September 17th, 2024
I want to share something with you that’s been burning on my heart this week. It isn’t necessarily profound. It’s something I’ve talked and written about before and something about which every Christian will most likely have heard a sermon or two. If you are a believer, then you’ve encountered the light of God.
2 Corinthians 4:6 says,
“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
Jesus Himself is the light of the world and if you’ve received Him, you’ve received light.
John 1:4-5 says,
“In [Jesus] was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
The life of Jesus is still the light of all men! When we receive His life, we come into the light! Salvation is a call “out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
However, not all men love the light. Those who walk in sin, wickedness, deception, or anything that defies God’s truth love the darkness, because they believe their deeds remain hidden.
John 3:19-21 says,
“This is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
While sin may hide in darkness for a season, truth will always be revealed. There is no safer, brighter, more peaceful place than the light of God’s presence. See, the light of God is always connected to His presence – to His glory. In the book of Exodus, we find the record of the Israelites in the wilderness when the glory of God dwelt on Mount Sinai. It was an awesome sight – blazing fire, lightning and thunder, clouds and smoke. It must have been a magnificent and terrifying thing. The masses cowered, but Moses, who recognized God’s presence, entered in. There is so much to this story, but in Exodus 33:18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” God said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name [‘Jehovah’] And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy” (Exodus 33:19). God allowed His glory to pass by Moses while he was sheltered in the cleft of the rock.
God’s glory was His presence, but also the declaration of His name and His character. It was after this encounter that Moses descended the mountain unaware that his face was shining with God’s glory.
Exodus 34:29-30 says,
“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.”
The reality of God’s glory was transferrable, and it appeared as light. It was His glory, His majesty, His very presence, that shined from the face of Moses “because he had been talking with God.”
How much more access do we have to God’s presence and His light by the blood of Jesus?
2 Corinthians 3:16-18 says,
“But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
We have access to behold with unveiled face the glory of the Lord. We cannot allow ourselves to become fascinated with the works of the enemy or the power of darkness when God has given us access to His very presence.
When Moses beheld God’s glory, he was physically changed. God declared His character and His name but warned Moses that he couldn’t “see His face and live.” We do not have the capacity to fully behold God’s glory, but there is One who does. Revelation 1:14-16 describes the risen Christ as John beheld Him on the Isle of Patmos. He said,
“The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.”
Jesus is the fullness of truth, the son of God, the glory of God made flesh. His face shines like the sun in full strength and Hehas no veil to conceal it. There will come a time that we will walk only by that glory.
Revelation 21:23-24 says,
“The city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk…”
Revelation 22:4-5 says,
“They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.”
There will be a time that the sun will stop shining, but we won’t even need a lamp, for His glory will be our light. That light, that same One whose magnificence John described dwells in you.
This week, my heart has burned with the truth of the power of God’s light. What darkness, sin, confusion, or fear could stand in the face of His fire and glory? It is a light that we cannot manufacture. 1 Thessalonians 5:5 says we are “children of light and children of the day.” However, that light that shines in us must come from the glory of God. We could try to fight shadows with candles of truths that we hold onto, but God is looking for those who will learn to abide in His glory, like Moses did. He’s looking for those who will step away from the crowd to speak to Him as a man speaks to a friend. He’s looking for those who will cry out “show me your glory” and wait for His presence. He is holy, awesome, and magnificent. If we choose to love the light, we will see His glory—His manifest presence. If we will live inHis glory and allow His glory to live in us, living like Jesus will be easy. Darkness, sickness, poverty, and all the works of the enemy will flee, because darkness cannot coexist with light. His light is the glory of the nations, and we can choose to abide in that light and let that light abide in us!
2 Corinthians 4:6 says,
“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
Jesus Himself is the light of the world and if you’ve received Him, you’ve received light.
John 1:4-5 says,
“In [Jesus] was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
The life of Jesus is still the light of all men! When we receive His life, we come into the light! Salvation is a call “out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
However, not all men love the light. Those who walk in sin, wickedness, deception, or anything that defies God’s truth love the darkness, because they believe their deeds remain hidden.
John 3:19-21 says,
“This is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
While sin may hide in darkness for a season, truth will always be revealed. There is no safer, brighter, more peaceful place than the light of God’s presence. See, the light of God is always connected to His presence – to His glory. In the book of Exodus, we find the record of the Israelites in the wilderness when the glory of God dwelt on Mount Sinai. It was an awesome sight – blazing fire, lightning and thunder, clouds and smoke. It must have been a magnificent and terrifying thing. The masses cowered, but Moses, who recognized God’s presence, entered in. There is so much to this story, but in Exodus 33:18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” God said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name [‘Jehovah’] And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy” (Exodus 33:19). God allowed His glory to pass by Moses while he was sheltered in the cleft of the rock.
God’s glory was His presence, but also the declaration of His name and His character. It was after this encounter that Moses descended the mountain unaware that his face was shining with God’s glory.
Exodus 34:29-30 says,
“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.”
The reality of God’s glory was transferrable, and it appeared as light. It was His glory, His majesty, His very presence, that shined from the face of Moses “because he had been talking with God.”
How much more access do we have to God’s presence and His light by the blood of Jesus?
2 Corinthians 3:16-18 says,
“But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
We have access to behold with unveiled face the glory of the Lord. We cannot allow ourselves to become fascinated with the works of the enemy or the power of darkness when God has given us access to His very presence.
When Moses beheld God’s glory, he was physically changed. God declared His character and His name but warned Moses that he couldn’t “see His face and live.” We do not have the capacity to fully behold God’s glory, but there is One who does. Revelation 1:14-16 describes the risen Christ as John beheld Him on the Isle of Patmos. He said,
“The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.”
Jesus is the fullness of truth, the son of God, the glory of God made flesh. His face shines like the sun in full strength and Hehas no veil to conceal it. There will come a time that we will walk only by that glory.
Revelation 21:23-24 says,
“The city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk…”
Revelation 22:4-5 says,
“They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.”
There will be a time that the sun will stop shining, but we won’t even need a lamp, for His glory will be our light. That light, that same One whose magnificence John described dwells in you.
This week, my heart has burned with the truth of the power of God’s light. What darkness, sin, confusion, or fear could stand in the face of His fire and glory? It is a light that we cannot manufacture. 1 Thessalonians 5:5 says we are “children of light and children of the day.” However, that light that shines in us must come from the glory of God. We could try to fight shadows with candles of truths that we hold onto, but God is looking for those who will learn to abide in His glory, like Moses did. He’s looking for those who will step away from the crowd to speak to Him as a man speaks to a friend. He’s looking for those who will cry out “show me your glory” and wait for His presence. He is holy, awesome, and magnificent. If we choose to love the light, we will see His glory—His manifest presence. If we will live inHis glory and allow His glory to live in us, living like Jesus will be easy. Darkness, sickness, poverty, and all the works of the enemy will flee, because darkness cannot coexist with light. His light is the glory of the nations, and we can choose to abide in that light and let that light abide in us!
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