Carriers

As a boy in a small Eastern Colorado town, I had a paper route that was on the opposite side of town. As a carrier for the Denver Post, I would load the papers and ride my bike to the couple streets where I delivered them to my subscribers. It was also my job to try and persuade those who had not yet signed up to become a customer. While I represented the long-established publication, I wasn’t the Denver Post. I just carried it. For me to become and remain a carrier, though, there were certain expectations of accountability, faithfulness, and conduct. It was just a simple paper route, and yet what I carried demanded a level of integrity and honor if I were to be effective for very long.

There is goodness, mercy, and favor to be found in the presence/glory of the Lord. In the proclaiming of His long-established name, there is an exposure of His glory that brings transformation and change. As great as He is, with none that can even begin to compare to what He’s done and is doing, there is yet a need for carriers to deliver the encounter of His glory. He passionately desires to be seen for who He is and for His salvation and restoration to be accepted by those reborn to new life in Christ. His plan to be seen, though, is through those who have already been transformed and offered themselves as His glory carriers. It is no longer just their own identity that is seen, but they take on conduct, integrity, and honor that adequately represents what is delivered in His glory. From extended time seeking His face and consuming His Word, there is an exchange of their own glory for His. For all those who are in need of an encounter with the Giver of Life, there is an answer found in those who have laid down their own lives to become carriers of His.

Notes

How does God’s presence/glory appear?

Exodus 33:18-19 18 And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.” 19 Then He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."

In the proclaiming of His name/mercy/goodness/judgment

Exodus 34:5-8 5 Then the LORD came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh. 6 The LORD passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. 7 I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.” 8 Moses immediately threw himself to the ground and worshiped.

Of things to be feared – the greatest is the judgment of God

Hebrews 10:30-31 30 For we know him who said, “I have the right to take revenge and pay them back for their evil!” And also, “The Lord God will judge his own people!” 31 It is the most terrifying thing of all to come under the judgment of the Living God!

Carrying requires preparation

2 Timothy 2:20-21 20 In a wealthy home there are dishes made of gold and silver as well as some made from wood and clay. The expensive dishes are used for guests, and the cheap ones are used in the kitchen or to put garbage in. 21 If you stay away from sin you will be like one of these dishes made of purest gold—the very best in the house—so that Christ himself can use you for his highest purposes.

With each moment of fixed gaze there is vessel preparation

2 Corinthians 3:18 18 But we Christians have no veil over our faces; we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him.

Working of the Spirit is to reveal the glory in and through our vessels.

John 16:13-14 13 When the Holy Spirit, who is truth, comes, he shall guide you into all truth, for he will not be presenting his own ideas, but will be passing on to you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He shall praise me and bring me great honor by showing you my glory.

As our focus is adjusted – His glory is revealed to those in need.

2 Corinthians 4:15-18 15 Yes, all things work for your enrichment so that more of God’s marvelous grace will spread to more and more people, resulting in an even greater increase of praise to God, bringing him even more glory! 16 So no wonder we don’t give up. For even though our outer person gradually wears out, our inner being is renewed every single day. 17 We view our slight, short-lived troubles in the light of eternity. We see our difficulties as the substance that produces for us an eternal, weighty glory far beyond all comparison, 18 because we don’t focus our attention on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but the unseen realm is eternal.

Overview:

Encountering God is experiencing His glory – Name, mercy, love, power, justice…
His glory is revealed through vessels of honor.
Carrying His glory requires vessel preparation to ensure His glory’s revelation isn’t tainted.
With new birth, the Holy Spirit comes to guide us into all truth and prepare us for carrying.
Beholding the glory of God by the Spirit causes us to exchange our glory for His.
There are many people who are in need of seeing God’s glory in and through us.

Prayer:

What an amazing work You’ve begun in me according to Your love and mercy, Father. As I present my body before You to be a vessel for Your glory, prepare me for this purpose. Cleanse me of all unrighteousness as I repent of all sin and hardness of heart. Make me to be an effective carrier of Your glory, for Your glory.

Declarations:

A great change has already occurred in me as I have seen the glory of God in His Word and by the Spirit.
With every moment of fixed gaze on Him, I am losing my own and taking on His glory.
I gladly let go of all enticements of the flesh to embrace with all my heart the holiness of a glory carrier.
While my flesh may encounter challenges, my focus remains on the greater weight of God’s eternal glory.
Instead of desiring to merely encounter God’s glory, I determine to be a carrier of it, to show Him to a world in need of His goodness.