To Him be the Glory / A Él Sea la Gloria
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Thankfulness is an attitude that we strive to teach our children.
We strive to have well mannered children who know how to say “please” and “thank you”.
We see the importance of writing a “thank you” note after we receive a gift.
We think that it is a bit rude not to say “thank you” after someone holds a door for you or passes you the salt/bread.
The Bible reveals to us that it is God that sustains human life and all of creation by the power of his word.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Heb 1.3
el cual, siendo el resplandor de su gloria, y la imagen misma de su sustancia, y quien sustenta todas las cosas con la palabra de su poder, habiendo efectuado la purificación de nuestros pecados por medio de sí mismo, se sentó a la diestra de la Majestad en las alturas,
The entire creation owes its existence to God Almighty.
Now, think of how many people living their lives without acknowledging that it is God who has granted life, health, and all the other blessings that we receive on a daily basis.
It is God who showers his many blessings upon believers and unbelievers:
that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
para que seáis hijos de vuestro Padre que está en los cielos, que hace salir su sol sobre malos y buenos, y que hace llover sobre justos e injustos.
Nevertheless, the people of God gather to give God praise for we understand, by God’s grace, that it is he who blesses men - even though we do not deserve his blessings.
We know that all good things come from God.
We know that God grants us life.
We recognize that which most of humanity either denies or fails to recognize - that God has blessed us beyond what we deserve.
Today, we will consider yet another reason to praise and give God glory. We will consider a few more reasons why we should be thankful to God.
We give God thanks because of his great power
We give God thanks because he answers his people’s prayers
We give God thanks because he dwells within us
God will be praised throughout the ages
I. We give God thanks because of his great power
I. We give God thanks because of his great power
Paul focuses his reader’s attention upon God’s great and mighty power:
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
Y a Aquel que es poderoso para hacer todas las cosas mucho más abundantemente de lo que pedimos o entendemos, según el poder que actúa en nosotros,
Paul focuses on God’s ability to answer prayer.
God answers prayer because of his great power.
This is a great truth that is revealed since the earliest revelation of God (the book of Genesis). God is called:
The Almighty
The Lord of Hosts
These names speak of God’s great power.
Throughout the Bible we can see the magnitude of God’s power:
He spoke the world into existence.
He created everything that there is out of nothing.
He brought his people out of Egypt. He opened the red sea so that his people could walk upon dry land.
He sustains the entire creation by the power of his word.
He does not need air, water, or food - he simply exists.
He does not tire:
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
He exists
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
He aquí, no se adormecerá ni dormirá
El que guarda a Israel.
He aquí, no se adormecerá ni dormirá
El que guarda a Israel.
Jehová es tu guardador;
Jehová es tu sombra a tu mano derecha.
El sol no te fatigará de día,
Ni la luna de noche.
This is one of the reasons why worshipping idols is a foolish exercise. They have ears and do not hear, they have eyes and cannot see, they have hands and cannot touch - yet God who is a spirit is active and alive.
His presence moves amongst his people.
Ps 121.
He is near to those that cry out to him.
God’s power has no limit.
He is all powerful.
There is nothing that God cannot do except that which goes against his will.
For example, God cannot lie.
God cannot sin.
…God will not do anything that goes against his will and character.
II. We give God thanks because he answers his people’s prayers
II. We give God thanks because he answers his people’s prayers
Paul considers God’s great power within the context of answered prayer.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
Y a Aquel que es poderoso para hacer todas las cosas mucho más abundantemente de lo que pedimos o entendemos, según el poder que actúa en nosotros,
Eph 3.20
Paul sees God’s power and magnifies God for he knows that it is because of God’s great power that he answers prayer.
God’s power is not like the rich millionaire who simply uses his money to show others how much he has, how much luxury he enjoyes, how much influence he has, over all those who do not possess his riches.
God uses his power for the good of his people.
God uses his power to work for the good of his people.
Note how many times we see God’s power manifested in the Bible and how many of those times his power was manifested for the God of his people:
God opened the red sea for his people so they could flee from the Egyptians.
God protected the basket where the infant Moses was hidden. He protected him from the dangerous waters of the river nile.
God fed his people in the desert so they would not die of hunger.
God led his people through a pillar of fire at night and as a cloud by day so they would know in which direction they were to go.
…in all these situations we see God exercising his power for the good of his people.
God exercises his power for the good of sinful human beings.
We have all broken God’s law.
We have failed to keep his commandments.
…and yet God chooses to hear his people’s prayers.
Most people give their children gifts when they behave…and yet God chooses to bless us though we have failed so many times.
No consider how God chooses to answer his people’s prayers.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
Y a Aquel que es poderoso para hacer todas las cosas mucho más abundantemente de lo que pedimos o entendemos, según el poder que actúa en nosotros,
The Bible says that God answers us beyond what we ask or can even imagine.
The Bible does not say that God answers exactly what we ask for.
It is as if the Bible were saying: your prayers are too small, your prayers ask for so little, your prayers are small prayers.
We have all prayed for something.
…for a sick child.
…for a job.
…for comfort in the midst of loosing a loved one.
…for God to change the heart of a parent, a spouse, or a child.
…and yet…the Bible says - your prayers are too small!
Why are our prayers too small?
…because God is so big!
…because God’s power is so grand!
…because we have come before almighty God!
