The Glory: A Glorious Church

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and activates God's promises. In our brand new

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This is week number five in our series. We've

come a long way, but we're going to start out

in the same place where we started in week number

one with Moses at Mount Sinai. And our text is

Exodus 33 when we're talking about Moses. I know

there's a lot in there about this story, but

it was the time in chapter 33. It was a time

when they were about to leave Mount Sinai and

go to the promised land. They had built the tabernacle,

the tent of meeting. They had built the Ark of

the Covenant. And God told them that he would

meet with them over the mercy seat, which was

between the two golden cherubim on top of the

Ark of the Covenant. And God said, that's where

I'll meet with you. So we can look at that as

it was. an earthly throne for God. And in the

Old Testament, God's presence could always be

found in the Holy of Holies by above the Ark

of the Covenant. It was a pillar of cloud. Every

time Moses would go into the tabernacle to meet

with God, a big pillar of cloud would form over

the entrance of the tabernacle. That represented

the manifest presence of God. When the people

saw it, they knew that God was there meeting

with Moses. It was something visible, something

we could say tangible. They knew it. And then

when Moses would come out, they could know that

Moses had met with God. Do you remember how?

His face. His face would shine. Because he had

been in the glory. Everybody say the glory. He

had been in the manifest presence of God, and

his face would shine to such a point where they

wanted him to put a veil over his face. The tangible

presence of God. The glory of God had been imprinted.

Jeffrey alluded to this, but we used to have

a burgundy couch that had... little, Gayna's

dad made it for us. He worked at a furniture

company. So it was one of a kind, but the cloth

on it was almost like a velvet, but it had little

holes in it, like a pattern, like a, wasn't a

dominant polka dot, but you could picture the

pattern that way. And anytime I would lay on

that couch and fall asleep and spend time there,

I would get up and I looked like I had the chicken

pox. Because the couch had imprinted on my face.

So you can think about that. With Moses, the

glory of God, he had spent time in the glory

where the glory of God was imprinted on his face.

And right after he met with God, I mean, it was

just shining brightly. So he put on a veil and

then... As he went not being in the manifest

presence of God, it would begin to fade. So,

what are some things out of chapter 33, what

are some things that we need to always remember?

You don't need to just remember this for the

five weeks of the series. You need to remember

in your walk with God. Because God had said,

these people are rebellious. They didn't want

the presence of God. They didn't want God to

talk to them. They wanted Moses to talk to God

and then tell them what God said. At Mount Sinai,

it was like, because when God showed up there,

he talked to all of them. And they're like, whoa,

this is too much. Moses, we just want you to

talk to God. Listen, they gave up something.

They gave up something that was available to

them to be a kingdom of priests to their God.

That was going to be all of them. Just like it's

supposed to be all of us. Chosen generation,

royal priesthood, that we should... Show something.

Show forth the praises of God who's called us

out of darkness into his marvelous light. But

this was available to them, but they said no.

And I'm afraid that in most of modern Christianity,

it's kind of fallen back into that pattern where

everybody wants a preacher to spend time with

God. And then tell them what God said. I don't

know why I'm going here, but I'm liking it, so

I'm going to stay here a minute. It's almost

the same thing, right? Oh, we want the preacher

to seek God and get a word from God and then

bring that word to us when God's saying, I want

to speak to all of you. So let's don't fall back

to old covenant. And God said, you know, Moses,

I'm going to send an angel with you. I'm going

to send an angel with you to help you to fight

to get there to the promised land. Because God

basically said, if you read chapter 33, He basically

said, look, these people don't want me to be

around them in my manifest presence all the time.

The way they're living, It's not going to work

out too good. But Moses said this. He said, God,

if you don't personally go with us, don't make

us leave this place. Moses had encountered the

presence of God so much, he didn't want to do

life without the presence of God, without God

being with him. If you don't personally go with

us, God, don't let us leave. Because we don't

want to go anywhere or do anything without you.

And then he says, how will anyone know that you

look favorably on me, on me and your people,

if you don't go with us? And then the next verse.

Stood out to me. I mean it never stood out to

me like it did. Until I was preparing this series.

Where Moses says to God. Your presence God. Your

presence among us. Your people and me. Is your

presence. Sets us apart. From all the other people

in the earth. Everybody say the presence of God.

Separates me. From everybody else in the world.

Now, the New Testament tells us that the world

will recognize and know that we are Christians

by our love. And I've known that one. I've preached

that one. I've talked about that one a lot, right?

