(January 30, 2012)
Prayer House News!
The Spirit of God was moving again in our services as we talked about the Moral Glory of Christ. There seems to be a growing spirit of repentance in our church. God must be up to something and we want to be a part of it.
--------------------------------------------------------------
RPM is going to be powerful again this Wednesday. I hope you can join us as we seek the face of God.
-------------------------------------------------------------
My message will be the devotional for this week (the whole message is attached also)
====================================
Devotional!
The Moral Glory of Christ
I’m going to start off today looking at a verse from some of our reading last week and then eventually get into this weeks reading. Next week we start in John 17 with Christ’s priestly prayer. That should be interesting. In John 12:41 there is a verse that can easily be overlooked.
John 12:41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.
Just prior to, as it says in verses 36 & 37 he had performed many signs and wonders in the presence of many people, especially the Pharisees and yet they did not believe him. So in order for Isaiah’s prophesy to be fulfilled he hid from them. But the point I want to make is what Isaiah said about the glory of God. He saw his glory.
Let’s look at the event in Isaiah’s life that Jesus is referring to.
Isaiah 6:1, In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
This must have been a very solemn, soul-subduing sight. It is always a serious matter whenever man stands before the throne of God with all the demands and standards of that throne bearing down upon his conscience. Isaiah found this to be true for him. This is why he cried out “Woe is me! I am undone.” The light of the throne revealed to him his true condition. And that light is called the Moral Glory of Christ.
So this presents us with our struggle. It’s a battle between the glory of God and the glory of man. Let’s go back to John 12:42
John 12:42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue.
When this verse starts with the word “nevertheless” it’s referring back to the fact that Jesus hid himself from men. Nevertheless, many believed in him. But then notice the conflict man has. Because they feared the Pharisees they did not confess the fact that they believed Jesus is the Christ, which describes our struggle. It’s a battle between the glory of God and the glory of man. The next verse tells us why they did not tell the Pharisees that they believed Jesus was the Messiah.
John 12:43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
This scripture could not be any clearer. They chose the glory of man over the glory of God. The approval of man meant more to them than the approval of God – even though they believed he was the Messiah. That is really amazing isn’t it? It is until you give it just a little thought. How easy is it for us to profess our love for Christ and our belief that he is the Messiah and yet still choose the profane over the holy? Our fear of sharing our faith is one example of choosing the glory of man over the glory of God. We get overly concerned about our image and reputation and begin to fear what might happen if we talked about the fact that we actually love Jesus.
Man is self-centered by nature and subsequently loves to bask in his own glory. So the challenge becomes that of exchanging the glory of man for the glory of God. What this begins to speak of is presence. Presence determines which glory we prefer, man’s or God’s. Man will choose his own presence – his own glory – whenever the presence of God is not strong in his life. Isaiah talked about seeing the moral glory of Christ and it instantly changed him.
John said that what Isaiah saw at the throne was the moral glory of Jesus. Christ is the perfect standard by which every man will be measured. Our own perception of ourselves or even how others perceive us does not matter. The question is; what do I look like in the presence of Christ? This is what the throne of God does; it reveals! The law tells us what we need to be; our conscience may tell us what we think we are; but it is only when the bright beams of Christ’s moral glory shine upon us that we are enabled to form a true estimate of who we are.
So if the presence of God is going to become stronger in our lives than our own selfish desires we must spend more time with Him. However, it’s not just a simple matter of spending time in prayer but rather – it’s that the practice of prayer brings us before the throne of God. And in the light of the throne of God Isaiah saw himself a helpless, ruined, guilty sinner, at an immeasurable distance from that throne and from the blessed One who sat on it. He heard the cry of the seraphim, “Holy, holy, holy;” and the only response which he could send back from the depths of a broken heart was, “Unclean, unclean, unclean.”
If man had a greater revelation of the filth of his own righteousness he would want to make a change. But the only thing that reveals that is the moral glory or light of Christ.
Now we can get into the chapters we read for this week. In John 13 Jesus knows he is about to go back to his father.
John 13:3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God.
He understood that his time was short on earth so he begins doing some things and telling them some things about his departure. And he starts by washing their feet. His disciples were confused about this initially. Peter proclaimed in verse 8 that Jesus would never wash his feet. But Jesus said something to him that shook him.
John 13:8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”
Peter responds, “In that case wash everything.” Jesus was trying to get them to understand that without him – they were unclean; their righteousness was as filthy rags.
The thing that struck me the most about chapters 13 & 14 was that they are a type of farewell. Jesus knew he was about to leave them but they did not have the full revelation of it yet. So he starts to talk to them about the challenges they are going to face and some of those challenges are going to deal with the glory of God. Of course they don’t fully understand yet that he is referring to his own death. Then in verse 37 Peter makes a statement.
John 13:37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
Here is Peter confessing his love for Jesus and how the glory of God was more important to him than his own glory and how he would even die for him – but when push comes to shove – Peter couldn’t do it and Jesus knew it.
John 13:38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.”
I would imagine most of us would want to think that we would die for Jesus. So if that’s the truth why do we keep giving into temptation? Resisting temptation is a form of dying to our own glory so that the glory of God can shine through. Giving into temptation is proof that we aren’t much different than Peter – we do love Jesus but the flesh is still quite strong.
===================================
Medication: A Merry Heart
Two Mexican detectives were investigating the murder of Juan Gonzalez.
'How was he killed?' asked one detective.
'With a golf gun,' the other detective replied.
'A golf gun! What is a golf gun?'
'I don't know. But it sure made a hole in Juan.'
