God's Glory

21-08-08 – God’s Glory – Psalm 23

HBI: In all that we do, the way that we live our lives, in everything that we are it needs to be for the glory of God.

Þ Intro

- What we have been going through this week is the fact that we have begun to realize that we do not know each other as well as we think we do.

- We want to change that but one of the problems we face in doing this is that we are sometimes scared to be open with each other for various reasons.

- Sometimes we are so scared of what people will think of us when we open up to them though, or we are ashamed of what we have gone through to open up to people.

- But God can use us, and our stories to help other people get through the trials they may be facing. They may need to know that they are not alone that there are other people that have gone through what they are going through.

- It is important for us to work together, to disciple one another so we can work together to grow closer to God.

- But why do we do this, or what is the driving force behind why we do these things, we we are supposed to work together to grow closer together.

- We need to be open to these things because it is not about us. Our stories are not our own, they are to be used for the glory of God.

- God allows us to go through these things for the purpose of growing closer to Him, we need to cling to him through these times.

- But we sometimes forget it is not about us, it is not about what we can get out of this but rather it is for the Lord that we do this.

- Our lives are not our own, they were bought at a price by the blood of Jesus and our job is to glorify Him. The reason why we do this, we share our lives with those around is is because it is not about us.

- The world tells us that life is all about us, to look out for number 1, that no matter what you believe even if you are not a follower of Jesus that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.

- Well that is great, I love me and have a wonderful plan for my life as well. Well I have news for us, it is not about us but about glorifying the Lord and valuing others as better then ourselves.

- Well if it is not about us then rather how can we use our lives for the glory of the Lord no matter the situation we are in.

Þ Is it about me?

- I want to go through Psalm 23 and some other passage as well to show us what this looks like and how it should affect our lives.

- For most of us, whether we know Jesus or not are likely familiar with this passage. So let us see what this has to see on the subject.

- Psalm 23:1 (CSB)1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need.

- Sounds pretty good so far, we understand what a shepherd does, looks after and cares for the flock. I mean sheep can be pretty stupid but I am okay with it.

- We are provided with all of our spiritual needs. Everything we need to survive is provided for us by our heavenly father. Well, it sounds pretty good so far.

- Psalm 23:2–3 (CSB)2 He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He renews my life.

- This sounds even better green pastures and quiet waters; it is sounding pretty good for us so far. I men who would not want quiet waters and green pastures. Sounds like God is into me.

Þ God’s glory

- Well, the next part of the verse is where things get changed up a little bit - he leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

- So, it is for His name’s sake that this all happens. It is for the Glory of the Lord that we are given life, that we are lead, that we are provided for.

- The problem is we think that for some reason God needs to use us, that we are in control of our own lives and destinies so therefore everything that we ask for will be granted because we are just that Good.

- As if God at the beginning of time said I am lonely, I am going to create beings so I will not be so lonely. But that does not make sense either.

- Just look at humanity a bunch of idolaters, adulterers, liars all the horrible things humankind does. Do you think God needed that? We were created for the glory of the Lord.

- His motivation behind us, His passion for us is because he is great. It is for His glory and His renown that all this happens.

- To do His will in all that we do. Psalms is not the only passage that tells us that it is all for the glory of the Lord either. God is about God.

- I am going to take a tour through some passages in the bible quickly to show more verses that back this up.

- Isaiah 43:7 (CSB)7 everyone who bears my name and is created for my glory. I have formed them; indeed, I have made them.”

- Isaiah 49:3 (CSB)3 He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”

- Psalm 106:7–8 (CSB)7 Our ancestors in Egypt did not grasp the significance of your wondrous works or remember your many acts of faithful love; instead, they rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea. 8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his power known.

- Romans 9:16–17 (CSB)16 So then, it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy. 17 For the Scripture tells Pharaoh, I raised you up for this reason so that I may display my power in you and that my name may be proclaimed in the whole earth.,

- Ezekiel 20:9 (CSB)9 But I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations they were living among, in whose sight I had made myself known to Israel by bringing them out of Egypt.

- I could keep going but you get the point. It is vital that we share our lives, that we disciple one another because it is not about us but for the glory of God.

- Let us go back a bit to the story of David and Goliath that we talked about yesterday. How many of you have ever been told that in the story that we are David and out problems are goliath? That through the strength of God we can slay our problems in life.

- Well, the good news is that that is wrong. We are not David; Jesus is the better perfect David. Just read Hebrews. We are the Israelites cowering in the corner to scared to come out and powerless to do anything.

- If we live our lives like we are David and can overcome sin and trials on our own, we will miss every time. It is not about us.

- All the people that we looked at had to come to the same conclusion that it is not about you it is about how we can live our lives for the glory of the Lord.

- This means that God loves us as his children, God saves us out of sin, God pursues us and calls us so that we can make much of Him.

- Yes we may run into troubles, yes he may wound us and discipline us but that is because he loves us so much that he does not want us to fall away.

Þ Good news

- It is good news that God is for God, that our lives are for His glory that all we do is to make much of the Lord and less of ourselves.

- But it is not about doing it so God does not send us to hell. God wants us to enjoy Him, He wants us to love Him to find great joy in Him. God wants us to delight in Him for the glory of the Lord.

- This means that all the commands that God has given us are designed to draw us closer to God so we can glory in Him and find Joy in him.

- Our vision, what we could become if we do this, if we live our lives in joy fully for the glory of the Lord. to see God’s heavenly willbeing done through love, service, discipleshipand submission.

- Imagine now then if we do this the way that we are supposed to do this. To live our lives fully for the glory of God. The reason why we run fully to the commands and the law of the Lord what it could actually look like.

- This means that we will be a church that is fully committed to seeking the will of God in all things because after all it is fully for the glory of the Lord.

- It is all for the will of the Lord, God’s leading and guiding and shepherding then we will be seeking God’s will not our will.

- When we strive to see God’s heavenly will done, we will be focusing on loving others, serving God in all things, discipling others and submitting to the will of the Lord.

- Imagine if every church started to do this the way it was meant to be done what God could accomplish through us.

Þ Full circle, so what?

- So knowing this, let us circle back to where we started. There is a lot of information here and I hope it has not confused us to much. But what it does it put things in perspective.

- What are ways that we can share our lives with others? I would like to start by having people start sharing their life stories in church, How God has changed them and molded them into followers of Jesus.

- No you are not perfect, but we need to be sharing with each other what God is doing in our lives and sharing that in church is a good place to start.

- I would like each of us to start working on a 5 minute talk on your life before Jesus, how you met Jesus and how Jesus has changed your life.

- The whole point of this is because we have been so busy in the past that I think our relationships have fallen by the wayside.

- If God is for God then we need to be using what we have gone through for Him. That means that our stories are not our own but rather they belong to the Lord.

- Second, Pray that God would use what you have gone through to point other people back to Him. This is scary and it involves being open and vulnerable with those around us but that is okay, it is not about us.

- There may be someone sitting thinking that they are all alone in their sin and shame. They just need someone to help them understand that they are not alone in their struggles.

- These are the rewards that we seek, the treasures in heaven that we strive to live for to see people seek God in all that we do.

- So then how are you living your life for the glory of the Lord? Are you using your stories and the gifts that God has given you to glorify Him and point other people to Him?