Excellent song. Let's go back
to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. This morning, 2 Corinthians chapter
4, I'm going to focus in on the 6th verse. 2 Corinthians 4, 6,
for God who commanded the light to shine, Out of darkness hath
shined in our hearts to give the lot of the knowledge of the,
here's a magnificent statement, the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. Our subject is seeing God's glory. Seeing God's glory. How would you define this expression,
the glory of God. I'm telling you, just that subject
is way, way over our heads and over our comprehension. When
you start talking about the glory of God, because the glory of
God is really His person. It is everything that makes our
God to be God. So it's all of His attributes.
It's all of His characteristics. This is everything that our God
is. That's His glory. His majesty. His magnificence. Everything about Him. All put
together. Bundled together, as it were. That's His glory. It's who He
is. Romans 3.23, most of you know
this verse, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God. We come way short of that which
our God is. In all of His perfections, in
all of His characteristics, we come way short of that. Nobody is like God. In fact,
our Lord even says in the book of Isaiah, to whom will you compare
me? Who are you going to sit alongside
of me and say, now, this is like God? God says, there's nobody
that compares with me. The heathens have their gods.
They had mouths, but they didn't speak. They had ears, but they
didn't hear. They had hands, but they didn't
handle. They had feet, but they didn't
walk. And the heathen worshiped those
gods. And when the heathen relocated,
when they decided to go move houses, move into another house,
they just put their gods up on their shoulders and carried them
wherever they was going. And the heathen said to David,
now we know where our gods are. They're right in the last place
we put them. Where is your God? Where is your
God, David? He said, our God's in the heavens.
And he's done whatsoever he has pleased. Where can I see God's
great glory? Where can I see that glory? Well,
number one, in creation, you don't see all of his glory there,
but you see a lot of the glory of God in creation. Psalm 19,
one says, the heavens declare the glory of God. In the firmament,
his handiworks. In Romans one, it says, all men
are without excuse because the creation of God shows forth his
wisdom, his might, His goodness? So all men are without excuse
as to not following and believing God because He has left abundant
witnesses in the heavens above. When you look up in the sky,
you should be asking yourself, who made all of this? By whose
wisdom did these things come into being? Who so ordained all
things that men can, they can tell years in advance before
something's going to happen, before there'll be an eclipse,
a lunar eclipse or a solar eclipse. Men can know that years and years
in advance. Such as the precision that God
has ordained and put in the heavens. That shows us the greatness of
God. It shows us some of His glory. And then we see some of
the glory of God in Providence. He who ordained all things is
directing all things to the end that He Himself has established.
Romans 11 says, For of Him, through Him, and to Him are all things,
to whom be glory. Forever. Amen. All things happen according to
His will. There's no such thing as fate.
There's no such thing as luck, either bad luck or good luck.
Well, then Jim, what do you attribute all things to? God. In the perfection
of His being, in His majesty, in His greatness, He's our God. He governs all things. Everything
that He has purposed, which is everything, He purposed everything
before He ever made the world, He'll bring all things to its
intended purpose. In the end, whenever the end
comes, and I don't know when that'll come, but it will come. And when the end comes, it will
be found that everything God ordained has come to pass just
exactly like he purposed. That's our God. So creation shows
some of the glory of God as does providence. And in the scriptures,
we see the glory of God. Get acquainted with the word
of God. For in this book, God has revealed himself. He has
not remained silent. You see, a silent God is an unknowable
God. Unless God has spoken, unless
God has given us his own word, we won't know anything about
him. But throughout the word of God, God sets himself forth. Now our problem is we're not
listening. We're not paying any attention.
So Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1, the world by wisdom knew not
God. From the creation of Adam to
the coming and the sacrificial death of our Lord Jesus Christ,
some 4,000 years passed. And still the world by wisdom
did not know God. And then God came down here.
And He veiled His glory. He veiled His deity with human
flesh. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in our flesh. God came down. And that man, Christ Jesus, he
had all the perfections of God. He was himself the Son of God. He had all the characteristics
of God as set forth in this book. And yet he veiled that glory. He veiled it so that only on
rare occasions did he permit that glory to be manifested. Think of the Mount of Transfiguration. Our Lord took Peter, James, and
John up on that mountain, and they were up there visiting with
him and talking with him, and all of a sudden, he revealed
some of his glory. And that glory was blinding to
them. The scripture says His countenance,
His radiance, was brighter than the noonday sun. That was the
glory of God in Christ Jesus shining forth. You see, He had
to be God to save us. He had to be God to know all
of the demands of God and the requirements of divine justice.
