Be Born-again with a Godly Desire and Purpose to Glorify God Alone: Due to human totally depraved, corrupt, rebellious, deceitful, sinful and wicked nature, you and I naturally do not have any purpose, motive, goal or desire to glorify God in our heart, mind and life. Non-believers naturally just think of themselves and how to promote themselves and to get glory and praise from men. The Lord Jesus exposed the self-centred hearts of the Jewish leaders in His days, “I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?” (John 5:43-44). Even when they knew God and were taught and commanded to glorify God, they did not glorify God, but rejected their Messiah whom God sent and crucified Him on the cross! You and I can never glorify God if we are not saved and born again. Why? “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Only when you and I are saved and born again can we have a godly desire and purpose to glorify God alone and pray to God like David, “I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore” (Psalm 86:12). You and I must thank God and give all glory to Him for His grace and mercy and His great salvation, “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Romans 8:30).
Be Controlled by the Holy Spirit and Bear His Fruit: When you and I are born again, we are partakers of God’s divine nature (2 Peter 1:4), but our sinful nature or our old man is still there. We shall have a conflict between the new man and the old man in our heart. The new man desires to do what is good and right to glorify God, but the old man, like the force of gravity, always pulls us down to sin. You and I can only overcome this spiritual warfare through the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:24-25) and “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). If you and I are so weak and dying, we cannot stand up, raise up our hands, or move around, but lie down due to the force of gravity. However, if you and I are healthy, lively and strong, we can overcome the gravity and stand up, move around and work. Spiritually speaking, if you and I are spiritually strong and healthy by God’s Word and by the Holy Spirit, we can overcome our old man or sinful nature to do God’s will to glorify God. This truth reminds you and me to humble ourselves and depend on the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit moment by moment like the branches on the Vine. The Lord Jesus confirms that the Holy Spirit has come to glorify Him, “He (the Holy Spirit) shall glorify me” (John 16:14), and “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:8). Therefore, the more you and I submit to the control of the Holy Spirit, the more we bear His fruit and are used to glorify God and the Lord Jesus Christ, “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). Are you and I filled with or controlled by the Holy Spirit with His fruit of “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” for God’s glory (Galatians 5:22-23)? If not, we can never glorify God by our own strength or efforts.
Seek God and His Glory First and Love Him above All: God commands you and me to seek Him first and to love Him with our all heart, soul, mind, and strength, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:23) and “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37). If you and I fail to seek God first and love Him above all, we can never glorify God as we have turned His glory into shame, “O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing?” (Psalm 4:2).
Do God’s Will and Word: The Lord Jesus Christ came to do His Father’s will and Word, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38), so he could prayed to His Father, “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do” (John 17:4). If you and I fail to do God’s will and Word, we can never glorify Him. The Lord Jesus still challenges you and me, “My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it” (Luke 8:21).
Give All Thanks, Praise and Glory to God: Truly acknowledging God’s sovereignty, grace, love, and His blessings, we shall give thanks, praise and glory to God alone. When others praise us or thank us, we can sincerely say to them, “Thank God for His grace and mercy,” giving all glory to God alone. If you and I fail to thank God in all things but always complain or murmur, we can never glorify God, “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me” (Psalm 50:23), and “That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:6). You and I shall glorify God more when we can thank and praise God in our troubles or trials like Job.
Be Faithful to God and His Word in All Things even in Persecutions: You and I can never glorify God if we doubt God and His Word and are not faithful to God and His Word unto the end, even in persecutions, “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified…Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf” (1 Peter 4:14, 16).
Pray to God and Bring Others to God’s Salvation: You and I do need the Holy Spirit to help us live a victorious life and give thanks and praise to God in all things. Knowing this truth, you and I shall humbly pray to God, depend on Him and submit to Him like our Lord Jesus Christ, “Father, glorify thy name” (John 12:28). Jesus encourages us to pray, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13). You and I shall glorify God more when we pray for others and bring them to God’s salvation. The purpose and motive of our evangelism are for God’s glory. We must feel God is insulted when others fail to seek Him, love Him, worship Him, keep His Word and glorify Him, and then pray for their salvation, “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you” (2 Thessalonians 3:1), and God will be glorified when we receive one another in Christ, “Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God” (Romans 15:7).
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