GARMENTS OF GLORY!

by, Penny David Sheahan

"O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, 'Behold your God!' Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him."  (Isaiah 40:9, 10, NKJV)

At this very moment, we see Zion in the spirit, God's holy mountain rising, ascending, out of the midst of the city of Jerusalem. It is a Zion of many generations forming one preeminently high mountain -- the mountain of THE KING. She is robed in a glory that far surpasses that of Jerusalem . Her robes are of purity, righteousness, and exquisite beauty. She shimmers in the radiant light of one who has been changed -- reflecting now the image of the Lord she loves with passionate, obedient devotion. She is formed from a remnant of all His people -- both male and female, bond and free, poor and rich, of all peoples of the earth.

As He sees Zion of this generation begin to arise, the heart of the King leaps; kindled with a burning desire to receive her to Himself. From Zion's lofty peaks, Jesus listens . . . "She is worshipping Me!" Her sweet voice fills His heart with rapturous delight. He watches . . . "She is dancing with Me!" He thrills to the sight. Slowly, the King turns to His Father; "Oh Father, how long I have waited for her to appear! This is the one I choose to be MY BRIDE."

Truly, Jesus' BRIDE is appearing. We believe Zion, a city within the larger city of Jerusalem, is a type of that BRIDE.  In the height of Zion, the King reigns. Worship resounds to Him in the heavenly atmosphere of His glory. Through Zion, as the Scripture says, NATIONS will be born into the Kingdom of God. "Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a NATION be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children." (Isaiah 66:8, KJV)

The appearing of God's bride is paramount. She is the key to the greatest revival the world has ever known. This appearing, or unveiling, of the glorious bride of Christ is by degrees. At her stage of development today she is still quite hidden. She has heard the call, "The bridegroom cometh," and is going forth to meet Him. Much like the account of King David when he moved the ark of the covenant from the house of Abinadab to Mt. Zion (II Samuel 6), she has been faithfully following His presence. As the ark, representing His presence has moved, she has moved. As He has stepped, she has stepped. Each step she takes is significant.

First, she has followed the ark of God out from the house of Abinadab to Nachon's threshing floor. At this point, she goes through a threshing or PURIFICATION PROCESS. Much of her life and ministry are left behind. Oh, what a relief to shed all the old, worn, dingy garments! What a pleasure to put off, as in Colossians 3:8, ". . . anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth." As she slips off each of these sins, the heaviness that had plagued her miraculously disappears; leaving her feeling almost weightless.  Giddy with His presence now, she perceives Jesus is moving again. She must go with Him!

Leaving the threshing floor, she follows the ark "aside into the house of Obed-edom . . . and the ark of the Lord continued in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months; and the Lord BLESSED Obed-edom and all his household." (II Samuel 6:10,11, KJV)

Those represented by the bride, who are following His every footstep, are entering a time of tremendous blessing. It is a time of CLOTHING. Each has shed the old garments and now will put on the new. The Lord is clothing them with:

(1)  PERSONALITY or character of Christ. Colossians 3:12-14 mentions putting on these specific characteristics: mercies, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, love.

(2)  POWER. Acts 1:8 says: ". . . and ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost shall come upon you." This is power to enable them to be His witnesses. They will know Him intimately and with great power will give witness to who He is.

(3)  PROVISION. Philippians 4:19 assures, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Jesus will provide all that is needed for their life and ministry. There will be financial blessing to enable them to accomplish the mission of WORLD EVANGELIZATION.

Wave upon wave of love and Divine favor pour over these lovely, blessed people until all their striving ceases. At this point, they enter His glorious rest. Now there is an ease in all they do. His blessing is overwhelming. They never want to leave this place!! As wonderful as this time is, however, the bride of Christ will move again, for she is still far from the heights of Zion. Soon she will leave behind Obed-edom even while the blessing continues there. She will move forward immediately as she senses His presence departing; for He is leading her higher . . . UPWARD TO MT. ZION.

Soon she will be seen, a city on a hill, robed in her splendid Garments of Glory!

A WORD TO HIS BRIDE 

"I am standing before you now saith the Lord, desiring to cover you with My garments, to clothe you anew with My presence that My fragrance will pour forth from you. You shall no longer carry the fragrance of the world which is the stench of death, but will emit the very fragrance of life.

I see you as Ruth, lying at the feet of Boaz, longing for Me to cover you in a more intimate way than you have ever known. You long for the union of the two of us as bride and bridegroom. Nothing short of conjugal union will satisfy your heart or Mine, so I stand ready, anxiously waiting to cover you completely with My very being.           

I stand at the door of your heart knocking, asking, 'Will you make yourself ready? Will you be cleansed anew with My blood? Will you put off the old garments of hate and bitterness and self-pity once and for all? Will you allow Me to purify you even as the sons of Levi that you may walk in a new and higher way in Me? (Malachi 3:3).  Will you put off once and for all the sins of the flesh and be clothed in My righteousness in every area of your being that we may be One? I ask only for your willingness, and when I have your permission and know fully what you desire, I will quickly remove the old nature even as I removed the filthy garments from Joshua the High Priest. It will be a quick work of repentance I will bring to you that you may instantly be clothed with My garments’ (Zechariah 3:3,4 -- "I will clothe you with rich robes").

The joy you will have in this union will be unspeakable and you will fulfill My joy as you stand as MY Queen at My side clothed in the pure gold of My nature. How splendid we will be as we walk together through this earth, for surely My glory shall be yours. You shall arise and shine with My very presence -- without spot or wrinkle; transparent you'll be and you shall live with Me for all eternity."

Suggested Resource: The Bride Makes Herself Ready

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Penny was called to the ministry 35 years ago. She began a life of helping; mainly in the gifts of healing, deliverance, prophecy, counseling, and preaching the Word of God. She has been trained and ordained by Dr. Iverna Tompkins Ministries since 1985. She is the founder and president of Internet World Link, a company formed to advance the Word of God in the earth through multimedia, Way of Truth Ministries, Inc., a non-profit Christian evangelistic corporation in operation since 1987, and Glorious Gems, a prophetic jewelry company.

http://www.internetworldlink.com