What's Hindering The Glory?

What's Hindering The Glory?

Well, a couple  of weeks ago, the Spirit of God posed this question to me "What's hindering the glory?"  He  knows that I know what the Glory is and that I endeavor to usher it into my realm of influence on a continuous basis.

The Glory of God is His manifest presence...His character and essence...His power...His fulness.  Are you experiencing this depth of God on a regular basis in your personal life, in your prayer time, in your worship group, and at your "church" in response to your fellowship with Him?

Have we grown so accustomed to a counterfeit glory that we don't even know to hunger for the real thing?

As I was lamenting over this very real dilemma, I came upon this piece "Is The Glory Of God Departing From Us?" by Doug Stringer on the Prophetic Insight column in Charisma Magazine; so I'll share a few of his insights here.  He reminded us that "Private disobedience causes public powerlessness."

In his piece Stringer reviewed the period of  time in I Samuel 3-4 when the Israelites suffered the defeat of allowing the Glory of God to depart from their mist (Ichabod).  He goes on to say..."Like Israel, many in the church are just going through the motions, relying on traditions and practicing an institutional Christianity.  But God's presence is no longer there and our institutions are powerless.  We have been fooled into thinking our private sin goes unnoticed, but what we do in private has a public, corporate effect.  The enemy continues to win battles and take ground in our nation, largely while the church goes about our business as usual.  We blame our losses on the government, politicians or those who disagree with us, with little understanding of the role we've played in our own defeat.     The key to victory is not the ark, nor our Christian institutions, but obedience.  Disobedience causes the lamp to go out and the presence of God to depart.  Without His presence, there can be no victory."

I stopped doing the "church" thing years ago and proceeded as God directed me to seek Him and to live in His presence as a lifestyle.  And this has been my life's work to mentor and disciple others to be sure to do the same because with no accountability people cast off discipline in their private lives and show up at the "church" in a corporate setting with only a form of godliness.  And this should not be!  There is so much more to God's Kingdom than most of us are experiencing.  Remember, "For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power" (I Corinthians 4:20).  Once you've walked in and actually witnessed true Glory, nothing else satisfies.

No, all is not lost because God is indeed "working His plan of redemption."  He is raising up a spiritual nation that won't settle. 

Will you pay the price for His Glory to abide in your mist?



INTROSPECTION

INTROSPECTION

    No one becomes full blown overnight.  Preparation has to be made to live this victorious life.  A stream of unfavorable events has helped to usher me into a position to be used of God.  From Romans 5:3-5 we receive this understanding "...but we glory in tribulations also:  knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience, experience, and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

    Before I began to grow in the ways of God, I possessed a number of traits that spelled nothing but trouble.  Basically, I have always been a rather kind and even-tempered individual, but I possessed at least three flaws that were unquestionably detrimental to a servant of the Lord.  Here I am distinquishing flaws/faults from sins.

    First of all, I had an inherent stubborn nature.  As an infant I manipulated my grandparents into giving me only the cookies and snacks that I preferred even though it meant making an extra trip to the market.  Things had to be my way.  Properly cultivated stubbornness can become steadfastness; otherwise it is contrary to the Word of God.

    Secondly, I possessed a flaw called impatience.  All through the Bible we hear an echo saying, "Wait patiently on the Lord."  The Master Himself even said, "In your patience possess ye your souls."  For a number of years, I had the attitude that everything should have been done yesterday.  I had not yet received the knowledge that God is a God of time and plan.

    Thirdly, I was selfish or self-centered in that I considered it a virtue to tend to my affairs and to leave the affairs of others alone.  Put in proper perspective, this attitude could be respected, but anything taken to an extreme becomes a fault.  It was simply an excuse not to become involved.

    Well, the events of my life have certainly corrected my flaws because the chastening of the Lord brought my spirit, soul, and body into Kingdom order.

Taken from:

"Without Apology: On Call For God"

Marion Clark Ingram

copyright 2011

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The Deception of Presumption

The Deception of Presumption

"Keep back thy servant also from presumptous sins..." (Psalms 19:13)

Why is it that when we stumble into a new insight, thought, or "revelation" we assume that no one else or very few others could have already been privy to it!?

Over the years, I have been amazed at the number of writers, speakers, and especially Christian leaders who make the statement or the inference that their current vision or revelation is either "a first" or like none other in the land.  This world and its occupants are too vast for us to believe that when an idea or a concept is released in the earth realm that we are the only receptacle for it.

Your timing and positioning could play a large role in your receiving a "next level" revelation.  We are made aware from biblical, historical, and even current events that some of the same experiences happen to people at different ages and stages in their lives.  I am prone to agree with Solomon when he declared that "There is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9). 

In many instances, I believe that what has been shall be.  We acknowledge an infinite God who is the "intelligent designer" of all creation. His Word tells us that He is perfecting those things concerning us; so I certainly believe that He has been perfecting His will in man throughout the ages.  Historically, there has been a foreshadowing of anything that we are realizing, understanding, or downloading in our spiritual, ministerial, business, social, and civic lives.  Yes, this is a day of revealed mysteries, but if you study or even glance back over the ages, you will find persons that were forerunning for today.

