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LIVING TO GLORIFY GOD

5/6/2024

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May 6, 2024                                       LIVING TO GLORIFY GOD


Romans 15:5-6 “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirt, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you have been bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.”
Isaiah 43:7 “Bring My sons from afar and My daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by My name, whom I created for My glory.”


It’s a reality check for us: we were not created for ourselves, but for God. It may be a shocker for some, but life is not about us. Yes, we do live life on planet earth and we must go about the task before us, but our purpose is much greater than than that. It is a foundational and rudimentary question, but in order to fulfill our purpose, we must know and accept the fact that we were created FOR GOD! Man thinks that he must go about finding his way, fighting and working foe what he wants; however, he is never truly satisfied because the pursuit he is on does not lead to life to the fullest-instead to leads to death. I saw the title to a sermon from years back and it was “Living to Glorify God.” That title caught my attention. Certainly, every believer would mentally agree that we are to glorify God; but perhaps not see that they were created to glorify God in the way they live. Our very life, the things we do, the things we say, the way we relate to others, the way we spend our time-our very being is to glorify God. This does not mean we have to live in a monastery or go into ‘full time ministry’ in order to glorify God. It does mean that our life will reflect the goodness and glory of God, that He lives is us, that we have been restored to Him, and that He is our life; it means that we can’t take credit for anything but that all praise goes to God. Whatever we do, we can do knowing that His life is flowing in us and out of us and that He is the source of life. We can give glory to God for allowing us to lead a bible study, have a job, build a house, change the oil in our car-literally in all we do. Of course we want to be about doing the things that are pleasing to Him. I think the main point for us today is to know that we were created for Him and that we are not our own. Our true DNA, our true identity, is to glorify the God that loved us and gave His life for us. A few obvious ways we can glorify Him is to praise Him with our lips, obey His word, pray in Jesus name, seek the good of others, give generously, live honorably among others, and enjoy Him. When we truly experience the love of God in our hearts, it is only natural to glorify Him.


Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”


Blessings, Buddy 
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WITHIN OUR SPHERE

5/4/2024

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May 4, 2024                           WITHIN OUR SPHERE


2 Corinthians 10:15 “not boasting beyond our measure, that is, in other men’s labors, but with the hope that as your faith grows, we shall be, within our sphere, enlarged even more by you,”


It seems that we are prone to ‘bite off more than we can chew’ or take on something beyond our capabilities or our time, and beyond what God has called to us. I heard a good message years ago and it was about tending our garden. It is spiritually healthy and in general wise to define our garden, and then to tend what and who is in our garden. Some have bigger gardens and some have smaller gardens-and that is God’s plan. Knowing what and who our garden encompasses is freeing and it makes us much more effective. We personally can’t reach the whole world or even our city, but we can reach and minister to who is in our garden. Having a garden requires work; we must til the ground, plant, fertilize, get rid of the weeds, and harvest. That is a good picture of what we are to be doing in our garden of people and of the possession that God has entrusted to us. Paul uses the word ‘sphere;’ and that is another word referring to our garden. This is not to say that on occasions God may call us to do something outside of our garden, but our garden is our primary place of ministry; also, we are to let our light shine wherever we go. And, it’s possible that God may increase or grow our garden-our sphere; if He does, it will not be burdensome. Our garden calls for action. We can plant good seeds in those in our care; we can give wise counsel that results in growth; when we see weeds sprouting up, we can be a part of getting rid of the weeds before they take over the garden. We also get to enjoy the harvest; what a blessing to see those in our garden growing in the faith and walking in fellowship with God. God does not give us impossible task; He equips us and enables us tend to what He places within our sphere. Let us take our place in blessing and helping those around us to be growing in the faith. We are stewards who are to be about what God has put before us.


1 Peter 4:10 “And each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”


Blessing, Buddy 
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PROOF

5/2/2024

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May 2, 2024                                PROOF


John 5:31-32 “Jesus was therefore saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’”


We sometime forget that during the time that Jesus was on earth, there was no bible. Jesus went about teaching and demonstrating the kingdom of God and what He taught was counter-culture; it cut to the core of what the religious leaders of the day were teaching. Jesus did not contradict the Old Testament, but fulfilled it. Especially for the Jews, to believe and to follow Jesus meant sure rejection and persecution by the religious leaders. In the verse above, Jesus was talking with Jewish believers who received Him as Savior; but what He said to them applies to all believers. We hear a lot about abiding in the word; but we must make sure we do not misunderstand what that means. We may tend to think that if we read His word daily, spend time in bible study, we are then abiding in His word-and that is where we can miss the point of abiding. The definition  of abide is “accept or act in accordance with.” Remember, the believers that Jesus was talking too had no bible-they only had what He said at the time. Jesus is not with us physically with us today, but He has left us His word and He has given us the Holy Spirit to enable us to understand and apply His word. Jesus clearly identifies who it is that are His disciples-those who abide in Him. As said above, to abide in His word is more than reading His word. To abide in His word is to receive His every word as true; it is embracing Jesus as the Son of God; and it is taking His every word to heart and acting on and applying His word to the life we live. In other words, it is His word that directs our life. It is not about us; it is about being His disciples. One blessing of being His disciple is that we will know the truth, and the truth will set us free. The world defines freedom in the wrong way; true freedom is found only in being disciples of Jesus. We cannot be His disciples without reading and studying His word because it is in His word that we learn of Him, and in order to be a disciple of Jesus, we must know Him. So, may we truly abide in Him-that’s what disciples do. 


1 John 2:6 “Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same manner in which He walked.”


Blessings, Buddy 
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    Buddy Fitzgerald

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