THE BEAUTY REALM OF GOD…Part 2

“Glorying in God…Created for Happiness”

  • Psalm 27:4 “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple.”
  • God is passionate about Himself! …He has created US to be passionate about Himself too!...In fact…it’s the very reason we EXIST!!!
  • Isaiah 43:21 “These people I Have formed for Myself, they SHALL declare My PRAISE!”
  • The very reason that we even speak about God or think about God is so that we can simply bask in the fact that such an incredibly marvelous totally magnificent God is actually OURS!!!!!
  • 1 Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do ALL to the GLORY of God.”
  • Ephesians 3:21 “…to Him be GLORY in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
  • 1 Timothy 1:17 “To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and GLORY forever and ever. Amen.”
  • We know we are meant to glorify God…that’s what we are here for…but how exactly do we do that? What exactly does a life that GLORIFIES God look like? How exactly do we give Him all the GLORY we know He deserves?
  • Here’s how: When our KNOWLEDGE and EXPERIENCE and RELATIONSHIP with Him produces so much JOY in us that all competing pleasures are gone and He alone becomes the treasure that we prize!!!!!
  • Like that song we sing…”He is my PORTION and we are His prize, drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes, if His grace was an ocean, we’re all sinking…when heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss, and my heart turns violently inside of my chest, and I don’t have time to maintain my regrets, when I think about the way He loves us, o how He loves us!!!!!!”
  • When you are really GLORYING in God…you don’t have time to maintain any regrets about anything that this life has thrown up at you…..you are CONSUMED with Him and the JOY He brings!!!
  • As I mentioned a second ago…you need to EXPERIENCE God….but you can’t rely on just experience…because “experience alone” may or may not lead you in the right direction….you must also have KNOWLEDGE of the God you are created to GLORIFY…(or you may end up glorifying the wrong god!...you get that knowledge from the Scriptures!
  • But KNOWLEDGE is not enough….we were made to be PASSIONATE about the God we were created to GLORIFY!
  • SO……a quote from Sam Storms…”If God is to be supremely GLORIFIED in us it’s critically essential that we be SUPREMELY GLAD in Him and in what He has done for us in Jesus.”
  • DO YOU GET THIS: We exist to bask in the revelation of His DIVINE BEAUTY!
  • We are created for immense, extreme, overwhelming HAPPINESS!....huh? What? Are you sure? Doesn’t that sound a little messed up?....for OUR HAPPINESS????....I thought we were created for HIS GLORY???.....Well, YES!!!!!
  • God created us to GLORIFY Himself by filling us with such an incredible JOY that we get from our SALVATION encounter with His Son!
  • A big house, a 3-car garage, our own works, or the pleasures of our flesh is NOT WHAT WAS MEANT TO PRODUCE HAPPINESS IN US!
  • Hebrews 2:10 “God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into GLORY. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.”
  • Like the song we sing…”I love, I love, I love Your Presence….”
  • Wherever the salvation of the Lord goes, His glory follows. God’s salvation is near to those who fear Him that glory may dwell in our land.
  • Psalm 85:9 “Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that His GLORY may dwell in our land.”
  • To fear the Lord means to believe His word and obey what He says, to respect and honor His name in everything we do…. It means to love what He loves and hate what He hates…. It is the recognition that we need Him more than anything else in the world, and that to lose Him would be the greatest tragedy of all. …The fear of the LORD is to love Him, trust Him, run to Him and have all our expectation in Him. …It all boils down to this: Faith in Him
  • The Hebrew word for “glory” is kabod. It literally means “weight,” but in biblical usage it refers to the substance or measure of goodness. …It is a tangible expression of goodness, or the “weight” of every good thing. The glory of the Lord is the tangible expression, or the “weight,” of His goodness.
  • Now, God is not stingy with His glory. …In fact, His salvation means that He desires to show His goodness to us. …It is out of His glory, the weight of His goodness that He comes to save, deliver, heal, prosper, restore and preserve us.
  • Psalm 84:11 “The LORD will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly [that is, in the fear of the LORD]”
  • When we trust in Him, we not only receive His salvation, but His GLORY as well. …His glory comes to dwell with us, that is, to remain…. It is not just a stop-over along the way, but a permanent abiding…. It is meant to be a habitation, not a merely a visitation.
  • The tangible expression of God’s goodness—His prosperity, His joy, His peace, His power—will remain with us as just long as we are hospitable to it.
  • We’ve already seen what that hospitality is—it is the fear of the Lord. It is what brings His salvation (Jesus) near to us.
  • A lot of Christians are totally not tuned in to this truth….it’s not that they are resistant to joy….but they are a little bit “suspicious” of it….are they really supposed to have THAT much and THAT kind of joy?
  • The problem is that they are completely OBLIVIOUS to the beauty realm of God!
