An Overwhelming Presence

“The Lord answered, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will announce my name, the Lord, so you can hear it. I will show ·kindness [favor] to anyone to whom I want to show ·kindness [favor], and I will show ·mercy [compassion] to anyone to whom I want to show ·mercy [compassion]. But you cannot see my face, because no one can see me and live. (Exodus 33:18-20 ESV)

There are those who get angry with me for my thoughts on heaven. I have been asked, will I see my loved ones in heaven? People picture a “family gathering” of sorts. Do I believe we will see our loved ones in heaven? Yes, but not in the context many believe. Many believe they watch us and intercede for us. Wrong, we have one intercessor, the Lord Jesus Christ. Imagine the most beautiful, calming place you could ever be and standing in a glory that causes you to do nothing but fall on your face and worship the glory of God. It is so overwhelming that you can only worship out of love and fear. That is what I believe; you will care about nothing else. Those of our relatives in heaven may welcome us, but when we stand in the glory of God, He is all we will care about, and rightly so, He is God.

Look at Isaiah 6:

 "In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two, he flew. And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

How about the vision of John in Revelation? On the Lord’s Day, I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna,  Pergamum,  Thyatira,  Sardis,  Philadelphia and Laodicea.”

I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand, he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."

My beliefs are based on scripture, not arbitrary ideas. We cannot imagine the glory of God. Martyn Lloyd Jones wrote, “Errant thinking places the human being at the center of salvation rather than God.” Even when we think of going to heaven, we think about ourselves. We are a self-centered people. My Brothers and Sisters, we are not saved for us; we are saved for God. The reason we are saved for God is so that He and He alone can be properly worshipped.

The glory of God is so overwhelming all we can do is worship it while in His presence. There is no night, no ending day, nothing that denies God the worship He requires. Holy, Holy, Holy, when Hebrew put things in threes, it is an escalation of importance. Holy, Holier, Holiest is the translation of this line of Hebrew writing. Moses, Isaiah, and John all tell of the overwhelming glory of God.

For the true Christian, there is nothing more to look forward to than standing in the presence of the Lord. There is nothing else, not family, not children, not friends, only the glory of God.

Today is a great day because we are all one day closer to experiencing the glory of God.

Peace and Grace!