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GTM - Not Unto Us - By Eduardo Elizondo - April 14, 2023 Thank you, Steve, and happy Sabbath, everybody. As Steve mentioned, the message is entitled "Not Onto Us," it's based on the first three words in Psalm 115:1. Please join me there. Those first three words in that Psalm is the title of this message. Not Unto Us; it's important what we read this. Verse 1. Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto Your name, give glory for Your mercy and Your truth's sake.
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GTM - Not Unto Us - By Eduardo Elizondo - April 14, 2023 Thank you, Steve, and happy Sabbath, everybody. As Steve mentioned, the message is entitled "Not Onto Us," it's based on the first three words in Psalm 115:1. Please join me there. Those first three words in that Psalm is the title of this message. Not Unto Us; it's important what we read this. Verse 1. Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto Your name, give glory for Your mercy and Your truth's sake.
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The message is titled "Not Unto Us" and is based on Psalm 115. It emphasizes that the glory is not for ourselves, but for God. It talks about giving glory to God and the importance of understanding that our purpose is to give glory to God and not to ourselves. It also mentions that God has called us to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus. The message reminds us that everything is for God's glory and that we are formed for his glory. It emphasizes the need to declare God's praise and to give him glory in everything. The message also highlights that God blots out our transgressions for his own sake and will not give his glory to another. It encourages us to understand that our purpose is to glorify God and to live our lives with the mindset of giving him all the glory. Happy Sabbath, everybody. And as Steve mentioned, the message is entitled Not Unto Us, and it's based on the first three words in Psalm 115. If you want to join me there, that would be great. Let's go to Psalm 115. Those are the first three words in that psalm, and that's the title of this message, Not Unto Us, because it's very important what we're going to read in this psalm. And we're not going to spend a lot of time on this psalm, but those three words and the meaning of those first three verses tell us a lot about the plan of God and tell us a lot about our calling and who we are in God. And verse one in Psalm 115, it says, not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto your name give glory, for your mercy and for your truth's sake. And it is amazing when we take this perspective and try to understand the scriptures from this perspective, that it is not unto us, the glory is not for ourselves, is not to ourselves, is not to give glory to ourselves and to our name. The process of conversion, life itself was given to us by God because of his love, but it's not for our glory. And it's not because of anything that we have ever done. And we know that, we know our calling is because of the grace of God, because he has had mercy on us. But today we'd like to study what the Bible talks about, giving glory to God, giving glory to the name of God and giving glory for his mercy and for his truth's sake. And what does this mean? Because the Bible talks a lot about giving the glory to God and not unto us, because many times, and this is something that throughout our history in the church of God, we have not necessarily understood this to the extent that we probably should or need to understand that the glory is not unto us, that the reason we are here, the reason we have been called is for the glory of God. And this is in this song, what he's saying is that we are not to give the glory ourselves, that we are not to puff ourselves up. We're coming out of the piece of unleavened bread and we learn a lot of lessons and we've heard a lot of messages and a lot of nourishment regarding who God is and the miracles, especially at the end in that last message by Fred, where he was talking about the miracles that God did for the people of Israel. So as we go through this message, we'll remember some of those scriptures in Exodus and we'll remember some of those things, but it's all in the context of not unto us, but unto your name, give glory. And this is the reason for your mercy and for your truth's sake. It's for the sake of God, for the sake of his mercy, for the sake of his precious truth. That's the reason we're here. That's the reason God has a plan. That's the reason why God the Father and Jesus Christ or the two Jehovah's they had an agreement before the foundation of the world. It's all for his glory, for their glory and for their truth. In verse two, it says, why should the nation say, where now is their God? And sometimes people ask that question, where now is their God? They see us in trouble or they see our carnality, they see our failures because we do have failures and we do have shortcomings and we have a lot of things that we have to still endure and overcome. But the reality is that we have to remember that we are God's creation and it's all to his glory. In verse three says, our God is in the heavens. He has done whatever he has pleased. And that is for his glory, for his mercy, for his truth's sake. That's why the glory does not belong to us. There is nothing that we haven't received as we know and have heard many times as the Apostle Paul said. But today we're gonna study some scriptures that talk about the glory of God and giving glory to God because that is the pinnacle of our potential is to give full glory to God. None of ourselves, we understand it has to come from him, but it is glory to him and by him. And we have to study some of these things to understand what does it mean none to us. Let's go to Galatians one. Let's go to Galatians one. In Galatians one, it's in the very introduction where Paul is saying in his introduction, in his opening, his salutation, he says, grace and peace in verse three, grace and peace be to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. If we're gonna read some of these scriptures and we're gonna remember, not unto us, but unto your name give glory. And how important it is to give God the glory in everything and for everything. It says here, but unto your name, it says, grace and peace be to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, verse