Learning to Live for the Glory of God

Selected Scriptures

     As we turn to the Word of God tonight, just a reminder, and a brief one at that, that we have been locking at the great doctrines of the Bible.  We have finally come to this wonderful doctrine of sanctification.  And we had been talking about what it means to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

     What it means to deal with the sin in our lives.  What it means to becomes increasingly holy.  As we do what the Apostle Paul commanded us to do, dealing with sin in our lives in a very strong way.

     2 Corinthian 7:1: "Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God."  We are moving along a path of increasing holiness, increasing likeness to Christ.  We are moving through phases of spiritual growth from being.

     As 1 John 2:12-14 puts it, "Spiritual children who know God as our Father and little more and therefore are tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine to spiritual young men who are strong in the word and strong in doctrine and therefore have overcome the wicked one who appears disguised as an angel of light promoting false religion."

     We go beyond that, however, to becoming spiritual fathers of whom John writes, "You have known him who is from the beginning.  One thing to know, God is your father."  Something else to know, sound doctrine.  Something else to know, God personally and intimately and fully and that's the essence of spiritual maturity.

     And if we are going to grow in spiritual maturity, if we're going to be progressively set apart from sin, progressively sanctified, then dealing with sin is an absolutely critical matter.  And in Romans 8, "Last time we emphasized the idea that those of us who live by the Spirit are killing the deeds of the body."  We are killing sin.  We are dealing sin a deathblow.

     Regularly, routinely, those of us who have been transformed, no longer servants of sin but servants of righteousness.  No longer servants of Satan but servants of God.  We are engaged in a warfare with sin.  We are a new creation in Christ, however, we are incarcerated in unredeemed flesh until our glorification and the battle is on.  We are required to strike deathblows at the sin that so easily besets us.

     We talked last time about the analogy of the Old Testament story of Agage and how Samuel came along and packed Agage to pieces.  That is what we must do with sin.  Deal with it severely.  In our conscience, in our mind, in our heart, because that's where it conceives and gives birth to sin and its destruction.  That was the negative approach.  I want to turn tonight to a positive approach.

     Last week we were looking at sin, recognizing it, dealing with it.  I want to turn from that in one sense and yet in another sense I will relate it to sin.  And I want to talk about how you'd take a positive approach to your Christian life, so that you're not spending all your time poking around in the dark, in the ugly places of your life.  I want you to take a positive approach.

     And what sums all that up, very simply, is learning to live to the Glory of God.  Learning to live to the Glory of God.  I'm convinced that's really the master key that unlocks all the treasures of sanctification.  This is the way to progress spiritually, is to focus on the Glory of God.  The old catechism says the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

     Now this is foundational, and I don't want to get too caught up in this or we won't get to the applicable part.  But suffice it to say this, God made everything for His glory.  God made absolutely everything for His glory.  That was and is the intention as expressed in Romans 11:36: "From Him, through Him and to Him are all things.  To Him be the glory forever.  Amen."

     Everything designed by God originally for His glory.  You can talk about the created universe, the inanimate universe if you will - Psalm 19:1: "The heavens declare the Glory of God.  Firmament shows his handiwork."

     You can talk about the animate creation - Isaiah 43:20: "The beast of the field will give me honor."  Even the animal kingdom has not rebelled although it is a part of the fallen creation.  There are no anti-God agnostic or atheist animals.  They are animate but they are not aware that they are animate since they don't have any self-awareness and are not made in the image of God for relationships.  But nonetheless, they simply do what God designed them to do.  They point to a creator.  They point to the wisdom and the power of their creator.

     The angels of heaven have the responsibility to give glory to God and we don't need much reminder beyond the second chapter of Luke.  Suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest."

     Everything that God has made is designed to give Him glory.  And not to let us out.  We hear this benediction, this wonderful statement from Paul in 1 Timothy 1:17, "Now to the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God honor and glory forever and ever.  Amen."  And he is doing there what all humans should do.

     All of creation is to give God glory.  All people are commanded to give Him glory.  And this is repeated, obviously, in many, many places in the word of God.  And when people do not do that it is a serious and eternally devastating violation of God's command.  We are called to give God glory. 

     In the book of Revelation 14: "In the future time, an angel flying in mid-heaven, having the eternal gospel to preach to those that live on the earth, every nation, tribe, tongue and people, an angel literally going to fly through the heavens in the time of the tribulation preaching a message, a message to everyone living on this earth."

     And here is the message: he said with a loud voice, fear God and give Him glory because the hour of His judgment has come.  Worship Him who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and the springs of water.  Fear God and give Him glory.

     That is the most basic command, the fear of God, to give Him glory.  Or to put it in the language of the Old and the New Testament, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.  All people alive are commanded to give God glory.

     And ultimate condemnation and ultimate damnation comes when people refuse to do that.  Romans 1: "The wrath of God"  - verse 18 - "is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men."  "Why"  - verse 21 - "even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God.  The sin of dams is the failure to glorify God.  The failure to give to God the honor that he is due."

