Participants: Ty Gibson
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000082
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00:14 Welcome to Anchors of Truth from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:17 The Final Revolution with Ty Gibson. 00:23 We are so happy that you have joined us this evening 00:27 for this series by Pastor Ty Gibson. 00:32 It really has been informative so far. 00:36 Last night, we spent most of the time in the book, 00:40 the Gospel Of John. 00:41 And how wonderful it was. 00:44 It was refreshing, encouraging, enlightening. 00:48 You take all of those words and God really blessed 00:51 Pastor Ty Gibson last evening. 00:54 So tonight, we will be moving into part two of this series. 01:01 Now some of you wonder about Ty Gibson. 01:04 He's married, His wife's name is Sue. 01:07 He has three children, adult children; 01:10 two daughters and a son. 01:14 And two grandchildren. 01:17 I have a lot of people say, "Wow, you mean Ty Gibson 01:20 is a grandfather?" 01:22 Yes, Ty Gibson is a health reformer. 01:26 We were just talking about diet and exercise 01:29 and things of that nature tonight. 01:31 And he looks young, doesn't he, for a grandfather. 01:36 But God has given him abundantly good health. 01:41 And he's, in turn, serving the Lord with ministry 01:46 around the world. 01:47 And his organization is called, Light Bearers Ministry. 01:54 James Rafferty is also a partner with him and one of the 01:57 co-founders of that ministry. 02:00 And James Rafferty is going to be with us next month 02:03 with the Anchors Of Truth that we have planned at that time. 02:09 So we're looking forward to that. 02:11 I'd like to have a word of prayer before we 02:14 have our music tonight. 02:16 And let's bow our heads together. 02:19 Father in heaven, we thank You tonight that we can 02:23 come to You in prayer. 02:24 We live in a world that is very complex. 02:28 We live in a world that has a lot of challenges. 02:32 And because of communication, we are acquainted with 02:36 challenges that take place in very remote parts of the world. 02:40 And sometimes the burdens become great upon us. 02:44 So, Father, we thank You that we can come to You 02:48 and bring these burdens that we have and lay them at Your feet. 02:54 Father, I pray that You will bless each family 02:57 that is watching this tonight or listening by radio. 03:02 And I pray that you will be with each individual. 03:06 And we thank You, Lord, for hearing us. 03:09 In Jesus' name, amen. 03:12 Right now, we're going to enjoy some music 03:15 before Pastor Gibson comes. 03:18 And Celestine Berry is going to sing for us 03:23 a song called, Adore. 03:43 From the moment You opened up my eyes, 03:49 I have seen the world in a different light. 03:58 From the dawn to the setting sun, I am overwhelmed 04:07 by all that You have done. 04:12 Adore, adore, adore. 04:18 Jesus, I adore You. 04:27 Adore, adore, adore, adore. 04:33 Jesus, I adore You. 04:37 And I lay my life before You, O Lord. 04:49 There's a union of two becoming one; 04:55 deep inside my heart I know that I belong. 05:03 You have given everything to me. 05:09 The least that I can do is give it back to You. 05:18 And all I am and ever will be 05:25 is for You, Lord. 05:29 And everything within me cries adore, adore, adore. 05:38 Jesus, I adore You. 05:46 Yes, I adore, adore, adore, adore. 05:53 Jesus, I adore You. 05:58 And I lay my life before You, O Lord. 06:16 Adore, adore, adore. 06:22 Jesus, I adore You. 06:29 Yes, I adore... 06:39 ...You. 06:41 And I lay my life before You. 06:45 Adore, adore, adore, adore. 06:51 Jesus, I adore You. 06:55 And I lay my life before You. 06:59 I long to love and adore You. 07:03 Yes I lay my life before You, O Lord. 07:15 I adore You. 07:36 Thank you so much, Celestine. 07:39 What a blessing. 07:40 Well good evening, everybody. 07:42 Did you have a fabulous day? 07:44 On a scale from one to ten, how would you rate your day? 07:49 Eleven? 07:50 Well I was going to say for me, a twelve. 07:52 So I beat you, brother. 07:54 I had a great day. 07:55 Last night, I had the privilege of receiving as a gift 08:00 a loaf of banana bread from Jim Gilley's wife, Camille. 08:06 And I went right after the meeting, hadn't eaten 08:08 for a long time, all day... 08:10 And I don't like to do this right before I go to bed, 08:12 but I ate fully the whole... 08:14 No, I won't say the whole. 08:15 ...half the loaf. 08:17 Then I had a great day because I woke up and ate the 08:19 second half of the loaf of banana bread. 08:23 Now I've noticed two things very, very important I think, 08:28 about human beings with regards to eating. 08:31 And I wonder where you fit in these categories. 08:35 Are you a big bite kind of person 08:38 or a little bite kind of person? 08:40 I've notice there's two kinds. 08:42 There's big bite people and little bite people. 08:44 I was at a friend's house and his wife made what she called 08:51 bite size blueberry muffins. 08:54 So when they were done and we gathered around the table, 08:58 I immediately took one of them, of course, and I put the whole 09:03 bite size muffin in my mouth and began to chew 09:07 and I swallowed. 09:08 And just as I swallowed, I noticed that she was 09:11 staring at me kind of strange as I reached for another. 09:15 And I popped that one in my mouth and I began 09:18 to chew and swallow. 09:21 And then she reached and she took one as if to give lessons. 09:24 And she took a little bite. 09:27 And I broke the silence and I said, "You told me 09:31 they were bite size muffins, didn't you?" 09:34 Are you a big bite person or a little bite person? 09:36 Raise your hand if you're a little bite person. 