Are You Really Ready To Pay The Price For Glory?

This past Saturday during my church’s conference I got a call that Pastor Nat wanted to speak with me.
There were some glitches with some stuff that he wanted to smoothen out… and I am thankful that I was the one who was called because I ended up getting one word for this season that I am certain God wants me(us) to stand strong in.

 

On Thursday when the conference started, Pastor Chingtok spoke about the glory of God and about the fact that there is a price to be paid for “glory”.
Yes, the glory God promises us in Isaiah 60 doesn’t come cheap.
And so on Saturday again, Pastor Nat started elaborating on the price to pay for God’s glory to shine through us with real life examples from his own life…

He wanted to break us out from the mentality some Christians live with… the mentality of comfort in the things of God.
Pastor Nat spoke to the few of us with him that Saturday about how people hear his name all around the world now and they think that one just stumbles in and starts shining God’s glory.
No.
He said everywhere God has taken him and has brought him now are as a result of sacrifices he has made… things he has done to put God first.
Obedience to God even when it pricks his flesh hard.
He spoke about how he went somewhere and he was gifted with a very expensive wrist watch… and God said give it to so, so and so.
He said he knew just how much he would have gotten if he sold that wrist watch but he obeyed.
He spoke about how God has taken him to a point where he does not respect money… God says give, he drops it.
His wife sometimes would even think that he’s insane.
Prayers… 3am, night time, as soon as time comes up to stay on his knees, he subdues the flesh and gets down to pray.
Sowing seeds into ministries he knows God is taking him into…. this he has so done…me I know I haven’t even started yet in this area.
He spoke about how when a very famous gospel trumpeter came to Lagos one time and he sowed some pounds he had into his ministry because he saw his own ministry being like that…
Last year he was in New York blowing his trumpet when that same worship minister came running to minister along with him… and he remembered seeds sown and prayers offered…

 

As Pastor Nat kept talking to us, my mind was taking a spin of its own…
Am I really ready to pay the price for God’s glory to be made manifest in me?
Am I ready to subdue the flesh and let God take over completely?
Am I ready to lay down everything He says I should drop so His glory can indeed arise on me?
Am I ready to push… stay in the place of battling for the glory to show forth?
When I hit obstacles on the path to glory, will I relent or push forth with the Spirit’s strength in me?

 

This morning I was again studying Moses relationship with God and the process that led up to his asking to see God’s glory…

 

“It was Moses’ practice to take the Tent of Meeting and set it up some distance from the camp. Everyone who wanted to make a request of the Lord would go to the Tent of Meeting outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the Tent of Meeting, all the people would get up and stand in the entrances of their own tents. They would all watch Moses until he disappeared inside.”
-Exodus 33:7-8 NLT

 

And I was thinking, here was this man who made it a habit to commune with God and know God for Himself and as he did that, instead of the people to desire to have the kind of relationship he had with God, they stood as bystanders and spectators watching all the while as Moses went through the process and price to get God’s glory to be shown to him.
If you read down Exodus 33 you’ll find out that only after constant and continual communing with God did Moses finally ask God to show him His glory.
He had built a relationship with God, so much so that he could make such audacious request to be shown God’s glory.
And you’ll also notice that it wasn’t just Moses alone who made a habit to go into the tent to fellowship with God, his assistant then Joshua always followed him to the tent and even when Moses went back to the camp, Joshua still stayed behind in the tabernacle with God. (Exodus 33:11)
Now guess who God used to show His glory in their time?
Moses and then Joshua.
What was the price they paid?
Placing knowing God (not God’s acts) above all else.
You think it’s easy to make it a habit to commune with God everyday?
If it’s easy why does everyone not do it?
It’s a price to be paid!

 

And then I went to 2Corinthians 3:7-18 (please follow along by opening the Word for yourself…)

 

The glory that God showed Moses was external… it couldn’t reside inside Moses because the Spirit had not yet been given.
Now the glory that God wants us to reflect is internal…
Meaning, God is this glory that we speak about and this glory resides inside of us so we show forth this glory from the inside out.
It’s no longer a function of “raise the rod and the sea will part”, it’s now a function of the Spirit that lives inside of you.
But we all know that this Spirit – the glory doesn’t wax stronger on its own… we must feed Him… we must make some sacrifices to ensure that He takes over and His light shines brightly through us.

