The glory is only in the place that God protects, because it’s His people. They are His sons and daughters. If you become sons and daughters to God He will have that glory over you so you don’t have to be afraid. We must commit ourselves to the Lord, that we want Him to be full Lord of our life. If you don’t have that radiance about you, that you want the Lord to be fully in control of your life, you won’t be able to walk in this kingship. Let’s start in Revelation 1:5, And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. The first means there is more to come. Jesus was the first begotten of God, that is, born by the Father’s spirit. The angels weren’t born, they were made. They were made each one for a particular thing. But Jesus was born of the Father. The seed of Jesus came from the Father, so He was begotten. Those that have children, your children were begotten by the father and the mother. But the first begotten is something that without that, we would have no future. We must be begotten of the Father, because it’s His children that will be with Him forever. Those that are born again will live with Him forever and are begotten of the Father because the Father placed His spirit in the believers. Now in 1 John 3:15, Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Now, that’s not necessarily a sibling, but a brother is one that is in the body of Christ. If you hate anyone in the brotherhood, you’re trying to destroy his salvation, which makes you a murderer. Spiritually destroying other people’s faith in God makes you a murderer. Verse 16, Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. If anyone is jealous or hates a member of the brotherhood, you’re trying to destroy his salvation and eternity. 1 John 5:15, And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. There are things that become drastic enough that it is dangerous to begin a sin that leads unto death, that is, to destroy the kingdom of God. No one can enter into the kingdom of God destroying it, speaking against it, or taking control yourself to change people or to get what you want. That will be forbidden. 1 Peter 1:3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Peter is saying to be born again, you’re born of the Father through Jesus into a lively hope. We are begotten like Jesus was begotten of the Father. We would call it being adopted into His family. But He doesn’t say it that way. He says to be born again you enter into sonship, literal sonship, because you are born again into the kingdom of God. It is different than the adoption that we think of here on the earth. God sees those that are going to be with Him forever as literal children that He birthed. That’s why Jesus says a lot of times, even to the disciples, O little children. They were just little children. Jesus was probably about the same age as a lot of the disciples but He called them little children. Ephesians 2:1, And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins. When you are born again you are quickened into a new realm that you will live forever if you stay faithful to the Lord. Verse 2, Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. We were a prince to satan. A prince is a messenger to those around them to be like satan. That’s why we are not to associate with the world and the wickedness of it, because they are agents of satan to destroy our salvation and destiny. Ephesians 4:1, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. Don’t try to take somebody else’s place. Don’t try to be somebody else. You do what God put in you to do and be content with that. He is the potter and He can make your clay body to be able to do whatever He wants done. If you reject what He called you to be He will just take somebody that is willing and change the pottery enough to make them able to do what needs to be done. God will not restrict you to one thing. He is the Creator and He can change and do whatever needs to be done. Verse 2, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling. We know that God releases many spirits out of Him. But the one Spirit he’s talking about here is not the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of Jesus, but it is the character of who God is. Every person has different characteristics, what they created themselves to be. The unity of the spirit in the bond of peace is that no matter what your call is, you will have the attitude of Christ no matter what you are doing. When each one has the character of God, we come together as one. No matter what we are doing, we will be one. In basketball, there is a center, two forwards, and two guards. They all have one attitude, that is, to win, but they don’t all do the same thing. It’s the character that unites us. The Spirit of Jesus, which is character. There is the spirit of the abilities, the spirit of the gifts. There are many things, but we all have one thing in common. That is, when we come together, we are all working to win. That will cut off the places the enemy has come in and tried to rob us of things that he shouldn’t be able to do. Verse 4, There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling. There are many hopes in the body but there is only one hope for you, that is, what your calling is. Verse 5, One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Everyone has been given grace according to the measure of the gift. If your job at this time is not a big job, you’re not going to get a semi-load of grace. You’ll get a basket or a thimble; whatever it takes, because He doesn’t waste anything. You don’t need any more than what you have to get the job done. When God says do it, move out in the level of faith and the level of grace that you have to get it done, because He’s not going to give you something you will just waste. God doesn’t waste anything, even though He can make everything. Verse 8, Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. When Christ left, He gave gifts unto men to turn around those that have you captive to make them captive. They have to obey you. Verse 9, (now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. He doesn’t make everyone a teacher, but He gives gifts for different people to do different things, to equip you for the body of Christ, so that as a body, as a unit, we can get it done. Verse 13, Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. We must commit ourselves to the Lord, that we want Him to be full Lord of our life. If you don’t have that radiance about you, that you want the Lord to be fully in control of your life, you won’t be able to walk in this kingship. Let’s look at Isaiah 32:1, Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. A king declares what needs to be done and a prince is one that carries out what the king declares. A king reigns in righteousness, which is the will of the Father, and the princes shall rule in judgment. Those