You can take your Bibles and turn to Psalm 29. Psalm 29 gives us our title we're going to be looking at tonight. God of Glory. And I wonder as you're turning there, if you were teaching a Sunday school class, say with four or five year olds, and perhaps teaching a lesson on doing everything for the glory of God. We know the verse, 1 Corinthians 10.31, whatever we do, Whether we're eating or drinking, whatever it is, we're supposed to do all things to the glory of God. What if you were teaching that lesson, or similar lesson, and you had a four or five year old raise their hand and say, teacher, what is the glory of God? What does that mean? What would you say? If we're honest, we preach an awful lot about the glory of God. We teach about it in the classroom. We sing about it. To God be the glory, great things he hath done. But what exactly does it mean? Are we prepared to give a response, even to a child that might, in their simple understanding, just have a question? Well, I want to clarify this tonight because the title we're looking at is the God of Glory. You're here in Psalm 29. We'll begin reading in verse 1. The psalmist writes, give unto the Lord, O ye mighty. Give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. The God of glory thundereth. The Lord is upon many waters. We could read through the entire psalm. We won't because the purpose of tonight is we're getting to know our God as we have in this last series by trying to unpackage these names, if you will. And in order to really fully understand what is meant by the psalmist here with this title, the God of glory, we're going to begin by looking at what does the word glory mean? And I trust, I want to make this as simple as possible. And I found there were some very complicated authors who were bringing up some very interesting thoughts, but not necessarily biblical ones, not necessarily what was in the text. But I trust you're going to see tonight the simplicity of this title will cause us to respond to the Lord in three ways. In worshiping Him, really, for who He is, what's wrapped up in this title here, in fearing Him, and in seeking His face for God to work on our behalf in a particular way. So who is the God of glory? We're going to look at what does the word glory mean. In our Old Testament Bible, when you see that English word in your Bible, glory, it's translated from the Hebrew word that I believe is pronounced kavod. And of course, you may have been familiar with it, or heard the Arabic translation of that word, Shekinah, the Shekinah glory it's talked about. That's the most popular word for glory used among the Hebrews. And then in the New Testament in the Greek, there's the word doxa that we studied a lot in Bible college. But what I found as I studied this is as you get to the New Testament, the authors are having a hard time really making this word very objective. In fact, in the New Testament, the word doxa, the word for glory, can mean any number of things. It has a very broad meaning. And when you find that word glory in the New Testament, you really have to read the context. What's going on in this chapter in order to find out how that word is really being used? But in the Old Testament, the Hebrews had a very specific, kind of more concrete meaning in this word. So the English translation, glory, comes from the Hebrew word kavod. And you say, what does that mean? Well, that word, let's take it a step further, comes from a root. The root would be pronounced kavod, meaning this, to be heavy, weighty, or burdensome. say, what does that tell us about God? One author said, perhaps it's that the subject of God is very weighty. There is no other more significant subject that we could give our lives to studying and thinking about than the study of God. That's certainly true. But you know what we find when we read this word glory, especially as it's attached to the title of God, the God of glory, that this isn't just speaking about the subject of God, it's saying, it's talking about who God is. In other words, it'd be like saying God is weighty, God is heavy, God is burdensome. And I kind of scratched my head at that. I said, well, what's, what is that trying to convey? But as we understand a few other few things about the Hebrew language, it becomes clear, using the same root from which we get the English translation glory, the Hebrews would derive another word, the word wealthy or to be rich. And in ancient Hebrew, there was a saying, this is fascinating, and I think this sheds light into how this word is used in Psalm 29 3. In ancient Hebrew, they would combine those two ideas of being heavy and rich. And they would have a saying that went like this. If someone was very wealthy, they would say, that person is heavy with treasure, or that person is weighed down with riches. It'd be equivalent to the modern saying, that guy's loaded. Okay, so to help us illustrate this, I took a picture of Christian's suitcase downstairs. And the idea is, he's loaded. Man, this guy is rich. Okay, not really Christian, but get the idea. It's like you're weighed down. He's got wealth busting at the seams. That's the idea. Let me ask you, when we apply that in that sense though to God, what is God loaded with? What is God full of? What is it, as it were, God is weighed down with? Not money. But I see someone