The Glorious People of God (Romans 9:1-5)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.440 --> 00:00:04.040 Please remain standing, if you're able, and let's give our attention to God's 2 00:00:04.040 --> 00:00:23.339 word in Romans nine, versus one through five, page nine hundred forty five 3 00:00:24.420 --> 00:00:34.299 in the black bibles, Romans nine, verses one through five. I am 4 00:00:34.380 --> 00:00:38.929 speaking the truth in Christ. I am not lying. My conscience bears me 5 00:00:39.009 --> 00:00:44.850 witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my 6 00:00:45.049 --> 00:00:49.130 heart, for I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from 7 00:00:49.130 --> 00:00:53.039 Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen. According to the flesh, 8 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:58.920 they are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, 9 00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:03.600 the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship and the promises. 10 00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:07.430 To Them Belong the Patriarchs, and from their race, according to the Flesh, 11 00:01:08.189 --> 00:01:15.390 is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen, 12 00:01:15.989 --> 00:01:32.780 you may be seated. To remind you again of what we are doing 13 00:01:33.049 --> 00:01:38.489 here in these first verses of Romans nine is to take some time going through 14 00:01:38.569 --> 00:01:45.409 verse four and looking at these individual gifts that God gave to the Israelites. 15 00:01:46.209 --> 00:01:49.400 Paul lists them here for us. He says, to them belong the adoption, 16 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:55.680 the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship 17 00:01:55.719 --> 00:02:00.079 and the promises, and then in Verse Five of the Patriarchs. Last week 18 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:05.430 we covered the first of these, of the adoption, and today we consider 19 00:02:06.069 --> 00:02:10.189 the glory. Remember what Paul is doing here, remember what he's saying from 20 00:02:10.270 --> 00:02:15.629 his heart, deep within his heart. He's sang to the Jews and to 21 00:02:15.780 --> 00:02:22.620 the gentiles. I love my people, these are my brothers, the Jews, 22 00:02:22.900 --> 00:02:27.180 the Israelites, there my brothers, and I love them and God loves 23 00:02:27.259 --> 00:02:31.210 them. As he says in verse six, the next verse that I didn't 24 00:02:31.250 --> 00:02:38.849 read yet, the word of God has not failed, in God bringing the 25 00:02:38.969 --> 00:02:44.840 Christ in giving him to the world, in opening up salvation for people like 26 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:46.919 me and most, if not all, of you, I don't know. 27 00:02:47.800 --> 00:02:54.240 But to the gentile world, God has done something amazing and, as he'll 28 00:02:54.280 --> 00:02:59.710 go on to say in Romans Ten and eleven, this is done because, 29 00:03:00.030 --> 00:03:06.270 partly the Jews rejected God, all part of his sovereign plan. More on 30 00:03:06.430 --> 00:03:12.189 that later in the coming months, but for now Paul wants to impress upon 31 00:03:12.310 --> 00:03:17.860 our hearts that God has given very particular and special gifts to this people, 32 00:03:19.900 --> 00:03:23.419 to the Jewish people. But these gifts did not just stay with them, 33 00:03:23.460 --> 00:03:30.969 they became to us as well, and the one we're discussing today, the 34 00:03:30.090 --> 00:03:36.330 one that God wants us to understand today, is the second here the glory. 35 00:03:38.009 --> 00:03:42.919 Israel was given something special, not just the adoption, as we covered 36 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:49.639 last week, but the glory. But what is that? What is the 37 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:54.400 glory that God gave to Israel and what does it mean for us today? 38 00:03:57.150 --> 00:04:00.750 We don't use the word glory very much. Sometimes we might use it in 39 00:04:00.909 --> 00:04:06.750 kind of a pretend way when we're acting. I can't think of the right 40 00:04:06.789 --> 00:04:10.900 word, but when we when we say, Oh, it was glorious, 41 00:04:11.379 --> 00:04:13.979 we sort of like that. We might say it was divine, it was 42 00:04:14.099 --> 00:04:17.300 wonderful, it's it's one of the adjectives we use to describe something that is 43 00:04:18.860 --> 00:04:25.970 really amazing, maybe really beautiful or even spectacular. But aside from that, 44 00:04:26.170 --> 00:04:30.569 I can't think of many times when I hear people using the word glory today, 45 00:04:31.649 --> 00:04:38.009 except maybe in scriptural senses or when speaking about the Bible. But here 46 00:04:38.129 --> 00:04:41.360 it's thought of as a very special gift that God gives to his people. 