God the Just, Jeff Kliewer

For those of you who are part of the Wednesday noon study of the book of Genesis that resumes this week. So if you want to come anybody's welcome to come join us at noon every Wednesday. We study through the book of Genesis.

Also, there is a men's breakfast tomorrow. Hey John to totally the back give a wave. There's John. He leads the men's ministry once a month, but tomorrow rather than meeting here. It's gonna meet where?

Stacks on route 38. Yes. Breakfast tomorrow 7 a .m. So guys come to stacks. Have a great meal. Beginning next week only the sermons are gonna be online for the live stream or the upload video. Because a lot of times the music as great as it sounds in here.

It's not calibrated the same online. So it comes through very distorted and we don't want to give a bad picture of what it sounds like because in here it sounds Awesome, but online it doesn't so we're just gonna put sermons on the internet starting next week.

Also, did you notice that there's vacation Bible school? That's not our ordinary way of decorating the church. There are flyers on the back table. And I would encourage everybody to grab a couple of flyers and use them to get a couple more kids here.

Starting tomorrow so you can use those for invitations. And with that I have an announcement from Matt is Matt here. There is Matt and then we're gonna call on Eric and show you a picture of Ron in Malawi.

Stewardship, Financial Peace, and a Nine-Week Money Study

Good morning. So how many guys like to talk about money? Everybody. Well God does so God has over 2 ,000 verses about money in the Bible. And about a year ago I started you know, I'm a financial planner by trade.

I started taking a year-long study. To become what was called a certified Kingdom advisor. So it's really finding out more about what God wants you to do with your resources. And I know just two days ago.

I go home and I'm asking my wife like hey I got something I want to talk about because we just moved into a new house and she's like, oh what I'm like the budget. And she immediately shuts down. She's like, oh, yeah, there's other things to do.

Let's uh, let's go do something else. So we're gonna use Ramsey's Financial Peace University course as a basis, but we're gonna bring all the scriptures to life to have those conversations of. The argument the world views the differences the cultural world views of what the world wants you to do with your money.

What does God want you to do with your money? So it's a it's a nine week long study. It's gonna start mid-september. We're gonna have a signup sheet in the back starting next week. I'll have an email sent out Hopefully this week with more detail.

So if you have any questions come to me. We're trying to gauge how many people want to participate so we can kind of coordinate where it'll be. But it'll be at the church Wednesday nights. It's about nine to ten weeks long and more information to come.

All right. Thanks guys.

So Wednesday nights beginning in the fall. All right, Eric, come on up. Eric is going to jail. So I think we need to say goodbye. No Eric. Why don't you come tell what you're doing in the prisons?

Prison Ministry and Sharing the Gospel Through Sports

Thanks. Good morning, everyone. So a couple years ago my lovely wife Carrie started working for Saints prison ministry. Which is actually just down the road their headquarters in our office and so the Saints prison ministry they Get groups of guys and actually there are girls I know we tried to get a volleyball team going here a couple years ago didn't work out.

But basically we go into the prisons and we share the gospel With the prisoners through the through playing sports, so I'll be going to play softball heading out to Colorado a week from this upcoming Wednesday.

So be traveling there with a group of guys. We have guys from New Jersey, Pennsylvania some from Georgia and one guy from Illinois, so it's a mixture of guys that are going to be going out and So the main gist of our trip is to go into these prisons.

We'll play softball yours usually between one of the games or at halftime. We'll share the gospel with them. And so I appreciate your prayers. I know many of you have reached out and supported me through your prayers and many of you have also supported me financially.

So thank you for that. I'm fully funded and ready to go. So I'm looking forward to God using me. I'm a rookie at this. This is my first time playing with the Saints. So I'm just Going with my eyes wide open and just wanting to let the Lord use me in any way you can there.

So thanks again, and so that's that's where I'll be awesome. Thank you. Let's pray for Eric.

Also, look up on the screen before we pray. We have a picture of Ron. He's in Malawi right now with our missionary Hamilton. So we're gonna pray for Ron and Hamilton. They have a day camp going on. There at the orphanage as well, too.

Let's pray. So father God we thank you for Eric and that you have sent him into this mission field. We pray that you would go before him be his rear guard and keep your hand upon him Lord protect him.