But it's not only by us walking in love. It should

also be that the presence of God is among us.

A few verses later, Moses says, show me your

glory. He had been on the mountain with God.

He had seen the glory of God. He had been in

the manifest presence of God. He had been talking

to God. Listen. The glory of God is not a, should

not be a one -time thing. We shouldn't meet together

and say, well, you know what? About 37 years

ago, boy, I was at a, well, it wouldn't have

been 37. It had been, I mean, I've shared some

stories with you, but about 35, What is it? 34.

Is that what you're turning? About 34 years ago,

I was at a worship conference with Lamar Boshman.

Man, the glory of God. I mean, it just got amazing.

To the point that Gana was healed. Just in the

glory of God. I mean, I can look back at different

times when I've encountered the glory of God,

and I can say, well, it happened here, and I

recognize it here, and I experienced it here,

but it's not supposed to be like that. Every

week when we get together, somebody should have

a glory story of, I was in, I experienced the

glory of God, and here's what he said, and here's

what he did. I mean, something pretty amazing

happened to me this past week. Anybody else?

Because we asked God last week, we were saying,

God, use me. You know, flow through me, use me.

I mean, I'm at Valvoline getting oil changed

in my car. And it almost turned into a church

service with two of the guys. I was really hoping

to see them walk through the door today. But

it was a pretty amazing time. And I wish that

would happen all the time, but it just happened

this week. And I believe it was a result of me

saying, God, use me as a vessel of your presence.

I want to carry your presence. I want to carry

your glory. God, use me. I'm available. And he

didn't use me because I was a preacher. That's

not why he used me. He could use you just as

much as he could use me. He could use you more

than he could use me if you're in the flow. I

think we talked about the flow last week. Moses

said, God, show me your glory. Show me your glorious

presence. He'd experienced it. And God said,

okay, Moses, because Moses couldn't see the face

of God because he was not clothed in the righteousness

of Jesus like we are today. You can see the face

of God and still live. He couldn't. Think about

that a second. Anyway, God said, my goodness

is going to pass before you, and then you can

see my goodness. God's so good, when you encounter

him, you can see his goodness. You can see it.

So Moses saw the glory. That word glory in the

Old Testament is translated weight. weight, like

a heaviness. There's two kinds of heaviness we

can feel. One is a heaviness that's negative.

Has anybody ever had a negative heaviness on

them before? You know what I'm talking about.

But that's not God. God's not a negative weight.

This word, weight, that's translated glory in

the Old Testament, it's weight and it's and it's

always used in a good sense. Everybody say a

good sense. You can't be confused. It's translated

in English, translation is glory, splendor, honor.

And when I've encountered the glory of God, I

have always sensed it. And we can't go by our

feelings all the time. But I've always sensed

it. It was a good heaviness. It was a good weight

in the room I've encountered. And let's remember

this. Moses wasn't hungry for better circumstances.

He wasn't crying out to God to fix his problem

that he was in and experiencing. Like we do most

of the time. Don't shout amen right then, but

you got to at least say, oh, me, or something

like that. Most of the time when we talk to God,

we're asking him to fix it. Whatever it is, we

want you to fix it, right? And Moses cried out

to God and asked him to fix it a few times, but

this time, I believe he got it right. He's like,

God, I just want you. I just want you. Because

if I have you, Like that first song that we sang,

if I'm standing in your presence, I have everything

I need. You're all I need. You're all I need.

Has anybody ever sang that before? Jesus, you're

all I need. You're all I need. You're all we

need. All we need is your manifest presence.

All we need to do is to seek you. And when we

seek you, all these other things, the Bible says,

Jesus said, when we seek you, all these other

things, they'll just happen because we're seeking

you, right? All those other things will be added

to us. So Moses was hungry for God's presence.

Now let's go with David. He's in a parched and

weary land. Has anyone ever felt like you were

in a parched and weary land sometimes? He was

physically in a parched and weary land. Right?

Sometimes we find ourselves emotionally and mentally

in a parched and weary land, and that's where

David found himself. And this is why he said,

oh God, you are my God. I earnestly, wholeheartedly

search for you. My soul thirsts for you. My whole

body longs for you in this parched and weary

land where there's no water. Listen, he's not

saying. God, can you give me some shade? God,

can you give me some water? God, can you make

it easier for me? That's not what he's saying,

right? He says, I search for you, God. My soul

is thirsting for you. My whole body is longing

for you. You are what I need. And in the very

next verse, He reminds himself in his talking

to God, God, I've seen you in your sanctuary.

