Good News: Glorifying God by how we live our life

Last week we talked about how to glorify and honor God. We learned that it’s not a matter that we are forced to do it, but that we get to do it. We discussed glorifying the Lord vertically; looking heavenward in our personal alone time in prayer and Bible reading and by how we conduct ourselves when no one is looking. Today we’ll discuss glorifying the Lord horizontally, that being our outreach to people around us. That could be fellow Christians, unbelievers, people at work, at school, at the supermarket… anywhere. One of the most important ways to glorify the Lord in this life is to bear fruit.

In John 15:8 Jesus said, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” Privilege #1 for followers of Jesus is to bear fruit. It is the evidence that we are taking seriously our call to go into all the world as Jesus commanded. The woman at the well and the Madman of Gadara are prime examples of this. They went back into their communities as instructed by Jesus and won many people to the Lord by sharing with anybody who would listen what He had done in their lives.

Another way we honor God is to live in unity with fellow believers. The apostle Paul appealed to the Corinthians, “Agree with one another in what you say and let there be no divisions among you but be perfectly united in mind and thought.” That’s a tall task for some folks. It takes people who are willing to give up their own opinion for the sake of peace.

Another way to glorify God is with our tongue. The apostle James was very straight forward when he said, “If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. (NLT) Two chapters later he said, “Blessing and cursing are coming out of the same mouth? This is not right!” Zip the lip and don’t get hung by your tongue.

How we handle our money is another way we honor Jesus. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “The ministry of your giving is not only supplying the needs of other Christians but will cause many thanksgivings to God. They will glorify God because of your generous contribution.” Have you ever thought you were doing ministry when you put your offering in the plate? Scripture says you are, and you’re causing others to glorify God because of your kindness and generosity.

There are many outward, horizontal ways to honor and glorify the Lord but the one we’ll close with today is from the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5 Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (NIV) Do you want to glorify your Father in heaven? Let your light shine and use the gifts God gave you to do good deeds.

Glorifying God in this life doesn’t have to be some grandiose undertaking of conducting mass evangelistic crusades in the Outback of Australia, it is simply bearing fruit, living in unity, guarding our tongue, being generous and using our God-given talents in the little corner of the world where God has placed you. What an honor to be in service to Jesus.

Ken Staley is the pastor of Faith Church of Pleasant Grove 9:30 a.m. and Harrisville Methodist Church 11 a.m. Both are Global Methodist Churches. pastorkenstaley@gmail.com