Splendor of His Holiness Day 5

Pastor Lucy Paynter Daily Insights

We are surrounded by both the visible and invisible tokens of the glory of God. His presence is undeniable even to the ignorant mind and apparent to us believers whose faces have been unveiled by the salvation and grace of our Lord Jesus. We have been invited to behold and to share in the communicable, comprehensible splendor of the absolute divine perfection of the Lord God. The glory of He that is clothed in grace and truth. The glory of He that is faultless. We are invited to know the infinite God by His truth. To know His love in our hearts. To be in contact with and experience His gracious aura. To know the Lord with certitude. By the blood of Jesus we are invited across the bridge of the flesh so that there stands nothing between us and our God. So that our spirits are enjoined with His. So that our hearts may know His heart. God has revealed Himself to us so that we may know Him, and know Him intimately. It is in His nature to elevate His people. To lift them to levels where they can know and experience Him beyond man’s surface understanding of God. This is why the Bible is filled with people who had extraordinary experiences with God. People who got to see a side of God not many people in their generation got to see. And over the past four days, we have been reading of such an experience from Apostle John in revelation chapter 4. In verses 5-6, John says: From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. This is the extent of the power of God. And he invited a mortal. A mere man to bear witness to His glory in its fullness. And this is the God we serve. A god who does not alienate Himself from us by virtue of being God. He initiates relationships with mankind. He says come and I will show you who I am. Walk into my presence and I will show you the secrets of my dwelling place. We are not strangers to Him and this is why He took Apostle John to the throne room and displayed the very symbols of His righteous power to him. The very tokens of the power of God that adorn His throne and symbolize His righteousness and judgment. How majesty is He that sits on the throne! Imagine the sublime scene before Apostle John. The intense, glorious appearance of God. The Holy Spirit of God in His seven-fold dispensations. Imagine witnessing the omnipotence of the everlasting God firsthand! Both the manifestations of power and life. The awe and the fearful presence of the Lord and His calm, unremitting influences at the same time. I can imagine the overwhelming feeling in John’s heart when he stood by the shores of that calm crystal-like sea. The very symbols of God’s absolute counsel, His just, holy ways, and His pure love and righteousness. The manifest foundation of God’s throne on grace. You know, these phenomenon communicates the virtual unapproachability of God. The lightning and rumblings are like warning signs. Symbols of the terrifying holiness of God. This is enough to keep anyone away. And yet the Lord says, come to me. Come and I will show you things never seen before by the eyes of man. And this is why we said at the beginning that God does not alienate us. He does not wish that we should remain as strangers with Him. In Genesis 33:18-19 when Moses beseeched the Lord to show him His glory, the Lord replied: “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you. For I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose. Moses wished that he may see the glorious majesty of the Lord; the brightness of His countenance; a manifestation of the Lord’s excellence. This was after Moses had been in the mountain with God. He had sought intimate communion with God. He thirsted for an even deeper acquaintance. He was earnest with God. And how does the Lord reply? The me --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pastor-lucy-paynter/support