Bring Back the Glory (June 29, 2025)

Zechariah 2:5 ~ “And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.”

The wall of fire around Jerusalem had magnificent implications; it revealed that the glory of God had been present. There was a promise made for the wall of fire to once again return; this implied the glory of God had been lost and that the glory of God would return.

The Power of the Glory of God Restored

• The glory had departed. The age of Ichabod had prevailed, but the glory of God would come back. A prophetic word came forth and announced that the glory of God would return to Jerusalem; the holy fire would burn again!

• Another prophet who saw this restoration of the glory was Joel …

Joel 2:28 ~ “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.”

• There’s something greater about this restoration. It is not a cloud above their heads or the inner chamber of the Temple, but the cloud of glory is going to burst and be poured down upon their head. What is the restored glory?

• PENTECOSTAL – Jesus explained it …

Acts 1:8 ~ “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

• All the glory Eli forfeited, all the loss of the destruction of the Temple, and all the receding glory since was restored …

Acts 2:4 ~ “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

• The glory of God was returned in a greater fashion than ever before. This time it was the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

• PROFOUND – This Pentecostal blessing is the glory of God within the Church.
  • This glory is so great that it marvels angels, confounds the wise and intoxicates those who partake of it.
  • The glory is profound enough to speak any language of man without rehearsal and be an unknown tongue; be the initial evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
  • Yet, it is simple enough that anyone can receive Him.

• The Return of the Glory was Prophetic, Pentecostal, and Permanent

• We must be convinced of one certain fact: Pentecost is permanent and not a passing phenomenon. It will stand the endurance of time.

• Pentecost is suffering the same kind of abuse that the glory of God in the Temple did.
  • There are still those with spirit of Nadab and Abihu, who think they can substitute strange fire for real fire. Nadab and Abihu were the two eldest sons of Aaron, the first high priest of Israel. They served as priests alongside their father but are primarily known for a tragic event in which they were consumed by fire from God after offering “unauthorized fire” in the Tabernacle. This event, detailed in Leviticus 10:1-7, is a stark reminder of God’s holiness and the consequences of disobedience, particularly in religious rituals. 
  • Must of what is going on in the church world today in the name of Pentecost is cultured showmanship – cheap drama that targets exciting emotional responses, exalts personalities, and promotes external zeal. Worthless substitutes are being offered for the glory of God.

• Our church world today needs to experience what the first church did. Many of our Pentecostal clergy men are more to be identified with the blind beggar at the gate than the penniless Peter who boldly said …

Acts 3:6 ~ “But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!””

• We excuse our powerlessness on the pretext that the power is not available. If we have the glory, we have the power, for the power and the glory go together.

• Peter declared that this power would hold good until the sun is darkened and the moon is turned to blood. It’s available to sons and to slaves. It was given first to the Jew, then to the Gentile, then to the uttermost parts of the world.

The glory of God marked historically significant events. There is an event that hasn’t happened yet, but soon will …

Revelation 21:10–11 ~ “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.”

Revelation 21:22–23 ~ “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.”

Thank God for the power of the Lamb; this is the light that we need; this is the glory. Not the glory of man, but of the Lamb. Let us qualify ourselves by meeting His standards and bring back the glory!

Romans 12:1–2 ~ “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”