“Three Things God Desires”
February 27, 2005
Intro: As we approach the Easter season, a very important question seems to cross the minds of people as they reflect on the story: “Why did God do it?” It is a great question and one that needs to be answered to help us better understand the events of Easter.
The reason has a lot to do with the desire God has for us and the plan he gave us.
God’s greatest desire is for us to give him glory.
The basic meaning of the word glory is “heavy in weight.”
It is the idea of giving value to something. Such as “I put a lot of weight in that person’s opinion.” It defines respect and preciousness.
In dealing with precious metals, silver is lighter than gold. Platinum is heavier than gold. The more weight, the higher the value.
For us it means to give weight or honor to God.
Today we are going to look at three desires of God that have to do with the concept of glory.
I. God desires to reveal his glory.
God is all about letting people in on how glorious he is. We may in our human mind not understand this because it seems like being vain or prideful. But there is nothing more glorious than God. So when God calls us to worship him in his glory, he is really saving us from wasting time with other pursuits.
We have a great picture of God revealing his glory in the book of Exodus.
The nation of Israel had been slaves in Egypt for 430 years. This was God’s chosen people, and yet they had been captive in this pagan nation for all of that time.
Moses is called by God to bring the people out of slavery and to take them to the Promised Land.
This set up a cosmic showdown between the gods of Egypt and the one true God.
To demonstrate his power and authority, God brought plagues on Egypt. Each plague struck directly at an Egyptian god. In all there were 10 plagues and the God of Israel overpowered the gods of Egypt.
The meaning of the term plague in the original language is a military term meaning “to strike a blow.”
In other words, God was “striking a blow” against the false gods of Egypt.
The final plague was death to the firstborn that convinced Pharaoh to send the Israelites away.
“‘On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—both men and animals—and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.’” Exodus 12:2
After this, Pharaoh sent the Israelites away. But he changed his mind and pursued them. The nation of Israel was trapped between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army. Then God responded to their cries for help.
“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. Pharaoh will think, “The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.” ‘And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.’ So the Israelites did this.”
Exodus 14:1-4
God uses an incredible miracle to reveal his glory to humans.
**Exodus 14:21-31
Moses’ Father- in -law declared:
“He said, ‘Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.’” Exodus 18:10-11
God revealed his glory by rescuing his people.
II. God desires us to recognize his glory.
Part of the problem in our walk with God is we fail to recognize the awesome glory of who he is. We fail to see God in the everyday of life.
Astronaut James McDivitt, who circled the earth 62 times told a Foreign Press Club audience in Rome:
“I did not see God looking into my space-cabin window, as I do not see God looking into my car’s windshield on earth. But I could recognize his work in the stars as well as when walking among flowers in a garden.”
God told the nation of Israel that other nations would hear of all he had done for them and would tremble before them.
“‘I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.’” Exodus 23: 27
One ancient city heard about what God did and for 40 years they lived in terror of the Israelites.
Jericho was the oldest and most well defended city in the world. It was surrounded by walls that were so massive, most armies could never think to attack.
After 40 years of wandering the desert, Joshua is now leading Israel. He sends spies into Jericho to see how to attack. They stayed with a prostitute named Rahab. She had this to say about them:
“We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea, for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Of, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”
Joshua 2:10-11
Do you think God got some glory because of the incident at the Red Sea?
Because she helped the spies, Rahab and her family were the only citizens of Jericho to survive when God gave it over to the Israelites. Eventually she married an Israelite and is listed in Matthew 1 in the genealogy of Jesus.
God rescues those who recognize his glory.
Speaking of his glory, look at how it was revealed to men through Jesus and how men recognized it:
At Jesus birth:
“‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’” Luke 2:14
Angels reveal God’s glory and shepherds respond.
In Jesus’ life:
“Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ‘Take away the stone,’ he said. ‘But, Lord,’ said Martha, the sister of the dead man, ‘by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.’ Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to the, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’” John 11:38-44
His friend dies and Jesus raises him from the dead so that God could receive his glory.
In Jesus’ resurrection:
“just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father.” Romans 6:4
In eternity:
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrews 1:3
For those who recognize the glory of God, life is never the same.
III. God desires us to live for his glory.
When Christ changes our lives, it changes the attitudes and actions of our lives. We no longer simply desire to live for Christ, but we want to tell others about his effect on our lives.
Our actions declare God’s glory.
“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:8
Our words declare God’s glory.
“‘We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: ‘You are the Son; today I have become your Father.’” Acts 13:32-33
Our attitudes declare God’s glory.
“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6
Have you recognized God’s glory in your life? Are you living for his glory or for your own? Do your actions, words and attitudes display God’s glory?