09:39 Just two little bite people? 09:41 So the rest of you, raise your hand. 09:42 You're all big bite people? 09:43 I'm glad you're big bite people because tonight 09:45 we're going to take a big bite out of Scripture. 09:50 A really big bite. 09:51 I hope you brought your Bible with you and you can look at 09:54 these Scripture with me tonight. 09:57 It's going to be important for us to actually lay eyes upon 10:00 the Word of God tonight and to see what Scripture 10:04 is saying to us. 10:05 We're going to explore through Scripture 10:08 the word, and more importantly the concept of "glory". 10:13 We're going to take it in three parts. 10:15 Number one, we're going to simply define the word. 10:20 We began to do that in last night's presentation 10:23 as a starter, as an appetizer for what we're going to 10:27 talk about tonight. 10:29 So first we're going to just define 10:31 the word and the concept. 10:33 Secondly, we're going to notice the usage of the word "glory" 10:38 and the concept in various places throughout Scripture 10:42 to create a pattern. 10:44 And then thirdly, and most significantly for our series 10:48 called, The Final Revolution, we're going to spend time 10:51 exploring the eschatological, or the end time significance 10:57 of the word "glory." 11:00 So are you ready to go? 11:01 Turn in your Bible to Exodus, first of all. 11:05 And we're going to look at Exodus chapter 33. 11:08 You will know immediately that the person addressing us 11:12 here is Moses. 11:13 Moses wrote the book of Exodus. 11:16 And as he had his personal experience with the Lord 11:20 over a long life of experiences that led him on a journey 11:27 that finally put him in a very precarious situation with 11:31 a group of people who were, as he described them, 11:34 rebellious and stiffed necked. 11:37 And Moses had been pleading with God to forgive 11:43 the children of Israel for their stiffed necked attitudes 11:48 and their rebellious spirit. 11:50 Moses went so far in pleading for the children of Israel... 11:54 You'll find this remarkable. I do. 11:56 Moses went so far as to say, "Lord, if You can't forgive 12:01 these people, blot my name out of the Book of Life 12:06 which You have written." 12:08 This is serious. 12:10 He wasn't saying, "Lord, if You can't forgive them, 12:13 I would be willing to die the first death, from which 12:17 of course I will have a resurrection." 12:19 No. 12:20 When he said, "If You can't forgive them, 12:23 blot my name out of the Book of Life," 12:26 he was saying, "Lord, I would be willing to be eternally lost 12:32 for their salvation." 12:34 Moses had obviously, in his walk with the Lord, 12:38 gained some insight to the character of God 12:42 that led him to be willing to lay down, not merely 12:47 his temporal life, but his eternal life for others. 12:52 And it's in that context, as Moses had been pleading 12:57 for the children of Israel, and the Lord responding to his 13:01 intercession said, "I will have mercy upon them. 13:04 I will forgive them. I will pardon their iniquities." 13:06 It's in the light of that glorious revelation of 13:10 God's pardoning love that Moses poses the question 13:14 in chapter 33 of Exodus and verse 18. 13:18 Note the question. 13:19 It ought to be your question as well as mine. 13:22 "Please, Lord, " he says, "show me..." 13:25 What, everybody? 13:26 "...show me Your glory." 13:28 This is, I would submit to you, for the believer, 13:32 this is the quintessential question. 13:35 You can't ask for anything greater from the Lord. 13:39 "God, I want to see Your glory." 13:43 Now the crucial part of the text is how the Lord answers. 13:48 God answers in the affirmative. 13:50 He says to Moses in so many words, "Okay Moses, 13:54 I will show you My glory. 13:56 And here's what you're going to see." 13:58 Notice this. 13:59 Verse 19, "Then He said," that is the Lord to Moses 14:03 in response to the question, "Show me Your glory," 14:06 the request, "Show me Your glory," 14:07 "I will make all My..." What's the word there? 14:10 "I will make all My goodness pass before you, 14:13 and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you." 14:18 And then the Lord goes on to describe certain aspects 14:23 of His character. 14:24 "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, 14:28 I will show compassion on whom I will have compassion." 14:32 Do you see what's happening here? 14:34 Moses poses the question with certain vernacular, 14:37 certain language. 14:39 He uses the word "glory." 14:41 He says, "God, I want to see Your glory." 14:45 God's response is, "I will show you My goodness, 14:51 My grace, My compassion." 14:54 So the grammar here would persuade us that the 14:57 glory of God is equivalent to the goodness of God, 15:02 to the grace of God, to the compassion of God. 15:06 And in a larger concept, the glory of God is equivalent 15:12 to all of those various traits and attributes that compose 15:16 the divine identity. 15:18 Let's put it this way in simple terms. 15:21 God is a particular kind of person. 15:25 Just like you are a particular kind of person. 15:28 What is it that makes up the person that you are? 15:31 I would submit to you that there are basically... 15:34 And it broken down into additional components. 15:38 But basically, your life is composed of three parts. 15:43 You are composed of thoughts, feelings, and the behaviors 15:49 that flow out of your thoughts and feelings. 15:52 Your thoughts are fed by all the data and information 15:57 that you gather through the process of life; 16:00 through your history, through your experiences, 16:02 through study, through what you believe. 16:04 You mind is filled with thoughts. 