This was not a natural cloud. This was a cloud, a manifestation visibly tangible. It's a visible manifestation of God. That word there where it says 'bright' cloud, the word means literally to emanate out rays of light, brilliant, shimmering rays of light filled with gold. It was a manifestation of God Himself, but notice this; it says out of that cloud came some words - this is My beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased, hear Him! Now notice this. The glory that God has given Jesus Christ, the Father gave Jesus Christ, He wants us to have, so how do we have it, and what does it do? Well first He puts His spirit, the spirit of glory inside us, to begin to renovate us, and illuminate us on the inside, and one day it will come to its fullness. Also, we can experience God, and when we experience God, now he experienced a tangible glory of God, same as they had in the Old Testament, which came down inside the tabernacle. I've heard reports in meetings around the world at times of like a mist, a shimmering mist coming into the house of God, the glory, but here's the bit I wanted to draw your attention to.
He said he received glory when he heard the voice see, so what did he get when he heard the voice? Now this is the bit he got, otherwise you get caught up in all the manifestations of shimmering lights and lightening and stuff like that. This is what he got; he got words. He got words that were powerful, spirit filled, energising words, that formed a part of the foundation of his life. Notice what he heard; this is My beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. He got words of identity, who I am. Now most people who I am is measured by what I own and who likes me and what positions I have, but our identity is to come out of what God says about us. I am a child of God, born again by the spirit of God! God is my Father. Who am I? I'm a child of God. You've got to be able to answer that.
Notice the second thing is, My beloved Son, I belong to Him, My, My, My beloved. You and I need to hear God say, you're My beloved, you belong to Me, I belong to you. You're loved and valued. That imparts to us the things we can't get enough of in the world see? And then the final thing, it says I'm well pleased, words of affirmation, how valuable I am. Now people starve for these things, people starve because we don't know - we starve spiritually and emotionally. Because we are not sure of who we are, we become insecure because we're not sure who's we are or who we belong to. We feel uncertainty about who we are, and what we have, and we don't know how valuable we are in God, if we don't receive from God, then we're going to look for it somewhere else, look for it in your job, you look for it in a position, look for it in possessions, we look for something to meet these core needs - but the glory God gives us, is the glory of being a son of God, of having access to a Father who is an eternal Father. He's got great plans for His family. What a privilege. What a privilege to have these things, see?
How do I get into that? I have to pray and pursue God. Jesus went up on a mountain and pursued His Father and out of pursuit He experienced what the Father had for Him. I guess we'll have it the same way. It's the work of the Holy Spirit to reveal God's glory, God's goodness, God's love, so the Holy Spirit comes in, you have an anointing within, you have to learn to grow internally in your capacity to carry, and be sensitive to the anointing of the spirit of God. You have to learn how to pray in such a way, that you begin to encounter His experience, but ultimately it comes down, that you have revelation to your heart that reassures you, strengthens you, gives you vitality as a loved, vital, important person with something to contribute to this world. You're unique. I've got about three or four clips of a Christian guy, I'm going to show one of them tonight, who was born with no limbs. He wrestled continually with feeling he's of no value, and he couldn't do this and he couldn't do that, he couldn't do whatever, until he got perspective in Christ, and saw there's no limits for me - unless I decide there's limits.