Prayer House News!
The Spirit of God was moving again in our services as we talked about the Moral Glory of Christ. There seems to be a growing spirit of repentance in our church. God must be up to something and we want to be a part of it.
--------------------------------------------------------------
RPM is going to be powerful again this Wednesday. I hope you can join us as we seek the face of God.
-------------------------------------------------------------
My message will be the devotional for this week (the whole message is attached also)
====================================
Devotional!
The Moral Glory of Christ
I’m going to start off today looking at a verse from some of our reading last week and then eventually get into this weeks reading. Next week we start in John 17 with Christ’s priestly prayer. That should be interesting. In John 12:41 there is a verse that can easily be overlooked.
John 12:41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.
Just prior to, as it says in verses 36 & 37 he had performed many signs and wonders in the presence of many people, especially the Pharisees and yet they did not believe him. So in order for Isaiah’s prophesy to be fulfilled he hid from them. But the point I want to make is what Isaiah said about the glory of God. He saw his glory.
Let’s look at the event in Isaiah’s life that Jesus is referring to.
Isaiah 6:1, In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
This must have been a very solemn, soul-subduing sight. It is always a serious matter whenever man stands before the throne of God with all the demands and standards of that throne bearing down upon his conscience. Isaiah found this to be true for him. This is why he cried out “Woe is me! I am undone.” The light of the throne revealed to him his true condition. And that light is called the Moral Glory of Christ.
So this presents us with our struggle. It’s a battle between the glory of God and the glory of man. Let’s go back to John 12:42
John 12:42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue.
When this verse starts with the word “nevertheless” it’s referring back to the fact that Jesus hid himself from men. Nevertheless, many believed in him. But then notice the conflict man has. Because they feared the Pharisees they did not confess the fact that they believed Jesus is the Christ, which describes our struggle. It’s a battle between the glory of God and the glory of man. The next verse tells us why they did not tell the Pharisees that they believed Jesus was the Messiah.
John 12:43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
This scripture could not be any clearer. They chose the glory of man over the glory of God. The approval of man meant more to them than the approval of God – even though they believed he was the Messiah. That is really amazing isn’t it? It is until you give it just a little thought. How easy is it for us to profess our love for Christ and our belief that he is the Messiah and yet still choose the profane over the holy? Our fear of sharing our faith is one example of choosing the glory of man over the glory of God. We get overly concerned about our image and reputation and begin to fear what might happen if we talked about the fact that we actually love Jesus.
Man is self-centered by nature and subsequently loves to bask in his own glory. So the challenge becomes that of exchanging the glory of man for the glory of God. What this begins to speak of is presence. Presence determines which glory we prefer, man’s or God’s. Man will choose his own presence – his own glory – whenever the presence of God is not strong in his life. Isaiah talked about seeing the moral glory of Christ and it instantly changed him.
John said that what Isaiah saw at the throne was the moral glory of Jesus. Christ is the perfect standard by which every man will be measured. Our own perception of ourselves or even how others perceive us does not matter. The question is; what do I look like in the presence of Christ? This is what the throne of God does; it reveals! The law tells us what we need to be; our conscience may tell us what we think we are; but it is only when the bright beams of Christ’s moral glory shine upon us that we are enabled to form a true estimate of who we are.
So if the presence of God is going to become stronger in our lives than our own selfish desires we must spend more time with Him. However, it’s not just a simple matter of spending time in prayer but rather – it’s that the practice of prayer brings us before the throne of God. And in the light of the throne of God Isaiah saw himself a helpless, ruined, guilty sinner, at an immeasurable distance from that throne and from the blessed One who sat on it. He heard the cry of the seraphim, “Holy, holy, holy;” and the only response which he could send back from the depths of a broken heart was, “Unclean, unclean, unclean.”
If man had a greater revelation of the filth of his own righteousness he would want to make a change. But the only thing that reveals that is the moral glory or light of Christ.
Now we can get into the chapters we read for this week. In John 13 Jesus knows he is about to go back to his father.
John 13:3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God.
He understood that his time was short on earth so he begins doing some things and telling them some things about his departure. And he starts by washing their feet. His disciples were confused about this initially. Peter proclaimed in verse 8 that Jesus would never wash his feet. But Jesus said something to him that shook him.
John 13:8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”
Peter responds, “In that case wash everything.” Jesus was trying to get them to understand that without him – they were unclean; their righteousness was as filthy rags.
The thing that struck me the most about chapters 13 & 14 was that they are a type of farewell. Jesus knew he was about to leave them but they did not have the full revelation of it yet. So he starts to talk to them about the challenges they are going to face and some of those challenges are going to deal with the glory of God. Of course they don’t fully understand yet that he is referring to his own death. Then in verse 37 Peter makes a statement.
John 13:37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
Here is Peter confessing his love for Jesus and how the glory of God was more important to him than his own glory and how he would even die for him – but when push comes to shove – Peter couldn’t do it and Jesus knew it.
John 13:38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.”
I would imagine most of us would want to think that we would die for Jesus. So if that’s the truth why do we keep giving into temptation? Resisting temptation is a form of dying to our own glory so that the glory of God can shine through. Giving into temptation is proof that we aren’t much different than Peter – we do love Jesus but the flesh is still quite strong.
===================================
Medication: A Merry Heart
Two Mexican detectives were investigating the murder of Juan Gonzalez.
'How was he killed?' asked one detective.
'With a golf gun,' the other detective replied.
'A golf gun! What is a golf gun?'
'I don't know. But it sure made a hole in Juan.'
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