  • They are bored…O, God is real to them…He just isn’t exactly “relevant” and He definitely is no cause for celebration, after all, does He not see how the circumstances they have to live with, the things they have to go through?!.....this is the thought pattern of many CHRISTIANS!
  • This crazy thought pattern is exactly why, when things get hard…instead of turning to God, or even THINKING about God…even people who call themselves “Christians” will instinctively turn to whatever will numb their pain or give them a little tiny bit of pleasure…
  • It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out why this is…..our human souls were NOT created for BOREDOM!.....we were designed, we were created to give Him praise….we were created in His image to be super excited about the PURE JOY that we experience from the REVELATION of Who God is!....We were designed to be FASCINATED at how incredible and how GOOD He is!
  • We were created for HAPPINESS that He alone can give us!.....THAT IS NOT SOUNDING THE LEAST BIT BORING TO ME!!!
  • I’m not talking about the kind of temporary happiness that comes from “the absence of conflict” in your life, or even the happiness that you might get after you have accomplished something great, or even the happiness that you feel when you have had physical comfort…or any of that kind of TEMPORARY stuff…
  • The TRUE HAPPINESS that we are destined for is a “state of soul in which we experience and express optimum ecstasy in God…HAPPINESS is the whole soul resting in God and rejoicing that so beautiful and glorious a Being is OURS!....HAPPINESS is the unending blissful pleasure of a RELATIONSHIP, a UNION with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit….”
  • This is a JOY of such incredible quality that no persecution or pain, or anything could ever diminish…..its not something that your prosperity or success could ever make any better….its what Paul talked about in Philippians
  • Philippians 4:11 “Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.”
  • The Greek word for “content” here is“autarkies”…which means “independent of external circumstances”……Paul GOT IT…..he didn’t rely on OUTSIDE FORCES for his contentment or joy….He KNEW Who his source was and he was SATISFIED in it!
  • We have got to get the fact that money, drugs, a nice car, or even chocolate just doesn’t produce the type of JOY and HAPPINESS that we are talking about here!
  • John Wesley, in his manuscript, the Plain Account of Christian Perfection, said it like this…”Let every affection, and thought, and word, and action, be subordinate to this. Whatever you desire or fear, whatever you seek or shun, whatever you think, speak, or do, be it in order to your HAPPINESS in God, --the SOLE END, as well as THE SOURCE, or your being.”
  • DO YOU GET IT???.....the PURPOSE of our existence is the pursuit of ENJOYMENT…IN GOD!!!!!
  • You were CREATED to seek after PLEASURE…..that’s why it’s so easy for the devil to distort and pervert what we consider “pleasure”….so, it’s not a matter of whether or not you are going to seek pleasure….because you NATURALLY are going to…..your choice is WHERE WILL YOU LOOK FOR IT…..or WHOSE OFFER of pleasure will you accept!!!!???
  • The world (the culture we live in) will do everything it can to suck you in to EARTHLY PLEASURES….my goodness…all you have to do is watch the advertisements on the TV or look at the advertisements in magazines…Hollywood knows how to sell sex, new electronic gadgets, the next work-out trend, the hottest new toys or cars,….all the stuff to suck your soul in to being SATISFIED with CHEAP and EMPTY PLEASURES….
  • You and I know from experience that the root conflict in the human soul is between two glories—the glory of the world and all the brief pleasures it can offer, versus the glory of God and all the eternal pleasures it can offer. These two glories compete for the allegiance, admiration, and delight of our hearts
  • You weren’t created for BOREDOM…..or even for bondage to those cheap pleasures…..you were created for the IMCOMPARABLE PLEASURE and MATCHLESS JOY that knowing Jesus ALONE can bring!!!!
  • To really understand this….you have to “get” the fact that God truly delights in His own BEAUTY…..when God the Father beholds the Son….He is completely HAPPY…
  • In Matthew 17…Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain….when they are alone, something absolutely amazing happens….all of a sudden, God gives Jesus an appearance of GLORY…..
  • Matthew 17:2 “His face shone like the sun and His garments became white as light.”…..then in verse 5, God speaks…
  • Matthew 17:5 “This is My BLEOVED Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
  • God gave the disciples a super brief glimpse of the true heavenly GLORY of Jesus…..Peter wrote about it in 2 Peter 1:17 “Christ received honor and GLORY from God the Father.”
  • God the Father says this again about Jesus, the Son, when Jesus is baptized…as the Holy Spirit comes down and anoints Jesus for His ministry…”this is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
  • God says it again in John 3:35 “the Father lives the Son, and has given all things into His hand.”….and in John 5:20 “The Father loves the Son, and shows Him all that he Himself is doing.”
  • In Matthew 12:18…Matthew is actually quoting Isaiah 42:1 …”Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved with whom My soul is well pleased.”