47 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:45.279 Well, what is it? Well to answer that, I'm going to do 48 00:04:45.399 --> 00:04:48.519 this in three parts. We'll talk about the glory that God gave, then, 49 00:04:48.639 --> 00:04:53.709 secondly, the glory that Israel lost and then finally, the glory that 50 00:04:53.829 --> 00:04:59.350 God regives. So first the glory that God gave, and this answers the 51 00:04:59.589 --> 00:05:03.069 question most directly. What is the glory? What did God give Israel? 52 00:05:04.350 --> 00:05:11.379 Well, the first answer to this question is God. The glory that God 53 00:05:11.579 --> 00:05:18.339 gave Israel was himself. There is nothing more glorious than God himself. There 54 00:05:18.420 --> 00:05:25.769 is no glory that is found apart from God. Listen to the ways he 55 00:05:25.810 --> 00:05:30.529 has described the names that God has given in scripture. For example, in 56 00:05:30.610 --> 00:05:33.129 Psalm Twenty four, eight, nine and ten, he is called the King 57 00:05:33.329 --> 00:05:40.120 of glory. In Psalm Twenty Ninety three, the God of glory. In 58 00:05:40.279 --> 00:05:46.000 acts seven to p Stephen says as in his speech right before he's martyred, 59 00:05:46.040 --> 00:05:51.790 he says that the God of glory appeared to Abraham. And then in also, 60 00:05:51.910 --> 00:05:56.670 we might add, for Samuel Twenty nine, where he is called the 61 00:05:56.870 --> 00:06:01.829 glory of Israel. That's particularly telling, isn't it? Where is Israel's glory? 62 00:06:01.949 --> 00:06:06.100 What is the glory that they received? Well, first, Samuel Twenty 63 00:06:06.100 --> 00:06:12.100 nine says that the glory of Israel is God himself. That's a title that 64 00:06:12.220 --> 00:06:17.100 God is given. And they also remember his special name, His divine and 65 00:06:17.259 --> 00:06:21.930 Covenantal name, Yahway or Jehovah, that he gives to his people, seen 66 00:06:23.009 --> 00:06:27.410 in your English bibles, in those small capital letters, as Lord, he 67 00:06:27.529 --> 00:06:31.529 says Yah Way, this is my name. And in Deuter yes, Deuteronomy 68 00:06:31.610 --> 00:06:38.560 Twenty eight, we read that his name is Glorious and awesome. This name 69 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:42.600 that God gives to us is Glorious and awesome. And throughout the pages of 70 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:49.750 scripture we read of him protecting his name, holding up his reputation, doing 71 00:06:49.949 --> 00:06:57.230 things because of the glory of his name. Not Just God, but Yah 72 00:06:57.350 --> 00:07:01.259 Way, God as he comes to his people, God as he approaches his 73 00:07:01.379 --> 00:07:06.620 people, as he protects them. So what is the glory of Israel? 74 00:07:06.660 --> 00:07:13.819 Will is, first and foremost God. Glory might be thought of his sort 75 00:07:13.860 --> 00:07:20.329 of the Sum Excellency of all of his attributes together. If you think about 76 00:07:20.329 --> 00:07:25.209 a king, how is a king, an earthly king, glorious? You 77 00:07:25.250 --> 00:07:30.279 might point to a golden chariot or the number of soldiers on the streets, 78 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:35.360 or the amount of lands that he has or how many people are subject to 79 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:40.319 him. In all of these things he is seen as glorious, perhaps even 80 00:07:40.360 --> 00:07:44.629 in his character you might say he is. He is noble, excellent, 81 00:07:45.269 --> 00:07:50.709 magnificent. This is how we describe a king. He is wady in this 82 00:07:50.870 --> 00:07:57.870 way, glorious, and it's similar with God, except to an infinite degree. 83 00:07:59.139 --> 00:08:05.139 Remember that the attributes are of God are infinite. Glory is predicated of 84 00:08:05.259 --> 00:08:09.779 God not because it's a part of who he is, as though it's sort 85 00:08:09.779 --> 00:08:15.129 of a piece of who he is. It is because the essence of God 86 00:08:15.529 --> 00:08:22.970 is glorious. God is glory. And lest you think that this glory is 87 00:08:22.009 --> 00:08:26.279 quantifiable, like we might with a human king, remember that in all his 88 00:08:26.439 --> 00:08:33.799 perfections, God is infinite. His glory cannot be measured in the weight of 89 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:39.440 gold, in the number of marchers in a parade. In fact, if 90 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:46.669 you consider the places where God's glory is manifested, take one and even there 91 00:08:46.830 --> 00:08:54.629 you will find an inability to really quantify it. Consider the stars in the 92 00:08:54.629 --> 00:09:00.539 sky, for example, which are described as the glory of God. The 93 00:09:00.860 --> 00:09:07.899 skies above proclaim the glory of God's Handiwork these psalms say. Can you quantify 94 00:09:07.259 --> 00:09:13.769 the glory of the night sky? Indeed, if the whole sky is dark 95 00:09:13.850 --> 00:09:18.889 except for one star, you would call it glorious. Wouldn't you to see 96 00:09:20.009 --> 00:09:24.480 this point of light coming from so far away and yet visible to your eye? 97 