A. One day a little boy was overheard talking to himself as he strutted on to the baseball diamond wearing his baseball cap and toting a ball and bat, “I’m the greatest hitter in the world,” he announced.
1. Then, he tossed the ball into the air, swung at it, and missed.
2. “Strike One!” he yelled, but undaunted, he picked up the ball and said again, “I’m the greatest hitter in the world!"
3. He tossed the ball into the air, swung at it and missed it again. “Strike Two!” he yelled.
4. The boy paused for a moment to examine his bat and ball carefully.
5. He spit on his hands and rubbed them together, then straightened his cap and said once more, “I’m the greatest hitter in the world!”
6. Again, he tossed the ball up in the air and swung at it and missed. “Strike Three!” he yelled.
7. For a moment there he looked dejected, but then his face brightened and he announced, “Wow, I just realized, I’m the greatest pitcher in the world.”
B. Perhaps no one was better at self-promotion than the late, great fighter Mohammad Ali.
1. Few people feel confident enough to say the kinds of things that he said about himself.
2. Mohammad Ali said things like:
a. “I’m young; I’m handsome; I’m fast. I can’t possibly be beat.”
b. “It’s hard to be humble when you're as great as I am.”
c. “Braggin’ is when a person says something and can’t do it. I do what I say.”
d. “I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was. I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I was really the greatest.”
e. Speaking of Sonny Liston he said: “He’s too ugly to be the world champ. The world champ should be pretty like me!”
f. “I am the astronaut of boxing. Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey were just jet pilots. I’m in a world of my own.”
g. “Float like a butterfly. Sting like a bee. I am the greatest.”
h. “I’m not the greatest, I’m the double greatest.”
3. That kind of ego and self-promotion makes most of us uncomfortable and seems inappropriate.
4. And in all fairness to Mohammad Ali, he was a showman on one of the greatest of stages, and in some respects, I’m sure he was just playing a part.
5. I didn’t know him personally, but I am sure those who knew him personally saw a different side of him.
6. President Obama gave this in tribute to Ali, “He stood with King and Mandela; stood up when it was hard; spoke out when others wouldn’t. His fight outside the ring would cost him his title and his public standing. It would earn him enemies on the left and the right, make him reviled, and nearly send him to jail. But Ali stood his ground. And his victory helped us get used to the America we recognize today.”
7. Mohammad Ali said this about himself in his book, The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life’s Journey, Mohammed Ali said he wanted to be remembered as “a man who won the heavyweight title three times, who was humorous, and who treated everyone right. As a man who never looked down on those who looked up to him, and who helped as many people as he could. As a man who stood up for his beliefs no matter what.”
C. I have introduced this sermon with these thoughts to help us see a contrast between the wrongness and the rightness of self-promotion.
1. Self-promotion that might be inappropriate or downright wrong for humans, is altogether appropriate and right for our great, glorious and holy God.
2. Last week, we looked at the glimpses of God’s glory that Moses, Stephen and Paul saw, and we witnessed the transforming effects of God’s glory in their lives.
3. Then we looked at Paul’s explanation of the way God’s glory has come into our lives to transform us into God’s image from one glory to another glory.
4. How wonderful it is that we are just jars of clay, yet God’s glory lives in us and works through us!
D. Today, I want us to continue to examine God’s glory and come to understand that God is doing all He can do to promote His glory, and that He wants us to do all we can to promote His glory as well.
1. And I hope we will be able to embrace the notion of why this divine self-promotion is altogether right and good.
E. As we witnessed last week, Moses asked to see God’s glory (Ex. 33:18).
1. When we make a survey of the Scriptures, we see that God’s glory shows up often and is truly glorious.
2. God’s glory billowed through the temple leaving the priests too stunned to minister (1 Kgs. 18).
3. When Isaiah and Ezekiel saw God’s glory they were humbled and they trembled (Is. 6; Ez. 3).
4. On the night when Jesus was born, the angels showed up and the glory of the Lord shone around the starstruck shepherds out in the fields (Luke 2).
5. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory (Heb. 1:3).
