How to Bring Glory to God in the New Year

Everybody Greg Laurie here.

You're listening to the glory podcast and my objective is to deliver hopefully compelling practical insights and faith culture and current events. From a biblical perspective to find out more about our ministry. Just go to our website harvest.org so thanks for joining me for this podcast. Why do I exist. Why am I here in the third answer I'm here on earth to bring glory to God. I'm not here to pursue pleasure.

I'm here to pursue God. The purpose of the universe is God's glory. Not my personal happiness. This comes as a surprise to some who think the world should revolve around them.

They want to rule their own little private universe. They want to be the main character in their novel within suffering and pain interrupts their plans and they don't know why Randy Alcorn writes and I quote, we come to see the purpose of the universe is God's long-term glory rather than our short-term happiness, then we will undergo a critical paradigm shift in tackling the problem of suffering."

That's a good point. The purpose of the universe is God's long-term glory, not my short-term happiness is a bottom line when you seek to fulfill the purpose you were created for. Which is to know glorify and worship God, you will find the happiness you been seeking and lowering God from seeking happiness from seeking God. The Bible says happy are the people whose God is the Lord. Psalm 16 says in his presence there is fullness of joy and on his right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Yes, God created you for his glory. Isaiah 43, seven says God speaking.

Everyone was called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed in May. Ephesians 111 says God shows us from the beginning for all things happen just as he decided long ago. God's purpose was that we were the first to trust in Christ should praise our glorious God say say what I don't understand what that means and I mean that I have to be innately owed 24 hour worship service, no singing songs to God is not the only way we worship. Let me put it another way, it's entirely possible to sing songs to God and not worship at all.

Worship is not just about singing it's about the movement of the heart to the Lord when I could, I could sing song from the sound of music in and be about as close to God as some Christians are when they sing praise songs because there's no thought of God whatsoever. But if I'm really worshiping the Lord because what is worship really will be saying it's prayer set the song when I'm worshiping the Lord. That's one way to glorify him, but there's many other ways to glorify God that been told over and first Corinthians 619 that you know your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, you were bought with the products therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's first Corinthians 1034 one says whatever you do, do it for the glory of God is and whatever you do in life. Glorify God with the academics, sports, business, music, you name it to LeBlanc care. Let me put it another way, if you can't write how would be thy name over what you're doing and don't do it anymore. So as we go into the new year. I should say my glorifying God and the work that I do my glorifying God and the free time that I have my glorifying God and the friends that I choose to hang out with my glorifying God with my time. My glorifying God with my money. My glorifying God with my existence, because that's what I've been put here on this earth.

One of my favorite films of all time is Pee-wee's big adventure noticing this on to see if you're listening Nona my favorite films as chariots of fire, the great story and I don't want to get into what it's all about, but it features the character of Eric little, who was Christian lived in Scotland and he competed in the Olympics. It was a great runner. As I said a committed believer and ultimately winning the missionary work, but this movie is a story of his life contrasted with another runner and others is seen in the film were Eric sister Jenny has sort of chiding him because she feels he's wasting this time racing seat. She feels he should be out of the mission field doing this work instead of running in these races and so forth and so she tells him that he isn't doing what God made them for and there's a scene in the film were Eric Scott S response in all try to do my best Scottish accent. He says I Jenny I know, but he is I'll start over can be really nothing okay.

She reminds Eric that God meet him for himself. This is Eric. You were made for God.

He says I Jenny I know, but he also made me and when I run. I feel his pleasure. That was really bad.

I never listen. Don't miss what he was saying don't suffer that okay that's it like that. Next week my whole message Scottish accent. I tend to be getting worse.

The supplement had he says when I run. I feel his pleasure. You know when you're doing that thing that God made you to do. You can feel his pleasure came to his call.

Finding the sweet spot.

If you play tennis, you know, there's a sweet spot in a racket and if you hit the sweet spot because you maximum impact on the ball and we have a sweet spot in life don't wake work when you do this one thing for God's glory.

This element I feel is leisure doing this because you are wired to do that thing. That's why you're here are all here to do that so I think that we should all consider how well we are fulfilling our purpose here on earth because our belief in the afterlife to them form our choices in the before life. What does it mean to be heavenly minded. Okay, let's go back now to Colossians 3 that we already alluded to, but I want to read the next verse.

It because now we go from, I don't want to see the sublime to the practical. But in a way that sums it up. This is all practicable and when you get down to it, but really what it does is it shows as our belief in the afterlife of Texas and the before life. Colossians 3 verse five.

Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth, fornication, and clean his passion, evil desire, covetousness which is idolatry.

Because of these things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience in which you yourself once walked when you lived in them.

Now you yourselves put these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth goal, I want to another, since you put off the old man with his deeds in a put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge. Much of the notice. Paul starts with the word therefore whenever you see the word therefore find out what it's therefore Paul's drawing on what he is already said what are the say hey set your mind on things above. Think Kevin pursue heaven.

Now, in light of this, don't pursue these other things and he identifies three sins that keep us earthbound.

If you will 363 sins that keep us from being heavenly minded number one sexual sin keeps us earthbound. Paul mentions the word fornication verse five from the root word Cornelia this speaks of sexual immorality in general.

