Loving God for Himself — George Warnock

Ascending Praise and Wholehearted Worship

And I appreciated the praise and worship here this morning, and I thought it was beautiful, and I felt it was ascending from hearts who loved him. And I want to see more of that. I'm not downgrading noise or anything like that.

I want to see more of the real praises of the Lord. But I get so weary of the entertainment that comes into the churches, and there's a big noise, and they call it the high praises of God. The high praises of God are the ascending praises.

That's what the word means. Ascending praises. As you go to the Birzen Altar and get the coals of fire and put incense upon it, there's going to be an ascending of that incense before the Lord, and the Lord smells a sweet-smelling savor because you're praising the Lord for His faithfulness.

You've committed all to Him. You've put all in the altar. You claim nothing for yourself. You want nothing for yourself. You don't want the enlargement of your ministry. You don't want to be successful, but you want to be approved of God.

And out of a heart that is known the fires of God on the Birzen Altar, you're able to praise Him and thank Him for His faithfulness. And you see the Lord in a new way. And those people who know and have learned to come to the place of true worship and praise and prayer and intercession are the people who are standing right before the veil.

Moses Seeks the Glory of God

And one day God is going to be pleased to draw back the veil and reveal Himself. We'll find ourselves in the immediate presence of God. And Moses said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. God said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

And God said, Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock, and it shall come to pass while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover thee with my hand while I pass by, and I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen.

And that scripture, I remember from my earliest childhood memories, the picture I saw there of God putting Moses in a cleft of the rock. And somehow, though I didn't have a concept of God really any more than I do now, somehow you could see God just covering Moses there, and God walks by, and God takes His hand off as He walks by, and Moses looks, and he sees God's back parts.

And I don't understand what kind of a form Moses beheld, but I believe that there's a picture there of the God who has walked by, and we sensed His presence as He went by, and we knew God was there because God was doing certain things, and we felt His hand upon us.

But He goes by, and all we see is the God who has passed by, and that's been about the concept of the Church of Jesus Christ in this hour, the God who has walked by. The God who has walked by, and we thank the Lord that He visited us, and that He put His hand upon us, but now He's gone by, and where are you, Lord?

Won't you please wait, won't you? And somehow, I believe God is waiting for this people who will have that same passion that Moses had, Lord, show me Thy face, and God says, You shall not see My face and live in service.

Okay, Lord, I'm sorry. A people will continue to say, Lord, show me Your face, show me Your glory, let Your glory be revealed in my midst, and God says, You shall not see My face and live, and we say, Lord, show me Your glory, I don't want to live.

I want to die, and I might see You, and God is going to reveal Himself to such a people. If we're prepared to say, Lord, yes, let me die by the shining forth of Your glory, by the manifestation of Your presence, let me be as one dead, but I want to see the Lord.

All these visitations, there's a work wrought in the hearts of God's people, because they've seen the Lord. He's in part, I know, but we've seen Him, and so it changes us, and that's the work that's going on in the body of Christ today.

All of us want to see the Lord, but there has been, there's been a manifestation of the presence of God in your life. He's imparted a gift or a ministry of some kind. You say, I don't have much. You don't need much.

Bring what you have to the Lord, expose it to Him. Lord, is this all you've given me? Just the one talent? You haven't given me five talents like you gave this other one? Oh, I don't have much, I'll go bury it.

No, take what you have, invest it in the body of Christ. So we're all with open face. That means with the veil removed. The word open there is unveiled. We all with open face, beholders in the glass, the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image, from glory unto glory, witnessed by the Spirit of the Lord.

Unveiled Faces and Ministry in the Body

We all with open face. This is not going to come by any mighty apostle or prophet. It's going to be when we all, the members of the body of Christ with open face, as they gather together, they begin to reflect that aspect of the presence of Christ which has been made known to them.