6. The apostle John beheld the glory of the Lord in Jesus and testified to it in John 1:14: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
7. Peter, James and John witnessed the glory of the Lord on the mount of transfiguration (Mk. 9).
8. Jesus predicted that when He returns, He will come in glory: For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done (Mt. 16:27).
9. And when we all get to heaven, we will see that heaven is illuminated by God’s glory – Revelation 21:23 says: The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
F. To ask to see God’s glory is to ask to see all of God.
1. God’s glory carries the full weight of His attributes: His love, His character, His strength, and everything else that makes up who God is.
2. In Psalm 29, David does an amazing job of celebrating God’s glory; David wrote:
1 Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is above the waters. The God of glory thunders—the Lord, above the vast water,
4 the voice of the Lord in power, the voice of the Lord in splendor.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion, like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord flashes flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the woodlands bare. In his temple all cry, “Glory!”
G. The word “glory” signals high honor.
1. The Hebrew term for glory descends from a root word meaning heavy, weighty, or important.
2. God’s glory celebrates His significance, His uniqueness, and His one-of-a-kindness.
3. Moses understood about the significance of God’s glory when he prayed, “Lord, who is like you among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?”
4. And so, when we think of God’s glory, we should think of preeminence and priority, for God’s glory is a priority.
H. Max Lucado suggests that we imagine God’s staff meetings in heaven.
1. If God had meetings with His angelic staff, then those meetings would certainly revolve around one question: “How can we reveal God’s glory today?”
2. On God’s daily “to-do” list is one item: “Reveal my glory.”
3. Try to picture the break room where the angels gather, and picture heaven’s framed mission statement hanging just above the shelf with the angel food cake, that says: “Our Mission is to Declare God’s Glory.”
I. It is God’s will that His glory be showcased and that’s why many things of the past happened the way they happened, and why many things are the way they are in this world.
1. Moses explained this to Aaron: “This is what the Lord has spoken: I will demonstrate my holiness to those who are near me, and I will reveal my glory before all the people.” (Lev. 10:3)
2. God explained to Isaiah: “I will act for my own sake, indeed, my own, for how can I be defiled? I will not give my glory to another.” (Isaiah 48:11)
3. Why do the heavens exist?
a. Psalm 19:1 says: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.
4. Why did God create the nation of Israel?
a. God explained this through Isaiah the prophet: “Everyone who bears my name and is created for my glory. I have formed them; indeed, I have made them… The people I formed for myself will declare my praise.” (Isaiah 43:7, 21)
b. The prophet Isaiah proclaimed: “You led your people this way to make a glorious name for yourself.” (Isaiah 63:14)
5. Why did God harden Pharoah’s heart at the Red Sea?
a. God said, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” (Ex. 14:4)
6. And so, we see that every act of heaven is designed to reveal God’s glory.
J. And while Jesus was on the earth that was His mission as well, to bring glory to God the Father.
1. As the ministry of Jesus was coming toward the end, Jesus predicted his crucifixion saying: 27 “Now my soul is troubled. What should I say—Father, save me from this hour? But that is why I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” (Jn. 12:27-28)
2. Then just before Jesus was betrayed and taken away, He prayed: 4 “I have glorified you on the earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed.” (John 17:4-5)
3. Jesus brought glory to God and opened a way for all to glorify God.
4. Paul explained: 8 For I say that Christ became a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises to the fathers, 9 and so that Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy. (Romans 15:8-9)
K. So, what should do we make of all this divine self-promotion? How should we understand it?
1. Dare we ask if this divine self-promotion reveals a self-centered attitude?
2. Why does God have to broadcast Himself and put Himself in the spotlight?
3. I like how Max Lucado answers that question with this illustration: Max says that God has to broadcast Himself for the same reason the pilot of a lifeboat has to broadcast himself.
a. Imagine yourself in a desperate situation at sea.
b. Imagine yourself floundering neck-deep in the dark, cold water.
c. Imagine your ship has sunk, your life jacket is deflating, and your strength is waning.
d. But then suddenly, you hear the voice of a lifeboat pilot coming across the waves.
e. You can’t see him, but you think you hear him.