16:08 And those thoughts then feed, or inform, your emotions; 16:14 the way you feel. 16:17 And as you feel certain ways in accordance with the 16:20 way you think, out of those emotions you act, you behave, 16:26 you do certain things, you have certain habit patterns, 16:28 you relate to people in a certain way. 16:31 Why do you relate to people the way you relate to people? 16:34 Well, because of the way you feel. 16:36 And why do you feel the way you feel? 16:38 Because of the way you think. 16:42 So every human being is composed of basically 16:44 thoughts and feelings and behaviors. 16:48 We were made in God's image. 16:51 God also is composed, pretty much, of thoughts, 16:55 feelings, and behaviors. 16:57 God isn't merely a massive intellectual being 17:03 who thinks thoughts. 17:04 God also feels feelings. 17:06 And God interacts. 17:08 He performs certain deeds. 17:10 He gets in to relationships with people. 17:14 And Scripture, to use the words of an author that many of us 17:18 are familiar with and greatly appreciate, 17:20 "The Bible is the book that unfolds the character of God." 17:27 Do you want to know what Scripture is 17:29 from Genesis to Revelation? 17:31 It's not merely a collection of historical accounts. 17:35 It's a collection of historical accounts punctuated with 17:39 God's interventions in history, God interacting with real people 17:44 in real time history. 17:47 The Bible is not merely a collection of prophecies 17:51 foretelling future events. 17:53 The prophecies in Scripture are all funneling toward 17:57 one great end. 18:00 And that is, to reveal God's interactions with human beings 18:05 down through history as prophecy unfolds. 18:08 The Bible is not merely a systematic theology. 18:13 It's not a list of doctrinal facts arranged in 18:16 propositional format; point A, B, C, D. 18:21 No. 18:22 Mostly, the Bible, strangely enough... 18:24 And most people find this to be interesting when they 18:27 first discover it, because it doesn't occur to us 18:30 at first glance for some reason. 18:32 But the Bible, fully one-third of Scripture is compose of 18:36 song lyrics and poetry. 18:39 Which is what, by the way? 18:42 What is poetry and song lyrics? 18:45 It's emotionally rendered thoughts. 18:49 You could just as easily say what you're thinking, 18:52 or you can sing what you're thinking. 18:55 If you sing what you're thinking, you've added 18:59 an emotional component. 19:01 Are you with me? 19:02 Now the Bible was inspired by who? 19:05 God. 19:06 God obviously has a musical dimension, and therefore 19:09 we conclude that God has an emotional dimension 19:13 to who He is. 19:14 He not only thinks, God also feels. 19:17 And the Bible, Genesis to Revelation, 19:19 is an unfolding of the character of God; 19:23 the way God thinks and feels and behaves. 19:27 It was given to us as a communication so that 19:31 we could access the thoughts and feelings of God, 19:36 so that we could become acquainted with, 19:38 to return to my original language, 19:41 so that we could become acquainted with the kind of 19:44 person God is. 19:46 Why does he want us to be acquainted with the kind of 19:49 person He is? 19:50 Because God is seeking to stimulate and arouse 19:55 in us interaction. 19:58 He's a relational being. 20:00 He wants us to know Him as He is, because He wants us 20:06 to love Him for who He is. 20:09 The knowledge of Scripture has one lofty aim. 20:13 And that is to divulge, to reveal the character of God. 20:18 So that in knowing Him as He is, we would come to love 20:22 and trust Him. 20:23 If we miss that objective, we have missed 20:27 the point of Scripture. 20:29 It is, again quoting from Ellen White, 20:32 "the book that unfolds the character of God." 20:35 Moses, the first canonical prophet, gets this. 20:39 He understands that the kind of person God is 20:44 matters crucially. 20:47 And his first request of the Lord, the quintessential 20:52 human question, the question that trumps all other questions, 20:57 is posed by Moses here. 20:58 "Lord, I have a request. 21:01 Show me Your glory." 21:03 In other words, "Show me who You are. 21:07 I want to know You. 21:09 I want to become acquainted with Your character; 21:13 the way You think and feel and behave. 21:16 So that's the biblical definition of the 21:20 word and the concept, "glory." 21:24 Now I'm going to just share with you, as we continue to 21:28 build the definition, a series of texts that I won't ask you 21:32 to turn to for the sake of time. 21:34 But just listen as these Scriptures fill out and enlarge 21:39 our concept of the word "glory." 21:42 Psalm 97 and verse 6, "The heavens declare 21:48 God's righteousness, and all the peoples shall see His glory." 21:55 Now do you see what happened there? 21:57 This is a form of communication that is called, a couplet. 22:02 It's a form of poetry in which David has said one thing, 22:09 and then he has looped back and said it again 22:12 with new language in order to define what he said earlier. 22:16 It happens throughout Scripture. 22:18 David is very proficient at using the poetic mechanism 22:23 of a couplet. 22:24 For example, one you're familiar with would be Psalm 23. 22:28 "The Lord is my Shepherd..." 22:31 Period? End of subject? 22:33 No. "The Lord is my Shepherd..." 22:35 What is that going to pan out to then in my experience? 22:39 "...I shall not want." 22:42 Precisely because God has this shepherd kind of character, 22:47 a character that cares for His sheep. 22:51 Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not... What? 22:54 ...want. 22:56 "He makes me to lie down in green pastures. 23:00 He restore my soul." 23:02 There's this image of restfulness. 