four, who gave himself for our sins in order that he might deliver us from the present evil world according to the will of our God and Father. And we just read that. He has done whatever he has pleased. So what is the answer? Where is your God when the nations say that? Our God is in the heavens. He has done whatever he has pleased. There is nothing that is out of his control. And as we saw with the parting of the Red Sea and everything that he did for Israel, it's for his glory. We're gonna read about that a little bit later. But it says here something tremendous. It says that he gave himself for our sins. He's talking about our Lord Jesus Christ. So with this salutation he's saying, grace and peace be to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for our sins. And the purpose is so that he might deliver us from the present evil world to rescue us. And we went over that in Passover as well. That's what he did so that death can pass over us. And we are not sentenced to eternal death because of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. And it says, according to the will of God, of our God and Father. Verse five, to whom be the glory into the ages of eternity, amen. And these verses tell us so much that all that's the reason why he's not unto us, why he's unto his name give glory, because he did this. He planned all of this before the foundation of the earth. He gave himself for our sins. Jesus Christ did that because it was the will of our God and Father, that's what it says in verse four. And then it really sums it up in verse five, to whom be the glory into the ages of eternity. All the glory to God, all the glory to God the Father and to his Son, Jesus Christ. To them belongs all glory. Let's go to 1 Peter, 1 Peter chapter five. Because these verses, there's a lot of verses that talk about the glory of God and all the glory that belongs, all the glory belongs to God the Father and to his Son, Jesus Christ, as we read. And that's why he's not unto us. And there's a lot of lessons that we have to take from these verses and to understand and to really live and act in that way. In verse 10, we're gonna start in verse 10 here in 1 Peter five. And this is at the end. The other one was at the beginning of the epistle and this is at the end of the epistle by Peter, but it really, really is all encompassing. This message, whether it's at the beginning, whether it's at the end, it's the same message because it's the same God and same Spirit inspiring these words. And in verse 10, it says, not only the God of all grace, who has called us unto his eternal glory in Christ Jesus. And we just saw grace and peace be to you. He's the God of all grace. And he has called us unto his eternal glory in Christ Jesus. So for us to understand the scripture is saying, the glory, the only glory that we do have is his glory. We have a little bit of it. And we're gonna read more about what that is. But it says, he has called us unto his eternal glory. And we can view it in a multitude of perspectives. We can view it from the glory of God. He has called us unto his eternal glory because the purpose of our lives is to become born of the Spirit. Children born in the kingdom of God the Father and Jesus Christ and be in his glory. And this is the purpose, to be in his eternal glory. That's what we're called to, to be in his presence forever. And it is to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus. Now he tells us, after you have suffered a little while, because that's important, that's what we suffer. He says that he's gonna do this. He's gonna say, he's going to perfect us. He says, himself, may the God of all grace himself perfect you, establish you, establish, strengthen and settle you. The God of all grace. Yes, after we have suffered a little bit, he himself is perfecting us. He himself is establishing us, strengthening us and settling us. And the ultimate of all that is gonna be at the resurrection. But right now we are still suffering a little while because this life is just a little while. In comparison to all eternity, it's almost nothing. But this is the God of all grace. And the reason that he called us is to his eternal glory. Verse 11, to him be the glory. Not unto us, to him be the glory and the power into the ages of eternity. Amen. Because we are to give all the glory to God in everything. All the honor, all the glory and all the praise is God's. And that's one lesson that he wants us to really understand and really know and really live by that. Being conscious of that every minute of every hour of every day. To give thanks to them, to understand that there's nothing we have not received, to understand that we are the object of their love, that we are the creation being created in his image according to his own likeness. We are already in his image, but we're not in his likeness. We're not like God. That's the whole character development process. But we have to remember this foundational thing, not unto us. It's not unto us. The glory is not unto us. The honor is not unto us. It's all to God the father and his son, Jesus Christ. It's in here. And even Jesus Christ himself gives the glory to the father as well. And when he was on the earth, he said, my father is greater than I. That's why all the apostles, they write this way. They understand this. It is to him, the God of all grace. And we know he's the father because he called us in Christ Jesus, his son. But it's to him be the glory and the power into the ages of eternity. And that's the way it's going to be. That's why they amen there. Let's go to Isaiah 43. We're gonna read something very interesting. And this is concerning Israel. This is talking about Israel, talking to Jacob. But it applies to us as well. And there's some very important lessons for us to understand here and to remember that this life is not for ourselves, is not to do our will and to do our pleasure and to get glory and honor and enjoyment. Yes, there's gonna be some of that, some enjoyment and some good times. Obviously, God is good. He's loving. He wants us to enjoy life. And he wants us to enjoy his goodness and to enjoy all of that, not exclusively. Obviously, we're gonna have trials. We're gonna be challenged. But he does want that too. He's a loving father. He knows and understands that we need everything, that we need a complete training. Because quite honestly, it feels like it's harder to stay