     In Jeremiah 13, the prophet Jeremiah speaking for God says - and these are strong words and turned out to be tragic ones - Jeremiah 13:15: "Listen and give heed.  Do not be proud or haughty for the Lord has spoken.  Give glory to the Lord your God before he brings darkness and before your feet stumble on the dusty mountains.  And while you're hoping for light, he makes it into deep darkness and turns it into gloom.  But if you will not listen, my soul will sob in secret for such pride and my eyes will bitterly weep and flow down with tears because the flock of the Lord has been taken captive.  The prophet says to Israel, I will weep the tears of God as you go into captivity, which will be your judgment if you do not give glory to God."

     It is familiar to us - go back to the book of Daniel for a moment and recall the Daniel 4 where judgment falls.  Daniel 4:30.  Nebuchadnezzar is the main character here, the king, king of Babylon walking on the roof of the royal palace in Babylon.  The king reflected in verse 30, and said, "Is this not Babylon the great, which I have built as a royal residence by the might of my power?  And for the glory of my majesty?"

     Here is a pagan king taking glory to himself as he surveys the greatness of the wonders of Babylon.  God's response was immediate.  While the words was in the king's mouth, a voice came to heaven saying, "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared.  Sovereignty has been removed from you."  You're no longer king.  "You will be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place will be with the beast of the field.  You will be given grass to eat like cattle in seven periods of time"  - most likely seven years - "will pass over you until you recognize that the most high is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows on whomever he wishes."

     Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled.  He was driven away from mankind, began eating grass like cattle, his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagle's feathers and his nails like bird's claws.  He turned into an absolute maniac, grazed like a wild animal.  Completely bereft of all rational thinking.

     At the end of that period, verse 34, "I Nebuchadnezzar raise my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me and I blessed the most high and praised and honored Him who lives forever and his dominion is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom endures from generation to generation and all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing but he does according to his will and the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth and no one can ward off his hand or say to him, 'What hast thou done?' At that time, my reason returned to me and my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out and I was established, reestablished, in my sovereignty and surpassing greatness was added to me.  And now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the king of heaven for all His works are true and His ways just and he is able to humble those who walk in pride.  And you will see Nebuchadnezzar one day in heaven."

     Pretty profound lesson about giving glory to anyone but God.  And when you give the true and appropriate glory to God, God will honor you as He did Nebuchadnezzar.

     Acts 12, another fascinating look at a pagan who wanted to take glory to himself.  The Acts 12 - we'll just look at the 20th verse.  Well, verse 21.  I won't give you too much of the background.  We want to get keep moving.  It's about Herod on an appointed day.  Herod put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began to deliver an address to the people.

     Apparently Herod had declared this to be Herod day.  And he got up on his throne and he wanted everybody to come and give him honor.  And the people kept crying out, the voice of a God and not of a man.  And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory.  And he was eaten by worms and died.

     Now that was not the planned ending of Herod day by anybody's imagination.  An angel of the Lord came, struck him and he was eaten by worms and died.  God sent an angel to kill him and right there he was eaten by worms.  That's pretty dramatic.  When people came home and their wives said, "Well, what happened at Herod day?"  "You won't believe it if I tell you."

     You see everyone who's ever been created has been given the obligation and the mandate and the command to glorify God.  And if you want to know what history is, history is the account, Biblical history and beyond is the account of what happens to people who do and what happens to people who don't and eternity will reflect that.  People who give God glory will spend forever in His presence to people who did not give God glory will spend forever out of His presence and that's the dividing point.  In fact, judgment falls on those who refuse to give God glory.

     Now let me just mention something for clarification cause you might ask about it.  There are two aspects to God's glory.  One is intrinsic and the other is extrinsic.  When we talk about God's intrinsic glory, we don't' give Him that glory.  God's intrinsic glory is that glory which belongs to his person.  He is not in need of that kind of glory.  He has all of that in himself.  He is called in Acts 7:2 the God of glory, or the God who is himself glory or the God who defines glory.

     Isaiah 6:3, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of host.  The whole Earth is full of His glory."  That's the intrinsic glory of God.  That is the reality of the fullness of His person.  The effulgence of His deity.  The flashing of His holy person.  He cannot be given this glory nor can this glory be removed from Him.  That's why he himself said, "My glory shall I not give to another."  His glory is never diminished, His intrinsic glory is never diminished nor is it ever increased.  By the way, I will not give my glory to another is Isaiah 48:11.

     All that can be done is to acknowledge it.  You can only acknowledge it.  You can only affirm it, ascribe to the Lord, glory.  You can only affirm that it is true and that is what worshipping is.  It is saying, "Oh God, your are glorious.  You are all glorious."  Like Psalms 24: "Lift up your heads o gates, be lifted up o ancient doors that the king of glory may come in.  The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.  Lift up your heads o gates, lift them up o ancient doors that the king of glory may come in.  Who is this king of glory?  The Lord of hosts, he is the king of Glory.  We are acknowledging His glory."  That is His intrinsic glory.

     But there's another aspect of His glory, his extrinsic glory.  And that is that ascription that we give to Him, that glory which we give to Him in worship, that honoring of Him and worshipping Him and esteeming Him.  Psalm 29:1, "Ascribe to the Lord glory."  Ephesians 3:21: "To Him be glory in the church."  In the church.

