Transformed into his image

Transformed Into His Image

TRANSFORMED INTO HIS IMAGE



This will be an ongoing thread that I will be adding to every day or two, instead of posting several threads.


I will be expounding on the Word of God, digging deeper into the treasures of the Word and feasting on the meat. It is for those who want a deeper, more personal relationship with the Lord, following Him completely; those who desire to become a mature disciple, totally committed to His will and His ways. The ultimate purpose is to be doers of the Word, fulfilling the calling the Lord has created each of us for and make a difference by impacting the lives of others, through Christ who is in us.



Replies and sharing on the subject at hand are welcome that would benefit the Body of Christ, ”that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers (Eph. 4:29) However this was not created for the purpose of debating, which might be in another section.
 
The Glory of God

The first topic will be:




The Glory of God

No matter how close we are to the Lord we can always be closer. Its up to us, since the Lord wants us all to be as close as possible to Him.

We know the most important thing is to be saved. But what is the purpose for us to be saved? It is to be restored to the former glory and relationship man had before Adam fell. It is now ours through what Christ has done for us.



2 Thessalonians 2:14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.


2 Peter 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.





The glory is the radiance, the splendor, the manifested abiding presence of God.

Psalm 22:3But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel

We enter into the glory when we create an atmosphere so the glory of God can come into our midst and do what He wants to do. He inhabits (dwells) in our praises and worship.


Hebrews 13:15By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
 
To be more like Jesus is our ultimate goal and as we read , pray and obey the Holy Spirit and His promtings through the day, listening to His voice, we can achieve excellence and be the people in the Body of Christ that He wants us to be .

God's Word, like a lamp, illuminates. It helps us discern spiritual danger so we can avoid it, and it points us in the right direction to take our lives. It lights the path we take through life.

And a couple of days ago this verse came into my spirit : Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.... Psalm 119:105

Thanks GodSpeaks for starting this thread as I think it also ties in with " Pursuing Excellence"
 
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.... Psalm 119:105

John 1:9That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

John 9:5As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.


Matthew 5:14Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Philippians 2:15
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world
 
Psalm 22:3But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel



When we seek the Lord’s face and His presence in worship, we can expect His glory to come. As we wait on Him, it’s not just passively waiting, but ministering to Him. Just like we want to hear others say they love us, He also likes to hear us telling Him how much He means to us. And He wants to minister His love to us too if we will take the time to listen.



Luke 7:37 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, 38And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.


As this woman was worshipping at His feet, the pouring of the perfume on Him was also symbolic of her pouring her heart out to Him. The fragrance of the perfume that was upon Jesus got on her also. When you get that close to Jesus in an intimate relationship, His fragrance will be on you. When we spend time with Him in worship, our words are like a sweet fragrance of incense that ascends up to Him.


His fragrance will be upon you where ever you go and people around you will know there is something different. It draws them and will cause those who are hungry and searching to want to have what you have: and that is, to have a vibrant, daily personal relationship with Jesus.
 
Yes the Bible does talk about a sweet fragrance and as Christians that is exactly what we should project to others .

Aroma and fragrance were first described in the OT when the people were required to sacrifice to God for their sins

Exodus 29:18
Then burn the entire ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the LORD by fire.


Christians are described as bearing the "aroma" of Christ in the world; some who hear the Gospel will be receptive to it and others won't. It's an unusual metaphor, but one that fits the Bible's depiction of Christians as ambassadors of Jesus to a sinful world.

2 Corinthians 2:14-16

Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:

To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life…

The knowledge of God is described as a pleasant fragrance--a smell that Christ-followers spread through the world when they spread the good news and do good works in Christ's name.

2 Corinthians 2:14

Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
 
Yes the Bible does talk about a sweet fragrance and as Christians that is exactly what we should project to others .

Aroma and fragrance were first described in the OT when the people were required to sacrifice to God for their sins



There was incense burning which was a picture of our praises ascending up to Him. And they had anointing oil made with specific, very fragrant ingredients.



