Glorifying God because I am not God
Notes
Transcript
Introduction - Our Story
Put your life in perspective.
Put your life in perspective.
I called this message “Glorifying God because he is God and I am not”
I know that must sound strange to everyone, but I sometimes have to remind myself of this.
3 Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
I know this is the most basic truth, but after 50 years of being a believer, I still occasionally have to realign myself on this.
Say it with me, “He is God - I am not!”
God made me and I am His.
He doesn’t belong to me - I belong to Him.
I don’t tell Him what to do - He tells me what to do.
I don’t decide who I want my God to be - I discover who He is and that’s how I learn to know who I am.
Idolatry is making a god in the image of yourself or who you want god to be.
Christianity is being conformed to the image of God in Jesus Christ.
This is where the “glorifying God” part comes in.
God’s glory is his attributes.
God’s glory is his attributes.
18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
I was preaching recently on the glory of God and came across this definition.
The glory of God is the splendor and brilliant beauty that shines through all of the divine attributes but is especially evident in the crucified and risen Christ. - Lexham Survey of Theology
The glory of God is the sheer awesomeness of who He is!
He’s brilliant.
He’s brilliant.
The closest physical representation we have to who he is is light.
Light is radiant - it illuminates so that all life and perception is dependent on light.
Light is beautiful - color, beauty and goodness are all part of light.
Light is constant - Einstein learned that time and space are relative, but light is constant. Everything in space (and time) is measured by the speed of light.
He is powerful.
He is powerful.
All of humanity is so preoccupied with power, getting it and keeping it.
But God shows us that real power is nothing like that.
God, the most powerful being in the universe, has nothing to prove.
He demonstrates humility.
He comes as the most helpless of humans - a baby.
He works as a laborer, walks everywhere he goes and sleeps out in the countryside.
Then he dies as a condemned criminal on a cross.
He is good.
He is good.
God created the world good.
That’s what separates the Bible from every other creation story in any other ancient tradition or belief system.
God created order out of chaos.
Beauty out of darkness and emptiness.
Life out of dust.
And he breathed His own life into the crowning glory of his creation.
The truth is that we don’t even know what “good” is without God.
“Good” is a reflection of God’s own nature and character.
That is why a godless world calls evil good and good evil.
And God made us in His image to reflect Him and to represent Him - that’s what it means to glorify God.
The Westminster shorter catechism (1647) is famous for its first question and answer.
Quest. 1. What is the chief end of man?
Ans. 1. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.
And God continues to bring order out of chaos by redeeming the world through Jesus Christ.
Put your work in perspective.
Put your work in perspective.
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
We are made in God’s image.
We are made in God’s image.
Image implies some sort of resemblance.
When we are at our best, we reflect something of God’s attributes.
But image is more than resemblance, it is representation.
We tend to think of “image” in terms of a photograph.
You look at a picture of you kids or your grand-kids and you say, “thy have my resemblance.
But image in biblical usage describes a seal or the die that makes coins.
There is an image, that when pressed onto a material produces the exact replica of the impressed image.
God impressed His image onto mankind - both male and female.
The purpose of image is to denote authority.
In ancient times, and currently in many countries, a seal is a sign of authority.
The seal gives the bearer the authority to act on behalf of one that they represent.
This is true of the coins in Jesus’ time also.
When Jesus was questioned about paying taxes, he used the occasion to not only answer the question, but to make a much greater point:
24 “Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
The real point of the story is not to give to Caesar what belongs to him - that which bears his image.
But it is a reminder that, in bearing the image of God, we belong to Him!
300 Quotations for Preachers from the Modern Church The Image of God Stamped on Our Hearts
This great gift of God, the salvation of our souls, is no other than the image of God fresh stamped on our hearts. It is a “renewal of believers in the spirit of their minds, after the likeness of Him that created them.”
JOHN WESLEY
We are restored to God's image.
We are restored to God's image.
This theme of being restored to the image of God is all through the Bible, especially in Paul’s Epistles.
Paul describes Jesus as the exact image of God.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
Imagine that you find a coin, so old that the image and the writing on it is just barely distinguishable.
It’s made of precious metal - that still has value regardless of the condition.
In fact some old coins are more valuable even though they are in poor condition, simply because their condition tells an interesting story.
How do you restore a coin? Besides cleaning it up, which you may or may not want to do, depending on the story associated with the coin.
Usually the best value is “mint condition” - which means it looks like it just came off the press.
What if you had the original die and could press the coin again - it would be as good as new!
Jesus is the original “image of God”
He was part of the original creation and He is the prototype for “new creation.”
What if we could just be so ‘impressed’ with Jesus that we begin to look like Him?
The pun is absolutely intended! - it’s not a joke - it what God intended all along!
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Our work is to participate with God in restoration.
Our work is to participate with God in restoration.
God’s plan of redemption is not just to save us, but to restore us to the image of God - the purpose for which He originally created us - to represent Him!
For that to happen, we have some cleaning up to do.
11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
That’s just the cleaning up part.
We call that ‘sanctification’
Debriefs, counseling, pretty much everything that Karie and I do are part of this process.
You want to really shine? That’s it’s own process.