Even from injuries and all the strain give him the endurance to play the sports. Well, but Lord most importantly put the gospel on his lips give him opportunities to share Christ. And we pray that many of these men in the prisons will come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We pray for Ron and Hamilton this week that you would bless them in the ministry that they're doing. That many of those children in Malawi would come to saving faith as well. We pray blessing on this work and now on this church service that we offer to you our worship Lord.

Help us now in Jesus name. Amen. Thanks, Eric.

Communion, the Lord’s Supper, and the Three Looks

Good morning church, please rise. As we ready our hearts and minds and spirits.

Communion.

We gather to praise our mighty God Whether in the valley or on the mountain Uncertainty or doubt our praise remains steadfast. Our praise is powerful a weapon that tears down walls And overcomes our enemies.

We praise because our God is sovereign Faithful and true as we get ready to worship. I'd like to read Psalm 103 verses 1 to 2. Bless the Lord all my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord. Oh my soul and do not forget any of his benefits. Let's lift our voices and hearts and praise to our glorious God.

I'll praise when I'm sure. Praise when I'm number is what's around me. He's drowning to praise your sovereign grace. Does you rain? Grace does you run? There's nobody greater. You're sorry. I'm sorry.

Not yet today that the Lord has made so we will.

Rejoice.

Rejoice and be glad and today I especially rejoice and be glad because today is Sunday. Sunday is the day that Jesus rose from the dead and Sunday is also the day I get to listen to my favorite preacher and Sunday is the day I get to see all of you guys and listen to my favorite band and I just have come to love Sundays, but today we have a Special Sunday as we celebrate the Lord's Supper and it's special because Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper himself and we've been Gathering as Christians and breaking bread together.

Ever since for 2 ,000 years since Jesus instituted. So it's very special. Some of you might not really know what to do during communion and I want to invite you guys to take some looks with me. Hi, Grady.

I Want you to look at three things. Three looks the first look is Looking back at the cross. We look at the cross because we want to proclaim the death of Jesus. Jesus really died on a cross and he rose from the dead.

But his body was broken and his precious blood was spilled for us. And it was the most special and precious blood ever shed. The second look we want to look. Within we want to examine ourselves of any sin and examine ourselves to make sure that we're remembering Jesus body that was broken and remembering the blood that was spilled for us.

So we don't want to take communion in an unworthy manner. We want to remember what Jesus wants us to remember and we want to be able to be real with ourselves and confess our sins. To Jesus knowing that Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us our sins when we confess them.

And then the third look is very important. We often forget when we proclaim the Lord's death. We do it until when? Until he comes back. So the third look is looking forward to Jesus coming back. So here's the three looks.

The first look the cross look back at the cross. The second look. Examine yourself. The third look look forward to Jesus coming back. Now if you don't believe any of these looks then you probably shouldn't take communion.

But if you believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead and you believe that you're a sinner. But has been shown Grace and you believe that Jesus will return again one day. I do and a lot of us do believe this then please Take communion with us today as a believer and ushers.

Would you come forward so that we can do that? But when I look at Jesus and I think wow. Those of you that believe in him. It's impossible for you guys not to be saved when we think of the death and the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

What a great hope we have. So I'm going to read from Luke chapter 22 Verse 19 and he took bread and when he had given things he broke it and gave it to them saying this is my body.

Which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me for you is the new covenant in my blood.

All right. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, thank you so much for the indescribable gift. The body and blood of your only son your dear son. That was given for our salvation. We pray Lord that any that hear this sermon that have not yet believed in the Son Would place their faith in Jesus Christ and for us who have believed Lord deepen our faith.

Teach us by your word strengthen our Devotion to you. Nourish us with the pure milk of your word with the solid food of Your word. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Richard Dawkins is perhaps the most famous atheist and He has spent a career attacking the foundations of Christianity only now he claims.

He's a cultural Christian. He sees how miserable things turn out when a culture leaves Christianity. Things fall apart and he wants to bring back Christmas carols and church choirs and Cathedrals and all of the traditions of Christianity.

He wants to be a cultural Christian if you spend your life chopping down a tree. Chopping at the root of a tree. You shouldn't be surprised when that tree is not bearing fruit. It's one thing to miss the orange that comes from the orange tree.