I've gazed upon your power and glory. So I know

if I can encounter you, your goodness is going

to come with you because you can't be separated

from your goodness. You can't be separated from

your power. You can't be separated from your

glory. So wholeheartedly. Search for you, God.

David was hungry because he had seen something.

He had seen something. He had experienced the

glory of God. And he knew whatever circumstance

he was in, if he could just be with God, then

everything else is going to work itself out.

So what is the glory? The glory is the manifest

presence of God. It's the weight. of who He is.

It's His goodness revealed. It's His reality

made known in the earth among His people. So

where is the glory? Old covenant, we talked about

it. God's glory on earth was manifest with the

Ark of the Covenant. This Ark, if it ever had

to be moved, it had to be carried by priests.

and it had to be kept in the inner part of the

tabernacle or the sanctuary, kept in the Holy

of Holies. And it got to a point where, you know,

there wasn't somebody regularly going to talk

to God because you couldn't even go in there.

And they would sew bells on the garment of the

priest that went in there one time a year. The

high priest could go in. For a short time, they

put bells on him and they tied a rope around

his ankle. And if the bells quit ringing, they

would drag him out. Because he didn't do something

right. Who's glad to be washed in the blood and

redeemed by Jesus? Not the blood of bulls and

goats. But forever, once and for all. So we can

come boldly before the throne. Not timidly, hoping

that we got everything right. We can come boldly

before the throne. That was the old covenant.

The new covenant, things have changed. You are

now the temple of God. Don't you know that your

body, Is the temple of the Lord? Don't you know?

We are the temple. So a new covenant, God's glory

manifests in and through his people. God's presence

can be carried everywhere. Even to the Omni.

Even to the airport. The office. Your house.

Your school. Glory can be carried everywhere

that God's people go. We can carry his glory.

Because his power isn't just accessed by the

priest or the preacher. His power can be accessed

by all of his children. That's the new covenant.

Colossians 1 .27. To them. Talking about us.

Everybody say, this is talking about me. To them,

God willed, He desired to make known something.

He wants you to know something. Look at the person

beside you and say, God wills for you to know

something. To us, God willed to make known what

are the riches of his glory, riches of the glory

of this mystery. It was hidden. God willed to

make known what are the riches of the glory of

this mystery among the Gentiles. Here it is.

Christ in you. You're in Christ. Christ is in

you. Christ in you is the hope of glory. New

Testament word for glory is a little bit different.

It's the word doxa. That verse tells us Christ

is in us is the hope of glory. Here's what hope

means. Hope is a confident expectation. It's

not a hope so hope in the New Testament. It's

a confident. I hope you always remember this.

I confidently expect that you will remember this.

Confident expectation. It's what God wants to

know. We can have a confident expectation of

experiencing His manifest presence and His goodness.

Because Christ is in us. And we're in Him. Somebody

smile. That ought to put a smile on your face.

Under the new covenant, God pours out His glory

among His people and displays His glory through

His people. Somebody say, that's me. That's me.

Ephesians 5, 25. Christ loved the church. That

word church, again, is not a building, it's not

an organization. It's a compound Greek word that

means called out ones. Called out ones. Not called

out one. Called out ones. That means that it's

not talking about Lone Ranger people. They feel

like they don't need the church. They don't need

to get together with other called out ones. They

just look at themselves as a called out one.

But the word doesn't mean called out one. It

means called out ones. To correct some people

that you don't even know who I'm correcting that

seem to post like they know everything about

everything. Christ loved the called out ones.

He gave up His life for her to make her holy.

Everybody say set apart. To set her apart. To

make her clean. To wash her by the cleansing

of his word. And he did all this. Why did he

do all this? He did all this to present her,

to present the called out ones to himself as

a glorious church. Glorious church. Have you

ever been to a service with other believers and

you left saying, boy, that was glorious. Glorious

is in doxos. It means in glory. A church that

is in glory. Caught out ones who are in glory.

Experiencing glory. Doxa is the root for endoxos.

It means glory, splendor, and honor. That sounds

a lot like the Old Testament word that we look

at. As a matter of fact, in studying the words,

I just copied and pasted this. It corresponds

to the Old Testament word kabo, which means to

be heavy. And both terms, everybody say both

terms. Both terms convey God's infinite, intrinsic

worth. His substance and his essence. His essence.

