To God Be the Glory of the Nations

To God be the glory, do his name.

To God be the glory of the nations.

That's the point of my message this morning.

I'm going to take time walking through it, and I think it will be fruitful for us to take time in the Word, even though I spent a lot of time in Malawi.

Okay.

This message will be a little bit different than normal in the fact that I'm going to move around in different parts of Scripture quite a bit.

I don't typically do that.

We usually stay in Luke or whatever other passage we're teaching on.

But I want to show you something that I think comes out from the scriptures.

In fact, I want to show you a pattern to begin.

And that is simply this that throughout the scriptures we see God act in redemptive history and in the affairs of men for the sake of his own glory and the reputation of his own name.

Let me show you that.

And Yahweh says, for the sake of my name not to be profaned, I did not destroy you.

Numbers 14, verses 13 through 21, where God preserves Israel after the spies' rebellion, so that the nations would not dishonor him.

Numbers 14:13–21

Again, Moses appeals to God's promise to save and use Israel into his reputation, and God responds, Numbers 14, 21, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.

What about Psalm 23?

You know Psalm 23, where God leads his people in paths of righteousness for his namesake.

For his namesake.

Even God's shepherding care of his people is a reflection of his faithfulness, the faithfulness of his own name.

What about Psalm 25, where God forgives Israel for his namesake?

Psalm 25, verse 11, for your namesake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great.

Psalms 25:11

David grounds his appeal for God's mercy in God's desire for his own name to be known rightly.

What about Exodus chapter 20, verses 9, 14, and 22, where God preserves Israel despite their rebellion for the sake of his name?

Exodus 20:9

Three times God says, I acted for the sake of my name, so you restrain judgment, so his name would not be profane among the nations.

What about Ezekiel 36?

God promises to restore Israel, not ultimately because Israel deserves it, but for the sake of his name.

This is directly from Ezekiel 36.

It is not for your sake that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, and I will vindicate the holiness of my great name.

What about Isaiah 48, verses 9 and 11?

Isaiah 48:9

God delaying a judgment again for his glory.

I quote, For my name's sake I defer my anger.

For the sake of my praise, I will restrain it for you.

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it.

My glory I will not give to another.

Once you see this, you you can't unsee it.

This is what I want you to understand.

God's motivation and his action with humanity is often seen to be in scripture for his glory.

His glory.

Now, some may find this odd.

Some may say wrong.

That's wrong of God.

God is after his own glory.

Is he not an egotistical megalomaniac?

As one famous pastor likes to propose.

Is it a bad thing?

God is after his own glory?

My answer, no, absolutely not.

I want to show you this morning that God's pursuit of his own glory being made known and cherished is an incredibly good thing.

For two reasons, the second of which I want to make most clear.

The first reason, if God is himself ultimately good, then God's glory everywhere is good.

Maybe said in the reverse.

People to know what's good, truly good, not what you think is good for them, truly good, oh glorify God.

Here's the second reason that I'll spend all my time on this morning.

And that is simply God's motivation for his action and humanity with his own glory is very good because your salvation is the result of God's pursuit of his own glory.

I'm here to tell you, according to the scriptures, what brings God the highest glory is the gracious salvation of undeserving people.

Ephesians 1, Ephesians 2.

Paul repeatedly describes salvation as having the result of and being for the purpose of God's glory.

If you read Ephesians chapter one, verses three through fourteen, you will see a phrase three different times, as in three ways, Paul shows the triune nature of God, each person working in unison for your salvation to the praise of his glorious grace.

He says three times every time.

To the praise of his glorious grace.

Or in Ephesians chapter 2, talking again about your salvation, he says, so that you are saved, so that he might put on display the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness toward you in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

Why you're saved?

So that God might show how gracious he is and glorify his own name.

See this then.

Here's the premise: God's highest glory is your greatest good.

God's pursuit of his glory and his pursuit of our salvation are not competing purposes.

They converge together.

God's pursuit of his own glory and God's pursuit of our salvation converge.

We get Christ, God gets praise.

We receive grace, God displays glory.

