The Quest for Glory

Well, good afternoon, everyone, on this wonderful and beautiful Sabbath day. It’s certainly summer here in the Northern Hemisphere. We have quite a bit of activities going on here during the summer months. So, a wonderful time here at the headquarters. But, brethren, I would like to jump in, right into this message at this point and just mention that, from the beginning, if you think about mankind as a whole, man has been on a quest, some type of a quest.

Now, if you think about a quest, you think about somebody that’s searching for something, but it many times involves sacrifice. It involves taking a certain level of risk. And Mankind, as I mentioned, has been on this quest that we want to find out here what this quest is. And as we search for this quest, what it is, what it is about, I would like to take you through a couple of questions that will help us to just see the topic of this message this afternoon and what this quest is about, that man has been on for, for quite a while, as I mentioned from the beginning. Now I can ask, why do astronomers, if you think about astronomers, those people that gaze at the stars, why do they do that?

Why are they interested in looking at the stars? If you think about from the beginning as well, you see in scripture, you read in history that man has been interested in looking and gazing at the stars, trying to understand the universe, trying to understand the place where we live in earth and our place in the universe. Why? Why do they do that? Now, there might be several answers why people do that, but there’s, as we go, one specific answer that we will get to. Very similar, the second question here, everyone, as we think about this quest that man has been on, we want to find out what it is.

A similar question. The second one is astronomers. They have a desire from a young age. Only a few of them will be able to go into space or go into orbit, but many of them if you think about the early years, decades ago, they would want to go to the moon. And these days they speak about going even further than that. But there’s a desire that from kindergarten, when you ask that... the kindergarten teacher ask the little ones, “What do you want to be?” And the one says, “I want to be a teacher.” The other one would say, “I would like to be a doctor or a builder.”

But here, specifically in the United States, you will often find that youngsters would say, “Teacher, I would like to be an astronomer.” Why? Why that desire to want to travel, so to speak, into space, go to the moon? Those thoughts are even more today than before. Another one, everyone, another question. This one may be a little bit unrelated to the first two, but again, helping us to get to the question, or the answer to the question of, why man has been on a quest. What is that quest that man has been on? Why do people go to tremendous lengths at taking extreme measures to mine gold?

It’s not so much about the miners, but more about those that seek the gold. Why do they go to extreme measures? We will see a little bit later on, just extreme measures to go for gold, so to speak, or mine that mineral gold. Here’s another question related to the third one here about gold. We are in the time of the Olympic Games and people are thinking about the stars that they want to see, the man doing the… a hundred-meter sprint, or gymnastics or swimming. The events that people look forward to see during the Olympic games, but these athletes, they’ve taken four years to prepare, and they are striving for gold.

Why do they strive for that gold medal? Again, related to the third question about gold, why do people go to that extreme length, taking those extreme measures to strive for gold? We’ve seen a movie recently about a true event that took place during the Berlin Olympics of eight rowers. Very... starting off young, inexperienced, and when they realized they had a shot at gold at the Berlin Olympics, they worked as a team, as one team, but they strove together for one purpose, for that gold medal. It was not so much about the gold medal, but all of these four questions, everyone.

What do they lead us to, those astronomers looking and gazing at the stars, or astronauts wanting to go to the moon? Not just astronauts, but many people want to know and understand what’s the interest about the moon and the sun, or even the stars and the galaxies, and why specifically about gold. And when we think about the Olympics, why do people strive for gold? That’s then, as we begin, everyone, through a verse here in Proverbs, and this one will give us the clear answer to our question that man has been on a quest striving.

It takes a lot of effort to go to the moon or to become an astronomer or Olympic athlete. It takes a lot of sacrifice. It takes sometimes extreme measures, but why this quest that we are talking about? And you are turning to Proverbs twenty-five with me, everyone, and we will just look at verse twenty-seven. Just this one verse here, verse twenty-seven, Proverbs twenty-five, and verse twenty-seven says, “It is not good to eat much honey.” Now, we all know, and we... many of us enjoy our honey, maybe on a piece of toast or a coffee that you drink.

You put in a little bit of honey. That golden color, and it can range from gold. A golden color to almost an amber. But here, God says that it’s not good to eat much honey. We know that honey has a lot of health benefits to us, but it says too much of a good thing is not good. So there’s nothing wrong with the honey when you think about the health benefits and the enjoyment from eating it. But let’s look at the second half of the verse, and it said, “So...” It ties... The second half of the verse is tied to the first half. In this, it says, similar to what we described here about honey, let’s hear and read what is mentioned in the latter part of verse twenty-seven.

It said, “So for men to search their own glory is not glory.” Brethren, man from the beginning has been on a quest for glory to different degrees. People from... they might think about things that they want to achieve, but overall, mankind has been on this quest for glory. Actually, a glory that God built into us. You can see here, again, similarly to honey, there’s nothing wrong with honey. There’s nothing wrong to strive for glory. It’s actually a built-in desire that God has built into mankind to want to go and look to the stars or want to have that desire to sacrifice and to take risks to seek glory.

