Sermon Notes

29 Jan

Even More Glorious - Pr Anish Mano Stephen - Sunday Sermon Note - 14th January 2024

EVER-INCREASING GLORY – PART 2

Sunday – 14th January, 2024

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overview

  1. Introduction
  2. Miracles that manifested the glory of God in the Gospel of John
  3. First Miracle
  4. Prophesies fulfilled in the even more glorious Church
  5. Second miracle
  6. Third miracle
  7. Conclusion

 

Introduction – Ever-Increasing Glory

Lord, if you rescue me, it will bring you more glory, for you are true to your promises. Bring me out of these troubles!

Psalms 143:11 (TPT)

Contemplating the glory of God takes us from a natural life into an even-more glorious life. When the Holy Spirit becomes Lord over our life, Glory of God is manifested -  perfection, peace, grace, holiness, and the goodness of God shall be our portion. The best way to experience even more glorious things in one’s life is to understand the power of Lord Jesus’ works in a person’s life when he / she contemplates God’s glory. God manifests His glory in a way that is beyond human comprehension, though it is unknown how He may operate or when it will manifest.

He carried me away in the realm of the Spirit to the top of a great, high mountain. There he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. It was infused with the glory of God, and its radiance was like that of a very rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.

Revelations 21:10-11 (TPT)

The word “glory” means completeness, perfection, and beauty. Wherever the glory of God is, it removes all imperfections and unattractiveness and fills it with God’s splendour.

 

Miracles that manifested the glory of God in the Gospel of John

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14 (NKJV)

Apostle John begins the Gospel with the revelation of the glory of God, and there are miracles mentioned that add to the witness, where the glory of God was manifested among the people. Some of the miracles are:

 

First Miracle

New Covenant: Water turning into Wine – (John 2: 1-12)

This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

John 2:11 (NKJV)

Jesus turning water into wine is considered to have been the first miracle in His ministry. When there was a lack, Jesus came and filled with abundance .

 

Old Covenant: Water at Marah turned sweet (Exodus 15:23-25)

We are familiar with the miracle in the New Covenant – water turning into wine. An analogous incident occurred in the Old Covenant, where bitter water turned into sweet water.

    1. Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter.
    2. the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.

Exodus 15:23,25 (NKJV)

This was a situation of water being present, but it was inconsumable. God then told Moses to cut a tree and put it into the waters of Marah, and the Marah became sweet. In the Gospel of John, the ordinary water was just not made sweet, but it was transformed into wine, which was costly and of greater quality. This miracle surpassed the natural quality and timeline. Now, it is not a random tree, but the revelation of the precious blood of Jesus that will turn all bitterness into sweetness, sorrows into joy, and manifest the glory of God

 

Prophesies fulfilled in the even more glorious Church

a) Damages will be repaired

“On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old; That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name,” says the Lord who does this thing.

Amos 9:11-12 (NKJV)

God never wants a bitter experience in anyone’s life. There was an argument among the first century apostles about gentiles worshipping along with the Jews. To this, Apostle James quotes this passage from the Old Covenant that declares the heart of God to bring back the lost -

15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: 16 ‘After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up; 17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does all these things.’

Acts 15:15-17 (NKJV)

The Glory of the Lord repairs ruins and brings it back to perfection. The prophecy to Amos was later fulfilled in the in the New Covenant, when the Holy Spirit came upon the first century apostles and people, Jews and gentiles alike, and the tabernacle of worship – worship in spirit, truth and unity was raised up again.

 

 

b) Blessings will overtake

Again, in the same chapter, we see mention of abundance of harvest and wine, and that blessings are overtaking the lives of people who believe in the ever-increasing glory of God. The glory of God will accelerate the speed of things that will happen in the lives of people.

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.”

Amos 9:13 (NKJV)

 

c) Glory will drip from Zion

“I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.”

Amos 9:14 (NKJV)

 

d) God will establish them forever

I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up. From the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God.

Amos 9:15 (NKJV)

Amos made these prophecies for the New Covenant church. If the church today decides to enter into glorious seasons that God has in store for them, sweetness, unending blessings, and restoration will drip from the mountain of God, Zion.

 

Second Miracle

New Covenant: Son of a noble man healed – (John 4: 46-54)

“Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.” So, the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.”

John 4:50 (NKJV)

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, a noble man whose son was near death from a serious illness learnt that Jesus was in Cana, Galilee. He came and implored to Jesus to come and heal his son. Jesus did not go with the man, however, sent His word. And as the Word was released, the noble man’s son was healed instantly.

 

Old Covenant: Naaman healed – (2 Kings 5:1-19)

And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.”

2 Kings 5:10 (NKJV)             

We read a similar kind of a miracle in the Old Testament about a noble man, a commander of the army in Syria who had leprosy. He was next in command in the land, but there was a sickness overpowering his life. That is when the Syrians brought a young girl captive from the land of Israel. The young girl said to Naaman’s wife, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.” Upon this request, Naaman took the letter from the King of Syria and went to Israel in search of the prophet. He came to Elisha with his request, and Elisha sent out the word to Naaman without going himself.

So, he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

2 Kings 5:14 (NKJV)             

God never works according to our expectations but in His miraculous ways which humans cannot comprehend. Even in the absence of a man of God, the Word of God has the ability to work great miracles. The power of the Word of God brings glory. The more we pause in His presence and contemplate the glory of God, greater things will follow every day of our lives.

 

Third Miracle

New Covenant: Feeding five thousand people – (John 6: 1-14)

Therefore, they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.

John 6:13 (NKJV)

In this third miracle, we read about Jesus feeding a crowd of five thousand with five loaves and two fishes. There was a huge multitude who were with Him hearing the Word of God and Jesus asked Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” But this He said to test him, for He knew what He could do. When he received the five loaves and two fishes from the crowd, He blessed the food and gave them. And there was so much abundance that twelve baskets were full and still had some left over.

 

Old Covenant: Elisha Feeds One Hundred Men – (2 Kings 4:42-44)

Then a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat. 43 But his servant said, “What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?” He said again, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the Lord: ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’ 44 So he set it before them; and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.

2 Kings 4:42-44 (NKJV)

A similar situation of blessing and overflow is mentioned in the Old Testament where prophet Elisha fed a hundred men with few loaves of bread. God spoke a word that brought about a miracle, as well as abundance and residual blessings.

 

Conclusion

Miracles in the ever – increasing glory realm of God are even more glorious. In the Old Testament, the water was turned into sweet water but in the New Testament, water was turned into wine. In the Old Testament, a hundred people ate food, but in the New Testament, five thousand men along with their women, a great multitude ate. While in the Old Testament, leprosy was healed by the Word, in the New Testament a dead person was brought back to life by the Word of God.