But if you've spent your whole life attacking that tree you have only yourself to blame. So there is some inconsistency there. But what Richard Dawkins has noticed is something that many people across the world are recognizing.

It's happening right now in Ireland there are giant protest movements because as Christianity has receded Islam has come in and taken over in Spain they're chanting Spain is Christian not Muslim and in the streets of London the same kinds of events are taking place.

There is a major cultural moment here where the West has been departing from Christianity. Did you know that even Elon Musk recently proclaimed that he's a cultural Christian he said that He thinks that Christianity is the best thing for for society.

And if you have eye for an eye all you're gonna end up with is a bunch of blind people. So you need Jesus's teachings on these things and the the importance of loving one another so he Calls himself a cultural Christian, but not long ago.

He sat down for an interview with the Babylon B. Do you guys know what the Babylon B is? It's like the onion. It's a satire site. But it's produced by Christians and these three guys had Elon Musk sitting at the table and their last question was hey Elon Could you do us a solid could you accept Jesus as your Savior?

It was pretty Flippant in how they asked the question. He said well my God is the God of Spinoza. Spinoza Believed that God was more of a force that's in everything. It's kind of pantheistic and his idea of God is that God basically set the world in motion and gave the world its order, but he's not personal and he doesn't have wrath against sin.

But Elon Musk said hey if Jesus is saving people I'm not gonna get in his way sure I'll be saved and then they celebrated say okay Elon Musk got saved. But then he went on to continue to say irreverent things about the Lord's Supper.

Demonstrating that he didn't truly get saved. He became a cultural Christian or acknowledged it more than he had in the past. To every person listening to this sermon whether here or online. It is not enough to be a cultural Christian even if all of Christianity Dominated the world and made our traditions and our culture More pleasant and better to live in which certainly a Christian society is far superior than than any other society.

It's obvious. You can just look at the world and determine that. But if even the whole world was quote-unquote Christian and you yourself have not repented of sin. Felt the weight of your own sin and known that the wrath of God hangs over your head to where you turn from sin and embrace Jesus Christ.

The one who was crucified and who rose from the dead. Then you go to an eternal hell. Eternal suffering and fire under the wrath of God. What would it profit you if you gained the whole world? But lost your soul.

I wish that the guys from the Babylon be. Instead of asking a flippant question had said turn with me Elon listener to Romans 3 21 to 31 turn with me now. I believe that this passage of Scripture Is the most most direct poignant Theologically rich Statement of the gospel we have in the Bible.

These verses carry so much weight and they're so profound and so brilliant and radiant because of What just went before which sets us up to understand that there is none righteous. No, not one. Together we have become worthless.

The poison of asps is under our lips. Cursing and bitterness come from our mouths. Our throats are like an open tomb. Our feet are quick to shed blood. There is no fear of God before our eyes that all people together Have become unrighteous and by the law by obedience to the law.

No one will be justified. Rather the law only brings us the knowledge of sin.

And.

So the wrath of God is over the sinners of this world and that includes everyone. And so when we open up into Romans 3 21 through 31, the first thing that should hit you is but now. The word now noony in the Greek.

It's a very strong Emphatic term that changes everything. It's a complete 180. We were going this way about the the sinfulness of man, but now a complete turn. Everything changes. Light bursts into the room you were buried.

Alive.

You could not get out. You were in a coffin six feet under running out of oxygen about to enter a Christless eternity when all of a sudden light breaks into the coffin and Someone has rescued you and opened this way of life for you.

This is the kind of change that we're experiencing right now. Right now, but now let's read it but now. The righteousness of God has been manifested Apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it.

The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe for there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and Are justified by his grace as a gift Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God put forward as a propitiation By his blood.

To be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness. Because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Then what becomes of our boasting it is excluded by what kind of law. By a law of works. No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or as God the God of Jews only.

Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes of Gentiles also since God is one who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith by no means on the contrary we uphold the law.

That was a mouthful wasn't it? So we can just close the Bible and go home. Now. You guys all got it. Did we figure that out each? Verb each noun every little word in this passage is packed With rich meaning.

Let's begin at but now. Again, that's now a complete change of pace from the death Lee dark sin and the wrath of God that is revealed from heaven to suddenly these bright rays of hope even the Righteousness of God is manifested.

