When God Gets the Glory

I was talking with a friend recently who expressed her concerns in a way that only recently made me laugh. She suggested doesn’t this kind of feel like an arranged marriage? I mean what if we just don’t click? But in a way, there’s a lot to that. I mean if you’re in an arranged marriage, what kind of concerns do you have? What kind of expectations is this person going to have? What is this person going to be like? Are they serious or funny? Will they have my same values? What if they have weird traditions? So I decided to look it up, found a really helpful article. FIVE things to CONSIDER before ENTERING INTO an ARRANGED MARRIAGE.

5 Things To Consider Before Entering Into An Arranged Marriage

An Arranged Marriage

Here are the 5 most pertinent things to keep in mind, while considering an arranged marriage.

1. Set A Timeline

Well we have

How soon is all this gonna take place?

2. Spend Time With Her Family

Encore, Worship Teams working together, Potlucks

- Potlucks

Bible Studies/Small Groups/eGroups

3. Financial Compatibility

Hook:

4. Lay All Your Cards On The Table

Now that you're getting married in an arranged setting- your partner needs to know about your plans. As in what you want to do in the near future, what are your aims and aspirations?

5. Be Open About Your Past

We have a story. They have a story.

Hook:

Story of moving from apathy to Joy. Moving from “I hope they know how much work their getting into”, to “what role do you want me to play, Lord.”

Moving from “I hope they know how much work their getting into”, to “what role do you want me to play, Lord.”

So really, all of us have had thoughts and concerns about this process. My own journey really starts off with me being apathetic to the whole thing. When the leadership first started talking about this, I was feeling like… whatever THEY want to do. It doesn’t affect ME. I’m just going to stay focused on children’s ministries. Sounds noble, right? I might have even said that out loud, but in the back of my mind, where I was really at was, “I hope they realize how much work they are in for.” And I don’t know if this is a privilege or an advantage of being a pastor, but I had to make an announcement in the Encore group about inviting the church on Cypress, sometimes it makes me have to wrestle with my perspective and arrive at a conclusion sooner rather than later. Well, it prompted me to read and reflect on a couple passages about God’s heart for the church.

You guys would remember when Curt would ask us to “pray for God’s leading.”

I don’t know about you, but didn’t it seem to me like our prayers in the end were really for what would glorify Him...

Well, there’s some passages in the Bible that stand out and just make it really obvious what glorifies Him. I want to share with you what I’ve been thinking about.

And I can say now, my story has been journey of moving from apathy to joy. Moving from “I hope they know how much work their getting into”, to “what role do you want me to play, Lord.”

And I can say now, my story has been journey of moving from apathy to joy.

Connect. Give them permission to join me in this journey, to help them open up their hearts.

To give them permission to join me in this journey, to help them open up their hearts.

Story of moving from apathy to Joy.

Moving from “I hope they know how much work their getting into”, to “what role do you want me to play, Lord.”

“Pray for God’s leading”. When Curt asked us to consider what does God want? What would glorify Him?

Transition:

So what verses really challenged my perspectives. I’m excited to share a couple of them today, it was mainly and . Today we will look at both, but we’ll start in .

Book:

Unity is an evidence that Jesus was sent by the Father v23

John 17:20–26 HCSB

20 I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in Me through their message. 21 May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe You sent Me. 22 I have given them the glory You have given Me. May they be one as We are one. 23 I am in them and You are in Me. May they be made completely one, so the world may know You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24 Father, I desire those You have given Me to be with Me where I am. Then they will see My glory, which You have given Me because You loved Me before the world’s foundation. 25 Righteous Father! The world has not known You. However, I have known You, and these have known that You sent Me. 26 I made Your name known to them and will make it known, so the love You have loved Me with may be in them and I may be in them.

John 17:

Focus on 20-24

Why does unity point to Jesus?

Why is unity an evidence of identity, proof of the sent-ness of Jesus?

It is crucial to our relationship with God, we are in Christ, and He is in the Father.

We are invited into the trinitarian experience in and through our identity as “in Christ.”

