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[0:00] 1 Corinthians 10 verse 31 it says, The context of this passage here, it's about liberty and freedom in Christ.

[0:35] But there's one defining consideration to all of life's decisions and choices. It's saying here, give glory to God. Give God the glory. Now this word glory, it can mean honour, praise, worship.

[0:48] All of our life is meant to be God glorifying. Glorifying in the whole of your life, writes Paul. It boils down to this in the very practical things of life.

[1:00] Whether you eat, drink, whatsoever you do. We are to give God the glory, God the honour, God the praise in all things. Whatsoever you do.

[1:12] That's everything. Everything. In every day. And life is about honouring God. It's about thinking of how can my life be glorifying to Him.

[1:22] Sometimes we make the mistake of compartmentalising our life. Where God gets just so much of us. You know, we just surrender so much of ourselves to Him.

[1:33] Just a part that is the God bit of my life. But really, He wants your all, doesn't He? He wants our all. He wants all of us. Not a portion of us.

[1:45] It's meant to be comprehensive. The whole of you. Are you full on? Full on. Or are you inconsistent? I know we all need to question that.

[1:57] Because the Bible says that for all of us, we're all going to have to give account of ourselves to God. Are we pursuing His glory above all that we do?

[2:08] Colossians 3.17. It similarly says, And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all. Do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.

[2:22] Whatsoever you do in word or deed. How are you walking? Is it consistent with God's will? With God's glory? That ought to be the ultimate, the goal.

[2:34] To learn to glorify God in all of our life. And that's a big task, isn't it? That's a big ask. God's glory to be the whole, the consuming desire.

[2:47] That the inward holiness would be reflected. In our attitudes, in our thinking. To live a life fully for His glory.

[2:57] To show forth His praises. The Lord Jesus says in Mark 12, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. With all thy soul. With all thy mind.

[3:09] With all thy strength. This is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

[3:20] It wraps it all up, doesn't it? Love God with you all. Love your neighbour as yourself. I'd like to put it to you some ways that you can think of your life. And make an assessment.

[3:31] How can my life be more God-glorifying? And to learn how to glorify God in three aspects. Number one, how you deal with people. How you deal with people. Your neighbours, your spouse, your enemies.

[3:43] Your children with authority. Your relationships in business. And your daily living. Are you dealing with people such that you're giving glory to God in those dealings with others?

[3:57] Are you dealing with people? The Bible says, love your neighbour as yourself. Now, I know I can be selfish. I know I can love myself. But we ought to love people like that.

[4:10] That's something really wonderful, isn't it? To be outside of your own skin. And thinking how others might be. In their shoes. And taking time to show kindness. To show consideration.

[4:22] To spend a moment. To give a smile. To show that you care in some way, shape or form. To show humility in your dealings with others. Forbearing. Mercy.

[4:32] And consideration. Preferring one another. Honouring one another above yourself. Doing unto others as you'd have them do unto you. That's glorifying God in your dealings with others, isn't it?

[4:45] Do you treat others in such a way that you reflect His glory? When you're down at the shop. With a shop assistant or whatever it be about your daily life.

[4:58] To consider that's another human soul. Potentially a soul that can be saved. A soul for whom Christ died. That should make us care about others.

[5:10] How we deal with others. For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness. Hath shined in our hearts. To give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. In the face of Jesus Christ.

[5:22] But we have this treasure in earthen vessels. That the excellency of the power might be of God and not of us. God's glory is meant to show from you.

[5:32] Like an earthen vessel. Shining. Shining. Glowing. Beaming out of you. How's your earthen vessel today? How's that earthen vessel that is your life?

[5:45] That is your person? Let it be of God. That you'll be filled. A container filled with the glory of God. That you'll be like Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3.2. That you'll be like a letter.

[5:56] A living letter. Written and known. And read of man. Glory. Shining out of you. People are reading you. As a Christian.

[6:07] Even if you're a Christian. That might be slipping and sliding around. People are looking at you. They're measuring Christ by you. Be that living letter that is written.

[6:18] God's love letter to others. About you. To do all to the glory of God. In how you deal with others. Are you walking to show his glory? Dealing with others. In a God glorifying way.

[6:30] Glorify God. In how you deal with others. Secondly. And how you deal with pressure. How you deal with pressure. I know there's a great teaching material that the Shores have.

[6:41] About dealing with pressure. And we're sharing that with someone of life. How we deal with pressure. Should reflect the glory of God. We're all under pressure. Brad was talking about pressures.

