Psalm 50:23, "Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God."
Romans 4:20, "He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God."
1 Peter 4:11, "If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."
Matthew 5:16, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
I have been writing a primer on the glory of God. We have learned that it is something you see or reflect upon or point to rather than define. It is Christ’s beauty of his perfection, His worth, and His moral excellence in His character AND SO MUCH MORE! I made a statement, “The deepest longing of the human heart and the deepest meaning of heaven and earth are summed up in this: the glory of God.”
God means for us to see His glory with our eyes, know His glory in our minds, and relish his glory in our hearts, and reflect his glory in our lives. God has made us to see His glory, to savor his glory, and to show His glory. God says in Isaiah 43:7, "Everyone who is called by My name…I have created for My glory..." That means that we were all created to express the infinite worth of God's glory.
So we have been learning about the glory of God, what it is, how seeing it affects us, and what it means to fulfill our duty and highest purpose. Our duty and privilege is to conform to this divine purpose namely, to reflect the value of God's glory-to think and feel and do whatever we must to make much of God, to magnify Him, to increase His fame and renown. Our reason for being, our calling, our joy is to render visible the glory of God.
Today I want to share some implications of the ways we bring glory to God.I am thankful to John Piper who has given me these pointers by which I am expanding upon.
When we do evangelism it means more than simply giving gospel facts and information. It means depicting the beauty of Christ and his saving work with a heartfelt urgency of love that labors to help people see Jesus for who He is and to savor Him for all that Her is worth. Christ is glorified in evangelism when we help people to come to love and treasure Him. (Matthew 5:14-16)
Similarly true, authentic, biblical, Christian preaching, as part of the corporate worship of Christ’s church, is the preacher treasuring over the glories of God in his word, designed to lure God’s people from the fleeting pleasures of sin into the sacrificial path of obedient satisfaction in Him.(1 Peter 4:11)
The essence of authentic, corporate worship in song is the collective experience of heartfelt love, pleasure, cherishing, and satisfaction in the glory of God, or a trembling that we do not have it and a great longing for it. (Psalm 29:2; 50:23)
World missions is a declaration of the glories of God among all the unreached peoples, with a view to gathering worshippers who magnify God through the gladness of radically obedient lives. (Psalm 96:3)
Prayer is calling on God for help so it is plain that he is gloriously resourceful and we are humbly and happily in need of grace.(Psalm 50:15)
All ministry is meant to be done in humble dependence of the strength He supplies so that He receives all the glory. (1 Peter 4:11)
The work of the Spirit in the life of a believer is meant to produce God glorifying fruit. (John 15:8; Galatians 5:22-23)
The way to magnify God in death is by meeting death as gain.(Philippians 1:21)
"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31)
"It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always, Christ shall be honored in my body, whether by life, or by death." (Philippians 1:21)
The only right way to live, serve, work, worship, eat, and drink is when we do it to His glory.
A PRAYER
0 Father of glory, this is the cry of our hearts-to be changed from one degree of glory to another, until, in the resurrection, at the last trumpet, we are completely conformed to the image of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Until then, we long to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord, especially the knowledge of his glory. We want to see it as clearly as we see the sun, and to savor it as deeply as our most desired pleasure. 0 merciful God, incline our hearts to your Word and the wonders of your glory. Wean us from our obsession with trivial things. Open the eyes of our hearts to see each day what the created universe is telling about your glory. Enlighten our minds to see the glory of your Son in the Gospel. We believe that you are the All-glorious One, and that there is none like you. Help our unbelief Forgive the wandering of our affections and the undue attention we give to lesser things. Have mercy on us for Christ’s sake, and fulfill in us your great design to display the glory of your grace. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
John Piper
Longing for us to go deeper in seeing, savoring, and showing His glory,
Pastor Bill
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