Retaining the Anointing — Zac Poonen

Rejoicing in the Lord’s Sovereignty

This is the day the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it. The only day where you're permitted not to rejoice is the day you think that the Lord did not make. There is no such day. If there is a day the Lord has made, it's not the devil who makes the sun to rise, it's not anyone but our Heavenly Father and therefore we will rejoice.

And rejoicing is an act of the will. It's got nothing to do whether there are clouds or rains or whether you've got a backache or headache. It's got nothing to do with feelings. It's got to do with eternal facts that Christ has forgiven our sin.

He has said he will not remember our sins anymore, that he defeated Satan 2 ,000 years ago and Satan has got no authority over us. It's good to tell the devil that he was defeated on the cross and that he cannot touch you and to live in that victory.

Spiritual Decline and the Need for a Prophetic Word

So we want to turn again to 2 Corinthians and chapter 3 and 4 where we have been seeing what we believe is a word for our time. We believe that what we are sharing is a word for the time in which we live because of the degenerate state of Christendom, because of the spiritual decline, the spiritual decline and backsliding of even Christian groups that God raised up even in the last century.

Many different groups in many countries that God raised up, that started off with great power and with a vision to bring back the truth of God but that declined over a period of time. That's not abnormal.

That has been the history of the human race. You read in the time of Joshua, Israel entered the land with great power and in one generation decline started. The elders that outlived Joshua, we read in the book of Judges, continued for some time but by the time the third generation came, it was chaos.

It says in Judges, every man did what was right in his own eyes and there was no king in Israel. God was not their king. And then as some years later, God raised up a prophet called Samuel. For many hundreds of years, there was no word from the Lord.

When you read all this, you've got to think of Christendom. It's been like that. And then suddenly God would raise up a man called Samuel and he would speak the word of God and through Samuel came forth David, a king.

And Israel rose up again. It's like if you were to draw a graph in Joshua's time, it was way up in a mountain peak and then slowly decline came. By the time of Judges, they were down in the pit. And then Samuel came up.

It was always the prophetic word. The prophetic word that lifted God's people out of the pit. And that is why I believe that in all of our churches, we must seek for the prophetic word. And prophetic word doesn't mean getting excited and getting emotional and shouting and yelling and condemning people and telling them how wrong they are.

That's not the prophetic word. Any stupid fool can speak like that. The prophetic word requires that you live before God's face like Samuel. And say, speak Lord, your servant is listening. You've got to hear him.

You've got to be free from the love of money. You've got to be free from seeking the honor of men. Jesus must be everything for you. Then you'll have the prophetic word. And Samuel came with the prophetic word and from that pit and gutter, he lifted Israel up and then David came.

David’s Wilderness Training and Hearing God Under Pressure

You know, first was Saul and he sort of fell away and God found, said, I finally found a man after my own heart. And you know, when God finds a man after his own heart, and David was a young boy. Do you know that he was 25 years old when he was writing Scripture?

How many of you are sitting here 25 years old? David was 25 years old when he was writing Scripture. You read the top of the Psalms, some of the Psalms written by David when he was running away from Saul, when he was hiding in the cave.

You know, he became king when he was 30. When was he running away from Saul? When he was 25. And he was writing Scripture. What do you think he was doing in the caves? He was sitting there in the caves and writing Scripture.

He wasn't sitting in an easy chair writing Scripture. It was in a cave running for his life. What problems do we have compared to what David had? That was his training. Joseph's training was in prison.

From the age of 20 to 30, God trained Joseph in a prison. From the age of 20 to 30, God trained David in the wilderness and in the caves. That's where he heard God. Don't think you hear God in comfort and ease.

No, God speaks to us in times of pressure. Maybe when you're running for your life, when people are against you. Small, small things we complain about. Some promotion you didn't get is what people call persecution today.

Shame on us. Those Christians face lions. We complain about mosquito bites. No wonder we don't hear God. If you complain about mosquito bites and little problems, something here, something there. I'll tell you, you'll never hear God in a hundred years.

You have to determine that you are not interested in anything other than Jesus Christ. The kingdom of God and His righteousness. You're not interested in comfort or ease or health or anything except Christ.

If you've got Christ, you've got everything. You will hear God speak to you. And you'll have a prophetic word for your church. God is looking like in the days of David when Saul failed. God raised up Saul.

