To Glorify God (Magnification)

Value this time in your life, kids.

It's a time of your life when you still have your choices and it goes by so fast.

When you're a teenager, you think you can do anything and you do.

Your 20s are just a blur.

In your 30s, you have a family, make a little money.

Think to yourself, what happened to my 20s?

In your 40s, you grow a little pot belly and another chin.

The music starts to get too loud and one of your girlfriends from high school becomes a grandmother.

In your 50s, you have a minor surgery.

You'll call it a procedure, but it's still surgery.

In your 60s, you'll have a major surgery.

The music is still too loud, but it doesn't matter because you can't hear it anyway.

In your 70s, you and the wife will retire to Fort Lauderdale, start eating lunch at 10am,

dinner at 2pm and breakfast the night before.

You'll spend most of your time wandering around shopping malls looking for the ultimate soft serve yogurt

and muttering, how come the kids don't call?

How come the kids don't call?

In your 80s, you'll have a major stroke and end up babbling to some Jamaican nurse

who your wife can't stand but whom you call mama.

Any questions?

That's Billy Crystal's speech to his child's school class in the 1991 Western comedy film City Slickers.

Billy Crystal, he plays a guy named Mitch.

He hits 39 years of age and he has a midlife crisis.

Suddenly, he realises that his life isn't what he thought it would be.

It's not so great.

The world in which he lives is a mess.

And he starts asking the question, what's the point of it all?

What's the point of life?

What is the purpose of life?

And so he and a few mates go on a cowboy camping holiday to rediscover their masculinity and to find the purpose of life.

And he finds it by helping a cow give birth to a calf.

It's a feel-good, occasionally funny, but empty movie in the end.

But it does raise questions.

The sort of questions that people are asking, the sort of questions that teenagers and children are asking,

the sort of questions that retirees are asking, the sort of questions that we ask,

what is it all for?

It's not about you.

That's how Rick Warren begins his book, The Purpose Driven Life.

It's not about you.

And he goes on to say,

the purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment,

your peace of mind, or even your happiness.

It's far greater than your family, your career, and even your wildest dreams and ambitions.

If you want to know why you were placed in this planet,

you must begin with God.

You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.

The atheist and philosopher Bertrand Russell said,

if God doesn't exist, which he didn't believe God existed,

then what is the purpose of life is a question that has no sense at all.

And the Bible is clear on the purpose of life.

It's not about me.

It is, in fact, about him.

Colossians 1.15,

The Son is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn over all creation.

For in him all things were created,

things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,

whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities.

All things have been created through him and for him.

He is before all things,

and in him all things hold together.

He is the head of the body, the church.

He is the beginning of the firstborn from among the dead,

so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

So you have a purpose.

This church has a purpose because God has a purpose.

And there are five very specific but interacting purposes

that God has for your life and my life

and our life together.

And we're going to look at each one of those things,

as Deb indicated, over the next five weeks

in this Our Vision series.

And we begin with magnification.

We exist for the glory of God.

This is the only one of the five purposes

that is not a means to an end.

This is the end.

Magnification is the goal of all things,

the glory of God.

Now, magnification, or to magnify,

is used in a limited way in our day.

It normally refers to making something appear larger

than it actually is,

like through a lens of a microscope

or something like that, or a telescope.

Or through a telescope,

something that's small, making it look bigger.

Or in another way,

it's used in common language

to increase or to exaggerate

the importance of something

or the effect of something.

For instance, wow, you know,

you had your issues before you went to prison,

but man, prison really magnified them.

That kind of an idea.

Now, the original use of the word magnify,

which comes from the Latin word magnus,

which means great,

is to praise highly or to glorify.

Its supreme use,

in its original context,

was in reference to God.

Because God is great.

Because God is magnus,

he is worthy of being magnified.

And this is, in fact,

what we see in Isaiah 6,

which was just read out to us.

So go to Isaiah 6.

I'm going to linger there for a bit.

Get your Bibles out.

If you haven't got a Bible,

stick your hand up.

We'll get one to you real quick.

Isaiah 6.

