Sunday Sermon by Pastor Rajesh Mathew, 31 May 2020

Today is the Day of Pentecost. It means the 50th Day. Leviticus 23 talks about it as the 50th day.

• In the Book of Acts 2, the birthing of the church happened when the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit descended into the midst of the Disciples of Christ. 3000 people were saved and also received the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Happy Pentecost Day!

2 Corinthians 3:18- 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as [a]by the Spirit of the Lord.

• The Lord is Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord there is Liberty.
• We are supposed to reflect God’s glory. Our God is a God of Glory.

GOD’S GLORY IS TRIUNE, LIKE A TRIANGLE.

The lower part of the triangle is the Shekinah (the Hebrew word)

Pastor- Even when I was praying before preaching this sermon, I felt and intense presence of God like never before. I felt like I was plugged into His Power.

• Today as you listen to His Word, you will experience God’s power coming upon you.
• Shekinah means the Manifested Glory – when the Israelites came out of Eqypt, God’s glory was like a cloud of during day and fire during night and from that glory came the manna. The glory was visible. That is why the nations around them were afraid.
• In this time of COVID-19, God’s Glory to come upon us like a mantle and envelope us.
• Just like the Sun which is 93 million miles away and we still feel its heat so strong1 Timothy 6 talks about God as One who dwells in unapproachable light. If the heat of the sun that is 93 million miles away is felt by you, how much more the glory of God (the one who created the Sun)!
• If the glory of God is sent to you in a compressed form and in a way that you can withstand, it refers to the Shekinah glory of God. You will not be able to take it otherwise.
• A glimpse of His Glory is enough for me to on the floor worshipping Jesus.

God who is All Consuming Fire is enough to set your house on fire.

• God’s glory fell when the Ark of the covenant was brought in. When a war was at hand, the people only needed to bring the Ark and place it there and the enemies would fall.
• God’s glory brightened Moses’s face. We are reflections of God’s glory.

Isaiah 4: 4-5- 4 When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the [a]blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, 5 then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a [b]covering.

• The glory shall be a defence. “A Spirit of burning”. God’s Glory burns away every sin. You won’t feel defiled and unclean. An encounter with the Spirit of burning will remove every defilement and you will know that the Lord is your defence. Verse 4 is a call to consecration!

Your dwelling place will see God’s glory descend.

• The children of Israel, when they were in Egypt, saw 10 plagues. Not one touched the Children of God. They were covered by the Presence of God. Lord, cover my home and family with Your Glory.

A testimony- A man was studying about God’s Glory from the same scripture in Isaiah 4. The robbers robbed him on his way during travels. They wanted to shoot him dead after robbing him and they fired at him five times but the bullets did not touch the man. The man of God had prayed and cried out the same verse- Your glory is my defence! The robbers then attempted to kill him with a sword/ knife. And even as they approached him to strike him, he cried out the same verse with his eyes closed and when he opened his eyes, he was found standing outside the door of his church. The Holy Spirit had transported him supernaturally!

• In these days, may we be able to experience His Glory as revealed in His Word. These are not just some tales but true manifestations of God’s glory.

The first level is the Shekinah!

The sides of the Glory triangle is DOXA, means heavy weight

• Remember Shot put in school? Just like that the Glory of God will be like a weighty thing. It is not outside of you. The weight of God’s glory is inside of you. the glory that you can carry within.

You become a Glory carrier!

You are not made to carry the burdens of the world. You are made to carry the weight of God’s glory. Glory within, that is, your Heavenly Father’s DNA and nature placed as His glory within you.

Anecdote- Just think about it- you can know Bill Gates from the newspapers but you find that your in person meeting with him reveals to be the exact opposite of what you thought he was. You knew him externally earlier but now, you now the substance of who he is. When you know God’s substance and not just externally!.

Exodus 33:11- 14- 11 So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle. 12 Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” 14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

• If God’s Presence is there with you, there is peace.

In verse 18 - And he said, “Please, show me Your glory”, Moses asks God to show him HIS GLORY which implies- show me your nature and the substance of who you are. Yes, I saw your Presence from the outside and the great light. BUT I want to see your substance!

In verse 19- Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion,” God is revealing who He is. He has two natures- GRACIOUS and COMPASSIONATE

1) The graciousness of God refers to the generosity of God. He is liberal

Exodus 34:5-6- 5 Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth. • This verse reveals who God is- 1) Grace 2) mercy 3) longsuffering, 4) good 5) trustworthy

All the mountains in front of you become levelled by the presence of the Holy Spirit and the great grace of God.

