Philippians 1:11 - "To the Glory and Praise of God"

Todaywe are continuing to look at Philippians 1:9–11. This is the prayer of theApostle Paul for the saints there at Philippi. He concludes that prayer withthese words: “to the glory and praise of God.” Thatis why we were created—to praise and glorify the Lord. Everything we do—everydecision, every action, every attitude—is meant to bring glory to God. Notglory to ourselves, not recognition from others, but glory to Him. Now let meask you a question. When we talk about the glory of God, what comes to yourmind? What do you picture? AsI study the glory of God in the Bible, I am overwhelmed with the thought thatliterally the entire Bible—from Genesis 1 to the last verses of Revelation—isall about the glory of God. I used to say the Bible is the story of redemption.It is, no doubt, the story of redemption—God redeeming man from his sin andrestoring him to a right relationship with Himself. Yet behind all of that, andeven before all of that, it is about the glory of God. WhenI picture the glory of God, after studying both the Old and New Testaments, Ifind that the glory of God is the expressed presence of God Himself. In the OldTestament, when the glory of God came down on the tabernacle, the Shekinahglory cloud descended. It was the presence of God in the midst of His people.The glory of God rested over the cherubim—on the mercy seat, between thecherubim—in the Most Holy Place, where no one could enter except the highpriest once a year. There, he would encounter the manifest presence of God. Thenwe read in Psalm 8:1, “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in allthe earth, who have set Your glory above the heavens.” And in Psalm 19:1, “Theheavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.” Oh,my friend, do you realize that all creation cries out and declares the presenceand the glory of God—the One who created all things? Why? For His glory, tomanifest His presence. Creation is a display of God’s handiwork.  Thatmeans when we glorify the Lord, we are magnifying His presence—we are makingHis presence known. As a matter of fact, Jesus Christ Himself came for thatvery purpose. Remember John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Wordwas with God, and the Word was God.” Then verse 14: “And the Word becameflesh and dwelt among us.” John says this “flesh” is none other thanChrist—God Himself in our midst. John goes on to say: “And we beheld Hisglory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace andtruth.” Jesus was the manifest glory—the very presence of God—among thepeople. Joseph was told by the angel in Matthew 1:23; "Behold, thevirgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His nameImmanuel," which is translated, "God with us." Nowthe Bible teaches in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 that: “our bodies are the templeof God. Therefore, we are to glorify God in our body and in our spirit,which are God’s”. In other words, everything we do—every word we speak,every attitude we display—ought to reflect who God is. God is in our lives. Godis in control of our lives. That is why the Holy Spirit was sent. If you readJohn chapters 14 through 16, the Holy Spirit was sent to glorify Jesus Christand to glorify the Father in us and through us. Read Revelation chapters 4 and5. All of creation and everyone in it one day will be declaring His glory! Myfriend, this changes everything about how we live. We do not serve to be seen.We do not give to be praised. We do not live for applause. We live for anaudience of One. Let me ask you today: Is your life pointing others to JesusChrist, or is your life pointing others to you? Which of the two, my friend? Itrust your life is reflecting the presence and glory of God to the people aroundyou. A life filled with the fruit of righteousness brings glory to God, becauseothers see God in us. That is what the world needs to see today in His people.