We see two things

in the verses that were read out to us

that make God worthy of being magnified.

God is great, firstly,

and God is gracious, secondly.

And we get seven glimpses

of the greatness of God

in the first four verses.

I'm going to travel across these real quick,

even though I'd love to linger longer in them.

But firstly, it says God is alive.

Notice,

In the year that King Uzziah died,

I saw the Lord sit on the throne.

King Uzziah was the longest serving monarch at the time.

He was the greatest, most powerful man

in the world at the time.

And it says,

King Uzziah is dead,

but in the year that he died,

God is alive.

He continues to live.

Psalm 90 verse 2 says,

Psalms 90:2

Before the mountains were born

or brought forth the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting,

you are God.

From infinite that direction

to infinite that direction,

no ending, no ending.

You are God.

You are alive.

So this God was the living God

when the universe was banged into existence

as he spoke it into existence.

He was the living God

when the Great Wall of China

was built over a very long period of time.

He was the living God

when in 1966,

Time magazine put a title on its cover

that said,

God is dead.

He is alive.

He was alive then.

Is he alive today?

And he will be living

still 10 trillion ages from now.

There is not a single head of state

in the entire world,

not a single person sitting on the throne

who will be ruling in 90 years.

And in a brief 120 years,

this planet is going to be populated

by more than 10 billion brand new people

and all 7.7 billion of us today,

alive today,

will vanish off the face of the earth

like King Uzziah.

But not God.

He never had a beginning

and therefore he depends on nothing

for his existence.

He always has been

and always will be alive.

Second glimpse we get here

is that God is authoritative.

Verse 2,

I saw the Lord seated on a throne.

That's his vision.

He sees this God on a throne.

You see, no vision of heaven.

Read the Bible.

There's no vision of heaven

where you ever catch a glimpse of God

cooking a meal.

He's never out cutting the grass

or shining shoes

or filling out forms

or loading a truck.

He sits.

He sits on his throne.

The throne.

The throne is his right to rule.

You see, we do not give God authority

over our lives.

He has authority over our lives

whether we surrender to it or not.

I think few things are more humbling.

Few things give us that sense

of the raw majesty of God

as the truth of God

is utterly authoritative.

After him, there is no appeal.

And that's the third glimpse.

You see, we see this God

is not just has authority,

but he has all authority,

has all power.

The throne of his authority

is not one amongst many thrones.

I saw the Lord seated on a throne

high and exalted.

That God's throne is higher

than every other throne,

every other authority,

every other power

signifies that God's superior power

to exercise his authority

over all things.

There is no opposing authority

that can nullify the decrees of God.

What he promises,

what he declares cannot be undone.

What he purposes,

he accomplishes.

As God says a little later

in Isaiah 46.10,

I make known the beginning

from the end,

from the beginning,

from ancient times,

what is still to come.

I say,

my purpose will stand

and I will do all that I please.

To be gripped

by the all-powerful

sovereignty of God

is either marvelous

because he is for you

or it is terrifying

because he is against you.

Indifference to it,

just indifference to it

means that you have not seen it.

You have not seen him

for who he is.

The sovereign authority

of the living God

is a refuge full of joy

and power for those who are his.

His promise to you

can never be nullified,

never be overturned.

Fourthly,

we see that this God

is magnificent.

It says,

I saw the Lord

sitting on his throne

high and exalted

and the train of his robe

filled the temple.

Now,

royal weddings

are a bit of a rage lately.

Well,

at least one anyway.

You know,

Harry and Megan,

the other ones

haven't been rated as highly.

But,

you may remember

if you're as old as I am

or maybe even seen the pictures

of the wedding dress

when Harry's mum

was married,

Diana,

Princess of Wales,

married to Charlie

back in 1981.

And I remember

as a young lad

at that point

being in a room

watching this wedding,

not sure why,

but being told to stay up

and I remember

in the moment

that she hopped out

of the carriage

and started walking

up the stairs

into St. Paul's Cathedral,

the only thing

I remember

is this dress

just kept going

on

and on

and on

and on

and the women

in the room

gasping

at this dress,

the train

of her robe

was eight metres long.