Maybe it connects to the nature of the Trinity of God

Glory Given, Glory Shared:

John 17:1–5 HCSB

1 Jesus spoke these things, looked up to heaven, and said: Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son so that the Son may glorify You, 2 for You gave Him authority over all flesh; so He may give eternal life to all You have given Him. 3 This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the One You have sent —Jesus Christ. 4 I have glorified You on the earth by completing the work You gave Me to do. 5 Now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with that glory I had with You before the world existed.

john 17:1-5

Giving and Receiving requires Submission and Compassion

Giving and Receiving

Transition: Within the Trinity there is a Giving and Receiving that takes place and it warns and inspires us to walk in submission and compassion.

John 17:6–11 HCSB

6 I have revealed Your name to the men You gave Me from the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they know that all things You have given to Me are from You, 8 because the words that You gave Me, I have given them. They have received them and have known for certain that I came from You. They have believed that You sent Me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world but for those You have given Me, because they are Yours. 10 Everything I have is Yours, and everything You have is Mine, and I have been glorified in them. 11 I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by Your name that You have given Me, so that they may be one as We are one.

AJonh

in verse 6-11 we see within the trinitarian relationship giving and receiving.

Submission

a. Perhaps there’s a submissiveness and compassion present in all Godly leadership structures (The church, the home, the workplace) Authority given, Authority shared

b. On our leadership teams, we will be faced with plenty of opportunities to put unity over preference, and to allow someone else to shine or get credit, and to chose to give rather than receive.

Give a glimpse into the role of an elder to submit to the other elders.

c. And there is a submissiveness we are called to have as a church body under Christ.

Compassion

There’s a compassion to the unity present within the Trinity

a. Compassion is required on all godly leadership structures (The church, the home, the workplace) Love Given, Love Shared

b. Focus on compassion In home.

c. We are called to compassion in the body of Christ

Jesus prays that the Father would protect his followers

Transition in verses 6-10 we see within the trinitarian relationship an exchange Giving and Receiving. In verse 11, Jesus prays for protection for his followers. And in verse 11-19 we see within Jesus’ prayer that there are enemies to unity - and God’s purposes.

in verse 12-19 we see within Jesus’ prayer that there are enemies to unity - and God’s purposes

John 17:11–19 HCSB

11 I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by Your name that You have given Me, so that they may be one as We are one. 12 While I was with them, I was protecting them by Your name that You have given Me. I guarded them and not one of them is lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture may be fulfilled. 13 Now I am coming to You, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have My joy completed in them. 14 I have given them Your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, as I am not of the world. 15 I am not praying that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 I sanctify Myself for them, so they also may be sanctified by the truth.

John 17:12–19 HCSB

12 While I was with them, I was protecting them by Your name that You have given Me. I guarded them and not one of them is lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture may be fulfilled. 13 Now I am coming to You, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have My joy completed in them. 14 I have given them Your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, as I am not of the world. 15 I am not praying that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 I sanctify Myself for them, so they also may be sanctified by the truth.

Jesus’ prayer to summarize is that they would Thrive Spiritually despite being sent into the world.

What is it that God was intending to accomplish through his church ...

What is gonna take away from our unity? The bride. What is gonna divide the heart of the bride of Christ? His church?

Remind us of what God was intending to do with his bride?

Wash, set apart, grow into fullness, display the manifold wisdom of God, win his bride, rescue, redeem, woo, share with us his life, and to well up within us his life giving Spirit through which we can fellowship with him and overcome.

The churches external enemies: Satan, The lure of the world, opposition

The churches internal enemies: Misunderstanding our call to go into the world, grumbling and seeds of discontent going unchecked,

What God would like to do?

Ephesians 2:11–22 HCSB

11 So then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh—called “the uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,” which is done in the flesh by human hands. 12 At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah. 14 For He is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In His flesh, 15 He made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations, so that He might create in Himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace. 16 He did this so that He might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross and put the hostility to death by it. 17 When the Messiah came, He proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. 21 The whole building, being put together by Him, grows into a holy sanctuary in the Lord. 22 You also are being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.

