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John 17:20-26
We invite you to join us for worship each Sunday morning at 9:30. You can download our service on iTunes or tune in for “The Good Word” each day on AM 1230 WSAL or on Hoosier Country 103.7 FM just after 8am. We are studying God’s glory in association with the Incarnation, or God becoming Man and coming to earth the 1st time as the Sacrificial Lamb of God that takes away the sins of all those who come to God for salvation. For this part of our study we are defining God’s glory as His Honor and excellent reputation. Last time learned how God reveals His glory to us by inviting us to become His adopted children; then how we in turn, reveal His glory to others as a result of our salvation. I believe one of the most amazing actions God takes with those who are saved, is to accept them into His family by adopting them as His children. John teaches this in his gospel when he says, “to as many as received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become sons of God.” To be adopted by God as one of His children is a high and holy privilege only those of us who live in this “age of grace” experience. Read Gal. 3:23-29. Because all the requirements for salvation have now been met in Christ, we are now given the privilege of membership in God’s family. That is the honor part of God’s glory. However, there is the 2nd part which is His excellent reputation. To call yourself a Christian is to advertise with your life, mouth, actions, and even the intents and motives of your heart, you are revealing God’s honor and excellent reputation. Is that how others, and especially God, interpret your life and lifestyle? God’s glory is also shown to us, and in turn through us in the doctrine of sanctification! It is the doctrines of sanctification and perseverance that reveal to all, whether or not a person is really saved! Scripture makes it abundantly clear that anyone who has genuinely come to Christ asking for salvation, and has truly opened their heart to Christ, shows that they have been redeemed by radically changing their entire life and lifestyle. Make all the excuses you want, but Scripture remains pure and clear in teaching all who have truly come to Christ for salvation and received forgiveness, live an entirely different life that they lived before. When a person is saved, God sanctifies them by seeing them in the righteousness of Christ as we learned when we studied the doctrine of justification. That is the part God does for us, that is part of His amazing grace extended to us in salvation. That radically different life doesn’t just happen! It is a result of the other part of sanctification which is called progressive sanctification. A redeemed heart looks forward with anticipation and even excitement to how God will change it every day! For those who walk in harmony with God and His Word every day, there are many benefits and blessings of progressively becoming more like Christ. I want to share just 2 now. 1st is the continual assurance that you are being obedient to all God’s Word. Beloved, when we make every effort to allow The Holy Spirit to show and teach us how to become like Christ, He also makes it clear to us that our actions and thoughts are correct! The 2nd benefit/blessing of sanctification is the continual hunger and thirst for righteousness. Another way to say that is a continual desire to persevere! Just as God is always good, gracious, merciful, loving, compassionate, and all His other attributes He demonstrates toward His creation and especially His adopted children, He implants with our hearts that same desire. Think of it this way: Sanctification is the oats, perseverance is the salt in the oats! To a truly redeemed heart, the more like Christ we allow God to make us, the more like Him we want to be! As a result, it becomes the overwhelming desire of a Paul tells the Romans, “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” I would suggest to you that all God has revealed to us in His inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word does not begin to reveal to us all the glory that God will reveal to us, and share with us when we get to heaven! In the light of what God has shared with us, and with what He teaches us, and what He bestows freely upon us out of His lavish riches, wisdom and grace, how can we who are truly His adopted children do anything other than bow in humble adoration and live every day before Him making every second of our daily life all we can make it in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit to show others God’s excellent reputation? How can we but live in harmony with all God says because of all God has done? To Him alone be glory forever and ever!
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