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
The real impression comes from beholding Jesus and being transformed into His image.
There it is - we want to be impressed with Jesus!
The result is that we go from one degree of glory to another.
Talk about glorifying God? What could be more glorifying to God than to reflect His glory?
I suppose going from one degree of reflecting His glory to another!
He is God - I am not.
But when I look at Him - I am transformed into His image.
I am not Him - but I reflect Him.
I am not Him - but I represent Him.
I am not Him - but I can participate with Him in what He is doing.
My work is to, first of all, be conformed to His image, so that I can represent Him well.
When I am impressed with Jesus, I can make a better impression.
Our goal is to help others be impressed with Him, not us.
Align your goals with God’s perspective.
Align your goals with God’s perspective.
We want to glorify God, to represent Him well, and to reflect Him well.
That brings us back to His ultimate purpose.
What is God’s ultimate goal?
If you are going to partner with someone, it is good to know what the ultimate goal is.
What are they trying to accomplish?
Not just the individual tasks or steps - but the end result.
When I was younger, my siblings had a nickname for me - “the absent-minded professor.” From the time I could talk I has a habit of using big words. Some of them, I probably didn’t even know what they meant. We were a hard-working farm family, but I was a day-dreamer. I could easily get lost in my own little world. They would tell me that some day I should become a philosopher. What does a philosopher do? He sits on a park bench and feeds pigeons while he contemplates the meaning of life.
The meaning of life? It sounds impossible!
I never did become a philosopher and I don’t feed pigeons - but I have discovered the meaning of life!
9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
God is bringing everything in heaven and earth under the Lordship of Jesus Christ! - that’s the meaning of life!
Jesus is the image of God, the firstborn and prototype of a new creation.
He is fully God and fully man - fully qualified to be Lord over both heaven and earth.
And Jesus becomes the means by which we are fully restored to relationship with God.
So if I am going to glorify God as Jesus did, what does that look like?
First, I am going to bring myself under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
First, I am going to bring myself under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
I can’t lead where I am not willing to go.
I can’t represent what I am not willing to become.
I can’t impress people with what I have not been impressed with.
I cannot reproduce what I have not become.
Here is a question, I wonder if you have considered?
Are you working for God or with God?
Are you working for God or with God?
Working for God means that you take God’s instructions seriously.
But you try to accomplish them without God.
God is your boss and you are just doing what He tells you to do.
Working with God means that you follow His instructions
But you will only accomplish anything if He is also with you each step of the way.
You are completely dependent on Him, not just for what to do but how to do it.
He’s not just the boss, He’s your partner in the task.
You are not just carrying out orders; you are in constant dialogue.
Which is a better example of Lordship: working for, or working with God?
Which is a better example of Lordship: working for, or working with God?
The first demonstrates a general acceptance of God’s goals.
The second requires a complete alignment with God’s purpose.
It means relying on God’s provision.
It means submitting to God’s timing.
It means cultivating a healthy dependence on God’s power and strength.
Sometimes we are divided in our loyalty and in Christ’s Lordship.
Paul talks about one such division as “the flesh” and “the spirit”
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
You can relate to this, right?
Part of me wants to obey God, but part of me doesn’t.
Does the flesh go away when you become a missionary?
You can sacrifice and serve and work for God all your life, but the flesh will still be there!
“God I have worked so hard for you and this is what I get?!”
There it is - you have been working for Him, but have you been working with Him?
Here is a prayer that I have learned to pray and I have taught other to pray it also.
“Every part of me must come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ!”
When you are under the Lordship of Christ, you bring everything under your influence under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
When you are under the Lordship of Christ, you bring everything under your influence under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
When I am no longer divided, everything in my life orders itself around my single purpose.
Jesus is Lord, not just of me, but of everything concerning me.
Jesu is Lord of my marriage - we can figure this out as long as we are both submitting to Jesus.
Jesus is Lord of my family - I don’t have to control my kids. I can trust the Lord to work in their lives. My part is to be an example.
Jesus is Lord of my ministry - I can’t save anybody. Fruit only comes from abiding in Him.
Jesus is Lord of my sphere of influence - God is going to use me to touch people that I have no idea I am ministering to. He is going to broaden my sphere of influence to include people and places that are beyond my agenda.
Jesus is Lord of the earth - there is no place that I can go away from His presence. There is no place where He is not working to bring everything under the Lordship of Jesus Christ!
1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,
I realize, again, that I am talking to a group of people who have commited their lives to Christ’s service. Some of you may have served as long as I have been alive.
What I am sharing is not new … it’s very old … and it doesn’t change.
It’s all about living for the glory of God - Him, not me.
What gives Him glory?
Irenaeus put it succinctly: “The glory of God is man fully alive.”
Fully alive because I am becoming, more and more, who God created me to be.
I know who I am, because I am in relationship with God, in whose image I am created.
I know what my purpose is - I represent Him, I reflect Him - His attributes and His plan.
I am participating with Him in that plan - working with Him; day by day, moment by moment - bringing everything under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Questions for reflection:
Questions for reflection:
As you take an honest look at yourself, are you working for God or with God?
What part of your life needs to come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ?
In what way is God inviting you to go deeper in relationship and partnership with Him?