This part is rather long, but to get to where we are going today, I must take the time, and we will start by looking at 2 Cor 4:3-17;

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1 Anointed for Glory! 2013/8 04/14/13 I believe, especially in a group of people such as you in this class, that you have a desire to daily find an increase in your anointing, and it s always available, but there is a cost, and I am sure you already know that as well. Dan and I were reading recently and there was statement that fits here well, and it is as follows; The power of the anointing is based on the intensity of these three things; Dedication Consecration Separation. These things become a practice in our lives to bring about an increase in the anointing. There is of course a pot of gold on the other end of this journey, and it is worth going after, so lets see where this takes us today. The presence of God to be realized is in the anointing. Remember, anointing means smeared it is God covering us with His powerfilled presence. Supernatural things happen when we walk in the anointing. The anointing is the ability in which God grants the believer the courage to accomplish the work of the ministry serving Him. To flow in this anointing requires dedication to keep on keeping on, in the face of many things. When we seek to move with the presence of God in our lives, there will generally be a series of trials and conflicts that will confront us, and our dedication to follow, as God increases our climb towards Him. Our correct response to these things takes us higher. In reading a work the other day by Drummond Thom on this subject he said, God will determine when you are ready, but when you think you are ready, you usually are not. When you finally settle on the fact that you may never be ready you are then closer than ever to finishing the job. This part is rather long, but to get to where we are going today, I must take the time, and we will start by looking at 2 Cor 4:3-17; Remember verse 18 in chapter three concerning God s glory increasing from one degree to another in us precedes what you hear in this next long passage. But even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age 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 upon them. 1

2 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus sake. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. Note: Remember, Romans 1:16; The Gospel is God s power working unto our salvation. this treasure We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you. And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, I believed and therefore I spoke, we also believe and therefore we speak, knowing that He Who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. (Eph 2:6) For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. [the Gospel of the glory of God] Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light momentary affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. I am always moved by Paul s attitude considering all that he endured; hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted, struck down, and carrying in the body death, and then in the same year he wrote in the tenth chapter; he was more in labors, more in stripes, in prison more frequently, and from Jews I received forty stripes minus one, 2

3 three times with rods, stoned once, shipped wrecked, a night and a day in the deep, in journeys often, in perils of waters, of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in the wilderness, in the sea, among false brethren, in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger, thirst and fasting often, in cold and nakedness, and my concern for all the churches which comes up often. I am sure that Paul would have labeled all this too, as light momentary afflictions, so I have to ask myself many times, what am I griping about? I know that the dedication, consecration and the separation are the steps to the anointing arising, but then there is the fruit that God desires to be born out of this anointing, because the anointing has a name and it is the Holy Spirit, and He is the unction (anointing) that we received at our baptism [1 John 2:20], and we have it continually. It is the empowerment that we received to be witnesses unto Jesus, and that is where we display our conformation to His image. I have to think that his total take is not what we go through that produces an ever increasing weight of glory, but rather the picture that I see him painting, is how we respond to any given affliction, or how we are using the power to be witnesses unto Jesus. Before we go on, lets look at 2 Cor.3:18, a familiar verse but no less important to recognize its depth; Note: We received the unction at our salvation, and we do have that anointing, but the Baptism in the Holy Spirit releases that anointing in our daily lives, and I believe that this next verse could not be complete without the fullness of that empowerment. And all of us, as with unveiled face, because we continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit. Note: Beholding as in a mirror relates to our reflecting as well as looking into. As we behold the glory of the Lord, we are continually transformed into the same image by the Spirit of the Lord. We then, with ever-increasing glory, reflect what we behold. The sum of this text is that the Bible shows us Christ, so that we may measure our personal conduct and character against His, then allow God to shape us into Christ s likeness [the potter at work.] The Word of God is filled with the remarkable power to change us with a single glance. [take this for an instance of His Image; on the cross, having been falsely accused, flogged with a cat of nine tails, crowned with a hideous crown of thorns, nailed to 3

