Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Isaiah, chapter 42. Isaiah 42. I'd like to read verses 5 to
8. Isaiah 42, verse 5 to 8. Thus saith God the Lord, He that
created the heavens and stretched them out, He that spread forth
the earth and that which cometh out of it, He that giveth breath
unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein,
I the Lord have called thee in righteousness. Let me just stop
before I go any farther. This is where I just started
in verse 6. This is Jehovah God, Jehovah, Father, Son, Spirit
speaking to the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man. I, the Lord Jehovah,
have called thee in righteousness and will hold thine hand and
will keep thee and give thee for a covenant of the people
for a light of the Gentiles, to open the blind eyes to bring
out the prisoners from the prison and them that sit in darkness
out of the prison house. I am the Lord. That is my name. And my glory will I not give
to another, neither my praise to graven images." Let's pray
together. Our Father, we thank You this
evening for the precious time to come together and to worship.
Lord, I pray would You bless the Word tonight to our hearts.
May Christ be exalted. May Your people be edified and
comforted. Thank You, Father, for Christ's
sake. Amen. I'd like to consider for just
a moment tonight something that is so indescribably wonderful, that we must stop and ask afresh. And I ask you as I remind myself,
ask. Lord, would you speak to my heart? Lord, would you bless this Word?
Lord, would you magnify the glory of Christ to me. Because what
I'd like to look at for just a few minutes is this thing of
the glory of the Lord. I started thinking about this,
and the more I looked at it, thought of it, thought on it,
I thought, where do you start? when you're going to speak on
a subject like that, the glory of the Lord? Glory, and I looked it up, its root word is to think. We've thought about it. We've
looked at that before. To be of the opinion. And it deals
with the dignity, the beauty and the distinction of Almighty
God. Glory. Glory, as far as the Lord
is concerned in all of its fullness, belongs only to Him. Glory, as
it refers to Almighty God, The Lord, according to the Scripture
that we just read, He shares it with no one. Solomon, the
Scripture says, in all of his glory wasn't arrayed like one
of God's lilies. But concerning the glory of Almighty
God, Moses asked the Lord, show me
your glory. Lord, show me your dignity. Show
me something of your beauty and your distinction. And the God
of all grace, God who is the invisible God, God Almighty who
is King Eternal, the only wise God to whom belongs honor and
glory forever and ever. God who dwells, the Scripture
says, in the thick darkness, and according to Isaiah 45, 15,
hides Himself until He is pleased to reveal Himself to whomsoever
He is pleased. Moses asked Him this, Will You show me Your glory? Will You make visible? That's
what he's asking. Would you make visible your glory? Now the answer that the Lord
gave him is the only answer that we have that we can truthfully
settle down and say, this is God's revelation of His glory. This is what the Lord has to
say. And therefore, whatever Almighty God has to say concerning
His glory, that ends it right there. He said, I will make all my goodness
pass before thee. It is the good pleasure of the
Lord God that His glory be known and expressed by His goodness. He said, Lord, would You show
me Your glory? And the Lord said, You will see
My goodness pass before you. He said, the Lord said, I will
proclaim the name of the Lord before thee. I will call out
the name of Jehovah before you. Now this is the revelation of
God's glory. I'll cause all of my goodness
to pass before you. I'll proclaim the name of the
Lord, my nature, my perfections as they are revealed in my Son. You're going to know them. This
is the glory of the Lord. And I will be gracious to whom
I will be gracious, and I'll show mercy on whom I'll show
mercy." I got to thinking about those
words, gracious and mercy. I'll be gracious. This is what Almighty God has
to say about the revelation of His glory. I'm going to stoop and have pity. And I will manifest my love deeply
and have tender affection on whomsoever I will. Lord, show
me Your glory. I'm going to stoop and have pity
on You. I'm going to show You the depth
of my love toward You in my son. I'm going to give Him. Show me
Your glory. All of my goodness I'm going
to cause to pass before You. The glorious person of the Lord
Jesus Christ. So knowing that in ourselves
we could never behold the glory of the Lord, it's God's good
pleasure to reveal His glory. It's God's good pleasure to show
mercy and grace to whomsoever He will by His precious Son. So we can all agree, all that
know Him. We can say as the Apostle Paul
says that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection
and the fellowship of His sufferings being made conformable unto His
death. If somebody were to ask you,
say, what is the glory of the Lord? Here's what it is. It is for God Almighty, the invisible
God. God who is spirit. God that no
man can see. It's for God Almighty to manifest
Himself to a people that He's everlastingly loved in the person
of His dear Son, the One who was made flesh and became visible. God Almighty's
glory is to reveal Himself in mercy and compassion to His people. I've got three things that I
want to consider about God's glory. The Lord Jesus Christ. That glory that is only revealed
in the person of Christ Himself is the first thing I know. God's glory. Christ. He is the glory of Almighty
God. God's glory as the God-man mediator
never had a day of beginning. God's glory never began. Our Lord, as the great High Priest