And I don't mean by that that every time you get together, everybody's got to get up and give a little sermon. But every man should be responsible in the assembly to seek the Lord before they come and when they come to be simply ready, that's all.

Simply ready. And to know when to speak and when to stop speaking. Or if to speak at all. To know when to keep silent throughout the whole meeting. I'm not talking about talking. I'm speaking about coming with that light that you can reflect upon your brother.

If we don't have a light to reflect upon him, let us do what Moses did, put a veil over our face and seek God until we do have that light. And that's what Moses did. For when he came down from the mountain of God, having been with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights, and the very glory of the Lord shone forth upon his countenance, though he knew it not, and as he came down into the camp, he saw the people afraid to draw nigh.

Their eyes were sensitive. They were squinting. They couldn't stand it. And he beckoned to them and fearfully they drew nigh. And while the glory was radiating from his countenance, he was able to minister life to them, words from God.

But he sensed the glory was fading away. And when he sensed the glory was fading away, he put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel wouldn't see the fading glory. He did not come down from the mount with the glory of God radiating from his countenance and the people of God says, We can't stand that.

Moses, cover your face. He covered his face. He didn't do that. I know it says in the Authorized Version, Till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. But the Hebrew and every other version I've read confirms and Paul the Apostle confirms that just when he had finished speaking with them, he put the veil over his face.

Just when he had finished speaking with them. He refused to cover that glory. He refused to accommodate their blindness of heart. Because the veil was really, the veil that Moses put over his face was really the veil that was on their heart.

And that's what Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, Their hearts were blinded for until this day remains the same veil not taken away in the reading of the Old Covenant. The veil remains not taken away.

The veil was on their heart. And because they were not able to receive the words and to dwell in the presence of God as Moses was, the glory faded away and Moses covered his face out of an acknowledgement of the fact that the glory of God had departed.

But says Paul, we have great boldness and not as Moses who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look to the end of that which was abolished. He put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not see the last rays of the fading glory.

But we, he says, we're ministers of a new covenant. We're ministers of the glory of God. We all with open face, with unveiled face, reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

And that's God's plan when his people gather together that everyone shall have been in the presence of God so that the glory of God emanates from them. So that when they gather together that emanation of the glory, they're not visible with a natural eye as it was in the days of Moses.

It's there. And whether they speak or sing or stand to pray or stand to give an exhortation or stand to give a teaching, it's nothing less than the shining spot of the glory of God in the midst of his people.

And it's a glory that increases. That glory is one that fades away. And it's the glory of the old covenant was one that faded away because it was a ministration of death. How shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious?

You might read the Old Testament and say, wasn't that a tremendous thing? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had things like that today? The apostle Paul says that the ministration of the Spirit of God and the habitation of the saints is more glorious than the ministration that Moses had in his day.

Holiness, Fear, and the Manifestation of Glory

God's going to fill his temple with his glory. There's going to be the recognition of an awesomeness of his presence in our midst. Let's prepare for it. Let's prepare for it. It's coming. But know also this, that with the manifestation of his glory, there's going to be the fear of God settling upon the congregation.

The fear of God is going to be there because God's holy fire is coming to abide in his temple. It's the same fire that he saw out there in the deserts of Midian, burning the bush but not consuming it, that Moses saw upon the holy mount.

But it took on an exceeding greater greatness of the glory because there was a man who would not let God go and said, show me thy glory. Moses talked to God face to face as a man speaketh with his friend.

Are you content with seeing the back parts of God? Talking about the great revivals of the past? Talking about what God did in 1902 or in 1948? Like many are, God moved in a wonderful way back there. I can show you the room where it started.

I know he did, but you're looking at God's back parts. It's the day and hour when God wants you and I to come into his presence and behold him face to face and see his glory in the midst of the congregation once again.

And there'll be no problem with sin in the midst when that happens because as you come to the light, as you walk in the light, there's fellowship one with another because there's fellowship they're sharing and the glory of God that rests upon your brother and upon your sister here and there radiating together will consume all the sin in the camp of God.

