Re 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
The Christian Life by design is one of ever increasing glory
Pr 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
It is the process of ever decreasing and ever increasing.
Joh 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
The Life of Christ ever increasing in the life of the believer, The vine life flowing through the branch in greater and fuller and richer presence and power.
In Jn 15:1-7 it is the life of progression from bringing forth fruit, to more fruit, to much fruit.
This is the design of God for every believer, The life of ever increasing glory = growing from one stage of Christ likeness to another. = From Level of glory to level of glory,
Till like Paul we are able to say:
Ga 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Youngs literal translation:
20 with Christ I have been crucified, and live no more do I, and Christ doth live in me;
The glory of a thing is in how truly it reveals or represents it’s author or creator
The closer to the original or the author is the representation the greater is the glory of the thing.
Jesus is the original Son, As we grow into his image and likeness we are moving from glory to glory, The more truly we represent him, and manifest him to the world, The greater is the glory that we bring to the Father.
#1 We must see to be.
Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord.
There must be a beholding, there must be a deliberate setting of our attention upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
(Come up hither ). This is the summons of the Spirit to the body of Christ,
Re 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
#2 In order to move to the next level we must be more than involved we must be committed.
The Work of the Spirit in our Lives is in 3 Stages
#1 Manifesting himself to us #2 Manifesting himself in us # Manifesting himself through us
The general population of the church is satisfied to see a manifestation of Gods power
Gods desire is for you to be a Manifestation of his power.
Ro 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
It doesn’t take any commitment to see a manifestation of the glory of God, You only need to be present = involved.
The problem with that is: You are the only one who enjoys it, and when it’s over it’s over, and you leave it when you leave.
This was the case with Judas and the other disciples, when the woman came and broke her alabaster box and anointed Jesus with the oil and wiped his feet with her hair.
They saw the act, they smelled the aroma but when they left, they left it.
The Woman on the other hand was Committed and she took it with her when she left.
That means that her life became a manifestation of her experience.
Everyone she came in contact with knew of her contact with the Lord, The anointing that was on him, was also on her.
#3 To move to the next level we must be able to hear the Kings voice.
We must not only hear what he has said, but what he is saying.
The general population of the church is content to read what he has said, and live by commandment
#4 to move to the next level we must graduate from commandment = what he has said.To communion = what he is saying now.
Communion is a choice
David had 400 men that joined themselves to him 30 were chief among them and 3 were the most mighty of them all.
The main reason for their positioning was not their physical ability or intellectual prowess, but it was because they lived closer to David than the others.
The closer we live to the king the easier it is to hear his voice
The closer we live to the king the more we will take on his attributes.
#5 There must be a restoration of the fear of God, of the Holy reverential awe for the presence of God and his Power.
Josh 3: 4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
We must learn how to entertain the presence of the Lord before we will experience his power.
#6 We must turn loose of the familiar and the comfortable.
The price of the new is the old, The price for walking on the water is giving up the comfort and safety of the boat.
