Dec 31
8:49 AM
Dec 31
8:49 AM
Friday, January 31, 2021
Originally Published September 29, 2021
Philippians 4:20
Through the end of the year, we’ll be rerunning some of the best Life Lifters from 2021. We hope you’ll join us each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning!
We have been working through the book of Philippians, focusing on the theme of joy. Today, we're going to talk about joy in God getting the glory. Look at what the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 4:20, "To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen." The whole goal of the Apostle Paul's life was to bring glory to God, to bring attention to God's greatness, to recognize God's greatness, to help other people see God's greatness by the way he lived. His goal was to bring glory to God. In fact, Paul also says, "Whether you eat, whether you drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).
What does that mean? It means this, that when you live your life, when people see your life, do they appreciate God more? Do they see God's greatness in the way you live? Does God get attention and glory from others who see your life? Is that what you want from your life? Do you want your life to glorify God? We all fall short. We're all very imperfect, but the ultimate tenor and aim of our life should be to glorify God, to call attention to his greatness, so that others see how great he is. I want to see God's greatness even more my life, but after that, I want others to see how great God is through my life. That's why Paul says, "To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen."
Jesus said when he comes back, he's going to come back in power, and he's going to come back in great glory. When he comes back, he's going to set up His kingdom on earth for 1000 years,which is called the millennium, and he will be glorified by everybody. That's why we want to spend the rest of our days on Earth glorifying God. We glorify God by the way we live, by the way we talk, by our practices, by the way we show love, by the way we distinguish ourselves from the average person, by the way we give generously, by the way we give of our gifts in the church, by the way we help the less fortunate, by the way we serve , and by the way we treat other people (which is different from the rest of the world). There are people that have come to me, and if you've been a Christian long enough and you're striving to glorify God, I'm sure you've had the same thing happen, where people say, "Man, what is it about you? Why are you so nice?" And I get a chance to just say, "It's God in me. I give glory to God, because he's the one who does it in me." That's what life's all about.
So, I have a question for you. Is your life all about trying to bring glory for God? Paul prayed, "To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen." That's what I want from my life, and I think that's probably what you want from your life. Let's glorify God in all that we do so that, in the words of Jesus, we may let our light so shine, that people may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Let's pray. Father, forgive us for those times when we haven't glorified you. Help us to bring glory to your name by the way we live. Help us to have others see it, so that they may glorify you, too. We know that one day you're going to come back in power and great glory, and you will rule and reign on the earth in glory for 1000 years. We want to help as many people as we can be a part of that. Thank you for this in Jesus' name, amen.