It's made known Apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it. Recall that our sin.

Was damnable.

We had no righteousness of our own. No, not one of us. But here is presented the righteousness of God. It's very important because it's not our righteousness. It's not by doing good and Being acceptable to God rather it is God's own righteousness his perfection his holiness.

Not ours. It's foreign to us. It's an alien righteousness. That is now credited to us. The righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law. Why does it say? That the law and the prophets bear witness to it because the law Exposed our sin.

It also gave a promise of the coming righteous one. Zechariah 9 9 the righteous king having salvation gentle and lowly and riding on a donkey. He was promised before he came. The law also shows the righteousness of God.

Israel kept on sinning and Dying in the desert. God Remained truthful and perfect in all his ways. So law and prophets refers the law to the books of Moses Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy.

The prophets then refers to the other writers and The whole Old Testament tells us of a righteousness that was coming. They didn't understand it fully but there were there were glimpses in the Old Testament.

Verse 22 now reveals Something that the world never knew the greatest news. The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction. No distinction between the richest man in the world Who can go anywhere and do anything he wants and the poorest orphan living on the streets of the long way.

Malawi. No distinction between the smartest man and someone born without mental faculties. No distinction between Jew and Gentile. No distinction among men because all of us are guilty. And yet here those who have faith in Jesus are Given the righteousness of God to their account.

Isn't that amazing if you felt the weight of Romans 1 18 to 3 20. The sinfulness of man, then the glory of this statement should knock you right out of your chair. The righteousness of God comes by faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe anyone here who believes in Jesus the Son of God who died and rose is Given the righteousness of God.

Amazing statement. Paul goes on to give justification for this. Because if God simply gave you righteousness. Willy-nilly. Like it's no big deal and took your sin and just ignored it like it never happened.

He would not be a just God. How is it that God can give the righteousness of one to another? What's the ground for this? I would say that verses 24 and 25 in Romans chapter 3 are the most theologically rich statement ever written.

Perfect. I describe it as being like a diamond. We just said justification is through faith. That's earth-shattering. God declares righteous and credits righteousness to the one who has faith. But in verses 24 and 25 there are seven prepositional phrases between justified and through faith.

And I say it's like a diamond because I don't know if anybody here has ever held a diamond. I Held one when I bought a diamond for my wife for an engagement ring. But it was nothing compared to what a rich man could buy.

Imagine a diamond that had weight to it and you could turn it around. From each angle that you look at it. The light comes in and gives you a different beautiful radiance. It's brilliant and you have to look at it in different ways to really appreciate The diamond that's what these verses are like.

The diamond is justification by faith but each of the phrases in between adds depth and meaning and all of it is essential. It's all intrinsic to the value of what we're saying here because some people hear the gospel preached and they Yawn, and they laugh and yuck it up and go about their business to an eternal hell.

But other people are struck by glory the weight of glory and they see in these words life itself. The glory of God the hope the living hope and so let's look at these phrases one by one verses 20 verse 23 simply summarizes the big idea.

That we've been saying the last few weeks. Romans 1 18 to 320 can be summarized this way. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. It's first verse my mom taught me in The A to Z Bible verses.

A all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. B believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Acts 1631. Here verses 24 and 25 are saying that believe in Jesus and you are saved, but let's look at it part by part.

First part of it is are Justified. Now let your eyes run all the way ahead to the end of that sentence ignoring the seven prepositional phrases and you see the big idea justification.

Through.

Faith the ESV says to be received by faith, but in the Greek, it's just dia through and Pisteis, which means faith. It's through faith and The ESV is adding some words to help you grasp what's being said here to be received by faith.

But the big idea is justification through faith. That's the main point now. In between justified and Faith you have these prepositional phrases. The first is by his grace. By his grace. Not by your merit.

Not by my goodness. By nothing inside of me. In fact, I'm the worm. I'm the wicked one who deserves to be trampled underfoot but God Has a gracious heart. The word grace the etymology of the word really refers to leaning in toward one whom is loved.

The showing of favor.

Kindness.

Toward an undeserving person. So grace is unmerited favor. It's it's God who has grace toward a sinner. So the first phrase by grace that word summarizes the gospel. It's all of God's goodness toward us nothing good in us.

