Glorifying the Lord

By Jamey Hinds

Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!
The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!
–Asaph, Psalm 50:22–23–

A study of Revelation 4–5 shows that heaven is all about glorifying the One who sits on the throne and the Lamb. Many people have the wrong idea that heaven is about us and our triumph over sin, but the word of God reveals that it’s about him.

What we do today in the here-and-now—and how we go about doing it—prepares us for heaven, and prepares us for eternal activities of praise. “For here we have no permanent city but are looking for the one that is coming. Therefore, through him let us always bring God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips that confess his name” (Hebrews 13:14–15).

Jesus said that we should take heed to what we hear and how we hear it (Mark 4:24; Luke 8:18) because what we believe is going to affect how we live. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). And “whatever does not come from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). “For we walk by faith, and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

So do not lose your confidence, since it holds a great reward for you. For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will you can receive what he has promised. For “in a very little while the one who is coming will return—he will not delay; but my righteous one will live by faith, and if he turns back, my soul will take no pleasure in him.” Now, we do not belong to those who turn back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved (Hebrews 10:35–39).

It’s not just that God wants us to do “something” as we offer worship to Him; He wants us to do them in the way He has revealed them to us through His word. “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). “But that is not the way you learned Christ! Assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:20–21).

If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not condemn him, because I did not come to condemn the world but to save it. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has something to judge him: The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day, because I have not spoken on my own authority. Instead, the Father who sent me has himself commanded me what to say and how to speak. And I know that what he commands brings eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me” (John 12:47–50).

“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partakers with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light – for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true – and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:6–10). “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6–7).

We’ve probably all heard that heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. There’s truth to this—consider that, from God’s viewpoint, He is preparing a place for the redeemed to be with Him forever (Matthew 22:4; 25:34; John 14:2–3; Revelation 21:2). Is it too much for us to strive in preparing ourselves to praise God forever?

But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, prepared for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:19–21).

Consider the order “Prepare to fire!” It doesn’t mean: all right, now that the order has been given, go figure out what you need to do to fulfill this order. It means: you’ve been preparing by training and practicing those things needed to fulfill the order to fire, and now that the order has been given, put your finger on the trigger!

Worship now directly affects our worship in eternity.