It sort of like

filled the steps

at St. Paul's Cathedral

in London.

So what would it mean

if the train

filled the aisle

and covered the seats

and the choir loft

and the pulpit

and it wasn't,

it was just one piece

of cloth

just...

You see,

that God's robe

fills the entire temple

is a

splendour moment.

God is incomparable

in His splendour.

The fullness

of God's splendour

shows itself

in millions

and billions

of ways.

His magnificence

spills over

into excessive

creative beauty.

It's what we see

in the wonder

of all

of creation.

Everything

in the universe

from the tiniest

atom to the depths

of the ocean

where there is fish

with headlights

and big teeth

and you go,

why are they there?

No one knows.

Except it's God

saying,

there you go.

That is where

you exist.

The furthest reach

of the...

It just displays

the magnificence

of His character.

And fifthly,

we get a glimpse

of this God

is revered.

Above Him

were seraphs,

each with six wings.

With two wings,

they were covering

their faces.

With two,

they covered their feet.

With two,

they were flying.

Now,

no one really knows

from the rest

of the Bible

what these

strange six-wing

creatures

with feet

and eyes

and intelligence

are.

There's some

kind of an angel.

One thing is for sure,

given the grandeur

of this scene

in the heavenly realms

and the power

of the angelic hosts,

it is best for us

not to picture

the angelic hosts

as chubby little babies

with wings

fluttering around

the throne of God.

According to verse four,

when one of them speaks,

the foundations

of the temple shake.

Wind this sound system up

as far as it goes,

and I can't get

this building to shake.

These are not

chubby little babies

with wings.

There are no puny

or silly little creatures

in heaven,

only magnificent ones.

And the point is,

not even they,

not even these seraphs

can look upon God,

nor do they feel worthy

even to leave

their feet exposed

in His presence.

One of my kids

is in kids' church

this morning

with no shoes on.

Totally fine.

In the presence of God,

you cover them up.

You see,

great and good

as they are

untainted

by human sin,

they revere

their maker

in great humility.

You see,

when one of these seraphs

an angel appears

before a human being

in the Bible,

they normally begin

dialogue with the human being

with fear not.

Because

that's exactly

the human response

when you're confronted

with one of them.

Fear and trembling,

but angels themselves

hide in holy fear

and reverence

in the presence of God.

so far greater

than they

is He.

Six,

God is holy.

Verse three,

and they were calling

to one another.

And let me try

to pick it up here.

Holy,

holy,

holy,

holy

is the Lord

almighty.

The whole earth

is full of His glory.

Multiply that

billions of times

until the

thresholds shake.

You see,

the possibility

of language

to carry the meaning

of God

eventually runs out

and holy

is as far

as you can go.

The word holy

carries us to the brink

and from there

the experience

of God

is beyond words.

You see,

the reason I say that

is that every effort

to define

the holiness

of God

ultimately winds up

by saying

God is holy

means

God is holy.

Means God is God.

You see,

the word holy

means to cut

or to separate

from.

And a holy

thing

in our

terms

is cut off

from

or separated

from

from common

use.

That's what it

means.

You separate

from common

use,

set it aside,

it becomes

a holy

thing.

Earthly

things and

persons are

holy

as they are

distinct from

the world

and devoted

to God.

But what

happens

if that

definition

is applied

to God

Himself?

from what

can you

separate

God

to make

Him

holy?

You see,

the very

Godness

of God

means

that He

is separate

from all

that is

not God.

That's because

God

exists

in a

different

way

to us.

We,

His creatures,

exist

in a

dependent,

derived,

finite,

fragile

way,

but our

God

exists

in an

eternal,

self-sustaining,

necessary

way.

I use

the word

necessary

there

in the

sense that

God does

not have

it in

Him.

It's not

part of

His nature

to go

out of

existence.

in the

same way

that we

do not

have it

in our

nature

to not

go out

of

existence.

We

cannot

naturally

live

forever.

God

cannot

naturally

die.

We

all

necessarily

age and

die

because

it is

our

present

nature

to do

that.

And so

we ask

the question,

well,

what is

this

short

time span

that I'm

on earth

is all

about?

