From Glory to Glory, Part 2 B

What God wants.

First of all is attitude food and then action food.

Listen to this little thought. If you have action food in your life without attitude through that's hypocrisy you just doing things on the outside don't come from the heart. God wants as you walk in the spirit spirit produces attitude food attitude through the resulting actions I glorify God, there's really not a more important question to ask yourself in any situation. So how can you be confident your truly honoring the Lord, not just when you're praying or telling others about Christ. But when you're driving the kids to school or heading off to work. John MacArthur provides biblical answers today on grace to you as he continues his practical series, simply titled how to live for God's glory and out. Here's John with the lesson we were saved to bring glory to the Lord. There are some very practical ways in which we accomplish that by his power, we glorify the Lord by aiming our life at that purpose. First Corinthians 1031 says whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do all to the glory of God. And then secondly, we glorify God by confessing sin when we confess our sin take responsibility for our evil, our wickedness are violation of God's law are disobedience when we take responsibility for that.

And God chastens us then he appears rightly to be just and holy do what is to be done for a holy God should indeed have a holy reaction against sin and if he chooses not to chasten but to be gracious. Then he receives glory for being gracious to one who is so utterly unworthy. Let's move to another point we glorify God by trusting him.

Faith glorifies God to give you 1/4 principle we glorify God by fruitfulness. What we talking about what you mean fruit two kinds of fruit action fruit and attitude fruit action fruit is what you do righteous deeds behind action food. There is attitude fruit and what is that fruit of the spirit, love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control where you see a life filled with love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control. There is evidence that God is there. If I say Christ lives in me and my life is without love without joy without tranquility, then who's going to believe that my God is a transforming God right okay got is a need that kind of press that's what he got from Israel, and the result was they blasphemed his name what God wants. First of all is attitude fruit and then action fruit. Listen to this little thought. If you have action fruit in your life without attitude fruit. That's hypocrisy you just doing things on the outside don't come from the heart what God wants. As you walk in the spirit spirit produces attitude fruit attitude fruit resulting action fruit and when your life is characterized with much fruit. And God is glorified you know people like that, whose lives are godly look at their life and you honor Christ for what he's doing in their life. You can see Christ in them. You can see God and so we call a godly person number five in our littlest, we glorify God we move from one level of glory to the next by praising him by praising him and this is a very simple but very important and basic concept praise is fitting. Scripture says it is a noble expression on the part of every Christian. We should be engaged in an NRF were faithful to the Lord at all times listen to what it says in Psalm 50 verse 23, quoted from the old authorize because I think it's such a clear quote whoever offers praise glorifies me. Whoever offers praise glorifies me simple principle. That's true worship when you offer God praise your glorifying him you're honoring him glorify needs to honor, to show respect to lift up to exalt in Psalm 86 we read in verse nine.

All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before the old Lord and they shall glorify thy name. It's a form of worship. They'll worship by glorifying your name, verse 12.

I will give thanks to the old Lord my God with all my heart and will glorify thy name forever. It's a matter of worship. It's a matter of giving thanks that sprays that's glorifying to God.

In Psalm 92 just at the very beginning of that Psalm.

The first two verses, we hear an echo of similar things. It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to thy name almost tie to declare thy lovingkindness in the morning and I faithfulness by night. That's just part of glorifying God. Every time you praise God, thank God exalt him, glorify him. You are doing what pleases God. In fact, remember to win John for how the father has sought true worshipers who would worship him in spirit and in truth, the part of that. Of course, is lifting him up and giving him glory as psalmist says in Psalm 95. Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. We need to bow we need to praise we need to worship. We come together on the Lord say to do just that, to offer our praise and to offer our worship to our worthy Lord are worthy God first Chronicles chapter 16 sing to the Lord, all the earth proclaim good tidings of his salvation from day to day tell of his glory among the nations ascribed to the Lord all families of the people described to the Lord glory and strength ascribed to the Lord the glory due his name that's praise. Now we just give it to very simple phrase has three components, three simple components number one reciting God's wonderful works reciting God's wonderful works that's praising just the litany of what God has done. It's a sort of like a back it did in the third chapter of that little prophecy were in the midst of his trouble.

