DAY 46 “For if what
was passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.”
2 Corinthians 3: 11
Paul is contrasting the old
and new covenants. The old covenant on earth was centered around the ark
in the holy of holies. The ark contained the law of God, the blood sprinkled
mercy seat and the two tablets of the ten commandments. When the word of
God and the blood of Jesus work together, the glorious presence of God
comes. The ark had huge importance for the Israelites – crossing the Jordan,
Uzzah’s helping hand of flesh, the joy of Psalm 132, when a dwelling place
was found.
Now our human spirit has
massive priority in the new creation. Most believers since Aquinas have
blundered by locating God in their minds. The new ark is your spirit or
inner man – a wordless monitor that in Nee’s words is “… gently urging,
moving or constraining us to perform something our mind finds unreasonable.”
As we mature with the renewing of our mind, the will of God becomes more
reasonable.
Our spirit KNOWS by intuition
the revelation or discernment God wants to give us. Our mind then UNDERSTANDS
and works out the revelation by giving words to it so we and others can
obey. The mind must be in second place. The fact that it so often takes
priority has been our major stumbling block to the anointing of God and
His glory. In 1 John 2: 20 we “know” not “understand”! The soothing ointment
of His presence causes us to sense what is error, perceive what others
may be saying (see Mark 2: 8), or experience God (John 17: 3). NOTHING
can be a substitute of the “much more glorious” reality of revealed knowledge
in our spirits. The anointing of God permanently remains in us whether
we are conscious of its movement or not.
The utterance of praying
in Holy Spirit-led tongues helps us to enter the much more glorious place.
In this safe place of retreat two eternal truths meet:
1. God’s thoughts
ARE HIGHER than ours,
2. He IN US IS GREATER than
he who is in the world.
Compare Isaiah 55: 9 and 1 John
4: 4. How foolish we are, like the Galatians, when we substitute our own
disguised will for that of God! May we repent of haste, wait on the Lord,
and in the secret place discover the “much more glorious”.
The utterance of praying
in Holy Spirit-led tongues helps us to enter the much more glorious place
DAY 47 “And Babylon,
the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldean’s pride, will be as when
God overthrew Sodom and
Gomorrah.”
Isaiah 13: 19
The glory of Babylon is utter
decadence, a mixture of greed and selfishness – an edifice of humanism
that opposes the glory of God. This materialistic world will come crashing
down as God shakes the nations. In one hour, on one day, the world of finance
will
collapse says Revelation
18: 8 – 13. In the prophetic verse of Isaiah above, the prophet who saw
the greatness of the majesty of God also foretells this awesome day. Without
a vision the people perish. The vision of end-time realities is scoffed
at by the world and
often ignored by the church.
We need to know the spiritual time of days of INTENSIFICATION, as God shakes
everything that is
not sourced in Him. All
the glory and riches independent of God are coming to a spectacular end.
We must never move into prayer
by our own understanding, but wait on the Lord for revelation knowledge:
His anointed word to
our hearts. Scripture is
INTENSIFIED when the Holy Spirit broods upon it. The grace of His grip
takes our heart into His fire so His purpose may be prayed for. God wants
WARRIOR INTERCESSORS in this last hour of human history. In the fear climate
that will paralyze millions, God’s people who pray will exhibit the perfect
love of Jesus Christ. In the increasing restlessness and confusion God
will produce the sanity and sanctity of His peace in His people. In the
intensification of wars and political upheaval the army of God will do
battle not against flesh and blood, but against the ancient generals of
the spirit realm. Each day we live is a day nearer our Lord’s return. WAIT
on the Lord, get pierced with His vision and exchange your weakness for
His strength. If we fail here our prayers will not ascend the ceiling.
God wants His burden interceded for. Romans 8: 26 gives us our position
of weakness, we do not know WHAT to pray for. Only the anointing within
us and God Himself KNOW ALL THINGS. We are on the winning side! We have
to co-operate. Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our
God, for true and just are His judgements.
DAY 48 “… and they
shall see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and
great glory.”
