Live For Christ To Bring Glory To God

If You Address As Father

The only people that can address God as Father are those who are followers of Jesus Christ.

14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery [g]leading to fear again, but you have received [h]a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Through Jesus Christ we can have an intimate relationship with the Father.

Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Just as a child has a personal relationship with their earthly father they can also have one with their heavenly Father. The one with our heavenly Father is stronger than than the one with our earthly father. Give illustration about Tatum going to China “ I must be about my Father’s business.”

You see, our mission for the Father always takes priority over everything else in life. This is motivated by a deep rooted love for your Heavenly Father. Jesus states that the greatest commandment is to love God!

And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

Our address of Father is one of love and intimacy!

Conduct Yourself In Fear While On Earth

God is an impartial Judge that judges perfectly. He is writing down all we do in a book that will be opened at the day of our judgment.

12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and [a]books were opened; and another [b]book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the [c]books, according to their deeds.

This is the judgment of the lost known as the great white throne judgment. This is where all unbelievers must stand before God and account for all of their actions. They will have no excuse for there sinful behavior, but what is even worse is they do not have any redemption to save them from the wrath of God for their sin. They will be cast into the lake of fire forever.

There is another judgment for those who are in Christ Jesus.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

This is not a judgement to determine punishment, but reward. Our reward in heaven will be based on what we do here on earth.

4 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five [a]talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his [b]master’s money.

19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your [c]master.’

22 “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

24 “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 Then you ought to have put my money [d]in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

29 “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

We must live our lives today for our eternal future. Sometimes this means we give up some of our earthly resources to store up treasures in heaven. (Time, Wealth, and Position)

Fear of God

Peter is not suggesting that we live in constant fright of God the Father. He is suggesting that we have a Holy Reverence for the Father. You cannot have a healthy relationship with a person if you are afraid of a person. This is what you see in an abusive relationship. We do not have an abusive relationship with the Father.

A healthy relationship is one where we recognize His never ending love for us, while also understanding His perfect Justice. It is kind of like the relationship I had with my earthly father. I loved him tremendously and I knew that he loved me unconditionally. Because I knew this I wanted to do everything to please him. I also knew my dad to be a strict disciplinarian, so from that standpoint I didn’t want to disobey him or disappoint him. I feel that this is a healthy relationship.

Unfortunately, many people love to embrace the love of God, but fail to see the justice of God. Failure to see the justice of God is manifested in the trivialization of sin. We engage in sin because we don’t think it is a big deal and God won’t care! GOD CARES! Sin cost Him His Son!

Jesus Redeemed Us From A Life Of Futility

The unregenerate person lives a lifestyle of sin. They do not know how to live a holy life.

5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

The lost person has no concept of living for God because they are hostile towards God. They are susceptible to the desires of their flesh without restraint. This leads them into a life of sin that is ever increasing.

When a person receives Jesus Christ as their Savior they also receive the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Spirit brings peace into your life because He removes your hostility towards God. He places a spirit of peace with in our soul. The Spirit also guides you into the will of God.

So you may ask how does this happen through Jesus? He gave His life as a sacrifice for sin.

By His Precious Blood

Jesus lived a perfect life without sin. He is the only one who could qualify to take the sin of anyone. He chooses to take sin away from those who are willing to place their faith in Him. He took the punishment for our sins upon himself on the cross of Calvary!

1 Peter: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Chapter 6: The Wonder of Redemption (1 Peter 1:18–21)

The Puritan Thomas Watson rightly observed that redemption was God’s greatest work: “Great was the work of creation, but greater the work of redemption; it cost more to redeem us than to make us; in the one there was but the speaking of a Word, in the other the shedding of blood. Luke 1:51. The creation was but the work of God’s fingers. Psalm 8:3. Redemption is the work of His arm” (Body of Divinity [reprint; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979], 146)

God gave us the picture of Christ way of redemption back in the days of Moses:

Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of [a]Egypt, 2 “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a [b]lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a [c]lamb for [d]each household. 4 Now if the household is too small for a [e]lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the [f]number of persons in them; according to [g]what each man should eat, you are to [h]divide the lamb. 5 Your [i]lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 [j]You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it [k]at twilight. 7 Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel [l]of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread [m]and bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. 10 And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. 11 Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s Passover. 12 For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you [n]live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you [o]to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Jesus is the lamb of God! Just as the blood of the lamb spared the life of the firstborn, The lamb of the first born spares the lives of those who believe.

John the baptist says in the book of John: The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Jesus Resurrection Brings Us Hope and God Glory

Jesus was not created, but has always been. His time did not begin when Mary conceived him by the Holy Spirit. Peter says that HE was know before the foundation of the world. He was made known to humanity when Mary conceived Him.

This is important to know because some think that sin caught God off guard and He had to fix what Satan messed up. This is not the case. God knew before the foundation of the world that He was going to send His Son Jesus to redeem creation. You may ask why would God plan this? Peter gives us two reasons.l

Through Christ we have hope and faith in God. Just think, If Jesus had not come and told us about the Father, would we believe that He existed? No! If Christ had not been resurrected would we have hope in God for eternal life? No! Because Jesus was part of God’s plan we come to know God the Father and have hope in Him.

The second and more important reason God planned it is to bring glory to the Father. What Jesus did was in perfect obedience to the Father. It brought glory to the Father to exalt the Son.

9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.