Confessing Jesus as Lord and Glorifying God B

When you confess Jesus is Lord. That's the beginning when you bend to his Lordship, to the point where you are content to give him glory matter what costs you are aiming your life is you moving toward constant adjustments to speed and altitude and direction with more precision than a human pilot as you think about your life as a Christian you know your goal is to honor God in everything you do. But maybe you since you're flying a bit off course you don't have autopilot you need to make the adjustments. So how do you do that.

What are the basics for flying the course in order to glorify God.

Find out today as John MacArthur continues his look at the fundamentals of Christian living here on grace to you is current study is titled back to basics and I with the lesson here is John if glorifying God is the master key to spiritual growth. What are the other keys that make up that master key. First of all, we glorify God by confessing Jesus as Lord. Secondly, by aiming our lives to obey his Lordship, what does that mean to say that I submitted in obedience to his Lordship to say I am my life at that to say whether right or drink whatever I do it all the going got just exactly what does that mean, let me say it this way and I'll just give you few subpoints right here. First of all, it means that you will give God glory, no matter what the cost. Secondly, if I am my life.

It is glory.

It means that his glory becomes so consuming that I hurt when he is dishonored and this is a very important concept. I can usually tell when someone is aiming their life at the glory of God by how they react to God being dishonored. For example David in Psalm 69, nine looked at the temple, and he looked at the worship of Israel and his heart broke. He said this zeal for thine house has eaten me up. In other words, David said I have such a tremendous love for you and such a tremendous hatred for what dishonors you. I concern myself with your temple and your presence and your worship so that it literally tears me up and in the remainder of the verse. He said this, the reproaches that fall on you fall on me.

In other words, when you're dishonored I hurt say I understand a little bit as a father you hurt my child.

You hurt me you hurt my wife. You hurt me you hurt somebody.

I love you hurt me. I've cried more in my life over things that have happened to other people I care about that.

I never cried about things that happened to me. In fact, it's pretty hard for me to cry about things that happened to me. It's much easier for me to cry with somebody whose heart is broken, for whom I care and that's because I identify with them in love and when you have identified with God the things that break your heart will not be the things that happen to you, but the things it dishonored God and that's the kind of mentality that really is saying I'm so focused on God's glory that what breaks his heart breaks my you live your life that way.

That is, aiming at the glory of God that is focusing on God's glory. Number one, you don't care what it costs and number two, you're consumed with how things affect him.

You know, one of the greatest statements made in the book of Revelation is easily passed over is made in chapter 2, in reference to the church at Ephesus.

It's a little word but it's a very, very important one of the church at Ephesus. It was said, thou canst not bear them that are evil, that was one of the great characteristics of that church.

They couldn't tolerate people that were evil. Why because they knew evil impinged upon the holiness of God and his will on amazed how few Christians understand this. I'm amazed how many Christians are so consuming their own will.

So consumed with her own comfort so absorbed in their own problems that they don't really feel the pain when God is dishonored, they feel it mostly when they are dishonored and that's the wrong focus. But once in a while somebody gets the message and boy is it exciting. I remember a young girl came to California some years ago she came to live with a guy at UCLA who was a student she was not a Christian.

He was not a Christian. Obviously they were just living together. She was a high school girl. After a while he decided to kick her out you come all away from little town in West Virginia and he was tired of her and so like some old half use raggedy just threw her aside.

She wandered around a little bit and try to take her life and had slashed yourself many times in many places on her hands and arms with razor blades and bled and somehow or another always been spared death. We came across this girl had the opportunity leader to Christ will ever forget that time my sister and myself in talking with her and she opened her heart to Christ.

She said my life is changed and I want to go back to my hometown to tell my mother about Christ, and I want to tell my friends about Christ and I want to get everything straightened out of my life and I said to her. I said well is there a church there that you can go to is there somebody that can disciple you she said no. I don't know of a of a church and she said I really don't know any other Christians there, but but I'm gonna go back and I gave her the Bible you know and great fear that I have to leave it up to the Holy Spirit right make sure he could do the job without me. So anyway so anyway we off she went and I prayed for. She wrote me a letter and as I saw the letter I was deeply concerned with what it might say fearful that she had probably wandered away and was writing for some counsel in the midst of a terrible situation but this was what I read. I hope everything is well with you. I really begun to put things together in the Bible by reading the Old Testament. I've been able to see how God deserves much more recognition then he's getting. I can see how I gave people so many chances and how they continue to break his heart by worshiping idols and sinning, God wanted the world to be along to him. God also wanted Israel to sacrifice lambs and goats and oxen, things like that as an atonement to him for sins, he is God.

