GLORIFY GOD BY PASTOR DENIS LU

In our church culture, we tend to use certain terms a lot - in preaching, in conversing, in praying, and in singing. These words run the danger of over-use verbally but without any corresponding application in practice. 

One such term is "glorify God". But what does it really mean? How do we truly glorify God? Really.

Glorifying God needs tangible, meaningful and observable expressions in our local church and community context. To glorify God, it's got to be more than words. 

 Jesus' disciple, Peter wrote on such a practical outworking of glorifying God.

1 Peter 4:10-11 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. 

As believers in Christ, each one of us have at least gift from God. It is up to us to explore and grow in the use of such gifts form God. 

 One unique feature of such gifts is that the gift is not for self-consumption! Rather it is for church consumption! To take Paul's analogy on the body of Christ, the eye is not a gift to the eye! Rather the eye is a gift to complement the other eye, and both are to bless the entire body! This is true in human biology and equally true in spiritual biology.

A gift left dormant or unused does not glorify God. Neither does using the gift for selfish reasons. The gifts of God requires a stewardship attitude in all of us if we are to glorify God in serving others. So, what is the gift God has given me? What am I going to do with my gift? How am I going to use or administer God's grace through the use of my gift?

Written by Pastor Denis Lu - Hope Church, Kuching