[6:51] And what he shared. We're all dealing with pressures. Day by day. Moment by moment. It could be some facing testing. Of sickness. Of sadness. Pressure.

[7:04] Glorify God in those times of pressure. Do you crack up under tests and trials? Amen. Or will you be that vessel of honour. That vessel for his glory.

[7:15] For our light affliction. Which is but for a moment. Worketh for us a far more exceeding. An eternal weight of glory. That affliction can be a measure of the glory that God is working in your life.

[7:30] A far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Like it's been said. It's often. If you compare our lives to being like a teabag. It's when we're in hot water.

[7:41] That the real you comes out. Isn't it? When you get in the hot water of life. That the teabag's contents start to manifest. And show themselves. What's inside of us comes out.

[7:54] How you deal with pressure. Is it God glorifying? We've all got pressures. There's some studying here. There's numbers studying. I've heard of late. We're starting to study. There's pressure there.

[8:05] There's pressure in all kinds of ways. In money ways. In balancing the day by day stresses of work. And responsibilities.

[8:19] It's constant isn't it? But glorify God in those times of pressure. The tough things can bring God glory. As Peter writes. That the trial of your faith. Being much more precious than of gold.

[8:31] That perisheth. Though it be tried with fire. Might be found unto praise. And honour. And glory. At the appearing of Jesus Christ. You might feel like your own strength is not enough.

[8:43] Though it will fail you. Certainly it will. But we have his promises. We have his hand to hold. In those times of sickness. In those times of going through death's dark valley.

[8:54] He is with you. He is with you. The good shepherd. Even in the midst of the storm. And I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. I can do all things to the glory of God.

[9:06] I can do all things though my strength is inadequate. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4.13 So stand with conviction.

[9:17] For God. Stand though the storm comes. Stand in his strength. And set your mind on things above. Set your mind on heavenly things. I can do all things.

[9:29] He will empower me. He will help me to live for the glory of God. Whatsoever you do, do all things to the glory of God. In how you deal with people.

[9:41] In how you deal with pressure. And thirdly. In how you deal with decisions. In how you make decisions. In how you deal with the decisions of life. God's glory ought to be the fundamental guiding force for the decisions that we make in our lives.

[9:57] God's glory. Not our own vain glory. Not our own selfish thoughts and thinking. But his glory should determine the choices we make. That our will will be bowed to his very will.

[10:11] You know we can make the mistake of trying on our own strength. And in the church world too that can be the case. I've read an interesting quote.

[10:23] It said, The world is not impressed with a religious version of itself. You know in some churches they're just a religious version of the world. The world's not impressed with that.

[10:33] We want to shine his glory. We want to be glorifying to God. We want to be glorifying him. Honouring him. Praising him. Whatsoever we do. That it be glorifying to God.

[10:44] That's the ultimate and absolute. And how do we know that? Through the word. It's the word of God that dictates what we are to do. That foundation be.

[10:55] That sure foundation of his word. Of his word to us. How do I know the decisions that I make?

[11:06] Will they be God glorifying ones? Will I seek first his kingdom and his righteousness? Will I seek to live out my life as a devoted husband or wife or father or mother?

[11:19] In all of life's decisions will I choose God's glory? Whatever comes my way. God helping me to. And sometimes it won't always happen as we'd love it to happen.

[11:32] But God will give you the strength to choose his way. In all of life's decisions. And there's some things the word tells us plainly. The word tells us that we're meant to earn a living.

[11:44] We're meant to pay our bills. These things are not optional. The word tells us how we are to live. To be God glorifying.

[11:56] To live in a world that is filled with sin. And yet to be unspotted from it. To flee from immorality. To have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.

[12:08] But rather reprove them. Reject pagan culture and pagan thinking. To strive to be like him. To be like Jesus. To be like him. All the while his word being that foundation on which we build.

[12:23] Because it's the word that produces faith. It's the word that saves. It's the word that cleanses the heart. It's the word that sets us apart from sin.

[12:33] It's the word that helps us to grow. That reveals his truth. That gives us encouragement. That builds us up in the faith. There's many scriptures we could quote.

[12:44] Read it. Study it. Memorise it. Meditate on it. And keep it. The more of the word of God that fills our life. The more able we are to make wise.

[12:55] God glorifying decisions. And I know there was talk about quiet times earlier. I know I need to do more of that. I need to spend more time in the word of God.

[13:06] It's where we get our strength. It's where we'll see how we can make decisions that will glorify him. And God will help you to understand it. For some it might be like a foreign language at first.

