Psalm 79:9 – For His Glory – Bible study

Psalm 79:9 For His Glory \#Psalm 8:1, 115:1, 1Cor 10:31, Is 48:11\ Each of these verses have something in common. They all point us to the Lords glory. Question – Why does God do what God does? Answer – To bring glory to Himself. That is THE main reason God does all that God does. Why did God create mankind? To bring glory to Himself. Why did God give mankind a freewill? To bring glory to Himself. Why did God degree the punishment of everlasting death to the sinner? To bring glory to Himself. Why did God intervene in that sentence, and pay the penalty Himself? To bring glory to Himself. Are we starting to see the point? All that God does, He does to bring glory to Himself. That may seem a little arrogant to some, but it is not. God is the One, the only One, who is absolutely, positively, completely worthy of being the center of all things. He is perfect, holy, just, merciful, loving, kind, beautiful, sovereign, eternal, all powerful, all present, gracious, complete, all wise, all knowing, all caring, all encompassing, and any other good thing you can say. He is worthy to be glorified, and He alone. With that in mind, lets consider some thoughts. I. Our every motive should be to glorify God. A. Perhaps you think that statement is directed only to the saved. It is not. 1. Lost people should also know that their every motive should be dedicated to this holy and perfect God. 2. God is the Creator of the saved and the lost. 3. God is the Sustainer of the saved and the lost. 4. God is the Provider of the saved and the lost. 5. As a matter of fact, most everything that God does for the saved, He also does for the lost. a. He doesnt forgive them of sin for they are still lost. b. He isnt obligated to answer their prayers. c. But in the realm of practical living, God is good to both the saved and the lost. Matthew 5:45 for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. B. We must all decide what will be our motivation. 1. It is obvious from the fact that lost people are lost that they dont want to live to give God His due glory, else they would be saved. 2. But what about you, O Christian? What is your reason for doing what you do? a. What was your reason for being saved? (1) To escape hell or to bring glory to God? (2) Truth be known, it was probably to escape hell. (3) However, the better motivation would have been to give God the glory. (4) Many Christians that were saved only for the sake of escaping hell never learn how to live godly, fruit- producing lives. (5) Their walk with God, like their salvation, is only self- oriented. b. What is your motivation for working? (1) To purchase things or to give glory the God? (2) While our practical nature tells us we must have money to live, if that is the main reason we work, we will soon get money, possessions, work, and things before God. (3) The correct reason to work is to bring glory to God. c. What is your motivation for ministering? (1) To see souls saved, to help others, or to bring glory to God? (2) Of course we want to see souls saved and to help others, but if that is our only reason, we will soon get off track, attempting to get souls into the kingdom by any means possible. (3) The overriding drive should be to bring glory to God. (4) If our goal in ministry is to glorify God, not only will we glorify God by seeing souls get saved; but we will also see them grow and change to also bring glory to God. d. What is your motivation for living? (1) To have a good time, to be comfortable, to be happy, or to glorify God? (2) If you purposes in life are selfish, it wont be long until you are living in sin, doing the things you do just to please yourself. (3) Our very reason for living is to bring glory to God in our every decision and action. 3. Christian, we must make a decision. a. Why do we do the things we do? b. If the reason is selfish, sooner or later we will not only have the wrong motive, but, because we have the wrong motive, we will also commit the wrong actions! c. What decision will you make? II. Before you decide, consider some things. A. I believe not to give God glory is the greater sin. 1. All of us sin when we do something that is wrong. a. Lying, stealing, lusting, being short tempered, greedy, and selfish are a short list. b. Whenever we do one of these things, we have actually committed two sins. c. The lie is wrong, the lust, the stealingwhatever the sin, it was wrong. 2. But while what we did was wrong, we also robbed God of His glory. a. When we lie, we are doing so for our pleasure and honornot Gods. b. When we steal, we are doing so to add to our staturenot Gods. c. When we lust, we are doing so because it pleases usnot God. d. When we are short tempered, we are so because we deem that our glory has been dishonorednot Gods. e. When we are greedy, we seek to promote ourselvesnot God. f. When we are selfish, we seek to exalt ourselvesnot God. 3. So, whenever we sin, we actually commit two sins. One the wrong act we do and the other the wrong motive for which we do it. 4. Now, understand that of the two, the greater wrong is to steal Gods glory. a. Of course, all sin is wrong. b. But I judge to attempt to dethrone God, to steal Gods glory, to be even a worse wrong than the wrong we commit. c. It puts on us on the same par as what Satan attempted to do when he rebelled against God (Is 14). Isaiah 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. d. The only difference is that in our little world, we actually do dethrone God (and place ourselves upon it). 