But He had to be a man to suffer, bleed, and die. So God came down. And he hid for the most part
his glory. And then that glorious one was
nailed to the tree, and by his death he saved his people from
their sins. Look in the book of God, he describes
himself. One of Job's friends said to
Job, Canst thou by searching find out God? He says, what canst thou know?
He said, it's deeper than hell. What do you know? The measure
is longer than the earth. What do you know, Job? It's broader than the sea. That's
Job 11, seven through verse nine. These things, these things show
forth The mightiness of God and the majesty of God. So where can I see the glory
of God? Well, I see the glory of God
in creation. I see the glory of God in providence.
I see the glory of God in scripture. Whatsoever the Lord pleased there
did he, in heaven, earth, and in all deep places. That's part
of his glory. And those who would hold God
checkmate by man's will, they're robbing God of His glory. Your will cannot manipulate nor
frustrate the eternal purpose of God. You're filled with arrogance,
you're filled with unbelief if you think your will can frustrate,
can alter what God Almighty has purposed. Who are you? What are
you? What am I that our puny little
will could move God about? If you think that, you don't
have any idea who God is. He rules in the sky. He rules
in the heavens. Nebuchadnezzar says he does his
will among the armies of heaven. That's a heathen king talking
after God dealt with him. He said he rules in the armies
of heaven. All the angels, all the angels
of light, he controls them and all the angels of darkness as
well. You surely don't think that Satan has free range to
do anything he wants to do. He doesn't have free range. He's
more powerful than we are, but he had to get permission from
God before he could smite Job. Know this, learn this, write
this down. May God write it in your mind
and write it in your heart. God's the first cause of all
things, whether we understand that or not. Where can I see the glory of
God? In creation, in providence, in
scripture. I tell you somewhere else you
can see the glory of God, in salvation. You read in Ephesians chapter
one, the work of the Father in salvation, in choosing a people
unto salvation. You know what it says? Unto the
praise of the glory of His grace. You read also in Ephesians chapter
one of the work of the Son of God in redeeming us by His precious
blood. You read of His sacrifice, which
resulted in the forgiveness of our sins. None other could save
us but Christ Jesus. That's the reason I ask these
men for a baptism and everybody for a baptism is all you hope
in Christ. Now if you're leaning on a spider
web of your own works, that's not gonna hold you up. We build
on the rock, Christ Jesus. It's by His bloody death that
sinners are saved and God's justice is satisfied. Christ died for us. That's what
she just sang. I saw one hanging on a tree in
agony and blood. And the reason he died in agony
and in his own blood is because he bore our sins in his own body
on the tree. And that redemption that Christ
accomplished is said to be to the praise of the glory of His
grace. And then in that first chapter
of Ephesians, Paul talks about the work of the Spirit in sealing.
It's the Spirit of God who causes us to be born again. You don't
believe and then get born again. That's man-made, that's man-made
doctrine. The Bible doctrine, what the
Word of God says, is that faith, faith is a gift of God. It results
from being born again by the very power of the Holy Spirit.
You see, if you have received, if you have believed on the Lord
Jesus Christ for the salvation of your soul, That belief is
in no way owing to anything in you, it's owing to the praise
of the glory of God's grace. Salvation of the Lord, you see. Now there's several ways in the
Old Testament that God spoke to people and revealed his glory. He spoke sometimes, verbally
to people, revealing himself. Sometimes he spoke by vision,
sometimes he spoke by dreams, sometimes by miracles, sometimes
in his very presence. These days he speaks to us in
Christ Jesus, through Christ Jesus. Hebrews chapter one says
that. When The Lord instructed Israel
to make the tabernacle, gave instructions to Moses, gave all
the blueprints to Moses to build the tabernacle. And when that
tabernacle was finished, you know what the scripture says?
The glory of God filled that place. And nobody could go in. It was like a massive, massive
cloud. It hovered over the tabernacle. The priests couldn't go in. Aaron,
the appointed high priest, couldn't go in. Moses couldn't go in. There was a brightness about
the tabernacle that was the brightness of the glory of God. And later, when Solomon built
the temple, And that brazen altar that he
built, it was the full width of the temple. And they offered
thousands of sacrifices upon it. And before they could even
go in, the glory of God filled that place. The priest couldn't go in. The
high priest couldn't go in. Solomon couldn't go in. The glory
of God filled that place. And you see the tabernacle and
the temple were pictures of our Lord Jesus Christ. Where are
you gonna find the glory of God? In the Son of God. That's where
you'll find it. In Christ himself. And that's what our text says. in the life that God gives us,
spiritual enlightenment. He gives us a knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And the third chapter of 2 Corinthians,
the apostle deals with the glory of the previous era, that is
the Old Testament, especially the giving of the law. And he was glorious because the
glory of God abode on Mount Sinai. Look, turn back to chapter 3.