4 the cross, hands and feet, and mocked incessantly, He responded with a compassionate, Father, forgive them, they know not what they do] Note: Moses asked God to show him His glory (Ex 33:18), but the Lord answered, You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live. What Moses was asking for, was an intimate knowledge of God. God placed him in the cleft of the rock, and then manifested His glory. Moses was exposed to the light of the divine afterglow, and was enfolded in the total fullness of His Presence. Note: The Afterglow that Moses saw was the back of God passing. Moses only got the afterglow, but we, in His face behold the true glory of God Almighty in all His glory. That is the next step that we will investigate. Follow these steps as they are listed in the word. Faith introduces us into grace (Romans 5:2), through which we saved, and it is this salvation grace that ushers us into the unction [anointing] that is a person, the Holy Spirit. Our growth in the anointing is where glory in us is birthed. God s Presence is His glory, for you cannot separate Him from His glory, and neither will He. Man cannot stand the weight that the fullness of God s Personal glory would bring about. God would not show Moses His face, for the glory was so radiant, that no man can see It and live. So lets go on now and see where we are headed. There are numerous places that we need to visit in this season, for we are rapidly approaching the time of His coming. And in the season of His coming there will be certain things occurring. Pertaining to His glory, turn to Hab. 2:14; For the whole earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Note: This verse follows God s warning to the wicked. We need to grasp that a city, nor a nation can receive any of God s blessings if it allows it s foundations of righteousness to be undermined by wickedness. This type of foundation causes man to labor hard, and gain nothing to his good. Seek the welfare of your nation and pray and ask God to grant His mercy and His compassion and with forgiveness be established, and that the knowledge of His glory will surely fill the earth. [turn to Hab 2:3 proceeding the former.] After being in Habakkuk so many times, I am always excited about the surety of His soon coming. Habakkuk wrote his vision [and I am taking the liberty of changing the it to He because the He is Jesus, and that is the prophetic dimension of the word here. It 4

5 declares that He is for an appointed time, and at the end He will speak, and He will not lie. He may tarry, but wait for Him, because He will surely come, In other words, wait for God to speak and heed the Word He says to you. We began this lesson with the intention of heading toward and holding fast His glory, and we need to understand that this follows what we do with the anointing that we received at our rebirth; But you hold a sacred appointment, you have been given an unction (anointing) you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all know [the Truth]. [1 John 2:20] We must not go any further with this lesson, until we understand that the path into the glory that Paul spoke of was that we are to add one thing to the dedication, consecration and separation that we began with, and that is our surrendered commitment to the call of that anointing in whatever form or forms that we receive it in. Let me give it to you with an illustration; In Acts 3:6-8, Peter yielding to the call and the empowerment of the anointing, stepped out in faith and said, Silver and gold we do not have, but what I do have I give you, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And it then declares that the man began to walk and went into the temple with them, walking, leaping, and praising God, and all the people saw him walking and praising God. The man clung to Peter, and all the people, in total awe ran together and crowded around Peter and John and the man now walking, and they hung to every word Peter spoke in his answer to their amazement (Acts 3:12 through 26) read it this week, because what Peter did is all part of the anointing and the glory that he entered into by his commitment to that call on his life. It says that the man clung to Peter I to am personally clinging to the hope that God has put in me, hope to see people healed, provided for, saved and delivered, to see transformation in our fellowships and the resident Presence of God in our world. That is His glory at work. The people came to see what had happened. When glory appears on the scene, the public response will be demanding the attention of everyone. The people were utterly astonished, and could be heard saying, Nothing we have seen or experienced compares to this, God is surely in this place. This is the reaction that God seeks, and that is what His love is doing, reaching out to a needy world, whose souls hunger for the infilling that only God can give [Eccl 3:11]. In the late fifties and early sixties the Charismatic and Jesus movements were active, 5

