How to Glorify God through Daily Choices (John 17)

We explore the powerful message, “How to Glorify God through Daily Choices,” based on John 17:1-12. Together, we’ll learn from Jesus’ prayer how to glorify God in our everyday decisions, by prioritizing His glory, reflecting His character, living out our identity in Christ, and trusting Him with the results. Don’t miss this opportunity to grow in your faith and be encouraged to make God-honoring choices in every aspect of your life.

NOTES:

Rockwell Church     Sept 8, 2024     Pastor Chris Teien
How to Glorify God through Daily Choices
John 17:1-12

#1 Make Glorifying God your PRIORITY (Jn 17:1-2)

#2 Bring Glory to God through daily OBEDIENCE (Jn 17:3-5)

#3 Bring Glory to God through knowing your IDENTITY (Jn 17:6-10)

#4 Bring Glory to God through SERVING Him in the world (Jn 17:11-12)

The WELL Faith Podcast offers encouraging, Bible-based messages from Pastor Chris Teien and guests. New sermons are released every Sunday. Replay episodes are marked with an asterisk. Find us online at ChrisTeien.com and Rockwell.Church in Virginia, MN. Email comments to wellfaith24@gmail.com

Transcript

Chris T 0:16

And Lord, now it's time for the message, and I pray that in this message that you, God, would be glorified, and the people and me for the rest of the week would be satisfied and that it would be good. So we ask us in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. So we've been going through the book of John, and now we're on John chapter 17, where Jesus prays for himself, Jesus prays for his disciples, and Jesus prays for believers. And so I've divided it out into three weeks and actually switched one around to fit next week's business meeting after church. So today I want to focus on God and God being glorified in our life. Glorified. And next week, when we get together, we'll talk about the church and church people and being unified. And then the third week, we'll talk about being sanctified, because those were three things in John chapter 17 in Jesus' prayer that was easy to see. Glorified, unified, sanctified. So this isn't Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane where you know he knows that he's going to be handed over to the authorities and stuff. This is the prayer before that. But he already knows the plan. He already knows what's going to happen. He already knows he's going back to the Father, and these are things that are covered in his prayer. So I was going to read that and talk about that a bit. The worship team did an excellent job today because I gave them my sermon outline and asked them to focus on the word glorify or glorified, and they totally delivered. They did a great job. And so Sarah did a great job on the background on the slides that had a beautiful fallish feel to it. Everything about it was great. And so they did the work, they made the choices, and I believe that God was glorified in what they did. You have come to church today. Maybe you even brought something for the potluck, and you're like, I am going to come to church to see how I can, see what I can learn, see how I can encourage people. Some of you are even looking for ways to serve or you want to become members. We're going to add uh three new members next week, I think. But you make those choices, and I hope in your mindset, you say, I want God to be glorified in these choices, in what I'm making, and what I'm presenting, and what I'm giving, and how I'm caring and sharing and spending my time. I'm putting God first on this day. You know, people this time, I shouldn't tell you this, but obviously, people this time of year, they're like, oh, I'm running out of time. I've got to get that yard work done, or I've got to shut down the cabin, or I've got to pull the docks in, or all this other stuff. And some people are like, well, it's a beautiful day on this Sunday. I think I'll skip church and maybe I'll watch online or listen online. But you choosing to be here at this time for this hour or more, if you came to Sunday school and are staying for lunch, glorifies God. You are showing value to God. When you do your work at school, or if you're a stay-at-home mom, or um if you have a career or you're retired and you volunteer, if you do your work and you do it with high quality and great care, and you do it knowing that you might even have the opportunity to share Jesus, you do your work and you say to yourself, I'm gonna be faithful to show up and do my best so that God will be glorified. God would be glorified. And when God is glorified, then usually you are satisfied. Now, sometimes, sometimes when we want to serve God and we want to do his will, we never feel satisfied because we always wonder, is there something more that I could have done to make it even better? Pastors struggle with that all of the time. All week long, the struggle is, you know, I want to bring my best to glorify God and encourage the people. What should I say? How should I say it? You know, what am I gonna say? And then as soon as this is over and you leave, and I get in the car, I pray, Lord, I hope it was good enough, and I wonder, you know, what could I have done to make it