Reviving True Religion Through God's Manifest Presence

The essence of True Religion is the presence and the realization of the presence of the glory of God. That is the essence, that is the vital thing, the presence and the realization of the presence of the glory of God. The glory is departed from Israel, that's the explanation of the condition. [00:08:07]

The Bible is not so much a book of religion; it's a book which tells us about God, and it is God who dominates the whole of the Bible. There are contrasts in the condition of the people so frequently, and we get an account given us honestly in the historical portions. [00:09:30]

The presence of God, the realization of the presence of God, an awareness of the glory of God. Now the point I'm establishing is that this is the essence of True Religion, and if this is absent, all the rest is useless. And of course, what is amazing is that you can have so much without this. [00:14:48]

You can have buildings, you can have organizations without the glory, and the buildings may be excellent, and the organizations in the church, they may leave nothing to be desired. The motive and the object is good, and the arrangements are worked out in the most wonderful manner, and people are zealous. [00:19:38]

You can be perfectly Orthodox and hold the right views and have all your definitions complete and perfect, nothing left undone. But my dear friend, your Orthodoxy without the glory is useless and is valueless, and it will achieve no more than those who are heterodox in their Doctrine. [00:21:01]

The essence is the glory of God, the presence of the glory, and our realization of it. So that brings me to my second principle, which is this: one, the vital importance of our being sensitive to the presence of the glory and that we should realize its all-importance. [00:23:56]

Here is a woman, you see, who is sensitive to spiritual things. Even the birth of a son doesn't satisfy this woman. The tragedy, the glory of God is gone, the ark has been taken. What is the value of children or of anything else when this has gone? [00:26:18]

The great trouble of today is we are all so busy and all so active. Now, while I've said that Phineas's wife was able to realize that the glory had gone, I feel, you know, that even she was lacking in the true sensitivity in this matter. [00:40:34]

The most obvious answer is the one that is given us here, as it is elsewhere in the scriptures, and as you see it in the history of the church. It is that we are content with what we may describe as a mechanical religion. Look at these Israelites in this chapter. [00:41:26]

The answer is, I say, we are resting on the organization, we are content with being religious, we are using the Ark of God as a mascot, as some kind of something superstitious. It's useless, it's useless when you're facing the power of the devil and of hell. [00:44:19]

Repent, realize the position, and acknowledge it and confess it not only to yourself but also to God. Realize that anything else is utterly useless. To know about God is not the vital thing; it is to know God and to realize him and to experience him. [00:47:58]

We must obey him in Doctrine; we must also obey him in our living and in our daily lives and conduct and practice. You can do all else, and it'll avail you nothing. This is God's way, and then having done all true in Doctrine, clean and pure in life, realize that that alone is nothing. [00:48:52]