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ED BANGHART

declaring God's Glory
It's what you are created for.

     My 5 year-old granddaughter, Hannah, asked my wife one day, "Did God make God?" That's a profound question for such a young philosopher! Do you know how hard it is to answer that question to a 5-year old ("Well, Hannah, God created everything, but God Himself is uncreated and eternal, without beginning or end."). Hannah accepted that explanation, and I don't think  she lost any sleep over it. But it reminded me of a truth that is so easy to forget and yet is so important to remember:

    The purpose of all creation is to declare and display
                                  the glory of God.

                 God created all things for His glory.

      All of creation exists to showcase the glory of God. Man, the crowning achievement of God's creation, has been set apart to make known the glory of God and to "proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).

      The psalmist, while contemplating the vastness of our universe, pens the words, "The heavens declare the glory of God..." (Psalm 19:1). When you look up at the night sky and consider the billions of stars in our galaxy and the billions of galaxies in our universe, the sheer immensity of the space-time universe we inhabit is mind-numbing. 

​      THINK ABOUT IT: we share the celestial cosmos with countless galaxies, stars and planets, supernovas, black holes, meteors, comets, and who knows what else. 

      The heavens don't just declare the glory of God, they shout it out with a deafening sound!


​
     How much more should we, His people, declare and display His glory. It is the reason we exist.

Consider the following scriptures:


​"Ascribe to the Lord the GLORY due His name" 
(1 Chronicles 16:29).


"There is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we EXIST for Him" (1 Corinthians 8:6, NLT).

"Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but  to your name be the GLORY" (Psalm 115:1).

     Everything that God does is for the sake of His great name, and to the praise of His glorious grace so that He might be our All in All--for all things are FROM Him, and THROUGH Him and TO Him (Romans 11:36:1; 1 Cor.15:28).

He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,          the Beginning and the End and Everything in between.

     History is HIS STORY--the unfolding of God's eternal purpose in this present evil age. It's not about our glory, our name, our honor or our greatness. It's not about me; it's not about you; it's all about God! 

     An astronomer once quipped, "When scientists discover the center of our universe, a lot of people are going to be very disappointed that it isn't them!"

      The Bible is essentially a story about God, not a story about us. A key theme of the scriptures is the redemption of fallen mankind, however, the ultimate value of salvation is not to be seen in what we are saved FROM ; it's value is in what we are saved FOR!

Steven C. Hawthorne points out that, "The rationale for mission is the colossal worthiness of God...Since God is supreme, every creature should bow down in subjection" (Perspectives: The Story of His Glory, pg 50).

      In American culture, we have trivialized the God of transcendent glory and pushed Him out to the periphery of our lives. 

Donald W. McCullough proposes that we "Visit a church on Sunday morning and you will likely find a congregation comfortably relating to a manageable deity who fits nicely within precise doctrinal positions or who lends almighty support to social crusades...but reverence and awe have been replaced by a yawn of familiarity" (The Trivialization of God, pg 13).

God has set us apart as His people to make known His glory. His eternal purpose is to bring many sons to glory, who would share His life, His nature, His purpose and His glory.

Declaring and displaying the glory of God--it's what you were created for!

How Well Do You Know the Bible?

6/20/2019

3 Comments

 
Test your knowledge of the Bible. Can you identify WHO made the following biblical statements?
  1. If I perish, I perish."
  2. "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
  3. "He must increase and I must decrease."
  4. "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."
  5. "You meant it for evil. but God meant it for good."
  6. "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief."
  7. "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God."
  8. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,."
  9. "This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh."
  10. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life."

​
ANSWERS:
1.  Esther (Esther 4:16)
​2. Joshua (Joshua 24:15)
3. John the Baptist (John 3:30)

4. Job (Job 1:21)
5. Joseph (Genesis 50:20)
6. Father of a son with a mute spirit (Mark 9:24)
7. Apostle Paul (Romans 12:1)
8. Apostle Paul (Philippians 4:13)
9. Adam (Genesis 2:23)
10. David (Psalm 23:6)

How did you do?

3 Comments
Cregg Garrett
7/8/2019 08:36:58 am

I got 9 out of 10 correct. What a great idea on keeping our spiritual muscles strong. Pleas keep them coming. God bless you Pastor Ed.

Reply
Dennis Wong link
10/18/2022 09:21:22 pm

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Social billion adult whole news north game. Effect yet song.

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Daniel Johnson link
10/20/2022 01:15:43 pm

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    Founding Pastor of Montclair Community Church.  Internationally unknown author and speaker.

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