Faith & Glory

Introduction:

Ans. your Q’s about Life, faith, bible, God, truth…

Certain Q’s easy to answer; others not-so-much

Heaven & loved ones: No one writing the bible had died before; the one who came back didn’t say anything about it (res!)

Some Q’s really practical or theological; some really obscure ones >>

Q#12: “Did Lot's wife really turn to Salt or was she just too close to the nuclear blast that leveled Sodom and Gomorrah?”

Start off by saying IDK.… Arch’gists Can’t even agree on where S&G was geog'ly!

So… 1. set up story, 2. read psg., 3. present theories — no answer!

Abe set out trusting YH; guided or advised by Him; foolishly brought along nephew LOT.

Only brought trouble! Divided camp Gen 13; Lot chose sea port city of Sodom (sis Gomor) to settle dwn. Very nxt ch., gets captured (whole thing)!

S&G Wicked cities, known for violence, crime & sex. First ment. of men desiring men sex’ly…

YH visits Abe w/ two Div. Council mems and says…

Genesis 18:20–21 [YHWH said:] “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.””

The innocent are being abused/taken adv.! Elsewh: no regard for human life… sends angelic msgrs to report in.

Abe actually feels comf. weighing in & trying to save his nephew AGAIN!; barters w/ YH, to save city

Lot only one who is right’ss! … Ang’ic msgrs have a bad night. In the AM >>

Genesis 19:15–17 “With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.” When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city… “Flee for your lives!”, [the angels said.] “Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!””

Genesis 19:24–26 “Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.”

There ya go! Only few times God intervenes, judges, this drama’lly & Sodom was one of them!

No reason to doubt or Q the text - an act of God! However, want to find realistic solution, few options presented…

Destruction theories: a meteor, atmospheric heat expansion, fiery hail (like Exodus plague), divine fire (like w/ Elijah).

Again, amazing narr… Diff. to find evidence from 4k 5k, yrs ago!

Big ideas… reject the behav. of Sodom; fear God’s jug’t, watch who you hang with!

The injust. & licentiousness of S&G were poisoning God’s good world!

Next question in the queue >

Q#03: “Why does God want glory & worship? Or, is it more for us (humans)?”

iOW, does our worship & music just benefit us — or does it benefit God? YES & NO.

Glory [Heb. Kavod] = lit. heavy, weighty; metaph. one’s reputation or influence/rule

The ‘glory’ of King David could be his reputation as a mighty warrior/ wise diplomat. OR it could be his name/dynasty alone—rightful ruling line of kings…

My glory could be my title/occu., personality, or my awesome beard

God’s glory is physically represented by storms or fire or bright light!

So… YH doesn’t want GLORY, it is already there — ours to recognize or XP

Diff. shades of this in NT, but def. remains!

We all worship something… glorify s’thing… & what it is defines our relat’s!

football, money, internet, sex, career, etc!

1 Corinthians 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Like Isr., we are God’s rep. in the world… AP cmd’s: “Make sure you’re reppin’ God’s ways—eating, drinking, speaking, etc”!

Ppl look at you and say: That guy’s a Christian!

To ans. the Q dir… >

1. There are amazing benefits to giving God worship.

God’s powerful Spirit is His glory which changes us incrementally! 2 Cor 3:18

2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

Exodus 23:25 “Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you,”

Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”

NOT conditional… natural benefits of putting God first!

Worship reminds us that we’re NOT God and we don’t make the rules; it keeps us humble!

So yes. Worship IS for our benefit… keep US focused on the right things! But also… >>

2. God doesn’t NEED our worship; it is rightfully His!

If God needed our worship, he wouldn’t say things like…

Isaiah 1:13–14 “Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.”

What makes God intrinsically worthy of Worship is His holiness!

Isaiah 42:8 ““I am Yahweh; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.”

God is holy, set apart, more special than anything else bc He was not created.

Nothing/no one else is worthy of Worship; only the Creator!

When we worship Jesus today (daily tasks, pinpt’d devotion [prayer, praise]), we need to consider our heart in those mom’ts

Hebrews 12:28 “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,”

Make it a pt. to take your worship seriously and ackn. the glory of God

We’re not doing s’thing that God NEEDS, or even just WANTS: it’s what He deserves!

A reality; it is the real-est thing! We step into that & participate in truth.

TRUTH: If you are worshipping the right ONE you will do the right things.

Too often, try to worsh. job & sill foll JC… worsh. fam/extra-curric. & still put JC first… worsh. $$, keep more for self & still grow as Xian — hard or imposs.!