So when it comes to missions, that means missions is ultimately about more than meeting needs, crossing cultures, or even rescuing people from hell.

Missions exists because God desires, God deserves, and God demands the glory to his name from every people on earth, and he will receive it.

And the way he receives it is he chooses to save people like you and I.

And he uses us to declare that good news.

So others may join in worship.

Here it is.

God takes spiritually dead, wrath-deserving sinners.

He makes them alive with Christ and puts them forward as trophies of his grace.

God's highest glory is your greatest good.

Missions exist because God desires, deserves, and demands the glory do his name.

That forms the outline of this morning's somewhat brief message.

Number one, if you have notes, please take them.

God desires his people to be saved.

God desires his people, or sorry, God desires people.

Make sure I'm clear here theologically.

God desires people to be saved.

1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 1 through 6.

1 Timothy 2:1–6

I told you I'd be hopping around a little bit.

1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 1 through 6, verse 4 says something, and I'm going to tell you the context of it.

1 Timothy 2:1–6

Okay.

Verse 4, 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 4 says that God desires all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

1 Timothy 2:4

Now, if you go to the beginning of that passage, Paul begins by commanding Christians in the church of Ephesus to pray for all people, even to kings, like Nero who's about to kill Paul.

Why?

Well, verse 4 is the answer.

Because God's saving concern isn't just one ethnicity or group or nation.

That's why Paul says, For there is one God, there's one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, God who desires all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

There is one mediator for Jew and Gentile, one mediator for king and servant, one mediator for rich and poor, one mediator for all people to be saved, one mediator to bring us before a holy God, blameless in the last day, the man Jesus Christ.

The man Jesus Christ, who, according to Ephesians chapter 2, verse 11 through 22, has broken down the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile.

Ephesians 2:11–22

That's the Jewish people, one nation and every other nation, forming one new man in place the two.

That's the language exactly of Ephesians chapter 2, verse 11 through 22.

Ephesians 2:11–22

So that we might have access to the Father through Jesus by the one Holy Spirit, one new man in place the two.

All men may hear the good news of Jesus Christ, turn from their sin, and give glory to the one who deserves it.

God desires the glory he deserves from all people groups without exception.

God desires their salvation.

Because he desires their worship.

The imitation of the gospel goes to everyone because there is one Savior who is sufficient for anyone who would draw near, sincerely seeking mercy, and one God who desires their praise.

So go everywhere.

God desires their worship.

This is back at Psalm 96, which, if you didn't turn to 1 Timothy 2, you're probably already there, pointing out verse 3.

In the song, it says, Sing to the Lord all the earth, declare his glory among the nations, and his marvelous works among all the peoples.

And here's the reason if you look at verse 4.

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.

And then if you go down to verses seven and eight, ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory in strength, ascribe to the Lord the glory to his name.

The nations, all peoples, families of the peoples.

The psalmist, an Israelite, isn't merely saying Israel should worship Yahweh.

The psalmist is calling on the entire world to give Yahweh worship.

And he says why they should receive, why he should receive their worship.

Not because God can give them something, though he can, but because of who God is.

For great is the Lord.

In other words, the nations are called to glorify God because God is great.

God doesn't need the worship of all people as though he's deficient without it.

God deserves the worship of all people because he's infinitely worthy of it.

So here's the missionary impulse.

It begins with the God-centeredness of God.

Hear me.

All nations possess some form of worship that rightly belongs to their creator.

Look at verse 5 in Psalm 96.

The writer contrasts Yahweh with the God of the nations, for the gods of the peoples are worthless idols.

But the Lord created the heavens.

God made the peoples, therefore to him belongs their worship.

So listen carefully here.

Missions is calling upon creation to give its creator the worship he deserves.

And the need is great.

Trust me.

Many of you know too.

But there is an even greater reality: the worthiness of God.

We go not only because the nations need Jesus, but because Jesus deserves the nations.

There are people breathing God's air, living on God's earth, enjoying God's gift, bearing God's image, and are giving worship due their creator to something else.

Oh, that's our reason we go.