Matthew 24: 30
We will become gravity free
when we see the Son of Man coming in living light glory. Will the clouds
be altocumulus stratiformis, with the rays of celestial glory immediately
strengthening God’s obedient children to rise to a vast reunion in the
sky? We lift our heads because our redemption draws nigh. Whether you agree
with pretribulation or post-tribulation rapture, the glorious event is
on every saint’s radar. We may not know the day or hour of His coming,
but the inner witness will help us know the season. Perhaps the clouds
will be cirrus uncinus, those hook-like filaments and commas of angelic
wispiness 26,000 feet high. The glory of clouds or stars is one matter;
the great glory of Jesus’ descent quite another.
Who will be there? Read 1
Thessalonians 4: 16. Gabriel will be blowing a trumpet, and Michael’s voice
will echo across continents. The Lord Himself will SHOUT with such power
that the dead in Christ will rise first. Not just Lazarus this time, but
every saint including Mary (Gabriel will recognize her) and Adam (Michael
will smile at him concerning the flaming sword).
Have a sense of wonder… and
a sanctified imagination. Meditate on the scene of total transformation
because in an atom of time we shall all be changed: all those who are regenerate
and have obeyed the gospel. What a wonderful reunion! We will be GLORIFIED
only as He is GLORIFIED IN US (2 Thessalonians 1: 10). The intensification
of that glory will be different from saint to saint just as the stars differ
in glory (1 Corinthians 15: 41, 42). Some will know a greater or better
resurrection depending on the sum of obediences while here on earth. Those
who are wise will shine like the brightness of the firmament. There is
a relationship between wisdom, evangelism and glory in Daniel 12: 3. Have
a sense of wonder today. Watch, wait and work in the light of His glorious
return.
“Dear heavenly Father,
thank you for the tremendous hope we have who believe. Help me to share
the hope that You give, and to shine Your light to those who don’t know
You. Give them revelation of Your Son Jesus Christ just as You have given
to me, for Your glory. Amen.”
DAY 49 “When He shall
come to be glorified IN His saints…” 2 Thessalonians 1: 10
The true glory is not to
be found in the kingdoms of this world, but in the resurrection life in
our spirits. The secret of His success is
that Jesus lived from His
spirit, His inner man. Check out Mark 2: 8, John 11: 33, John 13: 21. It
is there He knew an indwelling
Father, and where we know
an indwelling Christ. The virtue of Jesus has been planted as a seed in
the new creation. We abide in Him as we look after our spirits. Above all
we need a contrite spirit, not just when we repent, but a continuous state
of being (see Psalm 34: 18 and Isaiah 57: 15). This sensitivity to sin
and the flesh helps us acknowledge our faults, and keeps us open to daily
experiencing salvation. David knew a broken spirit (Psalm 51: 17) so that
God was able to restore him. God glorifies Himself in the saint who knows
the fear of the Lord. This experience will prostrate you in true humility.
His searching power into our hearts will make us tremble at His Word (compare
Isaiah 66: 2 and Psalm 139: 23).
Humility is the basis of
all God’s grace, and lowliness becomes reality as we associate with the
poor (Proverbs 16: 19). Tender, flexible and gentle should be our attitude
God-ward and man-ward. Pride precedes a fall. This yielded spirit can turn
easily in God’s hand and do the new purpose and direction – like Philip
being sent from Samaria to go to the desert. We are to be POOR in spirit
for the kingdom of heaven
to manifest through our lives. You may be a millionaire or truly poor –
it matters little to God – the essential quality is to have nothing in
relation to self. Watchman Nee said, “An emptied spirit enables a person
to lose himself in God whereas a wealthy spirit renders him self centered.”
Being strong and wealthy
in our spiritual experiences can deter God coming through us to be glorified.
The parading of faith or holiness and being in the limelight may be the
only reward we will receive. Some “power” ministries can be strong to the
point of unloving. We do need a spirit of power, and have the keys to the
power station to unlock healing and deliverance. We also need a
spirit of love to others,
and of self-control toward ourselves!
We are to be POOR
in spirit for the kingdom of heaven to manifest through our lives. You
may be a millionaire or truly poor – it matters little to God – the essential
quality is to have nothing in relation to self!
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