Title: The Glory of God
Scripture Reading: Psalm 26:1-12
Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide.
2 Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
3 For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.
4 I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers.
5 I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked.
6 I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O Lord:
7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.
8 Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.
9 Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:
10 In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.
11 But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.
12 My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord.
Note: Generation names are based on when members of that generation become adults (18-21).
Born | Ages | |
Gen Alpha | 2012-2024 | 01 – 09 |
Gen Z | 1997 – 2012 | 10 – 25 |
Millennials | 1981 – 1996 | 26 – 41 |
Gen X | 1965 – 1980 | 42 – 57 |
Boomers II* | 1955 – 1964 | 58 – 67 |
In a survey of millennials, 50% of young adults said that a major life goal was to become famous.
Celebrity and fame are only a pale reflection of true glory.
‘Glory’ is used in the Bible to denote the manifestation of God’s presence
God’s ‘glory’ means his importance, reputation, majesty and honor.
- Seek God’s glory
God’s glory is better than fame and celebrity.
In the message bible David writes, ‘God, I love living with you, your house glows with your glory.
1 Samuel 18:7 says, ‘And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.’
Yet David did not seek glory for himself, rather he led the people in giving glory to God.
Psalm 26:12 says, ‘My feet stand on level ground, in the great congregation I will praise the Lord.’
Level ground simply meant he was a sensible and practical person, even after he became famous. He always kept his feet on the ground.
What David is saying is that he will do and will persist in his plain, righteous, and straight course of life, not using those frauds and wicked arts, and perverse and crooked paths, which his enemies chose to walk in. David says he will walk in his integrity.
If you want to seek the Lord’s glory, follow David’s example. Try to lead a blameless life.
‘Walk with me and be blameless. And I will give you a special blessing and give you righteousness.;’ The word righteousness means vindication
David was so special. He wanted to seek God’s glory or reflect God’s glory. He writes, ‘I go about your altar, Lord, proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all our wonderful deeds. He goes on to say, ‘Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells.
- Seek God’s glory in God’s church
Psalm 26:8 says, ‘ Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honor dwelleth.’
For the people of God in the Old Testament, the temple in Jerusalem was the place where God’s glory could be found.
1 Kings 8:10-11 says, ‘When the priest left the holy place, the cloud filled the LORD’s temple, and the priests were unable to carry out their duties due to the cloud because the LORD’s glory filled the LORD’s temple’.
The word ‘face’ means ‘the presence of God’.
You learn this mind-boggling truth that it is God’s grace and God’s willingness to meet us where we are: the church.
Shekinah is a transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning, ‘the one who dwells’, or ‘that which dwells.’ It is associated with the presence of God (and his glory) dwelling with man
in Exodus we see that it was God who first expressed His desire to dwell among men, instructing Moses to tell the people to construct a sanctuary ‘for Me that I may dwell among them’.
So Shekinah glory is the ‘visible manifestation of the presence of God. It is the majestic presence or manifestation of God in which He descended to dwell among men
The Shekinah Glory translated in Greek means ‘brightness, ‘brilliance’, or ‘splendor’ and it depicts how the Shekinah appears. It also means to tabernacle among us.
- Reflect God’s glory
Both individually and together the followers of Jesus are to glow with the glory of God. We are seen as God’s temple.
Ephesians 2:22 says, ‘being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.’
It says, ‘take care that the face which looks out from your mirror in the morning is a pleasant face. You may not see it again all daybut others will.’
Another word for ‘face’ is ‘countenance’. In other words, take care of our countenance for others will see it evidently.
The word ‘countenance’ in the Vine Dictionary simply means ‘appearance’
When the countenance of our heart is aglow with the Spirit of God, the countenance of our face will also radiate with that glow. The word ‘aglow’ is from the word ‘to glow’. To glow according to Webster Dictionary means:
- To give off light and heat
- To shine as if greatly heated
- To show a strong bright color
- To be excessivelybrilliant
The synonym for the word ‘glow’ is ‘light’. Light in the dictionary simply means bright color. This glow of God does not shine on its own. But it is an outflow from a heart that is aglow and aflame with the fire of the Holy Spirit.
Specially we can lose the glow of God if we do not master over things in our lives. When there is sin in our heart, or sin in our actions and even sin in our minds and thoughts, we can lose the glow of God.
To authenticate this point, we have two characters in the bible whose face glow with the glory of God.
Peter,James and John caught a glimpse of the glory of God when Jesus was transfigured before them.
The word used for ‘transfigured’ is the same word that is translated as ‘transformed’. It simply means glory revealed.
Paul says that we should be surprised by this because one day, ‘we all, who with the unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed (transfigured) into his image with every increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.’ (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Celebrity is also often associated with wealth and a luxurious lifestyle. In the life of Jesus, suffering and glory are inextricably linked.