Exodus 29:18
Then burn the entire ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the LORD by fire.


They offered bulls, goats, and lambs for a sacrifice. But now in the New Testament what we sacrifice is the praises of our mouth, giving glory and honor to Him. I'm so glad we don't have to do as in the O.T. I love to praise and worship Him with the saints, but its special in those times alone with Him.




Christians are described as bearing the "aroma" of Christ in the world; some who hear the Gospel will be receptive to it and others won't. It's an unusual metaphor, but one that fits the Bible's depiction of Christians as ambassadors of Jesus to a sinful world.
2 Corinthians 2:14-16

Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:

To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life…



These are the verses I was thinking of to get into later. But being a discussion, I know some things will come up sooner.

"...maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place."


This shows, concerning the woman I mentioned and also us, every place we go, people will know we belong to Him. You can just tell when you meet another Christian without them even saying so. You can sense HIS presence when you are in their presence.
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Move up Higher




Exodus 40:36And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: 37But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. 38For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

At times the glory of God is so heavy you can see it in the natural and it manifests in different ways. They could see the glory of God in the form of fire and the cloud.


2 Chronicles 5:13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; 14So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.


'Glory' means, weighty or heavy. At times when the glory of God is very strong there will be some kind of manifestation. The presence of God’s glory was so heavy and tangible the priests couldn’t minister. The glory came when they were worshipping. It was also mentioned at other times in the Bible when the cloud of God’s glory filled the house (2 Chronicles 7:1-4).



There are degrees of God’s presence. Many times we can sense His presence but there are times when we are alone with God or in corporate worship that His presence is so heavy, we know the glory of God has entered into our midst.

In the tabernacles there was the outer court and the inner court. Then behind the veil was the holy of holies, where only the priests could go.

It's progressive; each step is closer and closer to His presence. We enter His gates with thanksgiving, then into the courts with praise (Psalms 100:4).




Exodus 25:21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. 22And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.


Behind the veil in the Holy of Holies, the most holy place, the Shekinah glory was manifested as a supernatural light over the mercy seat. This was where the very presence of God was manifest and He wants us to come to the mercy seat and commune with Him in a deeper way.

When Jesus died the veil was torn, so now we can enter into the holy of holies (Mark 15:37-38). We are now priests who can enter into His very presence and minister to Him ( Revelation 5:10 ).

Don’t stay where you are, move on up to a higher level, into higher realms of glory in the very presence of God, into the secret place with Him.
 
God wants us to go higher and I do not want to hyjack this beautiful thread and will say that the Holy Spirit confirmed this morning what you said about a secret place and I just wanted to expand on that on another thread . I hope you don't mind .

God is so good Godspeaks and He is revealing to me as I yield to Him , how important it is to have a secret place.

In our journey with Him , He just does not want us remain in the same place but to have a hunger and a thirst for more . More Of Jesus that is my desire

In order for us to go higher we need to be submissive, in order to have an intimate relationship with Him .The closer we get to Him , the clearer things that we don't understand will be. Everything is a journey in our Christian walk
 
God wants us to go higher and I do not want to hyjack this beautiful thread and will say that the Holy Spirit confirmed this morning what you said about a secret place and I just wanted to expand on that on another thread . I hope you don't mind . *


Well of course that’s up to you if that’s what you want. But I don’t mind you sharing, because to me ‘hijacking’ is taking it the opposite way. Like taking a plane where it wasn’t going. But it sounds like you are talking about the same thing, not getting off topic.

God is so good Godspeaks and He is revealing to me as I yeild to Him How important it is to have a secret place. *

Yes. THE most important thing

In our journey with Him , He just does not want us remain in the same place but to have a hunger and a thrist for more . More Of Jesus that is my desire *

I don’t believe we can stay in the same place. We’re either going forward or backwards.

