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Scene One

"…glorify thou me with thine own self…" (John 17:5).

No man can rightly define glory, any more than he can define God. Glory is the fullness of God, and that is a subject too high for our finite minds. Yet, we do know in part.

When God gives His glory, He gives Himself. He cannot parcel Himself out in pieces — no man receives a portion, but all. The one who receives His love also gets His mercy, His holiness, and His strength. The one who receives His mercy also gets His love and all else that is the fullness of God.

The day of the fury of the Lord has not yet come, but it is fast approaching. The burning up of this earth and the passing away of the heavens, so clearly predicted in the Bible, are continually drawing nearer.

God has been warning mankind for centuries that the whole of universal nature will be turned into a heap of ruins. A mighty cosmic conflagration will cause the framework of creation to explode into fragments.

The apostle Paul wrote, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:16).

"Children of God." We often use this phrase to describe ourselves as believers. But I believe we use these words too flippantly, with little understanding of the power and depth of their true meaning.

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24, my emphasis). Jesus prayed this for his disciples, and that includes us. He asked the Father that we may see his glory, meaning to know him.

The Bible we read is a book of hope. The hope it gives us is not moderate, average or normal. It doesn’t inspire us toward the status quo, to merely survive and get by. The hope of God’s Word is expressed in powerful promises that lead to unimaginable results from God’s own hand. That hope leads us to destinations far beyond our wildest expectations.

 In Scripture, the word tabernacle speaks of a place where God resides. It is his home on earth where his glorious presence dwells. Through the centuries, God visited his people and made his presence known to them, but he didn’t have a tabernacle where his presence could dwell on the earth.

Noah heard God’s voice, but the Lord didn’t dwell daily with him. Abraham spent his days looking for the city whose builder and maker is God. Jacob was visited by God, but only on occasion. He didn’t know God’s presence dwelling in his midst daily.

The Bible says that when Jesus was baptized at the Jordan River, “the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the spirit of god descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: and lo a voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17).

We all have a high calling from the Lord. And at various stages of our lives, he has set before us a preordained plan we are to fulfill. Moreover, God promises that if we act in faith, trusting him, he will bring that plan to fulfillment.

Yet this isn't always easy. As everyone who has walked with Jesus for any length of time knows, following his high calling means we're going to meet obstacles. And one of the most common obstacles is the skeptic's voice. As we seek to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land, we'll hear every kind of voice telling us not to go.

I am convinced the Lord is trying to break through to his people as never before.

As Scripture predicts, the devil has come down with great wrath, knowing his time is short. And right now God’s people need a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit, a supernatural touch even greater than the one at Pentecost.