better? Or, you know, I want God to be glorified. I want to do my best. And sometimes I've shared this before, especially with the church plan. Sometimes I've showed up, or even here on Christmas Eve, yeah, Christmas Eve or um Good Friday, um, wondering if anybody's gonna show up. But I'm prepared, even if two people show up, to bring my best because I want God to be glorified through my daily choices. And in all those little choices you make, sometimes they add up to great opportunities, sometimes they add up to great experiences that equip you for the next thing God has for you. He takes the people who are faithful in little things and gives them opportunities to do greater things, and that is rewarding in our life to look back and see how God has used us. So um, so Jesus is praying, and he's praying in the scripture. You know, praying is a private thing. So I don't think my prayers get recorded, except maybe the ones in church. But so here in scripture, the window into Jesus praying as a model of how we should pray. Jesus was constantly going, like getting off by himself, praying. Um, he's praying for his disciples, he's praying for opportunities. He had, according to Philippians 2, set aside uh all of his powers of God as God and come down to earth to live as a man, the God man, um, who modeled his relationship with the Father and constantly was in prayer. And we too should be in prayer. And so as we pray, one thing we can pray and ask the Lord is how can I bring glory to God with my time, talent, and treasure? We can pray, what am I supposed to start? What what new thing could I start to help build the kingdom of God? What thing do I need to stop to be more effective at glorifying God? What should I spend my time supporting to glorify God? How should I spend? Um, what what should I promote? Um, how can I glorify God? So, number one, make glorifying God your priority. Make glorifying God your priority. Do you think about that? Do you think about okay, I'm in this situation, and what can I do? What would God want me to do in this situation right now? So I think about that all the time. Sometimes I believe the Holy Spirit prompts me. Sometimes I argue with the Holy Spirit. So I mentioned maybe before that I stopped along the side of the road, uh, talked to someone who was sitting in this truck, same kind of truck I have, and the conversation was kind of based on having the same kind of truck. But then I had opportunities to meet this. This person was locked out, so locked out of his home. So he was like a captive audience right there on the side of the road. So I pulled over and I was talking to him and shared Christ and shared a Bible and everything. And so I know his name, I know his kid's name, I know where he works and everything. I pray for him. And on the way here, I saw his truck off to the side of the road. It was parked safely and everything, but it had a flat tire. And so I'm like, what could I do to glorify God in this situation? I don't want to be late to church, I got to get to church and everything. And I usually carry a bottle or two of truck fix-a-flat, which is really good in the warm periods of time, but it does not work in the winter because it's frozen. But so I had a can of fix a flat. And I'm like, you know what? I should maybe maybe what I should do is I should put the thing of fix a flat on his window with the note, you know, I see your tire's flat, you know, here's this fix a flat, because that would be a good thing to do. And I'm like, is that what you want me to do? Would that glorify you? But I also know in the back of my mind that if you put fix a flat in your tire and you take it to the auto shop, they hate you for it. It is so hard to patch the tire after it's got all that coating stuff around it, and sometimes sometimes shops won't even do it. So then there's the possibility that he used it, and now he's got to buy a new tire, and I made things worse. So I prayed about it and I prayed for him, but I didn't do anything. I just kept coming to church, and so um I didn't know what to do to glorify God in that situation. So um, yeah, maybe maybe God was just giving me a free sermon illustration. I don't know. But nonetheless, you got to figure it out. Sometimes you gotta think it through. Sometimes um you don't do things for people, you ask them if you see them, and you know, could I help you? Because sometimes, uh sometimes the help uh isn't exactly what's needed, but then sometimes it is. So you pray about it. So you pray about it. All right, scripture John 17, verse 1. After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed, Father, the hour is come. Glorify your son, that your son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. So Jesus is fulfilled his purpose. Jesus has is basically he's gonna go to the cross, he's gonna die for our sin, he's gonna make it possible for us to have eternal life, he's gonna rise again, he's gonna go back to the Father. And so um He wants the Father to be glorified, and at the same time that He would be glorified. So when we think about the glory of God, when we think about what God wants from us, it is actually worship. Worship glorifies