23:05 You're suppose to picture yourself, according to David, 23:08 just lounging in a green field. 23:12 Just relaxing. 23:14 And then he says, "Not only does He make me to 23:20 roam and to rest in green pastures, but 23:23 I won't want anything. 23:25 I have a restful state of being because 23:29 of His relationship with me." 23:31 Well David is doing the same thing here, 23:33 but a little bit different concept. 23:36 He's dealing with the word "glory." 23:38 And he says, "The heavens declare God's righteousness, 23:43 and all the peoples see His glory." 23:45 So what are the two words that are essentially synonymous? 23:49 Righteousness and glory. 23:52 And then again in Psalm 115 and verse 1, notice this. 23:57 "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, 24:01 but to Your name be glory, 24:05 because of Your mercy and of Your truth." 24:09 So here in this Scripture, God's glory is closely 24:14 associated with what? 24:16 Mercy and truth. 24:18 You remember last night we pointed out that Jesus 24:21 came into the world, John chapter 1 and verse 14, 24:24 He came into the world with a specific mission. 24:28 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld 24:31 His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, 24:36 full of..." two things. What were they? 24:38 "...grace and truth." 24:39 In Jesus Christ we witness in action, in all His relations, 24:44 a perfect equilibrium between mercy and truth, 24:48 grace and truth. 24:49 In Jesus we see the totality of God's character. 24:54 And you could think of it as being composed 24:57 of two hemispheres. 24:58 Like the brain, for example. 25:00 The totality of God's glory is composed of; 25:04 on the one hand, grace, on the other hand, truth. 25:08 You could also say justice and mercy are perfectly balanced 25:13 in the character of God. 25:15 In every circumstance, in every single circumstance, 25:19 God applies the perfect amount of justice 25:25 that the situation requires and the perfect amount of mercy 25:29 that the situation requires. 25:31 And that is the character of God. 25:33 It is a perfect fusion between mercy and truth. 25:38 So according to Psalm 115 and verse 1, "Not unto us, 25:43 O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name be glory, 25:47 because of Your mercy and truth." 25:50 So God's glory is intimately associated with mercy and truth. 25:57 What did the previous Scripture identify as God's glory? 26:02 His righteousness. 26:03 And then Isaiah chapter 28 verse 5. 26:06 This is fabulous. Watch this. 26:08 You're not expecting this word. 26:11 But it is a word that applies to God. 26:14 Isaiah 28 verse 5, "In that day the Lord of hosts will be 26:20 for a crown of glory..." there's the word glory, 26:25 and a diadem of beauty to the remnant of His people." 26:31 So what are the two words you think I'm looking for here 26:33 that are closely associated, one word defining the other? 26:38 Glory is manifested in beauty. That's right. 26:44 Again, listen carefully. 26:45 "In that day the Lord of hosts will be for a crown of glory 26:50 and a diadem of beauty to the remnant of His people." 26:55 So when God's glory is revealed to and manifested through 27:01 God's people, it will look beautiful. 27:05 It will be a revelation of God's beauty. 27:10 And then we have this definition of glory, 27:14 which takes it to a whole other level in the New Testament. 27:17 You will immediately recognize the story. 27:20 The shepherds are out on the hills taking care of their sheep 27:25 and angels appear above them in the sky. 27:29 And Luke chapter 2 and verse 14 says that the angels are 27:33 overheard by the shepherds singing a song. 27:38 Do you remember the words of the song? 27:41 "Glory to God..." To what degree? 27:45 "...in the highest." 27:46 So whatever the angels are singing about, 27:48 it is the highest manifestation of the glory of God. 27:53 "Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth and 27:58 good will toward men," toward humanity. 28:03 So here, the glory of God is associated with good will. 28:10 God's goodness. 28:12 Think about it this way, God has only altruistic motives 28:16 toward every person. 28:18 He only wants what is absolutely best 28:22 for every man, woman, and child. 28:24 He literally cares for you and me above Himself. 28:30 And as we're going to discover as we progress, 28:34 God literally would rather die than stop loving you and me. 28:41 And in that motive of His thoughts and feelings, 28:47 in that singular motive of loving all others above 28:51 and before Himself to the point of death, 28:54 in that singular motive we see the glory of God 28:57 in its highest manifestation. 29:00 What were the angels singing about? 29:02 You know the story that we're referencing here. 29:04 The angels were singing over the Babe born in Bethlehem to Mary; 29:10 Jesus Christ. 29:12 They were looking upon this incredible spectacle, 29:17 the most amazing thing that has ever occurred in all of 29:20 universal history. 29:22 God, the highest, most important, powerful, 29:28 omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, 29:31 majestic Person in all the universe voluntarily 29:35 condescended and stepped down. 29:38 Now this is strange for us. 29:40 It's upside down, it's backwards. 29:42 Because we associate glory with God occupying the high place. 29:48 But God, in His heart, in His mental and emotional make-up, 29:52 associates His glory with taking the lowest place, if necessary. 29:57 So God steps down in Jesus Christ, condescends to 30:02 become a member of the human race. 30:04 And the incarnation is here occurring. 