FULFILLING THE CALL TO GLORY

[Albert Finch]

God will use pressure to perfect us! He promises to even use the plans of the enemy and turn them around for our good! And, the more that we are perfected, the more we reveal God's glory.

GOD'S GLORY IN US

Everywhere we go, we see and experience God's glory. King David the psalmist wrote: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands" (Psalm 19:1). Then also consider what the prophet Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 6:3b "...Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory."
There are over 200 references in Scripture which refer to the glory as "kabod", which comes from a root word meaning "heavy" or "weighty." Kabod carries the idea of "fullness" or the "full weight" of something. It's easy to conclude that glory refers to a weightiness connected to a notable person, someone who has a lot of influence (weightiness) and importance.

When we use the phrase "glory of God," it is referring to "a visible manifestation of God" and also His divine desire to show Himself to mankind and through mankind. God desires to reveal His nature, His beauty, His influence, His power – through us! What prepares us for this? How do we reveal more of His glory?
Through the press!

THE PRESS

For each of us going through the press of life, God wants to reveal greatness in us, the glory that is in us – to others. Yes, to fully reveal the glory in us, we endure pressure and, at times, it feels as if the world is crushing in on us! We must try and keep in mind that the glory of God exists within us not for our own benefit – but for others. God desires that the whole earth be filled with His glory!

THE FRAGRANT ANOINTING COMING FORTH

If you feel under pressure, don't despair! God will never allow it to destroy you. Instead, He will use it to positively expose and reveal you. God chooses to bring us to the original intent of our creation and PURPOSE. Remember, we are all called to demonstrate the glory of God – that is our original purpose!

With so many of us, our fragrance is bottled up and stored away. We've been bottled up due to job pressure, peer pressure, and other pressures, and then sealed off. Frustration, pain, and disappointment have been like corks that have sealed off the release of your anointing and fragrance. But God is allowing pressure. o bring out the best in us God is allowing the press.

Many of us have felt like failures because we don't seem to handle the pressure well. God is getting the fragrance that is in you out of the bottle and out of the box! Like the woman who broke open the alabaster box and washed the feet of Jesus with the fragrance, God is breaking open every place in your life that has held you back! The anointing oil upon your life will begin to flow like never before.

"But thanks be to God! For through what Christ has done, He leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. As far as God is concerned there is a sweet wholesome fragrance in our lives. It is the fragrance of Christ within us, an aroma to both the saved and the unsaved all around us. In Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God." - 2 Corinthians 2:14,15,17

We are the "aroma" of Christ and the "fragrance of life." Yes! That is how God is revealing Himself through us! If we will begin to see ourselves this way, it will empower us more whenever we are feeling pressure. We see ourselves as the aroma and fragrance of God that is coming forth -- this is the attitude of an overcomer!

THE FIERY FURNACE OF LIFE

In fact, we should be giving God praise because He is always committed to empowering us to fulfill our CALLING in Christ and reflect His glory. Thank God that during those fiery trials He is bringing out the best in us and, at the same time, reflecting His glory through our circumstance.

None of us knows what our responses might be when trouble knocks at the door. The Lord allows tough times to reveal to the world all the good stuff that's in us! Did you ever think about pressure that way? The enemy would try to falsely accuse us in the process of being perfected. Satan speaks lies that convince us that we've done something wrong to deserve this pressure and that we are being punished.

Keep in mind that God is extracting your potential through pressure! Don't run from it – embrace it! When demands are made on our potential, God gets the glory from it! Believer, you've got untapped potential – let God extract it!

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY