THE GLORY OF THE LORD
By Charlie Robinson (Fresh Fire Ministries)

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”

PREFACE

The greatest passion in my life is to see the glory of the Lord in the land of the living. I don’t want to wait until I die and go to heaven to see it. I want to see it here. I want to see it now. I believe we can and must experience and release his glory if we hope to be a part of the great end-time harvest that is occurring now. With that in mind, I have written a two part series on The Glory of God. It’s part of a revelation that God has given me over the last number of years. Everything written here came not from a book or a sermon, but rather, from spending time seeking the face of God. I believe that God will inspire and challenge you to press deeper into his presence and walk in a fuller dimension of his glory as you read these words.

PART ONE UNDERSTANDING THE GLORY

I have experienced many manifestations of the glory of God in my life. From angelic visitations and glory clouds to miraculous healings and physical manifestations in the earth, I have seen God work in many wonderful ways. The purpose of this writing, however, is not to go into the details of the manifestations which occur ( as exciting as thy are! ), but rather, to understand God’s desire to impart and release the knowledge of this glory to his people.

MANIFESTATIONS OF THE GLORY

First of all let’s look at what the glory of the Lord is. Simply put, it’s his manifest presence revealed. It is the very nature and character of God made known to man, but, it can never be understood by the mind of man. It can manifest itself as lightning, bright clouds, rain and wind. It can appear as fire, oil, gold and precious stones. It can come in the sound of thunder and the voice of a whisper. It comes in a myriad of colors and falls with the whiteness of pure snow. When the glory of God is present, the lost are saved, the sick are healed, the demonized delivered and the dead raised.

God’s glory is the wonderful personification of himself and all that he is. In short, no words can describe his glory, no voice can echo it, and no artist can paint it. As the scripture says,

“But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love him. But God has revealed them to us through his Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.”(1 Corinthians 2: 9, 10)

So we see that there is only one way to understand his glory by the Spirit of revelation. One of the greatest lacks in the church is the knowledge of the glory of God.

GLORY IN THE FACE OF JESUS

2 Corinthians 4: 6 is one of my favorite verses. It reads: “For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Notice that it says that God desires to give us “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God”. God not only wants us to experience and enjoy his glory, he wants to give us the knowledge of it as well. How do you receive this knowledge? It’s found only in the face of Jesus Christ. When Moses, who was under the old covenant, asked God to see his glory, he was allowed to see his back, but not his face (Exodus 33: 22, 23).

As children of God, living under the new covenant, we are invited to experience his glory by looking at his face. As I have sought the Lord’s face, I have not only experienced his glory presence and his miraculous works, I was imparted with the knowledge of his glory as well. The bible tells us that not only will the earth be filled with the glory of God, but it also tells us that “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord”. Many get excited when they see the glory of God in manifestation, but few know how to operate effectively in the glory. Why? It is because many want to experience the excitement and wonderful works that God’s glory produces but sadly very few have been willing to spend the time soaking in his presence and beholding his face in order to understand his ways.

THE FATHER OF GLORY

Proverbs 4:7 tells us, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.” Verse 9 goes on to say, “She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you.” We must walk in wisdom and revelation if we hope to minister in the glory.

Read the prayer of Paul in Ephesians 1: 15 23. In verse 17 Paul prays, “that the God of our Lord Jesus, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.” Notice what Paul is praying for. He’s praying that the FATHER OF GLORY would give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of HIM. ( Italics mine) Who does Paul want the Ephesians to get a revelation of? The Father of glory! Why would Paul want the church to have a revelation of the Father of glory? Because as our Father of glory, God wants us his children to have an intimate knowledge of his precious glory so that we can understand and manifest it in the earth.

I believe that the greatest sin in the church today is not recognizing and therefore not manifesting the glory of God in the earth, and by doing so we have fallen so short of all that God has for us. “For all have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God.” Because of this sin, the world is not saved. Hear what 2 Corinthians 4: 3,4 says, “ But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this world has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” How can we release the light of the glory of Christ when we know so little about it? The glory of God is not an option for some of the body of Christ to walk in. We all need to be diligent to receive everything that God has for us, not only for our own sakes, but for the sake of the lost and dying around us as well.

WALKING IN THE GLORY

Many keep their distance from entering into a deeper revelation of God’s glory because of the strange manifestations it sometimes produces. They see them as too weird and they don’t fit into their experience or doctrine so they reject them and, in essence, reject the fruit that the glory would produce in them if they would yield to the moving of God. I know many Christians who are embarrassed or ashamed by the glory of God and what it often produces. Adam and Eve were clothed with God’s glory and they were not even aware that they were naked and because of that, they had no shame (Genesis 2:25).Shame is always the opposite of glory. When they sinned, they fell short of the glory of God and lost their covering. Immediately they were ashamed and tried to cover their loss by putting fig leaves over themselves (Genesis 3:7).

When you understand and learn to walk in the glory of God you are not ashamed. When others mock and criticize the precious manifestations of the Spirit, you are not ashamed of them. You realize that manifestations of God’s glory produce salvation, healing and deliverance. The more you behold the face of Jesus, the more you sit at his feet the more he imparts into your heart, not only his wonderful glory- but the light of the knowledge of it as well. You must come to God and declare that his glorious presence is the most important thing in your life. Like Moses, cry out to him and tell him that you want to see his glory.

GLORY OF THE LORD IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING

David said, in the book of Psalms, “I would have fainted, had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” The word “goodness” here is the Hebrew word TUWB. It is the same word that God used when Moses asked God to see his glory (Exodus 33:19). God replied that he “would cause all his goodness (TUWB) to pass before him. David was saying, “I would have fainted, perished, given up had I not believed that I would see the goodness (or the GLORY) of the Lord in the land of the living.

You must believe - in order to see his glory. Jesus told Martha “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? “ I believe that the greatest single reason that ministers of the gospel give up and drop out of ministry is that lose sight of seeing the glory of the Lord in their generation. They believed at one time, but because of pressures, disappointments, and failures they stop believing.

Please, never stop believing you will see his glory. Seek God with all your heart. The glory is here now. Press into it. Plunge into it and experience the great realities that are found only in his marvelous glory!