Sunday, July 9, 2017 am
Glorifying God
a.
The very idea of our
worship is to bring adoration and praise to Him.
Every act of worship He has given us is designed to glorify Him.
John 4:24 – we worship Him in Spirit and in truth.
b.
In studying the subject
of worship we learn that it is about Him and not us.
Our worship is to be directed TOWARD Him.
While we are edified in our worship, it is primarily about Him.
And that means we worship Him AS he gives us instructions – 1
Corinthians 14:15, (cf. Matthew 15:8-9 – vain worship is the doctrines
and commandments of men).
c.
And it is to be with due
reverence. In prayer – Matthew 6:9 – “Hallowed be Your name”
d.
Hebrews 13:15 speaks of
our continually offering the “sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the
fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”
a.
Matthew 5:16 – by
letting our light shine (example to others)
b.
1 Peter 2:12 notes that
honorable conduct among the Gentiles causes them to glorify God by the
good works they observe in you.
c.
Be reminded that people
are more likely to won by what they observe than by what you say.
In fact, your words are given credibility when you are living by
them.
a.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 –
Paul reminds us that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit in us.
We belong to Him.
This is a context dealing with avoiding sexual immorality, an example of
living a pure life. VS. 20
tells us, For you were bought at a price; therefore
glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
We belong to Him and we need to
keep our bodies, “His temple”, pure.
b.
Associated with the
example we set for others is our purity of life.
By purity of life, we mean a life that is unpolluted and
undiluted by the world.
People need to see our purity.
c.
But our purity is more
than just our actions before others.
It is our hearts from which our words and actions spring (cf.
Matthew 12:33-35). Matthew
5:8 – it is the pure in heart who shall see God.
d.
1 John 3:3 tells us that
“everyone who has this hope in Him
purifies Himself just as He is pure.”
a.
John 15:8 –
By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be
My disciples.
In a context (1-11) where Jesus describes Himself as the vine, and we
are the branches (vs. 5), Jesus is emphasizing that being a disciple is
one who is producing fruit.
b.
Fruit is the PRODUCT of
something (hence the word, “produce”).
We are reminded that we bear fruit in many ways – by winning
souls, by personal spiritual growth (knowledge, faith, reaching toward
maturity, etc.), by doing good things for others (and thereby making
their lives a little better), through a repentant life (cf. Matthew
3:8), holiness of life (Romans 6:22), and let us not forget Galatians
5:22-23 – the fruit of the Spirit.
c.
When we are bearing
fruit, God is glorified.
a.
There is no better way
to glorify God than by doing what He tells us to do AND by doing it the
way He tells us to.
b.
Even Jesus, when He
prayed to the Father, said he had glorified Him.
How? By doing the
work He had been entrusted with (John 17:4).
c.
1 Peter 4:11 –
If anyone speaks, let him speak as
the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the
ability which God supplies, that
in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom
belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
a.
Living the life of a
Christian is not easy. In
fact, we are told that it comes with a high price.
That price might involve suffering persecutions, or in other
ways, for Him. Paul
told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:12 that all who desire to live godly will
suffer persecutions. (If our
life in Him is without any conflict, maybe we need to at least visit
this thought)
b.
1 Peter 4:12-16 – in a
book that is dealing with submission and suffering, Peter tells us not
to “think it strange that we face
fiery trials. In vs. 14 he notes that if we are reproached for the
name of Christ and endure it the spirit of glory and of God rests upon
us.
On their part He is blasphemed,
but on your part He is glorified.
Then in vs. 16 we read, Yet
if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him
glorify God in this matter.
c.
Romans 8:18 whatever we
endure in this life is not worthy to be compared to the glory to be
revealed in us.
a.
Ephesians 3:21,
Now to Him who is able
to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according
to the power that works in us, to
Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations,
forever and ever. Amen.
b.
We have been studying in
great detail what the church is.
We have noted it is the body of Christ
(Ephesians 1:22-23) and that it was part of God’s plan from
eternity, and a manifestation of His wisdom (Ephesians 3:10-11).
We have also noted that the local congregation is a gathering of
Christians who join together in a given location to do His work.
The book of Ephesians deals with some of that work.
WHEN we do the work He has given us in the way He has prescribed,
we are bringing glory to Him in the church by Christ Jesus.
c.
This includes the unity
with which we worship and serve Him.
- Romans 15:6 – Paul spoke of how we, with one mind and one
mouth we glorify God.
Far
too many today seek glory in the wrong things – in themselves, in some
cause or in someone else. As
Christians, our glory must be in Him.
As Paul told the Corinthians,
“He who glories, let him glory in
the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:31).
2
Thessalonians 1:10, tells us there is a day when He will come
to be glorified with His saints.
On that day, which side will we be on?
Give God the glory in your life today that you may spend eternity
with Him.