close to God when we're in abundance, when things are going well. It's even more of a challenge to stay close to God, to give him the glory, to give him the honor, to think of him, to pray without ceasing. When we're in trials, it's easier to do that. But let's read here in Isaiah 43. And let's read this understanding, understanding the mind of God and what he says. In verse four, it says, since you are precious in my sight, and this is God speaking, the Lord speaking. Since you are precious in my sight, you have been honored and I have loved you. Therefore, I will give men for you and people for your life. And that's exactly what he did with Israel. That's exactly what he did. He destroyed all of Egypt. He destroyed all the army in the bottom of the sea. He destroyed the entire country, basically, with all the 10 plagues. And he killed all the firstborn. He did that. He gave men for them. He gave men for Israel and people for their life. Now that those lives are not precious, they are, and God will give them an opportunity in second resurrection. But this is the love that God had for them. And brethren, this is the love that God has for us too. He has also given people for our life. He has also done that because there's many called and few are chosen. If he's doing that, not that we know and understand that people are gonna have their opportunity, but he did that with them. And this is the love that he also has for us. And he says, you have been honored, but it's not unto us. We have to understand that. And then he tells Israel, fear not, for I am with you. I will bring your seed from the east and gather you from the west. And this is a prophecy of physical Israel. He will gather them from the east and from the west. And he will also gather his elect from the four corners of the earth as well. The same. And then he says, verse six, I will say to the north, give up and to the south, do not give back. Again, four corners of the earth. Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth. And he calls Israel his children, his sons and his daughters, but this applies to us as well. We know when first John, he says, we know that we are the children of God now. And we have the seed of the ghetto. We have that seed. God loves all of his people. And he will call us. He will call us from the four corners of the earth, everywhere, from the ends of the earth, as he says here. He says, even everyone who is called by my name. And we are the church of God. We are called by his name. For I have created him for my glory. I have formed him, yea, I have made him. He has created us for his glory, not unto us, but for his glory. That's the reason he has created us. And that is something that we have to internalize, that we have to meditate, that we have to think about, that everything that we go through, that everything that we receive, that everything that he is changing in us, is to his glory, for his name, to give glory to his name and to his son. We know it's to the glory of the father and of his son, that he says very specifically here. And it's both. Obviously, we know it was the will of God the father to create everything, and he did it through his son, Jesus Christ. Nothing that was created without him. We know that. That's why he specifically, the one who is speaking, we know is the Lord God of the Old Testament, the one who became Jesus Christ. He said, for I have created him for my glory. I have formed him, yea, I have made him. He made us. He made us and then he came and he gave his life. How much love does God have for us? But we have to remember, it is for his glory, for the glory of Jesus Christ and for the glory of the father. That's the reason. That's the reason that he has made us. This drop down to verse 21 here in the same chapter. Verse 21, and this, the Lord continues to speak and he says, these people that I formed for myself, they shall declare my praise. And that is our purpose, brethren. That is our purpose, to declare the praise of God. What are the 24 elders doing before the throne of God? They sing nonstop. They glorify God, holy, like all the time. That's what they're doing. That's the pinnacle of what we can do. Praising God is the most important thing that we can do. Because it's really fulfilling our destiny. It's really fulfilling our purpose. That's what he says here. These people that I have formed for myself, they shall declare my praise because he is worthy of all the praise and all the honor. Not unto us, but unto his name. Unto his name we will give glory. We will give praise. Let's drop down to verse 25. He keeps talking, the Lord keeps talking. He says, I, even I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and will not remember your sins. And this is an amazing thing. It's the compassion of God that he blots out our transgressions. And again, this is another verse that can be seen from a multitude of angles. We can think about it. And he is the one that blots out our transgressions. When we go before him, when we go before God the Father, he forgives us because of the blood of his own son, Jesus Christ. And he's the one that was doing the speaking here. And he said that, I am he who blots out your transgressions. So we can also see it from that angle that he was the lamb of God himself who blots our transgressions through his blood. But let's remember why. He says, for my own sake, for my own sake. That's the reason. The reason is for his glory. The reason is for his honor. What God the Father and Jesus Christ really want is for all of us to be together and give them glory, give them the glory and the praise that they deserve and to be forever with them in New Jerusalem. That is the vision. That is the plan that they have for us. They want to see us in their kingdom forever, to be there in their temple. Let's go to Isaiah 48, just a few chapters ahead. Isaiah 48. We're gonna read a couple of verses here. And we're starting in verse nine. Because we see this theme over and over in the Bible. We just have to have our eyes open to see it. That is not unto us, that is to his name. That is for his name's sake, for his glory, for his truth's sake. That's what we have to know and understand and study that we live this way every day. That we live this way every day. This is gonna change our mindset. This is gonna completely turn around our mindset that we're not here to save ourselves. We're not here just to be glorified. Yes, that will happen, but that is not what is important to us. It has to be glorifying God. Because when we are before his presence, it is gonna be absolutely incredible. It's gonna be absolutely incredible that we're gonna be speechless. His glory and his power, both of God the Father and of his son, Jesus Christ. That's why we cannot see them right now. We would die because he's that powerful. And not just powerful, but beautiful and glorious. And let's remember that it is everything is for their sake. That's why it's not unto us. Verse nine. For my name's sake, I will put off my anger. And for my praise, I will hold it back. For your sake, that I do not cut you off. The one thing that he doesn't, for our sake, is hold on his anger because he would destroy us. He says that I do not cut you off. Sometimes that's what we deserve until we come repenting again on our knees, sincerely from the heart, asking to be forgiven. And let's see what it says in verse 10, what he does. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. It's much more precious than any of that because he wants a heart and a mind willingly yielding to him, willingly praising him and giving him the honor and the praise that he deserves. All God the Father and Jesus Christ. He said, I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction. Why? Because that's the only way to get rid of self. That's the only way to take out all that evil human nature, all that law of sin and death, which we know stays with us until the day we die. But to take that carnality and those works of darkness, all of us, to refine us and to change our minds and our heart, to point them to him, to understand him, to know him, to pray to him. That's what they want. That's what Jesus Christ is saying here. He said, I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction for my own sake. For my own sake, I will do it. He says it twice. He's emphasizing that it's for his sake, not for our sake. We have no business in glorying ourselves because we are the chosen ones. We have no business in saying that we're so special because we are the church of God. It's for his sake. We have nothing to glory ourselves in. It says, the one who glories, let him glory in the Lord, not in himself, not unto us. It says, for why should my name be profane? And I will not give my glory to another. That's what he says, because that's what is just. And that's what is righteous. And that's what he wants. He wants our heart. He wants us to glorify him from the heart. Every day, and to give thanks in everything. Because we do tend to have that mentality. It's within human nature. Let's go to Deuteronomy 9. It's within human nature to do this, to exalt ourselves, to want to be praised, to want to be exalted or looked upon, and it's within our nature. And we have to fight against that. God knows that. He knows that. He knows it's in our nature. We're gonna read here in Deuteronomy 9. But he does not want that. He does not want for us to get puffed up. We've left the leaven behind. We have gone to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and we are being the leaven. We are in that process of getting rid of that leaven that puffs us up. Not unto us, but unto your name, give glory. Deuteronomy 9, verse 1. Hear, O Israel, you are to pass over Jordan today. You are to go and to expel nations greater and mightier than you. Cities great and fenced up to heaven. So he was going to confound the mighty, as we know in 1 Corinthians 1. Verse 2, a people great and tall, the sons of the giants, whom you know and have heard it said, who can stand before the sons of Anah? And we know that happened. By this time, they had already been wandering in the desert. They were about to go into the promised land. But they said then, who can stand before the sons of Anah? They believed and they trusted in themselves rather than God. They trusted in their glory and their power and their might instead of trusting in God. They said that. But then he says in verse 3, therefore understand this day that the Lord your God is he who goes over before you. He is the one that was going in front of me. This is like a consuming fire. Remember the pillar of fire? He shall destroy them. And he shall bring them down before your face. It's not by your own glory and power he's telling them. So you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly as the Lord has said to you. And now they required obedience. And it was a lesson that they had to learn. But it was not them. It was not within themselves. He said, he was making it very clear, very evident that it was not them, but it was God who was gonna do it. And to remember this lesson. And then he tells them something very important. In verse 4. And think about this about ourselves too. We have to, each one of us think about this. Do not speak in your heart. And we know what that means, speaking in your heart, right? We had that message about Lev by Michael Hise and that was very important. They said, do not speak in your heart because he was usually speaking within your heart as opposed to speaking out of the heart. But speaking within your heart after the Lord your God has cast them out from before you saying bad things. For my righteousness, the Lord has brought me in to possess this land. That's not the reason. It wasn't even about them. He says, but for the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God drives them out from before you. But how much puffing up was in the people of Israel and the nation of Israel, even now? How much puffing up there is? Oh, it's because we are the chosen people. Oh, we're persecuted because we're the chosen people. Oh, we are this because we're the chosen people. But God is saying, that's not the reason. I'm using you as a tool to punish these other nations. That's the reason I'm bringing and to fulfill the promise of court. We'll read that. They says, but for the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God drives them out from before you. Verse five, not for your righteousness or for the outrightness of your heart do you go to possess their land, but for the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God drives them out from before you. And this is the other part of the reason, as I said, so that he may perform the word which the Lord swore to our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So yes, he was gonna keep the oath, but it was not because of their righteousness. It