Sermon Central
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King Of Glory Series
Contributed by Keith Andrews on Sep 22, 2008 (message contributor)
Summary: It is hard to capture the glory of God in a definition. In fact, it is hard to define the word Glory. It is also hard to understand what it means to give glory to our God.
King of Glory
Sermon by CH(CPT) Keith J. Andrews
All scripture marked ESV: The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
Psalm 24: A Psalm of David. Reads:
1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
2 for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory! Selah (Ps 24:1-10, ESV)
Let us pray—
The Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines "glory" in five different ways.
1 a : praise, honor, or distinction extended by common consent
b : worshipful praise, honor, and thanksgiving
2 a : something that secures praise or renown
b : a distinguished quality or asset
3 a (1) : great beauty and splendor
(2) : something marked by beauty
b : the splendor and beatific happiness of heaven
4 a : a state of great gratification or exaltation
b : a height of prosperity or achievement
5 : a ring or spot of light
It is hard to capture the glory of God in a definition. In fact, it is hard to define the word Glory. It is also hard to understand what it means to give glory to our God.
The Psalm we are looking at this morning gives us a glimpse at what the Glory of God entails. The writer does this in three ways.
First, we see that
1. Glory of God is demonstrated in Creation
Psalm 24: 1-2 reads;
1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
2 for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers. (Ps 24:1-2, ESV)
The Glory of God is demonstrated in his creation because it reflects his brilliance. He created that which is beautiful. It is amazing to me that sometimes people worship the creation rather than the creator.
The Earth so wonderfully made that we are in awe of the creation, but we ignore the creator! It is trendy to save the environment and, of course, I believe in good stewardship. But, we would be better off if we acknowledged the creator, first—then owned up to our responsibility to take care of the Earth not simply because of some theory about Global Warming, but because a Holy God created the Heavens and the Earth and gave us dominion over it. (Gen 1:26, ESV) We need to take care of the Earth because God said so, not because we worship the Earth.
Ignoring a creator happens in other areas as well.
Leonardo Da Vinci painted the masterpiece painting the "Mona Lisa", there are plenty of people that simply praise the painting it self as a work of art—as if it were a one time thing for Da Vinci and therefore truly a miracle.
Some, actually, don’t appreciate it at all—and that happens in creation as well.
But the correct response is to ultimately praise the painter—the creator of the painting. Learn his techniques, if you are a painter. And admire the other works of Da Vinci as well.
The same is true regard the Glory we give to God. He is the creator of heaven and earth. Every sunrise and sunset was painted with His eyes. Every star in the sky was placed by His will. Every mountain was sculpted by his hands. Every river was carved my His fingers.
It is all His creation. We need to bring him all of the Glory for his creations. "The Earth is the Lord’s" the psalmist says.
Modern science tries incredibly hard to disprove that God’s hand was in it all. I like to learn about astronomy. But it is hard to study astronomy books without getting past their godless suppositions and theories.
The Glory of God is revealed in creation. We need to give him glory for what he has done. Understanding is important, we need science but we must give him Glory for His creation.