But here we see, just as with too much honey, that if you seek glory in a wrong way, then it is not glory. God doesn’t say there, like, with honey, it’s not good. He says that’s not even glory. “If you seek glory in the wrong way,” God says, “it is not glory at all.” So brethren, there is a right way, and there is a wrong way. There’s a right way to seek for glory, for true glory. And then there we could say, when you seek your own glory, that is the wrong way of seeking glory. You will never reach for the stars, so to speak. So today, everyone, as we consider this quest that man has been on, think about ourselves as Christians.

We are also seeking glory. We are seeking God’s way of finding glory. So we will today, everyone, delve into the quest for true glory, God’s glory. We will look at this subject but from God’s perspective. The glory that God wants us to seek for. What does it look like? How do we go about to find it? Now, the Bible is filled with the subject of glory. If you begin to study it, you see in the Old Testament, you see in the New Testament, it’s all over this subject about glory. But when we think about glory, and if you read about it, brethren, it can be sometimes a subject that it feels like I don’t know, fully understand what it means, what’s glory about, why do we seek glory, what... why do God speak so much about it?

So, today we want to make those things very simple for us as we delve into this quest for true glory. So, a general definition about glory, you think about what does it mean. It can mean splendor or magnificence, something that’s magnificent. Now, that just, as you begin to think about it, that’s something that people want to strive for. It doesn’t matter what it is, just thinking about magnificence, admiration, that is one meaning, if you look at the meaning generally. Majesty. When you think about majesty, you think about kings, the crown of gold, and the silver, and jewels that they have on their head, or a scepter that they... a rod of gold.

The majesty, how they conduct themselves, the room where they find themselves in, the people that they talk to, the opportunities that they have. It can also mean high renown or honor. Kings typically receive those honor, but if you think about glory itself, that somebody, that has honor or receive honor for what? For their achievements. I want to give you a very simple definition, everyone, about glory. It is to be admired or respected for. Someone that is admired or respected for what? For their achievements. That’s the first thing. For their qualities, certain qualities that they have, or the thing that receives glory.

If it’s a person, the qualities that they have or actions. Achievements, qualities, or actions. So qualities make you think about somebody’s character. What have they achieved? If you look at the gold medalist, he has achieved over a period of four years, the highest accolade in long jump, if he’s a long jumper, or in high jump, that’s the achievement. He’s the best in the world, he’s given that glory, he’s given a golden medal for that, but that is not what they most want. An athlete, they are looking for more of what gold represents, the glory that it has.

The splendor, the achievement that they receive. So, brethren, people go to extreme measures to find glory during this quest of glory. If you think about, we’re not going to delve into many examples, but I want to take you, we speak about gold, and in the Olympics, people’s achievements. So, as an example, I just want to go and look at the symbol that gold represents in his book. Matthew Hart is... the book that he wrote, the title of the book is simply Gold. So he’s going into the history of gold and what it represents. And he made an interesting statement, a quote that I wanted to quote to you.

When we think about gold, you think about wealth, you think about achievement, you think about success. And you can even think about glory if somebody has gold. Again, think about kings living in palaces filled with gold or crown of gold. So gold is a symbol of glory, a physical symbol of glory. And he, Mr. Hart, Matthew Hart wrote in his book that he said, “Gold was the metal that glorified God.” So there’s an element there that gold represents. It’s a symbol of success, or achievement, of wealth. So let’s go, brethren, thinking about the extreme measures that people take, as we said, to quest for glory, just the example of gold, let’s go to Genesis Chapter one, and we will pick up in...

or Genesis two, Chapter ten where it’s the first time that we read about gold in scripture. Think about Genesis two verse ten. And it says, “And a river went out of Eden to water the garden...” thinking about the garden of Eden, “...and from there, it was parted. So the river split up and it became into four heads. The name of the first is Pishon, and which compares the whole land of Havilah where there is gold.” So the very first time that we read in the Bible making mention about is gold. Havilah means just circular. As the river broke up into different heads this land was encircled, so to speak, by rivers.

And it says, there was in that land, God decided to tell us. It didn’t say there was a lot of silver. We’ll see the next verse, another element that’s being described, but God wants us to know from the beginning, from the get-go, that there was gold. And verse twelve says, “And the gold of the land is good, and there is bdellium and on in the onyx stone.” So the gold in that land was fine gold, and good there also means multiple. Multiple gold. Now, way back when man discovered gold, obviously, from this, you think about river gold. Gold that was found in rivers.

So, man didn’t have to go to extreme measures to find gold, but that quest for glory, that quest for achievement if you think about this symbol of gold as man depleted over many years, river gold, they had to go and begin to dig a little bit deeper. That quest wasn’t satisfied. That desire for that physical metal wasn’t satisfied, so they went a little bit deeper. So I want to take you to a modern example of extreme measures that people take to find gold that represents glory. This is just a physical example. Now, there is a mine called Mponeng.