If I’m not hungry and thirsty for more of God, then something is wrong. I’m spiritually sick, just like in the natural, if I didn’t have an appetite and never hungry then I’m physically sick.
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2 Chronicles 7:1 Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house. 2And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD's house.
3And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.
4Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD.


Exodus 40:34 Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle


The glory was so thick and strong they couldn’t even enter the tabernacle. They fell on their faces and worshipped Him.




Lev. 9:23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. 24And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offeringand the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.


Notice the reason He came was to receive what they offered Him. If we don’t give Him anything he has no reason to come. What are we offering Him? Let’s offer ourselves completely, spirit, soul and body. Not 50% or 80% but all of us, 100%



They could see the glory fill the tabernacle. Sometimes we might be able to see it fill the building we are in, but more important and glorious is what He is doing within us, filling THIS temple. You are the temple of God and He is doing a work in you.

Its not about seeking the manifestations, but seeking his face, His presence, and pouring out our heart to Him in worship. But when we do this we can expect Him to come in glory and manifest Himself to us. We should have a consuming desire to be in his awesome presence, pursuing Him is the most important thing. And when you draw closer to Him His glory will fill YOUR temple.



Psalm 27:8When You said, “Seek My face ”My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”

Psalm 105:4Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore!

Psalm 63:1O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is
 
Well of course that’s up to you if that’s what you want. But I don’t mind you sharing, because to me ‘hijacking’ is taking it the opposite way. Like taking a plane where it wasn’t going. But it sounds like you are talking about the same thing, not getting off topic.

Thanks for you confidence . I also thought that being a separate thread " Secret Place " would give an opportunity to read on . Also because the Lord gave me confirmation from your thread and the pastor's message , I wanted to expound a little more . Your right it probably would have been alright here.

Enough of me ... It is not about me . It is all about Him and His thoughts and how the Holy Spirit leads .

The glory was so thick and strong they couldn’t even enter the tabernacle. They fell on their faces and worshipped Him.

When we are in the presence of God .... we too can experience that glory and it was not only for those in the OT but still for us today . Praise His name . Fall down worship The True and Living God . He is worthy . See what the Lord will do when we praise Him . OUr prayer life will be elevated to a higher level and we will want to humble ourselves and bow down for our God is Holy .

Psalm 95:6
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker

Psalm 145:14
The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.

Matthew 2:11
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.

 
Exodus 40:36And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: 37But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. 38For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

The Lord led them by the cloud. When it stopped they stopped and camped; when it moved they moved or they were left behind. We are to learn to follow the Spirit when He moves or we will just be sitting here. The glory will departed and the presence will be gone. Many Christians are like that. They do their own thing not follow the spirit and are stuck in a form of religion and denying the power or God.


Be sensitive and allow Him flow through you if He wants to. Sometimes He just wants us to stand back, get out of the way, and welcome Him to come in all of His glory to move however He wants. Let Him have His way. When the glory comes in many times there are creative miracles and supernatural signs and wonders. The Lord touches His people Himself, apart from using us. When HE touches us He can do more for us in a few minutes than any amount of preaching, praying or counseling
can do.
 
Exodus 3:2And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

The glory was also manifested in the form of fire. The first time Moses saw the fire of God was the bushing bush, God spoke out of the fire. That’s what got his attention and caused him to investigate what was going on. The bush was burning but it did not burn up. Sometimes the Lord will do something unusual to get our attention.


Exodus 34:29 Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him


Moses was in the presence of God for 40 days. If we spent as much time face to face with the Lord as he did we would glow with His presence also and His glory could be seen on us. But most won’t spend 40 minutes in the presence of God, much less 40 days. I’ve seen the glory on people before and I’ve wondered if they even realized their face was glowing with His presence.

Exodus 34:30 So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.

This reminds me of people today who are afraid of anything supernatural or out of the ordinary and think its not God. If their God is not supernatural then its not the same Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible for He’s the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb.13:8). If He wasn’t a supernatural God He wouldn’t be God and without it all you have is religion. You couldn’t even be born again. No person can change a heart but only the supernatural power of God.




