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My fa<strong>the</strong>r, Kenneth E. Hagin, lived a life offaith, consecration, and obedience before<strong>the</strong> Lord. Not only was he 100 percentdedicated <strong>to</strong> doing <strong>the</strong> Lord’s will, he wasalso diligent <strong>to</strong> study, diligent <strong>to</strong> pray,and diligent <strong>to</strong> obey <strong>the</strong> Word and <strong>the</strong>direction he received from <strong>the</strong> Lord.My fa<strong>the</strong>r saw great results inhis ministry. He experiencedmarvelous moves of <strong>the</strong>Spirit of God. Dad saw <strong>the</strong> glory cloudmany times and had many spectacularexperiences with <strong>the</strong> Spirit of God. 1 Asa part of this generation, we need <strong>to</strong>take <strong>the</strong> <strong>to</strong>rch that he and o<strong>the</strong>rs likehim were so faithful <strong>to</strong> carry and useit through our own obedience <strong>to</strong> set<strong>the</strong> world on fire with <strong>the</strong> power and glory of God!Let’s take a look at a key that caused God’s glory <strong>to</strong> bemanifested.LEVITICUS 9:5–6,23 (nIV )5 They <strong>to</strong>ok <strong>the</strong> things Moses commanded <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> fron<strong>to</strong>f <strong>the</strong> Tent of Meeting, and <strong>the</strong> entire assembly camenear and s<strong>to</strong>od before <strong>the</strong> Lord.6 Then Moses said, “This is what <strong>the</strong> Lord has commandedyou <strong>to</strong> do, so that <strong>the</strong> glory of <strong>the</strong> Lord mayappear <strong>to</strong> you.”23 Moses and Aaron <strong>the</strong>n went in<strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> Tent of Meeting.When <strong>the</strong>y came out, <strong>the</strong>y blessed <strong>the</strong> people; and <strong>the</strong>glory of <strong>the</strong> Lord appeared <strong>to</strong> all <strong>the</strong> people.Notice in verse 23 it says, “Moses and Aaron went in<strong>to</strong><strong>the</strong> Tent of Meeting. . . .” In <strong>the</strong> Old Testament, <strong>the</strong> peoplecouldn’t go in<strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> place where <strong>the</strong> Presence of God dwelt.Only <strong>the</strong> prophet, priest, and king were anointed with God’sSpirit. The priests could enter <strong>the</strong> Holy Place near <strong>the</strong> placeof God’s Presence on behalf of <strong>the</strong> people, but <strong>the</strong> generalpopulation could not enter. And only <strong>the</strong> High Priest wasable <strong>to</strong> go before God in <strong>the</strong> Holy of Holies.Although <strong>the</strong> priests could enter <strong>the</strong> Holy Place, <strong>the</strong>ycould do so only after going through a special cleansingprocess. And even when <strong>the</strong>y experienced manifestationsof God’s glory, <strong>the</strong>y only experienced Him outwardly, on alower dimension than we as believers are capable of experiencing<strong>to</strong>day.What gives us <strong>the</strong> right <strong>to</strong> experience <strong>the</strong> Presence ofGod as we do? We don’t have <strong>to</strong> undergo any special ceremony<strong>to</strong> enter His Presence, because <strong>the</strong> blood of JesusChrist has made us clean, holy, and righteous. It is throughJesus that we have access <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> glory of God.Jesus has made a new and living way (Heb. 10:20) forus <strong>to</strong> approach that same holy God and have access <strong>to</strong> HisPresence and glory. One way <strong>to</strong> experience <strong>the</strong> glory of Godfor ourselves and enter in<strong>to</strong> greater measures of God’s gloryis through obedience.We already read in Leviticus 9:6 that Moses said, “. . .‘This is what <strong>the</strong> Lord has commanded you <strong>to</strong> do, so that<strong>the</strong> glory of <strong>the</strong> Lord may appear <strong>to</strong> you.’ ” If you read verses8 through 22, you’ll find that Aaron <strong>the</strong> priest obeyed andoffered <strong>the</strong> sin offering for <strong>the</strong> people “in <strong>the</strong> prescribedway” (v. 16). We know it must have been acceptable <strong>to</strong> God,because verse 23 says, “Moses and Aaron <strong>the</strong>n went in<strong>to</strong><strong>the</strong> Tent of Meeting. When <strong>the</strong>y came out, <strong>the</strong>y blessed<strong>the</strong> people; and <strong>the</strong> glory of <strong>the</strong> lord appeared <strong>to</strong> all <strong>the</strong>people.”The glory of <strong>the</strong> Lord appeared! If we’re going <strong>to</strong> experienceGod’s glory, we’re going <strong>to</strong> have <strong>to</strong> obey Him. We have<strong>to</strong> obey what He says <strong>to</strong> do in His Word, because God’s Wordis God speaking <strong>to</strong> us. We also have <strong>to</strong> obey Him when Hespecifically speaks <strong>to</strong> us. When we do <strong>the</strong>se things, <strong>the</strong> gloryof <strong>the</strong> Lord will appear, and God will manifest Himself in agreater measure than we’ve experienced before.What happens many times is that God will speak something<strong>to</strong> our hearts that He wants us <strong>to</strong> do, and we’ll onlypartially obey it because we’re <strong>to</strong>o busy with our plan, orwhat God is saying doesn’t fit in with our plans. But obediencewithout compromise is <strong>the</strong> key <strong>to</strong> experiencing <strong>the</strong>glory.God may speak <strong>to</strong> you about some things you need <strong>to</strong>change in your personal life. He may speak <strong>to</strong> a pas<strong>to</strong>r aboutchanging <strong>the</strong> format of his church services. He may speak <strong>to</strong>someone else about his prayer time, because he’s not doingeverything God <strong>to</strong>ld him <strong>to</strong> do concerning prayer.Let’s look at a New Testament scripture about obedience.JOHN 14:21 (nIV )21 “Whoever has my commands and obeys <strong>the</strong>m, he is<strong>the</strong> one who loves me. He who loves me will be lovedby my Fa<strong>the</strong>r, and I <strong>to</strong>o will love him and show myself<strong>to</strong> him.”Jesus has made a new and livingway for us <strong>to</strong> approach thatsame holy God and have access<strong>to</strong> His Presence and glory.Yes, we have <strong>to</strong> want <strong>the</strong> glory. We have <strong>to</strong> hunger andseek God for it. But we also have <strong>to</strong> obey God. The key <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong>glory is obedience <strong>to</strong> God in everything, including changingwhatever needs <strong>to</strong> be changed, so that we can experience <strong>the</strong>full measure of God’s blessing and power.Obedience <strong>to</strong> God puts us in position for God <strong>to</strong> bless usand display His glory in our lives. When we obey Him, weput ourselves in God’s “pattern” so He can bless us.To give you a natural illustration, if I were playing footballand <strong>the</strong> quarterback <strong>to</strong>ld me <strong>to</strong> run a certain pattern,<strong>the</strong>n I would have <strong>to</strong> run that pattern as practiced so I wouldbe in <strong>the</strong> right position on <strong>the</strong> field. If I broke <strong>the</strong> patternand went somewhere on <strong>the</strong> field that I wasn’t supposed <strong>to</strong>go, I would cost my team <strong>the</strong> opportunity <strong>to</strong> score.Have you ever heard a sports announcer say, “Thereceiver broke <strong>the</strong> pattern, and <strong>the</strong> pass was no good”? Thereceiver wasn’t where he was supposed <strong>to</strong> be on <strong>the</strong> field.There are believers who have received specific instructionsfrom God concerning something <strong>the</strong>y are supposed<strong>to</strong> do. But <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong>y get distracted and forget what Godsaid. Pretty soon, things aren’t working out for <strong>the</strong>m <strong>the</strong>rhema.org 5

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