[Bill Cowan] What do you think about, and in what aspect do you picture God? In Isaiah 6:1-5:

Isaiah 6:1 – In the year that King Uzziah died – and Uzziah reigned about 52 years and he died around 740-742 BC – it says: I – Isaiah – saw the Lord – so he was in a vision and he saw the throne of God up in heaven – and I saw the Lord sitting on the throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. So basically, all of the glory of God that Isaiah was allowed to see was just the hem of His garment and he was basically, just totally, completely astonished at the glory and the power and the might and the majesty that God possesses.

V-2-5 – Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings; with two he covered his face and with two he covered his feet and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. And so I said, “Woe is me, for I am undone! I mean, he felt like he was about to die. He felt like all of his life was just going to go out from him because of the great glory God had. “Because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

Isaiah felt totally, completely worthless in comparison to the glory of God and His infinite holiness that God has. Have you ever seen God? Have you ever seen His glory and might and power? I wonder if we have lost the awe, the respect, the honor that we should show to Almighty God? Isaiah could only describe the glory of the hem of His garments and you think about the way He described it here, and the seraphim that had the six wings and so forth. And it mentions that the first two wings they used to hide their faces, because they didn’t want to show disrespect in looking on God, because they honored God, and they respected God, and they did not want to deny His holiness.

In Revelation 4, we find a similar picture painted for us – Revelation 4:1-11.

Revelation 4:1-11 – After these things I looked and behold, a door standing open in the heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here and I will show you the things which must take place after this. Immediately I was in the spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven – so here he was, in vision, as he puts it – and behold a throne was set in heaven and One sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white raiment’s and they had crowns of gold on their heads. And from the throne proceeded lightenings, and thunderings and voices. And seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. And the first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf and the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures each having six wings, were full of eyes round and within. And they do not rest, day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worships Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.”

Wow! Double wow and triple wow! Do you think of God in these terms? Do you picture God as a holy God, as a righteous God, as a mighty God, a great high and mighty being with power – and majesty and glory? Here these beings – the twenty-four elders and the four beasts that are around the throne – have power and might and majesty beyond our comprehension. And yet they bowed before God, and twenty-four hours a day they sing praises to Him – “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!” They worship Him. They love God. They respect God. They honor God.
Do we? Has God become a hip pocket God – something that we just carry around with us for our pleasure – that God exists, basically, for us to go to Him and ask for things – that we need money to pay the rent, or we need our car fixed, or we need our teeth fixed, or we need to be healed, or we need this or we need that. And do we truly honestly show that awe and that respect and that love and honor to the glory of God? In Isaiah 57:15:

Isaiah 57:15 – For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite one.”

Because it’s that heart – that humility – that God looks upon and that God likes, because He wants us to be like Him.

In Psalms 89, actually we could start in Psalm 1 and just basically go through the whole book because David spent so much time in honoring and showing love and respect toward Almighty God.

Psalm 89:34 – God says, “My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips. Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David.”

So God is holy. God cannot lie. God cannot sin. There is no power greater than God that can make Him sin or to lie. He is righteous. He is holy. He is full of glory. You worship a God that is absolutely glorious. Do we sometimes forget that?