Don't fear to come to it. He hasn't come to consume you. He's come to consume your sin that you might have a pure heart. That you might see him as you have never seen him. John saw him. John saw him. He saw him in his earthly ministry.

He's very close to the Lord. He seemed to have been closer than the others. He was one who could rest in the master's bosom without fear because he loved him. And perfect love casts without fear. When the awesomeness of God's presence comes, there's going to be a great fear, but fear not.

He doesn't come to consume you. He comes to consume your sin. Don't you want to get rid of it? So John loved the Lord with such an intensity that he was called a disciple whom Jesus loved. Jesus loved all the disciples.

Jesus loves the whole world. But John had the distinction of being called a disciple whom Jesus loved. Doesn't even say he loved him more. It was just a recognition that this was one that Jesus loves.

And he lay in his bosom. And had intimate relationship with the Lord. And writes many years later, that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes. And I think by and large, in the ministry of the Lord and his people thus far has been one of hearing.

And our hearts have burned within us as we heard his words. Like the two who walked along the Amish road. They testified later, did not our hearts burn within us? While he talked with us along the way?

But they didn't see him. Their eyes were held. Their eyes were holden that they did not see him. Because the Lord was waiting for that opportunity when he might reveal himself. But their hearts weren't ready yet.

We think we're ready. We say, come Lord Jesus and show yourself. We want to see you. And we'll continue to pray that. But God says, yet a little while. I've yet to work a work in your hearts to prepare you.

You've got to come to desire me more earnestly. And he seems to leave. Well, I'm sorry he's gone now. But I had such a visitation of the Lord. No, come back Lord Jesus. Come and dwell with us. And they took them to their home.

And he sat down at the table. And he supped with them and they with him. And they had glorious fellowship together. But they didn't see him. Until he took the bread and broke it. And their eyes were opened and they saw him.

We sang earlier, are you willing to be that broken bread, that poured out wine? Are you willing to be that? Until we're willing to be that broken bread, we're not going to see him. We might still hear him.

We might still hear gracious words from his lips. It will thrill us. But the time has come in the church of Christ to bring about that purity, that cleansing that God will have in his people where there has to be the revelation of the Lord where his people will see him.

Walking in the Light and Cleansing from Sin

And when they see him, they're free from sin. And the reason we sin is because we've not seen the Lord. John saw him. That which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the Word of life, for the life was manifested and we have seen it and bear witness and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us.

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that ye also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you that your joy may be full.

This then is the message which we have heard of him and declare unto you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another.

And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. This is going to take on reality in our midst. It's no longer going to be a doctrine or a teaching. But when there arises a people who are going to be able to say not just because they've got Scripture for it, but because it's become experience in their lives, I've heard the Lord and I've seen him.

Seeing him is invisible, I know, but you've seen him. You've seen his person. You've seen his purity. You've seen his love. You've seen the joy of his heart. You've seen those inner attributes of his being in such a way that those attributes of Christ have been implanted upon you.

For in seeing him, the very character and nature of Christ has been transferred to your own heart. That's what happens when you see the Lord. You can't see the Lord and remain the same. He changes you into his image and in his likeness.

And when this people arise represented here by John the Beloved, they're going to be able to say, Brethren, walk in the light as he is in the light. Have fellowship with us. For if you walk in the light as he is in the light, we've got fellowship one with another.

And the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. It's going to be a cleansing wave that sweeps over the people of God. I see it. The cleansing stream. I see, I see, I plunge. And oh, it cleanseth me.

Oh, praise the Lord, it cleanseth me. It cleanseth me. Yes, cleanseth me. And so there's an increase of this revelation of the Lord. And so because John had such an intimate relationship with the Lord, saw him so clearly, and abode with him, and walked with him, I'm not saying the others didn't, but John was the one that Jesus loved.

