DOES GOD WANT GLORY? Yes, not because He has low self-esteem, but because He wants us living for what matters most.
- 1 Timothy 1:17.
- John 8:50, 54; John 13:31; John 17:4-5.
- There are numerous passages that speak of the importance to God of receiving glory. (See the John passages.)
- Why? Is God insecure?
- No, it’s not that God needs our praise. God is secure in Himself.
- But He wants us living for what matters most. And He is what matters most. To point us in the direction of living our lives for something else would be to point us to live our lives for something of secondary importance.
- For example, if I as a father tell my son that the most important thing in life is money and that he should put other things second to that, I would justifiably be called a poor father. That’s bad advice – living for nothing but money is going to ultimately lead to frustration and emptiness.
- Living for God is living for what matters most and for what will outlast this world.
WHAT IS GLORY? It is primarily our heart praise for His goodness and greatness.
- Unpack “praise,” “heart,” “goodness,” and “greatness.”
- This can be expressed both verbally and in actions.
a. Verbal.
- Romans 15:6.
- We speak words of praise, both privately and publicly.
- Privately would include in prayer as well as in our minds in everyday life.
- Publicly would include in private conversations as well as when opportunities present in public forums.
b. Actions.
- What actions?
- For one, we obey, believing Jesus’ words to be wisdom itself.
- For another, we are free with “amen’s” and raised hands.
- For another, we revel in the opportunity to gather for worship and get to praise Him again.
- “Glory” can also refer to God’s physical radiance.
- Mark 10:37; Luke 2:9; Luke 9:26; Luke 9:32; Luke 21:27.
HOW CAN MY LIFE SHINE MORE GLORY ON GOD?
1. Don’t whitewash your pre-salvation sinfulness.
- 1 Timothy 1:15-16.
- Romans 3:23.
- Going back to last Sunday’s sermon, we tend to minimize our estimation of our sinfulness. Paul here, though, is honest in his assessment: he sees how deeply wrong he was.
- We like to think more highly of ourselves than we should. We excuse our misbehavior and think that our sin isn’t really that bad.
- Ironically, that makes us fail to appreciate just how badly we needed Christ. It makes us fail to appreciate just how far away from God we were. It makes us fail to adequately revel in the miracle of grace.
- As Jesus said, the one who is forgiven much loves much.
2. Let Him transform you into Christlikeness.
- 2 Corinthians 3:18.
- John 14:13.
- It’s God’s will and desire that we would be changed into the likeness of Christ. That transformation brings glory to God.
- How? Because it’s not by our power but by His grace and power, the evidence of change in our lives shines a light on God and His presence in our lives.
3. Bear much fruit for God.
- John 15:8.
- 1 Corinthians 10:31.
- It’s God’s desire that our lives would be fruitful. That fruitfulness brings glory to God.
- How? Because, similar to what we discussed under point #2, it’s evidence of the power of God to work within and through us.
- Define what “fruit” is. Internal and external. Earlier in John 15 on how it is borne.
