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Assurance of Salvation

Part 81

Glorifying God:

HOW to glorify God (6)

Today, PART 6 of:

HOW to glorify God!

• The REMINDER

• 1 more "HOW"

"WE MUST GLORIFY GOD."(It's a moral obligation.)

God's people delight in doing so.

ISSUES

TO COVER

• IF your values/choices do not agree with Scripture,THEN you are not glorifying God.(This means you are not following Jesus.)

• IF this characterizes the way you live, THEN you are not saved.

The REMINDER!

"Glorifying God"involves VALUES / CHOICES.

THE "HOW" LISTLooking today at #12.

(We've already looked at the first 11.)

"How do we glorify God?"

For the past 75 years, atheists have told us

to keep God out of…

Many church-goers have been willing

to comply…

A background issue1ST:• Politics

• Science

• Education

• Public life

• The work place

• Social issues

• Anything that matters

They have given the wicked control

over most of life.

Today, most church-goers

are willing to excludeGod from nearly

everything in life

that matters!

POLITICSREPRODUCTION ISSUES

MEDICALDECISIONS

EDUCATIONALPOLICY

MARRIAGEDECISIONS

PUBLICPOLICY

JOBDECISIONS

USE OFFREE TIME

VACATIONDECISIONS

TECHNOLOGY

SHOPPING

USE OFINTERNET

CLOTHING DECISIONS

HOW I DRIVE

HOBBIES

RECREATION

FOOD CHOICES

HOW I SPEAK TO OTHERS

THE JOKESI REPEAT

ATTITUDETOWARD

AUTHORITY

CHOICE OFFRIENDS

FINANCES

RETIREMENTPLANNING

ENTERTAINMENT

2

GOD?• Politics

• Science

• Education

• Public life

• The work place

• Social issues

• Anything that matters

Have you glorified the atheists, by catering to

their demands?

OR: Have you glorified God?

HOW ABOUT YOU?

It may have become more difficult, but glorifying God

is still an obligation.

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, TELLING ME TO KEEP OUT OFPUBLIC LIFE?

WHO DOES GOD THINK HE IS, TELLING ME

HOW I SHOULD LIVE?

Why do the nations conspireand the peoples plot in vain?

The One enthroned in heaven laughs;the Lord scoffs at them.

Psalm 2:1, 4 (NIV)

DON'T be like the world(and like many church goers)!!

By Эдуард Тимченков (CC BY-SA 3.0) modified

A follower of Jesus will not only

be concerned when the wicked dishonor God…

(REMEMBER THIS "HOW #4"?)

4) WE GLORIFY GOD when we care about

his glory and honor in the world.

He will want to do

something about it!

He will NOT be satisfied with letting this evil continue!

• He realizes that "CARE" about God's glory, if genuine, will translate into "ACTION."

• This why the "#12 HOW" is…

User:

Mattes

(CC

-BY

-SA

-3.0

) m

odifi

ed

• "PROMOTE GOD'S HONOR AND GLORY"

– We do not have to cooperate with the wicked, even though they may demand that we do so.

• "IN WHATEVER WAY WE CAN"

– Promote it in ourselves and in others.

– We might not always be able to stop others from dishonoring God, but we may be able to minimize it.

12) WE GLORIFY GOD when we promote

his honor and glory in whatever way we can.

Participation in the sins of the wicked is not an option!

Do not set foot on the path of the wicked

or walk in the way of evil men.

Avoid it, do not travel on it;

turn from it and go on your way. Proverbs 4:14-15 (NIV)

Keep your GOD out of public life!

Rather, keep your ATHEISM out of

public life!

3

Blessed is the person who does not

follow the advice of wicked people,

take the path of sinners,

or join the company of mockers.

Rather, he delights in the teachings of the Lord

and reflects on his teachings day and night.

He is like a tree planted beside streams—

a tree that produces fruit in season

and whose leaves do not wither.

He succeeds in everything he does. Psalm 1:1-3 (GW)

Those who dishonor God are NOT "neutral."(In reality, they are "suppressive.")

In his pride the wicked does not seek him;in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

Psalm 10:4 (NIV)

… what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to

them. Romans 1:19 (NIV)

• It's a willful, NON-NEUTRAL choice that they make.

WHERE do we begin?

• We will not be satisfied until God's honor and glory "fill the earth" …

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,

as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14 (NIV)

And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord—his name

alone will be worshiped. Zech. 14:9 (NLT)

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is

no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."

Matthew 5:13 (NIV)

• That is part of what it means to be "salt" in the world!

– Refusing to do this makes us worthless and worthy of judgment.

A follower of Jesus will want to

minimize the evil of others.

"You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, ..."

Matthew 7:5a (NIV)

• Before we then go on to others:

• We first begin with ourselves…

"… and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

Matthew 7:5b (NIV)

But we don't start by dealing with

the evil of others.

• Motives and values are an issue.

– Finding out what Scripture says (values) and having a desire (motives) to glorify God.

• But so is willingness to obey!

– Without this willingness, all the learning in the world won't help you.

NO MORE PRETENDING!!

I am going to follow Jesus and include

God in all of life!

TO DO THIS, I must start finding out

how God belongs in all of life!

AND as I learn, I will start to do it,

rather than making excuses for not doing

so!

GUIDING FACTORS (1)

MOTIVES VALUES OBEDIENCE

4

This should be obvious!

What you can do in your own home will be different from what you can do in your neighbor's home.

What you can do as a leader with authority will be different than what you can do as a person under

authority!