Yeah, I know he loved them all, but he loved John. And Jesus said, If any man will love me, if any man will keep my word, my Father will come unto him. I haven't been able to quote it exactly. If a man will love me, he will keep my word.

And my Father will love him. And we will come unto him and make our abode in him. It's the response of our love, but we got that love from him. And so he originated it. And so we get a portion of it. And then we respond with that and it draws more love from him to us.

We have more love and that draws him closer. And so the work goes on. We all with open face reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, one to the other. With that little measure of light we now have, the light increases as we walk in the light and have fellowship one with another.

So have fellowship one with another. You say, well, there isn't a fellowship in our area. Well, there's probably another person. So if you're faithful where you are, seek the Lord, and I think God will give you one other.

It's all it takes for true fellowship. It's really all it takes. So if two of you shall agree concerning something, in the Spirit, God has given you the divine faith, two of you to agree, it shall be done.

I know it's good to have 2 ,000 people in the congregation gather for prayer and pray. That's good. If two of you are walking in the light and walking in fellowship, walking in union with the Lord, you can ask what you will and it will be done.

John’s Vision of the Risen Christ

In closing, I want to observe the revelation of the Lord to John in a still greater understanding, in a still greater unfolding. In the book of Revelation, John had seen Him, walked with Him, talked with Him, handled Him, handled the Word of Life.

He didn't just see the man, the Messiah, but he saw the heart because he saw the heart of the Lord. He began to take upon himself the likeness of the Son of God with whom he walked. He began to take upon himself the likeness, the image of Him because he not only heard words like the other disciples heard, but he saw Him.

He took upon himself the reflection of the glory of the Son of God. And so he was the one who was given the still greater revelation of the Christ. John was in the isle that was called Patmos for the testimony of Jesus, exiled for the Word of God when the heavens were opened.

And he saw visions of God. At first, he heard the sound as of a great trumpet saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. And what thou seest, write in a book and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia, unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

And I turned to see the voice that speak with me. There is God initiating and there is John the Beloved responding. He heard the voice and he turned to see the voice. Moses saw the sight. He turned aside to see and God responded, not in curiosity, but in a genuine desire to know and to see this one who was being revealed.

I turned to see the voice. I heard a man say, you know, the Bible isn't really accurate in a way. You can't see a voice. John saw this voice. For this was the Son of God, the Word made flesh. I turned to see the voice that speak with me.

And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. We're told later on that the seven golden candlesticks are the seven churches. In other words, the Body of Christ over all the earth and over all the centuries.

The seven churches not only represent the seven churches of Asia of that day, but they represent the seven aspects of the church in this day and hour throughout the whole earth. And the candlestick speaks of the churches.

Plural. The many churches, but one church. Many assembling places. Many gatherings, but one church. And John wanted to see this voice. And he turned to see the voice, and the first thing he saw was the seven golden candlesticks.

And in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, one likened to the Son of Man. He didn't say it was Jesus. He says one likened to the Son of Man. And yet, you read the account of it, you know it was Jesus.

And yet, you know, it wasn't just that Jesus that John had laid his head upon in the upper room at the time of the Passover. The same Jesus, yes, but a Jesus who had become aged. A Jesus who had become so aged that He wasn't just an old man.

He was like the Ancient of Days that Daniel saw. The very same image many hundreds of years before. The Ancient of Days. His hairs were as white as wool. The Son of Man clothed with a garment down to the foot, girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and his feet like undefined brass as if they burned in a furnace. And his voice is the sound of many waters.

It's the sound of many waters because God's people are also likened unto the river of God. And not only to the river of God, but many streams that comprise that river. The river of God. Many streams in that river.

The streams whereof shall make glad the city of God. And so it's God's people. It's God's people who are union with Jesus. So you look and you say, I know it's Jesus, but He's different. He's aged. He's the Ancient of Days.

