A Tabernacle of Glory

 

Luke 1:26-38 (NIV) In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.  The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.  You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.  Even Elizabeth, your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

 

1. Prepare for the Cloud

 Exodus 40:30-33 (NLT) Next Moses placed the washbasin between the Tabernacle and the altar. He filled it with water so the priests could wash themselves. Moses and Aaron and Aaron’s sons used water from it to wash their hands and feet.  Whenever they approached the altar and entered the Tabernacle, they washed themselves, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

 Then he hung the curtains forming the courtyard around the Tabernacle and the altar. And he set up the curtain at the entrance of the courtyard. So, at last Moses finished the work.

 1 Cor. 3:9 (NKJV) For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field; you are God’s building. 

Eph. 5:26 (NJKV) that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

Exodus 40:34-38 (NLT) Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. Moses could no longer enter the Tabernacle because the cloud had settled down over it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.

 

2.  Respond to The Cloud

Ex. 40:36-38 (NLT) Now whenever the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out on their journey, following it. But if the cloud did not rise, they remained where they were until it lifted.  The cloud of the Lord hovered over the Tabernacle during the day, and at night fire glowed inside the cloud so the whole family of Israel could see it. This continued throughout all their journeys.

2 Chron 5:13-14 (NLT) The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised the Lord with these words: “He is good! His faithful love endures forever!”

 At that moment a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord.  The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God.

 Worship paves the way 

Worship is the response

 

2 Chron. 6:4a (NLT) “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept the promise he made to my father, David.

Luke 1:38b (NKJV) “…Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

“The heavenly Father does not ask for golden vessels, he does not ask for silver vessels.  God asks for yielded vessels – those who will submit their will to the wil of the Father.” – Kathryn Kuhlman

Luke 1:46-47 (NLT) Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.  How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!

 

3. Be one with the Cloud

 Acts 2:1-4 (NLT) On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

Rom. 12:1 (NLT) And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

 1 Cor. 3:9 (NKJV) For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field; you are God’s building. 

 1 Cor. 3:16 (NKJV) Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

 Jn 17:21-23a (NLT) I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them, and you are in me.”

 

• God wants to enter your life

• To grow inside you

• To happen through you

• To change the world around you

 

Jesus entering me

Jesus growing in me

 

4. Release the Cloud

 Jn 17:23b (NLT) “May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”

 Jesus happening through me

To change the world around me

 Acts 8:14-17 (NLT) When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there. As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.

 

Questions for discussion/reflection:

1.      Practically speaking, what might preparing for the cloud/glory of God look like for you (and your family)?

2.      What could be some aspects of your response to the glory of God?

3.      What aspects of your life do you think God wants to step into, for you to be one with Him?

4.      What is one aspect of your life where you think God wants to “stretch” you?

5.      Where do you need to release the glory of God?  Where or how does God want to happen through you?

6.      What problems around you touch your heart?  How can you release the love and presence of God into those circumstances?