     We affirm that glory that we give him praise.  Listen to Jude 25.  "To the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory,"  be glory.  We're not adding to God and if we don't praise Him we're not diminishing from his intrinsic glory.  But we had a responsibility outside of who He is to render him the appropriate worship and the appropriate recognition of His glory.

     As a believer, you need to know that this is basic to your spiritual life.  In fact, it might surprise you, go back to the foundation.  The first way you give God glory.  I'm going you a little list here - the first way you give God glory is by receiving Jesus as the Lord.  By receiving Jesus as the Lord.  When you come in repentance and saving faith to God through Christ, you are giving Him glory.

     Listen to Philippians 2:9-11: "Speaking of Christ, God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name, which is above every name, and that name is Lord.  Lord is the supreme name.  That at the name of Jesus, that name being Lord, every knee should bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth" - the verse 11 - "and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father."

     That's the start.  When you acknowledge Christ, embrace Christ, come to faith in Christ, believe the Gospel, confess Jesus Christ as Lord, that's when you start to glorify God.  Romans 1:5 talks about those who went out to preach the Gospel for the sake of the name, for the glory of God.  And 3 John 7, same thing, preaching Gospel for the same of the name.

     And I always think about Henry Martin, the missionary to India who when he first went there was absolutely stunned by the horrors of Indian worship, Hindu worship.  And he went to a temple and in that temple he was so overwrought with agony and sorry that in his diary he said I ran out of the place.  I ran out of the place with tears coming down my face and I took my pen and these are the words that he wrote.  I cannot endure existing if Jesus is to be so dishonored.

     Cause He knew what it was to give glory to God by honoring the Son.  And John 5 tells us if you don't honor the Father, you don't honor the Son.  If you don't honor the Son. you can't honor the Father.  Everything starts with receiving Jesus as Lord.  If you haven't done that you have no capacity to glorify God at all.  You're living a life that is completely unglorifying to God.  You are refusing to glorify God because it starts with Christ, and apart from Him you will not glorify Him at all ever and you will suffer the consequences of all those who refuse to give Him glory.

     So it begins with a true Gospel and understanding of the lordship of Christ and the confession of Jesus as Lord.  Now let's assume that.  We're Christians, what's the next thing we need to do?  And I'm going to be real plain and simple if you will.  First, you glorify God by confessing Jesus as Lord.  Secondly, you glorify God by aiming your life at that purpose, the purpose of glory.  You glorify God by aiming your life at that.  I mean that's 1 Corinthians 10:31.  Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do all to the glory of God.  Whatever you do down to the most mundane, routine thing - eating and drinking - down to the very minor details of physical life, you do it all to my glory.  Everything.

     This is the goal of your life.  Will it glorify Him?  Will it glorify Him?  Will it glorify Him?  No matter what it is.  If it's something simple like eating and drinking, just the routine things.  Or if it's something far more difficult than that.  If it's the big huge decisions.  If it's standing in the middle of a temptation or in the middle of a crisis or in the middle of an opportunity to compromise or in the middle of distress or suffering.  Whatever it is the focus has to be on glorifying Him no matter what it costs.

     And I'll show you sometimes the costs can be very severe.  Turn to Exodus 32.  This is as severe as it gets.  It is an amazing Old Testament illustration.  Exodus 32.  You remember what happened in this context.  The people of Israel are down at the foot of Mount Sinai, Moses goes up to get the law, he comes back and under the leadership of Aaron they have made a golden calf that is supposed to represent the true and living God, Jehovah.  What a horrible violation of the very first command that Moses had received on the mountain.  They are engaged on idolatry and Aaron followed their lead.

     So Moses comes back confronts Aaron.  He asks him, "What in the world?"  Verse 21: "What did these people do to you that you have brought such great sin upon them?"  And Aaron said, "Don't let the anger of my Lord burn.  You know the people yourself.  They're prone to evil.  It's not my fault.  They're just bent this way.  They're just like that."  For they said to me, "Make a God," literally they said, "Make God for us who will go before us for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we don't know what's become of him."  And I said to them, "Whoever has any gold let them tear it off.  And so they gave it to me and I threw it into the fire and it came out like a calf."  That was the most amazing thing. What a ridiculous response.

     So when Moses saw the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them get out of control, making them a derision among their enemies, Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, "Whoever's for the Lord come to me."  Okay.  Let's find out who's on the Lord's side.  Come to me.  All the sons of Levi gathered together to him.  Levi responsible for service to the temple and the worship of God tabernacle.  Then he said to them, all right, thus says the Lord the God of Israel.  Every man of you put his sword on his thigh.  Get your swords, guys, strap them on your waists.  And go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp and kill every man his brother and every man his friend and every man his neighbor.

     What?  Just go kill everybody you know intimately.  Go kill your family, go kill your friends and go kill your neighbors, closest circles.  God has been dishonored.  The commandment has been violated, now comes judgment.  And you are going to be instruments through which God will bring that judgment.  This is a test, really a test.  Are you gonna glorify God at any costs?  Verse 28: "So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed.  About 3,000 men o