STUDIES IN THE BEAUTY OF GOD
Introduction to the Beauty Realm of God
Revelation 4
I. THE CHURCH AT THE END OF THE AGE: ENCOUNTERING GOD’S BEAUTY
A. The Spirit is orchestrating a worldwide worship and prayer movement.
· The revelation of how God delights in us and beautifies us is one of core truths and entry points into this movement.
· One of the most significant foundations to restore in the Church is the doctrine of God’s beauty and desire.
· Why? Because it is essential to fueling the End-Time prayer movement, which releases God’s, glory and power.
Psalm 149:4
4 For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.
· Psalm 149 is about prayer and worship.
B. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus’ beauty would be revealed to God’s people in the End-Times.
Isaiah 4:2 In that day the Branch of the LORD (Messiah) shall be beautiful and glorious.
· In that day refers to the last days or end times that is the context.
· The branch is 6x in scripture ref messiah Jesus
· In the last days the messiah will be seen as beautiful.
· There is a compelling power in the revelation of beauty. It answers an ache in our soul that was put there by God.
· We are born with an ache for the realm of beauty.
· We cannot live healthy without beauty.
· Beauty is essential to emotional health.
· It is a vast subject.
C. The revelation of God’s beauty is key to living holy and
interpreting God’s judgments at the end of the age.
· Spiritual boredom is a dangerous place.
· There are so many attacks we must be fascinated now sin is
· We can resist sin much better when our hearts are fascinated. Also, we interpret His judgments as destroying what hinders love and beauty.
· When believers live in this reality, there is no contradiction of Jesus as Bridegroom and Judge. It is a different paradigm of judgment.
· Many preach on the Judgment but not with the revelation of His beauty - interpret His judgments as destroying what hinders love and beauty.
D. The study of God’s beauty takes time. It will come slowly for all of us.
· There is a sense in which you may learn a lot in a short time, yet there is even a greater sense that this is a life long treasure hunt.
· God’s grace imparts a new resolve and assurance that we will have more as we start by establishing new paradigms of God’s beauty.
· The only way forward is long and loving meditation on His word. that includes prayer with fasting and a pursuit of 100-fold obedience.
· You can be saved and anointed but the deeper things you will have to press.
· The angels are still overwhelmed by Him a billion years from now it will be the same.
· This revelation is key and critical to following through in Him.
E. The hungry become hungrier because hunger begets hunger.
A little depth in God makes us hungry for more.
· A beginning hunger for God beckons us and thrusts us into more depth in God, which in turn makes us hungry for deeper things in God.
· He who has more will be given…
· Hunger catapults us into more depth.
· If you feed hunger it grows
Psalm 42:7 Deep calls unto deep… if we feed on the deep things
F. The knowledge of God is not neutral information. It is information with power that beckons, catapults and pulls us into greater depths.
· God’s river is called desire. If you yield to that
· Hunger for God is painful.
· The hunger may feel good in the initial stages, but later it is painful as we become so much more aware of what we do not know and how shallow we actually are.
· The pain of spiritual hunger is God’s gift to us. It assures that we will keep moving forward.
Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those that mourn”
· God gives more based on hunger. You receive salvation based on our need. For years we can feel like we are doing good spiritually.
· Then, the power of the knowledge of God begins to touch our hearts.
· We then begin to long for and even ache for what we do not have. Then, the journey is not so enjoyable.
· We are more spiritually discontent than ever before. We have a vision and resolve in our heart to press on to the know the deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:10).
· There is a north and south wind pain and delight a paradox.
· There is something more then just a blessed ministry it is connecting with God.
