In our previous study, we discussed the fact of the Glory of God being primarily the presence of God within Israel.  We saw how that Glory had been removed over a process of time, and how it began, at Pentecost, to be restored.  But now we proceed to the second point regarding this subject, namely;

2. This Glory is primarily restricted to Israel.

Now I fully realise that a lot of people tend to argue about that statement.  They say “Oh no, anyone can share in this Glory”. But we are not speaking here of individuals.  We are dealing here with a national situation.  Other nations, and indeed individual Israelites, will come into the blessings of God only if they are obedient to God and accept the Lord Jesus Christ.

But the glory of God was never, ever applied to any other nation but Israel.  He’s never known as the Lord god of whoever or whatever. He’s the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That is His full name. And I think we should remember when we address Him in prayer that we recognise Him as such.  We are not praying to any old god.  As Israelites, and as Christians, we should  use His full and correct title. He’s OUR God, and we should have no hesitation whatsoever in letting Him know that we recognise Him as such.   Surely we are not embarrassed to speak the truth just because it doesn’t fit into our modern “political correct” policy which would have us compromise our convictions just for the sake of not hurting the feelings of all the other religions which are over-running our nation?

Perhaps it would help if we went to the true source of  what we should believe and do.  Look at Isaiah 42:8;
 

 “I am the Lord, that is my name: and my glory I will not give to another,
   neither my praise to graven images.”

“For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted?
  and I will not give my glory unto another.”

“You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”   John 14:15.

What do we make of the verses from Isaiah and Amos which we stated above? We can fiddle around with them and spiritualise them and do what we like with them, but the plain fact remains that God has categorically stated in no uncertain terms that ‘I am not going to give my glory to any other nation’.

He has categorically stated that Israel is the only nation upon the face of the earth with whom He has ever had an intimate relationship.  This is not a statement restricted to the individual level.  This is a statement of a national relationship! This is one of the basic reasons as to why, as a nation, we are under attack.  And it is absolutely essential that we fully realise both the fact, and the reason for the fact of God’s plans and purposes for our nation, so that when we talk to people we don’t give them the impression that we’re just racist, or some form of super-race.  We’ve got to be able to put the word of God to them and say ‘this is what God said’. I’m not going to waste my time arguing with ministers or Christians who want to believe something else just because it accords with what their own particular church doctrine teaches, or what they want to believe irrespective of what the Word of God clearly states.  If they don’t want to believe what God said, they’re most certainly not going to believe what I say, and they’re most certainly not going to believe what you say to them. We have to convince them of what God said, and of the fact that He means what He says, and prove it from the Word.

3. The third point to note is the purpose for which God has bestowed upon us  His Glory.

It is a strange fact, but a fact nevertheless, that so many Christians don’t seem to bother to find out the purpose for which God plans and acts.  One gets the impression that they think that God just gets ideas from time to time, and tries them out to see what happens.  But there most definitely IS a purpose for everything that He says and does.
When we turn to Isaiah chapter 43 and verses 1-12 we read this wonderful promise;
 

1  “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
2  When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
3  For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
4  Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.
5  Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
6  I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
7  Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
8  Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.
9  Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and show us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.
10  Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
11  I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
12  I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.”                            (Emphasis added).

“This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise.”

But of course, we always have the option of going along with the crowd and joining the ecumenical movement.  Then we can get a bit of this and a bit of that and a bit of something else and put it all together and make a sort of theological fruit pudding out of it, which pleases everyone.

We were put here to show forth the praise of God, and to show forth the glory of God, and to be His chosen witnesses to the fact the He IS the only true God.  That is our purpose. God didn’t put us here on this earth just as an experiment to see what was going to happen. He put us here to do a specific job. We were to praise His name and we were to glory His name. And what’s happened?

Do we really believe that we’re praising Him now? As I have said previously, despite all the churches and denominations, and despite all their conventions and rallies, we’re becoming less and less of a Christian nation at such a rapid speed that it’s almost frightening. You’d think with all the people who are claimed to be converted, thousands of them, and the churches telling us about all the good things they are doing everywhere,  (many of which I hasten to add are very genuine and important), that it would make a difference to the way our country is developing.

Yet the whole nation is going to hell twice as quick today as it was ten years ago. And this, despite all their so called revivals, and all their meetings and whatever they’re doing. I don’t belittle the fact that good is being done in individual lives, which is most important, but it’s not affecting the nation as such.  The other nations and religions of the world are just laughing at us. The attitude is, “Who wants Christianity”?

I think of the experience of Betty and myself when we lived in New Guinea many years ago. Christianity was looked upon as a ‘white man’s religion’.  Many is the time I have heard natives express the view, “We don’t want your religion.  Look at how the white men are behaving,” they’d say.  “They’re supposed to be a Christian people, and look at how they go on?  If that’s Christianity, you can have it.”  And the dedicated missionaries up there have really got their work cut out trying to overcome that quite natural reaction. And the reason that the local people have that attitude is because we are not singing the praises of God. I don’t mean that just in the form of normal vocalising.  We are not showing forth His praise and we are not showing forth His glory to the ends of the earth.  Many folk who have not experienced this would be ashamed of the amount of compromise that is evidenced, all for the sake of gaining converts.  Showing forth the Praises of God is the purpose for which God formed us, and the sooner we recognise this fact, and act upon it, the sooner we will achieve this grand purpose for which He formed us in the first place.  Ephesians 2:10 makes a very important point;
 

 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

How can you show forth the good works of Christ that He has ordained in us if we’re going to compromise? Nothing good was ever achieved by compromise. You might think you are getting somewhere by negotiating, but when you start to negotiate then what do you do? You end up almost invariably compromising. Each party invariably sacrifices part of their convictions in order to appease both sides.  Some positions have to be negotiated simply because of misunderstandings or for the purpose of getting the facts right.  But compromise is not a word in the Lord’s dictionary.  He knows absolutely nothing of compromise.  It applies to the individual as well as to the nation.  We either do it God’s way and receive blessing and victory, or we do it our way and reap the reward of judgment and hopelessness which is now all too familiar to those of us who have the slightest modicum of common sense.  The purposes of God Almighty will never vary.  We read in Isaiah 55:11;
 

“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

“The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: ....... For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?”

Let us not be found arguing with the purposes of God!

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