00:09:24.759 --> 00:09:31.879 Glorious? But then to see the night sky a raid in an uncountable 98 00:09:31.960 --> 00:09:41.309 number of stars, glorious. And this is just one aspect, one place 99 00:09:41.509 --> 00:09:46.870 where God has revealed this glory to us, and this is true anywhere God 100 00:09:46.029 --> 00:09:52.149 reveals his glory. Now, all this is important to say because it leads 101 00:09:52.190 --> 00:09:56.820 us to worship. When we consider the glory that God gave Israel in His 102 00:09:56.220 --> 00:10:03.139 giving of himself and then in revealing that glory in various places, we see 103 00:10:03.259 --> 00:10:07.730 that we are called to worship him. We don't just think about God right, 104 00:10:09.490 --> 00:10:11.929 we don't just contemplate God, we don't just work out God as we 105 00:10:11.970 --> 00:10:20.210 might work out a proof. We worship God because of his glory, because 106 00:10:20.250 --> 00:10:28.639 he is glory. If something is glorious and magnificent, it is because it 107 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:31.399 shows this attribute of God to us. It reminds us of these things. 108 00:10:33.639 --> 00:10:37.070 Now, I realize that you might reply to this. If God is all 109 00:10:37.190 --> 00:10:43.950 glorious and infinitely so, how is this particularly special to Israel? Indeed, 110 00:10:43.990 --> 00:10:48.710 anybody can look up at the stars and see the glory of God, can 111 00:10:48.789 --> 00:10:52.500 they not? Paul himself says in the beginnings, in the beginning chapters of 112 00:10:52.580 --> 00:10:58.100 Romans, that the glory of God is revealed to all people. And in 113 00:10:58.259 --> 00:11:03.690 fact he says that though they know God, in Verse Twenty One of Chapter 114 00:11:03.809 --> 00:11:09.289 One, men and women did not honor him as God or give thanks to 115 00:11:09.370 --> 00:11:13.929 him, but they became feutile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened, 116 00:11:15.490 --> 00:11:20.080 claiming to what be wise. They became fools claiming and exchange. This 117 00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:24.519 is what they did, Paul says. They exchange the glory of the Immortal 118 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:33.909 God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. This 119 00:11:33.149 --> 00:11:37.710 is what humans do, Paul says. They Know Glory. We all know 120 00:11:37.870 --> 00:11:43.309 glory, and you see it for the way. They are constantly exchanging the 121 00:11:43.470 --> 00:11:50.500 glory of God for Stupid Idols, idols that can't do anything good or bad. 122 00:11:50.059 --> 00:11:54.820 They can't stand up by themselves except for you holding them there, idols 123 00:11:54.860 --> 00:12:01.330 that get knocked off the counter and all the rest. They know the glory 124 00:12:01.409 --> 00:12:05.049 of God. This is manifest everywhere. Well, if that's true, then 125 00:12:05.169 --> 00:12:11.769 how are we to understand Paul when he says the glory was given to Israel, 126 00:12:11.450 --> 00:12:18.840 that there was something special there. The well, the scriptures tell us 127 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:24.200 that God has revealed himself not only in his creation to all people, but 128 00:12:24.360 --> 00:12:31.269 in these particular works of Judgment and salvation for his people. He is not 129 00:12:31.429 --> 00:12:35.870 just king over the world, but he is King of Israel and for Israel, 130 00:12:37.990 --> 00:12:43.190 and this is what is meant by the glory. When Paul says that 131 00:12:43.389 --> 00:12:48.659 God gave them the glory, he means that he gave them himself, not 132 00:12:48.820 --> 00:12:56.539 only in his creative power, but in his judging and saving power. Consider, 133 00:12:56.620 --> 00:13:03.009 for example, exodus fourteen. For here I'm God is speaking of Pharaoh, 134 00:13:03.330 --> 00:13:07.649 as he is going to bring them out of Egypt, and he says 135 00:13:07.730 --> 00:13:13.559 this. I Will Harden Pharaoh's heart and he will pursue them and I will 136 00:13:13.559 --> 00:13:18.559 get glory over Pharaoh and all his hosts, and the Egyptians shall know that 137 00:13:18.679 --> 00:13:22.840 I am the Lord, that I am Yahway, that I am Jehovah. 138 00:13:22.039 --> 00:13:26.990 He says, I am going to defeat Pharaoh. Pharaoh, of course, 139 00:13:28.070 --> 00:13:31.549 thinks the opposite. Right. Pharaoh says, what can your God do? 140 00:13:33.149 --> 00:13:37.509 What can this Yah way do? My magicians can do the same things, 141 00:13:37.549 --> 00:13:43.299 he says, and they try until they stop working and accredit their power to 142 00:13:43.419 --> 00:13:50.220 God. Pharaoh stands there in his palaces with his gold as a great king, 143 00:13:50.539 --> 00:13:58.129 is an emperor of sorts over peoples and lands. Nothing will control him, 144 00:13:58.450 --> 00:14:03.169 nothing will conquer him. But God says, I will get the glory 145 00:14:05.009 --> 00:14:11.039 over Egypt. But he does it because he wants them to know that he 146 