5. We, a sinful human, have stolen the glory from God and pointed it to ourselves. a. Our actions have proven that we think our thoughts are superior to Gods, our decisions are sounder than Gods, our desires are more important than Gods. b. What our actions say about what we think is worse than what we actually do! B. I believe not to give God glory deprives you of Gods help. 1. \#Judges 7:1-8\ Story of Gideon a. The Midianites had come to attack Israel, and God called Gideon to defeat them. b. Gideon blew the trumpet and 32,000 men of Israel assembled, but they were much smaller in number than the Midianites. c. Even so, God told them they were too many. Judges 7:2 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. (1) Get the reason why they were too many. (2) "lest Israel vaunt themselves saying mine own hand saved me." (3) God did not want them to take His glory. (4) So God had Gideon send the frightened men home. (5) 10,000 men left. d. But God said they were still too many. Judges 7:4 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. (1) God purged out another 21,700 men, leaving only 300. (2) Then God used Gideon and his 300 to defeat the army of the Midianites. (3) When it was all over, no one received glory for the victory except the Lord. e. Question (1) Had Gideon insisted on taking his entire army, would God have defeated the Midianites or would the Midianites have defeated Israel? (2) I believe the Midianites would have defeated Israel. f. Why? Because God will not give His glory to another. 2. Now, at this point, we would say something like, "But preacher, be practical. God doesnt expect us to do everything for His glory." a. No doubt that is what Gideons generals told him. b. "Be practical, Gideon. God doesnt really expect you to send all your army home. He can get just as much glory from a victory with 30,000." c. But being practical was not what God wanted. d. God wanted the glory. 3. Now, ask yourself, have you been deprived of the power of God because of you had the wrong motive? a. Christian, have you asked God to meet your needs while at the same time maintaining a selfish, lavish lifestyle? Instead of getting mad when you lose everything, why not start using your money to glorify God? b. Have you sought a healing while still wanting to keep your sin? Instead of being sick and sinful, why not seek to use your body and life to glorify God? c. Have you asked God to bring back a rebel while refusing to submit yourself to God yourself? C. I believe not to give God glory sets God against you. 1. God said that He would not give His glory unto another \#Is 48:11\. 2. That means that He will not let someone take His glory. 3. How long do you think God will set by and let you do what you want at His glorys expense? a. At first, because of His love and patience, He may let things go. b. But at some point, His righteous anger will be kindled, and He will tear your false throne to the ground with you still sitting on it. c. After all, is hell not made for those who stole Gods glory? d. Christian, do you really think God will let you get by with it? III. How do we glorify God? Psalms 22:23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. A. That verse mentions two things. 1. Fear Him a. Realize that God is God. b. He has all power and we are less than nothing in His hands. c. That is not the light most contemporary theologians want to cast around God. (1) They want to make Him loving, kind, gentle, understanding. (2) He is all of those things (and more) to those who understand Him. (3) But to one who would steal His glory, He is just, powerful, jealous, and filled with indignation. 2. Praise Him. Psalms 86:12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. a. When we praise God, we go from the place of stealing His glory to giving Him glory. b. Put God on the throne of your life, then exalt Him. B. And most importantly, obey Him. 1. Obedience declares with your actions what praise declares with your words. 2. Just like disobeying God is you showing you are first and He is last; so when you obey God, you demonstrate that God is worthy of you being last and Him being first. Now, it is decision time. If you are going to glorify God, do what you know God wants. 1. For some, that means being saved. 2. For others, you must confess your actions and motives as sinful, get off Gods throne, and make some major changes in your life. 3. If you are not going to glorify Him, then be honest with yourself and plainly tell God that you want Him off the throne so that you can rule your own life. What decision will you make?