The God Who Exalts God
“We are selfless followers of a self-centered God.”
Ezekiel 36:22-23 (p. 614) March 18, 2012
Introduction:
“Therefore say to the House of Israel, this is what the sovereign Lord says, “It is not for your sake O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.”
God was pretty much telling the nation of Israel “You do not exist for your glory—you exist for my glory! I did not call you to be a holy nation so that I can meet your desires, give you everything you desire and demand. I called you to be a nation that glorifies my holy name and exalts me as the one true God among nations who worship thousands of false gods!
He is telling them and us I am weary of you all…all your life, all your budgets, all your ambitions, your programs, your relationships, your possessions, your careers and your trust! I do not exist to be your mistress on the side; I demand absolute faithfulness.
You remember the story about the guy who pulled up to the corner while driving his car and Jesus was standing there. He opened the passenger door and invited him to get in for the ride. And Jesus just shook his head. So the guy opened the rear door, maybe he wants to be chauffeured around. And Jesus shook his head again. Finally the guy opened the driver’s door, got out from behind the wheel and Jesus got in while he went around to the passenger side.
Here is the radical truth of Christianity, whether we like it or not, we have lost the right to drive the car. We have surrendered the right to direct our lives. Don’t deceive yourself. Jesus will never be in the passenger seat. God will never be your co-pilot. He is only satisfied in the pilot’s seat!
God is sovereign. He is Lord. He is master. He is our king. He holds our lives in his hands and He is free to spend our lives anyway He chooses. Why? Because He doesn’t exist to serve our will. We exist to serve His and to glorify His Holy name.
God is self-centered. And before you think “Wow, why is that?” answer the question—who else would we have Him exalt? For at the moment He exalts anything else or anyone else, he is no longer the God who is worthy of all glory. Everything God does, even the salvation of his people, ultimately centers around Himself. Because He is worthy of all praise from all people.
Here’s a quote from David Platt in “Radical Together:
See attachment #1
Here’s an important question in regard to this issue:
I. What are we working toward with all our hearts?
There’s a line in my job description for Senior Minister at Fern Creek Christian Church that reads “plan yearly for vision and goal setting.” I’ve got to tell you that the word “vision” has somewhat become like the “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” song in my life. The first time I heard it, or just the first handful of times I heard it, it was okay. Now it just kind of makes me nauseated. Setting and reaching goals is important. But my vision has been averted from where I used to look. Am I supposed to bring a large crowd together in a great environment where we hear terrific music, see killer videos and then blast out 25 to 30 minutes of teaching? Proverbs 29:18 says that where there is no vision, the people will perish. But if this is to be the life and focus of my ministry I’d rather perish.
It’s a vision that’s dangerous because it can easily become selfish and member focused instead of God focused and God exalting.
So the important question must be asked, “What are we working toward with all our hearts?” The only possible vision for the church of Jesus Christ is to make known the glory of God in all nations. This is the vision that must drive the church because it is what drives God.
The danger for churches is that we say this is our vision and focus, but in the reality of our decisions it’s not what we’re working toward with all our hearts. We’ve asked Jesus once again to ride in the passenger seat. “Jesus, we are aware of the direction you want to go, but right now we’re gonna decide where we’re going.”
If the focus of the church is all about Sunday mornings (the Lord’s day), let’s have a big crowd in a large place where people can come and feel warm and welcomed, then you and I will plan accordingly, speak accordingly, work accordingly. David Platt writes, “We’ll engineer our vision to please the savvy Christian consumer.”
But what happens when our vision isn’t primarily to make the crowd comfortable, but to exalt God in all His glory? Suddenly our priorities change.
More than us believing that people will be impressed by the stuff we can manufacture, they begin to be amazed by the God they cannot fathom! More than them being dazzled by our production, we want to direct them to His praise. We decide the last thing we want to do is raise up people who casually worship God. We begin to raise up people who are so awed, so captivated, so mesmerized by the glory of God that they will gladly lose their experiences and their lives to make His greatness known in the whole world.
So when we get together who should we cater to? Should our services together be
II. Seeker Sensitive or Members Only?
Someone will ask, “Isn’t it good to cater creatively to people who don’t know God? Don’t we want to be sensitive to those seeking God?” That’s a great question and without a doubt we want to see as many people as possible who are without Christ in our community come to know Christ. Without question we want to do everything possible to see people saved. But here is a startling reality the Bible makes crystal clear. Romans 3 verse 11 says “There is no one who seeks God.” Here’s a radical concept. If the church is sensitive to seekers and no one is seeking God then the church is sensitive to no one.
Instead Jesus tells us it’s the Father who is pursuing people. God is the one doing the seeking. Jesus tells the Samaritan woman in John 4:23 “A time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.”
The church doesn’t exist to be sensitive to seekers or to placate immature “members.” God has been seeking sinners for thousands of years and he’s pretty good at it. In every service we should do everything possible to put the glory of God on display. We show people the most Biblical, clear, captivating vision of God that we possibly can and then trust Him to take care of the seeking.
In 1 Corinthians 14 the Apostle Paul tells what will happen when an unbeliever comes into a worship gathering of the church. “He will be convinced by all he’s hearing that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God exclaiming, “God is really amazing!” It’s what I call the “miracle of preaching:” When God speaks directly to your situation and sin. It’s what he did in Acts 2 on Pentecost and it’s how He still seeks sinners today.
No one has ever been saved because they were seeking God. It’s God who comes after us. So let’s be seeker sensitive, but let’s make sure we are being sensitive to the right seeker.
If we really want to join together to exalt a Holy and perfect God then we must realize
III. God Does Not Need Me
We are selfless followers of a self-centered God. We exist for His glory and God exists for the Glory of God.
The ultimate key in joining together in radical obedience to Christ is found in fostering a humble vision of our worth and a high view of God’s. It’s so dangerous to think we’re indispensible. That no one else could do what we’re doing or do it as well. When we think that way disciple making ceases. Instead of equipping and preparing others we arrogantly guard our territory.
F.M. Young said, “It isn’t the incompetent who destroy an organization. The incompetent never gets in a position to destroy it. It is those who have achieved something and want to rest upon their achievements who are forever clogging things up.”
Self dependent people don’t pray because they make their own decision. They don’t really need to read God’s word, they already know it pretty well. We don’t need to sacrifice, I already did, I give or do a lot, they don’t need to change the content of their lives they’re more than comfortable where they’re at. And if I really seek to be a part of a multiplying community it might change the power structure.
But when we become utterly dependent on God, completely abandoned to His will, we say like the Apostle Paul, “but one thing I do (priority number 1) Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead I press on toward the goal.” Phil 3:13, 14
What was His goal? To bring glory to God by fulfilling the perfect plan.
Whenever I start to think God needs me I remember where I was when He came seeking me and how I thought. And I realize that the 17 year old pot head, the army jacket wearing high school dropout wasn’t essential to God. He didn’t need me at all; there was nothing good I could offer. But, I completely needed Him. I was utterly dependent on His grace, His forgiveness. I was dependent on His spirit seeking me.
I am a new creation. That was 34 years ago. But God doesn’t need me anymore today than he did then. He does not need my church. He does not need you. He does not need my class, my missions giving, my plans, my budgets, or my building.
God does not involve us in his grand global purpose because He needs us. He involves us in His grand global purpose because He loves us. We exist for His glory, His praise. One thing we should never forget.
Let’s pray.