• "CONTEXT" is also an issue.

– What you can (and should) do will depend on your situation.

GUIDING FACTORS (2) "To do, or not to do…"

What it doesn't mean.

• Don't commit sin, with the excuse that "good" will result!

Not even when people claim it's for a good cause!

• Down through the centuries, people have committed all kinds of sin – even murder –

claiming that it was honoring to God!

• Today, various groups go about killing other

people, saying it is for a good cause.

• Those who are religious often claim that it honors their god.

– Even people who claimed to be "Christian" have been guilty of this!

If you are willing to learn the values and prioritiesof Scripture, you won't become guilty of this!

And why not say, “Let us do evil so that good may come of it”? … (Their condemnation is deserved!)

Romans 3:8 (NET)

We want peace and

justice!

We will kill and destroy until

we get it!

If you try this, don't complain if you get what you deserve!Elopde (CC-BY-SA-3.0)

• We must watch our attitude!

Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect,

then respect; if honor, then honor. Romans 13:7 (NIV)

…for it is written: 'Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.'

Acts 23:5b (NIV)

What if it involves people who have

authority over us?> YAWN! <

AT LEAST IT'S

NOT MESINNING!

This does not mean we avoid doing

what is right, when leaders want what

is wrong!!

We must be ready to "count the cost" of

following Jesus.

– If evil rulers discover our acts of goodness, they may "punish" us!

– There are legitimate and necessaryforms of "civil disobedience."

NO

T T

HIS

!!!

5

We cannot

pretend the sin doesn't exist!

• We cannot condone actions that dishonor God!

– This is almost the same as approving them!

John Snape (CC BY-SA 3.0) modified

"We gave you strict orders not to teach in [Jesus'] name," he said.

Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!"

Acts 5:28a, 29 (NIV)

Example #1

How should we respond if a ruler wants us to STOP talking about Jesus?

The same way the apostles did!

(Today, this would include taking Bibles into countries where the leaders have declared Bibles "illegal.")

• Tell others about Jesus anyway!

Obadiah* was a devout believer in the Lord. While Jezebel was killing off the Lord's prophets,

Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.

1 Kings 18:3b-4 (NIV)

• Try to prevent it!

*(Not the one who wrote the book of "Obadiah")

Example #2

How should we respond if a government wants to kill innocent people?

(Obadiah worked for the king; but he honored God by preventing the murder of the prophets.)

The same way Obadiah* did!

• We can ask them to stop.

• If our association is a matter of choice, we can stop associating with them!

Example #3

How should we respond if people around us are constantly taking God's name in vain?

Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."

1 Cor. 15:33 (NIV)

• We should also pray for their repentance. (We know the horrible judgment that awaits them.)

So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful

Creator and continue to do good. 1 Peter 4:19 (NIV)

What if they persecute us for doing good?

• Should we stop doing what is right? NO!

• We shouldn't be surprised. The wicked often do this.

Brothers and sisters, don't be surprisedif the world hates you.

1 John 3:13 (GW)

If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a

meddler.

However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be

ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.

1 Peter 4:15-16 (NIV)

HERE'S THE KEY!

• Just make sure you are suffering for the right cause!

6

• We might succeed (or partly succeed) in stopping the evil.

• We might not succeed.

• The wicked may persecute us.

What results can we expect?

WE WILL BE HONORING GODand promoting his glory in the world!

But the real issue is this:

YOUR MISSION: DECIDE

Are you willing to promote God's

glory?

• IF YOU ARE WILLING, IT WILL AFFECT YOUR CONDUCT!

THE "GLORY" MANIFESTO

• I want to promote God's glory in any way that I can.

– I plan to go beyond mere talk; otherwise I am dishonoring God.

Credits (1)SCRIPTURE

• Scriptures marked "NLT" – Scripture quoted from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. (www.newlivingtranslation.com)

• Scriptures marked "NIV" - Scripture quoted from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. (www.zondervanbibles.com)

• Scriptures marked "NET" - Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

• Scriptures marked "GW" - Scripture is taken from GOD'S WORD®. Copyright 1995 God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

PICTURES

• Open book with magnifying glass - By Pyfisch (File:Postscript-viewer.svg) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WV_in_review.svg

• Colorful background - By Channel R (Own work by uploader. Video still.) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Background_for_collage.png (modified)

• Screaming green man – By Эдуард Тимченков (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%87%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA-%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B4%D1%83%D1%80.jpg (modified)

Credits (2)PICTURES

• Boy pointing - By User:Mattes (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thai_boy_pointing_to_the_viewer.JPG (modified)

• Explosion – By loki11 (Le Patriote Illustré) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Attentat.jpg (modified)

• Rioter with fire in background – By Elopde (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Riot_in_Vancouver.jpg

• Bored person in chair – By Ardizzone, Edward Jeffrey Irving [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Officers%27_Mess_at_the_Transit_Camp,_Benghazi_Art.IWMARTLD2917.jpg

• Three monkeys – By John Snape (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:See_No_Evil,_Hear_No_Evil,_Speak_No_Evil.jpg (background removed)

• Key - (Scan from the original book) [Public Domain], via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Die_Gartenlaube_%281887%29_b_2_705.jpg (modified)

• Backgrounds (not a solid shade or provided as part of Microsoft PowerPoint®) – Dennis Hinks © 2013-2015.

• Presentation – Dennis Hinks © 2015.

• DISCLAIMER: The use of a picture does not imply that the author of that picture agrees with the views of this presentation. Some might agree; some might not.