This isn't just a person who is sexually immoral, but it's a person who fills the mind with this stuff you might find yourself in the fact that you don't want to do those things like never been unfaithful to my spouse or I didn't have sex before marriage will great fantastic, but you fill your minds with pornography, do you fill your minds in your lives with all this sexual stuff and fantasize about it all the time I Jesus told us it would look at a woman to lust after her. It's like committing adultery with her, so policy don't let sex control your life. In this way. Number two.

Idolatry keeps us earthbound idolatry. He says covetousness which is idolatry. You know, a lot of us don't even know it. Cover the made the top 10 for the 10 Commandments thou shall not covet believe that with all my heart. You shall not covet what is it me the covet I am annoyed about who should not do it for the Bible find for us to work, covet, come from to root words to have and more.

Basically they have more it's a person always wants more.

The coverages person is never satisfied with what they have. What would someone else had that make sense and then when they get it they don't want it anymore.

It's a thrill of the hunt. Hebrews 13 five says it let your light be without covetousness, be content with such things as you have, for he has said I will never leave you or forsake you contentment does not come from what you have it come from who you know and if you like David can say the Lord is my shepherd, you will also be able to say I shall not want your contentment is in your relationship with God, let me turn this around the sun always bad to want more. This coming year. I encourage you want more more of Jesus. More opportunities to glorify God more spiritual fruit more not enough. You want more. That's a good thing. Finally, number three, anger, meanness, and slandering others keeps us earthbound anger, meanness, and slandering others keeps us earthbound verse eight anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language.

Keep it out of your mouth. The word anger for exhibits settled on habitual anger with the thought of revenge. We all get angry at times were not human. If we don't that some of this is talking about all that made me angry. This is a settled anger. This is a person that says I don't get mad and get even so, are you feeling for this limitation. This is speaking of a person that has that deep-seated anger and it also speaks of a person that flies off the handle. Here's an interesting twist that you might not know from reading this translation work blasphemy as you think I don't blessing God actually in context and the original were that she was is not speaking a blossoming God is speaking of blaspheming or speaking ill of others is called gossip. By the way our culture trades and gossip. There are websites dedicated to the latest gossip. We ^ we tweeted we tested. We email it. We posted on our Facebook page is a truth I don't know what it's Josie's fine unless you're the person that's been gossiped about unless you're the person being lied about Gavin acronym for you in this coming year and acronym that you can use as a grid to run things through. When you hear something about someone else before your repeated think of this acronym. Think THINKT stands for. Is it truthful eight stands for. Is it helpful. I stand for. Is it inspiring and stand for as a necessary case stands for. Is it causing before you repeat that information. Are you sure this is true as an enemy helpful signal inspired someone. Is it really necessary and isn't time my responsible.

Greg five by that acronym to my life. I wouldn't say anything.

Amen.

Do us all a favor and shut up.

If you're spreading that kind of information the best way to turn away from one thing to find something better is one old minister put it, it's the explosive power of a new affection. I love that phrase, the explosive power of the new affection coming back to kids you want to get a kid to let go of something he had something but what about this and then you know you get that other thing other hand, like the hammer or whatever you really start thinking more about and seeking heaven, which is to say, putting the Lord first scenario every area from the font to think of the friends you choose to.

The way you use your time. It will transform you listen you are a child of God of your Christian and then Meijer's citizen of heaven, it's time to start acting like one wife because light comes and goes so quickly before you know it you'll be standing before God. But here's the good news. If we have that explosive power of a new affection.

If we put God first in our life will look very fulfilling lives are on earth CS Lewis said and I quote, amen.

Heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Amen earth you will get neither." Not a great statement. I'm thinking of the Lord of focusing on the Lord and I end up living a full building life and the life comes to an end and I gonna tell you something all the help solutions are not going to extend your life one day you can eat your free range chicken and your organic vegetables and all the tofu. Your heart desires and you live as long as God want to live this here point to be of your birth. He appoints the date of your death.

Then comes eternity and then what happens. Listen heaven is not the default destination of every person.

Heaven is the destination of the person who has their ticket alluded to earlier so we meanness ticket. I'm talking about you of your reservation. You know you're going there. You put your faith in Christ that your insured, you will go to heaven when you die, how to get this ticket you might assess how much will it cost think you can afford it, all the good works all the religiosity all the rituals will get you this ticket.

This is a blood bought ticket but with the blood of Christ as he hung them across, and died in our place, and rose again from the dead, but you know what he loves to get this ticket out. He loves to extend his forgiveness so he's holding that back is in him and I want you to take this ticket is your right about somebody or just want a lottery ticket worth a lot of money was his lien under a pile of leaks. I don't know if the person that I don't want this. And I'm not advocating buying lottery tickets.

It's just an illustration from the biggest waste of your money to buy lottery tickets but that's another story for another day.

I'll do it in a Scottish accent. I promise. But on but here's something of great value discarded under a pile of leaves and that's how the gospel is for many people there.

It is the greatest offer of all the turning going at Woodson Terrace on the fun latte.

What light comes due and then you realize that the most important thing of all. Jesus died on the cross he rose again from the dead, he stands now, the door of your life and if you hear his voice and open the door he will come in everybody Greg Laurie here. Thanks for listening to our podcast and the learn more about harvest ministries. Please subscribe and consider supporting this show.

Just go to harvest.org and by the way, if you want to find out how to come into a personal relationship with God. Go to know God.org that's key NOW GLD.org