The second phrase is as.

A.

Gift. Do you see it in verse 24 as a gift? You can't understand the gospel unless you realize that what you've been given is completely free. You paid nothing. You never went and worked in the field to earn a salary.

You never did something good that God noticed and Then rewarded you. Rather it is purely a free.

Gift.

It came from his gracious heart and without merit it was given to you. The righteousness of God being declared righteous is Entirely his gracious gift to you. The third of seven phrases here in verse 24 through the redemption.

Don't gloss over that phrase. Because redemption is the buying back out of slavery the purchasing. You were made in the image of God, but having fallen into sin you didn't know it, but you became a slave.

You had to obey sin as your master. You could not Overcome sin and free yourself. You were held captive by your sin. You were a slave to sin. Anyone who sins is a slave to sin. But Jesus came and redeemed you.

He bought you. He purchased you and made you belong to him. He's the rightful owner the creator God. And you were made by him. Notice. Paul when he identifies himself in Romans 1 5 he says a slave of Jesus Christ.

I'm sorry. It's actually 1 1 the first thing he says Paul. The word servant doulas in the Greek is slave a servant of Christ Jesus. You were purchased from slavery to sin and made to belong to Christ to serve him.

Redemption is being bought. But with what were you purchased? It wasn't silver and gold. It was something far more valuable. It was the very blood of Jesus Christ. The redemption is in Christ Jesus, and that's our next phrase.

You haven't seen the glory and the splendor of the gospel until you've seen the person Jesus Christ. There's never been anyone like him. There are many things in this world that capture our attention.

Shiny things that are exciting to watch. People that you admire and look up to but you've never seen anyone like Jesus. You've never seen a sinless one who walks on water and opens blind eyes and Teaches the world the way of righteousness.

Things that no one else had ever said. Having lived a perfect life. Who gives his own life laying his life down for his friends and.

Conquers death.

Ascending to the right hand of the father the gospel is all about Jesus Christ. It says in Christ Jesus. It then goes on to say whom God put forward. We tend to skip that Prepositional phrase because it leads into the propitiation That causes us to think theologically, but don't move too quickly over being put forward.

What does it mean to be put forward the term in the Greek actually means? Presented or made a public spectacle. To understand the significance of this you have to understand God's wrath.

In.

Giving people over to sin. There's no demonstration of God's righteousness in a visible way. This is a very key point. When men began to suppress the truth of God They were given over to all manner of unrighteousness ungodliness unrighteousness.

Suppressing truth they exchanged the glory of God for a lie and worshipped and served the created thing rather than the Creator. Listen God gave them over To a depraved mind to do what ought not be done and they became slaves of all kinds of impurity.

They were given over to the lusts of the flesh and because still they did not retain the knowledge of God they were given over to unnatural passions and Still they were given over to all manner of unrighteousness in a list of 21 horrible things murder and slander and gossip and all this evil.

The point is listen. When God gave over the people of this world to their sin to do what ought not be done. That was the revelation of his wrath you would think the opposite a Sinner rebels against the Holy God.

He should fall into a pit of fire that very second, but God doesn't do that. So the world looks around and says where's God. If there's a God he would judge all this wickedness in the earth there must be no God and So they suppress the truth because his eternal power and divine nature are clearly seen in the things that are made.

They suppress the truth of God, but listen God's wrath is seen in The very wickedness of man. It proves that we're given over. The very fact that he's not quickly judging. Shows the world. The wrath of God this is what Romans 1 18 means when it says the wrath of God is revealed from heaven.

It's in the wicked deeds of this world. So picture this. Everybody sins and they go about their own way and it's as if God isn't even there and This goes on for year after year after year. Habakkuk complains about it.

God. Where's your judgment against these sinners? Jonah doesn't even want to preach to Assyria because they're so wicked they're given over to sin and then the revelation of the public spectacle the silence of God towards sin is deafening and then One is put forward as a public spectacle and the world sees the wrath of God.

He spit upon a Crown-of-thorns is pressed down on his head and blood drips down his beautiful eyes. He's whipped with the cat of nine tails and his back is torn open and He's laid upon a cross and nailed to the cross and listen.

He is hoisted up. Why he's a public display. Even a sign over his head. Mocking his claim to be king of the Jews. We often think of the cross of Jesus Christ as a picture of God's love the sacrifice of the Son.

