*The desired and determined end = The revelation and the manifestation of the glory of God.
*The requirements (The preparation process).
We have too long just assumed that God will do what he wants to do regardless of our participation, The truth is God’s purpose and desire will ultimately be fulfilled but we can either hinder or assist God in bringing those purposes to pass.
We can miss the glory of God, we can even be guilty of holding back the revelation of his glory and the manifestation of his power.
Isa 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?
*God wants to manifest his power and reveal his glory in the earth
Ex 9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
*Gods primary instrument of choice for this revelation is the church:
Eph 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
*JFB Commentary says: The Church is the theater for the display of Gods manifold wisdom.
Job 26:12 He divideth the sea with his power,
Job 36:22 Behold, God exalteth by his power:
Ps 66:7 He ruleth by his power for ever;
Ps 106:7-8 Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea.
8 Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.
Jer 10:12 He hath made the earth by his power,
David Knew the heart of God, David desired Gods power and glory to be manifested in the earth.
Ps 63:1-2 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
This passage of Scripture teaches us that to bring in the glory we have to get out the gory.
*God will only trust his holy anointing to holy lives.
When God was preparing To manifest his glory to The children of Israel, He required them to sanctify themselves, Purify themselves,
Exe 19:10-11 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
11 And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
And again in Josh 3:5
Jos 3:5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.
Here in Isaiah we see this process of preparation for the power and the glory of God.
The valley’s exalted, The mountains and hills made low.
This tells us, we evaluate life from Gods perspective not our own, We must bring our lives into line with his word, (a)That which has been ignored and neglected must be raised to it’s rightful place
(b) That which is magnified and glorified and exalted in pride and in self nature, must be brought down.
© The crooked places must be made straight,
Crooked = bent, dishonest, fraudulent, deceitful, polluted, criminal.
Straight = Free from curves, bends, angles, Unmixed, having the elements in order.
(D) This way is to be made in the desert- Desert= Sterility
Isaiah 62 says it this way
Isa 62:10 Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.
We were created for glory
God desires to manifest his divine power and glory through the church
#1 There is the demand on the pulpit, to prepare the way of the people, To make the way of God clear, To lift people onto the highway of Holiness
#2 To gather out the stones = the things that are offensive to the spirit and work of God in the church.
#3 To lift up a standard = To distinguish clearly our connection with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then The responsibility falls to each one of us as individuals to take the initiative and begin to prepare ourselves for the glory and the power of God to move in and through our lives.