talking, you're throwing a few ideas out here. You know, it's any number of things. It's his unparalleled attributes. It's his power. It's his love. It's his knowledge, his goodness, his justice. All of these things that really are only perfectly held in the person of God, only perfectly born by God himself. And the idea is, God is filled with these things. That's an interesting thought. And obviously the idea of being heavy there is purely figurative. It's not that God is actually weighed down with all of these attributes, these godly qualities that he has. But did you know what, if anything, when I studied this word, if anything, the idea of weight is not a good connotation, it's a bad one. The idea of being a burden, being overwhelming, being overwhelmed by these qualities, that's part of this idea. It's kind of like this. I don't know if any of you are familiar with avalanches. I love avalanches. I love nature videos. Maybe it's just because we didn't get out a whole lot in the city to see wildlife and stuff like that. But avalanches particularly fascinate me. And I would love to see a good, you know, watch an avalanche from my living room on a television screen on, you know, History Channel or whatever. And I'd sit there and say something like, wow, that's awe-inspiring. That's incredible. That's spectacular. But if you're on the other side of that avalanche, suddenly it becomes terrifying. And they claim at least 150 lives every year in accidents and incidents involved with avalanches. That's frightening. Perhaps this is what the authors were trying to convey when they're talking about glory as far as it connects with the person of God. When we look at the God of glory, we see a God who is absolutely full, loaded with these qualities that if anyone else tried to share, it would be absolutely overwhelming. And He's so full of these qualities, He causes us to step back, drop on our knees and say, wow, praise and bring worship that's worthy of a God like that. But it should also cause us to fear. Because He's a God that has some overwhelming capabilities. And I know of some people, born-again believers, who have run from God. Thinking, I'm a child of God. I know I'm saved. And they've experienced chastisement. And they're still saved, and I'll say their heart's still beating, but that's pretty much it. Why? They were on the wrong side of the God of glory. You know, I was studying this. It did strike some fear into my heart. Actually, it changed some behavior of mine this very week, actually, some decisions that I was going to make I didn't make, because I stopped and thought, Josh, do you really want to get on the other side of that kind of God? That's the idea here. There is so much power. Number one, it causes us to respond in praise. But this ought to cause us to fear our God as well. So we're trying to figure out, what does glory mean? Well, in one sense, it's God's reality. It's God being loaded with these unparalleled attributes, weighed down, as it were, with these qualities, power, knowledge, love, et cetera. But we find it's actually more than that as we read through the Old Testament. Not just God's reality. Do you remember why Isaiah 43 says you and I were created? Anybody remember? We were created for what? For His glory. That was the purpose you and I were created. Let me ask you this. Does the fact that you and I created and does the actions you and I take in a day, the way we respond to God, does that change God's reality? Does that change who God is? No. God is unchanging. God is the same yesterday and today forever. So why did God make us? He made us to manifest who he was, who he is. That's why he created us. But if you study your Bible from the very beginning, all of who God was and is could not be fully manifested once Adam and Eve sinned. Do you remember that? Suddenly God was no longer dwelling here, walking among his creation. People couldn't see him. They couldn't walk with the God of glory. Talk with the God of glory. But as you keep reading your Bibles, you know what you notice specifically beginning, most obviously beginning with Abraham and the call of the nation of Israel and Isaac and Jacob and then down into Egypt and then with Moses and the nation of Israel in the wilderness and into the promised land. What do we notice? If you study this word glory, it's fascinating. You'll see it starts being closely, very closely intertwined with the Hebrew word for God's presence and God's face. so that it means more than just God's reality. It really points to the manifestation of God's reality. That's the idea of glory. And this idea kind of climaxes in Exodus chapter 25, verse eight. And if you remember this story, it's when God tells Moses, I want you to build a tabernacle. A tent of meetings was another name for it, where I want to dwell with you. I want to start showing myself. And that's where we get this idea of the Shekinah glory, the Aramaic translation that's most popular, most popularly used among the Hebrews today. What are the Hebrews? What will they tell you about the Shekinah glory? It is God, when God shows up, when God manifests himself. That's the idea here. Put all of this together. And what does it really tell me about the God of glory? If this idea of glory really means the manifestation of who God really is, there's some applications, like