But we have to understand the other side of that too. He's a public spectacle displaying God's wrath against sin. You see the gospel is about God the just. Not just us. The ones justified by his death.

The public spectacle displayed the holiness of God. Before our eyes he had passed over these sins and People questioned whether he's even good and righteous. But in the cross. There is a public spectacle now this word I don't know if many of you know it, but it's one of the most important words in the Bible.

It is propitiation. Have you heard it? It says here in verse 25 God put him forward this public spectacle as a Propitiation. The word propitiation means to turn away wrath. To appease wrath. God has wrath against sin and in seeing this public spectacle that God himself offers His wrath is completely satisfied.

It's turned away. It's propitiated. It's finished and so to tell us that Jesus speaks from the cross it is Finished. The wrath of God is exhausted. Into the body of Jesus as he hangs on the tree. That's propitiation.

Propitiation is so important and the last phrase there is by his blood.

The blood.

Life is in the blood. Leviticus 17 11. So God requires the blood on the altar for the making of atonement. When the blood is put on the doorpost the angel of death passes over the blood of the Lamb. Satisfies the wrath of God against sinners like us.

The blood. And so the phrase concludes the one sentence concludes to be received by faith. When we say that God Justifies a sinner like me when I have faith in Jesus. It's not a flippant thing. It's not just a theological doctrine that started the Reformation.

Justification by faith it is the most glorious radiant diamond the world has ever seen. It's the message of Jesus Carrying in his body on the tree the wrath that I deserve. He did that for me and for you who believe.

Notice, it's for those who believe. It's a very key point. He satisfies wrath completely so he could never have wrath again towards those who believe. So what of those who Will never believe that wrath must be satisfied on the judgment day the great day of his wrath.

Revelation 6 17 a day of eternal fire. Next this passage is about God the just. Verse 25 halfway through says this was to show God's righteousness to show that God is just. He's righteous. He is holy and pure.

Because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. When David slept with Bathsheba and had Bathsheba's husband killed Uriah the Hittite. How did he not just fall into a pit of hell if God is righteous.

How was Abraham credited with righteousness because he believed the Word of God? The answer is right here that divine forbearance means tolerant patience. God was patient tolerating sin in those who would believe in him why.

It was to show his righteousness at the present time. It all depended on what would happen on that day when Jesus himself died for their sin. So that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

This is very important. God the just is Shown to be righteous by punishing sin in Jesus on the cross. It's the only way that Abraham could be forgiven or David. It's the only way that we can be forgiven when people put faith in Jesus Christ Abraham and David.

We're looking forward to the Messiah not fully seeing what we see. We look back on the cross, but we're justified by the same faith in the same one-time work of God for sinners like us. The last section is verses 27 to 31 and the big idea here is because God did it this way justification by faith He gets all the glory.

This is all about God the just. He gets glory by saving in this way. Then what becomes of our boasting if I Contributed something to my salvation. I would have something to boast about wouldn't I? If God judged people based on being good enough and doing good things.

Then the sinner could boast in the presence of God, but here it is excluded by what kind of law by law of works? No, but by the law of faith. God ordered the world this way that those who put their faith in Jesus.

Would be.

Received as righteous because that glorifies him and his salvation. Think of the opposite of that to get a clearer picture of why this matters so much to God. Do you remember Nebuchadnezzar? He paraded around and he looked at Babylon from his high tower and he said is not this Babylon that I have built and Immediately God struck him in his mind and he was reduced to the status of an animal and as a beast.

He went out in the field and began to graze on the grass for seven years and. Then coming out of that God restored his mind. Read Daniel 4 for a beautiful statement of the glory of God. My glory I will not give to another.

Isaiah 42. God is concerned for his own glory. The very purpose of being a man or a woman made in the image of God. The reason you were created is To glorify God. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

The Westminster Confession got that right. The chief end of man is to glorify God. Herod Antipas wore a shiny suit. Standing as the king over Israel but he was really an Edomite and a pretender to the throne and.

And when he boasted and the people said this is the voice of a God not a man. He received that praise and the Bible says he was eaten by worms and died. It doesn't say he died and was eaten by worms. It says he was eaten by worms and died.