Jesus is worthy of their worship as he's worthy of ours.

God deserves the worship and the glory of all peoples.

Point number three, God demands the worship of every person.

A very popular text, which there is so much to preach and teach in Philippians chapter two, the humiliation of Christ, how that shows us that Jesus is the second person of the triune Godhead, God eternal.

The end of Philippians chapter 2, at least that hymn, ends like this At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and under the earth.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

We're on point number three, God demands the worship of every person.

And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Paul says, Every knee should bow, every tongue should confess.

Now, there's something unique here because some of your Bibles will have a mark here, and it'll probably tell you to go back to Isaiah chapter 45, where Yahweh says, Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth.

Isaiah 45 · chapter mention

Paul is doing something here Christologically.

He's telling us about Christ.

To me every knee should bow, every tongue should swear allegiance, Isaiah 45.

Paul takes that language describing universal submission to Yahweh and applies it to Jesus, the crucified Jesus and risen Jesus.

Well, what does Philippians chapter 2, verse 9 through 11 teach us?

Philippians 2:9–11

It teaches us something quite simple here.

There is no possible future in which Jesus is not universally acknowledged as Lord.

Now don't take that snippet and don't listen to the rest.

Listen to the rest.

There is no possible future in which Jesus is not universally acknowledged as Lord.

The question is not, will you bow?

The question is when.

So that gives us an important distinction.

Every knee will bow, but not every knee will bow in glad adoration.

Some will bow in adoration to Christ as redeemed sons and daughters.

Some will bow in stubborn rejection as they receive the sword of their judgment.

But no rival to Jesus remains standing forever.

Revelation chapter 15 picks up the song of Moses and looks forward to the final vindication of God.

Revelation 15 · chapter mention

And the song says, Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name?

For you alone are holy.

All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.

So, according to the song of Moses, picked up in Revelation chapter 15, verse 3 through 4, God receives glory both through the salvation of his people and even sadly in perfect justice for the justice itself.

Revelation 15:3–4

People will recognize he is just.

People will recognize he is merciful.

Don't mistake God's patience now for God's indifference.

Right now, Christ offers mercy.

Right now, sinners are invited to come.

Right now, rebels can become sons.

But the king who says, Come to me will return, and he will not forever permit rebellion against his throne.

So here's my encouragement.

Bow gladly and humbly before King Jesus today, rather than bowing and cowering in fear and rejection some other day.

Every knee will bow.

The question is, will you gladly in adoration or in terror later?

Revelation chapter one, the apostle John writes, He says, He's coming on the clouds, every eye will see him, and the nations will wail on account of him.

Same author, John, Revelation 1, nations will wail on account of his return, says that all people from the world tribes, tongues, peoples, and languages in Revelation 7, 9 will sing, Salvation belongs to our God.

So here from the word of the Lord, from John again in 1 John, dear Christian, 1 John chapter 2, verse 28, children abide in him that you might not shrink in shame at his coming.

1 John 2:28

Oh, walk with him so that you might be delighted when he comes for you.

Ready.

Excited, overjoyed, not wailing, but shouting for joy.

Not in fear, but in glad reception.

Not crushed under his feet, but embraced in his arms.

Not outside of the house, but at the dinner table.

All these pictures throughout the New Testament.

Oh, hear me, the urgency of missions is enormous, so people are ready.

Jesus is coming back.

So, church, final point.

Declare his glory among the nations.

God desires, deserves, and demands the glory do his name from every people on earth, so declare his glory among the nations.

Back at Psalm 96 again, tell of his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all peoples.

If God desires salvation, if God deserves worship, if God demands allegiance, then the church must declare his glory.

The Great Commission is our mission.

It's every Christian's calling.

Jesus commanded it in Matthew chapter 28.

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

I have all authority in heaven and earth, therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Teach them to observe all that I've community.

That's your commission.

That's your calling.

That's the reason Jesus hadn't returned yet.

He's still seeking and saving the lost.

And then you say, I don't know how.

According to the Bible, Acts chapter 1, verse 8, God has given you his spirit for that effort, to make it effective.

