Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday.

The auto company Ford has been touting their military grade aluminum body trucks for a few years now. One of the reasons I assume is because of the low weight and thus it could translate into more gas mileage.

Aluminum weighs 168.46 pounds per cubic feet. Iron weighs 491.09 pounds per cubic feet. Silver weighs 654.91 Lead weighs 707.96 pounds Gold weighs a whopping 1206.86 pounds per cubic feet. The top-heaviest metal or the densest metal known to us is called Osmium. It weighs 1402.00 pounds per cubic feet. Just two cubic feet of Osmium could weigh as much as an unoccupied 2019 Honda Civic LX.

I think you probably get the point. The heavier the metal is, the more worth it gains, becomes valuable and costlier.

I was thinking through the “glory of God” and came across Exodus 33, where God granted Moses’ request to show a glimpse of Himself. The LORD GOD YHWH said in verse 22,

"22 and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”

I read and re-read that and I read this verse in multiple versions. God didn’t say, “while I pass by” or “While my body passes by”. He said, “While MY GLORY is passing by”

All that God is, His characteristics, His supreme worth and weightiness of His very essence is fully arrayed in His glory.

The Hebrew word (Kavod) used for God’s glory here, literally means Heaviness or stands for its weight.

In other words, the mighty importance of the very presence of God in all of His worth, is seen in His glory. That’s probably why God said, “While MY GLORY is passing by” …

You may have heard this famous verse in Isaiah before: "I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images." (Isaiah 42:8)

If God’s glory is all exclusive and important to God, it should be important to us.

How often do we remind ourselves or take it to our hearts that our God’s worth is infinite and that He glories in it?

That is precisely why we should repent and humble ourselves before God and offer praise and worship that He alone deserves.

What is our heart’s attitude when we come before Him in worship?

If our hearts are overwhelmed at the worth of God, our lives will be an outflow of the worship of God. We will be able to fulfill our chief end, which is to glorify God.

We cannot add to God’s glory. That is not the point, but we will be able to worship Him as people who know the worth of their God and the weightiness of His glory.

May God help us to that end.

Let’s pray.

Holiest of Holies, who was and is and is to come, we praise you. God who is the alpha and the omega, we praise you. God who cannot stand sin, God who cannot lie, we praise you.

We repent of our sins before you. Just like the tax collector in your presence, we cry out to you, “Please have mercy on us O, God, for we are sinners.” We are a vile people even though positionally you have made us saints in your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you for your mercy and forgiveness. 

Please help us to fulfill the command Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Father, we don’t want to do it as the Pharisee’s did it, for the praises of the people. We want to do it as sinners who have been overwhelmed by your worth like Isaiah was in your presence. Like the myriads and myriads of angels are in your very presence right now, along with the 24 elders.

Please help us to worship you in Spirit and in truth through every thought, every attitude, every action of our lives till you call us home.

To you alone be all glory!

We pray this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.