Scripture: Isaiah 26:12-14, Luke 9:23-26, John 5:41-44, John 8:54-56
So far, you may have noticed that Wesley’s tract
“The Character of a Methodist” is
actually about our relationship with Almighty God. But unlike our human relationships, the qualities
of this one have already been established.
For when we come to Christ in faith, it must be through the example that
Jesus has set for us. Jesus, the mortal
man, was constantly seeking the word and will of His Father, and never took the
position that, just once, He wanted to give His way a try instead the Father’s!
And the character trait that we will consider today
is all about who will get the glory for the faithful life that we live. Jesus was very intentional in giving the
Father His honor and obedience in every step He took. In John 8:50,
He tells the Pharisees “I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is
one who seeks it, and he is the judge.”
When we show honor and respect to the LORD, He receives it, but then
passes it on to the Father. So, while we
still glorify Christ, it doesn’t end there – God in His entirety, will be
praised and honored by our words and deeds.
But for today, we will consider what glorifying God
is all about, and what Wesley intended for Methodists when he wrote “By
consequence, whatsoever he doth, it is all to the glory of God. In all his employments of every kind, he not
only aims at this, but actually attains it.”
Read Isaiah 26:12-14
The Prophet speaks on behalf
of the people, and proclaims that even though there have been other authorities
and gods in their lives (or “lords”), they only consider their Jehovah God as
being worthy to be honored and praised.
This statement is not only important as a matter of fact and commitment
to the one true God, but in regards to other gods that they may have been
giving allegiance to, it is a confession of sin.
Acknowledging God as the only
one worthy of praise, is a marvelous means of glorifying His Holy Name. It’s a statement of faith and trust in who
God truly is, and who deserves our love.
The Prophet continues with the acknowledgment that all other rulers and
gods are representative of death, and without saying so, that the True God is
all about life and His authority over the existence and memory of all the rest
who may demand our praise!
Almighty God certainly
deserves our best for not only what He has already done for us, but for His
certain promise of what He will do for us in our life with Him, and for what
His life will come to mean on that Day of Christ’s Judgment.
Read Luke 9:23-26
Jesus is making a point of
what it means to be a disciple of His.
He says that there are 5 issues that we must be prepared to live with. First, we must seek Him; second, we must set
Him first in our life, and reject everything about ourself; third, we are to
shoulder our own cross each and every day; fourth, carry it as we follow in the
way of Jesus; and fifth, if we cherish the life we now live instead of the one
Jesus offers, it will be the only life we will ever know, but if we surrender
dependence on this life, and claim all that a life in Christ can bring, life eternal
will become ours.
This passage is nothing less
than a call to see the way of Jesus Christ as the only Road to Glory. For many, the challenge is in the
surrendering of everything that they have ever seen as joyful and pleasurable and
rewarding, in favor of the unknown. The
problem is that the way of Jesus should never be seen as an unknown – everything
we need to know has been given to us through scripture and the work of the Holy
Spirit, and it’s the way of earth that actually hides in the fog of time.
So what will it be? Give God the glory now, and receive the
fullness of His blessing on the day of Christ’s return, or look to the glory of
this life, and miss out on all that God will give in His time?
Read John 5:41-44
This passage opens with Jesus
proclaiming that He has no desire for our praise and honor. But please don’t think that He is rejecting
the love and thanksgiving that we may be showing to Him – He is simply saying
that He seeks and keeps none for Himself - that it all belongs to the
Father!
And He continues with the
explanation – that acceptance of Him and love for the message He has been sent
to share in this sphere, is the only way that we can ever show our love to the
Father. This is a condemnation of those
who claim to love God, even while they reject the Son! They give honor and acceptance to others, while
disgracing the glory that Almighty God should be receiving, and they continue
to think that they are on the right track with the LORD,
and that it’s the faithful in Jesus who are the liars!
Those who reject the word and
way of Jesus are also rejecting the glory that God is prepared to pour out upon
all who believe! One day, glory – God’s
glory – will come to all who give Him the glory today, but when we seek and
claim the glory that others offer, we had better enjoy it now because that is
all we will ever receive!
Read John 8:54-56
Even Jesus looks to the Father as the source of all
glory! Imagine – the Son of God will
never justify or demand the glory that is rightfully His, but instead simply
obeys all that His Father asks of Him, and humbly accepts whatever is granted
Him from heaven. He not only knows where
glory comes from, but He also knows the one who sends it!
And if those who refuse to accept the fullness of
Christ’s message and promise, and yet claim that they follow the way of
God, Jesus tells them that they are nothing short of liars! Now, I’m not sure about you, but I wouldn’t
be all that comfortable if the LORD God Savior of my life accused me of lying every
time that I say “I love God”!
And then, Jesus lifts up the name of Abraham – the
one who the Jews had always seen as their connection and advocate to Jehovah
God – and says that he is one who testified first to the authority and
worthiness of Jesus!
Abraham is the one who God blessed; Abraham is the
one who God turned the offered blessings into a covenant (Genesis 17:3-8); it was Abraham’s lineage that established
them as the people of God; it was Abraham who talked with God and believed in
all that he was told; it was Abraham who truly knew God, and the Pharisees, who
trusted Abraham and believed in Moses, are the ones who rejected the Promise of
God in Christ Jesus. (Hebrews 11:8-13).
Do we truly give God the glory for all that we
have? Is our honor and praise even close
to sufficient to thank the LORD for all that He has done for us, and for the
promises that He continues to keep that bless us each and every day? Do we give God the credit for the victories
and joys of this life, or do we try to keep some of that honor for
ourselves?
John Wesley wrote “Whatever ye do in word or
deed, do it all in the name of the LORD
Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.” He is worthy of it all, you know, so praise
Him all the time, for every gift received, for every hope that is given, for
every promise that is kept, in every moment of every day - for there is no one
else who will ever deserve it, and He is the only one who will ever be able to
return the favor on that marvelous day of eternal glory!