that have come into a place of adulthood become a prince unto the Son, and they rule in judgment. If the king’s commands are not carried out by people then it’s the responsibility of the prince to correct them and bring them into alignment with the king. Verse 2, And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; A covert is a place where you can go in behind the waves, a channel that goes back, and it’s calm. It’s a place where it is safe for the boats. …as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Are you that? We are called to be kings and priests unto the Lord. Are you one that is a hiding place from the wind? Are you a place for a ship to come in and be safe from the waves of the sea? Are you like rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land? Verse 3, And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. It comes back to the eyes of the Lord. Those that have eyes will see, and they won’t be dim. It will be easy to see what is going on. Verse 4, The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly. The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful. Everything is prophetic, even what the wicked say or name something. A vile person is a liberal person that is bitter. Verse 6, For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. That’s what a liberal person does. Can you see that? It’s still that way today. I’m not talking republican and democrat. I’m just saying the liberals are vile. They take from the poor and the rich and put it in the sack for themselves. Verse 7, The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand. How many knew that was in the Bible? This was written in Isaiah’s day, and it’s still the same today. We see that in our nation today. The liberals are destroying people’s lives by lying and by instruments of evil. Now we’re going to go deeper into what a king is supposed to do. If you want to be a king and a priest, this is what God calls you to be or you’re really not a king for Him. He makes you a king, not for your own prestige, but He makes you a king to help the needy. Ezekiel 34:1, And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You go to many churches and the first thing they want to know is how much money you make so they can figure out how much you’re supposed to put in the offering. The shepherds are supposed to be feeding the flocks. If you are a king, what are you for? To gather money for yourself, or for others? Verse 3, Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. The apostle Paul did that in the early church. He went to all the scattered sheep of Israel and started churches and brought salvation to them. That was his job. Do you know how hard it was for God to change Saul into Paul? He took away just one of the five senses. He blinded him, and that blindness caused him to reverse his journey from killing the Christians to gathering them up. Just one of the senses. Think what we could do if we were operating on seven or fifty or one hundred eyes or spirits of the Lord. When the Lord looks for someone to do a job, He looks for someone that has this capability and this characteristic about them, that they love the people and they won’t scatter them but they will gather them together. They won’t become jealous or bitter but they will be in delight when the body of Christ prospers. Paul said, I become a manure pile while you become kings. That’s a shepherd. Now let’s go to Isaiah 26:1, In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Bulwarks were obstacles around the wall that kept the enemy from breaching the wall. Some cities would build a wall and then build a trench around it with water, so that as the enemy crossed the water they could destroy them before they got to the wall. What is it that keeps the enemy out? When you walk in the glory of God, I don’t care how vile they are, they won’t be able to destroy you. It’s the glory of God on you that protects you. That is the wall of protection and the things in the front that the enemy can’t cross. When Israel was fighting the seven day war Syria put land mines all over and they had to get through to get on the other side to stop Syria from coming over. All the sudden the wind blew and kept blowing all night. When the wind stopped they looked around. All of the mines were uncovered because the sand was blown away and they were able to just walk through the mines. That’s what God will do. Verse 2, Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. We could have people coming into the United States that are holy people, but because this nation has become wicked, the glory does not hold back the enemy. We had a wall of defense for years but for the most part the glory has left this nation. The glory is only in the place that God protects, because it’s His people. They are His sons and daughters. If you become sons and daughters to God He will have that glory over you so you don’t have to be afraid. Even if you do, the only thing they can do is kill the body. They can’t kill your destiny. Verse 3, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength: For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust. The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy. The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just. Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were examples of that in the scripture. They had the glory of God on them and they were not touched. They had the will of God in their hearts as they were protectors of God’s people wherever they were scattered. The prophets in that same time period were also protected by the glory. Ezekiel walked wherever he wanted to go. He was on the river and saw visions. He went to this place, and then to that place, and everybody let him go. They didn’t touch him because he had the glory of God on him. How many believe we need that today? If we are going to make it through we need to walk in that sonship. Verse 9, With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. When judgments are in the earth he didn’t say anything about being scared. Verse 10, Let favor be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord. You can show kindness and favoritism to the wicked but they will still be the same. Verse 11, Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see. When God lifts up His hands they won’t see Him lift up His hands, but they will see the results of it. …and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them. Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us. You have put all of our works in us that we are doing. That’s a strong statement to be able to say: everything I’ve done is through Your command. But that’s where He’s called us to be and live – under His glory. It takes full submission and dedication to His will, and letting Jesus be fully Lord over our lives.
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