His substance. Jesus defines the church he's

returning for. He's returning for a glorious

church. He's not returning for a barely surviving

church. He's not returning for a fearful church.

He's not returning for a powerless church. He's

returning for a glorious church. The church is

in glory, experiencing the manifest presence

of God. I think I just said that. So, here's

what we've got to realize. God's vision for the

church is higher than our imaginations at this

point. I mean, we go back and read some of the

things that happened in Acts, and then we look

at what's going on today, and we're like, we're

a long way from that. Well, it's a long time

in time, in chronology. But listen, that should

have just been the beginning of something that's

bigger and greater than it was. Shouldn't be

looking back to it and say, wow, what if God

still did that? What if God could, wait a minute,

we might put the word could in it. What if God

could still do that? Hello? That's the wrong

way of thinking. We look at what Jesus did. And

we say, wow, what if Jesus was still here and

doing that? And Jesus said, even greater. What

you read about me, it should be greater than

that today. Help us. A glorious church is a church

that is weighty with presence, weighty with the

glory of God, weighty with God's manifest presence.

It's filled with his reality, and it's marked

by his divine activity. That's a glorious church.

Anything short of that is not a glorious church.

Let's go to Habakkuk. You might have to rub the

pages in your Bible to get that one open. Habakkuk

2 .14. For as the waters fill the sea, there's

a lot of water in the ocean. Look to the person

beside you and say, there's a lot of water in

the ocean. As the waters fill the sea, the earth

will be filled. with an awareness of the glory

of the Lord. Just like the sea is filled with

water, the earth is supposed to be filled with

glory. And it will be filled with glory. But

it's not through clouds. It's not through buildings.

It's not through sermons. Even though sermons

can help. Not through sermons alone. But it's

through believers. That's how the earth is going

to be filled with the glory of God. It's going

to be through believers. This is a prophetic

verse. Unless you have walked outside and just

saw the manifest presence of God and felt the

manifested presence of God everywhere you've

went. It's not full yet. Can anybody look at

this world and say it's not really? I mean, God's

omnipresent, so He's everywhere all the time,

but I don't see the whole world filled with His

glory. I haven't seen it. Have you seen it? Where

the whole world is filled with the manifest presence

of God? The way that's going to happen is through

believers carrying the glory everywhere they

go. A glorious church is people who are carriers

of the presence of God. Have you ever encountered

somebody that when they just walked up to you

and started talking to you, you could just sense

the presence of God? Because they've spent so

much time with God and they're just carrying

the presence of God. If you haven't, look at

the person on the right and say, I'm waiting

on you. Acts 2, 1 through 4, this is the time

when the glory of God was manifest in the room,

right? On the day of Pentecost, all the believers

were meeting together in one place. Suddenly,

there was a sound from heaven. Like the roaring

of a mighty windstorm. And it filled the house

where they were sitting. I mean, we've talked

about the cloud in this series. We've talked

about the doorpost being shook. The prison being

shook. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven.

Like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, it filled

the house where they were sitting. Then what

looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared

and settled on each of them. And everyone present,

everybody say everyone present. Not just Peter.

Everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit,

began speaking in other languages as the Holy

Spirit gave them this ability. So when they were

together, everybody say together. Wasn't they

called out one experience? It was 120. Called

out ones seeking God. When they were all together

in one place, suddenly, there came a sound. Suddenly.

Because they were unified. They were all seeking

God. They were all waiting. on the promise of

God. They weren't going to do anything else until

they experienced the promise of Jesus. They're

just waiting. They've been waiting for a long

time, every day for a long time. The Spirit came

upon all. I'm going to go ahead and say the glory

of God filled the room. The Spirit came upon

all and He flowed through each. The glory flowed

through all of them. God has positioned his church

in the world for such a time as this. God has

positioned you for such a time as this because

the world is shaking, but the church must be

steady. Culture is really confused, and truth

must be bold. People are broken. And God's presence

must be real. I'm just rubbing a little Jesus

on it, but the manifest presence of God must

be real. So broken people can be restored and

healed and set free. And that's just not going

to happen in some kind of flash. That's going

to happen. As we become carriers of the presence

of God and allow His glory to flow through us.

I just want to want you to remember, when we

gather together like today, your worship, I mean

your real worship, if you're really worshiping,

if it's coming from your heart and not just...

you know, just going along with whatever's taking

place, but real worship beginning out of your

thanksgiving and your love to God and lifting

Him up. When that's really taking place, your

worship joins my worship. My worship joins your

worship. Your worship joins your worship. I can't

point to everybody in the room, but our worship

joins together. Wherever two or more are gathered

in his name, he's there in the midst of them.