This mine is found about... it’s about forty miles from Johannesburg. Now, Johannesburg, there in the province of Gauteng in South Africa. And this area, the Witwatersrand is one of the areas where gold is being mined for many, many years. In fact. If you have a golden ring or any piece of gold in your possession, chances are fifty percent that the gold that you have probably came from this area called the Witwatersrand because fifty percent of all the gold that’s ever been mined came from this small, small area. But we want to look at the extreme measures that people go to, to find this metal representing, as we said, Mr. Hart said, it, gold was the metal that glorified God in a physical representation that you could see.

This mine is the deepest mine. Mponeng is the deepest mine in the world. It’s two point five miles deep. If you put that into perspective, you take ten Empire State buildings and stack them on top of each other, then you will see how deep that is. Two point five miles. It takes about ninety minutes to go down from the top of the ground level to the deepest part within the mine. The elevator that the men... the elevator can take about a hundred and twenty people that are stacked in levels, three levels on top of each other. But hundred and twenty men go down at a time, and it takes them ninety minutes.

At certain points, they can travel as fast as forty miles per hour. There are two hundred and thirty-six miles of tunnels under the ground. Just as they burrow into the ground, men burrowing to find this metal, men are willing to work at temperatures where the rock temperature down there is hundred- and forty-degrees Fahrenheit, and the humidity is ninety-five percent. So you begin to think about the extreme measures that people will do and take today. When all the surface gold is gone, men be going to go and they are willing to go even deeper, so to speak, for this precious metal.

This mine alone takes enough electricity that can power a city of four hundred thousand people. To keep the temperatures cool for men, the mine workers that work in the mine, they use six thousand tons of ice. Brethren, that is thirteen million pounds of ice each and every day just to cool down the ventilation, use the ventilation system to cool it down simply with ice. And they take it, they remove roughly a little bit more than that six thousand four hundred tons, around fourteen million pounds of ground or golden ore, that rock that contains the gold, each and every day. Fourteen million pounds are excavated each and every day.

Now, if you look at the quality, the highest grade of gold that you can find, they say it’s about one ounce of gold per ton. So if you work that out, it’s about four hundred pounds of gold per day if they receive the highest grade of gold. So that’s about two people my size, roughly two people my size of the gold that they excavate each and every day. That is extreme measures, brethren, that people go to, to find gold. There are others that will go even further. They will go, and they are called, in the Zulu tongue, zama zamas.

When the gold is not feasible, or the price of gold, the amount of gold that men receive is not feasible anymore, there are men that go down, illegal miners. And the Zulu tongue, it means, they try their luck. Zama zama means try your luck. So they go down and they have families down there. They live down there, and they try their luck. If you die, you die. If you’re lucky, you’re lucky to find this precious metal that represents gold. Brethren, mankind is willing to go and risk many things for glory. This is a physical example.

Let’s go and look at an example of glory where God speaks about glory and He gave a man glory. Let’s go to Daniel Chapter two. We are currently just looking at everyone, at that desire that man has, that deep desire that God placed in us for glory. We looked at the physical example of gold, the extreme measures that people will go to.

Let’s look an example that God had for a man, and we look at a little bit and learn a little bit more about glory itself here in Daniel two, Chapter two and verse thirty-one. Daniel two, verse thirty-one, God spoke to Nebuchadnezzar. You remember that he saw this big statue, so to speak, this image, and God said, “You, O King...” As God interpreted through Daniel of this vision that Nebuchadnezzar had, he says, “You, O King, saw and behold a great image.” Looking at the empires that will come ultimately in this world, God described in simple terms that we can understand, brethren, this great image.

“This great image whose brightness was excellent and stood before you, yet there you see a little bit of brightness, you see of excellence that stood before you, and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breasts and his arms of silver, and his belly and his thighs of brass.” Verse thirty-three, “His legs of iron and his feet part iron, and part clay.” So here we can see God gave and... gave a dream to Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel interpreted this image, what it says, “Nebuchadnezzar, you are going to be on the hip, so to speak, on top of the hip. Of all the empires in the world, I’m going to make you the greatest king. Your empire will resemble glory, it will resemble the finest gold.

Let’s see here in verse thirty-seven. “You, O king, are a king of kings, for the God of heaven...” note that, brethren, “...for the God of heaven has given you a kingdom.” Here we see who is the one that gives kingdoms, who is the one that gives glory. God gives you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory. That is what God gave to Nebuchadnezzar. That wasn’t something that he had of his own. Certainly, he had also that desire. He said, “Thank you, God, you gave me this wonderful opportunity.” No, he did not do that. Let’s go and read in verse... Chapter four and verse thirty. Chapter four and verse thirty. After God has fulfilled this promise to Nebuchadnezzar, it says, “The king spake and said...” After he built the... he saw the image, that was a dream. Now this dream came true. This quest that he had that he knew that he will fulfill, it came true.

And it says, “And the king spake and said, it is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom by my might, by my power and my honor, by my glory, my majesty.” He looked at himself. God gave him glory, everyone, and he looked at that glory, and he sought it for himself. He wanted to glorify himself. Pride came into his mind, and the glory that God gave Nebuchadnezzar went straight to his head. Now let’s read in verse thirty-four, God said in verse thirty-three, that Nebuchadnezzar will become like an ox. He will eat grass, he would become... his hair grow long, he would become like an animal.