of His people, prayed this prayer in John 17, verse 5. And now,
O Father, glorify Thou me with Thine own self, with the glory
which I had with Thee before the world was. Now the glory that our Lord speaks
of right here could not be that essential, underrived glory which
belongs to Him as God. For as the Son of God, He has always been God. That
is not the glory that He is talking about. God Almighty never relinquished
the glory that He has always had. But I know this. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. So therefore,
what glory is our Lord speaking of that He set forth in that
prayer, that high priestly prayer, John 17, 5? Father, I pray, He
said. Let me read it again. Glorify
Thou me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee
before the world was." What glory was that? It was the glory that
He everlastingly possessed as He stood at the call of His Father
to be the head and husband and surety of His church. God's glory. The Lord Jesus Christ
Himself everlastingly was possessed. It never began. Now I know this. I know that He possessed, according
to that statement, the glory that I had with you before the
world was. I know that He had the glory
as the God-Man Mediator before. He actually was made incarnate. The Scripture sets forth that
in the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and
the Word was God. And in verse 14 it says, And
the Word was made flesh. But He didn't come into being
at that time. He's always been there. Look
at Proverbs chapter 8. Proverbs 8. Now here is the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself. Here is the God-Man Mediator. Proverbs 8, verse 22 to 31. Now here is God's glory speaking. Proverbs 8, 22. The Lord, that
is Jehovah. Remember, any time you see capital
L-O-R-D, Jehovah. Father, Son, Spirit. The Lord
possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His works
of old. I was set up from everlasting,
from the beginning, wherever the earth was. When there were
no depths, I was brought forth. When there were no fountains
abounding with water, before the mountains were settled, before
the hills was I brought forth. While as yet He had not made
the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust
of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I was there. When
He set a compass upon the face of the depth, when He established
the clouds above, when He strengthened the fountains of the deep, when
He gave to the sea His decree that the waters should not pass
His commandment, when He appointed the foundations of the world,
then I was by Him as one brought up with Him. And I was daily
His delight, rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in the
habitable part of His earth. And my delights were with the
sons of men." So I know this, God's glory, His blessed Son,
the One in whom God Almighty has been pleased to manifest
Himself to men. He never had a beginning. He
did become incarnate in time. That started. I know that started,
but He's always been. Isn't that amazing? Here's the second thing I know.
God has been pleased to reveal His glory, the radiance of Himself
to His people. God's glory has always been,
and God has been pleased to reveal that glory. to Himself. The Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us. And listen to this, John
says, and we beheld His glory. The glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth. We saw Him and knew
who He was. by the revelation of God's Spirit,
we recognized Him. We beheld Him. Here the Spirit
of God reveals the heart of Almighty God to show graciousness and
mercy to His people. God was made flesh and humbled
Himself. Made Himself in the likeness
of sinful flesh, yet without sin. Philippians 2.8, being found
in passion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross, that God's glory, the
Lord Jesus Christ Himself, might redeem His people from the curse
of the law. He was made flesh that He Himself
might assume that nature. That nature that we possess right
here, He had flesh just like this. But it was without sin. It had all the characteristics
of this flesh, yet He knew no sin. That's why He could age. That's why He hungered. That's
why he thirsted. That's why he tired. A body hath thou prepared me. And he had everything that we
have. In all points, he was tempted
like we are, yet without sin. He knew no sin. Amazing body. God Himself was pleased to reveal
His glory to His people and the way that He revealed His glory
to His people is that He sent His Son made in the likeness
of His people's flesh, their nature. And John said we beheld
His glory. We observed the glory of God. We observed the glory of God
to show mercy compassion and graciousness in His dear Son. And we observe that He, that
is, God Himself, was full of grace and truth. The same One
that wrote the Gospel of John. Turn to 1 John 1. 1 John 1. Here the blessed Apostle sets forth. 1 John 1, 1-3, that
which was from the beginning. Now not eternity. Eternity had no beginning. But
from the creation and the manifestation of God's glory to man. That which
was from the beginning, which we've heard. Now my point was
this, that God has been pleased to manifest His glory. That which
was from the beginning which we've heard, which we've seen
with our eyes, which we've looked upon, our hands have handled
of the Word of life. For the life, God's life, true
life, that life that was with Him everlastingly, that life
that was ever before Him, that life Himself was manifested. And we've seen it and bear witness
and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father
and was manifested unto us. That which we've seen and heard
declare we unto you that ye also may have fellowship with us.
