Josiah Elias
1-4-11
Fresh Word
Unfading Glory
We are such an incredibly blessed people!
Really think about it. Whether or not we have the fancy cars and clothes, our salvation alone is the most valuable thing anyone could ever have! Not to mention that its free! On top of that blessing, we do have cars to drive, clothes to wear, friends and family to share our lives with. The blessings are endless! How awesome is our God! Still, the simple fact that our names are written in the Lambs Book of Life, and that we are a new Creation in Christ Jesus blows my mind!
Jesus is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords! He is The Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End! The Living Word, Sacred Redeemer, Blessed Messiah, Beloved Savior, the Holy One of Israel, The Hope of Glory, He is the Way, Truth and Life and nobody comes to the Father but by Him.
We have a reason to smile because He said that we would be the first and not
the last, the head and not the tail, above and not beneath, the lender and not
the borrower, Blessed coming in and blessed going out!
Hallelujah!
I've always heard that the greatest miracle is when someone gets saved. I felt like I knew that, but I suppose I didn't really understand it. The experience of it, the full weightiness of the transformation when a broken lost person, comes into an encounter with a loving Father and precious Savior Jesus Christ, becomes “So Saved” that they lay down their old life, everything about it, the attitude, the mindset, the addictions, the music, the movies, the relationships and literally EVERYTHING begins to look more and more like Jesus! Its the most beautiful transformation ever! That is the greatest miracle!
I'm beginning to see more and more how once we experience salvation, we begin a journey of molding our lives to look Christ.
Eph 4:13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
This is a life long journey. Whether your a new believer, or have been serving the Lord for over 50 years, we are constantly trying to look more like Jesus. He is the standard. He is the express image of God, He is the goal. He is what we press toward. Bits and pieces of our life begin to change and transform to becoming that of Christ.
Then because God is so good, He makes us aware that we don't have to do it alone, He gives us gifts, the body of believers (the family) His Holy Spirit to come along side to help. WE HAVE EVERYTHING WE NEED TO LOOK JUST LIKE JESUS. We haven't been shortchanged by God in any fashion. We are equipped with everything that He was equipped with, therefore we can expect to see the results of everything that He did.
I believe God is reminding us to focus on what is truly important. That's Him! The more we can look like Him, the more we can be effective here on the earth! Everything we desire can be satisfied in Him. If you want Revival then look like Jesus. If you want your family saved, then look like Jesus. If you want a great healing anointing, then look like Jesus. All those good things are summed up in the idea that Yahweh is the ultimate source of all good things!
Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
He doesn't change, He's always been good, He will always be good! No matter what! That's an absolute.
So what I believe God is doing here today is a refocusing. You may have probably made new year resolutions this new years. I'm gonna lose weight, start working out again, quit doing this, stop doing that, read my Bible more...Those are all great, but what you really need to fulfill all of those things is simply HIM.
New Years Resolution 2011: I'm going to look more like Jesus. That's asking the right question. Setting the right goal, not that the other things are bad! But this is the fundamental basic of what we all need! We all should be striving to look just like Jesus.
Ask the Lord to give you grace to look more like Jesus this year. If you mean it, then take some time to pray it.
Knowing that we are New Creations in Christ and that we are in a New Covenant, its intriguing to fully understand what comes with this New Covenant. What is available to me? What are we capable of now? What are we still bound to? Though this is a topic that will never be fully exhausted because I feel like we are constantly learning new qualities of the nature of God that perhaps we never noticed before or have yet to be exposed to. One thing is for certain. The glory that we are experiencing in this New Covenant far exceeds anything that has ever been available before in the Old Covenant.
2Co 3:4 And we have such trust through Christ toward God.
2Co 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,
2Co 3:6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Paul is saying that it is through Christ that he is any measure of successful. Only
through Him. We are only sufficient when we are in right relationship with the
All Sufficient One. Only through the Spirit can we have true life.
Now Paul's about to make a comparison between the two covenants, the Old
Covenant which we find can only lead to death for it is impossible to fully follow
the law, and the new covenant which leads to life. Life in Christ for Christ came
to fulfill the law.
2Co 3:7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away,
2Co 3:8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?
2Co 3:9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.
2Co 3:10 For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels.
2Co 3:11 For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.
This reference is to Moses coming off of Mt. Sinai after being with the Lord and
receiving the commandments of the Lord, his face was literally shining and
others were afraid to come near him for the glory of God was on Him. Moses
always has represented the law, in Jewish culture, rightfully so for he was the
one who God used to deliver the law.
Paul is saying that even if Moses had this glory on him, where his face was
literally shining from being in the presence and glory of God, how much more of
a glory is there for us today being in the New Covenant. If the ministry of
condemnation had glory! There will be such a far more exceeding glory on the
ministry of righteousness. (New Testament)
The sacrifice of Jesus Christ far exceeds the sacrifices of animals necessary to
the law. He is the ultimate sacrifice above anything else.
Bear in mind, its Jesus that we are seeking to look just like. Its Him we are
striving to conform our lives too. In Him, we receive everything.
2Co 3:12 Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech—
2Co 3:13 unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away.
2Co 3:14 But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.
You see the glory that Moses had was a fading glory. I always thought that
Moses wore the veil on his face because the children of Israel couldn't bear to
look at his face, but it wasn't only because they couldn't stand the radiance of
his shining face but also because Moses was hiding the fading glory of God that
was on him. This is a type or symbolic of what Moses represented, the law!
Remember Moses represents the law and just like the glory of the Moses' face
was fading away, so the glory of the law will one day fade away. That day came
when Christ entered the picture. That veil was taken away in Christ! (vs. 14)
2Co 3:15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.
2Co 3:16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
Still today especially in Jewish culture that veil is still there where they can't see
who Jesus is. However, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
2Co 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
We have freedom in Christ! In The Spirit of Christ, the Lord there is liberty!
Freedom!
Now we have unveiled faces, for we are in Christ and the veil has been taken
away, its as if we are looking into a mirror seeing Christ when we see ourselves,
beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, (JESUS) we're being transformed
into that same image! Into Jesus, FROM GLORY TO GLORY! Not a fading glory
like Moses had, but going from GLORY TO GLORY, as from the Spirit of the Lord!
We have no fading glory! We move from glory to glory to glory to glory to glory
for Jesus is glorious!!
This is it! This is the 2011 Resolution! That when you look into that mirror you
behold the glory of the Lord! You see Christ Jesus! You look just like Him! That
you would become that express image of Jesus! Our aim is to look like Him! Not
to encounter His glory and not let it change us, rather to be like Him more so
because of the experience! To look just like Him!
If you have an encounter with God you'd better let it change you! Otherwise
what good is it?! Its a glory meant to linger on you, transform that image in the
mirror to be more just like Christ. If the Lord speaks to you in a dream and its
glorious, its got to change you that following day! If someone has a prophetic
word for you and it rocks your world, it had better change you! If you fall down
in a prayer line, its wonderful but when you get up off that ground you gotta be
changed! Its about the transformation! Looking just like Jesus!
I'm learning more and more that its not so much what happens in the prayer
closet, at the altar, or while your dreaming. Rather how you allow that
encounter to transform your life is what its all about! That's such an important
aspect to the Christian walk. Not what happened, but how that experience
changed your life.
Father fill us all up with dramatic encounters that lead us into transformation!
We don't just want to see things for the sake of seeing them, but rather to
experience awesome times with You that we may live a transformed life. Help
to really change whenever we hear from You. Give us all GRACE to be just like
Jesus this whole next year in 2011!
We love You Sir with all of our hearts.
In Jesus Name We Pray.
Amen
Josiah Elias
~Revival SD~
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