And here at the end in verse thirty-four, after he went for seven years, it says, “And at the end of the days, I Nebuchadnezzar lifted my eyes onto heaven...” What did he do? He looked up from where glory came from, “...and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most high. And I praised and honored Him that lives forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation.” Only as the God had to humble, abase Nebuchadnezzar that he realized where true glory come from.

Brethren, this example is written for us as an example that we can know in advance that we should not seek our own glory. Let’s look at another example. This great king that God said will be the highest king representing the head of gold in that image. He had to learn a very deep and humbling lesson. But let’s look at Israel. Another example, let’s turn to Psalm one hundred and six. As we think about, brethren, just in this first part of the message, this desire that God built into us to go to extreme measures for glory. Psalm one hundred and six, if you are there with me, and we will turn to verse nineteen.

It says, we can pick up in verse eighteen, “And a fire was kindled in the company, the flame burned upon the wicked. They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped the molten image.” So, here in this Psalm, it takes us to what happened after Israel left Egypt, and Moses went up to the mountain to meet with God. And Israel immediately, just when David left for a short period, they went and they worshiped a molten image. They followed the example of the Egyptians. They probably saw, in Egypt, the worship of idols. Here they made immediately and worship a molten image.

Thus they changed their glory into the multitude of an ox that eat grass. They went and worshiped an animal. But here in verse twenty, what is interesting there, the word change that says they changed their glory. It implies that they had a type of glory. Israel had glory. They changed it. What does the word change, there, means? To make it simple for us, brethren, it means minimized. By going and worshiping an idol, they went, instead of like Nebuchadnezzar and tried to build his own glory, seek his own glory, they glorified an animal that was lower than them, an image of an animal.

Change there, means minimized. They reduced what God has given them as a nation. They were deceived by Satan, brethren, to go and worship an image. Let’s go to the account there in verse thirty or verse seven of Exodus thirty-two. Exodus thirty-two. Go back to the account, and we will read just a verse there, verse seven. The actual account of, in my Bible here, it says in Chapter thirty-two, it starts with a golden calf. That fine gold that Aaron took, he took the spoil of the Israelites that they took from the Egyptians, all that gold. They went, and they melted it to make a golden image that represented to them that physical glory that they wanted, that they saw in Egypt, and that they wanted to continue. They didn’t want to seek God’s glory.

Here in verse seven, it says, “And the Lord said unto Moses, go you down, for the people which brought out... which I brought out... or excuse me, that you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.” Through idolatry, brethren, through making that molten image of an ox, they corrupted themselves. Let’s go to Psalm four. When they did not seek... when they minimized glory, the glory that God gave them, they corrupted themselves. Nebuchadnezzar had pride. He lifted himself up, and God says, “No, that’s not the way to seek glory. I’ve given you glory, but that’s not the way to seek it.”

Psalm four. Psalm four and verse two, “O you sons of men, how long will you turn my glory into shame?” That is exactly what Israel did, brethren, and what mankind has been doing. “How long will you love vanity and seek after leasing?” Meaning after lies, and that word leasing also means idolatry. “Why? Why do you seek after things that cannot give you glory? Why do you turn my glory into shame?” Brethren, we can see from these verses that we read, these examples, the glory that man sought is actually coming from God. God is the giver of all glory, brethren.

He’s the only source of glory, but he has given man that desire to seek for it. Nebuchadnezzar certainly received it, but he sought it in the wrong way. Israel did not understand it. They were blinded and deceived, but they minimized the glory, again, by going after vanity, things that’s empty and idolatry, seeking lies. And God said that destroyed them. So, seeking glory in the wrong way, it’s serious for us to understand to seek it in the right way. As we said, there is a right and a wrong way to seek it. For us, brethren, it’s important to understand when we seek and talk about glory, to understand it, but also to know where it comes from and God gives it to us.

But that there is a right way, and we have been given the clear understanding, everyone, to seek it the right way. And you will see that it’s actually very simple. This subject of glory will become more clear in your mind as we go again, delve a little bit deeper into this subject of seeking true glory, God’s glory. Now, this is where we are at this point of the message. Going from defining glory and also the extreme measures man will go to find it, that desire that God built in us. Let’s look at God’s perspective, everyone, a little bit more about true glory.

And Let’s go to Romans Chapter three. What is God’s perspective on glory? Let’s understand this. We already looked at the definition, but let’s begin to delve through the scriptures and actually enjoy the subject as we learn more and see what God wants us to seek, brethren because that’s what He wants for us. Let’s go Romans three, you are there, and verse twenty-three. Very well-known scripture, one that you often read, but let’s see how it ties to glory. “For all have sinned...” We don’t just look at Nebuchadnezzar, or we look at people that strive for glory through mining. Not the miners themselves, but those that want the riches throughout the ages.

We are not looking just at Israel. Here we are looking at all people. You and I as well, God says, “...have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Come short there means to be inferior or deficient or lacking. So, again, it doesn’t say you have no glory. It just says that you’re lacking in God’s glory. God wants us, all people, to have glory ultimately. To have His glory. But brethren, you and I have the privilege to begin to understand it and to seek it and to live it. What is God’s definition of glory? When you look at the Greek there in verse twenty-three of Romans, glory means... there’s different aspects of glory.