We

cannot do

anything

else but

eventually

die.

One of

my girls

said

recently

in the

last couple

of weeks,

I don't

want to

grow up

and I

want to

stay a

child

forever.

Well,

good luck

with that,

I thought.

It didn't

work for

Michael

Jackson

or most

Aussie

blokes,

as it

turns out.

Only

God,

only

God

necessarily

continues

forever

unchanged.

The

God

of

the

Bible

needs

no

support

system.

God

is

one

of

a

kind

and

in

that

sense

he

is

utterly

holy.

God

has

life

in

himself.

He

draws

his

unending

energy

from

himself.

His

being

and his

character

not

determined

by

anything

outside

of

himself.

He

is

absolute.

Everything

else

derives

from

him.

He

does

not

derive

his

being

from

anything

else.

He

is

incomparable.

His

holiness

determines

all that

he

is

and

he's

determined

by

no

one

else.

Nothing

else.

You

can

call it

his

majesty.

You

can

call it

his

divinity.

You

can

call it

his

greatness.

You

can

call it

his

value.

You

can

call

it

his

worth.

You

can

call

it

his

magnificence.

In

the

end,

we

sail

up to

the

very

of

human

language

and

it

runs

out.

There

may

be

so

much

more

to

know

of

this

God

but

that

is

beyond

our

ability

to

express

it.

And

so

Habakkuk

2.20

says

get to

the

edge.

The

Lord

is in

his

holy

temple,

the

whole

earth.

Be

silent

before

him.

Just

ah.

We

learn a

seventh and

a final

thing about

God.

God

is

glorious.

Verse

3.

Holy,

holy,

holy is

the

Lord

almighty.

The

whole

earth

is

full

of

his

glory.

glory.

We

get to

the

edge

and we

go

ah.

And

we

would not

know

anything

about

this

God

and his

holiness

and his

magnificence

if he

did not

graciously

reveal it

to us.

See,

God's

glory

is in

fact the

revealing

of his

holiness.

God

is

glorious

means that

God's

holiness,

his divine

being,

his character

has gone

public.

It means

that he

sent it

viral.

He's

displayed it.

He's

made it

clear.

Romans 1

says the

whole

earth,

God has

revealed

himself in

what he's

made.

And

unless he

reveals

himself,

we would

not see

him for

who he

is.

But

when he

does,

there is

only one

response.

Leviticus 10

Leviticus 10:3

verse 3,

God says,

among those

who approach

me,

I will

show

myself

holy.

In

the sight

of all

people,

I will

be

honoured.

Or

another

word that

can be

changed

with

honoured

there is

I will

be

magnified.

When I

reveal my

magnus,

the

response is

magnification.

When God

reveals his

glory to

his

creatures,

the

response of

his

creatures is

to give

glory,

to give

praise,

to give

adoration,

to magnify

God.

To magnify

God is

to respond

to his

revealing of

his

magnificence.

We cannot

glorify God

without engaging

with his

glory.

You see,

God wants

to be

praised for

his

praiseworthiness,

magnified for

his greatness

and his

goodness.

He wants

to be

appreciated

for who

he is.

And so

God reveals

his glory

to people

and to

angels

in a

free

and a

radically

generous

way.

Then there

is a

response

of

adoration

on the

part of

people

and the

angels

where they

give glory

to God

out of

gratitude

for what

they

have

seen

of

God

and

received

from

him.

God's

glory

showing

requires

glory

giving

and this

is at the

heart

of true

fulfillment

of God's

creatures.

It brings

joy to

people

as it

does

to God.

God's

glory

revealing

prompts

glory

giving

and that

is the

purpose

of why

you were

made.

The New

Testament

writers

declare that

the public

display of

God's

nature,

his

character,

his

power,

his

purpose,

his

grace,

his

glory,

his

magnus

is now

open to

view

for all

peoples

in the

person

and the

work of

God's

Son,

the Lord

Jesus

Christ.

That is,

Jesus is

the pinnacle

of God's

glory

revealing.

