FRIDAY 25th
Exodus 40:34-38
NIV (v34) – ‘Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.’
ESV (v34) – ‘Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.’
I wonder what you would long to see happen at Emmanuel Pentecostal Church.
For me, my number one would be to see men and women coming to saving faith and being totally transformed by the power of the message of the Cross. Then there would be a desire to see a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit with the gifts evident among us, but when I see this verse for today I would also have to add to the list to see the glory of the LORD filling the place, where we will just have no option but to fall on our knees or prostrate on the floor in awe of his amazing presence. But, then I exercise some caution, for I am reminded again of the two Scriptures we mentioned a few weeks ago, the first when Moses came face to face with God at the bush that burned and was not consumed and the second when Isaiah saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up with the seraphim crying out Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory. For if we were confronted with the glory of the Lord as seen here in Exodus 40, we would suddenly become more aware of his holiness and of our need to be holy. As it says in 1 Peter 1:15-16 ‘. . . but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy.’ A powerful move of God always brings a change in the lives of individuals, for when confronted (for want of a better word) with him we become more aware of our shortcomings and failures, but we thank God that he is merciful and gracious and that he deals bountifully towards us. Holiness and sanctification are almost becoming alien words today, it’s sad that some who claim to have come to faith also seem happy to continue in many of their old ways, but God has called us to become more Christlike in every area of our lives, and one of the processes for this to happen is that of the work of sanctification.
The process is two-fold, in that when we are saved, we are sanctified by the washing and cleansing of his precious blood, (1 Corinthians 6:11 ‘And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.’) but following from that is the ongoing process of being sanctified by the Spirit, (Romans 15:16 ‘. . . so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.’) and by his Word, (John 17:17 ‘Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.’) so that as we progress in our spiritual walk the rough edges are smoothed and we become more Christlike, more holy, more conformed to his image. (Romans 8:29 ‘For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.’)
May we be such as a company of God’s people that not just one of the things I mentioned at the beginning would happen among us but all of them and much more as we centre ourselves around the will of God, so that he can do exactly as he wills to do.