I mentioned at the beginning. And these, I find, are very, very helpful when we practically want to come to the Lord and worship Him as the God of glory. Number one, praising Him, the God of glory, loaded with these divine qualities. Lord, I praise your name that you're the only one who can bear these qualities, that you're the only one who has them. No one else can share them with you. and that you're so full of them, it's as if you're weighed down. Though, of course, that's figuratively used. We fear Him, the God of glory, with overwhelming capability. Never wanting. Think about this this week. When we're tempted to make a wrong decision. I'm telling you this will stop you dead in your tracks if you spend enough time meditating on it. It's a scary thought. I don't want to be on the wrong side of that. As foolish as it would be for someone to stand in front of an avalanche and say, I think I might be able to stop this thing. It's just as foolish for someone to put their hand on the edge of the Ark of the Covenant, where God's glory was known to dwell, and say, I have a pretty good reason. It's about to fall. I think I can grab this. And what happened to Uzzah? God smote him dead. As I was studying this and meditating on that passage, you know what came to my mind after I was thinking through that? Well, obviously, what else was going to happen to someone like that? who tried to interact in an unholy way with the very glory of God. It's a frightening thought, and it ought to cause us to put a healthy fear in our hearts, to stay away from sin and serve the Lord, but also to seek Him. Why? Because the God of glory is the God who desires to manifest Himself to the world. Somebody said it's like the glory of God. One author says it's the invasion of God's reality in the human sphere. You know God is wanting to show Himself? God is not sitting up in heaven saying, I hope there's other ways that they can figure out that I'm God. The God of glory is a God who is longing, Faith Baptist Church, to say, please be that vessel. like the nation of Israel was, a priesthood. Be that people that I can show myself to the world through. I want to close with this, an illustration, a true story of a friend I have who lives in a third world country. Sometimes it's in third world countries they experience some stuff that perhaps we should experience a little more of today regarding the power of God, the manifestation of who God is. But this friend, I believe it was his pastor who was involved in this incident, he was sharing with me, he's in a third world country, he walked into a village where there was some demonic worship going on of some sorts, if I remember the story correctly. And his pastor came there with an open Bible preaching Jesus and saying, I serve the true God, a God who is more powerful. You don't have to fear the demons anymore. Serve the one true God. And they really started mocking him. And do you know what they said? They said, if your God is the true God, stand in front of that fire. They said, we have a number of people we could point to here who could stand in front of that, who could stand in that fire, and by the power of the spirits, not be burned. Boy, what would you do? Imagine? You just came here. And I believe he wasn't alone. I believe there were some others who were with him and sharing the gospel. So now your testimony's on the line. What do you believe, preacher? Psalm 29, verse 7 says what? The voice of the Lord divided the flames of fire. This preacher, what my friend told me, did not hesitate. He walked right into that fire, he opened his Bible, and he preached the gospel standing in that fire. And that village was converted to Jesus Christ. Why? Because this preacher understood the God of glory. He stood back in awe at a God who was filled with those divine qualities. He had a healthy fear. He wasn't a preacher who was living his own life the way he wanted to. No, no, no, no, no, no. He knew there was one true God, and I don't want to get on the wrong end of this, but when I'm on the right end, I'm going to see something spectacular." And he wasn't afraid to step out and do something impossible. Why? Because he knows that God of glory is just longing and waiting to manifest himself to the world. Just like he was of old. Just like he was in the Ten of Meetings. Just like he was when he split that Red Sea wide open. Guys, the God of glory is the same. I'll close with this. What's so fascinating about this God, another thought that was incredible, He said, this is the same God who Paul writes to us and says, we can at any moment come to him and call him daddy. He's not so awe-inspiring that we have to come into his presence trembling, saying, Lord, please, would you, if you could, I know I'm a nobody, but please do this for, we can come to him as his children and say, daddy, father. Just like a child would do when he would say, scared at night because of a storm outside, daddy, would you stay here in the room a little bit longer because I'm scared? That's that kind of use of the word, childlike. And we can come to the God of glory at any moment. God, I need this for you. That's incredible. Folks, that's reason to praise our God. It's reason to fear him. And it's reason as a church to seek him, to manifest his presence through us to a lost and needy world.