For me, it's a page back. Look at chapter 3, verse 6 of
2 Corinthians. God also hath made us able ministers
of the New Testament. There's the Old Testament, and
there's the New Testament. The Old Testament, God gave a
covenant of works. In the New Testament, God gives
us the new covenant, the covenant of grace that is all in Christ. So he says, God has made us able
ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter, but of the
spirit. For the letter killeth, that's
the law of God. The letter killeth, but the spirit
giveth life. Look at verse seven. But if the
ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious,
And you've read about when God gave the Ten Commandments. God made tablets of stone, and
he wrote with his own finger on those tablets of stone. It
was engraved. By the way, you remember Moses
threw those down and broke them. You know, the second time those
tablets were made, Moses made them. And then God wrote on that. You see, man broke God's law,
another man's gotta keep God's law. That's the God man. That's why Moses, he took care
of finishing those two tablets of stone. But he says, if the ministration
of death, and that's what the law is, if you believe, Hear
me please. If you believe that there's something
you've got to do to impress God or do with God, some obedience
you've got to render, some work you've got to do, if you believe
that salvation is to any degree dependent upon you, you're involved
in a ministration of death. because the law of God doesn't
require you to do the best you can do. And I've had people say
to me, preacher, I'm living the best I can. I'm trying to keep
the 10 commandments. Listen, the 10 commandments weren't
given to you as a moral code to live by. Read Romans chapter
three. The law was given to show us
our guilt. The legality of the law was given
to show us our sinfulness, and then the ceremonial part of the
law was given to show us the remedy for our guilt. Because
those sacrifices that were appointed revealed to us the Lord Jesus
Christ. I'll keep reading. Notice again verse 7, but if
the ministration of death written and engraven in stones was glorious,
and it was, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly
even behold the face of Moses. They couldn't behold the face
of God, and they couldn't even behold the face of Moses when
he went into the presence of God for the glory of his countenance,
which glory was to be done away. How shall not the ministration
of the Spirit, the gospel of grace, the gospel of Christ Jesus,
be rather or more glorious? Verse nine, for if the ministration
of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of
righteousness exceed glory. You see, our Lord Jesus came
down, and by his obedience unto God, he established righteousness
for all of his people, and he put our sins away. And that's
why Paul says in the 18th verse, because I don't have time to
go through all of these verses, but he says in verse 18, but
we all, all who believe the gospel, with open face beholding as in
a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image
from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. We
have seen that which is more glorious than the law of God. By faith we have looked to the
Lord Jesus Christ. And as it says here in our text,
the very glory of God is seen in his face because he is the
glory of God. He exceeds anything else. Do you remember In Exodus chapter
33, Moses said, Lord, show me thy glory. God said, I'll make
all my goodness pass before thee. I will proclaim the name of the
Lord before thee. What is the name of the Lord?
Jehovah who saves. That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
And will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show
mercy on whom I will show mercy. and I'll pass by thee. Would you, this morning, would
you see the glory of God? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Believing, you'll see it. I preach several times, go back
to the Gospel of John. I brought several messages from
the Gospel of John, John chapter 11, John chapter 11. In the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ, we see the glory of God. Do you remember what the Savior
said to his disciples when he received word that Lazarus was
sick? That's verse 4, John 11, 4. When Jesus heard that, when he
heard that Lazarus was sick, though he didn't need to hear
it, he knew it, because he's God. He said, this sickness is
not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might
be glorified thereby. This is for the glory. You're gonna see the glory of
God in this. And then when they get to the
tomb, Lazarus has died and our Lord Jesus gets to the tomb and
he says in verse 39, verse 39, they're at the tomb, there's
Mary and Martha and the Lord Jesus and the other witnesses
to this. Jesus said, take ye away the
stone. Martha, the sister of him that
was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh, for
he has been dead four days. Listen to the Savior's answer. Jesus saith unto her, saith I
not unto thee, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the
glory of God. You see, seeing is not believing. Believing results in seeing.