You know, Job, God says, is a perfect man – and I believe that he was – until trials and tests and problems came along that our mind cannot even begin to fathom and understand. He was tried in so many ways. He lost his seven children, all of the wealth that he had – everything was taken away from him, except, basically, his wife. He suffered physically. He had leprosy. He had all kinds of problems and friends that just kept condemning him and so forth. And through all of it, he began to look to himself and he began to blame God. He said, “I’m being punished and I’m righteous,” he said. “I’m being punished unworthily.” In other words, “God, You’re at fault. I don’t deserve this.” And so it got to the point that he became so self-righteous that God finally had to come down and, in so many words, He said, “Hey bud, who in the world do you think you are?” Turn to Job 38:1:
Job 38:1-41 – Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and He said: “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” In other words, He said, “You’re saying stuff that you have no idea what you’re saying. “Now prepare yourself like a man” – in other words, He said, “Now you stand up here face to face with Me and you tell me this…” – “I will question you and you shall answer Me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth, tell me if you have understanding. Who determines its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all of the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth and issued from the womb; when I made the clouds its garment, and a thick darkness its swaddling band; when I fixed My limit for it, and set bars and doors; when I said, ‘This far you may come, but no farther, and here your proud waves must stop!’ – that God said the ocean could go this far and then that’s it. “Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and have caused the dawn to know its place, that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked shall be shaken out of it? It takes on form like clay under a seal, and it stands out like a garment. From the wicked their light is withheld, and the upraised arm is broken. Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths? Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death? Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all of this. Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place, that you make take it to its territory, that you may know the path to its home? Do you know it, because you were born there, or because the number of your days is great? Have you entered the treasury of snow, or have you seen the treasury of hail, which I have reserved for a time of trouble, for the day of battle and war? By what way is light diffused, or the east wind scattered over the earth? Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, or a path for the thunderbolt, to cause it to rain on a land where there is no one, a wilderness in which there is no man; to satisfy the desolate waste, and cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass? Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? From whose womb comes the ice? And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth? The waters harden like stone, and the surface of the deep is frozen. Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loose the belt of Orion? Can you bring out Mazzaroth in its season? Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs? Do you know the ordinance of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth? Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that an abundance of water may cover you? Can you send out lightening that they may go and say to you, “here we are!’? Who has put wisdom in the mind or who has given understanding to the heart? Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven, when the dust hardens in clumps and the clouds cling together? Can you hunt the prey for the lion or satisfy the appetite of the young lions when they crouch in their dens or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait? Who provides food for the raven, when the young ones cry to God and wonder about a lack of food?”

Job forgot the God that he once served and loved and obeyed. Job came to the point where he looked to himself and he said, “Woe is me, I’ve got all these problems.” And he turned inward and selfish and he forgot about the glory, the might, the majesty, the power of Almighty God. And he even began to blame God. As the old saying goes, “When you point a finger at somebody, you’ve got three pointing back at you and you’ve got one pointing up to God blaming Him.” And that’s what Job did and he was guilty of that. So God came down, and like I said, He just came to him and said, “Hey bud, who in the world do you think you are in comparison to Me and that you would have the audacity to condemn Me?” He said, “Can you do all these things? No!”

Do we approach God like that? Do we appreciate how truly powerful, glorious, mighty God is? In Isaiah 40, let’s begin in Verse 12:

Isaiah 40:12-18 – Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? And weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Well of course we don’t have that kind of ability, we don’t have the ability to weigh a mountain or to even count all the stars much less name them and put them in their place or anything like that! Who has directed the spirit of the Lord, or as His counsel has taught Him? With whom did He take counsel and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, and showed Him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales – in other words, nobody pays attention to it, it’s just worth messing with. Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before Him are as nothing, and they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless. To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him? The workman molds an image and the goldsmith spreads it with gold and the silversmith casts silver chains.

In other words, they’re in the process of building a god. They’re in the process of building an image here – an idol. It’s amazing how people can worship something like that – made by their own hands or by the hands of a man. There are all kinds of gods in this world – not only pagan gods that various religions worship and honor, but we ourselves make gods – probably money is the number one god in the US. It might be sex – I don’t know, both of them seem to be a very, very close race as far as a false god that people bow down and worship. But we have all kinds of gods, some people worship a whiskey bottle. They put that in front of their family. Some people have a cigarette that they just cannot give up – that it is not worth it to them to worship and God and honor Him in their bodies. And all kinds of gods that we have…it might be a mate, it might be children, it might be parents, but all types of idols that men have. He continues here:

V-18 – To whom then will you liken God? Or to what likeness will you compare to Him? I’m sorry…the workmen mold an image and so forth.