Eph 2:11-

He wants to Glorify Himself through His Church - His Unified Church

Ephesians 2 HCSB

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler who exercises authority over the lower heavens, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, 5 made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! 6 Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens, 7 so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace through His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them. 11 So then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh—called “the uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,” which is done in the flesh by human hands. 12 At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah. 14 For He is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In His flesh, 15 He made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations, so that He might create in Himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace. 16 He did this so that He might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross and put the hostility to death by it. 17 When the Messiah came, He proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. 21 The whole building, being put together by Him, grows into a holy sanctuary in the Lord. 22 You also are being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.

He brought Gentiles near, to worship with the Jews.

What God would like to do

He brought Gentiles near, to worship with the Jews.

He wants one household.

One building that grows into a dwelling place for His Spirit.

Why would he want the Gentiles to create a bunch of walls / barriers / attitudes / preferences that alienate each other.

Ephesians 2:22 HCSB

22 You also are being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.

You, church of Crossroads and Cypress, are being built together, for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.

So I’m wondering, can God’s dwelling in the Spirit happen in a church that is divided? hostile to brothers and sisters in the Lord? lukewarm? permissive of sexual sins?

This is the same question as asking… why is God glorified when his children are unified. Because our unity is won by Jesus, so that in the Spirit we may participate in the unity that exists in the eternal trinitarian relationship of Father, Spirit, Son as brother of Jesus, fellow heirs with him, all that it means to be in JESUS. So when you resist God, seeking your flesh instead of seeking His Spirit, your sins break the fellowship, grieve the Spirit, and like Adam and Eve our sin and shame invites death, kills the joy, recreates with fear.

God is not more glorified by overcoming the sin you heap upon Him, he’s not more glorified by you walking around in shame feeling sorry, He’s glorified when you live uprightly in the joy of being at one with Him. When purity in your heart is the framework for your interaction with men in your life, with women in your life. When love compels you. And hospitality comes natural because Christ has fulfilled your deepest anxieties with His comfort and His voice of peace, and generosity is an overflow of the abundance you’ve experienced in God’s grace. God is most glorified when you are most satisfied in Him. Like lights in the world, you’re His no matter what, but you’re either shining or your fading. Like those solar light you put in your yard, fading in the night, soon you fit right in with the darkness around you.

LIFE capital L-I-F-E life, Is found in the joy of being His.

Is found in the joy of being adopted as a child of God, and we’ve seen this morning how God treats His children. In this LIFE relationship there’s both giving and receiving, submission and compassion.

Let’s regroup.

External

This morning we’ve seen this glorious exchange within the Trinity, and have suggested that our LIFE in Him is a parallel if not an invitation directly into this relationship. We’ve suggested there’s both giving and receiving, submission and compassion, these are a Godly reality that exists in all life structures God has instituted, home- relationships, work, church leadership, and church family life.

Internal

Transition: And as He, God, extends this LIFE giving relationship to us, sending us into the darkness of the world as lights, we need His protection. So let’s ask together, what do we need protection from.

Look:

So what are our enemies?

External

The world

It’s lures

It’s opposition

The evil one

Internal

Our own hostility

Our wanting to hold on

Our apathy

Took:

Transition: What enemies are lurking at your door?

I might be proud, and you might be self defeating thought life - it doesn’t matter the particular enemy you face in comparison with another.

Your apathy might be just as destructive and pitiful, as someone else’s pride and self protection.

Go to this place with me and admit…

God, it’s true that there will be enemies of your purposes that come from without.

and God, it’s also true that there will be enemies of your purposes here that come from within my heart.

Will you please these words out loud after me, repeating out loud these statements, if you believe them.

God, it’s true that there will be enemies of your purposes that come from without.

and

God, it’s also true that there will be enemies of your purposes here that come from within my heart.

Transition:

and in the same way Jesus has prayed.

John 17:14–15 HCSB

14 I have given them Your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, as I am not of the world. 15 I am not praying that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one.

Conclusion:

Prayer

Conclusion:

Related Media

Related Sermons