was not that. He warned them and he told them that. It says, therefore, understand that the Lord your God does not give you this good land to possess it for your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. And brethren, we are stiff-necked people. And it's not because of our righteousness. In fact, it's the opposite. It's because he saw the weak and base things. It's because he saw parts where he could work, where he could do a work for himself, for his own glory, for people that actually gonna listen to him, for people that are going to obey him, for people that are going to follow in his ordinances willingly, lovingly, joyfully. And we have to do that, brethren, because we are also stiff-necked people. And it's not because of our righteousness. It's not because of a righteousness of our heart. And we cannot be comparing ourselves to the people that have not been called yet because we are demoted to be servants of them. That's what we're going to be in the kingdom. Yes, kings and priests, but also servants. That's what true kings do. They are servants. They are the most humble. They are the most unleavened people, the ones that rule well, of course. But that's what it is. Our king of kings is Jesus Christ. If he was the most humble, there was nobody like him to even give up his divinity to come and die for us. We cannot exalt ourselves as we are walking past into the wilderness, past the Red Sea. We have to leave the leaven behind. We cannot be a puffed-up church. We cannot be a puffed-up group of people, the called-out ones. We have to be sincere. We have to be unleavened. We have to stop comparing ourselves to people in the world. We cannot do that. We cannot look down on people. We have to remember that God has had compassion on us. And we cannot speak in our heart after the Lord has rescued us, as we read at the beginning, rescued us from the evil one. We cannot boast. We cannot boast in ourselves. We are to give to glory to God, because that's really the owner of that glory. He's the owner of everything. But He wants our hearts. He wants us to praise Him willingly from the heart. That's what He wants us to do. He wants us to love Him. He wants us to get to know Him and to love Him, because when we really get to know Him, there's gonna be nothing else that we can do but praise Him. Praise Him, just like the 24 elders. That's what He wants. That's our destiny. That's what God desires. Let's go to Exodus 12. Exodus 12. Because we're going to continue to see this theme of the glory belongs to God and the things that He does for Himself, because He alone, God the Father and Jesus Christ alone, Elohim, they serves all the glory. Only they deserve the glory, not unto us. Exodus 12, verse 12. This is when He was giving the ordinance of the Passover. And He says the reason why, after He gives all the instructions of what they were to do in selecting the lamb and when they were gonna kill it and how and all of that. And it says, this is the reason why, for I will pass through the land of Egypt this night and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. He was willing to execute judgment against those gods to show that there's no one like Him. There's no one even remotely close to Him. That He is the Lord. He's the only one worthy of praise and worship. Only Elohim, only God the Father and Jesus Christ. Let's go to Exodus 14, just a couple of chapters ahead. Exodus 14, and we're gonna see several verses here remembering this, that is not unto us. And we just renew that covenant at the Passover that we have made with God the Father through the blood of the Lamb and we have done what He commanded us to do on the night of the 14th of the first month. And we have obeyed the commandment in keeping the peace of unleavened bread, eating unleavened bread every day. He commanded us to do that. But big lesson is to leave that leaven behind. But it's very hard to be focused on the leaven because it's so much. Rather than focusing on the leaven, we should focus on Him, on He who called us into His marvelous light. We have to focus on God the Father. We have to focus on Jesus Christ who are worthy of all the honor and praise and adoration. Exodus 14, verse four. The Lord said, and I will harden Pharaoh's heart that he will follow them. And I will be glorified through Pharaoh and all his army so that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. And they did so. That's the reason. The reason is to glorify God. Why did He take them that way? Yes, it says that they would not be afraid when they saw all the other peoples in the other route that was shorter. But the reason was to show His power in dividing the waters of the sea. The reason was to glorify, to be glorified through Pharaoh and all his army. Egypt never came back from that defeat. They never again became the nation that once was because Hothi's army was drowned and his country was decimated with the plagues. But He says, I will be glorified through Pharaoh and all his army so that the Egyptians may know, so that they would know who they were dealing with, that He was not like one of their gods, that He was just an idol, that He was just all of these things that they did with their hands, that they would know that this God is the eternal. This God is the only one true God and that nobody can stand against Him. Nobody can fight against Him. He's worthy of all the honor and the glory. Here in Exodus 14, let's read verse 17, just a few verses down and it says, and behold, I am about to harden the hearts of the Egyptians and they shall follow them and I will get honor for myself upon Pharaoh and over all his army, over his chariots and over his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I will be glorified through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen. Because He wanted to show, He wanted to show who He was to them and to the entire world, everybody around her. And they were afraid. They were afraid of Israel because they heard of what had happened in the country of Egypt and in the Red Sea. They have heard. But it was all to the glory of God, not to the glory of Israel. That's what He said very clearly. I will be glorified. He doesn't say, so they can glorify you guys. No, the glory goes to God in everything, always. Let's go to Romans 11. Because this was a physical application and we're gonna see the spiritual application of this. Not unto us. It's amazing what God