And I want to bring out two specific aspects of glory here. And the first one is an external appearance. God made it that way. When you think about gold, you see that fine gold, that glittering, that dazzling light. It means luster, brightness, dazzling light. You look at gold, or you look at the stars, the moon, there’s a type of glory that the moon has, the sun has. It’s a dazzling or brightening luster. That’s connected with a physical external appearance of what glory physically looks like. Now, when you go... let’s, brethren, go to Psalm nineteen.

Go to Psalm nineteen. This external appearance of glory, that’s what the glory, the word glory there and all throughout the New Testament, most of the times the word glory is this one that means that luster, brightness, dazzling light, that external appearance. But let’s look in Psalm nineteen, get a little bit of a perspective here. What are the things? We already looked a little bit at gold, and I mentioned the sun, and the stars, and the moon. Here it says in verse one of Psalm nineteen, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork.”

As you’ll remember when we started the message talking about astronomers and those that gaze at the stars, here God says that the heavens, everything we can see, the galaxies, they declare God’s glory. So God’s glory, brethren, is higher than that glitter, brightness, and luster of all the stars and the galaxies combined that we can see. They declare God’s glory. When we look at those, they show us God’s glory. Is that the reason, brethren, that men want to go to the moon or want to go further because they are on that quest for glory and God built it into us?

And that man are seeking for glory but he doesn’t really know what he is seeking? Let’s go to first Corinthians fifteen. Just looking a little bit deeper into the meaning, brethren, that we can understand. This is just the physical representation, the physical appearance of glory, of that meaning God wants us to understand. Verse thirty-nine of first Corinthians fifteen. We talk about the glory of the sun and the heavenly bodies. Paul spoke about it as well, and he says in verse thirty-nine, “All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, another of fish another of birds.”

When you look at animals and people, the flesh that we have, we differ. All the kinds of animals God made, all of them differs. “There are also celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial, but the glory of the celestial is one and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars. For one star differ from another star in glory,” in brightness, in excellence, in dazzling, that dazzling light. The moon doesn’t shine on its own. It takes the rays and the glory of the sun, so to speak, and just reflect that. Brethren, that is an external appearance, an example that we look at when we want to understand glory. Here is the second part of this definition of glory, and it means most exalted state. This is more the internal part of glory, what it represents, where glory comes from. When you look at the stars, they are gases, but think about God, brethren—His excellence, His brightness, is not just something that is external that you can see. It comes from inside, from who He is.

You remember that we said another definition is the achievements or the qualities of a person. That is God’s glory, who He is. That is what is coming out, so to speak, in the external appearance. The most exalted state, God is the Most High. He gave glory in the nations and the kingdoms of men to Nebuchadnezzar. He gave glory to the sun, the moon, and the stars, and brethren, He also gave glory to mankind.

Let’s go to Psalm eight. We have a type of glory. We already mentioned it. It’s not as if people are without glory. You will find this very, very fascinating, brethren, when we begin to connect things, that you already have and you didn’t know that that is actually glory. God sees it as you having glory. Let’s look here at Psalm eight. Pick up in verse 1. You and I, brethren, mankind, God has given us glory, too. David says, “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name? How glorious is Your name in all the earth Who has set Your glory above the heavens?”

There we see God is the most glory... is the most exalted being above any glory that you can think about or strive for, whether it’s physical, for God, or the desire to go and find glory in the universe. God says, “My glory is above of all glory.” He’s the giver of glory as well. Let’s see here in verse four, “What is man that You are mindful of him?” Brethren, do you often think about and meditate, on your bed, and think about yourself? “Why did you call me, God? Why are you working with me? Who am I that you are thinking about me?” That’s exactly what David did.

“…And the son of man that you visit him? verse 5 says, “For You has made him a little lower than the angels.” Angels have glory, brethren, but God says here, through David, He has given us glory, and we were made a little bit lower than the angels, “…and has crowned him with glory and with honor.” How did he crown him? What type of glory do we have? “You have made him to have dominion over the works of your hands.” The fact that man has been given dominion over the earth.

That is a type of glory that God has given us, an excellence to achieve. Things glory relates to, brethren, that I mentioned that you will find fascinating. Let’s go to Proverbs Chapter twenty. Proverbs Chapter twenty, and it will pick up in verse twenty-nine. Let’s make these things a little bit more personal. Go on a personal level when God looks at the glory that He has given us. You have dominion in your household, dominion in your family, husbands and wives. God has given government. That is part of what He has given to us that is glorious. If we seek it and utilize it and love it in the right way.

Let’s look here at Proverbs twenty verse twenty-nine. It says, “The glory of a young man is their strength.” Their muscles. That strength that you have, young men, when you sit up, help somebody to carry something in for services, a meal, or you go and mow somebody’s lawn, or help to change a tire, whatever you are doing, young ladies, sitting up and helping, the physical strength that you have, God says that is the glory. That is something that God has given. Glory, excellence to young men. “And the beauty of old men is their gray hair.”