God. We glorify God through our worship, through uh what we think, through what we pray, through what we say, through what we do. Uh the Greek word uh doksa refers to honor, splendor, and majesty. In biblical context, it often refers to the divine radiance or the manifested presence of God. It carries the idea of God's inherent worth and perfection being revealed and acknowledged. So if you'll allow me to read this to you, I think you'll get a lot out of it. In James Packer's book, Your Father Loves You, he talks about this. He says to worship God is to recognize his worth or worthiness, to look Godward, and to acknowledge in all appropriate ways the value of what we see. The Bible calls this activity glorifying God or giving glory to God. It views it as the ultimate end and from one point of view the whole duty of man. Scripture views the glorifying of God as a six-fold activity, praising God for all that he is and all his achievements, thanking him for his gifts and his goodness to us, asking him to meet our own and others' needs, offering him our gifts, our service, and ourselves, learning of him from his word, read and preached, and obeying his voice, telling others of his worth, both by public confession and testimony to what he has done for us. Thus we might say that the basic formula of worship are, Lord, you are wonderful. Thank you, Lord. Please, Lord, take this, Lord. Yes, Lord. Listen, everybody. This then is the worship in its largest sense, petition as well as praise, preaching as well as prayer, hearing as well as speaking, actions as well as words, obeying as well as offering, loving people as well as loving God. However, the primary acts of worship are those which focus on God directly, and we must not imagine that work for God, we must not imagine that work for God in the world is a substitute for direct fellowship with Him in praise, prayer, and devotion. So I read that and I'm like, that's really good. So that's why I read it to you. Second or 1 Corinthians 10 31, whether you eat or you drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. So what a great way to live our life. Sometimes, sometimes it's hard to stay focused on that. Really, you need to, I think if you spend time in God's word first in the day, and you dedicate yourself to the Lord and you pay attention, you stay focused. It's easier to do things for the glory of God. Sometimes you get busy, sometimes you get on autopilot. Uh, sometimes my driving is on autopilot. So it's like, okay, I got the big thing on the back of my window. You know, I don't want anybody not to come to church because I was going too fast. So it's interesting, the things that we know and the things that we don't know. So for you, if you are knowledgeable about the things of God, you know more things that you shouldn't and shouldn't do to glorify God. And if you're new to your faith, you may not know as many things, you know, like we don't use God's name in vain. You know, it's part of the Ten Commandments, it's part of what we do. We um, you know, have like little guidelines and things we follow because it's what scripture says. Um, some other people don't know that. Maybe they've just received Christ, and you know, in the discipleship process, maybe we help teach them that things. So the word of God is not changing. So uh God has given his word, and we should take it at face value, not change it. I was recently uh having coffee with a police officer, and I said, it's amazing how the laws are always changing. How do you keep up on all the latest laws? And I said, I just read that roll for a bicyclist, a person on a bicycle, it is now okay to roll through a stop sign without coming to a complete stop, as long as you're going at a speed that made it possible for you to stop if necessary. So the idea is that the bicyclist doesn't slow down traffic by you know stopping and having to pedal again. Now, I don't remember, I think they used to call them like Kansas City stops or something like that. And now it's legal in Minnesota. And the police officer said, Oh, I didn't know that. I said, I just read it. So he's like, I'll have to check into that. But God's word is not changing. So sometimes we try to twist it to fit us. Sometimes in our culture and context, we we realize that what God's uh desire for the rule was, um, but whatever you do, whatever you know to do that is right, do it all for the glory of God. So God is a jealous God. God wants you to worship him. It's not because he's got like low self-esteem, it's because he is holy and righteous and pure and loving, and he's done everything possible to make it so that you could have a personal relationship with him through Jesus in Isaiah 42.8. He says, I am the Lord, that is my name, I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. So that could be, you know, carved idols for some people, but to us, idols are things. Sometimes our vehicles are idols, our sports are idols, um, the things that we own are idols, or the people that we rub shoulders with and we know are put on a pedestal. Think whatever it is that is in between you and God, you need to get your priorities right and put God first. In