6 and God was showing up, people were running to the Presence of His Life and His glory. In these days, before His coming, His glory and power should be showing up in our lives as well, but remember, much of the church is still slumbering, and need an awakening. I personally know that we began our journey to the glory of God when we were born again, for Jesus said in John 10:10b; That He came that we may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance to the full, till it overflows. [His glory is a part of the abundance] That life is Zoe life, God s Life and glory, bringing peace and joy, As we grow in grace and rise into a more intimate knowledge of Him and His kingdom, beginning to truly commit to the anointing, and begin to move to a higher place where God s glory begins to be manifest in our lives through Christ, there will be an awakening in the church that is slumbering. All this was prophesied in Isaiah 60:1-2; Arise [from depression and prostration in which circumstances (maybe some light momentary afflictions) have kept you; rise to a new life]! Shine be radiant with the glory of the Lord; for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you! (in other words, church wake up. ) For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and dense darkness all peoples; but the Lord shall arise upon, and His glory shall be seen on you. This prophesy speaks to both Jerusalem and the body of Christ, and according to many of the scholars of today, as does Hebrews 11:9-10, and Revelation 21:9-11. [read them this week] This is to be an ongoing experience, a progressive manifestation of our lives in Him here on earth. The world is watching God s children. Whenever that glory is exhibited through us on earth, it defeats and puts to flight all the doubt and unbelief that seeks to weaken God s people. [this is what the enemy is fighting so hard] This is good; We had this once before but it is good, listen; Someone recently said that they heard the Lord say sternly; I m going to show My children off down there on earth, before I bring them home with Me. He is present in us, dwelling in fullness, and He and His glory cannot be separated (the glory is part of His fullness). It is only our 6

7 flesh that hinders its appearance. We are to live and operate on this new level with consistency. It is through us, that the world is truly going to recognize the awesome presence of God and His glory in our lives and our responses to contrary circumstances. Turn to John 2:11 for just a moment and see when Jesus first exhibited His glory that could be seen; This first of His signs (miracles, wonderworks) Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee and manifested His glory [He did this as a man, just as we are] by it He displayed His greatness and His power openly; and His disciples believed in Him adhered to, trusted in and relied on Him. (displayed glory is like a magnet to onlookers and He did it as a man exactly like us) The host of the feast told Jesus that He had held the best until last, and I believe that we are that last and we are to be an intoxicating body [the bride], attracting all that see her, radiant in the power of God. Standing on the promises and power of God, and the purchase of Christ. He is the strong foundation of the church, the true, born again Spirit filled Body of Christ. This message is not for some small portion of the body of Christ. It is truth to all who follow Jesus, from the weakest to the strongest, from the youngest to the oldest. The promise of God to fill us with his glory is yes and amen to every believer. Paul declared that His manifest glory brings freedom from bondage to sin, from despair and defeat, from luke-warmness and apathy. There is no veil anymore for us who live in Christ. We are being transformed by His glory into His very own image. This is the kind of glory that causes people to rush to God without shame. When our Lord manifests His glory, He transforms defeat into victory, fleshly weakness into heavenly strength. I am beginning to close this, but as I mentioned earlier, the ever increasing weight of glory that is being produced in us happens to the degree of our right responses (like Jesus would) to the tests and trials that we meet daily. I am here to tell you that I failed the test in the early days of the greatest loss I have ever had, but God is strengthening me to come up into His perfect will, and I am learning fast to take His hand and stand in every test or trial that I encounter from now on in life, even if I do have a few tears from time to time. To close this, turn to Romans 8:17,18 and 30; 7

8 And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also; heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ sharing His inheritance with Him; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory. [suffering = tests and trials and His response] [But what of that?] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (this present life) are not worth being compared (so much for light momentary afflictions) with the glory that is about to be revealed to and in us and for us and to be conferred on us. And to verse 30 And those whom He thus foreordained He also called; and those whom He called He also justified acquitted, made righteous, putting them into right standing with Himself. And those He justified He also glorified raising them to a heavenly dignity and condition [state of being]. God truly desires that we experience in all the varied areas of our lives His glory, and this is His will. His glory is our shade and a shelter in every storm or trial in our lives. We will get to His will the next time around, but lets finish today by turning to a verse in John 17:24; Father, I desire that they also whom You have entrusted to Me [Your gift to Me,] may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory, which You have given Me Your love gift to Me for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. Class! Move into the Glory that God has designed us all to be, and you are truly on the way, Alleluia!! 8