BEHOLD HIS FACE!! - David Wilkerson

FROM GLORY to GLORY
by David Wilkerson

Paul speaks of a ministry that every Christian is called to, one that
does not require particular gifts or talents. It is to be undertaken
by all who have been born again, both recognized ministers and
laypersons. In fact, this ministry is every believer's first calling
and all other endeavors must flow out of it.

No ministry can be pleasing to God unless it is birthed out of this
calling. I am talking about the ministry of beholding the face of
Christ. Paul says, "We all, with open face beholding as in a glass
the glory of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).

What does it mean to behold the Lord's glory? Paul is speaking
of devoted, focused worship. It is time that is given to God simply
to behold Him. And the apostle quickly adds, "Therefore seeing
we have this ministry" (4:1). Paul makes it clear that beholding
the face of Christ is a ministry we all must devote ourselves to.

The Greek word for beholding in this verse is a very strong
expression. It indicates not just taking a look, but "fixing the gaze."
It means deciding, "I won't move from this position. Before I do
anything else, before I try to accomplish a single thing, I must be
in God's presence."

Many Christians misinterpret the phrase "beholding as in a glass"
(3:18). They think of a mirror, with Jesus' face being reflected back
to them. But that is not Paul's meaning here. He is speaking of
an intensely focused gaze, as if peering at something earnestly
through a glass, trying to see it more clearly. We are to "fix our
eyes" this way, determined to see God's glory in the face of
Christ. We are to shut ourselves in the holy of holies, with but
one obsession: to gaze so intently, and to commune with such
devotion, that we are changed.

Paul says the person who is shut in with Christ, beholding Him,
is being transfigured. What happens as a believer beholds the
face of Christ? Paul writes, "We all, with open face beholding as
in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image
from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).

-Source-

http://sermons.worldchallenge.org/en/node/24027

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