John 1:14, it says the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. We see Jesus in Scripture. We see, according to Hebrews, the exact radiance of God's glory in Jesus. And so we have that, and we should be worshipers and seek to prioritize glorifying the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So Hebrews 1:3, the Sun radiates God's own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. All right. So to glorify God, to um follow after the Lord Jesus in John 12, 23, says, The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels, a plentiful harvest of new life. Jesus' death made it possible for millions of people to become right with God, millions of people to become a harvest of righteousness, millions of people to worship and follow after the Lord, where there is great satisfaction as we bring the Lord glory. As we share our faith with others, no matter how scary it is, no matter how inconvenient it is, no matter how unworthy we feel when we share Jesus with someone, and that leads to the process of them eventually coming to Christ and getting saved. Um, that makes Jesus' work on the cross effective and glorifies the Lord and helps you to have a great God experience, to be able to look back and say, you know, I'm not sure if the things that I did in my life, if everything that I did in my life was very worthwhile. But God did use me to help lead this person to Christ, and God did use me to help this person. And so as I get older, I'm able to look back and in just an amazement. You know, I didn't even know what was happening at the time, but you know, to look back and say, wow, God did use me to encourage that student to enter a lifetime of full-time ministry. God did use me to help encourage that person who thought maybe they wanted to become a pastor, to become a very effective pastor. And I look forward to um, you know, towards the end of my life, looking back and seeing the fruit of what Jesus has done in me, because I was faithful to show up or say something or do something to bring God glory and trust Him with the results. And you should do the same thing. John 12, 23. Jesus says, Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am, and the Father will honor anyone who serves me. What a what a great encouragement to know that the Father will honor those who serve Jesus. Do you serve Jesus? Are you his servant? What is it that you love in the world so much more than Jesus? Now, we should love the people of the world, but Jesus in this prayer in John 17, he even says, This this prayer isn't for the world. You know, he's praying for his disciples and his followers, but we should bring Jesus to the world, the people outside these doors, the people in the state, the people across the nation, the people around the world. Um, but to love the world system, to want to do everything the world does, to um take in its music and its literature and its movies, and think, you know, that's where it's really at, because your peers think that you're better, um, that you're you're better for it. Um, to stand against that, even if it's not the cultural norm, to live for Jesus, honors him, glorifies God. John 12, 23, Jesus says, Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray? Father, save me from this hour. But this is the very reason I came. Father, bring glory to your name. And then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, I have already brought glory to my name, and I will do so again. Jesus is glorified. God is glorified. You can glorify God, you can glorify Jesus through your heart, your your service, your actions, your giving, the way that you encourage one another, the things, the way that you choose to spend your time, the things that you choose to listen to, um, the things that you choose to repeat, and the things that you choose to teach. So Jesus set aside his glory. I mentioned that already in Philippians 2 9. Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledged that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So if you read in Philippians 2 before that, you'll see how Jesus set aside his power and his glory to be a servant among us, and that is a good thing. So in John 13, 31, as soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him. And since God receives glory because of the Son, he will give his own glory to the Son, and he will do so at once. Jesus already knew that this was going to happen. Jesus knew that this was part of the plan. Jesus wasn't like, oh, Heavenly Father, you know I'm stuck down here, and I sure hope that you'll bring me back up. Um, but no, Jesus gives us to us as an example. He is confident of what's going to happen. It shows that he went to the cross on purpose. So he knew everything that was going to happen that day, and he endured it for You and for me, that we would bring glory to him. What a good thing. 2 Corinthians 3.18 shows that we can know this, that we can bring glory to the Lord because the veil that non-Christians have over their eyes, they're unable to understand spiritual things, they don't have the Holy Spirit, they're still in chains to Satan, the liar, the deceiver. 2 Corinthians 3.18. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord, who is the Spirit, makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image. Number two, we should bring glory to God through daily obedience. Through daily obedience. We need to ask ourselves, you know, will our choice honor God? Are we obeying the things that we know that we're to do when we follow after God? Jesus says in John 17 in this prayer, now this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. So obedience, following after the Lord. Jesus was obedient to carry out God's plan. And you and I need to be obedient to glorify God. We glorify God through our daily choices. We glorify God through our daily obedience. In Matthew 5, 16, Jesus says, Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. And in Philippians 2, it says, Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Number three, bring glory to God through knowing your identity. Bring glory to God through knowing your identity. In this prayer, in John 17, six, Jesus says, I've revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and I have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me, and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine, and glory has come to me through them. So Jesus knew his place. Jesus knew his identity. And you and I need to grasp our identity in Christ, to know that we are forgiven, that we have been adopted as children of God, to know that we are assured heaven, to know that when we come to Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit, and we need to yield ourselves, our will, our lives to the Holy Spirit, and let the Holy Spirit fill us and teach us and guide us and empower us to glorify God. And that is a good thing. Peter, writing to the persecuted church in 1 Peter 2, says, You are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful life. You are royal priests. You are God's very own possession. You can show others the goodness of God. What a good thing. Number four, we bring glory to God through serving him in the world. We bring glory to God through serving him in the world. Continue on in this prayer. Jesus says, I will remain in the world no longer. They are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they will be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction, so that scripture would be fulfilled. So Jesus knew that he was on his way back to the Father, and he would leave the disciples and the believers here to carry out his purposes. And that is worship, and we are to worship. Worship changes us, worship makes us more like God, more willing to do the things of God, more effective in serving God, and that is a good thing. So Jesus says, Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed. Isaiah 41, 10. Do not fear, I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous hand. So I'm gonna pray, and then I'm gonna show you a video clip about worship, and then the worship team is gonna come over, uh, come up and sing, be unto your name. But the next time we get together will be how to effectively follow Jesus together. So let me pray and I'll show you the video clip. Lord, I thank you that we have this opportunity to choose to follow you, to serve you, and to glorify you. Lord, I pray that you would work on our hearts and uh your Holy Spirit would convict us and show us what it is that we need to change, what it is that we could do to glorify you more and to be more effective, what it is that we have that you want us to invest into ministry now, what it is that we um who we know that you want us to share our faith with. God, show us how, like the song we sang in our lives, in our business, in our school, in our homes, in our cars, uh, in our bodies. Lord, be glorified today. Lord, we pray that if anybody here doesn't know you, that they would um talk to us and let us know that they'd grab one of the How to Find God New Testaments or they'd contact us so that we could help them to know what they need to do to follow Jesus and be saved. All right, let's watch the video and then the worship team will come on up.

SPEAKER_01 28:27

Everyone worships. Every moment of our lives we all worship. Worship isn't confined to sanctuaries and temples, tabernacles and cathedrals. It doesn't merely consist of the melodies we make, the prayers we pray, and the lifting of hands. Worship is much more. Worship looks like three words. Trust, time, treasure. Trust. What do you hope will hold you when all else fails? Storms will come and only a firm foundation will keep us standing. Time. What are you giving your minutes, days, and years to? Our lives are a vapor, gone in a moment. Treasure. What will you empty your pockets for? Where your treasure is, there your heart is also. Everyone worships every moment of our lives, but only Jesus is worthy of all worship. Trust. Build your life on Jesus, the solid rock, the firm foundation, the safe refuge. Time. We are here today and gone tomorrow. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Treasure. The Prince of Heaven purchased our redemption and richly provides our needs. Jesus gives us someone worth worshiping. Trust, time, treasure. Give it all to Jesus. Worship. Jesus.