Saul’s Pride and the Loss of the Anointing

Many of the churches we see today, once upon a time, if you go back into their history, it was God who raised up the church. I don't want to name them, but there are so many churches. Without a doubt, the founders were men of God.

They knew God. Just like Joshua. Just like David. And God raised up Saul. And we can say that Saul was a very humble person when he started out. He was so humble that when they wanted to make him a king, he went and hid himself.

Can you imagine a man who was being appointed king, anointed by Samuel, going and hiding himself? He was so humble. But in a short time, in about two years, he became proud because God had blessed him.

I've seen that happen in our midst. I've seen brothers who come out of rock-bottom poverty and who have come into the church and God has blessed them spiritually. He's blessed them financially and it's gone to their heads.

I've seen people who come living in sin and God saved them and changed them, given them gifts and blessed them in fellowship and given them honor in the church and it's gone to their heads. I've seen people who are nobodies become elders in a church and God's blessed their work and God's prospered them and the churches are blessed and God's given them a ministry and it's gone to their heads and their heads are swollen.

And just like Saul, God has taken away the anointing and set them aside. They don't realize it themselves. Do you think when Saul sat on the throne for all those 20 -30 years, he had a clue that God had left him?

No. He thought God was with him. God had forsaken him long ago. Don't be like that, brothers. Sisters, humble yourself and keep your mouth in the dust all the time and you'll be alright. And that's why God was looking around for a man after his own heart.

Do you know that David was born, if you look at the timeline, David was born after Saul was rejected, not before. It was after God rejected Saul that he looked around and he said, I don't find anybody and he allowed David to be born.

Saul reigned for 40 years and David was 30 years when he was a king. So we know that David was born when Saul had already been king for 10 years and by that time Saul was a failure. That's how we know that David was born after.

It was not that God already planned for David. No, God planned for Saul to do his work. God may plan for you to do his work, but if you fail him, he'll look for somebody else. You know, even to this wonderful church in Philadelphia, which is one of the best churches in the first century, I want you to read something here which is a real warning to us.

The church in Philadelphia in Revelation 3, verse 7, to the elder of the church in Philadelphia, and if you read the messages to the seven elders in seven churches, you find the elder in the Philadelphia was the most spiritual, the most wholehearted, the best church in that area.

And what was God's message to the best church? Listen to this, many good things, but listen to this warning. A warning, even if you're the most wholehearted brother sitting here today, I want to say to you in Jesus' name, verse 11.

The Lord is coming quickly. Hold fast what you have so that no one takes the crown that is meant for you. There is a crown meant for you, but if you don't hold fast to what God has given you and spoken to you, that crown will be taken away from you.

Your ministry, which you were supposed to fulfill, will be given to somebody else. That guy will get his own crown, but he'll get your crown also. He'll get two crowns because he fulfilled his ministry and your ministry because you were a failure.

Why were you a failure? God anointed you, lifted you up, but you got puffed up. You thought you were somebody when you should have remained a nobody till the end of your life. Paul remained a nobody till the end of your life.

My dear elder brothers, tell me honestly. Tell me, do you really believe you're a nobody? Answer that to yourself. Do you really believe that you are a nobody? That you're nothing? I know the right answer is, yes, I believe that.

But do you behave like that? Do you behave like that with your fellow brothers and sisters? As a nobody, as a nothing? That's why many of us are losing the anointing of God. We're becoming like Saul. It's not because we slip up and fall.

If you slip up and fall and that brings you lower into the dust, you're okay. But when you slip up and fall and you cover it up and act as though you're a great anointed servant of God, that's when God recognizes something and withdraws the anointing.

I have seen it happen before my eyes. I've seen brothers who, I remember the early days when they spoke, there was such a grace upon their life. Today, dead as a doornail. They don't realize it. That's what happened to Saul.

Holding Fast to the Anointing

And then God had to set aside Saul. Hold fast what you have. You may be the most wholehearted brother, you elder in Philadelphia, but if you don't hold fast to what you have, just because yours is the best church and you are the finest elder in that whole of Asia Minor, you brother in Philadelphia, I'm speaking to you, don't compare yourself with Ephesus and Pyatira and Pergamos and Laodicea, all those backslidden churches, not even with Smyrna.

Yes, you're better than all of them. But if you don't hold fast to what you have, you will lose your crown. I want to take it seriously. I don't believe I'm the best elder in Bangalore or India. I see tremendous need in my life.