After all, and he had to have some payment for the terrible sins of man we interject at this point that she didn't have any tapes or study books that I know of. This was just the reading of Scripture.

She says further to think that God actually talked and was in the visible presence of these people and yet they kept on complaining and sinning. Listen, I can almost feel the unbearable sadness that God feels when someone rejects and doesn't glorify him. What an amazing insight for such a new believer is God.

She said he made us he gave us everything we continue to doubt reject him.

It's awful when I think of how I heard him. I hope I can make it up and then she goes on at the end to say I have a soft spot in my heart for God, now I can feel his jealousy when I see people worshiping idols and other gods. It's also clear to me.

God must be glorified.

God must be worship. He deserves it.

It's long overdue and I can't wait to just tell Jesus and thus tell God indirectly that I love him and kissed the ground he walks on because he should be worshiped.

I want God to be God and take his rightful place and I'm tired of the way people keep putting him down. It's amazing isn't it that somebody so new in the faith, understood the whole picture of living, to the glory of God so that you hurt when God is dishonored. Ellis I glorify God by confessing Jesus as Lord. And then I glorify God by bending my will to that Lordship, no matter what it cost me, and so that I feel the pain that God feels there's 1/3 element of the second point that's this you aim your life at the glory of God. Watch this one. When you are content to be outdone by others and on. You can always tell somebody who's really living for the glory of God because their content to be out done by somebody who does exactly what they do better. That's a tough one and somebody said that when Satan fell. He landed in the choir loft.

I don't really know if that's true but you know I wasn't why you get and acquire. Everybody wants to sing solo and when somebody doesn't get to sing the solo than everybody else begins. The complaints I never get to sing the salt are not so concerned about God being glorified their concern about them being heard. Now that's not just true. The choir not just truth. People in the pew. It's also true. People in the pulpit. I remember two pastors having a contest to see you get the most people in Sunday school and the one that lost got sick and threw up in one alludes to another pastor. Jealousy is a factor in the Christian life.

You know why because were more concerned about who gets the credit and that God be glorified when you can rejoice that somebody does something for the Lord better than you do. It then you're aiming it is glory when you can rejoice when somebody can preach better when somebody can teach better when somebody can do whatever you do and do it with a greater blessing for greater response and you're aiming it is glory to give illustration of this that I think is very very wonderful.

It's in Philippians chapter 1 Philippians chapter 1 and this is a tremendous truth illustrated in the life of the wonderful man and we all know and love. The apostle Paul.

Now to get you into the picture. Let me remind you of this. As Paul writes Philippians. It is most likely that he is a prisoner. It was in that kind of a setting that the apostle Paul really was coming to the end of his line.

We need lived all the glory years.

The great adventures through you through the expansion of the church in Asia minor, minor and into Greece and the wonder of preaching in Athens on Mars Hill.

The great accomplishments in Corinth and blessedness of Thessalonica. The tremendous joy of the brands we search the Scriptures. All of the adventures of going back to Jerusalem and traveling again across the Mediterranean.

The ship wrecked the victories and all the things that came into his life. This this man is summing up a great life but he's pretty well on the shelf. I'm in here tremendous influence like no man who who lived at that time in the Gentile world. He was everybody's hero. In fact, when he came to preach a sermon he could preach all night if you want, and they loved guy would fall out of the window and die they just go downstairs raising the dead go back up and preach the rest of the sermon. I remind somebody that one time you noted to Paul preached all night even when people know died. He kept on preaching and they said to me well when you can raise him from the dead, you can keep going to anyway.

Paul was so beloved by everybody that that they listen and when Paul came to town. They braced him when he left town exporting the Ephesian elders fell all over his neck and kissed him, and wept all over because they wouldn't see his face anymore and they loved them so much in autism, you know, living in the world of that kind of acceptance and living in the world of that kind of affection living under that kind of love will be a tremendous experience when it tremendous to be so beloved to be so accepted to everybody building on your sending you love gifts such as even the Philippian city or I was beloved. But you know what was happening. He was getting on the shelf now in a new breed of young preachers was coming behind in man they were capturing the fancy of the people and they had little nuances in new ways they learn all the best of what Paul had an maybe advanced a little bit in technique and you know they were the sharpshooters of the new era and they were moving in behind Paula now calls a prisoner. He can't move his lost his mobility and these guys are attracting the attention of the crowds and the people are beginning to build on them and they forgotten those old fellows that have passed along the apostles and and Paul. Those are memories in life.

I often meet an old man like that. I never meeting a dear old man of God in the Midwest and he was 96 and Mama preach for about 15 years, but he preached from the time his tornado. He was about 81 and he sat in the congregation and listen to me preach with his old Bible and become stricken Steve didn't work too well.

I clicked a lot better with a chewed very good and nobody even knew who he was and he was very obscure and all-black suit and string tie. He had to wonder about all the glory days, and all the great years when he was a shining sword and the usefulness of the Lord will Paul was kind of in the in the shelf, time of his life and would be long for later said in a block unaccented flash and the sun severed from his body would be over for him in this world and along behind them were coming. These young men and as young men are prone to do to find their own place in the sun. They invariably criticized the generation ahead of well you know those old boys didn't really have it. They word up they went with it and they were saying things like, well, you see, Paul's a prisoner because you know the largest kind of gently shelf to me wasn't contemporary I may have blown in his life.

We don't know all the things that went on as a reason the Lord stuck in a way like that. And so Paul says concerning them. In verse 14, and many of the brethren in the Lord. Becoming confident by my bonds are much more boldly speak the word without fear.

Some people you know now that they see I'm a prisoner. They become more bold there said of Paul can be a prisoner for Christ. So can we. He's our model. He's our example another word. Some are still following me some still believe in me and boiler becoming bold, even on a prisoner but some verse 15 preach Christ of envy and strife what you mean, Paul. Well, summer out there preaching Christ. But it's out of envy and I was there envious of what God has done in my life there envious of my reputation there envious of my place in the church there envious of the love that I have and so they create strife in the body over there envy verse 16. They preach Christ contentious sleep, not sincerely, they want to add affliction to my bonds is not enough that I'm a prisoner, but the taken shots at me in their double hurting me.

Can you imagine that.

Can you imagine young men come along taken shots at the at the apostle Paul, I can it's easy for a young man easy to think the sun rises and sets on you and the old generation of faded away, whether they know. That's why God lifts up the hoary heads.

That's why God talks about elders because there is something they know that young men need well learn, they don't have all the answers longer I live the fewer answers I am sure about, and the more I look to the wisdom of the old, but they were preaching Christ and knocking Paul what's his attitude.

I love this verse 18. So what. Notwithstanding every way. I don't care how they preach. Whether it's pretense or truth, Christ is preached, and in that I do rejoice.

Yan will rejoice. In other words, what Paul is saying left. If Christ is preached. Who cares what they say about me that great day. Some people that is a level of spiritual maturity. When you confess Jesus is Lord. That's the beginning when you bend to his Lordship, to the point where you are content to give him glory matter what it costs. When you begin to feel the things that dishonor him. And when you don't mind being dishonored if he is honored, you are aiming your life at his glory, and you are moving toward maturity.

This is what has to begin with a life of obedient submission to Christ can I invite you look with me at first Peter for a moment and maybe we can sum this up in first Peter four and verse 14 first Peter four in verse 14.

Just listen to this great thought and member that Peter is writing to some believers are really going through it. I mean they are being persecuted they are being tried for their faith is tough to endure what their enduring they are suffering they are being confronted by people who want to know answers about what they believe. Verse 14. If you be reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you happy are you related most Christians wouldn't experience that happiness most people if there reproached Stephen for the name of Christ, getting get reactionary retaliatory vengeful can't do that to me. I've seen people on the job be reproached for the name of Christ. I've seen athletes on professional teams be reproached for the name of Christ I that people mock me for the name of Christ, can I say I'm happy, I'm happy, but it's what Peter said you should be happy it's a special blessing that means Christ is visible enough for you to be reproached for him.