Nothing really changes circumstantially, but he just starts to remember what God is done. He just starts to look back and recite all of the incredibly mighty delivering acts that God achieved and accomplished, and here he is in the midst of this little time of fear and anxiety. And he starts to say things like, God comes from team and in the holy one from Mount Karen and is reaching back and remembering some of the historic events. His splendor covers the heavens and the earth is full of his praise. His radiance is like the sunlight he has raised flashing from his hand and there is hiding of his power before and goes pestilence and plague comes after him.

He stood and surveyed the earth. He looked and startled the nations. Yet the perpetual mountains were shattered the ancient hills collapsed, his ways are everlasting. I saw the tents of Koosh and under distress. The tent curtains in the land of Midian were trembling.

He talks about the Lord raging against the rivers and and against the sea and he talks about the Lord riding on thy horses on by chariots of salvation. The boat was made to bear the rods of chastisement were sworn that its cleave the earth with the rivers.

The mountains saw the and quaked and he goes on with all the stuff that God is done from creative history right on when it's all done and is recited all this litany of God's achievements. He says this though the fig tree shall not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive shall fail in the fields produce no food of the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no cattle in the stalls.

In other words, though everything in the world goes haywire. Everything in the earth goes wrong, though.

Everything you can count on everything that's dependable everything that's fixed stops yet. I will exult in the Lord. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord is my strength and he is made my feet like Hines were goats feet and makes me walk on my high places I can tread the precipices with the same security and safety is a mountain goat matter how dangerous the times because I trust my God of everything in the world goes awry. I will trust in why because in reciting the history of what God is done in the past. He remembers the tremendous power and deliverance of God. That's the benefit of praise when you begin to recite everything that God is not your problem seems fairly small. Secondly, you not only in praising God recite his work to recite his attributes and you see this in the Psalms. You see this in the prophets, the recitation of God's attributes Psalm 46 Psalm 66 Psalm 90 Psalm 96 many other places you just begin to run down the record of all of God's great attributes sure you are in the middle of your little problem and you remember that God is absolutely powerful that God is omniscient and omnipresent and impotent that God is immutable never changes that God is all wise, perfectly just, holy, righteous, you just call down those attributes.

He is gracious he is filled with loving kindness, his mercy reaches higher than the heavens, and you begin to go through all of these things are true about God and as you recite all of that, it changes your focus changes how you view life, you will begin to trust God in a greater way praising God has a tremendous building benefit to the one who does it. So we recite God's wonderful works. We recite his attributes in the third component is we say thanks for both. We say thanks for both having a thankful heart is a sin not to be thankful is net it is.

It is a sin to be on grateful to God and I think that I always remembered I hadn't planned to say anything about about always remember that amazing account in the 17th chapter of Luke where Jesus healed those 10 lepers. They were all crying. Jesus master, have mercy on us in verse 14 he saw them, he said of them go and show yourself to the priest and it came about that, as it were going. There were plans now. One of them, not 10 987. Just one when he had saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice how to glorify God, he fell on his face at Jesus feet and gave him thanks. And Jesus said, were there not 10 cleansed where the nine was no one found it turned back to give glory to God except this foreigner he was a Samaritan. He said rise and go your way, your faith has saved you 10 were healed. One was saved came back and said thanks. How sharper than a serpent's tooth is an ungrateful child. Certainly an ungrateful child of God is Joab. When he fought against Ray Boston for the king that he might carry away the crown of victory. So the Christian when he wins any battle, since for Christ that he may wear the victor's crown gives him all the praise and all the glory as the silkworm when she weaves her wonderful work hides her self under the silken is never seen.

So when we have done anything praiseworthy. We give the praise to God that's living to the glory of God. We glorify him. When we recite his record of deeds in his attributes, and thank him for both know if this is a way of life for you.

If this is a pattern of living for you going to have a dramatic effect on how you view your circumstances and how you handle your trials no matter how severe they are.

Number six, we glorify God by prayer glorify God by prayer John 14 one of the most wonderful sections in Scripture because it is the legacy of Jesus given to those who belong to him just before he left and I want you to know that in this particular section. The disciples were greatly distressed because Jesus was leaving and they were frightened about that realization. Where would they turn when he wasn't there he had given them food and they needed food.

He had to calm the storm and I needed the storm to become it provided safety when needed. Safety truths in their ignorance you give them everything and now I was leaving and he said don't worry about it. John 14 verse 13 because whatever you ask in my name, that will I do.

