In his last days old Dr. Bressee [the founder of the Nazarene church] would preach from church to church one message: “Keep the glory down.” Why? He knew that if they ever lost it they were finished.

–R T Kendall, The Anointing

Probably every genuine move of God was birthed in something special.  In every move, there was something Beyond the text of the written Word, Beyond the meetings, Beyond the men, that made a difference.

If we understood that the Gospel is more than words on a page, that it is more than a natural man can understand (John 3:3-5), that it is the unseen, spiritual realm that makes a difference (Colossians 1:16), we would be much closer to the glorious overcoming church of Ephesians 4:13.

Ruth Ward Heflin, a prophet who prophesied to world leaders and put foot in every nation in the globe before she went home to be with the Lord, said this:

Praise until the spirit of worship comes;

Worship until the glory comes,

And then stand in the glory.

At this time more than most in recent history, we are in need of the manifested glory of God in our midst.  Without it there is little to distinguish us from the many other voices competing for the attention of the masses.

Moses asked the Lord, “For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?” (Exodus 33:16).

In every difficulty, there is a door of opportunity, if we can see it.  In every circumstance, no matter how grave, there is God’s answer.  If we can keep from getting distracted from it for long enough, and have the patience and wisdom to see it, even our darkest hours can be turned into doors of hope in a blink of an eye.

The realm of Glory is the realm of God.  It is not so much a flow of God’s power as it is the beginning of the answer of the prayer “Your Kingdom come, on Earth as it is in heaven.”

When the glory comes down, hearts are changed in a moment.  When the glory comes into a situation, difficulties are made as nothing.

Zechariah was told what the word to Zerubbabel was in Zechariah 4:7, “Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it!”  When the glory comes, the grace comes, the ease comes, and what was difficult before becomes as an open plain, as level ground compared to a mountain.  When the finishing part, the capstone, the crowning, it is with the shouts of Grace, Grace to it, or double grace, or double blessing.

The church will see and recognize the glory, and, eventually the whole world (Habakkuk 2:14).  The maturing bride will see that to which it has been called to, and it will rise up and take its place.

What at one time seemed as though it was only some “spooky spiritual” realm, some ethereal, untouchable, apparently unknowable vapor will become, presently, Emmanuel, God with us, God known to us, God known by us, each man not learning from his neighbor, but taught by God! (John 6:45, Isaiah 54:13).

Why is it that some services are more powerful than others?  Certainly, it has some to do with the person evaluating the atmosphere.  Anything from sin to lack of sleep and more can be the causes.  Yet, there is an invisible component that is essential to grasp.  When the spiritual atmosphere opens up, when the demonic voices are pushed back, and the King comes in (Matthew 18:20), there is a availability then that there is not in other natural times and places (Isaiah 55:6).

The Lord must have a people that can move in His glory.  He must have a people that can navigate through His heart, through His dimensions, through His revelations.  He must have a people that can see, and operate, and function, in complete humility, transparency, and selflessness, so that His Kingdom can be brought forth fully.

John 17:22 says that Jesus has given to us, His followers, His own glory.  This is the same glory that He manifested at the wedding of Cana (John 2:11), and it is the realm of His Kingdom that He released upon His church.  “I confer on you a kingdom, even as my Father conferred on me.” (Luke 22:29 WEB).

It is about intimacy, it is about worship.  It is His mystery, to be revealed to us (Deuteronomy 29:29).

It is to the Father’s glory that we bear much fruit.  It is in this that we prove that we are His disciples (John 15:8).  He equips us to do His works of service (Ephesians 4:12).  It is that His glory and wisdom might be displayed (Ephesians 3:10).

The glory doesn’t have to end, but our ways do.  Our own self-seeking, our own self life.  Jesus said you could not be His disciple unless you hate your father, mother, even your own wife, kids, and life (Luke 14:26).  Every part of our old man must be lost (Ephesians 4;22), but His promise is that we will not be left as orphans (John 14:18).  If we were to simply forsake everything of this life without the glory and the anointing, life would be the most miserable, religious duty imaginable, yet God could still bless it (as He did with John the Baptist, Luke 7:28).  Yet, to lose the world when you have the greatest thing in Eternity, God Himself dwelling within, simply means you will never need to make one mis-step that will take you from Him (Galatians 5:25).  You need never grieve Him (Ephesians 4:30).  You need never be away from your complete source (Matthew 6:33).

The glory is returning to God’s people.  It is intense.  It is strict.  It is wonderful.  The good news for your spirit, the bad news for your flesh, is that it costs everything, always, and is worth every bit of it.  Better to be in it maimed and crippled than to be on the outside in one piece (Matthew 18:8).

Isaiah 55:6-13

Seek the LORD while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the LORD,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it bear and sprout,
And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

For you will go out with joy
And be led forth with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up,
And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up,
And it will be a memorial to the LORD,
For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off.”