Galatians 1:24- They glorified God in me.

The Holy Spirit is saying to someone, You have moved too far away from God. He is gracious to you. His glory will be revealed within you in a way that will surprise others. The glory of is coming over you. • Longsuffering means that he endures you

• Trustworthy means He is a God who keeps covenant. You can trust Him. God is a God of integrity.

The Holy Spirit is saying, In the same way God’s Presence converted a Saul who was persecuting the church into a Paul, God will send forth His transforming Glory upon this church to transform those against Him.

God wants you to have this glory. Christian life has a weight.

Exodus 34:8- 8 So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped.

• Within Christian life, if God’s DOXA enters you, you have a forgiving nature because God has a forgiving nature. Because God’s nature has descended into you.
• He is also a God of justice. He is not unjust. He balances both His love and justice. He shows mercy, love and longsuffering.
• If you have God’s nature, you will be just. You won’t cheat people.
• You will be like your Father. You will keep your marriage covenant. You will be faithful in your church.

Tell God, I need both-- Shekinah (Glory outside) and Doxa (Glory within)

The 3rd side of the Glory Triangle is His greatness and His splendour

• This is the place where He sends miracles. When He says that he will share His Glory with no other, it is at this level.
• Jesus taught the disciples to pray, “Hallowed be THY NAME”. Majestic is your name. Glorious is Your name. It is attached to God’s reputation.
• One can’t place Jesus with other gods. Only when you lift up His name, does His Kingdom come.
• Don’t do anything that will defame the Name of the Lord. This glory is to lift up His name.

John 17:1- Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,

He sought God’s glory to glorify His name. We want glory to glorify our names! You want the business to grow, but you won’t even give tithe.

You need to glorify His name in the families.

What is the price for that?

1 Corinthian 15:28- he subjected Himself to God the father.

• He submitted to God. Wives, submit to the husband, children to parents, church to the pastor.
• Submitting is self-sacrifice. How will you be exalted? How will you enjoy glory? By serving, by sacrifice. God is not looking for people who want position and power etc.
• Tell HIM- “I am submitting to you. My plans I submit to you”.

SEVEN LEVELS OF GLORY FOR A BELIEVER

Romans 8:30- 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Stage 1: The glory of Servanthood

• There is a glory within this stage. When God calls you first it is not to immediately make you a master or an apostle. It is to serve first.
• Whether it is your domestic help, or watchman or the lady who cleans your yard, they are all able to experience the presence of the owner or master. But they are looking at how they can get the next promotion or a hike in the salary. But there are some, who do what they do with utmost sincerity because they believe they are there to serve.
• God will take you through the stage of servanthood and in that stage you feel God is a tough taskmaster. You are trying to earn His favour. Some people never outgrow that stage. They are scared that GOD will curse or refrain from blessing him/ her for everything they do wrong.

Stage 2: The glory of Childhood

Galatians 4:1- 4 Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all,

• If you are walking around in a diaper, you are like a slave. You are a child, just born again.
• At this stage what you need is a revelation from God’s Word. You are not a sinner, you are an heir.
• The glory of God has made you an heir. You have authority over the world, over disease, and over the devil. You are born again. You have the Father’s DNA in you. You are royalty.
• In some messages, we are told to believe that we are the righteousness of Christ. Even if you are a murderer, adulterer, you can have faith and believe that you are the righteousness of Christ. Yes, it is true that you are the righteousness of Christ and you can still have faith and believe no matter what you have done, but that kind of teaching almost cheats you out of your inheritance.
• God wants to open a door for you. It is revelation of grace and faith. It is the door of the faith and grace in the Holy Spirit.

Inheritance provides for you; Faith cashes it in.

• In Christ you are saved and you need to cash in the peace that comes with salvation or the knowledge that you are saved.
• Suppose you have 100 children, all of them babies. You would be spending all your time changing diapers and watching out for each of them! Just imagine a million babies!! Will it make the Father in Heaven happy? These babies only want to hear about the touch of God, Hug of God & cuddle of God. They want to be carried always.

BUT God wants Sons. He will not use babies but sons.

• Such are the ones that God will use in the coming revival. Tell God, “Help me to become a mature Son. I want to surrender this area and my life to God.” If you are going to be one of them by faith release your life into the hands of Jesus.
• Servants are not responsible. Children also won’t be. But Sons are responsible.

If you sit here and try to destroy the church, the Lord will get you out of here if you do not repent. Be a church builder. He will use you.

