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3 Ways to Restore
the Glory of the Lord
BERT FARIAS
It
Is Time to Restore the Glory
Years
after Samuel's ministry was established, David rose to restore the glory of God
back to its rightful place (see 2 Samuel
6).
When
God-appointed men are placed in leadership, their first agenda is to make sure
the glory of the Lord is restored and dwelling where it belongs.
The
ark did not belong in the Philistine camp, Abinadab's house or Obed-Edom's
house (see 2 Samuel 6).
It
belonged in the temple of the Lord. David gathered all the choice men in Israel
with an eagerness and a zeal to restore that which was lost.
I
believe the highest priority on God's heart for 2018 and beyond is the
restoration of His glory in His church.
What
the church needs most right now are God-appointed leaders who are jealous for
His glory.
True
leaders are always seeking to find grace in God's sight, and like Moses, they
will not lead without the presence of God.
The
greatest concern of a godly leader is for the church to be separated from the
world and wholly consecrated to God.
A
true leader's longing and desire is to see the glory of God and have it
restored among His people (Exodus 33:15-18).
It
is not popularity, bigger buildings, increase in attendance and more money that
has priority in the hearts of godly leaders. It is the glory!
Men
who live close to the heart of God know that it is only His glory that will
change everything.
It's
time for the glory, the manifested presence of God, to return to our churches,
our personal lives, our homes, our thinking, our conversation and our conduct.
The
glory of God will break us from going through the motions, and make everything
new, fresh and alive again.
Here
are some mindset changes we must make to recover the true glory of God:
1. Don't be impressed by the trappings of the
production of the church and fooled by its big names and big conferences.
Elaborate
buildings, large numbers of people and an increasing flow of cash have fooled
much of the modern church.
The
church did not begin with that focus, and yet somehow, modern church principles
have put the emphasis on attendance, buildings and cash.
Some
have called it the ABCs of modern church growth. But many false religions of
the world have a large following, magnificent buildings, and lots of cash, too.
Although
we are not opposed to any of these things in and of themselves, they are not
the true indicators of spirituality.
As
a matter of fact, often these things serve as a sort of façade or smokescreen
that hides the real problems and issues that are facing the church in this
hour.
We've
been guilty of painting and decorating the cart while neglecting the sick
horse.
My
younger biological brother, who is a bit of a wordsmith, came up with the
following quote that illustrates the "cart before the horse"
mentality that is so prevalent in the body of Christ today:
"Another meeting, another offering, another song,
another convention, another banquet, another special speaker, another concert,
another project, another program ... and so 'church life' continues, but the
changed life remains scarce. If the horse is healthy, the cart will be pulled.
If the horse is unhealthy, making the cart more attractive is useless." — Roy Farias
There
is a subtle, almost subconscious mentality in the church today that places
great emphasis on the outward and external appearances of Christianity.
We
are trained by example to esteem appearance, presentation, professionalism and
showmanship and mistake it for real
success and the true glory of the Lord above hidden service and meeting the
everyday, pressing, oft-unspoken heart-needs of individual people.
We
are easily impressed by the trappings of the production of the church and
fooled by its big names and big conferences.
I'm
afraid there is a large gap separating the culture of the modern Western church
from the heart of God as revealed through Jesus in the Gospels and through the
early church.
Aren't
you growing tired of hearing about new mantles, double portions, debt
cancellation anointings and breaker anointings?
Not
to mention the gross overemphasis on personal prophecy and prophetic ministry,
the inordinate attention given to deliverance and demonic warfare, angelic
activation, atmosphere changes and opening portals.
And
have you ever noticed that most of the Christians who are enamored with such
things live dysfunctional lives?
The
bane of every shepherd and ministry gift is when your preaching and teaching
breeds such people.
Undoubtedly,
there are truths in each of the aforementioned themes, but there is still such
an unholy mixture that is working against us and diluting the real glory and
power of God.
How
do you convince a believer that what they have is a counterfeit if they've
never witnessed the real?
I'm
afraid so much of it is New Age gobbledygook and psycho-babble tainted with
false motives and a desire for filthy lucre at the root of our agenda.
We
have so irreverently cheapened and merchandized God's sacred gifts and grieved
the precious Spirit of God. Let's stop this mess!
This
is not Kabod (the heavy glory). This is Ichabod — further evidence that the
glory has departed.
Holy
is the Lord.
2.
Restore the culture of the kingdom of God.
There
Will Be No Glory in the Church Without Judgment
The
sad truth is that in much of the church world, the culture of the kingdom of
God has been lost to the culture of hype, greed, religious politics, a
Hollywood Jesus and the professional business of the church to such an extent
that many churches resemble a political machine or a corporation more than
God's culture.
