Give God Glory!?
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12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. 13 Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.
16 But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!
19 So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.
How and why do we give God glory?
by showing forth ones gratitude.
by not distrusting God’s promises.
by celebrating His praises.
by rendering its due honor to God’s majesty.
by acknowledging that God knows all and by showing that you believe it with your confession.
by promoting the glory of God among men.
kabod = majesty- that which belongs to God, kingly royalty and majesty which belongs to Him as supreme ruler.
Ruler- ruler of what? That which he created, that which he displays his sovereignty over.
Jesus conquered death, hell, and the grave. Jesus endured pain, he conquered fear, most of all he conquered sin.
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
The prior scripture at verse 3 says:
3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.
By God’s divine power, what power? Paul alludes to this power by saying: “But unto them which are called, both Jew and Greek, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. In other-words, Christ is the power of God. How is Christ the power of God? To wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. Daily, Christ showed forth the power of God in the miracles he performed, in the words and the teaching that he presented. God showed forth his power through Christ in that Christ in that through the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, because he suffered, because he died, and because he rose again, Peter declares that God “according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:”. To make this as simple as possible for you to understand, Peter simply says, God has given us everything we need for godly living, we have received this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.
So we have received promises the next verse says. What promises? That He is faithful, that he would never leave us nor forsake us, that he would supply all of our needs according o His riches in glory, that he would love us, that He would give us rest, that He would give us eternal life, a new Heaven and a new Earth, a new body, a crown of righteousness, no more death, no more suffering, no more tears. It is because of these exceeding promises and us connecting our faith and hope in these promises, that Peter says we are able to escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. What human desires? Sin!
If you give up on God, that is sin, if you abandon your faith, that is sin, and right now there are some professing Christians that out there are giving up and abandoning their faith because they don’t believe God is with them anymore. They can’t understand why God would allow this disease to seem like it has taken over the world. But we must remember that God is a sovereign God. I hear some people accusing the devil, but you have to remember that Satan has to get permission from God to do anything (Job 1&2).
Although we may not understand right now, God himself said “For my thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8).
I know there might be some skeptics out there right now thinking that the only thing I should be preaching is preaching to get folk saved, but as a shepherd I’m also responsible for feed and watching over the flock. What every believer needs to realize is that when you live your life for Christ, when you live to glorify God in your bodies, you yourself are preaching to every unbeliever. When they see you still praising God and maintaining your faith in the midst of these seemingly uncertain times, you are preaching to them that God is able.
God has given us everything we need to live godly lives, He has given us everything we need to be blessed, He has given us everything we need to be healed, He has given us everything we need to be delivered, when God sent His Son into the world to die for your sins and to be resurrected, God supplied you everything you need because everything we need is found in Jesus! You need a way made, look to Jesus, you need healing, look to Jesus, you need a friend, look to Jesus, whatever you need is found in Jesus!
14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.
10 In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.
As believers we can still praise God no matter what it looks like. Our outlook on life is different than unbelievers, while the world is panicking and their outlook is bleak, the believers can shout the victory because any and every way you slice it, we have the faith and hope in believing that in-spite of the bad, God is going to make it alright.
Ending:
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.