(Note: The following message is a companion article to a message which aired on Autism One Radio. To hear the broadcast at any time, please go to:
http://autismone.org/radio/?archive=5835&bg=&FromA1
and click on the arrow next to “Listen to Jack and Rebecca Sytsema.”)

FROM GLORY TO GLORY
Part One: Experiencing the Glory of God*

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. (Psalm 57:5, NIV)

The evening seemed colder than in it had the night before, probably because there were no clouds in the sky. A myriad of stars were shining brightly, though he barely seemed to notice. The chilly air was a welcome relief to the heat of the day, and he far preferred the quietness of the field to the commotion of the day. Thousands were pouring into the little nearby town, and because the road was not far from his field, the sheep had been agitated and nervous by the unfamiliar and constant noise of so many travelers. As night settled in, the road became quiet, and the sheep were finally able to settle in to sleep. Sitting on the ground with his back resting on a tree, the muffled conversation of other nearby shepherds were enough to almost lull him to sleep.

Just as his head began to nod forward, a sudden, overpowering light filled the sky. With great alarm he sprang to his feet, his sleep was quickly forgotten. He was greatly confused, not even sure where to look as he tried to grasp the force that was enveloping him. Then, from the midst of the brightness, a figure appeared from out of the sky—an angel of the Lord had appeared. His heart raced in terror wondering if he was facing death, when the angel spoke saying, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people!”

On that day, a familiar part of the Christmas story, the shepherds in their fields experienced the glory of God first hand—an experience that undoubtedly changed their lives forever. No one who has truly experienced the glory of God has ever been the same. But is the glory of God something that Christians today can expect to experience while here on earth? We believe the answer is yes. Although the glory of God may not appear to us in the same way it did to the shepherds that long-ago night, we can expect to experience some forms of God’s glory in this lifetime.

EXPERIENCING THE GLORY OF GOD

To experience the glory of God is to experience His manifest presence. It is to go beyond an abstract understanding of His omnipresence to knowing that God Himself is there with you, tangibly in your midst. In his book, Glory on Your House, Jack Hayford describes experiencing the glory of God this way:

“This does not mean you have to have a vision of something visible, as I did. God may be noticeably present in glory and power without any such manifestation. The Hebrew word translated ‘glory’ helps us grasp this, in that it is also the word for ‘weight.’ When the Bible speaks of ‘the glory’ it is not speaking so much of something aglow as of something with substantial force to it. Glory isn’t something flimsy, ethereal, intangible. Rather, when the glory of God is in a place, something forceful, weighty, mighty is present in the spiritual realm. People can recognize it. They will want to be there. Mankind longs intuitively for the fulfillment and restoration, the focus and fruitfulness, that attend the soul reintroduced to lost glory”(pp. 22-23).

The “weight” that Hayford refers to here is the Hebrew word kabod which implies not only heaviness, but a great quantity of things. The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary (Moody Press) defines glory as the manifestation of God’s attributes and perfections, or a visible splendor that represents His attributes or perfections. The glory of God is the full weight and quantity of His attributes and perfections. The glory of God is essentially what He is and does.

One way for us to experience God’s glory is to experience a tangible manifestation of one or more of the attributes of God. Sometimes it may come as an overwhelming sense of His utter holiness, and all we can do is bow and worship Him in awe. Sometimes we may experience a great sweep of His joy that brings deep refreshing to our spirits. Each of us who have been born again have experienced the glory of His saving grace, perhaps the most precious gift of all. We may catch a fresh glimpse of His mighty power and new faith begins to arise within us. Each of these, and so many others we could describe, is a manifestation of God’s glory.

These types of experiences may be quiet occurrences in our personal devotional times, or they may be in the middle of a prayer meeting or church service. Sometimes, however, a manifestation of His glory may be a dramatic, supernatural manifestation of God, much as it was for the shepherds that night.

When God’s manifest presence invades our daily lives, things change! We cannot remain the same. Either we will harden our hearts, as the Israelites did on many occasions, or we experience new life. If we choose to allow God’s presence to soften our hearts then we may see the power of God is released in greater measure. We may catch a glimpse of the very atmosphere of heaven. We experience God! He longs to pour out His glory upon His people so that we may know Him.

Many times throughout the Bible we see that Jesus is equated to the glory of God. John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Hebrews 1:3 states, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” As we come to know Jesus, we come to know the heart of the glory of God.

WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN?

Jesus loves children greatly. Mark 10:14-16 tells us, “When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.”

Jesus longs to bless our children today, even as He blessed them so long ago. Our children have a unique ability to enter into the glory of God through Jesus. They are able to experience Him in ways that we may, perhaps, miss because their faith is so simple and accepting. What many parents of children with autism may not realize is that this ability to experience God includes these special children. It is easy for us to see how difficult it is to communicate with our special children through traditional methods of language and even sign, and we tend to believe that because we have difficulty communicating with the, God would have similar difficulties. We need to remember, however, that God is not limited to our forms of communication in order to reach the heart of any individual. If we pray and ask God to speak to our children and reveal His glory to them in ways they will understand, God will do it! In the process we may even catch a glimpse of who God really is.

With blessings,
Jack and Rebecca Sytsema

© 2008 Children of Destiny

For Part Two of this article, click here.

To receive each new topic via email as it becomes available, please send an email
to us at prayer@childrenofdestiny.org. To view the Scripture Guide, please scroll down.

FROM GLORY TO GLORY
Part One: Experiencing God’s Glory
SCRIPTURE GUIDE

And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple.
(I Kings 8:11, NIV)

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
(1 Chronicles 16:24, NIV)

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.
(1 Chronicles 29:11, NIV)

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
(Psalm 8:1, NIV)

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
(Psalm 19:1, NIV)

The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.
(Psalm 29:3, NIV)

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
(Psalm 57:5, NIV)

The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.
(Psalm 97:6, NIV)

May they sing of the ways of the LORD, for the glory of the LORD is great.
(Psalm 138:5, NIV)

A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
(Isaiah 40:3-5, NIV)

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
(Isaiah 60:1, NIV)

Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the LORD.
(Ezekiel 10:4, NIV)

I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty.
(Hag. 2:, 7NIV)

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:14, NIV)

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
(Acts 7:55, NIV)

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
(1 Tim 1:17, NIV)

The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
(Hebrews 1:3, NIV)

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
(Revelation 21:23, NIV)

______________________________

For a list of radio programs and companion article archives, click here.