V-20-29 – Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution, chooses a tree that will not rot; and He seeks for himself a skillful workman to prepare a carved image that will not totter. In other words, it won’t fall over and hurt him. Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning, have you not understood from the foundation of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He brings the princes to nothing, He makes the judges of the earth useless. Scarcely shall they be planted, scarcely shall they be sown, scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, when He will also blow on them, and they will wither, and the whirlwind will take them away like stubble. “To whom then will you liken Me – God says – or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, and by the greatness of His might, and the strength of His power; no one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my just claim is just passed over by my God”? In other words, just like Job, they complain and say, Well God didn’t answer my prayer and God didn’t get me this and God didn’t give me that. Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary, and His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.

How about that God! A God of might, a God of power, a God of excellence, a God of grace, a God of mercy and tenderness, a God of majesty and glory! Is that the God you worship? Do you go before God with that type of respect and honor every time you pray? Or again, is He just kind of a hip pocket God that’s there to make you feel good, or just there to give you certain blessings or something like this? Do we stand in absolutely awe of God?

In 1 Peter, the 1st chapter – 1 Peter 1, and verses14 through 19:
 
1 Peter 1:14 – As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all of your conduct…. We just read about this great awesome, holy God that these living creatures in heaven worship, honor and respect – that even the powerful seraphim, which are apparently the highest form of an angel – have six wings and they cover God’s throne – the seraphim do – and I’m not sure the difference – apparently cherubim have four wings and the seraphim have six wings – but anyway, here they bow down and they say, “Holy, holy holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come” – that they worship God – they respect God. And it says here, again, continuing he said:

V-15-19 – But He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all of your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, because I am holy.” And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourself throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold, from your aimless conduct received by the traditions from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot.

We were bought and paid for with the greatest price that has ever been paid and that is the price of a God. In 1 Samuel 2:2, you don’t need to turn there if you don’t want to, I’m just going to read this one short verse.

1 Samuel 2:2 – No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.

In Exodus 15:11-14, the question is asked, “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? (Small g, because like I said, there are many gods, not only just pagan false gods, that are worshipped. There are a lot of false Christs in our nation today, but also gods that we make ourselves.) “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? And who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? You stretched out Your right hand and the earth swallowed them. And in Your mercy you have led forth Your people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength to Your holy habitation.

Who is like unto God? There is no other, who is like God, who is glorious as He says, in holiness and fearful in praises, doing wonders. Exodus 28:36:

Exodus 28:36 – “And you shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it…this was for Aaron to wear…like the engraving of a signet; HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; and it shall be on the front of the turban. So it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before Me.”

And so He told them – He instructed them – that they were to make a plate of absolute pure gold and engrave it with the saying, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. Then in Exodus 39:30, we find where they made that plate.

Exodus 39:30 – Then they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and they wrote on it an inscription like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD. So they made this plate and they put on there about God’s great and awesome holiness.

In 1 Chronicles 16:23-36…I can just see this being taught in our famous military colleges today, that this is the way to win battles and to win wars and so forth.

1 Chronicles 16:23-36 – Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; and proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols…they’re worthless, they’re junk…but the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and gladness are in His place. Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples, give to the Lord glory and strength. Give to the Lord the glory that’s due His name; bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. And the world also is firmly established and it shall not be moved. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; and let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.” And let the sea roar, and all of the fullness; let the fields rejoice, and all that is in them. Then the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth.” Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! And for His mercy endures forever. And say, “Save us, O God of our salvation; and gather us together and deliver us from the Gentiles, to give thanks to Your holy name, to triumph in Your praise.” Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting!” And all of the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

That’s not the passage I thought I was at, but I’ll read that in a moment, and also from Chronicles. But here, that they were to give glory to God, that they were to honor God and His name and to bring an offering. It sounds like you’re reading really from the book of Psalms, doesn’t it, instead of Chronicles, sounds something more like David himself would have written.
What is the offering that we’re to bring to God? It’s supposed to be a holy offering, it says, that we’re to present Him with a holy offering. Notice the offering that is required of us today – Romans 12, and verses 1-2.

