You wouldn’t know it by looking at the world and sadly the church, but everything is about giving glory to God. If we are going to stand on the Rock, we must give glory to God and none other to be immovable. Psalm 86:12 “I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.” Psalm 63:3 “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. 4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.” Luke 2:13 “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” Luke 1:46 “And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Romans 15:5 “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We were created to bring glory to God. Isaiah 43:7 “everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. 20 my people, my chosen, 21 the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.” Psalm 102:12 “You, Lord, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations. 18 Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord.”
We were not created to give glory to anything or anyone else. Deuteronomy 4:15 “You saw no form of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, 16 so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, 17 or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, 18 or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. 19 And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. 33 Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? 39 Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. 40 Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time. 35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other.”
God will not yield His glory to another. Isaiah 42:8 “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.” 1 Corinthians 8:4 “So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.” Isaiah 48:9 “For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, so as not to destroy you completely. 10 See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. 11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another.”
Before satan was cast to the earth, we are told Ezekiel 28:12 “‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. 17 Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.” Isaiah 14:12 “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! 13 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God.” Revelation 12:9 “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” satan does not get a second chance. Revelation 20:10 “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Matthew 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” 1 Peter 5:8 “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” satan is a liar and deceiver and wants you to spend eternity in hell with him. If you follow him and give him glory, you will join him.
Man was created and given the Garden of Eden and there was no death and God walked among them. All they had to do was give glory to God. They were told to obey, and the garden was theirs to rule. Genesis 1:28 “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” Eternal life was theirs as there was no death. In the middle of the garden God had place the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:6 “And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” But they disobeyed and Adam and Eve did not glorify the Lord, but turned to another and followed satan who also did not glorify God instead. Genesis 3:1 “He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” But satan is a liar and deceiver and now death and sin entered the world. Paul said Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.” Because they gave their glory to another, everything changed, and man has been sinning and dying ever since. Adam and Eve after sinning could not return to the tree of life. Genesis 3:22 “And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live.” The only way for death to be conquered was Jesus Christ. Revelation 2:7 “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” forever.” John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Every time Israel followed other gods, they did not glorify the Lord. Every time the church has turned to other gospels, they do not glorify the Lord. The amazing part is that God has always provided a way to return to Him and give glory to His name. Even though Adam and Eve rejected God and He removed them from the garden, he did not destroy them but made a way for them. Even when God destroyed everything with the flood, God made a way. Even after giving them the land of promise, His people rejected him, but even then, God gave them a way back to glorifying Him. Ezekiel 36:33 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. 34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. 35 They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.” 36 Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.’” All along satan has been trying to get God’s people to turn from Him and give their glory to another and he continues his work. Sadly, satan has been very successful. Jesus made it clear that He is the way, truth and life. John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” That is the good news of the gospel. Paul also said Romans 5:17 “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” But if Jesus is rejected, Hebrews 10:26 “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
I was watching a show the other night and it took place in Mumbai, India. It was a melting pot of religions with Hinduism being the biggest by far but there were many others. I could not help but think about all those millions of people not giving glory to God but giving glory to other gods and satan taking more and more with him to his eternal destination. Even the Christians that are there, who are a very small percentage are divided Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox and is just another religion on the list with no power. When you look at the effectiveness of Christianity, it is bleak and continues to fade. Yes, some are really effective at getting people to come to church, but not so good at actually being the church and doing as Jesus did. There seems to be this misunderstanding that God’s plan is to get you all that you hoped for in life, even if you live your life for yourself. The church seems to think it is okay to glorify ourselves and praise the work of our hands. The building of cathedrals and churches really isn’t about bringing glory to God but glorifying what their own hands have made. In the Old Testament, the first temples were buildings where God would dwell. When king Solomon prayed his prayer of dedication, he said 2 Chronicles 6:8 “But will God really dwell on earth with humans? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 19 Yet, Lord my God, give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. 20 May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there.” God then answers. 2 Chronicles 7:1 “Fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.”
In the New Testament the second temple ceased to be, and the third temple was built but not by human hands. Acts 17:24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.” This meant that glorifying God by building something is not at all what God wants but the church continues to build with their own hands as if it is. Everything was different now as the third temple is not a building but the people of God but like the first two, God will dwell among His people who are now the temple. Like the temple, fire also came down at Pentecost. Acts 2:1 “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” The body of Christ was the new temple and Jesus said He would build His church. Ephesians 5:23 “For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.” Ephesians 2:19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 6:16 “What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 1 Corinthians 3:16 “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.” But just as they did with the last two temples, idolatry and adultery has been committed in the church. Hosea 5:4 “Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the Lord. 5 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them.” Like Israel and Judah, the church has turned away from God’s word and has not glorified Him. God said to Ezekiel, Ezekiel 8:6 “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the utterly detestable things the Israelites are doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see things that are even more detestable.” The church has done the same by following other gospels. In doing so the glory that was supposed to be given to God has been given to another and as God said, He will not yield His glory to another and like Judah and Israel, the church has been decimated because of disobedience.
As with Israel and Judah, the church has turned away from God’s word and has given glory to others. The plan of God was eternal life for those He created as we saw in the garden. Jesus made eternal life possible once again but there must be repentance. Mark 1:14 “Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Those God created were to give him glory, honor and praise on this earth and for all eternity, starting before creation. God created man in His image and man was supposed to bring glory and honor and praise. David praised God saying 1 Chronicles 29:10 “Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. 11 Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. 12 Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. 13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.” Abraham Romans 4:20 “did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God.” Even foreign kings came to this understanding of giving glory to God. King Nebuchadnezzar said, Daniel 4:34 “I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. 35 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?” 36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” King Darius said after Daniel was saved from the lion’s den, Daniel 6:26 “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. “For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. 27 He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”
Everything was supposed to be about worshipping God and giving Him glory. Revelation 4:8 “Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.” Revelation 5:11 “Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! 13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” Psalm 100:1 “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Lamentations 5:19 “You, Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation.” The amazing part of this is when we glorify God and give Him everything, He dwells among us. When He dwells among, His kingdom comes near, and the church does as Jesus did.