And what

is amazing

is this

little bit

in John's

gospel that

you read

it,

it's

surrounded

by a

difficult

text,

but when

you read

this verse,

you flip

straight through

it without

noticing it,

but let me

just read

it to you.

John 12

John 12:41

verse 41,

he's just

quoted the

prophet Isaiah,

and he

says,

Isaiah said

this because

he saw

Jesus'

glory and

spoke about

him.

See what

John says

there?

You'd flip

straight through

that.

See what

he says?

Jesus is

who Isaiah

saw here in

his vision

in Isaiah

6.

Jesus

radiates,

he reflects,

he mirrors,

he displays

the character,

the purpose,

the power,

and the grace

and the mercy

of God.

The magnificence

of what went

public in

Jesus was

the plan

and the work

of grace

whereby he

saves

sinners.

And so

that's why

our purpose

statement says

that we

exist as a

church because

we treasure

Jesus.

Treasuring

Jesus for

God's glory

and the joy

of all

peoples.

Now on

one level

it probably

shocks us

to think

that God's

goal is

his glory,

his goal

of all

things is

his glory.

If my

goal in

life was

my glory,

which without

the work of

God in our

life, that's

exactly the

reason why we

exist, we

pursue our

own glory,

we call

that egotism.

Most of

us in

the North

Shore are

really good

at hiding

our egotism

or work

really well

at hiding

our egotism,

but it's

there, the

heartbeat of

our lives,

my glory all

the time.

For God

to pursue

his glory,

it doesn't

point to

divine ego,

but in

fact to

divine love.

For us

it's self-centered,

for him it's

divine love.

God doing

everything for

his glory is

the foundation

of his love

for us.

God's

commitment to

his glory

means love

and life

and forgiveness

and eternal

fame for

those who

live for

his glory.

His

commitment to

his glory

is the

foundation for

his love

for us.

Did you

note Isaiah's

response,

having seen

God's glory

in verse 5,

what does he

immediately do?

Wow,

you're God

and I'm

not.

Woe to

me,

I cried,

I am

ruined,

for I'm

a man of

unclean

lips and

I live

among a

people of

unclean

lips and

my eyes

have seen

the King,

the Lord

Almighty.

You see,

this is

Isaiah,

one of

God's

people and

as sincere

as his

worship has

been,

Isaiah has

not been a

man whose

heart has

been in

love with

God.

His

profession of

faith has

been orthodox

but empty

with little

heart awareness

of the

grandeur of

God.

God,

and as

this

awareness

forms in

Isaiah's

mind,

he blorts

out the

obvious

conclusion,

woe to

me.

He's

tracking along,

God reveals

his glory and

he goes,

whoa.

And the

very first

words that

are spoken

by the

prophet Isaiah

in this

enormous book

of Isaiah

is those

words there.

And for

the first

time in

his life,

he actually

worships

God.

For the

first time,

he sees

that he is

typical of

his generation

whose faith

was unthinking

and glib.

Their mouths

were not

filled with

worship but

with flippant

repetitions

and self-justifying

excuses.

And now

Isaiah sees

himself

because he

sees God.

And something

new is

entering his

heart.

Humility.

See,

the most

telling

indicator

that God's

grace is

renewing

us is

not when

we say

all the

right things

about his

grace,

but when

we stop

putting

ourselves

above

others and

even above

God.

It's when

he starts

breaking

our hearts.

Where was

the last

time you

lamented?

I mean

really

lamented

over your

sin.

Then

something

wonderful

happens.

A

seraph

circling the

throne of

God,

peels off

from his

flight path

and he

dives

straight for

Isaiah.

He's

holding a

burning coal

that he

took from

the altar

with tongs.

He's not

using the

tongs because

it's hot.

He took

this coal

with tongs

because he's

handling a

holy thing.

this thing,

this coal

belongs in

the place of

sacrifice and

atonement and

forgiveness.

And with it,

the seraph

touches

Isaiah's

dirty mouth.

And it

doesn't hurt

him.

It doesn't

burn him.

It actually

heals him.

The seraph

says,

your guilt

is taken

away and

your sin

is atoned

for.