Acts 1:8

Without him, it will not be.

That's why his disciples waited in the upper room for God to send his spirit to empower their mission.

Jesus does not merely give his church a mission, he gives us the power necessary to accomplish the mission he will accomplish.

So, Christian, hear me closely this morning as I charge you.

You've been sent by Jesus and empowered by his spirit on a mission for all the nations.

For people from Knoxville, for people from Crossville, for people from Clarksville, Cookville, and Nashville, people from Germany, Hungary, Turkey, and Italy, people from Norway, Paraguay, and Zimbabwe, people from Kosovo, Leseth Lesotho, Morocco, Mexico, Monaco, Congo, and Togo, Nauru, Palu, and Peru.

People from Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Switzerland, Thailand, New Zealand, England, and Scotland, Zambia, Tunisia, Tanzania, Tonga, and Uganda, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

And here's the thing.

Matthew chapter 28, verse 18.

Matthew 28:18

What do we hear?

In our commission to go, Jesus says, I have all authority in heaven and on earth.

We forget the second part.

Don't forget the second part.

I have all authority on earth.

Therefore, go.

Jesus is Lord.

The Lord.

Not only in the heavens but of the earth.

The Great Commission begins with the truth that Jesus is the Lord of the nations.

There is not a square inch of space where Jesus does not have absolute authority.

He is not treading blows with Satan.

He's sitting on his throne.

Our Lord is the Lord over all countries and over their people.

So hear me, Christians, sent with the gospel to this city, and some of you who might be considering in the future taking the gospel overseas, even long term, as you take the gospel to the nations, let's make one thing very, very clear.

You're not telling others to accept your truth.

That's not your job.

Here it is.

You, an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ, are telling the truth.

The king who is and who will be forever, who is ultimately good.

And as we've seen so, his pursuit of his glory is our greatest good, the grace for people who seek his mercy.

You're not just telling them to believe in a king, you're teaching them to bow before the king.

You're calling them to bow with you before Jesus.

That's no easy task.

That's hard.

People don't like your king.

You don't like your king because he's not them.

You didn't, probably before you became a believer.

And it's a task we've not been sent to alone.

Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

I've asked student ministry students this before.

I've asked college students this before, and I ask you this today.

What will you be most passionate about in your life?

Most people are passionate, most passionate about one thing.

What will you be most passionate about?

Could you be most passionate about the joy of all people in Jesus?

Not merely to maintain your faith, but to be on mission with it.

Heard one guy say this in the past, and I love it.

Missions is what happens when ordinary Christians become convinced that Jesus really is worthy of everybody's worship.

The church doesn't say the nations, Jesus does.

We're just called to be faithful to the mission he's given us.

Our job is to faithfully declare his glory.

So, church, we already know how this ends.

Revelation chapter 7, verse 9, John looks and sees a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, tribe, tongue, people, and language standing before the throne, standing before the Lamb.

Revelation 7:9

They have palm branches in their hand, they have white robes on their bodies, and they sing, Salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb who sits upon the throne.

We know how this ends.

God desires, God deserves, God demands, the church must declare, but hear me, God will accomplish receiving the glory due his name.

The Bible begins with humanity scattered among the nations because of their sin.

The Bible ends with redeemed humanity gathered on the throne because of one Savior.

Different nations, different tribes, different peoples, different languages, one savior, and one song of salvation, and one people giving one God glory.

Which takes us back to Ephesians 1 and Ephesians 2.

God saves sinners to the praise of his glorious grace.

What brings God the highest glory is the gracious salvation of undeserving people.

His pursuit of his highest glory is your greatest good.

So we go to the nations because Jesus told us to.

We go because his spirit empowers us to.

We go because God desires, deserves, and demands the glory to his name.

And we go confidently because as Revelation 7 teaches us, all the weight is not ultimately hanging on us to pull it off.

God will accomplish his plan.

God has already shown us the ending.

So until Revelation 7 becomes reality, declare his glory among the nations, the only one who desires, who deserves, and who demands the glory from all people.

Amen.

Let's pray.