[13:17] But the Bible says that these things can be spiritually revealed. God by his Holy Spirit can help you to understand what seems quite hard to grasp. Let the word fill your life.

[13:29] And then you'll make wise God glorifying decisions. What are your thoughts? Is God in your thoughts? It says in Psalm 10 verse 4. The wicked, though through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God.

[13:43] God is not in all his thoughts. God wants to be in your thinking. Not just in the philosophy or your own self-will.

[13:53] But he wants to be in your thinking. That God will be in your thoughts. That your thinking will be like that thinking in Philippians 4 verse 8 onwards. Finally, my brethren. Whatsoever things are true.

[14:06] Whatsoever things are honest. Whatsoever things are just. Whatsoever things are pure. Whatsoever things are lovely. Whatsoever things are of good report.

[14:16] If there be any virtue. If there be any praise. Think on these things. Is God in all your thoughts? Have you submitted your thinking to him?

[14:27] Are you thinking biblically? Biblically. He thinks of you. Get a hold of this one. Psalm 139 verse 17. How precious are your thoughts unto me, O God.

[14:41] How great is the sum of them. Think of that. That he thinks of you. He thinks of you. Me. This little speck of dust. This little nothing.

[14:52] That we are. In the spectrum of the universe. Of the wideness of his creation. That he would think of you. And how precious are his thoughts to you.

[15:03] That should make us once a loving war, shouldn't it? How great is the sum of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God. What about your thoughts? Are they God glorifying gifts?

[15:15] The choices you make. The decisions in how you deal with responsibilities. Are they God glorifying ones? Friends, I just want to urge you today in closing. Do all things. Do all things.

[15:27] To the glory of God. Whatsoever you do. Do it heartily as to the Lord. And not unto men. As a Christian in employment. You're meant to be a model employee.

[15:39] As a Christian you're meant to be a model employee. I was talking with someone earlier today. Look for men of women. Of character. Who will stand in a place of employment.

[15:51] And have work ethic. To be the best worker that you can be. To the glory of God. And in the decisions of your life. In choosing entertainment. In how you handle possessions.

[16:02] The stewardship of your families. The stewardship of your time. Make it God glorifying. That God rates the mention. As the absolute priority. And think of it.

[16:13] Is God getting the honour? Is God getting the praise? Is our life a life of worship? That whatsoever we do. Is to his glory. It's to his worship. To find and do the will of God.

[16:26] That's our prayer today. That we would find and do his will. But in the meantime. We'd be holding as in a glass. Like a dusty old mirror.

[16:38] That's not shining and reflecting that well. We'd just be holding as in a glass. The glory of the Lord. For the meantime. It's still a bit cloudy. It's a bit distant.

[16:49] It's a bit indistinct. But we are going to be changed. Into the same image. From glory to glory to glory. Even as by the spirit of the Lord.

[17:00] To close. We want to give glory to God. That's the ultimate. Think of your life ahead. What are you going to do to the glory of God? And it's by his strength. It's by his enabling.

[17:11] It's by your yielding. That you'll let him shape your life. And if you've failed. You can repent to the glory of God. Don't think this is beyond you today.

[17:23] Wherever you're at today. Repent to the glory of God. And then as a church corporately. We'll give him glory. Unto him be glory in the church. By Christ Jesus.

[17:34] Throughout all ages. World without end. Amen. Let us pray. Lord we thank you for every soul here. Everyone is your creation.

[17:44] And Lord you've designed the cross. That brutal instrument of torture. On which you and the person of your son laid those sinless hands.

[17:59] On which those sinless feet were pierced. On which our sin was laid. Lord God we thank you for that wonder of it all.

[18:13] The glory that came down. And tabernacled in a human skin. To be God manifest in the flesh.

[18:26] Which Lord we can't conceive of it. Help us Lord to consider you. To consider your thoughts unto us. To help us to glorify you in all that we do.

[18:42] In all of our life. In all of our dealings with others. In our dealings with pressure. In our decisions of life. That we will be glorifying your name. In every part.

[18:53] Give us strength we pray Lord. That we can lean on you. If there's any present. Have yet to trust you for the very first time. That they might even now just surrender.

[19:05] In awe. In wonder. At the pierced one. At the nailed one. At the blood shed.

[19:17] At the wonder of it. That you could care for such as we. Lord we thank you for that mercy. That grace. Lord we want to give you the glory.

[19:29] Give you the glory. Give you the glory. In Jesus name. Amen. To be aย'ed. To be aย'ed.

[19:39] To be aย'ed. To be aย'ed. To be aย'ed. To be aย'ed. Thank you.