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Looking for something to Celebrate? by Kevin Larson I really love our church theme. I mean, I really love it. In case you’ve forgotten, it’s "Celebrating His Glory!" Why do I like it so much? It’s because, in my opinion, no words could better sum up what our mission is as a church. Nothing could better express what we were created to do and what our hearts long to do in three short words than "Celebrating His Glory!" As I look at Scripture and as I look at life, I see two facts that are hard to argue with. The first is this: You were created for the glory of God. What a tragedy it would be to live your whole life and not know why you’re here. But a majority of people do, I’m convinced— even most Christians. There are a lot of wrong ways to answer the question, "Why am I here?" But this is the only Biblical way. You were created for the glory of God. You were created to glorify Him. You were made for His pleasure. You were created to put His wisdom and power and goodness and beauty and justice and all His other attributes on display. You were made to be like a beautiful prism that receives God’s light and reflects the glory of the light. That’s why you’re here. Isaiah 43:6-7 is but one passage that expresses this truth. The prophet said, "Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth-- everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." The second fact is this: You were created with a longing for something to celebrate. You were created with a desire for joy. And there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s like hunger. It’s just there. Blaise Pascal put it well when he said that... All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. This will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves. Nowhere in the Scripture does it say to suppress those desires for happiness, for pleasure, for joy. In fact, it portrays people pursuing it. It encourages it. It even commands it. Human beings long for something to celebrate. That’s our second fact. Now those two facts lead to two questions that have led to two wrong answers from fallen man throughout the ages. First, if God is working for His glory, how do you join God’s effort to magnify His glory here on earth? If you’re here for His glory, how do you practically go about that? Second, if you have this natural desire for happiness, how do you fulfill that desire for happiness? Where do we get this joy? Some Christians, with the best intentions, have tried to answer the first question by saying, "Well, you tell God He’s glorious." Or others have said, "You do things for His glory." B. A. wisely reminded us several Sundays ago that prayer, and all worship for that matter, isn’t done for God’s benefit. It’s done for ours. God doesn’t need you to tell Him that He’s glorious. He hasn’t forgotten. It doesn’t add anything to His glory to hear that. He isn’t seeking compliments. In addition, if you really think about it, doing things for God isn’t the answer either. God doesn’t need your good works. He doesn’t need you to add one thing to His perfections. He’s God. I get so frustrated when I go to youth camps or retreats where the speaker whines and cries and tells these kids how God can’t do it with out them, about how He needs them. He doesn’t need your help. He made everything we see with His breath in seconds. Why does He need you to run around doing stuff? He’s God. As Paul said in Acts 17:25 in his sermon at Athens, "He is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else." The wrong answer to the second question isn’t much better. How do I fulfill this longing for happiness, this longing for joy? Fallen man has answered "stuff" or "people" or "self." All are wrong answers. Remember what Romans 1 says, in verse 25, when Paul is describing what happened at the fall? He says that man "exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator-- who is forever praised. Amen." Man made the great exchange. He sought joy in things God had made. He fell in love with the gifts instead of the giver. And people are dying right now joyless and miserable and alone as a result. So what’s the answer to these questions? Here’s the good news. God’s pursuit for His glory and our pursuit for our happiness are the same pursuit. They’re not at odds. We are satisfied in Him and He is glorified in us. When we celebrate Him, treasure Him, rejoice in Him, and trust Him, that’s the way He’s glorified. And we see this all over Scripture. In Ephesians 1, in the midst of a beautiful explanation of God’s work in salvation, Paul also explains why God did what He did. Verse 3 said it was done "to the praise of His glorious grace." Verse 11 says that it was done "in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory." Paul says yet again in verse 13 that salvation was accomplished "to the praise of His glory." In other words, God’s plan throughout eternity was to create a people who would praise His glory. In other words, His children would celebrate His glory. Their desire for something to celebrate and His desire for glory would meet in this act of praise that would last throughout eternity. My favorite passage of Scripture right now comes from Psalm 16:11. David wrote, "You have shown me the path of life. In Your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Again, we’re all looking for joy. We’re seeking something to celebrate. But most people settle for things that don’t really satisfy and that don’t satisfy for very long. I want joy and I want it to be complete. I want total joy. And I want it to last forever. That’s what this passage teaches. In Him, there is "fullness of joy" and "at His right hand are pleasures forevermore." Full and forever— that’s what we get when we seek joy in God. And when we recognize that and express it in everything we do (1 Corinthians 10:31), God gets glory. That’s what worship is all about. That’s what faith is all about. That’s what life is all about. He is glorified. We are satisfied. That is good news! To close, let me anticipate four questions that might be running through your head right now with four questions for you. First, "Kevin, doesn’t this make God an egomaniac? That doesn’t seem loving. ‘Love seeks not its own.’" If God commands that we praise His grace and, if that praising and giving glory to God is the thing that gives us ultimate joy and satisfaction, is that not loving for God to demand such a thing? Secondly, "Kevin, isn’t that kind of a self-centered way to look at life?" If I kneel down in a mountain spring and drink and drink and exclaim, "This is the greatest, most satisfying water I’ve ever tasted," who gets the glory in that picture? Thirdly, "Kevin, isn’t that some sort of pop psychology gospel?" Does popular psychology encourage people to find satisfaction in making much of self or does it encourage people to find satisfaction in making much of God? Lastly, "Kevin, are you telling people not to serve or work for God?" Is there not a way to serve and work that glorifies Him and recognizes Him as the one doing the real work (1 Pe. 4:11, Isa. 64:4)? My prayer for our church is that we would grow to more and more celebrate His glory in all of life. If I could sum up in one sentence what our mission is as a church, it would be this: We exist to glorify God by celebrating Him and by encouraging others to celebrate Him in all things. Let’s celebrate! If you have problems with this site please contact the Webservant
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