This study guide was produced by Keswick Ministries. Keswick Ministries hosts a Convention for 3 weeks each summer in the English Lake District. They also run year-round teaching and training events and produce digital and printed resources. The central vision of Keswick Ministries is to see the people of God equipped, encouraged and refreshed to love and live for Christ in his world. We hope you are blessed by this series.
What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘glory’?
The prophet Ezekiel saw God’s glory and fell face down, lost for words.
No wonder we struggle to define ‘glory’. It’s beyond explanation and
comprehension because it is the sum of who God is, all his perfect attributes on display. Creation declares God’s glory, the angels at Jesus’ birth sang about it, the Israelites followed it, the temple and tabernacle were filled with it, Jesus revealed it, and soon it will light up the new heavens and new earth. Now we catch glimpses of God’s glory, but one day his infinite worth will be revealed and he’ll receive the worship he’s due.
Until then we long to see God’s character – his honour, holiness, justice, wisdom and compassion – reflected in our government, courts, big business and media. We long for his glory to be more and more on display in the church and in our lives. Whenever you feel these longings stirring in your heart, remember, this is what you were created for (Isaiah 43:7). God is passionate about his own glory, and he wants you to share his passion.
1 “Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,
you who are called by the name of Israel
and come from the line of Judah,
you who take oaths in the name of the Lord
and invoke the God of Israel—
but not in truth or righteousness—
2 you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city
and claim to rely on the God of Israel—
the Lord Almighty is his name:
3 I foretold the former things long ago,
my mouth announced them and I made them known;
then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
4 For I knew how stubborn you were;
your neck muscles were iron,
your forehead was bronze.
5 Therefore I told you these things long ago;
before they happened I announced them to you
so that you could not say,
‘My images brought them about;
my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
6 You have heard these things; look at them all.
Will you not admit them?“From now on I will tell you of new things,
of hidden things unknown to you.
7 They are created now, and not long ago;
you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
‘Yes, I knew of them.’
8 You have neither heard nor understood;
from of old your ears have not been open.
Well do I know how treacherous you are;
you were called a rebel from birth.
9 For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath;
for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
so as not to destroy you completely.
10 See, I have refined you, though not as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this.
How can I let myself be defamed?
I will not yield my glory to another.
If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because
(John Piper, A Hunger for God, p. 23)
you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.
The prayer Jesus taught his disciples is a prayer for God’s glory to be displayed in the world and through our lives. Make this prayer your own.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