Romans 12:1-2 – I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

We’re to present ourselves as a holy, living, sacrifice – a holy offering that is acceptable to God. Holy, as I have told you before, means that God’s active presence is in it. And so, if we present ourselves as a holy offering to God, God’s active presence has to be within us and through us. And so the life of God the Father and the life of Jesus Christ has to be in us – and it says, “something that is acceptable to God,” which means, fully agreeable or well pleasing – that we present ourselves to God, that we are well pleasing and fully agreeable to Him. That is “our reasonable service.” The Greek means logical, rational service to God in our worship of God.

In Hebrews, the 13th chapter – Hebrews 13, and verse 15 to 16:

Hebrews 13:15-16 – Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifice, God is well pleased.

How are you doing giving your offering – the sacrifice of praise to God? Do we stand in awe of God? Do we tell God how much we appreciate Him? How much we respect Him and how much we honor Him? How holy is the fruit of your lips?

In 2 Chronicles, as I mentioned a moment ago, 2 Chronicles 20, and verse 21 and 22:

2 Chronicles 20:21 – And when he had consulted the people, he appointed those who should sing unto the Lord – so he set up a choir – and who should praise the beauty of holiness. As we’re going to see in a moment, this expression, beauty of holiness, appears in the Bible four times and then one time it says beauties of holiness. As they went out before the army and were saying, “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever.”

And so we see here, they took the choir and put them out front. They didn’t follow behind the army. They went in front of the army. It was not the Marines. It wasn’t the Navy Seals. It wasn’t some Kung Fu unit. They took the choir. And they said, “Okay, choir, you lead the army,’ and sure enough, here they go out and they’re singing. And they were singing, “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever.”

V-22 – And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah and they were defeated.

This choir defeated them because they praised God. They showed honor and respect and stood in awe of God’s presence and of God’s strength and of God’s holiness. Do we? So he consulted the people and he made this and he showed that God rousted the enemies because His mercy, endures forever. And when they did praise God, the enemies were rousted, they were defeated, they were done away with.

How many enemies do you have? Maybe you have an enemy of bad health. Maybe you have a financial enemy that you constantly struggle to make ends meet – to make the house payment or to get the transmission fixed in the car. How many enemies do you have that need to be repaired – that need to be fixed, that need to be defeated – marriage problems, children problems, trials on the job, perhaps our enemies are not defeated? Perhaps they are not rousted because we are not praising the beauty of holiness to our God.

In Psalm 29, written by David – and like I said, we could go through the book of Psalms and virtually just open the book or read the entire book. Psalm 29, titled, Praise to God in His Holiness and Majesty, a Psalm of David.

Psalm 29:1-11 – Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones, give to the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. There it is again – that we’re to worship God in the beauty of holiness, that we ourselves have to be holy, that we ourselves have to be pure and come before God and worship Him. The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders; the Lord is over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars, yes, the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon. He makes them also skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like young wild ox. The voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth, and strips the forest bare; and in His temple everyone says, “Glory!” The Lord sat enthroned at the food, and the Lord sits as King forever. The Lord will give strength to His people; and the Lord will bless His people with peace.

God is powerful. God is mighty. And He deserves your praise and your love and your respect. Give to the Lord the glory that is due His name, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

In Psalm 30, and verse 4:

Psalm 30:4 – Sing praises to the Lord, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name – that we are to praise God, that we’re to thank God, that we’re to sing unto God, that we’re to give the glory that is due God and worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness.