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:18.679 is God, he is Israels God, he belongs to them. And indeed 147 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:24.000 God does that. He does get the victory over Pharaoh. And then we 148 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:26.830 read an exodus, that is, he brings them out of the promised land. 149 00:14:26.990 --> 00:14:33.590 He does so in this great pillar of cloud and fire, in this 150 00:14:33.830 --> 00:14:37.470 great cloud, and next this one thousand three hundred and twenty one. We 151 00:14:37.549 --> 00:14:41.940 read that when Jehovah went before them, by day in a pillar of cloud 152 00:14:43.059 --> 00:14:46.700 to lead them along the way and by night in a pillar of fire to 153 00:14:46.740 --> 00:14:52.610 give them light that they might travel by day and by night. This pillar 154 00:14:52.690 --> 00:14:58.970 of cloud is also described as the glory of the Lord. Here in this 155 00:14:58.370 --> 00:15:05.090 dark, stormy cloud that was bright enough to light their way through a desert 156 00:15:05.090 --> 00:15:09.759 at nighttime, a very impressive thing, a cloud that was able to move 157 00:15:09.960 --> 00:15:15.840 and block off the Egyptians from chasing them, a cloud that was moving Israel 158 00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:22.350 through the wilderness. We read that this was his glory. This is God 159 00:15:22.470 --> 00:15:28.470 manifesting himself right, this is God doing these works of power and judgment and 160 00:15:28.230 --> 00:15:33.590 salvation. You remember what happens with this cloud when they get to Mount Sinai? 161 00:15:33.789 --> 00:15:41.220 It descends down upon the mountain and there is lightning and thunder and they're 162 00:15:41.500 --> 00:15:48.460 the whole Clo the whole mountain is enveloped in this smoky cloud. It's so 163 00:15:48.019 --> 00:15:56.250 scary, the glory of God is so frightening that they are afraid. The 164 00:15:56.409 --> 00:15:58.730 people of God are afraid, and rightly so. God says if you touch 165 00:15:58.850 --> 00:16:04.000 the mountain you will die. They tell Moses, you go. We were 166 00:16:04.120 --> 00:16:07.679 not going. You go for us. We need a mediator, we need 167 00:16:07.879 --> 00:16:12.919 someone to approach God on our behalf, because we're not going. We can't 168 00:16:12.960 --> 00:16:19.429 go, we would die. You know happen when Moses came down the mountain? 169 00:16:21.990 --> 00:16:32.389 He's face shone brightly with the glory of God. He was shining so 170 00:16:32.830 --> 00:16:41.299 much after spending time in this close proximity to the glory of God that they 171 00:16:41.379 --> 00:16:45.700 told him to put something over his face. He had to cover it up. 172 00:16:45.740 --> 00:16:52.409 Later God will ask to see the glory Moses blast to see the glory 173 00:16:52.490 --> 00:16:56.850 of the Lord, and God puts him in a cleft of the Rock and 174 00:16:56.009 --> 00:17:03.200 moves behind him and lets him see the backside of his glory. God's glory 175 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:07.799 is so infinite, so powerful, so majestic, then it has to be 176 00:17:08.039 --> 00:17:15.079 hidden from us. We have to be protected from it. It's shrouded in 177 00:17:15.240 --> 00:17:26.509 veils and rocks and and clouds. You remember what happened when prophets like Isaiah 178 00:17:26.230 --> 00:17:33.940 and Ezeki'll go before the glory of the Lord in the heavenly places. They 179 00:17:33.059 --> 00:17:41.779 fall on their face. They're terrified. They seek and need his forgiveness. 180 00:17:44.099 --> 00:17:48.849 Well, the glory of the Lord God manifesting himself in these ways. This 181 00:17:48.049 --> 00:17:52.849 is the glory that God gives to Israel. He's not doing this for the 182 00:17:52.930 --> 00:17:59.279 Philistines. It's not doing this for the AMMONITES, the MOABITES, the Edomites. 183 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:06.720 He's doing this for Israel. He's giving Israel his law, he's giving 184 00:18:06.920 --> 00:18:11.359 Israel freedom over their enemies. He's leading Israel through the desert to the promised 185 00:18:11.400 --> 00:18:18.349 land where temple will be built and, as Solomon Praise, the glory of 186 00:18:18.509 --> 00:18:30.859 the Lord in Great Cloud descends down upon the temple. This is the glory 187 00:18:30.019 --> 00:18:36.539 that God gave to his people. This didn't happen anywhere else in the world. 