 

So when Pastor Nat was speaking about how much he has had to obey God, subdue the flesh and let the Spirit take control, my soul was soaking in all He was saying.
For some weeks now, I have been feeling the Spirit tugging on me to get up and pray in the Spirit at 3am each night.
Every time I stay up late and then sleep when it’s close to 3am and never wake up till morning.
I am not yet paying the price He wants me to pay at this moment for the season He wants to take me into…

 

I believe that we have to be attuned in the Spirit to know what God wants of us in each season.
For some it’s God telling you to spend just some few minutes more in your fellowship with Him each day.
For some it’s God telling you to add evening devotion time to the morning hours you do…
For some like me it’s God telling us to pray in the Spirit and pray our way through to some specific instructions and directions that we can only get when we keep our spirit man alive by praying in the language of the Spirit.

 

I added my own dilemma up there just to let us know that I know it’s difficult to pay the price God wants us to pay for glory.
The flesh keeps showing up its ugly face!
But I am determining by writing this post not to let it get the best of me.

 

I finally got what God meant by saying I should go forward when I left Ekiti…
That season was a season to soak in… get quiet and learn of God…
This season is a season to go forth and show forth His glory… but then it doesn’t mean that I can show this forth on my own, I must remain in Him and be obedient to everything He tells me to do.

 

I asked God for the words to write this study today because I simply felt like I had no words to aptly convey what is in my heart to share.
But I pray that for everyone God has been teaching and preparing to show forth His glory (which is all Christians literally), we understand the price God wants us to pay in each season and subdue the flesh to pay it.
I hope you read Isaiah 60 when I shared it last week?
That’s the season that God is bringing us into…
A season where we have to arise and shine forth all He has put in us… but for us to arise and shine, we must lay aside the shackles of everything holding us back from stepping into glory.
“ARISE [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you–rise to a new life]! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!” 
-Isaiah 60:1 AMP

 
What’s keeping you from paying the price for you to step into God’s glory?
I write this because I believe that as the words come through my fingers, the Holy Spirit will bring them to my remembrance when my 3am alarm rings for me to pray in the Spirit…
And I pray that when God tells you to step outside the camp and commune with Him more… you will do so in obedience, knowing that living forth His glory is worth any price that He asks of us…

 

Prayer:
Lord ignite a passion and desire for you in our hearts.
A passion so strong, nothing can come against it.
Light your fire in our hearts… a fire that burns brightly in us for us to shine forth in you like you want us to do.
Help us to lay aside every weight holding us back.. just like Jesus, help us to go through the pain, the battles, the obstacles… and come out victorious, shining forth your light.
Thank you Lord, in Jesus name we have prayed, amen.

 
I just felt like adding this… If you’ve been pulled on by God in recent weeks to do something’s in light of going deeper in Him… but then you keep struggling and flaying like me… can you leave a comment below so we pray for strength together based on your specific need?
Everyone who comes on here and sees the comments, please pray for our fellow brothers and sisters…
Pray for strength, pray for grace to do what God is asking of them and pray that we obey when the Spirit tugs on our heart to go deeper in Him so we can show forth His glory.
The world needs our light. The entire creations on earth are waiting for us to awake and manifest our light.
Let’s not keep them waiting anymore.
Till our next online Bible study,
Love,
Frances.

 

 

PS: I was asked to share “rhema” from the conference but have you guys noticed yet that I don’t usually blog on “rhema” from conferences?
The lessons are usually so deep and I usually have no words to express them.
So I am sorry, but these words from the conference was what I was impressed on to share.
If there’s more, I will share but basically I don’t think I can come up with clear notes from the conference…

 
P.P:S: My book reading/discussion on purpose that I have been sharing about holds on Saturday, December 12th 2015.
Venue is at my church’s library, at VI Lagos, 1pm.
I will share full details on this next week Monday.
But for now, some persons have been indicating interest in attending…
If you’re interested, please send a mail to okorofrances@gmail.com and before next week Monday when I put out the full public notice, you can be in the know and maybe even help with the plans if you want to help… so holla at moi.

 

It’s one meeting where I’m praying people leave with more clarity on God’s path/direction/purpose for their lives… and you would be absolutely blessed for attending.
So do let me know if you’ll be there 🙂

 

 

 

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