Instruments of His Glory II

Throughout the entire Old Testament, God revealed His glory in order to establish His sovereignty and reveal His character and goodness to His people.  He was preparing them for the day when God would become flesh and dwell in their midst through the person of Jesus Christ.  This shift in how God revealed His glory is clearly described in John 1:14.

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

In the New Testament, we see God’s glory fully revealed in Jesus Christ.  God no longer showed up in a cloud or a pillar of fire.  His glory appeared in the person of His only begotten Son. Once again, all of the Father’s goodness was revealed to His people as they were healed, delivered and forgiven of their sins. But it didn’t stop there.  In the longest recorded prayer of Jesus (John 17), we find that He took the Father’s glory and gave it to everyone who would believe in His Name!

The Apostle Paul gave the early church even more insight into this incredible truth in Colossians 1:19, 26-27,

“For it pleased the Father that in Him [Jesus] all the fullness should dwell… the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

What an awesome privilege we have to literally be carriers of God’s glory through Christ Jesus!

As I sit and take a moment to think about what that truly means, I am completely overwhelmed and humbled.  Overwhelmed because in and of myself, I don’t deserve to have God’s presence manifested in my life like that.  I am humbled because in spite of that, the Father has chosen to see me through the shed blood of Jesus and claim me as His own; entrusting His glory to me.

Our calling, as followers of Christ, is to be conformed to His image and become instruments of His glory.  In the musical world, an instrument is formed and shaped to release a unique sound.

As instruments of God’s glory, we have been designed by the Creator to release His unique sound in the earth.  A sound that carries His presence with it.  A sound that releases light into darkness.  A sound that creates something from nothing.

I believe that His glory was meant to be experienced every time we come together to exalt His Name.  As we continue our pursuit of God in our personal worship times, His glory will increase in our public worship times and He will reveal His character and goodness to His people as He has always done!

COMING SOON:

Scripture shows us how we can avoid being easily cheated from God’s true glory by accepting a cheap substitute!

Instruments of His Glory (Part 1)

As a worship leader, I used to think that it was my “job” to bring people into God’s presence every Sunday and what a difficult task that became.  After many years of testing out that theory, I’ve found that God truly has a better way mapped out in Scripture that is applicable to all believers; not just church leaders!  God has called His children to be instruments of His glory – day in and day out.  Now, instead of vainly attempting to drag people into the throne-room, my team and I endeavor to bring the throne-room to the people.

When we have been in the presence of God throughout the week, Sunday becomes one big worship encounter where God’s glory can be released.

One of the most beautiful examples of this is found in the Old Testament.  Solomon had just completed the Temple where God’s presence could finally abide permanently and he scheduled a worship service in order to celebrate.  In preparation for the gathering, the priests went into the Most Holy Place and consecrated themselves. When the musicians and singers “were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music…the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud so that the priests could not continue ministering because the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.” (2 Chronicles 5:13-14)

When Jesus died on the cross, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, indicating that we have been given access to His holy presence through the blood of Jesus.  Peter says we have become a “holy priesthood offering up spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5)

As believers everywhere commit to relentlessly pursue God’s presence in their personal daily lives, they will become instruments of His glory.  Then, when we come together as one voice, God’s glory can be released through our corporate worship like never before!