has in His word when we focus on Him, when we focus on God the Father and Jesus Christ, when we walk with them, when we understand that the reason we exist is to give them glory. The reason He hardened their hearts was to be glorified in them, in their debt. Some people can think, oh, what a mean God. He's glorifying Himself through taking advantage of these poor people that are helpless. No, no. God can do whatever He pleases with whoever He wants. That's what we read in Psalm 115. He's in the heavens and He has done whatever He has pleased. And He gave man life and He can take it away anytime He wants. That is a powerful God wisdom. Romans 11 in verse 33. Because this is an amazing thing. Ending this chapter is the whole meditation. And this is a contemplation, really, of what Paul got to in verse 33. Oh, the depth of the riches of both the wisdom and the knowledge of God. How unfathomable are His judgments and unsearchable are His ways. As human beings, we can think that. How is it that He just wanted to destroy these people, that He hardened Pharaoh's heart? He can do that. It's unfathomable to us. It's unsearchable in a way. But His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. And His ways are higher than our ways. We're no one to question God. If He decided to do that, to give Himself glory, He has every right to do it, and He did. To give glory to Himself. And He knows He's gonna probably give another opportunity to, if not all, most of those people. But it's the depth of His wisdom and His knowledge. Because who can, it says, for who did know the mind of the Lord? Or who became His counselor? Or who fears gave to Him, and He shall be recompensed to him again? Because sometimes that's what we do. That's what humans in general do. Give themselves the honor and the glory and the credit. So we can do something for God that He doesn't already have. But He tells us, He tells us who God is. For from Him and through Him and unto Him are all things. To Him be the glory into the ages of eternity. Amen. Not unto us, but unto Your name give glory for Your mercy and for Your treat's sake. That's what it says. That's what it says in Psalm 115. But it is explaining here that everything comes from Him. And everything is through Him. He did it. He created us with His hands. He formed Adam with His own hands from the dust of the earth. It's through Him. And through His sacrifice, He shed blood, we can have eternal life. So it has to be through Him. It's from Him. Everything came from Him. It's through Him because He created us. He gave His life and unto Him because we're going to Him. And that's the example that He said when He said, I am going to you. When we were praying to the Father in John 17, He said, I'm going to Him. And unto Him are all things. To Him be the glory because that's the purpose. Purpose is to glorify God in everything. That's the purpose of our existence, of the entire world's existence is to ultimately give glory and honor and praise to God forever and ever. Let's go to Psalm 34. Psalm 34. We're going to read the Psalm of David. Who understood this? He understood this to a level that few others have understood. He understood what it was all about. He wrote about that here in Psalm 34. He said in verse one, I will bless the Lord at all times. At all times. His praise shall always be in my mouth. He knew that was His purpose. He knew that the reason that He existed, the reason that God called Him, the reason that God fought the battles for Him with the bear and the lion and Goliath, the reason that He did all of that, it was so that He would praise God. He knew that's the reason He fought Goliath in the first place. Because He was blaspheming. He says His praise shall always be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord, not unto us, but unto Your name give glory. He says the humble shall hear and be glad. Be glad because there's nothing better in His life than praising our God, nothing. And then He makes an invitation, magnify the Lord with me. And brethren, I invite you that you would magnify the Lord with me as well. But we would all do it together with our conduct, with our thoughts, with our prayers, with our singing. Singing praises unto God. But that's what we are to do. That's our purpose. That's what He wants us to do. That's why you were created, to praise God eternally. He says, oh magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together. We will exalt His name forever and ever. That's the promise. We're not gonna go there, but that's the promise in Revelation 3. Read to the one who overcomes when he's talking to Philadelphia. That's the promise. I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. He shall never go out. You're gonna be in the temple. Column in the temple of God the Father. To do what? To exalt His name together forever and ever. Verse four, I saw the Lord and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Why? Because we were not focused on our fears. We were not focused on ourselves. We were not buffed up with leaven. We were looking to God. We were looking to praise Him. We were looking to honor and glorify Him because the trials and the tribulations that we suffer, He brings us through it. He has to change us, but also to give glory to Himself, to deliver us. In the deliverance, in the process of conversion, there is glory for God. And that's what He wants. Not unto us. Not unto us. That's one of the things that we have to continue to change in the church. Do not look at anybody else, but look to God. Growing up, I heard many times, oh, poor people in the world, poor people in the world. We're not to do that, brethren. We're to humble ourselves before God and to glorify Him and to pray for all of our brethren and for the world. That He's will would be done. That's why He says on the earth as it is in heaven. It doesn't just say in my life. It doesn't just say in the church. It will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And He says in verse five, they look to Him and we're radiant because that's who God is. He is power. He is beauty. He is glory. And we can see that. We can understand that. We can really, we can look forward to that. Right now, we cannot do it physically, but spiritually, we can bask in His glory. We can understand more things. We can be radiant in our hearts and in our minds. He says in their faces, we're not ashamed. Maybe this was a prophecy of the