188 00:18:36.700 --> 00:18:41.180 This special rule and government of God's people in this way happen only for 189 00:18:41.299 --> 00:18:45.769 them. And, giving them his glory, he gave them his name, 190 00:18:45.650 --> 00:18:53.930 his protection, his law, their sonship. That brings us to number two. 191 00:18:56.359 --> 00:19:03.799 The amazing gift was lost. In isekiel ten we read of this rather 192 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:15.549 horrifying scene where Ezekiel is given this vision of seeing the reverse of what happens 193 00:19:15.630 --> 00:19:19.990 to the temple, with Solomon, instead of the Lord does the glory of 194 00:19:21.150 --> 00:19:27.660 the Lord descending down upon the temple in this great sign of protection and comfort 195 00:19:27.940 --> 00:19:37.180 and presence and communion. You know what Ezekiel sees? It moves up and 196 00:19:37.380 --> 00:19:48.009 the glory of God leaves. And this happens right before the exile, right 197 00:19:48.210 --> 00:19:53.519 before all of these nations that God has been walling off people, or walling 198 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:57.960 off his people from. They invade and they destroy, and you know what? 199 00:19:59.160 --> 00:20:03.079 They destroy the glory of the Temple. They take its treasures, they 200 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:07.549 take its gold, they strip its doors, they carry it all off, 201 00:20:07.990 --> 00:20:11.190 and not just the gold and not just the silver, not just the holy 202 00:20:11.349 --> 00:20:15.869 instruments, but the people. They take the people with them. Like Daniel, 203 00:20:15.950 --> 00:20:19.509 you remember, and others. They take them into exile, and you 204 00:20:19.630 --> 00:20:23.460 know what happens to the glorious land of Canaan that God led them into? 205 00:20:25.460 --> 00:20:33.259 It becomes desolate again, a place of Marauders and vines that are being neglected. 206 00:20:33.420 --> 00:20:38.690 This is not the glorious Kingdom of God anymore. And all of this 207 00:20:38.970 --> 00:20:45.970 was no accident to happen, because the glorious King, the glory of Israel, 208 00:20:45.049 --> 00:20:52.079 required a glorious people, proper worship, proper sacrifice, proper love and 209 00:20:52.160 --> 00:20:59.359 devotion. It's the Pagans who were exchanging the glory of the immortal God for 210 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:04.390 images of animals and creeping things, right, but it was Israel too. 211 00:21:06.309 --> 00:21:08.190 That's what the prophets say throughout all the Old Testament. They're saying, what 212 00:21:08.269 --> 00:21:11.950 are you doing? You have been given the glory of God and You are 213 00:21:12.029 --> 00:21:17.829 worshiping not in the temple but in the high places. You're not worshiping the 214 00:21:18.190 --> 00:21:23.420 immortal, glorious God, but creeping things and false gods and dragons and sea 215 00:21:23.579 --> 00:21:33.529 creatures and weather events. This is what Israel did, and this is why 216 00:21:33.650 --> 00:21:41.809 Paul, inspired by the Glorious Holy Spirit, condemns us all in Romans three 217 00:21:41.849 --> 00:21:47.880 hundred and twenty three, and says of Jew and gentile. All have sinned 218 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:59.480 and all have fallen shore of the glory of God. The exile that Israel 219 00:21:59.680 --> 00:22:03.990 experience, the loss of the glory, was because of their sin and it 220 00:22:04.150 --> 00:22:08.430 is a picture of the glory that we have all lost and do lose in 221 00:22:08.549 --> 00:22:15.819 Adam, when Adam was kicked out of the Glorious Garden of the heavenly place, 222 00:22:15.220 --> 00:22:21.900 or the the this kingdom, this temple of God, when he is 223 00:22:22.099 --> 00:22:27.099 barred off and refused communion and not allowed to enter and promised death and corruption 224 00:22:27.140 --> 00:22:38.569 instead of glory. But this glory that Israel lost. Number three is regiven. 225 00:22:41.849 --> 00:22:47.200 God didn't have to do that, God didn't have to give himself in 226 00:22:47.319 --> 00:22:55.240 these ways to anyone because of our sin, because of our corruption, but 227 00:22:55.359 --> 00:23:00.150 God does. God gives his glory and he gives it in an even greater 228 00:23:00.309 --> 00:23:07.430 way. Listen to John One, John One hundred and fourteen. Maybe you've 229 00:23:07.509 --> 00:23:14.420 even memorized this verse. The word became flash and dwelt among us and we 230 00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:19.059 have seen his glory, glory as of the only sign from the father full 231 00:23:19.940 --> 00:23:26.210 of grace and truth. Hebrews says that Jesus when he comes, he is 232 00:23:26.450 --> 00:23:33.329 that he is the radiance of the glory of God. He is the radiance 233 00:23:33.410 --> 00:23:40.250 of the glory of God. Second Corinthians, Second Corinthians chapter four, says 234 00:23:40.329 --> 00:23:45.480 this. It says the God of the world has blinded the minds of unbelievers 235 00:23:45.880 --> 00:23:49.319 to keep them from seeing the light of the Gospel, in the glory of 236 00:23:49.400 --> 00:23:56.069 Christ, this thing that is revealed to us, this Jesus who has come 237 00:23:56.309 --> 00:24:02.509 to reveal the glory of God. People can't see Paul says, they can't 238 00:24:02.589 --> 00:24:06.470 see it. The God of this world, Satan, has blinded their eyes 239 00:24:06.630 --> 00:24:10.539 so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel. They cannot see the 240 00:24:10.660 --> 00:24:14.019 glory of Christ, who is