But I want to take it seriously that if this was spoken to the best elder, where am I? I say, Lord, have mercy on me. I'll keep my face in the dust till the end of my life and I'll hold fast to what you've given me.

Not because I want a crown, but because I want to show my gratitude to Jesus who died for me on the cross to save me. Dear brothers and sisters, take these things seriously. If the crown which was meant to remain on Saul's head, God's crown, not that earthly crown over there, but there was another crown, an invisible crown called the anointing of God.

There's an earthly crown that you can have as an elder of a church and your name is in the elders list, but there's another invisible crown called the anointing of God. I'm more interested in that than in my name being in some elders list.

I couldn't care less for that elders list. Throw it in the trash can. I want this invisible anointing of God and you don't have to be an elder to get that. Your name doesn't have to be on any list for you to have the anointing of God upon your life.

That invisible anointing, the crown of God, don't lose that. Don't be satisfied with some earthly crown that somebody gives you. Somebody thinks you're a great brother. Somebody invites you for meetings and you think you're special.

Forget it, brother. That's all earthly crowns. Think of that invisible anointing of God that God puts upon your head. Don't lose that. Saul had this earthly crown where he had a great following of people who admired him.

God had removed the anointing. He didn't hold fast. You know the word that God spoke to Saul through Samuel? It's an amazing word. Let me show that to you. When he first met, Samuel met him. In 1 Samuel, we read that Samuel told Saul like this.

In 1 Samuel, chapter 10, verse 1, Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him and said, Has not the Lord anointed you, a ruler over his inheritance? And he said, after a while, verse 6, He told him, this is Samuel speaking to Saul, The spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily.

And you shall prophesy. And you will be changed into another man. I've never forgotten those words. The spirit of God will come upon you mightily. And you will be changed in a moment. Not a gradual growth over 20 years.

Immediately you will be changed into another man. You will receive the anointing of God to prophesy. To lead God's people. To build his kingdom. Today to build his church. That's how he started. When pride came into him, pride.

Saul didn't commit adultery. He didn't steal anybody's money. He just became proud that God was using him. That people were admiring him. And the devil changed him into another man again. It's a sad thing.

When God changes you into another man, Then you become proud and the devil changes you again. Back into a worse state than before. Seven demons come in. And the man's latter condition becomes worse than his first condition.

Because the devil changes him into another man. I have seen this happen before my eyes. With wonderful brothers and sisters in our churches. So that's where we need to learn. God is looking for a man and a woman after his own heart.

God’s Choice of the Humble and Despised

I hope you will be one of those. It doesn't matter if you are a young 18 -20 year old like David. Or a 18 -19 year old like Mary, the mother of Jesus. Young 18 -19 -20 year old people whom God lays a hold off and says, I want you.

I want you for a certain purpose. That's what he told Mary. That's what he told David when he was 20 years old. He was the most despised among all the sons that his father had. It doesn't matter what people think about you.

When Samuel came to the house of Jesse, David's father. And said, call all your sons. And Jesse didn't even bother to call David. He knew that one of his sons is going to be anointed king. And he called his seven sons and he didn't call David.

Imagine, David was so despised. That his father thought, ah, that fellow. He is good for nothing. He is failed in a few subjects in school. We send him to look after sheep. Where is he going to be the king?

But that is the one God chose. He doesn't value what marks you got in school or college. It doesn't matter. He doesn't care for your degrees. I'll tell you that. He looks for humility. Brokenness. And when Samuel looked through all of them and said, no, no, no.

He said, did I make a mistake? Are these all your sons? And Jesse, the father said, oh, yeah, there's another one. We don't think much about him. Samuel says, call him here. And the Lord says, this is the one.

The one whom man despises. That's the one I've chosen. So that's hope for every one of us. It doesn't matter if everybody in your church despises you. It doesn't matter if your community, your relatives, everybody despises you.

If God's chosen you, nobody will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Nobody could stand before David. Goliath or 10 ,000 Goliaths couldn't stand before him. Be a man or a woman like that in these last days, my dear brother, sister.

It's the only thing worth living for. It's the only thing worth living for. I've been a believer nearly 50 years and I'll tell you this. It's the only thing worth living for. Is to live totally for Jesus Christ.

Every day. Especially as we approach this last minute. As the second hand is clicking towards midnight. The Lord is coming. Be ready. Well, let's turn to 2 Corinthians 3. We were looking at this ministry.

