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To the Praise of His Glory Introduction: J.
S. Bach: “Music's only purpose should be the glory of God and the recreation
of the human spirit.” Music was given to glorify God in heaven and to
edify men and women on earth. Put on all his music “To the glory of God” Michelangelo:
“Art is the gift and must be used for His glory. That in art is the highest
which aims at this.” Sir
Isaac Newton: “When I wrote my treatise about our system, I had an eye upon
such principles as might work with considering men for the belief of a Deity, and nothing can rejoice me more than to find it
useful for that purpose.” C.
S. Lewis: “The glory of God, and, as our only means to glorifying him, the
salvation of human souls, is the real business of life.” I.
The Glory of God’s Glory A. The Central Message of All Scripture – 1.
Paul’s central message in this passage, and the Bible’s
central message for believers in all ages, is summarized in verse 31: whatever
you do, do all to the glory of God. 2.
God created man to glorify Himself, and that is man’s purpose
in life. a)
Fallen man cannot purpose to glorify God, because he does not
know God or have a godly nature through Jesus Christ. b)
Redeemed man, however, is able to glorify the Lord, and he
will glorify Him if he is faithful. 3.
The first question and answer in The Shorter Catechism are: “What
is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him
forever.” a)
The catechism is right in declaring that the pinnacle of man’s
being is glorifying and enjoying God. b)
The highest purpose any individual can have is to be totally
absorbed in the person of God, and to view all of life through eyes filled
with His wonder and glory. c)
That is the perspective of the true worshiper, the one who truly
glorifies God. B. What is glory? 1.
The word glory
means “something that is worthy of praise or exaltation; brilliance; beauty;
renown.” a)
Hebrew = kabod (1)The basic meaning of the
Hebrew word kabod is heavy in weight. (2)The verb thus often comes
to mean, “give weight to, honor” (3)“To give glory” is to
praise, to recognize the importance of another, the weight the other carries. b)
Greek = doksos (1)The New Testament uses doxa to express glory and limits the meaning to
God’s glory. (2)In classical Greek doxa means opinion, conjecture, expectation, and
then praise. (3)dokeo = to be accounted (pleasing), to be of
reputation, to seem (good). (4)New Testament carries
forward the Old Testament meaning of divine power and majesty (Acts 7:2; Eph.
1:17; 2 Pet. 1:17). (5)The New Testament extends
this to Christ as having divine glory (Luke 9:32; 2.
God’s glory has two aspects. a)
First is His inherent glory. (1)God is the only being in
all of existence who can be said to possess inherent glory. (2)No one can give it to
Him; it already completely belongs to Him by virtue of who He is. (3)If no one ever gave God
praise, He would still be the glorious God that He is, because He was fully
glorious before He created any other beings to worship Him. b)
The second aspect of God’s glory is ascribed glory. (1)“Ascribe to the Lord, O
sons of the mighty, ascribe to the Lord glory and
strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in
holy array” (Psalm 29:1–2). (2)ascribe = to assign, to
attribute (a)Obviously, we cannot give
God glory in the sense of adding to His glory, any more than we can add to
His strength. (b)The psalmist is simply
urging us to recognize, to assign, to attribute, and acclaim the glory God
already has and to worship Him because of it. C. 18And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.” 19Then
He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim
the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be
gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20But
He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” 21And
the LORD said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22So
it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of
the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. 23Then
I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back;
but My face shall not be seen.” 5Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood
with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6And the LORD
passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and
gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7keeping
mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means
clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
8So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and
worshiped. 1.
The definitive passage on the Glory of God. 2.
God’s glory is a visible manifestation of His attributes! a)
When you see God’s attributes, it glorifies Him and we
immediately fall down and worship Him! b)
The proper response to the Glory of God is worship and
praise! D. God’s glory has a two staged relationship: 1.
God’s goal is his glory, but this needs careful explanation,
for it is easily misunderstood. a)
It points to a purpose of divine love, not of divine egoism. b)
God does want to be praised for His praiseworthiness and
exalted for His greatness and goodness. c)
But more importantly to God, He wants to be appreciated for
what He is. 2.