The same day that a light bulb came on over your head about a bit of Kingdom insight or a witty invention, it also illumined the minds and spirits of a number of other earth beings because their positioning and conditioning had been synchronized with the hour of manifestation. That's why there are so many successful hamburger, hotdog, hot wings, fish, and chicken joints in the land at the same time.

I hear some young people speak, especially in the church, as if the mind of God was not revealed until He got to them.  I am aware of how that must feel because our Father always deals so forthright and so personal with us that it appears as if only you were singled out for a particular revelation.  But God cannot and will not be limited.  If one fails, there's the possibility that another seed will produce.

We must be very careful because God would say to us what He said to Elijah when he was proclaiming that he was "very zealous for the Lord" and that he was the only one left standing..."Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal..." (see I King 19:9-18).

My Story

There is absolutely no story greater than that of God's love for the world evidenced by His sending His Son, Jesus, to die for us that we may be redeemed. And even as that great story records our origin, our stories record our history and confirm that we are or were indeed here.

We have revelled in the stories of King David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Elijah, Prophetess Deborah, Apostles Paul and Peter, Abraham and Sarah, and even Jacob.  We have revelled in the stories of Presidents George Washington, John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Bishop G.E. Patterson, Martin Luther King, and Hillary Clinton.  But we also have stories to tell, and they are relevant somehow to somebody because "No man is an island."

Approximately twenty years ago, the Lord spoke that one day I would write a book entitled "Without Apology."  Well, that book was published a year ago (2011).  Prior to His speaking that, my life's work or ministry had already taken an adventurous or unorthodox direction ten years earlier by the laying on of hands by the presbytery of my  church at the time.  For three years, I had tried to avoid following the directions that the Spirit of God continued to show me, but eventually  I conceded.

No, my concession was not willingly.  There was a bit of coercion.  Before and after the laying on of hands my life began to become increasingly erradic from having two house fires to having a car wreck where my car flipped over three times.  Finally, I realized that my safety would be in answering my call.  My response involved resigning from a job with the IRS where I had been employed for years and moving eleven hundred miles from my hometown.

Well after my initial assignment of four years where God used me to facilitate closing down a "Christian" cult, I returned home to invitations for pulpit ministry, seminars, workshops, "revivals" in and out of town, and a short-lived radio program.  But God had other plans for my life, and so the adventure began.  So often, I had to send or take messages to Pastors, Christian and civic leaders, and numerous others among the many challenging assignments that have been appointed to me. 

My assignments were in and out of corporate, retail, Church, private family, and many secular settings for periods of weeks, months, and even years.  As I was removed from the "pulpit" my life became the message.  My life's work dictated that I practice the principles of God's Word.  I had to overcome fear; to be wise as a serpent, but harmless as a dove; to be long suffering and patient while being steadfast and unmovable; to walk in intimacy with the Father; and to operate in the authority of the Kingdom.

Of course, this article can't tell my story, and my book "Without Apology: On Call For God" only gives samplings of my story.  I give dinner parties, attend plays, write and perform poetry, fund charities, volunteer my services, enjoy aerobics, exercise my civic duties, and cherish my family and friends.  I have likes and dislikes, including people, places, ideas, and things.  As time passes, my own story has become dear to me, and so should yours to you.

A Kingdom Voice: The Book of Acts Continues...Here in the 21st cen...

A Kingdom Voice: The Book of Acts Continues...
Here in the 21st cen...  The Book of Acts Continues... Here in the 21st century, we have greater opportunities to manifest the Kingdom of God than Jesus and the Apostles had when they were in the earth.  "Really?" you say.  Well, just take a look at the various media outlets, the numerous venues, the modern modes of travel, and the endless technology that's available to us today.

In our day, we even have the privilege of possessing a more complete manuscript of God's Word, the Old and the New Testaments, than the Apostles/disciples had.  Therefore, we are a bit more knowledgeable (or should be) concerning God's plan for the Ecclesia in the scheme of Kingdom matters. 

Jesus left directives for our Kingdom involvement before He returned to the Father as we see in Mark 16:15-18,"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  16) He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  17) And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demons;  they will speak with new tongues;  18) they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."  He did not tell us to do anything that He had not already demonstrated.  Concerning the numerous instances of healing and deliverance that Jesus facilitated He said that He simply did what He saw the Father do (see John 5:19), and then He went on to declare that we would do the same work and even greater (see John 14:12).

When Jesus sent the Helper (the Holy Spirit) as He promised, the disciples were empowered to do the same works as Jesus did.  Acts 1:8 says, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jeruselem, and in all Judea and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Even in the Old Testament we see the miracles that the Lord worked through Elijah and Jacob and Moses and many of the patriarchs of old even before the Holy Spirit was given; so we should certainly believe Him to move through us and by us since we have the privilege of receiving the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of God). 

The Book of Acts is simply the recording of the acts of the Holy Spirit through the disciples.  The Spirit of God is doing the same today through yielded and faithful vessels as He did then.  The blind see;  the deaf hear;  the lame walk;  the dumb talk;  the sick are healed;  the gospel is preached;  the lost are being saved;  and the dead are being raised to life.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrew 13:8).

So..The Book of Acts Continues...

What chapter are you writing?