Lift up your heads, O you gates And be lifted up, you everlasting doors And the King of glory shall come in.
Psalms 24:7
God has made us to be gates and doors of His glory. Jesus comes to us as the King to rule our hearts in His glory. It can be all too easy to get caught up doing lots of stuff and not experience the intimacy of Kingdom glory in our lives. When Jesus walked the earth He carried the weight of heaven, the glory of God. People constantly were encountering heaven’s glory when they got around Jesus. What does it take for us to walk in this kind of glory ourselves? For certain, we must have intimacy with God, a living communion in His Presence.
Here are a few things that help create a “good foundation” for His glory in our lives:
Make Jesus the Center
Some time ago, My wife Brandi had a dream where Jesus was at center stage. His Presence was in the place and because of this people were drawn to Him. When we allow Him to be at the center, everything works. When He is not at the center there is only chaos and anarchy.
Invite the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit needs invited and stirred within us. He is the “treasure within us”. We are not trying to get Him to come out of heaven. He is already within us if we are God’s. Each of us are temples of the Holy Spirit. ?We need to take time to welcome Him to fill us, refresh us and saturate us. The Holy Spirit is the “living waters” that Jesus promised us that would spring up into everlasting life! Don’t neglect the blessing that God has already deposited within you. Through a life of worship and prayer He fills us with His joy.
Major on the Majors
Major on foundational truth like grace, love, joy, peace, righteousness, the blood of Christ and other things that are central to the gospel that we need to focus on. Avoid controversies that have no profit. (Ex. when Jesus is going to return) Just occupy until He comes! Don’t wrangle about the carpet in the church and ridiculous things.
Avoid heretical extreme teachings. One of these teachings would be “sloppy grace” teaching. This is the type of thinking where people don’t believe they can’t sin and continue living ignorantly in rebellion. The grace of God helps us to overcome sin, not live in denial of sin. If someone does not think they can sin this is a “major” foundational truth that has been compromised, the result being a cracked foundation. All sin simply put is “wrong doing”. Done anything “wrong” lately?
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
1 John 1:8-10
It is true that in Christ we no longer live a “lifestyle” of sin, but to say that we no longer have the ability to blow it (or “miss the mark”) is error. Although, a righteously lived life is the rule, not the exception for the believer. That is why Paul says, “Don’t use the grace of God as an occasion to sin…” (Romans 6:1-2)
There is also teaching that says you can just continue to sin, knowing your sinning and God’s grace covers you. This is heretical as well. The truth is we don’t live in sin. Jesus has set up free. If we do somehow happen to sin then we can come to him in repentance and His blood will cleanse us. We are not His if we live in a lifestyle of sin ignorantly or knowingly foreign to relationship with Him. (1 John 3:9)
Treasure His Presence
Moses would not go without God’s Presence. (Exodus 33:15) Prioritize God’s Presence as number one in your life. Christ in us is the hope of Glory. This is referring to the Presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Treasure Him more than anything. Nothing can replace our intimate relationship with God.
Presence-Valuing Community
Find pure-hearted people who love to spend time in God’s Presence, those who are devoted to God with accountability to others in the truth. There isn’t anything more satisfying than having the Presence of God in our lives with a pure devotion to Him. Worship God without compromise devoting yourself to His everlasting purposes.