Just because I'm not here physically doesn't mean I'm not here just because I'm not around to do what you need done doesn't mean it won't get done whatever you ask in my name, I'll do it.

Why, in order that the father may be what glorified in the son. You know why the Lord answered for you so you give us what we want no so well to give us what we need no no that superficial but that's just the beginning.

The real reason that he answers prayers to put himself on display answers prayer you so you can glorify when you pray for someone to be saved and you've prayed long and passionately.

Maybe for years and God awakens that dead heart and that person embraces Jesus Christ. Your first response is to cry out to God with gratitude is thanking so you glorify when you're in a situation where your resources are limited and you don't know where you gonna turn in the Lord wonderfully and graciously provides for you, your immediate response. Having prayed for his provision is to thank him and praise him for what he is made available to see the person doesn't pray, isn't necessarily going to be destitute.

God is still gracious.

The person who doesn't pray may have everything he needs the just won't praise God for giving it to. He just won't understand that this is all from the Lord. He's just really not a part of that process.

I mean imagine you go to a Bible study and somebody gets up and says I want to tell you that the Robert so-and-so was saved and you hear somebody say all thanked the Lord how wonderful always in God wonderful is in a good and you know that person have been praying for that individual while another person who sat there and listen to the person say Robert so-and-so was saved.

The sky looks around and wonders whether refreshments are white because are not involved in the prayer process. So God didn't put himself on display in their life, because he never given the opportunity to do that because they were part of the petitioning prayer is really designed so that when God acts you are going to know he acted. That's why we're not fatalistic even though we believe in a sovereign God who will work his own purposes. The reason we pray is not so we can change God's mind about what is going to do, but so that we can give him glory. When he does it because we're involved in that process. When you pray in my name, based upon my merit in union with my person and my purpose and for my glory. I'll do it. God will put his glory on display. He'll put his power on display. Remember years ago is got here in our church used to make the prayer requests and write them in a notebook. He came to me one Sunday and he said that like to know Pastor if you have any prayer requests and I like to pray for for five things and took out his little spiral notebook and I mentioned the many wrote them down wrote them down the road to date in the left-hand column that day. They were written in his little book. Then it was a few weeks later he came back to me with same little book more things written in a noun. He said I'd like to just check off those requests have been praying for you. Tell me how they all worked out. I gave him a series of answers and erodible date in the right-hand column with a little note about what the Lord had done and I asked him I said hello you been doing as he said this is book 19 now there was a man who it seemed God disclaims. I mean if you said to him as God ever really shown himself powerful in your life you say yes. Would you like to see my shelf and to start filing through see if you're not engaged in that kind of petition then you're not engage in that kind of experience of seeing the power of God manifest prayer glorifies God because it puts them on display. Then you glorify him in response to that display well so many other things could be said to mention one more we glorify God by bringing others to Christ we glorify God by bringing others to Christ.

Look at second Corinthians 415 and by the way, there are many others that are specifically stated as means of glorifying God. We don't have time for second 20 in chapter 4 verse 15, Paul again here defending the legitimacy and integrity of his apostleship among the Corinthians, because it's under assault by the false teachers says for all things are for your sakes.

If you think I'm in this for myself.

You're wrong and that's exactly what the recusing of him of you think I'm in it for the money or power, prestige, or some kind of favors wrong. Everything I do is for your six. All things are for your sakes will want what is it do you want in order that the grace saving grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound of the glory of God.

Now there are perhaps a number of facets to what he saying been reported as simply as I can.

He is saying everything I do is to provide an opportunity for saving grace to spread to more and more people so there will be more and more people glorifying God. Paul is saying. I do what I do in order to add one more voice to the hallelujah chorus every time you lead someone to Christ and other voices singing hallelujah another is praising and glorifying God. I can glorify the Lord of my own life I can lead someone else to Christ by God's grace and that means to her glorifying him. We continue to do that through life and we multiply the hallelujah chorus. So the apostle Paul says you glorify the Lord.

When you spread the message of saving grace in God in his mercy saves and more and more people will express their thanks to God's glory. Now, in fact, that has to be the most potent way to glorify God because it's a multiplication it gets beyond me to someone else and doubles the potential of glorifying him as you think about how you use your life. Keep this in mind that everything you do in the end should be so that the grace of God which saves could spread to more and more people so more more people will be able to glorify him and God is most glorified in the salvation of the soul because that really puts his power on display so we all, with an unveiled face the obscurity removed. Looking at the glory of the Lord shining to us in the face of Jesus Christ through the pages of holy Scripture.