His hair is white as wool. He's got eyes as a flame of fire. In fact, we're told a little later on that He had seven eyes because He's speaking of the fullness of the Spirit in this womb who is like the Son of Man.

The Corporate Body of Christ

It's this corporate man that Paul spoke about where he said that God's intention in sending ministry into the church, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, we don't make light of those things.

We're just saying that they're a means to an end. That they're necessary. That the purpose of it is that they might so minister unto the people of God for the perfecting of the saints for their work of ministry till we all come unto the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man.

Well, that's Jesus I know, but it's the man Jesus who has taken unto Himself the body so that we're one body with Him. I don't think we've understood. I don't think we've begun to understand the mystery of the body of Christ.

That just as truly as when Jesus came into the world, God prepared a body for Him. He prepared a body. We read about it. A beautiful story in Luke how the Lord appeared unto Mary and said, Fear not, Mary, for thou shalt conceive an iron and bring forth a son.

And she said, How shall this be? Seeing I know not a man, for she was a virgin. He says, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

And just as truly as God arranged and prepared for that holy body to come forth, so once again, the Spirit of God is coming upon a virgin people, a virgin church. And they say, How can this thing be? Because we're not organized.

We're not joined to any organization. We're not joined to any man. God says, The Holy Ghost shall come upon you. The power of the Highest shall overshadow you. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called Holy Sons of God.

I'm not taking away any glory from Christ. I'm saying that because God loved Jesus so much, I must have many brethren like Him like Brother Lee Allen used to say when Joseph was born. Rachel in her dying moment said, Call Him Joseph because God will add another one.

You ever hear a woman in travail saying I want another one? But Rachel did because she said it by the Spirit. And she had another one and that one was Benjamin, the son of Joseph's right hand. Rachel called him Benoni, the son of my sorrow, but Jacob said, No, Benjamin the son of my right hand.

So Joseph and Benjamin are one. They're very much identified and as true as there's a Joseph, there's going to be a Benjamin. And Benjamin doesn't take away from the glory of Joseph. He's his brother, his younger brother.

And Jesus is going to say on that day when He's got His brethren where He wants them, where He's perfected them, where He's joined them unto Himself, Behold, I and the children whom Thou hast given Me are for signs and for wonders in Israel.

For both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one. Therefore He's not ashamed to call His brethren. Not ashamed to call His brethren. Even though we're oftentimes ashamed to be said, to have it be said that we're a brother of Jesus, He's not ashamed to call us brethren because He knows that the Holy Spirit that proceedeth from the Father and the Son is on the earth with a commission to prepare a holy bride for the Son of God.

The Holy Spirit has been commissioned from the throne room to come to earth and to abide in the people on the earth to prepare them to be the holy bride for the Son of God and not to be joined unto Him in one body.

Wait before the Lord. Anything else He would say or speak? Whatever the Spirit may lead you to do, be free to do it.

Spiritual Reality Versus Earthly Appearance

...with these things. They don't work in terms of the intellect or muscle or money. They live in another realm. And God has given us the opportunity through Jesus to have that part of our being made solid in the Lord and to gain His fellowship and the wisdom of God and the Holy Spirit of power so that we can overcome.

But if we say, oh no, Birmingham is worth two in the bush, everybody else has got it, and I'll take my furniture, this is what I want, and take it back and argue with the clerk and waste your time on wood, hay and stubble.

I'm not saying don't buy presents. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the thrust of our life, what we basically are and what we basically do. And that is revealed in the frequency of nouns that we use in our speech.

People could count them. Count how many times you're talking about the things of the Lord, not in an artificial way, not churchy talk, but where it's coming up genuinely and how much time you're spending talking about things is a mighty good index of your heart and where you are.

And the only person you're harming is yourself. Stars are going to fall. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens. And I said that to say this. We do not understand the status of the heavens. And in terms of our mythology, this doesn't make any sense.