God's
culture begins with the family, the home, making disciples through life relationships,
reaching and caring for others with the gospel and the love of God.
The
true disciples of Jesus are losing their taste for the shallow and superficial,
and are separating themselves from those entangled in the appearance of
spirituality.
Many
people have become disenchanted with the church because of hurt, misuse and
abuse, religious politics and leadership caught up in the things of the flesh.
People
are looking for depth in the Word and in their relationships, a free-flowing
move of the Spirit, personal empowerment and leadership that does not play
political games.
Here
is a significant word from the Lord that a prophet friend of mine received in a
visitation:
“Do not look at the TV and larger media ministries to
try to understand what I am doing in My body today. They have a part to play,
but they are the visible to the eye, [the] veneer of the body that people see.
Those who are carnal and immature see the outward appearance and are impressed,
thinking that these are the height of ministry and where the Spirit is
concentrating today. But they are mistaken.
“See what I see, many small churches and ministries
investing in relationships, walking in love, pouring their lives into each
other; this is where the Spirit is moving today. There is a revolution taking
place in my body, a revolution of relationships, discipleship and love. This
will affect whole communities and economies.
“See what I see, many churches all over the world in
which people are accountable to one another, working through conflicts, walking
in love and growing as my disciples. That is where my Spirit is moving today.
“Many are running to and fro asking, 'Where is the
next move; what is the next season of the Spirit?' And I say to you that it is
under their very noses. They stumble at the supernatural work in their midst
and refuse to humble themselves and be taught because they seek the sensational
and that which appeals to the outward man. They fail to recognize the true move
of God because it must be spiritually discerned.” — John Fenn
3. Return to the preaching and practice of the
cross.
The
cross-less gospel is the greatest lack in Western Christianity today and the
reason for many of the church's failures and the biggest reason why it is
becoming increasingly difficult in many places of the world to tell the
difference between a real Christian and non-Christian.
It
is also the most common place where men are duped into thinking that there can
be a shortcut to revival and the power and glory of God.
Listen
to the following quote from a hero of the faith who knew God deeply and
experienced His glory:
"The way into the glory is through the flesh
being torn away from the world and separated unto God." — Smith Wigglesworth
The
major cause for failure in ministry today for those who profess Christ's Name
is the same – not knowing the true nature and quality of God.
Unless
we understand and know the nature of the gospel and of our God, we will
continually sacrifice His life on the altar of convenience and serve God on our
own terms.
It
is those men like Wigglesworth in every generation who have risen above this
pretense and lived out the real gospel that have changed the world.
Until
the American Church gets back to that, no real and lasting change is
forthcoming.
You
can listen to all the New Year prophecies that speak of what a great year this
next one is going to be for the church and how you will prosper and be favored.
You
can listen to empty promises and predictions of how the glory and power of God
will be made manifest — how this will be the year of revival and awakening—even
how our president will lead the nation back to God (I've heard that too).
However,
these types of words without implementing the cross will continue to leave us
empty.
I
believe God's promises are true, and I am all for instilling hope in people,
but sometimes the best thing the church can hear are the warnings, rebukes and
roadblocks of what is actually hindering revival, the glory of God and His promises
from coming to pass.
There
is a new gospel and new so-called national prophets — really, wolves in sheep's
clothing or just misguided ministers, running through the land.
They
speak peace to all those who have itching ears for something new and exotic and
they cause them to trust in a lie, and subtly supplant within their hearts
rebellion against the Lord (Jeremiah
28:15-16).
But
the word I hear remains the same year after year. God is not doing something
new. He is doing something old.
This is what I hear: "Tell the people that I
am not doing anything new. I am doing something old. Return to Me with all your
heart. Return to the gospel. Return to the traditions of your forefathers. Get
back to the cross. Get back to the blood. Get back to holiness and repentance.
Get thrilled with the Word and the basics of your faith. Get thrilled with
soul-winning. Get excited about making disciples. Until the basics of your
faith come alive in your hearts, you are dead and need reviving. If these
things are not appealing to you and do not bring you joy, then you are in need
of repentance."
Another
word that leaves us in our deadness and full of ourselves is not a word from
God.
Beware
of false empty New Year prophecies and promises.
Beware
of the satanic nature of another gospel. It's a Trojan horse intended to
undermine our faith and keep us trapped and powerless in our anemic version of
Christianity.
Bert Farias' books are
forerunners to personal holiness, the move of God and the return of the Lord.
They also combat the departure from the faith and turning away from the truth
we are seeing in our day. Cleansing the Temple is his most recent release. You
can follow him personally on Facebook, his Facebook ministry page, or Twitter.
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