30:07 There is the Babe in Mary's arms. 30:10 And the angels look at this and they proclaim 30:14 to the whole universe and to the shepherds and to all of 30:17 mankind thereafter, they look upon this condescending 30:22 humility and they say, "Now that's glory 30:24 if we've ever seen it." 30:27 That's the highest revelation of the character of God 30:32 on record to date. 30:34 That's essentially what the angels are singing about. 30:37 And then when Jesus lives His life and he goes to the cross of 30:41 Calvary, we come to John chapter 12. 30:47 And this is just astounding how the word "glory" is used here 30:51 by the Savior Himself. 30:53 And it fits perfectly with what the angels have testified to 30:57 as they sing over the incarnate Christ. 31:01 Chapter 12 of the gospel of John starting with verse 23. 31:05 Notice the language here very carefully. 31:08 This is a Bible study tonight. 31:09 We're taking a big bite out of Scripture. 31:11 We're looking at a lot of Bible verses. 31:14 And we need to bring them all in and then we need to organize 31:17 them and process them in order to have a clear thinking view 31:23 of God's purpose for us as His people here at the end of time. 31:27 Verse 23 of John chapter 12. 31:29 Here's Jesus, and He's speaking to His disciples. 31:33 And He says, "The hour has come that the Son of Man 31:38 should be..." What everybody? 31:40 "...glorified." 31:42 So here's our word "glory" again. 31:44 Here's this idea that we're so interested in this evening. 31:48 And Jesus says that a certain hour has come. 31:52 Not a particular 60 minute hour. 31:55 The word "hour" is being used here to symbolize 31:58 a point in time. 32:02 Something is about to go down. 32:04 Something is about to happen. 32:06 Something remarkable is about to go on display 32:10 before the world and the universe. 32:12 Jesus says to the disciples, "It's here. 32:15 It's time. 32:17 The hour has now arrived that the Son of Man 32:21 should be glorified." 32:22 What is that time? 32:24 He's referring specifically to the cross. 32:27 Calvary itself constitutes the highest manifestation 32:33 of the glory of God. 32:34 Look at verse 24. 32:36 "Most assuredly I say to you..." 32:38 He continues explaining what's about to happen. 32:42 "I say to you, that unless a grain of wheat..." 32:45 Does what? 32:46 "...falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone..." 32:53 And produces no fruit. 32:54 "...but if it dies..." What will happen? 32:58 "...it produces much fruit." 33:00 So Jesus is here telling the disciples, 33:03 "I'm about to be crucified. 33:05 I'm going to die." 33:06 And this event, which to all appearance is going to be 33:12 a defeat, is actually going to be, ironically, a victory. 33:20 A victory in apparent defeat. 33:22 And what is the apparent defeat? 33:25 Well, He's crucified. 33:27 He's bloody, He's broken, He's dying. 33:31 And as the whole angelic universe looks on, 33:35 and as human beings behold this amazing display of 33:39 self sacrificing love, what in fact are we all encountering? 33:45 Jesus said it Himself. 33:47 My glorification. 33:50 Jesus is glorified in the cross. 33:54 Why? 33:56 In what sense? How? 33:57 He's dying. 33:59 How could that possibly be glory? 34:01 No, it is glory. 34:02 Because it is God putting all others first. 34:07 It is God stooping to be the servant. 34:10 It is God loving, loving, loving others to the nth degree 34:16 of self sacrifice. 34:18 And when that love goes on display at Calvary, 34:22 boom, the glory of God illuminates the dark chambers 34:26 of human thinking. 34:27 God begins to radiate with a clarity 34:30 that He's never been seen before. 34:33 God is seen to be a God of infinite others centered love. 34:38 Look at verse 28. 34:40 "Father," speaking again of the cross, "glorify Your name." 34:45 Again, the word "glory" is employed here 34:48 to point forward to the cross. 34:50 What's going to be the outcome? 34:52 Verse 32. 34:53 "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth..." 34:57 A direct reference to the cross. 35:00 "...will draw..." How many? 35:02 "...all peoples to Myself." 35:04 I want you to notice something about this Scripture that will 35:06 become important later on in this seminar. 35:08 The word "peoples" is italicized. 35:14 The translators threw that word in there of their own accord 35:18 it an effort to make better sense out of the text. 35:23 But the word "people" is not in what originally 35:26 was stated by Jesus, and it's not in the original text. 35:31 It doesn't say, "I, when I am lifted up on the cross 35:35 will draw all people," that is, all humans, "to Myself." 35:39 "I, when I am lifted up will draw all to Myself." 35:42 There's a cosmic dimension to what is happening at the cross. 35:48 Not only are human beings beholding this irresistible 35:52 display of divine love, but the angelic universe 35:57 are also witnessing what's happening. 36:00 And they are drawn to God, to Christ, with an unprecedented 36:07 and solid trust that leads them to be insulated from future 36:13 possibility of temptation and fall. 36:17 What happens at Calvary is that the whole universe 36:20 is made secure against the possibility of a future 36:24 rebellion, a future uprising of great controversy again. 36:29 Jesus revealed a picture of the character of God that was 36:33 so glorious that it stabilizes the universe. 36:38 It seals my heart because if the most powerful person 36:42 in the universe is the greatest servant in the universe, 36:47 who literally loves me more than His own existence, 36:51 what cause could there possible be for 36:54 rebellion against Him. 36:56 He's not a dominate slave master. 36:59 He's a servant. 37:01 He loves me more than His own life. 37:03 How could I ever, ever mistrust Him? 37:06 How could I ever turn away from Him? 37:09 And so Jesus draws all to Himself. 