the image of God, or is, Hebrew 241 00:24:14.140 --> 00:24:19.019 says, the radiance of the glory of God. But he goes on to 242 00:24:19.220 --> 00:24:26.289 say that God, who previously said let light shine out of darkness when he 243 00:24:26.369 --> 00:24:32.609 created the world, has shown in our hearts to give the light of the 244 00:24:32.809 --> 00:24:36.890 knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. What does 245 00:24:36.890 --> 00:24:44.440 all this mean? This means that when God left Israel, it wasn't the 246 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:49.880 end of the story. That God would descend again to the earth, but 247 00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:55.990 this time he wouldn't come in a cloud, he would come and take on 248 00:24:56.109 --> 00:24:59.789 the form of a man, he would take on the form of a servant. 249 00:25:00.430 --> 00:25:03.789 Philippians, too, tells us that Jesus Christ did not consider them the 250 00:25:03.950 --> 00:25:10.539 glory of God, a thing to be grasped, but humbled himself, taking 251 00:25:10.619 --> 00:25:15.980 on the form of a servant, becoming like us, so that he could 252 00:25:15.980 --> 00:25:19.420 be obedient to God, so that he could save a people for himself and 253 00:25:19.539 --> 00:25:25.769 so that God could raise him to his right hand and us with him. 254 00:25:27.410 --> 00:25:33.769 God would not want his people constantly sent off into exile. What's glorious about 255 00:25:33.849 --> 00:25:38.000 that? To call a people to yourself, to say here's what I want 256 00:25:38.039 --> 00:25:41.519 you to do, they fail at you fail at it and he kicks him 257 00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:44.880 out again, over and over and over again. But that's not what he 258 00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:49.109 does, is it? God doesn't just keep redoing that again and again. 259 00:25:49.109 --> 00:25:52.910 He did it one time and he did it to teach us that our glory, 260 00:25:53.069 --> 00:25:56.390 the glory that we want, the glory that we need, the glory 261 00:25:56.430 --> 00:26:03.789 that we were made for, is not ours to achieve on our own. 262 00:26:03.819 --> 00:26:11.460 It's impossible, we cannot do it, but he, the one who can 263 00:26:11.500 --> 00:26:15.539 save in salvation and judge men, can and that's what he did. The 264 00:26:15.660 --> 00:26:21.730 son of God would not be destroyed when the sins of the world were placed 265 00:26:21.849 --> 00:26:26.329 on him, when he was separated from the glorious God, but by his 266 00:26:26.569 --> 00:26:30.769 infinite power, by his infinite worth, the King of the Jews took on 267 00:26:32.130 --> 00:26:36.680 the sins of the world and in doing so, Jesus broke the chains of 268 00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:41.039 death, he bound the evil enemy and he set us all free from our 269 00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:49.549 sins. The glory that was given to Israel was all pointing us to this. 270 00:26:52.269 --> 00:26:56.150 It was a good thing they received it, so that we would all 271 00:26:56.430 --> 00:27:02.900 know what God is doing for us in Jesus, so that we wouldn't go 272 00:27:03.220 --> 00:27:08.460 and worship idols anymore. We wouldn't go and exchange the glory of God for 273 00:27:08.700 --> 00:27:12.220 creeping things on the ground, but we would see the glory of God. 274 00:27:14.019 --> 00:27:18.569 This time, though, not in flashes of lightning and thunder bearing down on 275 00:27:18.650 --> 00:27:23.329 us, saying this you must do in order to live. We don't stand 276 00:27:23.410 --> 00:27:30.960 at Mount Sinai in Jesus Christ. Instead, the glory of God is revealed 277 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:37.039 in the Cross, where he says this I have done for you so that 278 00:27:37.160 --> 00:27:47.910 you may live for he eternally. I know I'm reading a lot of verses 279 00:27:47.990 --> 00:27:52.309 to you today, but I want you to see how important this is in 280 00:27:52.470 --> 00:27:56.150 scripture. I want you to be able to read Romans nine and read the 281 00:27:56.309 --> 00:28:03.220 glory and not draw a blank. I want you not to think abstractly about 282 00:28:03.619 --> 00:28:08.579 some kind of majestic power, but to think about these specific things that God 283 00:28:08.740 --> 00:28:15.170 has done, because God has revealed his glorious self to us in this way. 284 00:28:18.049 --> 00:28:22.369 And so I'll give you yet one more John Seventeen versus, verse five, 285 00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:30.839 we read I glorified you on Earth, having accomplished the work that you 286 00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:34.319 gave me to do. This is Jesus speaking to the father, the son 287 00:28:34.480 --> 00:28:37.960 speaking to the father. He says, I have glorified you, father, 288 00:28:38.200 --> 00:28:42.630 on Earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And 289 00:28:42.869 --> 00:28:48.470 