Let’s go to chapter sixteen. Gray head for the older men. Maybe you lose your strength when you are older, but you are not losing your glory, everyone. You are actually just transferring it or changing it. Here it says, in verse thirty-one of Proverbs sixteen, “The hoary head is a crown of glory.” Kings wear glory. They have gold on their head. But God says, “No, you don’t have a crown yet, but you have a hoary head.” Gray head, God says, is glory, “...if it be found in the way of righteousness.” If we seek glory in the right way, brethren, that God explains to us, and we will look at this.

But then the fact that you’re having a hoary head, that you have wisdom, that you have experience of life, that those strong men, you can guide them and tell them about things and teach them about things they’ve never experienced before. What a wonderful opportunity we have in congregations where there are young and old, where the young men can help the older men and the girls, the ladies alike, and the older ladies and men with your wisdom, you can help the young men and the young ladies. Teach them. Each and every week, or during the holidays, or during socials, we come together, you are teaching and helping them gaining wisdom.

But we do not always think about it, and we do not always also realize, brethren, that that is glory. Let’s go to chapter seventeen, just the next chapter, here, verse six. It says, “Children’s children are the crown of old men.” Grandchildren. So you as the older generation, hoary heads, you have double glory. Not just the hoary head that you have on your head, but also children’s children. Maybe you don’t have physical grandchildren, but there are many little ones in the congregations that are like grandchildren to you.

God says children’s children, grandchildren, are glory to you, a crown of glory. “And the glory of children are their fathers.” How true, brethren. How is that? Where a young man can look up to his father’s example, and he wants to follow glory, that’s the example that Nebuchadnezzar missed, everyone, that Israel missed, is to look up to their physical father. God has given that example but ultimately wants mankind to look up to our spiritual Father, hoary is our glory.

Young men do not understand yet God as they begin to learn, but when they’re young they look up to their father, that example of strength, of courage, of leadership in the family that he gives. That’s their glory. How true is that, brethren? Do you begin to see on a more personal level? And that’s what we want to do here for the rest of the message to make it personal. What are the things that you and I can do when we seek God’s glory, true glory, not our own, not to elevate ourselves as Nebuchadnezzar did, but with a humble mind, everyone? Appreciate God’s glory that He has given to seek it, but also to realize He has given us much already. We need to increase it, ultimately, to receive the glory that God wants you and me to have. And we will look at that right here.

But for the rest of the message, everyone, we are going to look at living for God’s glory now, seeking His glory, and reflecting it. You remember we mentioned that the moon reflects the glory of the sun. You and I are there to reflect. As Christians, we need to reflect God’s glory, but we also need to seek it. So seeking and reflecting God’s glory now will help us to receive true glory later.

Now, I already mentioned, everyone, that God has glory. We’ve seen that. We’ve seen that He gives it. He gives it to those that we could say good and bad. He decides who to give it to. But let’s go to Psalm sixty-two just to drive the point home that God gives glory. He’s the giver of glory. That means He possesses it. All the splendor and the excellence, the most exalted state that we are striving for, that desire that man has, it might be misplaced, misdirected, man might be confused about what they are seeking, but there is that desire but we need to know that it’s coming from only one source and that is, let’s read, Psalm sixty-two and verse seven. It says, “In God is my salvation.” The need for glory, the need for salvation that you and I have, “...and my glory; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.”

God could have left out the word glory there, everyone. David could have just as well said, “In God is my salvation,” and he could have gone on, “...the rock of my strength.” But he says, “He is my glory.” So how often do we think about God’s glory? How often do we think about striving to see glory, to reflect glory? This is part of being a Christian, everyone, to think about it, and my goal is to make this subject less complicated in your mind and to make it personal on a personal level that we will be able to seek it, that we will be able to reflect God’s glory. You and I, brethren, we’re called to seek glory.

Let’s go to Romans chapter eight. You and I were called as Christians, that’s part of our calling. As you turn to Romans eight, well-known scripture here, everyone, that you probably tend to... often, if you need inspiration, if you need encouragement, strength. But how often do we think about glory here? Romans eight and verse twenty-eight, Paul says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”

I’m looking at a bunch of people, God’s people, and you that are listening to this message on the Sabbath one week later. I’m looking and speaking to those that are called for God’s purpose. What is part of his purpose? “For whom he did foreknew…” How exciting and inspiring it is, when you meditate in your bed, to know, “I have been called. God has foreknew me. Not just the time when I began to realize I’ve been called.” Way before then, God foreknew you, brethren. That, you must never forget.

“He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son.” He predestined you to become like Christ. Israel, you’ll remember, they made that image, they minimized their glory by taking a molten image. They minimized what God wanted to them to seek for. Here God says, “The image that you should look for is my son.” His example, how he lived his life, the character that he had, the glory that he showed on a physical level.

“Conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Verse thirty, “Moreover whom He predestined, them He also called, and whom He called, He also justified.” Brethren, you and I are not under the death penalty anymore. He made us clean at baptism and when we keep and take the Passover symbols, God washes us clean.

