Glory on Your House

All references from Glory on Your House by Jack W. Hayford

            As with any Jack Hayford book, Glory on Your House is dense with lessons learned. These lessons are not esoteric principles, but practical applications of how God’s glory can permeate the life of the believer as well as their church and community. The book provides a framework for me to take these principles and apply them to my everyday life and ministry.

            First, I learned about the importance of worship in bringing the Glory of God into the present (pg. 21).  Praise and worship are the source for all ministry, bringing the believer into God’s presence, power, alignment with His word, and ministry of healing (pg. 166). Praise and worship remind me that I am a citizen of God’s Kingdom, which provides me with “liberating power” (pg. 22). For example, evangelism has at its foundation worship and fellowship (pg. 162). This seems to go against the more programmatic approaches to evangelism. While these truths are not completely new to me, Hayford demonstrates the necessity of putting praise and worship before any other activity. For my ministry as a teacher of the Word of God and evangelist, I need to start my ministry by worshiping the God of the universe, who enables me to teach and evangelize through the power of His glorious presence. Basing my ministry on praise, I come to God on his terms, not mine (pg. 48). I will admit, this is not a natural inclination for me. My formative years as a believer were in more traditional churches, where open expressions of worship were not the norm. But Hayford encourages me to be “naturally supernatural” (pg. 123).

            Another learning point for me was the principle of “house.” My house is not only my real estate investment, but also my relationships, responsibilities, and my realm of influence (pgs. 31-34). Accepting that God’s glory needs to permeate all of these “dwellings,” I can further understand that God’s glory is “not something mystical, but something mighty” (pg. 30). That is an important distinction because the mystical can seem to move out of the realm of daily possibilities. In contrast, the mighty nature of God’s glory can also make it practical and powerful (pg. 30). The amazing thing is that God wants to bring His glory into my house – into my dwelling on Shenandoah Drive, to my classroom, to my friendships, and to my church responsibilities. These are all superpowered by God’s glory and presence. And it all rounds back to the power of praise and worship, bringing that glory into reality. Mysticism has its place, but God is immensely practical. Hayford’s look at Psalm 22:3 and the word yawshawb drills down this understanding that God is to “have a seat” in my house (pg. 37). He desires to have a place of enthronement in all my life. My part is to decide to allow Him to have that seat and place in my life (pg. 37).

            The final lesson from the book for this essay is the understanding that God’s glory must be present for the local church and church membership. Hayford’s take on 1 Corinthians 14:26 offers two principles: different members are to offer different gifts, and everything brought before the body should be for the building up of the body (pg. 203). Further, local church bodies invite the glory of the Lord when they focus their services on three areas: the Lord, the saints, and the world (pg. 204). These two challenges help me to think about my local church body, where I serve as an Elder. Are we designing our services to usher in God’s glory? Or are we constructing consumer-based infomercials for God? Services at our church must be welcoming of the Holy Spirit and His gifts so that the congregation can be edified, built up, and equipped to take Jesus to the world. At the same time, they are to be safe and orderly, never succumbing to fanaticism (pg. 207). Also important is membership. In Hayford’s church, there is a special emphasis on the biblical and spiritual principle of local church membership (pg. 255). The analogy of accepting members into the congregation is like a wedding reception shows the holiness of the practice, and we sell ourselves short when we treat it as something less (pg. 258).

            In conclusion, these lessons of worship, my “house, and my church body challenge me personally as a follower of Jesus in my devotional life and as an elder of my church.