4. What do you want the lifeboat pilot to do at that point?
a. Do you want him to be quiet?
b. Do you want him to remain hidden?
c. Absolutely not! You want the lifeboat pilot to make himself known.
d. You want him to amp it up – the louder the better.
e. You want him to declare: “I am here! I am strong! I have room for you! I can save you!”
f. Drowning people want the pilot to reveal his preeminence – to toot his horn.
5. And don’t we want God to do the same?
a. Let’s be realistic about our situation - the people of our world are lost at sea.
b. They are sinking in a sea of guilt, anger and despair.
c. Their life is fading away and they are going down fast.
d. But God can rescue them.
e. And His message is the only one that matters.
f. People need to hear His voice and see His glory and welcome His rescue.
L. But make no mistake about it, God has no ego problem.
1. Yes, heaven’s mission is to reveal God’s glory. but God does not reveal His glory for His good, rather He reveals it for our good.
2. We need God’s strong hand to pull us into a safe boat.
3. And then once we are pulled into God’s safe haven, our priority must become to promote God and declare His preeminence.
4. We declare His glory saying, “Hey you, sinking sailor, there is a strong boat over here. God is an able pilot and He can pull you out of the sinking sea of sin and death.”
5. It’s not about us, rather it’s all about God.
6. And it’s all about God, not for God’s sake, but for our sake.
M. And so, because of who God is and what God has done for us, our mission should be to declare God’s glory.
1. Like the moon, all we should want to do is reflect God’s glory to others.
2. King David encourages us to: 23 Let the whole earth sing to the Lord. Proclaim his salvation from day to day. 24 Declare his glory among the nations, his wondrous works among all peoples. (1 Chronicles 16:23-24)
3. Paul’s hymn of praise in Romans 11 concludes with: For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. (Rom. 11:36)
4. Similarly, Paul wrote this to the Corinthians: yet for us there is one God, the Father. All things are from him, and we exist for him. (1 Cor. 8:6)
a. So there is the truth stated in simple, concise words: There is one God and all things, including us, exist for Him.
b. It’s not about us; It’s all about Him.
5. Why does the earth exist and spin? For Him.
a. Why do you have talents and abilities? For Him.
b. Why do you have money or poverty? For Him.
c. Why do you have strength or struggles? For Him.
6. Everything and everyone exist to reveal His glory, but not for God’s good, but for our blessing and for our wellbeing.
N. There is a wonderful praise song that was written on this theme by Mark Altrogge.
1. Mark’s most famous praise song is “I Stand in Awe” that begins with the words: “You are beautiful beyond description” – we know and love to sing that song.
2. But this less known song of his is titled “Not To Us.”
3. When we printed up the little mauve song books back in the 1990s, we included the words to that song, but I guess it didn’t catch on with our congregation and we haven’t sung it much.
4. But I want us to sing it together now as we bring this sermon to a close.
Not to us, Lord, not to us
But to Your name give glory
Not to us, Lord, not to us
But to Your name bring praise
How great You are
How great Your fame
How marvelous
Your holy name
We are but servants
who proclaim
Your perfections and Your praise
Your ever just and gracious ways
How excellent You are, oh Lord
O. So, in conclusion, while it is wrong and inappropriate for us to make it all about us, and to devote our lives to self-promotion, it is altogether right and good to make it all about God, and for God to be engaged in divine self-promotion.
1. I pray that all of us will come to know God’s glory, and accept God’s offer of salvation.
2. I pray that after we allow God to rescue us, that we will devote ourselves to promoting God’s glory so that all might see God’s glory and accept God’s offer of salvation.
3. If you haven’t yet declared your faith in Jesus and repented and been baptized into Christ, then we would love to help you do that.
4. If you have become a Christian, but you find that you need to repent and begin walking more faithfully, then we would be happy to help you do that as well.
5. You can come talk with us about your spiritual needs after the service, or right now as we stand and sing.
Resource:
• It’s Not About Me, Max Lucado, Thomas Nelson, 2004
