Show Me Your Glory
Exodus 33:17-18So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken;for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”
In Ex. 33:18 Moses begs God to see His glory, but how can we behold God’s glory? The answer is found in Jesus – The Son of God. Jesus reveals Himself to us regularly through our pursuit of Him in prayer, fasting, studying of His word, and also in the storms of life. You remember the story of how the disciples were on the boat in the midst of the stormy Sea of Galilee, and Jesus “would have passed them by” (Mark 6:48). Do the words “pass by” sound familiar? They should because they are used elsewhere in the Bible (Ex. 33:22 – when God passed by Moses on Mt. Sinai and in 1 Kings 19:11 – when God passed by Elijah on Mt. Sinai.) These verses of The Father and Son passing by are a Theophany—an appearance of God with His glory.
Today, and every day, look for the glory of God, and expect for Jesus to reveal His glory. Look long and hard for it and He will show you. However, you must be ready to pursue it in the storms of life. For as Peter reached for his Savor on the stormy seas that night, we also must reach for our God in order to see Him through the rain of our struggles. Pray like Moses today, “Please, show me Your glory.”
Let’s Get Radical
Colossians 2:6-7As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
The word “radical” derives from the Latin radix, meaning root or proceeding from the root. This term relates to the origin or the fundamentals of a thing, and in its precise sense conveys, someone wanting to get to the root of the matter. Dear brother or sister in Jesus, let’s get radical.
There are times when God’s children start operating on cruise control and don’t stick with the basics that they have been instructed. Paul writes, “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving” (Col. 2:6-7). As Paul encouraged the Colossian saints to get radical, let’s do the same by staying with the fundamentals that we’ve learned.
The way we get radical is by having our daily devotions. That is, we read God’s Word every day and employ what we learn, and talk to Him continually. Once again, look at the words of Paul and think about being radical (rooted) “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving” (Col. 2:6-7). Let’s get radical!
Sufferin’ Succotash
2 Corinthians 11:28Besides everything else, I face daily thepressure of my concern for all the churches.
The expression “Sufferin’ Succotash” was made famous by the Looney Tunes cartoon character Sylvester the Cat. I often watched these cartoons as a child. Now as an adult, I’ve had an epiphany: Succotash doesn’t suffer but genuine children of God do!
False teachers who permeated the church Paul founded at Corinth verbally assaulted him. The great missionary defended his apostleship by giving a long list of what he suffered for the cause of Christ (2 Cor. 11:22-33). At the end of the expansive list, he writes, “besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches” (2 Cor. 11:28).
My friends, there are two traits genuine Christians model. First, they are willing to endure hardship for the cause of Christ. Secondly, they have a heart for what is important to God. This consists of loving their Christian brothers and sisters. I pray that you will show that you are the real Christian deal by remaining steadfast in the midst of suffering and through loving the church of Jesus Christ.
God’s Dynamite
1 Corinthians 2:4-5“And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
Have you ever wished you hadn’t done something in church? Several years ago I was preaching on this passage and my main point was trust God’s dynamite and pitch Jesus. My object lesson consisted of throwing fire balls to people randomly in the church to illustrate how we should “pitch the gospel” to others. I lobbed one fire ball towards a member who I quickly found out couldn’t catch. Yep, you guessed it. The individual gazed into the sky and the fire ball hit the member right on the head. Ouch! (And I wonder why I don’t often get asked to preach in other churches!)
Twice in our passage the word “power” is used. In both instances it derives from the same Greek word, which gives us the English term “dynamite.” This word speaks of God’s “achieving power” to accomplish His will by saving the souls of all those who embrace by faith the gospel. Paul lays out the gospel beautifully in 1 Cor. 15:3-4. He writes, “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” That is the message that needs to be believed upon for salvation and subsequently to be tossed to others.
Another key verse that houses the same Greek word for dynamite appears in Rom. 1:16. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power (“dynamite”) of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. My dear friend, make sure that you have believed on Jesus’ finished work for salvation. Then, trust God’s dynamite and pitch Jesus. Why? Imitate Paul who wrote, “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (1 Cor. 2:4-5).
The Influence of the Man of God
2 Chronicles 24:2“Joash [the seven year old king] did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest”
How important is it to be under the authority of God’s minister? Our text makes it abundantly clear that the Lord blesses those who submit to the guidance offered by His faithful servants and that they should strive to be under that authority for length of days.
The apostle Peter, who was also a pastor, gave instructions to other ministers about their conduct. His godly counsel not only teaches pastors how to live, but also shows parishioners the kind of pastors they should seek to follow. He writes, “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (1 Pet. 5:2-3).
Peter then speaks to the congregation, “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders [pastors]. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (1 Pet. 5:5-6).
The Lord greatly blessed Joash while he submitted to the godly leadership of Jehoiada. Sadly, when Jehoiada died, Joash turned to ungodly practices and led a worthless life and died a tragic death. My encouragement to you is to find a church that honors God’s Word, with a godly pastor whose preaching and practice glorify the Lord. Remember, “Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest” (2 Chron. 24:2). Never underestimate the influence of the man of God.
– Pastor Ken Burge Sr.
The Importance of Faith
Hebrews 11:6But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
The children of Israel wanted to be like the surrounding nations so they asked Samuel for a king. They desired a visible king over the invisible God. Saul dishonored God on two occasions (1 Samuel 13 and 15), which caused God to reject him. The writer of Chronicles summarized his life as follow: “So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance” (1 Chron. 10:13).
Abraham contrasts the life of Saul because he is dubbed the father of faith. God had promised this elderly patriarch a son. Although Abraham had his struggles, he chose a path of faith, and God honored him immensely through the birth of Isaac and an innumerable multitude to follow. Paul offered this analysis about Abraham, “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was able to perform” (Rom. 4:20-21).
Several decades ago I heard a great definition of faith. It states, faith is taking God at His Word and acting upon it. There are two paths that you can pursue. Like Saul, you can be faithless and disappoint your Maker. The other way is to imitate Abraham and cling to God’s promises. The writer of Hebrews informs us about the importance of faith (Heb. 11:6). Wise men still seek Him and embrace His Word by faith!
– Pastor Ken Burge Sr.
My Soul’s Embosser
Ephesians 1:13-14In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
In the Burge library reside many books. I love my books. Whenever I purchase a new one—which is quite often—I have a ritual that I always perform. I take out my library book embosser, which a friend gave to me as a gift approximately twenty-five years ago, lift the embosser out of its container, and imprint my mark of ownership upon the first page of the new book. It reads: “Library of Kenneth Joseph Burge” with the initials KJB in the middle. The stamp confirms my ownership of the book.
Similarly God placed his stamp of ownership upon you and me at the moment of our conversion. How have we responded to the Embosser’s imprint upon our soul? How should we respond? Let’s see what Ephesians has to say about this:
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:13-14
As soon as previously lost souls believe the life-changing message about Jesus Christ, who died for our sin and was raised from the dead, we were “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise”—instantaneously. That is to say, the second we placed faith in Jesus, the Embosser of the soul stamped his identifying trademark, the Holy Spirit within us. “Sealed refers to the official mark that would have been placed upon a first-century letter to show authenticity and ownership of that correspondence.
Likewise God engraved our souls “with the Holy Spirit of promise” upon our believing the gospel. Why “the Holy Spirit of promise?” Because the third member of the Trinity was deposited into our souls as a pledge that God would fulfill his commitment to complete the good work that had begun in us.
– Pastor Ken Burge Jr (Adapted from the author’s book Ephesians on F.I.R.E.)