He says you are justified, “…and whom He justified…” what is His plan? “…Them He also glorified them…” Them He also glorified. Now glorified there sounds... Already we’ve seen that we have a type of glory already, but here the word glorified means to render glorious. When God look at you and me, He see the potential that you have to seek His glory to reflect His glory and to become like Him. He sees you already in a glorified state, although we have to get there. He says to esteem, to think, or be of the opinion. God is of the opinion, brethren, that you and I can make it, that you and I can seek His glory and reflect it, and He must make it simple and understandable for us to be able to do that.

Let’s be prepared, brethren, He’s saying, to receive glory. He knows the end game. Let’s go just one chapter further and look at chapter nine, verse twenty-three. It says, “And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory.” God prepared you and me, brethren, to receive glory, but we must first seek God’s glory.

Let’s go, again, stay in Romans. Please turn with me to Romans two. Begin to think about seeking God’s glory. Romans two and verse seven. Now you begin to think, what do I need to do, brethren? That’s the two things that you and I need to do, I mentioned it already, is to seek God’s glory and to reflect it. To seek it. It is that simple, but we need to know how. How do you seek and reflect it? Verse seven of Romans, “To whom by patient continuance in well doing.” We are not like the athletes during the Olympics, the hundred-meter sprint. Christianity is a slow, steady race, brethren. Patient continuance of well-doing.

Through well-doing. Any good deed that you are doing, and we will see now, going to a scripture very shortly here that simply show that, brethren, the good works that you and I do as Christians, those are the things how we here seek for glory, and honor, and immortality, eternal life. Through the good works. Christ working in you, brethren, making you able and strengthen you to be able to do that, but simply knowing that through good works. That’s a way how we do that.

We will look at a couple of examples of good works, but we want to continue first hit home the fact that we should seek. Let’s go to Matthew chapter seven, seek God’s glory. Matthew seven and verse seven. We can hit this home, brethren, to simply know that by asking God... Matthew seven verse seven says, “Ask and you shall be given.” You need to know what you desire, brethren, because you need to seek what you desire.

Mankind go in different ways. They go deep down into the ground, delve deep after a physical thing that represents glory. God says, “No, you don’t have to do that to find true glory. This is the way: Ask and you shall be given. Seek and you shall find.” So you need to know what you’re looking for. You need to have an example of seeing what glory is. And that’s the goal, to make this message about glory as simple in your mind that you know what it is, that you can seek it.

And God says, “When you seek it, you will find it. Knock and it shall be open on you.” Brethren, but that’s an active process. That’s why we said it takes sacrifice. It takes desire. It takes effort. A quest, do all of those things, if you actively seek it. We will not receive glory if we do not seek for it. “For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.”

Let’s go then, everyone, and begin to look at how do we… If you know we need to seek it, let’s see how to reflect God’s glory. Again, you are on Matthew seven. Let’s turn one page back and read, again, a well-known scripture here in Matthew chapter five, and pick up in verse fourteen. Matthew five and verse fourteen. It says, speaking first about you are the salt of the earth, and then Christ go on in verse fourteen, “You are the light of the world.” Think about that excellence, that brightness, that luster that we looked at the definition of glory of the world.

“A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” Our lives cannot be hid through our good works, everyone, the things that you and I do. “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light unto all of them in the house.” You are giving light to those in your family. You are giving light to those in your workplace or at school, to the world ultimately. “Let your light,” your good works, everyone, “...shine before men, that they may see your good works.” So they look at your good works. Just as we look at the moon, we can use a physical example, everyone.

The moon is just dust and soil on the surface, but when we look up at it, it shines at night. People can look at your good works and what do they do? And glorify your Father, which is in heaven. Just as the moon reflects the light of the sun, you and I, our lives reflect and should reflect God’s glory, God’s excellence, His character. Those are the things, if we grow in those areas, that we will shine, and ultimately people will look at our lives, your life, wherever you are, and they will give God the glory. Through that, brethren, ultimately when we do our part, we will receive glory as well. That high glory, most exalted state that God promised.

Let’s look at examples of good works. Ephesians. This verse you can write down, and there are actually several good works listed here in Ephesians chapter one, and we will pick up in verse fifteen. Ephesians one verse fifteen. As you turn there, it says, “Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you might know what is the hope of his calling, and what is the riches,” again here, “...of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.”

Brethren, there are a couple of things that we will look at here, and the first one is just faith. Paul speaks about your faith. How does faith connect with glory, connect with people seeing our lives being reflected in this world? Let’s go to Hebrews eleven. Faith is one. Prayer is another one mentioned there. Another one that I’m going to bring out is wisdom. Those three. Also speaks about love, but let’s go to Hebrews eleven. Just the faith chapter, verse eleven. Or chapter eleven verse six, everyone. Hebrews eleven verse six. It says, “But without faith, it’s impossible to please him.” It’s impossible to seek glory without faith.

You and I have been given God’s faith, everyone. We have faith. For he that comes to God, he that seeks Him must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Our faith, brethren, in believing God, believing that he will ultimately use us. You might think about yourself, “I’m small, I am nothing,” but you trust in God. Your faith reflects His glory and He’s a rewarder everyone that believe.

