A Golden Opportunity To Glorify God
A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO GLORIFY GOD(It’s all about Relationships)
Tuesday July 23, 2024
Matthew 5:13-16 (NKJV) 13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all [who are] in the house. 16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Isaiah 60:2-3 ESV
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and His glory will be seen upon you.
3 And the nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.
The current climate is our opportunity to shine.
The current climate calls for a response from Christians.
The end is fast approaching and the world is short on time so we do not have time to lose.
We have a golden opportunity to bring glory to God, perhaps like no other time in history.
The world is getting darker, so we must shine brighter.
The world is becoming more corrupt and bitter, so we must salt the world even more.
We will be picked on, singled out for persecution.
Don’t expect godly behavior from the ungodly.
1 Peter 4:12-19
We are called to suffer as martyrs, not as victims. Martyrs suffer for their stand, but victims cannot choose their outcomes.
We must always remember that we are ambassadors of Christ.
Our behavior is either a reflection of Christ, or it will be a reflection on Christ.
2 Corinthians 3:3 NLT "Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts."
2 Corinthians 4:6 NLT "For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ."
2 Corinthians 5:20 NLT "So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”"
To glorify God is simply to represent Him accurately.
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Our actions and reactions must bring glory to God.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
In order to glorify God, we need to grow up… fast.
In practical terms, we must grow spiritually, faster than before.
As long as we remain immature, we will not be able to represent Jesus well.
Signs of immaturity
Galatians 4:1–7 (ESV): 4 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Immature Christians do not act differently from the world.
1 Corinthians 3:1–3 ESV 3 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
Even though they are born-again, they are still controlled by the flesh, just like they were before becoming born-again. They are often more concerned with their reputation than with their character.
Responding to wrong in the same spirit as the wrongdoer, instead of responding in the Spirit of Christ.
1 Peter 2:21–23 ESV 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
Responding in the Spirit of Christ does not require us to be blind, ignorant or euphemistic.
We see wrongdoing and evil for what they are, but we just do not respond in a similar spirit.
Matthew 5:43–48 ESV
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
We always need to ask the question “Qui bono?”
Who stands to gain by my action or reaction?
If I am looking out for my own interest, I will act selfishly, like the world. Looking out for my neighbor can sometimes prove difficult especially if my neighbor is always taking advantage of my goodness. I have to look out for the glory of God’s Name. That is why Jesus taught us to love God first, before we can have any hope of loving our neighbors as ourselves.
THE MARKS OF SPIRITUAL MATURITY.
We often confuse spiritual gifts with spiritual fruit.
True spiritual maturity is not loving to read the Bible.
Spiritual maturity is not an ability to quote the scriptures.
Spiritual maturity is not even a vibrant prayer life.
All the aforementioned are sine qua non for spiritual growth. They are necessary requirements without which spiritual maturity will prove difficult, but they merely represent the seed and the process.
True spiritual growth is demonstrated by the cultivation of the fruit of the Spirit.
How do we cultivate the fruit of the Spirit?
We don’t.
If we did the cultivation, then it would be our fruit and not the fruit of the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit cultivates the fruit.
We simply yield to Him. We follow His leading. We don’t fight Him. We don’t resist Him. We don’t quench Him.
Whether we realize it or not, we are all yielding to somebody.
“The devil made me do it,” is an argument with some measure of validity, but it does not absolve one of responsibility. The devil may inspire, instigate or seduce, but the doer of the deed still has to answer for his deeds.
Galatians 5:16-26 (NLT)
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.
17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.
18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,
21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.
25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
True spiritual maturity is evident only in relationships...
how much we exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, love, peace, joy, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in the midst of a chaotic, ungodly world.
The fruit of the Spirit is all about relationships.
The nine qualities listed as the fruit of the Spirit deal with our relationship with God and our relationships with others
Relationships are messy. They are interactions between broken people.
Relationships are engines which have many parts. The parts are damaged, broken and dysfunctional people. God wants to create a smooth-running engine out of broken, damaged parts.
1 Corinthians 1:26-29 (NLT) 26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
Jesus' twelve disciples serve as a good illustration of broken people in relationships with the Lord and with each other.
Simon Peter… impulsive, unstable and often crude fisherman, with violent tendencies.
James and John… sometimes selfish and other times vengeful fishermen. Jesus called them Sons of Thunder.
Andrew…self-effacing, quiet brother of Peter, also a fisherman.
Philip… from Bethsaida, the same hometown as Peter and Andrew. He introduced Jesus to Nathaniel. Kind and approachable (to the Greeks.)
Nathaniel… an upright man well noted for his integrity.
Matthew… a despised tax-collector, seen as a traitor to his race.
Simon the Zealot he was part of a political group resisting the Roman occupation. Some of them, the Sicarii assassinated Jews compliant to the Romans, and even committed mass suicide in Masada rather than bow to Roman rule.
Thomas… the skeptic, noted for his doubt even after being with Jesus for 3 ½ years.
Judas Iscariot… he was the thieving accountant, and ultimate betrayer of Jesus.
Not much is said about Thaddeus, and James the son of Alphaeus
Anytime we are faced with the needs of others, we have an opportunity
Either to grow in love and kindness and goodness, or
We become more insular and selfish, “not my problem.”
In the coming season we will have many opportunities to be offended. Remember, you are Christ’s ambassador.
Everytime someone offends us, they do two things.
1. They have revealed their brokenness and imperfections.
2. They have offered us an opportunity to grow up spiritually.
For our part, we have two options in our response.
Either we reveal our own brokenness as well, or
We seek God to help us grow.
Remember it is the Holy Spirit, not us, who cultivates His fruits in us.
Psalm 139:23–24 (ESV): 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
Those who want to grow will frequently invite God to do a heart surgery on them.
Psalms 51:10 (NLT)
Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.
God Himself promised to perform heart transplant on His people.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NASB)
26 "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
