Revival Watchers Report from the Crown International Studio, Fort Mill, SC

Sunday Night, October, 30, 2005

Young worship-warriors  from the Cause USA (www.thecauseusa.com ) led us in a time of soaking worship and contemplating the love of God. We are being gently but firmly pressed to receive God’s love ~ to make room for it in our hearts.

Sabrina Coulston of Flames of Fire Ministries (www.flames-of-fire.com) shared the words she heard with spiritual ears during the worship: “Think it not strange.” Viewing something as “strange” may cause us to miss the very thing God is manifesting His Glory in.

Alan Smith of Stony Point Christian Publications (www.spchristianpub.org ) shared revelatory words and timely scriptures to prepare us for the manifested Glory of God we are seeking.  Following are some crucial points from his message.

GET IT TOGETHER

We are set on a collision course with the Holy Spirit and His Glory.  When the Glory of God hits the earth,  it will be a corporate event!  Scripture tells us that when God’s Glory comes,“all flesh will see it together” (Isaiah 40:5).  Togetherness is an essential part of the Glory of God coming. There are things God will do with all of us that He won’t do with just one of us.

A VACUUM CLEANER PRAYER

Alan shared a parable he was given by the Holy Spirit to use for prayer.  When a vacuum cleaner salesman wants to sell his vacuum to someone,  he demonstrates the power of the vacuum to the potential buyer in order to convince them of its value.  We can pray that God, like the vacuum cleaner salesman, will begin to demonstrate His power to us so that His people will see the value of His Glory and be awakened to their great need for it. 

PRESCENCE VERSUS GLORY

The presence of God is subjective. It is the beginning of Glory. The presence of God can be felt and experienced by one person in the room but perhaps escape another standing by. Experiencing the presence of God is subject to an individual’s circumstance, experience or heart condition.

When the presence of God comes, it is God’s way of showing us He is pleased with us (Exodus 33:13-16).  Then the time is right!  We can ask Him to show us his Glory.

“And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name."  Then Moses said, "Now show me your Glory."  And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.  But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live" (Exodus 33:17-20).

The Glory of God is objective.  When it comes, everyone  in the room is captured by it as they witness together a physical manifestation of God’s presence. The Glory of God is the tangible, visible presence of God.  In a manifestation of Glory, what was once a spiritual impression becomes a real happening.  In the presence of God, we may feel impressed that God wants to heal certain diseases.  In the Glory of God, people get out of their wheelchairs and walk!

REFLECTING AND RELEASING THE GLORY OF GOD

The Glory of God comes in degrees.  The more we reflect the Glory, the more it increases.  We can reflect the Glory of God when we respond in obedience to what God asks of us when we are in His presence.  This obedience releases the Glory of God to manifest corporately.  So when you are in God’s presence, if he tells you to get up and “shake a leg,” your obedience will help to release a corporate Glory.

“We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away.  But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.  Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.  But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:13-18).

WHY THE GLORY DEPARTS

 The departure of God’s Glory is not sudden but gradual.  There are four things that build one upon the other and eventually cause the Glory of God to leave.

Step One: Jealousy (Ezekiel 8:3-4, and Ezekiel 9:3).

Step Two:  Unclean hearts (Ezekiel 8:12 and Ezekiel 10:3, 18-19).

Step Three:  Idols in the heart

Step Four: Devise iniquity and giving wicked counsel

When the Glory of God comes, we must guard our hearts against feelings of jealousy.  Entertaining jealousy eventually leads to murdering our brothers and sisters with our tongues and taints the counsel we give to others.  Both the Lord Jesus and His enemy desire to use our mouths for their purposes.  Who is using our tongue?  We can ask ourselves,  “Is their name safe in my mouth?”(James 3:5-8).MORE REPENTANCE RELEASES MORE GLORY

As we move from repentance to repentance, we are going from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). One reason God’s people are not being transformed enough into the image of Christ is that they are not in the presence and Glory of God enough.

HIGHWAY IN THE HEART

God prepares His people for His Glory by building a highway in the hearts of His people.  He lifts them up in areas of the heart where they have experienced pain, humiliation and heartache.  He brings down the high places of pride, arrogance, and selfish ambition.  He smoothes out rough, harden feelings and straightens out skewed, crooked ways of thinking (Isaiah 40:3-5). 

This highway in the heart is built by violent repentance (Matthew 11:12). We are to violently repent as the Holy Spirit reveals to us the low, high and crooked places in our hearts. A congregation of clean hearts produces a safe highway. There will be few wrecks there. This highway will repair us instead of producing tragedy.  The Glory heals broken hearts and brings healing to those that ride upon it. Clean worshipping hearts produce unity and oneness that ushers in the Glory (II Chronicles 5:13-16, Acts 2:1-2, and John 17:20-22).

Let’s purpose to gather with clean hearts toward God and one another and watch the Glory of God fall in our midst. 

For further reading on the Glory of God, try reading:

“When Heaven Invades Earth” by Bill Johnson

“Glory, When Heaven Invades Earth” by Bob Sorge

“Golden Glory” by Ruth Ward Heflin

Please join us this coming and every Sunday night at 6:30 pm at Crown International Studio (formerly known as Heritage USA) in Fort Mill, SC (Charlotte, NC area). 

Call 803.547.4053 for more information and directions.

 FLAMES OF FIRE MINISTRY

130 Heritage Blvd.

Fort Mill, SC 29715

803.547.4053