November 2001

Part Thirty-six

Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory (A)

                In the heat of the U.S. Civil War, renowned freedom fighter, Julia Ward Howe, penned her inspirational Battle Hymn of the Republic. Her heart burned with a fiery vision of a triumphant end to a dark period of slavery in our land. Her opening words set the tone for that divine work.

“MINE EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY
OF THE COMING OF THE LORD!”

               Notice she didn’t simply say her eyes saw the “coming of the Lord” but that she beheld the “GLORY of the coming of the Lord”! Have your eyes ever seen the radiant Glory that precipitates the Lord’s appearing? As a man walking with the sun at his back casts a long shadow before him, so also the approach of the Lord is prefaced by a stream of Splendor! Every true believer should be seeking that marvelous sight with all their heart and energy! Just the prospect of such a wonder should make every man scale the highest mountain or climb the tallest tree as did one individual.

           “As Jesus entered and passed through Jericho, behold, there was a rich man named Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector who wanted to see who Jesus was, but because of the great throng and his small stature, he could not see. So he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed up a sycamore tree to be able to see
the Lord as He was going to pass that way.
           When Jesus came to that place, he looked up and saw him up in the tree and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus come down quickly from there for today I must stay at your house!’ So Zacchaeus scurried down and received him joyfully! But as all the people saw this they murmured (against the Lord) saying, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner!’
           Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, ‘Behold, Lord, I give half of my belongings to the poor; and if ever I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore it to him fourfold.’
           Jesus said to him, ‘This day is salvation come to your house, because a (true, spiritual) son of Abraham lives there and the Son of man is come to seek and save all that was lost!” (Lk 19:1)

           Moses fasted 40 days and 40 nights to witness the “passing Glory of God”; (Ex 33:22) Zacchaeus shinnied up a tree to catch a glimpse of the passing Glory of the Son of God; and now “The whole creation waits expectantly, longs earnestly, for the manifestation of the- Glory of the many-membered- Sons of God!” (Ro 8:19) The universe is on tiptoe to see this splendid sight, as that long-awaited Body of Overcomers strain to the limits of their faith to be the vessels of Christ’s effulgence! These long-sufferers already exhibit the Glory that heralds His APPROACH; but now they breathlessly anticipate the hour of the FULNESS OF HIS APPEARING in their lives! Like Zacchaeus they long to hear their King say, “Salvation is come to your house because a true son of Abraham lives there and I must come to ABIDE in your house!” That is when the King of kings will have established His reign forevermore upon the thrones of our hearts! Hallelujah!
           It is one thing to know the Living God as Savior (Jesus) Who copes with all our trials when they grow to “KING size”- that is, too big for us to resolve, alone, so our King comes to save us]. It is another thing to know the Living God as Anointed One (Christ) whose Unction of Holiness gives us divine discernment, overcoming strength, operation of spiritual gifts and a hunger for truth! But it is still a different thing altogether to know the Living God as LORD of our lives! Lordship is synonym for MASTERY! It is the complete subjugation [Dict. lit. “Bringing under the yoke; an enforced submission to another’s control and governance; to be brought into servitude” ] and *subrogation of our souls! [*Dict. “Substitution of one creditor for another; the putting of one in the place of another.”] In other words, the total *supplantation of Christ’s Mind of Spirit for our mind of flesh! [*Dict. “To overthrow by tripping up- especially by means of the sole of the foot; to supersede another by force; to uproot and plant anew; to eradicate the former altogether and to supply a substitute (as a sacrificial Lamb of God) by reason of superior excellence and power!”
           How awesome to anticipate a final dethroning and uncrowning of our usurper carnal mind!
           What a glorious hour to view the CORONATION OF OUR KING in the kingdom of our hearts!
If you can compare this to anything this world has to offer; if you can hold up any human ambition alongside this spectacular event and not see it pale in comparison; if you can opt from Eternal Glory to the temporal vainglory of your natural existence, YOU ARE NOT YET CALLED TO SONSHIP!
           But beloved, I speak no condemnation in this- just a declaration of truth. You see, for all those who are called at this time to that High Calling of God, there is an inexplicable burning in their hearts; a fiery fervor for Righteousness; a spiritual hunger for Revelation Knowledge that is unquenchable!! But it is much more, they also have a fixed dedication to FOLLOW THEIR LORD TO CALVARY AND BEYOND TO RESURRECTION!!

[TO BE CONTINUED]

Notice: this ministry will be in LONDON, ENGLAND the week of Dec 9-16

[except 2 one-day trips to Dublin, Ireland and Paris, France]. Any Kingdom group interested in hosting a meeting must please contact us as soon as possible by email: Sonrise@aol.com, or telephone: 702-647-2131. Our itinerary is filling up quickly.

[We are not in need of lodgings, as all our accommodations have been prearranged.]