Glory Tellers

We know who we are. We are disciplemakers. Now let’s look at what we do. And what do we do? We do glory telling.

 Psa 96:3 (ESV) Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!

Think about this from a creation standpoint. Everything that exists has been created by a glorious, holy, majestic, powerful, omniscient, all-loving Creator. All that is created should naturally give glory and praise and honor and majesty and love to the One who brought it into being. But we don’t. Sin has wrecked us all. So now, rather than giving glory to our Creator, we deny, ignore, or even curse Him. The creation cries out the glory of God. It’s really just humanity that has to catch up.

Psa 19:1 (ESV) To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

The heavens declare the glory of God. The heavens declare his glory. If we belong to Jesus, the who we are of being disciplemakers, of going to the nations, naturally leads to the “what we do” of glory telling.

Let’s explore this verse and point out a few reminders along the way.

The first reminder is simply a housekeeping reminder. Psalm 96:3 is on the cover of our church bulletin every week and has been for over 6 years now. Why? Because it is our theme verse as a church. Every week we want to be reminded of what we, as a church, are called to do. If we have experienced the glory of God through relationship with Jesus Christ then the natural response of our life is to simply declare his glory.

• Declare his glory!

1. 1. What does it mean to declare his glory?
   2. Declare—to count, recount, relate, number, take account of.
   3. How can we who are finite fully recount or relate or take account of the infinite glory of God? To consider that we need to first try to define the glory of God.
   4. How do we define the glory of God?
      1. To begin to define the glory of God we must begin with the holiness of God.
      2. God’s holiness means his separateness, his distinctness. He is altogether different from anyone or anything else. His holiness is his infinite perfection, his infinite might, his infinite majesty, his infinite beauty, his infinite truthfulness, his infinite greatness, his infinite worth.

• “His holiness is what he is, as God, that nobody else is. It is his quality of perfection that can’t be improved upon, that can’t be imitated, that is incomparable, that determines all that he is and is determined by nothing from outside him. It signifies his infinite worth — his intrinsic, infinite value.” John Piper

1. “The glory of God is the manifest beauty of his holiness. It is the going-public of his holiness.” John Piper
2. 1Ch 16:10 (ESV) Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
3. Those who truly glory “in” his name will glory “out” his name.
4. Why is the glory of God so important?
   1. If the glory of God is his holiness on display, then it is by his holiness that this broken creation is restored and made right. Apart from the holiness of God, we will never see God or ever be able to glorify God as we were created to do. Apart from the holiness of God, we cannot live a true and authentic life. So, in order for lives to be restored and for this broken world to be made whole, the glory of God must be put on display through the declaring of the gospel!

• To see the glory of God we look to Jesus. He is the full revelation of the glory of God.
  1. Jesus is the holiness of God walking among sinful man.
  2. Jesus is the manifestation of the infinite perfection, greatness, and worth of God.
  3. Heb 1:1-3a (ESV) Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. [3] He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power…
  4. To see Jesus and to know Jesus is to experience the holiness of God and to be transformed by the holiness of God.
  5. We are sanctified and set apart by the glory of God and to the glory of God. If glory is the holiness of God on display, then the perfect sinless Son of God, in his absolute holiness can cleanse us from all sin and to make us holy. Because of the glory of who Jesus is, he can make us holy! Because I am made holy by him, I am now able to bring him glory and will bring him glory one day perfectly, forever.
  6. 1 Pe 4:11b (ESV) …in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
  7. We are sanctified by the glory of God. (set apart, made holy)
     1. Exo 29:43 (ESV) There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory.

• The glory of God is real—so we declare his glory to everyone we can.
  1. 2Pe 1:16-18 (ESV) For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. [17] For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” [18] we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.
  2. We take his glory to those “that have not heard my fame or seen my glory, And they shall declare my glory among the nations.” (Is. 66:19)
  3. Tell the glory of his holiness.
     1. Isa 6:3 (ESV) And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
  4. Tell the glory of his greatness.
  5. Tell the glory of his perfection.
  6. Tell the glory of his worth.
  7. Tell the glory of his love.
  8. Tell the glory of his mercy.
  9. Tell the glory of his grace.
  10. We declare his glory to those who’ve never heard of his fame or seen his glory. We pray for one another so that we will open our mouths boldly, declaring his glory. We declare his glory no matter the cost or the conflict. We go to our homes and we go to the nations, declaring the glory of God and declaring how much God has done for us.

• This is the Lord’s end goal

Hab 2:14 (ESV) For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

• So this is our prayer for the world

Psa 72:19 (ESV) Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!

• This is our goal, now and forever

1Ti 1:17 (ESV) To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Jud 1:24-25 (ESV) Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, [25] to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Psa 29:2 (ESV) Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.

There is a text in the Psalms that makes a declaration:

Psa 24:7-10 (ESV) Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. [8] Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle! [9] Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. [10] Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah

Make this the cry of your heart this morning—

“Lord, throw open the gate of my heart that the King of glory may come in. Lord, I want the temple of my life to be filled by you, with your glory. Lord, sanctify and cleanse me by your glory. Lord, you are the King of glory. You are worthy of all honor and glory forever. You are worthy of glory, majesty, dominion, and authority from eternity past into eternity future. Lord, thank you for putting your holiness on display in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Lord, our King. Lord, we long for the glory and the joy of heaven, when we can finally once and for all bring you glory perfectly the way we were created.”