Perhaps you need to evaluate & tear down the idols in your life so God gets what is right’ly his FIRST.

Q#07: “How can we have God marvel at us today like the Roman soldier? Also, is this something to aim for? Does 'marvel’ have any other Biblical context or meaning?”

Let’s read the psg. and start there!

Matthew 8:5-13 “When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?” The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith… 13 “Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.”

“Marvel” [Gk. Thauma’dzo] - carry’s conno. “to be wide-eyed, surprised, amazed”! (to steep your eyes in)

Pretty straightforward transl. carry’s same meaning today.

Jesus marveled at the Centurion’s great faith.

But this Q’ioner asked a powerful Q — one that will take up bulk of remainder of my msg.

“Can we have Jesus marvel at us today?”

I think the ans. to that is essentially, “yes”. The char. of our God has not changed.

The Godhead wants to be proud of, amazed at, mouth agape at, His Church!

Not that it’s a status we achieve or lvl to ascend to; but a healthy goal. We should learn to >

Stretch your Faith Muscle

What is faith?

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please God…

I find that ppl usually say ‘faith’, talking about mental pursuit…

“If I only have faith in my heart… if I just understood more, I have more faith… If only I was able to set aside what I see, could have more faith…”

“Faith” [Gk. pistis] = assurance, trust, trustworthiness, belief — not just a mental practice! Hebrews 11

Bat this word around a lot in relig. circ. S’times short code for whole religion!

Trust involves mental belief + phys action!

I can say that I trust you, but hw do you know that I trust you? Give leeway, free’m, don’t Q ev’ry action, comf. around U, etc…

Go read again the hall of faith in Heb 11… full of ppl doing stuff!

We can practice by taking steps of faith; obedience! Gen 15:5-6

Genesis 15:6 “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”

Abe’s faith strong; but proof of this trust was leav’g safety of his family to trust YH in wild’ss!

Practice faith by mak’g a decision in fam, job that pleases X and confuses others!

Faith & works aren’t separate… go hand in hand. Spprt each other !

Wanted to point out two brief things that the Cent’n did which revealed his great trust in JC >

Ask for Help

Matthew 8:5 “When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help.”

Centurion was cmdr. of a militia of < 100men (century)

They had 100 men under them; probably couple of cmdrs btwn them

Was undr charge by caesar to control whole territory; do what wanted & go where pleased as long as no conflict & yes taxes!

A powerful man, esp. in Judean terms… top 3% of Roman cit.

Ever met someone really rich or pwrf’l?

Strike you as some1 who’d ask for help from someone else? I mean REALLY end of rope, ask for help? Desperation?

No! Confidence, self-suff. independence.

This soldier must’ve been truly desperate. Didn’t let his serv’t die due to pride… set it aside

Seeking help reveals to others [& ourself] that we are insufficient on our own and we need something/one external to meet our needs. Psalm 10:4

Psalm 10:4 “In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.”

Asking for help is a reminder of our mortality — why we don’t do it!

Pride keeps us from seeking God or asking for help, but GOD can’t use a person who doesn’t ask for help.

In humility, we need to ackn. that we’re NOT GOD and don’t have what it takes.

He’s made us very capable, yes, but we can’t get conceited and think we’re ev’thing.

This import. centurion believed that JC was real deal… and actions showed that!

Ask for prayer, pursue help, rely on another!! >>

Appeal to God’s Way

Centurion, in all pwr, could have had JC brought to him and tried to force him!

Could have pressured JC under penalty of death!

Jews were subjects, under thumb/ctrl… no reason for this ruler to submit to a peasant!

But look @ words…

Matthew 8:8 “The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”

“Not worthy”, posture of humility—“say the word”, appealing to JC’s authority & giving lic. for His way

“Do it your way, by your customs, trad.”

The way we show faith in Jesus is by living His Way. John 3:36

Strive strive strive to look good in eyes of world, standard of suc’ss; do ev’thg neighbors do to compete

Instead of pursuing worldly pleasures, pursue Jesus

“what’s due me” | mutual respec. relat!; “use people for gain” | “how can I make them better; their good”; “spend hwver, save for meee” | “generously give, support church”

The greatest sacrif. we can make is turning our decisions and our words over to Him!

Life of worsh.!

So if we need faith to please God and it’s something that

“Give Me a Faith Lift!”

Take a risk for Jesus!

Step out in faith…

Listen to Others’ ‘God wins’!

Old-fash. ‘testimonies’…

Trust God to take care of the details.

Not controlling ev’thing

Making sure lines up with Jesus’ way

Salvation call?