37:12 Philippians chapter 2 goes so far as to say that every 37:15 knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ 37:18 is Lord, to the glory of God the Father, 37:20 due to what happened at Calvary. 37:22 Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess. 37:24 Even the fallen angels, even Lucifer himself 37:29 Satan himself, and the lost segment of the human race, 37:34 those who do not take refuge in the grace of God, 37:37 all human beings, and all the angelic universe, 37:41 fallen and unfallen, will all acknowledge the grace 37:47 and mercy of God that glorified His character 37:50 in Christ at Calvary. 37:53 And thus the universe will be insulated from future rebellion. 38:01 We will never in all eternity future sin again. 38:08 Not because we can't, but because we won't. 38:12 Not because our free will has now been taken away and 38:16 we're a different kind of creature without free will. 38:19 God is in the business of saving you and me 38:23 while simultaneously preserving our free will, 38:29 so that you and I will be free individuals forever 38:32 and never rebel again. 38:35 Why? Because all of a sudden He begins to use force 38:39 to keep us in line? 38:41 Because He pulls free will from the equation? 38:45 No. 38:46 We will forever remain loyal by virtue of what we have seen 38:52 in Christ of the character of God. 38:55 That beautiful revelation of God's glory in Christ 39:00 will stabilize us and make us eternally secure from sin. 39:06 So this is the biblical concept of glory, 39:09 this is the biblical idea. 39:11 The word "glory" is associated with... 39:15 Let's review now. 39:16 ...with the goodness of God, the grace of God, 39:20 the mercy of God, the truth of God, the righteousness of God, 39:23 the beauty of God. 39:24 All of these words. 39:26 And finally, God's glory is intimately associated with 39:32 the cross of Christ as the most beautiful revelation 39:37 of the character of God. 39:39 So that defines the concept of glory for us. 39:43 Now let's move in to how the word is employed 39:48 through Scripture in particular texts that highlight various 39:53 junctures in the human experience down through history. 39:57 Turn in your Bible now, you want to see this one, 39:59 to Isaiah chapter 43. 40:03 I love the Bible and how clear it is when we immerse ourselves 40:09 in it and we see what God is trying to say to us. 40:15 In Isaiah chapter 43 verses 6 and 7, God is making 40:20 a call for individuals to come from various places in the world 40:26 to return to Him, to come to Him, for a particular purpose. 40:30 And then He makes a statement regarding what a human being 40:36 was originally created for. 40:38 Notice this in verses 6 and 7, Isaiah 43 verses 6 and 7. 40:42 God is speaking, "I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' 40:48 And to the south, 'Do not keep them back!' 40:51 Bring My sons from afar and My daughters from the 40:56 ends of the earth..." 40:58 What is God saying so far here? 41:00 He's just basically giving a call. 41:03 He's saying, "Everybody who lives in the north, 41:06 everybody who lives in the south, by implication 41:09 everybody who lives everywhere in the world, listen up. 41:12 I'm calling My sons and daughters to Myself. 41:15 I'm inviting people back to Myself. 41:18 I'm calling you." 41:20 And then God says this. 41:22 Verse 7, "Everyone who is called by My name," 41:28 notice this, "whom I have created for My glory; 41:35 I have formed him..." 41:37 That's creation language. 41:38 "...yes, I have made him." 41:40 Creation language again. 41:42 What has the Lord just said here to us? 41:44 He said, "Listen, I'm calling men and women, 41:48 sons and daughters, I'm calling people back to Myself. 41:51 And in so doing, I'm calling you back to the purpose 41:55 for which you were made. 41:56 I'm calling you back to the original intent 42:01 that I had in making the human race. 42:04 I'm calling sons and daughters from the north and the south 42:08 and the east and the west whom I have created for My glory. 42:13 Yes, I have formed them. I have made them." 42:17 God formed and made us for His glory. 42:21 Now we've spent time exploring what the word "glory" means 42:24 so that when we read it in texts like this, 42:26 we'll be able to make the ready translation to know 42:30 what God is saying to us. 42:31 When the Bible says, when God says, 42:34 "I made you for My glory..." 42:37 Translate it now. 42:38 What might that mean to us in the light of the 42:42 Scriptures we've looked at so far? 42:44 "I made you for My glory," might mean, 42:46 "I made you for My character." 42:51 "I made you to be a depository of My thoughts, My feelings, 42:59 and to behave in accordance with My character. 43:03 I made you to think and to feel and to behave 43:05 in accordance with the kind of person I am." 43:10 "I made you for My glory," simply means that God 43:14 created, listen carefully, God created the human race 43:18 on every level; emotionally, psychologically, 43:22 even biologically, to be a conduit through which 43:26 His character is manifested. 43:28 God made us to live like God lives 43:32 and to love like God loves. 43:35 When we see Jesus giving the full, the pinnacle, the zenith 43:40 manifestation of God's glory at the cross 43:44 as the ultimate servant, literally choosing to give 43:48 His own life for others, we're witnessing the character of God 43:53 that He would very much like to see reproduced in you and me. 43:58 That we also would experience the love of God 44:05 as our only motive for existence. 44:08 Now just go quickly fast forward to the New Testament 44:11 to the book of Romans. 