now, father, glorify me in your own presence, with the glory that 290 00:28:48.509 --> 00:28:56.500 I had before you the world existed. Let me read this one more time 291 00:28:56.619 --> 00:29:03.940 and I want you to really think about what's going on here. intratrinitarian dialog, 292 00:29:06.220 --> 00:29:12.890 God the Son Speaking to God, the father, about the one glory 293 00:29:15.529 --> 00:29:22.170 that they share. I have glorified you on Earth, having accomplished the work 294 00:29:22.250 --> 00:29:27.000 that you gave me to do, and now, father, glorify me. 295 00:29:29.559 --> 00:29:33.880 The son asked the father to glorify him in your own presence, with the 296 00:29:34.039 --> 00:29:41.630 glory that I had with you before the world existed. And now listen to 297 00:29:41.710 --> 00:29:47.029 verse twenty two, a few more down. The glory that you have given 298 00:29:47.109 --> 00:29:56.259 me I have given to them that they may be one, even as we 299 00:29:56.420 --> 00:30:07.099 are one. This means that if you find yourself waiste, high in paperwork 300 00:30:07.529 --> 00:30:15.490 and house work and filing reports and drudgeries at work, and you say this 301 00:30:15.690 --> 00:30:22.400 ain't all that glorious, and you see your life moving away, or maybe 302 00:30:22.440 --> 00:30:27.920 you even find yourself suffering and you say here I am under the weight of 303 00:30:29.960 --> 00:30:38.670 persecution, I am struggling. Here, we are given something to remember, 304 00:30:41.230 --> 00:30:45.910 something which frames and changes everything that we do, every aspect of our lives. 305 00:30:48.150 --> 00:30:55.059 God is not only given Israel the glory he did in very special way 306 00:30:55.099 --> 00:30:57.859 and very particular ways for a time, but now we read Paul says that 307 00:30:59.059 --> 00:31:03.859 glory has come to us all in Jesus Christ, those who have faith in 308 00:31:03.940 --> 00:31:10.250 him. It means that, for example, in Second Corinthians, for seventeen 309 00:31:10.289 --> 00:31:18.559 light momentary afflictions that we endure now, which include death, suffering and heartache, 310 00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:26.920 those light momentary afflictions are not, Paul says, are not worth comparing. 311 00:31:29.559 --> 00:31:34.069 He says these light, momentary afflictions are preparing us for an external weight 312 00:31:34.190 --> 00:31:41.630 of glory beyond comparison. Don't even try. It's way beyond what you can 313 00:31:41.789 --> 00:31:48.099 even imagine. And he's not even talking about the glory that is internal to 314 00:31:48.259 --> 00:31:55.220 God himself, that you will never know, that you will never see, 315 00:31:55.380 --> 00:31:57.940 that you will never come into contact with, as it is in itself, 316 00:31:59.779 --> 00:32:04.130 the glory of God is as internal to himself is in Ternal to himself. 317 00:32:05.250 --> 00:32:09.089 The External Weight of glory that is beyond comparison that you are being prepared for, 318 00:32:10.329 --> 00:32:15.009 that's the glory that you will come in contact with. It is the 319 00:32:15.130 --> 00:32:20.079 glory that God is revealing even now, has revealed in Jesus Christ and will 320 00:32:20.160 --> 00:32:23.759 reveal on the last day when the sun comes again, to judge everyone and 321 00:32:23.960 --> 00:32:29.559 to raise up his sons and daughters into the heavenly places, into a new 322 00:32:29.720 --> 00:32:34.069 heavens and a new earth that is more magnificent than you could ever imagine. 323 00:32:34.990 --> 00:32:42.430 Read the descriptions of it in revelation. Jewels and shining things and choirs and 324 00:32:45.140 --> 00:32:51.779 the glory of God is something that is given to us. The Glory of 325 00:32:52.059 --> 00:32:59.730 God is not just revealed to us, but it's given to us and it's 326 00:32:59.769 --> 00:33:07.009 something that we can participate in. Now, when I say we, and 327 00:33:07.130 --> 00:33:10.009 I'll conclude with this point, this very important point, when I say we, 328 00:33:10.289 --> 00:33:17.240 I do not mean everyone, because Paul says in Second Thessalonians one nine, 329 00:33:17.359 --> 00:33:24.480 there are those who will suffer eternal punishment or destruction away from the presence 330 00:33:24.519 --> 00:33:29.910 of the Lord and the glory of his might. They will be the ones 331 00:33:29.950 --> 00:33:34.589 who are separated from the glory of God in all of its blessing and all 332 00:33:34.630 --> 00:33:37.309 of its protection, and instead they will feel the weight of glory as it 333 00:33:37.509 --> 00:33:44.980 crushes them eternally forever. These people will not experience the saving glory of God. 334 00:33:45.380 --> 00:33:47.900 People who remain in their sins, people who exchange the glory of God 335 00:33:49.180 --> 00:33:52.299 for idols, people who make a practice of sinning and say I want to 336 00:33:52.339 --> 00:33:55.930 live the way I want to lay I live, who don't care about the 337 00:33:57.009 --> 00:34:00.690 glory of God, but in care about their own