The Ministry of Beholding Christ’s Glory

Which many people have forgotten in our day. There are two words that are very popular in these days in Christendom. Ministry and the gospel. We must preach the gospel. We must have a ministry. What is Paul's ministry?

Can you have a greater ministry than Paul? Let me repeat what I said yesterday. We who have received this ministry. Chapter 4 verse 1. What is this ministry? That is in chapter 3 verse 18. To look at the glory of the Lord.

To see his image. To see his likeness in scripture. And to be changed by the Holy Spirit. Into that likeness. All your ministry of being eldership. Is a drop in the bucket. Compared to this ocean of ministry.

Of seeing the glory of Jesus. And becoming like him. That is open to everybody. You sisters. Are you disturbed that you can never be an elder in a church? You can't have that 1 ministry. Can you have this 100 ministry of becoming like Jesus?

Seeing his glory. There is nothing stopping you from that. I have seen in my life. A few brothers and sisters. Whose very face. I am telling you honestly. There are some rare Christians I have met like this in my life.

Whose very face. Has spoken to me about humility. Just their face. I look at them. And I am convicted. Lord there is still some pride in me. Please let me be like this person. You know your face. And the person never spoke a word.

And even sisters. Now I meet people from many countries. I am not necessarily talking about people in our churches. Some of these people are not in our churches. And it is just. There is something about them.

When God does a tremendous work in your heart. It changes the way you look. It changes even your eyes. The Bible says in Proverbs 6. What are seven things the Lord hates? One is haughty eyes. We say I thought pride was in the heart.

That's right. But when pride is in the heart. It gradually finds its way up to the eyes. And the face. If a man has got lust in his heart. Lust, lust, lust, lust. It comes forth in his eyes. And women can pick it out sooner than men.

A pure woman will look at a man's eyes and say immediately. There is lust there. I am telling you. You can hide it. You can pretend to be a believer and speak nicely. But if you have been in your secret life.

Lusting, lusting, watching pornography. This, that and the other. It is in your eyes. And you don't know it. And a pure woman can see it immediately. And will shy away from you. I am talking about believers.

In our churches. Young and old. And even older married people. My wife has told me. I look at them and I feel there is something impure there. And I agree with it. You can't hide it. What is in your heart.

God has made it like. Now because 99 of believers are dumb, undiscerning, blind spiritually. They see nothing. They think you are a wonderful brother. But those who are walking in the purity of God can see things in your face.

Which nobody else can see. They can see lust. They can see pride. And they can see a lot of other things. And even among sisters. There is not so much lust in the eyes of sisters. But pride. Oh boy. There is a tremendous amount of pride in some of the older sisters.

But they don't know it. They think they are pretty humble. This is the great deception. The devil is a great deceiver. Our heart is a great deceiver. So. Let's remain humble and broken before God. If you look into the face of Jesus.

Seeking the Beauty of the Lord

I remember a man telling me. He is dead now. But way back. About nearly 48 years ago. A brother. He was a very old man then. He said in my younger days. He said I actually saw Sadhu Sundar Singh. When I was a young man.

I saw Sadhu Sundar Singh. In the early 1920s. And he says the thing that has remained with me for 40 years. Or 30 years. Is the purity I saw in his eyes. I have never seen eyes like that. Pure eyes. And Sadhu Sundar Singh was about 35 years old at that time.

A 35 year old man. With the same flesh and lust in the flesh. That any other man has. Age 35. And there was such purity in his eyes. That another young man. Who saw it. It struck him. And it remained with him.

For more than 30 years. And he told me about it. I have never forgotten it. That's more powerful than any message you can hear. What is in your heart. Comes out. Through your expression. It's like body odor.

Why are deodorants so popular? Because we all have body odor. Sometimes we are not aware of it. There is perspiration that comes out of our body. Everything that comes out of our body has got a bad smell.

Just by the way. It's just another proof that we are full of sin. Everything. Physical, spiritual. Everything that comes out of our mouth. Whether it's our breath. Or our words. Is corrupt. And unless it's cleansed.

It's better to have a bath. Than to put deodorant. I hope you know that. Deodorant is a cover up. Bath is much better. So cleansing is better than hypocritical covering up. And then pretending to be spiritual.

