Who Dat Gonna Give Glory To God? Series

Who Dat Gonna Give Glory to God?

1 Corinthians 10:24-33

Sermon by Rick Crandall

McClendon Baptist Church - Feb. 7, 2010

Series: Exploring the Glory of God in 2010

*We are living in the “Who Dat” nation! A judge in New Orleans postponed a trial this week, because of Saintsmania. Last Friday even my wife Mary wore a Saints t-shirt to school! (She had to borrow it from Melissa.) Mary wearing that shirt was something, because she knows about as much about the Saints as I do. When we hear the word “Brees,” we think somebody’s talking about the wind. But right now, we are living in the “Who Dat” nation.

*That’s a good example of man’s glory, but how long will that glory last? If the Saints lose tonight, it will be over in minutes. If the Saints win, and I hope they do, that glory will still only last a few hours or days -- weeks at the most.

*But we are looking at the glory that will last forever! -- God’s glory, the glory that He speaks of 300 times in His Word! -- His heaviness, magnificence, splendor and brightness, the outward shining of God's inner-being, His infinite and overflowing fullness of all that is good. (1)

*God will surely reveal His glory. As the Lord told Moses in Numbers 14:21, “Truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” And God’s glory is so important to Him that 1 Corin 10:31 tells Christians, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

*“Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” God wants every part of your life to magnify the glory of God. But how can I magnify God’s glory next Tuesday at 10:30? How can we do all for the glory of God?

1. First: We can do it by a growing awareness of God’s glory.

*Intentionally seek to be more aware of the glory of God. The more we focus on Jesus Christ and His glory, the more we will be transformed to reveal His glory to others. We see this connection in 2 Corin 3. Here Paul talks about the revelation of God’s glory in the Old Testament and the New. The glory on Moses’ face after he met with the Lord was so bright that the Children of Israel could not even stand to look at it. Moses’ face had to be covered for a while, but that glory faded away.

*The glory of God in New Testament believers is far better, because of the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. The more we focus on Jesus, the brighter His glory shines in us. The more we focus on Jesus, the more we will look like Him. So in vs. 17&18, Paul said:

17. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

18. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

*To understand this verse, you have to remember that mirrors back then were polished metal -- not at all like the glass mirrors we have. You could not see things in those mirrors nearly as well as we can today. Paul had already mentioned these old mirrors in his first letter to these Christians. Talking about seeing the Lord now, and in Heaven, Paul said, “Now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” (1 Cor 13:12)

*So far we can only see a tiny bit of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But even that has the power to transform our lives, if we will focus on Him. The more we focus on Jesus, the more we will look like Him.

*Don Shelby tells about a preacher friend of his who was a missionary kid. When he was 12, his parents went back to their mission station in India. And they left the boy with his grandmother, thinking that it would not be too long before they could be reunited. But it was just before the beginning of World War II, so that the family was separated for 8 long years.

*On the boy's 20th birthday, they finally were reunited. Their son said, “I’ll never forget it. It was almost dark when the train finally pulled into the station. Mother and Dad were the only ones who got off. I could barely see them in the haze, and they couldn't really see me. -- We embraced in semi-darkness.