And truly, our fellowship is with the Father and with His
Son, Jesus Christ. It is the good pleasure of Almighty
God Moses said, Lord, show me Your glory. The Lord Jesus Christ told some
that disputed with Him concerning
Moses. He said, Moses spoke of Me. Moses saw Him by faith. We see Him by faith. It is the
glory of Almighty God to manifest Himself to His people in the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then thirdly, it is the Lord's
pleasure, Christ Himself, who is the glory
of God, to have His people not only with Him eternally, but
to have them actually be partakers of His glory. Now we know that we're going
to be with Him. We know that. All that the Father has given
the Son shall come to the Son. And He
that comes to the Son, the Son is not going to cast out. Listen
to the words of our Lord concerning our being with Him in eternity. John 17, 24, I will that they
also whom Thou hast given Me be with Me where I am, that they
may behold My glory. That is the end of His manifestation
of God's purpose, that they may behold My glory which Thou hast
given Me before the foundation of the world. Now we know we'll be with Him.
We know we will. While we're traveling through
this veil of tears, we see through a glass darkly. And we know in
part, prophesy in part, the Spirit of God has been pleased to not
give unto us the fullness of Himself as He did to Christ.
We know in part. But I'll tell you the part that
we do know. We know that we're going to be with Him. Father,
I will that those that You've given me be with me where I am. I can't even imagine that. I
know I can't. Scripture tells me I can't. Eyes
not seen, ears not heard, it's never entered into our heart. We try to imagine. We can't.
neither hath entered into the heart of man that which God has
prepared for those that love Him." I know we're going to be
with Him. But I also know this. Not only will we be with Him,
the Scripture says forth that we're going to sit with Him on
His throne. That throne that belongs to Christ
as the God-man mediator. Now you stop and think. No man
would ever be so foolish as to make a statement like this if
the Lord Jesus Christ hadn't said it Himself. No one would
ever presume to be able to sit with Him But you listen to this,
Revelation 3.21, "...to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in
My throne, even as I also overcame and am set down..." Set down. "...with My Father in His throne."
The fellowship and the communion which begins on earth in regeneration is going to continue into heaven
and perfection and glorification. We are one with Him right now,
united with Him, His body, bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh.
Still, I know that. I read that. I believe that. We are His body. I know that. But how little do I know of that? But I know this, when the body
of this death has been put off, and we see Him as He is, We're
going to know Him. And we're going to be like Him
eternally, seated with Him on His throne. It is the pleasure
of Almighty God to reveal His glory. Lord, show me Your glory. Boy, what a big request. Show me Your glory. By the grace
and power of God, His people see it in time. They see it. I do know they do see it through
a glass darkly. But you see it. You see Him by
faith right now. And you know that by the grace
of God, God has shown mercy and compassion to you. That's the
glory of God to show you His compassion in His blessed Son. And His people in eternity is going to see Him
and sit with Him, seated on my throne. Father, I will that those
that You've given me be with me where I am. that they may
behold My glory." I realize this after having made a few statements
on the glory of God. My thoughts are, Lord, I believe. Lord, help my unbelief. Lord,
the indescribable glory of God Almighty is set forth in this
thought that you've been pleased to reveal yourself. Lord, reveal
Yourself to me. Lord, teach me. Lord, may I grow
in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. Amen.