In Luke, the 1st chapter - Luke 1 and verses 73 and 74:

Luke 1:73 – The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: to grant us that we, being delivered from the hands of our enemies – now, have you been delivered from the hand of your enemies? Sure you have! You’ve had an opportunity to know God’s truth, you had an opportunity to come to repentance. You’ve had an opportunity to be baptized and be begotten by God’s divine holy spirit, You have had an opportunity to have every sin that you have ever committed totally, completely forgiven. You have been freed. You have been given this wonderful privilege – this priceless privilege. We’ve been delivered from that enemy of death. We have been delivered from the second death so that we can have life eternal. Why? He goes on to say here:

V-74 – To grant us that we being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear. We’ve been delivered from our sins and from death that we can serve God, that we can worship God in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life.

In Malachi 2, and verse 2:

Malachi 2:2 – “If you will not hear and if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to My name,” says the Lord of hosts, “I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already because you do not take it to heart.”

It’s a very, very serious thing to God to honor the God of glory, to give Him the praise. But we are to give God that praise and that glory and honor. It’s serious to God. He says you’re going to be cursed if you don’t take it to heart – that you’re going to have all these curses brought upon you, if we do not show that honor and glory to God’s name.

In Romans, the 1st chapter - Romans 1, and verses 1 through 4:

Romans 1:1-4 – Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

Jesus Christ is holy. Jesus Christ is righteous, just like the Father. Jesus Christ is worshipped and honored by the heavenly host, just like the Father.

In Romans, the 6th chapter - Romans 6, and verses 19 through 22:

Romans 6:19-22 – I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented yourselves as slaves of uncleanness and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. And when you were the slaves of sin you were free in regard to righteousness. And what fruit did you have then in those things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and to the end, everlasting life – that we too are to be holy, just like God is holy, just like Jesus Christ is holy – that we are to be holy. Again, what is the definition of holy? God’s active presence is in it, and therefore God’s active presence has to be in us.

In Ephesians, the 4th chapter - Ephesians 4 and verse 22:

Ephesians 4:22 – That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, that you may put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
I think many of God’s people do not really understand…we are not to be a changed person, we’re to be a new person, we’re to be a new creation. When we come up out of the watery grave, we are to bury the old self and then to rise up as a new person, not just a better person, not taking the same old being and making something better out of it, but we are to put to death the old self. And it’s a shame that that old self resurrects itself and comes and stands right with us and we have this battle, as Paul puts it in Romans 7 – this war going on.

In 1 Thessalonians 3, and verse 13:

1 Thessalonians 3:13 – So that He – Christ – may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all of His saints. If you want to be in God’s kingdom, if you want to be with Jesus Christ when He returns with all of His saints, then we have to establish our hearts blameless in holiness.

 In 1 Thessalonians 4 – the next chapter – in verse 7:

1 Thessalonians 4:7 – For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness – that we are to be holy.

In 1 Timothy 2, and verse 15:

1 Timothy 2:15 – Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.

Hebrews 2, and verse 10.

Hebrews 2:10 – For they indeed, for a few days, chastened us as it seemed best to them. Yeah, Dad would get mad because we kept bugging him, or we were pitching the ball in the house and broke Grandma’s vase, and he jumped up really quick and busted your rear. And they did it for their benefit – certainly to teach you certain lessons, too, But God, it says, He does it for our profit – that we may be partakers – of what? – His holiness.

Hebrews 12, and verse 14 – just down four verses.

Hebrew 12:14 – Pursue peace with all people, and holiness – pursue holiness, seek after it, desire it, want it – without which no one will see the Lord – that, if we are not holy, we are not going to be in the family of God.

I mentioned that the beauty of holiness is mentioned four times and beauties of holiness is mentioned once, making a total of five times – in 1 Chronicles 16, and verse 29, 2 Chronicles 20, and verse 21, Psalm 29, and verse 2, Psalm 29, and verse 9, and Psalm 110, and verse 3 – because God looks at us as beautiful.

Now, when I look at some of you, (chuckle) that’s difficult to say. Since I’ve been a little puppy, I have never been accused of being beautiful (laughter). I’ve been accused of some other things that are just the opposite of being beautiful, but I have never been accused of being beautiful. And God looks upon us as beautiful – that we are to worship Him in the beauty of holiness – that it is through the holiness and the righteousness of God living in us that pleases Him as we worship and honor him – that you’re beautiful because of God’s holiness living in you. And I am amazed that God looks upon us as being holy, because of His active presence in us!