• Like Enoch and Moses walked with God. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus and like Peter and John walked with God, let us walk with God.
• There is a level of being a son and not just a child.

Don’t have an “I know everything” kind of an attitude. God corrects and disciplines His children. It doesn’t have to scar you. It is to get you to maturity, not to destroy you.

Stage 3: The stage of discipleship

• In this stage, the children here have learnt to brush their teeth and wear their shoes!
• Manna and the water from the rock was offered till the Israelites reached the edge of the Jordan but after they entered into the Promised Land, they had to dig and till the soil to grow their food and not just expect something to fall from heaven.
• The seeds that you sow after you attain maturity will have lot of weight in the eyes of God.
• It will bring forth increase beyond what you imagine.
• Pastor doesn’t have to tell you pray, bathe, fast. You will pray on your knees. You will have that desire within you. That is a sign of maturity
• Don’t expect God to pamper you all the time. God is looking for Sons.

You learn the glory of learning and you never outgrow it. Not only learn but that is where you character is formed.

• If you sit in a discipleship class, your character needn’t change. But you feel that I have to walk and can’t keep falling like a baby. If you have that discipline, you are a disciple.
• It is in this time that you need someone to disciple you, a mentor. Submit to them. If there is a Barnabas, there is a Paul. I there is a Paul, there is a Timothy.

Stage 4: The glory of Stewardship

1 Corinthians 4:2- Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.

• You need to practice what you are hear in a preaching.
• Stewards means Managers for God.

Two things God will ask: 1) Are you faithful? 2) Are you dependable in matters that don’t concern you?

• If you can’t be dependable in someone else’s ministry, God won’t give you your ministry
• He will test you with the opposite sex. He will test you to see how your heart is? He will test you!
• God is never in a hurry in release people into ministry. God took 40 years with Moses. In 1 Kings 19, God gave Elisha the first mantle. After 10 years, the double portion was given when he had his own office of ministry. God saw his faithfulness.

He will test you before your promotion

• Don’t set your hands on things that are not given to you by God, before it is time. There is correction this Word. Let me be how God wants me to be.

God will give you little influence, little authority to see how you are using it.

Proverbs 28:20- a faithful man will abound with blessing

• How are you managing people?
• I give people the charge to counselling and to minister with me. If the people they are counselling are not coming closer to God or to the Man of God, I smell trouble.
• Stewardship is equal to productivity. It’s to give back four if you were given one. If you a worship leader, you will worship the best, the best intercessor.
• You will trust God to multiply what you have.
• I will bring two more people to church! I will share with two more people this message. I want to multiply what you have given me, LORD!

God will not give you what you want but what you will handle right. You handle something right, God will give you more of it

• With the little anointing that you have, if you are walking around so proud, God cannot take you to the next level.

Stage 5: The glory of Friendship

• You show up, God shows up because you are in friendship with God. God says that I speak to Moses like I would speak to a friend.
• I love being in the presence of God more than preaching.
• Jesus loved being in the Presence of the Father. Build up your relationship with your Father. A son will bring glory to the Father.
• A servant will love the work but a son will love the Father. A servant won’t abide in the house but a son will stand with the Father

God is raising up a church of sonship. A mature church. Not babes but sons.

Stage 6: The Glory of Lordship

Galatians 4:1- Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all,

In yielding you win. In letting go you gain. In dying you live.

• Jesus looked at Peter and said the devil is asking to sift you all as wheat. I’ll pray for you. After this, you go strengthen your brethren.
• Submit to God. Resist the devil. Don’t yield to the devil. Yield to God. Then you will win!
• In the Book of Job the devils says, If YOU remove the hedge around Job, let us see if he will still worship You. The Lord said, touch everything but don’t touch his life.
• In fact Job’s wife too said the same thing the devil said! God knows what will happen.

Stage 7: The glory of Godship

Psalm 82:6- I said, “You are [a]gods, And all of you are children of the Most High.

Exodus 7:1- So the Lord said to Moses: “See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.

• I made you like god unto Pharaoh and Aron shall be like your prophet.
• Moses provided food for 6 million. He became like god. He was in the glory zone. He lifted his rod over waters and it became blood.
• A special anointing will be released before Christ returns. Gross darkness will fill the earth but God’s glory will cover the earth.
• In the last days the ministry of Moses and Elijah will be revealed over the earth. There will be great manifestation of God’s Glory.
• Humble, yourself. Only those who worship and lift up God’s name.