44:13 And we will notice three verses in the book of Romans, 44:17 three verses in the book of Romans that employ 44:20 the word "glory" in order to fill out our concept here 44:26 of its usage and what's being communicated 44:30 through this really important concept in Scripture. 44:33 Chapter 3, Romans chapter 3 verse 23. 44:36 You know this, you've no doubt read this before. 44:38 Or at least you've heard it. 44:40 It says simply here, "All have sinned 44:44 and come short of..." Something. 44:46 What does the Bible say? 44:47 "...the glory of God." 44:49 So there's the word "glory" again. 44:50 I want you to read this text, to notice this text, 44:54 in the direct context of what we just read in Isaiah 43. 45:00 God said in Isaiah 43, "I made human kind for My glory, 45:06 to be reflectors of My character." 45:10 But what does this Scripture say now? 45:12 "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." 45:16 Here is a biblical definition of the sin problem. 45:20 What is the sin problem, essentially, 45:22 according to this particular Scripture? 45:24 Now of course, 1 John 3:4 says, 45:26 "Sin is the transgression of the law." 45:27 And it is. 45:29 But think about this for a minute. 45:32 If sin is transgression of the law, and according to 45:36 what Jesus said, the law is love, essentially... 45:39 Love to God and love to our fellow human beings. 45:42 Or Romans 13:10 where the Scripture basically simply says 45:47 "Love is the fulfilling of the law." 45:50 How do you read 1 John chapter 3 verse 4 now? 45:53 Sin is transgression of the law simply means, sin is... 45:58 ...transgression of God's love. 46:01 And here in this Scripture, Paul says sin is to come short 46:08 of God's glory. 46:10 Sin is to forfeit the character of God. 46:14 Sin is to reveal character traits; thoughts and feelings 46:20 and motives and behaviors, that go directly contrary 46:25 to the character of God. 46:28 In other words, sin is anti-love. 46:32 Every thought, feeling, and behavior pattern 46:35 that is self-centered is sin. 46:40 That's what the Bible is saying to us here. 46:42 Sin is every anti-love thought, feeling, and behavior. 46:48 The plan of salvation is then God's plan for restoring 46:53 His glory to the human being. 46:55 Look at Romans chapter 5 verses 1 and 2. 46:59 Romans chapter 5 verses 1 and 2. 47:00 Here, Paul is taking up the subject 47:02 of the plan of salvation. 47:05 And he is speaking of justification by faith. 47:10 You'll be familiar with this text, no doubt. 47:12 But now notice it in our context tonight. 47:15 Romans 5 verse 1, "Therefore, having been justified by faith," 47:21 yes Paul, "we have peace with God," okay, 47:25 "through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom..." 47:28 What's the next word? 47:29 "...also..." Well wait a minute. 47:31 So there's something more, there's something in addition to 47:36 justification by faith and peace with God. 47:38 Yes, there's something more. 47:41 There's an also. 47:43 We have justification by faith. 47:45 And through that justification by faith, we have peace 47:48 with God, "through whom we also have..." What? 47:54 "...access by faith into this grace in which we stand, 48:00 and rejoice in hope of..." What? 48:04 "...the glory of God." 48:05 There's the "also." 48:07 This is just so clear. 48:09 Paul is essentially saying that the initial stage of the 48:15 human experience in salvation is justification by faith. 48:20 You now have a standing of innocence before God, 48:24 he's saying, just as if you've never sinned. 48:28 And you have peace with God by faith in Christ. 48:32 But then Paul, I think with a great deal of enthusiasm 48:36 in his voice, although we can't hear the 48:38 enthusiasm in written form. 48:40 But I think Paul with enthusiasm says, "But hey, hey, hey. 48:43 There's something else, there's something more. 48:45 There's an also. 48:46 We're justified by faith, we have peace with God. 48:49 But now also, we have access to this grace 48:56 for the restoration of God's glory in our lives. 49:01 We now have peace with God and we rejoice in hope of something. 49:07 We're looking forward to something. 49:09 What is it that we hope for? 49:11 The glory of God being fully restored in our experience. 49:16 Which simply means, as we've studied this evening, 49:20 the character of God restored to human experience. 49:24 That we have the privilege, not only of being saved 49:28 from past sins, forgiven for our failures and our fall 49:35 from the glory of God, but we also have 49:39 this incredible privilege of God remaking His image in us. 49:46 So God isn't merely interested in saving you and me 49:50 in the sense of getting us into heaven. 49:55 He's also very interested in getting heaven into us. 50:00 He's interested in shaping and molding and restoring 50:05 His character in us. 50:06 Look at chapter 8 now and verse 18. 50:10 The apostle Paul has just told us in chapter 3 verse 23, 50:13 "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." 50:16 He's then told us in chapter 5 that we're justified by faith 50:18 and we have peace with God, but now we stand and rejoice 50:21 in hope of the glory of God. 50:23 Chapter 8 verse 18, he picks up the refrain again 50:26 and he says, "For I consider that the sufferings of this 50:30 present time are not worthy to be compared with the... 50:34 ...glory which," it's very definite, "shall be revealed..." 50:39 Where, precisely? 50:40 "...in us." 50:42 This is fabulous. 50:43 The apostle Paul has taken up this word "glory" 50:47 and he had employed it to convey the entire process 50:51 of the plan of salvation. 50:53 He has told us that we fell short of the glory of God, 50:56 but that it will be completely restored 51:00 in our hearts and lives. 