Today we continue our mini-series entitled “A New Dimension of Glory!” This series is under the overall theme for the year: “GREAT FREEDOM.” We have been looking at a passage in 2 Corinthians 3 for a while. Let’s get back to it today.
(2 Corinthians 3:7-11, 17&18 Easy to Read Version)
7 The old agreement that brought death, written with words on stone, came with God’s glory. In fact, the face of Moses was so bright with glory (a glory that was ending) that the people of Israel could not continue looking at his face.
8 So surely the new agreement that comes from the life-giving Spirit has even more glory.
9 This is what I mean: That old agreement judged people guilty of sin, but it had glory. So surely the new agreement that makes people right with God has much greater glory.
10 That old agreement had glory. But it really loses its glory when it is compared to the much greater glory of the new agreement.
11 If the agreement that was brought to an end came with glory, then the agreement that never ends has much greater glory.
17 The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18 And our faces are not covered. We all show the Lord’s glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings more and more glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
So what does this mean for you today? I will focus in on verse 18, where Paul said, “And our faces are not covered. We all show the Lord’s glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings more and more glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
1. You were created to glorify God on this planet.
a) You are not a mistake. You are on this planet for a reason and that reason is God’s divine purpose.
b) If you are on this planet, but you are NOT living in alignment with your divine assignment, you are living cross-wise with God’s purpose. Since you are not aligned with God, heaven or His Kingdom, your life is not bringing God the glory He intended. One of the reasons why God gave you His Spirit, is so you can know what He already planned for you to do (see 1 Cor 2), and so you could be empowered to get it done before you die.
c) In Isaiah 43, the Lord told Isiaih how much He loved him, how he was special, how he was called by His name, and how he had a divine purpose. God then sent Isaiah out to preach that same message to everyone else. God wanted His sons and daughters back. He wanted people to come back to Him and to align with His purpose. This is how the Bible says it:
“I’ll send orders north and south: ‘Send them back. Return my sons from distant lands, my daughters from faraway places. I want them back, every last one who bears my name, every man, woman, and child whom I created for my glory, yes, personally formed and made each one.’”
(Isaiah 43:6,7 MSG)
The Bible says that God personally formed each and every one of us and we were all created for His glory! So as you enter this day, remember that. Don’t live cross-purposes with God. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead/guide/ direct you. If you do, not only will you discover your purpose, but you will be empowered to complete it while you are in the land of the living!
2. God placed His glory IN you and He wants you to live your life with NO FILTER, so His glory can be seen.
Moses spent 40 days on the mountain with God while he was receiving the 10 Commandments. He spent so much time with God that he did not realize he had been changed. When he came down from that experience, the glory of God was emanating from his face. The glory of God was so strong that Moses put a veil over his face, to cover the glory. Later, when the glory faded, Moses kept the veil on, because he did not want the people to know that the glory was gone.
As we compare and contrast that with our reality today, we can learn a few things:
a) You cannot separate God from His glory. Wherever God is, His glory is present. His glory emanates from His presence.
b) You cannot spend quality time in God’s presence and leave unchanged. If you spend quality time with God, people will notice. They will know you have been with God.
c) We have a glory that never fades because God’s presence inside the Born-Again believer is permanent. The glory on Moses’ face came from a 40-day visit. The glory we have on the INSIDE of us is something we get to carry around for the rest of our lives!
d) The text says that “our faces are not covered”. God wants us to freely put His glory on display. We are to live our lives with NO FILTER!
e) People today are used to placing filters on their social media pictures. The filters change/alter the truth. Moses’ veil covered the glory. As I prayed about this passage today, the Lord spoke to me about how His glory is often not seen in the lives of His children, because we are either covering up the fact that He lives in us (like the veil), or we are putting a natural spin on supernatural things (like a filter), because we lack the boldness to truly say what He tells us to say and to do what He tells us to do. If you are Born-Again, the Holy Spirit is INSIDE of you. You are housing the glory of God. If God cannot be seen, heard or felt when people come in contact with you, then there is too much of YOU in the way! The more you die to self, the more God, His glory, and His power will be on display in your life. My point is simple: STOP PUTTING A FILTER ON GOD! Say what He tells you to say, go where He tells you to go, and do what He tells you to do when you ger there. If you do this, if you live your life to bring glory to His name, you may not live the life you wanted, but you will live the life God wanted, and it will be greater than your wildest dreams. I am a witness!
That’s enough for today. I will continue to flow in this vein tomorrow.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I was created to glorif You on this planet. I declare that I will. In order to do so, I must make a human alignment with my divine assignment. I die to me, so I can live for You and the plans/purposes You made for me before the world began. You placed Your Spirit inside of me. I am walking around as a human conduit of Your glory. In order for me to let this glory out, I need to spend time with You. I declare that I do. I spend quality time with You and like Moses, I leave that place of intimacy changed. When people come in contact with me today, they will know that I have been with You! Your glory will be seen, heard and felt through me, because I live my life with NO FILTER! I no longer block Your glory from flowing through me! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