…because we have come before the one that sustains the entire universe!
…because nothing is impossible for God!
…because God is our father and we should come with confidence before his presence.
Therefore, although we pray such small prayers, although we may lack the faith necessary to pray big prayers - God will still answer us in ways that we cannot even utter or imagine - because of his great mercy and grace.
God is pleased to lavish his people with abundant blessings.
God will bless his people generously as a kind father blesses his children.
People of God, consider your recent past - if you are honest with yourself you will recognize that God has blessed you beyond what you could have imagined.
The greatest of God’s blessings has been sending the Lord Jesus Christ - his son to die on a cross for the sins of all who would believe.
The greatest of God’s blessings was demonstrated when God raised his son from the dead demonstrating that he accepted his sacrifice as sufficient for the forgiveness of the sins of his people.
III. We give God thanks because he dwells within us
III. We give God thanks because he dwells within us
Many times we may think that the God who answers prayer is far away.
We may think he answers the prayers of others, but has not answered our own prayers.
We may think that God blesses others believers, and for some reason we were destined to not see answers to our own prayers.
…nevertheless the Bible tells us that God answers prayer through the power that is already working “within us” (3:20).
God’s power is already at work within his people.
God’s power is not absent from the lives of his people.
God has been working in all those who have believed upon the name of Jesus Christ.
Some may say that they have not seen spectacular miracles, wonders, and signs.
Some may want to understand that if God is truly working in their lives, why are they still suffering with a certain illness or hardship in their lives.
Some may want to understand that if God is truly answering his people’s prayers…why is it that their prayers have gone unanswered.
We must recognize that although God may have not answered specific prayers - we should consider all that God has done!
Who has sustained our life to this day?
Who has delivered us from death/accidents so many times?
Who has given us joy in the midst of trials and tribulations?
Who protected us in our youth, when we were living in active rebellion against God. Many of those we knew died without ever knowing the Gospel of Jesus Christ - and yet it is God’s power that delivered us so that we would come to faith in Jesus Christ and be heirs to eternal life.
invites us to:
I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.
I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.
My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.
For you have upheld my right and my cause,
sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.
You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
you have uprooted their cities;
even the memory of them has perished.
The Lord reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
He rules the world in righteousness
and judges the peoples with equity.
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.
For he who avenges blood remembers;
he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.
Lord, see how my enemies persecute me!
Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,
that I may declare your praises
in the gates of Daughter Zion,
and there rejoice in your salvation.
The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
The Lord is known by his acts of justice;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.
The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,
all the nations that forget God.
But God will never forget the needy;
the hope of the afflicted will never perish.
Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph;
let the nations be judged in your presence.
Strike them with terror, Lord;
let the nations know they are only mortal.
Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
His ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected by him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”
His mouth is full of lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
He says to himself, “God will never notice;
he covers his face and never sees.”
Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?
But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.
The Lord is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.
For the director of music. Of David.
In the Lord I take refuge.
How then can you say to me:
“Flee like a bird to your mountain.
For look, the wicked bend their bows;
they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
at the upright in heart.
When the foundations are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”
The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord is on his heavenly throne.
He observes everyone on earth;
his eyes examine them.
The Lord examines the righteous,
but the wicked, those who love violence,
he hates with a passion.
On the wicked he will rain
fiery coals and burning sulfur;
a scorching wind will be their lot.
For the Lord is righteous,
he loves justice;
the upright will see his face.
For the director of music. According to sheminith. A psalm of David.
Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;
those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.
Everyone lies to their neighbor;
they flatter with their lips
but harbor deception in their hearts.
May the Lord silence all flattering lips
and every boastful tongue—
those who say,
“By our tongues we will prevail;
our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”
“Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord.
“I will protect them from those who malign them.”
And the words of the Lord are flawless,
like silver purified in a crucible,
like gold refined seven times.
You, Lord, will keep the needy safe
and will protect us forever from the wicked,
who freely strut about
when what is vile is honored by the human race.
Te alabaré, oh Jehová, con todo mi corazón;
Contaré todas tus maravillas.
Me alegraré y me regocijaré en ti;
Cantaré a tu nombre, oh Altísimo.
We must consider of all God’s wonderful deeds and turn our faces towards him in humble adoration.
IV. God will be praised throughout the ages
IV. God will be praised throughout the ages
Paul recognizes that as we consider God’s great power, and his answer to prayer, beyond anything we could think or ask, we must worship him forever and ever!
to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
a él sea gloria en la iglesia en Cristo Jesús por todas las edades, por los siglos de los siglos. Amén.
To God be all the glory.
We must recognize God for who he is.
We must recognize where all our blessings have come from.
…why does Paul say that all glory be to God “in the church”?
…because it is his people whose eyes have been opened to recognize that all the blessings we receive have come from his hand,.
The world does not recognize this. Those sitting in high places think that their wealth, their intellect, all they posses is a product of their hard work, their good business decisions, etc…and yet the church of God recognizes that it if weren’t for God we would have nothing!
The church therefore exists to give God glory for all he has done. We exist as a powerful testimony recognizing who is truly worthy of thanksgiving and praise.
To God be all glory forever and ever.
We could each start expressing reasons why we are thankful to God and we will run out of time.
However, God has blessed us so much, that one life time would not be enough to give God praise.
For this reason, even in eternity, our privilege will be to give God praise forever and ever!