transfiguration. I don't know. They look to Him and we're radiant, the three that He took with Him. Their faces were not ashamed. They never forgot that moment. That's what God wants. Let's go to Psalm 67. Psalm 67. That's an amazing song. Short, but very deep. And it's a song. And we know that the Psalms are really songs. But this is to be sung in string instruments. And it says, may God be gracious to us and bless us and give us strength and cause His face to shine upon us. It's what we just read. See why? It says, think about this. Meditate on this. Meditate upon His face, His glory. Make that face to shine upon us. We are asking. And when we understand His glory, when we want to praise Him, when we want to fulfill our purpose, then we will understand the reason why. It's in verse two. So that your way may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. And knowing that we're nothing but instruments for Him to be glorified, not only by us, but by the entire world eventually. That's what God wants. And He says that. After He meditates on this face of God shining upon us, it says, let the people praise you, oh God, let all the people praise you. Not just the ones that are called, just the ones that are in the Church of God, no. Just the ones that are in my organization, no. Let all the people praise you. In spirit and in truth, obviously. That's the way that we are to worship the Father. That's what Jesus said in John four, that we are to worship Him in spirit and in truth. But this is what it is. Let all the people praise you. That's the reason why Israel was chosen, so that His way would be known on the earth. And that's the reason we have been chosen as well. That's the ultimate. Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy, and it will happen, brethren, it will happen. In the millennium, it will happen in New Jerusalem. They will sing for joy, for knowing God and seeing Him and glorifying Him. It says, for you shall judge the people righteously and govern the nations upon earth. Think about it, salat. Think about the government of God with peace, with mercy, with righteousness, with justice, with compassion, with forgiveness. Think about that in the millennium. And eventually with glory, only glory, and only perfection. Let the people praise you. Verse five, oh God, let all the people praise you. He says it again, all the people. That's what we are all to do. All the time. The earth shall deal its increase, and God, even our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him. Why? When they see the goodness of God, when they get to know Him, when they get to obey Him, that's when they shall all fear Him, in reverence, in awe, in humility, on leaven. That's what we have just gone through. This is the lesson that we know and understand why we were made. This is the purpose of God, that all the people will praise Him ultimately and give Him glory, His sons and daughters, born of the Spirit in His kingdom ultimately. This is what God wants. Let's go to Psalm nine. Psalm nine. Verse one. Again, David really understood this. That's what he says here in Psalm nine. Verse one. I will praise you all with my whole heart. That's the way that we are to praise God. Not with half of our heart, not with a facade, not for convenience so that He gives us something. No, with my whole heart, with everything within our being, I will tell of all of your marvelous works. Because it is amazing everything that He has done from the very beginning of creation until now. His plan continues. David is prophesying, I will tell all your marvelous works. That's probably what he's gonna be doing, being king over all Israel in the millennium. He's gonna tell on all his marvelous works. Can you imagine? King David, King David, tell us again the story of Goliath. Tell us again. That's gonna be wonderful. He says, I will be glad and rejoice in you. Verse two. I will sing praise to your name, oh most high. To both God the Father and Jesus Christ. Verse five. You have rebuked the nations. You have destroyed the wicked. You have blooded out their name forever and ever. That's where he has, this is prophecy. This is what's gonna happen. But he's telling us as though it's already happened because he's meditating on him. Verse 11. Sing praises to the Lord who dwells in Zion. Declare among the nations his deeds. Everything that he has done is full of majesty, is full of glory. Verse 12. For he who avenges blood remembers him. He forgets not the cry of the humble, the ones that submit themselves to him. It is amazing. Read some of the Psalms and when he talks about praise, remember not unto us. Remember this is what it's all about. Don't look at it as something on the side. Well, it's my conversion and it's my obedience and it's my life and it's my process of change. And here there's this praise thing on the side. No, we have to reverse that. The whole reason we're here is to praise him. The whole reason we've been called is to praise him, is to ultimately praise him, to be part of his kingdom, to be part of his glory with him. Not for us, but to give glory to him so that he may be exalted and he may be able to say, look what I've done with these people. Look what they wear and look what they are now. That's gonna be unbelievable. Unbelievable, the transformation. Psalm 57, verse five. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Again, another Psalm of David. Let your glory be above all the earth. See how many times he was thinking about God. His mind was on God. His mind was on the kingdom. His mind was on his God. All the time for his glory, everything he did was focused and centered on that glory and on that honor. That's why he was a man after God so hard. Verse eight. Awake, my glory, awake, harp and lyre. I myself will awake the dawn. Can't wait until the sun comes out to praise you again. I will praise you, O Lord, among the people. I will sing of you among the nations. He will do that in front of all the nations. I will sing the master psalmist on the harp. Can you imagine what that's gonna be like? You can imagine the best concert is getting nothing on David. What he's gonna do? I will sing of you among the nations for your steadfast mercy is great. Even unto the heavens send your truth to the clouds. That's the God we serve. Be exalted above the heavens, O God. Let your glory be above all the earth. That's what God wants. That's what God wants. And he's not just, he just