Spiritual deodorants. It's no use. Physical deodorants are okay. But spiritual deodorants. Get rid of them. Take a bath. Be cleansed in the blood of Jesus. Let the Holy Spirit purify you. What is in your heart will come out.

It is coming out right now. Through your eyes. Through your expression. Even if you speak. I can listen to a man speak for five minutes. And I can say whether he is judging. Get a man to speak up here for five minutes.

And I can tell you whether he is judging himself or not. I mean my physical nose is not very sensitive. I thankfully don't pick up any smells. But spiritually. Over the years. I've begun to discern now.

I don't know anything about his private life. But I can tell you whether he is judging himself or not. That's pretty clear. But 99 of people are not like that. And so you can fool them. In your church.

Don't be happy with it brother. That's what I'm trying to say. Don't be happy that people. 99 of dumb people in your church admire you. It means nothing. It's like a whole lot of blind people say. Oh you're a very handsome good looking person.

And you're excited. A hundred blind people said I'm so beautiful. Are you crazy? This is the stupidity of believers. Be a man after God's own heart. Let that be your passion. For that you have to see the glory of the Lord.

And the Holy Spirit will make you like that. You know David had one desire. He said like Paul said one thing I do. You remember? Like Jesus told Mary one thing is needful. David the man after God's own heart.

You know what he said in Psalm 27. I want you to look at this verse. A Psalm of David. Psalm 27. I think he wrote this in the caves. Maybe he was 25, 27 years old. Why do I say that? You read the first verses and you'll see.

He's talking about danger. He's not talking about being in the palace. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life. Whom shall I be afraid of? Evil doers came upon me to kill me.

My adversaries and my enemies. And they stumbled and fell. A host of enemies encamped around me. This is Saul. David is sitting in a cave. And he's got a little... The armies of Saul have gone away. And he's got a few minutes.

And he writes something. And it is scripture. My heart will not fear. The war rise against me. In spite of all this shall I be confident. What shall I ask the Lord for? Shall I ask the Lord to kill Saul?

Kill my enemies? No! There is only one thing I have asked from the Lord. And that I will seek all the days of my life. Verse 4. Oh Lord that I may dwell in your house and see your beauty. And right now your house is this cave.

It's all dark around me. But this is your house. There was no temple in those days by the way. No, the temple was built in Solomon's time. The house of the Lord was that cave. He said I want to see the beauty of the Lord here.

And to meditate in his temple. Which was the temple? This cave. Because then I know that in the day of trouble. He will conceal me in his tabernacle. And my head, verse 6, will be lifted up above my enemies.

That's how it is. Chapter 26. Verse 8. Let me read to you in the Message Bible. God I love living with you. Your house, your house is this cave. Glows with your glory. See this is how these men after God's own heart lived.

In the midst of enemies, trials. They didn't ask for help or wealth. They said Lord I just want to see your glory. That's the one thing I'm seeking. I don't have a second request. I know there are enemies around me.

I need more money. I need healing. But I'm not going to ask for any of those things. I want you Jesus. I want you Lord. I want to see your beauty. I want to just sit and be with you the whole time. And you know what happens to such people?

God gives them enough money to live on. God gives them health and strength and everything. You seek his righteousness first. Seek God's face first. And I guarantee that everything you need in life will be added to you.

Otherwise Jesus is a liar. Will you prove to an unbelieving world that my Lord is not a liar? That's our challenge in a poor country like India. To demonstrate to the nation around us. With all the persecution and the killing of Christians.

Which all the churches they are attacking in. Around Bangalore and Orissa and all these places. What are we going to stand up here and say? Oh Lord protect us from our enemies. No. I've never prayed that prayer.

I said Lord I want to see your glory. That's all. Let India see the glory of Jesus Christ. Never mind about me. We can afford to die. I'm ready to die if India will see God's glory. Are you ready to die if India will see God's glory?

Yes or no? I hope we'll mean that in the time of trial and testing. Which will definitely come in this country. For 30 years I have preached. Persecution will come to India. It's coming now. We must be ready.

But I'll tell you. If your only passion in life is Jesus. And you want to see his glory. Like David. There can be enemies all around you. And you're hidden in a cave. And you say Lord this is your temple.

This is your place. Don't complain about anything in life. Say Lord there's only one thing I seek. You see that's the type of person God said. That's the man after my own heart. I want a man like that to be king.