When we lift up the name of Jesus, we can experience

his manifested presence. But it happens in greater

degree when we're doing it together than it could

possibly happen with just me in the car on I

-4. It can happen, but it's greater. Everybody

say greater. Your worship joins my worship. Your

hunger for God. When you come in expectation

and hungry for God, our hunger joins with each

other. It brings amplification. Your expectation

joins my expectation. Your faith joins my faith.

For us to encounter. The manifest presence of

God in such a way that when we leave, we'll never

be the same. And when that happens, as that happens

in greater and greater measure, as it's amplified

and added together and multiplied, then suddenly

the flow Because out of your belly, rivers of

living water are supposed to be flowing. And

as we flow, as you flow and I flow and you flow

and you flow, you know what? Then all of a sudden

the flow becomes a flood. And the river becomes

an outpouring. As we come together as the glorious

church, the called out ones, as you are in. his

glory, as I'm in his glory, as you are in his

glory. See, it amplifies. That's what a glorious

church looks like. The glorious church is defined

by some things. It's defined by hosting the presence

of God. And just like Moses said, God, if you're

not among us, you know, don't even take us up

from here if you're not here. Because if God

is not among us, if his manifested presence is

not here, It doesn't matter what else is happening.

It doesn't matter how the program is. Because

the last thing anybody needs is just a religious

experience. Because that's not going to change

anything. If God's not among us, it doesn't matter

what else is happening. But when His presence

is among us, Everything changes. Close with a

story. I don't normally do this. There's a famous

architect traveling across Europe studying the

old cathedrals. He was just amazed by the architecture.

And one evening, He visited a massive stone cathedral

in France. The sun was setting, and the building

looked gray. Has anybody seen a big stone church?

Just all dark gray stone, you know. The building

looked gray, looked lifeless from the outside,

but inside. Inside, a different story unfolded

because he looked at it on the outside, and I

mean, he's looking at the architecture, but there's

nothing much different than any other place he

went. He went inside, and something happened

when he was inside. In a spectacular moment,

the setting sun hit one of the stained glass

windows just right, and the entire interior of

the cathedral just exploded with color. When

he first walked in, it was still kind of lifeless

on the inside, but then the sun just hit that

stained glass window just right. And now there

are reds and blues and golds and greens all dancing

across the pillars inside the cathedral on the

floor. You could see all that color just came

alive. And there was a tourist standing nearby,

and the tourist reached over. And whispered something.

She said. It looked ordinary. Until the light

touched it. And then it became glorious. Just

looked ordinary. Till the light touched it. If

you look around the room, we don't look much

different than anybody else. If we go over to

Publix and walk around, we don't look any different

than anybody else. Go to the restaurant and eat.

Just blend right in. This is an example of what

God intends for His church to be. I mean, we

want to build that building, and I think it's

a beautiful building, even though it's a 60 by

90 metal building. And I see it, and we're going

to have it one day. But God intends for His church

to not just be a beautiful building. He intends

for His church not to just be a polished program.

I mean, polished programs are okay, but... He

definitely doesn't see or intend for his church

to be a gathering of just people who think they're

perfect, self -righteous, perfect people. But

he's coming for a glorious church. He's coming

for a people that have the glory of God. The

manifest presence of God, carriers of the presence

of God, the glory of God flowing through them.

And when the glory of God begins to flow through

us, when we walk in the public, we're not just

going to look like everybody else. When we go

to the restaurant, we're not just going to look

like everybody else. When we go to work, we're

not going to look like everybody else. Because

the glory of God. It's surrounding us. We're

imprinted with the glory of God to such a point,

listen, to such a point that even people who

don't know God begin to recognize that there's

something different about us. God, without your

presence, we won't be a set -apart people. That's

what Moses said. Without your presence, it's

your presence that sets us apart. It's your presence.

Let's pray. God, thank you for your word. Thank

you for your truth. Thank you for what you're

speaking to our hearts. Help us to receive it,

not just be emotionally stirred. but be spiritually

challenged to seek you more than anything this

world has to offer. God, help us to seek you

wholeheartedly. Help us to come to a point where

we don't even want to go through our day without

you, God. I need you today more than I need anything

else. Use us, fill us. Help us to represent you

well. Help us to be carriers of your glory. In

Jesus' name, amen. This online worship experience

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