wants the glory for himself. He deserves it. And he's the most humble because of what they both have done, God the Father and Jesus Christ. But this is what we have to look forward to, brethren. This is what we have to focus on. This is the reason that we exist, to give him glory, to be transformed, that he ultimately will get all the credit and the honor and the praise forever. Let's go to Psalm 148. And we don't have a lot of time to go through these psalms, but read them on your own. Read these psalms. We're gonna read them right now, but we're probably not gonna be able to do justice to everything that is in here. But it's amazing. This is the end of the entire matter. This is the end of the entire book of Psalms. It is the end of the plan of God, the ultimate end of the plan of God and new Jerusalem, new heavens and new earth. This is what's going to happen. And this is what we have to be doing now. We have to start now because we are already his children, just begotten, but we are already his children. He says, praise the Lord. Psalm 148, praise the Lord from the heavens. Praise him in the heights. Praise him, all his angels. Praise him, all his hosts. And they do, and we will as well. Praise him, sun and moon. Praise him, all you stars of light. We will be commanding as well, the angels and the sun and the moon, but he has to start with us. He has to start with us. We are also created. We are also created for his glory. Praise him, you heavens of heavens and waters that are above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created. That's what we're talking about. That's the reason. That's the reason he deserves all the praise because out of his good heart and his love, he created us and created everything that exists for us and for them, for themselves. Again, not unto us, but unto your name, give glory. He has also established them forever and ever. He has made a decree which shall not pass away. His laws shall not pass away. Until heaven and earth, not one jot or one tittle of the law will pass away. He said, let praise be to the Lord from the earth. You see monsters and the dead, fire and hail, snow and vapor, stormy wind fulfilling his word, mountains and all hills, fruitful trees and all cedars. Think about this picture that he's painting here. Beast and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds, kings of the earth and all people. And what are we going to be? Kings and priests, but we have to praise him now. Princes and all judges of the earth. That's what we're going to be doing as kings and priests, judging. But young men and maidens, old men and children, to command, to praise him now. Let them praise the name of the Lord. For his name alone is exalted, not unto us, but unto your name give glory. His glory is above the earth and the heavens. He says, and he has also lifted up a horn for his people. Now horn, we know is representative of government. He has lifted up a government for his people. Praise for all his saints, not unto us. He will give it so that it can go back around to him. Even of the children of Israel, a people near to him, and we are near to him. We are. He loves us. He loves hearing from us in our prayers. He loves what we sing from the heart. He loves when we just meditate on him. He says the people near to him all praise the Lord. That's what he likes the most, to praise him from the heart, to praise him in truth, in spirit and in truth. Sometimes we think about praise, and sometimes in the past we've tend to minimize it. Oh yeah, it's on the side, or people in other churches, or mainstream Christianity. It's like, no, God wants our praise from the heart. Just because some other churches that don't know the truth do it, that doesn't mean we're not to do it. That doesn't mean that. If we have the truth, we have to praise him. With all our heart, we have to praise him with everything that we have. In obedience, of course, and in truth, but in spirit as well, and in song. There's nothing wrong with that. And praising him with our songs, lifting up our hands to him, like it says in the Bible, that's biblical, rather. We are to do that. So, Psalm 149, it says, oh, praise the Lord, sing to the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints, right here with all of us. Sing his praise in the congregation of saints. Let Israel rejoice in his maker. Let the children of Zion, we are the children of Zion, spiritual, the Zion from above, it says, be joyful in their king. Let them praise his name in the dance. Let them sing praises to him with the drum and lyre. For the Lord takes pleasure in his people. He loves us more than we even understand or comprehend. He takes pleasure in his people. He crowns the meek with salvation because of his love for his honor, for his glory. Let the saints be joyful in glory, in the glory of God and for God, and on to God. Let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, with the Bible in our hand. To execute vengeance upon the nations and punishments upon the people. That's what's gonna happen. That's why it's prophesied that the saints come with him, behind him from the sea of glass, riding in horses. That's what it says. To bind their kings with chains and their nobles with iron bands. To carry out upon them the judgment written. We can look forward to that. This isn't the Feast of Trumpets. This honor have all his saints. Praise the Lord. Not unto us. Let's read Psalm 150 to close. And think about it. Think about all the words in this psalm. And meditate on this and rejoice in praising God. Praising our loving father and his son, Jesus Christ. For how humble they are, for how strong they are, for how glorious they are, for how powerful they are. Appraise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary. We'll be there in his sanctuary. Praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts. For the whole creation and especially the transformation. Bringing of his children from a speck of dust to a son of God and a daughter of God. Praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the ram's horn. Praise him with a harp and lyre. Praise him with a drum and dance. Praise him with string instruments and pipes. Praise him on the loud cymbals. Praise him with the resounding cymbals. He is worthy of all honor and all glory and all praise. Let everything that breathes praise the Lord. Oh, praise the Lord.
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