God’s goal in His glory is a two-sided, two-stage
relationship: a)
First are the acts of revelation on His part
where He freely shows his glory to men and angels. (1)Mother to child – can the
trees praise God? Sky? Animals? (2)Only men and angels can
praise God! b)
From this He expects a response of adoration on our part
whereby we give him glory out of gratitude for what we have seen and
received. (1)This seeing glory in God
and giving glory to God is the true fulfillment of who we are as human
beings. (2)This and only this brings
supreme joy to man just as it does to God. c)
“Glory” in the Old Testament carries associations of weight,
worth, wealth, splendor, and dignity, all of which are present when God is
said to have revealed his glory. (1)God was answering Moses’
plea to be shown God’s glory when he proclaimed to Moses his name (i.e., his
nature, character, and power, Exod. 33:18–34:7). (2)The Shekinah
was itself called the glory of God; it appeared at significant moments in the
Bible story as a sign of God’s active presence (Exod. 33:22; 34:5); (a)cf. 16:7, 10; 24:15-17;
40:34-35; Lev. 9:23-24; d)
The New Testament proclaims that the glory of God’s nature,
character, power, and purpose is now in open view in the person of God’s Son,
Jesus Christ (John 1:14-18; (1)Nowhere is God’s glory
shown more clearly and brightly than in the plan and work of grace that saves
sinners. (2)Salvation is meant to
give us and all of creation cause to praise Him and give Him glory. (Eph.
1:6, 12, 14). e)
According to our passage today, anything and everything a
Christian says and does should be to God’s glory. E. What you do, why you do it and how you do it all have the
potential of giving glory to God! 1.
A person either lives a life that honors God or that
dishonors Him. 2.
God is dishonored when anyone sins, but He is especially dishonored
when His own people sin. a)
Because he has especially honored us by His forgiving grace,
we especially dishonor Him by our sin. b)
When in justice He is forced to chastise us, He is further
dishonored by unbelievers, who charge, as did the nations around c)
Sin of any sort takes glory from God. 3.
In the same way God is especially honored and glorified when
His people are faithful and obedient. a)
Just as our sin reflects against His honor, so our loving
obedience reflects to His honor. b)
When we resist sin and turn away from sin and forsake sin we
glorify our heavenly Father. c)
When we willingly use our lives for His sake and for the sake
of His other children, we glorify Him still more. 4.
So, how can we fulfill this commandment in a)
Examine Your Motives b)
Examine Your Methods c)
Examine Your Goals II. Glorifying God A. Our Motive for Serving 1.
The glory of God, is the most
important element in serving God because the glory of God is what salvation
and ministry are all about. a)
He saved us “to the praise of the glory of His grace” (Eph.
1:6, 12, 14), and b)
He commands us, “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God”
(1 Corinthians 10:31). 2.
If our motive for serving is anything other than the glory of
God, what we do will be only religious activity and not true Christian
ministry. a)
We may help people in one way or another, but God will not be
able to bless as He wants to do. b)
If undetected, a counterfeit bill can do a lot of good as it
passes from hand to hand; but when it gets to the bank the final place of
judgment it will be rejected: (1)“Therefore judge nothing
before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the
hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels [motives] of the hearts.
Then each one’s praise will come from God” (1 Corinthians 4:5). B. How do we know when what we’re doing is really glorifying
God? 1.
How do we know when what we’re doing is really glorifying
God? a)
For one thing, we can’t explain what’s happening, and often
nobody expected it to happen. b)
Quotation from Bob Cook: “If you can explain what’s going on,
God didn’t do it!” 2.
When evangelist D. L. Moody was preaching in a)
After listening to Moody preach and seeing the blessings, Dr.
Dale wrote in his denomination’s magazine: “I told Mr. Moody that the work
was most plainly of God, for I could see no real relation between him and
what he had done. He laughed cheerily, and said he should be very sorry if it
were otherwise.”‘ C. The Working of God 1.