glory and build towers of 338 00:34:00.809 --> 00:34:04.289 Babel up to the heaven saying we will make a name for ourselves. These 339 00:34:04.410 --> 00:34:09.519 people will suffer eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and the glory 340 00:34:09.880 --> 00:34:15.719 of his might. When I say we, I mean those of us who 341 00:34:15.760 --> 00:34:22.679 have received Jesus Christ. This is how we enjoy communion with God, this 342 00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:29.750 is how we come to know his glory, not by confidently walking up Mount 343 00:34:29.829 --> 00:34:35.230 Sinai saying I can do this, I can do the law, but by 344 00:34:35.989 --> 00:34:40.940 seeing Jesus on the Cross and saying he has done it for me, and 345 00:34:42.139 --> 00:34:45.820 he who is ascended into the heavenly places because he did it, because he 346 00:34:45.980 --> 00:34:51.820 accomplished it, he who has received the glory from the father because he did 347 00:34:52.300 --> 00:34:54.090 the law, because he did the things that we were failed to do. 348 00:34:55.289 --> 00:34:59.730 Jesus, the one who prays for us, to the father and says, 349 00:35:00.050 --> 00:35:02.929 May this glory that you have been given to me be given to them. 350 00:35:05.090 --> 00:35:15.440 That Jesus. That is how we receive the glory of God. If you 351 00:35:15.519 --> 00:35:19.199 do not know the all glorious God, if you are subject to sin and 352 00:35:19.400 --> 00:35:24.389 death, if you find yourselves overwhelmed by the things of this world, even 353 00:35:24.429 --> 00:35:30.150 though they may seem to be of benefit to you, look up to Christ, 354 00:35:30.190 --> 00:35:35.590 see him seated in the heavenly places and see what is being offered to 355 00:35:35.670 --> 00:35:43.380 you while there is still time before he comes again in his glory, not 356 00:35:43.579 --> 00:35:49.860 to save the world, but to judge the world. Find your salvation in 357 00:35:50.050 --> 00:35:53.929 him, where he gives you his glory, His grace, forgiveness from sins. 358 00:35:55.969 --> 00:36:01.250 Maybe we all do. So let us all learn to take hold of 359 00:36:01.610 --> 00:36:09.199 this throne of glory by faith and live in light of that glory, shining 360 00:36:09.239 --> 00:36:16.079 in the world like thousands and millions of little mirrors everywhere, the one son 361 00:36:16.440 --> 00:36:22.429 shining down on us and us all reflecting back the glory of God to him, 362 00:36:22.550 --> 00:36:28.309 bridinging up, shining in the world in a way that brings him pleasure 363 00:36:29.590 --> 00:36:46.139 and praise. Let us pray our glory is God. We praise you that, 364 00:36:46.369 --> 00:36:53.570 in your greatness, you have revealed yourself to us. You have allowed 365 00:36:53.610 --> 00:37:00.559 us even to see something of who you are, and indeed we don't merely 366 00:37:00.599 --> 00:37:06.400 see it, but we feel it in our bones, for we are creatures 367 00:37:06.519 --> 00:37:12.199 who are made in your image. We are have been designed as mears to 368 00:37:12.360 --> 00:37:16.630 reflect back your glory, and we praise you for this. We thank you 369 00:37:16.789 --> 00:37:22.989 for this. We confess our sins to you, that we have soulied ourselves, 370 00:37:22.070 --> 00:37:27.389 we have dirtied ourselves, we have cracked the thing that was meant to 371 00:37:27.630 --> 00:37:35.219 reflect and we've turned it in ourselves, on ourselves. There is no beauty 372 00:37:35.420 --> 00:37:40.980 in us, in sin, in corruption, in idolatry and evil and hatred, 373 00:37:43.539 --> 00:37:51.369 but in you, the glories of your holiness and love are so perfectly 374 00:37:51.489 --> 00:37:57.329 manifest. Oh Lord, we beg that you would help us to see them, 375 00:37:58.760 --> 00:38:04.840 not only in the power of them and the great a judgment and convicting 376 00:38:05.039 --> 00:38:08.559 power of them, but help us to see them unblind our eyes, so 377 00:38:08.679 --> 00:38:13.949 that we may see the lie them in the light of the Gospel, in 378 00:38:14.110 --> 00:38:19.670 the glory of Christ. We asked, Lord, that you would help us 379 00:38:19.710 --> 00:38:27.110 to see by faith, that we might live by faith, that we might 380 00:38:27.260 --> 00:38:32.019 live as the glorious ones, as people who have been made into a Holy 381 00:38:32.179 --> 00:38:40.769 Temple in which your glorious spirit has descended, sent from the Sun, that 382 00:38:40.929 --> 00:38:49.369 we might that you might dwell in us and live in us and with us 383 00:38:49.449 --> 00:38:55.239 forever. We ask, Lord, that you would bless us, as you 384 00:38:55.400 --> 00:39:00.599 have and as you promise to do, all according to the goodness of your 385 00:39:00.639 --> 00:39:06.639 grace and Jesus Christ. And so we pray this in his name, knowing 386 00:39:06.719 --> 00:39:10.070 that he is interceding for us even now, praying that this glory might be 387 00:39:10.190 --> 00:39:16.309 ours at your right hand, answer his prayers. Oh Lord, in Jesus 388 00:39:16.389 --> 00:39:19.309 name, we pray am in