Seeing that blazing glory, moving from one level of glory to the next and being changed into the very image of Christ by the Holy Spirit. This is fitting.

Lord wants glory in his church wants to reveal and manifest his glory and his church, even as he did on the face of Moses. Let's close with a couple of Scriptures Ephesians 321 a benediction. To him be the glory in the church for what a mandate he wants glory from his church. To him be the glory in the church, even in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever and we all ought to say amen to that. In Philippians 420 now to our God and father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Father, we thank you for the reminder again to this foundational principle of Christian living. To give you glory and there are many things we did not say we glorify you by our unity glorify you by our obedience glorify you by our moral purity bother in every way possible you want to live your glory. We want to reflect the glory of Christ and be transformed into his image by the Holy Spirit. This is our prayer. This is our desire old to be like the dear Jesus, my plea just to know thou art form fully in me that's our prayer we pray that you will fulfill it in us by your spirit.

Christ. This is grace to you with John MacArthur, Chancellor of the Masters University in seminary. John has titled our current series how to live for God's glory. John as you talk about specific ways to glorify God I can't think of anything more significant or more eternally valuable than giving the gospel and bringing other people to Christ. And so with that in mind, can you give our listeners some practical encouragement. Talk about how you typically would start a gospel conversation with someone what you say and is there anything that you're careful not to say I don't have a formula for that. If you look at the New Testament and you follow Christ as he you know, gave the message of salvation. There never two occasions where he approach that the same way so you have certified the entry point in the same would be true in the apostles in the book of acts they they sometimes would start with the Old Testament when they're doing the Jews, though they would start with the creation narrative if they were dealing with Gentiles, but in every setting that you have in the New Testament where there is actually a evangelism or even evangelistic preaching.

There seems to be a different entry point, but it doesn't take long to get through that sort of entry point to the real issues and whatever it is that prompts the conversation.

Maybe you say to someone, do you have issues in your life that you would disturb your stress you if you recognize somebody's depressed or struggling. How can I help you to better understand solution for that, or if you say to someone, do you feel guilty, do you feel fearful you feel anxious about the future. Are you on fulfilled and satisfied. Why do you think that is I think of a person is sick and near death you start.

Are you ready to face death. Do you understand the reality of that eternal future that you're facing squarely in the eyes so I think it depends on what it is but but as soon as you can. You get to the issue of sin, and I think you know that's exactly what the apostle Paul did in the book of acts. He spoke remember to Felix of sin and righteousness and judgment.

Those I think are the three components of an effective evangelistic approach, the verdict will be rendered based on whether you're still in the category of those who are under the power of sin or whether you're in the category of those who have received the imputed righteousness of Christ granted to them by faith in him. So the conversation can follow a lot of pathways but I think if you kinda work with the idea of sin that deals with the sinner and all that is involved there righteousness that deals with God and his word and his law and you come finally to judgment and sinners will be judged a certain way and the righteous will be judged a different way you've covered the ground.

Thank you, John, and friend. Let me remind you that John has written a book on evangelism called nothing but the truth examines foundational truths about your salvation with an eye toward equipping you to bring others to Jesus Christ to help cement in your mind the essentials of the gospel pick up John's book nothing but the truth when you contact us today. Call our toll-free number 855 grace or go to GT Y.org this book is great to review with a small group or to put in a friend's hands or just a study on your own so that you can be ready to share the gospel. Whenever you have the opportunity the title again nothing but the truth to order, call 855 grace or go online to GT Y.org and while your online picture you tap into the thousands of Bible related resources that we have available free of charge. You can read articles on a wide range of issues at the grace to you blog you can catch episodes of this broadcasting you may have missed or you can download and listen to any of John's 3500 sermons free of charge a web address again. GT Y.org and to keep you up-to-date on the latest news and resources from grace do you make sure you follow us on social media.

You'll find us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube now for John MacArthur. I'm Phil Johnson inviting you back for our next broadcast when John answers practical questions about how to live the Christian life. Don't miss that helpful Q&A. It's 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on grace to you