What we

must see

in the

context of

the whole

Bible is

that this

burning coal

symbolizes

the finished

work of

the Lord

Jesus on

the cross.

Jesus went

to the place

of sacrifice.

He's dying.

Love is the

only power

that can

awaken

dead people

to God

and awaken

as he

does.

He comes

to us

today.

through the

Holy Spirit

and says

again,

your guilt

is taken

away,

your sin

is atoned

for.

Welcome

into the

overwhelming

delight of

my presence.

And when

the magnitude

of that

grace

touches

Isaiah,

he is

awakened

to live

for God.

Who am I

going to send?

Pick me,

pick me.

I now

want to live

for your

glory.

You see,

at least

one major

purpose

in God

revealing

who he

is,

his

magnus,

is so

that we,

like Isaiah,

might experience

his compassion,

his mercy,

his grace,

and his

forgiveness.

For us to

effectively

magnify God,

it has to

be so

much more

than certain

external

behaviors.

This is the

warning of

Isaiah the

prophet and

the people

of God

in Isaiah.

God,

if we're

not careful,

we can be

like them,

we can

settle into

a pattern

of dutiful

behavior

where we

fulfill our

obligations

to God,

where we

say the

right things,

orthodox

faith.

See,

relationship

with God

can so

easily

become

about

duty

and

obligation

and

loyalty

and

lips.

When we

are settled

into that

position,

we may

even

fulfill

our

duty

at

great

personal

cost.

We may

even

give

more

and

sacrifice

more,

just

like

the

Pharisees

and

the

teachers

of

the

law.

And

Jesus

called

them

hypocrites.

He

cursed

them.

He

quoted

Isaiah

to them

in

Matthew

15.

He

says,

these

people

honor me

with their

lips,

but their

hearts

are far

from

me.

They

worship

me

in

vain.

They

magnify

me

in

vain.

Just

like

Isaiah

before

this

encounter,

lips

that

said

the

right

things

but a

heart

that

wasn't

in

it.

What's

missing

for the

Pharisees,

the

tax

collectors?

What's

missing

for

Isaiah?

The

affections.

genuine

magnification

is seeing

God's

glory

and being

moved

in all

of our

life,

mind

and

affections,

lips

and heart.

You see,

genuine

worship

is based

on the

mind's

perception

of

historical

and biblical

truth,

the revelation

of God's

glory as

he has

spoken it.

glory

giving

requires

solid

intellectual

biblical

truth.

It is

not the

frenzied

emotion,

emotional

product of

manipulation

or

gimmickry.

But

friends,

that's not

our problem

here at

St.

Paul's.

We're not

in danger

of

emotionalism.

We're not

in danger

of frenzied

gimmickry.

Far from

it,

in fact.

Our

problem is

more the

understanding

that there

is no

genuine

worship

where

feelings

for God

are not

quickened.

That's

our

problem.

The

understanding

that there

is no

genuine

worship,

no genuine

magnification

of God

where

feelings

for God

are not

quickened.

There

is not

true

worship

where the

heart is

far from

God.

The

heart's

approach

to God

happens

in the

quickening

of our

feelings

for God.

Where

feelings

are dead,

so is

worship,

so is

magnification.

You see,

God wants

us to

love him

according

to

Deuteronomy

6.5.

He wants

us to

delight

ourselves

in him

in

Psalm

37.4.

He wants

us to

worship

him with

gladness

according

to

Psalm

100.

In

fact,

he condemns

dutiful

obedience

where there

is no

gladness

and no

joy in

him in

Deuteronomy

28.4.

Now,

Nat and

I are

marking

20 years

of marriage

at the

end of

January

next year.

Thank

you.

If I

buy her

flowers,

that's not a

big if,

that's more

likely when I

buy her

flowers,

I

must put

that in

my

diary.

She,

so imagine

this,

I buy her

flowers and

she is

overjoyed and

she thanks

me.

You know,

first time in

20 years.

No,

it's not.

No,

it's not.

Imagine if

my response

to her at

that point

is,

well,

don't mention

it,

it's actually

my duty.

You know,

20 years

and so on,

it's what I'm

required to

do.