If you believe in God’s promises and you hold onto them in any circumstance that you might find yourself, where this circumstance with your physical eyes show you that you will not be able to continue, you will not be able to go through it, but you have faith in God.

Let’s go to First Peter. That gives God the glory that reflects on him, everyone. First Peter chapter one, it says, verse seven. First Peter one and verse seven, it says... let’s, again, pick up in verse six, just for context. “Wherefore you greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, you are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith,” the testing of your faith, “...being much more precious than gold.” Brethren, your faith is eternal. Gold here, it says, “...that perishes.” The physical gold that man is seeking can perish. The faith that you and I have is eternal. It does not perish. It’s more valuable even than gold.

It helps us to look and seek glory, and ultimately, reflect God’s glory as well. “Precious than gold that perishes, it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” When you are strong in faith, if you are growing in faith, overcoming, brethren, and doing those things that God says, the good works, one of them that we are looking at is faith, that will ultimately give God glory, brethren, now and at the appearing of Christ, and that will help us to receive that inheritance of the ultimate glory as well.

But your faith is eternal. It can grow. It can be refined. It can become more. Just like gold, it can become more pure. So you can work at it. You can develop it for more glory. Let’s go to Romans four verse twenty. Romans chapter four and verse twenty. Speaking about Abraham, it says, “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief.” He believed God. Didn’t matter what his circumstances were. He continued patiently in well-doing, “...but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.” He didn’t see, in that circumstance, maybe the outcome, “…but he was strong in faith. He believed God and that gave God glory.”

That reflects, brethren, when you don’t stagger in a situation, when you don’t break up into pieces when things at work begin to fall down, if we think about in politics or we think about health-wise, things that can make people stagger, and you are cold and calm as a cucumber, so to speak, that you are just saying, “God will work this out in my life.” That is giving God glory.

What about the next way? Have you ever thought about that your faith, growing in faith, everyone, as you turn to Matthew chapter six, can give God glory? Never forget that. That’s a way to reflect God’s glory in your life if you grow in faith. Here’s another simple one. You are doing that. You probably did that this morning. Matthew chapter six, and we will pick up just in verse thirteen. The model prayer. In your prayers, everyone, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Through your prayers, brethren, that’s a work.

That’s an active way to see God through faith, knowing, again, that He is the one that gives us glory, and you, through prayer, brethren, work. If you stand up and you go and do those things that you prayed about and can go through your day as you prayed about it, do those works that you ask Him to guide you in, the things that you felt that’s impossible to do, you are giving God glory through your prayers. Doesn’t matter what you pray about. That’s a way to say in your prayer to give Him glory but also by doing, brethren, and praying, actively praying, you are giving God glory.

What’s another way? Proverbs four. Just going through some examples here. Proverbs four. We read in Ephesians about faith and prayer. This one here, wisdom. One verse here about wisdom. Remember that glory crown, not all of us have a hoary head yet, but we can strive for that, everyone.

It doesn’t also mean that if you have a hoary head, that you are wise. Here we see in Proverbs four verse nine, it says, “She shall give to your head an ornament of grace.” Speaking about wisdom, if you read chapter four, and it says, “She shall give you to your head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to you.” Again, that fine gold on somebody’s head, a crown, but we are looking at the hoary head.

If you are growing, brethren, and each and every day striving for wisdom, know what’s the right thing to do, what’s the right thing to think, what’s the right thing to ponder about, to meditate about. What is the right thing to say, when to say it, when to help somebody, when to not help somebody. Those things that you are doing as you are growing as a Christian, that ultimately, brethren, is a way to seek God’s glory, but also to reflect His glory.

There is no wisdom in this world. Wisdom is dwindling, and you and I should grow in it. What’s another way? Ephesians didn’t mention this. I want to add a couple as we have a few minutes to give you additional ones here in John. John chapter seventeen, speaking of us as a whole, as a church, everyone, verse twenty-two of John. Christ praying to the Father and says, “And the glory which you have given me, I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.”

Brethren, if we work at and strive to maintain unity through all our activities, I mentioned when we started the message about activities, that those things be done in unity, that those things will be done in strength, that we will grow, everyone, grow in unity.

Let’s go to a final one here. Hebrews two. Hebrews chapter two, and we’ve talked about unity. Let’s go to Hebrews two and pick up in verse nine as we begin to draw to a close. Hebrews chapter two and verse nine, it says, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”

So brethren, think about the suffering that you go through as well, and if you stick through it and ultimately do it through faith, that that will reflect glory on God’s behalf. Let’s go to one final verse, Revelation chapter five. Revelation chapter five, and we will pick up in verse twelve. Thinking about in the near future now for us all, everyone, “Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom.” There is wisdom coming through, “... and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.

Every good thing coming out from God, everyone, “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that lives for ever and ever.”

Everyone ultimately, brethren, will give God glory. You and I, we have been called. We’ve seen that desire today that God has built into man, and we also seen the way through simple ways that you and I can do, brethren, to seek God’s glory. Let’s go on to seek true glory, brethren, by continuing doing good works, by seeking and reflecting God’s glory now.