  • The Hebrew word behind “well pleased” is “ratsah” which means “DELIGHTS IN”
  • Just as the Father delights in the Son, He also delights in the Holy Spirit…the Holy Spirit delights in the Father and Son…..it’s one big HUGE AWESOME FAN CLUB!!!
  • God created us to that the JOY He has in Himself might be OURS!!!!
  • God doesn’t just talk about Himself…He ENJOYS HIMSELF! And he has created us to JOIN THE PARTY!!! WOO! WOO!
  • Enjoying God is what satisfies our soul….it’s the ONLY THING that will!....it is the solution to our struggle with sin…it CHANGES US…
  • 2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, BEHOLDING THE GLORY of the Lord, are being CHANGED into His likeness from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord who is Spirit.”
  • The way to become more and more like Him is to GAZE ON HIS GLORY …..
  • It’s only natural….we tend to become like those we admire…we imitate them…..so….if we keep GOD as the fixture of our gaze….if we keep Him in our view….then it only makes sense that we will be changed “from one degree to another” into His likeness…
  • Seeing is not only believing….SEEING is BECOMING!
  • Now…just in case you are thinking that all of this sounds kinda “vain” to you….let me explain……
  • Yes, it would be vanity for any of us to look at ourselves in the mirror and find our deepest joy at ourselves….why?...because we were created for something INFINITELY better and greater and deeper than ourselves…..anything less than us getting this enjoyment from GOD would be IDOLATRY!
  • God is the most glorious of all beings…not to love Him and delight in Him is a great huge massive insult to His worth!
  • So……for God not to commit idolatry…..He Himself must love and delight in His OWN BEAUTY and PERFECTION above all things!
  • For us to do this in front of a mirror is called VANITY….for God to do it in front of His Son is called RIGHTEOUSNESS!!! God HAS to be eternally passionate for His own perfections!!!!!
  • WOW…..how could such a RIGHTEOUS God ever have affections for a sinner like me?
  • THIS IS THE AMAZINGNESS OF IT ALL…..It is PRECISELY the infinite regard that the Father has for the Son which makes it possible for me, a yuck sinner, to be loved and accepted in the Son…..because through His death on the cross…Jesus restored all the yuck I had done to the Father and to His glory, through my sin….HIS BLOOD COVERS ME!
  • When God looks down on me, He sees His Son’s Blood….and that causes Him to rejoice in ME because He soooooooooooooooooo rejoices and is soooooooooooooooo pleased in His Son!
  • WOW….do you get that!?.....The Father’s infinite PLEASURE in His own perfect-ness is the very FOUNDATION of our redemption and hope and everlasting JOY!!!
  • John 3:16 “For God SO LOVED the world, that he gave His Only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting LIFE.”
  • The word “LIFE” here is the Greek word “zoe” which means “life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last for ever.
  • Shouldn’t we just totally stand in AWE of this amazingly great God!!!!
  • He wants to give us ETERNAL, SELF-SUFFICIENT HAPPINESS as we gaze on His GLORY!!!
  • Pray the prayer that Jesus prayed….John 17:26 “that the love with which you have loved Him may be in us and He in us”, that we might be taken up into that fellowship of JOY and that OCEAN of LOVE and GRACE forever and ever!!!!

THE TRUMPET by Bill Burns -- July 6, 2010:
You are the people of the very end of the age and it is for this reason that I have admonished you to follow Me. It is for this reason that I have encouraged you to watch for Me and to watch for My soon return. It is because hardships shall come, trials will be in effect, and the enemy will rage that I have spoken to you. Even after I have given you the signs I said watch and be watchful and set yourself upon the rampart with eyes to see and with ears to hear so that I may lead you through these perilous times and these dangerous days that are ahead. I am the Lord your God Who knows all things and I am your deliverer; the keeper of your soul, spirit and body. I Myself will be with you. I will walk with you and reveal to you the hidden mysteries. You have a part to play in this. There have been things written that are yet to be fulfilled. There are things that will come forth in the thunder of the Almighty that are yet hidden and even sealed. Take heart and rise up and realize that you are important in the kingdom of God. For each of you is designated and assigned according to My calling, My leading and My anointings to fulfill your part in the glory of My kingdom. I have called you for such a time as this because you have a heart of obedience; because you have a desire to know Me and because you want to with all of your heart to walk with Me. And it is for these reasons that I have prepared your heart and I will lead and guide you in stronger manifestations of My presence than ever you have known before. Be encouraged and know that you have a part in this time. I will perform My good pleasure through you. Fear not. Rise up in faith to know and understand that I am with you and I will never forsake you. These are true sayings that have been written in My word and My word will not be broken, and each word that I have spoken over My people will come to pass. Do not allow anxiety to persist or allow the devil himself to hinder you, for I have given you authority to walk over all the power of the enemy. Arise to your place of victory, and let that be the mantle that you wear from this point on. Wear the mantle of victory and faith, for i will watch over you to fulfill My purposes in your life, says the Most High.