51:03 And that plan of salvation reaches forward in history 51:09 to have eschatological significance, 51:12 to have significance for the end time segment of human history. 51:17 When I was a little boy, I had a recurring dream. 51:22 Have you ever had a dream that you would have 51:24 over and over again? 51:26 When I was a little boy, I dreamed that I was standing 51:30 on the seashore with the sand under my bare feet, 51:35 and my little bathing suit on that my mother had 51:37 purchased for me that had Hawaiian flowers on it. 51:41 And as I stood there, in my dream, and the waves were 51:45 crashing, I had this impulse to dive in and to begin swimming. 51:50 And I would dive in, in my dream, and I would swim out 51:53 all excited because there would be a dolphin 51:57 waiting for me there. 51:59 And I would grab hold of that dorsal fin 52:02 and the dolphin would take me up and down through the waves, 52:06 and down under the water and up into the air 52:10 and crashing down again. 52:11 And dreams get kind of weird. 52:13 And then up into the streets of LA where I was raised, 52:16 and up stairways and down stairways in our house. 52:19 And we would have breakfast and things like that. 52:21 And then... 52:23 That was my dream. It would end. 52:25 I loved dolphins as a little kid. 52:27 And I would dream about them over and over again. 52:30 It was my recurring dream. 52:34 Well the Bible has a recurring dream. 52:37 We might say that it's God's dream. 52:40 And God gave this dream in the form of a prophecy 52:45 to one prophet after another. 52:49 Notice the language in this series of Scriptures 52:53 and how each one prophecies of the same ultimate outcome 52:57 in history. 52:59 Numbers chapter 14 verse 21, the prophet here is Moses. 53:02 "Truly," God says through Moses, "as I live, the earth shall be 53:06 filled with the glory of the Lord." 53:09 The first canonical prophet, Moses, is the first one 53:13 to receive this dream. 53:16 And the dream, the prophecy, the vision, is very, very 53:20 simple and profound. 53:22 God promises with an oath, "As truly as I live, 53:26 the earth shall be filled with My glory. 53:28 Human beings will again know Me for who I really am. 53:31 The character of God will be brilliantly manifested 53:36 some time in human history." 53:38 Isaiah chapter 60 and verses 1 through 3, 53:41 "Arise and shine, for your light has come. 53:44 And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you." 53:47 "And His glory will be seen upon you," he goes on to say 53:51 after telling us that the earth will be filled with darkness, 53:56 and gross darkness will cover the people. 53:58 But God's glory, Isaiah says, shall be seen upon you, 54:03 God's people. 54:04 "And Gentiles," unbelievers, "shall come to your light, 54:08 and kings to the brightness of your rising," 54:11 on the scene of human history. 54:13 The day is coming, Isaiah says, when the earth 54:17 will be illuminated with the glory of God. 54:20 And that glory will be seen upon God's people. 54:23 They will be the conduit, they will be the channel, 54:26 through which the glory of God fills the earth. 54:29 Ezekiel chapter 43 verses 1 and 2. 54:33 "Afterward He," that is the Lord, "brought me to the gate, 54:36 to the gate that faces the east. 54:38 And behold," Ezekiel says, "the glory of the God of Israel 54:43 came from the way of the east. 54:45 And His voice was like the sound of many waters; 54:49 and the earth shone with His glory." 54:54 Everyone of these prophets; same dream, same vision 54:56 same prophecy. 54:58 The day is coming, the day is coming, the day is coming, 55:01 when the earth will be illuminated with 55:04 the glory of God. 55:05 It will be on a global scale, the prophets say. 55:09 Habakkuk chapter 2 and verse 14, "For the earth shall be 55:13 filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, 55:16 as the waters cover the sea." 55:19 So now the word "knowledge" is employed 55:21 in association with glory. 55:23 The earth will be filled with the knowledge of 55:26 the character of God, just as the waters cover the sea. 55:29 In other words, it will be universal, 55:32 it will be worldwide. 55:34 And then, finally, a prophecy that puts the capstone 55:39 on this recurring dream. 55:41 Revelation chapter 18 verses 1 and 2. 55:44 And this is where we as a people begin to understand 55:48 the true significance of our mission at this 55:51 juncture of human history. 55:53 Revelation 18 verses 1 and 2, "I saw another angel coming 55:58 down from heaven, having great authority, 56:01 and the earth was," note the language, 56:04 "illuminated with his glory." 56:09 This is what we as a people have referred to as 56:12 the loud cry, the latter rain, the final movement, 56:17 the climactic eschatological revelation of the 56:21 character of God on a global scale. 56:25 This angel messenger comes down from heaven 56:28 having great authority and power, the Scripture says, 56:31 and the earth is illumined with the glory of this angel. 56:39 Friends, what's happening in history right now 56:43 is that God is looking for men and women, 56:46 and even children, who will become channels through which 56:52 the character of God can be manifested 56:56 to the multitudes of men and women in this world 57:00 who are longing to know God for who He really is. 57:04 The invitation is for you and for me to eagerly 57:10 put ourselves in a position where God can use us 57:14 to reveal His glorious love and beauty and righteousness 57:17 to the world as a whole. 57:19 Father in heaven, thank You for Your Word. 57:24 Thank You for the clarity of these Scriptures. |
Revised 2014-12-17