2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 Sunday, April 11, 2010 Jim Beasley

God’s Glory Is Our Goal The highest purpose and privilege of God’s people has always been to bring glory to Him by their obedience - Deut. 4:5-8 “When we glorify God we demonstrate the character and presence of God in our lives.” A failure to glorify God is a part of the very essence of sin – Romans 1:21 Contrast: Psalms 86:11-13 Jesus’ only purpose was to glorify His Father, even by His death – John 12:27, 28 John 17:1-2 Like Him, our highest aim must be to glorify God, whether by life or by death. Philippians 1:20, 21 “When we glorify God we demonstrate the character and presence of God in our lives.”

Doing Everything To God’s Glory As Christians, we should do whatever we do in such a way that God is glorified – 1 Peter 4:10, 11 1 Corinthians 10:31 In obedience, our goal is not self-centered, but God- centered – 2 Corinthians 9:12, 13 John 17:4 Matthew 9:8; 15:31 Matthew 5:16 1 Corinthians 14:25 “When we glorify God we demonstrate the character and presence of God in our lives.”

A Goal Greater Than Our Differences The goal of glorifying God is of greater importance than any differences among us – Philippians 1:18, 27 1 Peter 4:8 There are few unifying forces stronger than a great common purpose, one which means more to people than the things that separate them. “When we glorify God we demonstrate the character and presence of God in our lives.”

Dealing With Differences So That God Is Glorified We should work diligently to remove any differences that hinder us in bringing glory to God. Romans 15:5-7 It should be a cause for embarrassment if the members of a congregation lack the maturity to work out their differences among themselves. 1 Corinthians 6:1-7 But there are two kinds of differences that can separate Christians: Insignificant differences Galatians 3:28 Serious differences. 2 Timothy 2:24-26 “When we glorify God we demonstrate the character and presence of God in our lives.”

Dealing With Differences So That God Is Glorified Even when we disagree over whether a difference is insignificant or serious, our overriding desire to seek God’s glory will cause us to be patient, forbearing, and humble as we continue to study and work toward greater unity in understanding. Ephesians 4:1-3 Disagreements are inevitable — but folks who are committed first and foremost to God’s glory will deal with disagreements in a very different way than those who have other priorities and agendas. “When we glorify God we demonstrate the character and presence of God in our lives.”