand the glory of God and the effects when the glory of God is released and we came to the realization that the glory of God has to do with all that God is—his power, majesty, splendor, honor, and what makes God God. We also talked about the glory referring to his glorious presence among his people. So we said that the whether you talk about the chabod or the doxa, it is God’s glorious presence among his church and people. The Israelites saw it in their day when the built tabernacles and temples to the Lord.
Read Exodus 40.34-35, Leviticus 9.23-24, and 2 Chronicles 7.1-3.
When we bring these scriptures together. We see that there are three effects when the glory of God is revealed:
1. Joy fills the hearts of the people
2. Worship and sacrifices become spontaneous
3. There are supernatural occurrences
In the Old Testament era God dwelt in temples and tabernacles
It is important for each and every one to understand that in the Old Testament era, temples or tabernacles were the dwelling place of the glory of God. So, God told the people of Israel to build a tabernacle for him that he would dwell there (Exodus 29.43). The temple was going to be a meeting place with the people of Israel and also where he was going to sanctify himself.
The temples were made with ordinary materials and human hands but inhabited by God
It is important for us to understand once again that the tabernacles and temples were made with ordinary materials. They were also made by human hands. Yet, once a temple was dedicated, the glory of God descended there. But for us in the New Testament era, it is not just temples and tabernacles made by human hands that carry the glory of God but our bodies have become the temples and, for that matter, the habitation of the glory of God. We stand in a privileged position. It is no more buildings that are made by human hands that host the glory of God but the body of the believer has become the temple of God. Hence, as you sit here you are a carrier of the glory of God. So, the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6.19-20 that, “Don’t you realize your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you and that your bodies were given by God?” So, our bodies have been transformed into the temples of the Holy Ghost.
God uses ordinary things, including us
Immediately we are born again, our bodies are transformed into the temples of God and they become the dwelling place of the glory of God. Though we could be people without honor and dignity, when we receive him and accept him as our lord and personal savior, he makes our bodies his temple and an abiding place for his glory. That is why in 1 Corinthians 1.26-29 he talks about our calling and how not many of us were powerful or wise or of noble birth but God took the foolish things of this world to shame the wise and the weak things to shame the strong. So you carry his glory no matter how the world looks at you. No matter how your parents look at you, you carry the glory of God.
Manifesting his glory
Having understood that we are indwelt by the glory of God, the next thing to do is to manifest this glory in our lives on a daily basis. It is not enough to know that we carry God or that we are his temples but to also manifest his glory on a daily basis.
What it means to manifest
To manifest is to make obvious or visible; to show forth. What God is calling us to do is to make his glory that dwells in our lives visible and obvious. We must make the whole world see his glory in our lives. The whole of creation is waiting for this (Romans 8.19-22).
Christ in you is the hope of glory
What is more serious is that, not only is the whole world waiting but God is also counting on us. We are the hope of God. He is counting on us to go forth into the world to show forth his glory. Christ in you is God’s hope of the manifestation of his glory. God is hoping in you and you can’t let him down.
So, the question we need to ask is, “How do we manifest the glory of God?” There are two ways, I believe, that we can show forth the glory of God:
1. By walking in a manner worthy of our calling
2. By demonstrating God’s power
Walk in a manner worthy of your calling
Our lives must be in line with the calling we have received from the Lord. It must be in tandem with the calling we have received from him. Ephesians 3.21 says to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. This scripture is the last verse of Ephesians 3. That chapter was talking about the glory of God being seen in the church from generation to generation. In the next chapter, the apostle Paul turns his attention to how we can manifest that glory.
In Ephesians 4 he urged them to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which they had been called. If we are to manifest his glory, then we have to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which we have been called.
What is the call?
1 Thessalonians 4.7 says God has not called us for impurity but in holiness. He has called us to lead holy, not impure, lives. So, to walk in a manner worthy of our calling is to walk in holiness. It is in holiness we can reveal the glory of God. The world is watching, and they have every right to do so. They have every right to judge us. We have been called unto holiness. Until we lead lives of holiness, we can never show forth the glory of God. When we carry the love of God to the hurting world; when we walk in integrity and uprightness; when we walk in righteousness and holiness, then we are showing forth the glory of God.
The demonstration of the power of God
That is when we carry the power of God everywhere. There is this man, Philip, who went to Samaria. The scriptures say something about him that is very interesting. In Acts 8.6-7 the Bible says the crowds paid attention to what he was saying because of the signs they saw.
They listened to him not only because of what he said but also because of the demonstration of God’s power. Each and every one of us must have signs following him. We must cast out demons, heal the sick, and overcome the power of evil. May these signs follow you. May signs and wonders follow you.
When you have been “jujulized” at the office and he thinks that you are about to die, but you come and stand strongly, what would be the meaning to him? He will know that you have something he does not have. You shall not fear even when you go through the valley of the shadow of death. They can even write your name and put it in whatever but there is one thing we know: there is power in us and he who is in us is greater that he that is in the world. It is time for us to show forth the power of God.
It is not enough to know you carry his glory. More importantly, you must manifest it by your holy life and the demonstration of his power. In Acts 1.1, Luke says he was wrote his former book (the gospel according to Luke) to talk about what Jesus began to do and teach. It means that Jesus did not teach what he did not do. Before he taught about fasting he had fasted. Before he talked about casting out demons he had done it. After today’s service, you will begin to do. You should not keep talking without effect but you will begin to do and say and whatever you declare will come to pass. Your speech will carry weight. Jesus began to do and teach. He taught and demonstrated power. May you begin to do that wherever you find yourself.
No weapon fashioned against us shall prosper and every tongue that shall rise against us shall be condemned.
Main references
Exodus 40.34-35, Leviticus 9.23-24, 2 Chronicles 7.1-3, Exodus 29.43, 1 Corinthians 1.26-29, Romans 8.19-22, Ephesians 3.21, 1 Thessalonians 4.7, Acts 8.6-7, Acts 1.1