How can we glorify God?

Q: How can we glorify God?

A: We glorify God by enjoying him, loving him, trusting him, and by obeying his will, commands, and law.

INTRODUCTION

What does it mean to glorify someone or something?

Definition: to glorify God is to live in such a way that others see God’s value and vibrance through your words and actions.

John Piper’s illustration of a telescope. We magnify the bigness and beauty of God with our lives.

This morning, we are going to talk about the (1) why and the (2) how of glorifying God.

WHY WE SHOULD GLORIFY GOD (ISAIAH 42:1-9)

What would you say if someone asked you: “Why should I live like you do? Why should I make God the center of my thoughts and choices?”

How the Bible answers the “Why”:

1. We live for God’s glory because of who God is.

Isaiah 42:8 ESV

8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

The Old Testament uses the theme of “glory” to distinguish God in his power, goodness, and holiness.

God is on a different level: recruiting illustration.

A sight of God’s glory humbles. The stars vanish when the sun appears.

Thomas Watson

From a human perspective we think in negative terms: God doesn’t like to share? (But this only reveals our lack of understanding of the gap between God and us.)

Psalm 29:1–5 NET

1 Acknowledge the Lord, you heavenly beings, acknowledge the Lord’s majesty and power! 2 Acknowledge the majesty of the Lord’s reputation! Worship the Lord in holy attire! 3 The Lord’s shout is heard over the water; the majestic God thunders, the Lord appears over the surging water. 4 The Lord’s shout is powerful, the Lord’s shout is majestic. 5 The Lord’s shout breaks the cedars, the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.

Glorifying God is not declaring what isn’t true, it is acknowledging what is.

2. We live for God’s glory because of what God has done.

God shows us who he is not from a distance, but by how he has intervened to free us from the prison of our sin, guilt, and death.

(Walk back through Is. 42:1-9)

Jesus claims to be the servant from Isaiah:

Luke 4:16–21 ESV

16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

We can’t live for God’s glory without embracing his Son. The gospel is the good news that because of Jesus, we who once rebelled against God can now live for his glory.

HOW WE CAN GLORIFY GOD (PSALM 16)

Most of us probably struggle more with the “how” than with the “why.” But, we have to remember that the more we meditate on the why, the greater our ability to live out the how becomes.

Path 1: Glorify God by enjoying God.

Psalm 16:11 ESV

11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

What do you really enjoy? Who created you to feel that kind of pleasure?

How is your enjoyment of God through his blessings indicative of your desire to bring him glory?

Path 2: Glorify God by loving God.

Psalm 16:2 ESV

2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”

Notice the “you” and “my” language of the Psalms.

“Natalie is really great.” VS “You are really great.”

Let the God who is love shape your understanding and expression of love.

Path 3: Glorify God by trusting God.

Psalm 16:7–8 ESV

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

What is trying to shake you today?

What we often see as uncomfortable obstacles to avoid, the Bible describes as opportunities to glorify God by relying on him.

2 Corinthians 1:9 “Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.”

Path 4: Glorify God by obeying God.

Psalm 16:4–6 ESV

4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. 5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

What is your perspective of obedience?

Ways we might think about obeying:

(i.) Obeying to get God in my debt.

The obedience that springs from faith is the obedience of a son, not of a slave.

Thomas Brooks

(ii.) Obeying as an optional part of discipleship.

To escape the error of salvation by works we have fallen into the opposite error of salvation without obedience.

A. W. Tozer

(iii.) Obeying as the overflow of our joy.

Holy joy is the oil to the wheels of our obedience.

Matthew Henry

CONCLUSION

Are we living in opposition to our core design?