In fact, it commonly is taught that Satan was cast out 2 ,000 years ago when Jesus said, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Most evangelical scholars believe he was cast out at that time. He wasn't cast out at that time.

We're wrestling, as Paul said, against wicked spirits in the heavens. And they affect people in the heavens. They affect the inhabitants of the heavens in some way. And therefore they rejoice. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea.

For the devil has come down unto you. This is a great woe. It's a great woe to the inhabitants of the earth that is coming. This is not counting the rest of the seals, which we said are the natural consequence of man's misbehavior.

It's not talking about the trumpets in which God is chastening His people to prepare them for His coming, or Armageddon, or the bowls of wrath. It's just talking about the fact that God says to Satan, You want flesh?

Here it is. And He's going to be as angry as a hornet's nest over a fire. And He's going to make the inhabitants of the earth smart because of His anger. That's what's ahead. He knows that He has but a short time.

Thank God. God has everything under control. Do you see that from that Scripture? He has but a short time. God says, This is it, and that's the end of it. It's not haphazard. It's not something Satan's going to determine.

He knows. God has put a time frame on Him to let Him and the people that have loved Him and have served Him, let them get married. Let them have one another. That's what God does. If you push hard enough, God says, Don't marry that person.

Don't do that. I want to do it. Okay. Okay. Enjoy your choice. Sometimes it's difficult, isn't it, to keep ourself under discipline. But what pain we save ourselves when we do what God has said. Isn't that so?

Isaiah 25 and the Removal of the Spiritual Covering

All right. Now, I want to talk a little bit about I've talked about that departing of the heavens. Let's look at Isaiah 25, verse 7. Isaiah 25, verse 7. He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people.

The things of God are hidden from us. We can't see them. There's a covering. And in the last days, God is going to remove that and we're going to be able to see in the spiritual realm. Some years ago, there used to be a program on television that's called Mission Impossible.

And it consisted of a complete fabrication of environment so that people were persuaded that something was true which was not true. And after the desired behavior was gotten from these deceived people, the fabricators went back to their place where they were and this person suddenly realized I was completely misled.

The whole thing was wrong and I was completely deceived and I wasn't there at all and that wasn't going on at all. It was a complete thing built up around me to cause me to behave in a way that I never would have behaved had I known where I actually was and what the circumstances actually were.

And there never was a truer picture than life on earth. If our eyes were open and we could see things as they are, how differently we would behave. All that we have is God's word to tell us what you see around you is a lie.

It is not like that. The things that are made were not made of things which do appear. Don't be conformed to that. It's wrong. And then our eyes tell us but this is truth that we see.

And God's word says it is not truth that you see.

And the only thing that we have to go by is faith in God, faith in His word. He said it is not really this way. Reality is not the way it is portrayed in this world. This is not reality. The reality is what God has said is true.

Praise the Lord. In this day, the opening of the sixth seal,.

It's going to be like the end of Mission Impossible. The thing will be rolled away and people will say, my God, why didn't I believe what I was told?

Just that simple. And just that quick. But there will be no changing then. That's where Revelation 22 as a verse 11 or 13 something comes in. He that is filthy, remain. That there comes a time when God moves and there's no revocation.

As for example, in the foolish virgins. They didn't get a warning and then it happened. The warning is in the word for 2 ,000 years. It happened. Bang. The door closed. That's characteristic of the end time.

Ezekiel’s Prophetic Burden

And God pleads with us endlessly. Raises us. Does everything in His power. Just do it. Declared later. We're talking about.

God's discipline of a prophet who was also a priest. You still want to be a prophet? I'll just read one more. Heavy on you. God told Ezekiel in chapter 4, take a tile and draw it with the city of Jerusalem and do it up there on your site.

This is the city and make battering rams and so forth and come against it. How did you feel if God says go down there in the streets of Chicago and set up a map of Chicago and make yourself a little totally battering rams or maybe missiles or something and start shooting them.