In Ephesians, the 5th chapter – Ephesians 5, and verse 25 – we’re familiar with this – the chapter talking about husbands and wives, and children and family, and so forth. But picking up the thought here in verse 25 of Ephesians 5, and verse 25:

Ephesians 5:25 – Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church, and He gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify her and cleanse her with the washing of the water by the word, that He might present her to Himself – a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

I think, as we sit here, and we have our aches and pains, and we have our problems and woes and worries, it’s difficult for us to think in holy terms. And yet, God wants to share in that glory and in His holiness. Do you realize that the Father is excited and the Father is anxious to present you without spot or blemish or any such thing – to present you holy unto His Son – that you can be a holy bride for Jesus Christ – that we’re going to share in that glory with Jesus Christ and with God the Father?

In John, the 17th chapter – John 17 – Christ prayed over and over – this was right after the Passover – this is a famous passage that we always read after the Passover – or not after the Passover – during the Passover – but after the bread and the wine. We always read John 13 through 17 – excerpts from it – and usually the entire chapter of John 17. And Christ said, “…restore the glory that I had with You from the foundation of the earth.” And He prayed several times there that God would give Him the glory back that He once possessed. And notice in verse 22 – John 17:

John 17:22 – And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one, just as we are One.

You and I are going to share in that glory of Almighty God. We read at the beginning how glorious God is – how mighty and majestic – how that all of the earth is, virtually, a drop in the bucket in comparison to God – that we, as human beings, are worthless in comparison to God. And yet, God looks upon us as beautiful, because of the holiness of His heart and of His mind and of His Spirit living in us.

In Romans, the 8th chapter, and verse 14:

Romans 8:14 – For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.

All of us are sons and daughters of Almighty God – that we have been begotten by His very mind and life and being.

In Romans, the 8th chapter, and verse 17 through 19 – he said:
Romans 8:17-19 – And if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ – if, indeed, we suffer with Him, that we may be also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.

This world is hurting. This world is sick. And this world is dying. And this world is in pain. And this world is struggling, hoping for and waiting for – and they don’t even know it – for you to be born into the family of God – to receive that glory that God shares with His Son, Jesus Christ, and shares with you.

In Ephesians, the 1st chapter, and verse 18 and 19.

Ephesians 1:18-19 – The eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the workings of His mighty power.

He said, “…that you may have your eyes opened, and understand, and enlightened and enriched, so that you can understand the riches of the glory of His inheritance” that He has for His saints.

Have we ever begun to get even a small part of that tremendous glory that God has – that Isaiah just saw the hem of His garment and he felt like an absolute worm? He felt like the whole world was just lousy – filthy – in comparison to the beauty and the majesty and the grace and the power of Almighty God. How do you approach God? Do you show that awesomeness, that respect, that love, that worship to Him?

In 2 Corinthians, the 3rd chapter – 2 Corinthians 3, and verse 18:

2 Corinthians 3:18 – But we all, with unveiled face, beholding, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, and being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord – that we – that you, that me, that us – are going to be transformed into that glory from glory to glory – that you will have – I don’t think the tremendous glory that God the Father has, or that Jesus Christ has – but more than you’ll ever begin to comprehend and understand – that God is going to make you His child – that He’s going to make you His bride for His Son, whom He loves very, very dearly, and you will be transformed into that glory.

I want to end with one scripture that I hope sticks in your mind – gives you something to think about, something to pray about, something to ponder and to meditate on – and that is 1 Corinthians 2, and verse 9.

1 Corinthians 2:9 –But as it is written, “The eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, nor has entered into the hearts of men the things which God has prepared for those who love Him – beyond our total comprehension – that you will share the glory of God!