Exodus 34:33 And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. 34But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. 35And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him

The children of Israel didn't want to talk face to face with God, they were content to let Moses tell them what God said. As for me, I want to hear the Lord for myself, and go up to the mountain like Moses, to higher realms of glory and have a face to face encounter with the Lord Himself.

2 Corinthians 3:18But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Psalm 17:15As for me, I will behold they face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness


When we are with Him beholding His glory, our face is like a mirror and we reflect His glory. And we are changed from glory to glory into His image. We can’t help but be changed in His presence. When we come into His presence its not just to give a list of needs and get up but we come to worship and to listen to what he has to say too. Don’t leave too soon. Worship and stay in His presence until the glory comes.
 
The children of Israel didn't want to talk face to face with God, they were content to let Moses tell them what God said. As for me, I want to hear the Lord for myself, and go up to the mountain like Moses, to higher realms of glory and have a face to face encounter with the Lord Himself.

Another thought . I believe also that the children of Israel were afraid of God and His Power and when they saw His Glory when Moses came down from the mountain they did not fully understand God's fullness . Moses face was so bright that a veil had to be put over it .

Yes each of us needs to reach out and touch the Glory of God for themselves and because Jesus died for our sins we now have that access through Jesus Christ. The Israely people did not have the same access that we now have today . Praise God for Jesus Christ . We can reach higher , we can have a close encounter , we do have the Holy Spirit in us to give us more power and hear the voice of God .

Praise Him name .
 
John 4:23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

The only way to get to know a person is to talk with them. The more we are with the Lord the more we become like Him; the longer we remain in His presence in worship the more we are transformed into His image. That’s why its so important who you chose to be close friends with. Sooner or later you’ll become like them.


James 4:8Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you……

Oh to know Him in all His fullness! I don’t want to just knowing God casually. We can be closer to Him than any person on earth, even closer than a parent or spouse. The Bible said Adam ‘knew’ Eve. That’s an intimate relationship and the natural realm is a picture the spiritual realm. We can have a spiritual intimate relationship with God, for we are a spirit and He is Spirit.

If you have a girlfriend, boyfriend or fiancé, you think of them all the time and want to talk to them and be with them constantly. That’s the way we can be and should be with God. Let’s not hold Him at arms length with an occasional hello, I need this, I need that----“ etc; but let’s draw nearer to Him.


Isaiah 55:6
Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near

Colossians 3:1
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

1 John 2:15
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him
 
The only way to get to know a person is to talk with them. The more we are with the Lord the more we become like Him; the longer we remain in His presence in worship the more we are transformed into His image. That’s why its so important who you chose to be close friends with. Sooner or later you’ll become like them.

That my dear is so true . Do you ever look at a couple who have been married for a long time and notice they both have the same views , they both have the same interests , and they both want to please each other . I am just thinking of an example right now of a devoted couple . The man has been very ill and in the hospital for a long time and the wife has never left his side . She sleeps there and the nurses gave her a cot . She stays there 24/7 . And that is the relationship I desire to have with my Heavenly Father .

What a great example GodSpeaks .... More like Jesus is our goal and our desire and the closer we get the more we want to please Him and all the rest is secondary .

More like Jesus .

Philippians 3:8
What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
 
PREPARE FOR THE GLORY


The Bible says ".. as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD." But He wants it to be seen through His people, all over the earth. The more we are in His presence the more His glory will be seen on us and the more He will work through us. We are used only to the degree that we yield to Him. He wants to do mighty works through you even more than you want Him to. He said“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father" (John14:12). He that believeth on me- that's all believers, all Christians.


Ephesians 5:27That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

After reading this verse, it looks like the church needs to do some preparing to be more like Him to be used for His. We still have spots and wrinkles.


Luke 3:16John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire

Fire can be used for good, cook our food, to keep us warm; or for bad, arson or someone could get burned. The heat of an iron irons out wrinkles and the heat of the fire of God also smoothes out our wrinkles.