Faith, faith. The Lord Jesus said, didn't I
say to you, if you'd believe me, you'll see the glory of God? Moses said, show me thy glory. God caused his goodness to pass
in front of him. The glory of God's seen in Christ
and in his work of redemption. Turn over a page to John chapter
12. And I'm going to say a couple
of things, and then I'm going to get you to look at a verse
here with me. But you remember back in Isaiah
chapter 6, in the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah said, I saw
also the Lord high and lifted up, sitting on his throne, his
glory filled the temple. He said, above the throne stood
the seraphims. They cried one to another. Holy,
holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah who
saves. The whole earth is full of his
glory. Then Isaiah said, woe is me,
for I am undone, for I am a man of unclean lips. I dwell in the
midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen
the king, the Lord of hosts. Now look here in John chapter
12, look at verse 37. John 12, 37. But though Jesus had done so
many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him, that
the saying of Isaias, or Isaiah the prophet, might be fulfilled,
which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? And to whom
hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could
not believe because that Isaiah said again, he had blinded their
eyes and hardened their heart. That they should not see with
their eyes nor understand with their heart and be converted
and I should heal them. These things said Isaiah when
he, what? When he saw his glory and spake
of him. When did Isaiah see his glory?
In Isaiah chapter six. When he saw the Lord high and
lifted up, who did he see? He saw the Son of God. Because
all of God that can ever be seen is the Son of God. When you see
the Son, you see the Father, you see the Son, and you see
the Holy Spirit. And Isaiah saw Him high and lifted
up. He saw Him seated on His throne.
Hear me, he's not leaning over the banisters of heaven crying
because you won't let him have his way. He's seated on his throne. He doesn't need you and he doesn't
need me. Maybe he'll show us mercy. Maybe
he'll be gracious to us, but he doesn't owe it to anybody.
It's high time somebody started declaring that God is God. God is sovereign in all of His
actions. And His glory is always His chief
motive. And ought to be our chief motive,
too, for all that we do. You remember Stephen? I don't
have time to go there. Stephen, in Acts chapter 7, they
started stoning him to death. Boy, he preached a powerful sermon. and they start stoning him. The scripture says that he, being
full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven. You know where he saw? The glory
of God. And he saw the glory of God in
Jesus, who was seated at the right hand of God. He looked up and saw the glory
of God. You remember Saul of Tarsus,
he's on his way to Damascus, and a bright light interrupted
his designs to imprison and then probably put to death anybody
who believed in that way, that way of grace, that way of salvation
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Later, he was talking about this
before the king, And he says in Acts 22 11, when I could not
see for the glory of the light. What was that glory? No, not
what, who was that glory? That's the question. That was
our Lord Jesus Christ. The glory of God is seen in the
face of the Son of God. Have you seen his glory? That's the question to ask now.
Have you seen his glory? Well, I'll tell you what's necessary
for you to see his glory. You've got to open your eyes.
He's got to give you spiritual eyesight. Say, preacher, I think you really
believe what you're preaching. You got that right. I really
do. I think you've seen something of the glory of God in the face
of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have. And I'm seeing more every
day. But preacher, I just don't see
it like you see it. That's because you're blind.
And my prayer is that God give you sight. My prayer is God give you faith. If God gives you faith to look
to Christ Jesus, remember he said in Isaiah, look unto me
and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth, for I am God, there's
none else. Look unto me. And if you look
unto him, look unto Christ Jesus, you'll see he is the glory of
God. Set forth in a man. The savior
of sinners. All right, Joe's gonna come lead
us in a song. And as he's making his way up
here, Don, who's already a member of our church, but Austin isn't,
and I wonder if I could have a motion from the floor that
we receive Austin Patel into the membership of our church.
All right. Brother, these two brethren are
here. Motion one. and then motion second. All in
favor of having these two men, actually, I'll include you in
this too, Don. Having them in our membership,
say aye. Aye. Nobody's against it, are
you? We're always delighted to have
somebody. And we're gonna sing just the last verse of this song,
385. I'm gonna ask Austin, you and Don, come down
here. Would you all give them the right hand of fellowship?
That's the way they did back in the book of Acts, and that's
what we're gonna do this morning, to welcome these two men and
express thanksgiving for that which God has revealed to their
hearts. They've seen the glory of God
in the face of Christ Jesus. Okay, let's see, just the last
stand, let's stand and sing. Don, you and Austin. Make the world a living Jesus,
in His cross my cross shall be. filled with clearer, brighter
vision, face to face, my Lord, I see. Oh, the height and depth
of mercy! Oh, the wing and breath of love! You