In Your Death

We’ve been talking all week about ways in which God expects us to glorify Him. There is a final way in this life – it’s in our death.

John 21 is the passage in which Jesus appeared, after His resurrection, to the disciples on the shore. It’s the one where Jesus kept asking Peter “Do you love me?” Finally Jesus says to Peter, “I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." And then the clincher verse, John 21:19.   

“Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.”

God already knows the day of your death. He already knows how you will die. He has already planned your final opportunity to glorify Him on this earth.

Death is that final opportunity to glorify God in this life. I observed this vividly in the death of my mother-in-law – a godly woman who at age 85 was told of the cancer that filled her body. I was there. I saw her reaction. Through her tears she gently cried, “Why God? Why me? I’ve served you all my life.” Then, as though realizing that her death was one final means of glorifying God, she stopped crying and said to all of us present including a skeptical doctor, “God knows why and that makes it OK.” 

Matthew Henry wrote in his commentary, “The death of the martyrs was in a special manner for the glorifying of God. Precious therefore in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints, as that which honors him; and those who thereby at such an expense honor him he will honor.”

Although my mother-in-law was not a martyr she used her death as a final opportunity to bring glory to God and I will never forget that lesson – - to my dying day.

Paul wrote in Philippians 1:20, “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” Death is our final opportunity on this earth to let the character and nature of God be “seen”. How will you act? How will I act and what will see say?

By glorifying God now in all the ways we’ve talked about you’ll be ready for the final opportunity.

By Believing God

God’s glory is the display of His divine character and qualities – God’s characterand qualities displayed in such a way that people can see them. God’s glory is simply God’s character and qualities “seen”.

The Bible says that we can glorify God when we think, say or do something that allows His character and qualities to be seen. According to Romans 4:18-21,God is glorified when we believe Him.

 “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”

When we are fully persuaded that God has the power to do what He promised in our lives, we reveal His character through our words and actions of belief.

John, in chapter 10 of his Gospel tells the account of Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead. When it comes to the part where Jesus says to remove the grave stone and let the dead man out, Martha objects. “He’s dead!” Jesus’ response (John 11:40) is, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

Finally, in John 14, Jesus talks to His disciples about His going away. It sounded pretty permanent to them. They were a bit dismayed and confused. Would they never see Him again? In John 14:21 He says, “Anyone who has my commands and obeys them loves me. My Father will love the one who loves me. I too will love him. And I will show myself to him."

Believe Him today and watch for His glory to appear.

By Using Your Spiritual Gift

Do you know your spiritual gift? Some people say that they really don’t need to know their gift. Well, maybe not. Then, let me ask you this? Are you using your spiritual gift? But you say, “How do I know if I’m using it if I don’t know what it is?” Ah, so maybe you should know what it is so you know whether or not you’re using it. OK, what am I getting at? Remember, this week’s topic is glorifying God. There are several ways to do that and one of them is to use your spiritual gift. The gifts can be organized into two categories. In fact Peter did that for us in his first letter. He wrote in 1 Peter 4:11,

“If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

God has given us spiritual gifts to bring glory to Himself. So, we can’t say, “I don’t know what mine is,” as though we don’t care nor can we say “I don’t have a spiritual gift.” If you are a believer in Jesus, you have at least one and you must use it for its intended purpose – to glorify God. That means that through the exercise of your giftedness others will see the glory of God – that is His character and nature. So ask God to help you understand and effectively use your spiritual gift this week.

Complete Your Work

In John 17:4 Jesus prayed, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” What was the work the Father gave to Jesus? He was to bear the sins of the world and provide redemption for all who believe in Him.

What work has God given you to do? - as a husband, father, neighbor, encourager, employee, student, deacon, elder etc. Keep doing it. Finish it. Don’t grow weary in well-doing.

Some work is temporary such as an usher at church.  Some is not – “Til death do us part.” When is our work done? When it gets tough? No. Otherwise Jesus would have called it quits before the cross. Even as Jesus prayed this prayer He had not yet gone to the cross where He would actually finish the work God gave Him to do. However, in His mind, it was as good as done. He would go all the way. He was determined to finish it. That’s the attitude we need. It’s a mindset. It’s saying, no matter what the circumstances and within God’s will, “I will finish it.” This brings glory to God because in doing so you’re placing God’s will and ways over yours.

These amazing words of the Apostle Paul are recorded in Acts 20:22-24 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me.”

Let’s finish the race. Let’s help each other. Let’s cheer each other on.

By Bearing Fruit

Several weeks ago I started a series on the Glory of God. I defined God’s glory as the display of His divine character and qualities – God’s character and qualities displayed in such a way that people can see it. God’s glory is simply God’s character and qualities “seen”.
  
This week is a continuation the series. Earlier we concluded that we can glorify God by making His glory seen in our lives through what we say, do and think. Last time we looked at five ways we can glorify God. We’ll look at five more this week. Here’s number six.

We glorify God by bearing fruit.

Philippians 1:11 says we are to be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes  through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

John 15:8  This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

This fruit is not the result of mere human effort. It’s the outflow of God from within us, thus bringing glory to God. The fruit is from Him and by Him. Fruit of righteousness – let’s picture it this way.

Righteousness is the tree and good works are the fruit. The fruit comes from a righteous source. The fruit only glorifies God when it comes from Him through you. The unbeliever may display a good deed, but it comes from an unrighteous source and brings no glory to God. It’s not merely the action that glorifies God but the outworking of His righteousness from within the believer.

The fruit is singular. This suggests lifestyle rather than a single action. An unbeliever may manifest an action that looks like God’s righteousness, but only the believer in Christ can live out the lifestyle of Christ. It’s your lifestyle, developed in union with Christ, that becomes the fruit that others enjoy and that points back to God - the source.

If I said to go and bear fruit this week, it would be like saying to the branches of a fruit tree, “Go bear fruit.” They don’t need to be told nor do they need to try. They just do it because they’re connected to the fruit tree. So simply stay intimately connected to the Righteous Tree this week and watch the fruit sprout all over you.