Repeated Decline and Revival in Church History

And Israel rose. And then came Solomon. Started out well. Because he had a wonderful godly father. But decline started. By the time it came to Solomon's son Rehoboam. Split. Division. And then every now and then a prophet would arise and preach.

Like Elijah or someone. There would be some miracles. And for a while they would all fall down and worship Jehovah. But in a few days they would be back again. Worshipping Baal and other gods. And then came the day of Pentecost.

Again a mountain top. Mighty power. It says there was great power up to about Acts chapter 5. In Acts chapter 6. The grumbling started. The Greek women versus the Jewish women. In the church. Grumbling and quarreling.

And the apostles had to sort out that problem. About food. Hey these Jews. People are serving more food for their own widows. And not giving less to us. Do you know when that started? In Acts chapter 6.

And decline gradually started. And by the time you come to the end of the first century. You see the condition of Ephesus. And Thyatira. And Laodicea. Revelation chapter 2 and 3. It's pathetic. Down in the dumps.

And again every now and then in the last 2 ,000 years of church history. God would raise up somebody. And then it would be down in the dumps again. Then God would raise up somebody. And it would be down in the dumps again.

Again God would raise up. Christian history is like that. God would raise up a man. Usually that revival comes through a man. And usually that revival comes through a small group of despised people. Who recognize the anointing is with this David.

Not with Saul. And they quit Saul and joined David. A few people. But then after a while this group begins to prosper. And they become proud. Oh now we have got money. We are rich. We are big. We are not like the old days.

That's right. The anointing is also gone. And we are down in the dumps again. And then God has to forsake that group. And start with another group. And that rises up. And by the time it comes a second, third generation.

In about 25, 30 years. Almost every group goes down. I mean it's a rare group. That lasts about 50 years. Very rare. That's been the history of Christianity. And I have studied and observed this in various groups.

And I have tried to see. Lord what is the reason? What is the reason? I don't want that to happen to me. I can't stop it from happening to other people. But I don't want it to happen to me. I want to go out in a cloud of glory.

I don't want to go out in that ditch. I don't want to leave this world. As a grumbling, complaining man. Murmuring and miserable. No I want to go out. Like Elijah went. Up in the chariots of fire. I hope you want to go out like that.

That you got to understand the secret. And it's very simple. You got to be taken up with Jesus. And not your ministry. It's as simple as that. You got to be a Mary. Sitting at Jesus feet. And not a Martha.

Busy with the ministry, ministry, ministry. I'm the chief cook here in the kitchen. That's the elder brother. Don't be the chief cook in the kitchen. Go and sit at Jesus feet. The Lord is more interested in that.

He said one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good part. To sit at my feet. And listen. And I have by the grace of God. Learned a little bit of that lesson. And I never want to forget it. And I share with you my dear brothers and sisters.

The Ministry of Becoming Like Jesus

The most important ministry. That you can ever have. What Paul said. We have received this ministry. This ministry. That is the word. For this minute. Of our time. We have this ministry. I hope that is the ministry you got.

What is that? Let me repeat again. With the masks removed from our face. 2nd Corinthians 3 .18. We see the glory of Jesus. In the mirror of the scriptures. And as I see the glory of Jesus. You know what happens when we see the glory of Jesus.

I'll tell you. Whether you have seen the glory of Jesus or not. It's very easy to find out. A test. What happened to Abraham when he saw the glory of the Lord. Do you know what happened? He fell. On his face.

It's in the Old Testament. I don't have time to show you all of them. What happened to Moses when he saw the glory of the Lord. He fell. On his face. What happened to the Israelites. Multitudes of them.

When on Mount Carmel. In Elijah's time. When the fire of God fell. They fell on their face. That means they hit their face in the ground. Like the set of him. In Isaiah chapter 6. Cover their faces. Because they can't see the glory of God.

What happened to Peter, James and John. When Jesus' glory shone on the Mount of Transfiguration. They fell down. And what about the godly. Apostle John. 95 years old. And walked with God for 65 years.

A spirit filled life in the Isle of Patmos. In Revelation chapter 1. When he saw the glory of the Lord. He says. I fell at his feet like a dead man. That has always been the mark. Of those whenever they have seen the glory of the Lord.

And this glory of the Lord. Is today in the mirror of scripture. It says. We see in a mirror. And James 1 says the mirror is God's word. Let me ask you. When was the last time you read God's word. And inwardly.