Luckily set for the spirit of glory and of God rests on you. In other words, if you are so living your life in obedience to his will that the world can't tolerate that kind of living, then, believe it, the spirit of glory is evident in your lot. You are obviously living, to the glory of God is not great enough, the world can take you and you just flow with the system run, aiming at his glory. You're not progressing on their part. Verse 14 Christ is evil spoken or put on your part is what glorified you know he says when you reproached they may speak evil that's their view is view is.

He is being glorified and you know something that's nowhere better illustrated than in the cross while it looked like hell was having a carnival and Jesus was bleeding and they were mocking and spitting and reproaching God was being glorified. Jesus himself prayed. Father, glorify me, and he was anticipating the cross as a part of that glory. In John 13. He said I'll be glorified and he was pointing to the cross.

But verse 15 sentence. This is important. First Peter 415 but let none of you suffer as a murderer or as a thief or as an evildoer or as a busybody. Good grief, how to busybody get in there with a murderer is even an evildoer, but what he saying is lucky if you go to suffer. Verse 16 suffer as a Christian, let it not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf. You want to be glad to suffer along with him to bear the reproach of Christ people us. It's that simple and I just boiled down as we close.

If I want to grow spiritually. If I don't want to grow spiritually is a good question whether I'm really saved because I think one of the characteristics of life is that it reproduces it matures, it progresses. If I have confess Jesus is Lord and I'm redeemed on born again I'm alive spiritually.

Now I want to grow beyond that point.

Then I aim my life at that growth. I focused on that growth from the viewpoint not of how my going to grow but how is God to be glorified and as I am content to be outdone by others as long as he's glorified as I am content to bear his own anxieties and reproaches as I am content to suffer no matter what the cost.

I will be living to his glory and the sum of what it means. Here is very simple. What it means is you're gonna run head-on into the system. You cannot grow spiritually and be comfortable in the world Now. By this I don't mean you gotta be some kind of obtuse character that can't fit into any I don't mean by that. You've gotta be less than charming.

I don't mean you gotta be obnoxious. What I mean is that if you live a Christ like life you will bear the reproach of Christ. Ellis we live in a day when everybody wants to make Christianity easy.

The Bible always wants to make it hard. We live in a day when everybody wants to make Christians lovable.

God wants to make Christians approachable. Why because they are confronted because they cross the system.

They fight the system antagonize the system to see Christianity must be so distinct that it points out sin before it can bring about a remedy. That's why we don't want cheap grace, easy believe is love Jesus and you're okay want to confront an evil, there's a reproach to bear.

One writer said it beautifully and I closed our study with this. He said let my candle go out if in that the sun of righteousness may rise with healing in his being and this is grace to you with John MacArthur. Thanks for being with us. Today's lesson is part of John's current series on the fundamentals of Christian living. He calls it back to basics, John for a couple of days now we been talking about confessing Jesus as Lord and glorified God and were coming up on the Christmas season which presents all kinds of wonderful opportunities to do that to share Christ with our neighbors to glorify God.

We also provide lots of resources that will help people who may be a bit afraid to broach that topic with their neighbors. Yeah, I think equipping believers to be effective in evangelism basically as part of the ministry of grace to you. If not, the heart of this ministry and this is the time a year. When you start thinking about gifts and would like to suggest that some of our resources would make a tremendous impact on people's lives of first of all this is in demand. Every Christmas, so the MacArthur study Bible that is the text of the Bible, new American Standard new King James ESV along with the text of the Bible 25,000 footnotes that dive put together to basically explain every passage in the Bible and a whole lot of other helps within the covers of the MacArthur study Bible. We have all kinds of covers available even a premium beautiful goatskin cover addition of the MacArthur study Bible. This is really the gift of a lifetime for the one volume library and along with that it's important to read the Bible regularly on a daily basis and one of the popular resources we've had for many years is the MacArthur daily Bible the whole Bible, and 365 daily readings each day.

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