Part 1
Mat 23:11 “Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. (MSG)
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NLT) God has . . . planted eternity in the human heart.
- Death is not the end of you!
- Death is not your termination, but your transition into eternity, so there are eternal consequences to everything you do on earth.
- I Cor 2:9 LB “No mere man has ever seen, heard or even imagined what wonderful things God has ready for those who love the Lord.
The only time most people think about eternity is at funerals, and then it’s often shallow, sentimental thinking, based on ignorance.
You may feel it’s morbid to think about death, but it’s unhealthy to live in denial of death and not consider what is inevitable.
Only a fool would go through life unprepared for what we all know will eventually happen.
You need to think more about eternity, not less
Heb. 13:14 “This world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven.
1 John 2:17 “This world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever.” (NLT)
Life Is a Temporary
Psalm 39:4 (NLT) Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away.
Psalm 119:19 (TEV) I am here on earth for just a little while.
The Bible uses terms like alien, pilgrim, foreigner, stranger, visitor, and traveller to describe our brief stay on earth.
- PS 119:19 “I am but a foreigner here on earth,”
- 1 Peter 1:17 “If you call God your Father, live your time as temporary residents on earth.”
1 Pet 2:11 (MSG)“Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul.”
Heb 11:13,16 (NCV)“All these great people died in faith. They did not get the things that God promised his people, but they saw them coming far in the future and were glad. They said they were like visitors and strangers on earth…. they were waiting for a better country—a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he has prepared a city for them.
The Reason for Everything
Proverbs 16:4 (NLT) The Lord has made everything for his own purposes.
Romans 11:36 (LB) Everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by his power, and everything is for his glory.
Living for God’s glory is the greatest achievement we can accomplish with our lives. Rick Warren
In the entire universe, only two of God’s creations fail to bring glory to him: fallen angels (demons) and us (people). All sin, at its root, is failing to give God glory. It is loving anything else more than God. Refusing to bring glory to God is prideful rebellion, and it is the sin that caused Satan’s fall—and ours, too
In the entire universe, only two of God’s creations fail to bring glory to him: fallen angels (demons) and us (people).
All sin, at its root, is failing to give God glory. It is loving anything else more than God. Refusing to bring glory to God is prideful rebellion, and it is the sin that caused Satan’s fall—and ours, too
How Can I Bring Glory to God?
John 17:4 (NLT)“I brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you told me to do.”
1. We bring God glory by worshiping him
- Worship is our first responsibility to God. We worship God by enjoying him.
- John Piper notes, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” Worship is far more than praising, singing, and praying to God.
- Worship is a lifestyle of enjoying God, loving him, and giving ourselves to be used for his purposes.
- When you use your life for God’s glory, everything you do can become an act of worship. (Rick Warren)
- Rom 6:13b (NIV) “Use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God.”
2. We bring God glory by becoming like Christ.
- 1 Peter 4:10-11“God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God’s generosity can flow through you…. Are you called to help others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then God will be given glory.”
- 2 Cor 3:18 (NLT)“As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.”
3. We bring God glory by telling others about him.
- 2 Cor 4:15 (NLT) “As God’s grace brings more and more people to Christ,… God will receive more and more glory.”
- Romans 11:36 (LB) “For everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by his power, and everything is for his glory.”