Once we truly experience the glory of God there will be changes within us. As we look at the lives of Moses, Isaiah, and Saul we see that when they experienced the manifest presence of God they recognized the awesomeness of God, they repented, and they went out to do His work. God does not send us His glory just for us to “set and soak” in His presence.
Exodus 3:1-10 NKJV
“Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock in the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Then Moses said, ‘I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.’ So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, ‘Here I am.’
Then He said, ‘Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.’ Moreover He said, ‘I am the God of your father – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.
And the Lord said: ‘I have surly seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I will send you to the Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.’ ”
Isaiah 6:1-8 NKJV
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!’ And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried, out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said: ‘Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King,
The Lord of hosts.’ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the alter. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.’ Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying
‘Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’ ”
Acts 9:1-6 NKJV
“Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ Then the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord what do You want me to do?’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’ ”
I. Recognize The Awesomeness of God
God truly is an awesome God. When we come into His presence we are filled with great wonder and reverence, because of His beauty, sublimity (excellence, grandeur, majesty),and power. There is none like God.
Exodus 3:6 NKJV
“Moreover He said, ‘I am the God of your father – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.”
Isaiah 6:5 NKJV
“So I said: ‘Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King,
The Lord of hosts.’ ”
Acts 9:5 NKJV
“ And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ Then the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ ”
A. Beauty (pleasantness)
Beauty means quality that pleases. God has a pleasant nature. He delights in giving pleasure to His children. Everything He does (or allows to happen) is fair and just.
Psalm 27:4 NKJV
“One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.”
Psalm 90:17 NKJV
“And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.”
Isaiah 33:17 NKJV
“Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;
They will see the land that is very far off.”
Psalm 29:2 NKJV
“Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name;
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”
B. Sublimity
Sublimity means lofty excellence; exalted state; grandeur; majesty. God is superior to man in every way. He is magnificent (splendid, grand, stately, noble, impressive in beauty, brilliance, excellence).
Psalm 8:1 NKJV
“O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have set Your glory above the heavens!”
Psalm 148:13 NKJV
“Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth, and heavens.”
All of the universe (everything and everyone in it) is instructed to praise the wonders of God and His majesty.
Psalm 113:1-56 NKJV
“Praise, O Servants of the Lord,
Praise the name of the Lord! Blessed be the name of the Lord
From this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its going down
The name of the Lord is to be praised. The Lord is high above all nations,
His glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God,
Who dwells on high
Who humbles Himself to behold
The things that are
in the heavens and in the earth?”
C. Power
Power means strength or force; ability to do or act; control; authority; influence; right. God is full of power and strength. We are to submit to His authority and come under His control, and we are to praise His power, strength and ability.
Psalm 21:13 NKJV
“Be exalted, O Lord, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power.”
As we submit to God and His authority, He will fill us with His strength.
Psalm 59:16 NKJV
“But I will sing of Your power; Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; For You have been my defense
And refuge in the day of my trouble.”
Believers are to declare the power of God.
Psalm 145:10-12 NKJV
“All Your works shall praise You, O Lord,
And Your saints shall bless You.
They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,
And talk of Your power,
To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,
And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.”
Even nature, speaks of God’s power. All of creation (everything that was ever created) testifies of God’s great strength, authority and control.
Romans 1:20 NKJV
“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse”
II. REPENT
The glory of the Lord brings conviction and repentance. When man comes into the presence of a holy God he will realize just how sinful he is.
Exodus 3:5 NKJV
“Then He said, ‘Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.’ ”
Isaiah 6:5 NKJV
“So I said: ‘Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King,
The Lord of hosts.’ ”
Acts 9:6 NKJV
“So he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord what do You want me to do?’ ”
III. GO
Experiencing the glory of God will create a great desire within us to be the hands and feet of God. Our desire to serve others will be greater than ever before.
Exodus 3:10 NKJV
“ ‘Come now, therefore, and I will send you to the Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.’ ”
Isaiah 6:8-9 NKJV
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying
‘Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?’
Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’
And He said, ‘Go, and tell this people…’ ”
Acts 9:6-9 NKJV
“So he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord what do You want me to do?’
Then the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’
And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither are nor drank.”
Acts 9:17-20 NKJV
“And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, ’Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.”
When we are available to God we can be used by God for whatever He desires and wherever He desires. We should feel compassion on those of faith, those who are lost, both the grateful and the ungrateful.
Colossians 3:23 NKJV
“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men”
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