The Holy Ghost fire purifies, burning out those impurities in us. It burns out the bad; the wood, hay , and stubble, but it refines gold. Is our heart like gold and does it have pure motives, right standing with God? Or is it full of things that need to be burned out? We all need to take inventory from time to time. He flows best through pure vessel and that’s what gives Him glory.




It says in Isaiah 60:1Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. I’ve seen how some shine with His glory and it can be seen on you too. Do others see His glory on you?

Hebrews 12:1Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us

We know to forsake sin, but there are some things that are not necessarily wrong that can be hindrances. How can the light of His glory shine out of us to other if there are obstructions hiding that light? That’s something to think about. Is it something in our lives that brings us closer to Him or drives us farther away? Does it hinder us from moving up in the Lord? We need to lay it aside.

When we enter into His glory we won’t even miss or be concerned about setting those things aside, it won’t even matter in the least compared with His glorious presence. I don’t want anything to hinder the glory in my life.
 
Ezekiel 44:12Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity. 13And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. 14But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein. 15But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD

These were Levites that went astray. They served, but God said ''they shall not come near unto me.'' There’s a big difference in serving and having a close intimate relationship with the Lord. They couldn’t enter into the secret place, into the glory near to His heart because their hearts were not right. We can do everything imaginable serving the Lord and at the same time not be right with God, so it does us no good. That's a sobering thought.

Priests went through a certain purification. Not just anyone could touch the ark of God because this was His very presence. Uzza touched the ark and died. He was not prepared, and they were not doing it God’s way. They were to carry to ark not move it on a cart. When we don’t do things God’s way but our own way, it won’t work out and can be disastrous.

Eli’s sons didn’t revere the things of God, the house of God, or even God Himself, We know that because of their ungodly lifestyle, the way they were living.

In the Old Testament they tied a rope around the priest when he went into the holy of holies behind the veil, because if the Lord found any impuries in him he would die. And if they entered to get him out, they would die too. So if he died they used the rope to pull him out.

Psalm 33:8 Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

Many in the church no longer fear the Lord or reverence Him. If they did, they would live differently. Treat the Lord and the holy things of God with reverence. Treating His presence too casually and taking it for granted can cause us to lose the awe of God. Giving Him reverence draws the presence of God.

Now that we can enter into the holy of holies, when we do so with awe and regard it as holy privilege, it’s sometimes surprising how strong the glory comes down

Hebrews 12:28Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29For our God is a consuming fire
 
We purify our minds, thoughts, motives, and attitudes when we are washed in the water of His Word as we renew our mind to the Word of God.

Isaiah 6:6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

The fire of God can change how we talk to each other and even what we talk about. We’re not to let our mind be a garbage can, or let just anything come out of our mouth. Some still talk like they did before they got saved. But the fire of God purifies our thoughts and mouth. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. If we really want to be more like Him and are allowing Him to change us from glory to glory, the fruit of the spirit will be evident in our lives.

When the burnt offering and the sacrifices were given the children of Israel bowed down and worshipped and the Lord. We may gave our offerings and praise to God but are we giving ourselves..all we are? How about our mouth? That seems to be the last thing we are willing to yield.


When the rich young ruler asked the Lord what he could do to receive eternal life, he thought he had given his all to Him. But because he left sorrowful, it showed where his heart was and that He wouldn’t give Him all his heart, or his possession wouldn’t have mattered. The Lord would have given it back and even more. The glory appears when we give our all and don’t hold back anything.


Matthew 6:21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also

Jacob was favored and prospered. Also Solomon in all his glory possessed much that were blessings from God. But don’t let the gifts from God replace God Himself in your heart. Don’t let anything keep His glory from being in your life.


This is sanctification, to be set aside for God’s purposes to be used of Him to be a light to the world. It’s called holiness, something many don’t want to hear or live. But the Wordof God has not changed. He says be holy for I am holy.
 
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