The working of God isn’t always predictable. a)
Because the wind of the Spirit “blows where it wishes” (John
3:8), we have to be alert to set our sails in the right direction. b)
It’s possible to “succeed” in Christian work and be a failure
in Christian ministry. c)
“In whatever man does without God,” wrote George Macdonald, “he
must fail miserably or succeed more miserably.” d)
A sobering thought! e)
The psalmist declared, “And He gave them their request, but
sent leanness into their soul” (Ps. 106:15). 2.
Another evidence that your work is
glorifying God is that the enemy opposes what you’re doing. a)
Paul announced, “For a great and effective door has opened to
me, and there are many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16:9). b)
Opportunities and adversaries usually go together, and
adversaries can create new opportunities. c)
Satan encourages those who magnify themselves and depend on the
flesh, but he hates it when the Spirit of God is at work bringing glory to
Jesus Christ. D. God is glorified when: 1.
God is glorified when people see the Lord and not the
servant: a)
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your
good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). b)
You have to decide whether you will be a servant or a
celebrity, whether you will magnify Christ or promote yourself (Phil.
1:2021). c)
Because we don’t always understand our own motives, it’s
possible to be in Christian service for reasons other than the glory of the
Lord. d)
Some people are involved in ministry only for personal gain. e)
Perhaps they relish the authority and recognition that are
often associated with ministry, or maybe they just enjoy having opportunities
to display their talents. f)
It’s doubtful that anybody ever does anything out of a purely
unselfish motive; but with God’s help, we can try. 2.
God is glorified when people see the Master and not the
minister. a)
The moderator of a Presbyterian church in b)
The late A. W. Tozer was once presented
to a congregation in a similar manner, and his response was, `All I can say
is, dear God, forgive him for what he said and forgive me for enjoying it so
much!” 3.
God is jealous of His glory: a)
“I am the LORD, that is My name; and
My glory I will not give to another” (Isaiah 42:8). b)
In Isaiah’s day, the problem was idols, worshiping the false
gods of the enemy, a problem that is still with us today. c)
When a political candidate appears on television, the most
important member of his team is not the speech writer but the image maker,
the media expert who “sells” the candidate to the viewers. d)
When you find yourself more concerned about your “image” than
your character and your work, you have stopped glorifying God. 4.
When your service produces fruit, God is glorified. a)
“By this My Father is glorified,” said Jesus, “that you bear
much fruit” (John 15:8). b)
There is a difference between “fruit” and “results.” c)
You can get “results” by following surefire formulas,
manipulating people, or turning on your charisma; but “fruit” comes from
life. d)
When the Spirit of life is working through the Word of life,
the seed planted bears fruit; and that
fruit has in it the seed for more fruit (Gen. 1:11-12). e)
Results are counted and soon become silent statistics, but
living fruit remains and continues to multiply to the glory of God (John
15:16). E. Two Opportunities 1.
Every situation in life will present two opportunities to
you: the opportunity to glorify God, or the opportunity to glorify yourself. a)
The experience of Moses, recorded in b)
While Moses was on the mount, getting his instructions from
the Lord, the people of c)
Aaron made a golden calf, and the people held a feast that
involved not only idolatry but immorality. 2.
Of course, the Lord knew what was going on, and He informed
Moses: “Your people whom you brought out of the a)
Then God tested Moses by making him an offer: He would destroy
b)
A lesser man would have jumped at the chance to be the
founder of a new nation, but Moses turned it down. c)
Instead, he pleaded with the Lord to forgive His people
because Moses’ great concern was the
glory of the Lord. d)
In fact, Moses was willing to lay down his own life so that 3.
The people of a)
But personal sacrifice is an insignificant thing when you
live and serve for the glory of God alone. b)
I trust that one day, you and I will be able to say to the
Father what Jesus said to Him: “I have glorified You
on the earth. I have finished the work which You
have given Me to do” (John 17:4). 4.
Remember always to heed these words: “Therefore, whether you
eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians
10:31). |
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